Stormy Skies

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am back to my routine....my sister left yesterday after 12 days. I am so tired, I don't know why, maybe it is from talking and laughing all the time... whatever it may be I am taking today and working in my studio. That is my relaxation, my quiet place and no one bothers me. I have a show in a few weeks and need to get going on some new pieces, so today I felt rather productive and will share with you a few of the pieces I made.

Stormy Skies , has a pendant created from an old mother of pearl shoe clip. I love the shimmer and vintage look it adds to the piece. Black mother of pearl and black matte beads are wire wrapped in sterling and oxidized, and then buffed just enough to bring out a little shine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making a charm bracelet is a great way to use all those little things we seem to collect, and we all do, we just can't seem to part with some things. A vintage link chain is the base for this whimsical collection of doo dads. A handmade lampwork bead adds a little color. You can find this in my Etsy shop.

A little torch time

This is the first time in a week that I have been able to get into my studio, I needed to just sit and relax a bit and wanted to play with my little torch. Lots of trial and error but I did solder some little links together to make a pair of earrings. They may look a little rough but it is a start. Now that I did this I really want to make myself a bracelet. I did not burn the house down so that was good.

While I played my sister Susan made dinner...now that is something I could get use to! Shrimp marinara, herb bread and spinach salad.

We will be getting a new little addition to our family....Oh Lord no, I am not pregnant...way to old for that! We are getting this little darlin in about 5 more weeks.


My son has already named him "Morgan" as in Captain. We already have a Sam Adams and Jack Daniels so it is a theme we need to stay with....and no we are not lushes either! Isn't he just so cute!

A dear heart and great giveaway

Hop on over to say hi to Mary Jane of MarieDodd and help her celebrate her one year anniversary of blogging. Her jewelry will inspire you and her words will warm you heart.

'at times our own light goes out

and is rekindled by a spark from another person.

each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude

of those who have lighted the flame within us.'

~ albert schweitzer

The Flood of 2010 TN

NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 4 (Reuters) - Flooding overwhelmed utilities in downtown Nashville on Tuesday, knocking out power and water service to thousands, after weekend storms were blamed for more than two dozen deaths.

"Power will be out for the next few days downtown due to water in underground vaults," the city's mayor, Karl Dean, said in a statement. He said 3,500 customers were without electricity.

The Cumberland River burst its banks and submerged several city blocks in Nashville's downtown tourist district in sewage-tainted water.

Flooding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called a "1,000-year event" also inundated sites such as the Grand Ole Opry entertainment and hotel complex, the football stadium, and one of two water plants serving the city of 626,000 people.

It is so over whelming to see this devastation...I still can not believe what has happened. I thank the Lord for the safety of my family and friends but my heart breaks for those who are not so fortunate. I need to keep pushing forward....keeping my mind and hands busy. My sister Susan is here until Monday and she is such a trooper, a little wine and a martini goes a long way. We have friends coming for dinner tonight, our good friend Sandy (chef) will be cooking. I wish you all a wonderful day.

Flooding in Tennessee

While we were enjoying the beauty and wonderful weather of the Smoky Mountains, middle Tennessee was getting pounded with rain, thunder and lightening. We were lucky today to make our way home through flooded roads and to find our home and neighborhood intact and dry. The devastation we saw on our way was horrific, many lives have been lost, people are homeless. We are in a State of emergency but know one knows about it. We have heard about a bomb in NY city that did not go off, but how much have you heard about this catastrophe. The Cumberland river is about to crest, it will destroy the city of Nashville if it reaches 50 feet, right now it has 2 feet to go. Livestock fill our pastures, they are knee deep in water and some more so. I just watched two horses being rescued on TV as the water was up to their backs. I could go on and on with all that has happened today.

My son Nick is at school in Nashville, thankfully safe and dry, he spent his day working at the Red Cross shelter set up at Lipscomb University. I am thankful.....I hear the sun will shine tomorrow and the weather will be beautiful...so hard to believe.

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.