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Friday, December 16, 2011

Ornament Swap Blog Hop

Sally of Wireworked put together this fabulous Ornament Swap! She is talented and funny and generous with her time and knowledge and I am honored she is my friend. Thanks Sally!!!

My partner for this Blog Hop is Jenny Davies-Reazor. Please go to her site, because OH MY is she talented!!! Her tiles and shrines and pendants are all gorgeous and earthy and completely unique.

Here is what she made for me.



I am not sure if I can express all the reasons why I love this. But I will try. I am more of a seasonal person than a holiday person. We celebrate holidays with family and presents for the kids and way too much food and drink, but when it comes to decorating or just "feeling it", I gravitate to the seasons and not the designated holidays they encompass. And the shrine Jenny made is for the season and will be in my window seat all season(or longer!), not just for a week or two during the holidays. I love the textured and sparkling polymer, the beads as berries, and the bottom fringe! The fringe consists of rocks Jenny drilled (my passion!), crystals, gemstones, and a medallion she made. They dance! They clack! They bring Joy! The center of the shrine is a beautiful Angel. She is soft and feminine and lovely and peaceful. I find myself gazing at her for long periods of time :-)

I sent Jenny a seasonal ornament as well. I used a piece of driftwood that was laying around my kitchen for longer than I want to admit. And I beaded snowflakes to hang off it. Each one different from the next. I hope Jenny has a better picture of it than I do. After 3 days of 4 photoshoots, this was the best I could come up with. Sometimes the spirit of an item just cannot be captured in a photograph.




Please take the time to Hop over to the other lovely blogs and see what all these talented women made. And...HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!! Thanks for stopping by :-D


Partner List for the Ornament Swap/Blog Hop











Wednesday, December 14, 2011

WhatTheWednesday?!?




When I have a question or a problem that I would appreciate some feedback on I am going to put in a "WhatThe" in the title...and maybe a photo of this guy here because I love him and he lightens my frustrations when I look at him. Anyone want to join in on the "What The?!?", be my guest and you can borrow the image too :-) I got him at the Etsy store PhenomeGnome. Check out the store. It might just put a smile on your face :-D




My dear Bug (also known as Bugalicious, ChuggaBugga, BuggaLuggaDingDong)gave me her first Kumihimo piece. I love what she made! She bought the kit 2 years ago and has been working on it ever since. She gave it to me 6 weeks ago as a gift...one that I have to finish. So my dilema, as you see, is that the end I need to make a loop on has very short strings. The end she finished with the button has all the strings I need...for the other end! Ain't that the way it always goes?!



Do you see any solutions to this? My brain is stuck.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

An Oh So Lovely Surprise!




I received a package in the mail. The timing was perfect. I was feeling low. I was feeling overwhelmed. It was the tail end of a rough month. One I was glad to leave behind.
I turned the calendar over, finished up some projects that had deadlines, reopened the package and learned something new!
Karen Williams at Skunk Hill Studio send me a care package ~she thought she was just sending me beads, but she really sent me comfort~ filled with beads, an iridescent dragonfly button, instructions, a lovely note, and sea glass (i have plans for that too!). Confession time: I weave pretty much everyday and I have never learned RAW. All the classes were offered at times I could not make it and I do not learn well from written instruction. So when I saw that Karen sent me instructions for Random RAW, that warm fuzzy feeling cooled ever so slightly. But then I decided the Universe was easing me in to RAW so I embraced the project! Karen's instructions were perfectly clear and easy to follow. No problems whatsoever. I finished it late last night and am starting another one tonight. I loved the process, the lacy look, the individuality, the way tiny seed beads make such a statement, the whole feel of the bracelet in my hands. And it looks fabulous on my wrist! Thank You Karen~I greatly appreciate your kindness and generosity :-)

Monday, November 28, 2011

New in the Shop





Two of the Four new Items in the Etsy
Shop


Hope you all are doing well! I miss visiting your Blogs and will get back to them once I get past this week :-)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Etsy




Free shipping on my Etsy Site until January!

And once I hit 70 likes on Facebook, I will have a giveaway of some type, for those interested :-)

Hope you all have a Mouthwatering Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Sunshine Girl Beads



Just a quickie to show you what I did with the Handmade Beads my Sunshine Girl made me for my Birthday! She wanted me to use the metal flowers and the turquoise. I wanted the bone discs. I wanted to make something short enough for her to wear if she wanted to...even though it is all for me!

There is a small chance I might take it apart for a 9th (yes, 9th!) time. But I am testing the waters here.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Handmade










My 10 year old Sunshine Girl made me these beads and the box and lid that contained them. It was a complete surprise! She said she didn't want to glaze them. She wanted them natural and Earthy "just the way you like things, Mama."

