Running Horses Necklace

I have to tell myself I cant keep this piece. The 3 horses are racing it looks like .....all 3 trying to make it that last little bit to win and then they get to head to the barn and relax and have a bite of hay ........feels like my life lately on so many levels ...The large circle of mother of pearl is wire wrapped in a soft dusty pink rose wire and has 3 large cultured pearls in the design. The horses are a reproduction of a vintage postcard .
It will be for sale over on my sales blog at  www.1craftywoman.com

I feel like i have been trapped in a box the last several months .....I had a lovely road trip yesterday and just getting out and driving couple 100 miles let me realize i didnt have to be trapped in" my little box of drive to work ...drive home ..drive to work..drive home ..." Seems that has been my whole life the last few months. My job is WAY mindless and boring so to bring it home with me is WRONG on way too many levels !!!

My creativity has way suffered among other things ....... this morning i woke up and went in the craft room for a day of  creativity ........I so hoped anyhow .......Well didnt work at first.......i just stared at my beads and supplies. So i found a dvd of Burn Notice I hadnt watched yet and immersed myself .I really like Bruce Campbell who plays Micheal Westons sidekick "Sam". 5 hours later i was ready to actually create a necklace .. 

Western and cowgirl images

I like these western images alot and plan to use them soon in some necklace designs .

Cut and Paste Saturday ............

It has been one of those weeks that i needed to just mindlessly cut paper and watch movies all day Sat ... So i enjoyed several discs of Burn Notice and cut and glued images for my new necklaces ..

I haven't had alot up for actual sale last several months as i had about 2 doz pieces for a donation i had to finish up. Now that is out of the way so i can work on ones to sell.
I created a second little wire wrap horse also. I will use her in a necklace instead of a ring . This gold buckle i may use in a design. It is not too heavy and i am drawn to it :)

Journals I am making ..............

I went on a search for a journal to give a dear friend as a gift .........however there wasnt a journal to be found that I actually liked. So i experimented on a notebook of mine i keep with bills and then my diary............they came out great. I used some Laurel Hamilton notecards for the pictures and then modpodged them to the books.  Since it turned out well I plan to buy a blank journal and fix up the one for a gift next..............

Garden and stuff

It has been a busy month with the garden and my mundane job .Hasnt been alot of time for the computer or even crafting .

With all the rain we had in May i had to replant the corn 3 times and then the  chipmunks and rabbits kept eating the bean and squash seedling. I solved that problem for now by putting flour over them all ........course i replanted them all 3 times before i figured out the flour ..plus I have been putting all my onion peels out on edges of the garden. That has seemed to also help.I spent this week making pillowcases from scraps. I had alot of cat fabric pieces in 1 yard cuts that made up nicely in a pillowcase. I dont care if they match or not.I originally had been saving them to make a cat fabric quilt but i needed pillowcases instead . I prefer a wild mix of color in my bedroom.Once i used the cat fabric  all up i just pieced together blocks and strips into other pillowcases. 
It will soon be Monday and time to go back to work . This weekend has flown by way too quickly..

I need to organize prizes for another blog contest .thinking maybe 2 winners each get a pair of earrings . I know i have some i can use :)

Lady riding sidesaddle necklace

I finished this design up today . I like the look of the red coral and the turquoise chips with the vintage image of the lady riding a gaited horse sidesaddle .......This design will be up for sale at http://www.1craftywoman.com

Display for necklaces

I may have a small festival this summer to merchant at .....so i needed a simple display for my necklace designs. This is actually a plant stand .......but it will be perfect to hang my designs on and then sit in the middle of my card table ...........Simple but very effective :)

Handmade Wire Wrapped Horse Ring

I was inspired to create this purple wire wrap ring today ..........not really sure the "why" .but i was out working in the garden and it was all grey and gloomy out. I needed something fun and whimiscal to cheer me up ....

After i did the wire wrap I took a ring blank that i had laying around and used glue to attach the horse. It hasnt dried yet so that is why the middle of the horse is white...... it will dry clear in 24 hrs .I have the ring on a piece of pipe to hold upright till it is dry.......

Fox bracelet and necklace

I have taken time in middle of getting my garden ready to create a few new designs . I really like the way this fox necklace and bracelet turned out .......

Snow peas !

Here are part of my snow peas coming up and pots of yummy leaf lettuce. 
All the hard work is worth it so know I will have plenty of organic garden produce . It would be a shame to let such a nice backyard go to waste with just grass also. 

