A Las Vegas Respite

I am having a tough time with keeping up with my blog lately - it might very well be the 100+ temperatures outside that are draining me of any ambition whatsoever!  I purchased Lori Anderson's e-book, Follow the Path, Ideas and Inspirations for the Creative Blogger (find it here) and I paged through it this morning to give me some ideas of what to blog about. So, here I go...

My mother and father used to take yearly trips to Las Vegas once a year - my mother LOVES slot machines!  When he passed on 7 years ago, I promised my mother that I would continue the tradition and take her there once a year.  Up until 2 years ago, I would fly to Florida - where my mother lived - or she will fly to Virgina - where I live - and we would go for 3 nights and 4 days.  We ALWAYS have a blast! 

After much coercing on my part, my mother finally moved in with me almost 2 years ago.  She has not seen any of her friends in Florida since then.  In my opinion, she has become quite lonely for "people her age"...who wouldn't?  This year was special -  a friend of hers from Florida joined us. So last week, we went on our yearly pilgrimage.

Mom on the left, her best friend Jane on the right

A friend of mine also joined us.  We splurged and got a nice room at The Wynn Hotel - this hotel is absolutely awesome!

One View from the Hotel Room

Another view from our room

Everything is "bigger and better" in Vegas. The Wynn is famous for its fresh flowers strewn throughout its hotel and casino.

Fresh flowers are everywhere!

I call these "Flower Balloons" - they hang from the trees and yes, they are fresh flowers!

The food was phenomenal, the company was awesome, and though I did not win one penny, my friend was quite lucky on the slots.

Her jackpot on a $2.00 bet! 

Although it was over 105 degrees every single day, there is zero humidity and the heat was tolerable.  In fact, I had to wear a sweater or a sweatshirt while indoors, as the air conditioning was always set to "freeze".  It was a nice respite from the hot, humid weather of Virginia. 

Takeoff for home!

I look forward to next year's trip - maybe we'll go in Spring instead of Summer!

My next post will touch on a major jewelry project that I have been working on for the past month - pictures still need to be taken and edited. I have to admit - that is my least favorite thing to do!

Thanks for stopping by!

Look what Lori Anderson sent me!!!

I have been absent from here for a while - still feeling raw from the loss of my pup, Sam, and still trying to heal my hip.  But in the meantime, I received my Bead Soup from the wonderful Lori Anderson yesterday!!  She generously gifted me three pretty two-toned pink boxes, neatly wrapped with a purple ribbon (as well as a nice card, too) that contained these beauties (click on the pictures for a larger view):

This is a BEAUTIFUL color palette to work with: turquoise, purple, silver tones, neutral, and a splash of red!  I happened to have received my copy of this book on Monday which I have paging through for ideas in using the cording and faux suede ribbon:

This book is awesome - as I knew it would be!  So many wonderful design ideas by some extremely talented artists!

These are my favorite beads received from Lori:

Look at that gorgeous focal from Juli Cannon!  My picture does not capture the beautiful colors and the stamped texture on the glass - just love it!  And, Lori made the coordinating lampwork beads and the wire-wrapped silver hook clasp!  I love this combination and am so appreciative of the handmade aspect of that clasp and her beads!  I have several ideas floating in my head and cannot wait to get started!

I sent Lori 2 different beads sets:

The first set includes stunningly gorgeous lampwork beads by the extremely talented Donna Millard, and an awesome focal bead by Marsha Neal.  I recently commissioned Lesley Watt to make me some sterling silver PMC clasps.  Lesley's work is just gorgeous, and Donna's beads deserved that clasp for sure!  I also gave her some cool lampwork head pins from Havanna Beads and Nadin Art Glass - love these!

The second set includes 5 beautiful, chunky lampwork beads handmade by Lea Avorch, antique gold pewter beads, Swarovski pearls, freshwater pearls, blue silk, and wonderful bronze components - by Lesley Watt (can you tell I love her work!) and the wonderful LeeAnn Weih of Summers Studio.

I had a good time putting this soup together and I cannot wait to see what Lori has created!  My reveal date is July 28th.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Week in Review

This is going to be a very long post for me.  It has been a very trying week, that finally ended on an upswing.

I do not have children - I had dogs, the key word here is "had".  My Best Friend Forever - Sam the Man - had been ill.  He was born on April 19th, 2001, and had a sister named Abby, born the same day.  Sam and Abby came to live with me in June 2001 and they brought me such joy! 

Abby was quite sickly - 7 surgeries in her barely 9 years of life - all bone-related. When I had to put her down on April 12, 2010, I did not think I would recover from the sadness. 

My dear, sweet Abby

But I still had my Best Friend Sam to keep me company.

