Catching Up

It HAS been awhile since I blogged last.  Life has gotten busy.  There is only so much time in a day to get things done.  My little blog has suffered.  I can't possibly go back to when I blogged last and catch up on everything.  But I shall try....

In a nutshell:  We finished school at the end of May.  The kids did well this past year, and I'm very pleased with their work.  They are taking a break from violin for the summer but are still working on their piano lessons.  Our daughter is taking swimming lessons to get a little more confident in the water than she is.  We are still doing those lessons, and I certainly see improvement in just this short time.  They are also taking art lessons this summer. 

We went camping for two nights already.  It was fun to get away, and we hope to do some more in a few weeks.  No big vacation is planned this year--just short camping trips around the state.  We really would like to get up to Door County this summer.  I see the newest issue of Victoria magazine has a nice article on Door County.  They are well deserving of the publicity.  It really is pretty and relaxing up there in the "thumb" of Wisconsin.

There have been plenty of parties we've been going to:  graduation, birthday, etc.  My mother-in-law's 70th is on July 4th, and we are helping with a big celebration for her. 

I've been working on many projects.  Unfortunately sales have been a little low, but that is to be expected this time of year when there is so much going on and people are putting their money toward vacations and family get-togethers.  I've been working on some felt projects (I really do enjoy making felt things) and, of course, my vintage jewelry embellishment projects. 

 

Mom and I are thinking of trying a craft show this fall.  She has been in many; I haven't been in any.  We're waiting approval.  I'm not very good at "production", but if we are approved to be in it, I will need to work on that until November. 

Well, I'll try to be more faithful at writing in the days ahead.  Happy summer day to you.

Having a Memorial Day Sale...

...in my Etsy shop.  Just enter the coupon code "GLASS10" to receive 10% off your order from now through Memorial Day.  You may access my shop HERE. 

Despite the Snow...

....Spring is definitely on my mind.  We received several inches of snow this week.  Ugh!  I guess we won't have to worry about getting what is needed for precipitation this spring.  The nice thing about these springtime storms is that the snow doesn't stay around too long.  It melts off the roads much faster than snow that comes in, say, January.  I SO don't like to drive on slippery roads.  The sun has finally come out today and with that a guarantee that we do not have to go out and shovel! 

With spring at the forefront of my mind, I have been making little bird houses out of felt...adding a touch of embroidery greenery...and stitching on some pretty glass beads and flowers. 

I wish I had thought of making these sooner in the year, but I didn't. 

I've made two pairs of earrings and one pendant.  I may finish a blue pair...just because they are already started.  My felt pretties certainly aren't great sellers, but I love making things out of felt.  Of course, working with those pretty glass beads and doing embroidery brings all the fun together in one project.  They are listed in my Etsy shop.  Enjoy!

Hearts and Roses

You know I can't resist hearts and roses--especially guilloche pieces and pink!  I added these to my shop recently....one is a rather large guilloche piece.  It was designed as a pendant and could certainly be used as one, but I put it on some ribbon so that it may be seen to be used as an ornament as well.

Then I played some with my new rose beads and made this pretty pin last weekend. I really do like these beads and thought they worked well into this setting.  I love the detail and the rich pink coloring.

Hope you like them too.  Enjoy!

Vintage Jewelry Embellished Ornaments

I had such a fun time making these ornaments!  I can picture them being hung in a home all year round--on a knob, a shelf peg, on the corner of a boudoir mirror, anywhere really where a spot of color and sparkle is needed.  They are mirrored ornaments covered with vintage jewelry pieces.  They have been listed in my Etsy shop.  I'm working on a pink heart-shaped one which should be done later in the week (it is becoming my favorite one so far!).  Perhaps I'll post it on here for you to see.  Hope you like them! ; ) 

Perfume Bottles

These two perfume bottles were found at a flea market last summer. One still had stickers on it. The other didn't. However, I believe they both are Italian glass. They are very heavy and are of great quality. They simply had to be decorated with fabulous jewelry pieces, and it took me awhile to figure out what to put on them. I felt the green one needed lots of clear rhinestones--so I put all clear, dazzling rhinestones on it. The pink and green one (reminds me of watermelon tourmaline) has pretty green leaf jewelry, clay roses, and aurora borealis rhinestones. I enjoyed making these and seeing them go together.

Victorian Vintage Montages

These were SUCH fun to make. You know I love little itty bitty bits of things, and I have saved some interesting bits from the vintage jewelry pieces I have accumulated. I just couldn't throw them out...and these are the result! They are one-of-a-kind, Victorian-inspired montages complete with pieces of old teacups (of course!), little bits of Victorian jewelry, and other interesting things--in these two cases an interesting old "Coro" label from an ugly piece of jewelry and a "Made in France" tag. How could I throw them out? Anyway, they are set in resin. I loved making them and am pleased with how they turned out....and I hope you like them too. ; )

Welcome, Dear, Fall!

