Fresh-Cut Friday

Today I am joining Liz over at Rose Vignettes who celebrates Fresh-Cut Fridays on the first Friday of the month. It's a good reason to buy yourself fresh cut flowers once a month. I'm up for that! Liz says "They can be from your garden or the grocery store. They can be from a garden that you have visited or maybe someone thoughtful sent you posies. Don't limit yourself to a vase!"

These charming pink tulips where given to me by my sweet friend, Anne, who once dated my son, Christopher.  There was no reason for the flowers...she just knew that I loved flowers and that pink is a favorite color of mine. It's wonderful to have friends who think of you for no special reason other than they remember what you love.

How about a "Fresh Flower" watch for you or a friend with matching earrings? You'll find them in my Artfire shop.

Rednesday....Mosaic Style

Once again, it's Rednesday over at Sue's blog, "It's a Very Cherry World" stop over and see all the wonderful RED being shared by everyone.

This week I'm sharing one RED that is a work in progress. What is it you say????????

Let's pull the camera back a little further. It has cherries and checkerboard.

Here's the right side.

Here's the left side.

Finally....the big mystery is solved. It's a drop leaf wooden table that I have been working on for some time now. I still have more detail work to finish on the sections around the cherries. Once I have that completed I will be able to grout the table. Once that's dried I will paint the table legs and any other exposed wood. It's on roller so I think it will come in handy in my workshop. It's all about "time". So many projects....so little time. It will be a one of a kind table!



My second Red is the "Checkered Flower" earrings that I have over at Cherry Chick Jewelry for sale.
When I see these I always think of the Wicked Witch's Ruby Red slippers with the black and white stripe stockings under Dorthy's house when she first lands in Oz. Do you see it?

M.E. Monday.....

Welcome, again, to Mary Engelbreit Monday. Please join us and post the link to your blog with the related Mary Engelbreit pictures to share with everyone. It can be a ME licensed product or something that was "inspired" by Mary Engelbreit's artwork. It "should" be a photo that you took of something that you own. We're flexible here....let's have fun above all else.

Once you've posted your picture come back and add your link in Mr. Linky below. Please share the link back to my blog so that everyone can take part in sharing their post and picture.

This is the front of my refrigerator filled with Mary magnets. I cross stitched the three tea pots on this really lightweight almost paper like canvas.

All of these go in this.........

A million years ago, when I was a manufacturers rep, I sold this line of Mary Engelbreit purses and accessories from Nordic House Designs. It was a really fun line of products with things like luggage, raincoats/hats, assorted bags, and umbrellas made out of a coated cotton so that it's water resistant. My stuff is pretty worn out now but I still get compliments when I carry my ME purses.

I got a wonderful surprise today when the letter carrier came to my front porch. My fabulous "win" from Nancy's Birthday Giveaway arrived. Amazing as it is there is nothing in the "gift" that I already have. I know....hard to believe! I love it all, too! ;-) Mucho thanks to Nancy over at "Silly Stitching".



Well....thanks for stopping by and please join us and share you favorite ME things.

Lampwork Lasik Lovelies



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How's that for a bracelet title?? My newest creation is designed with Bali & Sterling Silver findings. The murinni feature in the three focal beads reminds me of an eyeball that's had Lasik surgery for some strange reason. I'm weird like that.
This OOAK Artsian bracelet was designed with a lovely set of 11 kiln-annealed, lampwork beads. The murinni focals feature layered dots and vibrant stripes. The colors include cream, pinks, purples, reds, blue, periwinkle, & plum. The six smaller beads near the toggle clasp are a deep plum and not black. Unfortunately, the photo doesn't really convey that. The three focal beads measure appx. 13mm x 16mm, the two blue accent beads are appx. 7mm x 11mm, and the plum minis are appx. 5mm x 9mm. The bracelet measures 7 3/4" and is available in my Artfire.com store.

Sunday I'm linking up with a new "party" for me. Please join all of us over at "Under the Table and Dreaming" to see everyone's creations.

Go and See Ms. Sweet Bee...

My friend, Sweet Bee, over at Sweet Bee Cottage is celebrating her "Blogthday" with a delightful giveaway. Even though I reduce my odds of winning by sharing this with The World, I'm happy to help spread the word and celebrate with her. Please "buzz" on over to her blog and leave her a sweet comment and wish her a Happy Blogthday, too!

Rednesday with Cherry Chick and Miss Sweet Cheeks

I returned home Monday from my wonderful trip to the Adirondack in New York state to find "Miss Sweet Cheeks" waiting for me.  My lovely customer and now friend, Delores from AZ, makes charming little dolls. Little did I know that she had been working on "Sweet Cheeks" as a surprise for me. The note that arrived with SC read "As you can see, I love anything that looks or taste like cherries. I am hoping that Vicki will have a place for me in her beautiful, newly designed, studio.  Delores stood in front of a big mirror and designed my chubby legs to look just like hers. I think we both have eaten too much "cherry garden ice cream". As you can see, I am a happy girl and I hope when Vicki looks at me, she will get a smile on her face too."
Miss Sweet Cheeks does make me smile and the funny thing is that Delores has never even seen me and she matched Miss SC body style perfectly to mine...lol.
Miss SC has a signature under her back collar saying that she was made just for me. How sweet is that? I so enjoy all the relationships that blogging and selling my jewelry bring to me. I have met some truly wonderful ladies of all ages and I treasure their friendships.
A big Thank You to Delores for my Special gift.

