POLKA DOTS

These page was created for a swap, this is one page, front and back, and the theme was red and white polka dots. It was fun , but it was a challenge to work on an 8x10 format......lots of space to fill up! I finally had a Saturday off, and was able to work on so much jewelry and art, I am now going into a new week feeling happy, happy!! I'll share some new jewelry later in the week. I also finished my Jan calender page for Kate's challenge......

PHEW!! This is a real challenge to keep up...so far, so good. Thanks for stopping by and hoping everyone has a fantastic new week!

ONE WORLD ONE HEART

I have decided to participate in this big random act of kindness called ONE WORLD ONE HEART, created by Lisa Swifka of A Whimsical Bohemian. It is a beautiful event meant to bring bloggers together from all over the globe, for the sheer pleasure of kinship, communication, and sharing. A vehicle to get to know one another, and to make new friends. An opportunity to offer a gift of yourself for sharing. I like to think of it as a huge RAK, and I'm all about that! Click on the icon to visit Lisa and to learn more about the event. As my gift, I am giving away this pair of earrings I just made , little birds of a feather stamped on hand cut and forged sterling silver, hanging from jasper, labrodorite, and hill tribe beads, all on handforged earwires of sterling!
Just leave me a nice comment and you are entered to win. That's it! Send your friends over. I'd love to get to know you! The winner will be announced on February 15th.

KATHMANDU

A while ago I won this gorgeous pendant from Melissa at Chinook Jewelry. I went to town designing a necklace around it, it's flow, it's warmth, it's mystery. I submitted it to Bead Trends, and I am fortunate enough to have it featured in the February issue. I always have so many artists to thank for there wonderful creations that usually grace my jewelry. That beautiful lampwork bead is from Cindy Gimbrone also. It really has been a wonderful start to a wonderful New Year. I have to continue to dig through my stash and start using more of these goodies to bring even more flow of good fortune. I am fortunate enough to have these blog buddies in my life. I thank you all, you are all my good fortune!

available on etsy

A BEAUTIFUL GIVEAWAY

Isn't this heart just so sweet, and gorgeous! The very talented Sandy Michelle of Sandy's Creations is offering this up in a giveaway to celebrate her 300th post! I am fortunate enough to have a sweet little angel by Sandy, and she is just so creative with fabric and sewing, and mixed media also. Sandy says she was inspired by Ruth Rae's new book, Layered, Tattered, and Stitched. I think we have all seen Ruth's work in A Charming Exchange and so many other places. I have always been in awe of her, and everytime I see these sewn creations I have to keep fighting that urge to start buying fabric. I used to sew a lot years ago, and I have been fighting this, but after seeing Sandy's heart , that little voice is calling and I feel I am weakening and am on the verge of getting the sewing machine out again! Click on the heart picture to enter Sandy's giveaway, and to be inspired!

WARNING

I have been constantly busy with various projects. I enjoy variety, so I guess I inundate myself with work on purpose to keep everything new and fresh. This piece is an 8 x 10 journal page for a swap, and the theme just had to include song lyrics. This is from one of my favorite songs by Incubus.

These are made out of my need to touch and bend wire, and to combo up those stunning peruvian blue chalcedony briolettes. I think I could be happy holding those stones in my hand all day. I love making earrings. I NEED to wear earrings everyday. Some people can't leave the house without makeup, I can't leave without earrings on. I rarely wear the same pair for two consecutive days. So I guess I think everyone thinks like me, and never has enough earrings. I"m hoping!! These are available on etsy!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

EXUDE

available on etsy

ZETTI LOVE

A little zetti love today...a heart shaped piece that is a magnet on the back, created for a swap of heart shaped zetti. As you all know, I really like all sorts of styles in art and jewelry, and zetti is the fun one! It is really a way for a bit of my personality to transcend into the big wide world. I think of zetti as my alter ego, the kid, sometimes the brat, the one who wants to open their big mouth and really say what she wants. Here she is.

A WISH COME TRUE!

A BIG thank you to everyone who played in my giveaway!! Let me say again how you have all enriched my life and art, and that means the world to me, and I truly appreciate each and every one of you!
I received 87 comments, but one was duplicated, therefore it was really 86...... SOOOO....the wish came true for

!!!!!!KATE, at the KATHRYN WHEEL!!!!

Congratulations Kate! Get me your email Kate and I'll get it out for you asap!

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!

A COUPLE OF THINGS

First, here is a sneek peek at my calender challenge that Kate at the Kathryn Wheel is hosting. Midway through the month and I'm still hanging in there! PHEW...it's more work than you think. Kate mentioned a while back about having time to take 5 minutes a day to do this....yah, if your normal I guess. It tends to take me a bit longer! But I am having fun with it!

NEXT

My good friend Liz, is having a giveaway! A great pair of earrings that she designed! I have mentioned that Liz is the terrific lady who taught me how to make jewelry a few years ago. She is a great designer, and teacher, and a terrific person. You won't want to miss this, so go on over and check out her blog! Click on the earrings to visit her!

And now ....Sunday.....ahhhhhh Sunday! I WILL sleeping in. Happy Day!

