John F. Kennedy

Gilda Radner

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) I am thrilled when I find new things in a photo I snapped.  For example,

look at the darker flowers in the photo, the ones that are not open.  They remind me of koi swimming in a pond.  It looks like the fish are headed into a patch of deep weeds.

What a different story they tell than if they were only beautiful flowers.

2)  A friend called me today to see if I wanted one of her
"Little Boy Planters."

I was thrilled!  I've wanted one for a long time, but I didn't know she was selling them.  Even nicer, she gave it to me!!!!

3) I had a wonderful lunch with Sister Alene today!  We enjoyed ourselves.  We had a long conversation.  She told me some very interesting things about her life.  (She's going to be 90 soon.  Still active as can be!)  I asked her if she had ever regretted becoming a nun, she said that she had always wanted to be a nun, and her life just gets better and better every year.

30 Words Thursday: In the Woman Cave

So, the gentleman who trimmed the trees asked,

"What do you do in the woman cave?"

I replied, "Drink wine and do crafts, but mostly, we craft."

He didn't understand.

From Erin's Blog

Treasures Found:: Inspiration is Everywhere

The premise of 30 Words Thursdays is simple...
Take an image (preferably one you shot, or have permission to use).
Write 30 Words about it. No more. No less.
Post it each Thursday.
Add your link to the InLinkz on my 30 Words Thursday post. 
(InLinkz code will be open for one week.) 
Enjoy seeing the verse and vision others have captured by visiting them and leaving a comment. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It Started out as a way to clean out my beads, summer of the Bracelet, and Rosary Bracelets

When you begin to realize that you have

WAY.

TOO.

MUCH.

STUFF,

(and I did realize this a long time ago,)

and you realize that you have to get rid of said 

STUFF,

you look for, or, at least, I did,

ways to be creative when eliminating 

STUFF 

from your stash.

So began

PROJECT CLEAN OUT THE BEADS.

You'll never hear me say this in public, but I really don't want to get rid of my beads.

I'd much rather turn said beads into something new, thus repurposing the beads and giving away the results.

So, my second project in my destash efforts is to make

ROSARY BRACELETS

using only the supplies I have on hand.

So far,

I have made 42 

5 decade rosary bracelets, and they have been given to church where people are able to take them for

FREE.

I've also been asked to make 5

one decade Rosary bracelets to be 

given away

at our upcoming 

TASTE OF THE PARISH

this coming Sunday.

I'm happy about this,

but the problem is that I still have 

way too many beads.

I guess I'll be making 

ROSARY BRACELETS

for a while, 

but,

that's okay.

With enough 

ROSARY BRACELETS

to be used by an army of women praying,

I absolutely believe that 

things will improve in our world.

Here's to that Army as they pray through their day!

What Better Way to Start the Week Than With

Pixie Cuteness Day!!!!

 

 

No matter where or when, Pixie is always tired!

Isn't she sweet?

Pixie cuteness day!

Happy Father's Day!

Acts of Love

What else can you add to this list?

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) I enjoyed a trip to a small town, about a half and hour away from here.  It was so pretty and quiet.

2) Summer is here!  How nice is that?

3) Pixie sure enjoys our rides in the car together.  She settles into her hammock, puts her head on the pillow, and simply fades into sleep!

30 Word Thursday: Angel Footsteps

I stood beneath this ancient tree,

Where others stood before,

Footsteps melted in the shade,

Soft bits of light they bore.

Angels dear had visited here.

From Erin's Blog

Treasures Found Inspiration is Everywhere

The premise of 30 Words Thursdays is simple...
Take an image (preferably one you shot, or have permission to use).
Write 30 Words about it. No more. No less.
Post it each Thursday.
Add your link to the InLinkz on my 30 Words Thursday post. 
(InLinkz code will be open for one week.) 
Enjoy seeing the verse and vision others have captured by visiting them and leaving a comment.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Come join the fun!

