We arrived at the beach around midnight last night, in the torrential downpour with a wind shield wiper that broke during our drive. But today the sun was out and we hit the beach! There was a great breeze the entire day so it was so comfortable and never felt hot.
When we arrived at the beach, we planted ourselves next to -as it turns out- a wonderful lady. We were that family you hope doesn’t choose the spot in the sand next to you….lots of kids, and a big red wagon in tow. When we arrived this nice lady,Valerie, didn’t give us that, “Oh no, not here!” look, she just smiled. She saw all of the boys and then let us know that she has 3 boys that are now grown. It turns out she’s a dean at a college in Ohio and she shared stories of working on her doctorate degree while her boys were small. She told me how she and her twin sister had dreamed that one day they’d have a double wedding and twins of their own. Would you believe they did end up having a double wedding, and they both have a set of twins! It is so wonderful when you meet such unexpectedly friendly people when you least expect it. It was a great day at the beach.
Pure bliss
See that big chain? He found it in the surf (and boy was he proud of it!)
Rocking the shovel guitar
Running in and out of the surf
Me and the little guy
"I LUYF U"...written by my 4 year old
Our shadow in the sand
And before I leave you……..just had to share another wonderful artist I found reading through all of the wonderful comments in my BLOG GIVE-AWAY. Please pay a visit to Val’s Art Studio! Valerie is an artist skilled at fiber arts, mixed media and painting. I was so amazed at her talent with creating such beautiful needle felted sweaters. You’ll be able to find her work this fall in these prestigious publications: Haute Handbags and Altered Couture!
Sweater by Val's Art Studio
“Fiesta is a Spanish word that refers to a party, celebration, festival or holiday.” Moon Stumpp’s lampwork focal fits this description. Look at all the color and detail in that beautiful bead! Making the copper coils for this piece was addictive…I think I’ll make another bracelet, something similar soon. Watch for this piece in my Etsy shop tomorrow.
Speaking of holidays, Happy Canada Day to all of our Canadian friends. I asked my good friend/son’s Godmother if she planned to bake the traditional Nanaimo bars to celebrate. These are so good and I haven’t had one in ages…I might have to make some in honor of the Canadian holiday! 
As I mentioned previously, I’d love to highlight a newly discovered indie artist that is participating in my blog give away. Actually I have seen Sharon’s work here and there through other blogs and was really impressed. Sharon of LiveWire Jewelry creates beautiful jewelry….and she’s published in this month’s issue of “Bead Trends” magazine! I’m looking forward to seeing her work in this publication.
Necklace by LiveWire Jewelry
I’ll be busy packing tomorrow…we’re heading on a little vacation tomorrow night to the beach. I’ll have my laptop along of course so I’ll be in touch!
Oh…don’t forget to say Jack Rabbit!…it’s the first of the month, and you’ll want good luck with that give away going on! 
by Cindy on June 29, 2009
Wow, I’m so thrilled and a bit overwhelmed by the wonderful response I received from my ongoing blog give away! If you stumbled upon this blog and it’s your first visit, please scroll down to my last entry and see what the excitement is all about! There’s PLENTY of time to enter, so please join in.
I’ve enjoyed slowly making my way to your blogs and finding some great artists and sites that I’ve never seen before. I’d love to highlight some of the sites I found here, and why not start now…. Backyard Beads is Doreen Willey’s blog. Once I visited I stepped right over to see her work on flickr and WOW, I was so amazed! Doreen makes the most incredible polymer clay beads…why haven’t I discovered them yet? While on flickr I saw many beautiful pieces made with her beads and I thought, gosh I would love to work with her beads too :-) Just look at the depth, pattern and detail in her beads!
This weekend we did a little walking/hiking on the trails around the lake at Riverbend park. We also went to an antique show in Leesburg. My kind of weekend.
The antique show was in the 4-H barns
My 4-year old son took this one!
I found some beautiful, old pieces...my favorite is the religious reliquary.
