FOR THE BIRDS...

Actually, for my daughter...

Spring is waning, and we are fast heading into summer.  Tiny little finches and doves are plentiful in my yard this year, due to my neighbor being overly generous with his bird seed, as of late.  A birdbath purchase was in order for my yard yesterday, as they eat like gluttons at his place and then fly over and walk around my pool with their little tongues hanging out (yes, they really do...it's so pathetic), looking for a way to get at the water.  Happy to oblige them, I had birds hanging out on it within 10 minutes of getting it filled.

And feeling good about helping the birds last night, while watching scary movies ("The Birds" would have been good, but it was something about gun toting angels), I sat down and finished up this project that I had started, way before the birds started singing again this year.  All for my daughter, who is now an Anthropologist...well, she picked up a summer job at Anthropologie, anyway.  This should look fabulous with those little summer dresses she is so fond of.

Happy, happy colors...the bracelet is made from glass, fruit shaped beads - very Carmen Miranda-esque.  The necklace is made from a vintage Czech glass button (they are reproducing these now, if you can find them, but this one is actually vintage/old).  Wanting the bezel to look like an extension of the impressed nest it is sitting on, I used a St. Petersburg pattern that I have loved working before, and tipped those twigs with 3mm Swarovski crystals.

"Let's all sing like the birdies sing...tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet!"  Nothing like showing your age through song!

SOMETHING TO SINK MY TEETH INTO...

During a beaded bracelet class yesterday (The Bead Metaler), my dear friend Jackie leaned over and told me it was looking very "Twilightish"...not quite what I was going for, but I'll play along...

Never having read any of the "current" Vampire novels (I did wander through the original Dracula, and the Anne Rice, "Interview With a Vampire" series, years ago) because I imagine that only werewolves and zombies are real, I remembered a bottle of fine Romanian wine from 2001 in my cupboard, that I pull out for decoration each Halloween...I believe it probably houses blood, in all actuality, instead of the self-described Cabernet.  Obviously, it is still corked and intact, and shall remain so for probably the next 9 years, too.  But if, by some weird quirk of nature, I ever do need it to save my neck and ply a vampire with, I am willing to sacrifice it.  "Headly" is courtesy of my art student daughter - it just seemed fitting to use him.

Loaded with Swarovski crystals (blood red...actually Garnet and Siam), black Rose Montees, and cream colored glass pearls, I shall wear this on my next evening out with BATMAN (because I'd like to believe that, like werewolves, Batman is real also, and that he looks just like Christian Bale)...NOT vampires, Jackie!

REAL CHER!

YES, the REAL DEAL!  We have been having too much fun with the "fake"/tribute bands lately, that I had almost forgotten what a real concert was like.  Wednesday morning found us awaiting another round of friends and music at "fake U2" on our "Every Wednesday Girls Night Out".  One of the "posse" has been bound and determined that we were going to see the legendary Cher, at Caesars Palace...well, she perservered for weeks, and wound up with tickets that very morning.  Fake U2 or REAL Cher?...pretty much a "No Brainer".  Even Bono himself would have picked what we did, I'm sure.  My kids were still convinced, as I left that night, that we were going to see a female impersonator (yes, we do live in Vegas).

As if it were an omen, her opening found her floating down out of the rafters, in a golden cage, bedecked in one of seventeen (17!) spectacular Bob Mackie outfits...singing "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", by U2.  What an INCREDIBLE show!  She spoke with the audience for about 10 minutes, and then launched into a 90 minute show, where she never took a break.  The jaw-dropping costume and hair changes only took about 2 minutes apiece, during which the dancers would take over, or they would run video clips of her extraordinary life...several really wonderful tributes to Sonny and her were included (yes, I believe she truly still had a thing for her "Sonny, one so true").  The costumes, sets...EVERYTHING - I just can't say enough!

Her 64th birthday was Thursday...she is STILL smokin' hot after all these years (the picture down below is from the performance...see for yourself), and her voice is as strong and beautiful as ever!  Yes, we definitely made the right choice on our entertainment for the evening.  Thanks, Boss, for coming through on your promise to get us there.  You ROCK!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! 5/19/10

The Most Interesting Man in the World...

- His legend precedes him, the way lightning precedes thunder.

- His charm is so contagious, vaccines we’re created for it.
- His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards.

- If he were to give you directions, you would never get lost. And you’d arrive at least 5 minutes early...

He is The Most Interesting Man in the world, and he's my Dad, Arvid (that's me and his legs, laying sod at our first house...and someday I will buy a scanner so I don't have to take pictures of pictures)! TODAY IS HIS BIRTHDAY, and I'm sending lots and lots of love his way! Son, Husband; Father; Grand; and now, Great-Grandfather; all rolled into one, with the heart of a lion!  A man of many hats...literally and figuratively.

