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

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)

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

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

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

One crazy week...and another!!!

Wow...this has been one busy week...so much to do, so little time...as "they" say!!!

I'm feeling as though I can breath a bit easier now, everything is packed up, I'll be leaving to set up in about an hour or so...I've another show this evening...the same idea as the one in December but with a Valentines theme to it. It will be held in the Living Room at Cecils of course...great room, it actually feels as though it could be someones living room!

"update Feb 21st"...the show was great...I wasn't sure how this one would be received but it was better than I expected!! I've decided my next one will be just before Mother's Day...after that not sure as my Markets begin in May and this kind of show takes a great deal of time.

Tomorrow is the Heart & Stroke Foundations "Soups On"...this will be my third year attending this local event...it is always a great time. Each year they add something new, this year there will be a silent auction, mini health fair and of course my table. Local establishments donate, bread, fruit, and veggies, restaurants donate huge pots of soup for people to taste, really a great lunch for $8.00, all proceeds go to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of course.

I've been thinking all week what I want to do with the gorgeous stoneware heart pendant I received from Artbeads.com...I contemplated keeping it for myself...I love it but, I'm not a heart person and I know I would wear it a couple of times and then it would hang on my jewelry display!!! This is a gorgeous pendant and I want someone who would wear it regularly, to have it...

With that thought in mind, I decided to donate it to the silent auction at "Soups On"...for that reason I kept it simple in hopes it would appeal to a greater number of people at the auction...I wire wrapped the pendant with sterling silver and added a large onyx bead & hung it from a silver plated chain.

I'm going to use the sterling silver heart chain for something else but I'm using the sterling silver heart toggle for the stoneware heart pendant.

"update, February 21st...
I ended up being side tracked and wasn't able to finish this post before I left for my trip, as well I forgot my camera at home and didn't have the photos until my daughter-in-law brought it to me when she arrived..."Soups On" was a huge success for the Heart & Stroke Foundation... great soups were enjoyed!!! My son-in-laws restaurant won the "best cream soup" for the third year in a row...way to go Cecils' Eatery & Beer Society!!!

If you haven't all ready entered, don't forget to enter in the Artbeads.com contest for a $1000.00 Artbeads Gift Certificate...contest ends March 4th @ 11:59 pm (PST)...follow the link on the left!

Enjoy your day...
Cheers

*FTC compliance disclosure* the products attributed to Artbeads.com in this post where provided as a promotional gift by Artbeads.com in relation to the blogging program. My comments pertaining to these products are my personal opinion, no compensation has been received for the comments.

Hearts...

It is that time of year...hearts and more hearts...everywhere you look!!!

In the mail last Friday I received the gorgeous stoneware pendant shown below from Artbeads.com again it isn't your traditional red heart... there is nothing wrong with the traditional red hearts, some are very beautiful... but I thought this one made a great statement!

Also included was this lovely sterling silver heart toggle...I use heart toggles a great deal for my Heart & Stroke Series...that way even if the actual piece doesn't have a heart because the toggle is heart, I will make a donation to the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

This is a very pretty chain...again all hearts, a little more delicate than I was thinking but that is my fault because I didn't pay attention to the sizes of the links, I do that sometimes ...never the less it will work nicely!

Everything together...
I love this heart...I'm torn between doing something detailed or putting it on a simple chain or black leather cord???

If you haven't all ready entered, don't forget to enter in the Artbeads.com contest for a $1000.00 Artbeads Gift Certificate...contest ends March 4th @ 11:59 pm (PST)...follow the link on the left!

Enjoy your day...

Cheers
*FTC compliance disclosure* the products attributed to Artbeads.com in this post where provided as a promotional gift by Artbeads.com in relation to the blogging program. My comments pertaining to these products are my personal opinion, no compensation has been received for the comments.

Sparkle & Shine!

It took me a while to first of all start this bracelet...in fact I was half done and I left it for about a week. I've been having a creative block when it comes to making jewelry. Which is part of the reason I've been showing so much in the way of my attempts at drawing and my photos! Have to have something to post!

