Button jewelry

I finished the button jewelry for my boss' wife, using buttons she found from her grandmother and great-grandmother.  I love the way these turned out.

I realize the leaves on the earrings are pointing two different directions.  I actually fixed this, but didn't take another picture.  

I have an old sewing box that belonged to my maternal grandmother and I looked through it a little yesterday to see if there were any buttons.  It was a long shot, because my granny did not sew, but I found a few pretty ones.  I'm not sure how old they are, but they're pretty.  

On another note, I'm getting together with a few of my friends soon for our annual Christmas lunch.  This year, we've decided to bring an ornament to swap, rather than buying gifts for everyone.  I'm now on the hunt for a beaded Christmas ornament pattern.  Something handmade is always more special than something bought, right?
 

Sinus infections stink!

I've been sick.  And, I hate being sick (as if anyone likes it!).  I broke down and went to the doctor Monday after having been sick for a week with what I thought was a cold, and found out I have a sinus infection.  It's not my first, and unfortunately it probably won't be my last, but I hate them.  After a couple days of antibiotics I seem to finally be on the mend.  The really bad part is I was too sick to go Black Friday shopping!!!  But, at least I'm getting better.  Maybe in another day or so I can get back into the Christmas spirit.  It's hard to be jolly when you're miserable.  

I've been a fan of Jennifer Heynen's (a.k.a. Jennifer Jangles) ceramic beads for a while now.  A few months ago she asked her blog readers to donate items for her holiday newsletter giveaways.  I donated a seed bead bracelet that you can read all about here:  http://jenniferjangles.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Sale!

In honor of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I'm offering 10% off in my etsy shop.  Just use the coupon code blackfriday12. 

Have a fun shopping weekend!  Off to do a little Black Friday shopping myself.  

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed day with family and friends!

I plan to have a sale in my etsy shop in honor of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Details will be posted a little later tonight.

  

Potomac Bead Company

As promised, here are some of my purchases from the Potomac Bead Company in Alexandria, Va.  This isn't everything, but these are some of my favorites.

You can't tell from this picture, but the first set of beads are leaf beads.  I love all the different colors in them.  I think the second set is my favorite--love the blue and the ocean theme.  The last are pretty green and brown glass beads.  I also picked up some green crackle glass and a strand of amazonite.  I could have spent a fortune there--if only I had a fortune to spend!

Travis has gone to the movies with a friend, and the girls are visiting their cousins, who have come in for Thanksgiving.  That means I have the house to myself for a couple of hours!  I'm giddy!  I think the dog and I will go curl up on the couch with a book now...
 

Washington, D.C.

I just got back from a conference in the Washington, D.C. area--National Harbor, MD, to be exact.  I won't bore you with the details of the conference, although what could be more exciting than hundreds of human resources professionals gathered in a room together?  I did a little wandering around, and I saw this sculpture near the Potomac River.

 This is only part of the sculpture.  It's huge, and also has the man's legs sticking up out of the sand.  I tried to convince my boss we need a similar sculpture sticking out of our man-made lake on campus, but he didn't go for it.  

There was a Peeps store nearby, too.  I had never seen one of those--didn't even know they existed.  They had some really cute stuff, and, of course, lots of Peeps.  I brought back some gingerbread flavored ones that were quite good.  I couldn't resist picking these up, too.

I do have a thing for socks, after all!

I also got to visit the Potomac Bead Company, which is a two story (!!!) bead store in Alexandria, Va.  I behaved myself pretty well, all things considered.  I'll try to post pics of my goodies tomorrow.

Today is our last day of work until Monday, in honor of Thanksgiving.  There are many things I love about working in higher ed.  The holidays are, perhaps, my favorite!
 

Israeli Owl

A couple of weeks ago I went to an event called the Mistletoe Market, held in a town about 45 minutes from home.  I go every year, and usually wind up spending way more than I should!  This year, a vendor was there who makes pendants out of stamps.  I found this one from Israel, and I fell in love with it.

What makes this special to me is the stamp is from Israel.  My husband went to Israel a few years ago and loved it.  He can't wait to go back, and hopefully next time I'll get to go, too.  Plus, it has an owl on it, and you know how much I love owls.  I couldn't get photoshop to work well this afternoon, so I couldn't upload a picture of the back, which is beautiful, too.  It's a piece of brown stained glass.  

I haven't yet decided what to do with the pendant--it deserves a pretty chain to hang from.  I'll have to ponder that for a bit...
 

More buttons

Last night I made earrings out of a pair of the buttons the lady brought me.  I think I may like these even more than the necklace.

I normally don't use much gold in my designs, but it worked well with these buttons.  I love the leaf design on them.  Of course, I just now noticed, when looking at the picture, that one leaf is pointing up and the other down.  Hmmm...might have to redo one of the earrings to fix that.  Anyway...I had bought some green crystals to dangle from the bottom, but then found these green beads in my stash.  They are crystal-like, and have various shades of green in them.  I couldn't have asked for a better match!  

It's been a long, rainy, dreary day.  Perfect weather for a good nap--if only I had the time!
 

Buttons

The other day a lady brought me some vintage buttons that she wants turned into necklaces and a pair of earrings for a few of her relatives.  This is the first necklace:

I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.  It's so dainty!

I went to the Mistletoe Market Friday with my friend, Misty, and her baby, Evie.  I was holding Evie, while we walked around, and she was playing with my scarf.  One of the vendors looked at her and said "oh, do you have grandma's scarf?".  GRANDMA?!  I'm only 38!  Misty is (slightly) older than me.  GRANDMA?!!  I've been traumatized ever since.  A lady at work is selling some type of wrinkle cream that's supposed to be fabulous.  I told her I want a sample.  I also told my boss I'll be needing some time off for a face lift.  

I'll post pics soon of the goodies I picked up there.  One thing in particular really excited me...
 

What I'm wearing today

Just a quick post showing the jewelry pieces I'm wearing today:

I'm also wearing these adorable fall pins I bought from a (fairly) local lady at an event called the Mistletoe Market last year.

I'm actually headed to the Mistletoe Market tomorrow afternoon with my friend, Misty, and her little one, Evie.  Evie is only 5 months old, and this will be her first shopping experience with Aunt Nee.  They're getting ready to move out of state, so I have to try to corrupt her as much as I can before they go!  :)