Heart Shaped Vintage Jewelry Ornament

Here is a picture of the pink mirrored heart ornament embellished with vintage and antique jewelry pieces.  I finally finished it, added it to my Etsy shop, and just love the mother-of-pearl and light pink pieces (not to mention all of those rhinestones).  Hope you like it too!

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! ; ) 

Autumn Themed Vintage Jewelry Assemblage

This was great fun to put together.  I had some beautiful autumn themed jewelry pieces and a red glass leaf cabochon that I just love.  This went together well and is certainly a one-of-a-kind brooch for anyone who loves vintage jewelry, sparkling rhinestones, and autumn.  It is listed in my Etsy shop--HERE. 

The Nina, the Pinta, the...

...okay, well the Santa Maria wasn't there, but the other two were! 

We decided to take a homeschool field trip last Saturday to Kenosha, Wisconsin.  The kids had just had a week studying Christopher Columbus, and replicas of the Nina and the Pinta were in port at Kenosha until Sunday.  What a great way to visualize history!  Apparently these have sailed all over and had made their way down the St. Lawrence across Lake Michigan to Kenosha.  The Nina is an exact replica, and the Pinta was built slightly bigger.  I have a greater respect for those who traveled across the Atlantic in these little vessels!  They were small.  We heard a detailed account of Columbus's life and things that happened on that first trip.  It was an interesting history lesson.

They had examples of navigational equipment used, and we were shown how to use them.

Then, after the history lesson we were able to tour both ships.  It was a wonderful experience for the kids. 
After the ship tours we saw lighthouses.  We went through the Public Museum and saw a life-sized replica (the actual bones are safely tucked away in a controlled environment) of a wooly mammoth that was dug up in southeastern Wisconsin.  We went to the Civil War museum and browsed through a farmer's market.

We even rode this glamorous old street car on her entire circuit.  Isn't she a beauty?  It was a beautiful day that was fun and educational for our whole family. 

September in Wisconsin

I think if I were to recommend to anyone the month to visit Wisconsin it would be September.  The high heat is over.  The humidity goes down.  The days are sunny and bright.  There is warmness in the air yet a touch of crispness.  The evenings are cool and refreshing.  It's beautiful here in September.  Lately it has been quite foggy and moist in the very early mornings only to burn off by mid morning yielding a fabulous day. 

My pink geranium is still blooming beautifully.  I love plant pot "sticks", and this one is a green and white flying bug on a copper stick.

The hummingbirds are still here, though I know soon they will begin their long flights to warmer climates.  It has been so hard to get a picture of them!  Thankfully after a prayer that I'd be able to capture one on the camera, this pretty lady landed on our deck chair and posed for me.  I think they are one of the sweetest creatures God created.  I shall miss them when they all leave and have been taking the time to watch them and get my fill in before they do. 

Also, I couldn't resist a shot of this spider's web.  The dew on it turns it in a piece of lace studded with diamonds. 

Busy Labor Day Weekend

Well, the weekend started out rainy, but Mom and I went out to the Princeton Flea Market.  It is a good drive for us, but we wanted to go one more time before the flea market closed down for the year.  There were fewer vendors much to our disappointment because of the rain, but we found some great treasures anyway.  We went to two other flea markets actually as well as a few other sales.  We were pretty tired by the end of the day.  I spent all of my money saved for the markets (plus $20 of Mom's!!) and have a quite stash now to create with.  The hard part is finding the time to create...but I'll have to work on that this week.

We also cleaned out the garage and have a trunk load of things to give to the local charity thrift store.  I love it when everything is swept and organized. We stained our lower deck.  We had a great Sunday at church and even had time this weekend to spend with family.  It was a fun and full weekend...now back to school for the kids and the regular tasks of life.  I hope you all had a good and productive weekend.  Happy new week to you all!

First Day of School

**Thank you Graphics Fairy for the the picture above** Summer is over...I can't believe it.  We switched over the calendar. The books are all opened and sorted and readied.  I have reviewed the curriculum.  The new pencils are all sharpened.  The desks are cleaned.  We are ready.  Today we start. *sigh* Just where did summer go with all of its new projects to start, new places to visit, and all that we were going to accomplish?  Usually we start up our homeschooling year earlier than September 1.  However, violin lessons officially start up again today, and, well, we just decided to wait this year until today.  This is the first year we have started homeschooling with my husband on a normal, predictable schedule, and I'm very thankful for this.  As hard and frustrating as some days can be and though I get very little done during the course of a day on house work and on my business when my focus is on guiding and teaching the children, I am thankful for the freedoms and rights to homeschool our two precious children.  It is worth it in every way!  Their little minds are fertile grounds for all sorts of influences and ways of teaching and thoughts.  I'm very grateful for the freedom to be sure they are taught truths (Biblically, scientifically, historically, socially, etc.), are given the very best of curriculum, and can be either pushed or slowed depending on their level of understanding and ability.  No other teacher could individually and consistently take the time to love and care for them and push them and encourage them to do their very best more than their dad and me.  So, today we tackle the books and start on our new year's journey.  We are ready. 

