susanlambert

Heart Beads

2012-02-08T07:29:00.006-05:00

About time I posted some beads. Nice for Valentines gifts. :-)

Check out my Etsy shop!

Life is Good

2012-02-05T12:49:00.007-05:00

The t-shirts that say 'life is good' always make me smile. They have stick figures, which are always fun, and the stick figures do some pretty fun things too.
If I could make a 'life is good' shirt for dogs, it would be something like this picture. Sparky, our 5 month old rat terrier puppy, discovered an open door. In that closet is a box of milkbones. Yah! He was pawing at the box, so how could I resist letting him take one (or two)
Here he is, in his favorite spot under the dining room table, (it must feel like a den) by his favorite toy, the rubber chicken, chomping on the first milk bone, with one in reserve.
Instead of 'life is good' should I have written 'it's a dog's life'???? :-)

A Gift

2012-01-20T11:12:00.002-05:00

Don't you love surprises?

Here's my little surprise this week. A cold! Isn't that cute picture? I love the colors!

How can this be the second cold in a month, you say? My husband works at the school and brings surprises home. ;-)

Sometimes it's chocolate. yah! (not from school unless he bought some over priced box of turtles from a fund raiser, which are usually, surprisingly good) The frozen cookie dough I can do without. (two are in the freezer now. Maybe I should bake some for Bunco--hmmmm good idea)

Sometimes it's other surprises. He caught a cold no doubt from one of the gazillion middle school kids he works with. And... passed it on. It's part of the blessings of marriage. sharing! LOL

He's a sweetie. Really truly he is. And I've brought home a few viruses (virii??) myself when teaching. This is inspiring enough to send me to the torch. Which it did. We'll see how the beads turn out.

Hearts

2012-01-15T21:21:00.004-05:00

This is a great month for bead making. It's fun to make hearts. So coming out of my kiln this past few weeks have been many hearts. Florals, stitched, plain colors, shards, frits, just all kinds of melted glass shaped in the flame.

I love the symbolism that is involved with so many types. One example is a Purple Heart. Traditionally they signify a heroic act.

If a friend has been battling cancer, it is very special to gift them with a purple heart. When they finish treatment, or go through a tough time, I'll slip one in the mail for them, or on their desk or somehow get that gift to them. It's a talisman that I give them to help them remember, 'You are brave' and hopefully they will never have to be 'brave' in that way again. Sometimes a friend will ask to buy one, and I give it to them for whoever they wanted it for. Sometimes at an art show, someone will be in my booth that needs that purple heart, and it again, is a gift to them. In a small way, that glass can maybe help make at least that moment better.

Another place my beads go to is Beads of Courage, which is a marvelous program for children with cancer. The kids can pick out a bead for milestones in their treatment. It may be for a test, or a treatment, an act of courage. Hopefully, the strand of beads a child puts together, each marking some moment in their cancer journey, will be a short strand. Unfortunately there are times the strand is long. Sometimes a very long marking of a journey no child should have to take.

Purple hearts are often made by lampworkers and donated to the program, in addition to any other beads one might send. The beads can be 'any' bead, not just a heart. So maybe a bead is red and polka dotted. A kid might love that bead and can pick it out of a pile, and hopefully it takes their mind off their big problem for even a moment.

As we know, sadly, a cancer journey can end with dying. The strand of beads a child had showing their courage, is something for their family to save. Beads of Courage also gives a butterfly bead to the family who has lost their loved one. I hate to think of a strand of beads with a final butterfly at the end of it, yet know that each of the beads on the strand 'does' show a moment in time and a reflection of the child's personality in color and design, with hope and some happiness tossed in.

Beads of Courage is a wonderful program. You can read more about it here. And you can also donate if you like, not just beads, but financial support to augment the handmade beads. I hope one day to see this program end because no one needs beads anymore. But in the meantime, hopefully more and more purple hearts will be made and will mark the SUCCESSFUL end of treatment for a child with cancer.

Elements and Principles of Art

2012-01-04T05:26:00.004-05:00

What defines your own tastes in art work? Can you put it into words? Is it "I just like it!" ? Or do you have a clear reason? If you put a collection of your work out in front of you, how can you sum up your style?

Finding your own voice in Art actually can take some studying. As an art student, I just figured, things would happen naturally, and if someone was 'famous' it was because they had massive talent, or in this world today, great self promotion. Many people who have no formal art training, do very well with their work already. Although there is usually room in anyone's work for some fine tuning.

As an Art teacher, I found the most success in student's work came from insisting the students used the elements and principles of design. No matter how I taught it, it didn't come easily for the students to really think about this when working, but when a student said to me 'Mrs. Lambert, I used complementary colors and look what happened! That's when they see the magic of using what they were taught. Comments like that would just make my day. Teaching can be a tough, tough job, but the rewards like this keep the teachers coming back every August and September.

One year, the final exam in my Art 1 class was to work in their altered book and to use a specific list of design elements. Two hours of work, two pages. Students mentioned to me 'this was the most fun exam I have ever taken' (who says an exam has to be brutal?) and 'this is the best page in my altered book. I should have done this before'
Which taught me something too. Insist on students listing what elements/principles they have used or that they have a plan before starting. This led to me learning also, that a 'block' of 'I can't think of something to draw/paint/whatever' doesn't happen to someone if they decide what their plan for elements is.

Did it happen naturally for the master painters? Did DaVinci say, 'I'm going to use line and color to balance this painting' ? Does a child think that? Who knows about DaVinci, but I do know a child thinks, 'the sky looks empty. I'll put a big sun there' already with a taste for balance in their drawing. Very possibly, my thoughts as an art student were correct. It's natural thing to have a good design. But extremely possible, is your own work will flourish with a bit of studying and planning. My own work changed drastically when I decided (I hate at an age of at least over 40 ) to practice what I preach. (duh!) After this revelation, not only did my work change, but so did my teaching! Lucky, to learn from my students success. :-)

Check back to this blog for some 'lessons' and exercises in the elements and principals of art. I'm not teaching school anymore, and have some time to put a few things on my blog for anyone interested in stretching their personal art zone.
Intrigued? Ask yourself. What is it about the picture posted that I like? Possibly you clicked on this post because of that picture. It doesn't matter why because there is no right answer. (isn't art the coolest?) But keep it in mind and try to carry one of those reasons into your own work for at least one piece. ( Look at my piece in the previous post. Can you see something similar? )

2012

2012-01-02T21:40:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year!

2012

Cinnamon Rolls on a Wonderful Day

2011-12-28T19:48:00.010-05:00

Are you thinking you may have had enough carbs over the holidays? well.........
Here's a little treat. Or maybe a big treat. ;-) We were so fortunate to be able to visit our son Mike in Michigan for Christmas. Then our daughter Lauren and her husband Matt were also able to travel to Mike's. We had all kinds of fun. On Christmas Eve we visited friends in Canada for a wonderful dinner, with lake perch that was caught and frozen this summer. YUM! and then on Christmas day, Mike cooked up some wondrous food also and I got to help!

We also baked a batch of cinnamon rolls. They weren't as good as usual because I had decided to cut back the sugar in the filling by a half cup. wrong! LOL I guess when it comes to cinnamon rolls a lot of sugar makes them just that much better! But they were still good. We put icing on them to add a little more sweetness. Sometimes I make these into pecan rolls and they are addictive. Totally addictive. I am warning you! People will beg you to make them again. You will eat them until you want to burst and then... you'll eat one more.

This is a great recipe I found in the newspaper years ago, and have modified it here and there, and baked it over and over. My Mom's side of the family, has many recipes for breads and they were bakers, not by trade, but they made some really good breads, and pastries, and whatever. My love for carbs must have come from that side of the family!

Grandma Ott used to visit and bake breads all day when she came. She would make a little tin of bread for me when I helped her. My own small loaf which I could have straight out of the oven with lots of melted butter. So fragrant, I can picture it to this day in my mind, coming in from playing out on the swing set, to a warm kitchen with these incredible smells, Grandma in her apron, and warm bread lining the counter top.I feel that I learned from a 'master baker' because she would teach me how to stir in the ingredients and let me help knead the bread. (and let me say here that a stand mixer with a dough hook is a real blessing) Grandma always had a big bin of flour in her closet, my Mother always has the same in her cupboard, as I do too. It was fun to see that Mike also has a large plastic bin full of flour, and so does Lauren. And my son Joe, who was not with our side of the family this year for the holiday, is great at baking too. The baking 'gene' has been passed on!
Here is the recipe for these cinnamon rolls. They take about 4 or 5 hours to make so it's best for some lazy day that you are around the house. It's worth it! (Then you'll have to plan some gym time too!)

Susan's Cinnamon Rolls

rolls:
1/2 c sugar
2 t. salt
2 c milk (warmed)
2 pkg yeast dissolved in 1/2 c lukewarm water
2 eggs (beaten)
6-6 1/2 c flour
1/2 c butter melted and cooled

stir sugar and salt into milk, mixing to dissolve. Add yeast/water mixture to milk. add eggs. gradually add 3 c flour mixing well by hand. Add melted butter, mixing well. add additional flour to make a soft dough. Place dough on board and cover and let rest for 10 minutes
knead about 10 minutes, adding only enough flour to keep dough from sticking
place in a large bowl cover and let rise until double (about 2 hours)
punch down rise about 45 minutes

stir together filling

1 c softened butter
2 c sugar
6 t cinnamon

Divide dough in half
roll out 15 x 12 x 1/2 inch spread with half of the cinnamon mixture. roll up, seal, and cut into slices about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.

grease a baking pan (about 12x 14 with sides on the pan)
in the bottom of the pan put a layer of pecans, then sprinkle a light layer of brown sugar over that. sometimes I sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on that too.
then put the cut rolls on that layered goodness, with the spirals facing up and down.
do the same thing with the other half of the dough
cover and let rise about an hour

bake 350 for 20 minutes. watch them. if they are browning too fast on top, put a loose piece of aluminum foil over them.

when done, invert pan on top of foil and let sit for a minute. remove pan.

you can omit the pecans and when they are done drizzle a glaze over them

glaze
1 c powdered sugar
3 T milk
1/2 t vanilla

makes about 32 rolls

Reduce- Reuse -Recycle

2011-12-11T07:45:00.006-05:00

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, always have been in use in my parent's house. Probably it was a carry over from being 'depression babies'. But as a child, I was taught to figure out how to make do with what you had. There were so many uses for left over 'things' and we also used 'things' until they totally wore out and couldn't be fixed. Our trash barrel rarely had much in it. The food scraps went to the compost or to the chickens. The papers were burned in the fireplace to start the fire. Scrap wood was bought at the lumber yard to burn for heat. The tin cans went to the dump, but most of our canned food was 'canned' in glass jars from our garden. The jars, of course, we used year after year.. The bottles from soda or beer were returned to the store for that 2 cent deposit. If we could find two bottles to take back, it was enough money for a popsicle. We rode our bikes and walked, covered our school books in brown paper to preserve the covers so they could be resold, and used both sides of our notebook paper. We cut the buttons off clothing that was worn out, so the buttons could be used again. The clothing became cleaning rags. (and we did wear out clothes due to being a large family, hand me downs were a fact of life)
When I grew up, as an adult, it was and is hard to believe what people throw away. Now not throwing things away can also be a bad thing because saving 'stuff' isn't good either since storage is expensive. Think of how much you pay for a shelf!
But you can take what you don't use to Goodwill or charity of some type. Resell your books on Amazon. Take your recycle-able items to the recycle center if you don't have recycling in your city.
Sometimes clever things can be made with old items. I am especially in love with felting wool sweaters and look for them when I take a trip to the Goodwill. And something interesting is that you can take some wool sweaters if they have a seam that is not a cut weave and unravel them, wash the yarn, and reuse it.
It would be so good for our environment if everyone tried to do their part. Think of ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Pictured is a pendant I make using coca cola bottle necks. The remainder of the bottle goes to recycling. It's a fun way to reuse something and remind myself when wearing it to at least try to remember my shopping bags when I go to the grocery!
What do you do? It's great to hear ideas and practices that will help us live in a clean and healthy world.

