Winter Storm in Wisconsin!

This weekend it snowed at least a foot or more, then the high winds kicked in!  I'm sorry for anyone who had to be on the roads, but for me, this means HiBERNaTe!!  My husband made Italian vegetable soup, and I made some jewelry :)  Wanna see?

                                      "I Wait and Watch"

"Listening", because owls hear their prey, rather than see it.  Especially when it's covered with snow!

                             

  

        
These are jasper (Brecciated?) owls with beautiful autumn colors.  I thought it was quite a challenge to get them successfully wired onto their branches!  Thank you, 24 gauge brass wire from Vintaj.  The branches, leaves, and chain are also from Vintaj.

        
                      No name yet, but I enjoyed knotting with the brown/black waxed linen.  I would love some name ideas, just a little comment will do!

            Faceted gold and black glass beads with 14 kt. goldfilled findings.
         It would dazzle with one of those "little black dresses", but I hesitate to use that for the name.

Bead Soup Re-Vamp!

It's the middle of November, what a perfect time to have bright and beautiful jewelry to gaze upon!  I was the "left over" in pairing up, so Lori Anderson kindly took me on as her second partner.  She sent me a breezy, colorful necklace that I told her I would've worn to a beach wedding in Maui!  Here it is -

There was a lot to work with.  In order to be "me", I selected only 2 of the components, the fabulous silver clasp and the fun keishi pearls.  Lori also sent extras, and I discovered that the lampwork beads that were included had a colorful spot that coordinated with the pearls, although the photo doesn't really emphasize that.

This is the secondary focal and I used the clasp as the main focal.

Isn't it spectacular!!  The silver brings out the silvery-gray pearls very nicely.  I also added peach and gray potato pearls and one more of the lampwork beads.

Here is another view, it can be worn in several positions.

Thanks, Lori, for being a generous partner and for organizing!

"Elegance Re-Born"

Be sure you visit all the blogs!  

Each re-vamp is a delightful surprise!

Erin Prais-Hintz http://treasures-found.blogspot.com
Jen Velasquez http://jenjuddrocks.blogspot.com
Johanna Rhodes http://firephoenixcreations.blogspot.com
Laurel Steven http://laurelsteven.blogspot.com
Loretta Carstensen http://www.designsbyloretta.blogspot.com
Lori Anderson http://www.PrettyThingsBlog.com

Mallory Hoffman http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com

Marianna Boylan http://www.stargirlshop.blogspot.com
Norma Turvey http://www.bead dreams and moonlitfantaseas
Sharon Misuraco http://goinoffthebeadinpath.blogspot.com You are here.
Stacey Curry http://starhitchedwagon.blogspot.com
Tyne Bodenburg http://www. tynebodennecklaces.blogspot.com

Applefest at Blue Vista Farm

The weather was mostly clear and crisp, and the sun brought out the glorious color of each leaf, as the largest crowd in 20 years arrived in Bayfield, WI for the annual Applefest.  Blue Vista Farm  has a display of my jewelry throughout their season, and I bring in a larger display for Applefest weekend.  I set up my display amongst pottery by local artists, honey by local bees, and the beautiful dried flower arrangements that are grown at Blue Vista.  Everything seems to grow better in this area.  I don't have enough pictures to tell the whole story, but here are a few glimpses into this magical area!

                                         The entrance to the retail shop in full summer bloom.

The front of the historic barn.  As soon as you get out of your car, you hear strains of Chopin, Mozart, or Beethoven drifting from the speakers in the loft, and the sound carries way out to the berry fields!

                Dan and I never seem to get enough blueberries!  They're so bountiful and healthy.

The Applefest "bouquet of the day" was displayed next to me, a bittersweet "summer's end" look, don't you think?

                                  A brilliant maple in front of the big barn, gives the day a lift!

        Dan was busy sorting and packing apples.  It takes many hands to keep up with the demand!

                         A variety of apples come out of their bath and go into the new cider press.

            Keith Carlson helps out with the cider press, producing the freshest cider imaginable!

      Part of my display.  I added a dried bouquet of blackberry lillies, there are many to choose from.

  Ending with a small part of the "blue vista", looking over Lake Superior from the back of the barn.  I          wish everyone could stand right here and take a deep breath and enjoy this peaceful atmosphere.  We have many savored memories from our visits here over the years.

Follow-up On the "Art Crawl" in Cornucopia!

As stated in the previous post, I was part of the Art Crawl in Cornucopia, WI.  It's way up there on the Lake Superior shore. The header is an early morning view of Lake Superior, you can barely see it, I know, but it's always there, like when you're driving west in Nebraska and you finally spot the foothills of the Rockies!
 Turned out to be a beautiful fall day, except for a cold wind off the lake, and the weather is a huge factor in the buying atmosphere.  I was all cozy in the Village Inn and feel that it was a worthwhile effort, at least it wasn't snowing!  Saw several of the people that come to the annual "Corny" Day in August. The people around there are so friendly and open, they make any event a fun time.  You have to be there to understand the unique experience.  Cornucopia is "Unincorporated", but the population mushrooms in the summer with many visitors and seasonal residents.  It's not that far to Bayfield, the other end of the spectrum, busy all the time, neat shops, large marina, constant events.  So visitors have their choice.  Dan took a few pictures, but I never got out, not even for the special hot chocolate!

The Village Inn

                        Everyone likes those blue bottles!  They're great for bracelets and extra chain.

      Looking across at the shops along the marina.  Just a few of them, but each one has a lot to offer!

             This is the place to get hot chocolate!  They did a beautiful job on this very old building.

              In the peak of summer, the blooms are profuse.  This is a "Come-on-in" setting!

