So what ELSE are you doing in Hawaii?

If you were just reading my last few posts, then you might think that we moved all the way out here to Hawaii, and then I do nothing but knit.  Well, you'd be wrong ... at least a little :)

Quite honestly, it is WONDERFUL being in a real Place again.  Our last 8+ years have been spent in very hot, very dry places, where you have to drive a good bit to get to almost anything one might want to do.  I mean, in CA, we were 40 miles from the closest town; 73 miles from the closest Target, bookstore, and movie theater; 2 hours from the closest Chick-Fil-A (important landmarks, you know); and a bit over 2 hours from either a lake, beach, or wooded mountain.  In Texas, things were a bit better (Target and bookstores were in town, at least) but we still were looking at several hours of driving to get to decent hiking, museums, or most events or activities we wanted to do.  This is really the first time in almost a decade where we're in a Real City again.  Let's face it, the Army doesn't really send you to cities all that often.  The Navy at least almost has to send you to a port (which will also be a City 95% of the time) but the Army... they like their space to drive tanks around and practice blowing stuff up.  Being in a city doesn't really give you that sort of space.  So, we're in a city for now, and we plan to enjoy it!

 

Being in a real Place again, we are facing the relatively unfamiliar position of having to make choices about what to do on a weekend!  I mean, more than one thing might be going on that we want to go to!  Craziness!!  There are cultural festivals, plays, concerts, independent movie theaters, museums (plural!!), sports events, historical sites... plus tons of hiking and beaches and natural activities too.  And people to do it with!!  It's a really nice feeling to be able to get out of the house and do stuff again, without tons of driving to plan in.

 

Even with driving to plan in, though, it's still not ridiculous (assuming traffic cooperates).  My commute to work is across the island, and it's still only about 25-30 minutes (usually).  I have blocked off that amount of time just to get across town in some of the places I've lived. Some people plan on that time (or more) just to commute within Honolulu, and I know people in TX that commuted up from Austin or its suburbs, and they had a 45-60 minute commute.  But the fact that I work "all the way over" on the Windward side... I think it's the mental distance more than the time.  I had to pick something up from a business over in Kailua (Windward side), and when the lady called to tell me it was ready, she said that it could be mailed to me, if I couldn't pick it up myself.  She didn't actually say it, but that "all the way over there" was certainly in her voice.  Coming from driving-happy Central TX, where driving "just down to Austin" (90 minutes away) is no big deal, it really made me chuckle.

 

In total honesty, yes, Honolulu traffic is a bear.  One accident on the H1 and it will back up for miles.  But, as I remind myself, we have traffic here because we have people here.  People are here because they want to be here, because there are things to do here.  So if I want the one, the other comes with - hard to escape it.  And then I turn on my audiobook or the radio (we get NPR again!) and try to relax a bit.  Traffic is what it is, not much you can do to change it.  Years of driving the HRBT taught me that!

 

And just because this post needed some pictures, here's a shot from a sunset hike I did back in the fall.  Several groups around here head to different trails to go hike at sunset on full moon nights.  This one is the view from the trail to the Makapu'u Lighthouse, looking back toward the sunset over Hawaii Kai.  Very, very pretty.

 

New Mexico: White Sands National Monument

Mom and Zach and I ventured out to the desert at the end of March for a marathon event (because what this spring needed was a major race and a whirlwind trip out west, right?).  We honestly had a lot of fun, though. 

The first stop we had was at the White Sands National Monument.  This is an interesting little geologic site and worth the stop.  It's not a national park, just a monument, so no wide-ranging trails or backcountry hiking like Yosemite or Zion or anything.  But it's still a pretty bit of hiking, and definitely a good day trip if you're in the Alamogordo or Las Cruces areas.  Be sure to check the park's website beforehand though - weather can make a difference to access, especially in the summer.  As can the firing schedule of the nearby White Sands Missile Range.  How many National Parks can you think of that have to worry about that?

The titular White Sands refer to the gypsum dunes which cover a large portion of the park.  These dunes are in fact the world's largest gypsum dune field.  The gypsum has eroded over the years from large selenite crystals which formed in an ancient lake which once filled the Tularosa Basin (the region where the park now sits).  Selenite is one of the crystalline forms of gypsum, and as it eroded away, the now-granular gypsum began being picked up by the wind and moved around.  (Bit of trivia - the winds need to be at least 17mph to pick up the grains of gypsum).  The winds pick up the grains and blow them into dunes, which change shape over time.  Since the winds are pretty steady from one direction, the dune field is actually gradually moving.  Dunes in the center of the field can move 30-35 feet in a year, and build up to 60 feet high.  Dunes at the edge of the field move more slowly, meeting resistance from vegetation at the edge of the field.