A design engineer for Martin Marietta during the major Space Program years, and then some...I remember him getting us up to watch all the launches - launches that he had played a part in.  A veritable wealth of information on just about everything (I told you he was the most interesting man in the world) - there isn't anything I, or my children, have ever called and asked him that he doesn't know the answer to.  An enchantment with the old Southwest and his beloved Native American tribes - he and my Mom have taken my children on countless trips and he has tried to pass on much of what he knows to them.  We like to say around here, "He knows some shit about some stuff", and that's for sure!  And, you should see his rose garden!  I don't think there is anything he can't do, and do it well!

 

He even got them to serve him a drink at the Z-Gallerie in Las Vegas, which is quite impossible for the average man, as they only sell home furnishings!

  

Two of his seven grand kids (my son and daughter, from 4 and 6 years old, until a few years ago), and his two great grand babies (Brooke, and Landen).

Happy, happy birthday, Dad!  I may have to miss this one, but I'll be home for Father's Day this year, and we can drink that margarita I will miss tonight, then - have one for me anyway - XOXOXO

Vikings, Cardinals, Donkeys, and Rabbits...

In between a bit of spring yard cleaning this past weekend, and after I lost my six bucks (on two horses that should have come in first and second, along with the third horse that I picked who DID win), I was able to sneak in some creative time...a private class with The Boss (not Springsteen, but Colleen, of  The Bead Metaler) on how to do "Viking Knit".  Evidently, I am the very last person in Vegas (since no one else showed up) to know how to do this wire technique, which is sure to come in handy the next time we go pillaging and plundering.  (Thanks for the lesson, Boss!)

A new baseball cuff bracelet from an old baseball (vintage rhinestone button attached...the ball is whiter than it appears here, also) will be winging it's way to the hometown of the Cardinals tomorrow - going to a dear friend I've never met (oh, the wonders of the Internet...Thanks, Al Gore!).

Which brings me to an Internet purchase I made last week, that arrived in the mail this afternoon.  (Thanks, Ady!)  I bought one of these for my friend Jackie, a few weeks back and, it was so delightful, I went back for more.  As Jackie put it, Ady at www.pomegranite80.etsy.com is probably the most "amusing" seller on Etsy.  She sells these little donkeys, that she dresses, to raise funds for her donkey rescue, in Tennessee.  All profits go to feed and house her furry friends.  She is located about 30 miles from where the latest round of tornadoes went through a few weeks back, and has had a real go of things with snakes, water, and wind damage.

If the donkeys aren't fun enough, her writings/descriptions go WAY beyond hysterical.  This one is decked out in satin, lace, sequins, flowers, and some sort of sparkly Russian type hat (Jackie got the Elvis donkey) - the cupid and the cowboy boot were wrapped on the packages all this came in.  "Donkey McDog Gone It - I'm Beautiful Donkey" came with a "nifty donkey brooch, "Pee Pee Poodle McGimme My Cheesy Noodle" refrigerator magnet (not shown, but it's VERY cool!), and some stacking flower beautiful donkey earrings" (these are her words from the description - I couldn't make this up, folks!).  I WILL wear these to the next "Every Wednesday Girl's Night Out", and the others WILL be jealous!   Drop by her shop - you'll be glad you did. 

And I shall end with this..."Curiouser and curiouser", this post has become.  Since I know there are probably only a few in the "charm group" that would even see this, I'm gonna' post it. Finished up (not late, either) a batch of charms for our next charm exchange. You'll probably never guess the theme (and no, it's not Jefferson Airplane).  Happy McGimme My Cheesy Noodle Tuesday, everyone!

Whiter Shades of Pale...

"And so it was that later as the miller told his tale

That her face, at first just ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale"...Procol Harum

I was asked after the post with the antique lamp doll, if she had been in a bad accident in her lifetime and seen a "hack" that set her arm poorly, as it appears to be disjointed.  No, that's just the way she is - she is whole and original (though the dress was replaced, probably sometime in the 40's or 50's, from the look of it - it is all hand sewn), but too old and tender for me to want to move the arm at this point...don't pity her - she has learned to compensate with her wicked womanly wiles, for miscalculated anatomical proportions of a hurried lamp/doll maker.

These 1920's dolls housed light bulbs under their wire framework and silk dresses...how they didn't burn down more houses, is beyond me.  Several I have seen, and one I purchased, did have evidence of catching fire at some time.  The bodies are a heavy plaster (not chalkware, however), with a large threaded bolt under the torso, for attaching to a metal framework (much like an upside down tomato cage).  The upper arms are wires that lead from the shoulders, down to a hollow metal forearm/hand, filled with a cork.  This one is a "Munzerlite" - the other probably has a tattoo somewhere under that dress that would tell me what or who she is but, like her arm, that will remain a mystery for now.

