Laughter

Brave the storm...

Three Beautiful Things This Week: Weather, Pizza, and a guy in his boxers

Three Beautiful Things This Week was inspired by a wonderful blog that Three Beautiful Things. Everyday, Clare writes about 3 Beautiful Things that happen each day in her life. It's a wonderful blog! I can only hope to imitate her in a very small way.

1) Yesterday and today were absolutely gorgeous days!!!!

2) Last night I had a "Carnitas and tomatillo" pizza for supper.

AWESOME!

3) Yesterday turned out to be a better day than I thought it would be considering that the first thing I saw when I took Pixie for her walk was a man walking towards me dressed only in his boxers and shoes.

I can only assume HE was locked out and trying to find a way in?  I hope his day turned out better than his began.

30 Words Thursday:: I Declare the Summer of 2015:: THE YEAR OF THE BRACELET

The Summer of the Bracelet!

They don't show up under your coat in the winter. 

So, now, get ready!

I've made 3 bracelets with plans for more.

What will you make?

Worth Revisiting: The Itsy Bitsy Spider--NOT

So, what do you think? Only a face a mother could love? Itsy, bitsy? NOT!

I normally appreciate spiders in my house since they eat so many other nuisance bugs, but I do have two rules that apply to them.

1) Spiders may remain in my house as long as they do not get near me.
(I think that's very reasonable.)

2) Spiders are not allowed to get big. Note the size of the spider compared to the dime. That's one BIG spider.

In this case, this spider violated rule #2. It is way bigger than the dime. However, there was an exception to this rule for this spider because s/he was dead when I found it, therefore, rule #2 does not apply.

Now, does anyone see a bead in this deceased arachnid? If you do, I'd love to see it, but please do not violate rule #2. Thank you very much!

I Really, Really, Really Want to Make Beads Again, but Until Then...

I'll have to show you the beads I've purchased,

and,

what I've done with them.

I wish I had a better photo.

I'm sorry, but I don't.

I bought beads from 

3 different artists 

to make this necklace.

Sarah Hornick,

Juli Cannon,

and

Angie Gemsa.

Sarah and Juli made the organic beads in the strand,

and,

Angie Gemsa 

made the focal, 

with as much pink as she could!

I. LOVE. THIS. NECKLACE!!!

Did I say,

I. LOVE. THIS. NECKLACE!!!!!!!!

Juli Cannon made the beads in this bracelet!

They are so perfect with the ocean theme!

I'd love to hear the crack of waves on the sand, but, since I can't, 

this will have to do!

Aren't the beads 

AWESOME!!!!!

 This bead is part of 

Jennifer Geldard's

Klingon series of beads.

I love this bead.

Both photos are of the same bead just from different angles.

I love the metallic look of the bead,

along with the 

light 

in the center of the bead.

So,

what shall I do?

I think of 

Steampunk,

but I also love pearls.

Pearls and Steampunk?

What do you think?

If you have any ideas to share, please let me know.

Thanks.

Thank You!

Memorial Day Rememberance

Thank you!

John F. Kennedy

We Will Never Forget!

Three Beautiful Things This Week

Three Beautiful Things This Week was inspired by a wonderful blog that Three Beautiful Things. Everyday, Clare writes about 3 Beautiful Things that happen each day in her life. It's a wonderful blog! I can only hope to imitate her in a very small way.

1) It's been nice spending time with Jenny.  I went shoe shopping and bought a new pair of shoes.

Awesome!

2) It looks like we've got that cold snap behind us.  That will be so nice.

Hey, Mother Nature, it's spring!

I'm just glad the forecasts call for warmer weather.

3) This weekend is a holiday.  That's always very, very nice!

 

Thirty Word Thursday: The Eyes Have It.

They each say something.

I wonder what they think?

Marvin is wondering.

Fred is Glaring.

Pixie is asking to go.

Their eyes say more than we do.

I wonder what...

A Walk in the Park! Yes, it was!

This is the entrance to the park.

Apparently, there were some strong winds the other night,

and

this was the result.

That tree was huge, and it was down.

However, there was a way around the tree, 

and we took it.

This is Pixie's favorite park in the 

whole, wide world.

After we circled to the back of the tree,

we saw these flowers in bloom

Does anyone know what they are called?

They are so lovely.

There were clusters of them around the park as we walked.

This flower was open.

Any guesses?

I don't know the name, but they sure are pretty.

I don't know the names of these wildflowers, either,

but they added the perfect contrast to the field of flowers we saw.

