Inspiration ...

I have been searching for inspiration lately.  Not necessarily beading inspiration but inspiration to help pull me through some tough stuff going on with my family.  Although not looking for jewelry inspiration, I headed to Etsy to search for some beads that would help me get through these rough times.  Thanks to my friends at Creative Bead Chat group on Facebook, I have endless amounts of inspiration.

Look at these lovelies from Melinda Orr 

And how about these lovely lampwork glass beads by Art by Lisi

Let's not forget about these beautiful ceramic bead sets by Yolanda's Clay

What about these beauties from J-Lynn Jewels

Head on over to these shops... take a look around.. add some items to your favorites, better yet to your cart... add these artists to your circle...

Thanks for staying with me... I had so much fun going through shops, finding new sellers and interesting items.  I think that I may have this be a regular post for Fridays.  What do you think? Who are some of your favorite sellers?

Much Love
Shell

Chain Maille Tutorial Giveaway

Lori Anderson of Pretty Things is hosting an amazing giveaway of THREE Scott-David Plumlee DVDs.  I included a link to his website in case you want to check out all the wonderful items that he has available.  There are books, kits, tutorials, tools, classes and finished jewelry.

Look at this focal kit that he offers! 

Butterfly Pendant Silver Kit 

There are three chances to win one of his amazing videos.  I am excited about the possibility of winning Make Wire-Wrapped Jewelry.  I have included the link in case you just can't take the suspense of the giveway and would like to purchase your own copy. 

Hop on over to Lori's blog to enter to win.   Good Luck!

Much Love,
Shell

The Art of Closure - Amazing Opportunity

Deryn of Something Sublime announced on March 5th that she is hosting an online workshop The Art of Closure.  This is an amazing opportunity to learn how to create your own beautiful clasps.  She will be covering some of her favorite clasps and how to create them yourself.

Some of her amazing clasps.


Now it gets even better!  She is offering two lucky winners the opportunity to attend her course for free!  Yeah you heard me FREE!  Hop on over to her blog post Looking for Closure for details on how to enter to win.


These are some of my favorites that she has featured on her blog


I have to say that I am really hoping that my name gets pulled.. It is such an amazing opportunity and one that I wouldn't want to miss.

And if you are just impatient here is the link to sign up for her class The Art of Closure.  By the way, if you have already signed up you can still get in on the giveaway, check out her post for more details.

What are you waiting for?!  Get on over there and sign up yourself.

Much Love
Shell

Pearl's Giveaway

Pearl of The Beading Gem's Journal is having a fantastic giveaway!  Over a pound of Preciosa-Ornela Czech glass beads!

Aren't the colors amazing!?


She has made some great designs for those of us who don't do a lot of bead work.  Hop on over to her blog  using the link, check out her designs, and enter to win yourself!

Much love
Shell

Curious Finds

I know, I know.. I was supposed to post yesterday.  I was supposed to post pics of my new bracelets yesterday.  Alas, I have no clasps to finish them.  This weekend was a whirlwind of activity for me and mine.  It was so much fun and a much needed break from the day to day for my family.  This post is going to be a little picture heavy.  Stick with me to the end for some unexpected surprises.

While I was at Bare Walls (antique shop) in Chickamauga, I spotted some items that caught my eye and I just have to post some pics.

Isn't this owl cookie jar just the cutest!?  It makes me think of something that my grandmother had in her kitchen.  I may have to go back and grab this up.

This cute little set of salt-n-pepper shakers was just so cute.  It made me think of Sleeping Beauty and my kids outside playing hide and seek or tag.

Are you still with me?  I really hope so!

How about this Cheshire Cat tea pot?  Who wouldn't love to have this in their collection? That smile is irresistible. 

The color in these sets just caught my eye and made me think of a fun evening in with friends or family. 

And Wow!!! A Hamilton printers tray cabinet with drawers.  Does anyone out there restore items like this? 

And another cute as a button salt-n-pepper set.  It was the eyes that drew me in.

You still there?  Yeah I had hoped that you would stick with me.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with northwest Georgia, there are a lot Civil War battlefields and monuments.  I can go less than a mile from my home and walk, jog, run, or ride my way through the Chickamauga Battlefield.

Bare Walls had some unusual items included in the offerings.

These are Civil War bullets that were recovered locally.  As soon as I saw them, I immediately thought FOCAL!!  I just have no idea how to treat them to keep them from transferring the patina to the wearers clothes.  Any ideas? 

And how about these fired Civil War bullets?  I love these even more due to the varying shapes and sizes

That is all that I have to share for today .. I have some more photos, but I am going to save them for another day.  Hopefully I will be able to get to the local Hobby Lobby to pick up some clasps for quick use while I wait for some to be made and shipped. 

How was your weekend? 

Much love

Shell

Where did the time go? and Catching Up

Wow!  Time really got away from me, I had no idea that it had been so long since I had been able to sit down and make a post.  With all these boys, I am surprised that I remember to brush my teeth.

Let's see ...

First  - I created 3 bracelets for the 7000 Bracelets for Hope blog hop, but I was so excited to get them in the mail that I didn't take any pictures.  Seriously - my mind decided to take a break for a couple of weeks.  My youngest, however, was sweet and made sure that he created a special picture to be included with each of the bracelets in addition to my notes.

Second - My creative mojo has been missing. Literally gone bye bye.  I don't know the cause, but I am glad that it is over!  I have been able to sit down and make a couple of new bracelets.  I hope to get a couple more completed before Sunday and will post pics of all of them then.

Hmmm Let's see what else is going on .. Oh yeah!  I have been enjoying making my way through the Bead Soup Blog Hop.  Sadly I wasn't able to participate this time, but I have been so inspired with the beautiful designs that I have seen so far.

Little League Baseball has begun here in Georgia and the youngest is excited to play again this year.  So far he's already missed 2 out of 6 practices due to his breathing issues, but he's a trooper.  Rescue inhaler is definitely at the ready all season.  Spring mixed with running around outside in temps that range from 70s to 30s here wreak all kinds of havoc on him.   Be prepared for a multitude of pictures as the season continues.

Oh! Oh! I went shopping and found me some wonderful chain and beads.  Wanna see??? I so can't wait for everything to arrive ...

First the chain - I purchase my chain from a variety of vendors, but this time I went to one of my favs which is Antiqued on Etsy.  Here is what I picked up from her .. and aren't they all just gorgeous!

Then I went looking for beady goodness .. Let's face it we all know that there is no such thing as too many beads ... For the beads I went to Beads by C (Beads and Botanicals).  She has some amazing sample mixes so I grabbed up 5 of her mixes.. and let me tell you .. when she adds them to the shop they sell fast!  Just beautiful!  

And I have asked Melinda Orr of Orrtec to create some S-clasps for me that I can incorporate into my designs.  I am excited to see what she comes up with.. and by the way have you seen her new patina pieces??!!  They are fantastic.  I will be ordering some soon. 

I guess that just about catches me up for now... How are you all doing? What are you creating? What components have you been grabbing up?  If you've blogged about it put the link to your blog in the comments :) 

Much love

Shell