Aloha!

Well, Bead Soup Blog Hop was GREAT!  Can't thank Lori enough for including me in the Soup Party--So much fun!  I can't imagine the organizational headaches that came with managing over 350 participants.  Hope you had a chance to visit the blogs and see the awesome creativity of everyone.  I have to confess...I still haven't visited every one's blog.  Shame on me--and I do apologize for my lateness. I'm still visiting though--have to see all the beautiful finished soup!!

Right in the middle of the Hop, we took a 2 week trip to the East Coast to visit our little 5 month old grand son.  Sammy's just the cutest thing ever!!! Oh yeah, we had fun visiting with his Mom and Dad and other family members too :)

Soup's On! And Blog Party Is Here!!

Happy September 17th - Blog Hop Party Day and time for the big 'Reveal'!!

Lori Anderson organizes this wonderful event a few times a year and I was so happy to participate for this one.  Over 300 people (oh my, the organization task this must have been for Lori!!!) are partying today and want you to join us by blog hopping to see all the lovely creations we've made with our partner's goodies they sent us.  Here is the link all the partners....

Lori Anderson's  Blog Soup Party Partners!  Click HERE!

There are so many of us this time around it will take some time to see what everyone was up too.  Luckily the party will last all month.  Several people will be having give aways and other fun things.  I have some ideas swimming around in my head too so you might want to check back in a few days.  Have fun!!

So....wanna see my goodies from Carrie Tahquechi?????  She makes the prettiest lampwork beads and sent me 5 gorgeous ones; one large and 4 descending size beads in blues and white along with all sorts of fun and pretty beads to go with....even some pretty white ribbon!  I always admire the pretty ribbons in some artist's  jewelry but have never tried it myself.  Perfect time to try new things, right?  Tried lots of new things with my necklace!  I used everything Carrie sent!  Wanted to see if I could incorporate everything in one piece.  I love what I made--Mahalo Nui Loa Carrie!!

Well, I talk to much!  You've been waiting so patiently to see what Carrie sent :)  Here you go....

Aren't they just beautiful?!!  Okay... I won't make you wait any more.... Here is my necklace...

I really like my necklace!  I especially liked trying new things!  Thanks Carrie and a BIG thank you to Lori for hosting our party!!  The only things I added were the dark blue hands and the little blue heart.  They are some pretty beads I have been saving in my stash for quite awhile--they had been waiting just for this I'm sure.

Oh...and be sure and check out Carrie's Blog for her party favors!!  And the other blogs of party goers!

Cool Stuff From Etsy...

I've been shopping :)  Etsy shopping!  I love buying things on Etsy and especially from people I know.  There are so many creative people out there making so many cool things.  I love it!  Here are a couple of the goodies the mailman has delivered lately.....

The first is from Debbie Metti at Kitten Creates--was going to say she's from Ohio, but she's living in Ohio and really a California girl and can't wait to get back!  Debbie is in my Art Charms group and makes the coolest charms and bracelets.  She also has great vintage jewelry in her Etsy shop in addition to her charms and jewelry  But this is what I bought.....

Hand Dyed rayon ribbons!  Aren't they yummy?  They look so good on these old wooden clothes pins but if you go here you can see them on her Etsy off the pins.  I just love the piles of these scrumptious colors!  Debbie had sent me a giftie charm wrapped with her ribbon that I immediately used in a project and just knew I had to have more!  Mahalo Deb!!!

And there's more.....

The other treasures the mail carrier delivered are these two lovely little drawings (along with a cool giftie drawing that I haven't framed yet--mahalo!) by Carissa Weber.

Aren't they fun? Had to have the Peacock of course and the little hummingbird was a perfect companion. My photos don't do them justice so you should go to her website at artlab23 to see her great artwork.  In addition to selling her artwork on her website and her Etsy Shop she paints custom murals and you can follow her on Facebook to see where she will be selling around the Los Angeles area at Street Fairs and Art Walks.

