Catching up!

As Summer ends....

.....I realize that I have been neglecting my blog. 

Whether it is jewelry or photography, or simply daily life, there is not much reflected on these pages.

So here you are.

The first four pictures are from a visit Sara and I paid to the Orange County Arboretum, in Montgomery NY.

This is a bee balm flower from my yard.

One of my displays from the Catskill Fly Fishing Center in Livingston Manor NY. They have a marketplace every summer, and I had pretty good luck this year selling my jewelry there. 

Fox Glove growing wild at the Fly Fishing Center.

Cardinal Flowers.

Had a great crop of White Eggplant!

I'll try to post some more during the week!

Focus on Life: Holiday Sparkle

Finding Peace and Pretties in all the Hustle and Bustle.

Last weekend, I set up a booth at the Christkindlmarkt in Port Jervis New York, and sold some of my jewelry.   Not my most successful sales experience, but we had a pleasant time, when all is said and done. Then, I opened our photo prompt from Sally Russick, and it said: "Add a little sparkle."

I took some pictures that were just perfect!

First, some jewelry waiting to be packed up.These were taken with my phone!

Just some fun sparkly plastic beads.

Some of my Holly and Ivy collection for this Holiday.

And at the market:

I love my new picket fence display!

And as we were leaving I had to snap these: 

Old brick church framed by a decorated tree. 

Trees with sparkly white lights (both of these given a little boost with PicMonkey.)

Lets see what others have done!

Focus on Life: The View From Where I Stand

Or actually, where I stood last week!

This week's photo prompt from Sally Russick is: From Where I Stand. I thought some of the pictures I took at last week's Arts and Crafts Sale at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum would fit nicely. We artists who were there to sell our goods were a little bit on the fringe of the event, which included a casting contest and other fly fishing activities (but strangely, no fishing that we could see!)

But the two day event was a joy to attend, the area is scenic, and the weather was almost perfect. 

I set up my jewelry display between a potter and a painter. Everyone was very nice. People who stopped by to look and occasionally to buy seemed to appreciate the nature themes of many of my pieces. 

The Pond, At Catskill Fly Fishing Center

Some of the vendors,

Some of my wares.

Another view, you can see the next booth.

And some more jewelry!

Sally is having some problems with her web site, so you may not be able to visit for a while, but you can use the links below to see what others have done with this prompt. 

Focus on Life: The Sun!!!!

A minor obsession of mine

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas

A gigantic nuclear furnace

Where hydrogen is built into helium

At a temperature of millions of degrees

Yo ho, it's hot, the sun is not

A place where we could live

But here on earth there'd be no life

Without the light it gives

We need its light

We need its heat

We need its energy

Without the sun, without a doubt

There'd be no you and me

-They Might be Giants "Why Does the Sun Shine?"

I love the Sun as a design element. So this should have been a natural for me. Sally Russick announced this week's Focus on Life prompt: "Catch the Sun," and I should have pulled out all my Sun Themed Jewelry creations..... but while I have a collection of sun themed jewelry, most are not my designs!

But never fear, I managed to snap a few shots.

First, there's my Jewelry collection.

My polymer clay experiments - commercial mold

Most of my collection of sun themed jewelry, and little boxes.The pewter moon box has a little sun, too!

At Lincoln Center

Sometimes you see the sun most clearly when it is shining on something far off. This was taken with my phone camera, while sitting in the shade of Lincoln Center in New York City. Buildings to the east of us caught the rays of the setting sun. 

Of course, if you are careful, a glimpse of the sun can be beautiful all on its own. 

Or behind the clouds.

The sun glistens off the leaves of an asparagus plant.

And lights up a milkweed. 

For more sunny shots, visit The Studio Sublime. 

Back to Jewelry

What's this all about? 

Last summer I started this blog with the express purpose of joining the Bead Soup Blog Party and other blog hops and similar events. I was very immersed in my jewelry making, and I was soaking up styles, techniques and the work of amazing, talented, and generous people.  

I participated in a craft show last summer, and sold more than I ever have at that show, and had a fine time selling at work, as I usually do. I began setting up my long-promised Etsy shop, and I made jewelry as usual.  

And then around the first of the year, I stopped making jewelry. I have been exploring other art forms, but somehow I start very few jewelry projects, and haven't finished...anything. Hmmm. The Bead Soup Blog Party is coming along, and maybe that will get me going. In the meantime, I have been reviewing some things that I've made recently.  

These earrings are a small example of what I have created over the years.

Memory Wire Bracelets.  These are made out of left over beads from other projects.

Pendant Necklaces that have been sold.

 Pendant Necklaces that will be listed in my Etsy Shop.

There, now it looks like a jewelry blog!

14th Annual Port Jervis Arts Walk is History!

This is the way it should always be, well, maybe not the pickup truck!

Necklaces and badge lanyards

The Ports Jervis Arts Walk has long been one of my favorite local street fairs. Last year and again this year, I set up my little Stringing Fool Jewelry tent and offered necklaces, earrings bracelets and this year for the first time, ankle bracelets for sale. I did pretty well, and as always, learned a little bit for next time.

Earrings and bracelets, a few necklaces too!

The view from the booth

It was a perfect day to be outside, not too hot, and lovely. When we got there at about 8:15, there was a pickup truck blocking one of the spaces (the one next to mine, which happened to belong to my daughter and her friend.) At first it looked as if they were going to have to tow it, but finally the owner showed up around 9:30 to move it. Whew! if he hadn't driven away, we would have had to move to make room for a tow truck. 

Set-up was a little rushed, but I got to try out my new way of displaying earrings

It's a couple of plastic shutters I picked up at a yard sale earlier this year. Jim bolted them together, and used upside down, they become the perfect earring rack. The home made folded earring cards did not turn out as well, and I ran the printer out of ink before I could adjust anything, but this is a good technique for showing earrings. 

All in all, it was a grand day!

Cool Give-away

Oh my, another cool give-away, by Fusion Muse!

And to make sure we keep our skills up, we need to blog about what we do with our winnings. So it's a challenge, too!

I have been alternating between productivity (I made some new jewelry) and lethargy (I did not take any pictures.) So I hope my next posts will feature photos!