Fun stuff and a Giveaway!

So a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by the nice folks over at  My Memories Suite to see if I would like to try out their scrapbooking software and offer a giveaway on my blog.

At first I was thinking "Well it sounds great but I'm a bead maker, not a scrapbooker, how will this be useful to me?"  Then I started thinking how nice it would be to make albums of my pieces that I could link up on my blog or website...or just make individual page layouts to include in posts...so many possibilities!

I put this page together in just a few minutes then it was a piece of cake to export it as a .jpg file:

On top of it, you can set your albums to music, add web links and even embed videos!  There are tons of YouTube video tutorials on how to use the software but I really found it easy to put things together without needing additional instructions.  They also have tons of ideas, projects and challenges on their blog too.



If you'd like to try out the software right away, they've given me a coupon code to share for anyone to use that gives $10 off your purchase: STMMMS95030

On top of it, they've offered one free copy for me to give away ($39.97 value)!

Lots of ways to earn entries on this one...
1.  Stop by My Memories then come back here and leave a comment telling me which of the digital scrapbooking kits you like the best or what creative ideas you have for using the software.
2.  Follow the My Memories blog.
3.  Follow My Memories on Facebook.
4.  Follow My Memories on Twitter.
5.  Tweet or blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post.
6.  Hopefully you already follow my blog but I'll give another entry to all my followers too!

Giveaway ends Friday, July 27th!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Talk About Time Off!

Quite a gap in my blogging lately huh?  Hopefully you haven't forgotten about me after all this time!

Not really much of an excuse for my absence, I've had lots of little projects to take care of around the house (ugh, scraping out old caulking and re-doing two tub/showers) as well as a couple of little trips and lots of good friend time.

We took a trip out to Dallas, TX to visit our friends M and K again, we hadn't seen them since our trip before Christmas.  The difference this time is that Dallas is NOT a place to be in the summer!!  I swear it was 110 degrees and 150% humidity while we were there!  Luckily K is the hostess with the mostest and had frosty beverage cups waiting upon our arrival which we took everywhere with us.

Frosty beverages were of little use on our trip to the Dallas Arboretum though since we had all sucked back our K made icy berry lemonades during the walk from the car to the entrance of the park!  Despite being literally dripping with sweat (not kidding, I think my earlobes were perspiring) it was so worth it to see the Chihuly exhibit...

All of the pieces were incredibly striking...mind officially blown when I saw this enormous 30 foot spiky sculpture.  The "Yellow Icicle Tower" is made of 1800 individual pieces.

Of course given the heat all I wanted to do was hop in the water next to those lovely glass orbs!

It was really just spectacular to see what can be done with glass.

We hit some really good barbeque places in TX and then managed a personal best of visiting 3 grocery stores in one day...yep, get the four of us together and we do a grocery tour!  For those of you not in TX, I realize this may sound crazy, but the Whole Foods Markets there actually have wine bars in the store...you can get your glass and stroll the store doing your shopping.  I would say that the percentage of grocery shopping men was considerably higher than any other stores I've been in...they can shop with beer glass in hand.  No arm twisting in the least to have hubster and M come shopping with us!

The biggest problem with such a long blogging hiatus is not knowing what to share after the fact!  I'll cut this off now and just plan more posts for the week to catch up.

Hope you're all still checking in and having a wonderful summer!

15 years...

and still going!

Today is the hubster and my 15th anniversary so I figured that this pseudo-macro shot was most fitting.  We actually renew our vows each year (typically in a fairly low key manner, although there was a trip to the Little White Chapel Drive Through Tunnel of Love in Vegas one year), and have since our first anniversary.  Without going all mushcake, I'll just say that I am very very lucky!

I can't believe it's been weeks since my last post...or maybe I'm really not that surprised at all.  I took on what turned out to be a much more involved project than I anticipated...refinishing our kitchen cabinets.  It took 5 weeks of 6-10 hour weekend days but I'm finally done and my stress level has decreased exponentially!  I didn't realize how much it would bother me to have everything in the kitchen cabinets open and visible while I worked on the doors, but the clutter drove me crazy!

