Here, thanks to my sister, are some photos of my newest gingerbread house. This is the first one that required no GLUE in the making. I built it well enough that it only needed royal icing.
I make jewelry out of beads. I've actually managed to sell a few pieces, with the help of some friends. I doubt I'll ever be able to live off of beads, but I enjoy beading -- it's relaxing, I can be creative, and the results are beautiful. I'm coming up with some new designs and am learning more and getting better at it with every piece I make.
These photos were taken by my friend Liz, with her digital camera. Many thanks also to the linen napkins, gourds, glass candy dish and large pomegranate without whose assistance these lovely images would not have been possible.
I also make Ukrainian Easter Eggs. Like beadwork, this requires a lot of patience. Someone gave my grandmother some goose eggs for me to color. They're gorgeous but take longer to dye than chicken eggs! I'm all out of goose eggs, but chicken eggs are plentiful! When I decided to teach myself to make Ukrainian Easter Eggs, I went to the Web. LearnPysanky.com helped me a lot. I've gotten egg materials from Surma . And, there is no need to buy an expensive gadget to empty your eggs after you decorate them. I use the "Blas-Fix Egg Blower" -- a little syringe with a very fine needle, and a little dealie to make a hole in your egg. You only make one hole, pump air into it, and the egg guts come streaming out. It's great. I bought mine from Eggcetera under "Supplies."
Here are photos of my eggs:
Chicken eggs on black background
Chicken eggs on white background
Goose eggs on white background
Goose egg with flower
Goose egg with flower number two
Goose egg with star design
Goose egg with star design number two
Goose egg with stripey design
Goose egg with stripey design number two
First goose egg I did, kind of sloppy on the design
Goose egg with star, hanging
Eggs, hanging
More of the same
Pointsettia egg in tree
Eggs in tree
Flower egg in tree
Close up
And one final eggs in tree
I also used to do a lot of counted cross stitch (not stamped). This has fallen by the wayside in the past year or so, as I've been putting all my time and energy into beads and eggs. I find counted cross stitch very relaxing as well. I've been working on the same piece on and off since fall 1998! I might have finished it by now, but I only work on it sometimes... As it is, I'm about half done, it's looking great, and I hope to get around to finishing it one of these days... I love the cross stitch designs by Theresa Wentzler. I love them. The one I've been working on all this time is by her - the Lady of Shalott.