Beautifully Broken Me

New Journal...

2012-03-13T12:09:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post to share a new journal design:

Have a fantastic rest of your day! :)

Guest Room Decor and New Artwork

2012-03-07T19:22:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share a few pictures of my guest room and the artwork I made for it. Our guest room was our foster son's room, and when he moved out in August after 2 1/2 years, it was kind of a mess, as any teenage boy's room would be.

New robin's egg blue paint, bedding, headboard made from a spray painted cabinet door, lamps and rugs

So I basically took everything out of the room, cleaned the carpets (which will be replaced with ceramic tile one of these days), painted the walls and put up new drapes. The feel I'm going for is 'cool and soothing'.

I really needed artwork for the walls and I haven't gotten my hands messy for a while, so I decided to do a series of three collage pieces:

"Faith"

They are all on 8 1/2" x 11" canvases that I first painted a grungy background on and then decoupaged a layer of white tissue paper, which dries to an opaque-ish off-white. Then I tore up pieces of scrap-booking paper, created the various shapes on each canvas, and glued them on as well.

"Hope"

When all of that was dry, I took letter stickers and put them on each picture and used charcoal and smudged around the stickers and then removed the stickers, leaving the words in the negative space.

"Love"

I continued with both white and black charcoal, drawing patterns and shading until the pictures looked right to me. I set the charcoal with Aqua Net hair spray, let it dry and glued on the spray-painted birds with redliner tape.

I love how they turned out - I've got to remember how fun this medium is! I've still got more to do in the room, but I'm happy with how it is starting to come together.

New Echo Creative Club Beads To Play With

2012-03-05T17:05:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post to share with you what I received in the mail the other day to play with:

Aren't they fun? Jeannie of Jewelry By Jeannie sent these from her "Peeled Paint" line of beads for me to use this month in my Echo Creative Club piece. Check out those cute danglies - cool, huh?

Come back on the 25th to see what I make with them!

Welcome to the March 2012 Bead Soup Blog Party!

2012-03-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

What is a Bead Soup Blog Party?

Each beader was paired up with another jewelry designer and tasked with sending the following:

A focal

A special clasp (not just a lobster claw)

Some coordinating spacers or beads

Using the focal and the clasp was mandatory, but we could use anything from our own stash to round out the rest, and choose to use the coordinating beads or not.

Here is another picture of the beads I received from my fantastic Bead Soup partner, Melinda Orr:

With so many amazing beads to work with, I barely had to add anything from my own stash, and I didn't even use up all of them!

I am sure the design process is different for every one of us, and so I'll give you a little insight into mine in this post:

Originally I had wanted to create three necklaces that could all be worn together or separately. This seemed like a great plan, but after starting to work on the designs, I ended up throwing that idea out of the window and instead created one earring/bracelet/necklace set and 2 other necklaces.

Here's the first necklace I made, using the lovely Sue Beads lampwork beads from Sue Kennedy, the sweet bird charm from Lisa Petraka, some of the amber resin beads, the handmade bead caps, some of the copper and the stone beads:

"Bird"

A close-up of the bird charm

Originally this was going to be the shortest of the three necklaces, and I wanted it to be fairly simple, which it is. It is actually the one I will probably wear the most, as I tend to wear simpler designs myself.

The second necklace took on a life of its own, and it was during the construction of this piece that I decided to create three very separate designs:

"Forest"

I absolutely love the handmade clasp Melinda made, and knew I wanted it to act as a focal in one of the designs, and it fit perfectly with the beads I used here. The coin pearls and jade are both large beads with the holes through the middle. I wanted to show the height of these beads and not the width as much, so I had to come up with a way to wire them to "stand up", and here's what I came up with:

Basically I put a small length of wire through the center of the beads and created a simple loop on each side of the bead. Then I created a kind of wire cage by putting a length of 16g wire with loops on each end on either side of the bead and wrapped wire around each end, effectively sandwiching the beads between the wire lengths:

This added heft to each link and gave the necklace substance. I worked in the large hammered hoops from Melinda to break up the links.

The last design I made incorporates the beautifully patinaed components from Melinda, along with one of the glass domes and one of the beautiful photographs she sent:

The colors in the patina and the photograph are truly amazing, and reminded me of out trips to Rocky Point, Mexico. For the focal I riveted the handmade bands Melinda made to the patinaed copper base plate, sandwiching in the domed glass piece with the applied photograph. I knew this would be a long piece, and I felt that the focal needed more substance, so I added strips of antique lamp banding to the top and bottom of the pendant and used that to dangle some charms on the bottom.

"Rocky Point"

Then I started in on an asymmetrical design that features the patinaed circle and square links on one side and wire-wrapped stones on the other side. The necklace measures about 35", so there was no need for a clasp in this design.

I had tons of pieces and parts left over, so I decided to make coordinating earrings and a bracelet:

I love this set, and will be wearing it to church this weekend!

Melinda, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sending me such a treasure trove to play with in this bead soup. I loved being your partner, and can't wait to see what you made with the beads I sent you!

Lori Anderson, thank you for being the mastermind behind this phenomenal event. I know you put endless hours into making sure we are all taken care of, and I appreciate you so very much!

Please take some time to check out Lori's blog, Pretty Things, as well as the other participants in this blog hop:

