Merry Christmas to All!

I hope everyone is having a very Merry CHRISTmas! We're enjoying the falling snow and visiting with family! Nothing like a White Christmas!

Koi Pond Finished

We finally got the koi pond finished......although it looks somewhat ugly now that every living plant is dead I'm sure next spring it will look great. Now we have to go pick out little koi babies!

Christmas is Coming!

I honestly can't believe it's December 5th. I had two open houses within a couple weeks and was so busy that Christmas just sort of slipped up. I haven't even begun to do any Christmas shopping yet. Have some ideas but better get them into action. Here's a picture of Sam being his silly self while decorating our Christmas tree. He is so much fun, I can't imagine Christmas without the excitement of a child and without the birth of Jesus!

Two Days Until OPEN HOUSE

Well, ready or not my party is here in two days! I get so excited beforehand that I can hardly think of anything else. Here are some latest pieces that I'll show.

Gearing up for a Party!

I'm getting ready for my open house party on November 18th. I've got most invitations in the mail and a few e-mails sent out. Time to show some more goodies showing at the Party:

Party Time!

I'm getting ready for a couple of showing of my jewelry so I'm going to show some pics of my stuff and forgive me if you've seen these before.....

Ceramic leaf bead with copper chain and silk cording running through the chain.
Mix metal necklace (copper, silver and brass)

A long beaded necklace with the word play set in resin

A copper heart with sterling silver words riveted to the front A sterling silver disc with stamped words of your choice

Fun in Kansas

Fall is Here!

Fall is upon us and I am soooo happy. It seems to go from 105 to 70 overnight! I'm loving the cooler weather so I'm not complaining....hope you enjoy it as well.

Decisions Decisions.............& Pendants!

I had a birthday Friday! No, I'm not telling my age! My girlfriends took me out to a really nice restaurant on the River and I had a great meal! Saturday morning I taught a resin class and as you can see from the pictures, I've got lots of cool resin pendants ready to be made into jewelry pieces.

Now, my decision. I can't decide between purchasing a new Canon Rebel TS1 or Canon Rebel TS2? I went out to Best Buy to purchase the Rebel TS1 and of course there was a professional photographer I was directed to and he told me how awesome the movie feature on the new TS2 was. Well, it was about $175 MORE than I wanted to spend and I just couldn't decide so I walked out WITHOUT a new camera. If anyone out there has one of these camera's I would love to hear from you. Do I REALLY need HD quality movies from my camera? Will it get cheaper closer to Christmas. I hate indecisiveness and I'm bombarded by it right now!

Bezels & Etching

I have been sooooo busy making bezels and etching. A couple of my friends that I teach jewelry making with came over Friday night and we had tons of stamps between us and we stamped and etched all evening. It was so much fun. Then I made some of these bezels on Sunday and soldered them together tonight. I placed my etched pieces in liver of sulfer and ran them through the tumbler and they came out so cool. I'll get a picture of them all etched and finished. I'm teaching an Ice Resin class this Saturday so I needed to get some samples together. I have been having so much fun.......but my house is a mess!!!! :)

Loving the Weather :)

We had some cooler weather blow in last night and the weather is so beautiful. Sam and I went walking the neighbor barefoot in the dark and it was so much fun....no sweating going on. I've got plans for camping tonight then back to making some jewelry....thinking about etching some more and making some Resin Pendants. I've got a class coming up in a couple of weeks and want to make lots of samples to show the students.

Hope you enjoy this 3 day weekend!

School "music" lessons Begin!

Sam has decided to take "Trumpet" this year at school. He has never had a lick of music instruction, unfortunately, we are not musically blessed in this family! Perhaps Sam will change that. I didn't realize just how Loud a Trumpet could sound.....I'm off to buy some noise cancelling head phones....or at least ear plugs! At least he is enjoying school still....praise God for That!

Going to Middle School!

First Day of Middle School. First day of going to a school mom doesn't know any teacher. First day of riding a bus. First day of an entire new year. I couldn't wait for Sam to get home that first day and when I asked him how his first day of middle school was..he couldn't stop talking about all the Food Choices! That's all he talked about...they have french fries, corn dogs, cheeseburgers, ice cream, Izzi's and much much more. I better deposit another lunch check into his account soon!

I did get a few jewelry pieces made. I also taught another soldering class at the local Bead Shop on Saturday and that was fun! I also got to etch some metal with my girlfriends....so much fun. There is so much to do and I now have to go back to work as. That's ok, I've got to pay for my "jewelry habit"!

New Pieces

I had so much fun making these pieces. I work so much in metal work that simply stringing some beads felt like putting on an old glove! I also took a "herringbone" stitch class yesterday and really enjoyed it. I think I'll try making a bracelet and see if I enjoy bead weaving as much as stringing and silversmithing! Stay tuned!