LAST CHANCE

REMEMBER, Saturday January 16th, is the last day to enter the WISH BRACELET GIVEAWAY!! It's open till midnight, and I'll announce the winner on Monday. You now have one last WISH!

ENTER HERE

STILL LIVING IN THE PAST

I am still loving old pictures, soft worn fibers, vintage buttons, old metal, things that feel good in my fingers, the smooth, the FAMILIAR.

SOULFUL

Something new here. I am taking an online course with Miss Suzi Blu...called Goddess and Poet. Although I was formally schooled in art and drawing, I was never comfortanle drawing faces, at least the way I had envisioned them to be. I want them to have soul, and I think I may be getting close. For me, it is not about realism, or perfection, it is about the capturing the essence, the mood, creating an atmosphere. I have a loooong way to go here, this is just the very beginning.
Up next....color!

SO BUTTONS

If you read my post a few days ago, you know I was not very fond of my grandfather. There are a few memories though that are so fresh in my mind from my childhood, and I translated one of those into a necklace. When I was a kid, I really disliked my "pops" as we called him. If he said anything to me it was usually to tease me, and my response was always a big fat "SO"! And his response was always, " Sew buttons on your old man's shirt!" As a kid, that really confused the heck out of me. ha. I would always tell my mom I didn't know what that meant, and she was never successful at explaining it either! That experession still stays with me, and I say it to my small nieces and nephews once in a while, and they look at me with that same perplexed face. Times have changed, and this saying is antiquainted, but it is another warm memory of days gone by, and an easier way to look at part of the past.

Available on etsy

SHORT AND SWEET

A little ATC created for a swap, and the theme is Marie with wings. A short and sweet fun little project! Happy Friday, happy weekend, and lets all use our wings this weekend!

LOTS OF TIME TO ENTER THE WISH GIVEAWAY....
RIGHT HERE!

DAYS GONE BY

I made something new. It reminds me of my gram. I only really knew one of my grandparents. My Dad's mother passed away when he was 14. He worked from that day on to help support his 5 other brothers and 3 sisters. His dad passed away when I was very young, too young to remember, he was an alcoholic. My mom's dad is the one I grew up with, a nasty miserable man, also an alcoholic. I live in an old coal mining region, where the only work there was at that time was a the terrible life of the mines, and after a day in the minds, drinking was the popular form of stress relief. He was just plain miserable, and my parents took care of him and his 9 lives until he passed. But the one that I hold close to my heart is my mom's mom. She didn't look like this, but she FEELS like this in my memory. Again, she passed when I was 8, but I have a few pictures. The only memory I have of her is seeing her in the hospital before she died. But the photos I have tell me the real story of her warmth, her kindness, her being. I'm going to keep it for a while.
I have worked at the same place for 23 years. I work in the ceramic and porcelain tile industry, and I have come to know very well some teriffic old timers, that still come in, either to pick up goods for the workers, or some still actually work a bit., or some come by just to talk. I know them like a grandparent. I have heard their stories, sometimes many times over. I cherish these people, and their stories, and it makes them feel wonderful. I love to hear of the old days, and how they did things. There was great respect, workmanship, and brotherhood. There is not much of that left in that industry. Some of my co-workers get annoyed when the older guys take too long, talk too much, or are repetitive. I always tell them..... someday they will not be here. So Wednesday's word is ...appreciate.

YOU STILL HAVE LOTS OF TIME TO ENTER MY WISH GIVEAWAY, JUST CLICK HERE

TIME TO MAKE A WISH!

Time to make a WISH, and time for a GIVEAWAY! Since Monday. Jan. 4th is the first Monday of the New Year, I want it to be a good one....so I am having a little giveaway, in appreciation of all the wonderful friends I have met here since I started blogging in 2009, and the unbelievable kindness, support , and encouragement I feel from you everyday! I truly consider myself blessed. I would like to offer my WISH bracelet , that was just featured in the Designer Highlight section of Bead Trends January 2010 issue. I have received a lot of compliments on this piece, so I thought it appropriate to offer it as a symbol , to continue to strive, and hope , and sometimes wish for what we want, whatever that may be. I believe that a wish can be magical....and I hope it is for you.
Just leave me a comment, anything you like, and that's it.....eeeeeaaassy!!
Some people will be allowed to enter through email or flickr mail if they don't have a blog, since I have met some extraordinary artists through other venues also. You can enter till midnight on Jan. 16., and I will pick the winner on the 17th, and announce on Mon. the 18th.

BEST WISHES!

click on the photo to see the detail

The lovely and talented Kate, over at The Kathryn Wheel, has put out a challenge to create a calender for 2010. I really loved the look of hers when I saw it, so I thought I would give it a try. That's why I'm posting it, in hopes that it will be motivation to keep it going. I'll post it again at the end of the month and you will see all the squares filled in with some kind of art or journaling for that day. Take a look at Kate's and some others that you can find from links through her blog. I like the way Kate says that we should be able to find 5 minutes a day to do some kind of art....fill in the square. I figured it is a new year, so I would like to try something new. I'll let you know how it goes!