She Sells Sea Shells

The tiniest shells I've ever seen, about the size of a grain of rice.  After acquiring these, I filled these 4 glass vials with them, and they are about 2 inches tall, and perfect for altered art, or vintage assemblage jewelry making.  I'm selling them in my Etsy store, and they just shout "BEACH"...LOL.

I guess after another day of violent storms, and going from 65 degrees to 45 degrees all in a matter of hours, the thoughts of spending a few days combing the beaches kept running through my mind all day!  Check them out!

The White Rabbit

Handsculpting again, and wanted to share him.  I scuplted his head from paper clay, air dried, then painted, given an aged look.  Then I handpainted the paper mache box, added vintage pearl jewels and glitter.  He is ready for Spring!  Then I made some rabbits that are actually soy wax melts that smell so yummy and accented with sweet glitter.

MONOGRAMMED BOTTLE LABELS

Good morning!  I'm not feeling to well today, some allergies kicking up after a blustery 2 days.  Seems when the wind blows, it stirs up stuff that disagrees with me.  So a few allergy meds and I'm on the mend.  I wanted to show off this bottle charm I created.  I have saved some old apothecary medicine bottles for my bathroom re-do, and will make labels like this for them, only they will have words associated with the contents of the bottles.  I think it will give old world charm to the vintage look I'm going with.  These soldered labels also are great for wedding, hostess, and more type gifts, and can be used as an ornament too.  When the weather warms up, I plan on searching out the Nashville Flea Market for wire baskets to use for storage such as towels etc, and will create a soldered charm label for each.  Do you remember the metal wire baskets in gym where you stored your belongings?  Well, those are the type baskets I'm looking for.  If I find some, I'll post them here for you to see.  Guess I better get ready and head to work.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Vintage Chandeliers and Mardi Gras

Good morning all!  My hubby got home after being gone for a month.  It is great having him back for a few days before he heads out to work again.  My honey-do list grew so long, and since the weather is somewhat warmer, he said he would try and tackle a few of the major issues around the ridge today. 

Last night "Spanky" called, a truly wonderful friend of ours from the days that he and Gary served in the Navy.  It seems those Navy boys all seem to have nicknames for each other, and Randy has always been affectionately called, "Spanky" by Gary and of course me.  Well, the call was an invitation to attend Mardi Gras, and as much as I would love to, just once in my life, sadly we cannot, as our jobs won't warrant that at this time.  Maybe next year Spanky!!! :)

I do love New Orleans!~  I have been there twice in my life and the architecture and wrought iron ornate balconies against old clapboard and brick buildings is so romantic and old world.  Crowns abound everywhere along with the famous fleur de lis, and the downtown sparkles to me.  I look past all the voodoo shops and avoid that part, but all the bright costumes, beads, and anything that sparkles catches my eye.  I think New Orleans has recovered much better than expected after Katrina, and if you ever get there, make sure you go to the French Quarter that I'm so infatuated with and sit and have a cup of coffee and one of their famous beignets, at the Cafe Du Monde.   Be prepared to step into white powdered sugar everywhere!  Very sticky place, but ooo lah lah, the coffee is GREAT, the beignets are great, and it is a landmark for sure.  But go during the day! 

And of course speaking of sparkling....I used an old vintage aurora borealis faceted crystal chandelier prism as the focal point of a necklace I just listed in my Etsy Store.  Accented with a crown charm and silver chain.  It catches the light and sends rainbows of sparkles all over, surely an eyecatcher and like a suncatcher..LOL...  I have a thing for glass as you might already know.  Old prisms are stacked in small boxes and drawers, and I buy any that I see that are unusual in color, shape, and size. I guess I'll have to admit being a hoarder of sorts. LOL...

Have a wonderful Thursday!  Still looking for fabric for that shade.  Might have to wait until my hubby goes back to work.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY MY SWEETS

A red glittery heart, encased between glass, soldered, and Valentine Red chain to match.  A sweet little necklace especially created by me, for my Grandaughter, Miss Moo Moo.  Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  And here is my little sweetheart, Myla, who I affectionately call Moo Moo.

WIRE WRAPPED BRIOLETTES

Wire wrapping a side drilled bead seems easy when you see someone else do it, but for me it is challenging.  Getting that perfect wrap is difficult, but I think teardrop briolette earrings are so sweet, and these remind me of a sweet pink drop of dew falling from your ears.  Simple sparkle, with a blush pink hue.
These are available in my Etsy Store.

......an excerpt from the diary of Ole Sista Ardee, and her memories of her life in the Quarter....


Well, a little refreshment and I'm better now, and after a sip or two of that fresh lemonade, I got to giggling as I began to remember a day Mr. Duke had come for his occasional visit with his cousin Miss Whittington. Now child, that young buck knew he liked to flirt with all the girls in Miss Whittington's employ, and yes child, ole' Sista Ardee got included in a few times, but all in jest ya know! But, day had it back then in the 30's when he shows up with not only a hamper of peaches, but a bucket of lemons to go with it. Now, the lemonade was a flowing for a week or two, and so was all the citrus sweets and goodies we could dream of to put those lemons to good use before they spoiled. And all the girls so giddy running around trying to out cook each other to get just a little extra attention from the Guest.


You know child, a wink and nod, or a pearly white smile, Lord that young man knew how to ruffle the feathers in that hen's nest. But Ole' Ardee was one up on him. There he came sashaying into the kitchen with his bad self, wanting to sneak a taste or two from the stockpot, and I shook that old stained wooden spoon a few times to warn him not to come near that pot, and there he comes anyway, grabbin' old Ardee and spinnin' me round and round, taking my old spoon and dipping it into that pot anyway! Oh goodness, I can't hardly contain myself, cause little did Mr. Duke know, but that stock pot was full of bluing that I planned on using that next morning to help whiten the Whittington household linens.

And you know, from that day on when he come sashaying into my kitchen during one of his visits, he'd holler out, Miss Ardee!...are you in there conjuring up some of your cobalt caramel today?

Oh, I must go, tea kettle is a whistling and a little chamomile tea is just what I need this evening......

~ And with her story still lingering, it was the inspiration and the thoughts of daffodils popping their heads up, for these lemon swirl earrings~....I should have added a tiny cobalt blue bead, to match the stains Mr. Duke probably had from tasting that old wash house bluing  ~

VALENTINE GIVEAWAY

Okay, a little fun here this morning.  Be the first person that reads my blog today, and make a comment at the end of this post, and you'll receive this handmade Valentine from me.  I have taken a vintage valentine, embellished with glitter, sandwiched between glass, and soldered, making a sweet Valentine's Day Cutie!  If you are the first to comment on this post, then I'll ship your Valentine's creation to you.  I'll contact you and get your mailing address.  HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FUN GIVEAWAY, just today!

It All Starts with a Little Black Line

Yes, it is that simple!  I start with a simple black pen and ink drawing.  A "toon" so to speak.  Whimsical and from my heart.  My siblings tell me that my artwork makes them smile.  They have never seen what originally gets thrown onto the drawingboard, and jumps back off into a finished little work.  So, here goes.  Yes, a simple black pen and ink drawing.  All lines must close...no gaps!   Then I scan it into my computer.  Then I proceed to digitally color it.  I then print it out, and begin to highlight with magic markers and colored pencils.  Once again, scanning into my computer to "save" and "tweek" my finished product.  It will be used on note cards, calling cards, labels, stickers, or whatever.  So, here is a finished work, that started with a simple black line.