Finding Time To Play

OMG :>) this BSBP is going to be an awesome creative journey, with 363 participating artist. I am so excited I have already started getting my Soup together. My daughter got me started in making jewelry about 2 years ago. I have always dabbled in making all kinds of stuff, from crazy quilts to handbags. I just love beading. I like to put beads on my quilts, my dresses and blouses, and my jeans. My daughter says”Mama’s favorite color is sparkle”:>)


I, like Lori never have seen a bead that I didn't love. I like to make something from nothing, I like to re-purpose items I don't have a favorite color. I am a watercolorist as well. I teach the seniors at our local senior center.
In my last blog I said I don’t do food well. Well that is the truth, but sometimes it is necessary. I got an urge last week. The temperature has been well over 100 degrees for 35 days straight so I thought I would try to save energy by doing all my (fixings) in one felled swoop. I started with my cooking my husband’s sausage in the oven. I took the skins off and broiled them. Then I thought well while the oven is still hot I will make his favorite meat pie (Bierox), a family tradition, then I thought well while the oven is still hot I will make a Chicken Alfredo and on and on :>) When I make casseroles’ I make really big ones, I divide them up into dinner size for my husband and I. That saves me kitchen time. And gives me more time to play with my creations whether it is painting or making jewelry

I have been collection my Bead Soup and I am impressed I hope my partner will be too whom, ever they may be. I will send a long a sneak peek. Later
I made two bracelets and a copper broach this week.
One bracelet is bead design
The other is a artsy copper cuff
And a broach is copper foil over a copper hand sculpted wire frame. With copper fringe under a re-purposed pewter and rhinestone broach I took out the pearl that was in the center and replaced it with a 4 carat peach colored zirconium

Lovely it is.
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

Waiting for thr Great Reveal

What can I say I have been eager to see what everyone has created. So I have been cooling my heels by experimenting with copper for my new shop.








Still biding my time you know “Time is too precious to kill” gospel according to Sandy> I had already made a turquoise stone from polymer clay for a sterling silver mounting that I found at a garage sale , sometime ago so on Sunday afternoon I put together a creation . There was a problem, the mounting had three bugle type thingies on the back. What to Do with that. ? I decided to drop chain thru them and attach little balls on them, Here is the results:






Still waiting for the revel: So I went into some polymer beads that I purchased at http://Brazosa Collections when my daughter worked there. I had a problem trying to decide whether to use silver ball beads or black I finally elected to use the black with silver separators. I am pleased with the results.






I am so eager to promote copper for jewelery that I decided to create a what I call African Safari, a bracelet starting with a heavy copper wire and slipped wooden and copper beads and copper elephant charms. One a focal, and three smaller ones. I secured the ends with the larger charm.




Still waiting and now I am so eager I am pacing>So I decided to do a little demonstration. I was a local craft store the other day an found a pendant of sorts and thought I can do that, Then I read Lori Anderson a saw her latest creation, where she used copper (Yea) with her focal. That brought to mind what I saw in the craft store. I decided to use my number 16 copper wire and a sharpie pen for the basic form. I put a short wire under the wire that I am winding around the pen. When I have sufficient wire around the pen .I slip the whole winding off careful not to lose the ends of the under wire. Then I drew that wire up close and formed a circle. Now I mashed the whole thing flat. When I had it just liked I wanted it I glued on a piece of fussed glass. I have not decided just how I will use this creation but it has kept my hands and mind busy






I had an awesome painting class on Friday. I think I had 30- 35. Everyone does something different and with a different media. I demonstrated yellow roses with oil paint first, then later I did a demo of yellow roses with watercolor. The watercolor was on a get well greeting card for a student who is having hip surgery tomorrow. So it wasn’t too involved. Anyway see ya soon on the GREAT REVEAL







Be Blessed.

TALKING BACK

I have a feeling you all have had the experience of trying at least to talk back to a computer. That is what I have been doing the better part of this week. I was trying to set up a new Etsy Shop just to list my copper jewelry Well they won’t put two accounts on the same email. Well on and on. At last I made in late Monday evening, much too tired to post anything as yet but my new Etsy Shop will be http://coppercandyjules.etsy.com.
I have been doing some experiments with my little 60 year old hand-me-down kiln . I just fly by the seat of my pants. First I was trying to expand on something I noticed. Copper does not melt. So I made charms of glass with copper wire designs inside. A success!



