Me, Lorelei and Beads!

Lorelei Eurto and her husband, Joe stopped into town, while on their vacation! I was so excited to see them, again! Some of you might remember their visit with me last year. If not, you can read that post here. I have so much fun with the two of them! We connect more and more each year. We had more time to visit this year. The first day, I met them by the waterfront in Newburyport, MA. We browsed around some of the cute shops downtown and had lunch. The second day, my husband Josh and I met them for dinner at Agave Mexican Bistro, BUT the best part is, Lorelei and I got to BEAD! YEAH! :)

L met me at my local bead shop, The Riverwalk Bead Shop and Gallery in Amesbury, MA. This is where I work, teach jewelry-making classes, sell my own jewelry and generally where I hang out and make jewelry! If any of you plan a trip to New England, this shop is a must-see! It's two shops in one. It's a beautiful artisan gallery filled with fine arts and crafts handmade by local artisans. The shop carries jewelry, pottery, photography, fine art, native art, handbags, clothing, bath and herbal products, you name it AND beads and jewelry-making classes to boot!!! Visit www.riverwalkbeads.com

For our beading session, we decided to focus our attention on making designs that incorporated either cording or leather. That made it easier to focus our shopping and also create a bit of a challenge. I chose leather as my element and L chose waxed linen cord for her element. After we were done buying all our beading supplies, we grabbed Joe and headed to my apartment to bead! Here's what we came up with during our beading session:

 Most beads and supplies are from The Riverwalk Bead Shop and Gallery!

Lorelei's Design

My Design

I'm glad Joe and Lorelei decided to come up here again this year for their getaway! I had a great time with both of them and my husband, Josh really enjoyed hanging out with them, too.  Lorelei and I have become close friends over the last couple of years online, but there is only so much connecting you can do over the internet. It's nice seeing her in person, just makes me wish we could hang out more. We have much in common. There's so much to talk about and so much beading to be done! Til next time! We will just have to arrange another meeting, soon! Stop by Lorelei's blog to see how the rest of her vacation went!

Preggers Update!

Me and our kitty, Sophie in the yard

I'm 25 weeks pregnant. My husband Josh took this picture of me (and the cat!) right after we came home from our prenatal visit, this morning. Nothing new to report, really. Everything is going great! Me and the baby are coming along just fine.

We did come up with a new name for our little baby girl. Although it's not official yet, we are thinking of going with the name, Nora!

I'm a Red Head!

First off, thank you to everyone that's entered my giveaway so far! I appreciate it so much, keep it coming!

Well, I felt like I needed a little boost in the hair department! So I decided to have a little fun and color my hair! It's nice for a change. Nothing makes a girl feel better, like a hair cut or a little color! I know, I know, I'm pregnant, but don't worry, It's Henna! It's all natural plant-based dye. No chemicals!  Everyone knows Henna tattoos, but you can dye your hair with it, too! My friend Birdie came over to my house and put it in for me. She's an herbalist. She makes her own creams and herbal products and Hennas her own hair, so she knows what she's doing. This picture was taken the first day. It's actually a little darker now, not so rocker red! ;P  What do you think? Can I carry the red?  I've always loved red hair and admired anyone with gorgeous red locks! :)

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July weekend!

:)

Bead Trends and A Giveaway!

In the July issue of Bead Trends Magazine, you will find my second published Necklace! This piece called, Aqua Terra Beach, features one of my handmade Stoneware Sand Dollar Pendants! To celebrate this and my new blog, I'm having a Giveaway!

1st Prize - One lucky winner will receive the following: A copy of the July issue of Bead Trends Magazine, 1 handmade Stoneware Sand Dollar Pendant and 2 matching Stoneware Sand Dollar Charms!

2nd and 3rd Prizes - Each winner will receive 1 handmade Stoneware Sand Dollar Pendant each!

3 prizes, 3 winners!

Yes, that's right! You get three chances to win something!

Here's how to Enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post for 1 Entry to win.

2. Follow this blog for 2 Entries to win. If you already follow, you will automatically be entered two times, BUT everyone must leave me a comment, so I know you want to be entered in the giveaway! So, that's 3 Entries total, if you leave a comment and follow.

  

3. Tell your friends about this giveaway on your own blog with a link back here, for 5 Entries to win. You can either leave a comment here that you posted or you can e-mail me a link to your post.

The winners will be announced on July 10th!

Please come back to this blog on that day to see if you won or leave me a way to contact you! Thank you!

GOOD LUCK! :)

First Baseball Game at the Boston Red Sox!

Just a quick post of my first baseball game! It's amazing I've never been to a game, but it's hard to get tickets in Boston! Here's me and my hubby, Josh at the Boston Red Sox baseball game last night! It was an awesome Summer night, the weather was perfect! Being at the game was so fun! We even had a baseball fly up into the stands right next to us! Josh bought me peanuts and cracker-jacks, of course to complete the experience! :) We won 8-5 against the Tampa Bay Rays. GO SOX! :)

Summer Issue of Stringing!

www.stringingmagazine.com

I love Stringing Magazine! It's one of the best publications out there for featuring creative jewelry designs. I'm lucky enough to have my first published pieces of jewelry in this issue of the magazine!

Ocean's Bounty Necklace and Sand Dollar Earrings

I love seeing my own work on the pages, but I LOVE flipping through and seeing the creations of some of my favorite beady, bloggy friends!!! Check them out!

Melanie Brooks - My favorite from this issue: Bracelet #17!

Gaea Cannaday - Cute Bracelet #6!

Lorelei Eurto - My favorite from this issue: Tweet Wishes Necklace!

Kelly Morgan - My favorite from this issue: Barnacle Beach Necklace! (Love this!)
Sharon Palac - Enchanted Pathway Necklace! (Amazing!)

Kristie Roeder - My favorite from this issue: Earrings #31!

Andrew Thornton - My favorite from this issue: Earrings #2!

Heather Trudeau - Quick-Change Artist Necklace! 

Jennifer Judd Velasquez - My favorite from this issue: Simple-Cut Elegance Necklace! (So Pretty!)

Dorothy Winchell - My favorite from this issue: Nature Walk Necklace!

Plums & Grasses Necklace

The theme for this month's Artbeads.com design partner blog program is Summer! Summer places, Summer activities or just the season in general. One of my favorite places to visit here during the Summer months is Plum Island, known for the beach plums that still grow on it.  It's a small barrier island off the Massachusetts east coast. I decided to use this place as my inspiration as I choose my materials from Artbeads.com.

This Sea Grass ceramic pendant by Marsha Neal, reminds me of the tall, green grasses that grow along the outskirts of the sandy beaches. A sterling silver dragonfly charm accents the pendant, as dragonflies flutter about these tall grasses. I tied up the pendant and charm with three strands of these plum/iris matte glass seed beads for a bail. Next, I picked out this fancy, plum-dyed silk satin cord to represent the plums that grow on bushes along the island. This silk cord came stuffed with chiffon. I un-stuffed it, so I could thread a section of silk onto this dark brown leather cord for the necklace. I wire-wrapped the silk section to the leather cord with a little sterling silver wire. I wanted to add a rustic touch to contrast with the silk and give the necklace a more casual feel. I left most of the leather cord showing and finished the the ends off with a simple loop and bead closure. Now, I'm ready for my walk along Plum Island!

Disclaimer: Artbeads.com has sent me the above mentioned beads, pendants, and/or findings to create with as part of their design partner blog program. I have not been paid by Artbeads.com to participate. Thank you.