Hostess, Lori AndersonSpecial Book Sneak Peeks, Cindy Wimmer

1. Adlinah Kamsir (Singapore) and Hajer Waheed (Kingdom of Bahrain)

2. Adrienn Lukacs (Hungary) and Agata Grygiel (Poland)

3. Agi Kiss (Hungary) and Carolien Muller-Genger (the Netherlands)

4. Agnes Asztalos (Hungary) and B.R. Kuhlman

5. Alesha Conklin and Becki Mendivil

6. Alice Peterson and Carol Dillman

7. Alicia Marinache (Canada) and Dita Basu

8. Amanda Dittloff and Brandy Thomason McNair

9. Amanda Tibbetts and Andrea Trank

10. Amy Freeland and Kay Mallery

11. Andra Weber and Christine Murrow

12. Ann Sherwood and Diane Welte

13. Barbara Bechtel and Kerry Bogert

14. Barbara Lewis and Cat Pruitt

15. Bonnie Coursolle (Canada) and Fay Wolfenden (Canada)

16. Carmel McGinley (Australia) and Tracy Stillman (Australia)

17. Cassie Donlen and Deryn Mentock

18. Cathie Carroll and Janel Dudley

19. Cece Cormier and Morwyn Mullins

20. Charlene Jacka and Christina Hickman

21. Cheryl Brown (Canada) and Diana Ptaszynski

22. Christina Stofmeel (the Netherlands) and Eva Kovacs (Hungary)

23. Christine Damm and Deb Brooks

24. Cilla Watkins (Canada) and Elaine Robitaille (Canada)

25. Sabrina Straub (Switzerland) and Kathy Combs

26. Cindy Cima Edwards and Eleanor Burian-Mohr

27. Cory Celaya and Rhea Freitieg

28. Courtney Breul and Dana Hickey

29. Cynthia Abner and Jennifer Boreck

30. Cynthia Tucker and Jean Peter

31. Debbie Goering and Heidi Post

32. Dee Elgie (UK) and Joanne Lockwood (UK)

33. Dian Hierschel (Germany) and Eniko Fabian (Austria)

34. Diane Cook and Lyn Foley

35. Donna Bohler and Lisa Lodge

36. Donna Millard and Kiersten Giles

37. Doris Stumpf (Germany) and Eszter Czibulyas (Hungary)

38. Elisabeth Auld and Eva Sherman

39. Elke Leonhardt-Rath (Germany) and Marjolein Trewavas (UK)

40. Ema Kilroy and Laurie Keefe-Cecere

41. Erika Nooteboom (the Netherlands) and Giorgia Rossini (Italy)

42. Erin Grant and Jean Wells

43. Evelyn Duberry (Canada) and Gaea Cannaday

44. Genea Crivello-Knable and Heather Powers

45. Ginger Bishop (military, Okinawa) and Martina Nagele (Germany)

46. Heidi Kingman and Lori Greenberg

47. Helen Kemp and Lisa Wangeman

48. Helene Goldberg (Australia) and Karen Vincent

49. Jamie Hogsett and Jeannie Dukic

50. Jeanette Ryan and Jelveh Jaferian

51. Jennifer Cameron and Tania Spivey

52. Jennifer Justman and Kari Carrigan

53. Jennifer Tough and Lorelei Eurto

54. Joanna Matuszczyk (Poland) and Julianna Kis (Hungary)

55. Joanne Tinley (UK) and Michaela Pabeschitz (Austria)

56. Julie Anne Leggett and Kelley Fogle

57. Karen Hess and Linda Landig

58. Karyn Bonfiglio and Kathleen Lange Klik

59. Kashmira Patel and Kat White

60. Kat Barron Miller and Kelly Morgan

61. Kathy Lindemer and Rose Binoya

62. Krafty Max and Sandra Miller

63. Kristen Latimer and Pam Ferrari

64. Kristie Roeder and Lea Avroch

65. Kristina Johansson (Sweden) and Penny Neville (Canada)

66. Krisztina Erlaki-Toth (Hungary) and Nicole Keller (Germany)

67. Lara Lutrick and Lisa Suver

68. Laura DeMoya and Lisa Hanna

69. Libby Leuchtman and Melanie Brooks

70. Linda Koch and Rosemarie Cowit

71. Lisa Chapman and Menka Gupta

72. Lisa Liddy and Marion Simmons

73. Lori Anderson and Marcie Abney

74. Lori Bowring-Michaud and Mary Govaars

75. Lori Dorrington and Maria Rosa Sharrow

76. Lori Finney (Canada) and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp (Canada)

77. Lynn Bennett and Mandi Ainsworth

78. Marta Kaczerowska (Poland) and Milla Starchik (Canada)

79. Mary Harding and Shannon LeVart

80. Mary Jane Dodd and Stacey Curry

81. Melinda Orr and Molly Alexander (you are here!)

82. Melissa Meman and Michelle Escano-Caballaro

83. Michelle Jensen and Sandra Young (Canada)

84. Nan Emmett and Nicole Valentine-Rimmer (Canada)

85. Nancy Boylan and Suzette Bentley

86. Natasha Lutes and Patti Vanderbloemen

87. Pam Hurst and Rebekah Payne

88. Patty Miller and Sara Rhoades

89. Rebecca Anderson (UK) and Lori Anderson

90. Rebecca Sirevaag and Sharon Driscoll

91. Rochelle Brisson and Shannon Chomanczuk

92. Rosa Maria Cuevas (Mexico) and Tejae Floyde

93. Sabine Dittrich (Germany) and Sally Russick

94. Sandi Volpe and Sarah/Saturday Sequins

95. Shanti Johnson and Tracy Mok (Canada)

96. Skylar Brez and Theresa Buchle

97. Sonya Stille and Traci Zeller (Canada)

98. Stefanie Teufel (Germany) and Tania Hagen (New Zealand)

99. Stephanie LaRosa and Vonna Maslanka

100. Terri Wlaschin and Wendy Blum

Blackbird: Challenge of Music Blog Hop

2012-02-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Erin Praiz-Hintz of Treasures Found: Inspiration is Everywhere issued a "Challenge of Music" blog hop that I couldn't resist participating in. Music has always been a huge part of my life, and is probably the one medium that has spoken loudest to me ever since I can remember.

For this hop, we were to choose a song that is meaningful to us and create a piece of jewelry that expresses something about that song. The song I chose is "Blackbird":

"Blackbird"
Made using a hand-etched and soldered copper bezel patinaed with white patina from MissFickleMedia on Etsy, handmade fused glass cabochon, beautiful lampwork beads from Firebabies on Etsy, a handmade clasp and a bit of etched copper chain and recycled sari silk.

"Blackbird was originally written by Paul McCartney for the Beatles after reading about the race riots in the US. Here's a piece of an interview he did about the song:

McCartney told Mojo magazine October 2008: "We were totally immersed in the whole saga which was unfolding. So I got the idea of using a blackbird as a symbol for a black person. It wasn't necessarily a black 'bird', but it works that way, as much as then you called girls 'birds'; the Everlys had had Bird Dog, so the word 'bird' was around. 'Take these broken wings' was very much in my mind, but it wasn't exactly an ornithological ditty; it was purposely symbolic."

When I first heard this song, it touched me so deeply, but not in the way the Beatles intended. These lines:

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

have such a graphic quality to me. I love the idea of someone broken who can still fly free - it is so much in line with the philosophy behind my blog and my life.

The version you are listening to now by Sarah McLachlan completely mesmerizes me - it is so haunting and clear and without pretense - so beautiful.

