Stomach Flippin'...

...just a bit!

Gonna have a little play and change my template...hopefully I won't lose anything as I have saved the template as is...not sure if the blog rolls will be saved {which is what I am concerned about} would HATE to lose you all.....

Please keep your fingers {and toes} crossed it all works out

hugs

hello gorgeous xxx

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hello gorgeous xxx

After all that Bead Soup...

...you'll never guess what I'm having for lunch...

yes!

soup!

Slow roasted Lamb and root vegetable soup....mmmMMmmm, delish! Not homemade unfortunately, but delicious all the same. ;o)

However, all that gorgeous homemade Bead Soup I have devoured over the last few days was even more delicious!

362 participants this time round, numerous comments left and an abundance of comments received.....to which I would like to say an ENORMOUS thank you!

You have definitely boosted my confidence!

I wish I lived closer to our host, Lori Anderson, as I would definitely be delivering a fabulous bunch of flowers along with some well deserved hugs.....although I hear she is partial to a slice of pie and a shot of whiskey...shhh! don't let on I told you that! ;o)

So, there's only one thing to get focussed on now that the 4th soup is finished with

yes, that's right....the 5th Bead Soup Blog Party!!!!

Sign ups will be slightly different this time round due to the incredible amount of participants in the 4th Soup.....it's gonna be a lottery....yeah baby!

I can't wait!

Make sure you mark it down in your diaries, on your calenders, your smartphones, in your sidebars, on post-its all around your house...or wherever you feel you need to be reminded NOT to forget!

Hopefully I will see you there....but who knows!

hugs

hello gorgeous xxx

Full as an egg with all this Soup!

*now edited with Part Two*

Well, I certainly will be by the time I have hopped through all 362 blogs participating in the 4th Bead Soup Blog Party hosted by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things!

As mentioned earlier this week I have been partnered with Kristina of Wild Roses and Blackberries and below is just some of what she sent me to create with!

The aim of the Bead Soup challenge is to create a piece {or pieces} with Soup {beads} sent to you by your partner...hopefully you will be partnered with someone who creates in a different medium, so you are able to challenge yourself in your creations with the soup you receive.  The soup consists of a clasp, a focal and a bunch of beads. The only stipulation to the challenge is that you MUST use the clasp and the focal in your creations...you can use some or all of the beads, you can also mix it up with your own bead stash.

This is the second Soup I have participated in, the first unfortunately coincided with the ill health of my dad {who later passed away} comitted as I was I completed my piece, but I felt I didn't really do my partner justice.  This time, even with the on-going health issues with mum, I have deliberated this way and that with the mountain of soup sent to me by Kristina.  I have created two pieces of Bead Soup and I can quietly say I am pleased with the results. ;o)

The first piece created was a necklace with the focal from the soup.  Kristina wasn't sure what kind of stone this was but was sure it was dyed in some way, I thought it looked fabulous with dark metal so have teamed it with gunmetal chain interspersed with 14mm wire-wrapped mosaic turquoise white rounds, 18mm wire-wrapped deep teal wooden beads, a trio consisting of two 2mm gunmetal rounds flanking a 6mm Swarovski faceted round in rose, finishing the creation with another trio of crystals...an 8mm faceted jet rainbow rondelle sandwiched between two 4mm faceted teal rondelles.  The overall length of the necklace is 40"

It's the first time I've really attempted wire-wrapping and chain like this and as I said earlier, I am quietly pleased with it!

The second piece...well you will have to come back for part two! 

I have completed it, but have yet to photograph it and I am out early this morning on footie duty with my 15 year old.....

SO WATCH THIS SPACE....YES...THIS SPACE HERE!!!!

I will let you into a secret, it's not another necklace but it WAS another challenge...with soup I had not worked with before...so thank you Kristina for the challenge....and THANK YOU Lori for the experience..again it was amazing!!

EDITED: Bead Soup Part Two!

So, here is my second piece of soup!

Kristina said she wanted to see what I did with the clasp she had sent in her package to me....well, I had never worked with a box clasp before, especially one with a sieve top and 3 strands to it! But somehow I really liked the clean look of not adding anything to it and felt it would be a focal in itself, so I made the decision not to embellish it {I apologise to Kristina if she feels cheated in someway...but I really like it like this!}

  Kristina had sent me some rice pearls which were drilled side-to-top giving a herringbone type appearance. Again, I had never worked with pearls but I knew what I wanted to achieve. I dug around my own bead stash for the pastel pearl rounds I knew I had and would probably never use {well, at least not for a while anyway!}  I also had some 6mm Rhondonite rounds that would be a perfect addition for the third strand,  I think for a first attempt it's OK, what do you think?

Now, here is what I sent my partner, Kristina...

pop on over to Wild Roses and Blackberries to see what she has created with it...I for one can't wait...almost tempted to pull out of footie duty! ;oO

As I have promised my eldest to overhaul/decorate his bedroom this weekend, I will be multi-tasking...one hand will be holding a paintbrush the other will be blog-hopping!

Have fun hopping through the other participants in the Bead Soup and if you have five minutes, leave a comment {or two!}

hugs

hello gorgeous xxx

Giving is such a pleasure...

...but receiving can be so much fun!

Here is just some of the soup I received from my Bead Soup partner, Kristina over at Wild Roses and Blackberries

I tell ya, for someone who doesn't step foot outside these four walls around me, it's been strangely chaotic here...so much so it has taken me an age to show you what I have received! 