Christmas without Snow

2011-11-30T22:49:00.003-05:00

Before we moved to North Carolina from Northern Michigan, we did a bit of research on line. Wikipedia was a great help with all kinds of information on population and weather, transportation, location, you name it. It was a big help in deciding where to live.
Then after we found jobs, we looked at the city itself. At the time, we looked at the town we were going to work in. There were pictures of events and one of those was the annual Christmas parade. "Look at that!" I exclaimed. "The people are wearing sweatshirts!!" It was hard to imagine a Christmas parade that wasn't so cold you needed electric socks. (yes there really are electric socks and they work great)

It seems that almost every town around us has a Christmas parade. It's so charming. It seems more people are in the parade than the people watching it. There is every princess of any event possible riding in an open convertible and waving. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Dancers, Church groups, Bagpipes, Bands, Shriners in mini cars, Monster trucks, some Floats, and all the Local Politicians. Throw in a few fire engines with sirens going, and some police cars, and you have a two hour taste of The South.

It may not snow here, but Christmas in the South is a special flavor. My husband says it doesn't seem like Christmas without snow, and I say what makes up for the snow is all the lights and decorations people put out.

Nearby, we have a town called McAdenville. (check out the link!) The entire town is lit for the month. Everyone there has Christmas lights. Everyone. I have heard they don't pay their electric bills for the month as the city (??) pays for it. Cars line up all the way out to the highway to drive through. We avoided it for a few years thinking the traffic was too much. Then we 'toughed it out' one year. It's awesome. Not only is the city totally lit to the point you keep saying 'wow!' But the people in the traffic driving through are celebrating. There are open wagons, trucks with their truck beds full of people, people walking, cars with people out the sun roofs, all calling out "Merry Christmas!"
Very very awesome. Well worth driving in traffic, and you want to drive slow anyway since it's such a memorable evening.

So we gave up snow but we have found some wonderful ways to enjoy the holiday season... and wearing sweatshirts while we're at it.

Masked dots in lampwork

2011-11-21T20:38:00.006-05:00

These are so much fun to make. You start with the base bead. In this case, I started with gray glass. Then you dot in a pattern.I started with a light turquoise. You melt that in. Then you overlap the existing dots with a new color (in this case the pinkish coral) and melt that in. Then you can add the light turquoise again. Then onward... The result is a pattern that is created by being covered by another color. I think the best example of a new pattern is the bead that is the second from the right. You can go on and on in covering the dots alternating two colors. The best bead artist to do this, in my opinion is Brad Pearson. Click on his name to see some incredible examples of masking. The first time I saw this technique was when I met Brad at a glass 'gathering' . I have one of his early beads made in blue and white, and it's a treasure, displayed with other treasures. Brad's marbles are beautiful examples of masking also.
This is a good bead to make when you want to get to that 'zen' kind of place in melting glass. You can go to infinity and beyond......................

Memories of Melting Glass

2011-11-13T21:31:00.004-05:00

This image was 'lifted' from another site. It is a little gift shop in Houghton Lake, MI. It's so typical of the area when we moved there in the late 1970's. The area was rather desolate, 'up North' as we called the area. Where the up North boundary is, who knows? It seemed dark there after living in a much more populated area. Dark and cold, with more winter than I'd ever experienced. And it was a small town. Very few stores, one movie theater that showed the same movie for a month before they got another. Nothing really much to do except outdoor type sports. We went ice fishing and cross country skiing.
My husband and I would want a fast food burger and sometimes would drive an hour to the closest McDonald's to get one. The stores closed on Sunday but one grocery was open from 1-4. If we weren't organized, we'd have to scrounge for food on Sundays. If you needed clothing, you ordered it or you drove for an hour to a store to buy something.

When it was time to buy a gift for someone it was difficult, unless you had time to go 'down state' to a shopping center. So upon occasion, I'd shop at the tourist stores like this one that is pictured. This little shop was actually about a mile from where we lived and just shut down maybe 7 or 9 years ago. They sold moccasins. I'd take my daughter there to buy little white moccasins with soles and beads and fringe. She loved them when she was a little girl. I loved buying them for her. When the owner of this shop passed away, a surprise was given to our community in the form of a very large endowment for scholarships. Who knew that the little old lady running this shop had left so much for our students! To this day every student who lives in that particular township can receive some money toward college.

One shop I loved. The Fife and Drum gift shop is long gone. There is no picture to share. But it was a teeny shop that housed another big surprise. The front of the shop was the normal 'stuff' Little boxes made of cedar, postcards, ashtrays, shot glasses, pencils, trinkets with the name of the lake. A bit of jewelry here and there. Wandering into the second little room was amazing. A Christmas tree filled with glass ornaments. Intricately made trees, bells that rang, candy canes, icicles, stars, snowflakes, manger scenes, all made of clear glass. Behind a screen, wearing dark welding glasses, was an older man working with glass behind a torch. He melted these clear rods into his beautiful ornaments. People ordered them from all over the US. I didn't know that at the time, (nor did I know his wife had a large organ in the very back room and she would practice it when there were no customers).

My husband and I were scraping along paying college loans and surviving on small beginning teacher wages and there was no extra for glass ornaments. I looked at them often and finally began to buy one every year, which was all I could afford. I kept thinking 'someday there will be no more of these ornaments'. My kids gave them to teachers for Christmas gifts, some kids gave them to me too :-) and every year, I bought one, plus an icicle.

The older gentleman finally closed the shop. I think it's still empty although maybe something is there now. That teeny store. I used to think "I want to do that!" "Sit behind a screen and melt glass into beautiful creations" I would take my kids to watch him, and some teachers would take their class to see him melt his glass. The man never spoke to us, he just quietly sat and wove melted glass into filigree-like art. In some way this man was an inspiration to me to begin to work with glass. I think of him. Especially every Christmas when I unpack those special white boxes, marked with 'Fife and Drum' and hang my clear ornaments next to lights on our tree. The glass reflects the colors and sparkles like ice.

I've been making glass icicles. They are nothing like the beauties in the white boxes. Maybe sometime they will be. It's a struggle and I think of how easily this man melted and twisted the glass. A hidden gem in a little town 'Up North'

Felted slippers

2011-10-28T06:02:00.004-04:00

The weather is cooling down.

It seems each autumn my thoughts go to knitting.

Since moving to North Carolina, our need for mittens has reduced to pretty much nothing. Once in a while we wear mittens, but mostly I wear hand warmers when it's chilly. What a difference from when I'd wear gloves inside mittens and still have cold stiff fingers just from coming in from the parking lot at work.

The floors are chilly here though and I love my felted slippers. See the ones on the right? I'm not much for the sheep on the side of that slipper, but it's the only example of what I have that I could find on line. Mine don't have sheep on them. (can you imagine 'me' wearing 'sheep' on my slippers???? .... NOT!) It's a crochet pattern and when you crochet the slipper in 100% wool, it is HUGE. Then you put it in hot water in the washer and as it agitates, the wool felts. You have to watch it for size and shape it , then air dry it. I stuffed papers in them to shape them. Those slippers are cozy and comfy and don't feel like ridges are on the bottom as some knitted, crocheted slippers do. I made them when we lived in Michigan so they are at least 5 years old.

So, on the left is a knitted felted clog. I have one almost knitted. It just seemed like something neat to make although my slippers are still good so they may be a gift. The pattern has been in with other patterns I have purchased and looked like fun to try. It's an unusual pattern, and according to the web site for fiber trends, very popular. If you can read a pattern, they aren't real difficult, although I wouldn't suggest it as your first knitting project.
One slipper is almost knitted, and the next will be started this Sunday at a friend's house. She sets up a little knitting group and feeds us snacks and wine. :-) It's a nice time to visit with friends !

If you click on the pictures, they link to the sites with the patterns. Just in case you want a pair of toasty slippers that are comfy and last for ages. Just think of all the gifts you could knit or crochet up for the holidays!

Bead Crochet

2011-10-25T10:05:00.007-04:00

Isn't this pretty? It's bead crochet. It's a pile of bead crochet ropes by Judith Bertoglio-Giffin. Her work is so admirable, plus she writes instructions and patterns for bead crochet.
This particular pattern is called Urban Stripes and you can purchase the pattern here.

I have tried and tried and tried to bead crochet ever since I saw a fellow lampworker wearing a fabulous focal bead on a bead crocheted rope made of matte gray/silver beads. Just beautiful. So, being quite an avid fiber arts person, having knit and crocheted since childhood, this should have been a snap. But everytime I tried it, the threads covered the beads. Cruising the internet the other night, I saw Judith's new tutorial and was inspired again to try the technique. Ok. I read. I looked at my books. I watched YouTube tutorials. OHhhhhhh......
I was basically working inside out. Makes sense! The threads are hidden in the tube.
You can see my paltry little sample. But it's correct! Woo Hoo!
Now I'm wondering if I can tackle the Urban Stripes. If you click on Judith's name above, you can go to her blog and see some wonderful samples!

gotta dig out the seed beads. next step matte gray/silver!

Honeycrisps

2011-10-18T09:01:00.003-04:00

October. That means cider and apples. Caramel apples rolled in chopped up peanuts. Apple pie, apple crisp, and just a good crisp apple for lunch. We had several apple trees on our property when I was a kid and my mother always had a good warm homemade applesauce cooking. We used to sprinkle cinnamon candies into our bowls and stir them in, watching that red dye become a part of that warm, cinnamon-ish treat.

Living in Michigan, the fall harvest of apples is wondrous. My favorite eating apple was/is the Macintosh. Then a few years ago, my daughter introduced me to the honeycrisp.
"Mom.. meet the best apple you've ever had"

"Honeycrisp... prepare to be bought year after year, and sliced, diced, and shared"

For a while, I couldn't find these apples after we moved to NC. I ordered them from Michigan each fall. Having them shipped is no small expense but worth every penny. I'd share. Then the person who received the apple would come back to me and say 'where did you find that apple? It's the best one I've ever had"
juicy and sweet and just the right amount of 'crisp', whoever came up with this apple is a genius. So I looked it up.

Honeycrisp apple trees were derived from a 1960 cross of Macoun and Honeygold, at the University of Minnesota apple breeding program. The University was looking to develop winter hardy cultivars with high fruit quality. The original Honeycrisp apple seedling was planted in 1962 at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center. In 1974 it was excepted as a possible new and exciting variety. Honeycrisp then know and evaluated as MN 1711 was tested at locations Minnesota, Michigan and here in New York at the Cornell Research Station in Geneva. In 1982, research scientist Dave Bedford rediscovered the tree and really loved the apples. As the story is told "He and Researcher James Luby went back to the records that had been kept on "1711." According to Luby, its data sheet had "DISCARD" scrawled across it." In 1988 a plant patented was applied for and in 1991 the apple we know as Honeycrisp was released for commercial propagation by the nurseries around the Country.

