Aimless musings from the waiting room

So as I sit these last number of weeks in hospital waiting rooms, my mind has had plenty of time to work (actually working overtime if I were to be honest.)  But in these weeks, hours, days and minutes... I've had some interesting thoughts that I just had to share.

• I've encountered wonderful, caring people with 7 different predominant types of cancer (brain, breast, prostate, liver, lung, cervical, leukemia)

• Everybody has a story (I knew this, but I've become a better listener)

• If you put a race car driver in a parking ramp, would he know what to do (race cars only go left... parking ramps, at least this one, is all right turns)

• Shouldn't hospitals have cell phone and iPad charging stations for patients and those that drive them to appointments? A wifi printer would be a total dream too...

• In the name of sanitizing, how many of those little paper disposable cups have I used for my burst o' coffee fix?

• Art, specifically hand painted murals on waiting room walls really do make a hospital feel warmer - I'm grateful for those talented artists that created them.

• Living in two homes is challenging... for the rest of my life, I will be grateful to go on vacation, but firmly believe I choose to have only one home. 

• Waiting... well I'm still working on learning to just BE... planning can be overrated (gasp, did I just say that out loud) but to BE in the moment and cherish every second is what makes memories to last a lifetime.

I thank each and every one of you that took the time to visit my blog during The Challenge of Color Blog Hop.  I will update you as my piece, The Journey continues to grow and eventually be finished.  Your comments, thoughts, prayers and positive energies have been felt from miles and continents away.  My family is filled with gratitude that so many of you care so much. 

From the bottom of our hearts, Thank You so very much!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

In the little gift bags are Daily Messages of Hope.  They are paper chains with each link containing inspiration quotes and messages.  They were designed and made by a former patient and her friends.  The bags are free for anyone to take.  They have bags for male & female patients as well as breast cancer specifically.  What a generous donation of time and heart!

The Journey - Challenge of Color 2012

Welcome to the Challenge of Color Blog Hop.  I first want to thank Erin Prais-Hintz for her wonderful organization of this event and the encouragement to all of the participants that signed up.  Erin, this challenge always inspires me, but I had no idea just where this would take me when I signed up this year.

This year, Erin partnered with Brandi Hussey to create some amazing color palettes using the theme Earth as Art.  Each of us were assigned two and we can choose whichever one we pleased.  I revealed my two color palettes earlier this month but wasn't going to tell you which one I picked.

While I love purple, eat, sleep and breathe purple... I actually chose the second palette, Empty Quarter featuring shades of grey (not quite fifty) & burgundy.  Can I tell you, when the student is ready the teacher will appear.  In this case Erin was a teacher (literally and figuratively) in my life.  I can't even put into words how grateful I am for that.  This is how I tell the story...

 At the time of sign-up we had just discovered 3 brain tumors in my baby brother (28).  The color of the Brain Tumor Awareness ribbon is Grey.  Secondarily, in September we found out my grandma whom I'm very close with was diagnosed as having Multiple Myeloma - a blood cancer.  She's currently undergoing treatments for that as well.  Is it a coincidence that the Multiple Myeloma Awareness ribbon is Burgandy?

I've been living at my brother's home this month taking him to daily treatments.  What I've been able to help him with, he's given me back in laughter and love.  We're still undergoing treatments and on this journey together.

Therefore... since the journey continues as does my piece.  It's not finished, but I see in my soul the big picture of what it's going to be.

The necklace is featuring many bead embroidered components.  It may be a bib-style necklace when all is said and done or it could morph into a full-blown collar.  The cabochons feature photos of my brother Greg and my grandparents as well as one that says family (those need to be finished).  Both photos were taken at our September birthday party before we knew Greg's brain tumor had returned.

Awareness Ribbon color was added with nail polish!

I've added additional components that also bring in the grey and burgundy/red theme.  I've added some bling and sparkle around various cabochons using sequins (I know my friend Sarah of Saturday Sequins will love that) and a crystal link chain. 