Best. Gift. Ever.




Thursday, November 3, 2011

ROCKS in the MailBox




My Bead Soup Blog Hop partner Amy from Copper Diem went to New England recently and sent me these Super Cool Rocks she got on Cape Cod! WOO HOO!!! I am a very VERY happy Girl! What I love most about these (aside from receiving such an awesome package at a time when I really needed it) is that Amy has a great feel for the shapes and colors I look for when I rock hunt. It's like she has seen my stash. AMY! YOU ROCK (had to say it)!!!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Catch Up

I am having a really hard time catching up these days and I hope to be back to visiting blogs by the end of the week. Mama needs a vacation! These kids are running me ragged. It is a good thing they are so darn sweet :-)



In the meantime, I finally added to the Etsy Shop. Only 5 items but I will get more up later in the week.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Ornament Swap Blog Hop

Sally at Wireworked put together an Ornament Swap Blog Hop. I have no idea how to make an ornament, but I will give it a whirl. Throw your winter hat in the ring and join the party!

Ornament Swap/Blog Hop

Sally is also having a giveaway...check it out while you are there!


Also, Erin at Elysian Studios is having a Giveaway of My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software. There is still time to sign up for it!

Hope you all have a great weekend and I hope you win :-D

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Got a Little Something in the Mail Today



I won a Simple Truths pendant from Erin over at Treasures Found!!! It arrived today and it was a nice reminder on a day that I was starting to let the little things bother be again. We do seem to get what we need when we need it, if we would just open our eyes and hearts a little more.
Please go visit Erin's Etsy Site to see more of her Simple Truths. Aren't the Owls ADORABLE?!?!?

Have a great weekend and as The Simple Truth reminds us, "every thing is beauty full". Make your life Beauty Full :-)

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

And the Winner is.....




YaY Susan!!! You can have the earrings in the video or my version of sage and gold. Just let me know :-)

I wrote the names on a piece of paper and put them in a hat. I should have known Susan was coming out of the hat. Everything has been coming full circle lately, or at least 3/4 of the way around. And this giveaway is no different. Back in 2000, my dear friend Paul encouraged me to put a few pieces of jewelry out there for sale and see what happens. So the seeds of One Kiss Creations were sewn.
Fast-forward to this past April. That is when I first visited Windrock Studio's blog during the 7000 Bracelets of Hope Blog Hop. I had only started blogging a couple weeks before that. When I clicked on Susan's Bracelet, I was blown away. It spoke to me in so many ways. Because good things come in little packages. Because small things matter. Because one woman's small may be another woman's big. Because it is lacy and delicate and warm and loving. Because the details are simple but necessary and beautiful. Because it just spoke to me. In the following weeks, I checked in to Windrock Studio's blog and explored Larry and Susan's detailed sculptures, fabric frames, mud huts (LOVE EM!) and leather work (want to wear each purse!). Take the time to look at them too. They are just so earthy and uplifting and evoke feelings of true home, which is really in our hearts and not a physical place. And Susan has a great love of capturing town. People, animals, plants, structures. Her photos are a wonderful slice of life~in all it's beauty and brightness.
So as I was enjoying Susan's blog and feeling my way around the blogosphere, I decided to have my first giveaway. Paul won! Legitimately! I swear!!! For this giveaway, I decided to have the drawing today, on Paul's Birthday. Susan won. Paul and Susan live a stone's throw from each other and 2000 miles from where I physically reside. See?! Circling Around!!!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Tomorrow's Giveaway

It is still not too late to enter tomorrow's giveaway!

The rules are simple:
*have your name on the follower list
*post a comment
*tell me what colors you like

I got my earrings back from Bead Trends today, so if you win, you can have the earrings shown HERE (at about 2:14 into the clip)

OR

Earrings in some shade of the colors you like. The choice is Yours!

Did a little bead shopping this weekend :-)


Friday, October 7, 2011

WTFridays



Testing the waters...I have lots of Rocks and lots of Sari Ribbon.

Thoughts?


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Lovely Blogs...15 of Them!


Janet, from Honey from the Bee, nominated my little blog as one of her 15 lovelies that she often follows. I was really surprised and giddy, as I hold Janet's blog, writing, jewelry, and photography in such high esteem. You know when something just speaks to you? That feeling you get? I get that feeling at Honey From the Bee. I don't comment a lot but I always visit. I like it there.
I will make a list of 15 shortly and would love to put Janet on my list, but instead of looping, I will continue to pay it forward.

So when you are nominated, the rules are as follows:

1. Thank the person who nominated your blog. THANK YOU JANET!!! I appreciate your kindness and your warmth.

2. Tell 7 facts about yourself.

3. Pass the award on to 15 newly discovered blogs. Since I have only been doing this for 6 months, it is a sliding scale as to what I consider "newly discovered".