For the past 9 weeks I've also been taking a terrific ceramics class at a local university...it's my first time throwing on a wheel so I am definitely still very much in the beginner stages but at least things that I've made are worth hanging on to or gifting instead of smashing!

This gorgeous color came from a fortuitous mix of two red glazes (although the second red is actually more purple in my opinion) but unfortunately there's a little pinhole at the bottom of the bowl where the glaze didn't flow back in after it bubbled.

I seem to be most effective at making little jars/pots like these...

of course the only thing I really wanted to make is a giant coffee mug!  Maybe after the next round of 9 weeks I'll come away with one!

Now head on over to Studio Waterstone and check out all of the lovely close up shots from this week!

Check it out...

So if you didn't get to wander over to my blog partners' blogs yesterday I have a peek of their creations to show you today.  Follow the links to their blogs to see more photos and a description of their design thoughts...

Patty started off with a beachy combination that mixed some pretty little charms and sari silk...

Cilla threw tangerine ribbon into the mix for her bracelet...

Hope busted out of her comfort zone with a mix of fun fibers...

and Linda mixed a little golden glow in with her frosty focal.

The thing that just blew me away (beyond the amazing talent and designs these lovely ladies showed off) was that they all incorporated fiber into their pieces!  Didn't they do a great job?

What about you?  How would you work one of these buttons into a design?  Or would you do something other than jewelry with it? 

Blog Partner Reveal!

I've been making some larger buttons in my last few kiln loads so I wanted to give some blog buddies a chance to show off what could be done with them.

This month I drew three names to participate...

Cilla:  Tell Your Girlfriends Jewelry

Linda: Linda's Bead Blog and Meanderings

Patty: My Life Under the Bus

...then also added Hope because I had drawn her name but removed her from my list after confusing her blog with another that didn't have a blog partner button up: Crafty Hope

Stop by and visit their blogs to see their creations!  I'll post a recap here tomorrow!

What Would You Do? Wednesday

Ok, so I'm pretty confident that I said this post would happen on Valentine's Day but since I didn't get the chance to even turn my computer on yesterday (a three hour visit with the CPA to take care of our taxes will have that effect...of course during that time I also found out that the potential pupper addition ended up with the first applicants), today will have to suffice.

So this is the little heart I put out there as a challenge for this go around.  Did you think of some interesting things to combine with it?

I thought that I'd use this charm for a bracelet accent...and start with this Verdigris patinaed chain from Miss FickleMedia. 

Then I'd add on a gaggle of dangles in pretty pink peruvian opal rondelles from Magpie Gemstones...

and a bunch of these lampwork beads from pinkbeach that I found on Etsy...

and maybe these little Czech seed beads in mint julep from SabsGlassandDestash on Etsy for the ends of the headpin dangles.

Can't wait to see what you came up with!

Ups and Downs...

It was a week of having hopes dashed but a few beady silver linings did appear.

All signs seemed to point to this beautiful boy joining our family...

Unfortunately it wasn't until a third email exchange and a week's time that we learned that were were in fact the second applicants for him, not the first.  My fingers remain crossed (and the pupper's paws are crossed as she would LOVE a little brother) that the first applicants decide that he's just too much of a love bug to take home so that he can come live with us instead!

There also was a little thing this week with a dream home that isn't to be, but on the upside, the speech therapy app I've been working on for months went live in the app store this weekend.

Beads help make things better too!  I was so lucky to receive a spectacular assortment of lampwork in a giveaway held by the lovely Lesley of Thea Jewellery.  All of the beads in the collage (plus a bunch more) with the exception of the set in the bottom left corner were from Lesley's stash.  She sent some awesome focals as well as some really lovely coordinating sets. The set at the bottom with the sweet little bird and nest are also a giveaway winning, that one from Marianna of Star Girl Jewelry and Lampwork Glass.  They're super cute!

Of course, as is my way, I'll just hoard these babies for a little while...keep them out on my coffee table in a little bowl and admire them!

