inspiration & making jewelry

{1 of my shop's sidewalk displays yesterday, doesn't it just make you want to wander through France?}

Happy Sunday Sweet Friends,

As I sit on my bed this morning surrounded by the new tools of my trade,

I am reminded of the grandness of serendipity!

Because of a post I wrote awhile back about my

Daddy & Disneyland ...

I made a brand new friend, Diane Cook of

rosa & josie's .

She had read the post & new instantly we were

kindred spirits.

She contacted me to work on some digital designs for her.

A new logo, some hang tags & 2...2 sided postcards.

Together we created some wonderful designs, but all the while I was smitten with the

beautiful imagery of her jewelry.

The textures & patinas, the color of the stones & the

mix of old & new.

I am amazed & in awe of her creations!

Then as serendipity will have it, I was contacted by
Cindy Wimmer of Sweet Bead Studio
to work on some digital designs for her upcoming weekend workshops for
Artbliss
taking place this September in the Washington DC area.
She had been referred to me by Miss Diane , so together
we designed the flyer & blog badge for this must go to event.

While visiting Cindy's blog, I am again struck by the beauty & creativity I find in all her amazing designs. These 2 beyond talented women's jewelry sing to my soul so loudly that I began to believe that maybe I was a jewelry designer in another life.

I have always loved to play with vintage buttons & came up with this little line of accessories called 'Button Up' a year or so ago.

Then I started playing with vintage domino's, painting them with alcohol inks & adding sweet little vintage images on them, accented by some pretty beads.

{tutorial at the top of my blog}
Next came my Frayed Fabric Flower Brooches, which are such fun to make, but using only a glue gun to create...it doesn't really feel like I'm making handmade jewelry.

{tutorial at the top of my blog}
Finally, I jumped on the bird nest bandwagon & touched wire for the very 1st time. I twisted it & wrapped it, twirled it & made spiral tendrils. Many of my early nests were literally tossed out, but as I continued to work through my 'wire frustration', I got a little better at it. I got a little more comfortable with manipulating the wire & making it do my bidding.

And all of this fuss leads up to a bracelet I made last week.
My 1st piece of inspired by my amazing muses, jewelry designs made from vintage buttons & vintage religious metals on antiqued brass findings.
What do you think?
I adore it.
My wire wrapping still sucks & I'm in critical need of some classes, but I have a new love in my life & my hubby isn't even jealous. Last night as we sat on the bed watching 'Practical Magic', my new tools & supplies surrounding us both, he picked up my new copy of 'Easy Wire' magazine & while thumbing through it said, "These are nice earrings, why don't you try & make a pair?"
So, thank you to the Gods of Serendipity.
Thank you to the muses who have touched my life.
Thank you to cupid who shot the arrow through my heart for my amazing soulmate.
And thank you my friends for allowing me to share.
Now I just have to ask my muses 1 simple question.
How do you learn to not want to keep everything you make just for you? LOL

Smiles Friends!

XOXO

vintage trailer video

A Vintage Vacation follow up post...

here is a little video I made awhile back

that has a few of our many

Vintage Trailers in it & one of our favorite rallies...

Spamboree!!!

{that's a post all on it's own}

{for your viewing enjoyment, turn on your speakers & pause my music...it's pretty coooool!

& yes, that is kai in robert's arm when he was only a newbie}

Enjoy Friends!!!

XOXO

come along on a Vintage Vacation!

Hey, Sweet Hearts...

Ya wanna come along on a Vintage Vacation with us?

I thought you might, climb on in & let's get outta here!!

Driving down Route 66, listening to the

Rat Pack on the radio,

we've come across the coolest motel in town.

If we weren't towing our trailer behind us,

we just may have had to stay a night or two in a tee pee!

But who needs a tee pee when we have a

1960 Deluxe Pathfinder?

We've got everything we need in a mere 17 ft.

{Do you see that little door in the back? That's where our porcelain toilet is, only the best for my friends!}

Finally, we've arrived at our destination...

that didn't take too long, right!

Isn't she a jewel? Think of the stories she could tell us of all the places she's traveled to
and the happy family's that laughed inside her walls.

How rude of me...come on in & let's get comfortable!

Let me turn on the transistor radio.
Hey, how bout a cuppa joe or an ice cold soda?

There's nothing like drinking an icy cola while you're setting up camp.

Even though we're dry camping, we still have all the convenience's of home.
Thank God for generator's & hubby's that know how to do
'all that stuff'!

Time to put on our cowboy hats & venture to the outdoors.
I wonder what great views & vistas await us there?

Looking out the window it appears to be pretty darn hot & dry!
Hark en, I hear something calling to me.
Oh, that'd be our Corona's...
don't forget the limes!

Watch your step & close the screen behind you to keep those pesky flies out.

What's this??
We've stumbled upon an oasis...
right here in the Angeles National Forest high above Los Angeles,

a little piece of heaven!
It's the East Fork of the San Gabriel River
with it's white water...

& glimmering pools.

It's ancient rock...

& the lure of color.
{that's my man gold panning far off in the distance}

Wow, we're in for a treat...get your camera out!
It's the mythical water nymph, kai.

Look how he floats & hovers above the water's edge.

Of all the water nymph's
kai's the hardest to catch,
cuz he blows in like a summer breeze.

See how both of his arms are wrapped in shimmering dragonfly wings
& he skims the water on his tame angel fish.

Here on the water,
he is master of all he can see...

above & below the crystal clear waters.

What a lucky shot of the spry water nymph
unaware of our presence.
He plays & frolics
without a care in the world.
Simple Joy,
that's the true secret of happiness!

kai seems to have befriended the man who searches for the
golden treasures that the earth might reveal.
They must be kindred spirits,
one with the sparkling water...
How poetic is it that in the middle of our campground,
'a river runs through it'!

I'm so glad you came along on our
Vintage Vacation with us
& were able to enjoy our many adventures in
the back woods of LA! lol
Until we meet again sweet friends,
Happy Trails to You!

XOXO

freedom don't come free

{listen too...}

"Let the world go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike,

that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans,

born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace,

unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,

support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. This much we pledge and more."

"to those nations who would make themselves our adversary,

we offer not a pledge but a request that both sides begin anew the quest for peace..."

"Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.

Now the trumpet summons us again, not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need, not as a call to battle, though embattled we are,

but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”,

a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America can do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

John F Kennedy's Inaugural Address
January 20, 1961

Have a Happy 4th of July my Sweet Friends!

And when the words 'Thank You' don't begin to express my feelings of pride & honor & gratitude towards our American Hero's,
when I am at a loss for words & can find nothing else to say,
I am always mindful that...

'Freedom Don't Come Free'!

XOXO