ArtBliss 2012

Registration is now open for ArtBliss 2012

There are 13 classes offered over the 3 days with some fantastic instructors plus Cindy and Jeanette have so many fun things planned!

PLUS they are hosting a giveaway not to be missed so head on over to Cindy's blog, Jeanette's blog and the official ArtBliss website to see all the offerings and to register for this years' retreat!

Tales From Beadfest

Last August, upon my return from Beadfest Philly, my daughter told me she wanted to go with me next time.

Now, this might not seem like a big deal to most of you, but growing up, my independent daughter wanted to be everything I wasn't and nothing that I was.

So I was only too happy to give her this trip as her birthday present in March.

We got up around 2am on thursday, left by 4am and arrived in time for our first class at 8am, casting resin with Debbi Simon.

We both really enjoyed this class and Lindsay even purchased some bezels and filled those before the end of class.

The seed has been planted.

Afterwards, since the expo and shopping didn't open until friday, we made our way to our hotel and then drove around to see what was nearby. After a nice lunch Lindsay spotted this wonderful ice cream shop, Zwalen's right across the parking lot from the hotel. How convenient!

One step inside and we knew this was the good stuff. The aroma of freshly made waffle cones and home made chocolates filled the air.  It was different than any place we had been as they always have fresh vanilla and chocolate ice cream but each day they also add an additional flavor and it changes all the time.

That evening I had a tabbed bezel class with Linda Larsen. It was a big class, 20 students , and while I finished the pendant base, I still need to sand and polish as I didn't bring any of the finishing stuff with me.

I think the technique will come in very handy for odd shaped found objects. I just used a czech glass button in this one.

Bright and early friday morning we ran into Sally Russick who made a last minute decision to come down and take a class and do a little shopping just for the day. So glad to have been able to spend a little time together.

Then came Lindsay's classes. 

Michaels design academy offered 45 minute classes in a large booth right on the show floor. I think this was great to offer so those who have no beading and jewelry experience can sit, have everything provided for them, tools and supplies, and make something they can wear immediately.

Everyone has to start somewhere and most people who have never taken a class before might be intimidated by the supply lists and expectations of a more advanced class.

I gave Lindsay 3 classes, the first was a memory wire bracelet, the second a necklace which combines stringing and chain an the third was an earring class.

So for little investment in time and money she picked up all of the basic beginner skills.

Yes, I could have taught her, but like the instructor said, this is like having someone else teach your child to drive.

I figured she could get the basics here in this environment and then I could take her skills further if she is interested.

So then it was on to getting supplies to make more.

I gave her a set of beadsmith tools to get started so she concentrated on picking beads for projects already swirling in her head. She had the classic " I want one of each" response when she saw these combo sets in Jesse James Beads booth.

For those of you who love to work with bead soup type collections, this is for you. 2 walls of components called design elements and inspirations.

A quick stop by Barbara Lewis' booth to say hello ( Barbara was still in NY so I left the message with her son David) and let her know that i would be ordering some enamels soon as I didn't have time to get my list together before leaving home.

All those luscious enamels sitting on the shelves were just calling my name. This is where I have the "I want one of each" moments! 

After the show closed we met up with Cindy Wimmer, Jeanette Blix, Sandi Volpe, and Roseanne for dinner at an Italian restaurant within walking distance to the hotel.

Then hit the ice cream shop on the way back.

Ok, twice I know, but we did walk and you spend all day walking the show floor.  

Lindsay and I came home Saturday and both headed out to work at the restaurant that evening.

These pretties were waiting for me when I arrived home, I am a lucky girl indeed!

On Sunday morning, Lindsay said to me " I left my tools in your car and I wanted to make a necklace last night when i got home, I had a great idea!"

Congratulations, you've been sucked into the vortex!



Happy Spring!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter/ Spring break!

Everything around here is so far ahead of schedule (except me of course), the wisteria is in full bloom, a month early, the irises are budding, the daffodils are just about gone, as are the cherry blossoms and flowering magnolias. I feel like I have almost missed spring entirely with all my travelling about!

Since last we spoke, I went away to the Art and Soul retreat in Virginia Beach from 2/29-3/5 and had 7 fantastic classes.

Came home , unpacked, repacked and left bright and early on 3/6 and headed back to Florida for the last hurrah and to close up the house for the season and returned home on 3/21.

While down there, we took a trip to St. Pete and met up with Barbara Lewis and her husband Jim for a delicious Thai lunch and a driving tour of the area and got to see her new studio/shop in progress.

Caught up with work at the restaurant ( Ok , sort of) and then headed out to Leesburg Virginia for a chalk painting workshop with Annie Sloan on 3/31.

Picked up my grandkids on 4/4 and headed to the beach for the afternoon as they started their Easter break and kept my grandaughter for 3 nights and days during her break, she returned home on 4/7.

Now I am getting ready to head out to Beadfest Spring with my daughter where she will be taking her first jewelry making classes, the trip is my gift to her for her birthday. I am so looking forward to this time together, I even bought her a set of tools of her own!

I hope to see some of you there!

When I return I will post pictures of all of my adventures, most of which are STILL in the camera! Ha!

It's been a fun ride but I am looking forward to getting back to my regular routine ( whatever that is these days!) and putting into action all of these creative ideas I have filling up my head!

Thanks for stopping by, see you again soon!



Cotton Candy Skies and Happy Thoughts

I know I promised to do better and not be MIA for so long without an explanation, but in all truth, the past couple of weeks have been a little like a roller coaster. 

First we celebrated our son's 23rd birthday (the 8th)

reopened the restaurant for the season and jumped right back into that hamster wheel (the 9th).

 We lost a very close and dear friend on Valentines day unexpectedly and it's been a bit of a rough go.