Please join all of the other wonderful women who are sharing their Red over at "It's A Very Cherry World" with Sue.

ME Monday...by candlelight.....

Let it never be said that I am not dedicated to ME Mondays. I am online out in the dark at our suite in Lake George, NY. The only internet seems to be out on the balcony and the porch light is not working so I have a candle out here but it's not doing me much good. We are having a wonderful time but we are a little too early for the fall colors. I'm so enjoying the cooler weather though. Yeah for cool weather!

Have you ever seen a Mary Engelbreit Calendar holder? This is one that I have had for a long time but I find that the ME calendars of current years do not fit in the holders. This is an outdated calendar that I am showing today. Sorry for the short share but it is tough to type in candlelight.
Oh...so now the BF just came out and showed me that there is a display light for the computer...gheez....now when I am finished with my post! Better late than never....it's still wonderful to be blogging from the Adirondacks of NY. I will have pictures to share this coming week.

Please join us and post the link to your blog with the related Mary Engelbreit pictures to share with everyone. It can be a ME licensed product or something that was "inspired" by Mary Engelbreit's artwork. It "should" be a photo that you took of something that you own. We're flexible here....let's have fun above all else.

Once you've posted your pictures come back and add your link in Linky Tools below. Please share the link back to my blog so that everyone can take part in sharing their post and pictures.

A Big Happy Birthday to Ms. Dawn.....

Pick a cake....any cake!

I'm sure Ms. Dawn from over at "Dawn and Aggie" would appreciate a nice Birthday greeting from everyone. Please stop by to say Happy "B" Day to her on Thursday.

Creative Chick Parade....Day Three.....Furniture Fix Up...

Wednesday is the 3rd day of the "Creative Chick" Parade and it's  the day to share your Furniture Fix Up. I'm sharing one of my Craft Armoires that I painted. Almost everyone by now knows that I love Cherries and Mary Engelbreit but some may not know that I love MacKenzie-Childs "stuff". Most of which is out of my price range but I can still admire it from afar. I've had the wonderful opportunity to visit Aurora, NY where they are headquarted. I, also, went to their New York City store many years ago and it was amazing. This is my ode to MC's work. I purchased this plain armoire from Wal-mart of all places and "fixed it up".

Because it had to be assembled I was able to do all of the painting and papering easily on a flat surface. I recall having used my ironing board to raise it up really high so that I would not have to bend over too much to paint. Being able to do that made it so much easier and proved to be a good trick that I've applied to the two other armoires that I've painted. Sooooo...here is the big "reveal".....


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The armoire stands in my "backroom" and is filled with craft stuff. The sides are painted in a faux green marble look. I think I fixed her up real good...lol!

Dark Cherry Red for Rednesday.....

I've finally created a new Cherry Chick Bling Ring from a lovely glass lampwork bead that my friend, Heather, at Dragonfly Lampworks made for me ages ago. She's so wonderful about creating anything I ask for and it's always just perfect. I've put this little beauty up for sale in my Artfire.com shop. Mama needs a new pair of shoes!

Please join all of the other ladies over at "It's A Very Cherry World" who are sharing their Red with Sue and all of us for Rednesday.

Some Fall for this Florida lady.....

We have no Fall or Autumn in Florida that you can see. Some time in late November it might cool off a little but the leaves don't change so you don't "see" Fall. But...I have a plan and I'm excited. Later this week I am flying up to Philadelphia and then driving up to Lake George in the Adirondacks of New York.  It might be a little too early for color but I know I wll find cooler weather. Does anyone have any "must do" things that I should check out while up there?

This is one of many of my favorite photographs that I took of Lake George while on our way to Bolton Landing in 2008.

While I'm on the subject of Fall/Autumn I thought I would share with you my newest addition to my Artfire.com shop. This is a necklace that I designed with a cute glass lampwork pumpkin bead from my sweet friend, Heather, from over at Dragonfly Lampworks. She makes the most awesome lampwork beads. I can hardly wait to show you Christmas designs. This post is way too long but I, also, wanted to share that I have a pair of lampwork glass candy corn earrings available, too. Thanks so much for stopping by and please let me know if you have any thoughts on Lake George.

I'm Honored...Featured in An Artfire.com Collection

Now THAT is Art!

Curated By: OSebastian

ArtFire.com

Well...this makes for a wonderful Sunday. I awoke to find that my pink beaded "Cha Cha" bracelet has been included in an Artfire Collection. I feel so honored to be amongst such fabulous creative works.

Sew What Sharefest

Creative Chicks Parade continues today with "Sew What" Sharefest....

Many years ago I carried a "briefcase". I had been given one out of a different, boring fabric from one of my manufacturers but I always liked the design of it. So I made my own "briefcase" out of Mary Engelbreit fabric. What? You expected something different from me...seriously?

Here's the inside with all the little pockets sewn in to hold my calculator, papers, and pens. I used two over size red zippers around each side so that it would open wide.

Here's a close up "beauty shot" of the zipper..lol

And yet another view so that you can see the black webbing that has held up well for the handle. I never had to worry about anyone having one just like mine. All the photos will enlarge if you want a really close view.

It's hard to believe but this little chest of drawers has been with me for 38 years now. I know this because it was in my son's room when he was a baby and he just turned 38 a few weeks ago. My how time flies. It has been painted red, white, and blue and probably then just white with assorted fabrics covering the drawers. Covering the drawers with ME fabric was the last thing that I have done with it while it sits in my workshop/office. It still makes me smile when I see it.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to click over to what all the other bloggers are sharing with "Sew What".