by Cindy on March 1, 2009
How was your weekend?
As I type, it is snowing outside. You may have heard about the wintry storm hitting us here on the East Coast. I’m crossing my fingers that it will be enough to cancel school tomorrow.
Today was a nice, slow day. After church this morning we enjoyed fellowship and meeting new friends at the pancake breakfast. We are so spoiled with all of the activities (Mardi Gras parties, spaghetti dinners, donut Sundays, pancake breakfasts…), that my 4 year old asks, “Are we going to the cafeteria after mass(assuming there will be some eating involved!)?” There’s really no cafeteria, just the fellowship hall. Lacrosse practice was cancelled due to the weather, so I came up with something else to do this afternoon. Why not make pizza! With homemade dough. We haven’t done that in a while, and let me tell you it was so yummy that we almost finished up the entire rectangle and heart shaped pizzas that we made. If you’d like to try one too, you’ll find the thick and doughy recipe here.
Yesterday I paid a very expensive trip to Barnes and Nobles. The latest Spring ’09 bead/jewelry/art magazines are out!! I picked up one, then another, then another……
Oh so many wonderful projects and interviews in these pages! It made the world feel just a bit smaller to recognize so many of the contributors, from artists whose jewelry I admire and artists whose blogs I enjoy reading. I thought I’d provide a list here of some of my favorites, in case you had a moment and wanted to persue their beautiful sites. You’ll be impressed. Of course, there are many unfamiliar artists that I can’t wait to get to know too.
Deryn Mentock, Beth Quinn, Diana Frey, Joy Jones, Lorelei Eurto, Lynn Davis, Ruth Rae, and Gaea Cannaday.
Psst…I started a new project and will leave you with a sneak peak. Now I’m off to do a little dance for snow! 🙂
by Cindy on February 27, 2009
What makes handmade jewelry so special? Unlike mass produced jewelry, each component is selected piece by piece. Oftentimes the jewelry I create contains what are called (in this community) art beads. These beads may be ceramic, clay, glass, or porcelain or made from other materials. Art beads are all made with skill and attention to detail by someone who loves their craft. So that you can have a tiny peek behind the scenes around here, I wanted to introduce you to one such artist, Marilyn Jones of Novelty Beads.
Although Marilyn works full time, her favorite joys are her Grandchildren, her motorcycle, and working with glass. There’s really no stopping Marilyn; if you have a request, she can make it. She has worked with me to create beads for Easter (she makes the cutest Peeps!), Halloween (my boys loved her “cut-off fingers”), and little girl’s charm bracelets. I’ve enjoyed purchasing beads from this artist for several years…and now she has opened her own Etsy shop. Please visit her shop and see the beautiful range of beads that she can create! Here are pictures of a few of the Novelty Beads I received recently:
I’ve never seen anyone create pinecone beads before…how does she do it?? She can create sculpted beads from turtles and roses to bumble bees and hearts!
Here’s a finished set of jewelry using Marilyn’s beatuiful beads:
Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!
by Cindy on February 24, 2009
It’s Fat Tuesday and I’m up late.
I just had to post a few of my favorite pictures from today. I know there are some of you who stop by that are family or friends and you just want a quick update on my life. Then there are the others that found me one way or another and would like to see what’s new on the jewelry scene (and hopefully there are those of you who would like to see both!). Today’s pictures are clearly for the first crowd. 🙂
We had a first today…while I was snapping up the little guy’s outfit he reached down and grabbed his toes. He was so happy to find something new to play with! He’s been tugging on his toes the rest of the evening. Here’s a shot from his first discovery this afternoon –
Did you celebrate Mardi Gras in any way? I’ve been reading the blogs of a few ladies who are getting ready to meet in New Orleans and set sail on a beading cruise! Really. Sound like fun to me. New Orleans brings back great memories…that was the last vacation that my husband and I took alone (several years ago!). I used to live there when I was in the 2nd and 3rd grade. I remember vividly the fun we had at the Mardi Gras parades and how the people on the floats always threw big bags of beads to my Mom. And I remember my doll Lucy who I still have with the painted fingernails and her poor head that keeps falling off. Another memory was standing outside of my school, St. Julian Eymard, and hearing the bad news that Elvis Presley had died. Wow, where am I going with this? Fat Tuesday!
A couple years ago we received a mysterious package in the mail from a bakery in New Orleans. It was a colorful King Cake. Are you familiar with the tradition of the King Cake? There is a wonderful (long) history of the cake here…scroll all the way down to get to the bottom line about the hidden baby. No one took credit for sending us that cake to this day. I suspect it was my Dad or my sister in law. After that, we’ve been ordering a cake every year and the kids just can’t wait to see who finds the baby in their slice. This year I decided to make my own version. My sister in law sent me a great recipe (which involves a yeast bread), but I knew I wouldn’t have time to make the real thing. This is what I came up with…at least it is still along the lines of a brightly decorated crown! And I won’t tell you what we hid inside since we didn’t have a little plastic baby! 🙂
It seems we always find a reason for another cake around here!
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