Well, with Labor Day here and almost past, I guess fall is finally here (even though not officially yet). School and violin practice is going full force for the kids; the days and nights are cooler; the tips of the leaves are turning; we get up in the dark now; and thoughts turn to pumpkins and apples and stacked hay and all the glorious colors and smells of autumn. I really do like fall. It is one of my favorite times of year (despite Halloween). Flea markets and tag sales and estate sales will be fewer now, which is a little sad. It has been such fun this past summer going with Mom. It has been hard with Mom being laid up for so many weeks and will be for so long coming up, but I'll just go when I can and enjoy each opportunity as it arises. I have found a few treasures lately--a Sadler circus themed teapot and a lovely little pillow ring box--and have put them in my shop.

Also, sitting with Mom a lot, I have had the chance to work on some of my glass bead pieces which has been both therapeutic and productive. I'm still working on assembling my work, but once done will list them in my shop and show you on here. Well, okay, here is one that I finished in the hospital. I was thinking Hanukkah for some reason with the colors actually, but it could be for anyone who likes blue and white. I really like the white rose beads and the richness of the cobalt. Enjoy!

400th Post Interpretative Swap and Giveaway

Time to get your button jars out and find some of your most interesting buttons. I decided to have some fun for my 400th post and this is it....

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I'm going to host an interpretative button swap. You will find one button representing what each month of the year MEANS TO YOU and send the 12 buttons to your partner telling her (or him, I suppose) why you chose each button. For example...in my picture above....


January--rhinestone button that looks like a firework to celebrate New Years
February--heart button for Valentine's Day
March--button with music notes for when we start to hear the birds sing in the spring
April--swirly blue button for all the rain we usually get in April
May--green flower button...the green grass and flowers are out in full
June--time to find sea shells on the beach
July--the roses and flowers are beautiful this time of year
August--memories of being on "the boat" with my grandparents in Maine
September--a letter "A"...time for school
October--big round orange pumpkins
November--a wooden button...all we see is wood on the trees now, no leaves
December--a clear, icy-looking button for all the snow and ice that comes



Now, your reasons and representative buttons can be completely different...perhaps you got married in October so you would have a pearl button like your dress had; maybe you celebrate Hanukkah and have a blue and silver button for December; or a swirly button for September to represent all the hurricanes you've seen. You get the idea! This swap is meant to be fun, interpretative, inexpensive, and creative!



Rules: Email me at treasuresandtea@gmail.com with your 1) name, 2) address, 3) blog address, and 4) whether you are willing to ship internationally. That's it! Sign up is until midnight September 19th. I'll send out your partner's info to you sometime on Monday, September 20th. Please mail out your buttons and explanations no later than September 27th.



From all those who participate, I will choose a name to give the above buttons to (so they will receive 24 buttons...hooray!). AND...from all those who participate...I will choose a name and give away this....

....a "silver" beaded teapot with blue flowers brooch. Please e-mail to participate or with any questions and let's celebrate with some fun! Feel free to grab the button picture to place on your blog if you wish to spread the word.

Flea Market Sunday Giveaway with Lollishops!

What could be more fun than a giveaway? This one is hosted by Lollishops and is flea market themed.
My giveaway is for for a mint green powder tin (some of the powder is still in it) with a guilloche rose on the top; a pair of screw-back, white-beaded earrings; and an aqua purse zipper clip (something to clip onto that purse of yours when you go flea market shopping!). Of course the tin and earrings are vintage finds, but the purse clip was made by me. Rules: Go to my shop here----Glass Bead Treasures---and find one item that you like. Come back here and leave a comment telling me what it is that you like. That's it...easy! Only one entry per person, please. International friends are welcome. I will choose the winner on Monday morning. Oh, don't forget to head over to the Lollishops blog on Sunday sometime (before or after church!) here---Lollishops Flea Market Giveaway---to see the list of other participating Lollishop vendors and their giveaways.

This is now closed. Thank you to all who participated!

New Beaded Things

Well, on our long drive to South Dakota and back, I had plenty of time to bead. It is hard for me to just sit in the car doing nothing, so I got a lot done. Here are some of what I was able to complete. It was such fun, not to mention relaxing and inspiring, sitting there with nothing to do...but create!

This one is similar to one I have done in the past with a nice combination of light blue flowers.

It was fun working with my new rose beads--they are just beautiful and have great detail.

I thought it was time to get ready for fall with some beaded pumpkins in a brooch.

The two below have sold already (thank you, Nicole--I hope you will enjoy them) but wanted to include them anyway. I had been wanting to do a teapot for quite awhile and finally found the right mix of beads to do so.

