A CAMEO CLOSEUP...

Just a few photos of my Mother's Day 2016 gift to my own Mom...taken and forgotten until this morning, as I was looking for something inspiring to write about.  At the very least, may this spark someone's creative juices, with the idea of turning old into new, again.  Mom and I always look at the beautiful old cameos while antique shopping - this was the perfect opportunity to throw three into one gift for her!  Click, and click again, to enlarge any photo here...

Bead embroidery around old, broken down" cameos, and intact antique buttons - all turned into a piece of arm candy.  No rhyme or reason - just lots of beads and time...a tiny bit of a beginning vision, but more or less, just "wild abandon" in putting it all together (hence King Neptune amongst all the ladies).

I have friends who actually save "junk" pieces for me, knowing I will use them eventually - thus, the old Angel Skin Pink Coral carved cameo, in a setting of 10K gold.  Twas' a ladies ring in its former life - the shank had been twisted off at some point, leaving just the front.  Check out the little white beads around the setting - those are actually the tiniest white pearls I have ever seen - drilled through, and mounted onto this fabulous setting with gold wire.

The small Carnelian Shell cameo on the opposite side began life as a screw-back earring, while the large, heavy cameo in the center was a brooch at one time...she is called a Bacchante (noun (pl) bacchantes (bəˈkæntɪz) 1. a priestess or female votary of Bacchus. 2. a drunken female reveller).  

The cameos carved to represent Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses are fascinating, and information on the Internet is plentiful.  Drunken female reveller is code for "party girl", evidently.

Sewn to a sturdy foundation, one bead at a time (I realize in looking at these photos, that the center cameo beads look a little wonky, and then remember that I included a small beaded ruffle over the top of her...drunken female reveller, that she is) - backed with ultrasuede, sewn in place (I'm not big on glue) with one-at-a-time edging beads.  All buttons, including the large rhinestones, are antique.  Thrown into the mix are Fire-polish glass Czech beads; seed and regular pearls; pyrite beads; and lots and lots of seed beads, in a riot of sizes and color.  Finished off with a simple, old fashioned type hook and eye fastener.

May your Sunday bring some creative time...and a nap.  Sunday naps are the BEST!  See you on Travel Tuesday...

CORNUCOPIA OF CREATIVITY...and Bakelite!

ALWAYS lead with the Bakelite!  For lack of a better post right at the moment, I wanted to show you just what I've been up to the past few weeks, gearing up for the holidays...lots of handmade.  Plus a few baby quilts for friends thrown into the mix (one is probably the single MOST "bad ass" baby quilt, EVER!), BUT, you MUST start with the Bakelite!  "Birthday" and "Just Because" Bakelite...four of these five pieces came from my folks this summer - I treated myself to the black one.  The big "Blue Moon" is to die for, and the one with the swirls is yummy...hell, they're ALL yummy!  I've said it before - who knew 80 year old plastic could make me so happy!

I turned some fabrics purchased in Hawaii this summer (the only thing I really brought back, except for 8,000 photos and my most comfortable "Slippahs" ~ Dad told me to leave the pukka shells there, as he still has his left over from the 70's) into a fabulous quilt...free online pattern called NEW WAVE, by OH, FRANSSOM!  Goes together fast and easy.  I tried to get really artsy with my interpretation...the tan colored fabric in between the "waves" is representative of the sandy beaches.  There you have it - that's about as "deep" as I get, and probably the main reason I never made it as an interpretive dancer! 

I turned some "local" fabrics into two baby quilts (or quilt tops, at the moment) for friends of my kids...the red Tattoo Dragon one is going to a tattoo artist (my daughter's profession) and his wife.

So NOT cutesy baby themed (and so out of square here in this photo, because of the angle I was holding the camera above it, and over my head - believe me, it is square), but SO perfect for who it is going to...yes, it's been dubbed the "Bad Ass Baby Quilt".  The Puppies quilt is absolutely darling, and IS cutesy baby themed, with more retro colors to it.

Soldering for friends, and family...Christmas ornaments up next.