This flower was so pretty.

I don't know the name of it,

either, 

but it sure is lovely.

I think these are 

honeysuckles, 

but I'm not sure.  

I guess it doesn't matter.

They are all gorgeous flowers.

Pixie liked them, too.

Remember This??? Easy Peasy Tutorial for the Dog Toy Bead.... And Pixie's Reaction to the Bead and the Toy...

Remember this 

Dog Toy?  

I made this huge bead from this 

Inspiration.

Now, if you would like to learn how I made this bead,

and,

maybe make one for yourself,

scroll down.

Scroll down a little.

Here's the way I made mine, and 

it's 

Easy Peasy.

Supplies:

A cookie cutter that is approximately 3/4 of an inch.  It can be any shape.

Polymer clay in 5 colors.  I used scraps. Each scrap was about 1/4 of a block of clay.

Liquid polymer clay

A mandrel of some kind for the hole in the bead.

Oven for curing the clay.

Optional, but nice.

Pasta machine to condition your clay.  You can condition your clay by hand, too. so you don't need a pasta machine.

Acrylic rolling pin.

I make the assumption that you know how to condition polymer clay.  If you don't, please search the internet.

Condition your clay.

Using a piece of clay that won't be seen, 

roll it into a ball.  This is your base.

You will put all the circles on this base.

Depending on the size of your base,

you might want to cut it in half.  This piece does not use 1/4 block of the clay.

 Make it smaller than you thing. 

My finished bead is almost

1 3/4" across.  That's BIG!

Using a cookie cutter of any shape,

cut out 3 shapes of each color.

I did add more, but not until after I added the balls I made.

If you use a cookie cutter, then roll the clay into balls, the balls will all be the same size.

That's what you want.

This is what your collection of colors should look like. 

You will also notice that I poked a hole in the base bead. 

You can use anything for a mandrel.

I used a mandrel that I have used for making lampwork glass beads, but

you can use a needle, a chopstick, whatever you have on hand.

Make sure, though, that the hole is big enough to accommodate a chain or wire for stringing.

As I added the balls on the base bead,

I worked with the base bead on my mandrel

so that I would not loose track of the holes in the base bead.

Before I added the clay balls,

I put a small amount of liquid polymer clay on the end that would be secured to the base bead. 

You don't need a lot of liquid clay, but it does secure the clay to the clay.

I also flattened one end of the ball.

This is the end that I attached to the base.

I worked with my two end colors.

In my case it was yellow and green.

I put three yellow balls on one end,

and three green balls on the opposite end.

 Then I added the red and purple balls and alternated each color.

I found I had to make more clay balls to fill in the space.

Depending on the size you used,

you might not need to do that.

After I finished attaching the balls to the base,

I removed the mandrel and baked my clay according to 

manufacturer's directions.

I covered the clay with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

I did bake the clay for 45 minutes.

Be sure to remove the mandrel when you bake the clay.

The mandrel might be very difficult to remove if you leave it in during baking.

Let the bead cool.

You can choose to add a glossy finish to it or not.

That's up to you.

I was very happy with the finished project, and I hope you are, too!























Here was Pixie's Reaction to the Toy and the Bead

 Look at the empty stare.
Look how she ignores the
toy.

Now, she's just annoyed.

That's my girl!

 

Have You Ever Wondered What's in Another Woman's Purse? You're Going to See What's in Mine.

This 

Beast 

is my purse!

I found it at the thrift store for 

$5!

I was thrilled!

I still am!

Now, you're going to see what's in here.

This is a side pocket for the

Beast.

The Reason the side pocket is empty is because

this is the pocket where I keep 

my phone.

I was using my phone to take the photos for this post.

Normally,

this is where my phone rests when we are out and about.

This is a view of the inside of 

The Beast

from the top.

You really can't see what's in it

except for the pouch in which I 

keep my diabetic supplies that I need to use through the day.

Since you couldn't see the contents from above,

I emptied my purse.

Here is a quick version of what I carry in 

The Beast.

My prayer books, my small, pink ott light, my checkbook, my pens, my diabetic testing kit, my prayer journal, a bit of hand sanitizer (the green tube on the far right, and a key ring full of keys.

Now you can see the hand sanitizer.

Next to that are my sugar pills for unexpected lows.  You can also see my key ring full of keys.  

There' s also the key to my safety deposit box, a small plastic box at the bottom, a used kleenex, a small wad of paper, and two rosaries.  On rosary I used to pray.  The other rosary I carry to give away.

