Ornament Swap Blog Hop

Sally of Wireworked put together this fabulous Ornament Swap! She is talented and funny and generous with her time and knowledge and I am honored she is my friend. Thanks Sally!!!

My partner for this Blog Hop is Jenny Davies-Reazor. Please go to her site, because OH MY is she talented!!! Her tiles and shrines and pendants are all gorgeous and earthy and completely unique.

Here is what she made for me.



I am not sure if I can express all the reasons why I love this. But I will try. I am more of a seasonal person than a holiday person. We celebrate holidays with family and presents for the kids and way too much food and drink, but when it comes to decorating or just "feeling it", I gravitate to the seasons and not the designated holidays they encompass. And the shrine Jenny made is for the season and will be in my window seat all season(or longer!), not just for a week or two during the holidays. I love the textured and sparkling polymer, the beads as berries, and the bottom fringe! The fringe consists of rocks Jenny drilled (my passion!), crystals, gemstones, and a medallion she made. They dance! They clack! They bring Joy! The center of the shrine is a beautiful Angel. She is soft and feminine and lovely and peaceful. I find myself gazing at her for long periods of time :-)

I sent Jenny a seasonal ornament as well. I used a piece of driftwood that was laying around my kitchen for longer than I want to admit. And I beaded snowflakes to hang off it. Each one different from the next. I hope Jenny has a better picture of it than I do. After 3 days of 4 photoshoots, this was the best I could come up with. Sometimes the spirit of an item just cannot be captured in a photograph.




Please take the time to Hop over to the other lovely blogs and see what all these talented women made. And...HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!! Thanks for stopping by :-D

Partner List for the Ornament Swap/Blog Hop

Erin Prais-Hintz and Alice Peterson

Sally Russick and Kim Hora

Susan Kennedy and Kathleen Lange Klik

Patty Gasparino and Cindy Wimmer

Hope Smitherman and Melissa Meman

Jennifer L. Justman and Sandi Volpe

Jenny Davies-Reazor and Christine Altimiller

Rebecca Anderson and Jen Velasquez

Jeanette Blix Ryan and Tamara Soper

Holly Westfall and Mallory Hoffman

WhatTheWednesday?!?

When I have a question or a problem that I would appreciate some feedback on I am going to put in a "WhatThe" in the title...and maybe a photo of this guy here because I love him and he lightens my frustrations when I look at him. Anyone want to join in on the "What The?!?", be my guest and you can borrow the image too :-) I got him at the Etsy store PhenomeGnome. Check out the store. It might just put a smile on your face :-D




My dear Bug (also known as Bugalicious, ChuggaBugga, BuggaLuggaDingDong)gave me her first Kumihimo piece. I love what she made! She bought the kit 2 years ago and has been working on it ever since. She gave it to me 6 weeks ago as a gift...one that I have to finish. So my dilema, as you see, is that the end I need to make a loop on has very short strings. The end she finished with the button has all the strings I need...for the other end! Ain't that the way it always goes?!



Do you see any solutions to this? My brain is stuck.

An Oh So Lovely Surprise!

I received a package in the mail. The timing was perfect. I was feeling low. I was feeling overwhelmed. It was the tail end of a rough month. One I was glad to leave behind.
I turned the calendar over, finished up some projects that had deadlines, reopened the package and learned something new!
Karen Williams at Skunk Hill Studio send me a care package ~she thought she was just sending me beads, but she really sent me comfort~ filled with beads, an iridescent dragonfly button, instructions, a lovely note, and sea glass (i have plans for that too!). Confession time: I weave pretty much everyday and I have never learned RAW. All the classes were offered at times I could not make it and I do not learn well from written instruction. So when I saw that Karen sent me instructions for Random RAW, that warm fuzzy feeling cooled ever so slightly. But then I decided the Universe was easing me in to RAW so I embraced the project! Karen's instructions were perfectly clear and easy to follow. No problems whatsoever. I finished it late last night and am starting another one tonight. I loved the process, the lacy look, the individuality, the way tiny seed beads make such a statement, the whole feel of the bracelet in my hands. And it looks fabulous on my wrist! Thank You Karen~I greatly appreciate your kindness and generosity :-)