Nothing Fancy, Just Thursday

My sister gave me this book for Christmas and I've thumbed through it at least a dozen times now. My Non was a seamstress and her back room had her sewing machine set up.....buttons, threads, scrap fabric...this is what I remember of her back room. At a young age I had an interest in learning to sew most likely because of her. I've sewn a number of things here and there over the years but never with the skill of my Non. One of the things on my "bucket" list is to make a quilt. Now, I've made simple quilts such as rag quilts and totally love them but I want to make a traditional quilt.....I'm not up to that challenge yet but the simple projects in this book will get me motivated in that direction.

Today I'm going to make pillow cases. Yes, these are very simple but these pillow cases are leading me into making a duvet cover for our bed. 

Fabric scraps will be used on a canvas to create a background for a painting that is brewing. Today I will also work on my Art Journaling. I am challenging myself to Art Journal everyday in January.....good or bad, I will be journaling! Lets hope I can keep to my challenge :)

New Years Eve Thoughts from a Reformed Bad Girl

In a few days we will all be ringing in the New Year. Resolutions, good eating and lots of drinking are a few traditional ways many of us chose to celebrate. Well in advance of your celebrating I want to remind everyone of the options that you have to possibly save your own life or the life of others. You know New Years Eve is coming so plan ahead by do the following:

:: If you live in an area that offers Tipsy Towing by AAA, they drive you and your car home for free on New Years Eve.

:: If you live in Rochester, we do not yet have Tipsy Towing so you can call Designated Drivers of Rochester.

:: If you've had to much to drink or think you've had too much...call a friend, call family or designate a driver at the start of your night.

:: You can always party but NOT drink. If you have ever been at an event where someone else is drunk and you're not, you've seen just how stupid drinking really is. Yes, it feels good (temporarily) and you feel carefree but you are most likely behaving like an idiot.

I remember how much fun I thought I was having while drunk and also remember the regret I had the next day. I don't often speak out about this but I've lost so many friends because of this and just want to remind people of choices they have.

Christmas

Christmas is such a warm, wonderful time of year its hard to see it move on.  Its at this time of year that people seem a little bit nicer to one another, people smile a little bit more often and forgive one another a little quicker. Wouldn't it be nice if we all had this Christmas spirit in our hearts for longer than just a day or a month.....wow, now that would be a gift.

I've had so many wonderful things go on this Holiday season....time spent with my sister, holiday presentations at school with my art students, a night out with my eldest niece, dinner with good friends, going to see the play A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve with my husband, Christmas Eve dinner with family, cooking that dinner with my niece and then celebrating Christmas Day with family. Spending time with those you cherish is really the best gift of all.

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday too. This week I'm off from work and will start my New Year organizing and getting ready for a big party we are having here..........always something to do right?!

Enjoy!

One Minute Writer- Color

Since I've been in a blogging slump I figured I'd do some prompts to recharge myself. I visited the One Minute Writer blog and noted their prompt for the day ( this was Sundays prompt) was Color.........write a negative emotion a certain color gives you........hmmmmm. I really had to think. I decided to select a color(s) that were closely tied to me being in big trouble as a kid. I happen to love these colors too ....just not when this shirt was worn by my mother.

Blue and Green Striped Shirt
I love colors. Bright happy cheerful colors! So its funny that the two colors that I happen to love the most are also two colors that filled me with dread during my childhood. You see, my mother had this shirt....a sleeveless, v-neck, Navy blue and chartreuse striped shirt that was out to get me! No matter how well my day was going, if that shirt showed up on my mother, I knew I was going to be in some big trouble at some point in the day. This shirt really seemed to have power over my mother causing her to get really angry at ME. She could start the day just fine but once Ms. Sleeveless, V-Neck, Navy Blue and Chartreuse Striped Shirt was put on............the mood of the day began to grow dark. Years later when I as an adult I told my mother about that shirt.........I remembered trouble I got into because of that shirt and just how much I hated it. Was it the shirt or the pairing of colors??? I don't know All I can say is I hate that shirt colors and all!

Beautiful Things Today

Oh, this is Melissa, our music teacher....she has the best expressions and this one was snapped during our ornament making this afternoon.

Typically, Three Beautiful Things is written on Fridays but I feel like doing it a little early this week. Here are my Three:

:: When co-workers come together for crafty fun. I had a number of teachers and staff come down for a quickie Ornament Painting class after school. A great ending to the day.

