Christmas

Christmas was a nice casual day here. We had brunch and turkey dinner but it really felt like I ate my way through the whole day! No snow which was very disappointing for me, rain and high winds!

My husband got me the most amazing tool box ever! Custom painted and pin stripped it's a work of art in itself. It'll hold all my metal tools and then some!

The pin stripping on the side has a horse head in detail, something I've never seen before. Very very cool. I really love it, can't wait to get all my tools into it!

Still dreaming

I'm still dreaming of a cabin in the snow. As we fixed Christmas lights in the pouring rain last night I couldn't help but think "if this was snow it would be pretty", if course the strand that didn't work was the tallest hardest to reach strand possible. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't dream of my cabin in the snow, at the back corner of our property in Stettler, up on a small hill looking down on what I hope to be a watering hole some day. Maybe a tiny dock out on the watering hole and a small studio. A small fireplace burning, and snow falling. 

Here's me still dreaming.

Opportunity

Rain and more rain

When all we've had is rain and more rain, what I really want is the picture above. I dream of a small cabin on the back corner of our Alberta property, over looking what will some day be a dug out or watering hole. Preferably with a small dock and studio. Snow falling, horses wandering through it and fire lit inside. I've started to realize how truly not made for Island weather I am.

Laughter

“Laughter is the fireworks of the soul.”

Everything happens for a reason

Trunk show ends tomorrow

The Last Chance trunk show ends tomorrow (wed) night at 6 pm PST sharp! I'll be shipping all out of town items airmail so there is a shipping charge this time, lots of new goodies and some great deals for Christmas presents!

Last Chance Trunk Show

Due to several people missing out on the last trunk show I've decided to offer one more, this if your Last Chance Trunk Show.

Click on the above link to be taken to the trunk show Facebook page, remember if you see something you like bid it's your last chance!

Rainy Days

The Jewelry Artisans Group November blog post if about rainy days. Fitting as it was pouring rain this morning. I do mean pouring, like you stepped into a shower type rain. I'm not a fan of rain, snow I love but rain not so much. I find the grey skies make me melancholy and the rain just makes everything so soggy and a mess. I tend to hide in the studio on rainy days but a recent hand flare up makes working hard so today I may just read a good book, curled up on the couch with the cat!

Success

Trunk Show

I'm having a trunk show on my FB page from Nov 26th to the 28th. There are several rings, pendants, bracelets, earrings and some beads. Lots of great ideas for Christmas presents and plenty of time for Christmas shipping. Here's a link to the event itself!

Trunk Show

Stinking Fish Lecture today

Today is the day I do my artist talk!

Small Treasures 5

Coast Collective Small Treasures 5 opens this week, has it really been 5 years since they opened? Wow!

I have four pieces in this show, one if which is the bowl featured centre bottom of the invite pictured above. This is something completely new for me and I'm very excited about it!

Moving Forward

Within Us

Last weekends show

Last weekend I was at the Prestige Hotel in Sooke for the Earthly Goods show. What a great mix of artists! All handmade (yes you read that right NO tupperware sellers!) and a nice mix of different mediums. This is a show I can really get behind. I'll be the the show this coming weekend at Eagle Ridge in Westshore and am looking forward to another great mix of vendors.

My favourite vendor last weekend was Steelenstein they make large scale metal floral pieces and they are stunning! I am completely in love with their orchids.

Earthly Goods Show this weekend

I will be at the Earthly Goods show this weekend at the Prestige Hotel in Sooke. Friday the show is from 12-8pm, Saturday from 10-5pm and Sunday from 10-4pm. I'll have some of my new skull pendants there!

Trunk Show!

I'm having a trunk show until the 8th at 5pm PST on the Artisans Open Market facebook page. Lots of great pendants, rings, beads and more!

Stinking Fish at the MAG

Stinking Fish at the MAG is open! The artist opening is November 3rd from 3-5pm, a great chance to stop by and meet all the talented artists on the Stinking Fish Studio Tour.

This is a eclectic show with many different mediums, the Stinking Fish artist have submitted several pieces each to the show making it a truly unique experience. 