Here are the complete lyrics for you:

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly

Into the light of the dark black night

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly

Into the light of the dark black night

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

I hope you enjoyed the song and the reasons behind why I chose it for my inspiration in this hop. You can find a list of the other wonderful participants on Erin's blog, Treasures Found: Inspiration is Everywhere!

Happy Hopping!

Welcome to the Poppy Challenge Blog Hop!

2012-02-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share this hop with you all! If you recall, I was one of the lucky ones chosen to participate in Jo Tinley of Daisychain Designs' Poppy challenge. Each participant was sent two of Jo's sweet sterling silver Poppy Headpins to incorporate into a design:

How cute are these?

Well, my first thought was that these would make lovely earrings, and I almost went that direction. Then I remembered that this was a 'challenge', and that I really needed to push myself to think outside of the earring box.

Well...here is the result of that thinking:

"Poppy Garden"

I have to admit that I completely psyched myself out on this piece. Jo is an unbelievable metal worker, and her soldering is impeccable. What if I couldn't make a copper poppy that would work with hers? What if I totally ruined her headpins by melting them?

A confession: I was able to make a poppy out of copper that coordinates, if not compares, to Jo's, but I did completely melt the wire off of one of her poppies -- but was able to fix it - whew!

I cut and polished a piece of copper pipe and drilled 3 holes into the top of it. Then I inserted the poppy headpins into the outer holes and drew a bead on the end of each, making sure to stagger the lengths. Then I created a hook for my copper poppy to hang from that also makes the bail for the necklace.

Deciding what to do for a chain took a while. The pendant is actually quite small (for me) - about 1" x 1" - and I didn't want to overwhelm it, so I made just one link to incorporate into the simple copper chain. The link has three oxidized tiny silver beads to pull in the color of Jo's poppies. I finished the chain with a small handmade copper clasp.

And there you go: "Poppy Garden".

Thank you so much, Jo, for the opportunity to work with your beautiful poppy headpins.

Take some time to check out the other participants' designs:

Jo Tinley: Daisychain Designs

Marissa: Sea Flowers Studios

Kristi: Curiosities by K

Fiona: Tizduster

Jennifer Cameron: Glass Addictions

Happy Hopping!

New Blog Look and Two Blog Hops Tomorrow

2012-02-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about the new look of my blog! Leah Spence of Just Call Me Blessed designed my new beautiful custom blog header and social media buttons, as well as a whole other lot of graphics for my other social media sites that I'm still working on updating. She does fabulous work and is super easy to work with. I highly recommend her, so stop by her Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/JustCallMeBlessed and see what she can do for you!

Next, tomorrow is the reveal day for 2 blog hops that I am participating in:

The Poppy Challenge with Joanne Tinley of Daisychain Designs

The Challenge of Music with Erin Praiz-Hintz of Treasures Found

Stop back by tomorrow and check out my challenge pieces!

Also, I found a fantastic website that gives great techniques on personalizing your blog using the HTML codes with Blogger's new templates:

http://www.southernspeakers.net

Check them out - even I was able to tweak my codes without crashing my computer!

February Echo Creative Club

2012-02-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's Echo Creative Club blog hop time again, and I am excited to share my project with you:

"Asian Influence"

I received six beautiful "peeled paint" beads in black with many shades of gold and copper leaf from Jeannie of Jewelry By Jeannie this month, and knew I had the perfect complimentary beads to go with them: old black silk beads my mom got in Thailand years ago and some funky gold pearly beads and brushed copper washers, some of which I turned into bead caps.

I put them all together using a fabulous glass toggle clasp I got ages ago from Artbeads:

By using copper-colored stringing wire, I was able to tie all the components together into one funky, dangly, bold bracelet:

"Asian Influence"

Thanks so much, Jeannie Dukic , for allowing me to participate in this wonderful club!

To see what other creative club members have made, check out their blogs below:

Cindy Cima Edwards http://www.cindycima.com

Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com

Dagi http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com

Jeannie K Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog

Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com

Lola Surwillo http://www.beadlolabead.blogspot.com

Malin de Koning http://beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com

Michelle Buettner http://www.MiShelDesigns.blogspot.com

Molly Alexander http://www.beautifullybrokenme.blogspot.com

Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com

You can also go to the Echo Creative Club Flickr Group to see more photos of this month and previous month's creations!

Farmer's Market Goodies

2012-02-24T11:04:00.001-07:00

Just sharing a couple of pictures of some recent Farmer's Market goodies we picked up:

Love...

2012-02-14T09:00:00.002-07:00

Poppies...

2012-02-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

From Pinterest

If you haven't had a chance yet, take a couple of minutes to read Diane Cook's post on Grateful Living today. She talks about childhood memories of her grandmothers and the beautiful poppies one of them grew.

Then you can pop over to her blog, Rosa and Josie's, to read the story behind her blog name homage to these two wonderful women.

Bead Soup Has Arrived And Other Awesome Things

2012-02-09T11:37:00.004-07:00

I am SOOOO excited! My bead Soup Mix has arrived and it is AMAZING! I have been blessed with the most amazing artist for a bead soup partner - Melinda Orr.

For those of you who aren't familiar with her work, Melinda is a phenomenal metal smith and jewelry artist. She makes handmade copper components with the most amazing patinas, and I've gotta say, her style is right up my alley! I received her package yesterday, and boy, am I spoiled!

Here is where I started unwrapping:

Such cute dragonfly paper...

Oooooo! Look at these fun little baggies chock full of goodies!

From the peach baggie: gorgeous beads to compliment all the other components.

From the top blue baggie, handmade copper components that turn over to reveal...

This stunning patina! (Sorry - my photo editor just plain didn't want to get the colors right in this picture - the colors are so incredible rich!)

The top baggie also had these wonderful components: handmade bead caps, fasteners, copper rivets, and large oval connectors along with the domed glass circles to go with the cool artwork for mixed-media pieces.

The bottom baggie contained a beautiful handmade clasp with the gorgeous patina of the other components, 2 fun textured copper circles, copper beads and spacers, lovely Sue Beads lampwork beads form Sue Kennedy and a sweet bird charm from Lisa Petraka.

My Bead Soup cup runneth over!

Now that you've seen what I received, I can show you what I sent to Melinda:

I made the focal and clasp using seed beads and copper; the large lampwork beads are from EB Bead and Metal Works; the small turquoise lampwork beads are from Blue Seraphim; and I sent some cute hot pink Czech pressed glass bellflowers and some funky blue and yellow glass beads I found on an out-of-town trip.