You can learn more about the geology which created these amazing dunes on the National Park Service Nature Site or on the White Sands website itself.  And of course read about the plants and animals that have evolved to survive in such an unique environment too.  But that's my science background talking - you could just enjoy the hike and pretty pictures too ;)

The gypsum comes from Alkali Flat and Lake Lucero, areas where the selenite is now exposed to erosion.  An overlook on the edge of Alkali Flat is the turnaround on one of few trails in the park, the appropriately named Alkali Flat Trail. We're standing at the turnaround in the picture above (I'm pointing to where we are on the trail map).  The trail is definitely one to do when you're at the park.  It's about 4.5-5 miles, just walking through the dunes.  As mentioned, the dunes are always blowing around, always shifting, so there is no actual path through them.  You follow a series of orange signposts, like the one next to us.  Sometimes you'll be able to see the next 4 or 5 posts across the dunes ahead of you.  It's a very different little trail.  Be prepared for lots of wind and exposure (I wouldn't want to do this trail in the summer heat) and definitely bring water.

The park regularly holds moonlight hikes and bike rides along Dunes Drive.  Can you imagine these vast stretches of white sand in the moonlight?  Must be gorgeous!

 

An unusual activity in the park is sledding on the dunes.  And it's totally legit!  They even sell saucer sleds in the park gift shop!  (We just borrowed the pair we used.  It was a wee bit too windy that morning to spend tons of time playing on the sleds.)  The gypsum sand has different qualities than quartz sand (besides the color), and the dunes are very fine and soft, yet stable.  Which makes them good for sledding, as it turns out. It's not the fastest sledding you'll ever do, but the dunes aren't that steep either.  Of course, you can still get hurt, so use caution, be safe not reckless, watch where you're landing, yadda yadda yadda.
Also be warned that the sand, being as fine as it is, will be in your clothes and shoes for WEEKS!  Zach was changing his shoes last week, and I looked at him and the clouds of something around his feet, asking "What is that?"  "White Sand."  Three weeks later!!

And yes, I did sled too.  I took pictures as they sledded, then they filmed me going down when I took my turn.  Whee!

 

And a last little thing.  These are the picnic shelters below.  With the winds coming pretty much unidirectionally, all the picnic shelters had these walls on one side.  They look like little space ship pods, don't they?  Especially in the areas where there were more of them clustered together, they had this kinda sci-fi sort of feel.  One of those random little things about the park  :)

 

To close, here is the only picture I have of all three of us in the park.  We're all there, even if just in silhouette :)

I blinked and Spring happened...

Well, I knew this spring semester was going to be a doozy, but I didn't realize how big until I sat down to write today and saw my last post was from DECEMBER!  Yipes!!

But, lots has happened in the meantime, so for a quick catch-up:

• I am in my final semester of grad school, and almost done with that (only 5 more weeks now!!)
• I finished my End of Project Exam in February.  This is the capstone exam for my degree program - Written Comps/Comprehensives, some might know it as.  Basically a looong week of writing papers, trying to demonstrate in your answers that you are fully synthesizing what you have learned over the past three years.  Pretty draining, with the way I write papers.  But all is good; I've been notified that I've passed.  One more box checked off before graduation!
• I finished a pair of blankets for my niece and nephew.  THE blankets, if you've heard me talk about them.  Quite the project, but finally all done and being enjoyed by the little ones :)
• We had a whirlwind trip to New Mexico with Mom for a marathon.  There are so many pictures from this trip, that it will have its own set of posts.
• And the big news (as if all that wasn't enough): Zach and I have moved!  We are now in a hotel in HAWAII looking for housing as Zach in-processes at his new job. After 5 years in TX and 3.5 in the desert, we are in Hawaii!!  Water!  Mountains!  Trees!  Very very exciting!!!!  But more on that in another post, since the whole move has been a saga unto itself.

So, yes, a few more posts to come over the next few days, with plenty of pictures.   I've time to write again, now that the semester's winding down and I'm not working at the moment.  Just consider this a teaser for now, so stay tuned :)

Fun with Scissors and Spray Paint!

