It's Today,...It's Today!!

"Sneak Peak" of one of my Bead Soup Sets

Not only is today my 17th Wedding Anniversary, but it's the
BIG REVEAL for Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party! 

Woo Hoo!

It's finally time to go "Taste Testing" and "sample"

what every one has "cooked" up with their Bead Soup Mix!

So now, grab a cup of whatever it is you wish, and possibly some food too, 'cause this might take awhile, and go check out what everyone created!

(And leave positive comments for them on their blogs, too, K?)

I'm going to have a button up at the top of my blog

that will link to the list below for several weeks so this way you can come back

whenever you need to and finish up checking out everyone's "Soup"!

My Bead Soup Partner is Melissa Pynn - and we're #141 on this list - be sure to go see what Melissa created with the beads I sent her!

~ And here's what I created with what Melissa sent to me ~

Here's what she sent me!
Beautiful - aren't they?!

I created a couple of different sets with the gorgeous "ingredients"
that Melissa sent me - it was fun!

My sister told me that the picture I took above reminded her of a wedding cake!  LOL!
 
But that got me thinking "Romance", so I created something "Romantic" with the rose pendant, the heart clasp and some of those cute little faceted pink Czech glass beads. 
I threw in some recycled Sari silk ribbon, some faceted garnets and
some tiny vintage ceramic rounds ~ and, this is what those 'ingredients' became:

Romantic Rose Set with Heart Toggle

Romantic Rose Dangle Earrings

Romantic Rose Set - Bead Soup 2011- Michelle Buettner

Romantic Indeed!

Then, there's the silver bird connector Melissa sent me
and those yummy green leaf beads - I love those!!

I added some cool wood beads I had and hand-knotted them onto hemp cord
and this is what those "ingredients" mixed up into:

"Bird in the Rose Garden"

"Bird in the Rose Garden" Earrings

"Bird in the Rose Garden" Bead Soup Set

All the lovely little bird links and the beautiful opalite ovals
she sent me were screaming to be used.
I was inspired to put them w/blue sari silk and some other glass beads,
and this was one of my inspiration pictures!

And, here's what I came up with:

Ocean Blue by Michelle Buettner

'Ocean Blue' by Michelle Buettner

I hope you've enjoyed my "Cup-O-Soup" today!

And, I truly hope you enjoy the Bead Soup Blog Party this weekend!

Please Click to View the Bead Soup Blog Party Main Page

These are the partner pairs - click on each name below to go to their blogs.

The Hostess, Lori Anderson and her partner, Manuela Wutschke

1. Aimee Wheaton and Barbara York
2. Alice Craddick and Sandra Richardson
3. Alison Sachs and Amy Severino
4. Allison Scott and Cynthia Abner
5. Amanda Cargill Austin and Charlene Sevier
6. Amanda Davie and Patsy Evins
7. Amber Dawn and Kim Ballor
8. Ambra Gostoli and Christine Hansen
9. Amy Freelandand Christine Altmiller
10. Ana Krepel-Novak and Eleanor Snare



11. Andrea Morici and Hope Smitherman
12. Andrea Trank and Jayne Capps
13. Andrea Turini and Charlene Jacka
14. Angela May and Emanda Johnson
15. Anitra Gordy and Elizabeth Owens Dwy
16. Ann Rishell and Debbie Price
17. Ann Sherwood and Lynne Bowland
18. Anna Lear and Barbe Saint John
19. Anna Sabina­­­­ and Erin Siegel
19. Nan Emmett and Erin Siegel
20. Astrid Boyce and Birgitta Lejonklou


21. B.R. Kuhlman and Deanna Chase
22. Barbara Bechtel and Bryna Lumb
23. Barbara Blaszczyk and DaviniaDesign
24. Barbara Judy and Holly Westfall
25. Barbara Lewis and Cathie Carroll
26. Barrie Edwards and Lyn Foley
27. Becky Fairclough and Jana Tarhala
28. Bella Borgouise and Gillian Lehman
29. Beth and Evie McCord and Erin Prais-Hintz
30. Beth Bricker and Heather Pyle


