SaraBeth's Belly Dancing Bead Blog

Read! Answer! Win!

2012-01-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already read the latest, February 2012, issue of "Bead & Button" magazine then you need to do so, and quickly.

Margie Deeb is running a 6 part Design & Color Mastery series and to celebrate she and Lark Books are having a little contest.

Here's how to play:
1. Read the article, "Capturing and Keeping Attention" on page 30.
2. E-mail Margie with the correct answers to these three questions:
A. List 3 elements you can use to create contrast in order to attract attention.
B. Where is the eye drawn first when you see a piece of jewelry?
C. Describe the concept of "whole over the parts" emphasis.

The first 4 people who respond correctly will win four Lark Studio Series books. She can't promise you which four, but if there is one you really, really want just let her know when you e-mail her with your answers and she'll see what she can do. You can read more about the books here. Please be sure to include your physical mailing address along with your answers!

*NOTE: By responding, you are giving Margie permission to publish your name (but not your e-mail address) as a winner.

Contest ends January 23, 2012

Remember, don't respond with the answers here on my blog. You must send the answers directly to Margie in order to be eligible.

Good luck!

Here's a sneak peek at one of the attention capturing necklaces featured in the article:

Whose Really In The Details

2011-11-16T10:29:00.001-08:00

I've heard it said that God is in the details. I've also heard it said that it's the devil. Who knows? Not me, that's for sure. What I do know is that changing the width of one or two rows of bead work can take that piece from so-so to fabulous. A minor detail with major impact.

Look at this first sample. It's okay, but it looks a bit weak.

Now this is so much better!

Like I said, a minor detail like matching the width of peyote stitched rows of green and orange with those done ine right angle weave has made a major difference in how this looks.

The Spring/Summer 2012 Color Report for Bead and Jewelry Designers will be out early next year so you'll have to wait until then to see just exactly what this is.

Next up will be something fun with Sodalite Blue.

I'm Enjoying Sweet Lilacs, Margaritas, and The Tangerine Tango

2011-11-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

The somewhat mysterious and yet to be revealed Driftwood, Sweet Lilac, and Cabaret necklace is done. It is so gorgeous and so elegant that it is now my new favorite necklace.

Now I'm moving on to Sweet Lilac with hints of Margarita andTangerineTango in what is about to be my new favorite bracelet. Up above is a paint chip sample palette of the colors and below is a picture of the beads in action.

I really like the way the orange and green are popping away from the lilac, giving it an almost 3D effect.

This is the first time I've used Fireline for simple seed bead weaving. I don't like its crispy, crunchy texture so I only use it occasionally when I'm weaving with lots of crystals. But, I decided to creep out on the limb a little bit and use it along with something else I'm not a big fan of; four bead right angle weave. And guess what? I'm really loving the results.

And then there's Cockatoo

2011-10-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here are the three main colors I'll be working with for the Spring/Summer 2012 Color Report. From left to right we have Driftwood, Sweet Lilac, and Sodalite Blue.

A visit from the Snot Monster at the beginning of the month followed by a 10 day migraine cluster have left me woefully behind on my projects so I haven't had time to photograph the project I'm working on. I'm using Driftwood, with Sweet Lilac as the secondary color, and accents of Cabaret, a deep rich fuchsia. I'm making a slightly modified version of Beki Haley's "Twinkle, Twinkle" necklace. If you click on the link it will take you to Beki's kit page and that will give you an idea of what I'm making.

This link will take you to the Pantone website where you can see all the Spring/Summer 2012 colors and take a brief color survey.

I've always said that I like and can work with all colors. Not true. I don't think I'll ever be able to work with Cockatoo. I absolutely hate this color. Hate it! In my mind this is the color of sickness and fear.

When I was 4-6 years old my Mom was in and out of hospitals having all sorts of scary, hush-hush, and mysterious surgeries. My brother and I would come home from school and she would just be gone. One of my Grandmother's widowed sisters would be there to take care of us; my Dad would come home late from work every night after visiting hours were over and then spend most of the weekends at the hospital, but we would never allowed to visit her. Even after she came home we weren't allowed to see her, the bedroom door was always closed. And every time she came home from the hospital she would have all these plastic bedside accessories; a small water pitcher, soap box, toothbrush holder, etc. and they were this exact color.

I find my own reaction completely astonishing; four decades later and I still can't look at this color without getting upset.

On A Journey

2011-10-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick post to let everyone know that I finally split this blog into two; one devoted mostly to beading, and the other to my journey as a belly dancer. Please give it a look see: SaraBeth's Belly Dance Journey.

I was in a hurry to get the new blog up and running so I'll be tweaking it every now and then, whenever I find the time to play. I've also decided to keep the same name for this, my beading blog, since there will be some cross posting and mainly because I like it.

I've started my next round of color report project for Spring/Summer 2012 and will be talking more about that later in the week after I've got myself caught up on a few things here and there.

What's In A Name

2011-09-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

A rose by any other would name would smell as sweet, right? Of course it would. But this isn't about roses, this is about splitting my belly dancing bead blog into two separate blogs in preparation for the changes that are to come in both my beading and belly dance life.

I'm going to keep the name "SaraBeth's Belly Dancing Bead Blog" for the beady part of my life simply because I like it, but I do need a few suggestions for the belly dance blog. So don't be shy! Speak up and throw a few ideas at me!

I'm still going strong with my 365 Days of Dance practice and I have something new and exciting planned for my 365 Days of ??? in 2012. There will also be some interesting and fun things happening in my belly dance life very soon.

I recently came to the conclusion that having my life speeding along at Mach 1 was no longer acceptable, so I've decided to rev things up a bit by remodeling the house. I'll be temporarily giving up my bead closet for a bigger and better one, storing my stash in different parts of the house, and doing most of my beading for the upcoming Spring/Summer 2012 color report in the kitchen. That, in turn, means we'll be eating lots of take-out and delivery on TV trays in the living room.

It's possible that I may be completely, totally, and utterly insane by December.

Margie Is Doing A BOGO

2011-09-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

Beautiful lampwork brooch by Kristy Nijenkamp

My bad! I forgot to mention in my Sept. 7th post that Margie is doing a BOGO with the most recent color report.

When you buy a copy of the Fall/Winter 2011 report she'll send you a link to a free copy of the very first ever color report, Fall/Winter 2008. But hurry because this is for a limited time only.

Click here for the link to her website.

Seeing The World Through Indigo Eyes

2011-09-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Jennifer VanBenschoten asked the artist panel for her "Beading Daily Blog" the following question; "What are your favorite colors to work with? What are you least favorite colors to work with?" You can read my answer, as well as what other bead artists had to say by clicking on the link above.

Any combination of purples, violets, greens, yellows, and golds have always been, and will probably always be my all time favorite, and I've always found palettes that are sophisticated, bold, elegant, or sensual to be the most exciting for me to work with; something magical, like this:

Have you ever heard the expression that motherhood changes everything? Trust me on this, it does, and in ways that you can't imagine if you don't have children. Color preference was something I definitely never considered, but after my daughter was born the range of color combinations that I liked started to include subdued, romantic, delicate hues, like this:

Same colors, different moods.

I love that having a daughter named Indigo has helped me to see everything, not just color, in an entirely new way.

I'm seeing the world through Indigo eyes.

And before I close this post I must tell you that the "Fall/Winter 2011 Color Report" by Margie Deeb is now available for purchase on her website. Take a look at the necklace I made for Deep Teal on page 11. I'm really pleased with the way that it turned out since blues and browns is one of my favorite color combinations. After you're done admiring my necklace take a look at Jamie Hogsett's interpretation of Deep Teal on page 18. She created an amazing 2-strand asymmetrical beaded bead necklace in Deep Teal, Ember Glow, and Quarry.

August Went Whoosh!

2011-08-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Does anybody know what happened to August? I seem to have missed most of it, which is highly unusual for me because this month has always appeared to be one boring, sweltering hot day after another.

Thank goodness we've had all sorts of doctor's appointments to liven things up.

My daughter developed a nasty, scary infection in the blocked tear duct of her right eye which resulted in my having to put drops in her eye and convince her to drink some horrible "bubblegum" flavored liquid antibiotic three times a day. The drops were easy enough, I put those into her eye while she was sleeping. The neon pink obnoxious smelling antibiotic was a different story. I tasted the stuff and it was truly disgusting so I can't blame her for not wanting to drink it.

And, the doctor wanted to keep a close watch on the infection to make sure it didn't spread into the eye itself which meant taking her for quick trips to his office every 2 days in the 110+ heat.

And I'm getting ready for corrective eye surgery, internal contact lenses, next month and that has involved my own round of eye related appointments.

So, all this means that there were several afternoons when I simply didn't want to do anything, let alone 30 minutes of dancing. I almost convinced myself that I was absolutely raving, batty, crazy for even thinking about it. Crazy I may be, but I'm also persistent. It was a listless, dull practice with a heavy dose of "I couldn't care less.", but at least I did it.

I'm still devoting the rest of this month to getting caught up on some neglected crochet projects and I have yet to buy a new camera. I'm just not in the mood to deal with pushy sales people right now.

Another Sneak Peek

2011-08-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

My color report projects are done, done done! Yipee!!! I love doing these bi-annual reports but I was getting a bit tired of being in my self imposed bead cave.

So here is a sneak peek at one of the pieces I made using "Deep Teal." I apologize for the quality of the picture, my camera has gone kaput on me so I had to make do with the document scanner. This bracelet is gorgeous, if I do say so myself. All of those 6mm indicolite crystals and green Swarovski pearls sparkle and glow so much prettier in person. This is my "Dancing Light Crystal Cuff" from the Dec. '05/Jan. '06 issue of Beadwork magazine.

Now that this bead frenzy is over I plan on devoting much of August to finishing up the 4 or 5 crochet projects that I've been neglecting and a bit of fun beading for myself.

When I used to work for Beyond Beadery I would make large, elaborate, super sparkly jewelry to wear with the fabulous beaded velvet burnout shawls that Betcey got me hooked on and skirts made from vintage saris. So now that I'm a work at home Mom I feel like my jewelry wardrobe could use some simpler, more every day types of things to wear. I'll also be on the look out for a new camera.

Namaste!

P.S. Betcey isn't responsible for my addiction to clothing made from vintage sari skirts. I did that all by myself.

Costume Idea Sneak Peek

2011-07-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is, folks. Here's my costume; a pink silk shirt. It is a puzzlement, isn't it? This doesn't look very belly dancer-ish. But, I'm hoping it can be because this is a very special shirt

This blouse is one of only two presents my Grandpa ever bought for me. Shopping for gifts just wasn't his thing. Christmas and birthday presents were always bought by my Grandma and labeled "From Grandma & Grandpa." When we got older Gramps started giving all of us grand kids an envelope with money in it. Let's face it, to a bunch or adolescents a crisp $50 bill is a damned good present!

Anyway, shortly after he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer he and Grandma took one last trip together up and down the West Coast. In a little jewelry store in San Fransisco he bought a gray pearl necklace for me, and a boutique in the Pearl District of Oregon is where he found this blouse.

So why would I want to turn it into a belly dance costume and not just continue to wear it? Because, the last time it came back from the dry cleaners it had yellow stains around the bottom and a small reddish, watery, looking stain on the back. You can't see them in the picture, but trust me, they are there. At first the dry cleaner told me that my shirt seemed to be lost and offered to reimburse me for it, provided I had a receipt. The idea that it was a gift never really registered with the manager or the owners. Then, about a week later they called and said it had been found. To this day I still think an employee or someone associated with that place took it and wore it. They didn't tell me about the stains, either. I had to discover those for myself. My shirt was ruined. I have never been able to get the blotches out and over the years I have repeatedly tried.

I've come to terms with the fact that it's unwearable, but I still can't part with it. So, I have two, possibly three, ideas. The first you already know about, a belly dance costume. I'll have to consult with a local costume fairy to find out if this is a good fabric to use as the base of a bra and belt or if there will be enough after the stains are cut away. The second idea is to turn it into a beaded art doll and the third is to have it made into a purse. Either way I'll still be able to my Grandpa's gift.

And in closing I'd like to say that I have reached Day 200 of my belly dance practice and will be celebrating with pizza and gelato!

Almost Finished!

2011-06-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

I'm fast approaching the wire with this necklace! It just needs a bit more embellishing and a clasp.