Okay, now I have to tell you a little story about Carissa and why I get warm fuzzies when I see her selling her great designs (sorry Carissa!)....  I've known Carissa since the day she was born--yep, my son Kyle, who was 3 weeks old at the time, and I were there when she was born to help with her two older sisters who were my daughter's best friends.  Her mom, Melinda and I were pretty good friends too!  And Melinda and I spent many, many fun hours and weekends sharing a booth selling things at Street Fairs with the Dad's entertaining all the kids!  We kind of lost touch after the kids were off at different schools so it was great meeting up with Carissa on Facebook and to see what she has been up too.  I keep telling Kyle he should start selling his artwork at fairs too!  Make it a family tradition :)

If you have some time, check out some of the wonderful work offered on Etsy....and especially visit Debbie and Carissa!

Soup's On!

Carrie has her soup and is cookin' up some goodies so I can show you what I sent her....

Here are some of the goodies spread out so you can get a better look....

Can't wait to see what she cooks up!  My fixin's should be here today.... I'll be waiting by the mailbox!

Back From Hana...

We spent the last 5 days in Hana at the lovely Bamboo Cottage   What a nice way to celebrate our anniversary!  Wendy and Otto who own the cottage have made it the perfect little get away spot.  We've taken the drive to Hana on several occasions but haven't really spent much time there.  It takes awhile, with all the twists and turns and stops for people to pass on all of the one lane bridges.  And then of course you have to stop to see the waterfalls along the way as well.  So by the time you get there you have time for lunch and maybe a quick trip to O'heo Gulch, then it's time to head back so you don't travel in the dark.

This beautiful spot,  Waioka Pond, was just across the street and through the cow pasture from the cottage. A waterfall feeds the ponds and there's a black sand beach where the pond meets the ocean.  So many little hidden spots like this around the island.

At the cottage Wendy had yummy handmade soap in the bathroom.  I had been thinking about making soaps when we're at Keely's next month using goat's milk from her little goats.  Had to stop by Ben Franklin's on the way home from Hana and see if they had any soap making supplies.  They had a little bit!  Yay!  Played with them today and used some flowers from the Lavender Farm and essential oils.  Made Lavender, White Ginger, and Plumeria scented coconut soaps.  Too cool!  Here they are...

Doesn't coral make a great soap holder?  Can't wait to get more supplies when I'm at Keely's!

Bead Soup - Party's On!

I joined Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party this year.  Something I've been wanting to do for ages. 362 people signed up for this one!!  Lori has her hands full matching us up with partners and keeping everything organized and on track.  We each send our partner a package of 'Soup Ingredients' then they get to play with makings to create jewelry beauties!  On September 17th everyone posts on their blogs what they made and we start blog Hopping!!  Party Time!  Party goers are already posting their soup ingredients as they get them so you might want to check out some of the lovelies on their blogs before party day.  (you can go to the list of participant's blogs at 'bead coup blog party')

My partner is Carrie Tahquechi from Santa Cruz, CA who makes wonderful lampwork beads and beautiful jewelry.  Can't wait to see what she sends me to play with!

Here's what I sent her.....

hehehe...can't see what I sent?  I know!!  I don't want to spoil the surprise for Carrie--she has to be the first to see....but these are the little boxes I sent the goodies in :)  As soon as she lets me know they've arrived I'll show you what I sent.

We are away from home for a few days and I bet mine are waiting for me now.  I'll post a photo as soon as I get home.

My 'Charm A Day' photos for July....

Finally got all of my charm photos for the July challenge in an album on my Picture Trail so you can all see what fun I had :)

Still making charms in August  but now for 5 swaps....some with over 20 and some with only 5--lots of charms to make!

A Charm A Day....CAD

Happy August 1st!

For the month of July my Art Charms group had a challenge to make a charm each day.  It's been wonderful to see all of the cool charms everyone has been making.  Seems that all of us has a little (or should I say BIG?!) stash of special or orphan beads we have from our travels and many of these have been used for our CADs--beautiful beads!  Another fun part of the  challenge has been to see all of the special and diverse talents we all have.  This has inspired several members to try new things--me included!  I'll share my first charm of the month here and the last.....because they have photos of my little Sammy :)  Think I will do a Sammy charm each month for his first year so I can bore everyone with a new grand baby pic wherever I go.  That's a Tutu's main job, right?