Worth Revisiting: 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.

 

Look to the left!

 

 

 

 

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.

Since we are revisiting, I'm just going to say

CLICK HERE

for the rest of the tutorial.

 

These earrings are really fun to make.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the tutorial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do You Doodle?

Apparently, I do doodle.

I hadn't realized that I doodle until I saw this envelope.

I used the envelope to write down information, but I also made some geometric scratchings.

Researchers are still torn on the positive effects of doodling, if any.

Some researchers say that doodling helps people stay focused, grasp new information, and that doodling helps them to retain what they have learned.

That makes sense to me.

I was getting information from a phone call when I doodled on this envelope.

I remembered the information without much effort.

My doodling isn't the work of art that many other people manage to make.

My doodles look more like a disembodied caterpillar trying work it's way out of old skin into new or black and white colors and shapes.

There's nothing great about my doodles, but, if doodling helps my brain to stay functional and active, then, by golly, we are doing good!

So, I'll ask you again,

do you doodle?

Easy Peasy There is no Way You could get This Memory Wire Bracelet Tutorial Wrong

The best thing about this tutorial is that there is absolutely no way you can make this bracelet the wrong way.

That's how easy it is.

What do you need?
 

Memory Wire, 

I used 4 loops.

Memory Wire cutters.  ++

A stash of beads

Optional:

Bits of lace or fabric

thread

round nose pliers

++If you use your jewelry cutters to cut memory wire, you will damage your  cutters.

To make the Fabric Beads

Cut a small length of lace, denim or other fabric.  (1.5 inches or so)

Pinch the fabric together in the most pleasing way.

Tie with the thread or yarn you have chosen.

Trim the yarn or thread.

To make this no fail bracelet.

Using your round nose pliers,  make a look on one edge of the memory wire.   This will stop the beads from going on one way and falling off the other end of the memory wire.

If you like, make a few of the fabric beads to use.

If you don't want to do that, you don't have to make fabric beads.

Begin adding beads to the memory wire from your bead stash.

When you reach the end of the wire, make a loop at the end of the wire that does not have a loop.

Wear your new, easy peasy You can't do this wrong bracelet.  

You're going to love it!

 

Norman Vincent Peale

Spread Love

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) Even rainy days can be beautiful.

I love looking at the ravine on a rainy day.  The leaves are heavy with water.  The rain drops dance off of them.  Gorgeous!

2) Made quite a haul at the thrift shop today.  Beads galore in the jewelry I bought!

3) I found a cake pop machine, brand new, never used, at the other thrift shop.  I can hardly wait to try it out!

30 Word Thursday: I Carry You

Rather than wearing my love on my sleeve,

I carry you in my heart. 

No one need know.

Only I will know,

That I carry you always in my heart.  

Taken from Erin's blog

Treasures Found: Inspiration is Everywhere,

The premise of 30 Words Thursdays is simple...

Take an image (preferably one you shot, or have permission to use).
Write 30 Words about it. No more. No less.
Post it each Thursday.
Add your link to the InLinkz on my 30 Words Thursday post. 
(InLinkz code will be open for one week.) 
Enjoy seeing the verse and vision others have captured by visiting them and leaving a comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Worth Repeating:: 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) There was one absolutely perfect day this week, and that was yesterday!  The weather was beautiful.  There was no rain and no storms.  Peace was palpable.  Wow!  It was a good day.

2) I love to see the looks on people's faces when Pixie is doing her therapy dog work.  They look at her with such love.  I even heard two nurses talking about her.  The said that she was the best dog ever!!!!!  If only she knew!!

3) I spent a day in bed this week.  Even though I was sick, it was nice to just lay around and rest. 

SeaScapes - Polymer Clay

It's even deeper where the whale is diving.

Yet, where these plants grow is a 

Matter of Tide.

I don't mean the laundry detergent, either!

I've had a craving for the ocean.  

