Goodies from Rings and Things Show

Ah, I love a bead show. Especially one that is about 2 miles from my office that I can go to on my lunch hour. I had to power shop to find these beauties!

It's the first time I've been to a Rings and Things event. I must say it was well organized and I did not have to wait in a long line to check out either. I was worried about getting back to work on time, but I made it!

I absolutely love all these goodies, but I think the most unique find was the round brown dyed mother of pearl beads. Aren't those cool?

RAK from Lori Anderson Designs

Perhaps you've seen the RAK lists on blogger or at Facebook. Creative types have been posting that they will make something for five people. All you have to do in return it post it to your blog or Facebook and return the favor for five people. So much fun! I posted mine on Facebook last month. We used to do this on some rubberstamping groups I was on years ago and I really enjoyed it.

So here is the first RAK I've received and it is from Lori Anderson Designs. Lori is a talented jewelry designer. She sent me some wonderful beads and I can't wait to make something with them. I especially love the red and black beads that look carved. Too cool! I thought a great way to use these beads is to create my RAK with them. Pay it forward!

A Great Gift from Wilmoth Farms

I had the pleasure of meeting Rachel from Wilmoth Farms at our Ky etsy team meeting at the end of April. Imagine my surprise when she presented me with this wonderful gift basket!

Check out Rachel's etsy shop to see her latest creations. Besides soap, she also creates body butter, lip balm, lotion bars, bath salts, etc. I love reading her descriptions and she goes into a lot of detail about the ingredients in her products.

Thank you Rachel. I can't wait to try out these goodies. Right now I am hooked on the lotion bar!!

Derby Hat Decorating

This is the hat I bought last year for Derby week. We typically go to the Kentucky Oaks race which is the day before Derby Day. I liked it because it has an off kilter asymetrical feel to it. I wear a lot of black typically, so I am likely to have something to go with a basic black hat. The flowers are in the front and the back is plain. Last year I wore black and lime green so I added a lime green grosgrain ribbon and it looked fine. So here is the hat without the ribbon.

Here are my grossly overpriced feathers from a local store. I loved the ribbon with the flowers and thought it would look good with the top I picked out.


Here is the final product with some feathers that I love. They move with the breeze and are pretty cool. While we were at the track yesterday I liked all the hats that had these type of feathers in them. It was windy and I like the movement they create.

Have a great Derby Day everyone!

Derby - KY Oaks Day Glasses

I am a big fan of the Oaks Day glasses. (Oaks Day is the race the day before Derby for those unfamiliar with the Louisville tradition) I love lilies and the glasses are normally in pretty feminine colors. Here are a few examples. Last year's art was really beautiful.

Imagine my surprise this year to see that glass is like a stemless Riedel wine glass. How cool is that? Now I can have wine in my studio and not worry about knocking over the glass!

We have a winner!

New Pretties from the Bead Show

I went to a bead show in Louisville over Easter weekend. Here are some of the pretties I picked up. Can't wait to start working with these new beads! I especially love the triangle beads. They are black with small dots of blue - so unique. The sterling silver turtles are too cute. I only found two of those. My favorite is the inlay shell pendants. They are lovely! One is round, the other is fan shaped.

See something you would like turned into a pair or earrings or a bracelet or necklace? Let me know!

Cute Find at Target

It's that time of year. I can't hide my legs in jeans anymore and the toes must be summer-ized. Found these very cute flipflops at Target this week. I love paisley and I like tie dye too. And both were on sale. Score!