I'm debating between making some sort of beaded clasp or using one of the leaf toggles that you see in the picture above. And if I use the leaf toggle, should it be antique brass or copper. I'm leaning towards the copper because it goes so well with the orange beads and crystals.

I know which projects from Marcia DeCoster's book I'll be using. But, will it be made with Deep Teal or Orchid Hush? I can't tell you because I don't know. I'll have to do a bit of seed bead hunting before I decide. Sadly, hunting for seed beads is not all that easy in my area. There are lots and lots of bead stores in the Greater Phoenix area, but very few of them have much in the way of a good seed bead selection. Working and traveling for Beyond Beadery for so many years and being friends with Beki and Shawn from Out On A Whim has spoiled me when it comes to the idea of what a good selection of seed beads really is.

Approaching 200

2011-06-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

No. That's not my age or my weight. I'm just 7 days away from practicing belly dance for 200 days, or 9,295 minutes. When I hit Day 200 I'll reveal my idea for the costume that I plan on rewarding myself. For now all I'm going to tell you is that it involves the color pink.

And guess what? Yesterday almost saw the end of my dancing streak.

It's a long, stupid story that starts with my hair stylist running 20 minutes behind schedule and ends with me having a low blood sugar crash which left me having some serious thoughts about not practicing at all. But after a bit of ruminating I realized that I haven't let colds, migraines, pulled muscles, insane bead publishing related deadlines, or a broken foot stop me from finding some way to practice each day so I decided I wasn't going to let a silly little thing like low blood sugar stand in my way.

Most of this week's practice has been dedicated to getting caught up with the new content at GypsyNet, Ansuya Rathor's on-line belly dance classes, so I decided to revisit one of the zils classes taught by her mother, Jenaeni. The first half of each 30-40 minute zil lesson is taught sitting on the floor practicing a single rhythm before standing up and combining it with some simple moves which don't require too much in the way of energy.

Even if it was the most lackluster dance session I've ever done I felt the need to reward myself with something chocolatey or purpleish. Or maybe something involving purple and chocolate... Like maybe some lavender hot chocolate... Curious? Click here for the recipe.

And now you know why I have a picture of lavender at the top of this post!

*lavender image provided by FreeDigitalPhotos

Isn't It Romantic?

2011-06-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

N'est-il pas romantique? Aren't all those random threads just lovely? Here's some bits and pieces of the necklace that I've been working on in the orange, green, and brown colors that I blogged about earlier.

I'm combining 3 different components from Lisa Kan's book, Bead Romantique, into this one necklace. I'm actually much further along that what you see in the picture. Think crystals. Oh so many sparkly crystals! And one sweet little herringbone flower.

A bit of fringe? Perhaps. Or not. Even though I'm working within in the confines of a specific palette and project I'm still not completely planning this piece from beginning to end. I very rarely ever plan out what I'm going to make. I usually start with a "somewhat idea" in mind and go from there. The second color that I'll be working with is "Deep Teal" and I have somewhat of an idea that I'll be using some components from Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence. Or not.

I'm genuinely surprised by how much I like this necklace. Like I said before, this is usually not one of my favorite color combinations because it's too classically Autumn.

10 Is A Magical Number

2011-06-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

Remember that 10 day practice theory that I talked about in my post about the Rachel Brice workshops? Well, it really, really works!

Rather than waiting until all my bead work related deadlines were met and I had enough time to create my own 10 day practice I decided to jump right in with one of Rachel Brice's DVDs. For my experiment I used the 45 minute practice session from her "Tribal Fusion Belly Dance: Yoga, Isolations, and Drills: A Practice Companion with Rachel Brice." If you're not into Tribal or Fusion styles of belly dancing please don't let that title fool you. The isolations and drills are universal and can be applied to any style.

I think I know what is on you mind right about now. You're thinking that if you do the same practice for 10 straight days, especially if it's from a DVD, that you will get very bored very quickly. Trust me, you won't, not if you know how to practice.

I spent the first 2 days getting familiar with the practice then picked something different like arm paths, zils, or layering to make each day a little different and challenging. One day, when I was feeling overly tired and had a nasty, nagging, backache, I did the entire practice sitting or laying on the floor.

What results did I see? Exactly what I was hoping for; more flexibility and range of motion when doing upper body isolations. My upper body undulations have always been smooth, but somewhat small because my upper back, shoulders, chest area are too tight. But now I'm gaining the ability to create a larger, more dynamic undulation.

While I'm working towards completing my next bead related deadline I'm going to keep on doing the 10 day practice with different DVDs from my ever growing collection. The question is, which one? I have about 50 or so to choose from.

Three in One

2011-06-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that three deadlines were successfully meeted and greeted this past weekend and I am now able to leave my bead cave for a few hours here and there, mostly for belly dance classes and troupe rehearsal. I sent off a few submissions to Stringing magazine to be considered for the Winter 2011 issue, as well as a few submissions to Margie Deeb to be photographed for a call for entry for Lark Books' upcoming 500 Beaded Jewelry. Wish me luck on that last one. It's an international call and I know my pieces are going to be up against some tough competition. One of those pieces is the black matte, bright green, and red necklace I was complaining....um...talking about on Facebook. Black matte seed beads, black thread, and a highly reflective green cabochon. Oh, my aching eyes! Even if it doesn't make it in the book, I'm especially proud of that necklace. Trust me, it's amazing and eventually, one way or another, you'll be able to see a picture of it. The third deadline was some behind the scenes help that Margie asked if I could do for her for the upcoming Fall 2011 Pantone Color Report.

And speaking of which; my 4th deadline is just that, the color report. One of my chosen colors is "Ember Glow," a bright, juicy orange, which I will be pairing with "Cedar" and "Coffee Liquer."

After my color report projects are finished I'm looking forward to having a little bit of time to bead just for me and to finishing up a few crochet projects that have been calling to me. I need to have something fabulous to wear, clothing and jewelry wise, to a few uber terrific belly dance events coming up in the Fall.

So, for now I'll leave you with a picture of my color choices and some of the raw materials I'll be using. I'll be posting some progress pictures in a few days.

The Rachel Brice Weekend

2011-06-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

"Fantababricealicous" is how Heidi Alexander described Rachel Brice, and I have to add that Rachel's business partner, Sol, was "supersolireffic." Both of them are warm, friendly, funny, borderline goofy people, which made for a delightful atmosphere. Rachel effortlessly used her warmth and humor to create a safe, positive, and inviting environment for all levels of dancers. To say "inviting" may sound strange, but I've taken workshops and classes from instructors who intimidate people with a "don't question just do" attitude and glare daggers at anyone who dares to sit down for a few minutes to take notes, get a drink of water or, rest.

Each day the workshops began with yoga, and you know that anything involving yoga is a good thing in my book. Next came strength building exercises, isolation drills, and combos that gradually sped up so that we also had ourselves a great cardio workout. After 2 hours we were treated to a chocolate break. Yes, you read that right chocolate! I think they may have been some other snacks, too.

At the end of the day we cooled down with some more yoga, followed by Rachel leading us in a chant to honor all of her belly dancer teachers and their instructors, and finally ending with a zaghareet to honor all dancers everywhere. That last part always had me a little bit teary-eyed.

One of the topics Rachel touched on was how to create a home practice. One of her tips, taught to her by her yoga teacher, Gary Kraftsow, was to formulate a practice, do it for 10 days, then change it. I really like that idea and I'll be giving it a trial run in the next week or so and incorporating some of her other ideas, like "scales" and "stacking."

And then there's the show Saturday night! Yowsa wowsa! Rachel performed twice, along with Elissa & Melissa, Ellisha, Ava Fleming, Heidi Alexander, Eric Salazar, Bastet, Yasmina, Anaya Tribal, and Helena Vlahos. After the show Rachel and a few of the other dancers had a little meet & greet for photos and autographs.

I have now been dancing for 176 days, 8,453 minutes.

I'm also a busy l'il beadin' bee right now with 4 deadlines to meet in between now and mid-July. Some of it I can share with you and some things I can't.

A Quick Quickie

2011-06-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

Wow! 10+ hours of belly dancing with Rachel Brice, plus a show featuring her, some amazing local dancers, and 2 guest dancers from New Mexico. What a weekend!

I came home yesterday afternoon to a snack of milk and homemade chocolate cookies, then my husband, daughter, and I went out for a nice relaxing dinner.

Today I am catching up on e-mails, phone calls, and laundry (yuck), as well as trying to rest up a bit before I head off to 3 hours of some serious belly dancing butt kicking by Sgt. Ava Fleming. I'll have a more detailed workshop & show post in a day or two.

A Date With Insomnia And Rachel Brice

2011-06-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I did it, but by golly, I did. With only a whopping 3 hours of sleep from Thursday into Friday I managed to make it through an intense 2 1/2 hour workshop last night with the fabulous, slinky, and smoky Rachel Brice.

Last night started and ended with some yoga. That is always a good thing in my book. And sandwhiched in between we worked on some fun combos, technique, and belly dancer "scales." I'll clarify that later.

I wonder what she has in store for us today?

Back By Popular Demand!

2011-05-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

Two of my most popular beaded bead designs, Dolphino and Anemone, are back and available here, at Margie Deeb's website.

I took a few years away from publishing and designing to concentrate solely on Mommyhood, but now I'm so thrilled to be back. First there was that happy accident in April when I found out that 6 of my previously published designs were featured in "The Best of Creative Jewelry." You can read more about that in this earlier post. And it just keeps getting better! Back in February I created some bracelet designs to be considered for the gallery of the Fall 2011 issue of Stringing. I'm happy to report that one of those designs was selected.

So here I am, slowly making my way back into Beadlandia, belly dancing and practicing yoga along the way. Yup! I'm still keeping up with my 365 Days of Dance and my recent re-commitment to a daily yoga practice.

As an aside, I thought about calling this post "Snot Monsters & Bead Patterns," but decided that might be a bit too gross. But it does give you an idea of how my week started. The Snot Monster decided to pay us a visit on Sunday and hopefully he'll be leaving soon. I'm exhausted, but exhilarated.

And For My Next Trick.....

2011-05-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

...yoga!!! In addition to my 365 Days of Dance I decided to try Gaiam's 21 Day Yoga Challenge just to see where it would lead me. I'm happy to say that it has been leading me to a good place.

Fourteen days into the challenge and I'm already seeing and feeling some phenomenal changes in my mind and body. Mentally I'm enjoying a quieter mind, better sleep, and more energy during the day, which has led to a brighter outlook in general. Yoga goodness! Physically I'm starting to create more stability in my body by creating more balance in my flexibility. I have a good deal of stretchiness in my legs, hips, and back, but my arms, shoulders, and chest are tight. But less so after the best 2 weeks, and that has led to some remarkable changes in my dancing. More yoga goodness!!

It's only May, but I've been wondering how I was going to follow up this dance challenge and now I'm toying with the idea of making 2012 My Year of Yoga. Wonder what I'll do in 2013? Just kidding! Some days, I have a hard enough time knowing what I'll be doing from one minute to the next so planning my life that far in advance just ain't going to happen. For right now, let's see how far I beyond 21 days of yoga I can go.

Namaste!!

Belly Dance Stats: 152 days of dance for 7,114 minutes. Pretty cool, eh?

*Woman doing yoga image provided by FreeDigitalPhotos

Happy Accident, Happy Me

2011-04-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

What's the accident? What's making me so happy? Five, count' em, five of my designs are featured in "The Best of Creative Jewelry" magazine! (Well, actually 6. Number 29 in the earring gallery is my design, but is accidentally credited to another designer.) What is accidental about it? I had no idea some of my designs were going to be republished.

Whenever I drop by Barnes & Noble to restock the "To Read" pile on my nightstand I usually take a look-see at what's new in the magazine racks before I book shop and that is how I stumbled upon this.

My first impulse was to run home right then and there to show my husband, but I somehow managed to make myself finish my intended book shopping and all those other mundane errands I had to do. You know....grocery shopping...trip to the bank...so unimportant when you suddenly find yourself published in a magazine.

There are so many of other fabulous designer featured in here as well; Jean Campbell, Dustin Wedekind, Michelle Mach, Jamie Hogsett, Leslie Rogalski, Lorelei Eurto, Kerry Bogert, Andrew Thorton.....the list just goes on and on.

In no particular order, some of my favorite designs are; necklaces "Crimson Magic," by Stephanie Glickman, and "Caribbean Blue," by Bonnie Clewans; bracelets, "Axis," by Nina Cooper and Leah Rivers, and "Bali Silver & Iolite," by Nancy Chase. Earrings #1, 6, 20, and 30 also grabbed my attention

I have to be honest, my beady ego has been feeling a bit deflated lately which makes this one helluva much needed boost.

