A New Year, New Adventures

OK...so in the past I have not been the best blogger - I admit that.  But now that hubby has retired, we are going to embark on some new adventures.  Our first adventure will be becoming Snow Birds.  Yes folks, we are spending the winter in sunny Arizona!

Last spring my sister and brother in law sold us their motor home.  They have enjoyed many years of travel in various rigs and wanted to share the fun.  So we are about to set out on our own.  Fortunately for us, we won't be alone.  We have several family and friends who will be joining us.

Our first stop will be in St. George, Utah.  We moved the coach down there just after Thanksgiving and we are glad we did.  We didn't want to have to drive in snow or ice to head south.  As it turns out, this was a smart move.

From St. George we are heading to Kingman,AZ., to spend the night at an RVPark and Horse Hotel. Yea, this should be interesting.

So if you want to keep up with what we find to do and see along the way, please follow this blog as it is the only place I will update our adventure.

Hope to see lots of you here!

The Gem Faire was here last weekend and, of course, I just couldn't stop myself from going.  I found some great turquoise and moonstones!  So I have gotten busy and started making earrings.

DOUBLE LOOP EYE WRAPS WITH SPIRAL CAPS

Sorry this image is so dark - I did pull it into PSPX3 and lightened it but that image is stuck on my computer. This image is straight off my iPad mini.

I purchased a new book the other day off Amazon.com, and it has a whole bunch of new wiring ideas in it.  So I have been playing with my Copper/Fine Silver wire.  I love these DOUBLE LOOP EYE WRAPS WITH SPIRAL CAPS.

There have been many times I wanted something simple, like this, but didn't have anything on hand.  So I think this is going to be my "Go To" for a while.

Stay tuned cuz in a day or two, I am going to do a Book Review on MAKING WIRE & BEAD JEWELRY by Janice Berkebile & Tracy Stanley.

Name Correction

In my previous post, I referred to Nikki Hanna Jewelry.    This is incorrect!!!  My appologies!

It should be:  Nichole Hanna Jewelry.

You can see more of her work here: http://nicolehannajewelry.storenvy.com/

Nikki Hanna Tut - completed

Thanks to Nikki Hanna Jewelry for this great tutorial!!! 

I used copper wire that is coated with .999 silver.  Now all I have to do is make up my mind if I want to oxidize this or leave it shiny.  Any input will be greatly appreciated.

There are a couple of "Oops" in here - I started doing this when I came home from knee surgery and still on drugs.  They are minor, but still there nun the less. Guess this one will have to be mine.

Never say NO to wrapping

Once in a while, you can find a really neat piece of shell that just HAS to be wrapped.

 

 

This piece is so smooth - it feels like a worry stone.  Pat's husband found it down the beach from the condos and asked if I could wrap it for her.  I said "of course I can" and did.

 

 

Never day no to a wrapping challenge!  You might surprise yourself at what you can come up with.

Sunsets on the Sea of Cortez

Sunsets in Mexico, at least the ones we see on the Sea of Cortez, are one of the most beautiful things we experience each evening.  We have never seen a "bad" sunset.  There are some, like this one, that are beautiful, but not overly exciting and then when we have storms, the sunsets become breath-taking.  Fair weather or foul, there is nothing so soothing as the Mexican Sunsets on the Sea of Cortez.

Do You Know What I am?

This is my home - do you know what I am????

I have claws and I can scurry around the beach very fast.  I have to be fast so the gulls won't catch me and eat me!  I'm not very big and some call me funny looking.  I even get called names.

What am I???   I'm a crab.  I come out when the tide is high and eat little creatures.  I make my home in the damp sand when the tide is out and enjoy the lapping of the tide when it comes in.

Do you know what this is?

See the little blue thing in the center of this photo?  Do you know what it is?????



It is a baby jelly fish.  They sting and the irritation stays with you for about 10 yours.  This is the only one we've seen so far, but when there is one on the beach, you can bet they are out there!

The weather is in the 90's and the water is 82*.  Yep - just right!!!