She's surrounded by more pale beauties...treasured, antique finds from this past year.  A beautiful Bakelite and celluloid cameo brooch (it's about 2-1/2" long, if size matters) that someone was selling for "steampunk" salvage (in other words, to be ripped apart and "pieced out" to make other jewelry, because it is missing the pin part of the brooch backing - an easy fix - and I guess it's true...one man's trash is another man's treasure); a stunning green and cream celluloid cameo brooch, marked Czechoslovakia on the back; and a white floral pin (it's slightly heavier than celluloid, but I'm not really sure as to what it is, other than it's OLD) - whiter shades of pale, all...and all out of fashion after Labor Day, so I'd better get to wearing!

A White Wednesday "shout out" to Kathleen at fadedcharmcottage - short of Billy Idol, you will find every "pale" imagineable there - drop by and check out the fun!

Mother's Day, Across the Miles...

                               

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother...Oprah Winfrey

Happy Mother's Day, to you and yours...my Mom is back home, with my Dad, in CO this morning...probably hoping for a break in the weather so she can get more flowers planted.  She's a mother of three (me and my brother, with my folks, in the black and white); grandmother of seven (Mom, my Dad, and my daughter, Jaclyn, in the third picture, beside a stream in Estes Park, CO); and now, great-grandmother to two (with the newest addition to the Anderson family...my niece's son, Landen) - and looking better than ever!  Wish I could be there with her to give her the hugs and kisses she deserves, in person - Happy Mother's Day, Mom!  "Ya' done good!"

The first photo in this Mother's Day "montage", is a graphite drawing by my own incredible daughter...doesn't that sound just like a Mom?  It is of my Mom at about three years of age...taken from a tiny, tattered photo that my grandfather used to carry in his wallet.  My daughter has a wealth of talent in those fingers, and that heart, of hers...I know...more Mom stuff, but rightfully so!  Which brings us to the picture of her and my son, Louie, in the bottom photo - I think I "done" pretty good, too!

"Kisses on your face" (as the darling little lady at Joann's always tells me - yet, another "Mom-ism")...Happy Mother's Day!

Wear Me Out to the Ballgame...

Two posts in less than 24 hours might be more than you can bear from me, but I just finished this up this morning, over a cup of coffee, and it's too stinkin' cute not to share.  Utilizing a design idea from the latest issue of Bead Unique magazine (Lisa Kettell), this cuff bracelet is made from an actual baseball - why (when I was sitting at the 9 THOUSAND games my son played during his Little League/Club Ball/High School and College baseball years) I never thought of this, kills me - oh, the fortune to be made from overzealous Little League moms!

A vintage rhinestone earring has been sewn to the front, as well as approx. 125 glass pearls (strung one at a time) around the edges.  My son is concerned that the bucket of balls in the garage might disappear, and has instructed me to go buy "pearls" - who wants new baseballs?!  He's just lucky I didn't grab one of the signed ones!

What Is And What Should Never Be...

"What Is"...it's almost as if I've been on vacation...at least in my head I have...as I realized I haven't posted in quite a bit.  Still "spinning" occasionally, though so much better - I calmed the inner workings of my head long enough to finish up a necklace for myself the other day - yes, I am actually keeping something!  This is probably the final in what seems to have become a "Heather French Series" for me...or, at least for the time being.  So many ideas in this head - probably what's keeping me dizzy!

I will probably dub this my "Heavy Metal Necklace", as it is rather "weighty", having been set atop an antique, cut steel shoe buckle and backed with another antique button.  The entire pendant portion, sans the dangles, is approx. 2-3/8".  LOVE it - once again, thank you for some great creative motivation, Heather.

And since I finished it up yesterday, it seemed only fitting to wear it out to "Every Wednesday Girl's Night Out", last night.  I was holding my breath as this week could have actually turned out to be a "sacrilegious" experience for me - a Led Zeppelin tribute band (this would fall under the "What Should Never Be" part of my title - how do you top "Rock Gods" like Page and Plant?!  You don't!) Led Zepagain was the band - GREAT show put on by a very talented group of musicians, that has done their homework!  The acoustic set was pretty wonderful...if you get a chance to see, go!  Rock ON, boys - rock on!

..."And if I say to you tomorrow. Take my hand, child, come with me.

It's to a castle I will take you, where what's to be, they say will be"...What Is and What Should Never Be - Led Zeppelin