I now have a bunch of these apples in my refrigerator courtesy of my friend Ruth. I gave her a Michigan honeycrisp last fall and she said the usual 'wow where did you get that apple?" And then she has been on the prowl for them. Ruth can find anything! She heard they had them at a local discount store, made the trip over, called me and asked if I wanted some. They're all packed in a bubble plastic holder and yes indeed, they are close to that deep flavor from the Michigan apples. Ruth just saved me a whole bunch of money. :-)

Now to find good crisp cider. I did find some the other day, but it was a gallon size. Too much cider for this girl. But it's out there somewhere! Maybe the farmer's market? They have good mountain apples there.
and the best caramel apples? I found them at the mall at a chocolate shop. I mentioned to the girl at the counter the apples tasted like some we bought in Michigan at Uncle John's cider mill. (home of the absolute best apples, cider, doughnuts and caramel apples yum!) And this young lady was from Michigan. LOL She also would go to Uncle John's for cider etc.

In the long run. Michigan must have the perfect climate for apple growing.The abundance of fall apples made me into someone who depends on them for lunches and when it gets a bit cooler, the apple hunting commences. Then the apple cooking. :-) and enjoying!

Wedding

2011-10-13T16:24:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was the joyous occasion of a wedding. I am now the lucky Mom/Mom in Law of a lady we've loved and are so happy to have as part of our family.

No beads this week, but some will be posted within a few days. In the meantime, I'm basking in 'happy' .

Signature Tablecloth

2011-10-01T12:18:00.003-04:00

Isn't this neat? My Mom has a tablecloth like this, but this isn't hers. It's just a picture I lifted . off the internet. Years ago, my Mom bought a white tablecloth and whenever we had a family gathering, she would also 'gather' signatures. I thought, ... eh..... it was cute, but whatever.

Well. She brought that tablecloth to the 50th anniversary party we had for she and my father. Wow. what a treasure. Each signature embroidered. My kids when they could barely write, relatives who we loved and now have passed away. It's bright , it's beautiful, and full of memories. I'm thinking about picking up a white tablecloth of my own. We have a family gathering coming up, and it will be fun to do some 'gathering' of my own.

Acorn beads

2011-09-29T18:57:00.002-04:00

This has been a lot of fun. :-) I have an upcoming show in late October and decided to go with 'autumn' pendants. Acorn beads have always appealed to me, so I have been making acorn after acorn. Some color combinations aren't 'all that' and some work beautifully.
This color is called pumpkin. I made pumpkins with it and that just wasn't a winner. But it sure makes a warm pretty acorn. The top of the beads have also been challenging in color, but it seems reactive silvered glass add some nice interesting depth.
It's been so nice to have time in my studio and time torching. Ideas that have been floating around in my mind can finally be approached. Good or bad. Some turn out and some ... not so much! Like the pumpkins. But it seems the things that don't turn out still lead to something good. Click on the picture to go to my Etsy shop to see acorn beads and this particular necklace.

Apple Crisp

2011-09-24T21:39:00.002-04:00

Recipe Time!! Here is our favorite apple crisp. A super easy recipe to make on Sunday afternoon in the fall. And a little bird lampwork bead to watch you cook. ;-) click on him to get to the Etsy listing.

You might get some vanilla ice cream to put on top of this! (or better yet, use my recipe and make your own)

This is an easy recipe

Use a 10 x 6 baking pan
butter it
peel, core and slice apples until the pan is almost full.

in another bowl mix

1/2 c oatmeal
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1/2 t cinnamon
dash of salt
1/4 c butter or margarine
you cut in the butter until this mixture is crumbly

then put this over the top of the apples
bake 350 about 40 minutes you test it with a fork to see if the apples have baked to tender.
different apples bake at different times so you have to check it.

I like to use Rome apples. a mixture of different types is good too.

serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream or just on it's own.

enjoy!!!

Enjoying the moments

2011-09-21T15:38:00.004-04:00

It's wonderful to have time to work with glass, and metals. I am so blessed to have some time at home and to have a place to work. It's a dream come true for sure!

This is what I've been playing with. Silvered glass. It does all kinds of wonderful things. The rod of glass that looks black, and easily could get lost in with my other glass if not marked. Marking it is a good idea since it isn't cheap, that's for sure! But look what it does! To bring out the color, you melt the silvered glass onto the base bead, and then you let it cool until the bead doesn't glow with heat. Then, turning the oxygen down in the torch produces a reduction environment which brings the silver in the glass out, producing deep colors. So you turn down the oxygen and slide that bead thru the flame, which some people call a 'dragon's breath' and you watch the colors lift.
It's great fun to watch, if it's going good. If it doesn't bring up color, then you can try holding your breath, or looking at it crosseyed, tapping your feet, hanging upside down. It is temperamental.

In the past, with working full time, I didn't have time to work with this glass. I have some stashed in a little pile to try out and have wished to try it for about a year!
So now it's time.
This beauty is in my Etsy shop. Help support my retirement. Buy ALL my beads. ;-) LOL

Great finds!

2011-09-18T19:12:00.003-04:00

I'm excited to be featured in Great Finds made for me by Oaklie.
You can view it here
and I hope you'll stop by her site and vote for my bead. She has a great collection of autumn colors. You can vote every day! It ends next Saturday.

Yesterday I went to Lincolnton, which is not far from me in NC. They had their annual Applefest. They had all kinds of apple stuff, cider and apples. It sure felt like autumn since the temperatures had dropped. People were in jeans and jackets which was so different than our 85 degree temperatures earlier last week! The picture is one I lifted off their website, as it wasn't t-shirt weather. But see the background of the picture? Isn't that a beautiful building? It's not a large town at all but they have a beautiful square in the town with that building which is, I think, the town hall. It has streets that go around it in a square. This is the apple guy who was there though! Time for applesauce! or apple cake. or crisp.

I set up my booth and sold some jewelry. It's always fun to meet fellow artists and people out enjoying the festival. The guy next to me had pottery he made from clay dug up on his property. So I bought a small bowl to add to my collection. Who can resist?

Cuff bracelets from Beadfest

2011-09-10T10:19:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a class at Lapidary Journal Beadfest. It was a long drive to Pennsylvania! Flying wouldn't have been all that easy either since i had a lot of kits and tools to carry. It was great fun to see friends there and even though teaching classes is enjoyable, meeting the new students a great experience, staying with Joy and Kathleen, and Susan was the icing on the cake..
Here's a picture of some of the finished bracelets. I didn't think to get a picture until almost everyone was gone. Everyone finished their bracelet and they all looked great. The skill levels in the class varied from a total newbie, to others who had been working in metals for quite some time. So here they are! brass, leather, and stones from Lake Michigan.
I have a few kits left with complete instructions in my jewelry and supply Etsy shop. It's hard sometimes to keep up with two shops but I want to keep the lampwork shop just for lampwork, although the patterned copper washers should be in this shop and not lampwork, it's hard to transfer them, so that's how it is. They'll stat there!
Anyway that's the musings today. It's time to get cracking on the jewelry for the Lincolnton Apple Festival next weekend. Today is 'earring day'
see you soon!

back to beadin'

2011-08-25T18:57:00.003-04:00

I'm back from Beadfest in Philadelphia. It was a great time. I stayed with friends Joy Cichewicz and Kathleen Robinson Young -- fellow beadmakers, for one night and then onward to Susan Feeley's for the remainder of the time. Susan also makes lampwork beads and some fabulous jewelry. She helped me teach the classes and was great. I will put pictures up soon but need to unpack the camera!
and now the first days of school. The first time since I was in kindergarten, starting as a 4 year old, (almost 5) that I haven't gone to school in the fall. My husband is still teaching Math, and I am grateful to be able to stay home and play with glass. And unpack, and uhhh a bunch of other things that have been put off. There is a list which includes all those things I haven't gotten to because of travel and work. Like paint the bench outside. That kind of stuff.
There are still a few boxes in the car, the suitcase almost unpacked and treasures from the vendors to play with. But I am, for sure, finding time to torch. Here's a set of simple beads from yesterday. There are some focals coming up to. But those will go into jewelry at first for a couple shows coming up.
Maybe you will all see a few more postings now that I am not doing yearbook (YAY!!!!) and interim reports and report cards!! (Yay again!!))

homemade ice cream

2011-08-14T21:50:00.003-04:00

It's always been a goal of mine to eat foods as close to natural forms as possible and it's surprising to see how many kids I taught ate all kinds of processed and fast foods. Unbelievable actually. We so need to educate our young people on nutrition. That said (ha ha!) How about some ice cream?

I can make ice cream with half and half, sugar, vanilla, and fresh fruit. (recipe below)

or....

I could go to a fast food place................

A typical artificial strawberry flavor, like the kind found in a fast food (not saying names here) strawberry milk shake, contains the following ingredients: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, g-undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent.

Want my recipe?

4 c half and half

1/2 c milk

1 and 1/8 c sugar

1 1/2 t vanilla. (or more if you like)

put this in your ice cream maker. Add some fruit if you want or slice some fruit over it.

fresh stuff. natural flavors. :-)

spread it on graham crackers. yah................

Fire Divas Treasury Giveaway

2011-08-13T18:18:00.000-04:00

Bead Jeweled - A Fire Diva's Treasury Give Away

This month, the Fire Divas are breaking out all the stops and creating a great collection of beads to be featured in the Fire Divas first ever Etsy Team Treasury Giveaway.

Your are probably familiar with Etsy's treasuries, which are collections of items chosen by individual curators, often with a theme. The Fire Divas are doing something special. Not only are we creating a treasury featuring many of the Fire Divas showing off their interpretation of a "Bead Jeweled" theme, but we are giving them all away to FOUR very lucky winners!

Each winner will receive four awesome beads from this collection. All you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment on our treasury HERE and "heart" or add all the featured shops in it as a favorite. Only one comment/person, please! Winners will be chosen at random on August 21, 2011.

Interesting day in Mt Holly

2011-08-07T10:58:00.002-04:00

This has been quite a week.

I remember asking my Grandmother years ago about what she did when she got home from vacation, and she told me it took her about a week to get her energy back. Well, that seemed strange to a young woman in her 20's but now I 'get it' .
My husband and I talked about that this morning how we just now are feeling 'normal' again after that whirlwind tour through Michigan, etc. in the month of July. I think my car has 3000 miles on it!

So this week we've unpacked, washed absolutely everything and now have some yard work to do. Check out the picture! This is within a mile of our house. In about 2 hours 5.5 inches of rain fell on our little town. It's hilly and the water ran down a block of hill, through parking lots to the lowest spot. This block of buildings is across the street from a large berm that a railroad track is on. The berm acted like a levy, held the water, and the people pictured here were trapped in a building. Water blocked the back door and the front door. The rescuers broke a window and pulled the people out to safety. Rumor has it there was 5 feet of water in the building. The buildings next to it also were flooded. There was all kinds of water in Charlotte too, with major streets shut down.

Our own little yard had rivers running through, down the hill and into a small drainage/creek, which became a river. Now the koi pond still looks muddy after 2 days of running two filters, but it is improving, and we can see the fish again. Some mulch needs to be replaced, since it washed away, and we need to bring in a bit of soil where our grass was just starting to seed in and grow. (hubby put weed killer on the grass and killed the weeds, which left lots of spots to reseed)
Feeling like Noah that day, watching the rain and marveling at the power of water.... it gave us a day we stayed in and really just watched a few movies, baked a loaf of bread, and ignored the laundry. We should all have that kind of a day and sometimes the weather just insists that we do!

Hooray! Home again!

