Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Jewelry, power lines, concrete jungle & sunsets!!!

I've a three day show this Friday, Saturday & Sunday so I may not be visiting much until Monday or Tuesday of next week...so I decided to leave you with a few photos...

Below is the first of two jewelry groupings that I've made into posters...not these photo exactly I don't have the proofs just yet but these are two of many photos I took to send to the printer...I'm also having Azure Islands Designs printed on the bottom right corner...

Everything silver!


Here is the second photo, turquoise, silver & teal... says Spring to me!!!



This shot was taken between London & Toronto on our return trip in March...I couldn't get over all the power lines... these go on for miles & miles...I had to take a photo!!! A number of times when we've gone through it has been dark so I didn't get the true impact of all these lines...


How about this for a "concrete jungle"... 4 highways above us!!! This is in the Toronto area...


This was Sunday evening...I was sitting at my desk, didn't notice the sun setting until I looked up and there it was...I grabbed my camera and raced upstairs, as this is where I get the best unobstructed shots...



Enjoy the rest of your week...
Cheers

Monday, March 22, 2010

An Award!!!


I would like to thank my friend Kathryn for bestowing the "I Love Craft Blogs Don't You?" award. Kathryn is a fabulous fused glass designer from Scotland, where she makes everything from coasters to clocks to earrings to cuff links with her fused glass. Stop by Kathryn would love to have you visit...

Doesn't the gorgeous daisy bring to mind spring...who doesn't love that? I think we've all feeling as though it has been enough winter!!! :0)

Now for my list of 5...as it turns out all five are jewelry designers, among other things... :0)

1. Designs by Dawn Marie
2. A Bead A Day
3. Amy Lilley Designs
4. The Beading Gem's Journal
5. WireBliss Design

There you have it five fabulously talented women...I'm proud to call them my friends!!! Take a few minutes to visit their blogs...

Enjoy your day...
Cheers
PS... I am aware that some prefer not to participate in such activities...if this is the case I understand...the award is yours, please do as you wish! :0)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Getting there...

I'm slowly getting back into the "swing" of things...there is always a great deal to catch up with after being away. I've also my first spring show March 26th, 27th & 28th, in Sudbury to prepare for.

I haven't posted any pieces lately so I thought it was time...this is the bracelet and earrings Diane Estrella is giving away on her blog...there is still time to put your name in...




My daughter, grandson & Jade dropped in on Monday...this is their spring break from school, my daughter is a teachers assistant and Connor is in grade seven. Jade is their newest addition to the family, a 5 month old standard poodle, she such a beautiful gentle dog. You would think it was a human baby the way my daughter treats her... :0)

It was a beautiful sunny day so we took Jade for a walk down to the park near my house...
You will notice in the photos how low the water level is...in the summer it is right up to the break wall of the townhouse complex...our lake is controlled by a dam system, lowering it in fall and sometimes when they can in the spring...which has allowed the lake to stay at a safe level!!!

Connor and Jade...



Jade of course...isn't she pretty...check out her pink leash!




If you look very closely my house is the white stone on the right, half hidden by the huge gorgeous evergreen...I couldn't come around front as there was too much slush so a side view it is...



This view shows you just how much water the dam released in the fall...my home is in the bay which is on the right of the photo...



Once the lake is completely clear of ice the water slowly rises due to run off in the surrounding areas...we have water a few feet up our break wall in the summer which is a normal level...

We've had a few weeks of very unseasonably warm weather...it is wonderful, could we be so lucky for this to be the start of our spring??? At the risk of sounding like a pessimist we've had snow here at the end of May on occasion...

For the bracelet below all the beads have been wired wrapped with sterling silver wire. I chose large turquoise discs, smaller Mykonos turquoise and brown discs flanked by two of three almost round turquoise lampwork beads by Cindy Gimbrone as well I've also used a beautiful brown & cream barrel lampwork bead by Cindy. You can find her at www.cindygimbronebeads.com

The delicious chocolate round bead with the turquoise insert is by Mary Ann Carroll you can find her at www.etsy.com/shop/macarroll

I made the clasp with sterling silver wire and the oval pendant is my second attempt at working with Art Clay...I'm patiently waiting for more so I can keep experimenting.




I've just started a brand new "Fan Page" on Facebook...you can find me here. I had a fan page for Azure Accessories which as most of you know is my company name, Azure Islands Designs is my jewelry design name. I never did anything to promote the Azure Accessories page so I decided to start a new up to date page!!! I've added a link to my Fan Page on the left...

Cheers

Monday, March 15, 2010

A wonderful feature!


A blogging friend of mine Diane Estrella asked me a week or so ago if I would be interested in participating in a week long "give away" she was planning...without out hesitation I said yes, of course...

Today is the day...please take a few minutes to stop by Diane's blog to read her wonderful, kind words...don't forget to enter to win the bracelet and earrings. The colors make me feel like summer/spring... turquoise/teal always does that to me.

The rest of this week Diane is featuring 4 talented, interesting women..stop by her blog each day for a great read...not to mention an awesome give away!!!

Thank you Diane for asking me to participate...there are so many wonderful jewelry designers out there for you to choose from... I'm honored to be chosen to be amongst such a talented group of women!!!

Cheers

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Trip photos...

I'm home...we had a wonderful time... as selfish as it sounds it wasn't long enough!!!

We traveled I75 and luck was with us as we had perfect driving weather all the way...we did hit snow flurries in Kentucky into Tennessee but that is all they were, no accumulation at all!
As some of you may know I forgot my camera at home so I used my son's for a few shots...when I remembered, or something caught my eye...I wasn't into taking photos for some reason???
This sunset is in Georgia...


This shot is rather blurry I know but it shows how little traffic there was in Atlanta...we always drive right through the city, generally cars are bumper to bumper but it was Saturday evening and we were rather surprised at the lack of vehicles!




This is a great shot visually, icicles hanging from the side of blasted rock in Kentucky!


We took a very short trip down to Key West and the next two are photos taken from the van as we were driving...what a beautiful trip that is...all those bridges, the water, the islands. So much to look at along the way!





This is looking down Duval Street, in Key West...what a busy street...shops of all kinds from typical touristy shops to exclusive Artisan shops & everything in between!


My son & his wife during our dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, on Duval Street!



Another shot of Duval Street...



This is the southern most point of Key West...90 miles to Cuba from there. It was raining but very warm, which is why the folks are wearing coats...at least I think that is why...I was told by a local last summer was the hottest he could remember and this winter was the coldest he could remember...was great for us though, it was mid 20'sc,


I've a few more photos I'll post another day...
Cheers