None of the components have been edged or backed yet... so you'll see string and such in the photos.  I also didn't have my usual photo set up (doesn't work when your digital camera USB cable is at home and you're on the road) so my photos have been taken with my phone.

So as this journey continues, my beaded art necklace which was a challenge in color will continue to grow and become more beautiful with each piece of the puzzle in place.

The Journey - bringing awareness to people that have been touched by brain tumors or multiple myeloma!  We all travel The Journey together - arm in arm, heart to heart!

To see all of the rest of the participants, please do visit Erin's blog.  See her inspired designs and the other artisans that are participating in the challenge.  Allow yourself to grow and let YOUR creativity tell your story! 

As we continue treatments with Greg, just know he's in great spirits and takes great pride in making me laugh every day!  It's the best way to fight a tough fight!

Peace & love to you,
{Hugs!}
Dawn

Participating in the Challenge of Color again!

I'm so excited that it's time again for Erin Prais-Hintz (Treasure's Found Blog) Challenge of Color.  In lieu of recent happenings in my world, I'm finding beading to be my peace. 

Last year when I participated in Erin's challenge she gave us great color palettes from Design Seeds to use as inspiration to create something wonderful.  I still get Design Seeds e-mail color palettes everyday and love the ideas and creativity it sparks! 

This year, Erin is working with Brandi Hussey (Brandi Girl Blog) to give us color palettes in the theme Earth as Art!  We were assigned two color palettes and we could choose whichever one we wanted. 

Here were my two choices:

I'm not going to tell you which one I chose until November 30th the day of the blog hop.  I'm not sure if I'll have an entire piece finished by then, but I am taking each bead as therapy in this journey I'm currently on with my family.  Beading is my peace, so let this be called The Challenge of Peaceful Color blog hop!

Hope your week is full of creative inspiration and love!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

Purple - Violet - Blue-Violet - Lavendar - Violet-Blue - The One Crayon Color Challenge Blog Hop

Did you ever wonder why Crayola made violet-blue AND blue-violet crayons?  Sounded redundant when I was 3, now 30 years later I get it... more of blue, less of violet... or more violet, less blue.  But through the eyes of men according to a recent photo I saw posted in Facebook, all they see is one color - PURPLE!

I love a good challenge and today we're sharing a challenge put together by the very talented artisan, Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime!  The idea of the One Crayon Color Challenge was to create something using just 1 color... doesn't matter how hard or soft you press on that crayon, you get multiple shades of that color.  The end result a monochromatic work of art!

Alas, I pick.... PURPLE! (If you know me, insert cheesy grin here) ☺

Because I lurve purple so much... I couldn't stop at 1 piece... I did 2 (Fozzy Bear wokka, wokka, wokka!)

I created 2 bead embroidered necklaces.  The first is a necklace made of two components.  The top features a crazy purple agate, and the bottom is an amethyst.  It's a sheer coincidence that both stones start with "A" honestly... my type A part of the brain didn't plan that, for real.  I used Nicole's Bead Backing in dark purple because I wanted everything to be matchy matchy too... yes, that was Mrs. Type A speaking.

The second necklace I made turned out to be like a color canvas.  I wasn't sure what the finished project was going to look like when I started... I just laid all my purples on a cookie sheet and put it together one bead at a time.  The glass cabochon featuring the butterfly was created by my good friend Sandy Spivey with Glass Art Cabochons.  I used black goldstone, amethyst beads, purple magnesite (from Happy Mango Beads) and a funky vintage cabochon.  Using primarily Miyuki 15/0 seed beads I brought in all different shades and finishes of purple to make this monochromatic masterpiece pop!

The necklace itself is comprised of purple magnesite, black goldstone and amethyst beads.  It's finished with chain and a lobster claw clasp for adjustable wear from 19" - 22"!

The Purple Butterfly is Available for Sale.

