Got my Buttons!!!

Oh wow! Just got the coolest buttons from my Button Swap partner, Krista at FrenchElegantJewelry.  This is a challenge created by Michelle Mach. You can read all about it here.
What I am learning through all of these wonderful bead challenges is simply priceless. With Marcie's Margie and Me challenges, I have been pushed way outside my normal range of color, to explore and mix colors in new and unusual ways.  With the Bead Soup party, I had to give up the control of choosing the beads, and work with items I wasn't used to thinking about. Now I get to work with buttons that have, again, been chosen by someone else.  The cool part? Krista sent me awesome buttons!!!

Check that brilliant pink flower!

There's and adorable little sparkly star in there, a couple of sweet pearl buttons, and don't you just love the glittery shine in the green one with the military goldtone ones?

Love the swirly smokey look of the big one, and the black one really sets off the colors in the purple/lavender button.

 This one is just fabulous. It will definitely be one of my first projects!

Here's the back side of it. Almost as pretty as the front!

 Well, I have lots of ideas "swirling" in my head, so I'm gonna go play!
Blessings,
Shirley

Incredible Artist

I am so very excited to show these pictures to you. The lovely Raida Disbrow of Havana Beads is an incredible artist. She makes fantastic jewelry, and when I saw a pic of a dog bead on a key that she posted, I had to email her.  We adopted a very sweet mutt in December. Her mom was classified as a MaltiPoo, and they didn't know about the dad. With the size of her feet, I think he had some Bassett Hound in him.  I emailed Raida and asked her if there was any chance she could make a likeness of our dog.  The big problem? She's black. And I'm talking TOTALLY black. As you can see below, she has an adorable face that you can't find the eyes in!

There's an eye peeking out at you!

So, Raida had her work cut out for her! And guess what?? She totally rocked it!  Check out the awesome pup below!

Don't you know I'm gonna have a blast with this! Since I am a beadweaver, I've got to put my thinking cap on as to what kind of rope I want to make for it.  So, if you want to immortalize your pet in the best fashion way, go visit Raida! 

Blessings, Shirley

Gift from Pay It Forward

Do you know what Pay It Forward is all about? About giving, and receiving, and blessings, and gratitude, and thankfulness. You feel all those things when you are making something to Pay It Forward to someone, and when you receive your own gift. I was a lucky recipient of a Pay It Forward gift from Deci over at Gem Trails.  Look at the lovely earrings I received from her. My frustration was at high level trying to capture the sparkle in the crystals in the middle. They are truly lovely.  Thank you so much Deci!  If you need some of your own, you can find similar ones in her shop, here.

So I'm keeping this post short and sweet, since I need to get back to making the rest of my Pay It Forwards!!

Blessings,

Shirley

Silk Scarves are painted!

Ok, this is just an eye candy post. Seriously, this is so much fun. Totally addictive and very time friendly. This is not the end result, stay tuned for that, but for now, enjoy the pics!

Not sure if you can see it in the pic, but this lovely shade of brown was mixed with a metallic silver. Gives a gentle sparkle in the light.

 My bowl of flowers.....and it never needs water!

The top one has a vibrant green, shading to brown. Next is a deep midnight blue which fades to lavender. Following it is another two tone: sunny yellow shading to brown/metallic. The colors of spring come next in a smiling pink, soft blue-green, and  mottled green and yellow, with stunning metallic aqua drops. (My daughter made that one, and I might have to steal it from her. Shush!)

Can you tell spring is on my mind?

The colors are just luscious. What I love about the silk painting is that it's always a surprise. Even when you decide on your colors, it will still shade and saturate differently every time. 

Think Spring!!

Blessings, Shirley

I love the mailman!

Well, not really....but I do love looking for mail when I know I have things coming. I received this lovely card from Lori Anderson.

With this really cool inspirational page inside. I love the little tabs at the bottom.

This is so going in my bathroom! Or, maybe next to the coffee pot. It's a toss up as to where I go first!

The other cool item in the mail today was my silk scarves from Dharma Trading. My girlfriend and I are going to fly thru homeschooling Wed, and hit the porch overlooking the marsh for some silk painting.

The pictures really don't do the silk justice. It is such a shimmery fabric. My friend and I took a class last year, and she purchased some of the basic paint colors. She played with it quite a bit more than I did, and came up with a soft, shading technique that I'm anxious to try. I have a necklace idea for these. More on that later. Hopefully, I'll have some pics of finished products on Friday.

Blessings, Shirley

An out of town visitor

One of the cool things about living here is all the variety of wildlife we have seen. This guy showed up at our pond last year. I took some pics, and emailed DNR. They quickly replied back that he is an Anhinga. They originate from Brazil. Not sure if that's where mine is from, but he did come back this year. Definitely had our pond earmarked for easy meals!

So we wondered why he just sat there with 

his wings spread out, not flying off. Apparently, he is not waterproof! He gets his fish by diving underwater. His long neck means people can mistake him for a snake. After catching din-din, he has to dry his wings before flying off. That would be a serious bummer if there were an alligator in the area!

Let's Pay It Forward!!

This is such a lovely way to show your appreciation of people, and to share kindness. I am participating in this thru Silverniknats blog.

The first 5 people who comment on this post will receive a handmade gift by me (it could be any thing)! In return you must write a blog post explaining Pay It Forward 2011 and send your first 5 commenters a gift handmade by you.  It's a great way to make new friends and spread some handmade love around in Blogland! No rush to send them out today or tomorrow.. but do make sure you send them out...sometime in 2011.
I promise you will be blessed beyond belief from this exercise!
Shirley