day dreams

I happened upon an available Treasury thanks to Tali of Tali Schiffer-Oren Photography. I was visiting her new blog, Imperfectly Perfect, when I read she had just created a Treasury West. I scooted on over to leave a comment and when I checked on the regular Treasury listings there was one available, whoot!

So here's mine with the link ...

And here's Tali's with the link. I love the beautiful summer colors she chose...

Summer has Begun, Whoot!

It's hard to believe but summer has finally arrived for our family. Although July is only a day away our summer started late this year as our son was still attending cyber school which kept me pretty well glued to the house, other than the weekend shows. He's finally finished up and we're both looking forward to a few months off, whoot!

The time at home has enabled me to get alot of studio time in and that's been a huge plus with our recent busy show schedule. I've even had time to revamp some Kazuri Woven Wire Beaded Bracelets and make some new key holders.

With summer here, it's a great opportunity to grab some gorgeous handmade creations while escaping those brutally hot days. Etsy offers such a wonderful selection of handmade creations, several of which can be seen in this fabulous Treasury by Catherine of Coral Seas. She was so kind to include my newest earrings in her selection and I just love the colors and items she selected. If you have a chance, stop on over to Etsy to leave a comment and click on some of the items in this gorgeous Treasury - I'm sure she would appreciate it. ;-)

More Busy Days

With the successful gallery show now behind us I want to extend a big thanks to Jacquie Bennett of the JB Gallery for the lovely morning tea she hosted. The show was a great success despite the horrid rain we experienced and I was delighted to see that some women didn't mind coming out in torrential down pours - thank you!

We're moving on to our next show this weekend and continuing to work on new creations. One is a collaboration D and I worked on and it's our first men's bracelet. It features a beautiful Jasper focal I purchased from Karen of Milmine Design Annex. She offers such a rich assortment of gem stone supplies in her shop. The bracelet is comprised of antiqued bronze wire and a titanium clasp.

It's not all work around here as we have the constant amusement of our newest family member, who we now call Tybie, to keep us entertained. Although small in size he's got the heart of lion. Our other resident cat still isn't very fond of him but since his main desire seems to be a playful friend we're hoping she'll eventually come around.

I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful week filled with sunshine and creativity!

JB Gallery Morning Tea Preparation

I've been busy preparing for a morning tea hosted by the JB Gallery this Saturday. I've never been to an event like this so it should be fun and enjoyable.




Fortunately a load of new supplies arrived so I've busied my hands and created a several new pieces to take along. So I just thought I'd give a little debut of some of the pieces D and I have created this week.



D made the beautiful Swarovski crystal and Bronze Byzantine woven choker - I just love it! He creates all of the rings from hand beginning with a simple spool of bronze wire.



The fiberwear bracelet has been a work in progress for quite some time. I wasn't sure what to use as a focal for it until I received a beautiful selection of brass stampings from my dear friend LuLu of Coastal Sisters. When I saw this piece it just seems to fit so perfectly.


I've really enjoyed the selection of earrings I've been creating and non more so than the new wire wrapped hoops. My dear friend Catherine of Coral Seas created the handmade sterling hoops which I then embellish with Swarovski crystals and Sterling Silver wire. Catherine creates and sells a selection of handmade earwires through her Etsy shop and I was amazed at how quickly they arrived.

I've made many more pieces but there just isn't enough room for it all and heaven knows I'm sure you'd rather scurry on to another fabulous blog. So thanks for stopping by!

The "One Lovely Blog Award"

The fabulous Julie of Meanderings by Julz has bestowed a lovely award and I'm SO delighted! Julie's blog and work are always inspiring to me, from her use of vibrant colors to gorgeous materials, she's an amazing polymer clay and jewelry artist - just look at these incredible hearts she created and the beautiful cabochon beading below! Oh and I hear she's quite "reliable" too. (inside joke) ;-)

Thanks so much Julie, you're a darling♥

I know have the honor of passing this award onto 15 others. That's a hefty number so I'll do my best to meet the task. Here they are in no particular order...


