Crafty Summer Activites

I have been a busy little girl this week. Being closed in because of the heat I get antsy. smiles’ I was at a garage sale sometime ago and found a rather pretty watch. Cheap $.25 I put a new battery in it and low and behold it works. I have made a pledge to me not to buy anything from China, That makes it hard to buy jewelry findings. I go to resale shops that way the money I spend stays in the USA. I was at the local Goodwill, where I get discarded jewelry I found a necklace of beautiful glass beads and a gold chain. Every third Wednesday is half price day so I get the jewelry very reasonable. To make a long story short I married the two.






Since I love to make jewelry some of my students bring me their old cast off pieces. One brought me a broach. It is a gold feather. I had bought a bracelet in the craft section of Michael’s sometime age. I decided to decorate the craft bracelet with the broach. I laced the broach on the bracelet with brass wire. I then glued on a rather large rhinestone. I am pleased with the results.


My sister –in –love passed away in September. The girls are now faced with dividing up her treasures. Many years ago I had painted her a watercolor of girls and a mother in a field. Since I had already painted the older sister another one and the younger had already ask for a watercolor. That left the middle child without, since she had never ask for a painting I never gave her one. So the older sister ask me to do one for the middle child. I was happy to do one special for her.


Well I made my frst order on Ebay last week as I mentioned before. It came there was 5 pounds of beads and 24 watches. And I am soooo excited. It was chucked full of lampwork beads of all colors. I spent 2 days sorting them out into like colors. I cannot wait to PLAY.


Be Blessed to be a blessing

Summer Time and the Living is Easy

I am having a real good time this summer, although Texas is living up to it’s reputation, (Summer Heat) So I have been staying in.
We were at the Retina Clinic last Wednesday. Ed can see 50% better he was 20/100 now he is 20/50. While I was waiting I was looking at Birds and Blooms magazine. In it I saw how to give birds a treat of fruit. It’s called a bird. You take a slakes coat hanger, take off the paper roll snip off the hooks. Bend the hanger up in a curve. Slice oranges or other fruit and slip it on the hanger. Make wedges to separate the slices or use berries. Tie a red ribbon around the “neck” of the bird and hang it on a branch in the tree. Watch for Baltimore Orioles’ we sometimes have them here in Texas.





I made my first time ever order on Etsy last week. I ordered lampwork beads from
Liz Martin. I was looking for some white lampwork beads with pink roses on them to go with beads that Jennifer Pride had sent to me in Feb. The beads are beautiful. I am just learning how to order online (watch me I may go berserk) I took one of the beads which was red and white and made a copper and red bracelet. I have very little red in my stash so I had to dig. I had made the clay copper look like beads earlier in the year. I used copper wire, copper chain and clay beads and one lampwork and a little heart. Do you remember the earring of about 20 years ago big loops of color? I had a red one from that time, so I used a red earring loop as my toggle. I am pleased.






Then I had some plastic bead packages so I put copper foil around the edges and some stuff in the middle, pored the resin in, they worked. I have a lot to learn, but I had fun experimenting.




Then I had some plastic bead packages so I put copper foil around the edges and some stuff in the middle, pored the resin in, they worked. I have a lot to learn, but I had fun experimenting.




I went to the library yesterday and picked up a book that I had on hold for me. I had ordered it in April but just now am getting the book. ‘Atlas Shrugged’ by Ayn Rand It is 1169 pp long so I will have a good long summer read. And in Texas you need a long read as it is too hot to venture out.
Be Blessed to be a blessing

Growing and Growing

I was reading Lori Anderson's blog PrettyThings the other day, as I always do. She mentioned that we should look at some of our earlier jewelry designs, and then compare them to what we are doing now. I took that advice to heart. I will show how I have grown in this last year.


My daughter has helped me, by teaching me to do wire wrap rather than rings for connections. I learned from blog-hopping (thanks) and by inspiration.
Here is what I have been doing lately.









