What's In The Trunk?

I promised  some pictures of what I've been working on for the Faerieworlds Festival. So here are some of them. I've been concentrating on Brooches, but tomorrow is my last day for that and then I switch to building up my stock of necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

I made a number of Steampunk pieces since a lot of this crowd will be younger.

I have considered keeping this piece. I LOVE the bird claw which I got from The Mermaid's Dowry on Etsy (Check her out, she has AMAZING stampings).

And what Faerieworlds Festival would be complete without a Faerie or two?

Butterflies and Crystals fit well with this theme.

I love the whole "Running against Time" theme.

I made this with watch parts from one of my Mother-in-law's old watches. Thanks, Mimi!

Winning Some Swag

I love leaving coments on blogs just about as much as I love reading the comments left here. But when there is a Give-Away involved, I REALLY love leaving comments on blogs. Not that I'm particularly lucky. Aside from winning a bike once, my luckiest venture was winning a fabulous husband (and I had to really WORK for that one).
But, I was lucky this week when I won a Bee-utiful necklace from Melissa Rappaport on her blog. Just in time to wear with a new dress, it came in one of my favorite colors (purple) and had one of my favorite critters (a dragonfly). Be sure to check out Melissa's blog.

THANK YOU, Melissa!

In other news, I am going to be vending with a friend at the Faerieworlds Festival in Oregon at the end of this month, so I have been beading like a maniac until all hours. I haven't listed any of my new pieces in my Etsy shop because :

a. I don't have any time.

b. I want to save my stash for the festival.

c. I'm too lazy.

But I was going to take a picture of some of the new bits I have made and post it here, but I was taking a nap with my nap buddy (soft orange and white Fido kitty) instead of taking pictures and now the light is gone. Tomorrow - I promise.

So stay tuned....

Alphabet Walk - W

So today I have the letter W on the Alphabet Walk. This has been a lot of fun and I've met some great new bloggers.

WITCHHAZEL at Village Green Resort, Oregon

THE WHITE GARDEN, Sissinghurst, Kent, England

WATER TOWER MURAL, Edgefield, Portland, Oregon

WATERLILIES, Kew, London, England

WATERING CANS, Great Dixter, Sussex, England

WINDMILL, Los Angeles, California

WATERFALL, Proxy Falls, Oregon

WEIR ON THE RIVER AVON, Bath England

WINDOWS, New York City, New York

WEEPING WILLOW, Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island, Washington

Alphabet Walk!

Thanks to One Sydney Road I am part of a blog photo walk featuring the alphabet. I actually picked 2 letters, F and W because I couldn't decide between my forest pictures or my waterfall pictures. I hope you enjoy these photos starting with the Letter F...

The FLOATING FOREST, Silver Falls, Oregon

FOUNTAINS, Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania

FIRE HOUSE, New York City

FACE, Chanticleer Gardens, Pennsylvania

FRANKLINIA ALATAMAHA, The Oregon Garden, Silverton, Oregon

FOSSIL, on the side of The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California

FROST, The Oregon Garden, Silverton, Oregon

FARM, Near Dozemary Pool, England

Please be sure to check back on Friday (the 16th) to see what I have lined up for the Letter W.

Freaky Fun Fair and Following a Kaboodle.

This week-end I went to The Oregon Country Fair, which is celebrating it's 41st anniversary. This is not your regular fair. First of all, it's huge, rambling through many acres of woodland with artist's and craftsmen's booths tucked hither and yon in the trees. Fairies and Giants stroll the paths and many a musical parade can be found, followed by green clothed Limelights. I love the entertainment and the art and the color and the music. What I don't love is the heat and the crowds. So I went early in the morning and enjoyed myself until I started to feel claustrophobic and then wandered home clutching a tie-dyed scarf I bought from some little kids and 2 porcelain owl pendents bartered from a fabulous porcelain jeweler. Here are a few pictures:

This vine serpent is the perfect place for hot and tired kids to take a break and relax in the shade.

The stilted sheep were a favorite of mine, wandering here and theer through the crowd, bleating, while a very tall shepherdess followed behind. I loved them because even though they are darling, they are also a little creepy.

This butterfly was definately a Monarch (I could tell by his tiara).

Funky flamingos danced to tribal drums while two of the many giants danced behind.

And while we're on the subject of the awesome and the artistic, I have found a blog that I love and I've been amazed that more people haven't found her. Follow this link to Kit and Kaboodle and make sure you check out her weekly "Whimseys".   She has a knack for rooting out fabulous pictures, videos, music and more.

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Beaded Beauties - Treasure Boxes and Treasury

I love making functional art. And I was a bit jaded with always making beaded jewelry, so in addition to the clock (see sidebar) I also made a few Treasure Boxes. They are both listed in my Etsy Store here.

And if you want to see some fabulous Beaded Bling by some talented artists, check out the new treasury here.

A Winner!

Well,  I couldn't quite figure out the random pick do-hickey, so I wrote everyone's name on a slip of paper and put all the slips in a lovely purple Fiesta Ware bowl and mixed them up and held it high over my head and picked one out and the winner is:
SABINE from Potato Says Hi.
I bopped over to her blog to tell her she had won and to ask her to send her address and found that she is an amazing 12 year-old who has her own blog (with FAB pictures of owls) and she sews and who knows what else. I was quite impressed that she's blogging at such a young age. So I'm hoping everyone will stop by her blog and say hello and tell her where you are from. I hope she can use the book, but I'm also sending her a beaded brooch because I'm so impressed with her enterprizing spirit.
Congratulations Sabine!
The next Give-Away is for this Beaded Celtic Knot Brooch.

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Have a great July!