The focal I sent Melinda is from a new series I am making using mixed media collage with seed beading techniques. Here's some of the others I'll be putting up in my Etsy shop soon:

I love how these turned out, and have some more in the works right now. In fact, I made one that completely reminded me of my friend, Patty Gasparino, and I sent it to her, asking if she would be willing to make something with it and post it on her blog. Here is her gorgeous design:

Love's Letter Lost

Isn't is fabulous? You can read more about this piece on her blog, My Life Under The Bus.

So, BIG thank yous to Melinda and Patty - you ladies are completely amazing!

For more information on the Bead Soup Blog Hop, check out Lori Anderson's blog, Pretty Things.

Bead Soup: Sneak Peek

2012-01-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to be one of the fortunate 200 who were picked to participate in this Spring's Bead Soup swap hosted by the AMAZING Lori Anderson!

This time I am paired up with an unbelievable artist, Melinda Orr of Melinda Orr Designs. I am definitely intimidated to be paired up with such a talented woman who likes to work with many of the same materials that I like to work with. Because of this, I have really been trying to come up with a bead soup that would be a bit different but still allow her to put her signature style into the design, and I think I've succeeded.

Here's a sneak peek of what I'm sending Melinda:

You'll have to come back after Melinda has received her beads and I'll show you a real picture of the beads I'm sending. In the meantime, check out Melinda's blog to see what I mean when I say talented!

Poppy Challenge with Daisychain Designs

2012-01-30T13:14:00.002-07:00

I am so excited! I am one of 5 artists whose names were picked out of the entries by Jo of Daisychain Designs to participate in her Poppy Challenge!

Jo makes these beautiful poppy headpins, and has challenged us to make a piece of jewelry and post about it and our process making it for the blog hop.

The other participants are:

Jo Tinley: Daisychain Designs

Marissa: Sea Flowers Studios

Kristi: Curiosities by K

Fiona: Tizduster

Jennifer Cameron: Glass Addictions

I'm really looking forward to this hop - make sure you come back and check out our completed jewelry!

Echo Creative Club!

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

As an artist, it is such a great feeling to be able to feature other artists and their artistic handiwork. Jeannie Dukic of Jewelry By Jeannie is a very talented bead maker and jewelry artist who decided to put together a design team to feature her handmade beads, and I'm one of the fortunate ones who is in this group of artists called the "Echo Creative Club". I am joined in this club by Jeannie herself and these very talented artists:

Lori Anderson
Courtney Bruel

Beth Emery
Malin de Koning

Kristen Stevens

Lola Surwillo

Why did Jeannie name it the Echo Creative Club? In her own words:

"What does the name, Echo Creative mean? Echo is something you put out there and it comes back. I put my beads out there and they come back in a creative design from you."

This is the first month of participation, and I received one of Jeannie's beautiful Gin Blossom pendants to work with:

I have had this beautiful pendant on my workshop table for a few weeks now, and have been deciding how to feature it in a design. Last week, I received these paper beads from Sweet Paper Love on etsy, and I knew I had the other piece of my design:

So I added some wire wraps to the paper beads and made some rustic handmade links:

...attached a coiled clasp and some bell flower charms:

and a piece of bougainvillea branch for a bail, and voila:

my first Echo Creative Club piece!

I was really going for a rustic and organic feel in this design, and am really pleased with the results. Thanks so much, Jeannie, for including me in this creative venture!

To see what other creative club members have made, check out the Echo Creative Club Flickr Group!

Life is a participation sport...

2012-01-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

Photo From Pinterest

Does it ever feel like you are running in place on a treadmill instead of moving forward?

Do you sometimes feel like you just plain can't move because you are afraid that, whatever choices you make, you will make the wrong one?

Or that there are just so many options in front of you that you are simply overwhelmed by the choices and therefore don't make any choice at all?

Or are you at a place in your life where you are numb - apathetic in regards to everything?

Maybe you get up every day, pretending to be someone you are not, hoping that no one discovers the real you, because you aren't very excited about that person.

I think everyone has been in one of these positions at one time in their life. The stress of living in any one of these situations is enormous and can seem insurmountable at times - absolutely impossible to overcome.

What I have to say first is that you are not alone. In fact, you would be surprised at how many people are in the same place you are right now, and just won't let it show behind the shiny veneer they put up.

The second thing I have to say is that in spite of how you are feeling at this moment, you are alive, and that your life is a participation sport. There are no sidelines. You are in the middle of the game, whether you want to be or not, and you are a key player - an MVP in fact - in your very own championship game.

Regardless of how you view it, you are actually moving forward each and every day. You are making progress, becoming the person you were created to be. You can't stop it from happening, regardless of how hard you try to sit out.

Each person you meet - each situation you find yourself in - changes you. It has to. Each second is unique unto itself and can never be reclaimed, and therefore must transform you in some small or great way, for better or worse, just because you lived through it.

Each change brought on by each second you breathe this air means that you are never the same as you were before.

Moving forward.

Changing.

Transforming.

What's more, even though you don't always control the game time or the plays that are called, you do control the way the game is played. You choose how to respond to the plays - the circumstances - that are happening around you. You choose to be on the offense or defense, and you choose how the game is won.

Because the game will be won. No matter what. And you can't lose, because as long as you are alive, you are winning.

So the question becomes this: how are you going to choose to play the game?

This second,

this minute,

this hour,

this day,

this week,

this year,

this lifetime?

Because life is a participation sport.

And there are no sidelines.

____________________________

What are you overcoming or have you overcome in your life?

Leave me a comment and let me know:

Learning...

2012-01-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

I've been teaching myself bead embroidery and bead weaving, and having a great time. I finally finished my first big piece, and I definitely learned a lot from the experience:

I used an antique watch face that I got at Vintage Supply Company and some domed discs that I made out of an antique floral tin as the focal pieces, and then designed around them.

Here's what I learned:

- it is really hard to keep your beads looking like a circle as you embroider

- there must be a little bit of a margin between bead rows to allow for said beads to form a circle

- this kind of beading takes a really, really long time

- i'll never make enough to cover the time and materials for a project like this

- i absolutely love the zen state my brain goes into when I am working on this kind of project

- i have an even greater appreciation for seed bead artists

I think I'll stick to the smaller bead weaving projects for now, and incorporate metalworking and wire work with the seed beading techniques into my new pieces.

What new techniques have you been working with?

Happy Birthday To My Hubby

2012-01-11T11:44:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!