::  Wet kisses from my two dogs. They simply love unconditionally and are always happy to see me. I love them so.
:: A great slice of cheese pizza! Its simple but its amazing how different each pizza place can make cheese pizza taste. Cam's is one of my most favorites...never disappointed.
:: Relaxing on the couch under a snuggly blanket. I rarely just sit but tonight it feels wonderful. I am going to enjoy every minute of it.

Holiday Spirit

November was a very busy month with shows every weekend. December has been busy too but in a festive way. I've done fun holiday things with family and friends. I took a Holiday a arrangement making class with my sister at a local garden store and an Italian Holiday cooking class with my niece at our area culinary institute and met a good friend for dinner just the other night........ I'm looking forward to seeing A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve with my sweetheart,  our After the Holiday Open House party in January and the Ornament quickie class I'm doing at work this week for co-workers.  Always a lot going on!

Along with all the Holiday fun, I've been slowly working on creating a Handmade Ornament tree for our home. Each year at our Holiday party I have guests paint ornaments as a gift that will hopefully remind them of a fun party at our home. I've created some different ornaments this year so my guests will have a choice of ornament they would like to make.

This year at our party I will offer ornaments decorated with Graffiti, scroll work, glitter, marbling, and paint & patterns. I have a few other examples to prepare but I think it will be a nice selection. I'm doing a quickie class at work for staff on Tuesday also........I thought it would be fun to get my crafty co-workers in the Holiday mood too.

Another artsy endeavor I'm taking is to once again focus on my Art Journaling. Last winter I really began to experiment in this area and I've continued here and there since then. I have a few new Art Journals waiting to be decorated so I'm contemplating doing a Page A Day starting in January.  If I do a page a day for a year..... thats a hugh commitment......it would be a challenge........I'm seriously thinking about it. But I could also do A Page A Day for the month of January....that is more reasonable.......something I might be able to do.......not without a struggle however since I know I won't always be inspired by anything.

I've been happily enjoying the Holiday spirit by being involved with family and friends. I'm already thinking of the new year by planning on whats next this January.  I hope you are enjoying all these days before the Holiday doing festive fun things with your family too. Time spent with family & friends is the best gift I could receive or give. We often don't give people in our lives enough of our Time......Time is what memories are made from......Christmas Eve and Christmas Day go by in a flash......I hope you will enjoy each day before the actual day arrives!

Small Business Saturday

Yesterday was Small Business Saturday and I totally shopped small businesses! They were local too which made me even more happy. The first place I shopped was this new to me business called F. Olivers. They create very fancy olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Plus, they give out recipe cards to go with the oils & vinegars you've purchased.......such a great idea. I purchased a pairing for my father, my sister and of course myself. Today I'm going to make Dirty Angel Food Cake using the dark chocolate vinegar & the chipolte olive oil I purchased. I know, it sounds odd and possibly not very good but I am confident it will be amazing.

If you happen to be in Rochester or Canandaigua you should definitely try out F. Olivers. A wonderfully different type of place and one that is a new favorite for me.

The other spot I shopped at yesterday was More Fire Glass Studio. The owner, Elizabeth Lyons, is an amazing glass artist and holds a holiday open house annually. I learned glass blowing from Elizabeth and I started my love of lampworking at her studio too. She has grown to be a dear friend. I was so thrilled to pick up one of her glass vases and then a pair of wicked cool earrings from Mahine Ratteson. Okay these "gifts" are for me but I did support small business and I shopped local.

Over the next few weeks I'll share with you the small businesses that I will be shopping at in hopes you too will shop small business, buy handmade, support local shops.

Etsy Update

Its been a whirlwind month for me and I've just slowed down enough to update my shop just a little bit. For the past few weeks I've had a show to do each weekend and they all seem to have been 3 day shows. I don't know what I was thinking when I booked all these but thankfully I've made it through! My last show was on Black Friday and was just for one day. So today I had to begin the chore of house cleaning since it is in total neglect.....so far I've de-cluttered and am ready for the real cleaning to begin- tomorrow that is since I'm pooped.

An Etsy update was also on my To-Do list today. So I've done a few additions to my shop and will plan on more updates tomorrow too. Now that my schedule has lighted I am really going to try and post more in my shop before the holiday. I think I've been trying to do this each year and I get only a little better each time.

