na, na, na, na....Batman!

A few weekends ago I reorganized the boys room to make it easier for the school year. I had been planning to redo this dresser all summer and just never seemed to manage it. So it seemed like the perfect time to knock it out.  It started out this medium brown (it was left at the house we live in when we move in so it didn't cost anything!).  

I painted it with primer because nobody makes gray spray paint apparently :) And then taped off the Batman outline.

Filled in the yellow,

And then the black...

Had the boys "unwrap it".

Voila!  There were a few issues with doing the whole logo with spray paint instead of by hand like I did with the other dresser (click here to see the Spiderman dresser I did last year).  But the boys were happy with it and it kinda has that grungy look that Batman uses as a major theme in Gotham so we're gonna roll with it.  Have a great weekend!

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Bead Table Wednesday...wow it's been a while.

I have a confession to make. I sometimes get a little stressed out over not blogging. Are you a blogger? If you are do you know that feeling?  It's not that I just miss posting, although I do. It's like I feel GUILTY for not posting, sometimes. Am I weird?! Maybe...or maybe it's something else.   My husband is a "lurker"(reads but never comments) on a bazillion blogs totally different from the online circles I frequent.  He sent me this post the other day  by a guy that seems to know a lot about blogging. It was really helpful to me so I thought I'd post it for you bloggers out there that might benefit from it too. Having said all that, I have had a few minutes to myself this morning and hope to be able to get back to posting a little more regularly.

On my bead table today are some leftovers from the Bead Soup Party Conundrum post.

While I did use some of the first batch in one of my final BSBP pieces, I still have a bunch left that I still think go SO well together. So here's to extending the party, right?!

What about you? What's on your Bead Table this Wednesday? Check out the whole gang here on Flickr.

Bead Soup is here!!!

Here's what I sent to my partner Charlotte Penvy of the Infrequent Beader.

 Here is what I received from Charlotte. Isn't is uncanny how similar they are with the exception of the scale of the beads?!  I usually work on a pretty large scale as far as jewelry is concerned (it might have something to do with the fact that I am almost 6 feet tall ;0)). This batch of soup kind of daunted me at first with it's daintiness but I do these parties to stretch my style and abilities so I pledged to "do something different than I normally do" even if it killed me. It didn't. Kill me I mean. I'm still here and extraordinarily happy with the results of my soup.

 The first necklace contains the PMC focal that Charlotte made herself as well as the carnelian teardrop she sent me.

I made the wire loop on the teardrop so that the focal can be adjusted according to the mood of the wearer.

I then used fresh water pearls and labradorite nuggets in a more free form cluster style.

Where's the clasp, you say?! You HAVE to use the clasp! It's the rule!  Here it is!!  I loved the PMC clasp Charlotte made so much that I had to use it as a focal too. A few of the larger turquoise nuggets she sent, a couple green garnet tubes with more pearls brought this delicate yet versatile piece together.

And finally.....I had a *few* beads left over since I was so focused on "less is more".  So what did I do? I went with my regular habit of throwing a bunch of beads into one piece and hoping for the best ;) Well, really I do have a method to my madness but I wont bore you with messy details. See for yourself!  With some of my own beads and findings I added Charlotte's turquoise, carnelian and a few others roped in to make a Tropical Blonde piece "signature look". Big, bright and asymmetrical!

Oh and don't forget the earrings!

I hope you have at least half as much fun as I did with this party!  Hop on, my beady friends, hop on!

A HUGE shout out and thank you to Lori Anderson of Pretty Things for hosting this enormous undertaking and putting up with A LOT this time around. You totally rock the beading world, my friend!  Check out her blog and the full list of partners here. 

Blogging about not blogging (part 2: Aquarium trip)

While my brother was here we all took some time to do some fun stuff besides just hanging out and catching up.  Like the Denver Aquarium!

My Dad with Declyn and they looked like little peas in a pod :)

This is my brother with his baby girl Rhys who you've seen before if you frequent this blog regularly.

Blogging about not blogging: Part 1 Grandma Vivian turned 100!

I haven't posted for a week!  There are several reasons but here is one of the BEST ones!

My great grandmother Vivian turned 100 over Labor Day weekend!

She just moved into an assisted living facility at the beginning of this year and is in FABULOUS shape for her age. She partied like it was....well, her 100th birthday! ;)

Here's the birthday girl with my youngest son, who turns 1 at the end of the month. I think that is cool!

My grandma Marge, Vivian's daughter (my Mom's mom) in purple and my father's mother Margaret in green.

"The Outlaws". Paul, my hubby with Jenni in the denim jacket and Mallory in the floral shirt.

Uncle Vince, his daughter Sarah and my Mom.

Paul took the official pics 

Me with my sisters (in-law but I just kinda skip over that part ;))

Geoff and Mallory

Vince, Josh (cousin) and Paul

Kiddos

Ben, Jenni and Rhys with the star!

My Dad was the MC

So there you go! I have some more stuff going on while my brother Ben is still in town visiting. I DO have some Bead Soup time planned though and since I won't be able to post too many pictures of that I might dig up some other beady goodness for you!