by Cindy on November 9, 2012
Hello!
Today I have a little something to share – a project made for the Kalmbach Bead Soup Party. As you may know, Kalmbach is the publisher of Lori Anderson’s recently released book, Bead Soup. I was happy to contribute jewelry designs to the book and had fun participating in the publisher’s party as well.
Bead stores across the U.S. contributed bead sets to the publisher and jewelry designers were randomly selected to participate. I received a generous set of beads from Studio Baboo, a bead store in Charlottesville VA. Coincidentally I’ve been to this great shop in person – on one of our family treks to visit the University of VA, where my brother attended medical school. Never thought one day I’d be making a piece of jewelry sent to me by this bead store – just amazing how things turn out on the path of life.
My received a beautiful, Fall-colored bead soup with a stone (Jasper?) focal, crystals, seed beads, a golden toggle clasp and all sorts of pearls. I used many of the beads and also added beads from my own stash.
I recently found the most incredible 1953 dress form while antiquing in Hagerstown, MD. I have my husband to thank – and will share the story one of these days when I do a dress form blog hop. I’ve been dreaming of doing one for some time – so stay tuned! I dressed up the flat stone focal with a little sweetness factor – a few of my favorite carved mother of pearl roses and some wire wrapping. I then went to town adding multiple strands of pearls in all sizes.
Thanks, Kalmbach and Studio Baboo for this fun challenge! Looking forward to seeing more of the Kalmbach Bead Soup creations on their FB page!
– Cindy
by Cindy on October 27, 2012
As we prepare for the pre-Halloween weather monster, “Frankenstorm”, I took a few moments to savor the fall beauty in a few pictures I took on Friday. It was my son’s preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch, and the weather was warm and beautiful. There’s something about this particular field trip (this was my third to Krop’s Crops) that just seems so all-American and full of tradition. The crunching of fallen leaves as we walk, the kids picking their own pumpkin in the field, and a simple snack consisting of a fresh apple and apple cider. The scene will likely change in a few days – rain and wind prematurely blowing away the fall leaves, flooding, and pumpkins on the loose. So glad I could enjoy these moments of calm before the storm. And if we lose power, I’ll continue to see these pictures in my mind’s eye.
‘Hoping everyone stays safe during the upcoming storm.
– Cindy
by Cindy on October 10, 2012
That about sums up the past week around here!
It’s birthday week – my oldest son’s was last week and my youngest son’s birthday is in a few days. My oldest wanted to a sleep over party and we combined it with a trip to the movies for the opening of Frankenweenie (3D). What a clever movie…..disturbing in some ways too. The little dog Sparky was awfully cute, but worrying about him losing his life twice in one movie was a bit much for a softie like me. It is possible to cry in a Disney movie.
Next up a few of us in the Northern VA area showed our support for the Northern VA Bead Society (NVBS), and attended the show held nearby in Annandale. It isn’t often that those of us in the area see one another outside of BeadFest and artBLISS, as everyone’s lives get so busy. But we need to change that! Julie Anne, Jeanette, Kathleen, Vicki (incidentally, Vicki started her jewelry blog recently – please go give her a warm welcome!) and I attended the show and a few of us took a class too. Unfortunately we just missed Sandi. The NVBS offered mini, 90-minute classes and we took a polymer clay bead shape class with Katrina Marsh Sarlin.
Julie Anne shopping for beads – she found some beautiful lampwork.
Kathleen and Vicki making polymer clay beads
After class, my family got on the road for a quick overnight trip. I don’t think all schools are closed on Columbus Day, but luckily my kid’s schools were. We headed to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley area of VA. There are a few incredible antique malls right off I-81 ….absolutely worth the trip. One of our favorite stops is Duke’s in Lexington. There is so much to see right in the parking lot before even heading in. And how many antique shops are open 365 days a year, 9 to 6?? I love taking pictures outside – in fact, I shared a few old car photos in this post when I introduced PicMonkey. That has to be one of my most frequently hit blog posts – people end up at sweet bead studio.com when they are searching “Monkey Picnic” or “Picnic Monkey”…. It goes to show how key word searches work!
Lots of beautiful rust
I didn’t take too many pictures while antiquing, but wanted to snap a few of the pie safes I saw. I am always on the lookout for them, who knows why. I’m drawn to primitive furniture, and in this case, I happen to like the kind of food that used to be stored in them!
A very common style, with diamond and circle punched tins
I really liked this one, with the paisley design. I believe the knobs are replacements.
This rustic pie safe is no doubt the real deal. What unique punched tins, and they look handmade. I think I took a picture of this one the last time I was here.
Have a great week. So glad its a short one!
– Cindy
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