I've been keeping myself awake on the couch at night, watching The Walking Dead and KNITTING!  Winter is made for knitting, though my shoulder is starting to turn to mush and I need to take a break this next week.  One more Mukluk to be made, and that's it...the bandanna is WAY cool, and super easy (I've done three), and from another free online pattern, PURL BEE BANDANNA COWL.

More sewing - free Infinity Scarf tutorial I worked up HERE, for those that might want to join in the fun on 2 Bags Full's, PINK SCARF PROJECT, HERE.

And even more sewing fun...my friend Jackie was "in want" of a kitchen makeover this week, and I was happy to oblige - new towels, napkins, and a valance, while the sewing machine was still set out - she put it all in place this afternoon (CHECK IT OUT!).  Retro looking aprons for Christmas are next on the agenda (and finishing up that one last Mukluk), after Turkey Day.  Hope your Thanksgiving weekend is wonderful!

BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO MAKE ONE...

Seeing these darling multiple wrap bracelets everywhere, starting last spring, I earmarked a page from the Internet, but went onto other (seemingly) more important things - until last week, when I actually cleaned out my "Favorites" on my computer - talk about hoarding!  From under the stacked up pile of nonsense, saved for a year because I knew I would need those pages, I unleashed a great TUTORIAL FROM "RINGS AND THINGS" (and it's like totally free - TOTALLY, Dude!)

Armed with boatloads of cash and a burning desire to learn something new (OK, I admit the cash part is a lie), I headed to my local bead store for supplies, and turned out two pretty cool pieces of arm candy, in the past two evenings.  Some among you will "honk" the orange one as being anything but garish (the beads are actually a dark amber/orange and blue combo - always check your color wheel for complimentary colors, when in doubt), but it's THE color for summer, "they" say (the same person who will throw up in her mouth over the orange one will also shudder at the yellow one).  I actually made it to be paired with some of my orange Bakelite bangles, which brings me to this...

A new Bakelite bangle, the design of which I had never seen before, so was pretty excited to get it.  Kind of a dark butterscotch color - coiled over on itself, with the end being flattened and sliced off at an angle before being hand carved.

Once you've finished drooling over my good fortune with the bangle, you might want to pull up the tutorial and make a wrapped bracelet (or two) of your own.  These things I know - or figured out in the course of making mine.  The supply list on the tutorial is a little vague, but I've got ya' covered:

1.  2 yards of 1.5mm/2mm round leather cording will get you a 4 wrap bracelet for a standard size wrist. 2.5 yds. will do a 5-wrap bracelet.

2.  I used Czech Fire Polish beads in the 6mm size.  They came in strands of 25.  For the 4-wrap bracelet, I used almost a full 6 strands (or 150).  For the 5-wrap bracelet, I used 7 strands (or 175 beads).

3.  If you're patient, this can be made using one length of thread, instead of ending a piece and tying more on as you go (patience is the key, and making sure you have an area of floor that you can lay your thread out beside you as you pull it through, to make sure it doesn't tangle).  I cut 8 "wingspans" (from fingertip to fingertip) of the colored beading thread on the little spools (Nymo, I believe is what I bought).  Use thread conditioner to keep it from tangling, also, running it over the thread as needed.  The thread gets doubled, so you won't be working with that entire length.  Carefully lay it out as you peel it off the spool, to make sure it doesn't tangle uncontrollably until you get it doubled.

MY INSPIRATION...

...is drawn from many places, but mostly my Mom, celebrating Mother's Day back home in Colorado today.  Always encouraging in the creativity department, as well as everything else I've ever done with my life, this arrived in the mail for me (from her, like I'm her mother or something), this week.  "Make something with it", she said..."I have faith in you", she always says.  The scissors came with the Bakelite rose, and belonged to my great-grandmother on my Dad's side - Grandma Gove.  I come from a long line of seamstresses, on both sides.

In the midst of this old family photo, is not only my Mom's Mom, but her Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother, also.  Raised on a ranch in Freeland, CO, my Grandma (Hazel) Rhyno raised two pretty wonderful daughters of her own, years after this photo was taken.

Once a fashionista, always a fashionista...she can't help it - she was born with style!