Anyway, here's a sneak peek at one of my bracelet designs.

And for those of you who are following my belly dance practice commitment, I am at 128 continuous days of dancing for a total of 6,138 minutes. Pretty good, eh?

Crystal AB Teaser

2011-03-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of one of the bracelets that I'll be wearing in Mujeres Tres, an annual belly dance/flamenco show, on Saturday, April 9th.

This bracelet was given to me by my 93 year old Grandma. Her memory is a bit spotty, but she thinks she bought it somewhere back in the 1950's. Unfortunately there are no hallmarks on the clasp so I have no idea of who made it, but the lack of a hallmark also makes me feel safe in restringing it. It's lasted this long, but I'd really rather not take a chance on it suddenly breaking, especially on a dance stage.

I originally wanted to make a 3-strand necklace to accompany this, but I just don't have enough of all of those yummy vintage Swarovski crystal AB beads. So much for Plan A. Plan B had me taking a shopping trip through my bead stash where I found this!

It's actually a chandelier earring finding. Yikes!!! At roughly 1 1/4" long & wide, it's much too large for me to even want to wear it as an earring, but it does make a great pendant. I do have some of the beads that are in the bracelet in my stash so I'll be able to whip up a little something in no time.

I Just Don't Know What To Say

2011-03-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

Recently I came across a blog post about belly dancing with the title "Belly Dance Aficionados" and a secondary title of "The Underbelly of Belly Dance." I've read this through three times now and I'm still dumbfounded. This is probably the most vicious attack on Belly Dance that I've ever encountered.

This isn't the usual "Belly Dance is stripping" tirade. I'm actually used to that and for the most part I just calmly walk away from that sort of encounter. No, this blog post written a few months ago by Kidist Paulos Asrat, considers belly dance a "limited art form" in which "The hype (sequins) is much bigger than the content."

Miz Asrat studied belly dance for two years as first an exercise and then "as a way perfect a dance form" before quitting because she "realized the limited art in the field."

She refers to belly dancing movements as being overtly erotic, likening them to feats of contortionist, especially where the abdominal region is concerned. This leaves me thinking that she quit because she was frustrated by her own limits within the art form. But that is just my opinion, you'll have to read her post for yourself and make your own decision.

Her final sentence is what confuses me the most. I thought about quoting it here in it's entirety, but I don't want to spoil the surprise.

P.S. I deliberately chose the picture for this post because I love the arrogant and slightly amused look on her face. I like to think that she doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks. Sort of like me.

Get While The Getting's Good

2011-03-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

For a limited time, April 15th to be exact, Margie Deeb is giving away free instructions for my Dolphino Beaded Beads when you purchase a copy of the Spring/Summer 2011 color report. Those are the little beauties you see in the picture above.

She's also continuing to give away her bead weaving patterns until their all free. This month it's "Freida's Callas" in both loom and square stitch as well as brick or peyote stitch.

That's all the beady news for now! My package of crystals arrived today so I'll be working up something fabulous for myself to wear in Mujeres Tres, a belly dance/flamenco show I'll be performing in on April 9th at the Tempe Arts Center.

I'll post pictures sometime next week, but in the meantime I'll leave you with a hint. Crystal AB, a little bit modern, a little bit vintage.

Also, keep a look out for 2 belly dance related posts that I have brewing in my head. Hopefully I'll be able to get to those next week as well.

It's A Helluva Time To Have A Fever!

2011-03-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

Spring fever, that is. Flowers are blooming, roses are blooming, the air smells like orange blossoms, and the grass is turning green. This is what I half-jokingly call "Hammock Weather." And I love it. Only.....it seems to be creating a bit of havoc with my practice. Lately my shimmies have gone from leftrightleftrightleftrightleftright to leffffft.......riiiiiight.......leffffft......riiiiiight and my clean, sharp pops & locks have turned to mush.

My brain says "Get busy, busy, busy! Summer hibernation is just around the corner!" but my body just isn't responding. I think I'm twitterpated. But, sleepy spring laziness aside I have faithfully managed to keep up my belly dance practice every day since Dec. 14th for a total of 4,422 minutes or 73 hours and 42 minutes.

Is anybody else experiencing Spring Fever? What are you doing about it? Fighting it? Going with the flow?

BTW, I forgot to mention in my post about color that my Grandma will be turning 93 in July. 93!!!! And she still lives in her own house and is mostly able to take care of herself. 93!!! She would scold me something fierce if she knew I was revealing her age, but I think it's something to be proud of.
*Purple Tulip image provided by Tom Curtis of FreeDigitalPhotos

Color, Color, Color!!

2011-03-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

I've been writing so much about my belly dance practice lately that I'm feeling a bit guilty about neglecting the beady side of my blog. So here it is, at long last, a bead related post about color.

I love color! Ever since I was a little girl I've been obsessed with color and the desire to "collect" it and I have my Grandmother to thank for my color fixation. She used to crochet, embroider, tat, sew, and quilt so she always had bags of scrap fabrics, odd bits of yarn and embroidery threads, etc. for me to play with.

Her own love of color was reflected in the way she decorated her house. After living with one particular color scheme for a few years she would redecorate every single room. And I'm talking drastic changes! She went from green, yellow, and tan to cream, peach, and turquoise; followed by a cream, gold, and pink phase that was patiently tolerated by my Grandfather; to somber and moody burgundy, navy, ivory, bronze, and dark brown after he died. When her house burned down she rebuilt with a painted desert color scheme and recently she has moved on to red, black, gray, and white. If people could be inanimate objects in another life I strongly suspect that she was a kaleidoscope.

I don't have my Grandmother's flair for interior design so I satisfy my color craving with beads, yarn, embroidery floss, nail polish, and my latest obsession......paper. I recently started an art journal and My! Oh, my! There's a whole new world of color available to me in the form on fancy journal papers, stickers, stamps, inks, markers, pencils, and about a bazillion other things I have yet to discover.

And what does this have to do with beads? Art journaling with beads!!! Just think of the possibilities!!!

*watercolor image provided by FreeDigitalPhotos

Enough Already!!!

2011-03-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

For some people the hurdle in their 365 Days of Dance could be something like boredom or lack of time. But for me, my personal hurdle seems to be injuries.

At the beginning of February I pulled some muscles in my back and before the month was through I had done some funky, weird, painful thing to my left foot when I tripped while cleaning the house. February is the shortest month of the year. Just think of the damage I can do to myself in a longer month! And if I am going to hurt myself it could at least be some sort of dance related injury instead of silly, little everyday mishaps. That way I can feel satisfied in knowing that I am suffering for my art.

On Monday my belly dance troupe filmed some audition DVDs and I made it through that okay. But now I plan on trying to stay off my feet as much as possible for the rest of this week and possibly the next.

That means I'm going to have to modify my practice again. While I'm letting my foot heel I'll be adding some seated yoga postures and some floor-barre to upper body isolations and arm work.

I'm also seriously thinking about getting a few Zena Rommett DVD's, and maybe her book, so I have so a few more injury recuperation options. Zena created a unique program of ballet exercises that allows dancers with injuries to safely and effectively work their technique while lying on the floor. I still have a copy of the first VHS she ever released of her method. I'm hanging onto it thinking that it maybe a collectors item, but it's sort of useless since I don't have a tape player.

Lucky for me this is National Crochet Month so this will give me plenty of time to finish up some WIP's (works-in-progress.)

Injuries aside I've been dancing now for 78 days and 3,790 minutes.

Take A Deep Breath And Hit "Send"

2011-02-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

I've been a regular contributor to a variety of bead publications for the past 11 years, but I found myself to be a little bit nervous and a lot bit excited today when I sent off the electronic portion of my submissions for the Fall 2011 issue of Stringing magazine.

I submitted 4 bracelets to be considered for the gallery portion of the magazine. I had plans for making a few necklaces and some earrings, but those ideas fell by the wayside while I did battle with the Snot Monster.

Motherhood has been the main focus over the past three years so my nervousness comes from feeling somewhat out of touch with the beading community. On the one hand, I've never been much of a trend follower, but on the other hand, I do believe I need to at least be aware of what the current fashions are all the rage in Beadlandia.

Wish me luck!

In the meantime, you can see some of my recent work in the Spring 2011 issue of Margie Deeb's Color Report for Bead and Jewelry Designers. And just for this color report, with each purchase, Margie is including a free PDF of instructions for my lovely, lovely Dolphino beaded beads, as seen in the picture above.

Now for a bit of belly dance news:

Three days of rehearsal while doing battle with the aforementioned Snot Monster has left me exhausted, but I've still been able to keep up with my 365 Days of Belly Dance challenge. I'm currently at 89 days and 3,520 minutes of dancing.

Sadly, with all these extra rehearsals I had to give up my tribal class, at least for now. I may be able to return to class in mid-April after the Mujeres 3 show on April 9th. Happily, I did sign up for 6 months of on-line classes with Ansuya and I'll be doing those at least once and possibly twice a week.

Oh, My Aching Back!

2011-02-10T09:40:00.000-08:00

See that picture? I just wanted to show you what I have not been doing lately. I stupidly pulled the same muscles in my back twice within a few days of each other which means that I've had to seriously modify my practice this week.

Hurting my back forced me to miss rehearsal on Sunday. I was not happy. A sick husband and child had me missing class as well rehearsal on Monday. I was not happy in the extreme. This week did not start out well, but I'm determined that it will have a better ending.

I love, love, love yoga!! It always seem to be good for whatever is ailing a person. Almost 10 years ago a yoga instructor and a physical therapist worked with me to create a program to heal and strengthen my lower back after I herniated 2 disks. Yoga has also helped me to control the almost daily migraines I have suffered with for most of my adult life.

Since Sunday my practice has consisted of the back pain yoga sequence from the book Yoga As Medicine and the 30 minute isolations and drills from Rachel Brice's Tribal Fusion Belly Dance DVD; which meant that by yesterday I was able to attend a tribal belly dance class. Yipee!!

My back is still a bit sore and I'm very aware of those pulled muscles when I move just right, but the debilitating spasms are gone and that makes me happy. And now that my hubby and kidlet are also on the mend I am extremely happy.

I love happy endings, don't you?

*belly dance clip art provided by: Me'ira's Clip Art for Oriental Dancers

To Thine Own Self Bead True

2011-02-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

To thine own self bead true.....that's the lesson I learned while working on the Spring/Summer 2011 Pantone color report. Back in December I wrote a post about the color scheme you see below for one of my projects with the idea of using it in a bead embroidered heart pendant.

But as you can see from this picture, the results were less than stellar.

In a word....yuck! I don't know what I was thinking. Well, actually I do. I was thinking I was going to make this absolutely stunning, complex, over the top bead embroidered pendant that would have people sighing "Oooh!" and "Aaah!" And that's just not me. I definitely want my bead work to be considered stunning, but I also want it to be classy & elegant. So I scrapped this whole idea and decided to go back to what I do best, good ol' classy & elegant. Here's what I came up with.

Now this is more like it! This is me! Only three colors; lavender, green, & gold with some fabulous beaded beads designed by yours truly, faceted amethyst nuggets, and of course, Swarovski crystal.

Of course I can't end this post without letting you all know that I'm still dancing strong at 50 days and 2,274 hours.

Zombie Mommy Improves Her Shimmy In Less Than 60 Seconds

2011-01-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

I apologize for not posting in a while. My daughter sometimes has night terrors, which turns me into a one brain celled Zombie Mommy and her into a Cranky Face. It's hard to string words into coherent sentences when you're suffering from sleep deprivation. It also makes for a lackluster belly dance practice, but I'm still going strong at 46 days and 1,793 hours. Which leads me to my promised post about how to improve your shimmy in less than 60 seconds.

Two weeks ago I was making my way through rush hour traffic to a make-up Tribal belly dance class and listening to a traffic report when I became aware of something unusual going on with the traffic ahead of me. Unusual in the sense that there was a rusty orange little sporty type car HEADED STRAIGHT FOR ME!! Lucky for me that the left turn lane that I frantically swerved into was empty of other cars and the #$%^!!& sporty car driver flew on by, and fortunately all the other cars behind me were able to get out of his, or her, way as well.

Fuming, furious, and shaking like a leaf I made it safely to class a few minutes later and shimmied my way into the class room. I shimmied through the warm-up, the drills, the learning of a few new moves and cues, the improve leading portion of the class, and through the cool down.