I have been a Florence Nightingale to my husband for what a life time since he had his first cataract surgery. His first surgery was on the 4th of April. Complications set in, an eye infections, and then black hole in the perfect eye, and on and on. We see the Retina DR. again tomorrow. If you pray, please do. Be Blessed to be a blessing

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT

Wasn’t the Fairy Tale/Spring Blog-Hop fun? There was lots of candy for the eyes. I thought of something that you may want to try if you haven’t already. I went to each of the participants’ blog and copied their creation to my pictures then I put each one in a folder and ask the computer to do a slid show. I really enjoyed seeing each quickly and over and over. TRY IT
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Have you ever made black beans and rice? I never had until our new neighbors, CUBAN) moved in last year. And on one occasion they brought us some Cuban food which consisted of black beans and rice accompanied with some kind of a soft taco. Anyway I decided to try it on my own. I soaked the black beans.
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When the first water came out really really black, my husband laughingly said I wonder if you could watercolor with that. Well we all know that watercolor is only stained water :>) I felt the challenge. So I took a bit of Arches watercolor paper and taped it to a watercolor board. I tore pieces of masking tape to mask off where I would want a flower. I then did a watercolor wash, and allowed it to dry. I made another pass to indicate distant hills, and drew in branches and leaves and indicated pine trees. I did some bruising, and allowed it to dry again. I then made one last pass to darken the leaves and trees.
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Then ol’e smarty me! I thought it would be cool to paint the flowers with beet juice, and the centers with mustard. I also mixed the beet juice and mustard together to get orange too. After all this experimenting I did a little pen and ink and -- voila! :>)




Be Blessed to be a blessing

Fairy Tale Bead Swap Blog- Hop

The reveal is here. I have to tell you this one has been a real challenge. Not because I didn’t have enough, but because I had soooo much. Stephanie Haussler of pixybug designs was my partner. She was so generous!

I tried many times to use all of the beads in one design but each one was a disappointment. She sent several color waves. She sent blue, pink, yellow amber, clear crystals, black, and green. Alas I gave up and made several different design. All were lampwork yummy. She sent a little lampwork gnome created by her husband Chris and two darling little frogs.

The main design is the three strand silver chain with the green lampwork beads. Add to that a green lampwork bead bracelet with dangles and a silver kitten in a circle.





Then there is the darling little frogs sitting on green river glass beads with dangles.


I used one of the gorgeous crystals in the pearl and black bracelet silver findings


This on I call circus because of the colors in the lampwork. Alternate beads are carnelian.


I decided to continue with the dangles. Shown here is the amber lampwork and crystals bracelet

Stephanie sent a large golden yellow quarts bead. I put it with copper as it had copper color veins in it. I used some of my free form copper links in the chain.


And there is more;


And there is more:


And there is still more:
Am I not the most blessed beadier alive?? Thanks Stephanie and Chris! Be Blessed
Fairy Tale/Spring Bead Swap Blog Hop

Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

Rebecca Anderson, Song Beads
Courtney Breul, Beads By Breul
Loretta Carstensen, Designs by Loretta
Evelyn Hall, Dragon Lady Evelyn
** You are here- Sandy Richardson, Sandy's Coloring Box
Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Design
Tara Plote, Newbie Beader
Christine Brandel, A Hot Piece of Glass
Lisa Sittniewski, Alterity Art
Joanna Matuszczyk, Filcowe
Jenni Connolly, Jenni Bead
Geneva Collins, Torque Story
Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals
Sally Russick, Wireworked
Mary McGraw, MK's Creative Musings
Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas
Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found
**Stephanie Haussler, Pixybug Designs
Shai Williams, Shaia's Ramblings
Johanna Rhodes, Fire Phoenix Creations
Sandi Lee James, Do Be Do Bead Do
Sweet Addy Designs

Valerie Norton, Hot Fused Glass

Please check out my Etsy Shop

Now Hop on over to Stephanie's blog and see what she did with my beads. Enjoy the hop!