Copper Leaves on Earrings Everyday!

Been playing!

September already...

Wow...time sure does fly...the last week has gone by in a blur!  My son started middle school, then Thursday, he had the audacity to turn 11! Imagine that!

Here he is with his cake...don't laugh at my decorating "skilz"...at least it is not a Wreck!  He always asks for lemon!

Then it was Labor Day weekend, and my birthday (I'm proudly 54), and now I am back at my 9-5 (blah)!


The cool thing is, in just a couple of weeks, ArtBliss is here!  Sadly, the class I was going to take with Diane Cook had to be cancelled, but I replaced it with Stacie Florer's Ranch Hand Earring class...I was already signed up for her Heavy Metal bead class.  I can't wait to see all my buddies I know will be there!!

Oh, it is my day over on Earrings Everyday...go check out Sea Flowers.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope your September is a great one!

Stopping in to say hello...

Have been catching up on  family time/home life lately, so haven't been online much!  I missed you!

I've been recovering from a crappy jewelry show on the 1st...it was a cold and rainy day which pretty much killed my hopes of making any real profit that day. Bummer! But, onward and upward!  That was our first blast of Autumn here in Maryland...the leaves are changing colors, and you can just smell it in the air!  This past weekend, we enjoyed absolutely gorgeous weather and spent it outside almost the whole time.  While the boys worked on painting/waterproofing the back deck,  I planted some pretty garden mums and a few pansies in our front beds.

The rest of the week has been taken up by "old lady" medical tests...not fun, by any stretch of the imagination, but they are all out of the way (for a while) and so far, aside from cholesterol levels, and the need to lose a few more pounds, have been declared healthy!

On the jewelry front, I am caught up with custom orders, and am trying to get all the new stuff I didn't sell at the crappy show into my websites.  Other than that, I have only been playing when time allows.  I do have a couple of things that I would like to show you though, that I am pretty pleased with :)

This little birdy began at ArtBliss in Deryn's Wax On class...I cut the copper shape out, but put it away for later!  I decided to flood it with solder and add some texture, but decided it needed wings!  The malachite eye is a result of my Richard Salley class!



I have had this yellow calcite (I think) cab forever...I bought it ages ago and was going to do a woven wire bezel on it, but after playing with creating bezels for resin and embedding filigree into the flooded solder, I decided to try and set the stone.  Obviously, this is an untraditional bezel setting, and it has flaws...I didn't realize how soft the stone was - nicked it and scratched it!  Thought I had a great fit with the bezel wire, but forgot that this type of soldering will take up more space...ruh, roh! However...I love it!  It is mine! :)

Stay tuned for my "Virtual Book Tour" post on Monday, 10/17, where I extol my love and admiration for all things Barbara Lewis!  Who knows, I might even show up here before then and surprise you...that is, if stinkin' Google lets me post images....anyone else having issues with that?

Happy Autumn Equinox!

I am a big fan of changing seasons...those transitional days when you know the upcoming one is on the brink of appearing, but not quite!  I would be hard-pressed to choose a favorite...but I guess it would be between Spring and Autumn.  I have a love/hate relationship with summer and winter :)

Autumn Bliss - enameled filigree, agate, rhyolite, freshwater pearls, serpentine and copper

There is something that happens deep in my gut during Autumn, especially in the very early evening. I love walking out in my yard after dark in the throes of Fall...looking up into the dark sky at the constellations that are above my house. It is comforting to look up at Orion, seemingly hovering protectively over us. The impending color changes in foliage, the rich, musky smells of drying leaves and the earth as summer annuals wither and compost - all these things providing strong sense memories of growing up in the country, playing in the yard after dark, not daring to venture outside the circle of light coming from the house, looking up at a sky so filled with diamonds you could almost reach out and touch them.

Blossoms...

As I mentioned previously, I have 3 upcoming shows in October...the 1st one is less than 2 weeks away.  I have been working daily on new items, but have been actually finishing things pretty slowly. What is it about having a deadline like a show, that makes me think of all these cool new things I want to try, knowing full well I don't have time to do that! I have been trying to incorporate some new twists in some of my old favorites, though. 