Don't forget to join up on Tuesday with your virtual design plans for this little petal pink imprinted heart!

Hope your weekend was wonderful :)

Blog Partners?

Yoo Hoo...anyone out there?  I heard from Patty so I have one of my three blog partners confirmed.  After drawing three more times with random.org and landing on three more blog partners without the blog button up, I decided I'd remove those names as I came across them, so if you no longer see your name there that's the reason.  If your name is still listed and you do want to continue to participate, please double check that you have the blog button on your sidebar!

So... Cilla Watkins  and Linda Landig are you up to join Patty for the blog partner challenge this month?  I'd like to send out the goodies on Saturday at the latest so hopefully you're keeping up with your blog reading this week!

What Would You Do? Wednesday

I don't know how this week has already gotten away from me!  Tuesday evening I realized that a) it's almost Wednesday and b) it's the first of the month!  So that means first it's time to find out if you had any inspiration from the chunky buttons I posted last week....

I don't use a lot of buttons in my jewelry designs so I really hope to see some creative inspiration with these.

Link up here with your ideas:

I think I'd like to see a necklace using one button in an asymmetrical front loop closure.  Maybe with a pop of color from some recycled sari ribbon?  These lovlies are offered by designtalentedone on Etsy.

Wouldn't it be nice to see some little floral accents with a bit of shine like a Green Girl Studios flower?

I might need a little bit more shimmer but I'm stumped for what else to include.  Any ideas?

There are so many wonderful blog challenges, hops, parties and soups going on that I think my weekly virtual design challenge is a little much for most people's overloaded plates so I'll scale back to once a month in the hope that it will be more accessible for participation.  Hmmm, how about this little heart with a Valentine's Day reveal date?

Took a couple of tries to draw eligible blog partners for my blog partner renewal!  The lovely Erin Prais-Hintz contacted me after my last post and said if her name was selected to give someone else a chance.  Of course, given the way the universe works, the first name selected was Erin's!

So I re-drew and selected:  Wendy Blum... who I don't have a blog link for!  Wendy, if you see this in the next 48 hours please contact me!

I then drew another name but they didn't have my blog partner button up so I had to try again...

Yay for Cindy Cima who was all set with her blog button!

...and then there was another name without a blog button... and one more... before Patty Gasparino saved me from a sure fate of throwing in the towel for the evening!

So, Wendy, Cindy and Patty...send me an email and let me know if you can commit to having your piece ready for reveal on the last Monday of the month.

I'll keep the names that I drew who didn't qualify on the list for one more drawing then I'll clean out the list and remove any names where the blog button isn't visible.

Thanks for participating!

Blog Partner Update

I completely forgot to post a quick note about the blog partner program!  I know I've been on hiatus for a couple of months, but I've reworked things and I'm ready to give it a go again for a 3 month trial.

I don't want to be a Negative Nelly about the program but it seemed that on the first go around I received minimal traffic as a result, so I'm going to give it one more shot before I abandon the idea.  I really want it to be mutually beneficial...bring my partners some blog visits as well as introduce my work to people who may not have seen it just via my blog.  So if I could pretty please ask that the participants who are newer to blogging or have a lower number of blog followers do what they can to spread the word...Facebook, Twitter...whatever!

There are a couple of changes I wanted to just update everyone with...the people who contacted me about participating in the past are listed on the blog partner page and everyone listed is eligible for a random drawing for something to create with.  I'll choose three participants each month and announce the names on the 1st of the month.  Those whose names are drawn have 48 hours to get back to me to confirm that they will be able to have a creation ready to blog on the last Monday of the month and send me their mailing address. 

If I draw a name and they don't have my blog button up on their blog or don't respond within 48 hours, I'll select a replacement randomly from the list.

Please check my Blog Partner tab at the top of the page to make sure your name is listed if you had asked to participate and that the link to your blog works.

Any questions?  Email me or leave a comment!

What Would You Do?

So last week I showed you a little pair of coral zinnia charms to come up with design ideas...did they spark your creativity?

So link on up and show off what you created in your mind's eye!