Stinking Fish at the MAG

Saturday ( November 3rd 2-5pm) is the artist opening of Stinking Fish at the MAG (Metchosin Art gallery). I am really looking forward to the opening, above is one of three pieces I have in the show. Anyone in our around the Victoria area should definitely take in this show, it's something new for the Stinking Fish group and should be veery exciting.

Halloween

Halloween is coming fast! It's always fun around here in Halloween, our local firehall which is right next door does a huge bonfire and fireworks. I look forward to it every year. Fireworks are one of my favourite things about Halloween! We tuck the horses into the barn and the cat into the house and wander next door for some community fun!

I've been playing with some skulls and skeletons, etched in copper. My favourite is the little guy above.

Several of the Jewelry Artisans are blogging today about Halloween.

Island Girl

Cat's Wire

Halloween exchange

I participated in a Halloween theme'd exchange and my beads from Julie Libonate of Burnt Wood Beads came today!

I am in love with the pumpkin it's adorable, and the colour in the matching spacers is really juicy. My grandson is going to love the ghosts and frankenstein bead, I'm going to make him a key chain with them.

Thanks Julie for the fantastic beads!

Appreciate

Stinking Fish at "the MAG"

Gifts and Wishes is here!

Gifts and Wishes is on at Coast Collective. The artist opening is Saturday from 1-3, there are so many lovely hand made items in this show it's just astonishing.

I've spent the last two days doing set up so I got a preview and I already have some things set aside! There is lots of mediums, pottery, paintings, fiber, jewellery I could go on and on. Best to go see it for yourself!

Take a leap

Art is

Monsters at the MAG

Yesterday afternoon I attended the artists opening of Monsters at the Metchosin Art Gallery. This show features the work of Frank Mitchell and Sylvia Bews Wright. This show has paintings of various politicians, dictators and tyrants through out the years. First off let me say politics is not normally my thing, friends would be thinking right now "you went to an art show featuring politics?" but this show blew me away for many reasons.

I saw Franks pieces (picture above is of some of them) during the Stinking Fish Studio pre tour in his studio and I'll admit I was really overwhelmed. They were all on one wall in a small space and it was just too much for me to take in. But in the MAG (Metchosin Art Gallery) they were spread out a bit more and in a larger space it really gave me a chance to appreciate them. It gave me space to take in and think about the pieces.

Syvlia's work I've not seen before, a photo of one of her pieces below. I apologize for the washed out quality it's a Iphone photo! Her pieces were larger and a bit brighter (colour) and they also caught my attention and made me pause and think. 

I have to say I was really impressed with this show. It's the third show I've seen at the MAG now and each show is well curated and impeccably hung. The space suits all work and I'm pretty excited it's right here in Metchosin. Any artists looking for space for shows should definitely submit a proposal to the MAG.

I've been down with the worst flu/cold I've had in a long time all week. yick!

The Stinking Fish Studio Tour artists are putting on a show for the month of November at the Metchosin Art Gallery. The show runs from November 2nd - 30th, thursday to sunday noon till 5. The show opening is November 3rd. I'll have a few pieces in this show!

Frank Mitchell is having a show at the Metchosin Art gallery this month, the opening is tomorrow. It's going to be an interesting show, I'll be attending the opening and hope to post some photos later.

Fitting post today, it's my birthday!

Pantone Swap Beads

I participated in the Pantone Swap hosted by Lori Anderson. I had a "oops moment" today when I realized I did not take a picture of the beads I sent. Ah well too late no, lets talk about the beads I recieved!

I was paired up with Susan Sheehan and I have to admit I was pretty tickled. I roomed with her and Deanna Chase (great author by the way!) at the Gathering and had a great time with them! I still think we are three of the quietest sleepers ever, but that's besides the point.

I am so excited about what she sent me! First off I'm battling a nasty flu, and tomorrow is my birthday so her goodies came at a perfect time! I love the ring. LOVE IT! It's a interchangeable ring with a clear cz in the top and one of her flower beads, I think it is incredibly cool and very sweet of her to send it. She also sent a set of pretty whispy green disk beads and some of her smaller flowers in a chocolate brown. I see something made out of these in my future, I'm really liking them.

