Winner!

The winner of the "Secret" Pin is #6 which is Cat from http://inthelightofthemoon.blogspot.com/
Congrats Cat! Please email me your address so I can get it out to you.
Smiles-
Melissa

Mixed Medial Jewelry Give Away and Starfish Bracelet

The idea for this pin started with a small scrabble tile and took off from there. This is truly a "mixed-media" piece of jewelry. The scrabble tile has been collaged and sealed with resin. I made the fabric bead above the tile and sewed on glass and freshwater pearls over a piece of vintage lace. It's all on a webbed piece of off white material sewed to a 3 inch long kilt pin. This my friends in blogland is my offering for my giveaway. Please leave a comment and you will be entered in the drawing. If you are a follower or become a follower you'll get your name entered twice. I'll randomly draw the winner on Thursday! Good Luck!

We all have secrets, now don't we???????

Tossed carelessly upon the shore through the glimmering aqua waves the starfish wait patiently in the bejeweled tide pool for the waves to sweep them back into the ocean...... I love starfish.....such benevolent little creatures....

They were the inspiration for this cuff bracelet. The waves and starfish are cut from leather and painted. I sewed on the glass and pearl beads onto the leather waves. The base is a somewhat flexible off white webbing layered with vintage lace.

The Starfish Story

An old man was walking down the beach just before dawn. In the distance he saw a young man picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea. As the old man approached the young man, he asked; "Why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time?" The young man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. "But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of starfish, exclaimed the old man. "How can your efforts make any difference?" The young man looked down at the small starfish in his hand and as he threw it to safety in the sea, he said; "It makes a difference to this one!"

This little story reminds me that even the tinest gestures can make a big difference in other peoples lives. Hope you all had a great Saturday!

Spring Giveaway!

It's a Spring Giveaway to be posted on Friday..............stop back and check it out, you won't be sorry!!!!!

Fairy Problem?

I'm not saying I've got a fairy problem.....but, I SUSPECT I have a fairy problem in my perennial gardens. Last night I caught this little girl out in my creeping phlox......

She told me her name was "April" and she was the fairy that brought the showers. She even had beaded raindrops hanging off of her cloud and umbrella. She carried a bucket full of raindrops and looked well prepared for a deluge in her slick yellow rainboots.

Then tonight as I was checking out what popped up during the past few days in my side perennial garden, this little fellow scampered about and introduced himself to me as, "King Flowers". He had a pet Swallowtail butterfly attached to a leash!

And an armful of flowers.

I don't know for sure but I think he's French (see the French text on his hat?).

Well, what is your take on this? Do I have a fairy problem? Should I just let them hang out in my garden?

Fabric Beads..........

My spring coffee cup is going to tell a little story......

This chicky had a great Easter Sunday!

I got up early and hopped to the studio to make fabric beads and drink Duncan Donut coffee.

After dinner I waddled to the back porch and sat in the sun! The End.

How perfect is this tulip with the fresh dew still on it?

Ok, now onward to the fabric beads. I made two sizes, 1 inch long and 1/2 inch long. If you'd like 1 inch long beads then cut your fabric strips one inch wide. Then cut them 7 inches long. I use a quilting ruler, self healing cutting mat and a rotary cutter.

Oh yah! Gel medium. How much of this stuff do I use? A lot, that's all I'm going to say. I should really bite the bullet and buy the gallon jar of it for $65! You are going to use the gel medium to glue and wrap the beads and seal off the ends.

Mmmmmmmm, just look at these lucious batiks. Great colors!

Go the the dollar store and buy a bag of bamboo skewers to wrap the fabric around. Grab a very small paint brush too while you're at the dollar store.

To make the bead, grab a strip of fabric start to wrap it around the skewer, give it 2 full wraps (do not wrap too tight!!!! check to see if you can move it up and down the skewer) then dip your paint brush into the gel medium and dab some on the inside of the fabric and continue to do 2 more full wraps......dab on more gel medium. Keep doing this until you get to the end of the fabric. Dab a generous amount of the gel meduim on the endof the fabric and then smooth it down with your finger (don't leave a gob of it, smooth it out).

Let the beads dry for about 45 mintues. Pull them off of the skewer. Trim off any rougue threads and then using your little paint brush dab a small amount of gel medium on each end of the beads to keep them from unraveling. Let them dry. Now you're ready to use them in all kinds of beading projects! I'll be posting some projects using them soon. They are time consuming but worth it!

Hope you all had a great weekend and super Monday!

Happpy Easter!

Happy Easter! He is Risen! Amen!

Easter is a time of renewal, hope and redemption. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and enjoy the time together with family and friends. I will be going out to dinner with my husband, my mom & dad and his mom & dad.

Hey, where did that Easter Bunny come from anyway?

The bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have it's origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1500s. The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s. These were made of pastry and sugar. The Easter bunny was introduced to American folklore by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s.

Question: What part of the chocolate bunny do you bite first? :-)

I bite the ears first!