2 Treasuries in 1 Day

Back in November I made a collection of Christmas ornaments for the Holiday Treasures Challenge. I made beaded candy canes and wreaths and snowflakes and listed them all together as a single entry in my store.
On after thought, I decided that the snowflakes were a different color scheme and should really be a separate collection.

Friday night, I removed the snowflakes from the original collection and listed them by themselves.

When I got on line Saturday morning I discovered the snowflakes had been chosen for 2 difference treasuries. This put me in a good mood all day :)

The two treasuries are:
"Linen and Ice", and
"Ice Cold".

Please stop by to look and leave a comment - these are both lovely collections!

Voting is Open

Voting for the Simon and Garfunkel Challenge has begun! Click on the link to the Etsy Beadweaver's Blog to see all the entries and cast your vote. Anyone can vote :). voting will remain open from Dec. 9 to Dec. 14

Simon and Garfunkel Challenge

These earrings are my entry in the Etsy Beadweavers Challenge "Simon and Garfunkel - The Songs of Inspiration". I initially felt really challenged by this theme... but then I remembered what I love most about Simon and Garfunkel songs - the vivid descriptions of the lyrics and music.

One of the things I've always found compelling about their music is the way they could set a scene in my mind with only a few words and measures of music.

The song I chose is Patterns. I was especially inspired by the first verse.

The night sets softly
With the hush of falling leaves
Casting shivering shadows
On the houses through the trees
And the light from a street lamp
Paints a pattern on my wall
Like the pieces of a puzzle
Or a child's uneven scrawl

In these earrings, I used black and white to try to capture the starkness of the song. I love the phrase "shivering shadows". I wanted the patterns on the earrings to move, so I made two layers that can swing independently. I tried to give the patterns in the earrings a random look (though I did not really pick up the beads randomly). I was thinking of the shadows that might be cast by leafless trees in winter.

The last picture is my favorite because the earring looks fractured. My youngest son (7 yrs old) set that photo up :)

Please visit our team blog, (http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com) between the 9th and 15th and vote for your favorite entry. You will see some wonderful works of art!

A Personal Note

Sometimes life happens, and for a while you lose your motivation/creativity/drive - whatever you want to call it.

5 years ago we adopted a rescue dog named Buddy Boy. He was an adult; he'd come from a divorced family that could no longer keep him.

Buddy was a delightful dog right from the beginning. He loved our kids and we all loved him.

















When we adopted a puppy, Buddy helped to show him how to behave. The two dogs became inseparable companions.













On Halloween Buddy died suddenly. We were all devastated. For the next few weeks, I just focused on helping my kids through the grief.

I told my son that someday he would be able to remember Buddy without feeling sad and just be happy to have had the good times with him.

For the last month, I haven't had time or really been motivated to be creative, blog, tweet, or any of the rest of it. I know I've been neglecting this blog - I just wanted to share why. I've got some ideas saved up, though, so hopefully I will be adding entries at a pretty good clip now.

On a positive note, we are in the process of adopting a puppy. He will not replace Buddy, but thinking about him has already helped my kids feel better. We will pick him up tomorrow.