31. Beth Emery and Cassie Donlen
32. Bobbie Rafferty and Cindy Cima Edwards
33. Candice McGinnis and Sally Anderson
34. Carol Bradley and Cece Cormier
35. Cathy Khoury and Molly Alexander
36. Carol Tannahill and Hilary Frye
37. Carrie Tahquechi and Cris Peacock
38. Cat Pruitt and Cindy Gimbrone
39. Charlene Gary and Doris Stumpf
40. Charlotte Pevny and Kate Gardenghi


41. Cherrie Fickand Cathie Carroll
41. Claire Maunsell and Cherrie Fick
42. Cheryl Roe and Jenny Vidberg
43. Chris White and Norma Turvey
44. Christa Murphyand Kathy Alderfer
45. Christie Murrow and Dana James
46. Christina Miles and Collette Collins
47. Christine Brandel and Elizabeth Woodford
48. Christine Damm and Cynthia Deis
49. Christine Hendrickson and Debbie Goering
50. Christine Stonefield and Dee Wingrove-Smith


51. Cilla Watkins and Johanna Rhodes
52. Cindy Wimmer and Riki Schumacher
53. CJ Baushka and Cory Celaya
54. Courtney Breul and Joanna Matuszczyk
55. Cristi Clothier and Kathleen Robinson Young
56. Cryss Thain and Serena Trent
57. Cynthia Tucker and Kitty Durmaj
58. Dana Johnson Jones and Eva Sherman
59. Davinia Algeri and Janet McDonald
60. Deci Worland and Lara Lutrick


61. Diana Ptaszynski and Kristy Abner
62. Diane Cook and Kerry Bogert
63. Diane Hawkey and Jen Judd Velasquez
64. Dorcas Midkiff and Jill Harris
65. Doris Radlicki and Heather Goldsmith
66. Dot Lewallen and Gaea Cannaday
67. Elisabeth Auld and Jennifer Justman
68. Erin Fickert-Rowland and Geanina Grigore
69. Erin Grant and Julie Jones
70. Eszter Czibulyas and Helena Fritz


71. Fiona Christie and Michelle Heim
72. Gail Zwang and Genea Crivello-Knable
73. Geneva Collins and Jana Haag
74. Gretchen Nation and Heidi Post
75. Heather DeSimone and Karin Slaton
76. Heather Marley and Terry Carter
77. Ingrid McCue and Jennifer Pride
78. Jackie Ryan and Nicole Keller
79. Janna Harttgen and Joanne Tinley
80. Jean Yates and Lori Anderson


81. Jelveh Jaferian and Jenny Davies-Reazor
82. Jenni Connolly and Jennifer Heynen
83. Jennifer Cameron and Kristi Bowman
84. Jennifer Geldard and Lisa Liddy
85. Jennifer VanBenschoten and Kim Hora
86. Jess Italia Lincoln and Lori Greenberg
87. Jill MacKay and Lori Bergmann
88. JJ Jacobs and Karen Tremblay
89. Joyce Becker and Kathy Welsh
90. Judy Glende and Karen Sinkowski


91. Judy Riley and Kelly Morgan
92. JuLee Wolfe and Julie Bean
93. Julianna Cannon and Julianna Kis
94. Julie Nordine and Lesley Watt
95. K. Hutchinson and Shea Zukowski
96. Karen Firnberg and Karyn Bonfiglio
97. Karen Williams and Kimberly Roberts
98. Karen Zanco and Polly Barker
99. Kari Carrigan and Laura Twiford
100. Karin von Hoeren and Laura Blanck


101. Kate Richbourg and Lorelei Eurto
102. Kathleen Lange Klik and Maria Clark
103. Kathy Engstrom and Keri Lee Sereika
104. Kay Thomerson and Loretta Carstensen
105. Kelley Fogle and Laurel Bielec
106. Kelly Ramstack and Sally Anderson
107. Kim Stevens and Tiffany Long
108. Kristi Harrison and Mandy Williamson
109. Kristi Kyle and Lana Kinney
110. Kristina Johansson and Sue Hodgkinson


