Maybe it's my heritage

....but I have definitely fallen in love with vintage German beads! I was minding my own business in a bead shop the other day (yeah, right, Ginny, we all know what that means - you were cruising to fall in love with yet more beads!), when I came across this stunning display of the most yummy colors imaginable. They were all vintage beads from Germany and Czechoslovakia from the 1940s and 1950s, and the colors were really what caught my eye first, and then I noticed all the crazy and fabulous shapes. I could not resist, as the prices were quite affordable as well. Now, I did not go absolutely crazy, and only bought enough for just a few pieces, the bracelet above being one. We'll see if others like the pieces I post well enough to buy....then I can buy some more!

I was wondering why these little beauties appealed to my eye so much, and then I ran across this web article by Dara Spiotto on The Beadin' Path which talks about the colors of vintage beads, and all became clear. Or colorful, the case turns out to be.

I'm so incredibly baaaaaaad!

Seriously...I've been away so long, I'm not sure I even remember how to do this. Jewelry and keeping up with all the lovelies out there has fallen off my radar as my "day job" as been totally consuming. But sanity is all about baaaaalance, so I'm dedicating this blog to sheepishly apologizing for my long absence.

So as I shake the woolies out of my head, and proceed to blog, let me tell you about how not to live your life. Don't wake up at 2 AM thinking about work. Don't consider investing your hard earned dollars in Glaxo-Smith Kline because you're eating your weight in Zantac, because it's generic and OTC now anyway, and GSK has gone on to bigger and better things for better living through chemistry. But for the record, ranitidine is a wonder drug. Just so you know.

So how to live your life? Believing in your gifts, and your integrity, and the wonderful experiences of every day with the people the good Lord places in your path for you to shine His reflection to. In the moment, not worrying about tomorrow.

Spring Spring Spring!!

I am so ready for spring....the redbuds and mountain laurels are exuberantly fuschia and violet, the coreopsis and primroses have started to peak out along side the roads, the days are growing longer and warmer. And my brown and black clothes - they are so last winter. I want color. I want pink, green, bright blue and yellow. Are you feeling the same? Are you yearning for the garden? I think I might have found just what you need to push you into the next season - an Etsy artist with a fine eye for color and texture - one of the beadweavers of whom I am so in awe - Cigarboxbeads. Check out her Cottage Garden Bracelet with a click on the image above.


Or try out her Twisted Garden Path Choker, braided into one "beauteous strip of color."

The founder of this shop is a retired Home Ec teacher, who loved what she did, but now loves what she's doing now.

Beadweaving is her joy, along with knitting, crocheting, sewing AND being with her twin grand daughters. Not at the same time though, they love to 'help', according to their grandmama! They do have 'crafting time' every day that she watches them, so she hopes she is instilling the love of creating in them. At the very least, she is creating memories for them that will last their lifetime. What greater gift?

Cigarboxbeads became a non-stop beadweaver when she purchased 3 vintage cigarboxes full of beads at a flea market---about 20 years ago. She is still using those beads, plus a 'few' more she can not help but purchase! I know how that goes!

She also knits, sews, crochets, decoupages and lots and lots of other stuff so some other goodies might show up at her shop, Cigarboxbeads, as well, along with beads! Check out her blog, too, for info about her creative life and her features on other Etsy artists.

And summer is just around the corner (especially here in SA, where it shows up about May!) - so have some lemonade!

Meowrrrrr!

Relatively new to the blogging challenge, Etsy jewelry artist Purrfectlydevine brings beaded creations to her Etsy shop when she's not working hard at her career in special education and spending time with her husband and three kitties.




Classic designs with beautiful bead choices and affordable prices means there's "something for everyone" at Purrfectlydevine. Check out her shop and her blog, too.

Relax. Smile. Be.

Simple words of wisdom from Etsy Glass Artist, Ginger Black. Her art definitely inspires that middle concept of joy.

In an e-chat with fellow Etsy Artist Patricia C. Vener, aka Silver Dragon, Ginger had this to say about her work:

"I am in love with colorful, melting, flowing glass. Soft Italian glass called Moretti is what I use to create all my lampwork beads. It’s called soft because it melts at a lower temperature than the hard glass (borosilicate) that Pyrex dishware is made of. My favorite thing about making beads is that there is always something new I can’t wait to try: dot formations, stripes, flowers, fish, adding metals, sculpting - the list is endless! My next adventure in glass is to try fusing where you melt layers of glass together to create an array of items from earrings to dishes."

Her joie de vivre is also apparent in her Bio on Etsy in that she finds "bliss in making glass beads and solace in running, pure yee-ha joy on a snowboard and otherworldliness in a kayak."




I think you can find all that and more in her beads, don't you? To find out more, check out her shop at Ginger Black Glass, and her blog.