A Breath of Fresh Air!

Our topic for August for the Focus On Life: 2014 Weekly Photography Challenge is

 'Outside' 

and for week 32 Sally prompted us with

 'Fresh Air'

and told us to "Spend a little time taking a deep breath of fresh air, feeling the sun or the rain on your face!"

Here's the 'rain on my face' while sitting up at the very top of the tree house the day before we left the cabin.

You can't see the drops coming down through the trees, but it was heaven for sure!! 

 

The View From The Top of the Tree House!

Now, let's see what 'Fresh Air' everyone else captured!

Until Next Time,

 Peace, Love and Breathing Fresh Air!

 Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

Outside the Box

It's August!  (Already!?!)  

Our topic for the month of August for the

Focus on Life:2014 

Weekly Photography Challenge is "Outside".

This is week 31 and our prompt is 

"Outside The Box".

Sally didn't technically give us any rules for this one and it could be a play on words or it could be literally "Outside the box",  so today I'm going to share a photo I took back on Mother's Day while down at my sis's house.  

We usually take a photo of all the cousins when we get together, but this Mother's Day only Logan and Chad were actually there and so we tried to skype with all the other kiddos who live out of state or who couldn't make it that day.

My nephew had moved to Florida earlier this year and as the boys were standing around the t.v. chatting with Preston, I said, "Boys, squat down in front of the t.v. so I can get a photo of all three of you together."

"Seriously?", was what I think both of them said at the same time.

"Yes, Seriously. How else am I gonna get a photo of all three of you today?"

And if you look really closely, you can see my bro-in-law's face in the little square to the bottom left of the t.v. as he was on the computer skyping with them! LOL!!

So, Preston's actually 'in' the box,...not out of it. 

I'm pretty sure no one else with find this as odd funny as we all did, but I think it's pretty much an 'out of the box' way to take a photo.

What do you think?! 

Catch all the "Out of the Box" pics everyone else has captured and posted today, won't you?

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Snappin' "Out of the Box" !!

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

Celebrate the Season - FOL28

Our July theme for the Focus on Life:2014 Weekly Photography Challenge is "Celebrate" and for week 28 Sally, over at The Studio Sublime, prompted us to

"Celebrate the Season"

Each summer we spend time at my sis's cabin in the mountains and I love to 'Celebrate the Season' by capturing photos of all the lovely wild flowers growing all around!!  

Please stop by and see how every one else is Celebrating this Summer Season,....

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Celebrating Summer!

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL14 - Week 26

Wow - half way through the year.  The first part has flown by, if you ask me.  Hopefully the second half of the year will slow down just a tad bit so we can all catch our breath, right?!

For week 26 of the Focus on Life 2014 weekly photography challenge, Sally has given us this prompt:

June 2014: Putting the Fun In Photography

Week 26: Free Space!

"Like the good old bingo cards state, "FREE SPACE" right smack dab in the middle of the card!  We have reached the half way point of the year, REALLY!  

We are half way through 2014!  

For this week you have a "free space" to photography what ever you would like in what ever way you would like."

Oh, so many possibilities.

I took some pics over Memorial Day Weekend while we were up in the mountains at my sis and brother-in-law's cabin.   

I rather like the look of this one, so I played around with editing it a bit. 

And, being our country's symbol of Freedom, I thought it would fit nicely for our 'Free Space' prompt.

I haven't watched the video that Sally no nicely put up on 'softening' your photos - so I'll have to do that because this one might look cool that way. 

Please check out the below links and see what every one else chose as their 'Free Space' this week, won't you?! 

Oh, and be sure to come back 
here tomorrow for the 
Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! 
Blog Hop - Link Up.

I'd love for you to link up with us and show us what you've created with your pearls!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and "FREE" Space

Cheers,

~Shel~

Free Space to Grow! ;-)

An InLinkz Link-up

Girls and Their Pearls

This Sunday, June 29th, is the 

2014 Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop 

here on the MiShel Designs blog. 

The challenge was simply this: 

Create something using pearls. It doesn't have to be jewelry or bead related at all. It can be anything your little heart desires; from pearl encrusted stilettos, to a pearl laden writing journal or lamp shade, the choice is yours.

June has been a much busier than normal month 

here in our household.  

There's been more travel this month than usual, some very sad moments of losing friends and other loved ones, an unusual amount of extra paper work for our business and school (yes, even though it's summer!), appointments for senior photos, dental and doctor appointments, designing and ordering our 20th Wedding Anniversary rings (Mine's being created by the wonderful team over at Todd Reed in Colorado, and Mike's having our friend Steve help him craft his own - I can't wait to see them both!!) and all sorts of other 'home' stuff to manage.

So, needless to say, I started to majorly stress out about the Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop I decided to host this month. 