When we first moved out here, Zach had some pretty long days, busy with all sorts of trainings and new duties and whatever.  Which meant I was left home alone to be crafty! That was 3 years ago now, so as kinda an anniversary post, here are some projects that I did soon after we moved here.  Yup, another 'finally writing it up' sort of project :)  I don't really have instructions for these, or step-by-step pictures, though, just a lot of chatter about what I did.  

First up, I finally got around to recovering my pin boards.  I've collected pins for years, as swaps at conferences, or as souvenirs from places I've traveled or events I've participated in.  I've got them from all over, and display them on fabric-covered cork boards.  I started with just one, but have expanded my original single board into a whole wall-full! 

The picture above (with the blue fabric) is from our place in CA.  After 3 and a half years in a VERY sunny area, even with blinds on the window, the fabric had faded a good bit, especially on the largest board.  So they were due for a rework.  Also, the colors in the room the boards hang in now did NOT match the pastel blue that worked so well before.  Definitely reasons to rework these.

So, first up, I undid the old blue fabric.  The fabric tucks under the frame around the cork, so just needed to be pulled away.  Once the frames were bare, I repainted them a nice satin-finish black.

I used white-on-white patterned fabric to cover the boards.  I have 3 sizes of boards, the small and medium size ones shown with my pins, and the large one with my necklaces shown further down the post here.  All the board frames were repainted with the same black paint, but each size has a different fabric on them.  Not really noticeable in a picture like this, but I like it in person.  I was hoping to find a black-on-white fabric, but the only ones I could find were cow splotches and large damask prints (too busy and too much black for what I want to display) or tiny polka dots (the right size, but if I didn't get the rows lined up just so, I'd have driven myself batty looking at it - yes I am that nit-picky).  So, white-on-white it was!

Yes, I realize that several of the boards have only a handful of pins on them, but they are also divided up by category, to a mild extent.  So, international pins are on one board, academic pins are on another, military pins are a third, Hard Rock Cafe guitars are another, and sports pins are a fifth.  The two bigger ones are the general pins from US travel (also knitting and Scouts, since those also included US places).  They're much more full now than when this picture was taken. We've been out and about!  :) So yes, there is a method to the madness!

The necklace organizer below was recovered at the same time and in the same way as the pin boards - new black paint and new white fabric.  I used it while we were in CA, but had never covered it, just left it as a giant cork board.  It was hanging in the closet after all.  Now that it's in the room instead of closet, I definitely wanted it to look nicer, so paint and fabric it was!  Even covered, though, mine's still pretty basic.  You can see all sorts of pretty ones on Pinterest, though.  Tons of variation!  The lace-covered ones for hanging earrings are really pretty, but as I don't have earrings... 

The accent L on my necklace board is just a little extra I added.  The letter is one of the 99 cent ones from the craft store (Hobby Lobby, I think), with 3 thumbtacks attached to the back.  This lets the letter act as one giant push-pin and I can position it wherever I wanted on the board.  Then the whole letter-pin was painted black to match the frame.  I just use clear push pins to hang my necklaces on the board.  So much neater than necklaces forming tangles in my jewelry box!

 

So, yeah, not too much in this post, just me being proud of my painting skills and (tiny) organizing efforts. And hey, 3 years in TX now - less than 3 to go!

Oh So Pinteresting Wednesday: Lip Balm

This Wednesday is a project I've been meaning to try for a while, and am finally getting around to it.

Homemade lip stuff (gloss, balm, whatever you want to call it).  I am a dry person physically - skin, hair, nails, etc - and living in the desert kinda killed me.  My body just couldn't handle it.  I am not built for the desert!!  Texas is a bit better, but it's still pretty dry where we are.  I'm always looking for good moisturizers that work and don't cost an arm and a leg.  And my new office is pretty dry too, so I figured this would be a good time to try out one of these recipes.

There are BUNCHES of different recipes for this out there, from 2-ingredient versions that would be easy to do with kids, to ones that have a dozen different oils and waxes and moisturizing what-nots.  The ones I've read through are below, in case you want to browse through for your own inspiration.