The goal here was to swap beads in the current pantone colour palette and I think she really hit the nail on the head. 

Thanks Susy!

Island Fireflies

Yesterday we had our monthly Island Fireflies meeting. I carpooled up with Kathy and Iesha, it's always nice to have someone to chat with on the drive, this meeting was in Nanimo so we had a good couple hours chat time!

Of course we had tons of food as always! I have to admit I look forward to the food, I love having a bit of everything, it's my favourite way to eat!

Kathy did a impromptu spinning demo and it was pretty interesting. I had no idea how dexterous you need to be to spin yarn!

We always do a bead exchange, I put in the button on the crochet cuff as our challenge this month was buttons.

We also have a challenge every month, it's optional to participate. Last months challenge was buttons and as you can see we had some great buttons!!

We capped off the day by watching a friend of ours at Western Speedway. She races Bombers and holy cow! I had no idea they hit each other in that division! She got hit hard twice and I had a real hard time watching it, then once I realized she was ok (and a damn good driver!) I got mad and instantly thought "she needs to chase that car down and ram it!". She wound up at the back of the pack when the race finished but boy can that girl drive!

I could win a torch!

I've entered the above owl ring in a contest that could win me a new torch! I could use some votes (if you like the piece). It's a facebook hosted contest so you do need to be on FB to vote.

Vote here!

Fall is here

Fall is here, the leaves are changing and summer is on it's way out. The Jewelry Artisans Community's blog hop post is about the transition from summer to fall this week.

Fall tends to be a time of year I hunker down in the studio and get lots of work done. This year we are having a warm fall so I've been in the garden a lot more than normal. I'm trying to make good of the promise I made myself that I would winterize the garden this year and not just walk away come fall. So I've been staking berries, trimming back perennials and mulching.

I think within the next week or two I'll be back in the studio and working hard!

Some of the other blog posts about fall can be seen at the following links!

Jewelry Art by Dawn

Jeanne's Gems

Bead Sophisticate 

Cat's Blog

Be That Person

I get weekly email newsletter from Christine Kane, summer is always a busy time around here and I'll admit I haven't been reading them much. But this morning I sat down with a good cup of tea in the sunbeam coming through the window and read her newsletter. I'd forgotten how comforting I find them.

Christine Kane's newsletter click here.

Every move counts

When you know,

That everything matters,

That every move counts as much as any other,

You will begin living a life of permanent purpose.

~ Ross

Set Goals

I so needed this!

My Glossy Box came today and boy did I need it! I nice present just for me! In it was all the following goodies.

50 ml of Sebastian Potion 9 Lite 6.50 value

Biore Make Up Removing Towelettes (pack of 10) value 3.99

Kryolan Lipstick in Glossy pink value 16.99

Kyrolan Lipstick in LC101 Red value 16.99

Befine Food Skin Care assorted pack value 24.00

Trend Trunk gift card 5.00 value

Elastoplast Blister SOS value 1.20

Total value 70.00 and I am SO excited to try the Befine skin products they also sent a 20% off card on your first order!

Halloween charms!

Halloween charms are going back up in my etsy shop!

Spirit

My door

Little Blue Bird

Little Blue Bird bead in my etsy!

What I am dreaming of

Make Lists

My stash

The Jewelry Artisan Community blog hop August topic is "Your Stash". Being a bead maker and metal smith I have a lot of stashes so which one to pick was a hard decision for me. I decided to show my glass stash, since I started and still focus most of my work around glass. Above is a photo of my glass rod storage, a wedding gift believe it or not. One of my favourite wedding gifts too! Glass has an endless colour palette and if you cannot locate the colour you need you can certainly mix colours to get what you want. The bulk of my glass is 104 COE but I'm slowly adding more and more borosilicate as I'm really enjoying working with it. I have a large collection of odd lot glass, Sedona, Candy (DK) Pink, Key Lime ummmm the colours.

Below is how I'd dream my ultimate glass stash to be if I had to have it another way. This photo was taken at the 2012 Gathering and one of the hot shops. Isn't it pretty?

Here's a few of the other blogs on our hop.

Ponder The Cat

Island Girl

Jewelry By Dawn

Violet Moon

Cats Wire