New Years Eve

New Years eve is always a wonder to me. After the holidays I am often exhausted and the thought of going out and partying is too daunting to me. For the last few years we've stayed home.

Resolutions are also daunting for me, I often break them or never even get them started. This year my resolution is to blog more. I've been reading Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach and and going to try posting something daily with the quote of the day from the book. I'll still be posting new beads, jewelry and goings on about my exciting life!

Going to Mexico!

My husband and I have never EVER been on a real vacation together. No honeymoon, no vacation ever, nadda.

Can you tell it annoys me? Well, we are going to MEXICO! We are going to Tulum just outside of Cancun, I cannot wait. Beaches, snorkeling, relaxing! Sigh ........ life is good!

Free Form Goddesses

I've been exploring the goddess shape in a more free form manner than I've done in the past. I am not much of a "flowy" person, so working with shapes less regimented has really opened my creative juices up a bit.

I love encasing, I HAVE to encase at least 1/2 the beads I make at any sitting. I love the way the clear magnifies the base and gives it such amazing depth. So for some of these free form shapes I wanted to play with encasing then, stretching the shapes. I think I've got something good going!

Small Treasures Show Sale!

I am very excited I sold this piece out of the Small Treasures show at Coast Collective gallery! I think it's the first piece of jewelry to sell out of a gallery show there. I believe it was the people at Royal Bay bakery who bought it, they have the BEST baking there! They are right at the top of the lagoon when you head to the gallery. Stop in for a snack on your way to Coast Collective!

Forever Hopefull

I am very thrilled with the way this bead turned out. I love the colors and the flow of it, heck I like it all!

Exotic Bird

I really enjoy doing viking knit, it gives me something to do when I can't be making beads, keeps my hands busy!

Exotic Bird, Copper viking knit with my lampwork beads in lovely orange with some snow white accents and a hint of silver.

Evening Drama

I am pretty thrilled with the colors in the plunged dots on this bead! I am a bit of a purple nut so I am always thrilled when I get nice purples. The dots are Psyche from Double Helix I am a big fan of their silvered glass! Their clear is very nice too, melts really fast, no scum and no bubbles.

The weather is changing to cold and clear, we had what felt like weeks of solid rain. I haven't seen our ditches that full in a long time. Snow is in the forecast for tonight but only a small amount. I'd love to see a nice big dump of it like we had last year!

Viking Knit Caps

Finally I got some more viking knit caps! I just love these, being sterling silver plated they are more reasonable. They pair well with art wire, or sterling, or copper, or brass, heck anything! I have copper coming too!

SATEAM Sale

A Etsy team I belong to, the SATEAM, is having a great holiday sale. For every purchase in participating etsy shops you get a entry and a chance to win a gorgeous charm bracelet put together by members of the team.

Magic Moments is a wonderful gold fumed bead with a soft shimmer too it, it was really hard to photograph! Purchase it and get an entry into the SATEAM sale.

I'm going to be giving ebay a try again, it's been a year or so since I've put any auctions up there. I'll be starting a couple soon!

Redmand is slowly impriving

Redman is slowly improving. He's gaining back some weight, much happier now that we've moved him beside Indy and Eazy. We've had a ton of rain and our drainage has held up really well. Our ditches are all full but it is all still draining!

New earrings!

I've got some new earrings in my Etsy shop! I've been playing with silver a lot lately. These earrings originated a year or so ago when I took a class with Cynthia Archer at Amy Johnson's studio in Toronto. It took me a long time to get them balance properly and to get the last rivet just right, but I'm very happy with the design.

Austin, Texas

I am back from Austin, Texas. I went there to help a good friend, Andrea Guarino with a couple classes. I also got a chance to see some sights, we saw the bat colony in Austin and went arrow head hunting south of Austin. I had a great time!

I got home last night and am trying to adjust to having three horses. I'll admit Cruize's death has hit me a bit hard. I feel a bit lost, I think Redman is lonely too. He looks out the driveway a lot and seems quiet. Tomorrow I think I'll turn him out beside Indy and Eazy and see if that helps perk him up. As for me, I am not sure when I'll perk up.

And then there were three

I've been lax in posting on my blog lately. Two of our horses got very sick last weekend. Cruize and Redman were both out on a pasture, Cruize got sick first then Redman. Cruize passed sunday morning, his little body just couldn't take it any more. We had an autopsy done as the vet can't seem to pinpoint what's going on. Redman is still sick all though not as bad. We do know it's a toxic poisoning of some form, we don't know what it is yet.

We are in a bit of a daze, things happened so fast. It's sad to be down to three horses and for no good reasons.

Gifts & Wishes

This weekend is the Gifts & Wishes show at the Coast Collective Gallery! Come shop amongst some fantastic and unique art for wonderful Christmas gifts! Thursday 12-8, 6-8 is the grand opening of the show, most of the artists will be there and there will be munchies too! Friday to Sunday 12-5. Come on down!!

Studio DTQ's Blog

Studio DTQ blogged about this little owl! She's got a great blog with lots of unique, cool items. Some would make great Xmas gifts! I was thinking about these little guys the other day, I have an idea in my head for a feathered goddess with some bird charms. Maybe she'll have a raven and a little owl!