2011-08-02T19:13:00.002-04:00

Wow I could be at a loss for words on how busy last month was, but hey, have you known me to be quiet? ever? haha
My husband and I were very lucky to see our kids, our parents, our friends, this past month in a whirlwind kind of vacation.
Since we got out of school, we've been to too many states (including the state of confusion!) and haven't had much down time.
Now we're home. we're unpacking, and I'm trying to get myself together!
Laundry abounds since our clothing has a bit of campfire smell :-). There are still a few things in the car to unpack, but luckily some bins we brought in are now empty.
How do you unpack? My husband brings everything in and puts it in one spot. I bring it in bit by bit and put it away. Packing and unpacking isn't something I enjoy. And usually something important is forgotten. Like the time I went to Chicago in December and didn't pack any socks! oops! Or the time I went to Detroit in the winter and realized as my husband drove away from the airport (without his cell phone) that my winter coat was in the front seat of his car. That was interesting since it was about zero degrees when we landed. A sweatshirt purchased at the airport, was handy and I put on my gloves, and ran as fast as possible to the car rental place.
Anyhoo.... we're back! Stay tuned for a few pictures and hopefully... soon.... some new beads etc.

2011-07-17T08:34:00.005-04:00

Here are a few pictures showing what I've been doing. Yes indeed, I have been quiet here on my blog. Around the end of July, there will be pictures of new beads, and hopefully some of the metal work that is being made while visiting a cabin in the woods. In between family, friends, travel, weddings, luncheons, and lots of driving.
tomorrow is a class with Cindy Moore that looks like it will be fun. It's neat to have a vacation and fit in a little time to work with metals. We'll be soldering copper. The new copper solder is our material and it will be interesting to see how it flows, how it works with strength and how pretty it can work up. I'd say I'll keep you posted, but internet service isn't real easy to work with. My phone is the modem and it can be spotty.
I'll be around though! The large parts of travel are done, and we have a bit of time to relax. It's all relaxing anyway! since I don't have to go back to work in August. I have plans!!! :-) and hope to share some nifty new things here.

2011-06-15T08:11:00.004-04:00

This morning, I read my friend Mallory's blog posting about her awesome dog Pixie. Pixie hurt her foot and had to have some work done on it at the Vet's office. Poor Pixie. :-( She's a cool dog and we all love reading about what Pixie is up to.
So after they fixed up Pixie's foot, since it was raining, they told Mallory to protect the dressing with Press 'n Seal.

It made me think of how great this stuff is. I use it when transporting beads and jewelry to art shows. See the hamburgers on the press n seal box? Picture them as beads. yah. I use about a 18 inch piece of press n seal, line up beads on half of it, roll the other half over and press. then roll up the sheet and put it in bins in my jewelry case. They arrive safely snug in their wrapping.

You can also line up necklaces and press but you need to carefully separate the press 'n seal since it's so strong. Good Stuff! Especially if you are flying with a case full of jewelry. No worries when putting that bag up in the carry on bin, or worse yet, having them tell you they need to stow that bag since it won't fit in carry on.

Thanks for the reminder Mallory. I sure hope Pixie is feeling better!!

Retiring from teaching

2011-06-07T13:02:00.003-04:00

Yes indeed. This is what I've been up to. I am ending my career of teaching. It's been good. It's been difficult. It's been a super job with the benefit of having time with my family as the kids grew up. It's time to move on. 35 years in a classroom. Whew!

I'll be doing 'something' else in addition to really being able to focus on glass and metals. Some part time job that could be fun in other ways. Maybe work in a flower shop, or a sporting goods store. A hardware could be fun! Something like that.

But for a few months, I am going to BASK in the glow of not setting my alarm clock for 6 a.m. , dressing in my teacher clothes, correcting papers and dealing with kids who just haven't learned how to respect others.

I will miss, the light that goes off over a child's head when they 'get it'. The kids who show talent in Art as they learn the basics. The kids with fun stories, the ones who do love and respect, the love and hugs, smiles and fun. But that's ok. I can think of it as I sleep in. :-)

Cuttlebone Casting

2011-06-05T12:12:00.002-04:00

I'm thinking about this. A friend has been doing some cuttlebone casting. Wouldn't this make some good components? So I have bought the largest pieces of cuttlebone I can find, and then downloaded a free tutorial here.

I have scrap silver and think this would be fun. I have also read that it really smells when you pour the molten silver, so it's a good idea to do this outside or in a very well ventilated space.
If this turns out, I'll post some pictures. Have you tried it?

Eye love it!

2011-06-04T06:20:00.007-04:00

This is boring if you aren't interesting in my struggle with lasik. But in celebration of better vision, these EYE beads are 20% off in my Etsy shop. Just send me a note on Etsy and tell me 'Good Eyes!' for the discount.

now you don't have to read this! Unless you want to.

Sooooo, yesterday I had a re-do/enhancement of my lasik which was done in December. Both of my eyes responded to custom wave front lasik with 15% less correction than was supposed to happen. I have mono-vision, so it doesn't really matter with the 'up close' eye. I can see well up close which was a real concern in getting this done. optivisors are a must when doing close up work, but I had to change them from a 2.5 strength to a 1.0 so that's pretty cool. I was so near sighted that everything up close was extremely crisp and I lost a bit of that. Like working with little teeny beads is still fine but better with magnification. But distance... I was beyond frustrated. This was out of pocket paying for eye surgery, and my vision was still -1 to -1.25 20/40 or worse. I couldn't see to drive without glasses, and really needed them for pretty much anything. I refused to get contact lenses since, I didn't do this so I could have a new prescription! I got glasses.. paid for those. Had to take them off to see up close, and put them on to see far away. Lost the first pair out for a walk and had to get glasses again! not what I expected either since isn't lasik supposed to help you save on prescription eye wear? I was so frustrated to think I had expected better than this, paid many dollars for it, wanted to do it for ages, and this was 'IT' ?? ugh.... I was told the day after surgery that I may need an enhancement. and all along knew yes indeed this would have to be done.
They made me wait 6 months for an enhancement. Again a surprise, since in the brochure and anything I read said 3 months. Frustrating. Very.
So FINALLY I got to get the check up for the enhancement and they told me I had to have PRK rather than having a simpler, 'lift the flap and laser' procedure.. which I'm telling you... it's easy.
sigh.... another 'surprise' this is just more and more frustrating. notice I'm not telling you where I had this done, but it is reputable with a well regarded surgeon.
I was pretty unhappy about that! but I 'would' like to see. So ok.. I am expecting 'significant pain' (stated on sheet from the lasik center) and 'light sensitivity' d#*n it!
I had it done yesterday morning and it was way past easy ... I mean EASY to have done. This is what the armed forces use and I can see why. simple to do. simple. But.... ahem, if you look up how it's done, (I won't mention it here because it's not for the squeamish even if it doesn't hurt a bit when being done) I know why it 'should' hurt.
yesterday... not a bit of pain. did the 'sleep all afternoon' thing. got up. made myself go to bed early.
Today I don't feel anything either! nothing!
maybe it's the massive amounts of vitamin B and C I've been taking.
My vision is supposed to be bad for a week, then improve slowly for weeks. I am not to expect anything for 6 weeks.
But today... I CAN SEE BETTER! woo hoo!!!
according to written information from the lasik center, it will get worse before it's better, so I'll enjoy this today and hope for super good healing (say a prayer for me ok?)

No torch work for a while. I wasn't told that but figure I'll wait a bit. I'll probably do some metals. But I have plenty of beads to post so keep an eye out (hee heee)

Color ideas

2011-05-28T18:58:00.004-04:00

You may know that color is important in my designs. I am very drawn to bright color combinations. One person in my booth at an art show last weekend said 'You must be happy, because your jewelry looks happy!'
And yes, I'm usually a happy person. Why not? It's a choice to be happy or not happy since we have plenty of life to draw upon, and some days could certainly influence my 'happy' because of everyday difficult moments, but I try to focus on the good stuff.
Anyway..... here is an example of how I find my color combinations. Clothing and home catalogs reflect what colors are in fashion, and we want our jewelry to match that, yes?
This catalog came several weeks ago and has sat next to my lampworking area ever since, to remind me of colors to use. I matched my rods of glass to this catalog and sat down to torch. The bead pictured is one that resulted.
So, if you like to work with color, make a folder or notebook and keep pictures of combinations you like. Then have fun and while you're at it, be happy. :-)
Check out my Etsy shop if you like the bead.

wire and lampwork

2011-04-30T22:31:00.002-04:00

Hmmm I have been messing around a bit with steel wire. Makes me think of some urban-punk-ish kind of thing. Steel wire in jewelry. For this girl who grew up in farm country, I think of barbed wire, but this is much easier on the skin! With the price of silver, it is an alternative worthy of exploration. It's also a fun way to use my 'orphan' lampwork beads. I can't decide though, if they are something to put in my booth at the art show coming up. what do you think?

2011-04-24T06:10:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter!

Southern Fried Chicken

2011-04-23T17:57:00.002-04:00

Today we were out and about, and went to the farmer's market for some plants.
Then decided hmmm... let's go to Price's Chicken Coop! It's not real easy to drive over there after work if we ever want fried chicken take out because the traffic leaving Charlotte is formidable around dinner time. But easy on a lazy Saturday afternoon. So we stopped by. This place was mentioned in Gourmet magazine as .

Avisit to Price’s Chicken Coop is the fried-chicken-eating experience of a lifetime. Once inside the door of the little South End storefront, two thirds of which is dedicated to cooking and the rest to ordering, the first decision you need to make is which line to stand in. At peak mealtimes there are six or seven of them leading to a counter with three cash registers, each of which is flanked by white-uniformed, hairnet-wearing servers.

And they are right. :-) Today there were 5 registers going and a line at each register. You get in and out fast enough, but have enough time to soak up that 'old South' kind of ambiance.
We're lucky enough that this is close, and probably lucky it is far enough away to not be easily accessible! Our arteries most likely thank us for that.

In my refrigerator right now, are a few pieces of that tasty stuff along with some fresh local strawberries for a bit of shortcake later tonight.

and now.... off for a long walk with the husband which I think we need!

2011-04-09T16:32:00.003-04:00

This spring, a fashion we're seeing quite a bit here in North Carolina is a certain type of espadrille.

A very popular item is a line of espadrille's by one company that has a rather expensive product. $49 for a pair of these canvas shoes.

I have always loved espadrilles and am so happy to see them back on people's feet. :-)
If you like them and want the 'real thing' handmade in Spain, you can buy these shoes for about $25. I just bought a pair from here. The sizing may be a tad 'off' In European sizes their comparisons are a number larger. I ordered the regular European size that I wear and they fit great.

So maybe you'd like to support the 'real' shoe artists and pay directly to their company rather than for a 'label' and 'name' of a popular shoe for twice as much (made in China)

and in the meantime... you could make a wonderfully colorful piece of jewelry using some bright salsa colored discs from my Etsy shop. (yah!)

Customer Appreciation Sale!

2011-03-26T17:38:00.004-04:00

I am a member of the Fire Divas Team. It is a group of talented lampwork artisans. This week we are having a customer appreciation sale.
The sale begins this Friday, March 25th and runs through Saturday, April 2, 2011 for the team. You can find some wonderful handmade lampwork in our shops.

I am offering, in my Etsy shop, specially marked sets of beads for $10 with free shipping. Use the coupon code "DIVATHANKS" when you check out and your total will be adjusted to reflect the free shipping

Check out our group blog http://firedivas.blogspot.com/ for many many more deals!!