So now I know that the secret to a good shimmy is having the pants scared off of me. But my advise to you would be to keep up with the practicing. It's safer and you'll have fewer gray hairs for it.

P.S. Later that night I checked the local news reports and didn't see anything about an accident caused by a deranged driver in a rusty orange car, so I'm hoping the idiot either removed himself from the road or the police did.

How Am I Doing?

2011-01-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

I'm doing just great! I've been dancing for 35 days and 1192 hours. I like seeing those hours add up, and hopefully, so do you. I mean, you all know I've committed myself to 365 days of dancing so I thought I'd show the hours I've danced, too.

So far I've been dividing my time between class & troupe "homework," videos, on-line video drills, and occasionally breaking my practice into 3 10 minute sessions.

When I'm facing a publishing deadline, or am having a day like today when I have the attention span of a goldfish, those little bites of belly dance come in super handy.

Getting back to those dancing hours; plan on seeing them increase dramatically over the next few months. The fearless leader of my troupe, The Black Opals, has called for extra rehearsals on Sundays and Wednesdays to teach us some Persian dances that we'll be performing in March and April. I'll keep you posted as to some of those dates.

I'm excited, and a bit scared, when it comes to learning these new dances. As a classically trained dancer with decades of experience under my belt, I'm not worried about the technical end of learning something new. I know I can learn and execute the moves without any problems. It's the cultural aspects that have me a bit scared since some of the dates we have scheduled are for primarily Iranian audiences. I'm really, really scared that I'll make some sort of cultural faux pas on the stage.

And, from what I understand, the authentic Persian costumes we are going to be borrowing are very, very expensive. *gulp*

Oh! And check back in with me in a day or two and I'll tell you how to dramatically improve your shimmy in less than 60 seconds.

By golly, I did it!

2011-01-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

Today has most definitely been on of "those" days. I was too wired last night after belly dance class and troupe to settle down to sleep until a little after 1:00 AM. Round about 3:00, my darling daughter woke up crying, wanting Mommy, and wanting her NOW!!

Most of the time I can sleep just fine with her in bed with me, but this was not one of those times. She was restless, rolling all over the bed, and taking the blankets with her, so "Goodbye!" to sleep for me. I won't go into the sad details of how the rest of the early morning hours went, but believe me when I say it wasn't good.

The end result is that it is now 4:30 in the afternoon Arizona time and I've had roughly 2 to 3 hours of sleep.

30 minutes of belly dance? That's just freakin' stupid crazy. I don't want to do anything! What's wrong with me? Why did I sign myself up for this? Someone please hit me with The Stupid Stick!!

But I did it anyway. I reviewed the hip slide and twist drills from last night's class. My tantrum is over and I'm a good girl and I deserve a lollipop.

Take that, sleep deprivation! Consider yourself bopped on the nose with a zil.

So that officially makes me 29 days and 932 hours into my challenge.

What Moves You To Move?

2011-01-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

So just what exactly is your motivation behind your commitment to the "365 Days of Belly Dance?"

Today Lisa Zahiya wrote a blog post about her snow driving adventure and asked "What motivates you? Does accountability help?"

I say, "Hell, yes!" Accountability does help.

I've been blogging and posting on FB about my commitment, so just knowing that you all know keeps me motivated. My troupe mates are also routing for me and I don't want to let them down.

I don't want to let me down either.

Some other things that are urging me on are the desire to be a better dancer, lose the last of the baby weight I gained about 3 years ago, tone and tighten some of the jiggly bits, and well....to put it bluntly, bragging rights.

But the biggest motivating force in my life is my daughter. My own mother didn't provide much for me in the way of a role model which makes it over-the-top important for me to be a good role model for her.

So now I'm asking what motivates you? Does accountability help?

Just Keep Dancing, Dancing, Dancing!

2011-01-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

I am officially 22 days and 656 hours into my 365 Days of Dancing! WooHOOO!!

And tonight, if luck be with me and my hubby makes it home in time, I'll be making another foray into the world of Tribal style belly dancing. I've tried Tribal style twice in the past few years and both times came away intensely disappointed. One studio switched from a superior to an inferior teacher about mid way through the session and the second class was canceled after a few weeks due to lack of participation. I've heard that the third time is a charm. We'll see about that.

If you're not interested in a belly dance or a dance related challenge, how about some other these other challenge/commitments?

Jennifer VanBenschoten, beadwork guide for about.com has committed herself to making one pair of earrings a day for the month of January.

If earrings aren't your thing what about making one drawing a day like Ken over at Mildly Creative is doing. Click here to see his set of rules that aren't really rules.

Into photography? How about joining the "365 Project" and take one picture a day for a year.

And finally, if you are of literary bent you can join Script Frenzy and write an entire screen play in April, or set aside the entire month of November for National Novel Writing Month.

Best of wishes in what ever you do!

It"s Shimmy Time!!

2010-12-31T16:08:00.000-08:00

Yes, folks! Tomorrow is the first day of the 365 Days of Belly Dance commitment started by Lisa Zahiya.

In case you're wondering what this is all about, well, I'll tell you. It's a commitment to practice belly dance for a minimum of 30 minutes every day in 2011.

I decided to give my 365 days a trial run by starting on December 14th. In the past 18 days I have experienced a cold, a few migraines, holiday craziness, a funeral, publishing deadlines, assorted Mommihood duties, and I still managed to squeeze in 30 minutes of belly dance, as well as a home yoga practice every single day. I'm so proud of me!!!

And if I can keep it up for 18 days solid, I can do it for 365.

This trial run also gave me a chance to fine tune my practice. For the most part it is going to center around classes and performance schedules. And because I'm passionate about all forms of dance, and believe that one type of dance benefits another, I've decided to include any dance class I take in the coming year as part of my commitment. Princess Farhana wrote a wonderful article about the value of cross training for all dancers which you can read about by clicking here.

A few belly dance instructors like Ansuya and Suhalia Salimpour offer on-line classes, and may give those a try this summer when there aren't too many belly dance happenings going on here in sunny Arizona.

Of course dancing for the sake of dancing and letting it be it's own reward did cross my mind. Manicures? Pedicures? Chocolate? New practice clothes? Those are all so tempting, but decided to take a page from AJ Reardon's book and reward myself monetarily. I'm going to put $2 a day aside for every day that I practice and put it towards an extra special costume. I already have a general idea for it in mind, but I'll tell you more about that later.

So, are you ready to join me and shimmy on into 2011 and beyond? It's going to be a fabulous journey!

Birthday Bead Booty

2010-12-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago I promised I would show you a picture of my birthday bead booty. With the exception of the Linda Roberts dichroic cabochon everything here was bought from local bead shops like D&I Beads and Beads Galore. I decided to keep my shopping local this year to do what I can to help my local bead economy.

The faceted free form rhyolite slabs are more beautiful in person than what you see in the picture. So at this point I have to apologize for my lousy photography skills and promise that I will be improving them in the new year. To start with I'm going to either invest in or learn to make a light box.

I'm thinking of using some of these curved glass tube beads with the Linda's cabochon, but with me you just never know!

Something Margie Deeb said in an interview had me rethinking some of my color report projects so it looks as if I'll be pulling a few all nighters in order to make her deadline. In the meantime you can read the interview for yourself here.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOLIDAY HUGS TO ALL
AND TO ALL A GOOD LIFE!!!

P.S. Blogging will resume in a few days when I've recovered from excessive consumption of eggnog and chocolate chip cookies. Maybe I'll experiment and make chocolate chip cookie eggnog.

Links to Enjoy and Share

2010-12-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

I'm absolutely loving all this lovely, gray, chilly weather we've been having, but it does make it hard to photograph anything since I rely on the sun coming through the big bay window in my kitchen. I'm thinking I need to invest in a light box, either homemade or store bought, in the near future. I bought some fabulous goodies for my birthday and I want to share them with you.

So, instead of sharing bead purchases with you today I thought I would share some of my favorite websites and blogs:

That Is Priceless: Art's greatest masterpieces, made slightly funnier.
The Straight Dope: If you want to know why we drive on a parkway and park on a drive way, this website can answer that, and whole lot more, for you.
Mildly Creative: Meet Ken, a mildly creative guy, a humble guy, with a fantastic sense of humor, and more creative ability than he gives himself credit for.
Kristina Nelson-Crayon Artist: Ever wondered whether or not fine art could be created with good ol' Crayola Crayons? Guess what? It can!
Prophecy of the Flame: "Every good book should take you to a brand new world....Enjoy the journey." My cousin, Lynn Hardy, and the first two books in her own amazing journey.

Happy Holidays hugs to all and to all a good life!

Just Like I Promised

2010-12-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

Last week, when I told you about Pantone's Color of the Year "Honeysuckle," I promised I would post progress pictures of my final project for Spring 2011.

To start, I thought I would spark your interest by showing the colors I'm working with.
In the photo above you see Silver Cloud, Blue Curacao, Regatta, Peapod, and Lavender. Nice, cool, refreshing, tropical, but a bit sleepy, in my opinion.

So I decided to liven it up with Honeysuckle! A little bit here and a little bit there has had a big impact on the bead embroidered pendant I'm making.

I've got a super busy weekend ahead that includes brunch with my 92 year old Grandma and a trip to a few bead stores in the way of a belated birthday celebration for myself so I'll post progress pictures next week.

Until then, happy beading, and happy dancing.

P.S. I'll also try to find some time to photograph and post my pending bead haul.

365 Days of Dance-Part Deux

2010-12-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

The 365 days of dance started by Lisa Zahiya is picking up steam. Some of my belly dance buddies and a few more of my troupe mates have signed on. Lisa has also started a new blog devoted to her commitment. Reading the comments has been fun. It's interesting to see how people are taking this commitment and making it their own.

There are so many different ways to create your own commitment program: Studio classes, DVD's, on-line classes, video drills, troupe rehearsal, improv dancing, combinations, a whole choreography, technique and drilling, ballet, modern, flamenco. The list just goes on and on!

I've you're looking for some fun video drills, then shimmy on over to Samantha Bordelon-Karim's Inner Dancer website. Or click here to go directly to her video drills. You can also search for her on Youtube under "samanthabordelon."

P.S. That's not me, that's Samantha smiling at you.

365 Days of Dance

2010-12-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

Devoting a little bit of time each day next year to dancing...Are you ready for it? Do you think you can do it? I'm doing it!

After reading Lisa Zahiya's newsletter article and blog post about her commitment to practice belly dance for at least 30 minutes a day, every day, for the next year, I decided to do the same. I've even convinced a few of my troupe mates to join along with me.

Like Lisa, I'll be breaking my practice down into three 10 minute segments throughout the day. I'm a work at home Mom, so finding 10 minutes here, or 10 minutes there, is a helluva lot easier than being able to consistently find 30 minutes. I'm also planning on some sort of reward system for every 45, or maybe 30, days of dance; I'm thinking a manicure, a pedicure, new practice clothes.....

I'm also thinking of starting early.

So whose with me?

P.S. The free clip art belly dancers was provided by Me'ira.

Pantone's Color of the Year for 2011 is.....

2010-12-11T08:58:00.000-08:00

....."Honeysuckle!" It's a fabulous reddish-pink, a geranium pink, and unlike the Color of The Year for 2010, "Turquoise", which was hugely popular, people either really, really like, or really, really don't like this color.

I'm in the really, really like category as long as it's in small doses. Paired with chocolate brown, or honey yellow, or as an accent to champagne peach this would be lovely. It would also be stunning with olive, black, and hints of gold.

So far, I've used this color as an accent with two of my color report projects. First in a rivoli necklace of "Beeswax," a honey yellow, "Blue Curacao", a green tinged turquoise, and "Coral Rose", rich orange.

Another project is a retro beaded amulet bag in "Silver Peony", a lovely champagne peach, "Silver Cloud", a glowing gray, "Russet", orange based brown, "Coral Rose", and good ol' "Honeysuckle."

Sorry, no pics available, but I'll be starting my final Color Report project soon so I'll take pictures of that as it progresses.

In the meantime, click here to see "Honeysuckle" at work in the fashion world, read more about the Color of the Year on the Pantone web site, or click here to see how to not wear "Honeysuckle."

Where I've Been & What I've Been Doing

2010-12-09T18:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not really going to be giving you a run down on what I've been doing for the past 6 months since my last post, but I will tell you why it's been such a long time.

