Adventures, Kinda Sorta

Hello all,

Hope things have been wonderful for all of you. 

Let's see what's been going on in virtual-world since my last post.....There's a new blog for you all to check out...
The lovely Flotsam Kim has a new blog, well worth a looksee.  This one is inspired by her love of the forest and the sea.  Knowing Kim, it will be full of her trademark beautiful photos and inspiring, uplifting thoughts.  Always a pleasure to see what she has to share.  So please pay a visit to Kim at

wildthorne.blogspot.com

 



and if you haven't checked out her Pinterest page yet, you are in for a treat when you do!

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I've changed my comment section just a tad.  I've received some wonderful anonymous comments from people such as Anna, to whom this doesn't apply.  For the last few months I've been inundated with spam anonymous comments.  UGH!  While some of them are quite entertaining, most are just plain annoying.  So now "registered ID" users can leave comments.  Which still means everyone can comment, you just have to enter your name and email or url to do so.  Easy peasy. It's either that or making you prove you're not a robot, which face it, no one wants to do or comment moderation, which I don't want to do. Though if this doesn't work, that will be the next thing to try.

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Petra of Scorched Earth is coming out with a new line of her amazing work that can be personalized with patinas of choice!  Oh the possibilities!  Can't wait! 

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The new issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry is on the newstands and it's a good one!

Melinda from beesonpie has not one but two excellent articles in this issue.  Both featuring how to make her fabulous necklaces.  You can tell how cool they are from the titles;  Hidden Love Poems and the second is Secret Window necklaces.

but we're not done yet....

Lucietales has a great article as well.  Check this guys.... it's entitled Old World Earrings and it's wonderful.  And when you check out her blog you'll see that she's just had a lovely honor in her native France.  Congrats Lucie!

Cat Kerr also has two, count em two articles.  My Home Song Soldered Pendants and this is the one that's especially tempting me to find my soldering iron, Glass Tube Soldered Pendants.  Both are intriguing techniques.

Great job ladies!  I so enjoyed your articles!

I'm in there too with an article titled .......... 

  here's what it's about......

cuffs...out of tin....

Thank you Cynthia and staff

for doing a characteristically amazing job with my article! 

Thrilling each and every time I open this fantastic magazine and see my work.

 

And last but not least, Marina of fancifuldevices fame
 has been featured in the new mixed media book by Seth Apter. 
How exciting is that?!
You can read all about it on her blog.
Congrats Marina!

 

I promised you adventures, didn't I?

 

I did, kinda sorta.  Yeah, these qualify.

Kinda sorta.

 

hahahahaha

 

 

We found ourselves downtown with a few hours unspoken for.

Remembering the other Janet's recommendation that the Kimball Art Museum

is not only a wonderful museum but also

a fascinating building, we popped into there.

Didn't hurt that they had a Bernini exhibition going on

that we both wanted to see.

Turns out they wouldn't let me photograph the Bernini's,

but I did get some good shots of the other art.

It was a cold rainy day so no shots of the building. 

That will be another post for another day.

 

 

 

 

Isn't she fabulous? 

you'll be seeing a postcard of this one as a background for my earrings from time to time.

 

 

 

 

 

check out the teeth and eyes on that one.

 just a little bit disturbing?

 

 

 

 

 

you can tell that this one is stunning

even though my camera didn't capture the depth and richness of the colors.

 

 

 

 

Love this one.
The movement and the colors are just dreamy.

 

 

 

 

 

beautiful!

 

 

 

 

I wish you could see how great these really are.

 

 

 

 

this was our absolute fav.
yes, both of us!

Mr. wonderful was impressed with how realistic the fabric looked,

while I was blown away with the translucency of her skin

and the depth of her eyes.

Stunningingly breathtaking.

So on this picture alone, I recommend you checking out the Kimball if you ever get a chance.

 

 

 

 

 

incredible eyes, eh?
If I remember correctly, these set the gold standard for sculpted eyes,
as well they should.

 

 

 

 

 

love a good storm painting

 

 

 

 

 

I love the draping fabric...in stone!
 How do they do that?!

 

 

 

 

 

gorgeous!

 

 

and the most unexpected thing was this....

 

 

 

 

Michaelangelos first painting.

He was 12!

 

Creepy kid?

Budding genious?

A bit of both?

 

 

Now you know that we do in fact, appreciate culture.

Even though you are more familiar with us doing this sort of thing.....

