Latest work on Amber Hoard...

I've worked on my Amber Hoard necklace as time allowed over the past week or so. Finally, I'm finished with one side. Photo attached.

I have had some exciting news; there's a good chance that I may be going to New Zealand/Australia in December for a 6-week gig as travel guide on the HAL cruise ship Volendam!! Yowza! What fun! Needless to say, I have to get this necklace done so I can wear it in the Land of Oz/Kiwi-Land.

Also I need to start sewing BC squares together, as I have received enough now to get started.

Some progress...

I've been working on the amber necklace a few moments here and there, mostly during TV time, and have made some progress on one side. It's still a bit of a "work in progress" as I design it in my mind as I bead, but I think I'm getting there; it seems like the vision is jelling anyhow.

Started some new beadwork...

Hurray! I finally got started on some beadwork besides squares for the annual breast cancer project. I need an extravagant, over-the-top piece for one of my dressy cruise outfits, so that was the motivation. In addition, I've collected--ahem...hoarded--amber pieces for years. This particular piece was purchased in 1991 in Warnemuende, Germany for 108 DM, about $65 as I recall. At that same time I was gifted an amber bracelet on elastic by some German friends. The elastic had stretched beyond good use, so I've decided to cut it apart, use some pieces on the necklace, and the rest on a matching bracelet.

In terms of colors, I'm using a split complementary combination of blue-violet, yellow and orange. Here's the start with more to follow, as time permits....

BC squares

Yesterday I used some polymer clay to make an "I love you" hand in sign language. I'm not a polymer clay expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it turned out cute. Also yesterday we received our first snowfall here in Wasilla, so I did a square with mittens. Photos attached.

Hmmmm... copyright

Hmmmm, somewhere on the 'net the folks must be fighting the copyright wars. I always get a lot of folks signing my guestbook when that happens and I've had tons the past few days. If you want to check your knowledge, here's my copyright quiz:

http://shanigansbeadshenanigans.com/copyright.html

Jeanette Shanigan

My Kate Boyan bag

OMG, I received the bag from Kate Boyan in today's mail that I commissioned from her. It is the most gorgeous piece!!! I wanted the view from her window, but also focusing on fireweed. She did a spectacular job of creating what was in my head. Attached is the photo she took of the piece. Isn't it beautiful???

Beading Across America

Earlier I mentioned that I'm the Ms. Alaska for a new Kalmbach book entitled Beading Across America. This summer a photo of the front cover was released. It has snippets of the pieces by the 30 contributors to the book. Can you guess mine?

Memories of last summer...

Here's another photo of me last summer. This one is also in Juneau, but at Mendenhall Glacier where I'm doing dog-sledding. We took a helicopter to the glacier; it was a gorgeous day! We had fabulous views of Juneau Icefield, too.

An end of sorts...

An update for those following my grieving process--this summer both Gordon's and Donnavon's ashes were put in their final resting places; they are "feeding the fishes"--a bit of closure for all.

Also I put all my beaded squares with the text posted here in a journal. I only made 9 squares which took me to the 1-year anniversary of their deaths. It seemed to be enough to help me with the grieving.

Here is a photo of me taken this summer on the zipline in Juneau, Alaska.

Long time, no post....

Hi folks,
It's been over a year since I last posted here! In the meantime, I finished the 6 turtle quilts for Bead Artists against Breast Cancer, wherein $2,865 was raised for breast cancer research this year for a total of nearly $18,000 over the past 6 years. In addition, I worked on the Rotterdam in SE Alaska all summer as a travel guide; it was a fantastic experience and one I hope to repeat again.

The new guidelines for the 2011 bead quilts have been posted on my website ( http://shanigansbeadshenanigans.com ); the theme this year is the hand, as in "Caring hands beading together to help find a cure for breast cancer." Join us!

Jeanette Shanigan
http://shanigansbeadshenanigans.com