I hadn't been feeling good for a long, long time and was finally diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue in early July. If you're curious about what that is click here to find out more. In a nutshell, I've been a walking zombie, but now, over the past few month, I've been starting to feel more like my usual self again.

I've been beading, dancing, crocheting, doing all the things that Mommyhood entails, and learning all about the newest addition to our household, Jenny Cat.

About the time I started feeling like I wanted a new kitten in my life I stopped by the pet food store for dog food on a Saturday when the Az. Humane Society was there. What a coincidence! I read the bios of all the cats and kittens, picked up some food and treats for the dogs, and ran a few more errands. But I couldn't stop thinking about this one cat.

Her shelter name was "Gemini" and she's the same age as my almost 3 year old daughter. Her owners were forced to give her up when they lost their house because of the lousy economy and had to move into an apartment that didn't allow pets. Her bio also said that while she was good with children her previous owners had no idea of her personality or even what sort of toys she liked because she spent most of her time hiding from their other cats and dogs. The shelter recommendation was that she be adopted by someone with a quiet house without any other pets.

There was just something about her. So I said to myself that I would go back on Sunday and if she was still there I would adopt her. And well, of course you know she was. My daughter didn't like the name "Gemini" and immediately renamed her Jenny.

She spent a few hours hiding behind the couch or behind the toilet, and I briefly had some second thoughts about my decision. But, when I was reading a bed time story to Indigo Lynne, Jenny came out from behind the couch and stretched herself across the back of it, which is now one of her favorite sleeping spots.

Jenny is sweet, loving, cuddly, and mischievous. She likes to bite my toes when I'm doing yoga, snuggle next to me when I'm beading or crocheting, and chew on my hair when I'm reading in bed at night; small, fluffy stuffed animals are her toy of choice; and she loves hanging out on the couch with my daughter.

Pink Punk

2010-06-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

At least that's what I'm calling this necklace until I can come up with a different and better name. I'm also open for suggestions.

I actually have an idea for a pink punk necklace. I came across some enameled steam punk style charms, beads, and findings in all sorts of candy bright colors, and that got me to thinking......

But, I digress.

This is an unfinished project that I came across while looking for something else in my bead closet. As to what my original idea was I am completely clueless. And I also have no idea as to what the finished necklace is going to look like. It's so rare that I ever plan a project out from beginning to end. I start with beads, needles, and a vague idea of what I will make and let the project evolve from there. I love improv beading!

The part that may not be so improvisational is the neck strap. I've been toying with the idea of either a tubular herringbone strap or a silk cord that I can carry some sort of embellishing up onto. Then again, I could always do the embellishing idea on the herringbone strap with some beaded bead end caps and a button toggle.

Then again....I could do a multiple strand of seed beads; or a single strand of glass & crystal; or this could be the focal piece of a multi-strand necklace.

See what I mean? This is why my work is rarely ever planned out. There are just so many wonderful options available.

Moving On

2010-06-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

Here's an almost, but not quite finished, photo of one of my color report projects. I debated back and forth as to whether this should be a pendant or a brooch until a FB friend mentioned wearing brooches with scarves and sweaters. Now that got me to thinking! If I make this into a brooch then I can crochet a scarf or shawl to go with it. It's the same as making a necklace then buying an outfit to go with it, or vice versa.

The brooch is finished, the shawl pattern has been found, now I just need to hunt up the yarn.....

My color report projects are at Margie's house waiting to be photographed and I'm moving on to my next beading project. Think fuchsia, chartreuse, gold, and black. Think Swarovski!

Project Progression

2010-06-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

The Oyster Gray project is moving slowly along. At this point I can't decide if this is going to be a pendant, a brooch, or as a FaceBook friend suggested, a bracelet.

I definitely wear more pendants, but at this point I have about a bazillion necklaces. A brooch would be fun, interesting, and a bit different for me. Jan, another FB friend, mentioned that she wears brooches with shawls & sweaters in the winter. Now, that has me thinking! I started teaching myself to crochet back in October so maybe it's time I crochet a scarf or shawl for myself in teal, reddish purple brown, or maybe lipstick red!

No Stone Unturned

2010-06-04T14:40:00.001-07:00

I'm not actually turning stones over, but I could use some help in possibly identifying the stone doughnut that I'm using in my current color report project. It's a warm putty gray with a slate gray matrix.

Could it be an agate or some sort of jasper?

I'm Ba-aaack!!

2010-06-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. It's been a long, long, while. It's not that my life hasn't been busy or exciting, but quite the opposite, just about every second of every minute of every day is jammed packed. But, I've decided to take some time to revive this blog and tease you about my color report projects.

The picture above shows my 3 choices for the Fall/Winter 201o Pantone Color Report. When I'm making my choices for the report I like to pick 3 colors; one for fun, one because I know it will be an easy color for me to work with, and one for the challenge.

Lipstick Red: I love the color red, but rarely ever use it as the main color in my bead work, so I thought this would be a fun and sexy color to work with.

Oyster Gray: I'm not sure how this color is going to like on your monitors so I'll describe it as a warm putty gray with greenish-yellow undertones. I like cool grays with blue or green undertones so this has been the challenging color for me to work with. After 3 false starts I think I'm finally on track with a "sand & sea" theme, but we'll see......

Woodbine: Second to purple, I find greens to be the easiest colors to work with. To give it a bit of interest, I paired it with Endive: a very yellow green; Living Coral: bright, happy orange; Lagoon: a slightly dull teal; and Burnt Sienna: a deep earthy orange from the Fall/Winter 2009 report.

Spring/Summer 2010 Color Report

2010-02-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

Everyone in my house has a cold and I'm completely exhausted. "What has that got to do with the Color Report?" Well, being too tired and brain foggy to write about it myself, Margie has generously provided me with the following in order to tell you just how wonderful this color report is.

Being on top of today's color trends keeps your jewelry stylish and fresh. And there's no substitute for great color. You can be a brilliant designer, but if your color is weak, so is your jewelry. Because it's based on Pantone's fashion color report of the season, the Spring 2010 Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers connects beading to contemporary fashion forecasts and trends.

No one knows and explains color like Margie Deeb, author of The Beader's Guide to Color. Her latest book, The Beader's Color Palette, was named the Best Craft How-To Book of 2009 by the prestigious Library Journal.

If developing your color artistry is more your goal than fashion-forward thinking, download the Spring 2010 Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers and get inspired by color harmonies you've never seen. You'll have 10 new ideas by page 5! And you're work will take an exponential leap in creativity and originality.

23-page PDF pages of palettes, descriptions, photos, and color suggestions based on Pantone's fashion color report of the season. And revel in a gallery of jewelry inspired by the colors themselves.

Margie will guide you through this season's colors and show you how to use them. Color schemes that are daring, snappy, elegant, subtle, glamorous, and flamboyant... they're all in the Spring 2010 Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers.

Benefits:

Seasonal inspiration for your contemporary designs

Forecast information designated by the individual PANTONE® Color #

Suggested gemstones, Delica® and Swarovski Component colors

Color swatches are referenced to the PANTONE for fashion and home color palette

Belly Dance Busy

2010-01-31T08:03:00.000-08:00

I've been too busy to post lately so I thought I would take a few minutes to get the world out there up to speed with what I'm doing.

The troupe is getting ready for some really big shows in the next few months. First there is Rakkasah, which I won't be going to, followed by the "WEI Dance For Change" show on March 6th, (for more info click here), and after that is "Mujeres" in mid-April.

So far we are working on a classical piece, a finger veil routine with lots of crazy spins, a Saidi, a debke, one super fun Bollywood choreo, and today we'll be learning a drum solo. That means we'll be rehearsing 2-3 times a week for the next few months. Whew!!

Somewhere in all of this I need to find the time to make some jewelry for myself and some Valentine's jewelry for my daughter. Housework and laundry be damned! I'll be a dancing and a beading!

*As busy as I am, I do feel a little sad that I'll be missing Tucson this year. Oh well, there's always next year.*

Hello 2010-Belly Dance Goals

2010-01-11T11:51:00.000-08:00

This post has been sitting in the "drafts" folder for 3 days now so I'm taking a quick break from house work to throw this out into the universe.

Now that my color report projects are finished and in the mail, it's time for me to concentrate on my belly dance goal for this year. It's short, sweet, and to the point.

Intensive study of belly dance technique.

Steps and combinations are easy and just about anyone can do them. I'd like to spend the year studying the technical aspects of belly dance and elevate my dancing from good to spectacular.

Private lessons and regular classes with Ava, troupe rehearsals, a fairly decent collection of DVD's, and on-line classes with Suhalia will get me started.

Yup, short, sweet, to the point, and unedited for content. Back to cleaning! :-)

Hello 2010-Beading Goals

2010-01-05T06:56:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!!! Did you make any New Year's resolutions? If you didn't, you're not alone because I didn't either. Resolutions seem too stern and inflexible to me. I prefer the forward momentum and flexibility of goals.

My main beading goal for this year are is to continue reducing the mountain of PIPs (projects-in-progress) to a small hill.

Two beading contests that have piqued my interest are "Haute Couture" and "Use the Muse." I'd like to unofficially participate in at least one of these before this year is over. I say "unofficially" because both of these are jewelry related contests. I've been making beaded jewelry for about 20 years and it's time for a change. And as an unofficial enterant I don't have to worry about a deadline.

A few years ago, when Margie Deeb held a violet and yellow color challenge, my entry was a liquid dish soap bottle that I covered entirely in beads. "Mannequin" took 1st runner-up. I had one helluva good time making it and it is one of my favorite pieces of beaded art.

More! I want to do more!

Even though this isn't a goal, and as much as I enjoy doing bead work for publication in books and magazines, I've decided to postpone that until the Toddler Tornado is in pre-school. Assuming I send her to pre-school. Educating my l'il darling is a whole 'nother issue. To home school or not to home school, that is the question. Oh! But I will continue to participate in Margie's color reports. I can't give up my color challenges!

But, I digress.....So, what am I doing this year? Making beady mountains into beady mole hill and recycling interestingly shaped plastic and glass bottles into beaded art work!

Namaste!

Bead Angst

2009-12-12T13:24:00.002-08:00

Bead angst. I am having bead angst, which is leading to bead procrastination. Not a good thing considering that I am under a dead line. Since my hubbie is at work and my toddler is asleep I'm going to "talk" this out here.

I'm almost finished with one of my projects for the Spring 2010 color report and I am starting to doubt myself. It's not the project itself or the execution of it that has me feeling insecure. It's the palette I'm using; Pink Champagne is the main color, with Fusion Coral, Eucalyptus, Dried Herb, and Tuscany as the accents. With the exception of Fusion Coral, these are all subtle neutrals. They are lovely and work well together. I just don't know if this is a brilliant use of color or not.

Is this palette ordinary? Is it bland? Is it boring? Is it just plain stupid? What if Margie doesn't like it?

The other colors that I have chosen to work with are Violet and Turquoise. I think I'll take a break from my current angst ridden project and start pulling the Violet palette together.

The Belly Dance 10

2009-12-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

And just what is "The Belly Dance 10?" you may be wondering. Well, some fitness and yoga gurus believe that 10 minutes of exercise or yoga a day is better than nothing at all.

Now that the busy holiday season is upon us it can sometimes be difficult to find the time to exercise, practice yoga, or belly dance so I decided to apply the concept of 10 minutes of exercise or yoga to belly dance just to be sure that I get in a little bit of dance time each day.

One example of a Belly Dance 10 schedule would be:
4 minutes of a specific shimmy: weeble-wobbles, knee, hip, Egyptian
3 minutes practicing a move that you're not good at or don't particularly like
2 minutes practicing a favorite move or one that you are good at doing
1 minute stretching such as a standing forward bend or down dog

There! 10 minutes of belly dance practice. If you can fit one session a day in that's great; 2 or more is even better.

Mix it up! Match it up! Make it work for you!

Random Fact About Me-Part Deux

2009-11-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

1. I taught myself to crochet. I'm still a beginner, but I'm pretty damn proud of
myself.
2. I think dolls and store mannequins are extremely creepy.
3. I'm obsessed with color.
4. I have a nail polish fetish.
5. I'm sorry to say I throw like a girl, which is probably why I never could learn to juggle. But
what the hell, it gives the dogs a good laugh.
6. I don't like to cook, but I do like to occasionally watch cooking show, especially "Good Eats."
7. I don't own a camera phone and I don't want to.
8. I'm very rapidly becoming addicted to yarn. See random facts #1 & 3. (But I still love
beads!)
9. If I could live anywhere in the world, I would live in Port Townsend, WA.
10. If I could meet & have tea with one famous person it would be a toss up between Queen
Elizabeth I or Queen Victoria.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

Aside from accidentally trimming my bangs too short I had a wonderful Turkey Day. We spent the morning over at my Grandmother's house. Indigo Lynne was an angel. She cuddled and kissed her Great-Grandma about a dozen times, didn't utter one single high pitched squeal, and didn't break anything.