I decided to think and share some happy thoughts here, the Peter Pan kind that can lift a person up.

The above picture is a shot of the castle in Disney World as the sun was beginning to set.

Isn't that a perfect cotton candy sky?

It's the stuff dreams are made of.

Don't you just love cotton candy?

Then it became even more candy like with the incredible Christmas light display

The light show changed the castle from one image to another almost too fast to take it all in.

Isn't this amazing?

It even became a gingerbread castle

The fireworks display is unrivaled in my opinion.

I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to share this with my family, my parents, husband, daughter , SIL and my grandchildren.

The bitter reminder of how short life really is hit us hard these past 2 weeks and when I said the winds of change were upon me this year, little did I know just how much.

So I decided to make one more small wish come true.

Silly I know, but I have always wanted a real cotton candy machine,

to enjoy with the kids, now grandkids,

and when I saw this one for 70% off, ( I got one without the cart) I went for it.

I'm sure there's a science lesson in there somewhere that we can even share with the kids' classes, you know, heating and spinning the sugar into glass like strands, has to be scientific right?

The name made me smile because I always say to a newcomer to the art/jewelry world,

"congratulations, you've been sucked into the vortex!"

I will be heading to Art and Soul Virginia Beach in a few days and look forward to reconnecting with friends, laughing and making some more memories and acquiring some new skills.

It couldn't have come at a better time.

Will you be there?

I'll post our adventures when I return.

Until then, thanks for being here, live and love each day, and God Bless!

Winds of Change 2012

Mary Poppins, Walt Disney Pictures 1964

"Wind's in the east, mist comin' in.
Like something is brewin' about to begin
Can't put me finger on what lies in store
But I feel what's to happen, all happened before"


First of all let me apologize for being AWOL with no explanation for the past 2 months.
You see, Ray and I closed the restaurant right after Thanksgiving for the first time in MANY years for a much needed break and went to Florida.
I had hoped to be able to blog without giving my location away for reasons of security, being in business I thought it wouldn't be a good idea to announce to the world that we weren't around.
The problem is everything I wanted to blog about would have done just that. Then the longer I went the less I knew how to say anything about it at all.


So, here I am, having arrived back home this past week, trying to catch up with my blog reading and getting settled back into a routine readying the restaurant to reopen on Thursday for the season.
As soon as i upload and process the thousand+ pics from 2 cameras I'll share some here.


In the meantime, thank you to those of you who wrote to me privately to check on my whereabouts and to keep in touch.


As stated above in the clip from Mary Poppins,  2012 is bringing with it some changes, I hope you'll be with me along the way.
Hugs



I Heart Macro ~ Tenacious

Today is I Heart Macro over at Studio Waterstone .

It's been a few weeks again since I have gone out and focused on the little things in life and i have really missed it, while tending to all the big things like work and preparing for the holidays and family visits.

Looking out my windows from the warmth of indoors, everything looks dead and barren and wintry.

But upon close inspection this morning I find that nature is tenacious.

The strawberry leaves are coated with color and frosty sprinkles.

Long after the delicate petals of the lillies and iris have gone, the weeds still bloom and sprout life. 

Some of the bushes pose as holiday cards 

The salvia still basks in the morning sunshine, soaking up the dew and warmth for as long as it can 

The winter blooming camellia provides a tender contrast to the evergreen leaves that surround it.

So much beauty to appreciate when we just take the time to notice.

Hop on over to Lori's to see what everyone else is appreciating this morning!



Thankful For The Apples Of My Eye, And Pie

This week began with a very special birthday party.  Our granddaughter turned 5 and asked for a flamingo party/ swim party. She LOVES flamingos. My ingenious daughter decided to secure a room at the local YMCA for the party and rented pool time for the party goers. 

Notice our youngest grandson arm in arm with his big sister, monkey boots still on.

He did take them off to swim, briefly, replaced with the monkey swim ring. 

I doubt there is anything in the world better than being a grandparent, and sharing in all these milestones.

(not to mention we just get to show up and help a little and enjoy a lot!)

As I have said before, all of our wishes have come true.

We are very blessed.

This expression says it all, pure joy! And she was so appreciative of everything, no "too much birthday" tantrums as is often seen at these events from some children.

Then we got domestic again.

 What can I say, we are foodies for sure. We all get together and cook and eat and visit.

This time I made apple butter in the crock pot which was a great improvement over doing it on the stove top and having to cook it for hours and hours stirring constantly.

After it cooked down, about 20 hours, I ladled it into jars and processed in a water canning bath.

I had also made an additional 2 batches of pumpkin butter with pumpkins bought last week at the Green Dragon flea market in PA. only this time I decided to process the jars as well in the canning bath.

Thanksgiving is for us like it is for most, a time of family gathering and feasting and giving thanks for all of our blessings.

I personally am thankful everyday for my blessings and don't need one day a year to remind me what's important.

We noticed after we took this picture of Ray and I at our daughter's house, that the cabinet behind us had a picture of our son and daughter above us.

But we posed for a group shot anyway. It was good to have our son with us, last year he was travelling for work and couldn't be home.

Our daughter, SIL and 3 grandchildren hosted Thanksgiving at their house again this year for the second time, a group effort and still a lot of work.

I cooked 2 turkeys, the gravy, oyster dressing, fresh collards, cauliflower, sweet potato biscuits, sweet potato pies, apple pie, & chocolate cheescake. By the time we added what everyone else cooked and brought, we had more food than we could eat in a week! 

Can you say leftovers?

4 generations picture

We never know exactly how much is left for each of us, or what the future holds, so these times together take on more meaning each year as we gather to give thanks for each other and all the good we have in our lives.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving filled with family, good food and blessings through the holiday season and beyond!