A New Brooch and a New Perfume Bottle

I have been able to get two things done this past week. I acquired some exquisite (and a little expensive, might I add--but worth it!) rose shell beads this past week and am working on putting them into jewelry. Once I got the beads I just had to sit right down and work on a brooch. I made this light pink, Victorian-looking, Shabby Chic-looking rose brooch with a crystal butterfly. I sort of don't want to part with it because I like it so much!
Secondly, I finished another perfume bottle. The vintage pieces come from jewelry featuring daisies as well as parts of a leaf bracelet and some rhinestones. I'm pretty pleased with how this little bottle turned out as well.

Gifts I Made for the "Something Old" Swap

As promised here are pictures of what I sent to Cathy of Treasured Heirlooms for the "Something Old..." wedding themed swap hosted by Linda from A Swap for All Seasons. I know she has received her package, so I'm safe in posting the pictures. It was such great fun to do.
We had to include a wedding picture of some sort, so I made a hanging ornament out of a picture of my husband's maternal grandparents. I have always liked the picture...his grandmother looks just beautiful, I think. I added an embellishment and a rhinestone and put a white organza ribbon tie on it.
The "Something Old" was a vintage hankie.
For the "Something New" I made Cathy a brooch with my favorite pink flower beads and added two Swarovski crystal butterflies.
The "Something Borrowed" was a vintage piece of lace with an old pin stuck in it to secure it.
The "Something Blue" took me the longest to do. I embellished a perfume bottle with clear and blue rhinestone vintage jewelry bits and "pearls". The settings were all silver tone metal to match the silver on the stopper top. It certainly had lots of sparkle.
Oh, and this was the packaging. I wrapped the gifts in some greenish turquoise tissue paper then put ivory netting over that and tied the gifts with sage green ribbon. The tags identified the different parts of the saying and what to expect inside each gift. The tags were made of some very pretty paper I found...and the colors tied the whole gift packaging together.

A Small Bit of Inspiration....

...will go a long way. I saw an enameled metal flower orphan earring in turquoise and yellow and just HAD to make a little collage with it. It was sweet and looked cottage-y. I have three little mirror ornaments and decided to embellish one with what few coordinating yellows and turquoise vintage jewelry pieces I had...and voila...this hanging piece was born! A piece of yellow organza ribbon completed the look. I'm pleased and hope you are too!

A Flurry of Creativity!

It has been a long, cloudy, cool week...and with some newly-acquired pretties, I just couldn't resist being busy creating. It has been such fun, and my family has been so patient...since....once I start something it's hard not to finish (that's why I should never touch a long novel--no housework would get done and no one would see me for days until I finished every last word!). I've completed three perfume bottles with vintage jewelry bits on them--two I have listed, and the other I will list probably tomorrow in my Etsy and Lollishops shops.
I've also had fun beading up some new clips/charms. Enjoy!

Some New Brooches

I've been inspired lately to bead...and bead...and have been having great fun in the process. This "work" is just so relaxing. I just finished these two Victorian-inspired brooches and am pretty pleased with how they have turned out. I think light blue and brass looks stunning together and almost want to keep the above brooch for myself.
Then I recently acquired these iridescent yellow flower beads and just HAD to make something with them. They are the sunniest little flowers I've ever seen! I thought the little brass heart charm really completed this brooch.

Blub...Blub!!

I just finished and listed a new brooch featuring of all things...fish! I love fish and have many pretty and different fish beads. Now, I just need to do something with them! The ones on this brooch are tiny little silver fish, and I enjoyed putting them in a "lake" setting complete with a "rocky bottom" made of silvery white, black, and brown seed beads and "weeds" made of bright green glass tube beads. Of course, those bubbles are pearly white glass beads. This was fun to make and something a little different.

Pretty Pastels Treasury on Etsy

I was able to snag a treasury this morning and featured some pretty pastel goodies from some of my favorites around Etsy. If you'd like to go directly to the treasury here is the link---Plenty of Pretty Pastels.

Vintage Violets Treasury

I'm thankful to have snagged an Etsy treasury tonight entitled "Vintage Violets" ---full of beautiful violets and luscious colors of purple and violet. If you'd like, click on the link above to visit the treasury to check out the items more closely. Enjoy!

Lollishops Romantic Homes Ad--May 2010

I have been eagerly awaiting the May 2010 issue of Romantic Homes to come out since I participated in a Lollishops ad in it. Well, the magazine arrived in my mailbox yesterday, and I think the ad looks great! I'm thankful that the little cupcake brooch goes so well with the colors of the ad and am very pleased. Sadie did a good job. Thanks for the opportunity, Sadie!