"Callie", Inspired by California Dreaming

♫ "California Dreaming on such a winter's day..." ♫

I was working on this necklace this weekend as 10" of snow was falling.  I must say it was just a little depressing for the first day of spring!  The colors in these beads cheered me up a bit.  They remind me of  beach glass.  It was nice to imagine a nice warm walk on the beach on such a nasty day! 

I used a mixture of Czech glass beads, Czech Fire Polished Beads, and 6/0 seed beads to make the focal point of this necklace and completed it with silver chain.

Don't forget you have until March 31st to enter the giveaway in my previous post!

~Today's Quote~

There are many things in life that will catch your eye,

 but only a few will catch your heart...

Pursue those.

~Anonymous

Five Things about Me & You Giveaway!

 Inquiring minds want to know!

I'm always curious about the people behind the blogs.  Let's share a little about ourselves!

As an incentive I'll give away this necklace.  To enter, leave a comment listing five things about yourself.  They can be serious or silly!  You don't have to have a blog to enter, but be sure to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you're the winner.  On April 1st (No Fooling!), I'll  randomly draw one number from the total number of comments and the winner will receive the necklace.

I'll go first!

1.  I live in the very southeast corner of Kansas, not very far from the Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri borders.

2.  My husband & I run a small trucking company from our home.  I do all of our office work, bookwork, DOT compliance, payroll, etc.

3.  I get up at 6:15 a.m. seven days a week.  I'm not a morning person, but I feel better if I stick to the routine.  I have to admit I get up, but I don't get around!  I have to have my "coffee time" before I get the day started!

4.  I have a Cosmetology license.  I haven't worked in a shop in years, but I keep my licence current just in case I ever want to again!

5.  I ride a candy apple red Harley trike and love every minute of it!

Please share!

~Today's Quote~

"Laughter is an instant vacation."

~Milton Berle

Barbara's Red Iris Necklace

This is a special order necklace. 

I had a similar one at a local craft show and was asked to make a longer version. 

These are some of my favorite beads!  They are 10/0 Rochailles in Red Iris.  "Iris" is the finish on the bead.  Description of the Iris finish:  "An Iris finish is a multicolor effect, which creates a rainbow type effect all around each bead, but also causes a range of color hues and tones within any mix."  The color of these beads range from yellow to pink, which I think gives it an overall coral effect. I used gold wire which really picks up the warm yellow tones from the beads.   Here's a close-up of the beads.  Aren't they pretty?

Oh, and I almost forgot the earrings!  I didn't have much on hand in the way of gold findings so I wire wrapped the rochailles around large gold jumprings and attached them to gold earwires. 

~Today's Quote~

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather,

always bring your own sunshine!

~Anthony J. D'Angelo

A Charm for Vila

I was so touched when I read the post written by Christine Damm on her blog, "Stories They Tell".  Her sister-in-law has leukemia.  She is creating a charm bracelet to send to her to let her know that they are thinking of her every day and to send her positive energy, something to make her smile.  She is asking for handmade charms to add to the bracelet. 

This is an excerpt from her blog post:

"Here's what I would like: Contribute a charm that is handmade by you-- that's the only stipulation. The charms can be anything, any theme, any color, any material, any technique but about 1” X 1/2” would be ideal. Send your creation to me and then I'll attach it to a nice chain that will become a charm bracelet with everybody's charm on it. The energy created in making the charm is what I'm after-- it doesn't have to be perfect, or expensive or elaborate. It could be resin, or metal or polymer clay or fiber or layered paper."

The blogging community is a wonderful community!  She says she has already been blown away by the response.  If you would like to send a charm or just read the full post, you can find it here.

That being said, I wanted to send a charm.  I don't make a lot of  components, but I do some metal stamping.  I'm sending this textured metal washer stamped with the word "Faith".  I hope that it will in a small way help her through this tough time.

"Stardust"

The silver fire polished beads sparkle like stars in the night sky.

I used 6mm Gray Czech Fire Polished, 4mm Silver Fire Polished beads and Black Diamond seed beads on silver wire to create this five strand necklace.

It's hard to get a good picture in this dreary weather.  Like everyone, I'm longing for warm weather, green grass and sunshine! 

~Today's Quote~

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

 ~Anne Bradstreet

~♥~

Oh, Lucky Me!

Look what came in the mail today!

I'm the lucky winner & proud owner of this bracelet!   It's called "Aberdeen Ferns" and was created by Erin of  Tesori Trovati, which means "Treasures Found".  I follow her blog & made a comment on one of her "give-away" posts. Imagine my excitement when I found out my name was drawn!

I had to include a picture of the beautifully coordinated packaging, too!  It was inside a gift box tied with a matching ribbon and included a tag decribing the inspiration behind it and the items used to create it.  Also included was a hand written note. All very special!  Erin's "signature" is the skeleton key, which I love.  The first thing I looked for was the little metal tag stamped with a skeleton key attached to the bracelet.  As one of her blog followers, I knew it would be there!

Erin, Thank You!  I love the bracelet!

Dragonflies for Mom

Wednesday was my Mom's birthday.  We celebrated with Dairy Queen ice cream cake, gifts, and lots of giggles!  Hope your day was happy, Mom!  We love you!!!

 I made this necklace & earrings especially for her because she likes Dragonflies. A "fried marble" is attached to the tail.  My granddaughter{Delaney} & I like to do crafty things together.  One day we fried marbles.  They turned out quite pretty & sparkly!  Delaney gave one of the marbles to Mom and she has saved it so I knew it would have special meaning on the necklace. 

I used Czech Fire Polished beads in "Moonlight Mist".  These are so pretty, aqua with bronze-y accents, which went perfectly with the Vintaj bronze wire.  I used a Vintaj Scrolled Filigree Ring & Art Deco Dragonfly, and used a Vintaj bead cap to attach the marble.  The earrings are Dragonfly Connectors with a "Moonlight Mist" dangle.

~Today's Quote is in Honor of my Mom~

"All that I am or hope to be I owe to my Mother."

~Abraham Lincoln

~♥~