Finally Friday

I'm skidding in sideways with my Finally Friday post because I literally put it together this morning! The inspiration was the fabulous palette above from Design Seeds.


'Leaving Summer Behind'

These earrings were inspired by the cooler (and much appreciated) weather we've had for the last few days. The onset of cooler weather always makes me think of Autumn, my favorite season.



I took a bit of liberty with the colors in the palette as you can see. I chose the warmer colors of Vintaj Brass rather than the tan tones in the palette. The lovely lampwork beads were from Whitney Street Studio, and I thought they represented most of the other colors in the palette nicely. Perched on top of the Vintaj brass domed washers is a Swarovski emerald bicone to add a bit of brightness.



I have to thank Shannon for hosting this fun challenge every week. Please check out her blog to see what she made, and maybe even play along.

Pretty Patterns plus an Earring Card Idea

We use a lot of tissues in our house with allergies and sinus problems. Normally the tissue boxes are quite boring so we hide them in the ready-made boxes. But lately I've noticed the boxes are much nicer with pretty patterns and colors. I think I will be using these to make cute earring cards suggested in a recent blog post at Rings N Things. Check out the post by clicking this link.



Are you having trouble with putting colors together in your jewlery? Search your house for unexpected colors and patterns. I found some great ones in my kitchen towels, dishes, my daughter's summer dresses, purses, and even my shower cap.



You might even be inspired by the colors and patterns of your bed sheets or sofa pillows, or even store-bought thank you notes.



Still not inspired? Check out Design Seeds for some amazing color palettes.

Finally Friday

If you are looking to enter the Art Bead Love Tour giveaway please follow this link. The giveaway ends on June 17th.


Beaded Bright

I really enjoyed this Design Seeds color palette with the warm colors tempered with my favorite color-aqua. So here’s the piece I made. I can’t seem to stop making bracelets! Maybe I need an intervention, but really I love making them.


'Budapest Spice Market'

I named it ‘Budapest Spice Market’. I wish I could say the inspiration came from visiting there, but I’ve only seen blog articles on this beautiful place. The name popped into my head while creating the piece, and so there you have it.

There are a couple lampwork beads from Lyndas Lampwork, and one from Two Sister’s Designs. And I could not help adding that sweet floral polymer clay bead from Too Aquarius, it’s my last one—sniff, sniff. The gorgeous metal clasp and components are from Keirsten Giles, my recent Bead Swap partner. Oh it was difficult to let go of that sweet clasp! Keirsten does magical things with copper! Also included are a couple orange fiber beads from Gritty Bird, and a dark orange and aqua lampwork bead I believe from Quinlan Glass.

Thanks for visiting! Please check out Shannon's blog to see what she created, and to play along.

Finally Friday

If you are coming here to see the reveal for Erin's Challenge of Literature you can find it by clicking on this link.




The Design Seeds inspiration for this week is ‘Urchin Tones’. I was very excited as I had been holding onto a polymer sea urchin connector waiting for just the right time to use it. So I lined up all the beads on my bead mat and they looked amazing. Unfortunately when I started putting the piece together, the polymer connector broke at the hole. I was heartbroken, as this was THE perfect piece for this project. Also, this was the second polymer piece in two weeks that has broken at the hole. Maybe I was too rough on them. But I noticed the urchin was very soft, even though I’ve had it for several months. I don’t know much about polymer clay, but I’m thinking I will stick to only round polymer beads in the future. Here's what it looked like all lined up.



So I switched out the polymer connector with a Vintaj Brass Sand Dollar. I wasn't sure if it would work since I already connected the beads with silver wire. It looks OK as it picks up the browns in the beads beside the Sand Dollar.



Below is the broken connector and the tiny pieces that broke off. I did try and salvage the connector by sanding and gluing those tiny pieces together, but you can see the cracks just a bit. Next I’ll glue the urchin to a piece of metal and see if it can be salvaged. Crossing my fingers…..



This piece includes lampwork beads by Twinstar, a drilled river rock I snatched from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Bead Box, a Vintaj Brass Sand Dollar, sterling clasp, and silver filled wire.





Yes, I do know it's not Friday, but tomorrow is the reveal date for the Andrew's Spring Challenge so I'm doing this one early. Thanks so much for stopping by. Please visit Shannon’s blog tomorrow to see what she made, and to play along next week.

Finally Friday

'Mint Tints' is the inspiration for this week--from Design Seeds

A looooong time ago my husband a I took a trip to Bermuda with another couple we always hung out with. Bermuda is a British territory in the North Atlantic, just off the east coast of the United States. I was surprised, and delighted at how the island people are able blend the fun of the Caribbean with the elegance of the British culture. The islanders were only allowed to own one car, and tourists rented motor scooters. Billboards and neon signs are not allowed, and the only fast food restaurant was Kentucky Fried Chicken. The food was fabulous-I'm talking about the local food NOT KFC. The pink beaches were gorgeous, and the ocean-which is the inspiration for this piece-was spectacluar.




'Bermuda Jewel'

Made with tiny faceted Amazonite rectangles and sterling silver, this bracelet reminds me of relaxing on the lovely beaches of Bermuda.