Sam and Kimberly - his pet sitter and one of his many Best Friends Forever

Sam had surgery for melanoma cancer in August 2011 - 48 staples in his stomach/right side.  It was awful.  Then on February 4, 2012, he tore his cruciate ligament (knee) and had to have yet another surgery.  This surgery was the one that "did him in".  He never fully recovered from these two surgeries.  About 3-4 weeks before he passed, he developed massive lumps in his side - the same site of his surgery from August 2011.  The cancer had returned...with a vengeance.  So, the decision was made to put him down this past Monday.  Sammy was surrounded by love - me, my mother, my sister, and Kimberly.  It was quite peaceful - but unfortunately, two dogs in two years is a bit much for me.  My heart is literally broken and it will take some time to mend.

Then, while dealing with my baby Sammy, I had started to develop a severe pain in my hip that was affecting my walking, sitting, sleeping...you get the drift.  By Wednesday morning, I had decided I would call my doctor on Thursday if I did start to feel better.  I could not make it that long, so ended up in the emergency room at 1:30 AM on Thursday morning.  I have never experienced such excruciating pain in my life - at least, not that I could remember. 

I had been diagnosed with a bulging disc in my back in March 2012.  I truly thought - as did the ER doctor - that I was having a severe sciatica nerve attack.  So, x-rays were taken, shots and drugs were given, and I was instructed to return to my Orthopedic surgeon as soon as possible. Luckily, I was able to see him late Thursday morning. 

My surgeon reminded me that in March, my MRI for my back indicated bursitis in my right hip.  I had to go to Wikipedia to remind myself what that ailment is all about.   Let's just say I am feeling a lot older than my 51 years.  He gave me a cortisone shot, some Percocet, and some steroids to hopefully bring down the swelling.  I have been tyring to take it easy - icing my hip and drugging myself to sleep.  You never miss walking, sitting, or lying down until you realize that it cannot be done comfortably... Anyway, I figured my week would just end on a downer.

But, I got an email from Lori Anderson last night that, although did not remove my physical pain, it sure did boost my morale.  I signed up for the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party last week and I have been paired with the Queen herself!  Yes...Lori Anderson of Pretty Things is my BSBP partner!  I think Sam had something to do with my fortunate good luck...don't you?!

Lori Anderson (picture from her blog)

Pantone Bracelet - Photo and Design by Lori Anderson

For those of us in the Jewelry Making World, Lori needs no introduction.  Lori's blog was one of the first blogs I happened upon years ago, and I have been "hooked on her" ever since.  She is not just a jewelry designer - one of the best in my humble opinion.  She does not just "write a blog post" - she shares all tidbits of her life, which I so enjoy reading!  She was blessed with a wonderful "kidlet" (love that word) named Zack, who obviously brings such joy to her life, as well as a supportive husband named Rick.  She writes from the heart, and her words are inspiring.   

I have only purchased completed jewelry from two artists - the first is Lesley Watt of The Gossiping Goddess and Thea Too .  Lesley is a another wonderful designer out there who not only creates stunning jewelry, but she started selling her handmade bronze and silver components a little over a year ago.  An absolutely lovely lady - so talented, and witty, and a heart of gold!  She posted a link to these earrings on facebook a few months ago, and I made that impulse purchase so quickly!

Earrings by Lesley Watt - they are mine now!

I don't even wear tangerine/orange, but I had to have them!  Well, I wear it now, as I immediately went shopping for tops to match!  Thank you Lesley, for adding color to my life!

I have also purchased two pieces of jewelry from Lori - most recently, this stunning bracelet she made for Jeanne Dukic's Echo Creative Club reveal:

Vintage Glam Bracelet - Design and Photo by Lori Anderson

I wore this bracelet to my niece Rachel's wedding in May - I had the best dressed arm in the church!

So, my email last night was a true pick-me-up that I so desperately needed!   I will spend the next few days picking through my huge stash of beads to send to her, and I hope she enjoys working with them as much as I do. 

Please forgive this long, rambling post - it was cathartic to write - but I am afraid it is a little "all over the place".  I am just glad this week is over and has ended on such a positive note!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lori!

And, thank you for stopping by!

Bead Swap# 7 and # 8 - with Moobie Grace Designs

My bead swap results continues!  Today's package of goodies contained the following beads, generously given to me by Tania of Moobie Grace Designs (click on the pictures to get a better view):

I ended up making three pairs of earrings from these gorgeous lampwork beads.

Turns out that the colors in the disc beads were a perfect complement to the round beads! So, I wire wrapped with silver wire the discs and  rounds to make these fun earrings.  I added sterling spacer beads and hand forged ear wires.

These colors and textures formed in these beautiful grey lentil beads remind me of the mountains with a stream running below.  I formed a flower with some enameled bead caps and ear wires, from Sue Kennedy, and some brass bead caps I had on hand.