$200 USD

What a very fun challenge this was!  Like I said, I lurve purple... so any excuse you give me to play with it... I'm in heaven!  Now why don't you slide down the rainbow and stop over to visit many other talented artists!  Have a terrific weekend!
{Hugs!}

Dawn

Hosted by:
Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com

Purple

Tracy Mok http://bumblebeadsdesigns.blogspot.com

Jennifer Judd Velasquez http://jenjuddrocks.blogspot.com

Marti Conrad http://marticsclay.blogspot.com

Lori Anderson http://prettythingsblog.com

Donna Bradley http://strandedbeads.blogspot.com

Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com

Linda Younkman http://lindysdesigns.blogspot.com

Susan Kennedy http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Lisa Liddy http://Lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Tracy Stillman http://www.tracystillmandesigns.com

Dawn Doucette http://designsbydawnmarie.blogspot.com <-- YOU ARE HERE

Blue

Cherie Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com

Rebecca Anderson http://songbeads.blogspot.com

Hope Smitherman http://craftyhope.blogspot.com

Patti Vanderbloemen http://myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com

Michelle Buettner http://MiShelDesigns.blogspot.com

Alicia Marinache http://allprettythings.ca

Charissa Sloper http://blog.obsidiansoda.com

Sonya Stille http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com

Maria Grimes http://mariagrimes.blogspot.com

Nancy Saccoccio http://risingdesigns.blogspot.com

Sandi Volpe http://sandivolpe.com

Joanne Tinley http://daisychaindesignsjewellery.blogspot.com

Catherine Pruitt http://boobeads.blogspot.com

Green

Mary Harding http://maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com

Karin Gilman http://www.qaygee.blogspot.com/

Jayne Capps http://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com

Lorelei Eurto http://lorelei1141.blogspot.com

Melissa Meman http://melissameman.blogspot.com

Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com

Jenny Davies Reazor http://www.jdaviesreazor.com

Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com

Melissa Essenburg http://chinookdesigns.blogspot.com

Regina Santerre http://reginaswritings.blogspot.com

Lauren Streets http://ornthoughts.wordpress.com

Elizabeth Auld http://beadsforbusygals.com

Yellow

Jennifer Justman http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com

Rose Brisson http://ahteesblog.blogspot.com

Kim Bender http://www.kimmykats.com/

Heather Powers http://humblebeads.blogspot.com

Shelly Joyce http://www.aujourlejour-shelly.blogspot.com

Orange

Linda Landig http://LindasBeadBlog.com

Cherrie Fick http://designsinthelight.com

Beth McLarnan http://threetrees-art.blogspot.com

Cece Cormier http://thebeadingyogini.com

Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com

Tanya Goodwin http://pixiloo.blogspot.com

Jean Welles http://jeanawells.blogspot.com

Amy Severino http://amybeads.blogspot.com

Rebekah Payne http://treewingsstudio.com

Lola Surwillo http://.beadlolabead.blogspot.com

Judy Turner http://silver-rains.blogspot.com

Red

Therese Frank http://theresestreasures59.blogspot.com

Rochelle Brisson http://acreativechelle.blogspot.com

Lisa Lodge http://pineridgetreasures.blogspot.com

Malin de Koning http://beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com

Bobbie Rafferty http://beadsong.blogspot.com

Brown

Diana Ptaszynski http://suburbangirlstudio.com

Shannon Chomanczuk http://formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com/

Janice Everett http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com

Karen Williams http://Baublicious.blogspot.com

Black

Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com

Heidi Post http://expostfactojewelry.blogspot.com/

Lejonklou http://lejonklou.blogspot.com/

Holly Westfall http://silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com/

Karin Slaton http://backstorybeads.blogspot.com

Playing with Color And Showcasing some Cute Kiddos

Hope you're not checked into Jelly Bean Addicts Anonymous yet, because if you are, you forgot to pick me up!  I love fruity, chewy, gummy candy... And I like chocolate too.  Which pretty much means the Easter basket with all the naughty yumminess that the Easter Bunny leaves me is just pure delight!