Here is what I came up with!  I think I'd use the charms to make earrings, it seems to be my default whenever I have pairs of things...

I'd start with these ear wires from Ornamentea to echo the little round stamen in the charms:

and add a little sparkle with some Czech Glass in Garnet from Beadsandbotanicals on Etsy:

some more brass with this Vintaj filigree:

...and from the bottom I'd dangle the zinnia charms!

Now how about buttons for next week?  Anyone out there with non-jewelry ideas as well?

These buttons are a good chunky size, about 1 3/8 by 1 inch.  Use one or use both in your imagined creation, it's up to you! 

Did I Show You?

This most lovely little silver winged heart pendant that I picked up on my trip to Dallas?

It was part of my birthday shopping spree gift from M and K...I picked it up, put it back, picked it up and so on as I debated whether I should choose it but finally I gave in and decided that it would be layered with a special pendant that I'll make just to go with it.  The only problem is that I haven't quite decided on what that special pendant should be!  I'll take suggestions if anyone has ideas...

I did a rush firing this week and as a result ended up with one major FAIL. 

Unfortunately I think it would have been one of my all time favorites if it would have worked.  The good news is that I should be able to make it again more carefully so it doesn't separate during firing.  I have several others that I only bisqued so I'm debating whether or not to bother with the glaze firing in case they suffer the same fate.

Luckily the other items in the kiln behaved appropriately!  I'm digging that big chunky cuff focal!

Of course with Valentine's Day not that far off, I've started bumping up my heart production.

On a technical note, I'm not thrilled with my photos above but they were taken indoors under lousy artificial light at night...but...I did have my camera set on full manual mode so I'm just happy you can tell they're pendants and not abstract art!  One of my goals this year is to learn to operate my camera properly, not just mostly but really know what the settings do.  I found this great blog with steps for 31 days to shooting in manual mode and I'm working my way through.  Even thought they're starting off mediocre at best, I suppose by putting the photos on here as I go along will let me show progress, right? 

Just try not to laugh too hard :)

Have you seen this yet?

A cute PDF 2012 owl calendar!



Even better, you can choose from a bunch of different illustrations from a variety different artists or just go with their ready to go line up!

What Would You Do? Wednesday

What a week! Hubster and I were knocked out by a major case of the flu and ended up out of commission for the entire week.  I don't remember the last time I've been so sick and although the bug has passed, I'm still really drained.  Regardless, the show must go on and I finally have the kiln firing today.

Anyway, that brings us to the piece I previewed last week for What Would You Do? Link up and share what you'd pair with this Pond glazed Architectural Bracelet Bar!

Here's what I came up with for this one!

These little lampwork spacers from The Spacer Shop on Etsy to bring out the khaki shades...

Maybe some pretty Kyanite beads to bring out the blues?  I found these round beads from eightjewelry on Etsy...

I like the idea of making the bracelet a triple strand so this pretty silver clasp from SpinellaDesigns on Etsy would be the perfect finish...

Thanks for joining in on the blog hop!  Do you have any other suggestions for good color combinations with this piece?

For next week, how about charms?

Blog Hop!

Welcome to my first What Would you Do? Blog hop!  Here's the pendant I challenged you to come up with pairings for...

 My Aurora Borealis stamped pendant

Check out what everyone came up with!


I really like these sterling pinch bails from Art Beads...a nice quick way to attach a pendant to a strung design.

Keeping the floral theme I thought a nice multistrand clasp (also from ArtBeads.com) would do the trick as well.

I found these faceted Fancy Jasper ovals on Etsy from BirdDesigns.  My biggest challenge in jewelry design is always breaking out of the monochromatic mode so I like the natural variation of Fancy Jasper to do it for me!

Of course I can't stray too far from my matchy-matchy tendencies so throwing some Picasso Czech glass in green brings me back to my comfort zone!

I hope you enjoyed everyone's creative combinations.  Thanks to those who joined in for the inaugural week!

Here's the preview for next week so you can start the process...

A Pond glazed bracelet bar.  So start digging through your bead stashes and favorite online shops for inspiration!