An artistt at work and play

I do a lot of craft/jewelry site browsing, reviewing and shopping lately. I've found some lackluster sites, some run-of-the-mill shops and some exciting, well-worth-the-trip stores. I plan to share some of these here in the near future.

I also look at blogs about lots of different things, some of which are well worth sharing.

One I've found to be charming, engaging, fun and enlightening is http://www.eirielseclectics.blogspot.com/ The girl is adorable and actually multi-talented in the jewelry making department. She is a 22 yr old student in England who shares her travails, trials and successes, travels (with lots of pictures) and her wonderful sense of humo(u)r on nearly a daily basis, even though she is hard at work studying and creating. I highly recommend a peek!

I myself have been at work gently (recovering from recent surgery) daydreaming about new designs for my rugs and jewelry. I bought some great flat sheets from the local secondhand store last week to cut up for rag rugs. I didn't take a pic of this one before it was shredded, but here it is ready to crochet.

When this is done I will post it here. I think it will be an exciting and lively rug.

I also have tried a couple of new jewelry pieces and plan to begin showing at some local festivals and craft fairs this fall to get my feet wet. This one is something new for me, with the small framed picture as the focal point, and the cool part is that the picture can be removed to be replaced with one of your own!

Then there is this pretty and still summery piece

that I was playing with...I really like this, and I'm working

on earrings to match. The mixed turquoise shapes and

shades go so nicely with the silverplate pieces.

OK, enough already. Until next time, have a great one!

My wish for you

I'm listening to a local radio program this Sunday morning and this song struck me.."more than anything, my wish for you is that your dreams stay big and your worries stay small." What a nice thought today.

I think my dreams and wishes are pretty small. Some days I just wish for a few more hours in the day to do the things I want to after the things I need to do are done. OK, I didn't say they were feasible. Some days I wish for solitude when I know I'll have to go to town or to an appointment. Some days I wish for the particular jewelry wire I don't have for creating the piece I want to make. Some days I wish I understood what my bird was trying to tell me when he tried to eat my bare toes.

You get the idea. Granted, my worries really are small. I have a nice house with no payments, freedom to pursue my artistic interests, eat what I want when I want. I feel very fortunate and I know it. Actually I just realized that my biggest plus is being able to seek knowledge that I suddenly get an itch to know. My freedom and the internet give me this. Twenty years ago that would not have been possible, both from a freedom of information access and from my normal daily work schedule.

I wish for you that you find the loopholes in your daily schedule to 'see' what you don't take time normally to take notice of and enjoy or just appreciate. I wish for you the joy and lack of stress that result from knowing and approving of who you are and what you like. Have a great week!

ArtFire will set you ablaze

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A day of possibilities

I've been up quite early today and it is lovely with the birds singing and calling. I don't know if we are in for more rain today but it wouldn't surprise me. There's been so much of it lately. Good for the garden but it does get a little dreary sometimes.

I came into some estate silver pieces recently and some of them are fascinating in their looks and their histories as I do the research. I don't mind the digging as I learn so much along the way. This elaborate little ladle, for instance. The bowl is tin and decorated with I think the figure of a woman, but the handle and the rest are sturdier material. I think it may be for cream but don't know yet.

This is a little souvenir spoon from 1897 Hood College in Frederick, Maryland with their symbol seal on the handle. Lovely but not too useful.

Then there are the little Wm. Rogers knives with mother of pearl handles. They are so cute and gorgeous but I'm not sure if maybe they are little cheese knives as the edges are kind of sharp

It takes a lot of patience to do this detective work but it sure can be rewarding.

No doubt many of these pieces will end up for sale in auctions and online selling venues. If they pique your interest, watch for them in such places as Etsy, Bonanzle, SeeAuction, eBay, eCrater, and Blujay.

Crafty Creative Corner?

Check it out! It's all 'crochet, publicize, crochet, eat, sleep, crochet, publicize, crochet' for me now. I'm in the artisan community now, and we are so off the beaten path. So many neat creative ideas floating around in my head. And what could I use my bird's discarded feathers for, I wonder? Ah, the curse of the creative!

I shall get away briefly today, drivingi to Crossville to deliver the spinning wheel to it's new owner. Since we no longer have goats, it didn't make sense to keep it as a big doorstop, did it? Maybe I can pick up some bird food at the pet store in Crossville while I'm there.

Linking myself to Squidoo

I've spent much of my evening NOT minding my own business. I worked on building a Squidoo lens and linking it to everything I could think of, then I found a site called Monkey Brain where you can argue about anything and everything. I saw a favorite consideration of mine about how a license should be required in order to be a parent. I voiced my humble opinion based on personal experience, years of observation and motherly bias. My poor brain isn't used to being so intellectually stimulated so late in the evening, but I felt really good about spouting off. I think I'll do it again soon.