111. Kym Hunter and Laura Sanger
112. Laura Zeiner and Susan Kennedy
113. Laurel Stevenand Mary McGraw
114. Laurie Hanna and Lisa Boucher
115. Lesley Weir and Liz DeLuca
116. Linda Djokic and Tracey Weiser
117. Linda Inhelder and Pam Brisse
118. Linda Landig and Lori Dorrington
119. Linda Murphy and Lisa Hamilton
119. Line Labrecque and Marianne Baxter
120. Lisa Lodge and Monica Johnson


121. Lois Moon and Melissa Muir
122. Lola Surwillo and Therese Frank
123. Lori Bowring Michaud and Marci Brooks
124. Lupe Meter and Norma Agron
125. Maggie Towne and Marge Beebe
126. Malin de Koning and Susie Hibdon
127. Mallory Hoffman and Shirley Moore
128. Marcie Abney and Patty Miller
129. Marcy Lamberson and Melissa Clarke
130. Margot Potter and Suzann Sladcik Wilson


131. Maria Grimes and Wendy Blum
132. Maria Horvath and Melinda Orr
133. Maria Rosa Sharrow and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp
134. Marian Hertzog and Melissa Mesara
135. Marianna Boylan and Sandi Lee James
136. Marina Dobrynina and Michaela Pabeschitz
137. Marsha Neal and Miri Agassi
138. Mary Ellen Parker and Melissa Meman
139. Mary Elliott and Tamara Soper
140. Mary Hicks and Laurel Steven


141. Melissa Pynn and Michelle Buettner
142. Michelle Hardy and Niki Meiners
143. Michelle Mach and Moira McEvoy
144. Missy Rappaportand Mags Sarri
145. Molly Alexander and Poranna
146. Mylene Hillam and Nicole Rennell
147. Nadezhda Parfyonova and Stacey Curry
148. Nan Emmett and Nancy Peterson
149. Nancy Boylan and Natalie McKenna
150. Natalie Monkivitch and Niky Sayers


151. Natasha Lutes and Pam Ferrari
152. Noemi Baena and Penny Ilagan
153. Pamela Petry and Rebecca Sirevaag
154. Pat Haightand MaryShannon Hicks
155. Patty Gasparino and Vonna Maslanka
156. Penny Neville and Sandi Volpe
157. Pepita Bos and Wendy Chamberlain
158. Raida Disbrow and Rebecca Watkins
159. Rebecca Anderson and Sabrina Staub
160. Regina Santerre and Rose Binoya


161. Rhea Freitag and Tari Kahrs
162. Rochelle Brisson and Teri Baskett
163. Sally Russick and Tracy Bell
164. Sandra McGriff and Shay Williams
165. Sandra Wolberg and Sara Hardin
166. Sarah Elder and Salla Small
167. Saskia Kaffenberger and Sharon Gardner
168. Sharon Palac and Shannon Chomanczuk
169. Shay Stone and Suzette Bentley
170. Shiraz Biggie and Tammy Powley


171. Staci Smithand Tracy Stillman
172. Stacie Stamper and Tracy Martin
173. Stefanie Teufel and Vicky Taylor
174. Stephanie Dixon and Stephanie LaRosa
175. Stephanie Haussler and Valerie Norton
176. Suzanne Tate and Terri Wlaschin
177. Sweet Freedom Designs and Tammy Jones
178. Tania Spivey and Tari Sasser
179. Tara Plote and Terry Matuszyk
180. Terri Gauthier and Deana Hager
181. Theresa Fosdick and Tracey Nanstad

  

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and A Lovely Cup of Bead Soup!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Bead Soup Blog Party is TOMORROW!!

It's Tomorrow,....It's Tomorrow!! 

Can you STAND it?!!

Oh, the excitement!

Peeps are taking pics and pre-posting like crazy today,

getting ready for the big reveal tomorrow!

(Me, too,...me, too!!)

Visit Saturday, the 17th and check out all the glorious

EYE CANDY from everyone's

Bead Soup Creations!!

Until Tormorrow!

Peace, Love and Great Anticipation!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Autumn In My Head!

