Happy Independence Day!

Today was a day of reflection and home time. I don't like big crowds any more, so stayed home and listened to all the neighbor's fireworks going off. (This year, the weather has been cooler and wetter so fear of blazing fires is nil.) The dog slept through everything and the cat doesn't seem fazed by any of it. That's good. I wonder how many flyers are going to be up tomorrow for missing animals.

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July festivities. Even with all our troubles, we are still the greatest nation on this planet.

Clean Clothes and Lupines

Yesterday, my darling hubby put up my new clothesline. It's an umbrella type, like my mom used to have when we lived in California. Not as practical here when the rainy season lasts about 9 months. However, I wanted to hang out my laundry, when we did have sun, and get that great outdoor smell in fresh dried shirts and sheets.

I had a single line clothesline about 20 years ago, but that didn't last too long. That was when we had horses, and every time they ran through the pasture, all the dust they stirred up blew towards the clean laundry. This does not make a happy mommy, so back to the dryer until yesterday! The horses have been gone for quite some time now and there is grass in the pasture instead of dirt, so I thought it was about time to change things up. Lucky for me, I still had all my clothespins, but they are the smaller size and I think I need to go shopping for the bigger, more hefty ones. I hope they still make them.

While waiting for the wash to get done, I took a walk with the cat this morning. The wild flowers are blooming and I have one lupine plant out behind the shop. (It showed up last year and I'm hoping it will spread in the coming years.) So, got out the camera and tripod. Here are a few pics of the plant from today.

45 Years Ago...

...was the first full day I spent in Oregon. My family had moved up to Eugene from Northern California to get a new start. It rained that first Independence Day and all of our clothes, except for a few suitcases, were still on the moving van which wasn't going to get to our house for a few more days. We almost froze to death and the rain put our sparklers out. I hated it. I hated being here for two more years until we took a trip back to our little town and it was ugly. The hills were brown, it was HOT and dry and I had a sore throat all through that visit. We got home and my whole attitude changed. After all this time, like a true Oregonian, I've grown webs between my toes and moss behind my ears. ;) I'm a mountain girl and love it here.

A view from the back door on a late fall morning

I'M DONE! ! ! ! !

A full year of earrings is in the jewelry box, so to speak, and I'm very pleased with myself that I was able to complete this challenge. Yeah! Here is the last pair of earrings I made for the Earrings 365 Challenge.



I hand hammered 18ga copper wire flat, put a hole in one end, wired Swarovski marguerites and copper spacers together and put it all together. I got the idea from the June/July issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry. On the last page, Terrie Allen has easy instructions for a pair of beautiful silver and crystal earrings. I decided to use copper instead because it looks better with the greens in the marguerites.

Now, off for another Challenge and this one is just starting with this blog post. Yes, I'm going to try to get a blog post a day for the next year. I won't be able to make every day, sometimes I'll be out of town or I might get sick again (I hope not), but I'll try my best and make up the lost ones.

I think one of the other challenges I have to make for myself is to finish the BJP pages from 2008. I only have 3 1/2 to go. It's just finding where I put them that's going to be the big problem. 8\

Week 52 !

I have only 4 MORE days to go!!! Yeah!

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do for the next year long challenge. I'll let you know. If anyone has a suggestion, please leave a comment and I will consider it. Thanks! :)

Week 51

These earrings are very cool. I was looking for natural beads for a commissioned necklace I'm making and came across these. They are Mahogany seed pods and I love them! They are very light and I flanked them with wooden beads, vintage sequins and gold plated spacers. You can find the strangest things when you're looking for something else.

Week 50

This was a "Purple" week for the Challenge earrings. This pair is made from some of my favorite beads. Rubberized acrylic swirls, with cut outs, make for very light beads, even though they are large.



Check out the rest of Week 50 on the Earrings 365 page.

Undulations - Violet Family

Here is another one. I decided to use a book page from my very old Gray's Botany, hence the name Violet Family.

Undulations

It was mostly rainy and dark today until around 3 p.m. and I wanted some color in my life. After making my daily earrings, I wanted to try something I found on the web last night. This is it. I'm very pleased with my first "Undulation" and will be making more and adding them to my Z'oodles.

This is an excellent practice for shading and color placement. The next one will have every other "row" the opposite color way. These are very fun.

I won!

Over at OnlineAuction.com they had a little contest to see who could come up with the most creative pictures that also included their logo. I Won!! Here is the picture that got me voted Number 1!