Margie of Margie's Crafts
Luthien of Pimp and Paint
Marianna of Pretty Shiny Things
Laurie of The Looking Glass
Marilyn of Our Vintage Cottage
Chris of SilverBluePearl
Angie of Artangel
LuLu of Coastal Sisters
Dawn of Harmony Quest
Catherine of Coral Seas
Tammy of Art and Inspiration
Anna of Sakura Jewelry
Inspiration Avenue - what can I say, the girls do a lovely job of keeping it going!

Little Ones

We have a few new little ones around our home. Recently we just got a new kitten, Tyberious, pictured here. He's a little devil and oh so much fun! It's easy to spend hours watching him play and pounce on everything from canvas bags and zipper pulls to Legos and even our toes, ouch! He's just adorable and hopefully our resident Queen B will agree with us that he's a keeper.

On a sadder note our son's rabbits (two females) had bunnies this week. Tragically two of the babies died and we were terribly saddened by this. Fortunately the others seem to be getting along well and I hope to have photos in a few weeks of a few tiny bunny fur balls we'll be oogling over.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!♥

Cool Tool

I'm not sure how many of your use the site Craftopolis to check on Etsy Treasuries but I just noticed a new tool they've added and it's really super! There's a Treasury clock which gives you a rough countdown to the next available Etsy Treasuries!

To find and use this tool visit Craftopolis and click on the tabs. Enjoy!

Oops...

I never imagined that mentioning one of the eight things I'm looking forward to would lead to such a stir but since it has I figured I would explain. The jewelry collection you see here was a custom order I created for Jacquie Bennett of the JB Gallery. Jacquie was venturing out to California to attend her son's commitment ceremony which was also to be included in an up coming airing of the "tori & dean: Home Sweet Hollywood" show (Oxygen channel).

I'm not sure how much of the jewelry will be shown on the episode but it's really more one of those "Wow" moments, to see something you've created appear on t.v. More than anything I was honored that Jacquie requested a custom set from me. As owner of the JB Gallery and writer of the fashion column for our local newspaper, Jacquie is a woman I admire greatly for her style and charm. Custom orders such as these push my limits and aspire me to rise above my normal comfort zone. The two tiered woven wire bracelet was a first and I look forward to creating more in the future.

The 8's Have It

I was tagged but the lovely and talented Luthien of Pimp and Paint. In my absence Luthien opened an Etsy shop and I'm absolutely thrilled that her work is finally available to a global public (hah! had you thought of it in that way, Luthien?) ;-) Do stop by her blog and new Etsy shop if you get a chance, she's an amazing artist! On with the tag, which appears to be all about 8s....

8 Things I'm looking forward to:

1. end of my son's school year and beginning of summer vacation
2. getting our new kitten
3. seeing the summer flowers bloom in our garden
4. attending my son's graduation tomorrow
5. talking to Catherine on the phone again
6. making more jewelry
7. seeing my jewelry being worn on the Tori Spelling show
8. a good night's sleep of at least 8 hours

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. laundry
2. cleaned the house
3. watered the garden
4. opened packages of new focal beads
5. spent time talking and laughing with my sons
6. had a sit down family dinner in the dining room
7. spent time talking with and helping my husband
8. made a few people happy

8. Things I wish I could do:

1. go on a vacation with my family
2. buy my son a car
3. spend more time in blogland
4. water ski again
5. bring happiness to more people
6. see my husband find a better job
7. have an endless supply of jewelry supplies
8. fly (oh, what the heck... it's a "wish" list) :D

8 Things or Shows I've watched lately:

1. my youngest son growing taller
2. baby birds growing feathers
3. flowers beginning to bloom
4. customers appreciate my jewelry
5. my son trying to finish up his school year
6. my husband frustrated with his job
7. the Tori & Dean Show
8. the Davinci Code Angels and Demons movie

8 of my favorite blogs:

1. Coral Seas
2. Coastal Sisters
2. Artangel
3. Angie Kelly Designs
4. Harmony Quest
5. Sweets and Greets
6. Emberseed
7. The Looking Glass
8. Silver Blue Pearl

Granted I've been away from blogland for awhile and so perhaps you've all seen this style of tagging that's going around but it's certainly new to me and very cool! Great way to get to know your friends!

