Six more days to receive three Freebies!

I want to post but I don't want you to miss out on the freebies either & if I post you will loose the former pictures. Go back to my last post you will see that I have three giveaways to celebrate my 100th Post! (I have had some people email me to say that they don't have a blog and want to be entered in the drawing anyway.) Wonderful! Just email me at saf47@yahoo.com and your name will be entered in the drawing (be sure to reference my blog so that I will be sure to open the email!)

If you comment on my post or email me = One chance

If you post about the giveaway on your blog= Two chances

Add my blog to your blog roll= Three chances to Win!!

I will put ALL of your names in a hat & choose three lucky winners!

I promise I will not look until I have all three names drawn. (You see, I don't know how to do the whole blog counter/name drawing thingy, sorry! Maybe someday I will take the time to learn how to do all of the "fancy" add ons & become computer literate, afterall.)

In the mean time, I wanted to show you my latest project. I took some flat antique lamp crystals and added prints to the backside. I am going to "string" some beads (that will match) to a couple of the prints & make it into a necklace. Also a dark ribbon would be a stunning look, don't you think?

Now, I must get back to beading. I am anxious to get this latest project completed so that I can post the results. (I see things in my minds eye and realize that others might not be able to see my projects in there completed form without a picture.) I hope you will come back by to see the completed necklaces. Thank you for taking your time to stop by & be sure to leave me a comment & enter the giveaway drawing (YOU "make my day"!).... Sharon

One Year Old & 100th Post Giveaway!!!!

I can not believe that I have posted 100 times! I started May 2008 after Dawn of The Feathered Nest encouraged me to set up my own blog. So I am celebrating three separate occasions...One Year Old/100th Post! Yes, I said three occasions.....So guess what, I am going to also have my very FIRST giveaway/appreciation/birthday & welcome, surprises!! If you will leave me a comment, mention this giveaway on your blog & add my blog to your blog roll. I will put your name in a hat to draw the winners on June 7th!!! (I will be going on vacation June 11-June 30th so this will be a quick turnaround. ) Yes, winners! I am going to give away this vintage box with the divided slots & the featured scrap booking ledger. (The pages on the inside of the ledger are blank so that you can use it as a journal to add your creative thoughts or put pictures of loved ones.) Now that makes two gifts for two lucky winners but I have three occasions so I should give away three things, right? Well, someone else will also receive this beautiful photo album! It is full of lovely frames and tied up with a bow. It will make a lovely gift or can be filled with your own family photos.
I hope you will get the word out and support me on my birthday. I wanta' party and you are all welcome! You must leave your blog address, email & I will let each one know when your name is drawn.

Thank you for a wonderful year of making friends and inspiring me to go forward with the talents that the Lord has given me. I have made a few "errors" in this last (for those I have already apologized ) and I pray that those errors have made me a better & stronger person. But with that behind me I will look forward to another year, making new friends, developing my current friendships & meeting "creative buddies" along the way. You are all truly are a blessing to me in my personal life...

Best of Luck to each one......

Dawn's 900th Post Giveaway

I am so thrilled to receive Dawn's (The Feathered Nest) 900th post giveaway! Just to have one thing she has made is such a privilege. She does such a fabulous job on every little detail, inside & out. I love the rusted key & the sheer ribbon that ties it all together. Plus she enclosed a lovely bookmark that is trimmed with lace. Isn't it precious!! (If you right click on it you can get a closer view of her work.)

Well, I was so inspired by her bookmark that I have been working on a few to add to cards, gifts, etc. As I stated in the previous post I get the pictures from numerous generous ladies. Mostly I have been using the ones from Clearly Vintage.

I added some of my Mom's rick rack to the bottom and some vintage lace to finish off the bottoms. Adobe Photoshop is a tremendous help in creating a delightful piece. I have so many others to show you that I finally finished so I will post them in under a separate heading. This post is all about Dawn.

Thank you, Dawn for the beautiful gifts and the inspiration that you give to us so freely!! You truely are a lovely friend to soooo many...Sharon

Shabby Chic Papir Skatter Blog lovelies

Well, I finally got the Victorian Letter Holder finished! I love the way it turned out. The roses on the top & the front ribbon are ornamental pieces that I have had for 30 years. This project was the ideal project to finally use them. When the top is open you can see that the pictures can be changed according to whatever you want to add, to make it more personal. I just liked the little girl advertisement & the scripture. (Most of the pictures from this box came from Clearly Vintage and I adore each one!!!)