Resin Pendants

I've been on a "Making Resin Pendants" spree this week and it was loads of fun. Then I went to my dear friend Terry's and we played with Solder, Copper, Brass, Fire.....and almost burnt down her kitchen (we only burnt her cutting board actually). But we sure had fun! I think she wants to "play" at my house next time!

Saturday Teaching Class!

Taught all day Saturday at the Beadles and these students made some beautiful bracelets. We (my friend Terry and I) taught soldering, stamping metal, making jump rings and that gorgeous clasp! It was so much fun! If you live close to Broken Arrow, OK check out the classes at the Beadles....they are always teaching something fun in jewelry making!

Day at the Zoo

My son standing in front of a centipede poster at the Oklahoma City Zoo!I'm glad that my job allows me to be home with my son during the summer! Although he wears me out, we do have a lot of fun together. I don't however, get much jewelry made! Plenty of time to make jewelry, he's growing up too fast so I'm going to enjoy these times he still likes to hang out with me! I know all too soon it won't be "cool" to hang with MOM so I'll take it while I can get it!

Riverwalk Festival

The 2nd Saturday of Riverwalk Art Festival was yesterday and it was so much fun. It was hot and sticky but I sold several pieces of jewelry and had fun hanging with my friends. Need to make new items and can't wait to use some new beads I just picked up at the bead show last weekend!

Where Has Time Gone?!

It's been a month since my last post....my son is out of school for the summer and he is keeping me quite busy! I'm blessed that he's healthy and active and all BOY. We have 15 fish, 2 water frogs, 1 bull frog, 1 large turtle....all on our back deck since school has been out! He's taking a moment to pet the cat...it's nice to relax! More jewelry to come soon!

Only 5 Days Until . . . . . . .

Only 5 days until Mayfest/Local Art Festival. I've been making several new pieces of jewelry and new earring cards .... it's in the presentation! I will be at the "Brady" District of Mayfest so I'm hoping anyone who reads this and is local will stop by.

Jewelry for Mayfest

Getting ready for Mayfest! Last year was my first year at the "Blue Dome" and this year it's split up and I'll actually be in the "Brady District". Come and see our booth, I'm sharing booths with some really amazing jewelry artists! It's so much fun to be there and there are so many talented artists locally that will be setting up their artwork! Should be another great time!

Spring is Here!

I love this time of the year. Flowers beginning to bloom and time to start planting some new plants. I need to design my back yard, we're going to put in a small water feature but I don't have a plan made up yet! Landscaping is not my talent!

How Do You Edit Your Photos?

I etched these pieces about a month ago and finally made them into necklaces. The longer one is to be wrapped around the neck twice! How do you edit your pictures before adding to the blog?? I have Photoshop Elements 8 and by the time I figure out how to use this photo editing program......I'll probably be done creating jewelry!!!

New Necklace

Made a new necklace and several pair of earrings which I'll add in a couple days. I'm really trying to be better at updating this blog. Today, Easter, was a beautiful day. Besides celebrating Jesus, the weather here is perfect.. not too hot, a gentle breeze. I wish we had more days of this kind of weather!

Who Knew Mud Could Be So Fun!

That's my son and his friend Morgan from across the street ..... playing in the mud. They played for hours in the mud, they even made mud pottery! You know, I'm just one of those mothers who expects her son to play in the mud, such an innocent moment!

Two Posts in One Week -- it's a miracle;)

Yes, there was a bead show in town and I ventured out into the cold and snowing weather....but it was worth it. Actually, I didn't find the big chunky gemstones I was looking for ..... but I found lots of pretty pearls to use and have already made a couple necklaces. Going to a bead show is like sending a candyholic into a candy store....oh, does that make me a "Beadaholic"?

I'm Still Here!

I know it's been a while....I just don't know where the time goes. This week has been Spring Break so we drove to Illinois for Sam to visit his Grandparents... An only grandchild needs to visit their only living grandparents as often as possible!

But I'm back I'm ready to get beading/etching/stamping...you name it. Plus Saturday there is a bead show so can't wait to buy more beads (yeh, I really need more). I have been enjoying etching some metal. Made a few mistakes but hope to finish the bottle of etchant from Radio Shack and etch some more...that stuff can not be good to enhale and it's been so chilly out I etched in my garage...not enough ventilation!!! I promise to be better with my blog....I'll post weekely if not bi-weekly!

New Metals!

I am so excited. I cut out some houses from copper and some hearts from brass. I then picked up some metals like frames and numbers I found at Michaels in the scrapbook section. I want to rivet that label holder onto some copper.....past that....I don't know! You'll have to wait and see. I haven't made anything lately...I seem to be in "jewelers block" or "creative block" mode. I spend way too much time on the internet seeing what others are creating and very little time actually making anything myself. Hopefully...that will change!