However, a friend nicely reminded me that although I'm hosting this hop, it shouldn't be stressful at all because it's just a "link up" type of hop. 

What's that mean you ask?  

It means that if you'd like to participate that all you have to do is come here on June 29th and 'Link Up' with us via the InLinkz link up tool that will be at the bottom of my blog post that morning. 

Simple as pie!  

So, I hope you'll link up with us here on 

Sunday, June 29th 

and join in the Pearl Fun!

In the meantime this week, I am going to give you a couple of posts to wet your whistle on pearls - I mean, how could I knot. I mean not. LOL!

First up, here's a couple of quick and easy reminders on how to care for and store your  pearl jewelry.

Always keep your pearl jewelry, whether it be real pearls or imitation pearls, out of the 'chemical baths' of perfume spraying, lotion lathering and hair spray fogging.  Seriously. Be sure to use your lotion, your perfume and your hair spray BEFORE donning your pearls - and yes, that goes for pearl earrings as well gals! 


Never clean your pearls with liquid chemical jewelry cleaners. I did this once. It was on some really nice Swarovski Crystal Pearl jewelry I created many years ago with sterling silver. I dunked the entire necklace into the little basket, put it in the jewelry cleaning liquid, sealed the lid and left it there for almost 15 minutes. When I came back and took out my beautiful Swarovski Crystal Pearl and Sterling Silver Necklace,...the silver was all shiny and gorgeous again, but the crystal pearls were, shall we say, a bit 'sticky'. 

I had thought, "I'm only dipping them for a brief moment, what could possibly harm them that quickly?"  Well, DUH!  It's a chemical that cleans,...deep cleans. And obviously eats away at certain substances,...like pearl coatings, plastics, pearl nacre, resins, the stabilizing materials in stabilized turquoise and other gemstones.   So, my advice, "No chemical cleaners for your pearls, okay?" 


Also pearls, if strung on silk, nylon or other cording, should not be hung up in your jewelry box or from those cool DIY jewelry displays made out of a old picture frames and vintage drawer hardware or hooks. Nope. It looks really cool indeed, but it stretches the cord more quickly than normal wear and tear, thus leading to having your pearls restrung sooner than is actually needed.

Not Knot on Etsy

Ideally, it's best to store your pearls in a flat box - not a zippy bag or sealed plastic container as they need to breathe - with a nice soft jewelry cloth around them. I've used antique hankies to store mine in and to wipe them clean (you'd be amazed at the damage oils from your own skin can do over time) before I put them away.   And, I feel good that my antique handkerchiefs are getting used and not just stored in a drawer somewhere. 

Okay - that's about it for today. 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Pearls, Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

FOL14 - Week 22 -

May's topic for the Focus on Life 2014 weekly photography challenge is 

'In, At and About' 

and for week 22, Sally (The Studio Sublime) gave us this prompt:

"This week we are focusing on what is IN Bloom!"

The only thing blooming here in the desert right now is the heat.

Well, there's tons of saguaro blooms that are looking pretty awesome right now, but I couldn't capture a good pic of those this week.

And, bougainvilleas and bird of paradise are always in bloom here when it's summer and super hot, but the pics I took of those didn't come out as well as this shot of one of the last roses in our rose bush. 

The pics from the top looking down on the rose showed all the scorched petals, so I chose this angle because it looked the prettiest!

Okay, back to the bloomin' heat!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Beauty In Bloom!

Cheers,

~Shel~

*A little side note,...

Today would have been my Dad's 95th Birthday. 

Happy Birthday Dad!! 

Miss you so much - every single day! 

 

May 31st, 1979- My 8th Grade Graduation and my Dad's 60th Birthday

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL - Week 21

**I'm trying to link up with the FOL2014 Group this weekend but due to the internet connection in the mountains being totally useless, I may have to link up on Tuesday when I return home and pop over to see everyone's photos and comment next week. Sorry folks!!** :-) 

May's topic for the Focus on Life 2014 weekly photography challenge is 

'In, At and About' 

and for week 21, Sally over at  

The Studio Sublime, gave us the prompt:

This Week Fill in the Blanks: 

At or In the __________, I_________.

  

This one stumped me for a bit, but then I realized that

In the mornings, I take care of Coco and Kiki.

I fluff their seeds, refresh their water, talk with them and watch them snuggle.

It's rather difficult to get a focused photo of these two cuties!

It's a morning ritual that is rewarding!

Be sure to see what all the other 

Focus on Life 2014 participants 

have captured this week!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Snuggles!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

Pearls In The Spotlight

Pearls are so versatile. 

The truly do go with anything.

It's hard to believe the fashion and fine jewelry industries are just getting around to really embracing this idea.

