Peek at My Weeks (Feb 14-27)

Once again, I'm catching up on my weekly peek. I had the time last week to write this post, but not the motivation. And, my mood was not conducive for it at all. I'm sure you've had days like that too. So, I gave myself a break and decided I would wait. Now, I've got loads to share with you. 

We kept Valentine's Day very low-key. I mostly worked in the craft room and was able to let an idea come to fruition. I'm loving that little box and very likely make some more. 

I also ran out to the store for a bit of a treat.

Since Mardi Gras was that Tuesday, I felt like we NEEDED at least one King Cake. I went with one cream cheese and one raspberry for plenty of options. 

Monday was a little crazy as the plumbers were at the house most of the afternoon struggling to fix our drain issue. I stayed out of their way and in the craft room.

I focused on working on my piece for the Honey Do List and stressed about friends and family trapped in the snow in Texas.

Tuesday was Mardi Gras. And, it was unlike any I've ever celebrated. It was bitterly cold. My sinuses were aching. I grocery shopped. But, there was King Cake.


I'm not even sure what happened on Wednesday. It was a tad bit warmer, but overcast all day. I'm sure that influenced my mood.
But, I pushed forward and created.

Again on Thursday, I suffered through sinus issues and that had me moving slow. But, in addition to working on some jewelry, I was able to channel some of my creative focus into an art journal page.

 Apparently, on Friday, I found all my lost energy from the week because I was all over the place. 
I probably got a little pumped because my "valentine gift" from Pat came in. He bought me a super-fancy microphone for recording voiceovers for my videos. I really thought I could just get something small that would plug into a USB port, but should have known better since he's an audio expert. oops!

Though there was that happy in the day, while I worked away on loads of jewelry, I somehow broke my nice chain-nose pliers. Eek!! I've got an e-mail into the company though to see if there's anything I can do to fix them. But at least, I got some jewelry made, and the break could have been worse. 

Dinner was photo-worthy.

On Saturday, I realized how tight I was up to a couple of challenge deadlines. So, I started working away on those and experimented with a few techniques and supplies.

In the midst of that, I also set out a bucket of materials for a rust dye.

On Sunday, I laid out everything to dry while finishing up my contribution for the You, Me, Same 3 video reveal. 

With my page completed for the challenge, I spent almost all of Monday getting my video ready for the reveal. Artemis even joined me in the craft room.

Tuesday started off with a bit of excitement when a neighbor's dog followed Pat home from his morning walk and we had to call them to find out where she belonged. After I did the grocery shopping, I had to run back out for a single item from the craft store. Of course, I discovered an amazing load of clearance items that had to come home with me. 

Fortunately, I also picked up the mold-making kit I needed.

It had been a few weeks since I had checked in with my mom, so after busting out a quick jewelry task, I headed out to visit with her in the afternoon. My niece's cat didn't want me to leave and climbed up on my shoulder as I was about to walk out the door after my visit. 

On Thursday, I made up for my afternoon away from the house and completed a few tasks I had been putting off. I organized some of my tin scraps as I prepped to work on earring pairs. 

Once the midday sun had passed, I was out on the porch to get product pictures taken.

I was back porch again Friday morning to welcome in the day. The fog kept my attention focused close in and had me looking for beauty not far from where I sat.

That really fueled my day as I hopped from one activity to another, even working on making Grungy Opals based on the tutorial from Fanciful Devices

In the evening, Pat and I met a friend for a beer outside the Brewery in Fairhope. On our way there, I couldn't help but snap a few shots of this amazing sunset from the truck. 

Saturday was a big video day for me as I had two reveals: The Red Riding Hood Hop and You, Me, Same 3. I spent much of the day watching the other videos and responding to comments. When I hopped outside to snap a few shots of one of the pieces, I was distracted for a moment by the dew in the weeds.

When I did get a break from videos, I was happy to discover that some of our mini daffodils have begun blooming. They feel like a promise of the spring to come. 