The other photos were very blurry, but they show just about the same things.

Now, I'd like to know.

What's in your purse?

If you post a blog about your purse, please let me know.

I want to see what you carry!

Reveal Day:: Art of Awareness Blog Hop

It's a good thing I read

Lori Anderson's

post on Facebook yesterday.

I thought the reveal date was

Sunday!

Whew!

Anyway,

it's true.

There are so many things about which we are not aware.

We don't know the effects of so many conditions on the human body.

While we might think that this person or that person is

"odd,"

we might not know that they suffer from a serious chronic illness,

such as depression,

or that they suffer from a cancer we don't understand.

In my family, this is true.

Multiple myeloma is the cancer.

Clinical depression is the disease.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cell of the blood.

It's a devastating cancer, and, even though, by looking at a person who is afflicted with this disease,

you might not realize they are ill.  You might think their behaviors are odd.  

The medications they use to fight this cancer are extremely strong drugs.

Chemotherapy does nothing for this cancer.

Even the drugs that are part of the protocol for treatment might or might not help.

If they help, there is a point where they stop working.

The drugs have serious side effects, and it seems one of the side effects is on the emotions.

Anxiety is common for the person taking the drugs to battle this disease.

It's a tough fight.

You battle on so many different grounds.

Pray for the person who has this disease.  It's hard.  

Pray for anyone who has cancer.

Clinical Depression is a serious disease.

It is potentially life threatening and needs treatment.

If you are depressed, please go to the doctor!

I am honoring someone who has these diseases.

Because it is a family member, I will not mention their name.

This is a privacy issue.

However, if they read this blog, just know that I honor you for all of the battles you have fought and won!

It's been a struggle, but you are strong, brave, and full of courage!

The inspiration for these pieces comes from 

Proverbs 31:25

"Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come."

Using two of Heather's beads, I made two bracelets.

The beads don't seem to go together, but neither do the diseases go with those who suffer from them.

Yes,

"She laughs,"

and

"She smiles,"

suit her beautifully!

 

In spite of it all, she laughs and she smiles.

Here  is a list of the other participants. 

Enjoy your hop! Hop! Hop!

Lori Heather	Anderson Millican	www.PrettyThingsBlog.com (hostess) www.facebook.com/swoondimples (bead artist)
Candida	Castleberry	www.spunsugarbeadworks.blogspot.com
mischelle	andrade	https://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com
Paige	Maxim	http://delightfullittlegems.blogspot.com/
Laurie	Vyselaar	www.lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com
Marybeth	Rich	http://forestofjewels.blogspot.com/
Alice	Peterson	www.alice-dreaming.blogspot.com
Kim	Dworak	http://www.cianciblue.blogspot.com/
Audrey	Bélanger	http://esperianterra.blogspot.ca/
Karen	mitchell	www.overthemoon-design.com
Joan	Williams	www.lilrubyjewelry.com
Jean	Wells	jeanawells.blogspot.com
Ann	Schroeder	www.beadlove.wordpress.com
Gail	Accinelli	facebook.com/oregonmadejewelry
Tania	Spivey	www.moobiegracedesigns.blogspot.com
Mallory	Hoffman	http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com/
Mary K	McGraw	mkaymac.blogspot.com
Shai	Williams	www.shaihasramblings.com/
Beth	Emery	storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com
Catie	Doman	http://drcatie.blogspot.com
Lorelei	Eurto	Http://lorelei1141.blogspot.com
Lee	Koopman	www.stregajewellry.wordpress.com
Tammy	Adams	www.paisleylizard.com/blog/
Katie	Nelson	https://www.facebook.com/katiebead
Patty	Miller	http://pattymillerbeads.blogspot.com
Chris	Eisenberg	www.wanderware.blogspot.com
Cassi	Paslick	http://badatbeingmom.blogspot.com/
Charlee	Griffith	https://www.facebook.com/charlee.griffith
Kelli	Nelson	www.afamilyaffarekelli.blogspot.com
Catherine	King	http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com
Melissa	Trudinger	beadrecipes.wordpress.com
susan	Bowie	https://susanbowie.wordpress.com
Jennifer	Justman	www.soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Cassi	Paslick	http://badatbeingmom.blogspot.com/
K	Hutchinson	http://jumbledhutch.wordpress.com
Veralynne	Malone	www.veradesigns.blogspot.com
Evie and Beth	McCord	http://ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com/
Mihaela	Georgescu	http://michellemaya2005.wordpress.com
Rebecca	Anderso	Www.songbeads.blogspot.com
Charlene	jacka	www.clay-space.com
Kim	Stevens	www.pickingpoppies.blogspot.com
Susan	McClelland	Mistheword12.wordpress.com
Sally	Russick	www.sallyrussick.blogspot.com
Gina	Hockett	www.freestyleelements.blogspot.com
Mona	Arnott	bijouxgemsjoy.blogspot.ca
Sandi	Volpe	www.sandivolpe.com
Andrea	Glick	http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/
Janine	Lucas	http://www.esfera.me/travel/blog/travel-stories
Lori	Bowring Michaud	www.artfullyornamental.blogspot.com
Christie	Murrow	Www.charisdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com
B.R.	Kuhlman	www.mixedmayhemstudios.com
Lupe	Meter	www.gesmpccorner.blogspot.com
Lucy	Bejarano	www.lucybejaranojewelry.blogspot.com/
Stephanie	Perry	www.mustardbeadbystephanieperry.blogspot.com
Elisabeth	Auld	www.beadsforbusygals.com
Carolyn	Lawson	www.carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
Heather	Powers	www.humblebeads.blogspot.com
Katie	Hacker	www.katiehacker.blogspot.com
Kepi	Rasmussen	www.kepirasmussen.blogspot.ca
Gail	Vanderster-Zwang	www.angelmoose.blogspot.com
Elizabeth	Hodges	http://thewhisperingseas.blogspot.com/