This little gull just kept walking right in front of us while we were out for our "evening stroll".

I don't think he found much to munch on - the beaches are pretty clean right now.  We need a good storm to get things churned up and get some good shells on the beach. 


Check back tomorrow for some more pics.

Vacation!

Here we are on the eve of our vacation.  I have been organizing, packing, working, and doing laundry for the past several days.  You'd think I'd be able to just sit back and relax.  Well, "Relax" will just have to wait until my buns hit the sand tomorrow afternoon.  Tonight, I still have to complete an update on a commerial web site.  I hope the web gods will take pitty on my and let me get things posted in an expedient manner. 

Then there is the matter of going to bed and getting some sleep - uh, yeah, and wake up at 4:45 to be at the air port by 6:15 to take off at 7:15.  It all sounds so slick and smooth - so I just hope it all goes as it sounds.

I will do something this year that I have not done before - I am going to make myself post at least one "Pic of the Day" and let you see "Our Mexico".  We have a wonderful beach condo on mainland Mexico between San Carlos and Guaymas.  It sits right on the Sea of Cortez where the water is 85-95* every day.  We will be doing some snorkeling in some of our favorite places and will be taking pictures of whatever sea critters we can find.

So stay tuned and look for  pictures to come.

Hasta Luego!!!

Keep up with your Galleries!!!

One would think that after doing bookkeeping for 30+ years, I would take better care of my small jewelry business.  But for some reason I seem to just let dealing with the galleries nice enough to show my jewelry get past me and not keep up with what is going on.

Example - I have a wonderful gallery just 10 minutes from my home.  I haven't been there for a couple of years.  Yea, you read that right!  A few days ago I got a phone call from someone there saying they found a bag with my jewelry in it, they cleaned the pieces up and put them back out on display.  They asked if I would come by and be sure that the pieces were priced right.

So, today I went out, took my pricing materials with me and repriced to today's metal prices.  Now here comes the good part.  I had originally taken pictures of all pieces, typed descriptions and set prices.  I had a copy of each page for the items left at this gallery.  When I had taken the jewelry out there, I made sure the gallery manager had a copy of the pictures and she signed and dated the pages showing she accepted the pieces.  This is one of the smartest things I have ever done!

We couldn't find some pieces and since we had visual documentation of what pieces were left at the gallery - they marked the missing pieces "SOLD" and cut me a check.  Ya gotta love Payday!

OK, now I am able to get up and move.  And it's a good thing, too.  Our garden is very prolific this year especially with Yellow Crookneck squash!!!!!  I have sliced some and dehydrated them making Squash Chips for dip and eating with sandwiches.  They are really pretty good.  They have a sweet taste and are very good with dips.  So I will count this as a success.

I have also been bottling green beans, tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, and salsa.  Tomato season is just starting so I haven't even begun to really get into doing them.  I am sure I will have my fill before the snow flies.

I wish you all abundance and health!

This summer after having hip revision surgery, I  needed to have someone come and stay with me while I recover.  Well, I have some beautiful grand daughters who have graciously given of their time and have helped me out.  We needed something fun to do since all I can do is sit around

South West Moon

I have called these earrings South West Moon.  They are made with dyed branch coral, stabilized turquoise and sterling silver.

Living in what is considered the South Western U.S., there is a lot of Native American influence all around.  Coral, Turquoise and silver are just naturally paired because of this influence.

If you are interested in these earrings, please contact me.

"THE" color for this summer.....

I don't watch much TV during the day but I do like the Nate Berkus show.  There is a lot of fashion advice from true professionals.

Last week, Nate had a special guest who is an editor for one of the top fashion magazines and her take on "THE" color for Spring, Summer and Fall, is TANGERINE.  (Sorry - the font colors offered DO  NOT include Tangerine). 

It can be brightened up with lemon, lime, bright turquoise.  Or, it can be tamed down with tans and browns.  Gold is a great color for your jewelry.

So enjoy your Spring and Summer with Tangerine and some beautiful new gold jewelry.

See ya soon!