Visit Shannon's blog for next week's inspiration and to play along.

Finally Friday--Finally, and an Epic Fail

The Doors Of Nagaland


Image Found Here

Quite some time ago I won a couple pendants from Joan at Off Center Productions. The pendants were inspired by the doors of Nagaland. I’m not sure if she actually visited there or took her inspiration from web photos.

Nagaland is in the far north-eastern part of India and is mostly a mountainous state. Agriculture is the most important economic activity, along with forestry, cottage industries and tourism.

There are 16 main tribes of Nagaland, and each one has its own unique design and colors, and their own language. Nagas speak 60 different dialects, and the traditional languages do not have any script of their own.



I’ve had Joan’s pendants for quite a while, waiting for the right time to use them. When I saw the door in the inspiration photo I knew I had to use this pendant. But time got away from me and I didn’t get my piece finished. Here is the collection of beads and findings I was going to use, though other than the pendant I had not yet come up with a real plan. There are various lampwork beads, some vintage beads I purchased from Judy Glende, Joan's pendant, and Vintaj components. Sorry for the rotten photos. That's what you get when you wait until the last minute. The inspiration color palette is from Design Seeds.



Here is a close-up of the pendant, to which I added a copper bail. It looks so much prettier than this photo shows, but the lighting this morning was not conducive to taking good photos.



Here are some great photos of the amazing people of Nagaland people-found on Pinterest.

Be sure to visit Shannon's blog for today's Finally Friday, and to play along.

Finally Friday

Shannon from the For My Sweet Daughter blog is hosting ‘Finally Friday’ with inspiration color pallets from Design Seeds.

This week's inspiration is 'Indulgent Tones' I love the pretty muted colors along with the dark brown, which made me think of a spring nature walk.



I created 'Nature Walk' with rose and gray lampwork beads from Lyndas Bead Dreams, a sweet little bird from Raida at Havanabeads, an enameled flower from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Bead Box, and Vintaj components.



A close up of the beads and the sweet little bird.




Thanks to Shannon for hosting the Finally Friday inspiration. I hope to play along every week, and would love for you to do the same. You can link up with Shannon at her blog.

A Bit of Randomness

From Design Seeds

This lovely photo has nothing to do with anything, except that I thought it was beautiful and that you'll most likely need a mental vacation after reading all the way to the bottom. And just a warning, this is a long post so grab your favorite beverage and snack and settle in (unless you don't want to, which is fine--no pressure).

On household appliances: Aren’t they supposed to make less work for us?

A while back our washing machine gave out, so we purchased an L.G. high efficiency front loading set which I really like. But it wasn’t long until I noticed a foul odor in the washer and on the clothes. I took a look online and there were many ways to combat this, most of which require a bit of work. The odor is caused by mold getting under the rubber door seal (which is caused by the low water levels and cool water temperatures) . Some suggest regular wiping of the drum, rubber seal, and glass door with bleach. Others recommend running one or two hot water/extra water loads a week in order to clean out the seal. Other suggestions were to buy a special cleaner just for this purpose, or to buy some sort of air filter thingy to keep the air flowing. Seems like a lot of cleaning for an appliance that is supposed to do the cleaning for you. Now I just leave the door open after each load and it seems to work fairly well.



We’ve always had Hoover vacuums. When our trusty vacuum bit the dust (no pun intended) we purchased a Hoover bagless wind tunnel. I have no complaint about the quality of the suction, but it’s the high maintenance that frustrates me. Each time I vacuum, one or both of the filters get clogged after just doing a couple rooms. So I have to take the filters out and clean them. One is a foam filter which must be cleaned with water, which means it has to dry before you can use it again. The other filter is a HEPA filter which must be vacuumed clean. Also, the filter in the canister itself gets clogged with very fine dust, and has to be completely torn apart to be cleaned. Honestly, why do we need filters to filter dirt that is just going into a canister in the first place? And why do we need a HEPA filter for dirt that is already in our home?

On Blog Stuff

Have you noticed that when you click on a blog photo it comes up in a ‘Lightbox’ format? I don’t particularly like it and found a way to get around this. If you’d like to disable Lightbox on your blog, log in to Blogger and select “No” next to Lightbox in the Settings Posts and Comments section (new interface) or the Settings Formatting section (old interface).

Also, I’ve become addicted to the blog Design Seeds after participating in Erin’s recent color challenge. Check out her blog for some amazing inspiration. And she’s made a book too! I apologize in advance if you get hooked….and you will.

On Making Goals

I didn’t make any new year’s resolutions, or choose a word for the year (don’t even remember what word I chose last year), but I did set some goals for myself. You know the ones; eat healthier, be more active, be kinder, get organized, yada yada yada. And I put myself on a diet—a bead diet. I will do my best to use up my huge stash of beads before buying more. I know it will be difficult because so many of you keep tempting me with pretty photos of your own beads. Already I’ve had to restrain myself from hitting the ‘add to cart’ button, and it’s only January 10th!