Shawn, you are the most amazing friend and hubby I could ever ask for, and I love you more than I can express.

I hope today is fantastic for you, and that you are blessed beyond belief this coming year!

What I've Been Doing Instead Of Putting Away Christmas Decorations...

2012-01-06T15:49:00.002-07:00

I hate putting away Christmas decorations, and therefore have been finding all manner of distractions to keep me away from that monumental task (my collection of 80+ Santas alone takes forever to box up!).

So...here's what I've been doing instead:

Making lots of these:

So I can make lots of these:

What are you working on this week?

While you ponder that question, pop on over to Grateful Living to see what Jan Thomason from The Polkadot Barn and Cat Kerr from In The Light Of The Moon have shared this week!

New Favorite Funny Blog: Beaded Laughter

2012-01-04T18:42:00.003-07:00

OK...so my hubby totally doesn't get why this site is funny...but I bet that my beading and jewelry-making friends will:

Beaded Laughter

Sylvie Lansdowne is a bead artist who totally gets what makes bead artists tick, and she has a little fun with that. Here's a sample post:

I just had to share it with you - you'll want to start following it too!

While you are at it, check out Sylvie's other blog as well:

Sylviebead Journal

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-03T14:14:00.005-07:00

Instead of resolutions this year, I am going to be a little more realistic.

For me, resolutions only last a few weeks, and I feel guilty when they aren't followed through with, which leads to more unrealistic re-resoluting, and more unmet resolution guilt. This vicious circle can and will continue until I simply walk away from them.

The problem with this is that many of my resolutions are things that will benefit me in the long run, improving things in my overall quality of life.

So I'm changing my mindset this year.

I've got specific things that I want to do better, and I know that I can do them better, so that's what I'm focusing on instead.

I want to end the year ahead of where I began the year in regards to these specific things, and not stand still or complacent because I set unrealistic goals for myself that I cannot hope to accomplish.

And because accountability is a good thing when it comes to non-resolutions, I'm going to share with you some of the things I want to do better with this year:

- To read my Bible more consistently

- To pray more

- To eat less processed sugar

- To eat more healthily

- To be more active

- To communicate better with my extended family

- To use more of what I already have

- To buy less

- To be better at accounting for my business

- To cook more

- To laugh more

- To be less touchy

- To take less offense

- To love more

- To be grateful more

Just a few of the things I am going to work on, guilt-free.

And, hopefully, by the end of the year I will have moved forward and will not have given them up because of unnecessary guilt over unrealistic unmet goals.

So, what are you working on this year?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas from my home to yours!

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:11-14 NIV

Winter 2011 Belle Armoire Jewelry

2011-12-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY picked up the newest copy of Belle Armoire Jewelry, and all I have to say is...WOW!!! This has got to be one of my most favorite issues of all time. The talent is extraordinary, and so many wonderful artists are included, that I just had to share a few:

- Check out that gorgeous cover art from Mary Feliciano - beautiful!

- Maire Dodd has an AMAZING trio of resin and wire pieces, one of which she featured on the Love My Art Jewelry blog:

- Cat Kerr of In the Light Of The Moon has the most amazing Trinket Nest necklaces that tell absolutely beautiful stories:

- Maryann Carroll of Artisan Beads Plus features her signature handmade porcelain beads in stunning wireworked designs

- Lisa Weber of Silver Vine Jewelry has some of the most beautiful sterling and stone pieces

- One of my all-time favorite artists and people is Diane Cook of Rosa & Josie's. Her newest feature called "Framed", and it is beautiful:

- Teresa Smith of T Smith Designs shows how to use recycled glass in a super-cool bezel setting that I am going to be trying out soon!

These are just a few that stuck out to me, but there are SO many other artists featured, so be sure to pick up your copy soon!

Art Bead Scene December Challenge

2011-12-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

I was able to find some time at the beginning of the month this time for the ABS Monthly Challenge. This month, our inspiration is the Chrysler Building:

What struck me about this challenge is the repetition of pattern and the prominence of texture that are so evident in the terraced crown of the building, so that's what I focused on in my design:

I made the beads from domed discs that I cut from etched copper sheet and then soldered together. I attempted to echo the repetitive triangular pattern from the building's face in the herringbone wirework in the focal and the three accent beads.

A close-up view of the necklace also shows handmade beads made from copper gears that I also domed and soldered. For some reason, I always get a steampunk-ish vibe whenever I think of the 1920's and 30's. I envision an underground sub-culture of strange and wonderful machines and people meeting clandestinely to share their futuristic common interests. I realize that I am off by a few decades, but the gears felt like they belonged in this design:

To echo the mirror-like appearance of the windows, I have hung little charms made from 4mm bicone beads in a hematite finish and in a clear/no-finish, as well as adding a tiny pop of color with charms made from enameled headpins.

As always, thanks go out to Art Bead Scene for generously hosting this challenge every month. Check out the other beautiful entries for this month's challenge at the ABS Flicker site.

Ornaments!!!

2011-12-07T15:49:00.001-07:00

I just finished listing all of my 2011 mosaic ornaments:

They are already starting to sell, so get yours soon! You can find them in my Etsy shop!

Challenge of Color Blog Hop

2011-11-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

A big thank you goes out to Erin of Tesori Trovati Jewelry and Treasures Found: Inspiration is Everywhere blog fame for hosting a fabulous blog hop today. Each of us were given a specific color palette to work within to design a piece of jewelry.

I chose "Brown" as my general color choice, and here is the palette Erin chose for me:

Palette courtesy of: Design Seeds

Aren't those colors just so rich and beautiful? Here's what I made:

I love the earthy feel of the colors, and was able to pull in some gorgeous river rock beads, beautiful Picasso-finish Czech roundels and small wood rounds to combine with antiqued copper wire and handmade copper headpins. I made the mosaic focal specially to match this color palette, using stained glass and a pre-made bezel.

The colors of the beads and rocks compliment the stained glass mosaic focal beautifully and the little dangly charms and lucite leaf add whimsical elements to the design.

