Simmering Soup

I am soooo excited about participating in the Bead Soup Party hosted by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things. Why am I so excited? I have been paired with the enthusiastic Jen Judd of Jen Judd Rocks. Although Jen and I have never met I can feel her bubbly personality, it is evident in her blog and the wonderful package she sent me. Check out all of the amazing goodies.

Amazing clay beads and I just love this copper leaf! 

 Gorgeous lampwork beads from Julianna Cannon, lapis (from her deployed hubby) some great ceramic pieces, an sterling agate clasp, a free form sterling piece, citrine chunk, shells,pearls,and some cool wood beads....and so much more! 

I most likely will make two pieces. So in the mean time my soup is simmering and I am playing with my new stash. Hope everyone is excited as I am!

Love My Art Jewelry Giveaway

If you have not checked out this new blog "Love My Art Jewelry" you really should! It is the collaboration of several extremely talented gals...creating handmade with handmade. In celebration of Mary Jane's birthday (one of the talented artists) Mary Jane has created a gorgeous pair of earrings. Be sure to hop on over to the LMAJ blog and sign up to win.

Back to School with "Grader"

I just stumbled upon this great site and thought I would share it with you. 

 Grader.com is a suite of tools that helps you measure and analyze your marketing efforts. I know it is the boring side of business but it is easy to use and see how you are doing in the cyber world.

I especially like the blog grader  and there is a website, facebook and twitter grader. So you have nothing to lose so hop on over and check it out!

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.

"Knock, Knock who's there?"

"Spring" ...she answered. "come right in!" I hollered.

Ok, spring may not really be here but I do see signs...my daffs are coming up, yay! It is a wee bit warmer today and there is some sunshine, so there is hope my friends!

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This stunning orchid was sent to me way back in August by two of my best girls from Massachusetts (see post). I can not believe it is still blooming and still has buds and a ways to go.


The past few weeks I have been working on a new re-designed web site for Judith B. Designs with my friend Travis of Travis Designs. Travis is my friend Johnny's son as some of you remember me writing about, anyway if you are looking for any type of graphic design or web design I highly recommend him! Travis is awesome to work with and very talented, he just started to blog but I need to kick him in the pants to do it more often. Sometime next week I will open up the new site with a great giveaway too!

Flea Market Style

Hop on over to check out Flea Market Styles new blog. In the spirit of blogging and to thank everyone for all of the unbelievable support and warm welcome they have received, the Flea Market Style team has decided it is only fitting to reward their readers with a fantastic, flea-market inspired give-away!! And this is something all us Flea Marketeers need, a vintage wire cart with a handmade liner...how cool is that? So here you go...Enter here!

Enter to Win

My friend Alicia at Boyle Jewelry is having this lovely giveaway....be sure to check out her great blog and enter for a chance to win.

Win a Stunning Vintage Sterling Silver 5 Carat Amethyst Pendant!!

Ends July 6, 2009

Enter Here

Square Foot Gardening

I have started to plant my little garden, although here in Tennessee I am just a tad behind. We have had so much rain it has prevented me from doing this little task. I say little because it is. My friend Johnny had shared with me his book on square foot gardening and now I have 3 raised beds 3 x 3 ft (very basic...nothing fancy!) Planting these babies takes like a second, so that is the little task, but actually doing it is another. My husband Ed put these together for me last year and I planted in them but my crops did not do well, the soil settled too much and I had pesky bugs. I tried to do this "organically" so I did not spray and I finally fertilized a little too late.

I have planted some watermelon, squash, peppers, cucumbers and the must have tomatoes, but I still need more things. You see, you only plant a few of each- one plant is suppose to fill one space in the grid, so you get a big variety in a small area. I planted one planter full of silver queen corn. I planted the same last year and I did get some good ears but most of them were dwarf, so this year I am hoping for a better crop.

Here are the goofy just planted pictures and I will keep you posted on the growth (lets hope there is some!) Like I said I still need to plant a few more things.