Weird Pearls and Coral Reefs

One day there was a sale on a company going out of business.  I bought some stuff and, when I received my order, the owner had enclosed tons of free gifts!   Yay for free gifts.  One of the things was a bag full of giant emerald green fresh water pearls.  I simply could not decide what could be done with these.  So, the other day I got inspired and this is what I made.  :)

And, in another serendipitous moment, I was making some...let's see what this turns out to be... clay blends.  As I was running it through the pasta machine I saw the colors were just gorgeous.  So, I stopped and took it out and made flat ovals to bead weave.  If I may say so myself, this is one of the prettiest things I have ever made.  Least...*I* think it is.  :D  I love how the pendant especially looks like an underwater reef.  What do you think??

Had These Beads Forever!

I bought these opal green pressed glass beads donkey's years ago.  :)  Today I finally got inspired to make earrings.  It's hard not to wire wrap everything in our house, yanno.  :D

Having Fun

Well, I bought Julie Picarillo's new book.  It's a blast and has tons of fun things to learn.  She makes the coolest earrings so these 2 were inspired by her new book.  I love the wasabi ones.  :)  Odd, too, because I usually like the bright colors.

Outside Our Window

Now, isn't this pretty?  I was sitting in my chair the other day and looked up and out the window.  I thought this was so pretty with the red in the trees.  The I went closer and our pool looked so pretty, too.  Well, rats.  You can't really see the red.  On my screen it looks kind of tan.  And I wish there were plumerias on all the trees by the pool.  There are some but not in this particular shot.  The grounds of our condo are just beautiful.

Some New fun Stuff

A long time ago our clay forum had a Fairy Door swap.  I never did do it but I always wanted to.  So, I'm a bit late but I finally made one.  :)

I'm happy with this and think it's the perfect thing for a little girl who loves fairies and dragons.  :D

And here ar some clay and wire things I made, too.  :)

The Kitties

You all see SOS a lot, but Allie doesn't like her picture taken.  She finally agreed.  Isn't she a cutie?  :D

The Contest Ends Early

Well, B found an entry he liked and that's all there is.  Sadly, there weren't that many entries but all were great.  If I had several bathrooms to redo, I'd use everyone's fab ideas.  So, thanks you to all who entered! You guys were super to take the time to think about it and offer your suggestions.  I'm filing away the dry brushing and the grout stenciling for another project.  

But B liked the painted leaves the best.  Naturally.  HE doesn't have to paint them!  And standing up, too.  Oiks.  Anyway, Mary L wins the contest!  Congratulations, Mary!  I may never speak to Mary again after days and days of leaf painting.  And..I can not BEGIN to tell you what a bad idea leaf painting is after Starbucks.  Jeez.

Anyhow, here is the beginning of what is probably going to be days and days of leaves.  I'll have nightmares.  Leafy ones.  ;D  But it's going to be gorgeous when it's all done.  Thanks again to all who entered!  xoxo, The Leaf Painter

WoooHoooo! It's a Contest!

Ok, here's the deal.  All of you who are regular readers here know all about the bathroom wall from hell.  After having the wall ripped out FOUR times, they have finally managed to actually FIX the leak instead of merely hoping it would go away all by itself.  What a concept, hunh?  :(

Anyway, yesterday the guys came and installed the new panel that covers the wall from hell.  I wanted a revolving door but that would have made it hard to get in and out of the bathroom.  :D  And it might have been hard for the kitties to get past.

I have to paint the panel and do something with it... and cover those gruesome screws.  For some reason unknown to any other human, Brian hates the frame.  I don't know why, it's just a plain old frame.  So, he doesn't want the frame to be a focal point.  Sigh.............  So, here's the contest....

You guys send in your ideas of what I can do to make this panel more attractive.   and the winner gets this necklace all made by me.  :)

The bathroom walls are a creamy color and the main colors are red and forest green.  The sink and trim is all antiqued copper.  The travertine is brown and cream.  Right now the panel is all white.  Yesterday one of the guys and I installed those leafy panels on the plain panel.  The leaves are the left over tiles from my studio ceiling.  They are also white but can be painted.

So, give me your ideas!  I'm looking for something that will look lovely but not have the frame as a focal point.  Brian is going to pick the winner as he has frame issues.  :D  Ok, here are the bathroom photos.  Have at it!  Contest ends on July 31, 2011.  Have fun!

More Idontknowwhattomake Stuff

So, here are some more beads I made for my shops.  I think I *finally* got the Julie style done.  Only took me about 50 tries.  :(  I think the JP bead looks like an ancient treasure map.  :)  I love the flower beads, too.  And I had a bunch of purple beads with green and blue and other pretty colors so I put them all together with silver beads.  What a great way to use up orphan beads!  :D

Making Buttons and Beads

And so, I fell into a clay, wire and beading slump.  Bummers. So, my pal Ginger said...get thee to button making!  So, living in fear of Ginger, I did.  :D I also made a cool faux jade bead that I love.  It has real silver foil in it and that Pardo trans is the BEST!  What do you think?  The blue hex and pastel retro buttons are from Carolyn's canes.  The sunflowers are my friend Mk's and the rest are from me.  :D

Fourth of July

Happy Birthday, America!   And many, many more!