Some of the other pictures came from The Rustic Victorian's generosity! Thank You so much!!!

Have you been to see Heidi, from shabbychicpapirskatter.blogspot.com? She has the most lovely lovely vintage/Victorian clip art!!I want to thank ALL of the generous bloggers for sharing their wonderful inspirations to keep people like me busy creating. I get a lot of my artwork from DigiFree.blogspot.com. Please go to their sight and see all of the beautiful designers that give away their "samples" for free use. I have also purchased several pieces of their works & enjoy each one of their designs.

I hope you like the things that I have done but now I MUST go clean up all of this mess so that I can find my desk top to bead a little...

Your comments are always appreciated! Thanks, Sharon

Paper work completed....?

This is a cookie tin that Lynn from Lynn's Lovelies gave me filled with cookies. I, of course, ate all the cookies then I covered it with a collage of papers and sayings and topped it with a silk organza flower & flower bud that I made from hot pink/orange/yellow fabric. I then had a green sheer curtain that was of a little heavier fabric that I made the leaves from. It worked GREAT! The textures are totally different which lends well with my style. I added old earrings to the centers of the flowers to give it some pop. What do you think? Just a tin of cookies to a present....

I started this box off with a watch box that had been given to my hubby. Once the watch is on his wrist, it is just full of possibilities for creating. I sanded it down so the paper would hold to the plastic. On the outside I put this lovely red lady from Clearly Vintage then on the side added a collage of different clips. Of course there was an advertising label on the inside so I added the lady & child which I believe I got from Dover? It really is a lovely box now that I have added the touches. (The white flower is from a bush in my yard but it is really precious when it is in bloom.)

This post will have to be created in sections because there are so many pictures. Here I have covered mint tins/watch box/compact pieces with vintage prints that I got from the Internet. Some beauties came from Clearly Vintage, The Rustic Victorian, The Feathered Nest, Old Photo Album, Free Vintage Clip Art & Dover. (I pray I have named all of the generous people, if not PLEASE let me know!!) Plus I have a large inventory of prints from my Mothers cards & Grandma J's photos, etc. I enjoy going through the pictures, (just for my own enjoyment) but most of all I love using them to create gifts for loved ones & friends.

This particular box is for the Women's retreat at our church, on June 12th & 13th, as a door prize. It is made from a mint tin. I wanted to make a nice box for the cross that I will be donating. The box is a gift in itself, however it is rather small.

I made a little collage for the inside to make the gift more precious to the person who wins the door prize! This yellow box is actually a lipstick holder and has a mirror inside. I haven't finished the inside yet but I wanted to show you a work in progress.

Well, this post is getting a little long & you may get a little bored. I will make one more post tonight with my letter holder that I promised to post. Thank you for being patient...sharon

I have been BUSY creating a Mess!

My art room is a total mess!!! I am going from one thing to another but I wanted to post "some" of the things I have finished. I made these three bracelets. Two of them have magnet closures and the bright pink one is closed with an antique button. These are soooo comfortable to wear with jeans or even dressy. (At my age, I seem to be going more and more toward comfort! )

A fellow beader, Betty, invited me over to her lovely home to bead together. What a treasure trove of beads! We had such a good time going through all of her Mothers and Grandmothers vintage jewelry. We came up with a couple of updated looks for her to add a couple of pieces together. You know I was "in my element". We didn't get much beading done but I enjoyed it so much. Thanks, Betty, for being such a good host!!!
I also made a couple dozen flowers from organza fabric and miscellaneous beads. The hot pink/orange flowers were made from the wrinkled fabric and it burns so cool. The edges are very irregular while the softer fabrics burn in a curve which makes a natural "petal". I have added pin clips/hair clips/barrettes to each one. They are going to go to our women's retreat at church for give aways. I LOVE creating! I do believe that God has done a much better job in designing our "real" flowers but when those are not around after their season then these flowers are good reminders of what is to come.