 

 

 

 

 

looking in dry riverbeds for these....

 

 

 

 

well, I see that my hand is in this picture too.

Guess that's cuz my big ole hands get in the way of my little old iphone camera...

but I digress..

an ammonite in Mr. Wonderful's hand!

That one's a keeper.

 

this next one not so much.

 

 

 

 

 

a big one still embedded in the matrix.

how big you ask?

 

this big...

 

 

 

 

 

dry dusty toes for size reference

 

 

what you want to know is what we found, right? 

 

 

 

 

 An almost perfect echinoid!
Happy dance.....

Look at that heart shaped stone with the holes all over it!

That bit of an ammonite to the left of the heart stone may not look like much there....

 

 

 

 

But see it here.... 

notice the druzy in there?

It's much more sparkly than the picture shows.

Makes me hopeful that there will be druzy in some of the other ammonite bits

we found once I cut them open.

 

 

 

we also found this guy....

 

 

 

 

which is the single worst picture I have ever asked you to suffer through.
I think, right?  Well, maybe some of my comic relief pictures were worse...
but that was the subject matter not the picture itself..  

What...other people can take good iphone photos?
Well, I know Barry from rustnstuff does whole posts
 using nothing but incredible iphone photos, so it is apparently possible.
But here I ask that you please use your imagination......

it's the bluest bug I've ever seen.

no irredescence, just a nice matte blue.

waiting to be encased in resin.

 

 

how's that for adventures?

Yes, that was a serious question.

I can hear you laughing from here!

they were small but we enjoyed them,

no kinda sorta about it.

 

what else have I been up to?

 

can you stand a few more pictures?

aww c'mon...sure you can...
I promise, they are in focus.

 

 

 

 

 Venetian Serenade
Venetian blue combined with delicate filigree.
They need to be in a gondola cruising the waterways, eh?

 

 

 

 

 

 Assemblage in Black and White

 

 

 

 

 

 M'Lady's Family Crest

I think I like the effect with the postcard.

 

 

 

 

 

Dancing in Rio

Love the colorplay going on in these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Beloved Aunts

 

 

 

 

 Significance of the Numbered Starfish
 

 

 

 

These have teeny tiny little sparkling druzy-filled baby geodes

adorned with the tiniest silver-grey raw diamonds.

 

 

 Morning Stroll in The Butterfly Garden

 

 

 

 

 May Flowers
Yes, another themed pair.  You know how I love a theme.
It all started with the light blueish-white druzy in the perfect shape of a cloud.
Then the bright clear blue beads reminded me of a Colorado sky.
There's no other blue quite like that.
Paired with the vintage flower earrings and the faceted teardrops,
the saying popped into my head
"April showers bring May flowers"
 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dance Marathon

just because these two look to me like they are all about having fun!
And they look like they are all dressed up for a night on the town.
Taken from a vintage necklace, I purchased for this very purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Heart-Flight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Starry Night Deux
These were a custom request.
Embellished with faceted rubies and emeralds.

 

 

 

 

 

 The faceted teardrops have the slightest hint of aquamarine blue.

 

 

 

 

 

He Loves Me...He Loves Me Not

Made this using the same tiered, dimensional technique as described in the
Adventures in Tinland article. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Spring's Whisper

 

 

 

 

 

 The bane of Mr. Wonderful, dandelions gone to seed.

 

 

 

 

 

 I Remember the Treasured Days

this assemblage necklace has a variety of things that speak of the past to me.
A fossil ammonite mounted onto a beautiful filigree shield,
a trilobite that I collected while on a wonderful vacation with very dear friends
that I then cut and shaped myself.
The floral embellished locket to hold precious memories.
A vintage chain with fabulous patina on the round metal beads,
 combined with a lovely stick pearl and handformed clasp.
Collected together on a handformed flame painted copper neckpiece.
 

 

 

 

 

 and finally this gorgeous vessel by pipnmolly.
I purchased this for myself forever ago,
 somewhere in the midst of the move and have just now
attched it to the frosted fourite nuggets and heavy, rolled chain.
I wanted to keep the neckchain simple so
that it would complement but not compete with her
beautiful vessel.
So glad that now, I can wear this stunning piece!

 

 

 

That's all folks!
Phew!  You made it through all those pictures!
How about we end on this wonderful note?

 

 

 

Spring is here!

According to the calender at any rate.

 

Enjoy!

 

Hagoonee (goodbye in Navajo)