I love this necklace and will be making one for myself I love it so much. This is my Peace, Love, Happiness necklace, my theme for the holidays, and its available in my Etsy Shop now. I also have a few pairs of earrings there too. Tomorrow I should have some pendants and another necklace........more hearts will arrive soon too.

Peace, Love and Happiness

My latest necklace.....Peace, Love and Happiness is my new "line" ....theme I am working with. These 3 words come from many sources. The sixties of course, a comment often written in notes or cards and what we all hope for. The day after Thanksgiving I am part of a show honoring Hannah Congdon and this was too a sentiment she would often say.

Here is another version I am doing. Stacking the sentiment. Bead artist Michelle Goldstein was the originator of the boxed heart (at least I believe so...sorry if I have the wrong creator)  so I transformed the square a bit to use in my design.

I certainly hope I will have enough work to display at the 4 shows I will be doing in Novemeber!! I don't know what I was thinking when I booked all these. Well, people can always order things right :)

Boo!

Happy Halloween! Going to watch a little halloween t.v. and hand out some candy! No beads tonight :)

Wonderings & Buttons

Slowly I'm getting things ready for my many shows in November. There is always just so much going on.....but I wouldn't have it anyother way. My days have been filled with a variety of things and my torch sessions have been short but productive. Yesterday I worked on a few buttons and constructed a few pieces. Here are my latest button designs. I love paisley so I've done my own interpretation.  I've also worked on a large shank style and a smaller version.

:: Wonder what buttons I'll make today? Rarely do I set out with intent rather I like to just go with what strikes me.

:: Dinner? Not sure what to make tonight. Hoping someone will solve this for me.

:: Love Halloween but not looking forward to it on a Monday night. Poor kids......can't be out late due to a school night.

:: Will I have time to just sit and read today? It would be nice to just relax and read and nap. That is a treasured bit of time that doesn't happen as often as it should.

:: Good grief. What happened to my routine of going to the gym. I honestly haven't felt the energy to do so. Maybe energy isn't a good word........maybe it should be time.

:: Wonder if the kids will come to art class wearing their costumes tomorrow. I hope so! Its amusing watching them work on our activities in costume.

:: My knitting projects are pulling at me too. That is one thing that I know will have to wait.

Have a great day everyone......let me know what you think of the buttons so far........making more today!

Etsy Update- Sugar Skulls

Just letting you know that I just placed 4 large sugar skull beads for sale in my Etsy Shop! Here is a necklace I just finished that shows how I like to use them...........wearing it now and love it!

Weekends

Not the best image here but you can see what I did in Bronwen Heilman's class a few weekends ago. Simply loved this technique.....hope to do some now that class is done. As you can see I have 3 glass pieces that need to be put onto beads.........many steps to this process but fantastic results!

A few weekends ago Pete and I went to Niagra on the Lake for a one night getaway. We had a wonderful and relaxing time. Love this image of a sunrise.

We stayed at the Prince of Wales and these carriages were all over the main street. 

Another view. This is on the side of our hotel. The first thing we did when we arrived was go on a Jetboat on the Niagra rapids! I was totally scared. Pete went last year and I was suppose to go but chickened out. Click on the link and see for yourself........it was awesome!

This was the sunrise when we left.....foggy and kinda spooky.

Bewitched

Tomatoe red hearts ready to be made into pins........or should I put some in my etsy shop??

Extra large Sugar Skull beads.......love these!! I have a few more in the kiln. These measure approximately 1 1/4 inches across and almost 1 1/2 inches tall. Making myself an awesome Days of the Dead necklace with one or two of these skullies......the rest will be in my etsy shop tomorrow.

Witch Hat necklace......Candy corn, bones, and other assorted halloweeny beads dangle beneath a fun witch hat.......necklace comes ready to wear! Find it in my etsy shop tomorrow.

Creating Balance

Its been a little bit since my last post, I know. The school year has started which means I'm back in the art room (yeah!!!), my last outdoor show took place a few weeks ago (a great show but thankful its done), I took an awesome glass class with Bronwen Heilman (freakin fantastic) and now I have to re balance my life. Weave in time for blogging (I love to blog), create a new workout schedule (hard with so many things taking up my time) and making sure I get down time.....this is very important to me!! I so need and enjoy time with no comittments or "have to's". Last weekend I took the entire two days and did NOTHING!! I haven't done that in a while and it felt wonderful.

