One World One Heart…

 

It’s time for the One World One Heart 2011 event!

This is a really, really big international blog event and it will be the last year. It’s hosted by A Whimsical Bohemian and  I had a wonderful time at the past event and will be ready to go this year. Each participant offers a giveaway and last year mine went to a blogger from the Netherlands. Click on the link above or the sidebar button to find out more!

 

Brownie and I say Happy New Year!

 

 

Woof, woof!

Happy Holidays!

 

Here’s some Christmas cheer from my house to you…

Enjoy the tree…

 

Have a seat at the table…

 

With a vintage plastic crèche…

 

A napkin holder dressed for the season…

 

And goodie bags to hand out…

 

Blessings of the season!

Starfish and Buttonhole Stitches

Crafting My Best Life, continued…

One of the projects was a starfish of felt with arms to hold messages of love from those we hold dear – I had forgotten how cheerful red felt is! Specially with yellow buttonhole stitch. Now I want to make an ocean full of cheerful starfish!

 

Tags to remind me of goals, a book for journaling

 

But the main goal: mission statements. Business on the right, personal on the left. This is a box lid, for the class we decorated a shoe sized box to hold the projects. I didn’t have a shoe box handy so I used the box from a Diwali Barbie who now dances in my studio (and looks exactly like Aishwarya Rai).

 

Keep howling!

Painted Rocks

The next “Crafting My Best Life” project was to find out what we value, distill those values into single words and put those words on painted rocks. Painting rocks is fun!

Finding the values meant answering questions like : when have you felt needed by others…, if I could muster up the courage I would …, when were you inspired…, and then condense the answers into a single word. Rocks were used because values are solid, what a great way to express that! I put the value of creativity on the big rock, because that’s so important to me now. Compassion is on the smallest rock so I can put it in my pocket and take it with me always.  Hozho is a Navajo word that’s translated as “beauty” but it’s like the beauty of being in balance with the universe. Sangha means community, it’s a value learned from Buddhism. The muslin bag came with the class kit – to hold our rocks, on it I wrote I will remember.

Next: Starfish

Raised By Wolves

I’ve been taking an online class: “Crafting My Best Life”, created and taught by Jenny Doh, the former editor of Somerset Studios wonderful publications. What an experience! The class is from CRESCENDOh Creative Lab where there are more great learning adventures!

First we had to find out “who am I”

We responded to a set of questions and created a self portrait using the answers.This is my self portrait, the central figure is from a painting done by my mother. Where are you from? San Diego and Palm Springs. What were you good at when you were 10 or 11? I loved science and bird-watching – so I used a microscope and a yellow bird. Who were your heroes? Henry David Thoreau and Keith Richards. Who raised you? My first response was “wolves”, well, I like that! So it’s official, I was raised by wolves and you can see one in the lower left corner!

Next: painted rocks!

Think Pink!

There’s still a bit of time to enter! 

A lovely giveaway at Lilly's Lace, a new blog. 

She made the beautiful belt buckle above and has posts of vintage wedding photos with her humorous stories – very entertaining! Stop by and enjoy!

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

Oh my! It was storming here recently and I’m glad we didn’t end up in Oz – though I am in Az. A tornado warning was in effect, the night before was sleepless – constant thunder roaring like a stormy sea, one hail storm after another, lightning shivering through the sky and a poor dog shivering all night.  But what a chance for pictures!

St. Cecilia’s Catholic church in Clarkdale

 

Old Town Cottonwood – the wind was really blowing

 

On the way out of Old Town

 

Raindrops on the windshield

 

The ghost town of Jerome looking spooky in the mist

Merry Meet and Practical Magic

Welcome! Come in and sit a spell.

It’s time for the Practical Magic Blog Party. I’ve chosen a theme from the movie, which is a visual delight. I would love to have a couple of eccentric aunts who eat brownies for breakfast and can work magic from a book of shadows!

Now I do know two sisters who love to cook up magic in their cauldron in the woods.

But spell books can be dangerous so I’ll share a simple craft and for inspiration -

Frances Owens and her fabulous outfits!

Black and Orange

A necklace and earrings set that’s easy to make. You can use different colours – anything you like.

You will need:

 

• 
  
  pre-made black chain necklace (from Michaels)
• 
  
  3   8 mm fire polish glass beads - orange
• 
  
  4   6 mm fire polish glass beads – orange
• 
  
  2   4 mm fire polish glass beads – orange
• 
  
  jump rings – gunmetal or black
• 
  
  head pins – gunmetal or black
• 
  
  3  8 mm bead caps, gold, painted black
• 
  
  3  6 mm bead caps, gold, painted black
• 
  
  filigrees for the earrings, gold, painted black
• 
  
  lever back ear wires - gunmetal

Findings

Fire polish beads

Flat black spray paint, wire cutters, flat nose pliers – I use two, only one is pictured and round nose pliers. Lotus is optional.

Tape a piece of masking tape to a scrap of cardboard and stick the gold filigrees and bead caps down, spray with black paint, allow to dry thoroughly, remove from tape. Put a fresh piece of tape on the cardboard and put the filigrees and bead caps painted side down, spray with black paint and allow to dry thoroughly, remove from tape.

From the chain necklace: remove two of the black crystals to shorten one of the rosary chains, set aside for the earrings. Remove all but three of the small chains. You will have two rosary chains and three small chains on the necklace. Set aside.

Prepare the beads

On a head pin put a large (8 mm) bead cap and 8 mm bead, form a loop at the top.

Bend the head pin over, cut the wire and roll the end on the round pliers.

A loop -

Do this for all the beads using 8 mm bead caps for the 8 mm beads, 6 mm bead caps for the 6 mm beads and no bead caps for the 4 mm beads.

Now back to the chain necklace

Fold one of the small chains in half and mark the center link with a pin.

Attach the loop of an 8 mm bead in the link

I found it easier to remove the chains from the necklace – attach the two remaining 8 mm beads to the same chain, halfway between the first bead and the end, one on each side of the center.

Attach the 6 mm beads to a different small chain, spaced between the large beads. The spacing is by eyeball – it doesn’t need to be perfect. Attach the chain unit to the necklace.

Attach a 4 mm bead to the jump ring that connects the small chains to the large ring.

For the earrings:

Attach two links of the small chain – removed from the necklace – to a 4 mm bead, use a jump ring to attach to the filigree. Use jump rings to attach three beads to the bottom of the filigree. Use one rosary link - removed from the chain necklace – to attach the ear wire. Repeat for other earring. Note: if your filigree is different you may need more or fewer beads. Substitute different colours or metals, round beads instead of fire polish. If it fits, it works.

 

There are lots of instructions out there on basic jewelry techniques like forming loops, many bead magazines have a basic instruction section or check out websites for tutorials from magazines like “Bead and Button” and “Beadwork”. If you have questions, please email or make sure I can contact you if your question is in a comment. Whatever you do – have fun!

Meow!

  

Farewell To Summer

The black-eyed Suzan’s smiling face is brightening the roadsides – and signaling the end of summer. In Arizona, of course, the usual feeling is “isn’t summer over yet?”

 

The hills are drying out from the rains and turning brown.

 

Yellow flowers and dusty highways …

 

Country roads.

 

The last blooms of Jimson weed …

 

The bugs have enjoyed the leaves.

 

My agave has over-grown his pot, which is about two feet in diameter and he will now have a permanent home in the yard – I had this by the front door, ouch!

 

One of the maple trees agrees that summer is over – here’s the official sign that autumn is on the way – the first fall leaf!

 

Until next year – goodbye summer!