I'm excited to share with you that I'm participating in another color challenge!  Ms. Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime is hosting the One Crayon Color Challenge!  In other words, pick your crayon and whether you use it hard to create a dark shade or your crayon barely touches the paper creating a very soft shade, we are supposed to create a monochromatic jewelry design.

The blog hop and reveal are scheduled to take place on May 5th!  The color I've chosen is ... PURPLE!  But you knew that already, didn't you.  So I'm pondering just what I'm going to make... but I'm very excited to be participating in this challenge.

In other cute news, I created a little video clip from our family Easter Celebration which was also my brother's birthday.  We kept it very low key and stress free this year focusing on my niece and nephew.  Here's a look-see to add a smile to your day!  http://video214.com/play/oa0TeCyPAn1hkac165ay8g/s/dark



Thanks for stopping by!  Hope your week is Fan-Tast-TIC!!!
{Hugs!}

Thanksgiving Recap - Video Style

In true "dawn" fashion, I have to share with you a snippet of our Thanksgiving... of course I did a video because it's so much more fun to look at pictures set to music!
-

http://video214.com/play/taWmgI1S7r4mb1BtUmUgVw/s/dark

We had a great Thanksgiving.  I am really, really blessed to come from such a loving family.  Truly, we're a family that doesn't fight.  We can laugh at the little things (often those are the funniest) and we know just how special that really is.

I have to say.... 3 year old girls are adorable, especially when they take my hand and say "Auntie Dawn, it's time for coffee. Let's make coffee." Love!!! **See photos in video.

This week, I'm stalking waiting patiently for the mailman to deliver my package from Artbeads.com with my 3mm bronze druks to finish my challenge piece for the Challenge of Color Blog Hop on Nov. 30th.  Please dear package, don't make me procrastinate!  LOL 

I can't wait to share my design... it's a first, and truly something one of a kind.  I am amazed at how much this color palette is playing together.

By the way... did you do some shopping today for Black Friday?  I have a funny story to share... but my sister Amy is reading this, so I can't share.  But if you can somehow outsmart the computer genius and block her reading my blog, I'll tell you sometime.  K?

Who wouldn't smile seeing this??

Hope your weekend is full of smiles! 
{Hugs!}
Dawn

What have I been working on - it's a SURPRISE!

And if I showed you now, A. it wouldn't be finished, and B. Erin Prais-Hintz writer of Treasures Found blog would probably come right to my house, string me up by my toenails and dress me in orange!  Not that there's anything wrong with orange... after all "Orange" season starts this weekend (aka the opening of hunting season.) 

SO even though I can't SHOW you what I'm doing, I can tell you... 

Erin has organized her 2nd annual color challenge.  She collaborated with Jessica of Design Seeds out of Madison, WI and has given each participant their very own color palette to design with.  We chose our main color and the rest was a surprise.  (Side Note:  If you go to Design Seeds website, you can sign up for their daily e-mail of new color palettes.  I did and I LOVE getting that e-mail in the morning!)


I told Erin, surprise me - and boy did she ever!  I told her I had stash in everything except red, orange or yellow.  Beyond that I was open to the challenge.... and can I say, I LOVE my color palette!  I would never have put all 5 of these colors together, but seeing them on paper... then creating with them, it has been helping me venture into a whole new area of creativity. 

So not only am I playing with fun colors (and I'll spill just a hint, my main color is brown... but that's all I'm sayin!)  I'm also designing something that I've NEVER made before!!!  Yes I'm challenging myself beyond what I've ever done and I feel so liberated!  Okay, I can hear Erin, I think she's on my shoulder saying, "Dawn, enough... don't say any more.  It's supposed to be a surprise."  I know, I know... I'm just excited at where this journey is taking me!

Enough babble!  I'm off to bead!

Have a beadiful day!
~Dawn