Made in America dinnerware

2011-03-10T20:18:00.002-05:00

The Homer Lauglin China Company makes my most favorite dinnerware. Fiesta ware.
I loved it when I was a kid, and bought it for our own table a long time ago. It's so fun to set a colorful table. My kids all had their favorite color plate. Joe liked the black plate which always amused me.
Whenever you want to add a color or a place setting or just get some cool piece of china like a water pitcher or new mugs or a casserole, you just go shopping. The price is always right and many times there are sales. And there continually are new colors which makes it so tempting to just keep adding plates and bowls.
You can also look for vintage fiesta ware if you shop secondhand, but it's hard to find.
And to quote from it's web site, "The company has experienced continued growth and is poised to move forward with the Wells Family’s pledge to continue producing quality, American-made china and provide jobs for potters of the Ohio Valley".

Made in America

2011-03-06T09:15:00.002-05:00

Today I will start a new blog series. Made in America. If we all would buy an American Made Product at least weekly, making an effort to buy American, we will move our economy forward. The show I watched by Diane Sawyer on TV showed many US made products are the same price or cheaper. That was eye opening to me since I thought US made products are more expensive. Diane Sawyer and her team emptied a home of all it's foreign made products. All that was left in the living room was a candle. The kitchen, the kitchen sink the only 'appliance' left. The home was refurnished with US made products. It was beautiful and cost effective. Except for the kitchen appliances, and they suggested buying 'half made' in the USA products for cost savings, rather than the high end appliances they had to buy. At the end of this news clip, I was wishing it was 'my' home they refurnished!
So today's comment from me is 'ask' if something is made in the USA. You can watch this clip here. clip.
And since it's Sunday, I am today featuring some of my own beads, made in the USA. But the next post, something else. :-)
check out Etsy also. I try to buy items there to support US artists. Many Etsy sellers augment their family income with their sales, and many make their living from their on line sales. It's a good place to start.

Jeri Warhaftig Creating Glass Beads

2011-02-18T12:16:00.004-05:00

Here's a new book about lampworking by Jeri Warhaftig of Jeri's Beads
It's a fun book with innovative techniques for lampworkers. I like the cute face bead pictured on the front of the book. Cute eyes and smile.
Jeri has projects in the book that work with hollow beads (She is the inventor of the 'puffy mandrel') She uses tools to ruffle the hot glass, glow in the dark frit, silver foil, resins, and just a bunch of interesting ways to use soft glass.
If you don't have Jeri's first book, you should check it out. It's one of my favorites. This book has me thinking of new things to try also. There are so many things to do with soft glass, and Jeri's books can open up a new way of thinking.
and.... ahem..... while you peruse the book, do check out the galleries and see if you might find a few things from me. ;-)

Bracelet with disc beads by Caffeine Girl Beads

2011-01-31T20:56:00.003-05:00

Isn't this cute? Deborah of Caffeine Girl Beads made this bracelet. She uses the money from her jewelry sales towards tuition for her kids. College certainly isn't cheap! (but oh so worth it)
Deborah ordered a set of disc beads from my Etsy shop, and I am just loving what she does with them.
Stop by Deborah's blog/web page and see her other pieces. She has a wonderful sense of color and her jewelry is playful and full of color. A great thing to wear in the winter, yes? It'll perk up your day!

glass corsage

2011-01-24T22:34:00.000-05:00

this was from a fun class this weekend in Atlanta with Sara Sally LaGrande.

Lampwork Hearts

2011-01-17T11:11:00.002-05:00

I love making heart beads. Here's a little sample of what beads will go on Etsy today.
It's so much fun to make them and maybe that's because the surface is just right for making some simple designs and trying out new glass and color variations.
There are a few in my Etsy shop already. I hope you take a look at them!

Beadfest Philadelphia

2011-01-08T23:03:00.004-05:00

Have you ever been to a Beadfest? Lapidary Journal gives a wonderful show in Philadelphia each August. Sharon Driscoll and I will be teaching two classes there this year. We haven't taught there for a few years, taking a break because of my moving, and then she had lots of 'life' happening too. Now we're baaa-aaaack! And happy to be there! It's so much fun to meet new people in our classes. And the vendors!! Whew! Lots of vendors, more beads than you can imagine. :-)
Take a look at the Beadfest site and maybe you'll sign up for a class or two or three!

Lampwork and Metals studio

2011-01-01T16:22:00.003-05:00

Yay! It's basically done! My own little corner of the world. A place to melt the glass and pound the metals. There is room to teach too.
The ventilation system works perfectly. hooray! Bryan did a wonderful job. The 'box' to lampwork in is lined with metal, and the outer section is handy for hanging tools. The ventilation is through the top, and well lit also. I love lighting my torch and watching the flame getting pulled toward the vent.

You see my work bench is already in use, as is the bead kiln. Beads are annealing and a piece of jewelry is being created on my bench.

This is the best ever spot to work. There is still organizing to do, dusting and mopping, and a long shelf to hang, but it's taken shape beautifully.
It's good to be back in the swing of things too, since I haven't been able to work on my torch for a bit of time while this was taking shape.
Happy 2011 and hoping for much beadie goodness! :-)

lampwork station almost ready!

2010-12-19T10:05:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas to me! While this little gecko in my Etsy shop hangs around here, I'll show you what I've been up to. :-)

This is something I have wanted to do for years. On the work area in this picture is the beginnings of a 'Barley box' named after the talented lampworker Michael Barley, who designed this set up. The lampworking torch is set up with this 'structure' around it, with enough space to work, and the ventilation is in the top. Because the space is 'enclosed' the fumes from the process are pulled out of your workroom through the vent that goes outside (which is yet to be added...next week.)
I've tried many types of ventilation and this is what I've had in mind for ages but haven't had the resources actually to have it made. It's hard to find someone with the time and talent to do this. But luckily we have a friend who does work like this. He just insulated our garage walls and ceiling (thank you tax credit!) and drywalled, and painted, and carried the heat and cooling out there with a wall switch to boot. We are calling it the 'Garage-mahal' !! I asked if he could help me with the ventilation. He took a look at the pictures and went at it! He still will vent the box to the outside and line the box with a white metal. We started with a range hood that has 4 halogen lights in it. (woo hoo!) and the strongest fan we could find. Now, this may need to be tweaked. We'll test it to see if it pulls the fumes, the theory being that with it enclosed, and with the large tube that will go to the vent, and the short distance, this should do it. If not... it's easy to add a fan and the lighting and hardware is all there.
ahhh...... It's so exciting! I hope to post soon, a picture of an organized work space, ready to teach private classes in my own studio in metalsmithing and lampworking. Woo Hoo!! step by step it's coming together.

finally back to the fun stuff

2010-12-11T15:20:00.004-05:00

Finally! Since the bead show in October, I have had many beads to list and no time to do it. So today I put up some disc beads and hope to keep taking pictures and posting on Etsy.

One reason it's been difficult to make new things is the many orders I've had for some silver work, and another is the second picture. Our garage is getting insulated. Yay for the tax credit! But it must be done before the end of the year, hence, the speed (haha we put it off way too long)
as long as it's being insulated, then we may as well drywall. Soon a studio will appear and I will even have a good spot to teach some classes. How exciting! Our friend, Brian, who is as handy as all get out, even fixed it so the heating and cooling will work there. See the handy dandy switch on the wall? He is amazing. And ummmm see the mess on my workbench? Looks like there is some work ahead organizing.
Hopefully by Wednesday the sanding will be done, the drywall primed and the next step of putting the exhaust fan in will be done. It's going to be a great vacation over Christmas, getting this all put together! Maybe there will be some pictures coming of a neat and tidy studio space!

lasik

2010-12-04T20:42:00.002-05:00

I took the plunge this week and had lasik. It was my concern when considering it (for years actually) that my close up vision would become bad, but after discussing it with the opthomologist, monovision seemed like the best decision.
I had the procedure yesterday and can gladly say seeing up close is still 'there' :-) Yay! time to throw away the glasses!
as I age (oh well.............) my close up vision has worsened in especially one eye, so that is now for distance. Optivisors will be handy but I tried a few things out today and it worked out great.
So back to the bench!! And the torch!! :-)

Thanksgiving week coming up!

2010-11-20T17:20:00.004-05:00

What are you thankful for? Besides really cool beads. ;-) (which you can click on to buy in my Etsy shop)
Recently I read an article about a woman who wrote prayers , just simple ones, on scraps of paper, and put them in a box. After they were in the box, she let her worries and concerns be taken care of by a higher power. A beautiful story.
Another time I read of someone who wrote one special thing each day and put it in a box. She kept those notes' and each year. After a while she had a calendar of special events and happenings that she had written to remember great days. It may have been she planted flowers, or saw a friend or walked in the sunshine. She noticed the small pleasures in everyday life and looked for one every day.
A special things this week, I am thankful for.

My kids are all coming to visit! So it will be a great Thanksgiving. I bought the turkey today and it's thawing (yah right..) in the refrigerator. Now to get that guest room into tip top shape.
:-)
If I don't talk to you until next Saturday, have a great holiday and love your family. Give them hugs!

Next Blog

2010-11-08T22:04:00.004-05:00

Do you ever try 'next blog' when looking at a blog? Most days lately, I have clicked on 'next blog' for three new blogs to look at. many times I leave a comment and wonder if the blogger wonders "who in the world left that comment? "

It's very interesting to read blogs I've never seen before
tonight's new blogs consisted of:

http://wwwfeedingmysoul.blogspot.com/ a yummy pumpkin dip with ginger snap. I think it would be great for the Bunco group.

http://bagsandbuds.blogspot.com/ a wreath made from a paperback book. Maybe something to do at school.

http://lucyquilting.blogspot.com/ quilting and nice pictures.

try clicking on 'next blog' and tell me if you find anything interesting!

Birthday Sale! is over thank you!

2010-11-07T08:14:00.005-05:00

Yes indeedie, I am another year older. And today is the end of daylight savings. WOO HOO! my body clock is so thankful. The family teases me and says that it's my favorite holiday. :-)

so since I am now 57! (wow I remember being 3 or 4 years old and being way cuter--but I digress)
everything in my Etsy shop TODAY NOVEMBER 7th, 2010 is buy one get one 57% off. The purchase that is 57% off will be the one of lesser value.

You can wait till I'm 100 and it will be buy one get one 100% off LOL.

Help me celebrate! buy your beads, don't pay until you convo me for a new price. If I don't answer right away, I'm going out for Italian later on.

2010-10-30T22:32:00.002-04:00

Happy Halloween!
We've had a fun week (haha) since my husband and I both teach at a middle school it's been a little crazy. The kids so enjoy Halloween. Monday they'll be sneaking candy into their classes in pockets and after telling them all "No candy in the Art room!!" I'll find wrappers here and there. I remember doing the same thing as a kid, taking candy that didn't have noisy wrappers!
We've been having a great time making our own books. After having 4 boxes of old computer paper donated (the kind that fed with punched holes on the sides) I have taught the 8th graders coptic binding. Sharon, my friend, suggested the project and it's been great fun. The kids are tearing paper and sewing and designing covers for their books. It is a super project.
Anyway.. here's one of my latest Etsy listings. A little lampworked bird. I have a few more and this summer, cast some silver branches to place the birds on, but I figured one could be on Etsy. This one is etched lightly and I love that porcelain/antiqued look. It's copper green glass, which has many personalities. Maybe you'd enjoy making a piece of handmade jewelry with this bead, or just hang it on leather. It's a sweetie.

Easy kind of like Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

2010-10-24T12:17:00.006-04:00

since I have a bead set with a frit mix melted into it, I figured it would be fun to share a recipe too. it's been a while since a recipe has been shared on this blog. About time right?
A friend of mine who does weight watchers shared this with me and it's great if you like stuffed cabbage (I do!!) and also if you like to cut time out of that preparation. (sounds good!)