Since we only have fresh water lakes in 

Minnesota,

I had to make my own little corners of the sea out of polymer clay.  

I think I like these.

When I finished making this seascape,

I was covered in glitter.

Lesson learned!

Only use glitter in limited amounts in the seascapes,

no matter how much you want them to sparkle!

I did try to get the bubbles in place, too, but I think I over used the bubbles by a bit!

Can you find that naughty little eel hiding in the leaves?

He only pops his head out to greet newcomers to his home.

What should I name him?

I was thinking

Albert?

Call him Al for short?

Hmmmmmmmmm!

I don't know.

What do you think?

You're in manta territory now.

This manta reminds me of a bird flying in the air above the sea scape.

I don't know what to name him either.

He's very muscular, but he's thin.

What do you think we should name him?

In the end, what I want to do is make pendants using these ideas.  

Even though these aren't true tide pools,

I like them!

Why Am I Still Blogging?

Truth is, I don't know.  I think the simple fact is that I like to write.  Not that many people read my blog. I see the stats.  Not many people PIN stories from my blog, but there are more than I thought.  I won't moneytize my blog.  Not many people make money from blogging.  Few can quit their day jobs only too blog.  

I started this blog to promote my beads and my Etsy store.  Life on the web, of course, has been turned upside down since Etsy blatantly allowed resellers to sell their "handmade" products made in other countries and shipped here for sales on Etsy, even though Etsy still denies this ever happened.

I'm not sure what happened since they have gone public.  I image that the importers are still making a lot of money for themselves and for Etsy.  I know that Etsy appreciates this.  My Etsy store has become almost non-existent.  

I've added a lot of polymer clay items to my store.  There is not a lot of appreciation for polymer clay, but I wish there were.  I'm thinking of handmade tools for the store, but I haven't gotten there yet.  

So much to see and do.  

Wrist surgery makes it difficult for me to turn a mandrel, so I haven't been making glass beads.  Facebook has some wonderful  venues for selling glass beads, but so little for clay.  Yes, Whine!  Whine! Whine!  Not really, just the facts.  

So, why am I still blogging?  I don't know.  I like to write.  The blog is mine so I can say anything I want on this blog.  Do you blog?  Why do you blog?  Maybe I'll find some incentive by listening to you.  I don't think I can answer that question right now.  Hmmmmmmmm!

Each Day...

Be Nice

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) We've had lots of rain this week.  Our part of the state is no longer in a drought!  That's always good news!

2) The trees are an emerald green, and buds are bursting forth into flowers.  Love this time of year before it gets too hot.

3) Our state bird, though not our official bird, is not flying around yet.  It's a saying in Minnesota that our state bird is really the mosquito!  With all this rain, I'm wondering when the first bite will come,

30 Word Thursday: My New Skirt

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

Dr. Suess

(This doesn't count as part of my 

30 words.   I just like this quote."

Found it at the thrift store, I did.

Very lucky was I. 

Other people will roll their eyes

 They'll say:

"How could she? She's so old."

I reply,

"Not in my heart."

From Erin's Blog:

Treasures Found:: Inspiration is Everywhere

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The premise of 30 Words Thursdays is simple...
Take an image (preferably one you shot, or have permission to use).
Write 30 Words about it. No more. No less.
Post it each Thursday.
Add your link to the InLinkz on my 30 Words Thursday post. 
(InLinkz code will be open for one week.) 
Enjoy seeing the verse and vision others have captured by visiting them and leaving a comment. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

30 Words Thursday: Grab an image (preferably one you shot or one you have permission to use). Write exactly 30 Words (no more, no less). Post it.

If you would like to participate in the 30 Words Thursday with me, please add your link below.

