The Winner of the Art Bead Love Tour Chain Is...

I didn't even have to use a random generator thingy to pick the winner since there were so few entries--which is good since I wouldn't have a clue as to how that works. I did it the old fashioned way with names in a hat and my husband pulled out the name.

The winner of the fabulous Art Bead Love Tour Chain is.... Drumroll please....





The Lovely and Talented Lori Anderson of the fabulous Pretty Things Blog!

Thanks so much to the Love My Art Jewelry Blog for starting this amazing chain! Be sure to check Lori's blog in the coming weeks to try your luck with this traveling chain of beady goodness!

Art Jewelry Elements June Challenge

This lovely photo is our inspiration for the month of June at Art Jewelry Elements. It was taken by Jennifer Cameron on her recent trip to Florida.

As a kid, my family took a vacation every summer, and my husband and I have continue the tradition with our own family. We love picking up shells, rocks, and driftwood along the shore. Each year when summer approaches, I'm eager to plan our next trip. We travel by car so we can see the sights as we go from state to state, and by the time we are heading home, we are already planning for the next year.



The different colors here work so well together in nature, but not necessarily in a piece of jewelry. I had a difficult time finding just the right beads. Some were too pastel, some were too dark. But after several times of stringing and restringing it finally worked.



I started with an etched, patinated copper 'Athena'link from Melinda Orr. Also included is a Czech nautilus shell, red lava beads, aqua faceted glass beads, a couple pale pink lampwork beads from Jane Perla, a dark brown lampwork spacer from That Bead Girl, a little stone bead, and some little freshwater pearl dangles which helped fill the space between the beads and the etched link. The beads are set off with sterling beads and clasp.


'Pocketful of Sea Shells'

Be sure to visit the Art Jewelry Elements blog on the 18th to see what others have made.

Symphony in the Flint Hills

This past weekend we were given last-minute tickets to the 7th Annual Symphony in the Flint Hills, which was set in the last stand of Tallgrass Prairie.

'Once a vast prairie covered one-third of our continent–an endless grassland teeming with bison, deer, antelope, fowl and wildflowers of every color. Today, an untouched piece of that prairie still exists in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

Each spring there is a gathering, a coming together of art, nature and the kindred souls who appreciate them both. For one evening, the meadowlark’s song is joined by a Symphony in the Flint Hills.

Before the plow tilled the surrounding lands, before train track split the endless sea of green, native grasses stood as high as a man’s chest on the tallgrass prairie. Here, where vast limestone and flint deposits made tilling impractical, the largest portion of virgin tallgrass prairie remains intact in the Kansas Flint Hills. This is where we gather.'
Taken from the website

It was a mile long walk from the parking lot to where the symphony was located. We meandered along the winding path through the beautiful Tallgrass Prairie, where a stiff breeze kept us from roasting in the sun. Along the path were local ranchers sitting tall on their horses, and sometimes posing for photos.







Just over the rolling hills we could see the very tips of a dozen or more white tents. And as we got closer it was quite a sight. Over 7,000 people gathered from 55 Kansas counties, several states, and even a few who traveled here from abroad. The tents held food, beer & wine, and information on educational topics such as prairie plants, geology of the Flint Hills, history of cowboys, and art inspired by the prairie. There was even an ‘Instrument Petting Zoo’ under one tent. And if you arrived early enough you could catch a ride in a covered wagon for a spin out on the prairie.









The symphony itself was wonderful. Most of the pieces were related to spring and summer, the vast prairie, cowboys and the like. Up in the hazy sky was a small plane, probably taking photos of the event. There were a few times the plane seemed to be in sync with the concert as it glided back and forth silently across the sky.









The riders and their horses put on a show of their own out on the prairie; some posing for photos, letting the little ones pet the horse, or sending the horse on a gallop. As the concert ended the ranchers gathered up all the cattle and herded them to water. It was quite a sight to see, and the crowd went wild with applause and snapping photo after photo.







The Big Guy up above put on a show of his own, after all he is a Master Artist. Behind the orchestra the rolling hills made a wonderful backdrop. And just as the concert was about to end, the bright orange sun settled down on the horizon like a big ball of fire. I don’t think it can get any better than that!







