The Beanbag

The Short One made me this nice present for Mother's Day yesterday. "It's a beanbag!" he said. "I drew a butterfly on it!" Well, I can actually see the butterfly (upside down in this photo), and the beanbag ought to make a nice potholder, too. We had a nice day yesterday, with a Peking duck brunch at Mom's favorite Chinese restaurant and Dad even cooked dinner (Chicken Provençal, from the excellent Two Dudes, One Pan: Maximum Flavor from a Minimalist Kitchen - our current favorite cookbook). I hope you had a nice Mother's Day, too, regardless of whether you're a Mom or not.

Here are your cool bead and jewelry links for the week:

Beading Arts
Cyndi has launched the first installment of her brand new e-book on bead embroidery...and it's free! Hurry over for your copy!

missficklemedia.com
Should I patina or leave the metal bare naked?

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
A song about hammers, nails, labor, and social involvement inspire Melanie to create some new woodlike components

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi finds a way to incorporate vintage turtle beads into a necklace.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy works through her to-do list and lists a new set of glass birdhouse beads.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew starts the month of May off with another giveaway by Lillypilly Designs! Find out how you can win a set of tribal-inspired wooden beads!

A Bead A Day
What does swarovski sparkle mean to you? Lisa shares the happy feeling brought on by sparkly stars.

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy has some fun in the sun summer time jewelry tutorials for you, including a cute turtle charm necklace.

Art Bead Scene
Free Project Alert! ABS has a new necklace project for free on their website!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean brags! Yes, she really brags! It's worth a look because it's cool!

Jean Campbell
Jean's been at the grindstone, but also at the gardens...check out these beautiful images from the MoBG!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei is back on track this week and is giving away coordinating beads with Sab's help, from BeadBead.biz!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off a new version of her Cabinet of Curiosity pendant.