Now I will make two posts for you to see some of the "paper" work that I have been doing. Please check it out!

Thank you so much for "stopping by". You are appreciated immensely!!! Sharon

Refreshed & Ready to work

I did take a nice restful nap & enjoyed it very much, thank you. I worked on the letter box, the black box, and even covered a round tin. They are starting to take shape but I have to finish the trim work before I take pictures of them. Paper work is so different than beading but I do enjoy the results tremendously.

Tomorrow I hope to post the results of a long night of labor.
You all sleep well & I will go create...my favorite thing to do...Sharon

Ravoli Lace

I have been busy and this is the first piece that is completed this week. It is lovely shades of peacock blue with a gorgeous large ravoli in the center. I finished off the ravoli with a lace "skirting" on each side. I closed it with a wide gold clasp. On the lace I started with a dark blue/green size 15 (very small) bead and graduated up to a lighter ruffle. This is all on top of a peyote base of even darker & larger peacock shaded beads.

Are there ever days when you can't quite get anything completed? Well, today is my day for numerous projects with the house cleaning nagging in the back of my mind. I started on covering a letter holder that I have been wanting to do. I forgot to take a picture of it before I started. My goal was to make into a Vintage/Victorian dresser set. It is coming along but it took me until 2:00AM to finish covering just the base. Now I am studying it to see what comes next. I want to add Vintage accessories to add to it but nothing has "hit" my creative juices yet.

I also have a square box that will be lovely once it is done. I made some organza roses in brown, white, pink & mauve and I thought I would use one of them on the top.

I also have a frame to finish for my daughters Mothers day gift from the silhouettes of my grand daughters.

So as you see I have numerous unfinished projects that I MUST get to. I want to make one thing at a time and try to forget that my list is growing by the minute. I was going to include pictures of the desk letter holder and the box but now my battery is dead on my camera and I have to charge it. I guess, I will leave all of this mess (while my battery is charging) and go take a nap. As nothing is coming together I will lay down and try to regroup. Once my camera is charged and I can get the pics I will post the update....a nap is on schedule...zzzzzzzz

Happy Mothers Day to ALL

This is the last good picture I have of my Momma. She then came to live with me and I had a whole year to treasure her in my home. Look at all of the children that she loved! We were poor but rich in love. Until her dieing day she loved me, encouraged me, accepted me as an equal and was the best Mother/Friend that anyone could possibly wish for. She was NEVER unkind, always supportive and sweet. I miss her so during this time of grief. BUT I believe she wanted me to CELEBRATE her life. She about died five times when the doctors gave her no hope. She was a survivor! She was blind at three. (Her Mother gave her away to her Grandmother because it was too much to cope with.) She had polio at 13 and was in an iron lung for months. She lived through cancer. She "lived" her walk with the Lord and led the way for her children. She buried two of her sons in the same year, the oldest & youngest. When she came to live with me they told her that she had only 3 months at the most, six months would be out of the question and one year would be a miracle!!!. One year to that day she wanted to go see her doctor. Her quote to him was "I just came to show you a miracle". She lived three more months. My Mother was a blessing to anyone who came in contact with her. I praise the Lord for that last year in my home...nothing could ever take away that wonderful time....

Next is a picture of their wedding ( 16 yrs old. 25 years/50 years/ 63 years ( there last year together on earth)

Today I honor this wonderful women who just happened to be my Mother...I do miss her so...Sharon

Moss Hill Studio is having a Giveaway/Freebie/Thank You!!

JoAnnA & Ron are having a giveaway/freebie/love gift/thank you! (For all of those search machines that go searching for goodies, well, here is a really good sight!) For all of us that have been following the Moss Hill Blog know that she has created this beautiful work of art to thank US! They are going through so much with Ron's surgery, traveling expenses to the hospital, hotel stays, eating, gas and SHE is giving to US! Now that is the love that only the Lord can out give. Bless their hearts for thinking of all of the bloggers when their trial is so heavy. JoAnnA & Ron YOU are both in our prayers, our hearts and our minds. Take care and keep us posted of what comes next. I do not always leave a note because I know you must be exhausted but I do want you to know that you are never far from my thoughts and prayers. (Sometimes it is harder on the person who is the care giver than on the patient.)

