Giveaway...One World, One Heart...

Denise, a jewelry designer and mystery writer wrote to tell me about this blogging event....



There are over 700 participants in this world wide blogging event, each with their own giveaways!

We will be giving away 10 ceramic pendants and beads! A "Mystery Grab Bag" assortment! Please leave a comment and a few random winners will be picked on February 12th! One World, One Heart indeed!

Darn those paint people!

Last fall while gathering all of the essentials for back to school, we came across the most wondrous of things! Glitter watercolors!!! Seriously? Very pretty! They were on clearance at Target but I only bought one. The colors are all earthy and rich with this fantastic shimmer. I let my girl have a great time with them and by the time I got around to having my turn they were almost all gone! Turns out they are fantastic and I can't find more anywhere!!!! I've tried other brands but they are not the same as the RoseArt set. I did these jewelry designs in early December with them....

The Mystery Shopper

I try to feed my family healthy foods. Buy organic. Lot's of fruits and veggies. And all I can say is, I don't know what happened. Did I have a black out at the market? Did my shopping cart come preloaded with the most awesome of junk foods. All I know is that when we came home from the store there were several, um, mystery items in the cart. Robert? Did you buy the Pop Tarts? How about these Swiss Miss hot cocoa packets? No? Hmmmm. Looks like the mystery shopper strikes again! I don't know if my girl is trying to show me some great new color combos or is predicting the spring 2009 color trends or just has a hunkering for some seriously trashy food. The Tarts are killing me with their "Calcium"?! I'm going to guess that comes from the glass of milk you drink. It's a good thing I don't take her shopping for beads! I like that there is a color theme of red white and blue going on though. I usually check the cart for "special" added items. Oh well at least her pick of apples was good...

Here are some of the new goodies I got over the weekend! The wood beads are for a special squirrel and owl I know. The turquoise and gold seed beads will be making friends with a particular mermaid...



And that darn Art/Jewelry Project!...

Totally Unrelated...

The rings were fun to make. Here they are after being soldered, pickled and tumbled to remove any fire scale. All these new terms and techniques are fun to learn and do. I'm told I can hit Caitriona up for any soldering time. I'll try not to abuse the privilege. I took the photo on top of Magnolias newest water color adventure. She does love the water colors! I'm hoping to texture them and use the liver of sulphur to darken them. I also read about a less toxic patina technique involving freshly smashed hard boiled eggs and a plastic bag. That might be fun to do with the kids. My son enjoys bending copper wire, so a dip into the tarnish may be fun as well. I have a few metal tag projects planned but am picking out a few gemstone beads to go with them. Deep rich colors are calling to me. I did a few sketches over the holidays for some new ideas. Heather Powers has some really beautiful jewelry illustrations she did on the Art Bead Scene Blog....

On a totally unrelated musical note... How much do I love Grace Jones? A lot.

This City Never Sleeps...

I've been asleep at the blogging wheel! I guess all that early rising and late nights are making me a sleepy, marginally functional mess. My firing had a few bloopers but went pretty well and orders are on their way, literally across the globe! Some are off to Denmark and some are off to New York and some are off to Canada. I wish I could fly with them to other cities. See what is going on there. Wouldn't that be fun?

This city never sleeps...



I got my soldered rings back from Caitriona! All shinny and new! Now I'll have have to dent and age them....

Now that this months firing is done, I'll have to finish up that Jewelry project... Really!

Lucky us.

It has been a thrilling week. The Presidential Inauguration was amazing. I was laughing and crying at the same time. The music and words were perfect.

Maybe it is a good omen for the year. My big boy found himself a four leaf clover in the yard the other day. We've had a bit of rain and the yard is now bright green rather than it's mottled beige and brown. I should take a picture to remember how lush and green our yard is with a bit of water.

I hope the change of political guard is the nourishing water we all need...

Step by Step, Step by Step...

I've not seen it yet but I got my daily email from Beading Daily, which featured a project I submitted for the Spring 2009 issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry! YAY! So If anyone out there has their copy yet give me a shout! What's the word? I can't wait to see it. The project was fun to do and was so thrilled when they accepted it. Actually, I had sent two photos of two different project and the editor Denise Peck, made a great suggestion, to combine the two projects into one. It worked out well! Thanks Denise!

Birthday week continues...

There are 3 of us. All spaced a year and a day apart and in age order to boot! Dear friends that it feels like we've known each other for a million years but it also feels like we just met. I get excited about spending time with them and cherish each conversation. Joelle, Dean and I are Capricorn loves. Dean's bday is today and Joelle was on Wednesday! Happy Birthday to them! I've even found more Cap's this week. Rebekah was yesterday! Happy Birthday to her! I guess we know who's parents had some serious spring fever! XO

I just needed to hear this... for no particular reason besides it rules.