I love this picture of the overburdened postman. All those years of playing in the mail art community really paid off. I was very surprised because I rarely win anything, and some of the other entries were pretty good.

Ok...this time I did forget

Once you get out of a habit, it's very hard to get back into it. So, here I am trying to acquire my posting habit again. I just posted Weeks 48 and 49 and here are a couple of pairs from those weeks.


May 28th


June 5th

I have only 20 more days of this challenge. Yah! Stayed tuned for more earrings. This week seems to be a purple week. That is quite appropriate, at 50 you get to wear red and purple.

I Did Not Forget

I've been sick for the last 2 1/2 weeks with a sinus infection. I've never had a sinus infection before and I don't ever want another one. I'd even prefer an ear infection to what I just went through. The cough is still hanging on, but I'm recovering. I hate being sick.

I have been keeping up with the challenge this past week, but I was behind about four days last week because I just couldn't get up enough energy to sit at the bead desk. Here are a couple of pair of earrings from the last two weeks.

Week 46

Week 47

I'm back on schedule and have about 5 weeks left of the Challenge. I wasn't sure if I would make it a full year, but now that I'm this far along, I ain't quiting!

Only 53 Pair of Earrings To Go!

This challenge is coming to a close rather quickly. I've been able to use up some long lost beads, making room for more. :) I might get a bit adventurous with some of the remaining earrings since I received my new book, "Steel Wire Jewelry" by Brenda Schweder. Looks like lots of bendy, coily fun, and I still have a big roll of steel wire from my classes last year at Art and Soul.

I'm happy to say that I've sold 13 weeks worth of earrings so far. If you are interested in helping out two no-kill shelters for our furry friends, come on over and bid on some earrings. Check them out here - Z'annes Bazaar.

A Pair From Week 45

The blue and white speckled beads on the bottom of these earrings are glow in the dark beads. I think it's always fun to add a little unexpected surprise to every day things. Don't you?

Week 44

Only two months to go on this challenge. Still having fun and finding the most interesting "beads" in of all places, Petco. These little blocks are made for the littlest critters to chew on, but I had to use them for earrings. They are very light, a little clunky, but I have dressed them up with Swarovski marguerites and fire polished glass beads.



Just the right pair when you are in the mood to have fun.

Ethnic and Crystals

I have had these little "vase" shaped ethnic beads for a long, long time. I was going through my stash to find something else and found these. It's amazing how we can put something away to keep for "special", lose it and then find it again when we aren't even looking for it. Anyway...I paired these beads with some lovely graduated Swarovski marguerites. Enjoy.

Happy Easter

Here is my Zentangle version of the Easter Bunny for you.

Week 42 - Only 10 More Weeks To Go

I've been under the weather for almost a week, feeling much better today. Even though I was not feeling the best, I still got myself up to the bead desk every day to make my daily pair of earrings. I've taken this challenge seriously and as far as I've come, I ain't gonna stop now!

Here is the pair for April 11th.



These are large tear drop dangles of ochre colored epoxy-over-brass under red and amber colored crystals. I found these dangles at Fire Mountain Gems and come in different colors, sizes and shapes. They are very light and make great earrings.

Another Week Completed

I had forgotten about these beads and only found them when cleaning out a bead drawer. They are a luscious light blue with spots of dichroic glass fused to the middle of them. To highlight the beads and crystals, I added some black spacers. They sparkle so nicely in the light.



With less than 3 months to go, I'm still lovin' this challenge. I'm trying to decide if I want to continue with another yearly challenge. Whether it be a collage a day, a blog post a day, a Zentangle day or something completely different. We'll just have to see. Either way, it will be here for all to see.

Week 40 !

Yay! Only 12 more weeks to go! This week seemed to be the week of Crystals. I got some new Marguerite Swarovski flower crystals last week and have been having fun with them. I now have to get some more colors, they are rather addicting. Here is one pair of earrings with the Marguerites:



You can see more of Week 40 here.

New things to see

I've been spending most of my day waiting for downloads of my pictures to my various pages. oh the joy of dial up. But, it's dark, dreary, wet and cold, a perfect day to spend in front of the computer or fire.

Here is a pair of flower earrings I made for this week to celebrate the start of Spring. I should have made some snowflakes, too. ;)



I been having a ton of fun making oodles of flower earrings. The combinations are so much fun to put together. New beads and charms are coming next week for more Earrings 365! Whoopee!

Happy Vernal Equinox!