Since early December the only time I made anything new was for custom orders that came in, the Monet Challenge and this bracelet???

I will have to get myself in gear because I have two shows coming up...Feb. 11th "All that glitters" & Feb. 12th the "Soups On" which is a Heart & Stroke Foundation fundraiser! More about that later...

For now I would like to show you my bracelet...remember the beginning of January I did a post about these gorgeous beads from Artbeads.com a mixture of Bali, Hill Tribe, and sterling silver, with the gorgeous Indian Pink & Mocca roundelle Swarovski crystals...not to forget the star toggle. I get side tracked so easily sometimes...when I was cutting and pasting the links I just happened to notice Artbeads.com has a total of 3068 silver beads if you combine them altogether...there are so many to choose from!!!!

I can't say enough how lovely these two new colors are...but then I'm a huge fan of all shades of browns, as I mentioned the Indian Pink has a slight hint of purple which sold me right away!!!

I have to tell you I tried 4 times to lay this bracelet out to take an interesting shot and show off the detail...I think sometimes I try too hard... finally I picked it up from both ends and let it go and voila...there you have it, so I left it that way!

This is definitly a "me" bracelet as I often wear bracelets with dangles...the movement appeals to me...

Have a great weekend...
Cheers

*FTC compliance disclosure* the products attributed to Artbeads.com in this post where provided as a promotional gift by Artbeads.com in relation to the blogging program. My comments pertaining to these products are my personal opinion, no compensation has been received for the comments.

Snow, sky, jewels, & faces!

I thought to be fair I should show you a photo of my view with snow and ice..it actually looks rather barren at this time of the year!

Here is my first full face...while I enjoyed the process, I had a difficult time with the complete face...couldn't seem to get the facial features gelling together! This was done with HB, HB2, HB4, blending stump & eraser of course...

I made the necklace below for a bead challenge on ArtBead Scene.com. The piece was to be inspired "La Pie" by Monet...the following gorgeous winter scene.

© Musée d'Orsay

In keeping with the winter white and neutrals I chose citrine, crazy lace agate, fossil coral, brass chain, white base metal chain, and silver plated wire. The five white and sand beads on the right are gorgeous polymer clay beads made by Artybecca. Each week for the month of January one designer is chose for the "Designer of the week"... I was thrilled to be chosen from amongst a wonderful group of designers on Monday January 18th, you can find the post here...

Another shot of my view..I loved the cloud formation..I enjoy watching the cloud patterns...doesn't take much to amuse me!!!

This is my second attempt at a face...done with a Stabilo pencil and titanium white paint, certainly won't be a favorite of mine! That is all I'm going to say about this piece...

Here is a fun tie die heart necklace just in time for Valentine's Day, not your traditional red...being non-traditional can add a little spice to the mix! This gorgeous polymer clay heart is by Elaine from Tooaquarius she makes both polymer clay beads & pendants as well as cane.

Enjoy your week!
Cheers

Eye, lips, nose & photos!!!

Here we go again...a mixture of things!
This time an eye, lips, a nose and my view

I like these dark blue skies...with just a hint of pink at the horizon

My first pair of lips...this is part of my first lesson for Misty Mawn's class...I had enjoyed drawing these...

Don't you just love the sun shining like this cross the water?

My first attempt to draw an eye...again for my drawing class.
I enjoyed drawing this as well...

Look at that blue sky...early fall, the leaves are just beginning to change...next year I'll do a day by day to see the colors...they are gorgeous! I've always meant to but some how I've never gotten around to it !

Finally...my attempt to draw a nose...didn't enjoy this one much...I guess I'll have to work at it because I can't draw a face without a nose!!! This one certainly won't do!!! It's alright you can chuckle...I do myself when I look at it!!!

All in all I enjoyed the drawing...this is my first attempt at any of the face parts...I've been told few artists are born, most have to practice, practice, practice in order to achieve success...I may have to add a few more practices!!!

Cheers