I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

.....White Christmas Tree, at least.  I have 2 trees in my home, each decorated in its "own" fashion.  My absolute favorite tree is my white tree, which, after temporarily displacing the hall table and chairs to the basement for a month, fits perfectly in my entry hallway. 

I have only had this tree for about 3 years, but I dreamed of it forever! It is filled with colored lights and I know where every single ornament on this tree came from -- no two are alike.  My all-time favorite ornaments are by Christopher Radko.   There is the most awesome Christmas Shop in Olde Towne Alexandria (the Christmas Attric) where I used to work, and they sell his glass ornaments.  His ornaments always remind me of an "old fashioned Christmas".  I have always wanted a tree completely filled with these ornaments, like the first one I ever bought over 20 years ago...

However, the ornaments are pricey.  So, for the last 20+ years, I would save up and buy at least 1-2 of these beauties a year.  Since I have not amassed enough Christopher Radko's to fill the entire tree, the other ornaments are gifts, or handmade beauties, like the one I made this week with Jennifer Jangles beads:

 

I was going to give this ornament away, but I liked it too much when I was finished!  I frequently read her blog and she had some fantastic ideas for using her beads for ornaments - she has such talent!

The other Christmas Tree in my house is massive 12 footer. One full day to put this one up and decorate! 

My best friend dog Sam, likes to look at the lights at night.  He was very happy his dog bed was not moved in the decorating process!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sea of Tranquility - with Kelleys Beads

There has not been much time for jewelry making, that's for sure.  In the last 3 days, I have made double - and sometimes triple - batches of  11 different kinds of Christmas Cookies and Candy...and I am not done yet!  But, the house smells good!  For the first time in MANY years, the entire family will be together to celebrate Christmas Eve...all 17 of us at my house!  So, yes, more cookies to be made....

In the meantime, I did steal away a couple of hours to play with some gorgeous beads from Kelley Wenzel....these, to be exact:

These beads are amazing, as they appear to have texture, but are actually perfectly round!  And the colors!  My birthstone, turquoise!  They match PERFECTLY with Amazonite gemstones and chips.  So, I got out the sterling silver (lots of it) and came up with this:

I am calling this set "Sea of Tranquility", because the colors remind me of the beach! 

Thanks for stopping by!

New Jewelry with Unicorne Beads!

My last post went on and on about the recently acquired lamp work beads from several artisans.  It's Christmastime and the days are FULL of activity.  However, I was able to work with one set of beads from Unicorne (http://www.unicornebeads.com/).  This has to be one of my favorite color combinations - deep blue with a touch of green. I had the most beautiful set of blue/green crystals in my stash that match PERFECTLY to the lamp work beads.  In the photographs, the blue of the crystals turns a tad purple, but it's blue!

I could have just kept these lamp work beads on my table and stared at them all day for the rest of my life - they are so pretty!  In my next life, I'd like to make beads, but until then, I will just play with them!  My favorite metal to work with is sterling silver.  I hand forged a clasp from sterling silver for the necklace, and used hand made sterling ear wires for the earrings.  But I love the look of the antique silver plated clasp on the bracelet.

I hope to have time this weekend to play with some more beads!  Thank you for stopping by!

The 25% off Grand Opening Sale continues in my etsy shop!

It's All About the Beads!

In the past 2 weeks, I have done my part to support the economy...I have been on a major shopping spree for beads!  Many beads, some of which I would like to share here:

Gorgeous lentils from Unicorne Beads (http://www.unicornebeads.com/)

Green/Blue Marble Beads from Unicorn

I have more of these Ivory Raku lentils from Kelleys Beads - hoarded from earlier this year  (http://kelleysbeads.blogspot.com/)! 

More phenomenal lentils from Unicorn - denim colored!

Turquoise crackle beads, from Kelleys Beads

Baroque style beads from Sue Beads (http://suebeads.blogspot.com/) Her color choices in this set are SPOT ON!!

Dichroic flat beads - Unicorn

Royal Blues from Kelleys Beads

Lovely lampwork scrolls from Cheryls Art on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/cherylsart?ref=seller_info) - Cheryl also makes beautiful Christmas Ornaments!

It's raining on and off in Virginia today.  Hopefully, I can get to my "studio" and work with some of these lovelies.

My Grand Opening 25% Off sale in my etsy shop is still on!!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Grand Opening Sale!!! Save 25%

To celebrate the Grand Opening of my ETSY store, enjoy 25% off of everything!!!  New items are constantly being added to the shop, so please stop by often!  A small sample of items available pictured below.  Items ship quickly!

Thanks for stopping by!