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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Happiness is..... BEADS, BeAdS and more beads...

It really does not take too much to make me happy. Take this past Saturday for instance... Sitting down with my coffee mug for some blog hopping and hopped along to A Bead a Day and I could not believe my eyes! Rings&Things is bringing their travelling bead show to Tampa FL.  Wow! Only draw back is that the show is on for one afternoon only and on a working day no less!

Necklace made with donut pendant I won from Rings & Things

Not a problem.... still very excited, still very happy, sent some emails to some beading friends, checked out the Rings&Things web site, took the virtual tour, made my mouth water... got myself an invitation, and now to sit back and plan if I can take half day off from work to attend the show.

Have you been to a Ring&Things bead show? Please tell me about it? Worth taking half-a-day off from work? No, don't tell me, I know the answer to that question. If you want to find out if the travelling bead show is coming to a location near you, check out their 2012 show calendar.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Turquoise and Copper, A great combination.

Pairing Turquoise with Copper never fails, the warm glow of copper and the cool embrace of blue is always a winning combination.
Take a look at this pair of earrings... natural Turquoise coins, with a pair of Copper charms from Melinda Orr of Orrtec, love them! They are light-weight, playful and eye-catching, a perfect pair of earrings for Summer!


Saturday, May 19, 2012

Red Tag Sale



All day today, all shop owners on Ruby Lane are participating in a site wide Red Tag Sale.
Each shop owner is asked to participate by marking down up to 15% of their shop inventory. Mark downs are 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% off the original pricing.

I too, am participating in the sale, please stop by.

 Baroque Pearls and Tiger Eye

The sale does draw lots of shoppers to the site, and helps reduce inventory.
Stop by and check it out! If you are interested in Antiques and Collectibles, here is the chance to pick up some great bargains.
Have a great weekend!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mothers' Day!

To all beader Moms, to Moms of beaders and to all Moms-to-be beaders!
Have a wonderful day!
Imperial Jasper Bracelet for the Special Mom 

This bracelet is made from perfectly round smooth beads of Imperial Jasper ranging in shades from forest green to brick red to creamy pink are alternated with  faceted sterling silver beads for a hint of sparkle. The bracelet is completed with a sturdy and easy to handle heart shaped toggle, a very special charm and a single Imperial Jasper bead. Imperial Jasper is a 'Fine' jasper and is found only in Guadalajara, Mexico. It is named a fine jasper due to the presence of definite patterns laid down during the formation process. Imperial Jasper is known for its unusual patterns and contrasting colors of green, red and pink. Truly fit for a queen.





Enjoy!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

One Color Crayon Challenge Hop


When Sally Russick of The StudioSublime put the word out for participants for her One Color Crayon Challenge I signed up for the color Green. Well, at that time I had forgotten that I would be away the weekend of the blog hop with some girlfriends, visiting the Garden of Good and Evil, yes, Savannah GA. But that's okay, I completed my assignment in time and have scheduled this posting to be published on the morning of May 5th.
I hope you enjoy the blog hop. Thank you for visiting and I hope you like my pieces. I will visit you and check out your challenge creations on my return from GA.

You will find a list of the participants at the bottom of the post.

Green, that's the color I chose...




Green Freshwater Pearls
Green Magnesite butterfly
Peridot Twist Swarovski crystal element
Green shell coins
Faceted ovals of Green Rutilated Quartz
Japanese metallic teal/gold Iris drop seed beads
Brass hook and eye clasp and tiny spacer beads



Nephrite carved flowers
Malachite rondelles
Green freshwater rice Pearls
Copper leaf fringe chain
Niobium Earwires with Copper bead.

Hope you like what I made!

Now to check out all the other one color crayon challenge participants: If you have problems with the links you can also find a list of participants here.


Hosted by:

Sally Russick  http://thestudiosublime.com

Red

Bobbie Rafferty   http://beadsong.blogspot.com

Orange

Linda Landig  http://LindasBeadBlog.com
Renetha Stanziano   http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com
Tanya Goodwin  http://pixiloo.blogspot.com
Amy Severino   http://amybeads.blogspot.com

 Yellow

Heather Powers   http://humblebeads.blogspot.com

Blue

Rebecca Anderson  http://songbeads.blogspot.com
Hope Smitherman  http://craftyhope.blogspot.com
Alicia Marinache  http://allprettythings.ca
Charissa Sloper   http://blog.obsidiansoda.com
Sandi Volpe   http://sandivolpe.com

 Green

Jenny Davies Reazor   http://www.jdaviesreazor.com
Regina Santerre  http://reginaswritings.blogspot.com -------You are here!
Elizabeth Auld  http://beadsforbusygals.com

Purple

Jennifer Judd Velasquez http://jenjuddrocks.blogspot.com
Lori Anderson  http://prettythingsblog.com

Brown

Diana Ptaszynski   http://suburbangirlstudio.com
Janice Everett   http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com

Black



Sunday, April 29, 2012

Growing Grey!

Growing Grey!

Since my day job is in the world of finance, with its black, brown and navy blue suits, I felt it necessary to keep dyeing my ever-greying hair black. My desk at work positions my hair right under a pair of florescent lamps, that spotlighted my head to all that pass by my desk... my boss and collegues, and clients too. And so on the 31st of December 2011, I dyed my hair black in preparation for the New Year weekend.

I do this at home in my bathroom, with a box of L'Oreal bought at Walmart. This process takes a good 45 minutes out of my weekend, a process that I certainly did not enjoy. And then it hit me... this is it, this is the last time I am going to dye my hair! A new year, its time for a new look! My mind was made up...

