Mother's Day

I LOVE this day.  It reminds me of why I was put on this earth 

and what my one true purpose has always been....

their happiness.

Enough said.

We spent the day together, enjoying the beautiful landscape we call home.

Smith Rock State Park

Huckleberry ice cream after a 6 mile hike

So on this beautiful day, I celebrate being a mother and all the joys and heartaches it brings, 

but what I really celebrate is them. 

Thanks to all of you for your warm, lovely thoughts and comments on my Bead Soup creations.  I'm still making the rounds on every blog...it's always a long journey for me, but I sure do enjoy it!

 

New beads in the shop today...

 

I love a bead with texture and couldn't resist 

springs soft blues with a pop of orange.

Bead Soup For Real!

I'm a little late posting this morning, so I apologize.  In my earlier post, I introduced you to my lovely Bead Soup partner, Keren Panthaki of VasDea.  She sent me some of the most gorgeous pieces of lampwork.  AND, they were some of my favorite colors to boot.  How does a gal get that lucky?!  

I created this bracelet first, wanting to use this amazing clasp as a focal, I designed around it...

I mean, look at that copper!  At first I thought the glass ring may be too delicate to really be functional, but Keren knows what she's doing...the thing is STRONG!  And look at those yummy colors....sigh...

 All the lampwork is from Keren; perfect complimentary pieces for this labor of love.

Bracelets, necklaces, they're harder for me to create for some reason so I moved on to what I love the most, earrings...

Fun and funky earthy yellow just needed some of my copper for a nice blend.  I wanted to bring out the small specks of blue so I patinaed the chain for a little pop.  They hang so beautifully.

I call them snails...you can call them what you like but I love the little things...had NO idea what I was going to do with them until the green czech beads came in the mail as a freebie...fate, I tell ya! 

Last, but not least, my absolute favorites.  Who doesn't love blue with copper....

I hammered out some copper for fun little dangle thingys and threw in some silver heishi spacers cuz I love to combine different metals. 

And there you have it!  Actually, I still have some more pieces in the works because Keren is such a generous supplier.  Thank you Keren for your wonderful gifts of love and for being my partner this time around.  And a BIG thank you to the wonderful Lori Anderson for, once again, enduring this HUGE undertaking.  I'm sure I speak for all of us when I wish you the very best in your path to recovery and pain management.  You are in my thoughts Miss Lori!

Oh, I forgot.  Here's what I sent Keren....

...off to see what she created :)

Bead Soup #7

Yes, I'm a tad late posting on this fun party which I adore so much, but man, life has been crazy hectic around here!  I know, blah, blah, blah....we all have busy lives Alison....get on with it!!

So without further adue, let me introduce you to my partner,

Keren Panthaki of VasDea!

She is a lampwork artist from the UK and wow, her work is yummy!  How incredibly lucky I was to receive such a talented artist as my partner.  Her usage of colors makes my heart sing.  And as much as I would love to show you what goodies I received, well, you'll just have to wait ;)

Until then, here's what I sent her way...

hehe, I've always enjoyed a good tease.

I have an online friend/customer who makes the loveliest jewelry.  

Her name is Rebecca Anderson.

The reason I bring her up is not only to introduce you to her creations and blog, but because I think it may be time for a little intervention...bead style intervention that is.

You see, she loves birds...

she orders quite frequently from me...

 

 

not that I mind...

 

her work is stunning and I love what she does with my wee littles...

but Rebecca, do you think you may have a problem?  No?  

Alrighty then, I'll back off and remain your faithful supplier ;)

Seriously though, please stop by her Etsy store for more of her beautiful creations, 

they will lift your spirits.

 

me today.

Heaven

what my weekends look like...

the drive to Mt. Bachelor (20 minutes from my house)

snowshoeing the cinder cone

xc skiing with my bestie

everyone is friendly in Bend

more snowshoeing; this time during a storm with my adventurous boys

so feel free to visit, i have an extra room ;)

The shop has been looking a little sad and neglected so new beads were in order.

 

i'm loving the colors and i even made a few extra for a cuff i'm designing...

more of that news later :)

happy friday!

A New Year

wow, where did the year go and where the heck have i been?!  

upon approaching my most favorite time of the year, i found myself full of tension and stress due to my new "single mom" status.  not only do i worry about the monetary aspect of my situation, but i also worry about how well i'm raising these two beautiful boys of mine.  so i took a break and decided to figure out how to proceed into the new year with less stress and the ability to focus on the important, more enjoyable, things.

happy to report i'm feeling much better and everything around me seems to reflect my positive attitude.

AND, in case you were concerned....i did not sit on my bum the entire time ;)

i've been working with metal and fire!  oh how i love my little butane torch...even bought myself a fire extinguisher, you know, just in case i get out of hand.

SO, in my bead shop, you will now find forged copper with different attitudes.

a preview...

it's good to be back!

Summer is over and the boys are back in school.  I'm always amazed at how quickly it passes and how incredibly sad I am to say goodbye to our days together...

A quick summary

 first trip to disneyland

 the pride in catching your first fish

cousins

hiking, hiking, and more hiking

mini warriors

lake days and lots of camping

Back to work and responsibilities....yuck,
but knowing beautiful memories were created and there's always more tomorrows.