7 facts about me:

*I am a sucker for a redhead & a big, long, skinny nose. If he had red hair, I dated him. I cannot help it. When my husband grew his beard, it came in red and I was elated that I married a redhead and didn't even know it. JACKPOT!

*I have had the same haircut for 30+ years now. BORING, but easy. I hate spending time getting myself ready to go out, so it works well for me. And I love the grey color!

*I am not competitive in the least. Unless I am playing cards. Then I play to win.

*I have a scar at the base of my neck. I like it. It is turned up, like a smile :-) I love scars...they add character, tell a story, show resilience. I hate to have my neck touched so it figures I would have to have my thyroid removed and all sorts of people would be poking my neck.

*I never forget a voice. I may forget a face, I usually forget a name, but never a voice.

*I have 2 things I spend money on without thought to how much it costs...music and beads. I cannot get through the day without music. I recently noticed a pattern. I get completely immersed in a musician for a year or more-buy all their cds, books, dvds, pour over liner notes, go to shows (if they are still alive and touring in my area). Then after that, I still love them but can just enjoy them in the mix. Even when I am into my musician of the year, I still listen to others. My most recent string of Lust includes: Gram Parsons, Steve Earle, Leonard Cohen, Warren Zevon, Woody Guthrie, and Jackson Browne. Yeah, I know...all men.

*I do not work well with others. Give me the task and the deadline and LEAVE ME ALONE.


And now, the 15 blogs I am nominating and I hope you check out:

1. Sally ~ Wireworked

2. Mandy ~ Beads for Brains 365

3. Hope ~ Crafty Hope

4. Amy ~ Copper Diem

5. Susan ~ Windrock Studio

6. Erin ~ Elysian Studios

7. Erin ~ Treasures Found

8. Lori ~ Pretty Things

9. Doug ~ Dilettante Cocktailer

10. Heather ~ My Muse, Aquariart

11. Holly ~ Silver Rose Designs

12. Patty ~ My Life Under the Bus

13. Sharon ~ Livewire Jewelry

14. Therese ~ Therese's Treasures

15. Tamara ~ Vanishing Pearl


Happy Hopping!!! Hope you find a few more blogs you will be interested in following :-)


One last thing to say: My Giveaway event is still happening. I forgot to give a date for the drawing...October 11th. Paul's Birthday. Appropriate since he was the one who convinced me to start One Kiss Creations Beaded Jewelry back in 2000 and appropriate since he was the first winner of my first giveaway. So keep the entries coming!

Have a great week!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Giveaway

A Very Big Thank You to all the kind people who visited my blog and left lovely comments during the Bead Soup Blog Hop! The response was overwhelming...in a good way :-) Thank You Thank You!!!

My Round and Round Earrings are in this YouTube Video :-)

Lori Anderson
has a necklace in the video too!

YAY!

I made a Facebook Announcement a couple weeks back that once I hit 40 followers on the blog and 70 followers on Facebook, I would have a giveaway on each site. Since the blog hit its number first, the giveaway will be here first.
I will give away a pair of earrings in the same style as the ones in the YouTube video (soon to be in Bead Trends!). Only the color will be different.

Here's how to win:

Be a follower, Post a comment, and Tell me what Colors you like.
Keepin' it simple :-)

I wish I was computer literate to put the actual video in the post, but I am not. Maybe someday.
In the meantime, enjoy this picture of my Sunday :-)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Bead Soup Blog Party






The day is finally here!!! My fabulous and inspiring and hilarious partner Amy at Copper Diem sent me the greatest stash! She did not know it, but I have had an obsession with Vincent van Gogh since before I could talk. When I opened the package she sent me, all I saw was van Gogh, van Gogh, van Gogh! I think I may have shrieked. And I know I did a happy dance! All I added to the stash was 6 Swarovski crystals and the size 15/0 orange Miyuki seed beads.
The earrings were something fun and entirely unplanned. Both my daughter and I think they look like the banana plant that was once in her fish bowl.

Hop on over to Copper Diem and see what Amy made with the stash I sent her!

And after that, go see Lori Anderson at Pretty Things, the organizer of this fantastic event! See what she made and check out the entire list of 362 participants in this Bead Soup Blog Hop!!!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Michigan Rocks!!!




