Have You Checked Out the Jenny's Picks Section of My Etsy Store?

I have a section in my Etsy Store called

Jenny's Picks.

This section is full of items that are ready to wear.

The proceeds from this section go to Jenny to help her with her medical expenses.

(Those expenses still really mount up after a while, in spite of good insurance.)

I am trying to add 1-2 items a week.

Well, rather than talk about it, let me show you some of the items.

It's an eclectic mix with items that might please the oldies but goodies like me and the younger fashionistas!

 

I really love this vessel! 

 

 If you like cats, this little tuxedo might be just for you!

Here's the link!

Here's a fun bangle bracelet.  I have a similar one, and the movement in it is great!

Here's the link.

I love this polymer heart!  It's my favorite EVER!

Here's the link.

Here's for us oldies but goodies.  It's an Infinity Scarf that I made using my lucet.

Here's the link.

Of course, there are more items.  Check them out.  You might find something you like for you or someone else.

All the funds in this section go to Jenny!

It's leap year. Let's have some fun!

Happy Leap Year!  It's the 29th of February in the year 2012.  

In celebration of this day, let's have some fun.

Using these six words as prompts,
write a very short story.  Let your ideas flow.  The story can be funny, sad, or simply wild.  Let's see what you can do.

telephone, doctor, necklace, bridesmaid,
deck of cards, angel

I have enabled anonymous comments, so don't be embarrassed to post your ideas.  Just have fun!  What will your story say?

Sara Sally LaGrand - Artist Extraordinaire!

Rich.  Earthy.  Organic.  Filled with Life.

Sara's art.

The places to find Sara are listed at the bottom of this post.

My goal is to show case her amazing art so that you will have the distinct privilege of seeing these masterpieces without distraction.

No comments are needed except to say,

WOW!

Let's begin.

Bernadette, a brooch about a deep thinker.

Lisa, a brooch about a modern woman.

Sara featured this amazing sculpture in her blog!

 

Copper Ribbons

bottecelli

Eggo's Eyes

Sara Sally LaGrand

Artist Extraordinaire!

Places to find Sara Sally

Etsy

Pretty Babies

Blog

This Old Rocking Chair

I heard the story, the other day, that a Facebook friend knew a man whose wife was having a baby very soon.  She wanted to hire a "Night Sitter" so that they could sleep through the night while the "night sitter" got up and took care of the baby.  She was stunned.  So were a lot of us to hear this.  It wasn't that the mom was working and needed the help.  She was planning on staying home with the baby.  Of course, dad would continue to work.  Nevertheless, how many of our husbands would get up and help us with our babies at night?  The couple had family in town who was willing and able to help.  The mother to be simply wanted one because many of her friends either had one or had had one when their babies were born.  The man was complaining because the cost of such a sitter was $1000 per week!  (If only I had earned that much as a teacher to take care of other people's children day after day after day!)

Then I looked at the rocking chair.  It's almost 35 years old.  We  bought it right before Jenny was born.  We shined it up and put it in the living room.  Jenny was a good baby, but she managed to get her days and nights mixed up.  She was so sweet and mellow at night, you couldn't help but enjoy her.  Nick on the other hand was all boy from the day he was born.  He would sleep for 20 minutes at a time, wake up to be fed and stay awake for 2 hours!  That was his schedule.  He was just a happy, bouncing baby boy. 

I don't remember the number of hours I spent in this chair with my babies.  We'd be awake when everyone else in the neighborhood was asleep.  The soft glow of the night light in the living room, lit my way to the chair with the baby.  We'd rock and talk.  We'd rock and play.  We'd rock and look at the world around us.  We discovered our hands.  We held fingers.  We'd smile at each other.  Hours upon hours were spent in that chair.

When the kids grew a bit older and they'd get sick, we'd often find ourselves together in the rocking chair even during the dark hours of the night.  I'd rub aching tummies and sooth feverish brows with a cool wash cloth.  We'd take temperatures.  We'd drink the normally forbidden glass of pop that did help to sooth the aching tummies.  We'd count chicken pox blisters.  Once in a while, we'd even turn on the TV softly and watch until we went to sleep. 

There was no night sitter and no family close enough to help.  We did this, and it was very hard at times, especially when I was exhausted or sick, too!  The reality is that, in spite of the difficulties of being awake when you didn't want to be awake, I would never trade this special time with my children.  This is time that can never be replaced or lived again.  I feel blessed to have had this time.  I thank God for it! 

My children are grown now.  There is no more cuddle time in the rocking chair.  When their children are born, I am hoping that one of them will take it to their home to rock and care for their children.  We'll see.  Maybe they will have a special chair of their own.  However, no one or event can take that time from me!
I was blessed!

I Heart Macro! I'm feeling a bit EDGY!

Some edges are soft and sharp and round.

Some edges show you where the wall paper is starting to peel a bit.

Some edges show you where they don't meet.

Some edges show you where you need to dust.

Some edges are odd shaped no matter how you look at them.

Some edges look pretty together.

Some edges are just great looking!

I heart macro!!

The sign up for a bead giveaway of 1 pound of my handmade lampwork beads is 

HERE!

The winner will announced March 1!

Hopefully, I won't forget!!!

It's Been a Long Time. How about a Blog Give Away? Time to spring clean!

I have a pound of my handmade lampwork beads to give away.

Included in the pile are 5 focal beads.

There's nothing wrong with the beads.