Leaves and Pearls - Autumn 2009 Design from MiShel Designs

Okay - so I've been thinking of all this "Fall" stuff lately. 

Fall colors, fall designs,...all of it!

Maybe it's because all the stores are spiced with autumn goodies like vivaciouly colored leaves in burnt orange, rust and gold. And maybe it's because the smells are so lovely right now - I mean spiced-cider candles are burning all day in my house!!

Ceramic Beads and Copper Charms
MiShel Designs 2010 Fall Collection

Yep, that's it! And, I've been dreaming of and creating some new designs. 

Now, to find the time to photograph them - yes, that would be nice!

Chaos Wire Wrapped Hoops with Amber Dangles
MiShel Designs - Fall 2009 Collection

In the meantime, here's some Autumn Eye-Candy from years past. Enjoy!

Realm of the Goddess
MiShel Designs Fall 2010 Collection

Cinnamon and Spice
MiShel Designs Fall 2009 Collection

Aumtum Earrings - MiShel Designs 2009 Fall Collection

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Autumn Treasures!

Cheers,

~Shel~

"Autumn in Arizona" - Fall 2008 Collection

Mocha Earrings - MiShel Designs Fall 2010 Collection

New Banner - Whatcha Think?

Check out the new MiShel Designs Banner at the top here.

Whatcha think?  Pretty cool isn't it?

MiShel Designs Banner by Studio Waterstone

A HUGE "Thank You!" to Lori over at Studio Waterstone

for putting this together for me. 

What a great eye for design she has, that's for sure! 

You should see the purses she designs, too - Amazing!

Gorgeous Purse By Lori at Studio Waterstone!

So, you know how important your banner is right? 

Well, hop on over to Studio Waterstone and check out the link for "Banners" and see all her great work. 

I bet you'll be more than just a little impressed!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Beautiful Banners, Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

The Count Down Is ON!!

Okay, Okay,...I know you're all as excited as I am about the big Bead Soup Blog Party this Saturday, September 17th, that Lori Anderson of Pretty Things just "threw" together! (yeah, right!)

The Big Reveal is Saturday - September 17, 2011

Holy Cow Smokes Batman!  There's approximatley 362 peeps all swapping "Bead Soup Recipes" and designing great things! (Can you imagine?  I can't!!) The work Lori put into this go around of Bead Soup,...well, I don't even know what to say or where to begin!  My hat's off to you Lori!  Thanks for all the work, time and effort you have put forth - it's appreciated!!

Any hoo, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak of what I sent my Bead Soup Blog Party Partner, Melissa Pynn (Behind the Smile blog).  Don't freak out - she's already revealed what I sent over on her blog, so it's okay.

Bead Soup I Sent To Melissa, My Bead Soup Partner

I know,...I know,...boring,...same old "Shel" colors, huh?! I am so color challenged, I swear!  I did find a really cool sterling silver 'branch' clasp that sort of mimics the 'waves' in the agate focal bead and here's the scoop - these are not normal colors for Melissa (that's what she said) and so this is a good thing.  Just like it's a good thing that she's challenged me with some really cool colors and beads and findings - wanna see?   Ta-da!  Cool, eh?

What My Bead Soup Partner, Melissa, Sent Me!

So, I've got my designs all sketched and ready to go.  Now, to just find the time to put them together and get them photographed by Saturday morning for the "Big Reveal!"  Wish me luck!

Oh, and by the way,..did I mention that Saturday the 17th the hubby and I are celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary - amazing, truly amazing.  Trust me on this one!! :)

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Sweet Anticipation!

Cheers,

~Shel~

I Heart Macro - It's Sunday!!

American!

Want to see something really pleasant and uplifting today?

Hop on over to Studio Waterstone where Lori has put together the "I Heart Macro" Sunday list.  These photos will make your eyes sing!

In Memory,....

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Macro, Baby!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Very Vintage Fall Challenge!

Very Vintage Fall Challenge Designs Kits
by Michelle Mach

Excitement!  Sometimes, getting me (Shel) out of her "shell" is not easy - just ask my friends or my hubby!

