Auntie Em, Auntie Em...

It has been busy over here in my little corner of the world...getting ready for more company, dodging tornadoes (amidst my garage sale) , building fences, laying sod and spreading mulch. Hubby was away for a few days so he missed most of the excitement. Friday and Saturday I had a garage sale. Were I am from we call it a "tag" sale but no one around here knows what that is. Thankfully I learned that quickly or no one would have come If my ad in the paper said "TAG SALE, collectibles, antiques and household goods", boy that would have been a bummer. However, garage sale they knew and came and reduced my load a good bit.

Friday the sod company decided to show up and deliver the grass for our backyard...during the tag sale! I already had a dump load of mulch in the driveway and lots of people mulling around. The only way into the back yard was the driveway through everything and the mulch! OMG, all I could do was laugh! They have these really cool little tractor like things that roll the sod out, it actually did not take too long about 45 minutes and they were gone.

Saturday was not a great day so I could not have the sale for long as we were expecting some severe weather, the first of the season so it was a big deal. The weather alarm was going off all day and we keep a close eye on the radar and glued to the TV, we were in a Tornado watch.
A tornado watch is just to let folks know to be on the lookout for a possible tornado in the area whereas a Tornado Warning is a notification that a tornado has been seen or picked up by radar. However that quickly changed to a Tornado warning, there were some rotations spotted but luckily we only had heavy rain and winds. I had cleared the clutter in the garage to have a path to our safe room, thankfully we did not need to use it. Phew!


My sister Susan is coming for 10 days....yes that is right TEN DAYS! I love her to pieces but lordy what was she thinking! I will pick her up at the airport on Thursday and we are heading right to the Smoky Mountains and will be staying in Gatlinburg Tenn. for 4 days. We have never been so it will be fun. I have lots of things planned., one of the cool thing is she loves to watch me make jewelry. She is not crafty but I am thinking a resin project will be fun.

Bohemian Swirl

Here is another post regarding the products I picked out this month from Artbeads.com. Artbeads focus is on Summer themes , I took it literally and gravitated towards the shell items. In my last post I shared a necklace I made with a Lillypilly etched shell pendant, so today here is another shell pendant in a Bohemian style. I paired the pendant with some Tibetian beads, lampwork, wood and citrine beads. I had fun using my torch to create a bead at one end of the copper, the heat allowed me to work the copper and shape it. A little wax on the pendant made the design pop out more. A copper lotus charm dangles in the back for a little surprise.

Bohemian Swirl Necklace can be found on JudithBDesigns.com

Nautilus shell coin beads were the inspiration for this beach theme bracelet. The shell coins are a nice size at 18.5mm x 19mm and come in a 7 inch strand, the wasabi color is one of my favorites to work with. I paired the coins with rainbow agate in an ocean blue color and a fabulous lampwork bead to tie it all together. I used brass to make the bead caps and clasp..the color was a perfect reminder of the sand.

Nautilus Shell Coin Bracelet can be found in my Etsy shop.



Boro Lampwork Bead from Being Beads on Etsy.

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.

Give Peace a Chance

"Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one."

John Lennon

You can find Give Peace a Chance in my Etsy shop.

Nashville resin pendant can be found in my Etsy shop.

Violet Waves

As part of Artbeads.com blogging program I get to try out many of their new products and this "Lillypilly" shell pendant is one of them. I was drawn to this piece for its color and modern design. I paired it with an amethyst bead and a hill tribe spacer bead... a modern but feminine pendant. Oxidized sterling joins the two and hangs from a sterling ball chain.

You can find "Violet Waves" in my Etsy shop.

Another favorite of mine are the czech glass beads that Artbeads carries. They seem to be always adding something new, and some are in limited supply...so get them while you can! I used Picasso square beads for this bracelet

Chunky czech glass beads in a lilac color are wire wrapped in copper. A yellow turquoise bead adds contrast and is all dressed up in handmade bead caps. A polymer clay bead unites the two colors. I hand forged a hook and eye and heat treated it for some interest. Two metal beads finish off this one of a kind bracelet.

Lilac Breeze can be found in my Etsy shop.

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.

No Trespassing

I suppose I should have read the sign posted on the fence...but I could not resist pulling off the road to see these beauties. As soon as I was out of my car they all came running over to the fence. They gave me the once over and a good sniff and I was good, only wish I had some peppermints. As usual I did all the talking and petting . This is what I love about Tennessee, horses everywhere!! On this particular road only a few miles from my house I bet there were close to 50 horses in various farms and pastures, oh so beautiful!


This beautiful paint was definetly low on the totem pole, the others pushed him off easily. How handsome is he?? Can't you just see a red plaid blanket under a saddle and that white haired gentleman we know as Mr. Americana sitting on him...I am speaking of Ralph Lauren.