Fellow bloggers, please keep them in your prayers and Please take the time to go read her blog at Moss Hill.blog.com then you will understand what I mean about her lovely blog & the reason why she covets your prayers!

Just Me

My very own personal lovely professional photographer (Melissa, my daughter of One Click Away Photography) used me for a ginny pig before her photo op with the Ms. GA. Nursing Home Queen & she caught this photo of me. I like it because she used a soft filter on it and it took away all my wrinkles!!! What a neat camera that is! She says: "Mom, it is the photographer/not the camera". I even got a half decent shot of two pieces of my jewelry. Since she has started photographing for a business, we hardly ever get "snapshots".

I have been noticing on several blogs that the photography is getting to be more & more of a professional quality. I feel so bad using my little orange Fuji/point & shoot camera. So is life, always something new, bigger, better, and sharper.

I am just hanging out tonight, reading blogs, beading a little and keeping my hands busy. I have entirely too many projects going all at the same time so I am going to go now and get something completed before I go to bed. I will try to post a bracelet that I am working on sometime tomorrow after my doctors appointment.

I hope your life is full of warm wishes, great friends & that life is GOOD!

What a wonderful life!

Ms. Frances Harrell, 91 years young

Ms. 2009 Nursing Home Queen!

Truly I am blessed!

I had a lovely weekend! On Saturday, my daughter had a photo shoot and asked me to go along. She was photographing the "Ms. Georgia Nursing Home Pageant". Now you may think, "how boring" but I had such a good time. The ladies were truly beautiful! Funny, witty, sweet, and so very precious is only a small description of those valiant women. Just think of the history they have seen! It is mind boggling to think that some were in their 90's. Ninety years ago their lives were so different from ours today. They have lived through wars, raising their babies, rations, storms, laughter, & pain.

As each one came to have their pictures taken, I had the privilege of speaking with each one. They had to be in a nursing home, they had to pass their local competition, make a scrapbook of their lives & they had to bring a representative from the nursing home & a nurse. They had their nails/hair/makeup all done to match their evening gowns. There were three of our Marine Officers to escort them up the runway. After they passed the interviews from the judges they choose five finalists then they interviewed the five again on stage. Then our own Ms. Georgia crowned the Queen! I was moved to tears several times during the whole event. Not just because I miss my Momma but because I love the wisdom of older women who have "been there done that". Their "faith" was refreshing & so very wise. (I did not know that they have been having a Ms. Georgia Nursing Home Pageant since 1979. You have to admire the work that goes into such an adventure. Mrs. Belinda Price & numerous others work so hard to make this event a special day for all!) Several of the ladies were so spunky & I had to laugh out loud when one of the ladies showed me a tattoo that she had on her breast. She said that I must get one, "it makes you feel sexy". I adored her & wished she lived closer to my town so that I could keep up with her. How fun that would have been.

Mrs. Harrell graciously accepted the award! She lives just down the road from my town in Lawrenceville, GA. I will love to keeping up with her life over this next year. What a precious treasure she is to her beautiful family & to her state of Georgia!

While Melissa was "working" I had the time to bead a little. I made this Herringbone Belted Cuff. It is made with soft jet black triangles woven in a herringbone pattern. Wow, what a lot of work. Then I ended the belt part with a beautiful gold delica bead in a brick stitch. Next I made the "buckle" from the same gold bead and topped that with a deep cranberry red Czech crystal. It is quite stunning and the bracelet is soft as a fabric because the beads were so small.

While at the convention I sold three of my very favorite pieces. (It is so hard to let any of them go but when I get attached to a piece it is like tearing a part of me away.) But the lady that bought it seemed to love it as much as I did. (It is kinda' like giving away a puppy/if it goes to a good home it seems to be a little less painful).

So, I did have a good weekend. Time with my best friend, meeting such beautiful women, going to worship the Lord and a much needed nap too. Truly, I am blessed.....thanks for stopping in!

Have a wonderful week ahead....sharon

HAPPY MAY DAY EVERYONE!!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a very happy May Day! This is a tradition that has gotten lost in todays busy lives. So I wanted to wish you lots of flowers and warm spring air.....
Thank you for stopping by...sharon