Weekend Sail Anyone?

If you could be doing anything at all this weekend,

what would it be?

San Clemente State Beach Park, California

I think it would be fun to go for a sail.

Sailing into Catalina Harbor

Feeling the sprays of the water on my face. Smelling the salty sea air.

Long Beach Harbor, California

Hearing the boat slice through the water,...seeing the deep blue ocean.

Here's what I'd wear.

And somewhere, 'Sailing' by Christopher Cross would be playing,.....remember that one?!

Hmmm,.....can you see it?  Hear it?  Feel it?

Perfect Seas!!

Me, too.

What about you? 

What would you do,.....and how would it look, sound and feel?

Logan and Mike sailing into Catalina Harbor back in December of 2008

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Visualization!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Did You Hear?

Andy Griffith passed away.

Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor on the
Andy Griffith Show

He was a favorite of mine.  

He was a good actor and made it all look so easy!

 

I loved his voice.

My hubby, son and I like to watch re-runs of the Andy Griffith show. 

It’s a reminder of simpler times and a more relaxed way of life.

I've lovingly refered to my small home town in central Illinois as “Mayberry” for a long time now because it’s very quaint and everyone knows each other. 




That's my home town library back there. 
Old Route 66 runs right through the midle of town.  It really is Mayberry!

Kinda like Sheriff Taylor's town.

This is the post office where my dad worked.

It’s a place that as a teenager I couldn’t wait to move away from, but it was the best place to grow up in!

I’m gonna miss Andy Griffith,
but I will always cherish those reruns.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Good Ol’ Memories!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Thankful For My Freedom!

Celebrating Independence Day today here in the United States.

Remembering those who serve our country and feeling much gratitude to all those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that I can have the life I do.

In memory of USMC Sgt. Wade D. Wilson

Thank you!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Grateful to be able to Celebrate the 4th of July!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Procrastination,....

I’ve been working on getting photos of things I’ve created over the past few months.

Yes, I said months.

Usually I’m able to get pics with in a week or two,…but that’s not the case here lately.

I have stuff from back in March that I created during Spring Break while on the beach in California that I am just now getting around to photographing.

Does this ever happen to you? 

I mean, do you ever have plans to do things and for whatever reason, they keep getting pushed back or put off? 

Is it procrastination,…laziness,….too much to do with too little time to do it? 

What’s the deal?
 

For me, it’s a bit of all of this. 

I procrastinate.  I’d rather be doing other things.
Or like normal – I get sidetracked!! 

My hubby and son have nicknamed me “Sidetracked Shelly”. Not sure that’s a good thing!!


And sometimes I’m just lazy and would rather do this than that today.  Or this over here looks easier, more fun and interesting than this thing over here that needs attention.

(Sound familiar? Please tell me it does!!)

And then there’s times when I’m actually ready to do something and I’m working to get it accomplished and now, because of my procrastination and laziness,…well, now there’s too much to do and too little time to do it in. 

(Self-induced stress – what the heck?!!)

What do you do in situations like this? 

I mean, I know what I need to do to get all my stuff done, I just find other distractions, ya know?  

I've been updating my C.V. and some of my past classes and this kind of stuff lately too, and as I look back on the last few years I realize that I actually have accomplished quite a few things.

  

How about you?   Does it sometimes feel like you’re not accomplishing anything? 

Or, have you ever looked back after thinking that and said,

"Hey, that’s not too shabby.  I know I can do better, but it's not too bad!”

I hope so!! 

Here’s to kicking each other in the pants to keep us all going in the right direction!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Moving Forward!

 Cheers,

~Shel~

***Side Note***

I find it a tad ironic that this post will hit just as I am ready to go away for the 4^th of July and have my shops on vacation mode – LOL!!
  

I guess this isn’t good timing – but it is what it is, right?!! 

Oh, and I was playing around with some photoshop stuff and some ipiccy things for this post.

You know,...instead of doing what I'm supposed to be doing!

;-)

Suburban Girl Studio Design Team - Summer Reveal!

Wow - Summer!  Can you believe it?  Where's the time gone?

Right now it's time for the Suburban Girl Studio

Design Team Summer 2012 Reveal. (Woo Hoo!!)

Diana sent me this very cool Starfish Pendant - beautiful!

  And this amazing shell bead connector - super sweet!

  And then she included one of Jan Opinenco's  beads, too - oh my!!   It looks like a summer swirl of sea, sand and surf goodness, doesn't it?!!

Lampwork glass bead by Jan Opinenco

Okay, so when I think of summer I think of the Beach. 

San Clemente Sate Beach Park, San Clemente, CA
Photo by Michelle Buettner

When I think of the Beach I think of the ocean and the lovely blue and green colors of the water.

Then, I start to think of sail boats.

Sailing into Catalina Harbor
off the coast of California

I LOVE sailboats!

One thing I love about sailboats and all things nautical are the knots that tie everything together. 

So, for my design I decided to use some natural waxed linen cord from White Clover Kiln over on Etsy because it looked like the old ropes used on the docks and to tie up sailboats. 

Then, I knotted some immitation sea glass together with some sea-foam colored Recycled Sari Silk from Darn Good Yarn.

The beads reminded me of all the sea glass you can find on the beach and the silk reminded me of the sails and how they move and take shape in the wind. 