Later on in the day Kevin took her over to his Aunt Judy & Uncle Bill's house to visit with all her cousins while I stayed home and spent 3, yes 3, deliciously peaceful hours on the couch reading a book, sipping tea, and noshing on Dulce de Leche gelato.

Kev and Indigo Lynne came home tired and full of turkey, pumpkin pie, and family gossip. Indigo Lynne was cranky and hyped up on sugar so she had a hard time settling down for a short nap, but other than that a good holiday was had by all.

I hope everyone else had as terrific a day as we did!

Happy Black Friday!

Zombie Pumpkin Eating Merkats

2009-11-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

Wow! Two posts in one day. That's a record for me. I just had to share this pic from Cute Overload of "Zombie Pumpkin Eating Merkats."

October, Where Are You?

2009-11-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

What in the bleepity-bleep happened to October? It was September, I blinked, and then it was November. And this month is going to be so crazy busy.

This coming weekend end the belly dance troupe is going to be learning not one, but two different choreographies; one tribal by Heidi of Plaza De Anaya, and one hip-hop by Lisa Zahiya.

My experience with Tribal Style belly dancing is minimal. I took a beginner class a few years ago and was throughly bored with it. Doing 'Hip, hip, hip, 1/4 turn." over and over again just didn't work for me. But, since this is a dance routine and not a class I imagine that it will be a little more complex and interesting.

Hip-Hop belly dance fusion. Ha! Modern, Lyrical, Broadway, Fosse, Luigi style jazz....no problem. Hip-Hop, Techno, Funk style jazz....big, big problem. I'm just not a Hip-Hoppy sort of gal. Oh yes, and we'll be learning the entire routing in 2 or 3 hours.

This weekend is going to be intense and challenging.

Then, the following weekend is the Faerie Festival followed by learning the 2nd half of the Tribal routine.

After that the focus will be on getting the house in order before Turkey Day.

During the week I'll be practicing yoga & belly dance on a daily basis, working on my Spring & Summer 2010 color report projects, finishing a few Christmas presents, and an afghan for my daughter.

As much as I hate to work by a schedule I think that's what I'm going to have to do just to get through this month.

If I'm not insane now, I will be shortly.

Getting Out Of This Funk

2009-10-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

Ever since my Grandmother went into the hospital I've been in a funk. Almost every night I have dreams about urgently trying to get "somewhere" because "someone" needs me, but can't because I'm trying to run with only one leg, or ride a rickety 2 story high bicycle that has no brakes.

What was originally thought to be a stroke is something scarier. She is having seizures because of a mysterious mass in her brain. Her pacemaker prevents her from having an MRI, so the best that the doctors can do is dyes & X-rays, along with blood tests, all of which are inconclusive. The mass could be cancer. The mass could not be cancer. All that can be done is to wait and see.

There are times when I don't want to be brave. I don't want to be philosophical and accepting. I want to pulverize something. I watched my Dad & Grandfather die of brain cancer. I don't want to watch someone else die that way. But, even as I say I don't want to, I will, if that is the way it's suppose to be.

With all this flu stuff floating around the hospital won't allow Indigo Lynne into the building to see her Great-Grandma so we've been doing all sorts of fancy schedule juggling just to be able to take Grandma outside for a few minutes during the day so that the two of them can spend sometime together.

It's the highlight of Grandma's day. Even though she doesn't need to check out with the nurses she insists that I take her by the nursing station so that she can tell everyone she is going downstairs to visit her Great Granddaughter.

Hopefully she'll be able to leave the hospital on the 31st. To where I don't know. She wants to go home, but I'm not sure that that is going to be a viable option. It's possible that she will have to go into an assisted living center.

Grandma has gracefully accepted her uncertain fate. She's 91 and is living every day as a blessing.

41 Days & Counting

2009-10-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

My 30 day yoga challenge has been extended to 61 days and I'm on day 41. For the first 38 days I did a physical yoga practice; brief meditation, asanas, and Savasana. On the 39th day, Oct. 9th, I got a call. My 91 year old Grandmother had had a stroke. She was found on her bathroom floor.

What has that got to do with yoga? Everything! I didn't do a physical practice that day, but I did do yoga. Breathe, focus, and quiet the mind. Breathing slowly and deeply helped to focus on getting my daughter fed and dressed. I had to keep my mind focused on driving, just driving, so that we could get to the hospital safely. Then, to keep myself from imagining the worst I had to work really, really hard on quieting my mind.

Breathe, focus, quiet.

Grandma's stroke was a mild one. She'll be spending a few weeks in physical therapy and rehab, then we'll have to decide from there what her living arrangements will be.

I started my physical yoga practice the following day being grateful that I can. I also want to explore yoga more deeply. But, given my limited time schedule I'm not sure how to go about it.

In the meantime,

Namaste

30 Day Yoga Challenge Completed!!

2009-10-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

WooHoo! On Sept. 30th I completed my personal goal of practicing yoga for 30 days in a row! The biggest part of the challenge was finding the time to practice, but I did it.

My favorite time of day to practice yoga was, and still is, in the early evenings. But, for the past month I practiced whenever I got the chance; first thing in the morning, in the afternoon while my daughter was napping, or in the late evening before bed.

You all know the saying about how everything changes when you have a baby. And boy, does it ever! It even changed the way that I practiced yoga.

Before Indigo Lynne was born my practice was much more ritualized. It probably took me 10-15 minutes just to prepare my space. I would start by selecting just the right music, light some candles and incense, unroll my yoga mat, lay out Tia Sushi's yoga mat (a bath mat and towel I bought just for her), and make sure that my lavender eye pillow and blanket for Savasana were close at hand.

Now I simply turn on the music, which may or may not have been changed for several days, roll out the mats, and away I go.

All that "prep time" was such an essential part of my practice and there were times in the past month when I have missed it. As I continue with my yoga journey I'm going to look for some quick, toddler safe "preps." Maybe a single candle, or some flowers.......

Of course, nothing can ever replace Tia Sushi.

Fall-Winter 2009 Color Report

2009-09-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Fall-Winter 2009 Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers by Margie Deeb is now available on-line. Yipee!!!

It actually came out last week, but this is the first chance that I've had to tell you about it.

Twice a year Margie releases reports based on the 10 colors predicted by global color authority Pantone to be popular in fashion and home decor for the Spring-Summer and Fall-Winter seasons.

She brings these colors into the bead world by matching each Pantone color with a corresponding Delica, Swarovski crystal, and gemstone bead, then inviting several guest artist to create jewelry based on combinations of these colors.

The combinations and proportions that she suggests for each of the ten colors are inspirational and challenging. She even "double-dog" dares you to try some of her palettes!

Warm Olive, described as "adding a touch of elegance and sophistication to fall." is the color that I chose to work with. I paired it with hints of Rapture Rose and American Beauty. You can read more about the necklace, "Pandora", that I created just for this report in my August 29th blog post.

This season's contributing artists are: Chrissie Day, Jamie Cloud Eakin, Candace Cloud McLean, Derralynn McMaster, Maureen Buckley McRorie, and Kristy Nijenkamp,

I am pleased and honored to have been a part of these color reports from the beginning and I'm already working on my projects for the Spring-Summer 2010 season. My colors have been selected and the palettes have been put together; a little bit of bead hunting and I'll be ready!

Hello Autumn!

2009-09-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

And hello cooler weather! Even though the day time temperatures are still in the 90's during the day, the nights are soft and cool. Over the next few weeks the harsh brassy blue sky will soften to a pale cornflower blue and the gray green grass will become a crisp emerald green. Sounds more like spring, doesn't it? But, that's the way of it in the Arizona desert.

As the weather cools off I come out of my summer hibernation feeling alive, awake, and refreshed. I'm ready to exercise my green thumb. There are house plants to be repotted, the rose bushes that have been so sadly neglected over the past 3 years need tending, I must have some flowers to hang on the front porch, and Cousin It, the Brazilian Pepper tree in the front yard is in desperate need of a hair cut.

For My Next Trick.....

2009-09-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

.....I'll be finishing the beaded bag that I started about 3 years ago.

This was originally intended to be an entry in Beadwork magazine's 2007 "Beaded Bag" competition. Unfortunately, about that time I became ill with Grave's Disease, so I had to put this aside with the idea that I would get back to it someday.

Someday was Tuesday. I have an embarrassingly large number of unfinished projects squirreled away in my bead closet, something I'm sure that most of you beaders out there can relate to. Selecting from more than a dozen projects, all clamoring to be paid a little attention to can be overwhelming, so I used the highly scientific method of "Eenie Meenie Minie Mo" to choose what I would work on.

Rarely do I ever plan a project out from beginning to end. My starting point is usually something that has inspired me, such as an intriguing color palette, cabochon, or focal bead, or in this case, a theme. From there it's all improvisation, which means that I have no idea of where I was going with this bag in terms of surface embellishments, fringe, or handles.

I spent a few hours on-line looking at some incredible vintage beaded bags in the hopes of finding some good ideas of fringe. Big mistake! Now I have too many ideas buzzing around in my head. But, once I've finished the purse strap I should be able to narrow the fringe and surface embellishing choices down.

The photo makes the beads look like a soft sage gray, but there are really more of a vibrant tourmaline color.

I'll keep you posted as to my progress.

Yoga, Yoga, Yoga-15 days & Counting

2009-09-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

Yes!!! I am now 15 days into my 30 day yoga challenge and am feeling better than good.

I started this challenge with no specific goal in mind other than to practice every day and quietly observe the changes within myself. The most significant change has been that I can direct my breath into and release an area of muscles that feels tense, which is something I've been able to carry over and use when practicing belly dance techniques and drills.

The improved mind-body connection also means that I am feeling more fluid and light as I move through the asanas, (and through the rest of my day), as well as more relaxed and energized.

The big bonus is that I am sleeping better and have returned to being aware of and able to control my dreams, which is something that I have always enjoyed.

On a purely physical level I have recovered my ability to set in a straddle position and bend forward all the way to the floor with ease and have nearly recovered both splits.

Updated My FB Album

2009-09-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Updated my FB album with a few new photos of my bead work.

The bracelet is called Autumn River and is one of the first embroidered cuffs I ever made.

This was probably one of the quickest palette of beads I ever put together. It literally took me only about 10 of 15 minutes to select all these beads.

I started with the warm bordeaux colored fresh water pearls, then almost immediately pulled from my stash size 6'0 & 8'0 seed beads, vintage 9'0 tri-cuts, 10'0 & 11'0 seed beads, 12'0 & 13'0 Charlottes, & 15'0 seed beads.

The design is embroidered on Lacy's Stiff Stuff, that was then glued to a brass cuff blank, and backed with a piece of muted peach ultra-suede.

Animals With Light Sabers

2009-09-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

I found this little gem at Cute Overload.

If this really, really, really floats your boat you can find more at Animals With Light Sabers.

New Swarovski Colors & Styles

2009-09-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

Calling all Swarovski Bead Fans! Here's a link to a blog that has a preview of the new styles & colors that will be available next month.

I'm just loving this new Cyclamen Opal color.

October suddenly seems a looooong way off. ;-)

Pantone Color Report-Fall 2009

2009-09-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

It's almost here! The Pantone Color Report-Fall 2009 will be available on-line from Margie Deeb on Sept. 15th.

I have 3 projects in this report. My 4th, a goddess necklace with lots & lots of sparkly Swarovski crystal beads old & new, is being held in reserve for a future publication.

In the meantime, check out these 3 videos of Margie and some of her wonderful tips on using color in your bead work, or whatever medium you work in.

Complementary Color Schemes
Bead Fest Pennysylvania
Beads, Baubles, & Jewels

Vintage Belly Dance circa 1904

2009-09-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is one of my all time favorite belly dance clips of one "Princess Rajah" (c. 1904) dancing with a most unusual prop.

30 Day Yoga Challenge

2009-09-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

Yeah me! I'm on day 7 of a 30 day yoga challenge.