Take a few minutes and check out the other participants' blogs to see what they did with their own palettes:

1 Norma Turvey ~ Teal ~ Color Crave

2 Jeannie Dukic ~ Green ~ Mineral Tones

3 Mary McGraw ~ Teal ~ Embellished Hues

4 Jo Tinley ~ Red ~ Decadent Tones

5 Rebecca Anderson ~ Pink ~ Tulip Tones

6 Kristi Jaro ~ Red ~ Temple Entrance

7 Stephani Gorman ~ Green ~ Dew Tones

8 Melissa Meman ~ Green ~ Fruit Star

9 Kathleen Lange Klik ~ Teal ~ Silk Hues

10 Cynthia Riggs ~ Red ~ Autumn Comfort

11 Heidi Post ~ Teal ~ Flora Bright

12 Cece Cormier ~ Teal ~ Merino Teal

13 Amy Freeland ~ Gray ~ Cultured Tones

14 Alice Peterson ~ Blue ~ Island Play

15 Rose Noble ~ Gray ~ Autumn Stacked

16 Kristina Johansson ~ Yellow ~ Sunny Flower

17 Kirsi Luostarinen ~ Teal ~ Dragon Hues

18 Tari Kahrs ~ Orange ~ Citrus Tones

19 Mallory Hoffman ~ Purple ~ Petaled Dark

20 Molly Alexander ~ Brown ~ Peppered Tones

21 Regina Santerre ~ Red ~ Frosted Berry

22 Emanda Johnson ~ Teal ~ Color Purl

23 Amy Severino ~ Orange ~ Winged Tones

24 Bobbie Rafferty ~ Teal ~ Lime Hues

25 Tanya Goodwin ~ Gray ~ Pecked Tones

26 Lisa Lodge ~ Blue ~ Nocturnal Tones

27 Hope Smitherman ~ Blue ~ Bloom Tones

28 Linda Landig ~ Green ~ Cacti Dark

29 Ambra Gostoli ~ Teal ~ Perched Autumn

30 Lori Bowring-Michaud ~ Blue ~ Sharpened Blue

31 Pippa Chandler ~ Teal ~ Hungarian Hues

32 Keirsten Giles ~ Purple ~ Mineral Brights

33 Jennifer Justman ~ Blue ~ Autumn Rays

34 Sandy Richardson ~ Purple ~ Moroccan Brights

35 CJ Bauschka ~ Teal ~ Teal Air

36 Shaiha Williams ~ Teal ~ Sushi Hues

37 Kay Thomerson ~ Purple ~ Autumn Spectrum

38 Sally Russick ~ Purple ~ Golden Gate Tones

39 Cilla Watkins ~ Purple ~ Autumn Infused

40 Shirley Moore ~ Purple ~ Frozen Heather

41 Jenni Connolly ~ Gray ~ Paw Tones

42 Tamara Soper ~ Green ~ Field Tones

43 Sharyl McMillian-Nelson ~ Blue ~ Nested Blues

44 Jen Velasquez ~ Pink ~ Sweetened Tints

45 Maria Grimes ~ Red ~ Bright Bloom

46 Elisabeth Auld ~ Gray ~ Petaled Tints

47 Susan Kennedy ~ Pink ~ Zinnia Tones

48 Shannon Chomanczuk ~ Gray ~ Autumn Leaf

49 Holly Westfall ~ Yellow ~ Sprinkled Tones

50 Patty Gasparino ~ Red ~ Color Carton

51 Angela Little ~ Pink ~ Singapore Brights

52 Lizzie Zawinski ~ Green ~ Budding Hues

53 Kristen Stevens ~ Pink ~ Scooped Tones

54 Dawn Doucette ~ Brown ~ Jarred Tones

November ABS Challenge

2011-11-28T10:21:00.001-07:00

The Way Of The Jealous Heart

The inspiration piece for this month's Art Bead Scene monthly design challenge is called "Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni" by Marie Spartali Stillman (1844-1927). The woman is a character from the Italian poet Dante. She was described as a heartless lady dressed in green. In her hand she holds a crystal bowl reflecting the figures of Love and Dante:

As I was coming up with a design for this challenge, my mind kept going back to the green and the heartless woman wearing the green, and the words "jealous heart" kept coming up.

Jealous people are usually people who have had their heart broken so many times that it almost seems they are heartless. They have tried to mend their own beaten and broken hearts by building up walls and defenses.

From this frame of mind came "The Way Of The Jealous Heart":

The focal is made from brass pieces riveted on top of one another with the definition for "heartless" decoupaged into the heart shape. The brass heart falling from the cutout frame has been pierced, beaten and sewn up, leaving a long chasm in the middle of it.

The focal dangles from a chain made from beautiful art beads from http://www.firebabies.etsy.com, http://www.blueseraphim.etsy.com, http://mermaidglass.etsy.com and http://www.beadsofpassion.com, and the heart 'window' is from Rings and Things.

Check out the other beautiful entries for this month's challenge at the ABS Flicker site.

Giving Thanks...

2011-11-24T12:51:00.001-07:00

From my family to yours,

Happy Thanksgiving

Bead Table Wednesday: We Have A Winner!

2011-11-23T08:53:00.001-07:00

Last week I announced a giveaway for these beautiful Magpie Gemstones' beads:

Today I drew the winner:

Congratulations Elisabeth of Beads For Busy Gals! If you would e-mail me your mailing address, I will pop these beauties in the mail for you!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and spread the word about this giveaway!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day! Take a few minutes to check out Jen Crossley's post on Grateful Living today!

Necessary Legal Stuff: I have received these beautiful beads free of charge from Magpie Gemstones, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

Vintage Beads

2011-11-18T17:07:00.001-07:00

I got an e-mail a few weeks ago from Vente at Vintage Beads asking if I would be willing to promote their site if they sent me some free beads to make jewelry from. Of course I said yes! I was so excited to get my little package in the mail from Europe and was even more excited to see what was inside it!

Here are a few pieces I made with their beautiful beads:

This first piece is a lariat-style necklace that can be worn either single-stranded or doubled:

I handmade "beaded beads" to make into links that I interspersed with links made from beautiful teal and clear vintage Lucite beads and links from a vintage chain I had in my stash.

The ends of the lariat each have different vintage beads: the first is made of silver-toned drops and the second is made with three frosted clear Lucite flowers.

Here's a close-up of the beautiful teal Lucite beads and the beaded beads.

The second project I made was a pair of earrings using vintage glass headpins, vintage crystals and silver heishi from my own stash:

The third project I made was another pair of drop earrings using vintage Lucite faceted pearl drops and vintage pink pressed glass flowers:

Thanks again to Vente for the fun beads she sent to me! If you get a chance, check out Vintage Beads' great selection of beads and findings!

Bead Table Wednesday: Magpie Gemstones Bead Giveaway!

