Bling as far as the eye can see!

 I went to my first bead show in Lexington, KY, on Saturday, June 25.  Lexington is about 90 miles east of Georgetown, IN.  I was a little nervous as I've never been to downtown Lexington but thanks to maps and directions I printed from Mapquest, I had no problem getting in or out. 

When I first walked into the bead show I was overwhelmed.  It would've been easy to grab everything that caught my eye but I stuck to my original plan and only bought what I needed.  There's another bead show in Louisville on July 2 but I'm not sure if my husband, Dave, will let me go ...  (Downtown Louisville, KY is ten minutes away, just across the river.)   I've certainly enough beads to keep me busy.  I spent yesterday afternoon organizing and throwing stuff away I've had for a long time and probably won't ever use.

This evening Dave will be teaching me about macro photography so I can start taking photos of my jewelry and other items.  Stay tuned!
 



Bowl o' Beads

A new technique I'm really excited about is making beads using dried flowers.  My sister, Jody, suggested this idea to my niece, Sarah, when she got married last year.  As soon as Sarah mentioned this to me, I was immediately surfing Google to find out how to do it.  With dried flowers from Sarah's bridal bouquet, I took the flower petals and ground them in a coffee grinder.  (I bought a new fancy grinder for us to use at home.)  Then, I pushed the ground flowers into polymer clay and baked them.  I found that using colored polymer clay gives a more predictable color to the finished bead.  I used the same purple flowers in both translucent clay and purple clay. The final produced with the translucent clay resembled something similar to a blueberry; the color "ran" in the translucent clay, giving the bead an entirely different look.  The purple clay produced a consistent color with dried flower petals still being visible.  The beads look kind of like rocks with spots of different color. 

I've also made beads using rose petals I gathered from rose bushes at church.  (I asked permission before I went crawling on the ground around the bushes!)  I also dried some dark orange gerbera daisies I bought at the grocery store.  There are even a few beads with coffee grounds in them.  We really like coffee in my family. 

So far, I've done well at not invading my neighbors' landscaping to "borrow" some flowers.  Every flower I see, I'm curious what color it would be once it's dried.  I'm looking forward to planting a "bead garden" in my back yard this year.

Creative Rez-a-may



Great-Nephew's birth announcement



Baby Quilt

 

Over the years, I've found different projects to get into. 

Thomas is my niece, LeAnne's, son.  (Anne's mom is my sister, Jody.)  He's nearly four and a smart little man.  I designed the cross-stitch announcement.  My husband, Dave, sculpted the sun and helped me complete the 3-D scene with railroad tracks and trees. 

Handmade wedding albums are my favorite wedding gift.  I try to match the colors to the bridesmaids' colors. 

I've been making baby quilts as long as I can remember. 

Some projects are even edible.  For my brother's daughter, Audrey, I once made a Rice Krispie treat "pepperoni" pizza for her birthday.  I used a hairspray cap (don't worry, I cleaned it first!) to cut out round pieces of strawberry Roll-Ups. 

I also enjoy knitting.  For the past two years, I've met with a group at church.  The first project we did as a group was make baby caps to send to third-world countries.  Babies there have a high mortality rate and one of the reasons is they lose a lot of body heat when they're first born.  It's nice to think something I knitted could save a little one's life.



Baby Caps

  

 

Rice Krispie Pepperoni Pizza


  



Wedding Photo Album



Nicki's wedding

 

Nicki's bridal bouquet






Bridesmaid bouquet



When my niece, Nicki, got married in 2006, she asked me to make all the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages for her wedding (with silk flowers).  Anything having to do with flowers, I was involved.  We enjoyed working together during the design process.  I even came up with the design for their wedding invitation using a photo of Nicki's bouquet and vellum paper.  It was a special moment watching her walk down the aisle carrying the bouquet I made especially for her.  She was the first one of my sister's girls to get married.  It was almost like watching my own daughter walk down the aisle.

Look out world, here comes Wilde Violet!



Brian and Sarah



It's official. I'm finally launching Wilde Violet! "Wilde Violet" will be my creative outlet to the world. I'm starting with handmade jewelry and who knows where it will go from there. I will soon be approaching salons in the local area to put items on consignment. Then, I will open a store on the web site "Etsy", to reach a broader group.



It all started with my niece, Sarah's, wedding last November. She asked me to make her bridal jewelry and her bridesmaids' jewelry, all eleven of them. It was certainly a challenge but it was amazing to watch them walk down the aisle in jewelry I made especially for them.

This week I will be creating bridal headpieces, necklaces and earrings. Wedding season is in full swing, after all. I have several ideas floating around in my head. It's time to get these ideas in hand.