Another experiment was slumping glass. I know that porcelain melts at a much higher temperature than glass. I wanted to slump a piece of glass to decorate a bracelet. So I built a base in the bottom of a small porcelain cup and a piece of resist paper and laid the glass on the top and let it slump. A success!



Be Blessed

2011 YEA

I had a most interesting New Years Eve. And I cannot tell you how long it has been since my husband and I have been out on New Year’s Eve. I mean “Out in the dark” smiles. We are normally in bed long before the ball drops. However this year our son’s girl friend from St. Petersburg Russia is here for the holidays. They had a little party and invited my husband and to drop by. There was a couple there who were long time friends of Ira’s (pronounced Eee-ra) smiles. They are in the ministry of helping orphans. Ira works for a ministry who teaches Life Skills to children who have aged out of the orphanage. She is sweet as peas. Anyway while at the party Ira and her friend brought out some of the things they plan to use to raise funds to help the orphans. htpp://comeandsew.org I said I would tell you about them. These little boots are darling and they are all handmade. They are felting and ribbon trim.




They have several items that are handmade used to raise funds for the orphans. Another itwm they have are zipper handbags. My son brought me one when he went to Russia to visit Ira. It comes in a gift bag all unzipped I “exclaimed”Oh he has gone to a garage sale and bought me some zippers!” No he said “When you meet Christ your life is a mess”, but as Christ begins to change you (and you are zipping the purse us a s you say this) You become a useful, (and I was going to say “Vessel”) when one of my students said (An Ol’d Bag) smiles
Image of felt purse



I have been experimenting with #8 and #16 gage copper wire this week. The number 8 is beautiful when shaped into a bracelet. I have a lot to learn but I am willing, because I have gone ballistic over copper. My husband is a Master electrician so he just doesn’t get it.> to him it is just wire but to me it is extraordinary. I see beauty where, well he is just a man.> Erin of htpp://Tesori Trovati Jewelry.com - Treasures Found Artisan Jewelry says “Find beauty is found everywhere”




I made a pair of earrings for my sister-in-love. I used red glass beads and silver chain to create dangle earrings. I put the red glass bead in a pieced earring and attached the chains to them. I was pleased. I had given her a several strand bugle bead necklace with large dangle earring, because she said she liked them, but when she put them on she was over whelmed.


Be Blessed

Wonderful Thanksgiving on to Advent

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I made everyone’s favorite dish. It took me three days. And, this someone who declared when she turned 60 years of age, that she was old enough to say “I don’t do food.” I honestly don’t think about it. I would rather paint, make jewelry or quilt. I set the table with my best china and crystal, bought the wine. I prepared for 6, but the weather prevented our daughter from coming and our nephew was off hunting. That left us and our son. What made the day so wonderful was attitude. I was determined to a great day, and just know everyone were where they suppose to be. After dinner we spoke to our son’s girlfriend in St.Petersburg, Russia by way of Skype, I did the dishes as it was my best china. Then we had a movie on our big 5ftX8ft screen. Then I declared it was “Pie Time” We had pie then we watched another movie and had another “Pie Time”
I have gone ballistic over copper.





I have gone ballistic over copper.

I took Erin’s @ TreasuresFound.blogspot.com , color challenge that my daughter shared with me when we went to the bead marker. Also I wanted to use the beads she had shared with me. ‘They were stone crosses’. I simply could not get into the crossed. But I tried. While trying I spied heavy copper wire on my work table, then I was off and running. I will show you the process.


Sometimes design is a process off elimination. My daughter would say Mom “Less is More” I wrapped the focal stone with copper foil and the red bead with copper foil. I then went to JoAnn’s for a copper chain and found a treasure of copper beads. I am very pleased with the results,


You know that in this economy copper is the new gold!








While my daughter was here for the bead market she set me up on Etsy. But I cannot find the place to add items. I have put my profile in twice but it does not show up. So I need more tutoring.
Google image

So, watch for my creations on Etsy At;.
MagpieTreasureTrove.etsy.com
Be Blessed