Pay It Forward - Complete!

Following the lead of Ms. Cilla Watkins of Tell Your Girlfriends, I posted a quick sign-up to "Pay It Forward".  The first 3 people to comment on my blog would receive a handmade gift from me.  In turn, they would blog, and send a gift to the first 3 responders on their blog...and so on.  What a neat concept!  I sent a brief list of questions to the recipients, i.e, what colors and metals do you wear, wrist size, etc.  Once everyone responded, I got to work. 

 

First up is Ms. Kari Asbury of Hippie Chick Design.  She said she liked blues and purples - a favorite combination of mine, as well.  I made her a bracelet of sterling silver and 3 beautiful blue swirled lampwork beads from Sue Kennedy, along with some purple lampwork beads, a deep blue lampwork nugget bead, and a sterling silver diamond-shaped filigree bead. 

 

Click on pictures for a larger view.

 

Next up is Ms. Lisa Lodge from Pine Ridge Treasures.   She preferred "classic-styled" jewelry in silver, and typically wears bracelets and earrings.  I had these gorgeous filigree lampwork beads from Sue Kennedy - one of my all-time favorite bead styles.  I also had some tear drop shaped beads from Unicorne - the matte finish on both bead styles complemented each other so well - so I set off to make Lisa a bracelet.

 

 

Next up is Ms. Stephanie Stamper of Rainy Day Designs.  I happen to know that she has 3 children, and she answered that she liked brass, copper, and silver.  Well, I had JUST replaced my old disc cutter and was still in "metal mode" at the time.  So, I got to work and made her an ID necklace with one brass disc, one copper disc, and one sterling silver disc.  After stamping her children's names on their respective discs, I antiqued the copper and silver discs using liver of sulfur.  Luckily, I had recently received Kerry Bogert's Rustic Wrappings book - which included tips and recipes to antique the brass, which does not react with liver of sulfur. 

 

Once the tags were made, I made a bail from sterling silver wire and attached the new pendant to some Vintaj chain and clasp.  I like how it turned out!

 

 

I had fun with this and I hope the recipients enjoy their gifts!

 

I will be headed to ARTBliss Workshops tonight for a full weekend of jewelry-making classes with Kerry Bogert and Stacie Florer!  I have been looking forward to this for months now and cannot believe it is finally here! I am equally excited to meet all of the "virtual jewelry artists" whose blogs I read daily and share comments on Facebook!!  I started to pack last night (lots of materials and tools to bring), but did not get very far! I. Must. Pack.... Now.!!

 

Have a good weekend and thank you for stopping by!

 

Hail to the new Chief! (No...not him!!!)

This past Friday, I was honored to attend the "pinning ceremony" of my niece's husband, Jon.  Jon was recently promoted from Petty Officer First Class to Chief Petty Officer.  The ceremony was held in Washington, DC at the U.S. Navy Memorial.

 

 

It was not really a hot day for Washington DC - the temperature was about 85 degrees, and there was a nice breeze...in the beginning.  However, it is still Summer here and that sun was blaring!  The fall-out of the sunshine was that I had a hard time taking pictures - I could not see a thing through my view finder...so I was lucky to get any shots!  I won't even go into the massive sunburn I received..I am NOT a sun worshiper - Winter is my FAVORITE season!

 

I was able to get a nice picture of the National Archives, which sits directly opposite the U.S. Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue. In my previous employment-for 20 years-I wrote proposals for Architects and General Contractors for building design and construction.  Many of the proposals involved renovation of the glorious historic facilities in Washington DC. Though I would not want to work in Washington, it is nice to "play tourist" and admire the architecture every once in a while!

 

 

The National Archives Building

The U.S. Navy Band was most impressive!  In fact, the entire ceremony was extremely well done!  Jon  - as well as all 52 of the Chief Petty Officer Selectees, as they were called - endured six weeks of INTENSIVE training prior to the ceremony.  This training was all "after work hours", and there was very little sleep involved in his schedule, which did not include days off.  My hats off to Jon (and Rachel - they are still in honeymoon stage, as they just got married in May)!

 

Parade of Selectees and their Sponsors (prior to receiving their official Covers).

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Selectees received not only their Chief Petty Officer pin, but their official "Cover", or hat in layman's terms.  Jon was standing behind a statue when he received his Cover, so no picture from me! However, I was able to snatch a picture of the Pinning!  Jon was pinned by his sister  Ericka (in black) and his wife, my niece Rachel (in orange).

 

 

It's official! (photo courtesy of Ericka)!

I was so proud to be a part a witness to this ceremony!  My sincerest congratulations to Jon - my nephew!  Thank you for allowing me to share in this important event and stage of your career!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Yes - More Donated Bracelets for the Global Genes Gala!

Back to the bracelets!  Below are pictures of the 75 bracelets that I made and donated to the Global Genes Organization for their Tribute to Champions Gala to be held at the end of this month.  The September 27th event will recognize individuals and organizations that are working tirelessly to help millions of children and families impacted by over 7,000 different types of rare and genetic diseases.

 

My main supplier of lampwork beads was Sue Kennedy of Sue Beads - but I also used beads from other artisans, as noted below.

 

Click on the pictures for a larger view

Pretty pastel disc beads by Sue Kennedy

This set of beads by Sue Kennedy was made in varying tones of blues with flecks of silver, which I combined with man-made sea glass beads

Lovely swirled blue lampwork beads by Sue Kennedy, with man-made sea glass

I really love this baroque style bead from Sue, combined with more man-made sea glass beads

Tiny blue spacer beads from Pebble Dreams - I followed a tutorial for this design by Tracey Statler

Beautiful light green frit on these lampwork beads by Sue, and creamy white lampwork beads by Glass Bead Art.

These disc beads by Sue are so pretty - I love the frit on the edges!  And, they are hard for me to photograph!

I combined Sue's swirled lampwork beads with this ceramic set of beads by Sherri Mallery of Slingin' Mud.  I added a handmade, sterling silver shell charm, by Lesley Watt of THEAtoo.

Lovely beads accented with silver by Sue, and Swarovski silver plated findings

Beautiful boro glass-encased beads by Brenda Scata-she left ETSY, so I no longer have a link :(.  I added some tiny Czech glass flowers as dangles.

Man made sea glass and Swarovski crystals

These are gorgeous handmade beads by Kaz Baildon of Cheeky Cherub Designs

Beautiful hues of blue beads by Sue Kennedy, with antique brass elements

Pretty lampwork beads by Sue Kennedy, which have been accented with silver

Thanks again to the artists for creating such beautiful works of art! :)

I encourage you to find out more about the Global Genes project by clicking the link below. 

Thank you for stopping by!  I love to read your comments!