Here is the pair of earrings I made today for my challenge and for Spring! I think I will make flower earrings all this week to celebrate the Spring season. It's been so grey and gloomy up here in the woods. I think it might be a loooong time until the flowers come out to greet the day.



I found these great little matte resin flowers at Artbeads.com, they come in about five or seven different kinds of flowers. Just layer them over a small flower bead like this or a Swarovski crystal and you've got a great pair of earrings for Spring, Easter or Mother's Day.

Week 37

I started to gather materials for these earrings yesterday, (mottled brown beads surrounded by peridot-colored crystals) and then the power went out. Earlier, I had been working on balancing the checkbook and taxes (whoopie). I waited until later to make my daily pair as a treat for doing the drudgery work and then...ZAP. Actually it wasn't so much of a zap as it was a whoosh. We had one heck of a wind storm come through mid-afternoon and power was killed by a tree taking out the major powerlines on Hwy. 26. The weather system was a weird one. It came in, did its damages and then within an hour was gone.

We got out the oil lamps and fired up the little Ben Franklin stove. The light from the lamps is not to good for beading, so we sat and listened to the radio until we got the lights back on about 6 hours later. Immediately went to the bead desk and got these pair done. There were occasional blinks from the lights throughout the night, but today things are much better.

We lost one of our big hemlock trees. It fell away from the driveway and took out a number of little trees in its wake. There were also a couple of tree tops that broke off and a number of alders that broke in half. Nothing fell on the house, shop or barn and no blocked driveway. Another weather system is coming later tonight with more wind. Not really looking forward to that.

The thing I hate the most....changing the clocks AGAIN after this episode.

I completely forgot....

...about uploading my pictures of the current past two weeks of earrings. Sheesh! I love this getting older stuff...NOT! So...here are a couple of examples from Week 35 and Week 36.

President's Day

I hope those of you who had the day off had a nice day. For the rest of us, yeah...it was a Monday. One good thing, the weather was fairly nice for February in Oregon. The sun shone, the clouds were high and fluffy and we had hardly any wind. A nice Spring-like day. Now here comes the snow. Again. Just about every day for the rest of the week. oh boy, oh boy. i am really excited. i can hardly contain myself.

But enough of that, on to better things...this is a pair of earrings I made today. I love these little beads. Check out this page at Goody Beads for lots of cool stuff to make the new large hole bead charm bracelets.

It has come to my attention....

To view each week of earrings, at the Earrings 365 page, click on the picture of the week you wish to see and it will expand larger. Each pair has the date underneath and if you have a question about a certain pair, please email me at zannesbazaar at yahoo dot com.

Thank you!

A Heart-y Week

This week is all about red hearts. Except Monday, it's just Red and I wanted to use those fabulous beads. I used different beads and different metals with these really cool rubberized acrylic hearts. The beads feeeeellll as soft as silk and are very light on the lobes. You can find them at Fire Mountain Gems and Beads under Acrylic and then scroll down to Rubber.

I wish everyone a Loving and Lovely Valentine's Day!

Green is the color for Week 32

Here is a pair of malachite earrings from last weeks group. I decided to use jump rings instead of wrapping with wire. They will be able to move and sway easier on the jump rings.

This is one of three pair of green earrings I made this week. I don't know why. Maybe I'm really wanting Spring to come. We have no snow here and can see green all around in the trees and grass. *shrugs* Perhaps my Muse likes green this week.

Another Week Done...

...only 20 more to go. This is one pair of earrings from last week. A bunch of berries for your lobes.

Week 30 !

Wow...that's 207 pairs of earrings! Am I insane for doing this? Or just extremely addicted to the beads?

Here is a pic of today's pair. I got some new beads in the mail yesterday and I LOVE these. Handmade lampworked beads in ten different colors and two different designs. I'll have to be very creative so I can get all of the colors into the earrings.

January 23

Oops & Roller Girl

I have completely forgotten to get my earrings up for last week. It's been a busy week this week. The puppy went in to the vet for dew claw removal and to snip his "buds". I've been playing nurse and babysitter. Also, my sweet little mother in law was not feeling very well, so HB got her to the doctor. It turns out she has shingles. She will be fine with medication. At 91, we do worry.

Life is going to be busy this year. Wy'east Artisans Guild has tapped me to be Treasurer for this year and Portland Art Collective has asked me to step into the Finance Committee chair for our annual Open Doors Show. And I thought I'd just sail through this year and work on bead competition pieces. Yeah, right, maybe next year.