YES......my vacation was all about dirt and more dirt..no sandy beaches :(

So here is today's dirt report :) I was able to fill in alot of the new raised beds.  I will have to wait now till next week to get more dirt when i get paid  . But i have plenty of weeds to chop out with my hoe to keep me busy till I do.I have squash planted in all of these with a sunflower planted in one corner of each box. Will draw the bees hopefully

Here is the bigger garden area . This is not on this weeks list to work on. The tires will have potatoes and other stuff planted in them. I still have to mulch around them and fill them with dirt. Then rest of area has to be all turned in under once more before planting corn and my winter squashes . Will start on all this in week or so......

This raised bed has to be filled with dirt still also ......Now ya see why i had to have a week off to get all this done .:)
I have to do this much dirt every couple of years .If i hadnt decided to do all the new areas it wouldnt have been so much

My vacation is speeding by

My week of vacation is speeding by way too quick. I have today and friday left of it . I have enjoyed every moment of it . Getting my hands and feet in the garden dirt has been so relaxing......even though i had to carry 2 truckloads of mulchy dirt  at first. I am adding some bags of topsoil to the new garden beds rest of this week . I will finish it all up come next payday and then get those planted. Right now i have lima beans..........snow peas......alaska peas ......corn...sunflowers and part of my tomato plants in the ground . I have so many more yummy plants to get started yet.Some I will have to wait on the corn to come up a bit as i plant to grow them up the cornstalks for support .I still have plenty to keep me busy these 2 days.
I did get a plum tree planted in the front yard this week and mulch around the lilies. Then i got all the old blackberry canes cut done on the fence by the driveway. Every 4 years or so I have to do this cause they all die out. Now the new ones will come up this summer . I found a rose bush under them all . No idea where it came from :)

I did get a chance to make up 2 batches of soap ( 6 pounds in all) Using lemon juice gave me a pleasant pale yellow color in the one batch  . I added lemon peel and yellow rose petals on top. The lemon scent didnt stay with it though .

I finished watching my dvd series "ANGEL" also at night . I was able to start my new Locker Hooked rug while doing so . I decided to do blocks in this one . I am using fleece and sweat pant material .

First 2 days of my vacation :)

Way in the back you can see the big garden area ...I have work to do there all this coming week .

I am vacationing in my yard this week :)  I have awesome friends who went and picked up 2 truckloads of free mulch dirt  for me Sat . It was free from the city mulch giveaway........ I have it just about all carried..will finish it up here after lunch . I will still need alot more for the back garden area but i cant buy  that quite yet . I did get 20 bags of topsoil from Home Depot ...was on sale 98 cents a bag yesterday .....

New Pieces ........

 Here are more of the images I have used with the bamboo tiles ....they will all make a striking design for necklaces .The feathers will be turned into Southwestern designs as the summer goes along...

The butterfly design is actually a barrette but i am going to turn it into a bracelet

Ladies Riding Sidesaddle Designs

I have always loved pictures of ladies riding sidesaddle ..They look so elegant ...... I decide to turn a few of the ones i have collected into altered art designs ..... Here they have been modpoged on bamboo tiles to be later wirewrapped........I also like to collect images of cowgirls from the old west.. This is a larger piece i am making as a house warming gift for a friend :)

Yay Spring !!!!!!!!!

I am so excited that warmer weather is here finally !! I spent this weekend in the yard picking up limbs off the neighbors tree and cutting down the old blackberry canes ...they sure have the thorns !! 
I think i deserve a brownie for all the work i have done :)  
If it dont rain here in bit I am gonna put the potting soil in the containers and put my peas in them . When they get big nuff I will transfer them pot and all to their garden spot.

Here is my  first locker hooked rug after i finished it . PLaning to start another one in few days :)

Soon To Be a Grape Arbor ........

This is the beginning of a small grape arbor for my backyard. I put  4 ft landscape timbers in the ground and they are about 8 ft apart . I still have to buy timbers to be put across top the other ones next month.  I bought 2 of the red seedless.suffolk grapes at Home Depot last week . The plants are trying to grow like crazy in the house ............I can put them out quite yet as we still have alot of cold weather that could happen. Hoping they can do ok in the house for couple more weeks .

Pheasant Feather Hair Clips

H

Here is another of the pheasant feather hair clips that i have been creating. I used blue peacock feathers as an under color. I added freshwater pearls and jade along with a larger piece of a lapis and malachite  bead . I am wearing it today..makes me feel "girlish" at my age :)