A Blog Break

As you've noticed, I haven't posted anything for too many days. I think I need a break. My two oldest kids start school next week and I've been so busy trying to get their lives organized that there just hasn't been much time for beading or blogging. Who knew that preparing for 4th and 5th grade required so much work. New backpack, new binders, new school supplies, new shoes, and of course new clothes. It is a lot of work. Plus trying to do it all while shopping with all them with you would wear down anyone.

I do hate to see summer end. We've had such a good summer, albeit, short and not to hot. I love the summers because we don't follow too much of a schedule. I hate to have it all end, when it feels like it just started. The start of school makes me realize that my kids are one year older.

So, I'm off to enjoy the last few days of summer with my kids. Maybe I'll steal a few moments to get some beading done and I'll be back soon to share it with all of you.

Gone Fishin'

Sorry I've disappeared for a few days. We've been taking a stay-vacation. Each August, my husband takes a week off and we stay home. We try to get a few projects done, the kind that need more than a weekend. (We are working on a pond, but that's another post.) We also try to do some things with the kids that we don't get to do the rest of the year. The last few years we've been renting a pontoon boat and gone fishing. It is always a fun day. Everyone gets to fish. The boat is big enough that we don't get tangled lines too often. It is one of my favorite things to do. So I thought I'd share a few photos from our trip. 

I've also been beading, however with not much success. I started a cuff that I've now ripped apart 2 times. So I'm rethinking what I was trying to do. It is really frustrating when you can't get what's in your head on to paper, or in my case beading foundation. I'm going back to the drawing board and starting again. Hopefully I've something new to share in a few days.

When you hit a road block do you step away for a few days or push ahead trying again right away? 

The Fruits of My Labor

Although, it was hot and humid today, I braved the heat to make blackberry jam. We didn't have the best year for blackberries. The weather just wasn't right, not warm enough or enough rain at the right time. However, I did pick some yesterday which is not the easiest thing to do. We have wild blackberries and they have a lot of thorns.  My legs and arms bare the scars of battle. Fortunately, I had some frozen from last year so I didn't have to pick that many. 

I will endure heat, humidity, and thorns because in the middle of winter there is nothing like some homemade jam.

Zucchini Babies

We have been overwhelmed by squash. In the spring, we planted a couple of different varieties. Although, I do love squash, I just can't look at another one. We've had such a huge crop that we've been giving it away to every man, woman, and child we know. 

Last weekend, I just couldn't pick any more so when we returned to the farm on Saturday we discovered that some of the zucchini had quadrupled in size. The girls decided to pick the big ones and pretend that they were zucchini babies. I was informed that I am now a grandmother to an extra large zucchini name "Kini". The photo above was taken prior to a little stroll with one of the zucchini babies. 

Sweet, don't you think?

Challenge Complete?

Okay, so I didn't exactly meet my challenge. My challenge was to post new items each week day this past week to my etsy shop. Since I met a few challenges (computer and etsy), I didn't actually get everything posted. However, I have posted new items to my blog this week. So I going to feel somewhat satisfied that I met my challenge. I do acknowledge that it wasn't what I originally planned, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Anyone who has a husband, children, pets, etc. is very experienced with going with the flow.

Well, here's the last of the new items. And I DID post these to my shop today. I purchased these filigree drops last year from dimestoreemporium on etsy. They are brass finding that have been hand aged. I just love the look of them. They look old and weather, like they've had a life before they came to me. Because they are so detailed, I didn't want to do too much beading. I attached them to beading foundation and used bronze size 15 seed beads to embellish the edge. The earrings are backed in burgundy ultrasuede and hang from brass ear wires. They are incredibly light weight. You can see more pictures of the earrings here.

Over the Moon

This was my submission to this week's Thursday Sweet Treat Blog. The theme was "Over the Moon". I created this one of a kind art pendant.

The moon was created with four pyrite beads that are surrounded by a variety of seed, Czech, bugle, and glass beads. The dark side of the moon was created with several different types of black beads. A cascading fringe hangs from the bottom of the pendant. It was created with Czech and seed beads. The pendant hangs from a simple circular neck wire and is backed in black ultrasuede.

So I intended to post this to my etsy shop to keep up with my personal challenge. But due to an unfortunate glitch, my computer keeps losing it's connection and I can't get it posted to on etsy. I get the whole description typed into etsy and then try to move on to the next step and I lose the connection. This has provided an unending amount of frustration. I'm hoping the issue is with etsy and not my computer. I haven't had a bit of trouble getting things posted here.

So I'm going to say that at least I got a new item posted on the blog and hope to post this piece, plus another new one tomorrow on etsy.

I hope that your day has been less frustrating than mine.

White Turquoise Bead Embroidered Cuff

As promised, here is today's newest post to my etsy shop.

Back in June, I went to a new bead show that came to town and found these beautiful white turquoise beads. The beads are just beautiful. Each one is different. The all have the traditional black matrix. Some have a pink hue and some have a brown one. They are really versatile and many colors complement the stones.

I love how the white turquoise pops against the various shades of pink, purple, and gold beads used to embroider the entire cuff. The cuff is also embellished with pearls, pewter beads, and bugle beads. The base is a metal cuff and the underside is lined with pale pink ultrasuede.

You can see more pictures here.

Autumn Sunset

Okay, so here's the second day of posting something new to my etsy shop.

This bead embroidered pendant was created with a fossilized coral cabochon. It is really an incredible stone. I didn't want to do too much and take away from the stone. I added the fire opal beads for added interest. I like how they added to the circular feeling of the piece. For a simple pendant, it has a lot of natural detail. I decided to call it Autumn Sunset because of the orange hues. You can see more pictures here.

I'm hoping to take some more pictures today of the other pieces I've finished. The weather man is calling for rain, so I'd better get it done soon.

What are you trying to get done today?

New Turquoise Pendant

I've given myself a personal challenge this week. I'd like to post a new item to my etsy store every day this week. I've been steadily working on pieces for the last few weeks and really need to get them photographed and posted. I only have a few more weeks before my kids head back to school. The first week or two is really crazy. Making sure everyone has what they need and getting back on schedule is really difficult. I wanted to make an effort to pay attention to my shop while I can.

So here's the first piece...

One of my favorite color combinations is turquoise and brown. With that in mind, this pendant came together without much effort. The pendant is actually three separate sections connected by Swarovski crystals in between. The top section is made from a turquoise bead. I surrounded it with seed beads and then added the Capri Blue Swarovski crystals for detail and texture. The center section is a Mocha Swarovski rivoli this is surrounded by seed beads and turquoise colored glass beads. A coin pearl embroidered with seed beads makes up the bottom section. The pendant hands from gold neck wire, but would also look great on a piece of leather.

If you'd like to see more pictures you can check them out here.

Have you given yourself a challenge this week?

Butterflies

The butterflies are abundant right now. With all the flowers that blooming, there is lots to eat. Here's one that was able to catch with the camera.

The butterflies were the inspiration for these lifelike butterfly pendants I created. I just listed them at my etsy shop. You can check out more pictures of the Pink Butterfly here. The Orange and Purple Butterfly pictures are here. These were really fun to create. They are a great reminder of the beautiful butterflies flying from flower to flower.