So, when I came across the Very Vintage Fall Challenge over on Michelle Mach's blog I almost passed up the opportunity to stretch my potential - I'm so glad I didn't!

I saw all the lovely beads and findings she had in her kits for the Fall Challenge and fell in love with them!  I love all things to do with fall,...the colors, the fabulous jewelry, the sports, the holidays, the sights, sounds and smells - you name it!  Halloween's my favorite holiday too, by the way. I mean what's not to love, right?!

Anyhoo,...what I'm not so good at is creating 'vintage inspired' jewelry since most of my designs are pretty classic and simply in style. Not that this challenge is only about vintage goodies, oh no, you can design anything you want, but these pieces just scream Vintage (Vintaj!!) and it's a design style I admire and love to drool over!  I haven't worked with too many of the very cool 'Vintaj' products, but have a few pieces on hand because I just thought they were fun, and the items I have all seem to revolve around Fall - go figure!

It's very good to step out of your 'design box' and try new things because just like I've always told my son about trying new foods, "Ya never know when you're gonna find your favorite!" so I'm excited to give this a shot and see what I can produce and hope that it will resemble some sort of  Vintage/Vintaj piece that is appealing and fun to wear!

The reveal date is October 4th and I'll give you a "Heads Up" when it's time to hop on over to all the participant's blogs and check out their fabulous designs - there's some amazing talent in this challenge, let me tell you!

So, Until Next Time, 

Peace, Love and all things Vintaj!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Word for the Week - Happenstance!

Angel Baby

Happenstance.  That’s Andrew Thornton’s word for the week this week.

Made me think – Then it hit me. Life, that’s pretty “Happenstance”,…if you think about it.

Here’s a little story of “Happenstance”. 

 

My niece was 24 years old, newly married with a 4 month old son, living on a Marine base in California with her hubby when she was diagnosed (after months of “what’s wrong w/me” doctor visits) with Hogkin’s Lymphoma.

 

As she’s going through her rounds of chemo, she’s gaining weight, feeling so tired she can barely pick herself up off the floor and her white blood cell count was way down – so much so that she had to skip a couple of chemo treatments and give herself these awful shots in the tummy (I think they looked awful, she did them like they were nothing!!) to get her blood cell count back up.

 

Finally, back on her chemo schedule, the hubby is due to deploy to Afghanistan in a few months and will miss the rest of her chemo, their son’s first birthday, and her radiation treatments as well.  But, she’s a strong woman and decided this was great because when he returned, she would be cured of cancer, everything would be over with and they could get on with their happy lives!  (very positive outlook on life this one has!)

 

So, she goes in for another pet scan and the doc calls them to say,…. “Well, you’re responding very well to your treatments but we found something unusual with the pet scan.”  Her and her hubby’s heart sank. “What?”

 

The doc tells them “You’re pregnant.” “What!?”  “We found a fetus and this is why you’ve been gaining weight and why your nausea has been so intense.” (ya think?!!)

“We need you to come in and let us run some tests, and just so you know, we don’t expect the fetus to have a heart beat”  “Seriously – how can I be pregnant – wasn’t I checked for that prior to my treatments?”  “Um,...we overlooked doing a pregnancy test on you because of everything else that was going on, even though we told you we were going to do one.”  OOPS! 

Tears and a whirlwind of emotions later, her and the hubby go in for tests and wow, by “happenstance” there is a heart beat – a strong one.  And, this little ‘girl’, well, she’s a fighter!

Layla Bean!

It’s not good to have chemo treatments in your first trimester of pregnancy because of the development of the baby, but this little one, well she was forming all the right things just as her Mama had to give herself those awful ‘tummy shots’ and missed the chemo treatments at exactly the right time to let “little girl” form all the right things!! Yep – that’s pretty “Happenstance” if you ask me!  Or divine intervention of some sort!

 

Fast forward:  Hubby deploys, Mama and baby finish up with all the chemo and then during the break between chemo and radiation little “Miss Layla” is born – completely healthy, all fingers, toes, etc. in place and perfect! No neurological damage can be found – all is great!