I usually practice yoga once or twice a week, but having heard and read so many stories lately about the transforming power of a dedicated practice I decided to experience it first hand for myself.

Three of these first 7 days were a bit rough because I was having back to back migraines. What can make it difficult is that along with the pain, I can sometimes experience nausea if I move around too much. But I stuck with it, even if I did only 20 minutes of a gentle practice consisting of mostly seated forward bends, child's pose, and breathing exercises.

I started this challenge with no specific goal in mind other than to practice yoga for 30 days in a row and observe how I feel.

Migraines & migraine hang-overs are all gone, so right now I'm feel pretty darn good.

The photo is of my cat, the late Tia Sushi, aka Yoga Poodie, hanging out in one of her favorite spots, the cupboard where I keep all my yoga gear. She wasn't too happy with me for disturbing her nap simply because I wanted my mat. But she never had knickers in a knot for very long. She was nicknamed "Yoga Poodie" because she would always snuggle with me during Savasana. I miss that. She was an amazing cat. Almost 2 years ago she saved my life and the life of my then unborn daughter.

But that's another story for another time.

Whitby Earring

2009-08-30T13:28:00.001-07:00

These earring are my version of Marcia DeCoster's "Whitby" earring from her new book Beaded Opulence and they are also for Margie's upcoming Fall 2009 Color Report.

Fortunately the book came in the mail while I was still casting about for one last project. After I snuggled my daughter into bed for the night, I settled myself down with a cup of lavender chamomile tea and looked through the book.

It was easy enough to choose a project, the criteria being that it had to be quick and not require a copious amount of crystals. Not that I object to all that wonderful Swarovski sparkly goodness. Those of you who know me well know of my obsession with Swarovski. It was my decision that rose pink be the dominant color that put a limit on what I could make.

The choices were quickly narrowed down to either the "Whitby" earrings or the "Quetzal" ring. I decided in favor of the earring because I didn't have enough of the 2mm crystals that are needed for the ring, and most of the pink and/or rose pink seed beads that I have are dyed, so it wouldn't have been a good idea to use them in a ring.

Again, I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. I will replace it with a better one once Margie has photographed it, as well as the other 2 projects for the report.

Color Report Project-Pandora

2009-08-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to present to you Pandora. She is one of four projects that I created for Margie Deeb's Color Report.

I found the lovely chartreuse green & rose pink polymer clay face cabachon, made by Jen Martin, on Etsy and was the only thing I actually purchased for this particular color report.

For Margie's color reports I challenge myself in two ways. The first is to work with some unusual color combinations, and the second is to use only the materials that I have on hand.

I used variations of peyote stitch for the bezel around the face cab & for the necklace bail, which is embellished with 4mm aqua brandy Swarovski bicones. Her pendant is made of components from the La Boquita necklace kit that I bought from Marcia DeCoster.

Beading and embellishing the face cab was easy. Using olive, chartreuse, rose pink, and deep rich red together makes a dramatic color statement so I deliberately kept the pendant simple to keep the whole piece from becoming garish.

It was the neck strap that gave me fits. My first thought was to use tubular right angle weave with 11'0 triangles, but upon checking my inventory I saw that I didn't have enough of the colors that I had decided to work with, so I scrapped that idea. Next I tried tubular herringbone which looked too industrial, a thin strip of flat right angle weave looked too insignificant, and tubular right angle weave with only seed beads looked too bland.

As a last resort I decided to try a spiral rope and the success was immediate! Normally I dismiss spiral ropes, even if they are heavily embellished with crystals, as being too simple. But simple elegance is exactly what was needed.

So, in my quest to produce more complicated and intricate bead art I've learned a valuable lesson in that simple can sometimes be better. And in some cases "simple" can be more difficult to produce.

Moving on......

Why the name Pandora?

My first choice was Endora in honor of the hilariously meddling mother-in-law from "Bewitched" that was originally created by the superb character actress Agnes Moorehead, who named her character after the biblical Witch of Endor. But, then I found out that Endora means "fountain". A witch as a fountain of knowledge certainly makes sense but I see a different palette of colors for "fountain".

After Endora on the list of name definitions that I was looking at I saw Pandora, which means "all gifted" or "talented one". Being aware of the myth of Pandora and her infamous box I chose the name anyway because along with all the nastiness that she unleashed so found the strength to nurture hope.

I apologize for the lousy image. After Margie photographs this and send me a better pic I will post it.

Floofy cuteness

2009-08-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

I took a break from my color report projects to get my daily dose of floofy cuteness and here's what I found at Cute Overload; Japanese Dwarf Flying Squirrels.

They're so cute I want to fill my whole house with them. My daughter would love that & so would my dogs, but for two very different reasons.

I wonder what the second one from the left is smiling about? And what's the little guy in the background up to? Is he plotting a well timed pounce? Has he been raiding someone's cache of nuts?

I'm Still Here-Just Busy

2009-08-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

"I like deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." (I have no clue as to who said this.)

Going silent for a while. I have a date with a deadline. Early mornings & late nights here I come.

It's a bead deadline. It's colorful & it's pretty darn freakin' cool. Think olivine, siam, rose.

Dance For Those Who Can't

2009-08-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

Let's dance for those who can't and be grateful that we can do so without the fear that someone will try to stop us, forcing us to pay the ultimate price for that privilege.

Click here to read about Shabana. She paid that price.

Someting's Gotta Give-Internal Musings

2009-08-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I received an invitation to submit some more projects for next year's issue of "Creative Jewelry" magazine. I was so excited and mentally began to plan my projects with the idea of spending some time this weekend putting together an order for whatever materials I would need.

Along with the project planning I also spent a few days thinking about when I could start working on these projects, which led me the realization that I need to seriously scale back on the amount of things that I have going on in my life.

My 17 month old daughter is obviously my A1 priority. And after that I have:

-writing & journaling
-3 unfinished cross-stitch projects
-2 unfinished afghans
-an embarrassing number of unfinished bead projects, including the '08 Bead Journal Project
-my color journey with Margie
-Abby Cadabby decorations for my daughters room
-flash cards for my daughter
-at least 3 belly dance costumes that need to be finished or tailored to fit
-massive closet cleaning & re-organizing
-Halloween is just around the corner & I need to get ready for that
-added rehearsals, etc. that go along with being in a dance troupe
-weekly duties as personal assistant to Margie
-the day to day running of a household that includes an energetic and curious toddler
-Sparkly Wheels for Nikias book

All of these things are staring me in the face and they are not happy about being ignored. I feel so overwhelmed that I don't know what to do first so I'm doing nothing but doing a lot of thinking.

I stayed awake most of the night mulling over how much time is need on a daily or weekly basis for the ongoing things like writing or rehearsals, how close is each project to being finished, and how much time do I think I may need for each one. And, of course, the big question; is it really feasible for me to be starting anything new right now? Obvious answer: No. Why?

"Jack of all trades, master of none." I've always thought of this saying as a warning against mediocrity. That's what I'm afraid of; that as I'm dashing about frantically trying to complete each project the quality of what I'm working on will be severely diminished.

So in looking at my list I see that there are a few things that I need to let go of, as in, not all of those beading UFO's really need to finished, and then I'm going to give myself one full year to complete the rest of the listed projects before starting anything new.

Then I'll be back to submitting beadwork for publication with a bang!

Troy Necklace-Finished!

2009-08-08T14:23:00.001-07:00

Actually, I finished this last Friday night to wear to Cirque Du Soliel on Saturday.

I wore it with a grape colored silk sheath dress and kept the rest of the jewelry fairly simple; a few gold bangles with gold, amethyst, & moldavite stud earrings.

This is one of the projects from "The Beader's Color Palette", by Margie Deeb.

Margie's Troy collar, done with topaz AZ Czech glass and pale gold metallic fire polish, is based on a gilt silver collar dating from about 2300 B.C.E. that was discovered in Troy.

I wonder who wore it. And where & why? Was it a gift?

Crazy me, I'm thinking of making another one, this time using Swarovski crystals in place of the fire polish. Since purples, violets, & pinks are my top-of-the-list favorites those are the colors I'm thinking of using.

I also need to find a box or something that is big enough to store this. I can't casually toss this in the jewelry armoire.

Facebook Photos

2009-08-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

I finally had a bit of time to upload some photos of my beadwork over on Facebook. Click here to see them.

My non beading friends & family aren't very likely to visit me on Bead Space or Beaders' Showcase so I ultimately decided to play on Facebook & my blog.

Enjoy!

Too Damned Hot!!!

2009-08-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

I'm a Zonie. I'm a native. And by that I mean a true native, not some one who has been here for 10+ years. I was born here. My Mother was born here. My Grandfather was born here. His mother was born here and her people have been here since the dawn of time.

Oops! The heat caused me to veer off the subject.

You'd think I'd be used to the heat.

Well, I'm not.

It's too damned hot!!! I'm ready for cooler temps. NOW!!!

Random Facts About Me

2009-08-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

I've got to do this quick before my little tadpole wakes up. Here's a few random little known facts about me.

1. I have a weakness for Little Debbie Cakes.
2. I'm afraid of clowns & alligators, clowns dressed as alligators, & alligators dressed as clowns.
3. I like spiders because they eat all the nasty bugs I don't like.
4. I am a proficient toad wrangler.
5. I can drive a back hoe.
6. I don't like scorpions. It freakin' hurts when one stings you.
7. I am not so good with math & science eludes me.
8. I like the way Shakira sings, but not the way she dances.
9. I spent a whole year trying to learn to juggle and failed miserably.
10. I watched approximately 10 minutes of a soap opera once in my life and that was more than enough. And I have never seen any of those night time soaps like Dallas or Dynasty.

Follow The Bouncing Butt

2009-08-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

"Follow the bouncing butt!" That's just one of the cute quips I heard Willow Chang say this weekend while she was here in the Valley to teach 3 belly dance workshops past weekend. There were more; they were coming at us like tennis balls, but that's the one that stuck in my mind.

Not only is Willow full of vivacious, chatty, goofy, energy, she's full of belly dance knowledge. I personally would like to see all that wonderful knowledge in a book, or a documentary, or something! Belly dance history, past & present, who's who and what's what needs to be preserved for posterity.

Oops! I'm digressing.

The workshops, each of which were 2 hours long, were a delightful combination of dancing, lecture, trivia, & history. During the lunch break some of us hung out in the lobby and snacked on fruit & Snickerdoodles while we talked about the belly dance scene in Arizona, the various types of belly dance, the healing power of yoga, Reiki..... We covered oh so many topics!

One of the things that Willow talked about was the importance of growth as a dancer by taking workshops, studying performance & instructional DVDs, going to as many live performances or haflas as possible, and mining the belly dance gold in your own communities. Coming from Hawaii, which was at one time a veritable belly dance wasteland she appreciates the amount of talent that is available here in Arizona. Amen, sister! To name just a few we have Helena Vlahos, Ava Fleming, Carrie Konyha, Kathryn Ferguson, Danah Stedman, Jazmine, Mahin, Dahlena, Melissa, Myryka, Amanda Rose, Yasmina, Katayna, Neena Nour, & Cari of Plaza De Anaya. I've been lucky enough to either take classes or workshops from the first 9 ladies and hope to be able to study from the final 6.

Going back to what she said about studying performance and instructional DVD's; she advised watching dancers, troupes, or styles that aren't necessarily your favorites. Spend a bit of time asking yourself what it is that you don't like. The costume? The music or how it is interpreted? The quality of the dance (ie. technique or facial expressions)? But, she stressed, don't watch what you don't like too much, lest it worm it's way into your brain and subconsciously & negatively influence the way you dance.

So....tonight is class with Ava. We are done with "Sultry Sharqi" and are moving on to "Traveling Combos With Arms and Zils." That means I need to get my bouncing little butt in gear and fix the loose elastic on one of my zils.

Troy Collar....almost finished

2009-07-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

Just 3 strands to go and I'll be finished with the fantabulous Troy necklace I'll be wearing to Cirque Du Soleil tomorrow.

Hopefully I'll have time to take a picture of it tomorrow morning.

The yucky dark photo above doesn't really show too well what colors I'm using. The Czech glass is olivine and the fire polish is two-tone olivine-tanzantine. I also used gold washed forest greens seed beads and vermeil findings. Purples, greens, & golds (or yellows), is one of my all time favorite color combinations.

I'm in Gryffindor

2009-07-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

I'm not feeling very bloggy today. So I give you this fun little quiz Harry Potteresque quiz: What Harry Potter Hogwarts House Should You Be In? Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find this quiz.