Carol's Weight Watcher Cabbage Casserole

1 lb ground turkey browned
one medium onion chopped
1/2 cabbage coarsely shredded
you can add 1 pepper chopped, but I don't
and you can add chopped celery (2 stalks) I don't

Now Carol cooks this and adds cooked rice. I put the rice in from the start so this is my variation on her wonderful recipe.
add 2 cups water and 1 c rice
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper.

there you go! Put this all in a big pan (I use a Dutch Oven) and simmer until the rice is done.
yum yum
now that your dinner is simmering, go make some jewelry! I know where you can buy some great lampworked beads.

Fire Divas!!
check it out!

have fun!!

Michigan Bead Show

2010-10-13T16:54:00.002-04:00

I'm looking forward to being in Michigan this weekend for the West Michigan Bead Expo. It is at Calvin College Oct 16 for 10 to 5. This is a great bead show with all kinds of beads and many lampworking artists.
If you aren't too far from Grand Rapids, stop in and say hello!

think pink think teal

2010-10-11T21:58:00.002-04:00

Ladies... while you are thinking 'pink' think 'teal' also and schedule that yearly gyn exam. ok?
I'm lucky to have had a couple great physicians help me and am now almost 9 years cancer free. I never knew that a clear pap doesn't mean you 'don't ' have uterine cancer. Did you? So if you have any unusual symptoms get them checked. Early detection is key. Scary? yes but even scarier if a tumor isn't found early.
So let's remember to schedule two appointments. A mammogram and a gyn exam/pap smear.
right! Pink and Teal ladies.... pink and teal.

2010-10-05T19:42:00.002-04:00

Ten things I like

1 freshly ground coffee beans
2 polar fleece blankets
3 flying to see my kids
4 floating on the lake on an air mattress
5 homemade gingersnaps
6 a glass of red wine
7 walks with my husband
8 toys :-)
9 sketch books
10 the Farmer's Market

Saturday beads

2010-09-11T10:15:00.004-04:00

Ahhh the school week is over. It's been a long haul in Artville, getting lots of students on task, working projects, learning the art room rules. This year has been especially interesting since we have over 100 new students in our school. Where did they come from?
So there's been a bit of stress involved with finding seats, making seating charts, and setting up lessons for larger classes. My goal is to make the class a learning experience that will help kids enjoy art as a lifetime skill.
In the meantime, making beads has taken a back seat for about a week or so. I had an order to match some beads in the turquoise and ivory set that was listed in my Etsy shop. So there are many extras, since I just kept making beads with the same glass. Kind of a Zen like state and it does totally make me relax, staring into the flame (with special glasses on!) and just thinking of shaping the glass and melting to the optimal state.
So here is another set with my favorite glass combination. in my Etsy shop!
Have a great weekend!

tree

2010-08-31T19:19:00.000-04:00

tree

2010-08-31T19:18:00.000-04:00

tree

2010-08-31T19:17:00.001-04:00

amazing. today a tree fell in the front of our school. it was a stately oak. I'm so sorry to see it go, but it has to go and so does the other oak. Safety is important at a school. Luckily this fell while kids were in classes. THUNK! it took out the flag pole too! I think of when this tree was planted and all the students who walked under it, how many hugged each other, or kissed. How many art classes drew a picture of it. Who enjoyed it's shade.
My plans are to be sure we plant a new one in it's place. 30 years from now, we'll drive by that 'new' tree and be happy to see it there.

favorite beads

2010-08-29T14:06:00.003-04:00

It's hard to show beads today since they are in the kiln! I've been getting ready for a show next weekend on Saturday.A blue grass and acoustic festival at Redbone Willy's
Does that sound like fun or what? So I'm working on some rings and bracelets mostly. Maybe you will show up at the festival for some fun!
In the meantime, here's one of my favorite sets of beads. In my shop on Etsy!

back to work

2010-08-19T20:55:00.002-04:00

Teacher work days today, tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday. Then the bright shiny faces will show up!

Hard to believe this is my 35th year of teaching. Actually 36 if you count the year of substitute teaching. Amazing. If I put the entire 'sea' of faces together, what would it be like?

and umm.... I started teaching when I was 5 years old. yes indeed. That makes me 40 years old right now. hahahahah

a gecko bead for your viewing pleasure. In my Etsy shop.

2010-08-12T15:20:00.001-04:00

Again picture taking/editing is the bane of my existence when posting to Etsy. These beads were such a challenge that I finally put them on top of my shelf above the fireplace, and wow.. the natural lighting there made at least the best picture I have gotten of these beads after working on it for several days. who would have thought after trying several different backgrounds, different places setting up the light tent, different lighting, that this worked. Not perfect yet, but better!
these beads make me think of hard candy. The bright transparent colors. It was harder to take a picture than to make them! They are in my shop on Etsy.

Warm weather

2010-08-10T23:01:00.002-04:00

It's been a tad warm in my studio (half of the garage) and the window AC keeps it 'ok' for the morning, but by afternoon I look much like this picture. Beads anneal through the afternoon and by evening I have some to clean. It takes me a few days to make enough beads to be in a good set, so little is on Etsy that's new. But I'm working on it!!
In the afternoon, we have been enjoying some of the fun that the Charlotte area has to offer and have been rather busy. We saw 'Inception' the other night at the I-Max. Great movie. My kids mentioned how much they liked it. It's nice to get recommendations from them because they have great minds and imaginations. I love to hear what they like and their book and movie recommendations are usually spot on.
It's the last week of summer vacation and we need to enjoy it as much as we can! We'll be back to work late next week with our teacher work days.

the 'eyes' have it. lampwork today!

2010-08-07T14:23:00.002-04:00

These are crazy! I was messing around with a couple odd pieces of glass and look at these 'eyes'!
The little bubble is from poking the hot glass with a tool and then putting clear glass over it. An easy way to have a cute little accent in a dot. The heat and glass worked together, reacted, and these dots make me think of eyes with the variations of color and depth.
It's always fun to melt glass because the fun just doesn't end!

Schedule of Classes

2010-08-04T12:21:00.003-04:00

Here are the classes I will be teaching at Gaston School of the Arts

always on Tuesday evenings 6:30-8:30

oct 5 and 12 caged bracelet as shown in my previous entry $60 plus $15 materials fee

oct 26 and Nov 2 Introduction to Silver Soldering We will make a patterned silver ring
saw, forge and finish silver. solder with pallions and paste solder $60 plus $10 materials fee

more coming!!
Susan

Back at home, and fall classes

2010-08-01T10:13:00.002-04:00

We arrived home in NC last Sunday and this past week, I taught a kid's jewelry class in Gastonia. It was fun. The kids did all kinds of projects and it was neat to watch them use their new skills and creativity. It seems the biggest hurdle for them is to slow down and let glue dry. LOL

I'm setting up my classes for fall at Gaston School of the Arts. Tuesday nights 6:30- 8:30 on the listed dates, I will offer two week classes that are project oriented.
That's the goal anyway. That way, for students who took a class before, they can pick and choose classes that have projects they are interested in. There are no classes in September because I have two shows that month and can't deal with teaching at the day job, doing two shows and teaching an evening a week. Teaching one night is not bad, but the set up takes a bunch of time, putting together materials and packing.
The first session in early October is the bracelet pictured here. I think we'll have time to make either some earrings or wire rings too.
The cost is $60 plus a kit cost of $15 which includes all the wire and a set of my lampworked beads. These bracelets are so pretty and the skills taught in making them transfer to many other projects you can do on your own.
The class isn't up on the website yet for GSOA but feel free to call to sign up! We have a lot of fun together!

copper patterned washers

2010-07-19T17:09:00.003-04:00

So you wonder.. where 'is' Susan lately? :-) I've been on a vacation but have still been listing a few things on Etsy. It's unfortunate that the computer I brought with me decided to take a nose dive, so I am unable to edit pictures. Soon I will be adding NEW stuff to my Etsy shop. In the meantime, these patterned washers are handy. I drilled holes in these and they are great for bracelets. Some jumprings, some lampwork, some mixed metals. Brass? Silver? These work great. Cool earrings too!
anyway it's been a warm and wonderful vacation and I've enjoyed seeing friends and family. Did a little metal work and lots of seed bead projects. Pictures of those later!

Summer Challenge with the FireDivas

2010-06-14T06:50:00.003-04:00

http://firedivas.blogspot.com/2010/06/june-bead-challenge-summer.html

I love this group. It's a friendly bunch of talented lampworkers. I am lucky enough to be a member of the group. There is always some fun going on, sales, bead of the day, and some challenges too.
this challenge is for 'summer' and I put in it a bracelet of lively colored beads wrapped in silver. I have tried this bracelet with beads that have a design, but this is my favorite.
maybe you will go to the challenge page and vote for your favorite piece for 'summer'

just click on the link!

Devitrification

2010-06-06T11:00:00.003-04:00

Isn't this the prettiest sunset bead? Unfortunately it's not something that can be sold or used in jewelry. It has the 'evil' devitrification.
I do see some lampworked beads on line with this problem, but to me, it's a sign of not working the heat in your torch correctly.
I've been messing around with some mixed glass powders and love this combination of glass and enamels, and powders, but too bad for this bead, it goes somewhere, but not into jewelry.
Devitrification is evident by a dull bubbled look. Can you see it near the flower on the right and below? Sometimes it happens just because I marvered (shaped) the glass with a brass or graphite tool. You 'learn your glass' and after a bit of practice, the issue is resolved by knowledge of what heat and oxygen combination to use.
And that, my friends, is why some glass color combinations are more difficult to find, and cost somewhat more. It also keeps working with glass always on a learning curve, and challenging fun.
more glassy goodness hopefully coming your way.
:-)
Susan

snake on the porch

2010-05-26T22:09:00.006-04:00

Check out this visitor! I looked out on the porch and saw this snake and was pretty spooked. It's a 'good' snake. ok but why is it on my porch?
must be food right? I worried it got the baby birds in the birdhouse hanging on the other side of the porch, but there is a lot of movement in there so it must be they are safe. I can watch the birdhouse moving without any wind, jiggle jiggle, but I haven't spotted the Mama bird today. Hope they are all good and hanging a birdhouse there didn't put them in danger from ginormous snakes.

and look how long this snake is in the second picture. whoa....
so ok hopefully he/she won't come back. I turned on the porch light last night and there was a little snake. ok that's enough.
came home from work and there it was again. the little snake.
I put 5 boxes of mothballs around the porch and
under it. Hopefully that will help. A few people at work suggested it.
I never saw a snake like this in Michigan!!
In the meantime, I went in the garage and there was a bird in the garage! It was freaking out. Easy fix. I opened the door and shut off the lights, off it flew to freedom.

So spring in NC is interesting. I'm done being spooked by the snakes, and hope they decided to slither off to someone else's porch! Or we'll have to welcome the cat that hangs around on the patio and takes naps on the furniture out there. Think the cat could take this snake on? I wouldn't know who to bet on!

Wild Kingdom.

crazy fun pendant beads

2010-04-27T12:35:00.006-04:00

It's been a lot of fun lately making oddly shaped disc beads. I heat them, add extra glass, and dots and ruffles, to make a unique pendant bead. This one is so hard to list on Etsy because I want it for myself. It's a lustre glass and looks a bit like oil on water, then with the fushia kind of pink and the bright yellow, well, you can see why Bullseye glass is known for it's nice colors.
It's fun to work with Bullseye too because it melts a tad slower so the glass stays where you put it. The hard thing to deal with is that the glass won't work with Moretti glass. It will crack where they are melted together, so sadly, the two types of glass are incompatible.
It's expensive to have both types of glass, so my Bullseye collection of colors is limited. But this center pinkish red is so pretty, that it's tempting to just sit down and make a big order of new glass.

