Gearing Up

Summer is upon us (although you might not know it with this goofy weather) and that means calendars are filling up with activities! Just in the next two months is a Bead Art show, family birthdays, Bluegrass festivals, sewing classes, theology classes, motorcycle trips, and all kinds of stuff.

Since I didn't bead all winter, I am now trying to get ready for Bead Art on May 30th and setting up a jewelry display at the local library on June 1st. I also need to do some maintenance work on my tent display for then and do some research for info to include in the library display. And I need to do some major cleaning out at home and general home stuff. Lots to do, lots to do.

Here is the information on Bead Art:

Lady Bug Beads presents...

Bead Art
Saturday, May 30th
9am-4pm

In the parking lot of Lady Bug Beads
7616 Big Bend Blvd.
(Between Laclede Station Road and Shrewsbury Ave)

Over 50 local vendors selling their original designs of beaded jewelry, clothing and art objects.

Silent Auction of designer pieces for
Make A Wish

Extra parking available across the street at Gracepoint of Webster Church

Admission FREE
Handicap accessible and Strollers welcome.

For more info call 314.644.6140

So, if you are in the area, please stop by. I will be located at the very top of the hill on the corner closest to the shop! Please take a look at my etsy shop for some of the designs that will be available at my booth that day. My newest designs are not all listed there yet so there will be some surprises at Bead Art! Hope to see you there!

Shiny Adornments - Artisan Handmade and Wire Wrapped Jewelry

Kristy, of ShinyAdornments, creates beautiful, handmade artisan earrings, bracelets and necklaces but I thought it would be great to feature the lovely hair sticks that she offers in her etsy shop. However, I just couldn't leave out some other great items so here is a composite picture of several creations at Kristy's shop that made me drool on my keyboard!

Kristy is also a member of Artisan Beader's Street Team and her work can also be found at artfire and flickr. Be sure to check out the blog, also! It will be time worth the spending!

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow...

I just realized it has been several weeks since I have blogged. Sometimes life is just so busy!

It was brought to my attention this weekend that I haven't thought recently about how very blessed my life is. So I am taking this time to think about it a little bit. Having a recent birthday and anniversary, and Mother's Day and the 2nd birthday for my grandchild coming up, brought these statistics to mind:

Percentage wise I have been a child of the King for 72% of my life, married 65% of my life, a mom for 56% of my life and a grammy for almost 1% of my life.

I find that pretty staggering, because in my head I am still 22 years old, not the real age of 57!

Christ found me when I was 16 years old, in a sad home situation and no one to really lead me in a good direction. Praise Him for finding and keeping me all these years, even when I wasn't following Him as I should. He never let me go, not even once in 41 years. He is the lover of my soul.

Then Don, my husband, came along. He never even dated anyone besides me and he has never deserted me or let me go, not even once in 37 years. He is the lover of my heart.

Then Rachel, my daughter, was born. It took 6 years and a lot of tears before she came along. I always felt in my heart that she would probably be the only child I would bear and I guess that made her very special from the start. We have a very close relationship and she has always shown me respect and love, even when I wasn't very respectable or loveable. God sent her a wonderful spouse, Aaron, who loves God and his family, they are a wonderful match and I love him like a son. Rachel has never given me reason to doubt her love, not even once in 30 years. She is the joy of my heart.

What can I say about Olivia Grace, my granddaughter? All she knows is that Grammy loves her. Grammy thinks she is adorable. Grammy thinks she is so smart. She is the holder of the strings to my heart.

All these things I am blessed with and I praise God from whom all these blessings flow.

Every Single Bit

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."
- Erma Bombeck

I just came across this quote on an old calendar in my collage files. I know of Erma Bombeck but don't really know very much about her, however I totally relate to the quote. God didn't make me a wonderful teacher or even a very good homemaker but he did give me talent to be able to do things with my hands and a creative spirit that leads me to create things. I know those creations are not the most important thing I will do during my life but if God gave me the resources they must have some use for Him. I want to use them all for Him, everyday, in a way that praises and glorifies.

That is my daily prayer for myself.

Make Love Not War by Hannah Rosner of Good River Gallery

This is extremely creative as well as beautiful! This was made especially for the Etsy Time Machine April Beadweaving Challenge by Hannah Rosner of Good River Gallery . Hannah's etsy shop is hannahrachel. Notice that the brass tubes are actually rifle casings.

Hannah is a member of EBW Team on etsy, which sponsors the challenge. More challenge entries can be seen at the EBW Team Blog where you can also vote for your favorite.

Nicely done, Hannah!

Islandgirl : Handworked Glass Beads and Jewelry

Lynn, owner and designer of islandgirl, the etsy shop of Fireball Beeds lampworked glass beads and jewelry, resides on a small island in the Bay of Fundy in the North Atlantic Ocean. With experience in lampwork since 1995, her beads are interesting and beautiful!

Lynne is a member of several street teams on etsy, including Artisan Beaders Street Team. Here are a few sumptious pics of her work:


More examples of islandgirl's lampwork, handforged silver and chain maille creations can be found in her Flickr site, blog, and website. Please visit!

Etsy shop Vickiorion - Orion Designs - Artisan Jewelry by Vicki Potter

Beautiful gemstone, glass and sterling combinations in earrings, necklaces and other jewelry creations can be found in the etsy shop, Vickiorion! Just take a moment to look at these beauties:


Vicki Potter, owner and artisan of Vickiorion and a member of Artisan Beader's Street Team, creates wonderful one-of-a-kind, handmade jewelry, suitable to every taste. If her creations were edible they would be delicious!

For more examples of delicious treats, visit Vicki's Flickr account or you can find her blogging HERE.

New Treasury!

BinKaminka has graciously included my Southwest Vegas cuff bracelet in this beautiful treasury!

She is a bead artist and tailor residing in Latvia whose beaded jewelry and fashion corsets are available through her etsy shop, BinKaminka. You can also find her blogging here!

At least it feels like spring!

Or maybe that should say "At last it feels like spring!" Either way, the weather is nice today, sunny, warm and bright, despite starting out very foggy this morning in the low spots.

I am almost finished with 2 new bead embroidered pieces, both pendants and both in the same colors of green, red and violet. They are both meant to be worn on cords, leather or satin, or can also be worn on a chain. I will post them here soon! I have to start beading in earnest for the Bead Art show the last weekend of May, since I have barely touched a bead all winter. I usually do a lot of beading while we are camping but we sold the camper and won't be camping this year. Have to make time somewhere, though!

Above is a necklace name "Daisy Dreams" that is found in my etsy shop. The floral strands are made of little flowers using a daisy chain technique.

I loved these colors so much that I also made "Violet Moon Craters", shown below. I started wondering how many times I have used these colors and also noticed this bracelet, called "Iced Grapes" and the bracelet named "Ocean Bangles".

I guess I really like these colors because they keep popping up in my designs!

Spring, Spring, where art thou?

I have never been so cold, so often, as I have this winter. I want it to end. I am getting very impatient. Please, spring - hurry!