I did get a chance to make one of my Roller Girl dolls for a doll show at our local library. Each doll starts out with a paint roller body, tennis ball head, sisal rope neck and light switch cover for feet. This is a fun doll to make because everything to create her is from the hardware store. I shop our local Ace Hardware and have a great time confusing the sales people. "A doll from hardware?" teeheehee

Her head is covered by cheese cloth and I also use it to make her shawl. Untwisted mason line is her hair. Wire is wrapped around her body to make her arms. Rags from t-shirt material was wrapped around her bodice and arms to fill her out and an emergency blanket was cut up to make her pleated skirt. She stands on a large electrical box cover which is on a smaller electrical box. RG's crown is a PVC drain filter wrapped with Duck Brand duct tape, on top is an acrylic night light part and small tile spacers, which are also on her shawl. Everything is held together by hot glue. Lots and lots of hot glue.

Roller Girl - Before


Roller Girl - After

I had the greatest time playing with all my hardware to create this doll. I will be making more of these Roller Girls later this year. Next time, instead of leaving parts in their original form, I will use paints and other colorants I find at the hardware store to add some color for more personality.

New Online Auction Shop Open

I've finally gotten my shop open with just a few auctions ready, (still filling up the pages). I'm selling all those earrings that I've been making. Each auction will be a week in the challenge. That's seven pair of earrings per auction. I decided to start off with a minimum price of $3.50 and hope that the prices go up.

Actually, I'm hoping the prices will go way up because I'm taking all the proceeds of the sales and dividing them between two charities. A Place to Bark and Cat Adoption Team are no-kill shelters for cats and dogs who need loving homes. I've grown up with cats and dogs all my life and having just lost our sweet Bear in September, I wanted to help these great places.

To see what I have up for auction, click here - Z'annes Bazaar take a look around and have some fun spending some money. Valentine's Day IS coming up soon. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

Please pass this along to all the animal lovers you know, after the holidays is always a hard time.

NOTE: I am not in any way affiliated with either organization.

YOWZA ! ! !

Half way through the year! Week 26 is now on the page and I'm feeling rather accomplished. This has been a real challenge to make a pair of earrings every day and not duplicate. I may be using the same style over and over, but not the same beads. I've also learned that I have a WHOLE lot of beads I've forgotten about. I have purchased beads for this particular project, but most of the beads I've used are from years of collecting because I was going to use them in another project. So, this is a good way to use them up and start over again. (wink, wink, buy, buy)

I'm starting a new store at OnLine Auction so I can offer these earrings up to the public to help a couple of very needy charities. More on them coming later. Still working on getting the store up and running. I'm trying to get it open next weekend. Wish me luck!

I was a bad girl

With all the fatigue and chaos that goes with putting on our show, I forgot to make my earrings every day last weekend. I did, however, make three pair on Sunday to make up for Friday and Saturday. I think it will be the only time in this year-long project that this will happen. I hope. One never knows what may come.

I did finally get my pictures up on the Earrings 365 page tonight. My entire schedule is all messed up. I have a Christmas party to go to tomorrow, a board meeting on Friday, Saturday holds family stuff and a partridge in a pear tree.

...and so starts the season. Merry Christmas!

The Show....

...turned out great last weekend and all of us had a FABULOUS time! I'd like to thank the PAC member who took pictures of all of our booths, because I completely forgot my camera.

My Booth

The weather turned out cold, but mostly clear and we got a lot of people coming in to see us. Portland Art Collective has pictures of all the booths from the sale on the blog. Check out the coolness that is PAC. If you couldn't make it this year, we missed you, get your calendar marked for next year. The first Friday and Saturday in December is when we will be at the Multnomah Art Center. Christmas is so much more special when presents are handcrafted.

We are already planning new artful goodness for next year. Come early, stay late and take home the best in original art, direct from the artist's hands.

Open Doors

This coming Friday and Saturday I will be part of a fantastic art show. There will be 24 of us crazy artists, from Portland Art Collective, selling our art at the Multnomah Art Center, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland. This is the fourth year we've done this. As we continue these shows, our customers turn into collectors and then our friends. It's great to see familiar faces returning to support our local artists.

If you can make it, come by to say "Hi!" and stroll through the doors to see what's new.

Phew!

I have been VERY busy getting ready for the Portland Art Collective Open Doors show. It opens this next Friday, December 3rd and goes through the next day, Saturday, December 4th. Check the link to see more info on the show and the great artists that are involved.

