Autumn with a Smidge of Winter

Seasonal Confusion

My husband and I like to take a trip up into the Rocky Mountains in the fall just to wander about and admire the scenery.  Don't get me wrong - we like to do that in the summertime, too, but autumn in the mountains is just magical.  The leaves are an amazing color of yellow that looks lit from within and contrasts strikingly with the deep hues of the evergreen trees.  We were a week or so later this year and stumbled into an interesting mix of seasons.  The trees were ablaze with color and the evergreens just across the river were covered in a blanket of snow!  When we drove higher up, we ran into this:

Snow Covered Peak

I couldn't WAIT to get back into the lower country!  I am not, not, NOT ready for winter yet.  I may never be ready for winter!  Thankfully, it wasn't long before we found more of this:

Colorful Mountainside

I'm sorry my photography skills aren't really up to the challenge because the real deal was ever so much more breathtaking than my pictures can convey.  I love these colors spilling down the mountainside.

Aspens and Evergreens

I tried making a couple of color palettes from some of my photos.  I'm thinking of making some jewelry pieces based on one or both.  Anyone want to join me?

Sunlit Aspen Color Palette

Aspen and Evergreen Color Palette

More Micro Macrame Classes

I've been so busy working on new classes, I think I forgot to tell you I added one!  The new necklace class is available at CraftArtEdu.  In this class, I've combined videos and still photos to help you through learning how to knot a multi-strand micro macrame necklace using nylon cord, beads and a button clasp meant to be worn in the front.  It has loads of possibility for customization.  You cold make it with a great Czech glass button and fun Czech beads.  Or how about a mother-of-pearl button with handmade polymer clay beads?  Or a Southwest theme with a thunderbird button and beads in turquoise and coral colors tied up with a sandy brown cord?

If a necklace doesn't appeal to you, I also have a micro macrame wrap bracelet class and a lacy and intricate bracelet and earrings class there.  And don't forget the free Micro Macrame 101 class with good, basic information on knotting surface, tools and equipment and cord.

This week CraftArtEdu is offering 20% off all of my classes.  You don't need a coupon code and the sale is good through Friday, October 11, 2013.  When you buy one of their classes, it's yours forever and you can watch it as many times as you like.  There is a handout with each class that you can print out if you like to follow along that way.  AND they guarantee you will like your classes or they will give you your money back.  What's not to love?  

I'm working on a class for a bracelet watch next.  I'll leave you with a sneak peek:  

Five Generations of Family

We are really lucky to have five generations of family, all the way from my grandmother down to my grandson, Carter.  We were finally able to get all of the five of us together in one place today and we tried really hard to get a good photo.  Easier said than done when you're working with a group of five people and nearly impossible when one of the five is a 9-month-old!

In the picture above, my son, Nick, is on the left.  And the dangly little critter there is his son, Carter.  That's me in the center.  My mother, Sharon and her mother, Blanche are on the right.  My grandmother is 88 years old and it meant the world to her to get to hold her great great grandson.

Cater and his great great grandmother

We tried a LOT of times to get just ONE good photo of all of us, and I don't think you can say we got one.  We did get some entertaining ones, though.  

Carter and his great grandmother

My grandson and I

Carter and his great grandfather

Today was a day overflowing with love and joy.  Life is good indeed.

It's an Owl Thing

Let's face it:  it's not a macrame party until somebody busts out an owl.  Preferably in various colors.

I just thought these little fellas were so cute, I couldn't stop...

My Bead Show Finds

I finally got to attend a bead show a week ago and it was AMAZING!  I had such fun looking through all the wonderful pieces and meeting some of the artists I'd only previously met online!  I promised I'd show you my loot, so without further ado... the pieces above are from Sue Laupp of Star Spirit Studios.  As you can probably guess from my purchases, I fell in love with her raku.  I also picked up several pair of copper ear wires and some really fun buttons that look like cave art.  

I have Stephanie Haussler of Pixybug Designs to thank for getting me to actually GO to the show.  I'm such a homebody and inertia really gets to me sometimes (LOL) but Stephanie invited me AND sent periodic reminders and I am really, really glad she did.  Stephanie does beautiful beadwork and her husband, Chris, makes fantastic lampwork beads.  I couldn't help myself...

I don't know which I like more - the skull with the flower or the bat.  And the buttons will be featured on multi-strand necklaces, I'm thinking.  It was really hard to choose a few to buy and leave all those others behind...

Rachel Pozehl of Two Dog Pond was such a nice lady.  We had a nice chat and I left with a few of her soldered pendants and some ceramic hands.  One can never have too many ceramic hands.

I'd wanted to meet Darcy Horn of The Jade Dog since I participated in one of her Design Challenge last fall (you can read all about that here).   She was just as nice as I imagined and I left with some fun beads and clasps from her booth.  I also bought some sparkly beads and some African Trade Beads from Julie's Xpressions.

Boy, this is getting kind of long, isn't it.  I told you I had fun!  I can't leave without showing you the lampwork set I got from Jodie Marshall!

I'm not finished with it yet, but I'm already working on a necklace with Jodie's beads.

And last, but not least, I got these cool clasps from Dan Starkey of  Ayla's Originals.

See - I wasn't kidding when I said I had a really good time!  Many thanks to Stephanie and to all the vendors there for putting on such a great show.  

Fall is in The Air

Okay, so I haven't been blogging much lately, but that doesn't mean I'm not making jewelry.  As much as I hate to see summer leave, I do love fall and I've been on a kick making jewelry with a fall vibe.  The first piece I made was a bracelet using traditional autumn colors:  orange, brown and white.

I love this bracelet, even if these aren't the colors I usually favor.  Me being me, though, I had to play with the colors a bit.  I added an unexpected pop of teal to the mix and did fall colors my way.

Now this one, I love!  Everything is basically the same in this second bracelet, except for the addition of the teal.  I can't believe what a difference it makes and how the piece now pops!

Then I went to a bead show and picked up some pieces from Star Spirit Studio (more on the bead show later!).  

I obviously adore her pieces and I couldn't wait to make something.  I used one of the raku leaves to make this necklace.

How's that for a beautiful piece!?  I love the colors in the leaf pendant and I wanted to accent it without overpowering it.  I used a spiral pattern of knotting to make a cord and added just a few rows of seed beads in the front.  Not too much color, but just enough, I think to bring out the colors in the leaf.  

I've still got lots of new things from the bead show to play with, and don't worry, I have pictures to share with you.  Stay tuned!

Necklaces in Micro Macrame

I spent some time the last few days working on necklaces.  This piece started out as just a little bit of a doodle:

Then it ended up being a necklace.  I rather like it - it's fun to step outside my comfort zone now and again and just play around.  Let the knots fall where they will.  I do have to admit to being a perfectionist at heart, though, and asymmetry is hard for me.  Even the random placement of beads in my multiple strand bracelets takes effort!  Yes, I have to plan out my random!  

I am hard at work, though.  And I am working on a CraftArtEdu.com eClass for this necklace design.  It's going to be a fabulous class, so stay tuned!