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.

Think Cool Thoughts

Let's just see just what makes us feel cool, I'm thinking


Igloo


Pop-cicles


Swimming Pool


Ice Cold Watermenon


Lemonade


Mint Julep


Frozen Yogurt


Waterfalls
All images are from GOOGLE IMAGES

Now find a cool place and think cool thoughts
Take a peek at my new creations http://www.etsy.com/shop/magpietreasuretrove
Be Blessed to be a blessing

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

I Feel Like Erin Brockovich

I Feel Erin Brockovich in the movie of the same name, after she had collected all 650 signatures from the residence in a small town to fight a huge corporation. (And this blog I have tried14 times blogger kept grabbing it away before I was finished). I have just finished posting 22 pieces in my Etsy Shop. It has taken me 5 days. WhewEee , But I am well pleased at how it looks. So take a stroll through my Magpie Treasure Trove. http://MagpieTreasureTrove.etsy.com
I call them my Magpie quilts, handbags, and jewelry magpie, because a magpie will pick-up anything that is sparkly and shiny and take it to their nest.

My intentions were to show Image of the Front page of Etsy

That is about all I have accomplished this week. Well I did get the tinny Christmas tree up. I put the little Etsy-bitty-T-Tinny tree on my Bright Red and Green Crazy Quilt to cover a small desk. Then I put out my bling-bling decorated gift boxes as decoration.

I put wreaths up on the front and back doors. I do the back door because everybody comes through our backdoor, as we live on a corner.

At last I put out the porcelain Nativity. I always use the blanket that I brought both my children home from the hospital in for Christmas. I use it as snow to set the Naivety on. That is every Christmas since 1958: Whoa! And, it has been one year since I had a double knee replacement, and now I could climb a tree if I had to, my legs are so strong. Yea.
Be Blessed

Surprise Surprise Surprise

Plip plop--fizz-fizz (or something like that) Oh what a joy it is to be found for the Treasury on Etsy. On my FIRST DAY in Etsy! How lucky is that?

I had just opened my Etsy Shop. I only had one posting. It was Christmas Crazy Quilt. I have since posted 5 other quilts. I spent the whole day. MagpieTreasureTrove.etsy.com

That is because I am slow at learning. I still have some quilting creations to post.
Stay tuned I will be posting watercolors and jewelry real soon.
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

Treading The Waters of Beading

I am on the trail of follow-up from the Craft Fair. I had one customer who was very petite l. She really loved one of my three color crystal sets but the bracelet was a seven and half inch and she took a 7inch I told her I would re-size it, which meant that I had to restring the bracelet.


Also she really loved the copper + abalone but it was too long for her as I said she was petite. Well because I was so easy to deal with she ordered a custom bracelet for her daughter-in-love to be. I have been busy today designing two lavender bracelets. She wanted them to be delicate. I also designed earrings to match.




Also while I was visiting my friend in Smithvile TX I promised her I would re-string her amethyst necklace. It was a 36 inches strand. She is also petite. Because I added seed beads every third bead I had enough to make a two strand necklace and bracelet and earrings to match.


Tell me what would have done. Comments please
Be Blessed
lookatthecolors@sbcglobal.net
SandysColoringBox.blogspot.com

Visiting Friends

Hey everyone, what a wonderful experience I have had. I went to visit a dear friend, I took the train.
We have been dear friends for 49 years.

google image

She lives in Smithville Texas. Smithville is outside of Austin Texas. She lives half way between Smithville and Bastrop. Life just keeps getting in the way of my getting to go visit my friend when her husband passed two years ago so one day I said I am going to visit my friend. I don’t care period. We have had a great time doing nothing special I suppose.


This little house was on a hill on the road out to her house. I thought it was just too charming. Of course the neighbors weren’t too pleased about it. Smiles.
We did go to Bastrop Texas, one day to all the art galleries, we met the artist who is commissioned to sculpt the war memorial in Smithville. Smithville has the unpleasant honor of having lost the most military per-capetah (sp) for a city of it’s size to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq


On another day we went to Smithville to discover what was there. We went to the “Paper Doll” shop. While there we met Tom Tierney the artist of all the paper doll books. Check him out at www.tomtierney.com and be impressed. He had paper doll books of every description. Tom is a very interesting person. He was very generous to talk to us. He told us little stories about the celebrities he had drawn and stars he had met. Since we are into movies, I bought “Costumes of Classic Movies. There is a costume paper doll of Julie Andrews in Thoroughly Modern Millie, which is my favorite movie of all time.
google image

While there I went to all her volunteer commitments. One day we went o the food pantry. We handed out food to 98 families. On Monday we went to the support group for widows. We had a really a good time while supporting each other. The hostess served banana splits yumm. We sat up late and watched old movies and are nutty bars. Tuesday we went to bible study. I had not planned to stay as long as I did, but my friend begged me to stay for the family party for her grandson who was going into the MARINES.
google image

I took some of my jewelry for my friend to choose which she preferred, as a thank you gift. She chose a piece of fused glass with a metal piece that resembled a butterfly.
Be Blessed

Dear Jane Quilt foiled

I am late blogging this week. I have been busy trying to finish a quilt that I started seven years age. Wait now, I have a good excuse. That quilt has 225 four inch squares and 119 triangle for the border. Some of the squares took an entire day to make. I finished 130 squares. but I decided to re-design and call it a day and called a halt to the process "So sue Me!" (smiles.)

Jane Stickle lived through the Civil War and finished her quilt in 1863. The quilt was discovered in 1991. http://www.dearjane.com /. Go visit the site and be impressed. (smiles.)

My sweet husband installed the speakers that I found this summer at a garage sale.for $15. He put them out on the patio, so we have been enjoyed wonderful music while luxuriating in awesome Indian summer weather, This wonderful wether we have had gave me a chance to paint up the assignment for my painting class. I am re-teaching "Teaching Creativity"

On Sunday afternoon a friend and I went into Fort Worth to the Scott Theater to see a musical preformed by the "Taps and Tunes" dance troupe. The troupe is made-up of ladies in mature years. They must be at least 50 to qualify. They did skits and dance numbers of the 20's and 30's. The show was delightful, You should see them shake their Booty, (smiles.)

Made me feel so good to be alive.

This and That and Having Fun

I spent a week in East Texas with my brother and his wife. We were having a great time until Tuesday when there came a great mystery. My brother came in from working on his tractor with excruciating pain in his hand. He could not stand for you to touch it. Then it began to swell and have a fever. We talked him into going to the DR. which was not easy task he is so macho. At first the DR. thought it was a broken bone. They x-rayed it but could not find a broken bone. Then they thought he had gotten into poison or was stung.Then they thought it was probably Gout. His hand swelled up to look like Swedish sausages. Anyway I was glad I was there because I was able to stay with their 16 year old grandson with Autism, and we connected famously. We painted together and he was able to write words for me. One day they were there from 11:00 to 9:30 in emergency room in Tyler. Anyway we did still have some great times too.
When I returned from my little trip I made some really nice jewelry with seeds. I used Texas mountain laurel seeds which are a bright shinny seed, and acorns, which my husband drilled for me and I dipped them in clear nail polish made a set of jewelry with Indian corn and acorns, and also a set of acorns, and Mountain Laurel and Buckeye. They were fun. See below

Mountain Laurel, Acorns, and Buckeye (One)


Mountain laurel, Acorns, and Buckeye (Two)


Mountain Laurel and Acorns


Indian Corn and Acorns


Be Blessed