Three Beautiful Things This Week + an announcement

Three Beautiful Things This Week was inspired by a wonderful blog that Three Beautiful Things. Everyday, Clare writes about 3 Beautiful Things that happen each day in her life. It's a wonderful blog! I can only hope to imitate her in a very small way.

1) As I write this blog, it's raining, and it's been raining all day!  I love a rainy day.  Helps me relax.  I'm also eating an ice cream sundae!  Best rainy day ever!

2) I made a few pieces of jewelry this week.  They were fun to make, and I'll show them off next week!

3)  It's fun to watch Pixie slurp up her ice cream.  She loves it!

The Art of Awareness blog hop is

Sunday.

Come back to see what I've made!

So many medical conditions are not visible.

People aren't aware of these conditions impact lives. 

Come back and check it out!

Be there or be square!

 

 

Story Starter: The Tentacle Groped...

A short while ago, I asked my Facebook 

friends to give me:

1) an article,

2) a noun,

and a 

3) verb.

This story starter comes from 

Sharon Peters

from

SmartAssGlass

I think you'll enjoy it.

The Tentacle Groped

by 

Mallory Hoffman

A tentacle groped at my hand.  I saw it slither back into the bowl where the little monster was kept.  We had decided that this thing was trying to show some affection, but we weren't sure.  He, we weren't sure about the gender, had a mouthful of teeth, and he proved that he could rip apart a hand in seconds.  We had tried to calm him down with drugs that would put a horse on death's door step, this thing, the drugs didn't touch him.  They seemed to give him energy.  He proved that he could walk through walls, but glass contained him.  Most of all, he seemed happy, we think. 

He seemed to be trying to communicate in some primitive way.  If he was happy, he would open his eyes very wide.  We thought they would pop out of his head.  He didn't have much of an opening for a mouth, but that little slit would open in what looked like a smile.  We just didn't know for sure.  If he was hungry, his tongue would come out and it would stick to the glass.  He would slide his tongue up to the top of his head, and then repeat the pattern.  We would give him some food.  If he liked it, the food would disappear through and opening on the top of his head.  That's when we first saw his teeth. 

The teeth were not razor sharp, we thought.  We thought he might be a creature who ate only plants.  We did find out, one night, when a frog decided to share the container with this tentacled creature, that the frog was delightful food for him.  The frog was captured by his tongue and placed on the top of his head.  It looked like the frog was in a blender.  Luckily, the suction of the dull teeth pureed the frog quickly.  Death was quick.  There was no blood to be found anywhere, and the attack lasted only a moment. 

When Peterson tried to pick up the critter, we didn't know what was going to happen.  Suddenly, the tentacle encased Peterson's hand, the critter's tongue came out, and Peterson's hand was on top of the critter's head. Bam!  Peterson's hand was now a stump, and the blood was pouring out on the lab table.  Peterson was screaming.  Nothing could be done.  His hand was gone.  It couldn't even be reattached.  After we saw that, we had new respect for that animal, or whatever you want to call it.