Riding Ring

In all the years we've had horses, I taught full time, we've never had our own riding ring. WELL that has changed. We now have a small sand riding ring and an area where a round pen will go in. Eventually we'll have lights too! It makes Indy's daily re hab sessions a lot easier! It's easy to harrow it with our quad, all though the quad seems to be on it's last legs!

Morrocan Moonlight

Morrocan Moonlight I am often drawn to the colors and textures in rocks, I find myself often looking down a lot as I walk. This bead reminds me of a small forest pebble, waiting for something special to happen. Lots of earth tones, lightly etched.

Ankara

On my trip to turkey this summer we flew into Ankara airport. I expected it to me a lot bigger than it was, I was hoping to find some more of the blue bowls I had fallen in love with. The shield pattern on the one side of this bead for some reason reminds me of a local girl we met while waiting in the airport. She was heading to north america for a wedding, wearing a scarf with typical Turkish style patterns in it.

Istanbul

While I was in Turkey this summer I fell in love with the ceramic bowls that were in the markets everywhere. My favorites where the ones with many shades of blue. This bead reminds me of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Pinar a friend who lives in Istanbul showed us around, very sweet of her. With her guidance we got to see the sights and sounds of a lovely market.

Ginger Peachy

Ginger Peachy, nice happy button, lightly etched it's got a soft aura to it.A opaque orange center with very pale peach petals and yellow accent dots. All shipping in my etsy is now free!!

Free Shipping!!!

I've decided to have free shipping in my etsy shop!!! I've changed all my items so they all reflect this!

Sugar Blush is a new bead in my etsy!!

Indy's rehab is going well

Indy is doing well and is on to his rehab. He's got to be hand walked, which did NOT go well the first few days. He had a lot of energy! He's up to being lunged now, lots of brisk walk and then a little bit of quiet trotting. His lungs are definitely not normal, but we are hoping if we work him lightly and keep and eye on things we can slowly improve his lung function. I have to admit it's not very much fun hand walking and lunging so much!

Gearing up for winter shows!

I am trying to keep a studio schedule, making beads etc for winter shows. Man is it hard to set your own schedule! I've started playing with Gaffer glass, but haven't got many beads out of it yet. Maybe in a couple days! Here's a few new listings I've got in my Etsy shop!

BC Rodeo Finals

Hubby and I got home from BC Rodeo finals today and what a great weekend! Roddy (husband) won the Saddle Bronc, he rode well and had no injuries! YAY! The held it outdoors this year and all though we had a bit of rain it was much nicer. More room made a big difference. Hoping to get back at the torch this week and get some beads and jewelry done for the up coming Xmas shows!

Creative Handsy

THIS is what happy, creative hands look like! I had been playing with bronze clay while at M & D Designs. Vicky showed us how to use it. It was fun, can you tell from the big grin on my face!

Studio Kitty

While in Chinook I met Blackie M & D's studio kitty. Here's a couple pics of her. The sleeping one she is on top of a fresh batch of soap, which is warm because it's still curing. She got her own personal kitty spa!

Chinook Washington

I spent the last week in Chinook Washington at M & D Designs (heaven for glassy people!) I had the most fun I've had in ages, laughed all day long, learnt tons and got to hang out with amazing friends! many thanks to Kristi for organizing it and to the folks at M & D for letting us hang out there. I miss everyone!

Featured Artist

I am going to try and get back to featuring one artist a month (maybe more, maybe less!) on my blog.

This month I am featuring Julie Sigmund. I love her wire work, it's so precise and creative. She's also a member of the SATEAM and I think just a fantastic person. Here's a little insight into Julie and a photo of one of her favorite pieces.

How long have you been working in your medium?

I made my first wirewrapped piece 3 years ago. I had a handful of lampwork beads that I had made that I was so proud of. I made a simple necklace with sterling silver wire and the lampwork beads and my passion for wire wrapping grew from then on.

What is your favorite thing about your art?

I would have to say its the wonderful feeling I get after I've created something beautiful out of simple wire with my own two hands.

What's your favorite piece?

My favorite piece is my Dragonfly Pendant. I love dragonflies!

What's the hardest piece you've ever made?

The Dragonfly Pendant was the hardest piece I've ever made. I actually worked on this idea for several months. I gave up on it numerous times and would toss it aside until a new idea hit me. Attaching the wings to the body was my biggest problem I had, and the idea came to me one night just as I was falling asleep. I jumped up out of bed and sketched my idea down on a piece of paper so I would'nt forgot it the next morning. LOL!

Who or what inspires you?

I've been inspired by so many wonderful artist, Sandy Cowan, Iza Malczyk, and Sharilyn Miller to name a few. I also find inspiration in my natural suroundings, a walk in the woods, camping trips, and even when I'm working in my yard.

What's your favorite inspirational saying?

My favorite inspirational saying is:

If you can Dream it, you can do it.

Walt Disney.

What's one thing you've never done you always wanted to do?

I would love to travel the world.

