Ahhh, spring is finally upon us after a long winter.  I love every season Bend has to offer because they all seem so intense and everlasting.  Each new season ignites a need for change inside me and so we move on to my newest bead series...

Faux Porcelain.

 

Actually, they're not exactly new to me...they've been in the works for months now.

 

I just couldn't get them right and they were driving my looney.

And then one night....BAM...

I was lovestruck!

p.s. BAM also stands for Bad Ass Mom, which is what my boys call me :)

xxoo

Soup Time!

In my last post, I introduced you to my lovely partner, Ali McCarthy 

who sent me some beautiful soup just singing of spring!  

Before I show you what I did with all of that goodness, here's what I sent her...

My own polymer creations, a hand forged copper clasp and additional goodies

I've always adored lamp work, but don't work with it very often so I started off with a simple earring design to show off those cute little blue birds.

And then I moved on to a more detailed design feauturing some of my patina brass and copper...

 I threw in some Sari Silk to accent the beautiful blues of Ali's lamp work.

And saving the best for last, at least in my opinion, is a bracelet featuring both her gorgeous beads and copper clasp as focals...why concentrate on just one?!

I gave the copper a dark patina, which really helped its texture come through and even added one of my own poly beads for some contrast. 

So there you have it!  What fun it was to work with this bounty of mine.  Thanks so much Ali and, as always, thanks to the extraordinary Lori for hosting an amazing party.
I'm off to hop...enjoy the party!
 

Slight Delay...phew

 www.BeadSoupBlogParty.com

Our sweet, courageous friend, Lori, continues to battle her ailments so our reveal date has been postponed to May 10th.  I breath a sigh of relief, as I'm sure most of us do, because I suffer from procrastination.  

This gives me a perfect opportunity to introduce you to my partner, Ali from http://www.northwoodscreativestudio.blogspot.com/, who creates in multiple mediums, but I got the pleasure of receiving some of her beautiful, springy lamp-work beads....

I was so excited to work with these colors!!

And yes, I have finished my pieces, but now I have a little extra time to tweak and play.

See you all in a week!

xxoo

On the worktable

A new addiction of mine....

headpins

 highly textured on copper

grungy black & white

my favorite color combo so far

sea pod textures

The possibilities seem endless...

xxoo

So it's happening this year...

the dreaded 4 0.

HOW. DID. THAT. HAPPEN.

After much, MUCH thought, I figured I had two ways I could approach this.

Depression, bitterness, and self loathing

OR

take this bad bitch by the horns and seize it with everything I've got.

Really, first option sounds way too horrible so let's just go with option number 2.

Because, after all, I don't FEEL 40.  I really don't think I LOOK 40 

(those of you who disagree with me can just shut it).  

So let's DO THIS!

I signed up for a half-marathon.  Wait, What?! 13.1 miles?  You betcha.  Let's once and

 for all drop those extra pounds, regain the energy of my youth, and conquer a goal I've been 

thinking about most of my adult lifetime, but way to chicken to actually do. 

Second, face my fear of rejection.  And how do I do this?  On the business side of things, 

my goal is to contact every single local shop to see if they'd like to carry my jewelry.  

Second, I really don't want to spend the rest of my nights, alone, surrounded by the 

warm bodies of a hundred dogs...

 yes, I could easily become the "dog" lady.

 Let's get my big tush out there...meet people, preferably guys, and see what happens. 

Good lord, I can't believe I just typed those words (shudder).

And REMEMBER, this is going to be FUN!

 

I'll let you know how it goes.

XXOO

Heart Day

I've never been huge on this holiday.  I mean why do we need a reminder to love and cherish each other?!  Maybe it's the whole divorce thing...perhaps it tainted it just a tad?

 

BUT, in spite of my bah humbug attitude, I do celebrate with my two yummy little men and I owe that to my Mom.  As far back as I can remember, she would always have the table decorated beautifully for my brother and I when we woke up.  There would be special little sweets, beautifully wrapped tiny packages containing wonderful treasures, and then there were the cookies...oh the cookies...She made the most perfect, melt in your mouth, sugar cookies that ever existed and to this day, I have yet to be able to replicate them.

So I have carried on her tradition with my boys. And honestly, I really don't have any dilemma reminding them how I cherish every second we have together.

 

(last year)

And brace yourself...

I even allowed myself a little spirit and made a few items for the shop...

xxoo

Sunny Disposition

I'm focusing on what makes me happy right now and that means color when we're speaking bead language.  How I love to sit at my table and mix and mix until I find that sweet spot.  Seems my palette keeps coming back to yellows and blues at the moment.  Such a soft and sunny combination...

~ xxoo

Abscence

Here I sit, staring at this blank screen, not knowing what to write, but knowing my return is long overdue. 

 It is a new year after all and time to let the past slip away....

I lost my Mom unexpectedly just a few months ago and the world stopped, at least for me it did.  And man, how pissed I was that the rest of the world continued to move on as if nothing had happened. 

 How can that be, when the most important woman in my life was now gone??  

So the world stood still for me and and I focused more on family and reevaluated what was important to me, because that's what death does.  It makes you take a long, hard look in the mirror as your own mortality stares back at you.  So many things I learned on that day...I now never let my bad days get the better of me.  I tell the people around me how much they mean to me in words or through a simple touch.  

I miss her, of course I do.  I turned to her for everything.  I found myself trying to text her one night, even though a month had already passed.  I catch my breath, remembering she is gone...gone.  

BUT, 

she was in my dreams, for the first time, a couple of days ago.  

And in this dream I got that last hug I was so longing for and I told her how much I love her.  

So it's time,

I'm moving on...

Love you forever Mama...

Packing up shop and headed for the coast...

My shop will remain open, but orders will not ship until 8/26

  

xxoo

Boredom...it haunts me.  

Yes, I'm the type that can't sit around without the guilt of knowing there is something that needs to be done.

It's definitely a sickness and I know there are some of you out there who can relate...

don't look away, you know who you are.

So how does this relate to my polymer clay?  Well, I am always in search of ways to improve or tweak my look.  My "imprint" series makes me happy, but something was definitely missing.  They weren't as rustic as I would like them to be.  And then I came across Ginger Davis Allman of The Blue Bottle Tree.  She has this tutorial that intrigued me and perhaps might take me to the place I was seeking.  I purchased, read, and the light bulb came on.  There was one step in there that I was missing.  I won't divulge it here, you'll have to purchase her tutorial for that, but man did fireworks go off in my head.  

Here is what I have created so far...

I am digging the archaic, grunge look they hold and am 

extremely excited at the many possibilities that lie ahead.  

Boredom be gone!

Thanks so much Ginger for taking me a step further in my work.

XXOO