Besides the loveliness above, I had a mountain of other beauties to play with including seeds beads, lucite flowers, coffee bean beads, a copper teddy, filigree connectors...I could go on and on. Most of which I have never used before so Lori's expectations for participants to push their boundaries are well and truly met in this particular soup! 

I love the clasp {seen above} but have never used one before....Kristina mentioned on her blog she would be intrigued to see how I created with it....she may be surprised at what I have done but you will have to wait until Saturday to find out, as that is the reveal day! 

Right, back to playing....see ya on Saturday for the reveal!

hugs

hello gorgeous xxx

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hello gorgeous xxx

In Memoriam

{source}

xxxxx

Flick, Flick, Flick, Flick, FLICKR!!!

arctic, a photo by hello-gorgeous on Flickr.

I have just opened an account at Flickr....got me a nice little side bar badge too!

Since taking photos of my jewellery with a simple point and shoot Samsung digital camera I have become more and more addicted to taking photos {the kids HATE it when they see camera in hand...I have NEVER seen them move so quick!}

I have ALREADY written my letter to Santa asking for a little something special to be left under the Christmas tree...or anywhere else in the house really!....only another 15 weeks till I find out HOW good I've been!

Have you written yours yet??? ;op~

hugs

hello gorgeous xxx

Getting back to "normality"

{warning: photo depicting after surgery scar included in post}

or as close to it as possible.....

I can't believe we are in September already and in two days school starts again for another year of learning.  It will be strange having only one son in education now....the time just seemed to have whizzed by in a flash for the other two!  I think I need to grab these last two days tho' if I want Ellis to go properly attired {I've yet to get any form of uniform for him}....so guess who will be uniform shopping later!  It's an exciting year for Ellis, being his penultimate, he has chosen his subjects ready for his GSCE's: French, P.E. and Car Mechanics {besides the compulsory Maths, English, Welsh, R.E, P.E. and Science}....who knows which direction this little lot will take him in.....

To say it's been a brain numbing, hectic year would be THE understatement of all time....trying to remain positive and push myself  further in 2011, then hearing of and coping with Dad's unexpected Cancer battle and the double {triple} whammy...Mum being diagnosed with Cancer in the same week as Dad.  

Late February/early March was a whirlwind of hospice visits by friends and family to see Dad and say their last goodbyes, long days spent by us at his bedside...all of which were filled with laughter and reminiscing and.....funeral planning.   Whilst this was taking place, mum was also having tests which resulted in her being scheduled for surgery to remove a lump from her neck....

THAT was surreal trying to visit both in hospital {on opposites side of the City} and to have them speak to each other by phone from their hospital beds...VERY surreal! 

Following Dad's funeral, mum and I spent a week in North Wales {mum's birthplace} visiting family and trying to come to terms with what had just taken place, also to help mentally charge us for what we were both about to head into.....the diagnoses from her surgery was that she had Hodgkin Lymphoma...rare in older people...that treatment would be 3 months of Chemotherapy followed by 1 {possibly 2} doses of Radiotherapy, so having this time with her family was important.  Even tho' her cancer was at Stage 1, the outcome was unknown.

The journey was rough, mum only managed one month of chemo...a particularly aggressive dose given to her {which, we were told, even the younger generation found difficult to handle} the decision was to take her off chemo and start earlier than planned with the radiotherapy but instead of 1/2 doses she would have fifteen....one a day for three weeks.  This form of treatment was much "kinder" to mum, the chemo had knocked every ounce of mental and physical strength out of her {I feel she would have coped better mentally if this had been the plan first}. 

{Mum}

Treatment finished 11th July, she had her first appointment with the Consultant last week to see how she was getting on since treatment stopped.  She is doing amazing....her strength is slowly returning, she has set herself a few goals to achieve to continue regaining her strength...mentally her brain is starting to retain information, she is not so confused by everything and I feel she has a small spark of hope about her.  Her first scan will come in October {three months after treatment stopped} we will know what the outcome is then.....so, no point putting life on hold...time to make some plans and set those goals.

We also had an unexpected trip back up to North Wales in August, only this time the hubby and three boys came with us. I can't tell you how stoked I was to have all of us there.  The kids are all teenagers and, two at least, are at the point of probably not wanting to "go on holiday with the parents"...but I felt I had to ask them anyway, to my amazement they said yes before I had even finished the sentence! One happy mamma!

I LOVE going to Pwllheli {North Wales}....it's a seaside town and gets extremely busy in the Summer but is as dead as a dodo in the Winter....there's really nothing to do there except chill and go to the beach!

{will display photos individually over the coming weeks for a better view!}

I LOVE IT!

I LOVE the smell....the sound of the waves...the seagulls...the yatchts...the water...the relaxed atmosphere....ooo, I could go on and on...

One thing the boys decided to do during the week was pop to the driving range as well as play a round of golf

If I could...I would move there...in a heartbeat!

The down side to the visit was, the weekend before we visited, my Uncle {mum's brother} had two serious strokes...the visits to see him were painful {because of recent events} emotions were bubbling under the surface anyway....he's got a long way to go but, fingers crossed, he will be improving by Christmas....it's a slow process...but staying positive helps.

So September begins and plans are to be made......watch this space!

hugs

hello gorgeous xxx

EDITED: shopping done, uniform complete...all achieved in 20 mins...yeah baby!!

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