I have thought a lot about making a silver 'hanger' bail for this bead and wearing it myself. Thinking of making another one for sure!

Frog beads

2010-04-19T22:16:00.004-04:00

Looking at beads in my shop. I love these little frog beads. A friend told me she told her daughter she had to kiss a lot of frogs before she found her prince. Maybe that's the 'draw' of the frog. Stuff fairy tales are made of. Lampworkers often call the green glass in this bead 'frog green'
I'm not real sure what the 'real' name is for that glass.

still working on new beads. I need to take pictures and post them on Etsy. with a show coming up, I'm using many of my beads in my own jewelry. (which is why I started lampworking in the first place)
It's fun to put things together and if another bead is needed, I can sit at the torch and make it.

way fun!

Torch enameling and lampwork

2010-04-15T10:26:00.002-04:00

way back..... in the 70's, I began teaching Art. We did a bunch of copper enameling because in the '70's the thought was that art classes should be small. I was so lucky to have groups of 15 middle schoolers at a time, and we did big projects. Batik, acrylic painting on real canvas, were also a couple of the projects. It isn't something I would attempt with over 25 kids. Picture that... one adult 25 kids and pots of dye and hot wax. But we could do that in a small group. I will admit though, I 'have' done tie dye with big groups and it's a pile of fun.
A few left overs from that time in my life, are some copper blanks. It's possible to enamel using a torch, and I have been experimenting with it for a while. Here's one piece that was a success. It's a peace sign that I had in that pile of copper blanks from 'way back when' . How fun to have a 'real' peace sign, even though you can certainly buy a new one, it's kind of 'groovy' (couldn't resist) to have the real thing.
And then it had to have some bright hippie kind of beads to go with it. right?
It sure brings back some memories of bell bottoms, long hair, and of course lots of beads. :-)
click on the picture if you'd like to see it in my Etsy shop.
Peace..................

ok I've been busy!

2010-04-10T14:19:00.002-04:00

And this is what we've been busy with! My daughter's wedding.
Beads coming soon !!!

Susan

a little ukelele by one of my faves.....

2010-03-11T19:53:00.000-05:00

funky beads

2010-03-08T21:27:00.003-05:00

Yes indeed, my life has been on overload for about three weeks. And in fact, there are still some very big, very stressful jobs to get done. Working on my torch is such a good way to relax, and let my mind go into a creative 'spot' A place where the stress just melts away. It's better than a good bubble bath. ;-)
This is what I came up with this weekend. It's ruffled at the top and dotted at the base. I so want to wrap some turquoise seed beads through the center and then make a seed bead necklace for this. In a few weeks, when things settle down a bit, I will, for sure be playing with these making finished jewelry. In the meantime, I am listing a few on Etsy.
It will be fun to see if others like them as much as I do!

a beadie talisman

2010-03-01T13:09:00.003-05:00

A few years ago, I designed this bead. I was working in a situation that just became more and more difficult. Teaching art is a really awesome job until you have huge classes with over 40 students. I was hanging in there fairly well until the paycut. It just seemed that so many of my good friends were 'laid off' yah... like we never saw them again, so I would call that 'fired' . Having a fairly large paycut added insult to injury.

Art can be healing.

Working with glass is great therapy. I forget everything and it's just me and the glass, melting it, shaping it, and working the heat correctly.

The weekend after the paycut, as I sat at my torch, I decided to make masks. This particular mask design started with a cute mouth that is making a kiss. And then my evil twin took over on the torch......

I made a cute little behind for the bead. ahhhh the laughing at myself made things much better, and wearing the bead to work made things seem a bit easier too. I could present a happy face at work, and yet when frustrated, rub that little behind.

things are much much better in my life now. Regular sized classes, actual raises once in a while and actually a bonus several times. wow Being a state employee as a teacher has some real advantages, especially in a state where there is much support for teachers and how hard we work, rather than blame for financial hardships.

I still make the beads though, but end up wearing hearts. I love my job. :-) This type of bead was a great little talisman to try to push my frustrations into, and I still sell them because sometimes you just need to think something you can't say outloud.

this bead is in my Etsy shop. you can click on the picture to have a bit more of a view.

Oatmeal Cookies

2010-02-28T20:00:00.002-05:00

I am cleaning a shelf in the pantry and there are recipe books there, and a few loose recipes torn out of magazines. This must have come from the orthodontist office or some place like that because I didn't buy "Parenting" magazine in 2003. Do you ever sneak/tear a page out of a magazine in an office, silently ripping an inch at a time, and then folding it to fit in your purse? Or am I bad. ??
This recipe is much like a favorite one we have made for ages, but you don't grease the pan and you don't have to flatten the cookies so when finding it tonight, I figured it's time to make it or throw the page away.
So glad I made them! They are great. chewy too.
Don't be alarmed if you make them and when you take them out of the oven they have spread out flat and you can't get them off the pan because they are so fragile. Let them sit for about 5 minutes and then remove them from the pan.

Easy Oatmeal Cookies
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
2 sticks butter or margarine ( butter really makes a cookie keep it's shape better)
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
1 t baking soda
2 c oatmeal
2 c flour

cream together butter and sugars
add vanilla and eggs
add dry ingredients
place the dough by teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets (I put 8 on a pan since they spread out a lot)
bake untill light brown around edges. 350 degrees about 12 minutes.

enjoy!!!!!!!!!
cool slightly before removing from pan

Faeries, chakra, and feeling centered

2010-02-26T12:07:00.007-05:00

I'm thinking about my friend Sharon Berkan Dent today.Because I am wearing a beautiful dragonfly pendant she made using the lost wax casting process. It has stones down the center of it's body in the order of Chakra. Maybe it will help me be more centered today. ( right..........) In the meantime, it's the kind of pendant people ooooh and ahhhh over since it's so intricately made and beautiful. I am so lucky to have it.

Isn't her work gorgeous? A faerie like the one pictured on the right is also in my collection of her work. Her work is magical, and her skill with wax and casting is so 'there'. How anyone can get that kind of detail by carving wax is beyond me. Way beyond me actually since I have done some casting guided by Sharon and although my skills have improved much with her tutelage, I do know my limits!

Wearing the pendant makes me think of the people that were in the metals lab/class in Midland Michigan, and how much fun we had. It was my job to tell new people in the class that we took turns bringing homemade cookies and the new people had to bring them first. (no one believed me!) Over the 5 years of traveling to the metals studio weekly, we became a close group, sharing ideas, skills, gem stones, stories, and other fun stuff, like recipes and how to make scented lotion. (thanks Linda!) We even had a puppy shower one night. :-)

An inanimate object, in theory, has no 'powers' but is a reminder of times and places, souveniers of times in our lives. An engagement ring's meaning, the heirloom earrings from Grandma, a macrame necklace with a Lake Superior agate. These have those memories attached to them, as does my dragonfly and faerie. A centering of memories of very special people and special times. So my day may not feel 'centered' but it's all that much better to carry thoughts of loved ones.

2010-02-21T12:42:00.003-05:00

are you a tea drinker? I found this gem yesterday at Teavana.
The store itself is hard to find, but in Charlotte there is one at the South Park Mall. In Chicago, there are several, I think. My son got me hooked when for Christmas one year, he bought several types of tea there for me. The Yerba Mate is wonderful. Drinking tea everyday is great for you. Tea is filled with anti-oxidants which are healthy especially for hopefully keeping those mutating cells in your body at bay. (in other words, in theory, preventing cancer)
So I shop at Teavana, which is a great experience, sample their teas, and pick some up to be able to enjoy that daily 'cuppa' .
This infuser has a strainer in the top to put your loose tea, pour that correct temp of water over it, and as a general rule, I use water that has been boiled. Steep your tea, pull out the metal strainer basket and this stays hot for hours. Two glass walls (borosilicate) keep the water hot, and if you know me, you know I am into glass and not plastic for several reasons. One being, the flavor stays nice, two being you aren't drinking plastic and this is so much more environmental conscious, let alone nice looking.
You can put the tea leaves into the glass, but that could make your tea bitter since it will steep all the time it is in the hot water.
I am enjoying my tea from this, and tomorrow, taking the infuser/glass in my school bag to keep at work.

fun in the neighborhood

2010-02-20T10:52:00.002-05:00

Well -- fun in the next neigborhood actually. Lucky me! I was invited to play Bunco with a group of 7 other women. Being rather new to the area, it was great to meet some new people around my age, with similar interests. An evening was spent with good conversation, snacks, wine, and some dice. We will play again next month.
It's not easy to leave an area that we lived in for 30 years, and move away from long term friendships. One has to know, you have to socialize, and get out and meet people. Like after college but with a lot less energy. LOL By 11 or 12 oclock at night after a work day, I am fizzling out, unlike those days 20 or 30 years ago when we would stay out until 2 or 3 am. We have been so incredibly blessed to meet people and make some new friendships. Last night was a good example of a blessing. There are times that people don't 'need' a new friend, don't have time to make a new friend, and don't care to. They can be super nice people, but they have obligations and family. So to meet people who are ready to have some fun, and nurture a friendship is 'lucky' for me. Hooray for BUNCO!!

new toy

2010-02-15T13:11:00.002-05:00

Here's a picture of what I got for Christmas. I can't wait until there is that 'free day' to make some jumprings and test it out. Chain maille is great fun to make and this should make getting rings the size I want a whole lot easier. Then the plan is to put jumprings in my Etsy shop. I imagine that isn't going to happen if I don't hook this up and play! First step will be to cut some 16 g copper rings for a byzantine chain. It's fun and easy to do byzantine in this size. A well cut jumpring should close with a 'snap' sound and the seam be barely visible. I have wanted to do Jenn's Pind also and that is a real challenge. But with two colors of jumprings, it could possibly be easier to understand.
It can be relaxing to make chain or it can make your eyes cross!
I'll let you know when I try out the jumpringer. My husband is such a nice guy..... he buys me tools for gifts. Hmmmm my kids do too. To know me is to know tools are a favorite gift.
:-)

February where has the time gone?

2010-02-10T14:04:00.002-05:00

It's been a while! Blogging hasn't been the top on my list since Christmas. I've been lucky enough to travel to Tucson and wedding dress shop with my daughter. Her wedding is in April. Right now my job is addressing invitations which is way fun. The wedding itself will be in Arizona and we will enjoy a lovely spring break in a warm place. :-) What a great way to spend vacation, being able to see all of our kids.
It's weird to have a child marry, even though we certainly have anticipated this with happiness too since we so love our future son-in-law, it still is a new concept to me, having a married child.
Life is such a journey. It seems like yesterday I was in college with that long hair and denim bell bottom jeans, taking my art classes toward a degree in teaching art.
There have been so many joys and looking forward to this wedding just adds to the joy.

A heart bead that isn't in my Etsy shop, but maybe it will show up there!
Have a lovely day and to my Northern friends, a wish for warmth for you all and some sunshine too!

