Vintage Sparkling Beads from NYC

I just wanted to share with you all my great find of Vintage Beads I found in a bead shop in Traverse City. I was told that the Vintage Rock looking beads were found in a old warehouse in New York City. The shop owner told me they dated back between 1920 and 1950. I could not resist buying them because I loved how they sparkled and reflected several shades of blues.

The smaller beads are called "Twister Beads" and are also shiny pearl looking type beads that came in irregular shapes. I bought several different colors in these beads to use on my first totally beaded Mermaid Doll which progress is slow at the moment.

A Special Gift from JO

Yesterday I received a special gift from my long time dear friend JO. When I open the package a huge smile came to my heart because the whole lovely gift was given to me with "My Crazy Quilt Of My Dreams" in mine. There was vintage laces and laces with the theme of hearts, roses, butterflies, flowers and all in shades of creams and white. There was rick rack, ribbons with hearts and roses too. I was so surprise to see that one of the lovely ribbons was the same one I used around the Heart Photo of DH and me. There was also lovely silk fabrics in shades of creams and pale pink. I also found some lovely pearl beads and weee beetle and bee buttons to add to my garden theme Crazy Quilt. Jo also created a wee cloth quilt that says "Thinking Of You" with beads and buttons. I will hang it proudly in my sewing room. Jo also included Rajmahal Hand Sew Thread with Copper Core with Copper Metallic Coating. I have never seen this kind of thread before but I love it. Such a lovely and thoughtful gift. Thank you Jo from the bottom of my heart.

Lovely Birthday Gifts from Inge and Mieke

Because of the Easter Holiday I am a bit behind in my blogging. So today I am catching up with a Heartfelt Thank You to Inge and Mieke. I feel very fortunate and blessed to have such lovely true friends from around the world. Last week I received a special gifts from my friends Inge and Mieke in Hoorn, The Netherlands. Inge bought me the very neat "Flower Rotary Cutter". Inge said, she bought it for me because she knew how much I loved flowers and gardening. So very thoughtful. Inge also created the most gorgeous "Beaded Snowflakes and Leaf". Mieke bought me the Tulip Windmill Quilt Kit so I would always remember my special time I spend with Inge and her in Hoorn, Holland.

Happy Easter To Everyone

Hello Everyone, DH and I wish everyone a Blessed Happy Easter Holiday with your families. This card I bought while I lived in Germany. "Frohe Ostern" means Happy Easter.

Here In Western Michigan Spring is finally starting to emerge slowly. I have Daffodil and Tulip bulbs coming up in the sunny parts of our yard. After enduring a very long and cold snowy winter, to me Spring Bulbs are weeeeeee miracles that give you hope that yes Spring will arrive again in all its glory of blooming flowers and budding trees. DH and I heard our first flock of Canadian Geese flying North a couple of days ago so another sure sign of Spring. Yup, winter grays are given way to the shades of green and pastel colors of Spring and New Beginnings for all. Hugs Judy

My First Tatting Lesson and A Special Tatting Gift

I am now a member of the Thread Therapy Group that meets every Wednesday at Barnes and Noble Bookstore. This small group of ladies are a joy to be with and everyone bring something different to work on. First, Peg brought all the members a gift of vanilla from her cruise from Mexico. Being the creative person she is the vanilla was placed in a fancy bottle and trimmed with tatting lace. I felt very honor to received this lovely gift too. Please see this special gift above. How wonderful that this tatting lace is in shades of pink, just the colors I am using in my first Crazy Quilt. I will find the perfect place for it on my Crazy Quilt. The vanilla smells wonderful and will be use quickly. Thanks Peg.

The top photo is the results of my first attempt at tatting. You can see I have a long ways to go. Both Barb and Peg gave me instructions on how to tat. I truly enjoyed every minute of my lesson. Hopefully one day I will be able to create some tatting lace I will be proud to add to my Crazy Quilt Of My Dreams.

Easter Market at Ronneburg Forderkreis Castle

My Friend Terese and I traveled to a Easter Market approximately 1 1/2 hours from where I lived. This Easter Market was held in a Castle which even made it more exciting. The bottom photo is of me getting my first needle felting lesson from the Wool Lady. I have been "Crazy" about wool felting ever since. The third photo is of the wool lady felting away surrounded by all her very lovely nature dyed wools and the things she had wool felted and knitted. The second photo is of all the nature dyed wools I bought from the "Wool Lady" and brought home with me to Western Michigan. The Wool Lady told me she dyed her wool from roots of plants, like onions, and different kinds of flowers. She invited me to her home and in her basement was many many shelves of wool all nature dyed with so many shades of colors. The top photo is of the Forderkreis Castle in Ronneburg and the surrounding countryside. When I came home from my 2 years in Giessen, Germany in 2004, my DH bought me a Baby Lock Embellisher which machines felts wool and I absolutely love it. I have so many wonderful photos of my travels in Europe that I will probably being sharing them with you all for some time to come. vbg But My Memories of Easter Markets In Germany are amongst my favorites.

Enchanted ButterFly Pendant Necklace

I made several Polymer Clay Faces from the "Enchanted Gallery Molds" a few months ago. For the last couple of weeks I have been working on creating a Necklace from one of the faces. I have never made a necklace or ear rings before so it was a bit of a challenge for me to do. I beaded the face using several different kinds and shades of pink beads. I also added 4 weeeeee Swarkovski Crystals too. The necklace part was created from using 4 and 6 mm Swarkovski Crystals in different shades of pinks and pale green and a bit larger round sparkling bead. I also made the ear rings from the left over beads I had from the necklace. I reckon it sparkles more than I had thought it would but I still like it a lot.

Oglala Beaded Seam TX and Rose

DH and I went for a drive along our Lake Michigan Shoreline a couple days ago and we finally saw some lovely signs of "Spring" trying to arrive in Western Michigan. The Ice has finally started breaking-up enough to allowed the weeeeeee stream to start flowing again to the small lake on the other side of the road.

I am participating in the "CQI Monthly Challenge"and this month we are beading. I finished the Oglala Beaded Seam Treatment and Rose Motif on the label I plan to use on the CQ of My Dreams.

My Friend Leslie, taught me how to create this Very Lovely Oglala Beaded Stitch over the telephone. She used this beaded stitch on the wonderful Spirit Doll she created for me for Christmas. I love this beaded stitch because to me it looks like lace. A bit of history about the Oglala Beaded Stitch. It was named for the beadworkers of the Lakota Nation in South Dakota. It is also called "Ruffled Lace".

Easter Decorations in a German Village

My Friend Terese and I was coming home from an antique market when we came upon this small lovely German village decorating for Easter. Unfortunately we can not remember the village's name. We stopped because we were so impressed with all the lovely decorations and wanted to ask if we could take some photos. The lovely lady in the long blue coat was so happy to talk with us and was pleased to have us take photos. She was also very proud of her lovely grandchildren and we were very happy to take their photos too. We especially loved the "Potato Wagon" filled with lovely Spring Blooming Flowers and Easter Bunnies. This Lovely Lady invited us in to see their "Incredible Beautiful Village Church" and ask us to sign their guest register. So our names and visit to this lovely village will be forever documented in their church. We felt very honored to be so graciously welcome by this lady and her family.

Birthday Flowers From Sunny California Day 4

My Lovely Birthday Spring Flowers are now just about in full bloom. Yesterday two of the day Lillie's were open and this AM 5 of them are blooming. Such a lovely bouquet of Birthday Flowers. They brighten my days and make my spirit soar when I look at them.