Her senior photo - Barbara (Bobbie) Jean - I would kill for a pair of sunglasses made from those specs!  She captured the heart of my Dad soon after, and went on to raise three kids of her own (two of whom turned out pretty awesome...wink, wink); who produced seven grand kids; who, in turn, are now in the throws of child bearing themselves, adding three "greats" to my parent's count.  The old folks, back on the ranch, would be proud!

So, like I said...Mom has always been an inspiration not only in the everyday life type of things, but in the crafty thingamajigs department of life, too.  Handy with scissors...we ALWAYS had the BEST homemade Halloween costumes, growing up - dear sister is still wearing the witch's hat.  Mom could (and CAN) do anything (same goes for Dad...such talent from both of their hands, and minds).  When she sent the rose this week, I had already been in the throes of making bangles...lots and lots of bangles, from a great online tutorial I had recently purchased here.  You, too, can make bangle stacks - the hot accessory for summer, if you don't have cat-eye glasses and have to make do with something far less cool.

I had actually finished the stack of bangles before the rose arrived, and realized that the color fit right into the whole scheme of things.  Struggling for two days to come up with a way to hang it (from hand beaded chain, to threading all the beads onto beading line, and then ripping everything apart, over and over again), I stepped back today, and realized it needed to be simple to go with the rest of the Bohemian feel...hence, the leather cord, with a few beads...amen.

Utilizing my own daughter as a hand model (she wouldn't allow the camera any higher tonight, with threat of bodily harm), the resulting set of fun.  "Make something", I did, Mom...thanks for the huge amounts of love and encouragement throughout my life...you will never know just how much you mean to me...OK, you might.

Coming out of the Barry Manilow show in Vegas last summer, with new "glow stick earrings" from the performance...like I said, always the fashionista, always beautiful, and always fun!  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOM - I love you!

And, speaking of fun and since I'm on a bangle kick around here (yes, the Bakelite bangles still get stacked 5 high on most days), LOOK at what I found this week, on a quick trek through TJ Maxx.  I even left the price tag on so you could see the bargain I got - heavy, real brass beauties from India...not flimsy, these babies are substantial - all 36 of them!!  I'm sharing them with my Mom...not that she isn't worth a lot more!

QUEEN OF THE NILE REVEAL...

I must admit, I AM the Queen of Denial (though my husband would probably argue it's the Queen of the Damned) this past week, in having spent time finishing up this bracelet, while refusing to believe my house needed dusting...but look what I finished!  Look with your special eyes!

This was the finished beadwork piece, before being attached to the brass cuff last evening, since I was showing you the piece as it progressed...

Beadwork alone weighed 1.4 oz.  Beads were all sewn down two at a time, and secured with a back stitch (in some instances, one at a time).  Vanity prohibited me showing the back of the unfinished piece - it was all very neat...just a lot of tiny stitches.  Lots and lots...and lots.

Attached to a 2" wide brass cuff, and backed with Ultrasuede, total weight now is 2.6 oz. - a substantial cuff, for sure.

That's right...no denying...the dust was WELL worth the effort (actually I worked mostly in the evenings, so I probably need another excuse for not dusting). Dust will always be there - the Queen of the Nile waits for no one!

The rest of these vintage pieces of Egyptian Revival brass are on my radar for future projects - the second Cleo will become a bracelet for my favorite Mom, next (the Pharaoh is an old scarf slide).  Horrors! More dust!

As a long-time seamstress, bead embroidery is one of the things I most love to do with my quiet time - just an extension of my sewing.  I know I have a few who have been after me on just how to get started with something like this (if not a smaller project) - one in Canada that might be interested, and a couple of friends in MO, if I can drag them away from soldering long enough.  If I can create enough of a "spark" I might be persuaded to give up mopping too, and show you, step-by-step in an easy to follow tutorial, how you can do this too?!  Yes, you can!  It's amazing what you can do with some fishing line and a few beads...and I promise the dust isn't that bad!

JUST MY CUP OF TEA and The Evolution of a Favorite...

My friend, Chris, is an incredible friend.  My friend, Chris, is an incredible artist (she also paints, and has a new cookie baking venture).  My friend, Chris, has discovered a love for beads and shiny baubles, and is turning it all into incredible jewelry.  My friend, Chris, is now sharing the love.