Anyway...I just spent the last few days organizing and pricing each and every piece of art I am bringing. Next comes the set up. I have a place in the barn that I have traced out and will figure out how to get the "bones" set up for the display. This is the most important part of any show, how to display the wares to the best advantage. Sigh..busy, busy, busy.

This is always exciting and very tiring for me, but I enjoy each and every moment!

Don't forget to check out my latest on my Earrings 365 page. I've been having fun with my beads this last week!

Oh My Goodness!

I can't believe this month is over! The last four weeks went whizzing by. At the first of the month I attended Art & Soul classes. Had The Best Time and learned some new techniques. (If you ever get the chance to take a class with Keith Lo Bue or Richard Salley, take it! They are some of the best teachers and fun guys, too!) Went on another art retreat with my other art group, Portland Art Collective, meetings for business, art, family and then...there was Andy.

Getting Bigger By The Day

He takes so much of our time, just like any baby/toddler. He is learning not to bite so much and my bruises are slowly going away. He is just too fun and too busy!

During all this crazy month I have been making my earrings. Every day, one pair a day, minimum. Here is my pair for today...I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

14 Weeks

Wow! That's a long time to make a pair of earrings a day and I'm having a blast doing it. There have been some flashy ones, crazy ones, plain ones, fishy ones and all sorts of others. This morning I tried to think of a new pair without duplicating. This is going to be the challenge in this project. I guess that means I have to buy a bunch of new beads to avoid that. Oh, the sacrifices I make for my art. ;)

Here is a pair I made on September 30th. I wanted to change things up and play around with wire and wood. As the leaves fall, I will be out looking for small pieces of woodland to incorporate into more of my earrings.



38 more weeks to go! Stay tuned and check out the new weekly postings at Earrings 365

New Diet and Exercise Program

New Puppy is the first ever interactive diet and exercise program!

This little guy has both of us running and playing and so tired out that we don't even want to eat, let alone cook anything. I forgot how much a new "baby" can take up all your time and energy. *YAWN* It hasn't even been a full two weeks yet, either!

You can't tell by this picture, but he has grown longer and lankier in that short time period, too. The best part is, he didn't take very long to make himself at home. He knows his name now and comes when we call, most of the time. Andy discovered the cat. She hisses, he barks...it's funny from my point of view. The cat on the other hand is NOT pleased. Lucky for her, Andy is not allowed in the house yet. He is happy in the shop and that's where he'll be until he is fully potty trained.

Keeping an eye out for that overly-hyper fuzzy "Thing".

Portland Art Collective September Giveaway

The Archeologist's FindYou Could Win This Necklace!

If you want a chance to win it, go to Portland Art Collective and post a comment about the necklace. A winner will be picked at the end of the month and it might be YOU! We will contact you by email for your shipping info then. Good Luck! Sorry to say, PAC members are ineligible to enter this give away.

Turquoise is one of my favorite stones to work with. It is such a powerful stone and paired with copper and coral, it reminds me of ancient jewelry worn by great royalty from long gone civilizations.

History of Turquoise
Turquoise is a stone that has been prized for many years. The ancient Egyptians used turquoise in jewelry. Turquoise is greenish-blue or pale sky blue. The name means "Turkish stone" as it came to Europe by way of Turkey. Turquoise was mined more than 6,000 years ago in Sinai. The best turquoise comes from Iran, but not much is exported now. Much turquoise comes from Mexico and the United States today.

Turquoise Gemstone meaning
Turquoise is one of the oldest protection amulets, and was also known as a symbol of wealth in many ancient cultures.

Strength, protection from harm, psychic sensitivity and connection to the spirit world

If given a turquoise by a loving friend, that stone would protect the wearer from negative energy and bring good fortune. The turquoise is the symbol of friendship. It also brings peace to the home.

This stone is a very personal and meaningful stone to one who wears it. Turquoise takes on the characteristics of the owner.

Turquoise carries great wisdom of basic truth within it. It is one of the oldest stones known. This is a stone that a person must learn to attune to instead of the stone attuning to the person. It is important that the owner of a Turquoise give it the proper attention.

Healing properties of Turquoise

Neutralizes overacidity
Alleviates rheumatism, gout, stomach problems, viral infections
Increases growth, muscular strength
Alleviates pain, relaxes cramps
Contains anti-inflammatory and detoxifying effects
Application: should be worn on the solar plexus

Use with copper to increase the power of turquoise.


