Full of Grace

When you sit down in your studio to work do you always have a plan in mind? When I settle down to do some work I usually have a thought about which beads or items I will work with but that is as far as any plan goes, the rest is what ever my hands do. Sometimes the said beads or items are just not cutting it and I start doing something else.
I had this pretty little bowl filled with these tiny wired semi precious stone chips and they were just screaming to be picked up, so last night they finally got their turn. Since the chips were so small I knew they had to be clustered and within minutes I had a chunky strand, but it needed something more and the layering began. I love a blend of old and new and this piece achieved it for me. I love the texture of this necklace and the substantial weight. You can find "Full of Grace" in my Etsy shop.

So tell me....how do you create? Do you start with a plan and stick to it or do you create freestyle?

I want to wish all my friends a Happy and Healthy New Year may all the blessings of the new year be yours!

Two bloggers & lunch

Guess who I finally got to meet??? My blogging buddy.... The darling sweet Miss Leslie Zabel of Bei Mondi. She was in town visiting family and put some time aside so we could get together for lunch. I could have easily spent all day with her as we had so much to talk about. I felt as though I have known her forever! She surprised me with the most beautiful pair of earrings, ones that I will treasure. She has hopes to someday move to the Nashville area and I am hoping she does. How fun it would be to get to know her better and show her all of my favorite places. Thanks again Leslie for such a lovely visit.

Passing Time

"Sometimes I feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark-spattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror. It's passing, yet I'm the one who's doing all the moving." ~Martin Amis

Today I am trying to move slower and slow down a bit. I am enjoying being home alone as the DH is back to work for a few days and our son has gone back to Massachusetts for the week. I have been longing to get back to my work table and create and return to some type of routine. Here is a piece I call "Passing Time" that I finished this morning. You can find this in my Etsy shop. Slow down a bit and enjoy today.

The Blessing of Good Friends

We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with our son Nick and very good friends. We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends who we feel are like our family. Since we live far away from our families you tend to rely more on your friends and we know how blessed we are to have such wonderful caring friends around us.

Friends are relatives you make for yourself. ~Eustache Deschamps


If you're alone, I'll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder. If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile. But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me. ~Author Unknown



But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine. ~Thomas Jefferson

I hope each and everyone of you has a wonderful friend on who you can rely on and loves you for who you are. What a good time to tell them how you feel.
Have a great day!

Joyful Greetings

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas with your family and friends.

~Frohe Weihnachten ~

~Joyeux Noël ~

~Buon Natale~

~Feliz Natal~

Merry Christmas!

Natural Sunset Bracelet

Natural Sunset Bracelet..created using some Czech glass beads from Artbeads.com. I just love these beads! They have great color and come in a variety of shapes. They paired so nicely with the natural coral beads and the very cool wooden bead I received in a sweet little goodie bag from my pal Leslie at Bei Mondi. You can find this bracelet in my Etsy shop.

Here is an extra savings coupon you can use at ArtBeads.com
Save $5 on orders of $50 or more when you use coupon code SCW5D-50 at checkout. Coupon expires at 9am (PST) on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Happy Shopping!


Disclosure: All above mentioned beads from Artbead.com were kindly provided free-of-charge by Artbeads.com, within the frames of Artbeads.com blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.

Digging Deep

Oh my did it snow here last night....we are still digging our way out! Well not really, but with everyone else sharing all of their snow stories I was feeling a little left out, LOL! As you can see we did get snow but nothing that a broom or a little wind could not take care of. However I am snuggling inside today and doing not much of anything, which is a rarity for me. We had a Christmas party at our home last night so a little recuperating is in order. For all you snowbound folks enjoy your snowy day.

Merry Christmas Judy!

I have been doing a little browsing on Etsy looking for some new tools. I think the New Year is a great time to try out some new techniques and add something different to my jewelry designs. These are the two items I would like to get but I would like some advice from anyone who uses these or something similar. I can't quite decide if its best to get a clear top for a dapping set or not. The clear makes sense but is it durable enough?

So, these two items will do it...oh yeah and add the root canal I had yesterday to my Christmas presents and I am all set! No fruit cake for me this year!

A month of Silver & Glass at Artbeads.com

I have created this necklace to celebrate ArtBeads.com month of silver and glass. They have oodles of great items to choose from and there always seems to be some great sale going on.

Right now you can get 50% off all their Czech glass beads. My favorites are the Picasso roundelles, they come in such a great array of colors. In this necklace I used the Salmon/Peridot Picasso roundelles and wrapped them in sterling along with tiny sterling handmade rolled beads by the Hill Tribe. A five petaled flower pendant is another one of the Hill Tribes handmade creations and is joined with a coral drop bead. All the sterling has been oxidized and buffed just a little to let some shine through.
Artbeads has all of their pendants on sale with 15% off, it sure is a great time to stock up, and as always U.S Shipping is always FREE and shipping to Canada only a buck! You gotta love that!

Fire Opal Picasso beads are used in these Holiday bling earrings. These beads catch the light so nicely and have great movement.
So what are you waiting for....Hop on over to Artbeads.com and check out there great sale!

Disclosure: All above mentioned beads from Artbead.com were kindly provided free-of-charge by Artbeads.com, within the frames of Artbeads.com blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.

Christmas at Our Home

Welcome to our home....

A collection of old and new...

The keeping room. The DH and I have started eating here instead of the kitchen table. It lets us enjoy the fireplace more often.

Don't you love my new slim artificial tree? I finally broke down and got one, I am so pleased with it and no watering!

Jack the cat has to be in everything...see him spying on the stairs.

"A multitude of small delights constitutes happiness" -Charles Baudelaire

One of my many antique apothecary jars. This is my favorite!

Vintage Japan cardboard houses and bottle brush trees.

I hope everyone is enjoying getting ready for the holidays....I think the anticipation is always the best part! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!