• Brilliantly Bland has a Honey Orange Lip Balm recipe, with some great tips on using a double boiler for beeswax.
• Mountian Rose Herbs gives recipes for three different variations, plus tips on customizing your own favorite.
• Rustic Escentuals uses much more specialized ingredients in their Swirled Lip Balm Recipe, but I do like the detailed instructions and the swirled pattern idea.
• Beautylish has a Cool Winter Lip Balm recipe.
• Instructables provides information about using empty tube containers in their Delicious Chocolate Honey Lip Balm directions.
• The Camera's Lying's Tinted Lip Balm was the first set of instructions I saw that used lipstick to color the balm. 
• Torie Jayne gives instructions on coloring with food coloring, as well as other decorations, in her Hand-made Cool Mint Lip Balm instructions.
• Cheeky Kitchen also plays with coloring and with flavors in her Homemade Kiss Gloss instructions.  I also like the container tips (Bead organizers!  Genius!)
• Design Sponge gives instructions for a Solid Perfume Pocket Watch Locket.  Yes, she's not making lip balm, but I really liked the idea of the pocket watch as a tin.
• And what crafty DIY list of links would be complete with a Martha Stewart version?

Now, after all this research, what did I do myself?

Ingredients

• Vaseline with Cocoa Butter
• Coconut Oil - yup, just regular from-the-kitchen coconut oil
• Peppermint Essential Oil
• Lipstick - I had a stick of Clinque Pink Chocolate that I used.  Like the color, but more of a gloss person, rather than a lipstick girl.
• Small tins - as I am addicted to Altoids, I had an assortment of small mint tins to refill.

• Double boiler or microwaveable bowl (depending on how much you are making)
• Spoon
• Aluminum pie tin

Directions

1. Add 3 heaping T of Vaseline and 4 T coconut oil to small bowl.  
2. Add lipstick, broken into pieces if possible.  This will help it melt more evenly (Vaseline and coconut oil both melt much more quickly).
3. Melt in microwave.  I used 60% power and 30-sec bursts, stirring after each one.  I used a plastic spoon to stir the mix.
4. Mix in several drops of flavoring oil (I used mint, my favorite)
5. Pour into clean, prepped containers.  I set up mine in the pie tin, to give myself a clean, contained workspace.  I knew I'd spill some, after all, and didn't want it all over the counter.
6. Let cool.  Some of the recipes above recommended putting them into the refrigerator as they cooled.  I just left them on the counter all afternoon, but I didn't use beeswax either, which does take longer to set.
7. Enjoy!

Overall Comments and Thoughts

• Let the rest of your household know what's cooling in the kitchen.  I came down to check on them, and found a fingerprint in one of the tins.  Zach was curious as to what I'd been making :)
• I like the small tins to hold them, but don't like the big Altoids logo.  Thus, my tins sport a coat of nail polish to make them a little more decorative.  Also to keep me from getting my lip balm confused with my mints when reaching into my purse!
• I like the soft balm that I made (I've often used just plain Vaseline to help my lips when they get really dry) but I'm curious about some of the other variations.  I think I might try a honey-beeswax version when I make my next batch in several months.
• I know the picture on the right is a little blurry, but it best shows the color of the lid.  Which is a nail polish I really like :)

 

Homesickness: A Knitting Project

No, this project isn't as depressing as the title sounds.  Still, though, it is a project that reminds me of home.  The yarn colorway is Virginia Beach, my hometown.  I honestly never though of VB as a 'brown town', especially after living in the Mojave and in Central TX.  Maybe the tweedy brown is supposed to be the Virginia Beach sands?  The pattern name is the area of Virginia Beach where my high school was (is) located.  And I guess it is good for homesickness too, those days when you just want to wrap yourself up in a blanket and pretend you're somewhere you aren't (usually via book or movie, for me).

My project is raveled here.

 

The yarn I used was Lion Brand Hometown USA.  Big, bulky, acrylic.  Not much more to be said, really.  It comes in some gorgeous colors, though, and it's honestly not the scratchiest acrylic I've used.  I'd use it again if I find the right project.  And, being Lion Brand, it was easily available, even in my tiny town.  Hobby Lobby didn't carry the yarn, but Wal-Mart did, so between the two in our area, I was able to get enough for the project.  I did have to compromise and ended up with 3 different dye lots of the colorway - I know, I know, cardinal knitting sin.  I was anxious to get started on the project, though, and didn't want to wait for a restock!  It worked out pretty well, anyway.  The yarn is mottled enough, and the pattern busy enough, that you really can't tell.  Had it been a solid color, I probably wouldn't have gotten away with it, but it worked out just fine with this combination.

The pattern is the Pembroke Wrap by Andrea Rangel.  It was first published in the Fall 2011 Interweave Knits, and is now available in the online Interweave store. 