Red Coral meaning
Coral has been called the 'garden of the sea'. It was once believed to be a plant, but is now known to actually contain living animals called polyps. Coral is the result of accumulated skeletal masses from these polyps. Red is considered the most sought after color but coral also can be found in pink, white, yellow and black.

Records dating back thousands of years confirm that coral was used in decorative art objects. It was believed to prevent ill fortune and offer protection from skin disease when worn as a necklace. Dreams about coral are believed to foretell recovery from a long illness. Ancients believed that Mars was composed of red coral.

Coral is a good aid for meditation or visualization.

Healing properties of coral
Coral symbolizes life and blood force energy. Dark red coral is used for heating and stimulating the bloodstream. Pink shades restore harmony to the heart. It is used as an aid to depression, lethargy or deficient nutrition.

Sources of coral
Locations where coral can be found include the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Australia, the South Pacific, the waters of Japan, and Africa.

Copper meaning
Any stone set in copper or used with copper with have an enhanced energy field. Copper even enhances the energy of silver and gold. There are some stones that are very powerful when used with copper. These stones are:

Azurite
Chrysocolla
Malachite
Turquoise

Copper is a healing metal
Copper has long been used as a healing metal, especially for arthritis and rheumatism. Copper has been used with blood and metabolism disorders. Copper acts as a conductor when worn on the body. Copper will help the healing effect of any stone when both touch the body.

The above information was found at Emily Gems. Search their site for further information on other gem stones you may be interested in. (I am not affiliated with this site.)

Meet Andy

After a lot of tears and the breaking of hearts, HB decided that he needed a new dog. A trip to the hardware store produced an ad with a phone number. He had to wait over the long Labor Day weekend before he would know if the puppy was still available. Tuesday was the day he was able to go pick up his new pride and joy. Andy came into our lives at 12:30, Tuesday afternoon. And what a bundle of energy and joy. This time, HB will be the teacher and caretaker of the new puppy. (I got that job with Bear, and what a job it was!) HB has his office set up for a puppy prison when it's time for bed and Andy seems to feel right at home there.

My 3 Seconds of Calm

At eight weeks, he is all GO then all STOP. He is wearing HB out and it's not even a full day, yet. We started him in a collar today and HB put the leash on him. He is learning very quickly. I think that's why I love the Aussies so much. They are so smart, even at this age.

The Cat is not so happy about this new THING. She is curious, but not to the point of actually going over to it and sniffing it. For now, Andy mostly stays in the shop with Dad and Mira stays in the house with me. I'm sure there will be a meeting of noses sooner than later and a lesson from the Cat right then.

In Memorium

BearMarch 1, 1997 - August 30, 2010

A companion, a friend, a jester, intelligent and kind. A good dog. We love you.

Pirates in a Dragon Boat

Today was the day Portland Art Collective Pirates took to the water and drove a Dragon Boat up the Willamette River. We were truly a sight to see. I don't have pictures, because I didn't want to either lose my camera or get it wet. But, if you go here Portland Art Collective there will be pictures to keep you entertained for quite some time.

We dressed the part and had a rollicking good time. Paddling up and down the river and scaring the water fowl. I'm sure if we had been a bit more graceful, we could have raided the submarine at OMSI. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) But as it is, we stayed in the boat, sang, laughed and got wet. And then we had pizza!

It was a wonderful day!

Strange Goings On

Western Screech Owl

I was sitting at my computer the other night, cruising and perusing. All of a sudden I heard a thud on the window and looked up to see a screech owl trying to get hold of something to land on. His little face was right up into the window, just glaring at me. I don't know if he was trying to catch the moths that are attracted by the light or wanted to try for something bigger, but it was strange indeed!

This little guy was caught by my cat two years ago. She had brought him into my studio. I rescued him and took him outside to recover. He was NOT very happy, to say the least.

More Earrings

I think I'm making up for all the jewelry I didn't create last year. I made these today after I got my daily pair of earrings completed. I'm feeling very good about getting one pair of earrings done each day. It's helped quite a bit in sitting me at the bead desk, and if I don't do anything but the earrings, I do come up with design ideas for other things to do later.

More Beady Things

I've been busy at my bead desk lately. These necklaces are for upcoming shows through the end of the year. There are still a bunch more that I haven't taken pictures of, yet. And...still more ideas for the beads I have and recently purchased. There can never be enough beads!