The First Michigan Rock is making her debut! So many of the rocks I collected there this summer were too small to drill. I collected them anyway. And whipped out the E6000, fried my brain, and made this little beauty. She was the first to be made and the first to be strung. Some E6000 oozed out from under the center rocks, so for the other ones I made that day, I used far less of the stuff and it all stayed underneath where it should be. When it dried, I could still see some of it on this first one, but I don't care. I love this one and her colors and that she was my first. Imperfect and lovely.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Good Lovin'





I tell them every chance I get :-)

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Rain Rain Clouds the Brain




I feel thick and dumb and tired with all this rain. And entirely unmotivated to run my errands (who wants to be out in this relentless wetness?!) or get my haircut. And I am a month overdue in getting it cut. My hair grows up, not down. I currently look like Don King's twin sister. The kids don't want to be seen with me. They come home every day and say "You STILL didn't get your haircut?!" I tell them the beads don't mind my hair. They tell me to not to make excuses. I tell them I am going to start teasing it out and see how big I can get it. They remind me Back-to-School night is next week and they URGE me to not meet their teachers looking like THIS. I am kind of enjoying watching them squirm. How high can I take it?

So while I am avoiding the hairdresser and the bank and the grocery store and the liquor store, I am not doing nothing. I am beading. And listening to music. Daniel Lanois helped draw this one out of me.

Who do you listen to when you create?

Saturday, August 27, 2011

August Reader's Challenge






RED is my Muse. Well, Red and Gram Parsons. Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of Gram Parsons to to had, while Red is endless. Every time I shop for beads, I buy a small stash of Red. I never have any ideas for them, no vision for how to use Red. I just like having them around. This new school year,(which coincidentally starts today)one of my many self-induced challenges is to use Red. A lot. So when Sally sent me the info for the Andrew Thornton August Reader's Challenge, I knew I had to climb on for this ride!
I opened the package and instantly saw two separate necklaces. The "Magic" needed to be fringe and a bit bohemian and reminiscent of the early days of my beading life. And ALL RED.
The Copper Sunburst Pendant made me squeal when I opened it~what an understated beauty! I collect Rocks and when I saw the pendant I knew I had to use a Rock as the backdrop. And I had the perfect Rock from my recent visit to Michigan. I added some of my own earthy size 15/0 seed beads to make the Red pop. These gorgeous lampwork beads and rich colored Swarovski were alternated with jasper rounds and freshwater pearls. I love blending Earthy and Elegant.
Long ago, my Mom told me that some quilters see Red as a neutral color. I may have to explore that theory this year. Next stop for Red?! Check back soon and see where I take the her.

Please take a few moments to see what the other participants did with their Red packages.

Jessica Nelson
Andrew Thornton
Leslie Todd
Holly Westfall
Alice Peterson
Cilla Watkins

Sally Russick
Beth Emery
Patty Gasparino
Jeannie Dukic
Norma Turvey
Rebecca Anderson

Darby Lohrding, Marian Howarth, and Kari Asbury will all have pieces featured on Andrew Thornton's blog

Friday, August 19, 2011

Simmering Soup



My beads arrived from Amy at Copper Diem~check em out!!! I am so excited to be paired up with Amy, who is witty and welcoming and very talented. The colors are Fantastic, aren't they?! I had an idea as soon as I spread out all the beads. Now let's see if I can implement it. Chances are it will become something completely different than what is in my head! More to say but I will save it for the September 17th Bead Soup Blog Hop. Hope to see you all then!

What about you---do most of your creations come out the way your mind sees them or as something totally different? These beads we work with have a mind of their own sometimes!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Garden.




Our garden is not nearly as plentiful as last year. Our only consolation is that a farmer nearby and a local greenhouse both told me their gardens are a bust too. So I don't think it is something we did. Our cherry tomatoes are plentiful and ripe, but splitting. Our big tomatoes are big and plentiful, but green and don't seem to be in any hurry to turn red. Our lettuce was less than stellar. Our jalapenos and cherry peppers were eaten by a resident pigeon, who was in turn eaten by an owl. I was a bit startled to find a headless pigeon not too far from the shredded pepper plants that morning! Here is a picture of one pepper out of two that struggled to grow after that feeding frenzy.

The success stories were sugar snaps and beans, though they were not as abundant as usual. Our radishes were awesome-nice and spicy! And the cucumbers-they seem to know no end and no boundaries. I came home from Hot Yoga last night to find The Bird Man making bread and butter pickles! A first for us! We are hopeful that the onions and potatoes are doing well. We harvested the garlic. Can't wait to use that! This was our first time planting garlic. And the Butternut (LOVE that word. Butternut and Sugar Snap...great sounds and great visuals...and they make my mouth water)is plentiful!!! WOO HOO!!! We devoted a lot of the garden to butternut squash last year and harvested two. This year, we gave it a few square feet and it took over and there are so many baby and teenage butternuts on there already. Butternut Risotto is on the menu when the first one is ripe! Butternut Risotto and a bottle of Gewurztraminer. I can taste it now :-)



What is growing in your garden this summer?


p.s. i used the word "plentiful" 4 times!!! FOUR times. i need to dust off my old college thesaurus.