Bazinga! Sheldon Won!

Lorelei Eurto Awesome Jewelry Designer on Etsy

I love Lorelei's work! She is awesome designer. One peek into her store will show you what an amazing jewelry designer she is! Lorelei is innovative.
She is a leader in designs. Her work is trendy and modern. Lorelei's Etsy shop is called Lorelei1141.

Now, since I am writing this post two days before publication, remember that the photos you see might become photos of products that have been sold in these two days. Don't let this stop you. Just continue to peruse her store for more distinct jewelry!

This beautiful work of wearable art
---------------------------------->
is called Bamboo Delight. I love the bold simplicity of this piece! Wouldn't this be great to wear to work or for an evening out? It would transition from day to night without a problem This is the kind of jewelry you buy, then you buy the clothes to wear with it! Amazing!











This piece of wearable art is called NOW LISTEN. I honestly think that this is one of the most romantic pieces of jewelry I have seen in a long time! Lorelei takes supposedly unrelated pieces of wire, beads, shells, and pendants, and turns these components into gorgeous works of art! I love this necklace, and if you are quick enough, you will be able to find it at a bargain price!


















Lorelei takes components such as these egg beads made by Kelley of Kelley's Beads on Etsy, and turns them into a more delightful treasure by attaching them to wire to make a wonderful bracelet! Lorelei has the ability to see outside the box and make treasures to wear.


There is so much more to see in Lorelei's shop, but you have to be quick! She updates regularly, but don't wait too long to make your purchase because what you have seen in her store might be gone very quickly! I wish you luck in this treasure hunt!

Remembering Spike

It's been one year today since he raced over to the Rainbow Bridge to wait for his family. He lived longer than he was expected to live. Spike was 13. He stayed with me to protect me for so long. He loved his family so much. I still miss him. We both knew it was time. He went to the Rainbow Bridge quietly and peacefully. I still miss my Spike, the eternal puppy.

Spike you were a good dog. We loved you and still love you today. Pixie is here with me now, and I love her very much. I can't help but think you helped to guide her journey here. Thanks, Spikie. You will always be in our hearts. Sleep well, my most loved dog, sleep well.

A great teaching lesson! Dolphin Parenting!

Three Beautiful Things This Week

Three Beautiful Things This Week was inspired by a wonderful blog that Clare writes called 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) Jenny's test results were very good again this week! That is so good! She seems to be doing well. It's easier to breathe.

2) Both of the kids were home last weekend! We had a great time together. Pixie and the kitties got along just fine. We all really enjoyed each other!

3) The weather has been great this week! We've had warm days and cool nights. There has been a light taste of fall in the air. I'm ready for fall. It's time for the seasons to change!

Thank You, Blogger!

Thank you for the Spam Filter! I am so tired of the comments that don't belong!

Thank you!

We were Young Then

This old photo was taken at my mother's house when I was 23. Dan was 25. We were young and in love. We didn't know what the future held for us. We only knew we wanted to share it together.

We didn't know the words "multiple myeloma." We wouldn't hear those words until we had been married for 33 years. Our lives were never the same after that.

Dan fought the hard fight, but in the end, he lost his battle with that disease.

Six years ago, exactly one year and twenty days after diagnosis, Dan body could no longer fight the disease and on August 25 he died. The neighbors reported seeing a huge hawk flying over our home at 8:30 AM. Dan died at 8:30 AM.

We miss you, Dan! You are now with the ancients. Be happy and wait for all of us to join you some day. In the meantime, we are living our lives to the fullest, so be happy for that! You will never be forgotten.

More of the Upcycled Thrift Store Finds

This necklace has a funky look! I used ceramic spacers, chain, coiled wire and a toggle clasp!

So little makes a big difference!

I like these earrings, but they have one design flaw, and until I can figure out how to fix it and still get the same look, they won't be for sale. I do like these earrings, though.

I really love this necklace! I strung it on nylon cording! It's so pretty! I added ceramic spacers and my discs. I love the end result. This necklace is surprisingly light weight! It's a fun one to wear!

This is my favorite necklace. I used crystals and glass beads that I purchased. It is so pretty!
I think it's my favorite to date!
More to come later, but, for now,
back to our regularly scheduled programing!

Thrift Store Finds - Here they are now!

No, I haven't finished using all the beads yet, but here's a good start on what I did accomplish today!
Necklace #1!

I like this one, too!
It's necklace #2.

Necklace #3!

I love this chunky bracelet!
More from my finds!
Bracelet #1.

I like this bracelet, too! It's simple and funky!
Look for more redo's later.
I hope to have these listed in my Etsy store within the next couple of days!

This Is How I Make Sugar Beads - Easy Peasy!

To me, the most time consuming part of making sugar beads is the prep work.
If' you've already done your prep work, it will be even easier.
#1: I cut up my clear shorts to make my frit.

This is my handy dandy home made frit maker that was put together by Dave Mutch at Mutch Hardware in lower North Mankato.
Thanks, Sandy and Dave.
The hammer is there so apply more force to the crusher when I use it.
There are other ways to make frit.
You can even buy the frit!
It's your choice.