Flaming Cake

Yes, another year passed last week and this year I was presented with a beautiful cake my guys made for me (all by themselves... really... I swear). ;-)

They worked so hard, especially when it came to adding ALL those candles. phew! The boys were so proud of how they hadn't missed one candle, heck they even added one for good luck! Wow, isn't that sweet!? (can you hear the sarcasm?)

It's funny about birthdays... when you're young you don't mind them but as you get older they take on a strange form, at least for me. I've never been one to mind age or really even consider it. Each year that passed I felt a little more confident, having gained more knowledge from my experiences.

This year is different for me though in that I feel I'm getting closer to the end rather than the beginning and that's an odd feeling. It's really more of an observation than a feeling though since it's not an obsessive point for me or anything, just something I considered this year. Of course I couldn't be happier with the life I have though as it's filled with so many blessings and the best family & friends ever!

The Gift of Teaching

I recently had the most wonderful experience. I was invited to guest teach at a local area High School art class by my friend, fellow artist and high school art teacher Aimee. I felt a bit nervous the first day as this was my first experience guest teaching for an art class but as always I looked at the experience as another way to learn and grown in life. (Ok, honestly I was so nervous I only slept 4 hours each night before, haha!)

Together Aimee and I came up with the idea of creating a wire wrapped bracelet that could include some of the ceramic beads the students had created in an earlier class. I also brought in a supply of glass beads for the students to select from and taught them how to create a hand wrapped dangle charm.

Throughout the four classes over two days I had so much fun sharing techniques with students and teachers. I enjoyed seeing the students delve into a new realm of art they hadn't dabbled in before and watching their creative process through the design of their own unique bracelets.

Aimee was so kind to send these photos to me and seeing the joy on the student's faces as they proudly showed their finished work leaves me feeling wonderful! The students even gave me a signed thank you card and a fabulous gift card for some delicious coffee. The gift was completely unexpected but SO appreciated and they certainly know how to get to the heart of this newbie teacher through coffee (yuuumm!).

It's difficult to find the words to express what a wonderful experience this was, how much I learned and the appreciation I feel for being able to give back to young artists. I'd like to say thank you SO much to Aimee for inviting me and to the fabulous students of IV High School Design Classes!!

Art Show Follow Up

Wow! We had a wonderful time at the 41st Annual Mifflin-Juniata Arts Festival this weekend. This was the first year that D ran the show being the new president of the arts council and he did a super job! We had such fun mingling with buyers and fellow artisans despite the unpredictable weather and torrential down pour just at closing yesterday. Nothing could have soured our mood though as we won Best of Jewelry which is an immense honor! (note the blue ribbon in the photo, whoot!)

Although there were less participating artists than past years, probably due to the economy and a lack of desire to travel in from out of state, there were still many demonstrating artists, including our friend and fellow council member Stan, who demonstrated a very cool Raku technique next to his tent. They also had loads of fun for the entire family; these darlings stopped by our booth and I just had to snap a photo of their beautiful painted faces.

We were really surprised with how many sales we had considering the economy and I was delighted to see that my newest asymmetrical creations were some of the most popular. I only had two on hand (pictured here) as I'd just recently added these styles to our treasure collection and just completed the gunmetal one on Friday but they both sold so it's back to work to try and create more before our next up coming shows.

We made it a family affair with our youngest son helping out in the booth, quite an excellent salesman I must say, and our oldest lending a hand with setting up for the entire fair, hand painting signs in his awesome graffiti style and chipping in with the booth when he could. We're exhausted beyond words and although it was a challenge for me to keep going with not feeling completely recovered, it was well worth all the hard work and effort we all put in. Phew!

Something Special

I love the Spring when we have hanging baskets of flowers on our front porch, they're such a delight. This year we have an added special treat which we discovered when D took this basket down to water.

If you look closely you can see tucked just inside is a little nest with three tiny eggs.

We haven't seen the resident bird yet who must "fly the coup" when we open our front door but I do hope everything goes well and we soon hear the chirps of three tiny little darlings.