Making Crosses

Around January, I started beading crosses.  At first I planned on only making a few and giving them as gifts for my mom and my mother-in-law.  Then I started making more, in all sorts of colors.  I thought about giving them to extended relatives, but realized some people might not want them.

Instead, I donated 21 crosses to the church where we attend service.  Below are some of the crosses.

I made this one for Holly's youngest daughter.  It was fun to work in the bright colors.

This one I made for my sister-in-law, Madelyn.  She requested the black and gold.

Shhhh Surprise for my Mom

My Mom's birthday is in September, but I started her birthday gift very early, because I knew this one would take a long time and with having a baby... time is a gift.

My parents will be going to China in the next year.  The necklace below is Cubic Right Angle Weave (CRAW) - both the necklace and pendant.

The pendant is the Chinese symbol for Longevity.  In China, the butterfly is the symbol of Love.  The "caged" beads on the necklace represent the Chinese lanterns.

Usually when I make a necklace that is this difficult of a pattern, I only attempt it once.  But I like it so much, I might make one for me as well :)

Cannot do simple

After our baby was born, my husband wanted me to make jewelry.  But I couldn't seem to find the time.   Everything revolved around the baby being fed and taken care of.  When a new little human being needs your attention every 2 hours, finding time to make jewelry just isn't in the cards.

But eventually, there's a semi-routine.  Or at least small snaps of time where I can do something other than cleaning the house and laundry :)  My husband suggested that I do a simple beading design.

I thought about it, but I can't do simple.  That's boring.  I started making jewelry 13 years ago.  Every blue moon I do a simple necklace just for the heck of it, but that's rare.

That said... I found the time to do some new projects using spike beads - FUN!  Complicated but it made me happy to do :)