Here are a few that I got shots of yesterday afternoon...man, the autumn light is already different!

borosilicate by Lori Robbins, garnet, Hill Tribe silver flowers

Aren't these borosilicate beads by Lori Robbins just drool-worthy?  The colors are soooo yummy!

borosilicate lampwork, swarovski and Hill Tribe silver blossoms

I have had these beads forever..the last of a set I bought on eBay ages ago.  I'm sorry I don't remember the artist.  Once I had Lori's finished, I decided I wanted to do another pair!

czech glass leaves, woven with copper wire

more czech glass, woven together with sterling, Balinese connectors

Of course, I had to create some more of my woven-wire flowers...they have sort of become a signature thing for me!  I really like how many moods/styles you can create with these.

Stay tuned for more eye-candy tomorrow :)

It's that time of year...

leaves are changing color, autumn nip is in the air, pumpkins and Halloween stuff in the stores...school fundraisers!

Ben came home with stars in his eyes and a smile on his face...and an envelope full of school fundraiser information. "Mom! I'm going to get a Nintendo Wii!  All I have to do is sell some stuff!"  Yep, he can win the coveted Nintendo Wii by selling 139 items.  Oops!  How do you convince your excited 8 year old that the probability of us selling 139 items is not very good?

Seeing the light in his eyes dim after bursting his bubble, I guiltily promised him that we would try our best, after all, it does benefit his school!

So, if you'd like to help support Whittier Elementary School in Frederick, MD and help a disillusioned little boy follow his dream of owning a Wii, go shopping!  They actually have some cute stuff as fundraiser items go.  The link is http://www.shoplavenders.com   Make sure you enter Ben's ID# 255117 so that he will get credit. 

Look at this face!

Happy Halloween!

The man has to work tonight, so I will be on Trick or Treat duty...The boy is dressing as "Darth Vadar" and is very excited...he has a light saber and everything!  We will have to turn out all the lhouse lights while we make the rounds through the neighborhood...as soon as his bag is full enough, we'll go back home, light up the jack-o-lanterns we carved last night and hand out treats.  My goal is to hand out everything so that I won't eat it!

I was going to show a costumes through the years photo parade, but it looks like I can only find 2006! Here is the boy in his "Dash Incredible" costume from 2 years ago...he is so cute, with the fake muscles :)   Last year, he was "Wolverine" from the X-Men which was a shiny, yellow and blue costume with plastic claws...he loves to pull these 2 old costumes out and run around the house in them!

Hope all my bloggy friends have a fun and SAFE Halloween! 

Autumn in Frederick

Yikes, summer rolled by so fast this year!  Autumn is here...I think my favorite season of the year, although Spring will get mad at me for saying that!  There's something about the crispness in the air and the changing colors in the garden that always gets to me.

One of the harbingers of autumn in Frederick is the Great Frederick Co. Fair.  We went this past weekend and had a great time, albeit spending almost  $50 bucks for just a couple of hours!  Parking - $5, admission - $10 (the boy was free), fair food (2 corndogs, 1 sausage, 2 sodas, cotton candy, ice cream) - $12, rides for the boy - $18.50, pure joy on a 7yo's face - priceless!   The sights (and smells!) of walking through the livestock stalls and tractor exhibits, then the excitement of finally getting to the midway with the rides and games brought back great memories of fairs past my siblings and I piled into my Daddy's truck and we went to the West Alabama Fair...I always wanted to play all the games of chance, but my Daddy wouldn't let me...I did win a goldfish one year by tossing ping-pong balls, but unfortunately, it was dead the next day, poor fishie!

Another very cool thing about this particular Autumn is that I have gotten off my behind and signed up for several selling events in the area.  In an effort to create some local exposure, I committed to attend the remaining Frederick Arts Market events.  The Arts Market is held on the last Sunday of the month from May through October, culminating with a holiday-themed market on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  The cost was minimal, and it is limited to 25 juried artists, so I am hopeful that this will be a good venue for my work.   I am having to give up my Sunday singing gig on market days so I need to at least break even with that. Keep your fingers crossed!

Frederick Artist Market 
Date - 9/28/08
Location - Cultural Arts Center of Frederick County
Contact - 301-662-4190
The Frederick Artist Market is a monthly event that features the work of up to 25 local artists, including jewelry, pottery, art, photography, and other hand-crafted items.  The event, which is free to attend and open to the public, runs from 1:00-5:00 p.m.

Then, on October 4-5, I will be participating in the Medieval Festival in Mclean, VA.  It is sponsored by St. John the Beloved Catholic Church and School, where I sing weekly.  I will be positioned along side a religious art exhibit, so am hopeful that I will be successful with my higher end pieces and rosaries there.

Any of you in the area, please stop by at one of my venues and say hello!