I wanted to keep these earrings simple - loving the teal and red together - so I just added small oval silver beads.

The next bead pouch contained a stunning toggle and 2 charms, all made by Tania:

The fuchsia charms are so vibrant and have pops of blue and orange added - look at the details!  Anyway, they stumped me for a while, as this is not a color palette that I have used before!  However, I have been hoarding  buying quite a few Tangerine Tango beads lately, so I found two in my stash - these are from GlassBeadArt - and made some fun and funky earrings.



My last piece is a bracelet made with the beautiful taupe toggle.  I combined some gorgeous raku beads from Duane Collins of Elements Pottery.  I also wired-up another flower charm, with enameled componets made by Sue Kennedy.

The raku beads are just gorgeous - a picture cannot capture all of the beautiful colors!

I am almost done with my soup ingredients!  Thank you again Tania, and Lori Anderson for organizing this amazing, impromptu swap!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Going Tribal - Bead Swap # 6 with Moobie Grace Designs

My Bead Swap with the lovely beads received from Tania at Moobie Grace Designs continues!

Here is the contents of this bag of goodies:

This bag was bulging with beady goodness...lots and lots of shells, coral, baroque pearls, mother of pearl, and two gorgeous lentil beads made by Tania.  My niece Rachel's honeymoon next month is in Jamaica, so I decided to make her a beachy-tribal themed set. 

Tania's polymer clay lentils are just stunning!

 I used copper colored beading wire and Vintaj chain for the necklace.

Isn't this mermaid clasp sweet!!??

I really like the color of the copper beading wire, so I strung a few shells and pearls, crimped at the top, and added handmade brass ear wires.

A perfectly themed set for Rachel to wear with a sundress on the beach!

Thanks again, Tania, and thank you for stopping by today!

Bead Swap # 4 - with Moobie Grace Designs

Yes...another Bead Swap project, thanks to the generosity of Tania at Moobie Grace Designs! Props again to Ms Lori Anderson for orchestrating this swap!  I am having way too much fun!!

I must say...almost every package of beads sent to me by Tania are not something I would initially choose for myself.  Thank goodness!  I am at the point where I feel that every piece of jewelry I make looks just like the last piece....  Don't get me wrong...I LOVE LAMPWORK BEADS...my go-to-bead-of-choice - but, I need to branch out! Using these gorgeous gemstones is really helping me to get away from that feeling.  Today's package contains beads and gemstones in shades of forest green (please click on the photos for a larger view):

Tania made the focal - STUNNING - the shading and subtle tones of green are so pretty!

I tried to get a picture above, that highlights her handmade, wire wrapped bail - and, there are two sweet lampwork beads that flank the pendant, as well.

I made a simple clasp for the necklace.

This necklace is so pretty when worn - it really lays well on the neck.  All I had to add was some copper-colored beading wire, a few brushed copper beads, and the clasp.

The earrings include sweet little czech glass flower buds - I love these!

Many thanks again, Tania and thank you for stoppinng by!

Bead Swap #3 - with Moobie Grace Designs

Today, I am sharing my 3rd creation, made with the lovely collection of beads I received from Tania of Moobie Grace Designs.  I may sound like a broken record here, but I must send a "thank you" once again to Lori Anderson for orchestrating this impromptu swap!

Today's creation evolved from this - a stunning color combo of soft greys and yellows:

Tania, an artist in her own right, created this lovely polymer clay bead:

And she also included this very cool lampwork owl:

These colors are just fabulous together!

Close-up of the earrings, strung on my handmade sterling silver ear wires.

The set -

There is just a touch of asymmetry here - not my forte.  I LOVE this set!

Thanks again Tania, and thank you for stopping by today!

Bead Swap #2 - with Moobie Grace Designs

I am slowly but surely working through the wonderful beads, generously given to me by Tania at Moobie Grace Designs.  The swap was orchestrated by the lovely Lori Anderson (thanks again, Lori!)  Today's necklace and earrings were made from this group of lovelies:

These are truly my favorite, go-to colors.  She made the awesome polymer clay lentils - they are so gorgeous and the design is so intricate! 

And, the sodalite beads add just the right shade of blue! I made a necklace using sterling silver beading wire, and added a few silver beads and bead caps here and there.

I added just a touch of sterling silver chain and a hand forged sterling silver clasp.  Love the little Czech glass beads, too!

Love that focal! And, I made earrings, with handmade ear wires, to match.

I wore this to church last night, and felt like a queen! 

Tania was overly generous and sent me 10 bags of various "bead soups".  These are challenging to me, as I typically work with wire.  Many of these beads have tiny holes, which has required that I dig out my crimping tool!  I have actually worked through 6 of the 10 sets so far and have loved every minute of it!

Thanks again, Tania!  You were so generous!  And, thank you for stopping by today!