Misha and Layla

Mama completes radiation just a couple of days shy of the return of her hubby and with kids in tow, she greets him with delight!  Meeting his daughter for the first time and seeing his now 1 year old son and holding his ‘cancer free’ wife - yeah, that must have been something else!! 

Andy Returns!

So, little miss ‘angel baby’ is full of life, loves to jabber, smiles all the time, loves wearing jewelry and playing with shoes and just turned 1 year old a couple weeks back.

Remi and Layla

To me, she’s complete and utter “Happenstance”:  (n) – meaning chance event, happening, circumstance or occurance. Yep  - that's Layla!!  She’s the ‘chance’ little one who, against all possible odds, came into this world and already you can see that’s she’s grasping life with both hands and taking it for a wild ride!! World,......Look Out!!

Grabbing Life!

I Heart Macro - It's Sunday!!

Good Morning - it's Sunday and so that means it's "I Heart Macro" today!!  Lori Plyler hosts "I Heart Macro" every Sunday over on her blog and this morning I stopped by Studio Waterstone to check out all the cool Macro pics and OH MY GOODNESS!  There are so many amazing shots already this week - incredible!  Go check it out!

I couldn't decide what to post this morning because my camera is acting up a bit and not taking the amazingly wonderful pics it usually takes, so I have to reset everything as I'm sure it's something I've messed with and changed by accident.  It would help if I was at least somewhat 'techno savvy' but that's not the case, so be that as it may,.....strawberries and blueberries for breakfast anyone?

Yummy!

They're looking pretty sad upclose! LOL!!

Champagne with the girls!

These are the Strawberries we had for girl's weekend
at the cabin last week - looks much better in champagne!

I hope you're all having a good "End of Summer" Labor Day Weekend.  It would be nice if the weather cooled down a bit here since I'm just not feeling like it's the end of summer with temps still over 100 degrees, but I don't think that's happening any time soon.

Cocobird's been really out of sorts lately  - I think he's mad cause we've been keeping him inside all day and not putting his cage on the patio in the mornings for a while like normal because of the extreme heat.  He's seeing all the other 'birdies' hopping around outside and he's getting a bit jealous! Hopefully the temps will dip below 100 here in a few more weeks!!

Coco the Love Bird

Every one stay safe this weekend and have fun with your friends and family!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Macro Sundays!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Look What I WON!

These are the goodies I won from Kristi Bowman Designs over on Dreamsome Designs Blog (plus a couple of added things I just HAD to purchase!)  Are they just the coolest ever, or what?! 

I'm sure you can imagine how excited and lucky I felt when I received all these gorgeous hand crafted components this week - I mean, really!!?!! My mind is swirling with all the potential. 

Here's a little secret - these are the exact pieces I would make,...if only I could. Or should I say, if I dared.  I have PMC, I just don't work with it very often because I think I'm not that good at it, even though I had a wonderful teacher! (Kathy Hunter, please take a bow!)

Kristi's "Snake Charms" are my favorite - look at them - they're fabulous!!  But since I have absolutely no neck what so ever, and I do want earrings, I will save those for something else and use these ever amazing squares and make them into some cool earrings for myself.  They'll probably become my 'everyday' earrings - I tend to wear the same thing each day while I work and these would be perfect and very cool looking, don't you think?!

Anyhoo - I'm excited about all these pieces and I was dreaming of things to do w/them. I kinda think it's a bit "cheesy" to make a piece of jewelry with something you've won and then sell it on your online store (just my own opinion - to each his/her own!)  so I decided I will keep the squares for myself and make gifts with the rest of these wonderful treasures!!  I might just end up having to keep something else too - we'll see! :) What's your opinion on selling your 'winnings' - is it cool or not, or does it depend on the situation? Give me some insight here folks.

So, I'm off to make a cool pair of earrings w/these amazing squares - got a date tonight w/the hubby!

I wish you all a very Safe, Fun and Happy Labor Day Weekend!  Enjoy your last 'true summer weekend' and create it beautifully!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Lovely Gifts of Labor!!

Cheers,

~Shel~