Today is back to bead making. The kiln is warming and I'm shaking off a headache that I woke up with. My day started with an Art Meetup I hosted for students and parents. It was great........fun seeing car loads of families with donuts, coffee and kids ready to take part in a scavenger hunt I had planned.

Beads......Yes......I will be working on a few things in a bit but here is a small sample of what I've done recently:

A new bead ring! Love these interchangeable rings......I should have a bunch ready soon.

Bangles! Now I have a better selection of sizes! They sold well at my last show!

Abstract flat bracelets too! Love these........very comfy.

Building Creative Powers

For the last few years I've been taking part if various e-courses to assist in building my creative powers ranging from painting to jewelry to journaling. The course that keeps drawing me back in is the Experimental ARt e-course with Amelia Critchlow. Click Here to register & to find out more about it.

I believe I've taken this course 4 or 5 times and each time I gain something new. Amelia is a wonderful nurturing guide on this journey and I highly recommend it to anyone......no matter your experience or level- there is something for you!

One of the things I enjoy most is that it is self paced yet Amelia gives weekly "homework" to keep us focused. Yes, I know what you might think.......life is busy...... but you never are made to feel guilty about missing something here or there......you are always able to go back and finish up whenever. Being that I've done this course a number of times, I can now decide which lessons to focus on. I've learned so much each time.

I think the best part about this course is that Amelia is dedicated to giving each and every one of her students positive feedback. If you chose, you can post your images to the Flickr group Amelia sets up and then she, as well as other class members, provide encouragement. Just wonderful!

I will be making periodic posts about my Experimental Art adventures so I hope you will join me on all this creative fun!

Good Morning Saturday!

Right now I'm sitting in my most favorite spot in our whole house drinking coffee and reading. Its my sky chair on our newly enclosed porch! Its quiet for once and I'm just enjoying the sun, the sky, and the peace. I feel that today is going to be a great day. Don't you feel like that sometimes? There is no particular reason for it, you just feel today will be great. I've got a few little things planned but nothing to spectacular. Just living simple.

One reason I'm just so happy is that I'm reading the latest issue of Artful Blogging and feeling very connected to what some of the bloggers are talking about. When I get a magazine the first thing I do is go thru it pretty quickly just looking at pictures and big things that jump out at me. Then I go thru it again and focus in on articles of interest. Funny but the first article of interest was the first one by blogger Kelli Murray. Loved the images and art and then loved what she was saying. I can't tell you how important it is to really take the time to learn about someone....you make connections you'd never thought you'd make. Once I read about her in Artful Blogging I found similarities in ideas and thoughts. Thats something you just can't do by only looking....you have to be able to ask or read more about that person to feel connected.

Here are a few other reasons I'm feeling happy today:
:: Heading to the market for tomatoes, cucumbers and berries. Planning on doing a bit of canning in the days ahead. This always reminds me of Fall....a favorite season.
:: Taking some time to read my book club book, My Fair Lazy. Its hard for me to sit still but today I'm dedicating some time just for that.
:: Studio time. Before the school year starts I like to cram as much beadmaking in as possible. I have Clothesline coming up as well as some other events and I need plenty of product.
:: A nice long walk or bike ride with my husband. He has been plenty busy this summer and we really have had limited time together. Simple things are often the best.
:: A little knit time. Oh, I love to knit but I don't often make time for it. With all the other things I've got going on, knitting takes the last seat on the bus. Today I feel like knitting too......I have plenty of projects to work on.

Hope you have a wonderfully happy day too!

Summer Wrap Up

Summer is coming to a close in just a few short weeks. Back to school. Back to work for me. The nice thing about going back to work is that I love my job teaching art!  I don't get sad about the work, I get sad about giving up my life of leisure. Once the school year begins however, I feel like I'm back in the saddle & ready to roll.

Sonnenberg Gardens had their Arts at the Gardens show this past weekend and it was glorious as always. Saturday was beautiful...hot actually but I didn't mind a bit. Sunday was a mixed bag....gloomy and wet at times and nice and sunny at other times. This picture is when we arrived to set up...Peter's favorite thing (ha, ha, ha). The Sonnenberg show is one that I look forward to every year since the atmosphere, the staff and volunteers really are exceptional. All the vendors are awesome too. Of course, this show is extra special because we were married there 20 years ago almost on the date of the art show!