Whew! That was basically my last two weeks in pictures.
Now, here's some inspiration for your week ahead. 
Geez, that was a long list! Hopefully, there's something in there that will inspire you and keep you going this week I hope you go out there and make it a good one!

A Look at My Craft Room

Ever since we moved out here to Silverlox (the name we've given our property), I've been hesitant to share a look at my craft room. It's considerably smaller than the one in our other house and a constant work-in-progress. But, Cat at Cut Out + Keep has very nicely asked (several times) for a tour and interview. So, I cleaned it up the best I could and gave in. You can find the pictures and my interview for Hope's Craft Room on their site. 


In addition, while I had the room in some semblance of order, I went ahead and did a quick video tour of my craft room. It's wobbly and a little rushed but was needed before I expand (hopefully) in a few months. 

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about how I store things in my room or if you want a better idea of what all I've got packed away in here. It's a big, cluttered mess. But, it's mine! I'm very fortunate. 

Oh, and if you want to see what the craft room in our other house was like, here's the post I did about it. 

Industrial Romantic (Honey Do List Reveal)

I have to admit it, hearts aren't usually my thing. Even in middle school, they felt a little too cutesy to me. As such, hearts don't often make an appearance in my jewelry. But, this month's photo inspiration from Sarajo and Eric at SJ Designs Jewelry had a big, red heart that dominated the picture. I wasn't sure what I would do. 

As I finished working on another project, I realized that I had a ton of little scrap squares of tin littering my desk. I thought about trashing them. However, I quickly realized that they might work to make a pixelated heart like the one in Eric's photo. I never considered coloring them red, but did look for a red tin that would work. Since I knew this reveal would be many days after Valentine's, I decided to veer from creating something that felt so tied to the holiday. Instead, I grabbed a bit of green tin and went to work on it. 

The "gold" tin scraps are actually from the inside of the tin. The other side has a blue design on it that just wouldn't work cohesively. I had just enough scraps to get this heart pattern worked out and riveted to the green tin. Once my heart was made, the pendant felt a little plain, so I added the lines of black beads at the bottom for a bit of feminine accent to it.

And, the pendant is basically reversible as the heart pattern comes through on the back of the pendant as well. 

I made the chain somewhat long with black beads, gold-colored wire, and antiqued silver chain. 

I totally dig this necklace. Once again, I wouldn't have come up with this design if it weren't for the inspiration from Sarajo and Eric. Thanks, y'all!! Now, head over to Sarajo's reveal post to see what she and the other participants in this challenge created. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. 

Bead Box 10 - Reveal

Gracious, y'all. I'm so far behind! I was over halfway through writing my blog post to share what I stocked in Bead Box 11 before I realized you haven't seen what I made from Bead Box 10 yet. Geez! Actually, there's a good chance you HAVE seen a bunch of the completed jewelry if you've looked at my Instagram or Etsy. In any case, it's time for a reveal of all of it.


If you're new here, my Bead Box is simply a divided organizer in which I pack each compartment with the elements for a jewelry design. I use this box when I'm low on inspiration, away from home, or just need something to keep my hands busy. I'll list the previous boxes below for you to explore. For now, let's take a look at what I created (and didn't - spoiler alert!)

I knew this first design was going to be one of my favorites, and I was right. It actually sold not long after I got it listed on Etsy. 

This Fairytale House Necklace was partly created for a challenge involving mushrooms, and partly because I needed to do something with that amazing pendant from Gaea. You can find it on Etsy. 

Like the previous necklace, this Woodland Mushroom Necklace also used a Gaea pendant with a mushroom theme. It's also available on Etsy.

I'm ecstatic that I found a way to use this happy little pendant I painted with Vintaj Patinas. It worked perfectly for the November's Honey Do List, and this Flower Meadow Necklace can now be found in the Etsy shop. 