2011-11-16T13:32:00.001-07:00

Are you ready for a giveaway? I received these beautiful beads from Magpie Gemstones as part of their Blog Buddy program, and have decided to use them as a giveaway for you!

How do you win you may ask?

Your name will be entered for doing any or all the following:

- One entry for leaving a comment on this blog

- One entry for following the Grateful Living blog

(let me know if you would like to be entered if you are already a GL follower)

- One entry for sharing about this giveaway on your blog

(let me know in your comments on this blog and leave a link to the post)

- One entry for sharing about this giveaway on Facebook

(let me know in your comments on this blog)

- One entry for sharing about this giveaway on Twitter

(let me know in your comments on this blog)

Simple!

You will receive all of the beads shown in this picture:

So what are you waiting for? Enter today! The drawing will be on next Wednesday, November 23rd!

You can see what all the other BTW participants are working on this week at the BTW Flickr site.

As always, thank you to our lovely hostess, Heather Powers of Humblebeads for hosting this weekly event.

Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Magpie Gemstones, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

SUPER-DUPER PRE-CHRISTMAS BLOW-OUT SALE!!!

2011-11-12T18:13:00.001-07:00

As a

HUGE Thank-You

for everyone who has supported me in my artistic endeavors, starting at midnight tonight and running through midnight on November 30th, I am having a:

EVERYTHING in my Etsy shop will be marked down a whopping 25%!!!

And, if that wasn't enough, I am offering

FREE SHIPPING TO THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA!!!

If you've had your eye on anything or are looking for unique and affordable gifts, now is the time to pick them up!

Bead Table Wednesday

2011-11-09T11:50:00.002-07:00

Working on a few projects today, in addition to getting a magazine deadline finished. Here's what is on my bead table right now:

I'm working some beautiful vintage beads in with some new 'beaded beads' I finished yesterday to see what I can come up with.

We're also getting ready for Thanksgiving at our house, and I love the decorating part of that:

I hope you are all having a great week and enjoying this fabulous cooler weather!

You can see what all the other BTW participants are working on this week at the BTW Flickr site.

As always, thank you to our lovely hostess, Heather Powers of Humblebeads for hosting this weekly event.

If you get a chance, hop on over to Grateful Living to read the beautiful post from Diana Frey today!

Interview at Touch Jewelry

2011-11-06T13:49:00.002-07:00

I am honored to share an interview I did on Cathy Khoury's blog, Touch Jewelry.

Cathy was one of my Bead Soup partners, and has a passion for creating her jewelry, and describes her business this way:

"...Indeed, we aspire to work only with fairly traded beads, helping local artists as well as cooperatives around the world in order to create pieces that are prepared with care.

With this new and exciting vision in mind, Touch Jewelry aspires to connect women and artisans in the common goal of human touch and cooperation. By reaching out our hearts and minds through art and craft, we hope to do our part to unite all people in one common Touch, one human horizon."

When I sent Cathy her Bead Soup package, I included some handmade findings. She asked if she could order more of them, and feature me on her blog as well. Of course I said "Yes!"

You can read the article and learn more about Cathy's artwork here:

Meet Molly Alexander: TJ's Newest Supply Artist

Again, thank you so much Cathy!

Very Seedy: Bead Table Wednesday

2011-10-26T14:19:00.002-07:00

I'm still captivated by seed beads, and can't seem to stop working with them

(an intervention may be in order at this point)!

Here's what is on my bead table today:

The start of something fun, I think!

Also, if you haven't had a chance to check out the Grateful Living blog, you are missing out! We've had some beautiful, inspiring and funny stories shared by some amazing women. Take a few minutes and check it out!

As always, thank you Heather Powers for hosting Bead Table Wednesday! You can see what others are working on by checking out the Bead Table Wednesday Flickr Group!

Opulence...

2011-10-18T22:26:00.001-07:00

Deryn Mentock of Something Sublime is hosting a challenge: to create a piece of jewelry based on this photo and palette:

The first word that came to my mind when I saw it was...

Opulence

Such fantastic and exquisite glamour in the folds of the fabric, the antique mirror, the gilded frames...

I knew I had to create a piece that reflected the over-the-top excesses of this room, with great attention to detail, texture and color.

I pulled out an etched mother-of pearl focal I've been hoarding for such inspiration as this, and got to work:

I've been experimenting with beaded bezels, and this project seemed tailor-made for the intricate detailing I was looking for. I love how the fringe looks delicate and lacy around the edges of the focal.

To continue the intricate detailing, I made twelve beaded rings, each with the lacy fringe, originally intending them to be the chain for the necklace. When I put them together as the chain, however, they didn't have the impact I was looking for, so I decided to turn them into charms and space them evenly along the necklace:

On one side of the necklace, I added groupings of tiny tear-shaped olive beads to bulk up the chain and add more color.

On the opposite side of the necklace, I interspersed six handmade beaded silk roses in a rich burgundy red. The flowers keep the continuity of the colors and textures with the olive and bronze beads used in their centers:

I added a length of extender chain with another small grouping of the olive drop beads to the end for a bit of extra detail, and used a very simple brass clasp to complete the necklace:

Here is a look at the completed piece:

"Opulence"

And another view:

"Opulence"

I learned a lot about seed beading from the construction of this piece, and am looking forward to incorporating more of it into upcoming pieces as well.

A big thank you goes out to Deryn Mentock for hosting this challenge! To see the other entries you can head on over to her blog, Something Sublime.

Bead Table Wednesday: 4 Cool Things To Share Today

2011-10-12T16:53:00.002-07:00

Happy Wednesday To You! Today I've got 4 fun things to share with you!

1. Happy Birthday to my amazing Mother!

My Mom is such an inspiration to me. She sets the bar for character and integrity, and has taught me so much about how to be a mom, wife and woman. This past spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and has completely blown me away with the grace and dignity she has shown throughout diagnosis, surgery, treatment, and now as a healthy survivor. I am so proud of her, and so proud to be her daughter, and wanted to make her something very special for her birthday this year:

I know that pink is the Breast Cancer Awareness color, but when I think of her, I always picture her in cobalt blue for some reason. I had my friend Julianna Cannon of JulsBeads make up a gorgeous set of cobalt blue beads, including one of my favorite heart focals, and made Mom a set from my heart to hers. She didn't get the earrings, as somehow, in the 3 steps from the front porch where I took the pictures to the computer, I temporarily 'misplaced' one of them. Within 5 minutes of shipping off her gift, I (of course) found the other earring, so she will be getting a surprise post-birthday gift - lol!

