Fall Frolic and Spooky Monday

September 13, 2010

Fall is in the air, filled with the aromas of outdoor fires, wet leaves and burnt marshmallows (at least in my backyard, that is). But some other aromas are really my favorites of the season.
HARVEST

PUMPKIN PIE
Yum! I swear I wasn't paid by Yankee Candle to mention them ~ these really are my favorite aromas. Am I a Yankee Candle junkie? Naaaww....I'll let you decide that one.

And here's what our house looks like come fall in the midwest.

My loving Mr. CBD commissioned a local artist to paint a portrait of our house a few years ago. He gave her a fall photo of it to work from, since that's my favorite season. I will always treasure this.

Now, on to to more SPOOKY ENDEAVORS..............

Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble. I'm loving this wicked witch on her Halloween night ride.


He's a jaunty gent, with just a bit of creepy in his pumpkin headed grin.

See what I mean?

Now here's a spooky candelabra.


 I can't wait to light them, those pumpkin spice-scented tea lights. YUM, again!

Last but not least I'll leave you with a Halloween thought for the day.


Thank you, Wendy, for hosting this fun and funky Spooky Monday! Now all of you be sure to head on over to her incredibly creative site, Wendy's Adventures in Wonderland. Show her some love, and check out some other bloggy spookiness.

Only 47 more days!

Have a great week!



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It's Time for a {Vintage Jewelry} Giveaway!

September 12, 2010


The clock is ticking.....tick, tick,tick.....because I was very blessed to receive my 200th follower the other day (wow! says me) and I KNOW in my heart of hearts that it's

TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY!

You'll have to stay tuned for more details as I will be working behind the scenes to put together something I think (hopefully cross-my-fingers-kind-of-think) you'll all love!  For it's only fitting that I host a giveaway for my royal, ahem, I mean l-o-y-a-l, followers!  Don't you agree? 
 
Have a great week everyone!

      
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Belle Armoire Jewelry and Vintage Blessings

September 8, 2010


Okay, I LoVe this magazine.  I love the cover.  I love the photos.  I love the inspiration.  I have SO needed to create these past few days and this baby really motivated me to get the ball rolling.  One of my favorite jewelry artist's work was featured ~ Deryn Mentock.

I really wanted to show a picture here of the beautiful treasure she created that inspired me to make my most recent necklace.  BUT I CAN'T FIND ANY PICTURES OF IT ON LINE!  Suffice it to say that it's on page 81 of Belle Armoire Jewelry Autumn 2010.  You can get the magazine from Stampington.com or at Michael's or Jo-Ann's.  It is SO worth the cost!  (Thank you Mr. CBD for buying me the subscription!)  Seriously, run out and buy it NOW!

I feel funny showing my necklace without a picture of hers (WaaAaayyyy better than mine, of course.) Okay, here's mine.




I also wish my photo-taking skills were a bit more polished (I'm getting there, s-l-o-w-l-y) because I really feel the necklace is nicer than it looks here, but oh well.  I created it with a vintage rosary for starters.  I added a cross I already had, a vintage Mary Katherine Kasper medal and a vintage rhinestone bauble.  The glass beads sparkle beautifully, and they're hugged by vintage antique brass  spacers.  It's finished off with a toggle clasp.

I love creating with vintage religious medals and mementos.  I'm Catholic and rosaries have always had a special place in my heart.  When I'm wearing the necklace I feel like there are constant blessings being showered down upon me. 

I really wish you could see Deryn Mentock's awesome inspirational necklace here.  Go to stampingtonwholesale(dot)com and order the magazine for yourself!

Thank you, Deryn!

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Spooky Monday

September 6, 2010

I'm a little late for today's Spooky Monday over at Wendy's Adventures in Wonderland due to the Labor Day holiday and all that ~  we had a nice day with the kids, of course.  But now I can sit back and reminisce on Halloweens past, and the fun that went along with it.  Here's a peek at Halloween 2009:


Here's a spooky spider we made with my son's kindergarten class ~ the eyes actually lit up.  I was pretty proud of this, although it did prove quite a challenge for the 5-year-olds!  




We always pre-bag the trick-or-treat candy and leave it on the porch because we're not home ~ we're out trick or treating with our kids!


Here's one of my favorite Halloween decorations ~ a whimsical canvas painting.


And we always decorate with candy corn.  Unfortunately, I have a real weakness for the stuff!

Finally, here's a picture of one of my most treasured Halloween memories.


This is chickadee #3 in his school's Halloween "parade."  Be still my heart.  Without a doubt he's my absolute favorite Power Ranger of all time!  Missed the girls' parade ~ sigh.  Hope to catch it this year.  Only 54 days to go!


Thanks, Wendy!  Everyone have a great spooky week!

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Vintage Inspiration

September 4, 2010

I'm so excited to be joining Debra for her Vintage Inspiration Friday over at Common Ground.  What inspires me?  Right now I'd have to say it's this:

(all photos are taken from the Sundance catalog)

Sundance Arabella Necklace

 And this.
Sundance Bel Canto Necklace
And this.
Sundance Night Blooming Necklace
And this.
Sundance Trinket Watch Necklace
Not to mention this.
Sundance Dove of Peace Necklace (Jess MaHarry)
To see my own take on this go here . 