I had such high hopes for those enameled copper rings from Gaea. While this necklace looks great in this picture, it was a fail as everytime it moved, it got a little wonky. It wasn't the sculptural piece I had envisioned. Hopefully I can find a way to use those loops in something else.

These earrings came together in a flash.  I think they're a lovely pop of color and allow the beauty of the enameled beads to shine through too. Get a better look at these Enameled Green Earrings on Etsy. 

There's something so cute and vintage-y about these earrings. With their neutral tones, these Swirls of Brown Earrings are a great final touch to any outfit. 

I have to admit, I'm never quite sure how a bracelet will work until it all comes together. This one that used beads from my random bead soup worked out beautifully. It already has a new home!

I like to think that this necklace will help spread a little joy with its sparkles and pop of red. I know it brings a smile to my face. This Joyful Necklace can be found on Etsy. 

The tenth item in my box was to to be a bracelet. I remember being excited about the design. But, when I sat down with the elements, I just couldn't seem to figure out how to bring them all together. I scrapped the design. It happens. I'm okay with it. 

These earrings have a fun, funky '80s vibe to theme. I love how much movement they have. They're available in the booth at Southern Antiques and Accents.

I really love how cute this pair turned out too. The mixed metals is something I need to do more of. These can also be found up at the antique store. 

Since I was digging the little beaded shapes in one of my other bracelts that alternated with tin, I replicated them in this one with some beads and a cute word charm. It's simply named Create Braclet and can be found in the Etsy Shop. 

These don't exactly match and are just a little odd. I think their quirkiness is fabulous! You can get a better look at these Blue Cone Earrings on Etsy. 

This necklace came together beautifully. It's destined to be listed on Etsy very soon (probably today!) And, hey, doesn't that pottery shard kinda look like a dollar bill?

These sweet blue earrings have just a few elements, but make a statement. You can find them as Blue Floral Earrings on Etsy. 

And, this is the last necklace from the Bead Box. It's a simple little thing with a lightweight chain and nice natural elements. I'll likely list it on Etsy when I can get enough light to get some pictures taken. 

If you're interested in my seeing my previous bead boxes, here's the full list. 

Bead Soup Received

Happy Mardi Gras! What better day to show off some beads? LOL!
I mentioned the Bead Soup Swap a few weeks ago and even gave you a little taste of it. Despite a few hiccups in the shipping times, my partner, Robin, and I both received our bead soups. We even opened the packages up together via a video call. Before I share what Robin sent to me, let me show you what I sent to her. 
I went a little crazy with making the packaging all pretty, even pulling out the gelli plate to decorate some papers.

I sewed the beads into little paper packages. Yeah, I did say I went a little crazy!

And, all of it coordinated (as a bit of a hint) with what was inside.
For Robin, I created a little shadowbox with a mother-of-pearl button inside. Since the solder was darkened, I included both a gunmetal clasp and a shinier silvery one. For coordinating beads, there's some labradorite, cherry quartz, clear crystals, freshwater pearls, black glass, gunmetal spacers, and shell beads. I also popped in a few mother-of-pearl buttons, a soldered bubble, and a word charm.

Now, for what Robin spoiled me with!
Look at all that AMAZING!

There are great metal elements,

Gorgeous stone and pearl beads,

Some very cool Indian glass beads,

Several beautiful clasps,

And then there were the amazing focals!

Robin spoiled me completely and gave me so many options, I hardly know where to begin. I did record a quick video of the Bead Soup I Received if you're interested in seeing those details. 

I'd like to thank Robin for the plethora of beauties that she bestowed upon me as well as Lori for resurrecting this fun swap. I've already enjoyed watching what everyone else has swapped over at the Bead Soup Cafe on Facebook. If you're not already a member, I encourage you to join so that you can keep up with all the happenings and find out if and when there's another swap. Make sure to stay tuned for the reveal on April 3rd (rescheduled for) April 10th!

Winding down the 100DayProject

I awoke the other day with many thoughts about the 100 Day project and decided to jot them down here to share with you. Some of the bits I g...