2. Maire Dodd is today's Grateful Living contributor!

If you aren't familiar with Maire Dodd's writing and artwork, you are in for a treat. Her gift for sharing - both visually and in writing - is profound. Check it out!

And while you are there, take a look at the other contributiors' posts from the past couple of weeks; I guarantee you will have a smile in your heart after reading what these remarkable women are grateful for in their lives!

3. Deryn Mentock is having a Blog Challenge!

Deryn Mentock of Something Sublime is having a really cool blog challenge that incorporates the beautiful colors and feel from this photograph:

The reveal day is October 19th - you can read more about the challenge details here.

4. Oh right - it's Bead Table Wednesday!

Here's what is on my bead table today:

Yep - a little cryptic, but I don't want to spoil the surprise of what I'm making for Deryn's challenge!

You can see what all the other BTW participants are working on this week at the BTW Flickr site.

As always, thank you to our lovely hostess, Heather Powers of Humblebeads for hosting this weekly event.

Have a fantastic rest of your week!

What's Cookin'?

2011-10-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

Today I've been doing a lot of this:

To make a lot of these:

What did you work on this weekend?

Also, if you haven't had a chance, hop on over to Grateful Living to read Diane Cook's thoughts on sharing her passion!

Lorelei and Shannon's Lima Beads Blog Hop

2011-10-08T01:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the beautiful beads that Lorelei and Shannon picked for their Lima Beads Blog Hop:

Aren't those just the most beautiful colors? I love the combination of colors and textures, and did my best to use as much of the kit as I could.

Without further ado, here's my necklace (please excuse the pictures - I had to use artificial light and couldn't find my light box anywhere!):

I really wanted to highlight the ribbon and the gorgeous glass drops, and still include most of the other elements without the design getting too fussy.

The three pressed glass flowers are wired to the brass filigree focal with copper wire.

I tried a new technique weaving seed beads around the glass beads, and I really like the effect.

Thanks for stopping by! For the links to the rest of the participants and some amazing eye candy, hop on over to Lorelei's blog here.

Bead Table Wednesday

2011-10-05T12:13:00.002-07:00

I don't have a whole lot of beads out on my table today, but I do want to share a quick project I did yesterday with you.

I am taking a Bible study right now, and one of the things we are doing is keeping a prayer journal. I am - quite possibly - the world's worst journal-keeper, so I've decided to make my journal more fun to keep.

I pulled out my well-worn copy of "Pretty Little Things" by Sally Jean Alexander for some inspiration, and, starting out with one of these:

...a plain old composition book...

...I turned it into this:

Front

Back

Definitely more fun - now I don't have any excuses!

On another note, if you haven't already, hop on over to Grateful Living to see what Patty Gasparino of My Life Under The Bus is grateful for today.

New (for me) Beading Techniques

2011-10-03T12:14:00.001-07:00

After going through (most of) the Bead Soup blogs, I was struck by the large number of seed bead artists are out there. I know this shouldn't surprise me, but I am, at heart, a wire and metal gal, and don't do a whole lot with seed beads, except to use them as accents in my wire and metal pieces.

I also love to fuse glass in my kiln, but, to me, there seems to be a limited amount of things I can do with my glass 'globs' once they are cooked.

Then I toured the blogs and realized that I can use seed beads to make bezels for my 'globs'. Inspiration! A light turned on in my brain, and I decided to teach myself how do do them.

I downloaded a great tutorial from Fusion Beads and was on my way! So...here is a picture of what I've been working on with my newly learned skill:

I've got lots of beads and glass to work with, and I'm excited to see what else I can learn - bead embroidering, for instance...

Now, have you had a chance to check out "Grateful Living" yet? Nellie Wortman of Early Morning Thoughts is today's contributor, and she wrote a beautiful piece speaking about being an optimist - well worth the read!

"Grateful Living" Is Up And Running!

2011-10-01T15:20:00.002-07:00

"Grateful Living"

Today Grateful Living has its first post called "What Is Grateful Living?" which you can read by clicking on the link or on the picture above.

I encourage you to check it out and stay tuned for posts from this wonderful group of contributors:

Rhonda Marinkovic

We will be posting 3 to 4 times a week with snippets of our lives that we are grateful for to share with you. Please join us on our journey!

New Blog: Grateful Living

2011-09-29T20:51:00.001-07:00

For a while now I have been wanting to create a forum for people to express thanksgiving for the blessings in their lives. To show that there are so many things to be thankful for; big and small, they are there, and all we need to do is take the time to stop, look around and recognize them.

So here it is:

"Grateful Living"

A blog devoted solely to expressing gratitude,
going live on October 1st.

A wonderful and talented group of contributors will be sharing pieces of their personal stories in hopes of inspiring readers to examine their own lives to discover big and life-changing as well as ordinary and every-day miracles in their own lives.

Please take some time to check it out, and if you like what you read, leave a comment, follow it, grab the button to put on your own blog or website.

Between us, maybe we can spread a bit of an "attitude of gratitude" together.

Grandma's Quilt: September Art Bead Scene and Love My Art Jewelry Monthly Challenges

2011-09-24T14:45:00.002-07:00

"Grandma's Quilt"

Art Bead Scene Inspiration Artwork
"Housetop" by Lillie Mae Pettway

My grandmother is one of my most favorite people I was blessed to have in my life. She taught me so many things, and was an incredible influence on my character - on the woman I am today. I wrote about her in a blog post called "Teapots" (which you can read here) where I spoke about my childhood and the wonderful times I spent with her.

When I saw this month's challenges for Art Bead Scene and for Love My Art Jewelry, I knew that I would be combining them into one piece called "Grandma's Quilt". She was the person who taught me to sew and to embroider. I'm not very good at all at either, but she was patient and persistent, and I loved the stories she would tell me as we sat together at the sewing machine or with our projects on our laps.

Her mother used to knit, and made the quilt squares these pictures were taken on that my grandmother crocheted together into a quilt. I've had it for my whole life, and someday I will pass it on to my grandchildren and tell them about the remarkable woman who gave it to me.

Glass Mosaic Micro-Mosaic Focal: Molly Alexander

Lampwork Beads: Blue Seraphim

Vintage buttons, beads, etc.

To see more of the Art Bead Scene entries, you can go to their Flickr group here and read more about the inspiration artwork here.

To see more of the Love My Art Jewelry Art Spark entries, you can go to their Flickr group here and read more about this month's challenge here.