It's a very straightforward pattern in most respects.  The only part that hung me up was at the end of the Arrowhead lace, where she talks about following the chart until there are 3 repeats.  I was reading that as 3 repeats of the whole chart vertically, not 3 repeats of the pattern horizontally.  I think it was all my issue, but in case anyone else makes the same mistake, don't try to just continue on in the lace for another repeat or two of the chart.  Your stitches won't match up and you'll be pulling your hair out! 

 

I liked the pattern and I liked my results, but I don't think I'd make this again, unless I was using a lighter yarn.  It's very bulky (bulky yarn, duh) and I just like something a little lighter weight around my neck, especially here in TX.  Too hot to get too much use from it, worn around the neck like that!  In a lighter yarn, though, this could work.  I'll stick with the sock-weight shawls for the most part.

I did make a few modifications to the original pattern. 

• I wanted it bigger than the original pattern, to be something nice and snugly to wrap myself in when I needed a warm hug.  In other words, I wasn't making a bandana sort of neck shawl like in all the pattern pictures.  I wanted a bigger, wrap-all-around-my-shoulders sort of shawl.  A blanket with shaping and a button, really.  So, I needed another repeat.  A Ravelry user had already figured out how to add another lace repeat before the lace edging, so I followed her directions.  You need the separate directions because the end of the lace and the beginning of the lace (if you're repeating the chart) don't match up in stitch count.  This user had worked out how to start the next chart repeat and adjust your stitch count to make it all work out.  Another bonus?  As she pointed out, this also means that you can use a lighter weight yarn for the shawl as well.  Thank you, thecalicolover! 
• The other modification I made was inspired by another Ravelry user, Lana-Luna.  I really liked how she added the button to keep her wrap in place on her shoulders.  So, I found some nice dark wood buttons that looked nice with my yarn, and added some myself!

Two last pictures.  The picture below of the left shows the pattern better.  The one of the right is closer to the true color.

 

Sisterly Bonding (and she doesn't even hate me afterwards!)

So, part of the reason I was incommunicado recently, besides the work around the house and the starting of a new job and everything else that was keeping me busy, was that Anne was able to come out and visit for a week!  Huzzah!  Fun fun times abound!  Both of us recognized that we need to have more friends to just play with.  It's so much harder for adults to meet people, you know?  In high school, there are clubs and sports teams, and in college you have dorm life as well.  And throughout school, there are people in your classes that you get to know as well.  Once you're out of school, there's work, and... work.  You have to make an extra effort if you're going to find people to work out with or go to the movies with or have a board game night, or whatever.  So, it was greatly appreciated when a playmate came out here to TX!

Anyhoo, while she was here, there was a 5K on post which Zach and I wanted to run - the oh-so-appropriately named Hotter than Hades 5K.  We gave her the choice of running it (or walking it) or of sleeping in, and she took us up on the offer!  It helped, I'm sure, that the races on post are free ;)

So, we all woke up nice and early last Saturday and went over for a nice jog around post.  First 5K race I've done in MONTHS!  The ones back in CA weren't exactly well-advertised, so I missed some by just not hearing about them; and there were a few that I just couldn't do because of scheduling.  So I was greatly looking forward to the one here, something to hopefully get my lazy butt back in gear.

Here she is at the starting line, still looking very chipper.

 

So how did the race go?  Not too badly, considering I'm trying to get back in shape still!  Getting extended in the desert (that extra 6 months was a motivation killer) and having one of my workout buddies move and another get injured... well, my workout motivation thermometer dropped below freezing.  Now that we're in a new area, I'm trying to get back into a routine, but with my work hours bouncing around with trainings, and this horrible never-ending heat wave, I'm finding it a challenge.  So, a nice easy 5K was needed.  It was indeed Hotter than Hades, but was also held early enough that we could finish before it became too beastly. I was slower than usual, to be expected after 7 months of laziness, but I wasn't a total wreck either.  So, still have some muscles there under the lazy layer?  Let's try and get them going again!

And for Anne?  She survived!  Her first 5K successfully completed, no knees blown, no EMS called at the side of the road, and hey - she can still smile at the end of it!  She hung with me through the first 2 miles or so, and then had to do a bit more walking than running.  Still, not bad for her first 5K!  We made sure to take a bunch of pictures so she could go back home and show her workout buddies that she really did run a race.  She didn't they'd believe her otherwise, as she is definitely not a Runner :)

   

And as a side note, I'm wearing one of my favorite running shirts - a running donut, with the caption "1 Glazed Donut = 6 Miles" - a Target clearance find, actually.  Get compliments on it though! "I'm sweatin' sprinkles!"  Silly donut :)  We both laughed too, wearing our bright pink shirts together.  Made us a little easier to find, but we had to chuckle at how we turn the same color as our shirts as we workout.  Have always turned bright pink when I workout, and now I'm that color from the top of my head on down!  As one of my favorite workout quotes runs, "If you still look good at the end of a workout, you're not doing it right!"