These are a few more of my rubber bangles that I've been making. Love them. However, I made my first batches using my hand & wrist as a guide. Makes sense right? Well, I never realized how small my hand was.......to me they look like an average size hand. Ah, but I was wrong. The first batch fits someone with a small knuckle to knuckle span which I've learned is not the average. To fit a bangle properly you need to measure knuckle to knuckle since this is where it needs to fit over.  So, I've adjusted my measurements and now have a great sized bangle that I hope will fit many.......I hope to have a number of these for the Clothesline Festival in a few weeks!

Now that summer is almost over, I have to really think about all I want to cram in! I was thinking of doing some canning....haven't done that in a number of years! Always like pulling out fresh tomato sauce in the dead of winter....or jam...or chow chow! I'll need to talk with my friend who is a great cook to get ideas from her!

Saturday Morning at the Market & My Most Favorite Dog

I love going to the market and purchasing locally grown vegetables. I totally believe in supporting local businesses and would rather eat fresh than frozen. The Rochester Public market is the largest in our area and a very good market.....I go there often and its great because its open in the winter.  But..........my favorite is the Fairport Public Market! I think in part because I have this love for Fairport....kinda like Mayberry.....and the fact that its all local farmers & growers plus its smaller in scale. Plenty of vendors.......plenty of variety.........all with that sweet home town charm.

So after my morning walk I drove out the the Market and picked up only a few items.

Could not resist the bouquets of flowers. Picked up a bunch of Sunflowers (my favorites), a bunch of SnapDragons and some Zinneas. Flowers just have a way of making you feel good.

I also got a few tomatoes, a zucchini and some blueberries....I like eating handfuls as a snack. To top off my market stroll, I got my absolute favorite thing to eat (drum roll...................) A carrot dog!!

I attempt to get everyone to love these things just as much as I do. I tell everyone I know about them. This guy who sells them has probably done very well from all the word of mouth I give as well as from others. I love them so much that I now make them myself just about once or twice every few weeks. I do get plenty of eye rolls from men especially but once they give it a chance they learn that these are quite good. Here is my recipe that I figured out on my own (the original carrot dog guy wasn't giving up any of his clues to how to make them).......so simple

Carrot Dogs:
Large carrots- as many as you'd like to make
Cut carrot ends off and boil in water until tender (I'm guessing about 20 minutes)
Remove and marinate in Italian dressing- I use Parmesan Italian dressing- for either a few hours or overnight.
Grill just as you would a hot dog. You should get some nice brown areas
Grill your bun (I like whole wheat)
Put on the bun and add your favorite toppings. I love mustard and onions!!

I tried to get our lunch ladies at school to serve these but again.......the eye roll.

On to beads........I will be making some beads today of course. A few hearts but also some other items. I really need to get going on prepping for upcoming shows. Tomorrow I should be posting new items to my Etsy Shop as well.

My flowers are sure to influence some Art Journaling today too.

Studio Monday

Yes my studio is messy. But this is how I work. Yesterday I made a few pendant beads and was experimenting a bit too. Show and tell will come later.

Really...its an organized mess. If I were to clean it up I don't think I'd be able to find things easily.

Love using murrini. When I have time or the interest I make it myself. Otherwise I purchase my murrini.

In between beads I played around in my Art Journal. Listing colors of some new watercolor crayons and pastels.

Lunch at the pizza shop and noticed the beautiful mural that is being worked on across the street at the floral shop. To bad no one was actually working on it at the time. Can't wait to see the finished result!

What was your Monday like?

The Heat is On!

This past week has been very hot with one of the days being labeled "excessively HOT"...where I live we reached 104 degrees with horrible humidity! So, as you might guess, this has put the brakes on beadmaking! I did tough it out yesterday in the 92 degrees but it was only for a short time to get components made for a necklace order.

Since I have a hard time sitting still and not creating something, I've been devoting my time to painting and Art Journaling. One night I spent sometime with my friend Joanne and she had a group of us create large paintings that we transformed into books. A nice night of mess making. Pictured above is my large painting and as you can see, I love circles! This seems to be a theme I've been working with rather unconsciously in both my paintings and my beads.

One evening I hosted an Art Therapy Night where a few ladies came over to paint and make some pmc charms......it was fun.....Hot Fun being that it was a sultry evening!

On Wednesday mornings I host an Art Class for Kids. We have hours of fun painting and other sorts of art making...