Thanks for stopping by!
by Cindy on June 27, 2009
I want to celebrate. My blog redesign is -finally- complete! Thank you for stopping by through all of the gradual changes…sweet bead studio {the blog} has many new features and I’d like to let you know who I have to thank.
The great graphics you see here were created by the talented Sara Duckett of Sadie Olive. I was hoping for a modern yet vintage feel and she made it happen. If you visit her site you’ll be amazed at the mood you’ll feel immediately; her photography is incredible and her blog is one that just draws you in. Also I owe so much to Andrea of Mystic Computing. She is a wordpress pro. The customized theme you see here is all her handiwork. If you’d like to find out more about wordpress, or need help developing a blog that really reflects your style, you’ll want to contact Andrea asap. I can’t say enough about her expertise. I was introduced to Andrea by Jeanette (check out her redesigned blog as well!), and the 3 of us enjoyed a girl’s night out this week ….blog talk, jewelry talk, and everything from feng shui to where we’ll be in a year.
Now on to the the Give Away!
To thank you for visiting, there are THREE little treasures that you’ll have the opportunity to win! I’ll be picking THREE winners!
If you design jewelry, you’ll love this….first up is a Small Embossing Hammer from master silversmith, Bill Fretz. This hammer is courtesy of fundametals.net, the place to shop for wire and metal supplies. Fretz hammers are top of the line and made from hand-polished stainless steel and smooth rosewood handles. This is a great hammer for texturizing and adding dimples to metal. I know I have it on my wishlist!
The second item in the give away is one of my new favorites to create, a mixed metal stamped pendant. The “Joy” pendant is made from brass and copper sheet metal that has been stamped, textured and oxidized. The pendant includes sterling silver wire stitching detail and hangs from a sterling ball chain. This piece is intentionally rustic, and that little brass heart tends to lean to right…it has a mind of it’s own.
And look! You can also win this stamped copper, wirework and lampwork bracelet. “Live, Laugh, Love” has been hand stamped in copper sheet and linked with organic-style beads. The silvered ivory and copper lampwork beads were created by the mother-daughter team, Hoss of Beads.
How do you enter? It’s easy! There are MANY ways to enter and increase your chances! You will have your name added to the hat for each way that you participate:
- Leave a comment on this blog post
- Spread the word & mention this give-away on your blog
- Sign up for my rss feed
- Sign up for my newsletter
- Follow me on Twitter
- Join my Google Friend Connect badge on the right
*Please let me now which way/s you entered and be sure to provide contact info.
whew! That’s six ways to enter this contest! :-) I’m going to leave this give-away open for just a bit over a week (you have plenty of time to join!) as we’re heading to the beach for the 4th of July weekend. The DEADLINE is July 8th. I’ll pick 3 winners on July 9th! Thank you and GOOD LUCK!
by Cindy on June 22, 2009
Hi there
How was your weekend? We ended up in Annapolis and it was the perfect weather. I caught a picture of my littlest sailor, but unfortunately he just wouldn’t keep his hat on his head. He’s finally at the age where he realizes something is on his head and he doesn’t like it.
There’s new jewelry on the way, as promised. Here are a few things that I’ll be listing in the shop soon. First are a pair of vintage-inspired earrings…Swarovski cosmic-shaped crystals with rhinestone rondelles on sterling earwires.
And a necklace with faceted oregon opal, smokey quartz, a sterling diamond link and stainless hook clasp and chain.
I was recently contacted via Etsy if I ever made my “Scenic Route” style necklace in a bracelet. Hmm…I had not so I made that my next project. Here I combined a few wirework links in sterling silver with new jade, sponge coral, and carved coral beads…
My older three children started their first camp of the summer today. Pure excitement for them as they anticipated going on a nature hike, exploring the stream, and possibly the water slides. Two had already made new friends by the time I dropped off all of the paperwork. I can’t wait to hear about their adventures.
Have a nice week!