One last beading post

At least for a while. I have a few more to photograph, but I still have to get my house all unpacked and set up, and the unpacking does take priority. Kitchen before crafts!  But as I do have a few projects ready to share, here you go.

A total spur-of-the-moment project, based on several elements I found on clearance at Joann's.  If I remember correctly, the only think that wasn't on sale was the chain itself, and I think the whole thing was less than $5!  Gotta love a sale!  The necklace was inspired by some quirky black-and-silver beads and a fun black-red-and-silver pendant.  Add a quirky chain to make a long drop necklace, and voila!

I know I said recently that I don't like the red-and-pink heart sappiness that comes with Valentine's Day?  Well, I caved to a particularly cute clasp and ended up inspired by this project from Oriental Trading Company.  In fact, I actually followed the directions, I liked it so much!  There are 3 sets of clasps in the package that you can order from OTC, and each half of the clasp has a half of a paired phrase (Hugs-Kisses; Love-Peace; and Love-Hope-Dream).  I'm trying to think of good colors for the other phrases in the package, because they're just too much fun to pass up!

 

While we're thinking OTC, this was a kit I picked up on sale from the site.  Nothing much to add to that, other than I like how the picture on the right came out, with the angle and lighting and all :)

 

One final project for this post (like I said, I do have a few more to talk about, but they still need to be photographed, so must wait for now) is one that started as a free bead included in a package from Goody Beads.  No, not all of their free included beads end up inspiring me to purchase more beads to make a full project, but this one did, so I guess the marketing plot worked.  But, being in the desert, I missed snow (and weather in general, for that matter) so the little snowflake bead was particularly appealing.  I added some of the little white 'snowball' beads, some contrasting blue-and-snowflake beads, some silver spacers, and some solid blues and just made it up as I went along.  I like all the blues and whites in this necklace, but my favorite part is the little snowflake charm at the clasp.  Just fun!

 

And this picture's included just because I like how the light was catching the beads, how they all seem to glow  :)

Yup, another jewelry post!

I was very busy with my jewelry making before we moved.  My inner magpie is finally emerging!  

The first two are pretty simple, just quotes I've added onto chains with a little bit of color.  The slightly blurry one on the left has three little charms that say "Live," "Laugh," and "Love."  The one on the right says "Never Never Give Up."  I fiddle with my jewelry a lot, so having little messages like this on me does help me keep them in mind.  Like I said in an earlier post, I was looking for a lot of motivation while we were in CA...

 

This one is one I think of as "my good little Southern girl necklace."  It has polka dots, my initial, pastel colors, and somehow strikes me as something worn by one toting Vera Bradley and sipping sweet tea.  As I was anticipating the move to TX when I made it, it seemed appropriate!  It's one of my own projects, no particular inspiration, other than the pendant itself.  I had lots of the black spacer beads, and then used the black accent beads to give it a little texture - the polka dots on those beads are the same colors as on the pendant.  The colored crystals are repeated in the same order as the colors on the polka dots, and the accent beads appear once a color repetition is complete.  I finished it off with just the black and silver spacers for the last few inches around the neck.  The daisy clasp seemed to fit with the personality of the necklace, so there you have it!

 

I also make a key clip using the larger version of the same pendant.  Both sizes of the initial pendants are available from Goody Beads, and yes they are available in all 26 letters.  I had an extra of the black accent beads, and liked the look of the little bag clip-style key chain, so... ta-da!

This necklace is a little dressier one.  It's based on another Artbeads project (Delicate Elegance).  I actually followed the instructions pretty closely!  I used the silver focal beads and styles of chains that I could get my hands on within my budget, but otherwise, a project that I actually followed the directions on!

 

This was a minor kit-bashing project.  I found the necklace-earrings set on sale at Target, and as my ears aren't pierced and I didn't want to waste the pretty teal and silver beads, I added them into the necklace!  You can see how pretty they are in one of the pictures below.  One of the teal beads I added to the end of the chain on the clasp, and the other I added as a drop pendant.  The green beads I just added into the chain to keep the necklace balanced.  And everything from the earrings is now used!  Waste not, want not!