Stones, Pearls, Gold plated Beads and Birds on a Wire

I really enjoyed putting this combo together to make this beautiful lanyard.  The birds on a wire in a hoop are so sweet, and the small square beads that are a mottled purple and tan are intriguing.  I bought those at a bead show in Denver and did not keep track of what type of stone they are.  I think they may be dyed turquoise or dyed agate, but not sure.  Overall this is a beauty!

Handmade Girl's Hair Bows by Irish Bowtique

I just need to let everyone know about a wonderful boutique called Irish Bowtique.  Kyrie McGill designs and constructs beautiful bows for little girls.

I bought two of her creations for my 3 year old granddaughter.  Here are pictures of them.   Go visit Kyrie's shop, Irish Bowtique,  to find fun bows for the little girl in your life.

Backyard Adventure – Hot Air Balloon

Looks like the balloon is going to land on a house. It is really over the field behind the homes.

We had a bit of excitement here at home this morning.  My husband and I were enjoying our morning coffee and working on our computers when we heard a “whoosh” sound. 

It did not stop, so naturally, we got up to investigate the source of the noise.  Imagine our surprise when we looked out the window and saw a hot air balloon coming down behind the homes in our subdivision.  There is a field behind the subdivision, but from our perspective, it appeared to be coming down over some homes behind us.

It was a great photo opportunity, so I grabbed my trusty camera and ran out onto the deck to snap some shots.  I think the balloon must have been having trouble because it went up and down.  Finally it took off and floated away.  It was my backyard adventure of the day.

Balloon headed back up to the sky.

Do you ever have any backyard adventures?  Share them with us.

Garage Sale Finds for the Bedroom

Garage sale finds make my heart beat a little faster.  Like so many of you I head out into the community every week to see what treasures I can find. Most of the time, I don’t have any specific items for which I am searching.  I do enjoy finding something to decorate my home. 

I am also always on the prowl for items to make and display jewelry.  I would love to find a mannequin or mannequin head in good condition in a flesh color.

Recently I located some excellent bargains for my bedroom.  I have wanted to change out my bedding to a celery green and soft blue theme.  I had already purchased a set of green and blue decorative boxes last year at a garage sale.  I wanted to place them in the window seat in the bedroom, but they simply did not coordinate with the room.  I could not justify to myself purchasing a new bedspread and pillow shams just to coordinate with the boxes.

Last week I scored!  I located a beautiful green Pottery Barn brand new bedspread and pillow sham set.  It is the exact shade of celery green that I wanted.  It is a full/queen size and works very well on my full size bed.  I believe it is an older version of the pick stitch quilts now sold by Pottery Barn.  It is so soft and light weight for summer.  I also found a cute small pillow in a slightly different shade of green at another sale.  That works as a throw pillow.

As I went from sale to sale I found one more item to use with the ensemble, a lovely off white feminine lampshade to place on my bedside lamp.  This bedroom is feminine and kind of cottage chic.  The white wicker headboard and the pictures above the headboard were also garage sale finds within the past few years.  My most expensive purchase here was the Pottery Barn quilt set for a sum of $30.00, brand new.  Each pillow sham was originally marked with a $39.99 tag.  What a deal!

What treasures have you found at garage sales or flea markets?

Christmas Blessings

Today is the day for me to decorate the house for Christmas.  I will put up our tree and add decorations.  Decorating always brings back memories and sometimes a few tears.  Whenever I hang up the baby's first Christmas ornaments I cry a little.  Tears over the quick passing of time mixed with tears of joy over all the blessings God has bestowed on my family and me.

God has me in a good place.  He has blessed me with an awesome husband, loving adult children, fabulous grandchildren, an ability to move and groove, a lovely home and place to live, a good job, and a growing and thriving handmade jewelry business.

God Bless All of You!

Blue Christmas Treasury

Blue on Blue Flower Earrings

I am so fortunate to be included in another Etsy treasury for Christmas.  Again it is a pair of my flower earrings that is included in the treasury.  Many other beautiful blue items are in this treasury.

I have been very remiss on paying attention to this blog.  It has been several months.

Today one of my items was featured in a Christmas treasury on Etsy.  These Christmas red flower earrings were selected for this treasury.

You can view the entire treasury on my Etsy treasury page.