Here's Sam's 2 month photo charm....

Sam's photo is in a Samuel Adams bottle cap with resin over the photo.  I added a little glitter around the edge and some star sequins before the resin.  Since the 4th of July was coming up, I added a few of the charms I received in the 'Patriotic' charm swap.  Just LOVE this necklace!

Here's the back.....

Added the 'Macalister' :)  Made one of these for my daughter and Sam's other 'Grammy' too.

And here is the charm I made with Sam's 3 month photo.....

He is such a happy little guy!  The photo was taken at a park playday.  So glad he is getting out with friends lol! (this is one of those examples of us in the charms group being inspired by other charm groupies--Trish shared her way cool bottle cap beads and I just had to try one...mine aren't quite like hers but I like the way it turned out anyway)

And the back has a photo of his first day at the beach at Grammy and Grampy's in Rhode Island...  (isn't he lucky to have two sets of 'beach' grandparents?  and such different beaches too!)

Gotta run--have a great day!!

Dancing Sam!

Thought you might enjoy this video of a Skype with Sam and Keely yesterday with Phil playing 'Island Style' (John Cruz) on the Uke!!

Up-Cycled Quilted Turtle Pillows

Aloha!  Haven't been posting but I've been busy!   Have been making lots and lots of charms for jewelry and for trading with my charm buddies at Art Charms--one of my favorite things to do--but have been trying to spend time doing other fun art things too.  My friend Pam in Maine volunteers at a thrift shop during her summer teaching break.  She came across this great Turtle quilt square pattern kit for a quarter--what a deal!!  Of course she thought of me :)  How fun! (Mahalo Pam!) Went right to the closet when it arrived and pulled out my big bin of fabrics I've been saving.  Found a few old Hawaiian shirts of Phil's, bits of an old dress of mine and some batik strips of fabric that would all make perfect turtle quilt squares.  Ended up making four squares and wondering what I should do with them..... a full quilt came to mind... realistically I knew I'd probably never finish it.  Pillows--yes!  And sea turtle pillows would look so nice in our condo since most everything is sea related.  But four pillows?  They would mostly be on the floor.... Two pillows and a table runner?  Yes!  Back to the fabric bin.... I shortened some pretty yellow/gold silk curtains for Kyle's condo last year and couldn't bear to toss the 'scraps'. The 2 foot strips were just right for backing and accents.  I suppose this only will encourage me to keep saving things :)  but I do love it when we can recycle all those little bits into something new and special.  Thanks Pam for inspiring me to dig out the sewing machine!

Here is the first pillow.....

And the second.....

Don't they look great on the couch with Kyle's octopus painting behind it?

Here is a close up of one of the squares for the table runner....

I'll play with these today and actually have a project DONE!!  No UFO (un-finished objects) hanging around longing to be finished! (we had a fun swap in my BadBabyArt group a long time ago--we sent a partner one of our UFOs, no instructions, they finished it and sent it back....fun seeing how others finished something we started)

Hope you have a fun, art filled day!

Welcome SAM!!

Samuel Adams Macalister

Isn't he the cutest little guy ever?  This is my new grand baby Sam when he was about 15 minutes old!!  Born last Monday, April 18th, on Keely's birthday!  Tristan snuck this pic with Keely's cell phone even before he got weighed and measured.  Thanks Tris!  We head out on Saturday to meet him.  We've talked to him on the phone but it just isn't the same :)

Aloha--Tutu Cris

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Aloha!  My Art Charms group had a 'Celtic' charm exchange last month and the charms are amazing!!  Such wonderful, creative charm makers in the group--Thanks everyone for the great charms!  I took a few of the longer dangly ones and put them on a pin for something a little different.  The rest are on my work table being made into a bracelet and necklace.  Here's a pic of the pin....

Have to get back to the work table so I can wear the rest of my collection today!


Later....

Happy Birthday Sis!!

It's my big Sis' birthday!  Hope you enjoy your little gift Sandi :)

Found this little heart shaped sea glass and thought of you!  Have a great day!


xoxo

Another Great Whale Day!