     This is Manzanita's way cool shop.  Oh, and she has some of my jewelry, too.  Lots of old books, antiques, you can poke around in these little places for a long time.  We have many memories of times we were here with family and friends.  Glad you came by to see a little part of it!

Art Crawl, Cornucopia, WI This Weekend!

I've been putting in some long days to make those "special" items, just for the Art Crawl event in Cornucopia, WI.  Local artists and those who have art on consignment in one of the shops set up their display in one of the businesses.  People will follow a map to see all the variety.  "Corny" is a very small fishing village on the shore of Lake Superior, and one would never guess that it's such a happenin' place.  I'll try for some good photos, but for now, I'll give you a preview of some new items.

A pendant from Zoa Arts,  complemented by patinated chain from Miss Fickle !

My fall "show" necklace made to go with my new top!

I'm sure you recognize one of Swoondimples beautiful pendants!

This looks great with at least one of my own outfits, dilemma!

A lovely prenhite  nugget and Vintaj!

Thanks so much for coming by, and remember that your comments are highly valued! 

Regina's Writings Giveaway!!

I'm out of town, but wanted to let you know about the awesome necklace Giveaway on Regina's Writings! Do check it out by Sept. 30th.

Bead Soup Party Cling-On!

As some of you may recall, I was the gal without the blog for the Bead Soup Party, so Erin Prais-Hintz shared her blog, Treasures Found...Inspiration Is Everywhere.  We exchanged wonderful little treasures and our pieces were revealed on the first day of the Party.  The warm, encouraging comments on our pieces were the push I needed to get a blog out there, and I truly appreciate everyone who took the time to mention it!  So, bring on the events!!  Here's my necklace from the Bead Soup, "From Deep Within".  Meanwhile, who's waiting anxiously for the next Bead Soup coming up soon - Well, I am!  How about you?

Let's Try September Bead Trends!!

My September Bead Trends bracelet publication is in the "Texture" section.  This time I have my own photo to share with you.  Can you relate to the way I opened each jump ring and rearranged it THrEe times??  I guess that was the charm, as they say. What do you think?

"Shared Treasures"

"Maui Hona", Bead Trends, August

This is my first publication ever!!  One of those things that wasn't planned, but kind of developed.  In January we visited friends in Florida, and, of course, I took a selection of jewelry.  My friend, Judy, picked out a similar necklace with a larger turtle, but left the necklace in the group for others to see.  Her friend, Lois, also liked the turtle, so I said I would make another one, resulting in "Maui Hona".  While I was taking photos for the Bead Trends submission, I thought I would send in a few of the turtle necklace, too.  To everyone's amazement and excitement, that was the one they wanted!  So Lois had to wait until August to receive her necklace, but she will have a very special piece.
But wait, there's something else you need to know - that I never would've submitted anything if it hadn't been for the encouragement and help from Erin Prais-Hintz!  I live about 25 miles from Erin, so we were both in the same event to raise money for a women's charity last October.  Just before it opened, I was swooning and admiring Erin's jewelry and then headed back to my own display.  Guess who was there!!  So we got acquainted and Erin asked me if I had ever been published.  A normal question, but I had never considered it.  So that's how it all started, and I really appreciate that Erin was so gracious and motivating.  Thanks, Erin!
Wellll, disappointing situation, Tatia sent me the pages but the file is "unreadable"!  Their photography is surely awesome, though!  It's on the Vintaj Facebook page.  So sorry, will make it up to you with other photos, but I'm "up north" right now.

New Acronym for Bloggers?

P.S.I.A.  This officially stands for the Professional Ski Instructors of America.  Years ago, my daughter went through their training and testing, and during the test, she and another girl were asked what P.S.I.A. stands for - the other girl thought about it and came up with "Please stop in... anytime"!  Wrong answer for her, but what a nice invitation for a blog!  Just wondering if it will catch on! Hmmmm...

I had to spend the day with appointments, so sorry for the token appearance.  I have a couple of photos of jewelry, though, and hope it will interest you.  The first artist lampwork beads I used were all made by Cathie Roberts,  and I have a supply to be coveted. Before I had a blog, Cathie always featured any of my jewelry with her beads on her blog, http://farmgirlcat.blogspot.com/.

This is the first time I added images, another new skill not quite mastered.  I know you'll be kind because I am constantly battling sleep-deprivation. But, remember, PSIA!

Just to Keep Things Going....

What a difference a day makes!  Yesterday I was new and nervous, but the encouragement came showering in and made me feel right at home :)  A whole new social experience made possible by the upside of technology.  It's especially amazing to people of "my age" .  For example, I know it wasn't called technology back then, but my first experience on the phone was to crank the handle and say to the live operator, "Green 3-5", my Grandmother's number!  Okay, my father raised mink and we didn't live in town.  Dial phones came soon after.  My hubs just said I'm dating myself!  I am what I am and some of you will kindly relate!  Now here's what you came for, jewelry!

A Soft Opening

Another newbie enters the wide world of blogging!  I have published this in its incomplete state in hopes of "hands-on" assistance, and I do mean, "first you click here, then....."!  So don't feel like you're talking down to me.  I will try to eventually be a worthy member of the wonderful community of jewelry bloggers.    I really want to keep this template, but the font for the description is too light for the photo.  Love the title!  But when i select to place the description below the header, then the title disappears!  I'm thinking of typing it again, under the picture anyway. So any input will be appreciated.  TIA! (Thanks in Advance - I read some of Tara Frey's "Blogging for Bliss", on loan from Erin Prais-Hintz), and being reviewd on Art Bead Scene today.