I'm in Gryffindor. Go, go Gryffindor!!

Belly Dance Goodies

2009-07-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

I'm having issues with my camera, as in, it's broken, so I can't take a picture of the belly dance goodies that came in the mail today. But I can tell you what I ordered:

-Sagittarius belly dancer t-shirt.
-Sagittarius belly dancer journal: I like to write class notes & combos in purple notebooks.
-Pisces belly dancer tea mug: My daughter is a Pisces.

All featuring artwork by Lacy Chenault. Grab a cool drink and undulate on over to her website for a look-see.

Back to house work. Blecch! And no, I did not clean the toilets with a banana.

Belly Dance Monday-Belly Dance & Bead Envy

2009-07-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

For today's "Belly Dance Monday" post I was going to review a DVD, but I decided to postpone that after reading what Marcia DeCoster's wrote in her blog over the weekend. Here is an excerpt: (To read the entire post click here.)

I also get anxious when I see a colleagues work and I feel that feeling that Rachel has coined so well as project envy (Speaking of whom, have you seen You and Eye? Awesomely beautiful). It happens, you're in awe of what someone else did with the beads and begin to question your own work and then I step back and realize that is what they are meant to be doing and I am doing what I am meant to be doing. Don't get me wrong, I celebrate what my colleagues are doing, there is so much incredible beadwork being done, so much pushing the limits and exploration and creativity. And I celebrate being a part of that world.

The timing of Marcia's post is absolutely perfect. Over the weekend I watched a DVD (not the one I was going to review) that left me with belly dance envy and I can relate to what she is saying.

I find this to be refreshingly honest because Marcia is an incredibly talented bead & fiber artist. I've run into a few artists, be they dancers, beaders, or otherwise, who wouldn't ever dare to admit to having moments of self-doubt. That's much too human and, or course, true talent never doubts itself.

Hogwash, balderdash, and just plain ol' bullshit!

I think true talent does question itself. If you don't occasionally question yourself then how can you possibly grow as an artist? No growth=stagnation. I find stagnation to be appalling.

I'll climb off my soap box now before I stray too far off the subject......

Like Marcia, I sometimes find myself so in awe of another person's work, or in this case dancing, that I start to question & compare myself.

"Why can't I move like Ava or dance like Helena?"

Being one of the heavier dancers in class there are times when I wish I was thinner. Or was taller so that I would be able to carry my weight better. Sometimes I wish my breasts were smaller & my hips were bigger. Yeah, I know. Most women are the opposite and wish for smaller hips & larger breasts. Go figure.

So.... in class tonight if that niggling little voice of mine begins to lead me down the road to self-doubt I will silently, gently, & lovingly chant either one of these two mantras that was taught to me a few years ago by a fellow belly dancer & yoga instructor.

"In this moment I am at my most perfect."

"Beautiful, bountiful, blissful am I."

Or perhaps my own mantra, which is:

"Find tadasana."

Tadasana is Mountain Pose and for those of you who aren't practitioners of yoga, what I mean by that is to find your own place of balance and strength. It's not as poetic as the first two mantras, but it works for me.

I celebrate the fact that I am in both the belly dance and the bead worlds.

And yes, I do occasionally experience bead envy.

I'm Green & I'm Busy

2009-07-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

SaraBeth completed the quiz "Which color best suits your personality?" with the result You are Green! .

You are Green! You are a cool yet energized person. You probably tend to be a little more introverted than extroverted - while you love being with your friends, you still need your "you" time. You are probably a rather laid back, zen sort of person, unless you get a good kick of energy; then you can be crazy fun! You are probably insightful and smart; logic comes easily to you. You tend to be a balance between red and yellow. Reds are passionate and intense, and tend to walk over people. Yellows tend to be the walked on, because they like to keep the peace. You, however, are a balance of both. You know when to lie down and let someone take the lead, but if you feel strongly about something, you're not afraid to stand up for it! You are probably compassionate as well, and like animals and plants. You may be a little off-beat, and feel like not many people really see the depth in your personality. You would probably rather keep things on a superficial level that other people can understand than show the deeper side of yourself. You, in a nutshell: Cool, energized, balanced, strong, funky, zen, deep, intelligent, logical, compassionate. GREEN! .

And it ain't easy, being green. Busy, busy, busy today, no time for a real post so this will have to do. More thoughts on these types of quizzes later.

Too freakin' funny!

2009-07-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

This is from LOLCats! I keep it on my desk top for whenever I need a good laugh.

That is one tiny baby and one very very patient cat.

Wiilow Weekend Workshops....

2009-07-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

....and chocolate cake!

Calling all Arizona belly dancers!!

The weekend of August 1st & 2nd Ava Fleming will be hosting three belly dance workshops featuring Willow Chang at Al Moro Dance Studio.

Sat., Aug. 1st is "New Moves, Different Groves" followed by an open dance night (not sure of the start time) and Ava's famous chocolate cake

Sun., Aug. 2nd is "The Willow Way" & "Comboville"

I have tickets for Cirque Du Soleil on Saturday, but I will definitely be there for the Sunday workshops.

Somebody please, please save me a piece of cake.

Also check out IAMED's buy "4 DVDs get the 5th one free" sale.

Looking To Improve This Blog

2009-07-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

I'm looking to improve the look of this blog. Any suggestions? I'm so very tech-not savvy & I don't know what to do to make this look more like *me*.

Some of the things I would like to do is change the color, add a belly dancing avatar, add my own banner.

Of course all of this will have to wait because I'm off to see a new endocrinologist later today. I'll post about the Thyroid Saga some other time, when I start to feel better.

Baby Toe Withdrawal

2009-07-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

*sigh* That's what I've been dealing with for the past few weeks. Baby Toe Withdrawal. Indigo Lynne has been walking for quite some time and that has lead to fewer and fewer opportunities for baby toe noshing.

I can still get a really good nibble of those delectable little raspberry gum drop toes right after she's had her bath, but sadly, I think the baby toe nibbling days are coming to an end.

*sigh* I'm going to miss those adorable little sweet meat feet. A tasty little treat that just can't be beat.

Save The Barn!!!!

2009-07-21T12:56:00.001-07:00

The Dairy Barn, that is. This came to my attention by way of Rebecca Starry.

For all my readers who are beaders I am sorry to say that the Dairy Barn will no longer be having it's bi-annual Bead International juried exhibit.

Here is a partial quote:

Attention Bead & Basket artists. The Dairy Barn Arts Center will not be offering a juried exhibit for 2010. This decision was made due to lower artist entry in 2008, lack of attendance in 2008, lack of interest in the Bead International & Beyond Basketry '08 tour and catalog, and lack of sponsorships and/or funding.

I find this to be heartbreaking. There just aren't too many venues out there for contemporary bead artists to showcase their work and now we'll be losing one.

I'm blaming the economy. Damn you, stupid economy!!

But I also say let's do something about this. If 2010 is out, what about 2012? By contacting the Dairy Barn and letting them know that we still want this maybe we can convince them to reinstate the exhibit for 2012.

Sultry Sharqi-Belly Dance Monday

2009-07-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight is another session of Sultry Sharqi with Ava. Yippee!!!!

I am just soooo loving this session. Sultry Sharqi is my kind of belly dancing. I also like Ava's new teaching format. Each month the focus is on a different technique. Obviously, this month the focus has been on slow, sultry, sensuous, snaky, sinuous movements.

You might think that practicing just 1 or 2 moves for an entire class would get boring, but it really doesn't. It allows you to see where your mistakes are. For me, when I'm doing Maya's & Serena's I have a tendency to twist my hips a bit. Working slowly has allowed me to correct that.

Last month the focus was on hip shimmies. And well, let's just say I'm still working on them. I know why I'm having trouble, but.... I'm still struggling. My problem is that I have natural "turn out" compounded by all those years of ballet which has further developed my hip & leg muscles to help maintain that turned out position that is so necessary for ballet. I have to work so hard at holding my legs parallel that it makes it difficult for me to keep my legs & hips relaxed enough to execute a good shimmy. If it let my leg turn out just a little bit then my shimmies improve dramatically, but I look sort of like a duck when I start to move across the floor. I am determined to master them with parallel legs. It just might take the rest of my life.

So Ava, if you're reading this I'm putting in my request to keep the monthly focus format with the possibility of revisiting hip shimmies.

But, enough about me.

For all you Phoenix & Tucson area belly dancers looking to escape the heat this weekend why not head up north to Sedona for these wonderful workshops sponsored by Levant Al Sonora.

Carrie Konyha: Graceful hands & arms
Terri Walden of Troupe Salamat: Tribal combos
Mahin: Zill techniques
Jazmine: Sword & props

Name That Crystal

2009-07-19T08:13:00.001-07:00

What started out as a search for 15'0 Charlottes (aka True Cuts) lead to Suzanne Cooper naming a Swarovski crystal after me:

SaraBeth Summer Super Sparkle Shine Shimmer Surprise

I see this as violet with Titan as the custom over coating.

BTW, Crystal Titan is my new favorite Swarovski crystal color. A few weeks ago I bought some from Fusion Beads and I love it, love it, love it! I also bought some Purple Haze bicones, but was a bit disappointed in the color.

But, I digress. Back to naming new crystal colors. My name for Suzanne's crystal is:

Suzanne's Sultry Succulent Seductive Shimmer Glimmer

Decisions, decisions

2009-07-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

Jeanette Cook is selling patterns! I did not know that until today. It's been a while since I've been to her site or had a newsletter from her so really, I had no idea

So first I have to decide....should or shouldn't I? I already have 2 large binders full of instructions and a box of approximately 30 kits (2 of which I just recently purchased from Marcia DeCoster) all waiting for that ubiquitous yet ever elusive "someday".

And then I have to decide which ones I would like to have? Crystal Pagoda? Jewels of the Empress? Should hold out for Geode Goddess?

I'll meditate over it as I'm working on my version of the Troy necklace from Margie's color palette book.

We have tickets for Cique du Soleil next month and I need something spectacular to wear.

IAMED's Belly Dance Essay Contest 2009

2009-07-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

Dombek rolll please!!!!

The winners of the 2009 IAMED Belly Dance Essay Contest are:

Emily Andrews-1st Place
Robin "Shalimar" Kelsey-2nd Place
Adriane-3rd Place

With "Honorable Mention" going to:
Rachel Allen
Pam Emerson
Kristina Moseley
Mia Serra

To read these wonderful essay as well as the winners from 2008 click here.

I laughed, I cried, and in some cases I laughed & cried at the same time. A few of the essays are a bit rough, but they are all entertaining.

My personal favorite was written by Kristina Moseley. I can so totally relate to what she said about the brain understanding what the body does not. That sums of my relationship with hip shimmies.

Congratulations ladies! *zaghareet*

Shimmy: In The Spirit of Belly Dance....

2009-07-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

...that's the name of a new belly dance magazine recently launched out of Sedona, Az by publisher and belly dancer Holly Luky. Sometimes premier issues can be a bit rough around the edges, but this particular magazine is delightfully well polished.

The first thing I read was an excerpt from The Belly Dancer, a new novel from writer DeAnna Cameron. A second excerpt will be in the next issue. To say "I can't wait!" wouldn't be true because I'm going to go out and buy the book for myself before then.

This first issue has 13 well written, witty, informative, and useful articles.

I put Tip #3 from "Top 10 Tips For Living The Good Life" to use right away. This particular tip has to do with a 10 minute fitness routine of your own making that can be especially refreshing after a long stint at a computer.

Just to tease you I'll give you the titles of 3 more articles.

"Cairo-Mother of the World" by Robert G. Bauval
"Belly Dancing For Pregnancy And Birth" by Carinne L. Casazza
"Tribal Style 101", by Hilary Gioval

Some of the regular features of the magazine are "Transformational Astrology" and "Wise Woman Corner."

I like playful, intimate, informal format of the "Question & Answer" interview with belly dancer extraordinaire and cover girl Ava Fleming. I'll leave with with another teaser in the form of two of her answers.

"Desert. (I'll take desert over dinner any day.)"
"Muuhahahahahaa! If I told you that I wouldn't be mysterious, now would I?"

Now, in the spirit of belly dance, shimmy on over to the magazine's website to learn more.

Too Darn Funny For Words

2009-07-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

Real honest-to-goodness consumer products with some unfortunate names. Just too darn funny! Click here to see for yourself!!!