Logan's Hat

A friend of mine at work did this painting and asked if I could put it on a hat.
It was my first try at something like this and I was tempted to say " I can’t" but I decided to give it a try. It did not come out exactly but I am pleased with it.
It was a challenge and a lot of fun so I plan to do some more of this type. Flowers are great and I like doing them but it is time to step out once again from the comfort zone and push myself a little…or a lot.
I used to do Sumi-e painting so I am thinking of doing some on my hats. They will truly be one of a kind pieces of wearable art. I should have some great hats next winter!

Charmed Affections

My youngest daughter, now 23 lies enlisted in the US Navy. She left for Boot Camp in Great Lakes, Illinois November of 2008. When she got out of Boot Camp it was off To Pensacola for school and now she is stationed in Hawaii and will be deployed sometime this year for 7 months.
I wanted to do something special for her before she left and Artbeads.com came to the rescue. It was time for the Valentine’s Day Blog for Beads!
I have wanted to do a charm bracelet for some time now but never really had a theme I could decide on. This was it! They have an amazing selection of charms and some beautiful sterling chains, they even have a stunning US Navy charm, which I quickly added to my chopping cart. I cannot tell you how fast the wheels began to spin after I spotted that. I decided to get some state charms for every state she has been in since enlisting; Illinois for Boot Camp, Florida of "A" School, Connecticut where she was living when she enlisted, Maine because that is home, and Hawaii because that is where she is now. I also chose a beautiful daughter charm in the shape of a heart and a flower toggle clasp in sterling. I was very pleased with the charms I received. They have a very nice weight to them unlike charms I have seen elsewhere.
Now I wanted a little color so I added Swarovski crystals in pink, and then added a couple of pink opals and pink pearls that I placed on sterling headpins. I found another really cool item while shopping, sterling oval jump rings, which are better than round. This was the first time I have used them and I love them! I will probably never use the round again. You can read the how and why here.
I have also invited her friends and family members to stop by Artbeads.com and take a look, choose something and have it sent to me so I can add it to the bracelet. Artbeads.com has free shipping with every order no matter how small or large so it makes it easy for others to contribute (I love that when I only need a couple of items). As difficult as it was I left space for more to be added during her Navy career.

Blog for Beads by Artbeads.com contributed a large part of my materials in exchange for my honest evaluation of their merchandise in my blog. I am not paid to endorse them in any way.

Free Beading Patterns, Tips and Tricks

Divella Delights is doing something new this year!
I will be giving you some free wonderful designs, tips and tricks I use all free of charge!
I plan to photograph my designs as I work through them so along with the pattern you will have photos to make it easier. This process takes a little time so be patient with me. Along the way if you find some tips I could use, please by all means chime in!
Let’s have some fun this year creating some beautiful jewelry and fiber creations!
See you soon with the first of many!
I'll start of with a little tip since I need no photo for it.
If you use a Nymo type thread I am sure you already stretch it and condition it with Beeswax or some other thread conditioner. Nymo and similar threads stretch over time and you do not want your lovely creations to get sloppy over time. You stretch it simply by pulling it taught and then just a little more. After I do that I have found that I get much fewer tangles if I simply snip off about 2 inches on each end. This way those little ends that you can't stretch don't coil around my work making knots and tangles.

Handmade Hats

CONGRATULATIONS to Yunji who won the monthly drawing for December! It was a special year-end drawing gift of this complete hat and scarf set a ($61.00 value).
Now it is nearly time for the January drawing so make sure your name is on the e-mail list so you have a chance at a gift from the gallery of jewelry and fiber creations of Divella Delights. All you have to do is go to Divella Delights and scroll down to the bottom of the home page and sign up. I promise not to inundate your inbox with e-mails, I usually send out one a month unless I am running a special sale.
There are some new designs at Divella Delights beginning with these sets. They sold as fast as I made them so more are coming. I also have a few designs tucked away in my head that will be coming very soon.
I will be slowing down on the winter hats and focusing on some for Spring and Summer made with cotton and silk fibers. As always, you can always place a special order which is why my sold items remain listed. Keep in mind that I cannot duplicate a hat exactly as I do not keep track of the fibers I use. Besides, you don’t want to see your hat on someone else!
I have just placed my "Beads for Blogs" order with Artbeads.com so I will have a very special item coming up in the next week. I can’t tell you about it yet, as it will be a gift for someone special. You will want to check back and see it though. For those of you who make your own jewelry you will want to see this idea. For those of you who purchase your jewelry and jewelry as gifts you won’t want to miss this one either!
Divella Delights also has a special "Under $25.00" section where you can get a very special handmade hat, scarf or piece of jewelry at a wonderful reduction in price.
I had better get back to my studio and get to work! See you in a week or so with some exciting new designs!