It's not only the Sundance Jewelry Collection that inspires me to create.  It's their gorgeous clothes and accessories laden with rosettes in such sumptuous fall colors that have me daydreaming of crisp, clear fall days and all that goes along with them.  Here's just a snippet of what I'm referring to:
  Roses by the Yard Scarf

Rustic Lace Cardigan

Rose tipped ballerina flats

I could go on and on about all the things I love about Sundance (many of you already know this!) but I'll stop here to spare you my drooling over the keyboard.


Suffice it to say that they continue to inspire me to create jewelry (of my own persuasion, of course) and I'd love to be able to just sit down with their catalog and just order away.  Oh well.....a girl can dream, can't she?


I'm so glad Debra is hosting this Vintage Inspiration Friday.  Why don't you head on over there and see what's inspiring some other fellow bloggers?  Me, I'm just gonna look at that catalog for just a little while longer...


Have a great holiday weekend!
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Flea Market Friday

September 3, 2010

You'd think that living right near the Wheaton, Illinois once-a-year ALL NIGHT FLEA MARKET I would have gone there lots of times ~ alas, no.  But this year I MADE IT (thanks Mr. CBD for watching the kids so I could go)!  My quest was (you guessed it) vintage jewelry, baubles and bling.

Warning: there are lots of pictures!



I've always loved these vintage key chain tags, from different states.  These two are from Illinois!  On the back it says "Postage Guaranteed" and "Finder deposit in any mailbox, Disabled American Veterans."  A simpler time, for sure.

Vintage rhinestone pin and traditional vintage (Sterling!) silver Mary ring.

Not sure who this is....but had to have it.

Front

  Back

Another Miraculous Medal (there are quite a few different ones out there), this one commemorating sightings of Mary in Medjugorge, Bosnia-Herzegovina.  I snatched up the anchor out of a grab box thinking it was some kind of antique brass nautical charm with a mermaid on it.  Lo and behold I get it home and my daughter says, "Mom, that's Jesus on the cross, not a mermaid."  By gosh she was right.  And by gosh, I really need to get to the eye doctor some time soon (I mean it!)  Best part is that it's 14K gold!  I love it when that happens.


These vintage rubber stamps unexpectedly caught my eye, so of course I had to have them ~ for $1.00.

Two bracelets and some bling scraps.  (Picture doesn't do them justice.)  And now a picture of a few little things that made me do the happy dance.....

It doesn't get any better than this!

There's more I could show you but I think you get the picture.  Not a bad haul for about $15.00.

I'm linking this up with Kecia's Flea Market Friday.  Head on over there and check out the other awesome flea market finds! 

Have a great (and safe) holiday weekend, everyone! 
PsssSt...I'm also linking up here:

Debbiesdoos Loves Livin in the Carolinas Garage Salen Party
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Trying to Create Outside the Box...But Not Really Succeeding

September 2, 2010

It feels as if I've been out of touch with actually "creating" things these past days, what with school starting for the kids and a new schedule all around and blah blah blah. (And WAY too much time on the computer doing things totally unrelated to making jewelry!) Now that they're all off to school full time I can (somewhat) breathe a sigh of relief and get back into the swing of things ..... Despite the chaos I DID, however, manage to pull together a new charm bracelet ~ it only took me, like, two weeks to make it! lol



Ok, so it's not vastly different from my usual take on the eclectic mix of "charms" (and I use that term loosely!) however, I did infuse it with vintage blue crystal faceted beads ~ and I'm not a blue person by nature.  That was quite a leap made by me there.  (So sad to admit, I know.)  But I kind of liked the outcome.  




Charm-wise, I added a miraculous medal, a vintage rhinestone ball I picked up at a flea market, a chunky silver heart which also came from a flea market (just ripped that thing right off of an old key chain!) and one of my new favorites ~ a penny smashed by the railroad tracks near our house!  If nothing else, it's quite the conversation piece.  Nickels work well, too!  And of course, gotta have lots of pearls and lockets.  Not any great variation from my usual, but I really am trying to start creating things outside of my comfort zone.  Who knows what's next?

Hope you're all having a great week!

   
PsssSt....I'm linking this up with:



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Gypsy Brocante’s Rosette Swap Reveal

August 31, 2010

It’s here ~ the day we reveal who our rosette swap partner was and what they sent us as part of this fun rosette swap! Our partner’s identity was a secret until we received their package in the mail….(we sent to someone else, and so on).  I was lucky enough to get Tobi Britton of The Pink Pixie Forest  as my “secret swapper.” Boy, was I lucky! Did I say I was lucky? Take a look.





Ok, is she talented or what? She actually decorated an antique brass hair brush with a beautiful satin rosette and vintage bling ~ are you feeling my joy? Thought so.  And it looks fabulous on my pink Depression Glass plate where it fits in nicely with other little lovelies from my jewelry stash. 

Some close-ups....


You can start ooh-ing and aahh-ing now. 





Vintage rhinestones, pearls and a romantic delicate bird charm ~ it really takes my breath away. And she threw in a second rosette for good measure, too!



I can’t thank Tobi enough for her generosity and for sharing with me us her formidable talents! To see more of her talents check out her Etsy shop here. Then head on over to Gypsy Brocante’s and take a look at all the other sweet rosette swap treasures!  And thanks, Jill, for hosting such a fun swap!


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