Live, Laugh, Love, and Beads

It's been a while since my last post because of classes, finals, and now packing.  Where am I going? To the land of no opportunity, the land of total chaos and violence, the land were, literally, I devolve into a couch potato.  I am going to Paki-land.   Even though I go every year to visit family, my freedom's abduction gets to me every time, BUT this time it's going to be different because I'm going to make it different. How? I'm bringing my beads.  That is life, not everything is going to go according to my 'plan', whatever that may be,  so all I can do in such dire situations is: Live, Laugh, Love (Fischer Prices: Play Laugh Grow is playing in my head).  For me my 'happy hour' is with my beads so I have made personal goals to perfect my beading techniques, cheesy I know.  There are a million things that I wanted to try but never had the time to between school, studying, research, and sleep.  So I made a "Bucket List" of things I want to accomplish in this four month period, I want to make

• Beaded Beads
• Self Standing Beaded Boxes
• Bead Embroidery
• Make an extensive beaded pieces

This is a short list which I will add to and expand upon later.  I have already made head way on the bead embroidery, I started a cuff a while back which I plan on completing hopefully before I leave on my 'vacation'.

Bead Embroidery, Size 6/0 and 11/0 seed beads

This took a lot of self control since I have OCD about certain things, such as symmetry.  Everything MUST be symmetrical for it to be beautiful in my head BUT I know better and that there IS beauty in asymmetry.  However some part of my brain deep down doesn't want to accept it, and constantly nags at me, so to shut it up I deliberately decided to go asymmetrical on the cuff.  My inspiration was a how a single sunflower can make the world more beautiful; no matter how dull a day may seem,  sunflowers are always bright and full of life!  I'm planning on adding small 3D flowers to the vines to add some depth and a level of complexity.

3D beaded flower, Size 11/0 Delicas, 4mm Swarovski Pearl

If I finish in time I just might submit it to the Bead Mavens Vernal Visions Challenge.  That way I can 'officially' enter the beading world. Dun dun dunnnnnn.  Originally I had wanted to enter the challenge with a well thought out piece but being confined to the resources of a third world country, I decided not to have high hopes about this challenge.  Hopefully I will participate in other challenges once I get back and I will definitely continue blogging.  So stay tuned for the finished cuff!