Here’s my own bit of eye candy for you; sweet floral polymer beads I received in the mail today from Too Aquarius. Aren’t they darling? And I was the lucky winner of the recent ABS Studio Saturday giveaway and recieved these beautiful ceramic pendants from Melanie at Earthenwood Studios. Also I won these gorgeous bracelets from Shanti at Sunshine Bliss Studio! Lucky me!

So if you've stuck with me this far, give yourself a pat on the back. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

The Challenge of Color Blog Hop Reveal

Today is the reveal day for the Challenge of Color Blog Hop hosted by Erin Prais-Hintz. There are 54 participants who were assigned a color palette chosen by Erin. These beautiful color palettes were created by Jessica Colaluca of Design Seeds (Thank you Jessica!). If you are ever in need of inspiration visit her blog for more colorful ideas.

The palette Erin chose for me was ‘Island Play’ Just look at the lovely colors! Don’t they make you wish you were on a beach or island far, far away?

The bracelet I created began with this gorgeous etched, patina clasp made by Melinda Orr . Check out her etsy shop to see more of her lovely handmade creations.

The blue lampwork bead is from an ebay seller (which I can’t seem to recall). I’ve been hoarding these lovely beads for a long time. Also included is a small, sand colored lampwork bead, some pretty faceted aqua beads from Nina Bagley from her recent studio cleanout (check out her lovely blog and amazing jewelry!) a Wasabi Silk Czech Nautilus Shell, and Vintaj Brass components.

Please go to Erin’s blog to see her own creations, and to enter her giveaway. And take some time to visit the other participants to see what they created. A big thanks to Erin for organizing this challenge. I enjoyed it very much!

Norma Turvey
Jeannie Dukic
Mary McGraw
Jo Tinley
Rebecca Anderson
Kristi Jaro
Stephani Gorman
Melissa Meman
Kathleen Lange Klik
Cynthia Riggs
Heidi Post
Cece Cormier
Amy Freeland
Alice Peterson that's me!
Rose Noble
Kristina Johansson
Kirsi Luostarinen
Tari Kahrs
Mallory Hoffman
Molly Alexander
Regina Santerre
Emanda Johnson
Amy Severino
Bobbie Rafferty
Tanya Goodwin
Lisa Lodge
Hope Smitherman
Linda Landig
Ambra Gostoli
Lori Bowring-Michaud
Pippa Chandler
Keirsten Giles
Jennifer Justman
Sandy Richardson
CJ Bauschka
Shaiha Williams
Kay Thomerson
Sally Russick
Cilla Watkins
Shirley Moore
Jenni Connolly
Tamara Soper
Sharyl McMillian-Nelson
Jen Velasquez
Maria Grimes
Elisabeth Auld
Susan Kennedy
Shannon Chomanczuk
Holly Westfall
Patty Gasparino
Angela Little
Lizzie Zawinski
Kristen Stevens
Dawn Doucette

Catching Up

Wow I can’t believe how long it’s been since my last post. I’ve been so busy that I nearly meet myself coming and going. So here’s what I’ve been up to: organizing the annual Christmas Home Tour for our city, helping organize the Christmas Program at our church, attending a few school functions, writing long-overdue thank you notes, trying to figure out ways to promote my business, attempting to clean of my end of the kitchen island where I tend to stack papers (the other half belongs to my husband—the island has really become a dumping ground for important papers), and the usual laundry, bills, dishes, bookkeeping,

and this…….

Erin Prais-Hintz is hosting a Challenge of Color Blog Hop using color palettes from Jessica Colaluca of Design Seeds. The palette Erin chose for me is Island Play (after my request to stay with blues). It’s a lovely palette, but so far I’ve only had time to pull out some beads I thought matched the palette. Hopefully I can come up with a design before the contest ends. There are 52 participants. Be sure to check back on the 30th to see what everyone has created.




and this……

Getting ready for my youngest daughter’s birthday. Sarah turns 15 today, and my how the time has flown! This photo (actually a photo of a photo) was taken when she was almost two years old. She’s grown to be a beautiful, intelligent, kind, thoughtful, artistic, athletic young woman. I know she will do amazing things.



and this…..

I’m also participating in Sally Russick’s Ornament Swap/Blog Hop. I can’t show you what I’m working on as it is supposed to be a surprise for my partner, Erin Prais-Hintz. But I can tell you it will be sparkly. Stay tuned for the blog hop on December 17th. This is the first time I’ve participated in a handmade ornament swap, and I’m excited to see what everyone makes!



And last, but not least, I’ve been the lucky winner of a few blog giveaways, and would like to share them here with you---something I should have done weeks ago (my apologies to the artists).

From the talented lampwork glass artist Jane Perla, is a lovely ruffled flower and two green leaves. Check out Jane’s etsy site to see her wonderful offerings. I guarantee you will be drooling.



And from artist Shannon Levart who does wonderful things with metal and patina, this beautiful pile of shiny copper goodness.


photo from misficlkemedia's blog

And from Patty Gasparino, this very lovely bracelet customized just for me. Check out her sweet etsy shop where you’ll find more of her delightful creations.



And if you've stayed with me during this long post, I commend you. I hope to find a rhythm in posting here on the blog, but I'm not making any promises.

Tomorrow, count your blessings, and smile at someone--it just might turn their day around.