My sister and I went to a Red Wings game one eveing and had a great time reminiscing when we worked at the ball park as teenagers. It was suppose to be a group of 6 of us but everyone bailed out so it was just a sister thing that night. Check out my picture of the horse made from baseball mits....anything can be used to make ARt!

Today I think I will continue on with some painting and also tough it out once again to make a few beads. I love the warm weather but the humidity is not fun....my hair is a complete crazy mass, I move like a snail and I don't feel like eating a thing......visualize that!

What do you do in the heat??

Trying New Things

Its so much fun exploring new things. The summer gives me that time to do just that....I've been painting- working with plaster- Art Journaling- beading with seed beads  (generally not my thing) and taking classes. Art journaling has been so relaxing. I'm not much for planning so the "happening" approach to working with my journal pages has really suited me. I'll have a picture next time of what I've done.

I just took a class with Barbara Becker Simon and learned how to create her amazing bangle bracelets. Everyone in the class used Bronze clay but me being the odd ball...I used PMC Pro. This pmc has less silver content (90% rather than .999% like the other silver pmc's) but fires to a stronger hardness so I'm told and able to withstand punishment that goes with wearing a bangle. I'm pretty happy with my result....a few people in class ended up with broken bracelets due to firing issues...so I'm really happy I actually have something I can wear.

 This is the seed bead bracelet I made yesterday. Like I said-this typically isn't my thing but I really liked this bracelet. Apparently its all the rage right now and really simple to make. The part that took the longest was adding the little clearish seed beads just because of their size.......really a quick bracelet once you know what your doing. A very similar bracelet but with just one row (think just my green beads in the center as one row) appears in the Sundance cataloge for a pretty big price. The bracelet in Sundance does wrap around the wrist 3 times but its this same concept just long and narrow.

Hearts for Hannah- To Know Someone

The check has been cut and we are just waiting to pass it onto Joining Hearts and Hands! Summer schedules can be hard to coordinate... but it should be very soon that we can personally present the check!

 I wanted you all to know what a hugh success Hearts for Hannah has been. I am so thrilled that each year I have done Hearts for Hannah, the response has grown and grown. This year we made as much as we did the 2 previous years combined! It was so close to 2000.00...1800.00 to be exact! That means I made about 92 hearts!!! 

Hannah's family is so appreciative of this event I hold each June to honor their daughter & sister. The Congdon family passed me this writing piece that Hannah did as a writing assignment Senior year. This speaks volumes as to the nature of Hannah and her wish for love & kindness. I thought you'd like to read it...permission to post this was given by the family...

About Me                                                                                  

by, Hannah Congdon  

I like to smile, be loud and bubbly

But there is more to me than what you see

I am not just a cheerleader who’s really preppy.

I believe I am here to make a difference

To help those who need it the most.

To give them strength and comfort when it is needed.

I miss the times when I could sleep forever

And had no worries in the world.

I could play all day and just be me.

I fear the world I do not know

And what only time will tell.

I don’t like not knowing what happens next

Or what is in store for my future.

I love to love.

I think all the world needs is love

And for everyone to get along.

I don’t like war and hope for peace on Earth.

I hate when people don’t get along

Or fight over stupid reasons.

Life is too short to be caught up in drama.

I wish people would treat others with respect.

Listen when they are talking

And don’t talk while they are talking.

I like to be known as a cheerleader

But there is more to me than that.

I hope to someday make a difference in the world

So it will be a better place for everyone.

Peace, Love, Happiness. 

I certainly hope that by reading this you feel wonderful about being part of Hearts for Hannah. This was Hannah's dream....to make a difference and that is what all of you are doing by purchasing a heart designed by me each June. Thank you.

Garden Art and Walkabouts

I love garden art. After the warm weather months have ended, I like to bring a few of my outdoor items inside to enjoy. This fall we will have our new 3 season room to enjoy along with my pebble fountain pictured here.

Every morning I begin the day with a walk....a walkabout! Its peaceful and meditative. My husband has been joining me most mornings and I think he is really enjoying them too. 

We live near a park so some of the times we will walk thru the park to see what we see. Here is a beautiful piece of driftwood that someone placed in this perfect clearing. Love the organic shape of it!

Onto Bead News: My latest pendants are what I call playful shapes. I have a few in my Etsy Shop right now that you can peek at. Just a pleasing shape with plenty of color and designs. I'm on my laptop sitting outside writing this post and I don't have my photos on here....please take a look. I love them and I sure hope you do too.