Indy's spending time outside

Indy is healing up fairly well, slow and steady. He's been outside during the day lately, hopefully if the weather stays nice he'll be outside at night soon too. He seems happy enough to be outside, being in the stall all day gets boring for him!

Viking Knit!

I've been playing around with viking knit (Thanks Andrea for showing me how!) and some byzantine and chain. I quite like it, it allows me to be a little more creative as I can customize the chain to the piece.

These are in my Etsy shop!

Steely

I have been doing a lot of viking knit and byzantine lately. Trying to figure out how to work it with my beads, make it versatile and still be pretty! I love the way this piece turned out.

Blog Award

Marie Dodd sent me a blog award! Thanks Marie!

I am supposed to say 5 things I love,

I love watching the barn swallow zip about at night

I love my husband!

I love my horses, they are always happy to see me, it helps that I usually have food!

I love a good book in the sun.

I love a good nights sleep, on freshly washed sheets in a comfy bed!

I've sent this blog award forward to 10 of my favorite blogs!

SATEAM Blog

Dorset Hill Beads Blog

Shawna's Adventure Blog

Andrea Guarino's Blog

AK Designs Blog

Lara Lutricks Blog

Envisions Blog

LA Jewelry Designs Blog

FrogSong's Blog

The Glass Slipper

Indy is Feeling Better

Indy seems to be feeling a bit better, he tried to rip down the box fan we put on the outside of his door to keep him cool! He's spent more time up than down now, and it getting to spend a bit more time outside. All the well wishes are much appreciated!

Indy snoozing

Just thought people might like to see a picture of Indy. He's doing what he does 80% of the time right now, sleep! He's doing ok, surgery is tuesday and if that goes well hopefully he'll start to heal up.

Sale!!

I am having a sale in my etsy shop, check it out! 25% off any order over 100.00, lots of earrings pairs, owls and goddesses!!

SATEAM blog!

I wrote a small article for the SATEAM blog, check it out! It was a lot of fun and I appreciate them putting it up for me.

Indy update .. again

Indy is perkier tonight than he's been for a while. The swelling in his neck is slowly going down, but he's rubbed it raw. I am hoping we don't get the heat wave they are predicting, the heat knocks the stuffing out of him!

Roddy (husband) was at Courtenay and Coombs rodeo's this weekend. Turns out Eazy bucked him off while trying to gather cows ..... giggle I keep telling Roddy his horse is a bubble boy, he is good at his job but ask him to do something different and well ...... that's what happens.

Indy Updated

For those of you asking about how Indy is doing he's still a very sick guy. He re lapsed Friday night and we've changed his meds yet again. The heat is really making it hard for him to stay comfortable. Today I'll have a sprinkler set up for him to try and keep him cool. Healing thoughts are much appreciated.

Bead of the Day!

My new blackbird was chosen as Bead of the Day on the Fire Diva's blog! I love making smaller beads and the birds are a challenge, it's hard to get the right amount of detail into them without overwhelming the bead. I do love making them though!

Thanks Lara Lutrick for picking my blackbird as bead of the day!

Indy update

For all of those asking how Indy is doing, he's ok. Thanks for all the healing thoughts, he's a tough guy who was very sick. He's through 1/2 his penicillin and may have to go on another 5 days of it. He'll be a pin cushion if we have to do that! Out on the back field eatting grass he's pretty happy. He cant have any dust, stress or riding for a while.

My Dream Home

My dream home, consists of a log house on the back corner of our property. It would over look a pond, the spot is currently a bit of a slew but some day we'll dig it out to be a proper pond. There would be a little dock with a studio on it. No buildings for as far as the eye can see.

On to Stettler

We headed up to Stettler for five days. We needed to let me horse's health improve so we could head home. We did some work on our indoor arena, and fixed some fencing. Trees had blown down on the fences over the winter. I'd forgotten how nice it is out there!

Stampede Art Show

We spent one whole evening wandering around the Stampede Art Show. You could spend and entire day there. Lots of talented artists! The room itself is pretty spectacular, lots of fountains and sitting areas. They had people done up like bronze sculptures, they'd sit very still for a while, then move! It startled more than one person.

Squirrels!

While hoofing it into Calgary on day two (we were late for the start) I had to stop and take this picture. A brown and black squirrel came running out of the bush and sat on the road. I love squirrels so I had to stop and grab a quick picture.

Back to Canada

Now, back to the proper order of the trip!

I flew into Calgary to meet Roddy for Cochrane rodeo and Calgary Stampede. Cochrane was a three day rodeo that was very nice. It was great to stay put for four days, all though my horses did get sick we had a great time.

We parked at Davey Shields place for a couple days and he had adorable donkeys!

The river picture is as you walk into the competitors entrance at Calgary, it's really a pretty spot.

HOT AIR balloons

I forgot my pictures of our hot air balloon ride! At the end of our Cappadocia stay Andrea decided hot air balloons were a must. I however and afraid of heights. But, being the good friend I am I decided to give it a go.

It was AMAZING! One of those great life moments, I was proud of myself for even getting in the balloon, and the view was stunning. Thanks Andrea for encouraging me to do it!