Worth Repeating:: Every Little Girl Likes to Dress Up

When I was little, I remember going into my mother's jewelry box and dressing up with her fancy jewelry. Not being a rich woman, my mother didn't have jewelry that cost a lot of money. She bought her jewelry at Woolworth's. She needed jewelry that looked expensive but wasn't, as a part of her work wardrobe. I adopted that philosophy as I grew up. I was always on the lookout for jewelry that was not expensive, but had the look of fine jewelry. After all, I had to watch my budget as a high school student, a college student, and a young wife with a husband who had to finish college. I shopped at Woolworth's, Salvation Army, Goodwill Stores, and garage sales. I found many beautiful items in these places. They had the look of fine jewelry, but were very inexpensive to buy. My husband gave me my first diamonds for our tenth anniversary. He gave me my first real pearl when we were dating. Other than that, I did not own, and still do not own, any jewelry that I would call fine jewelry. A former boss of mine commented on one piece that I was wearing one day. It was the result of some intense garage sale shopping. I still remember him looking at my little pendant and saying, "Your husband must really love you to give you that piece of jewelry." He was right, but what he didn't know was that it had cost me 10 cents at a garage sale.
I have gone in and out of jewelry and wearing it for many years now. There were times when I wore no jewelry except for my wedding ring. There were days when it was hard to lift my head because my earrings were so long and my necklace was so chunky and heavy, that they added significant weight to my person. Now, many years later, with grown children, I find that some days I do, and some days I don't. And now that I have so many beautiful pieces to wear, I find it's hard to decide which item to use on any given day.
Now, my jewelry consists mostly of pendants, bracelets, and necklaces that are made up of glass beads. These beads are called lampwork beads. I started to make my lampwork beads almost two years ago. Whereas some lampworkers begin to sell their beads and jewelry almost immediately, I have only just begun. Until now, I have not felt that the quality of my work has been good enough to sell, but now, I have developed more confidence in my own work.
I rarely wear any of my own pieces, and people tell me I should. However, I have bought and been given so many wonderful pieces of jewelry and lampwork beads, that I have no reason to wear my own work. The beads and jewelry that I have purchased and been given are so beautiful that , in all honesty, I would rather wear those works of art than my own.
In future blogs, I will show you some of my wonderful pieces of art! I will also show some of my own lampwork beads. I hope you enjoy reading about beads and my love for beads.

Pixie Cuteness Day!

Pixie did not want to get out of the car yesterday.

She wanted to lay on her pillows instead.

Luckily, I didn't need much, so we were all right.  

Pixie Cuteness Day!

Monday, June 1, 2015: Let's make a Smiley Face Coin or Bead:: Easy Peasy Polymer Clay Tutorial

It's Monday,

June 1, 2015!

Can you believe it?

So, 

Yes, I know it's Monday.

No sense in not being happy!

Make the best of it.

Make yourself a smiley face 

bead

or 

coin.

The coins are good for scrapbooking!

Here's how we do it!

You'll need to make a simple tool for the smile.  (I used a plastic bottle.)

Cut a small piece of plastic about 1/4" x 1/2".

You should taylor this to your bead.   The tool might be slightly bigger or smaller.

Bend the plastic in the middle to form your plastic.

Condition your clay.

I make the assumption you know how to do this.  If not, google.

I used about 1/4 block of clay.

You can use even smaller scraps.  I got 2 coins and 2 beads out of this clay.

\

 I divided the clay into 4 pieces.  They weren't all equal sized, but that's okay.

Flatten your clay into a circle.

If you want to a bead, make the clay a little thicker so you can poke a hole in the clay,

as illustrated in the photo.

to make a coin, simply flatten the clay a bit and don't poke a hole.

You can use whatever you have on hand to make a hole.

I used a needle tool.

 Using your needle tool or whatever you have on hand, poke two holes for eyes.

They should not go all the way through the clay.

The back of the clay should have no holes.

Use your homemade plastic tool and press it into the clay for the smile.

Bake the clay according to manufacturer's directions.

Let cool.

There you have it!

Easy Peasy Tutorial for a smiley face.

Happy Monday!