Memorial Day tribute

On Monday, May 28th, the US celebrates a national holiday called Memorial Day. This time of year always makes me ponder our history - the wars and conflicts - as well as the current state of affairs. For those unfamiliar with this particular US holiday, it is a time for citizens to pay respect and homage to the men and women who have died in wars or in the service of our country. Memorial services, flowers and flags on grave sites, personal reflection from family members who have lost someone near and dear, as well as parades honoring our Armed Forces, are all part of the tradition. Regardless of political views, these are real people and families and lives who deserve to be remembered and honored.

Thank you to all of those who have given their lives for our country, as well as those currently in service. May you be safe.

Long weekend ahead!

Whew! Glad this week is over! and all the other wonderful sayings that go along with "Wow - I'm really glad this week is over and I have a long weekend ahead!" I truly hate wishing time away - I always feel like I'm wishing for the weekend to arrive so I can take care of all of those projects that seems to always be around (you know the ones!!) and I never seem to have time to get them all completed. Then I wonder why it's already the end of May and think how quicky time flies!

Summer has definitely arrived here in southern NH. Today it is in the 90s and the weatherpeople have claimed that records will be broken. Personally, I love the warm weather - so much better than shoveling snow in the middle of a blizzard! They claim in New England that if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes and it will change since we are hardly ever consistent on the thermometer from day to day. The Memorial Day weekend, which makes for a 3 day weekend for me since it is a US holiday, is looking busy with yard work and catch up projects. Can't wait to really dig in and get my hands dirty with my gardening projects! TGIF everyone!

My flower garden

This morning (after having had rain for a week here in NH) I took a stroll around my little flower beds to have a look see. I don't really consider myself a "gardener" but I love to wander around nearly every day just to see what changes have occurred in my little beds. You would think not much but ... nearly every day I can see a plant got bigger or buds are starting to come out or some other little miracle has opened up.

I have my work cut out for me in the upcoming week. I went to a garden center this past weekend (rain won't keep me away!) and got into LOTS of trouble. Of course, this means that some plants will have to be moved around to make room for the newbies. For some reason, this always seems to happen to me - and this time of year I can't wait to get my hands dirty.

And Celebration!! My lilacs are finally blooming!



The picture above is a purple lilac that was already here when we bought our house. However, my little lilac family has expanded to include (2) that my best friend bought as a housewarming gift, as well as a treasured family heirloom plant (if there is such a thing). I was able to successfully transplant a piece of my great-grandmother's white lilac from her farmhouse in Maine to my little corner of the world. It's still small and doesn't have any blooms this year but it's healthy and growing! Can't wait to have her flowers in my home.

Lesson learned

Late last night I was fiddling around with all of my wonderful beads and kept returning to a beautiful (or at least in my opinion) pineapple quartz pendant that I've had for awhile. I love the swirls of color in this particular piece - it's almost like there is movement inside the pendant. So I set to work and tried various color combinations until - VOILA! - I tried it with some light amethyst purple rounds that I had on hand. The purple and yellow combination totally worked for me.

Crafting different items is like that for me. I love trying various combinations and working with different materials - not just my beloved jewelry but also fabrics, paint - this even carries outside to my flower beds. Every year I gather new plants that I've never had and pop them in my flower garden to see what happens. Sometimes I'm disappointed. But more often than not, a beautiful flower or plant will flaunt it's summer color. The moral of this lesson (for me at least) - keep trying and continue to work with things that you love. Something glorious will always come through!

Oh my gosh ... I've been "tagged"...

by Happy House Quilts. 7 Random Things about Myself?? Let me think - this could take awhile ...

1. I grew up on the coast of Maine and love the ocean - but I'm terrified by all of the little (and big) creatures that live in it.

2. In spite of #1, I am a certified PADI scuba diver. But have never gone deeper than 50 feet.

3. I dream of becoming a foster home for the Collie Rescue League of New England. Need to be able to spend more time at home and a fenced in yard first though!

4. Power tools are my friends - I love DIY projects and working around my house.

5. My husband and I met in college, got engaged after 9 years of dating, and got married after being together 13 years.

6. Oreo Double Stuff cookies and really cold milk are my all-time favorite snack.

7. When I first planted my flower beds I informed my best friend, Eileen, that I would not be moving any of the plants - they had to be right the first time. She laughed. Needless to say, I've revamped those same flower beds more times than I can count!

Now comes the fun part! I am tagging:
qbranchltd
marshatoh
misseskwitty
islandblossom
discardsblog
feltland
lazytcrochet

My apologies in advance for the tagging if this is not your "thing". However, I must say, it is fun to think about and great to visit other blogs!

My shop has been featured!

I'm so excited! Q Branch Ltd, a fabulous Etsy shop containing many unique and affordable items like the beautiful green corian pen on the right, has been kind enough to feature Bonny Jewelry as their featured artist of the week. I was asked some questions regarding my craft and how I got started (among other things), which Q Branch then published in an interview format. Please feel free to visit their blog and/or myspace page to read all about it!

It's Friday, it's raining and ...

I have a mile long list of things I have to do to get ready for the craft show tomorrow. It's the first one I've done this year and I was hoping to have more summer items to show but ... time flies and the show date is here before you know it!

On a brighter note, my flower beds really needed the rain and I'm hoping my lilac trees will come into full bloom this week. I LOVE the smell of lilacs! I also found this really great place that sells unusual lilacs in lots of different colors (I've seen lots of purples and whites but never yellow or red!). If you love lilacs and their luscious fragrance, check out Fox Hill Lilac Nursery for more of the unusual varieties - they also carry a great lilac fertilizer!

TGIF!

I'm a member of JET - Jewelry on Etsy Team !

A new Jewelry on Etsy Team (JET) has been formed, thanks to two creative ladies - Tara of Jewelry by Tara and Tanya of Crescent Moon Creation. Why? "To provide a positive place of sharing for all jewelry sellers on etsy to come together" - what a great idea!






The concept of the team is to share ideas, have some fun, and help promote other etsy jewelry artists. All JET members will add the tag "JETT" to their items, making it easy for other members to find your shop for supplies, to add to treasuries and of course, to enjoy your jewelry creations!

If you haven't yet discovered Etsy, you're missing out on some really terrific handmade items and should really check it out - it's an experience!

Getting creative

After taking a bit of time off to get my store in order, I finally took some time to begin the creative process again today. My new Pearly Pink Bracelet that you see on the left is one of my new items, and is also turning out to be one of my favorites. There is something very refreshing about getting back to doing something that you love and all of the beads, the colors and the different textures were beckoning to me today. Many more items need to be created as I have a craft show coming up this Saturday, but at least the process has begun!

Getting used to blogging

While I am still trying to figure out how to actually put items into my blog, I thought I would insert a picture of my girl. The gorgeous collie noted on the right is my pride and joy - her name is Amber. I've had her since she was 10 weeks old and she is my constant companion whenever I am home. She even helps me in my flower beds! My neighbor once commented how funny it was to watch us outside - I'd move a couple of feet to weed (or whatever) and she would get up and move with me.

While learning blogging, my etsy shop is taking a bit of a backseat. I shall be posting some new items for summer on there this weekend so stay tuned!

New blog - WOOHOO!

It's NEW! I've finally jumped and decided to have a blog of my own. More updates coming soon - this is the first posting and I've got SO much to do! I hope you come back soon to view how the site develops!