Back to work...

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! As I get older, and I was discussing this with Joelle, we Cap's are prone to start out as old souls who blossom into wild at heart, silly children. I so feel silly now and was a very serious child. Teasing was not for me. I can take it and dish it now too. So if I start throwing a temper tantrum or twirling in the middle of the department store singing loudly and off key, please know that I am not crazy, it is just my Capricorness showing. I am off to finish some 80 odd beads for the January firing. And then it is tax time and OH! I've been putting off the Jewelry/Art exchange for forever and a day. I think I am stuck and having a hard time working over some one else's work. HELP! I don't think I should be the one to finish it, no matter how "full circle" it feels. Hmm....

The Birthday.

Another year has rolled on by and this birthday I was hoping to see a movie. Just me and my sweetie. Together. In a dark theater, treats in hand. Jumbo sized mortgage busting popcorn. Maybe even a PG-13 deal. You know, without the kids and everything! I plotted. I planned. Sitters were set. Times were scheduled. The movie? Quantum Of Solace. The day? Sunday. Did the movie people have a different plan? Yes. So apparently it was the proverbial "day late, dollar short" deal for me. Last week was the final showing. I had been checking show times on line all week. I'd been wanting to see the dog-gone thing since last spring! Yup. Day late. Dollar short. I know it will be out on DVD soon enough. That is not the point. The point is.... I just needed to see my movie and I need to get my #$^(#&*## together and do these things sooner. But I did have a lovely breakfast with all my dear hearts! It totally makes up for it. And Joelle totally knows me. She must have gotten a chuckle watching me jerry-rig my coffee pot filter holder to make myself one measly cup of decaf! Check out the perfect fancy newness! OH! And check out the goodies she made to go with it! What ever that pie crust cookie thing is... IT IS INCREDIBLE! It's like a cookie only crusty and crunchy on the outside and soft chewy on the inside. The perfect balance of salty and sweet. I can only describe it as, as, as, cookie pie! Amazing. Yup. My teeth hurt. Love it. Thanks Jo! OK. So. What was todays lesson? Do it now. Or not. What do I know.


Ok all you Capricorn's...

What an amazing process!

It is so good to get out into the world and see and do. I sometimes feel a little secluded in my own world. I set of to see my friend Caitriona yesterday and she showed me some basic soldering techniques! Just little rings and a 5 link chain. I was seriously inspired by Lynn Davis and her work (thank you Lynn!) I even got to (giggle, giggle) play with flames! An acetylene torch!!! AHHH! I'm used to playing with heat that is kept safely behind fire brick and metal. It felt dangerous and good at the same time! Forming metal rings and carefully matching up the ends. Dipping them in flux and carefully heating the metal and adding a bit of solder and watching it melt! Sadly I forgot my camera so I'll have to post images when I get the pieces back from being tumbled. We spent a few hours going around in circles trying to figure out her PayPal account and trying to update her with her newly single last name. We decided to just start a new account but in the process of trying to access her old account we must have used her email address and it would not let us start fresh with that address. UHG! So she's going to sort that out so we can add the PayPal shopping cart to her site with Dreamweaver next week! I'm excited for her.

On another aggrivating note, I got a note from some one on the "etsy team" reminding me that I should have no links to outside sites (ie my own website) that also sells goods. Sadly almost all of my items and all of my images have my web address stamped on them. I fixed all of the pages, but really, I am seriously NOT going in and editing all those images. BLAH! So... just a reminder...

Doin' the happy dance!

My very talented friend and jewelry designer Caitriona has offered to trade me silver work lessons for Dreamweaver lessons! YAY! So tomorrow I will head over to her house, toddler and coffee in hand for a lesson in soldering! I sent her 10 question for an interview over the summer, but it has been a hectic year. As many of us do, she has a hard time saying no. So fingers crossed, and wish me luck....

All right! 2009!

Ok. It feels like I've been on "vacation" for a long time. I didn't get a whole lot done and it feels good! I've needed a recharge and now seems like a perfectly good time to do it! Just been hanging around the house. Watching movies and catching up on Lost. We've seen The Mummy, Step Brothers, Ernest Scared Stupid, Lost Season 4 and a few others.... Dang that Netflix! I hope this year finds us all in a more loving and peaceful state.... Ok. Just a few more minutes of "vacation"!