When she finished and posted this set recently, it lasted just until I spied it on her facebook post about 20 seconds later, and it now resides on my arm and neck.  It was just my "cup of tea".

The rhinestone pieces are vintage earrings, encased in glass and soldered impeccably (everything she does is impeccable...as well as incredible...Chris is also a painter).  Sari silk ribbons are tied onto both pieces, and those blue glass beads just sparkle and shine, like all get-out. 

She has a new facebook page HERE (just click, like Dorothy in Oz) where most of her work shows up, as it's finished.  You can also find her on her blog at  The Antique Pallet; and The Antique Pallet.Etsy has a few of her pieces that actually made it into the shop before being swooped up.

And now, the evolution of something that I am sure is going to become a favorite piece.  I started this a few months back and, not having time or the creative inclination to finish it at that point, it was put aside until a few evenings this past week.  Definitely a work in progress, with more photos to follow...

An old brass piece (with a bit of a "ginger brass" patina) of a beautiful Egyptian woman, 2-1/4" tall.  I am assuming she is probably Cleopatra, but will be researching her further, based on the headdress.  Malachite (a favorite among the Ancient Egyptians) stones set on either side of her, surrounded by seed beads, glass Czech Fire Polish beads, and glass Eye of Providence/Eye of Horus beads (and they laughed at me when I purchased them at a bead show a few years back, not knowing what I would do with them, but knowing I needed them).

This will be transformed into a 2" cuff bracelet, when all is said and done...a few more evenings of beading to stay awake while watching movies, and I just might have a new favorite.

JUST BE...

Running in circles this week, going nowhere fast, and lagging behind in my travel guide for your summer vacation suggestions (continuing on Monday with Jerome and Prescott, AZ; a trip over the new bridge at Hoover Dam; and through Las Vegas, itself) ~ spinning my wheels, most certainly.  A trip to my mailbox, mid-week, brought a VERY wonderful surprise from two new Internet friends with a new blog.  I won a giveaway from JUST BE FARM ~ "two men, ten acres, and a whole lot of living"!

An AMAZING array of goodies inside...beautiful bamboo cooking spoons (which I sorely needed if you looked close at my post about the chili); new, CLEAN kitchen towels (I had just purchased a piece of fabric the week before, to use in a gift, and loved it so much that I went back, the very morning before this box arrived, to purchase more for a new Roman Shade in my kitchen...same colors as the towels, by coincidence); cake to bake in cups; a ceramic trivet/plaque with a Roasted Pepper Soup recipe (see below); jars of THE most decadent looking home canned items ever...Pepper Jelly, homegrown peppers, and Apple Butter; AND, Ghirardelli dark chocolates (because you HAVE to have chocolate after spicy - it's a MUST)!  My mouth watering (yeah, the spicy is RIGHT up my alley, and Apple Butter is an absolute favorite), I made myself promise not to open them until I had a chance to take pictures...

After I finished the impromptu photo session atop the table this morning, it was time to dig in on the apple butter...taking my friend Jackie's lead on renaming my chili recipe this week, this shall forever be known to me as "Bob and Eric's OH MY GOD APPLE BUTTER"!  I'm sure the Pepper Jelly and peppers are going to be just as "knock your socks off", as this was, but it was a little early for spicy this morning, with a migraine...I was warned in their note, and will take them at their word!

Just a smidgen of butter underneath the Apple Butter...whole wheat muffin...HEAVEN!  I'm in love and I'm hiding it in the back of the fridge, where no one else can find it!

And believe me, I have no shame...I DID lick the plate clean after this shot...you can't waste perfectly good Apple Butter!  Please drop over to their blog at JUST BE FARM, and tell them I sent you - beautiful scenery, wonderful (and pampered) animals, growing things, COOKING...and lots of love!  THANK YOU, BOB AND ERIC - I said it before, and I'll say it again, you guys ROCK!  Will keep you posted when I dig into the "hot stuff"!

However much wheel spinning I did during the week, I did manage to knock this out, during some quiet evenings at the kitchen table - my green for St. Patrick's Day this year.

Hope your weekend is wonderful - have a happy Saturday and a fabulous week - just BE!