Sea Glass Push Pins/Thumbtacks

As promised, here is what I've done with some of the beautiful pieces of sea glass that we found in Maine.  I made push pins out of them.  These pieces were a good size, in pretty colors, and had interesting patterns/shapes.  I like the ones that were part of the bottle's mouth, the faint purple one with the designs in it, and the brown one with part of the word "quart" on it.  Sea glass is getting harder to find--especially the pretty blues, turquoises, and light greens.  I noticed this especially on this past trip.  Anyway, these would be perfect for a beach cottage or ocean themed memory board, inspiration board, or bulletin board.  I've listed them in my Etsy shop.  Enjoy!

I'm Back and Ready to Go!

Well, we have returned from our looooonng drive to and from Maine.  It was great to go back "home" to see the beauty and charm of Maine, where I grew up, hear the ocean, and smell the salt air.  We met up with my grandparents visiting from Florida, my brother and nephew back from New Zealand to enroll my nephew into college this fall, my great aunt, and other friends.  We also said our final goodbyes to my grandmother who passed away this past March.  We were all able to meet at the veterans' cemetery in Maine where my grandfather is already buried for a memorial service for her (this was our main purpose in going to Maine).  It was a beautiful, sunny day and the service, though teary for sure, was sweet and full of memories of dear Gram.  I say it was our "final" good-bye...but that, of course, is only on this earth because she had and we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, and we know we will see hear again someday.  Such comfort this assurance brings!

While in Maine, we did a little antique shopping, eating on "the rocks" along the coast watching seagulls and fishermen check their lobster traps, hiking, eating fish (yum--can't beat fresh fish!), and looking for sea glass.  I even have a project or two to do with some that I found...that will be another post perhaps.  Anyway, it's good to be back to my real home, and it's time to get busy for the fall.

Taking a Computer Break

It's the last full month of summer, and I'm taking some time off from blogging and my shop for just a few weeks to enjoy the sun, the warm weather, and my family.  I'm constantly puttering around on my Etsy shop--doing treasuries, listing, checking statistics, promoting, re-listing, etc.--and it's time for a break away from the computer (so I'm going to put my shop in "vacation mode").  Oh, I may check the shop out a few times, and I'll be doing some shopping for sure for things for my shop and to embellish with.  I can't step away totally, you know.  Besides, the shopping part isn't work.  In fact, I get kind of edgy if I haven't visited a thrift store, yard sale, estate sale, or antique shop in over a week.  ; )  Anyway, I'll be back in two weeks hopefully refreshed and energized for fall and the busy months ahead.

Sandal Clips Custom Order Done

It was a great opportunity to work with a lady who asked me through my Etsy shop to do a special order for her.  She had some white sandals (t-straps with a toe strap as well) that she wanted me to hand bead clip pieces for.  I'm assuming these are for a wedding, but I'm not sure--a special occasion at least.  She was just super to work with in every way.  How nice it was to work with someone not only very, very pleasant but also quite clear in what she wanted. 

I was able to buy some sweet little vintage, faceted, tangerine-colored nailhead beads and some pretty, light orange freshwater pearls (oh, and the actual clips) from fellow Etsy sellers.  I love to support other Etsy shops when the chance arises.  I already had the vintage rhinestone beads from an estate sale as well as the rhinestone and leaf vintage jewelry bits. These beads and jewelry pieces were sewn onto silvery strips--triple and quadruple stitched for security. One of the hard parts for me was not to over-embellish--you know how I like to embellish sort of "over the top".   

I then finished the underneath parts with the small clips and a piece of felt for comfort should the pieces overlap the sandals at all.  These certainly do sparkle and are trendy.  It was a fun challenge, and I'm thankful to my customer for the chance to work with her on this. 

New Vintage Jewelry Embellished Perfume Bottles

I've added a few new embellished perfume bottles to my shop.  These two came out well, and I really do like them.  One has a black on gray cameo complete with a very old glass beaded spray at the top.

The other has two guilloche pink rose pieces with plenty of rhinestones.  I love guilloche rose jewelry as well as pink and green together, so this one is one of my favorites. They may be found in my Etsy shop at http://www.glassbeadtreasures.etsy.com/