So the first weekend in June my husband and I ate a gourmet meal in a beautiful cornfield close to the Kaw river—a lovely setting. And the second weekend in June we were listening to the Symphony in the Flint Hills, with the Tallgrass Prairie and the rolling hills as the backdrop.

After two events in a row I fear we are in danger of becoming refined. But my husband assured me with his response ‘It ain’t gonna happen’.

A big thanks to my husband for taking these wonderful photos!

Dining In a Corn Field

My husband’s birthday was at the end of May. So what do you get the man that has everything? At our age, if we need something we usually go out and buy it. I struggled to come up with something unique, and found the perfect gift while reading the Kansas! Magazine several months back. The article that caught my eye was about agritourism and featured a Kansas couple who hosted a gourmet meal right in their corn field. After visiting their website I signed up for the event. I had a few moments of nail biting because I really didn’t know what to expect, or if my husband would enjoy it.



The evening was to be a surprise for my husband. The only thing he knew was the directions since he was the one doing the driving. Here’s what greeted us as we arrived for Hors d’oeuvres. Just look at that gorgeous farm table, which really wasn’t a table at all, but more like a well –used work bench. We were served curry pheasant salad on crusty bread, gooey miniature grilled cheese sandwiches, and a couple Kansas wines.



My husband and I could not keep our eyes off the tables all lined up in a row, the colorful napkins, the white chairs, and the sun shining on the goblets making them sparkle. We took 17 photos of that stunning table, and that’s just the beginning.





This is the menu for the evening. With each course a different California wine was featured. The food was fabulous and I wish I would have snapped a photo of each course, but I was too distracted by the food to even think about taking pictures.



Here are just a few of the many photos my husband took that night. Debbie Miller of Midwest Living Magazine was there, but I didn't get to visit with her other than to let her know how much I love the magazine.

Another photo of the table, but if you look closely towards the back left you'll see Chef Scott Benjamin explaining each course. The Wild Rice Risotto was to die for and my mouth is watering just thinking about it.









This is where the meal was served from. Who would think a gourmet meal could be put together under a tent!


Below: The couple on the right are the original owners of the farm. If you've ever been to Kansas you might hav seen the signs that read 'One Kansas Farmer feeds 128 people and you!' This couple helped make and place 60 billboards across the state.





The evening ended with the glow of the torches and a full moon hanging low in the sky.

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.

Art Bead Love Tour Giveaway

Here it is, the Art Bead Love Tour Giveaway from Love My Art Jewelry!!!



I can't describe how fun it was to sort through the chain and look at all the goodies. Each time I looked at it I saw something different. Now here's your chance to be the next stop on the Art Bead Love tour. Before you enter, please read all the rules listed below.

Here's what the chain looked like when I received it in the mail.




This is what I took from the chain:



This is what I added to the chain. Lampwork beads are from Joann McCormack, Wendy Rains, Two Sisters, Ikuyo Glass Art, and more that I can't seem to remember. The paper scroll beads are from Gillian McMurray at etsy.



Here's where the chain has been:

Love My Art Jewlery
Lorelei's Blog
Shaihas Ramblings
Jen Judd Rocks
Silver Rose Designs
My Life Under The Bus
Expostfacto Jewelry
Beading Mommy
Alice Dreaming


The Art Bead Love Tour is an ongoing project to spread the love of handmade to new and exciting places. It’s a way to reach people who may have never stumbled upon our blog on their own, and give them a chance to share the love of handmade. We chose to use a chain to link beads as a symbol of how this project links us all together~ in our unity to stand behind handmade.
Here is how it works.


(Please read the entire post before entering).

We will have a giveaway for this chain (how to enter is explained at the end of the post)
The Details:

1. The winner of the chain will be allowed to take up to 30 beads from this chain. They will then replace each bead they took, with another handmade bead, charm or pendant of equal quality. It is so important that the quality of the beads be maintained, so that we can keep the Art Bead Love Tour alive. We want to share consistent quality with the next winner. If you make your own handmade beads or components, it’s a great way to get your beads into the world for people to try them out, or, if you hoard collect art beads, it’s a great way to share your collection and get some new additions as well. (Art Beads should be handmade by an artist, and not mass produced, such as Hill Tribes Silver beads or others like them). Remember the focus is on creating handmade with handmade and beads/components taken should be replaced with beads/components that are made by an individual not an organization.