Some were experiments.  Some didn't find a new home.  Some were not suited for Beads of Courage.

So, I have a pound of beads to give away.

 I will post the winner on this blog on March 1.

How do you enter?

Easy Peasey!  Simple leave a comment here on this blog.

Be sure to leave an email address so that I will have a way to contact you.

I plan to use a random number generator to choose a winner.

So, feel free!

Comment.

One comment per person, please!

Thanks!d

Three Beautiful Things This WeekThree 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.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.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.

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) I am so enjoying my online class with Kim Klassen!   I am finally learning how to use Elements.  I've owned it for almost a year now, and I've been so afraid to use it.  Now, I can do some very basic things with Elements!  I can hardly wait to be able to play more.  Thank you, Pam Brisse, for sending me all those links, multiple times for this class!!!

2) My podiatrist is absolutely heartless, but thank goodness!!!!  My feet will heal with a lot of hard work.  Thank goodness for his "tough love."  I have a lot of hard work to do, but I think it's already helping!!

3) I think I'm finally getting well.  I've actually stayed dressed all day and moved around all day.  I didn't get a lot done, but I did get a couple of things done.  There is hope!  Things are good!

Barbara Lewis Is Giving Away a Free ECourse!!!

Online Painting With Fire ECourse!!!

Check out her link here!

The link will take you to Barbara's Studio Tour, too.

I sure hope I win!

I needed a picture, so I'm just showing off my bead!!!

The Birth of New Beads and Beads of Courage

As you know,

Beads of Courage 

is an organization that means a lot to me.

I am planning to make more beads for Beads of Courage.

In the meantime, I have found that there are so many rewards!

One is hearing from parents and children who have been a part of the Beads of Courage Program.

That doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's very rewarding!

Another thing that happens,

and is extremely rewarding,

is that as I play and make beads for Beads of Courage,

new beads are often born.

That happened this month.

New beads were born.

I did send them in the last box, but here's a picture.

I plan to make more of them for my Etsy store.

So, what do you think?

I think they're fun!

Thank you,

Beads of Courage!

Beads of Courage Bead Cracked! Shoot!

Beads of Courage is in need of big beads 

for their Acts of Courage Beads.

I have been making beads for Beads of Courage this month.

Today, I put together a box of beads for BOC including a lot of BIG BEADS!

As I was packing the box to mail,

I found it!

See?

The fish bead cracked!

Well, that's disappointing.

I guess this one will go into my work area for inspiration.

Oh, if you make beads for Beads of Courage,

send me some photos, and I'll post them in my blog.

It would be fun to do a post on this!

Easy Peasy Wire Earrings with Posts Tutorial

Generally, when I wear earrings, I prefer to wear earrings that hang on wires.

Sometimes, the design of an earring doesn't lend itself to a wire.

Here's an example.

These earrings work well with posts instead of wires.

Now here's how you make them.

I can make a pair in about 10 minutes after I organize my supplies.

You need these tools:  a ruler, wire cutters, round nose pliers, and (not shown) a file or an emery board to smooth the edges.

I used both 18 gauge wire to make the earrings.  I also used 20 gauge wire, but I liked the 18 gauge better.

 

 Cut 2 pieces of wire 4 1/4 inches long.

File the ends smooth and make one loop at the end of each wire.

Line your round nose pliers next to the wire. 

Bend the wire up at this point on each wire.

This is what your wire should look like.

Again, line your round nose pliers up next to the wire.

Make a bend in each wire.

This is what your wire should look like.  Continue lining up the round nose pliers next to the last bend.

Make another bend.

The following pictures are what your wire should look like as you continue to make bends.

Keep bending that wire!

When your wire looks like this, you stop bending.

Make sure your last bends in the wire are the same length.  If not trim the wire and smooth with your file.

Line up your round nose pliers with the first bend and bend the end of the wire up.

This is what your earrings look like at this point.

Bend the wires up.

Your earrings are finished!!!!

Add earring backs, and you are done!

See, didn't I tell you, they were easy?

Enjoy your new earrings!!!

My Meditaion Charm Bracelet

Taking the time to

pause and lift our minds beyond ourselves,

sometimes called meditation, prayer, being one with the universe,

has been proven, scientifically, 

to heal, rest, improve

our minds and bodies.

Finding the time, however, can be challenging.

Today, I made the first step towards making time in my day to take a mini vacation without leaving.

I made a "Meditation Bracelet."

 Each bead in this bracelet has a special meaning to me.

When I touch it, I stop.  I pause.  I get away from it all.

I'll share some of the bead meanings with you.

The heart helps me to remember that I am loved by God.

The rosebuds are my children who are the loves of my life!

 

The pearl charm reminds me of those precious, few trips to the ocean where the waves crash on the shore and the ocean sings.

The striped bead reminds me of the time we took a trip to the zoo and a HUGE tiger walked over to the glass, looked at me, and licked it's lips!

(The tiger was huge!  I was an adult when this happened!  It's not a childhood memory!)

What else could the cupcake mean?  I love cupcakes!!!

From this angle it's hard to tell, but it's a bird.

Why a bird?  Believe it or not, there was a time in my life, I wished that I could be a bird.

Do you ever make jewelry with a meaning?

Tell me about it!

I Heart Macro! Silk Flowers I have Known

I Heart Macro!

It's still too cold for flowers here,

so,

I went around the house taking pictures of the silk flowers here.

I'm so ready for spring!!!

 

I Heart Macro!!!