Garden Photos May 2011

Jewelry Preview

I saw these beads at a local bead shop and just had to have them!  They're so retro, so sixties, so darned cool man.  And I know there must be some retro-lovers out there who will pop over to my Etsy shop (link on left side of this page) and acquire these little gems for themselves, or perhaps as a gift for someone near and dear to them.  I will have them up for sale sometime over these next couple of days.

Ugly Birds! Go Away!

This is my mantra these days, which gets hollered out the back patio doors quite a few times every day.  And it usually brings my little helper Stuie running at warp speed past me and out the door into the backyard, chasing ugly birds, of course.  (He also loves to chase squirrels, but that's another story for another time.)  And I wonder what the neighbors think?  I haven't really thought about that before, but they probably think I'm a bit screwy around the edges, if you know what I mean!

Now, these blasted birds are determined to devour the suet just as fast they can, bunches of them at a time.  And my poor little Downy woodpeckers, and big flickers, as well as a whole host of other birds, wouldn't get much suet but a little bit of leftovers.  NOT!  And we feed really expensive suet that is loaded with grubs, which is why the damn ugly birds like it so much.  Easy food, no work.  NOT!  

Now I'm armed with a large water gun, so I shoot them as I holler, "Ugly birds!  Go away!"  I feel a bit like Rambo.

Spring/Summer 2011 Jewelry

Huge Bouquet for Mother's Day !

 

I really must brag about my wonderful men and the spectacular bouquet of long-stemmed roses and lilies they gave me on Mother's Day, after a really nice dinner out. There were 20 (yes, twenty) roses with stems 30 inches long!  And 8 lilies, some white and some tiger-type that matched the roses beautifully!

I was awestruck; I was dumbstruck; I was truly speechless.  I jiggled all over like a small child on Christmas morning!

What have I been up to?

Well......

One thing I've been doing recently is turning out necklaces in Russian Spiral, which is a stitch I have become quite fond of.  It is actually a form of tubular netting, so the end result is a necklace that is wonderfully flexible.  You can even coil them up and you won't harm them a bit!

If anyone would like one in custom colors, please contact me at my Etsy shop (link at left) and we can discuss colors and length.

Russian Spiral Necklace

This is the newest jewelry piece for sale at my Etsy shop.  It is done in a Russian Spiral stitch with a clear denim blue size 8/0 seed bead and a smaller matte black diamond AB seed bead in a size 11/0.  That's beading talk for a larger clear denim blue bead and a smaller grayish bead with that really cool finish that makes all kinds of colors come out in the bead.  Swarovski has been doing it for years!  And speaking of Swarovski, the clasp is embellished with Swarovski crystals in a clear AB color, for a touch of bling. 

The Russian Spiral stitch makes for a very flexible necklace that really drapes beautifully when you wear it, and feels great to wear as well.  I made myself one in a matte denim blue and silver, and I wear it all of the time. 

You could wear this one with jeans or a suit.  It's a really versatile piece!