Whale Day Parade 2011

Enjoy!

Whale Day Today!

Happy Whale Day Everyone!  Every year on the 3rd Saturday of February the Pacific Whale Foundation has a Whale Day celebration at Kalama Park just a couple of blocks from our condo.  It starts with a parade at 9 am that runs up S. Kihei Road and ends at the park where there will be whaley things to do, like the Whale Regatta race - little rubber whales (like rubber duckies) racing down a track and the winner gets Hawaiian Airline tickets to Maui - Woohoo!  Great music all day, crafts food, Made on Maui Artisians.  Fun Day!


But my favorite is our hokey parade!  Anyone can be in the parade - just sign up!  So you get preschool classes with little kids that make cool sea life hats or the skin diver's bus covered with blow up sea life floaty toys.  And then there's the float with the Mermaids...like the Rose Parade's Queen and Princesses.  And I'm sure Cooleio and Chilly will be in the parade this year as always--the sunglass wearing dogs that ride around in the back of their Dad's truck.  Oh yeah, and the Maui Humane Society brings their dogs to be in the parade too and there is an adoption truck at the park so you could even make a new friend today!  And of course our new major, Alan Arakawa, will be the Grand Marshall.  If you're on Maui today - don't miss it!!!


Here's a pic of my neighbors and I waiting for the parade last year....

That's me in the middle and Maile (with the pony tail) and Coco (white with ginger spots) on the right.  Nikita (fuzzy, black fur) and her Dad, Norman on the left.  Coco has a new sister this year, Bambi--it will be her first Whale Day Parade--how exciting!

Meet me at the corner at 9 am!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My jewelry for today.... courtesy of my 'Art Charms' swap buddies.....

Mahalo Nui Loa (thank you very much) everyone!!!!  I think there are 50 to 60 charms there, can you believe it?  And each and everyone is wonderful!! Peggy and Chris cut off the Valentine's swap at 30 but so many more artists still wanted to participate they opened a Valentine 2 swap.  Several of us couldn't stand the thought of missing out on any charms so we joined both!  So glad I did!


Here are my charms....


The first is a little collage in a metal bezel with bee on a flower and a little 'mine' text added.  I added a two part resin to fill the bezel for a glass affect.  Love the Envirotex Resin--looks very cool and it isn't too stinky to work with like regular resins.  I was really hesitant to use the stuff--think I had it setting on a shelf for a year or so before I finally got the nerve to try it.  So easy.... what was I afraid of?? :)  Had my hubby take pics when I was making these so I can put together a little tutorial to show you how easy it is in case you are nervous about it like I was.  (I did drill a hole in these and add a jump ring but for some reason can't find the pic of the finished piece--sorry about that)

My second heart charm is made with copper wire.  I twisted a little stylized heart then pounded it with a rounded hammer to flatten the wire and add a texture.  Then I used Liver of Sulphur to patina the copper since this swap was to have 'gun metal' colored wire.  Added some glass beads for a little glitz.  Funny--two other people, Emily and Nancy both used wire and glass beads to make stylized heart charms too!  I think the 3 compliment each other nicely on the bracelet!

Thanks again for the fun jewelry everyone!  And special thanks to our fearless leaders, Peggy and Chris!  BTW, Chris and Peggy have a great book out, Mixed Media Art Charms, with lots of wonderful instructions to get you started in this fun little art endeavor!

Whales at Ma'alaea....

Well, 2011 is starting to pick up.....  Didn't start off so well with a bad cold as soon as the kids left after the holidays that turned into pneumonia.  It's been hard to shake but I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel--oops--not that light!  Haven't been out much but have managed to spend a few mornings parked at the sand to watch the whales.  Just can't tell you how cool they are!  Something you have to experience for yourself.  So cool you can watch them right from the beach.

Ma'alaea Beach at dawn....

Mom (on the left) and baby spy hopping

Baby practicing it's tail slaps...that's Mom's pec fin on the left

Hey look--kayakers--let's say 'Hi'!

'Look what I can do!'

Some cute little green sea turtles came by to say hello too.