My husband was fine with my decision, but not some of my friends, and not my hairdresser. The friends who disagreed with my decision all said I would look old. Old! Old is a mental thing, I swear I am not old! I will not think old, I will not be old, at least not yet. My hairdresser, to be fair, was not going to loose any money since I colored my hair at home, she just said the same thing....I would look old! I would not like it! Well, I am going to like it... I will think of all the time and money I save by not dyeing my hair every four weeks and I will certainly like it.

So right now I am in my skunk or badger stage... a white strip, slowly broadening... I did not rinse, highlight, or bleach to mask or camouflage the process.... and I am growing grey.

I made this necklace with black and white Agate and black Onyx early this year and I think it depicts my present plight perfectly. I call it ....growing grey!
Any thoughts or experiences that you would like to share... I would love to hear it!

I am adding two links about going grey....
a book
and in Prevention magazine.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

April Showers bring May Flowers

It has been a dry April here in Florida, but it all changed today. This afternoon's forecast reads...
"Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 81. South wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible"
At my husband's urging and inspired by the April showers that will definitely bring flowers in May, I made this...


April Flowers Bring May Flowers


He likes it, what about you?
Enjoy your weekend! Check out the Wrapped, Stacked & Layered Challenge blog hop, so much talent, be inspired!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

The 6th Bead Soup Blog Party

I am sure everyone in the beading blog world has already marked their calenders about this gloriously fun event. But just in case you have not, make sure you do it today.
See you there!
Hundreds of beaders, tons of beads, three reveal dates!
All I can say is.....Thank you Lori!



Monday, April 2, 2012

What's your favorite color? Your favorite Crayola color?


If you have a favorite color, now's the time to play with your favorite color. 


Sally of  The Studio Sublime is throwing out a Monochromatic Color Challenge! Choose your favorite color, use all shades, tones and tints of this color and create a piece of art, in any medium, painting, jewelry, fiber art, mixed media... the possibilities are endless.

I signed up this morning, I hope I am not too late as she is limiting it to 60 participants. Hop on over and check it out, send her an email if you would like to participate.

This might be a good time to share with you a necklace I made that I call Opulence in Orange! So it really is not too difficult to work with just one color... when it really is not just one color! Sally also gives some fine examples of monochromatic jewelry designs in her blog posting. Come join the fun.

Orange Opulence
I have been away from my blog for so long, (its tax time!) that this is what I need to get my creative juices flowing again. Have a great week everyone...

Saturday, March 3, 2012

5th Bead Soup Party


It is Party Time!
Today is the big reveal day of the 5th Bead Soup Party
hosted by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things.
I was not one of the chosen 200, but I am having a great time blog hopping and checking out the creatvity and wonderful designs, such inspiration!

Check it out for yourself, you will find a list of all the participants here.


Sunday, February 12, 2012

Keeping My New Year's Resolutions... and taking a jewelry class!

Well, I think I am off to a good start, I signed up for a jewelry class. The class was held on January at the Manatee County Art Center, not too far away from where I live. I was shocked that it took me this many years to realize that I had access to some wonderful jewelry teachers and classes less than 30 minutes drive time away. I have to thank Lois Moon of Que Onda Q'town and her post about the class she took at the Florida Society of Goldsmiths, in Tallahassee, FL.

After reading about her post, I checked out the Society website and found that the ArtCenter Manatee, was a west coast chapter of the Society. Hooray! It did not take me long to pay them visit and sign up for a beginners weekend workshop.

The two-day workshop involved 12 hours of fun, so much fun that the six of us in class did not want to break for lunch. The workshop was an introduction to metal working techniques under the guidance of Wendy Thurlow. Check out some of her gorgeous work at her site Hammered by Wendy. She is a great teacher, and I plan on taking more classes with her in the Spring.

Now to show you what I made during the weekend workshop...


textured Sterling Silver Bangles...


stacked Sterling Silver Rings, one with a bezel set Lapis Lazuli cabochon...


coiled sterling silver textured rings


hammered copper disc earrings on a sterling silver earwire...

I am so proud of my little collection of jewelry! Can't wait for the next session of classes to get more experience under my belt. In the meantime, I have been checking out sales at jewelry stores to start my collection of tools for this new chapter in my jewelry making.






Friday, February 3, 2012

Don't Worry, Be Happy Bracelet!


Don't you love these mood beads... made a lovely bracelet with a nice selection of mood beads from Artbeads.com. The liquid crystal in the beads is heat sensitive and changes color with temperature changes of your skin and the surroundings.





Have a great weekend!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Art Bead Scene January Challenge


Here is my entry to this month's Art Bead Scene Challenge...



African Green Opal, Carnelian & Copper Necklace


I used African Green Opal and orange Carnelian, along with a mini Ampelos clasp in Copper from ORRTEC as my interpretation of William Morris' wallpaper design. I like the way it turned out, how about you?

Monday, January 9, 2012

And the winner is ...


The winner of the necklace and earring set is ...


Heather of My Muse, Aquariart. Congratulations, Heather and good luck in the New Year with your goals of creating more and submitting more of your creations for publication. If you would email me your address I will get this set off to you.

My thanks to all of you who shared your goals and dreams for 2012. 
May you all attain your goals and may all your dreams come true!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Don't Forget to Sign Up!

Today begins the sign up for Lori Anderson's 5th Bead Soup Party!



To sign up hop on over to her blog!

Check out some of the fun I had at the previous parties! Trust me it's a lot of fun.
Bead Soup Party I

Bead Soup Party II

Bead Soup Party III

Bead Soup Party IV
Have a great weekend, everyone. Oh! don't forget my necklace giveaway in my previous post.Sign up
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