You need some type of frit sorter. I used to use a kitchen sink strainer.
One of my glassy friends sent me his home made frit sorter years ago.
It has 4 levels of frit.
I use it all the time.

In the end, I had two sizes of frit to use.
The larger frit is about a size 1.
The smaller frit is about a size 0.

I chose the size 0. I've tried it with the larger size, but the "sugar" doesn't look like sugar to me. It's your choice.

Begin by making a donut shaped bead in a transparent color.
I chose a beautiful green I had in my "shorts" box.
Heat it until it glows red.
At this point you will want to roll it in your frit.

Do not press hard. You want some resistance from the glass.
Gently roll your warm bead in your frit.
If you roll too hard, your bead will become misshapen.

This is what the bead looks like after rolling it in the frit.
Sometimes, I'll roll the bead in frit,
reheat the bead and melt the first batch of frit in completely before I roll the bead in frit again.
That's up to you.
When you are satisfied with the amount of frit on your bead,
Gently introduce the bead into the flame.
Do NOT melt the frit in completely.
Just waft the bead in and out of the flame.
Anneal your bead.

It's not the best photo, but here are two sugar beads.
Like I said, easy peasy!

What's Happening With Those Shorts?

I forgot to take group photos of these two sets of beads.
Ooops!

By my count, I have made 104 beads + one batch of murrini
just using my shorts!

I still have over half of the shorts left!
Wow!

It's amazing how much glass there is!

Some of these beads are in my Etsy store, too!

Because I'm still playing catch up at home, I've only been
torching about an hour to an hour and a half a day!

Look at all these beads!

Some are just playing!
Some are good.
Some are not so good!

I always make 2 butterflies for Beads of Courage
each time I torch.
They add up quickly.

Don't tell Nikki, but I copied her sheep!
More beads next week.
I still have a lot of glass to use!

Three Beautiful Things This Week

Three Beautiful Things This Week was inspired by a wonderful blog that Clare writes called 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. The hot weather finally passed! We've had 3 beautiful days of perfect summer weather. The days have been warm and the nights have been cool! This is great sleeping weather!
A touch of fall is in the air.

2. The carpets were cleaned. The pantry and the refrigerator are cleaned. We are all beginning to adjust to our "new normal."

3. A couple of Jenny's tests for the week were down a bit, but that's to be expected at this point.
I am so thankful that she is still doing so well! Her sense of humor and refusal to back down are so apparent now. She's an amazing young woman!

Thrift Store Finds

I went thrift store shopping tonight. Look what I found.

I plan to repurpose the beads once I take the jewelry apart.

Everything was half price! Guess how much I spent?

Give up?
Scroll down for the answer.










$4.83
I think I did good!

Another fantastic Etsy store - Mermaid Glass

If you haven't visited Mermaid Glass on Etsy, you are really missing an opportunity to see some beautiful glass! I have admired Laurie's work for a long time. Once you make a trip to her store, I think you're going to agree with me!



These gorgeous Fairy Flowers caught my eye immediately! Laurie has some gorgeous pieces of wearable arts like these flowers in her store! These fall colors would go well with so many different pieces of jewelry at this time of year! Wow!




Laurie calls these beads "Organic Essentials."

I like Laurie's description of these beads. Her words are better than mine.

The Organic Essentials are those beads that can be used in a hundred different ways and that you should always keep on hand. They can be worn alone or combined with other beads, put into virtually any design. String them all up together to make a necklace, stack them for earrings, dangle them for charms.


Aren't they great?










Look what else I found! Isn't this little skunk adorable? Laurie has more sculptural items in her store. They are all just as sweet, too!








Make sure you make a nice, long visit to Mermaid Glass. There is a lot to see!

Signs of Fall

The signs of fall are starting to appear.

The roses are forming rose hips.



























The garden are mature! Look at this tomato plant!
Soon it will be time to harvest those delicious tomatoes.


















More pods! The milkweed plant, which when in bloom attracts butterflies, is mature. Look at those gorgeous pods!

























The brown eyed Susans are blooming. I love these flowers!














The evergreens have pods, too!

Fall will soon be here!

Pixie's Activia Challenge

It might be hard to believe, but Pixie has a problem with gas. In terms of bad, she could be a a weapon of mass destruction. Enter the commercial for Activia. I started Pixie on the Activia challenge! Guess what! It works. Whereas Pixie used to have silent but deadly gas, she now has loud but non deadly gas. I am pleased. Pixie could be a commercial for Activia!

Shopping Etsy - Lucious

Since the new word for the Play on Words Lampwork Challenge is lucious, and since I needed some inspiration, I decided to search Etsy to see what I could find that matched that word. Oh, was I happy to do this! Here are some of the things I found.







Here are Lucious Lemon Cake Truffles which I found in Lollidreams' store. They truly do look "lucious!"


















Look at this French Lavender Lucious Soap Bar! My Bead Creations makes this soap. Be sure to check out her store! It looks great!













How about this Reclaimed Lucious Angora Yarn Berry Pink? Wow! That is some beautiful yarn! I found it in Sentimental Valu's store! It really is lucious!

Now, I feel more inspired for this upcoming challenge! Lucious! Lucious! I'm ready to take it on!