Wow...!

Whoa, talk about a stunner. I made a hat band for my sister-in-law for Christmas. She wanted to give one to her niece as a present and while my sister-in-law was here for a visit she picked the colors and let me do a design.

This morning I got pictures of said same hat band on a hat sitting on a saddle and it took me a second to figure it out, no one said I was bright early in the morning without coffee come on folks some slack would be nice, I made that hat band and it is residing on a hat back in New Jersey. Thus, the wow stunner. Not to mention that they saddle this kid got for Christmas is really nice, a Circle Y no less. For those of you who know saddles, Circle Y is a really nice saddle, I prefer TexTan Herefords myself, they fit me better but still, the only Circle Y I could ever afford was used but then the only saddles I've ever been able to afford are, wait for it, used.

I digress, back to the shock of the hat band. It is weird and I am pretty sure anyone who makes things and sells them has the same reaction to seeing their product on someone else. I think about all the material that went into it, I remember the beads or stones, the silver and wire I strung the stones on, I don't just loom beads folks, I make other jewelry too, and whether I liked the piece or not. Just because I made it doesn't mean I would wear it. If that were the case I would never sell anything. I try to make things that will appeal to lots of people not just one type so I don't always like what I make. Don't misunderstand, I don't hate it, it just isn't my type of whatever, colors, stones, designs.

In a nut shell, I was really proud to see my work on some one and to know that they really love it, that alone makes what I do worth while and will keep me working away at it until word gets out and I can make money enough to support my beading habit.

Saha's Story

Saha made the Ezine articles page under pets. Good girl!

Ah, I made a mistake

Like this is anything new to me, mistakes that is. I miss counted my beads and looms, I have 10 looms and 100 bottles of beads, insanity but then I do this with lots of things, for instance I have 5 barbeque's and I have 4 telescopes. In my book a girl can never have too many grills, telescopes or obviously, beads or looms.

Our weather here until today has been dreary so not much looming going on, sunlight makes lots of things look better including my disposition but I do have 2 looms going when I get there, one is a hat band and the other will be a bracelet for myself.

I am trying to stock up on hat bands because once again this year I will be vending at the Wild Horse and Burro Show at the Reno Livestock Center in August. I love being a vendor at this show every year because you see the most gorgeous horses doing things like dressage and team penning and when you see these beautiful animals and how remarkable they are some people have trouble understanding that every horse in this show was once a wild mustang or wild burro. They have riders and they in some cases put purebred horses to shame not only in their looks but their performances. The last 2 years there has been a woman on a golden palomino with a very long gorgeous tail and this woman has a ponytail to match, she and her horse take lots of ribbons as well as looking perfect together. People love their mustangs, I'm not the only one.

Again I am going to post a picture of something that I've made.

Been awhile

Well it has been awhile, my fault I've been beading and I had a friend ask me about my blog and I couldn't say anything but, oopppsss.

My friend has kindly offered to help me catch things up here and stay on top of it well maybe to at least not slide under it.

It was her idea but I agreed that I need to stop whining about the state and my unemployed status and start talking about what it is that I do do. I bead, I make jewelry I actually have a website named Saha's Beadworks and I have put Saha's story here so that any who care to may read about this wonderful horse. Yes, horse, Saha is a horse, she is or should I say was, a wild mustang that I adopted out at Palomino Valley outside of Reno Nevada. She is now totally tame, well as tame as a mustang gets which means it depends on how they feel that day. She is tame to the point where she is very easily handled and she stands for the farrier as long as she gets her apple treats. Actually she throws her legs at you to get apple treats, you have to be careful not to get knocked into the next county by flying Saha legs. She is my sweet girl and I love her so much that I decided to name my beading business after her.

I enjoy making jewelry very much but the thing that has captured me totally is loom beading. I always wanted to learn how to loom cloth and I tried, it didn't "grab" be so I tried looming beads and this for me was like an answer to a question I have asked my whole life, how can I make patterns using colors in a medium that I like, viola, loom beading.

I counted today, I have 9 bead looms of various sizes and styles and I have 98 two ounce jars filled with colored beads and 11 two ounce jars filled with colored cut beads. If nothing else they are great to look at and pretty much make me drool, sad maybe but true. I always am able to find a new bead whenever I go into Carson City to the place where I get my supply of beads. For me this experience of going into the bead store is akin to a guy going into Home Depot or maybe Summit Racing, it's a candy store no doubts about it, you don't gain weight, you just get poor.

Lately I have had a lot or requests for hat bands. I hand draw the design, I select the colors, I string the loom and I bead. When the beading is finished I cut the leather for the backing, I then hand sew the bead work onto the leather and finish it off with conchos. I am going to attach a picture of a hat band that I just finished. The design is my interpretaion of a Navajo blanket. The beading was hand sewn onto the leather back with sinew for strength. I hope someone will enjoy this piece because I really enjoyed making this one, I think it is a stunning hat band. Oh, by the way, I never make the same design twice, it will be one of a kind unless the person who buys it wants me to make one just like it for them.

Now if I can just figure out how to get the picture attached....