What I mean is, I think these industries have tried (on many occasions) to 'bring forth the pearl', but as a whole, most people still see them as 'stuffy', snobby or classic and all 'prim and proper'.  

Not me.

I believe they go with anything, on anyone, in any season and for any reason. 


Because I love them so much the thought never crossed my mind that they couldn't look great in any type of design or with any type of material.

 Pearls are such a passion with me that I feel that it's part of my 'life's mission' to spread the word about them and show people how wonderful they are.

  My Keshi Pearl Dangle Earrings
Find the BeadStyle Magazine Tutorial
Available over at the 
Kalmbach Bookstore


I'm glad I'm hosting another Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop.

I think the craft / handcrafted artisan jewelry industry already has the whole 'pearls' thing pretty much figured out. 


Seriously. 

I see so many of my fellow jewelry artists using their pearls with such a variety of materials and in so many unique and different ways that it makes me feel all tingly inside.


Just look at a few of the creations that were in the 
Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop in September 2013.

L to R - Dee, Lynda, Kashmira, Sharyl,  Cynthia, Jasvanti, and Tracy



Click Here to go to the 2013 Blog Hop Reveal Page
and see all the Gorgeous Designs posted that day.


  Super, aren't they?!


The 2014 Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop
reveal date is June 29th, which gives you a little over a month to get your pearl mojo on, so if you'd like to join in the fun this go-round, hop on over to the info posted HERE and read all about it.

Or, just come back here on Sunday, June 29th, and link up with all us 'Pearly Peeps'!!



Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and PEARLS, Baby!! 

Cheers,
~Shel~

FOL14 - Week 20 - The View About The Ground

**If you are looking for the 
Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop II
Info and Sign Up Post, Click HERE. 
 _______


May's topic for the Focus on Life 2014 weekly photography challenge is 

'In, At and About' 

and for week 20, Sally over at  

The Studio Sublime, gave us the prompt:

The View About The Ground

I'm always looking at the ground - usually for cool rocks. 

I decided to photograph something else this week though.

The grass with it's tiny yellow 'flowers' and this fallen leaf from the Grapefruit Tree.

 

This seemed a bit more 'summer' than rocks. 

Plus, the rocks were hot to stand on and photograph in my bare feet and the grass felt good despite the 104 temperature!

Hop around to the other participants this week and see what they captured in their "View About The Ground". 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Looking About!

Cheers,

~Shel~ 

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop II

Are you ready to ROCK SOME PEARLS?!! (Again)

I am, too!

(Seriously, when am I not?!!)

I've been rather quiet this year (jewelry wise) due to my work schedule and family life and I haven't been able (sadly) to participate in any of the fun blog hops, challenges and social media events.

When a couple of gals ask me if I was going to do another Pearls Blog Hop this year, I responded that I hadn't thought about it. 

One mentioned that if I did another Pearls hop I should do it in June, since the Pearl is June's Birthstone, and I knew it would definitely be fun, so I decided to just do it!

 Okay, here's the Scoop:

1) Create something (doesn't have to be jewelry *Gasp!*) with pearls in it. A lot of pearls, a few pearls - your choice. Your creation can be any style or pay homage to any era, age, region, etc.  (Classic, Glam, Boho, Cottage-Chic, Goth, Steampunk, Art Deco, etc.) You name it - you can make it!

2) They can be real pearls (freshwater, saltwater, Tahitian, South Sea) or imitation pearls (Swarovski, Czech glass, plastic, shell pearls, etc.), or a mixture is just fine, too!

3) Post the reveal of your creation(s) on Sunday, June 29th, 2014 on your blog and then come here and link up with the Inlinkz tool I'll have posted at the bottom of my post on June 29th.  (This way it's easy for people to link up and hop around).

That's it! Pretty Simple, huh?! 

 

Need some inspiration? 

  

 

Hop on over to my Pearls, Pearls, Pearls, 

 Pinterest Board and check out all the items I've pinned.

And, why not start your own Pearls Pinterest Board and keep track of all your favorite Pearl Pics! 

Here's the link to last year's 

Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop Reveal post.

There's tons of links on last years Pearls Blog Hop post related to pearls; from Pinterest Boards to tutorials on designing with pearls, Pearl History, Education and Pearl Farming.  There's even several bead shops and suppliers so you can shop for gorgeous pearls, too.

And, here's the link to my Pearls Page here on the blog as well, with even more information and inspiration for you.

So, whatcha waitin' for?

Go create with your pearls because as you know,....

"Pearls are for any person, for any reason, any time, any place, any season!"

 

MiShel Designs Model 'Miss Layla' wearin' her pearls!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and PEARLS, Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Feel free to put the Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop Button up on your blog if you'd like, too.

Just link it to www.MiShelDesigns.Blogspot.com

See you and your gorgeous Pearls on

Sunday - June 29th, 2014!