2. The winner will post pictures of what was taken and what was added, in order to keep an account of the chains progress and to keep our followers drooling. Please be sure to give credit to the bead artists as well.

3. The winner will then have a giveaway, just like this one, to keep passing the chain on and on. Rules can be copied and pasted from here.

4. When you repost your giveaway (remember you can copy and paste from here)-a list should be added to show where the chain has gone, with links to each previous blog. Ultimately, this will end up being a very long list!

For example:

Look where the chain has been……

Love My Art Jewlery
Lorelei's Blog
Shaihas Ramblings
Jen Judd Rocks
Silver Rose Designs
My Life Under The Bus
Expostfacto Jewelry
Beading Mommy
Alice Dreaming

5. Chain must be shipped to its new home via Priority Small Flat Rate box with delivery confirmation. Please package it carefully.

6. There will be a button on the Love My Art Jewelry Website that links to the current blog and giveaway- so if you have the chain, it will link to your blog, that way our followers can have another chance to win it.
7. You MUST exchange your beads and have your giveaway completed within two weeks of receiving the chain.

(Please please please, if you can not adhere to the above rules, do not enter the giveaway at this time. It will go on and on and you can always enter at a later date.) There will be a button on the side bar of our blog so that you can track where the chain currently is.

OK- How to Enter:

1. You must have a blog to enter.

2. Leave a comment below (make sure your email is linked to your blog or leave it in the comment. Entries without emails will not qualify)

3. Share on Facebook, Twitter or your blog for extra chances to win. Leave a comment for each way you share, with a link if possible.

4. Winner will pay shipping and will be billed through paypal-small priority flat rate box with delivery confirmation $6.00.

5. Open only to our readers in the United States- due to problems with tracking and shipping overseas (sorry).

6. Check back here on Thursday, June 17th to see if you’ve won.

7. Good luck and share the love of handmade!Please, if you have any questions, you can email me directly at staci.lousie@hotmail.com

Andrew Thornton's Spring Challenge

Yes, three posts in two days. Unusual for me, I know. I was starting to think I had bit off more than I could chew by signing up for two challenges and Shannon’s weekly 'Finally Fridays' challenges. On the other hand I need this kind of push to keep me at the bead table.


From Andrew's Blog

Andrew collaborated with Lima Beads and came up with a lovely spring inspired kit for this challenge. I just clicked ‘add to cart’, and soon the kit was traveling to my mail box. The kit includes the sweetest bunny toggle from Green Girls, a tiny pewter bunny charm from Tierra Cast, a darling ceramic bird charm from Earthenwood Studio, a little tagua nut large hole bead, a pair of Lucite leaf charms, a hammered chain, two tubes of seed beads, and a variety of Czech beads.

I like to get some mileage out of kits like this and spread the goodness around to several pieces. The first piece I made was this bracelet made with four of the faceted fire polished Czech beads from the kit, some vintage green beads, wasabi deep cut Czech beads, green Druk glass beads, a dyed howlite tube bead, Vintaj chain and components, and some sweet lampwork spacer beads.


'Lime-A-Rita'

The second piece, another bracelet (which I’ve been making a lot of lately) includes the apple green Czech beads, a large turquoise dyed howlite bead, lampwork beads from Twinstar and Lynda’s Bead Dreams, a polymer bead from Heather Powers, a Bali bead and sterling silver spacers and clasp.


'A Gentle Breeze'

These earrings include the Lucite leaves and a couple of the Czech beads from the kit, plus triangle wood beads and a variety of Vintaj chain.


'Jungle Fever'

The inspiration for this last piece came when I saw a little bird on our porch with a wad of fiber in her beak ready to use it to build her nest. This necklace is made with the sweet ceramic bird, a peach colored ‘sugared’ lampwork bead from Fire & Fibers, Vintaj components, and a silk dangle from a destash over at Objects and Elements. I’m thinking I need something more on the chain, so I might take it apart and redo just the chain part. Also, I don’t have a name for this one. Any ideas?



I didn’t get a chance to use the chain, the bunny charm, tagua nut bead, the tiny green glass beads, the seed beads or the bunny clasp. But I hope to make something with these soon. Thanks for stopping by. Please visit Andrew’s blog for the list of participants.