Still Loving Halloween
I was gone the week before Halloween on the Michaels Crafting Cruise, but I still had a chance to create Halloween-inspired art this year. We did have a Halloween Glitter Ball one night on the cruise, so I had to create a piece of jewelry to wear. The spider is a great Bead Landing pin that I found at Michaels this year. I picked up several of them. I found some great spider web "coasters" when I was in St. Paul this summer, and appliqued them to a plain shirt. I added one of those spider pins to the shirt as well - perfect! I decorated a witch's hat with flowers, ribbon and tulle but didn't have a chance to wear it this year - maybe next....

The necklace is bead embroidery with dagger bead flowers that I made. The "web" is made from piece from the Bead Landing Metal Mania collection that I patinaed so they wouldn't be so shiny.

Texas Beader's Retreat

Vicki & I attended our third retreat last month. The retreat sold out so our friend Lisa wasn't able to join us - hopefully next year. The first piece I worked on at the retreat was a beaded purse. The focal piece is a polymer clay face I bought from Kim Cavendar at the polymer clay retreat I attended in September. The purse is made entirely from recycled jeans. The handle is a denim belt from a dress. After I finished the purse, I worked on a bracelet and necklace in autumn hues to match a jacket I made (bought the fabric at the Houston Quilt Show a couple of years ago). The other piece shown is what I did for the challenge - a travel jewely pouch.

I love Halloween, it is a time to be a little spooky, a little mysterious, a little left of norm..... Last Saturday the gals & I got together for one of our art play-days. Lisa, Vicki & I worked on haunted tree dolls - they are coming along nicely. I thought it would be fun to decorate a bit for our little luncheon - here is my Halloween setting.

I don't do costumes anymore, but I do enjoy a little ghoulish or fun Halloween jewelry and shirts with the Halloween theme. This year I found some fabulous fabric with skulls and gothic-style writing (very glittered) that I used to make a tunic top - I wound up leaving a trail of glitter everywhere I went. I also painted one of my ancestor pendants that I had sculpted early to give it a ghoulish, gothic look.

At work had a pot-luck for Halloween and I made a "Not Your Mummy's Cheese Ball" for the celebration. There wasn't much left of him after the lunch. He was really easy to make, just cheese logs, cut & shaped, then cream cheese piped in "bandage" strips over him. The red "flesh" is pimento strips and I used whole cloves for his eyes. I hope everyone has a very happy and safe Halloween!