Art Clay Copper

2010-01-17T14:20:00.002-05:00

This is a great product! I teach silver metal clay classes and the cost to learn is somewhat high. A ten gram packet of PMC or Art Clay Silver is between $14 and $18 depending on the silver market. Lately it is closer to $18.
So I saw this art clay copper and found that it can be torch fired or fired in a kiln without charcoal or a charcoal pan for a half an hour.
50 grams for $15 what a deal!
The pictured pieces here are from one packet of Art clay copper. The piece that looks a bit like a clock is torch fired, the rest kiln fired. No problem at all with the torch fired piece! When I pick these up to carry them and they clink in my hand, they sound like heavy coins. And heavy they are, because I read that you should make the pieces rather thick. My next batch will be thinner. These were quick textured and cut just to see what would happen. It's cheap enough to play and not worry if things so wrong.
After they were done, I scrubbed them with a brass brush, tumbled to a shine, and then used liver of sulphur to antique them.
One thing I did wrong? One texture sheet had some dried silver clay on it and it transferred to the copper, leaving dark spots. You can't see them because of the antiquing, but when they say use separate tools for the copper clay, believe them. I had washed all my other tools but that particular texture sheet looked so tempting...... and I was careless. But no harm in this instance.
Now to hang these pieces on something to create jewelry. See the pair for earrings?
If you mess around with metal clay, this is something that was a lot of fun to try!

Holiday Gift Suggestion

2009-12-16T12:57:00.003-05:00

I can't decide which of these I like more. Look at this toolbox!! and then the cannisters are just so fun!

great idea for Christmas and they can still deliver on time.

For the engineer in your life??

http://shop.lego.com/ByCategory/Leaf.aspx?cn=13&d=443

chex mix

2009-12-14T11:40:00.002-05:00

Well I certainly have been busy. I will post Christmas ideas again soon.
in the meantime, here's my Chex Mix recipe. It's been altered several times until we've reached perfection. ;-)

Chex Mix

in big pan ( I use a large roasting pan. you can get the large disposable ones people get for turkey)

melt
2 sticks butter or margarine (yes the box says use 6 T but long ago.... when butter wasn't considered so unhealthy, it called for more and since it's the holiday... plus this is a double batch just so you know)

2 T worshestershire (I add a bit more)
3 t beau monde or other seasoning salt (lawrys)

stir it all together and add
10 c mixed cereal (I use crispix and wheat chex)
lots of cashews (a big can)
about a half a bag of pretzel sticks
a few cups of cheerios

try to get it all coated with the butter mixture but it won't look like it is.
250 degrees
stir it every 15 minutes
bake one hour.

2009-11-26T10:28:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am enjoying a most wonderful holiday with my husband and kids. Yesterday we hiked at Sabino Canyon near Tucson Arizona. I'm so thankful for such a great family, and for legs that can carry me in and out of this beautiful area. What a treat! We didn't go as far as the kids and they came back with pictures of a golden sunset.

handmade gifts for the holidays

2009-11-19T12:15:00.003-05:00

Isn't this fun? JMN Pottery on Etsy has a bunch of different mugs along this line. This one is my favorite. Perfect for the boss don't you think? I imagine we all have a list of people who would love this mug.
A mug with a statement and that cute skull just makes it even better. This shop has been in my favorites for a long time. I love checking out the latest quirky, fun, pottery.

handmade gifts make people smile. :-)

Handmade for Christmas

2009-11-18T12:12:00.003-05:00

Look at this cute pencil holder! This seller Geek Gear
has some fun things made from floppy discs and even clocks using computer boards. this clever pencil holder is sure to be appreciated from your special 'geek' or just someone who like bright colors and unusual things.
Buying handmade is something you can do to support our economy, and help an artist have a great holiday season.
And it's so easy to order on line.
:-) Check out Geek Gear to see all the fun things in this Etsy shop.

2009-11-16T12:02:00.002-05:00

Just a quick picture of my latest listing. :-) http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34566608

2009-11-15T15:14:00.006-05:00

This would be a great gift for your Mom. This artist, Olive Bungalo w
will custom make these rings for a Mother's ring. If it is a gift for you or someone else in your life, there are also these stackable rings in her Etsy shop that are premade and in color combinations you might like.
A set of handmade stackable rings is a unique piece of jewelry that is sure to get lots of compliments. "oh I love your rings!"

"thank you, it was a Christmas gift from..........."
Your Mom will have a way to brag about her kids. yes??
So much better than a T-shirt that says, "Let me tell you about my grandkids!"

2009-11-14T11:44:00.005-05:00

OK this must be the season for knits because here is another suggestion for a gift that is warm and hand knit. But this time you can knit it yourself. This neckwarmer looks like it could be a definite handmade gift for a guy. It is simple, and could be made in a color that would work well to match a winter coat or jacket. I like it. I am thinking of buying this pattern myself to knit a few. I bought another neck warmer pattern from the same seller/designer,
Hand Made Originals, and it is well written, stylish, and easy to knit since it uses bulky yarn.
If you are a knitter and want to make your own handmade gifts, it is supporting another artist to purchase a pattern (that is unique!) from the designer. Let's support our hardworking artists and craftsmen/women this holiday season. It can boost their personal economy.

handmade gifts for Christmas

2009-11-12T21:57:00.012-05:00

I have a pair of these fingerless gloves and they are wonderful! Actually, I asked this Etsy seller, Tickled Pink Knits to knit a pair of these for me in a yarn that is not wool because wool makes me itch. So I have a beautiful pair of these in violet in a nice worsted. But her fine merino wool is to die for! This fiber artist has knitting perfection!
What is great about fingerless gloves? If you live in a cold climate, wear a pair of those cheap gloves under them. You know--the gloves you get for $3. (I buy those like socks, and get them all in the same color so if one is lost, you have more) Wearing the gloves with these looks fun and gives you the warmth you need and yet the ability to use your fingers rather than having them all together in a mitten. I always buy the gloves in black, or for a splash of color, buy a contrasting color to the fingerless gloves. And sometimes.... yes.... I am in a hurry and can't find two gloves to match and wear two different colors. The fingerless gloves match and pull the look together for a funky look.
If you live in a warmer climate like I do now, then they are just right for chilly winter mornings. Your hands stay warm but you can use your fingers to do whatever, like grip the steering wheel.
And these are 'stylin' !! Unique, handmade, warm... what's not to like?

handmade gifts for Christmas

2009-11-11T23:07:00.003-05:00

This canvas floorcloth is found on Etsy and made by Heron's Treasures.
This pattern has always been a favorite of mine. Is it called tumbling blocks?
A floorcloth could be a perfect gift for that Artsy person on your Christmas list. I can picture this on a hardwood floor in a bright sunny room.
Buying handmade for gifts supports artists and who doesn't like a unique gift?

handmade gifts for Christmas

2009-11-10T16:48:00.003-05:00

It's important to me to support artists. Most likely since I am an artist, but also because I see so many creative people at art shows running their booths. Their income, many times, comes from what they sell, and so much is put into each piece. These past few years, I have tried to buy mostly handmade for Christmas, baby showers, and sometimes birthdays. To buy a whole bunch of pottery from a craftsperson makes a much larger difference in one person's life than to buy a whole bunch of bubble bath or whatever from some store. Your money goes directly into someone's pocket and gives them the ability to live better and continue to follow their creative paths. So this is the beginning of my annual buy something cool for someone for Christmas blog feature. I'll try to keep at it. Mostly the finds are from Etsy since that's where I sell my own art work.
Today is a way cool cup kozy. It rolls up and hangs on your bag or key ring. Great for someone who gets a coffee to go often. It won't get lost, is handy, and helps make our world a better place by saving many paper cup sleeves. right?
This green color is pretty nifty too. Check out the other colors and maybe this will be a good little gift for someone on your gift list!

Charlotte Fine Arts Show

2009-10-17T19:33:00.002-04:00

oooh I've been busy getting ready for the Charlotte Fine Arts show It looks like there will be about 100 artists there. I am hoping to see a great turnout and lots of successful artists.
If you'd like a postcard with $2 off admission, send me an email at beadnsue@hotmail.com
and write 'show' in the subject. I'll mail one right out!

Grandma's sausage rolls aka Wursterbroaches

2009-09-28T19:40:00.004-04:00

ok here it is. My Grandmother's sausage rolls. I haven't seen these anywhere else except in a German bakery in Florida and those were made with ground pork that wasn't seasoned. So this is probably some old family recipe. I've searched for other versions of this and have not found it anywhere.
You would think they are greasy, but they aren't. I think the secret is the dough. I like them straight from the oven, but really like them cold straight from the refrigerator.
Also don't make the sausage shaped too thick as you want it to cook all the way through. My sister microwaves hers a bit before she wraps them. I make mine thin.
Enjoy! Grandma Ott would be 118 this year if she were still alive. I remember as a kid watching her bake breads and these sausage rolls, flour up to her elbows. And noodles, she would roll thin and hang on string to dry. She sure loved to bake.
enjoy!
I imagine these have sooo many fat calories!

Grandma Ott's Wurster-broaches (Sausage Rolls)

1 1/2 pounds (24 oz) lean, well seasoned pork sausage
2 T shortening (I use butter)
1 t salt
1 egg (well beaten)
1/2 C sugar
1 package dry yeast
1 1/2 C lukewarm water
5 1/2 C flour
melted butter

Proof the yeast with water and sugar. Add shortening and salt and egg. Stir until shortening is melted. Stir in about 4 C flour. Cover and let rise until double.When doubled, add more flour up to 5.5 cups total to make a soft dough. knead lightly Let rise again. . Roll out to 1/3 inch thick on unfloured board.(I flour the board)Shape pork sausages like wieners about the thickness of your thumb or less and about 4 inches long (makes about 18) Enclose each sausage in dough, sealing edges tightly. so it's a long roll with the enclosed sausage. let rise until double. Grandma then brushed them with melted butter but I don't do that. Bake 400 F for 20 minutes. I put foil over them as soon as they are the color I want the bread to be and cook the remainder of the time. turn out of pan and eat warm or cold. Store left over in foil in refrigerator.

this is me....

2009-09-24T15:04:00.004-04:00

This picture is from a great class I took this summer at Rebecca's Studio in Traverse City Michigan. Jennifer Geldard taught some incredible techniques to us using enamels and shards for surface decoration. I'll post a picture later of something I made using her shard technique.

But anyway here is me.... LOL

I am the lady in the green hooded sweatshirt wearing my special glasses used when working with the torch. It was the coldest July on record in Michigan and that's when we were there renting a cottage on the lake. We never went in the water! I haven't needed a sweater even here back in NC.
But anyway there I am watching some wonderful torch work by Jennifer!

Art show in our little town

2009-09-19T22:09:00.004-04:00

We live in the beautiful small town of Mt Holly, NC. It is 'in the shadow of Charlotte' They have a way cool downtown, and my husband and I walk there to get coffee at the coffee shop, or an orangeaid (homemade) at Charlies Drugs. We watch the lady behind the counter put oranges in some juice squeezer like they had at soda fountains and adds her special stuff to make an awesome drink. It 'is' a soda fountain, which you don't find much anymore. We walk the few blocks and in the evening the little lights they have in the trees glow. (they are solar) It's a small town near a city. There is a whitewater center nearby to kayak and raft, and the city is building a long greenway system in stages, and it will be 13 (?) or 17 (?) miles of trails to walk and bike from Mt Holly to the National Whitewater Center.

Today I participated in Autumn on Main, selling jewelry from my booth in the fine art show. It was awesome to be in a show that was so close to home, and talking to some acquaintances, and meeting new people. It was a pleasure to be in the show, soaking up the sun (however hot and humid, it sure beats snow!)
I haven't unloaded my van yet, but have enjoyed a nice evening after a great day. Come and visit the show next year, and in the meantime, if you live nearby, check out the 'Artist's Market' in December.