We don't know where the critter came from because legends form around these things.  All we know is that Sandy Brown, when he was about 4, found a critter like this in the woods.  He saw the critter was eating a rabbit.  Sandy said that the rabbit was gone in less than a second.  We came to believe this about the critter.  When it ate, it had no manners, and swallowed his food.
That was the time to capture them, if you could without loosing body parts. 

Oh, there was talk of flying saucers and creatures who lived underground, but no one had ever believed them until this thing was found.  It really smelled, too.  They didn't seem to grow.  We figured the one we had was full grown.  It seemed to glow in the dark, but it had to be really dark to see this.  We just didn't know.  There were more and more sightings of these things.  People were afraid to go into the woods.  Dogs and cats went missing now.  No one knew.

John Bob was the only one not afraid to sleep in the room with them.  Even if that thing got out of the container, John Bob figured he was quick enough to grab a gun and shoot the thing.  He told everyone that his eyes were always open when he was asleep.  He was going to sleep with this thing and take care of it.

An artist named Sharon had called our facility asking if she could come over and take pictures of the thing.  She made beads and stuff out of glass, and she wanted to make that thing into a glass bead.   The manager told her, "All right, but we're not responsible for what happens to you."  Sharon agreed.  We told her not to get to near the critter.  He started licking the glass wall and she took pictures.  Then, it's tentacle slithered across the glass until it touched Sharon's hand.  She tried to hold it's tentacle in her hand, but that critter pulled it's tentacle away.  Sharon was shocked.  I mean she was literally shocked.  The critter gave out an electrical charge that made Sharon's hair stand on end.  She handed her camera to Bill and said, "Take my picture. My hair will make a great bead!"  So, Bill took her picture.  Sharon was happy.  She reached in and tried to pet the critter.  The critter clung to the glass wall, then he slid his tentacle into Sharon's hand.  Sharon was ready this time.  She hauled off and slapped that critter in the face with his tentacle.  The creature was shocked by himself.  He didn't know what hit him.  He just sort of stared, then he curled up in a ball and died.  There wasn't much left of him after that.  The medical examiner wanted to do an autopsy, but all he found were little dried bones and organs.  The ME said the critter had died from a severe electrical shock. 

Now, people knew how to fight these critters!  When they would see them, they would grab their tentacles and hit them in the face.  The critters were going away.  We don't know if they were dying or just retreating.  A few people lost hands and arms when they didn't hit the critter the right way, but they could no longer terrorize the people. 

Sharon has gone on into the history books as the conqueror of these nasty bugs.  We did decide they were both animal and bug.  Now, if we see them, we just slap them with there tentacle.  Sharon went on to make many of these creatures into beads.  One day she decided to make a bead using the cremains of this creature.  When she pulled the bead out of the kiln, she noticed the eyes.  They were blinking.  We still don't know what happened, but when the sheriff went to check on her, they found a bead that looked just like Sharon.  It was still on the mandrel.  Then the sheriff found another bead.  It looked like it had been broken from the inside out.  The footsteps near the bead were big.  Sharon was never found, but out in the woods, stories of creatures were being told again, but no one saw Sharon.  There was a rumor of some one who made beads that turned into these creatures, but, we’ll never know, will we?  Or, will we?
 

Back to Beads! How Pixie and I see view life and beads.

It's where we find inspiration  that's important.

This is a dog toy that Pixie never enjoyed.

Truthfully,
she's never enjoyed any toys.
In her practical mind,
she doesn't see a purpose for them,
so,
she doesn't enjoy them.

I've kept this toy around for years.
When my feet ache,
I roll my feet over this toy,
and,
they feel better.

When I have a knot in my back,
I stand up against the wall,
and move the ball against my back.
The knot goes away.

I've used this toy for anything but inspiration.

Now, I want to show you how this toy went from inspiration to a great big bead made from polymer clay!

I call it a bubble bead.

Isn't this fun?
The bead is about 1 3/4" across and around.
 It's just a wee bit smaller than the toy.

I strung the bead on a chain.

Needless to say,
I
LOVE
IT!!!

Here's another view.

Isn't it great that we can take ordinary things such as
pet toys
and turn them into jewelry that's fun?

As for Pixie,
she finds about as much interest and inspiration
in my bead...

As she has ever found in her toys.

We seem to see life so differently!

I see beads,

and

she just wonders why

she should be interested

in a

toy!