If I only had my shedder blade...that mane needs some attention. Can you imagine the owner seeing me brushing his horses, you'd read about me the next day in the paper...Loony jewelry designer arrested for trespassing and grooming horses. Hey it could happen!

Accepting Credit Cards at Shows

With the craft and art show season upon us I wanted to share with you a way you can accept credit cards at shows. People are more apt to make a larger purchase if they can put it on their credit card. At one show I had over $700 in credit card sales, I wondered how many I would have missed out if I had not offered this option. I use the ProPay service to run my credit cards and this can be done on any cell phone. However if you are busy or it is noisy as is usually the case it is hard to do this, it takes time and is hard to hear the prompts on the phone. I just learned about PocketPay.ME, this is a 3rd party service that allows you to key in all the info and charges a yearly fee of $9.95 (10% disc. with code "etsy") and a 10 cents per transaction fee. I feel this extra service is worth it. You do need a Propay account to use Pocketpay. I called Propay and emailed PocketPay to double check on the fees and it is correct. This service works on all smart phones, Iphone, blackberry and cell phones.
I am not getting paid for this information, just wanted to share with you what has worked for me.

Life's Goal

~Your goals are the road maps

that guide you and show you

what is possible for your life.~

Vintage road map beads by Tanith's odds and ends on Etsy

Lampwork bead by Being Beads on Etsy.

You can find "Life's Goal" vintage map necklace on JudithBDesigns.com

Tennessee Sunshine

What the heck have I been doing lately...I had not realized I have not blogged since Wednesday...golly! Since all the "lucky" girls were at Bead Fest I was stuck enduring the most gorgeous weather that Tennessee has to offer ( a good consolation prize).

I know what I have not been doing...and that is chasing little garden snakes. Jack "the cat" loves bringing these home for me, oh joy!


One of the things I have been working on are magazine submissions to Step by Step Wire. They are all done...that is a big weight off my shoulders, I hate deadines and I am the queen of procrastination. I really would like to send another shout out of thanks to Cindy Wimmer for all your support and help, I would not have done it without your encouragement and guidance. Here is a peek at what will be in the the Aug/Sept. issue.


I started planting my vegetable garden, it is a little earlier than usual but with my sister coming in a few weeks I took advantage of the lovely weather to plant. I have little 3 x 3 raised beds, it is next to impossible to plant in this ledge rock we call soil. I plant a nice little variety, so far I have 5 different tomato plants, red& green peppers, eggplant, beans, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, arugula, yellow squash, cantaloupe and more to come. Yes, it all fits in my little boxes and the best part is no weeding!


Last year we decided we needed a fence to protect my investment from the bunnies and the deer, so that is what the DH is working on now. The garden is just getting more and more expensive! We are also finishing up sodding our yard so that should be done in a few days. I will post some before and after pictures when it is done.

I think I actually may get in my studio this evening and relax and create a little something, something.
Thanks for stopping by today.

Organic Obsession

I am a little obsessed with this bracelet...or should I say with the art bead. Kate of Studio Artbead makes the most incredible pieces from polymer clay. I was drawn to the texture and color of this great bead. I knew it had to be a stand alone kind of piece so I paired it with other organic beads, wood, bone and Tibetan beads all in the same hue, so the color could be appreciated. A few turquoise beads are added in the back.

Kate describes this bead...."Like a a field of wildflowers, this fresh unopened spray of dill flowers creates that look. Of perhaps Queen Anne's lace waving in the afternoon sunlight".

You can find Organic Obsession in my Flap Your Wings Etsy shop.

Bird in Flight

A symbolic necklace full of Hope, growth and the rhythm of life.

I created a one of a kind resin pendant for this piece I call "Bird in Flight".

The pendant was made using resin, vintage papers, an old watch face and a bird charm. A thin piece of mica sits under the resin and gives the pendant an iridescent glow.

Handmade sheet music beads, rulitated quartz and mother of pearl beads are wire wrapped in steel and accent the whimsical pendant. You can find this piece on my website.

Spring Moss

Bone beads and handmade copper bead caps compliment the porcelain floral pendant and porcelain beads created by LeAnn of Summers Studio Pottery. Oxidized copper and vintage metal links unite all of these great components.
You can find Spring Moss in my Etsy shop.

Flower Power

Today got the best of me....I had to turn my AC on! As a native New England-er I am still not use to having to turn the AC on in April, of course the weather could all change tomorrow., but no matter how cold it gets that heat is NOT going back on!

So with the warm spring day in mind this is what my hands had to create today. I wanted something current with a vintage flair. Lots of chunky glass and pearls with some rhinestone bling.

You can find Spring Bling in my Etsy shop.