This design is definitely going into my personal stash because it's something I will wear over and over this summer - and any time I go to the beach!!

I big thank you to Diana of Suburban Girl Studio for allowing me the opportunity to be on her Design Team and to showcase her lovely, handcrafted ceramic beads and findings.

They're totally amazing and you really will love them - so go check 'em out! 

And, thanks to Jan Onipenco of Motlen Mayhem for her amazing lampwork bead!

The very talented Suburban Girl Studio

Design Team Members are all listed below with links to their blogs. Be sure to check them all out and see the amazing designs they've created this season!

Diana Ptaszynski http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com/
Jenny Davies-Reazor http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog
Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com/
Jan Onipenco http://moltenmayhem.typepad.com/
Marla James http://marlasmudmoments.blogspot.com/
Sandra Basara Miller http://www.sandra5461.blogspot.com/
Michelle Buettner http://www.MiShelDesigns.blogspot.com/

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Sailing Through Summer!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Cheesecake!

Someone's having a birthday this weekend.

Yep - it's the masked rider!

The Masked Rider doesn't like to be photographed!!

He doesn't like to be photographed and he doesn't like birthday cake either, so we're having birthday cheesecake instead. (I like cheesecake better, too!!)

Logan and Mike on Logan's 8th Birthday.
Boy that was ages ago!! ;-)



I so love this boy!  I mean, young man!

Here's to teenagers and their funny ways!

Teenager being himself!

Happy Birthday Son!

Having fun in Disneyland!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Celebrating!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Putting it all together,...

So, do you ever get in one of those moods where you're just obsessed with something?

Yep, me too!  Lately, it's been Polyvore (again!). 

It started a couple years back when I found Polyvore.  I just love putting outfits together. I don't always publish them but I do create outfits/designs and write things down, which gives me ideas for jewelry designs and other things as well. 

But recently, due to the Beading Daily Polyvore Challenge and blog hop that was this past weekend for the new book by Lorelei Eurto and Erin Siegel, "Bohemian Inspired Jewelry", I've been completely and utterly obsessed!

Bohemian Inspired Jewelry - 50 Designs Using Leather, Ribbin and Cords
~by Lorelei Eurto and Erin Siegal~
Interweave Press

First, Erin and Lorelei's book is one of my favorites. You can check it out here.  The photos are so gorgeous and you can really see yourself wearing these designs - no matter what your style!

However, being up at my sis's cabin this past week and weekend, I kinda missed out on the whole challenge thing and didn't get to really go to all the blog posts of everyone who was involved in the book tour blog hop, but I'm slowly making my way around this week and next.  And, it's not too late for your to get in on the Beading Daily Challenge either - you've got until July 13th I think it is - go check it out!

You need to hop on over to Polyvore too and check out all the great collages and ensembles that everyone's putting together - sweet!!

I actually put together two sets on Polyvore that I could never in a million years pull off wearing.

But, they took me out of my comfort zone and expanded my thinking a bit - which was fun and interesting!

Here they are:

Bohemian Inspired - Featuring Lorelei Eurto's Necklace
from the book Bohemian Inspired Jewelry
from Interweave Press.

~ And This One ~

 

Cocktails on the Beach
Necklace by Michelle Buettner of MiShel Designs

Nope, not me in the least! 

Well, maybe the shoes - definitely the shoes! 

The Red Set is totally my girlfriend Lea, though!!

Here's me: (as in the style of things I actually wear)

Shopping with the Girls!!
Necklace by Michelle Buettner of MiShel Designs

~And~

Shel's Choice!
(I actually have the Fossil bag that's pictured here!)

~And this, too!~

Bohemian Inspired - Hippie Chick
Necklace by Erin Siegel from her book
Bohemian Inspired Jewelry
available from Interweave Press

 

Okay - here's where I'm going with this.

My thoughts are that you've been stuck in a rut before with designing or with your hobby or with decorating your house (Pinterest has great ideas for this by the way!) and Polyvore is a really good jumping off point to spark your creativity and it's free!


You don't have to 'share it' if you don't want to and you don't even have to save or publish the sets you create - so it's totally 'risk free'. 

Kinda like that no-calorie candy bar they tell you about, only this time it's true!!

What types of things have you found that helps you step out of your normal comfort zone and into something else but still allows you to be creative is some way?  Has it opened up new avenues for you?  Does it relax you enough to open your mind to other creative venues? 

Maybe it just sparks new interests for you and you start noticing things you haven't before - like different colors, new styles, etc.

I hope you're enjoying your summer and refueling yourself with creative endeavors.

Be sure to stop by and tell us all what's going on and what cool, creative things you're up to or that you're getting ready to try. 

Oh, and I'm having a little SALE over in my MiShel Designs Etsy shop this week - 25% off your total purchase from now until July 1st. Use coupon code SummerFun25 during the check out process. I don't have the code listed in my shop announcements because it's just for my blog and FB friends - so enjoy!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Creatively Obsessed!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

****Please forgive any spelling errors. Blogger wasn't letting me check my spelling, and it kept stopping in the middle of me trying to type and all sorts of weird things today*** It's getting quite frustrating to say the least.  Anyone one else having trouble w/blogger lately?****