Music for Everyone

So most of you know that music is a big part of my life.  I grew up with a dad and brother that played multiple instruments and I started playing in 4th grade.  My parents always felt music was important, whether it be learning to read sheet music or just being introduced to different genres.  And I'm still surrounded by music.  J is in a ska/punk band and it seems like the majority of our friends are in bands.  We're always going to shows and meeting new people.  It's really a fantastic part of our lives.

Some of the door prizes they will have at their clinics

The other day I was contacted to see if I would like to donate a few items to a local organization that give free guitar lessons to underprivileged children.  It's called The Fearless Project and I think their goal is fantastic; to give children, that normally wouldn't have the opportunity, the gift of music.  What a fantastic idea.  They are a brand new organization here in Madison, only starting up last year.

J and I both met with them the other night to learn more about the project and what we could do to help.  I was asked to donate door prizes for their upcoming guitar workshops.  I couldn't wait to start working on some of these projects.

I am donating some guitar string bracelets as well as some guitar pick necklaces.  I'm also working on some ideas of leather pick holders.  I have plenty of leather scraps around here, so if I have some free time this weekend I plan on playing with the pick holder idea.  Hopefully I'll have some successful items to show you next week :-)


I feel this organization has a lot of potential and I would like to help them out as much as possible.  This is why me and J wanted to live here; to be part of the community, to help out and volunteer, to be around the arts.

More Door Prizes

We've talked to a few people about this already and they love the idea.  We have friends that would like to do a benefit concert for them and maybe even volunteer their time to teach some lessons.

If you are interested in donating (money, time, guitar stuff) then check out their website.  It really is a great organization and I hope others will like it as much as J and I do.

Green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone.  The day where everyone wants to be like me; a green eyed, pale skinned ginger.  Granted I'm not a true ginger, we're the brunette kinda Irish folk.  But when I started going gray at 25, yes you heard me, I decided I might as well be a redhead.  I'm just rambling right now, enough of that!!!

I don't have any specific St. Patrick garb in my store (we just bought that house, I've been busy ☺), but I do have plenty of green items to go around.

I love green, I always seem to gravitate toward green.  You should see how many green beads I have.  And don't get me started on the different shades of green glass rods I own.  It's just a great color.

 Stop by my etsy store today and check out all the wonderful green items up for sale.  And a lot of them just might be in the clearance section (even better).

I hope everyone has a fantastic St. Patrick's day! 

And I hope spring has started peak it's little head out for most of you, it has finally started to make it's presence here in WI.   
  

Winter Wonderland

Now most of us by now don't want to even think about winter.  We want the warm sun and green grass.  We want birds singing and flowers blooming.  Well at least I know I do.  And that just might happen here in WI this week.  We just might get a sneak peak at spring.


But before that happens, I have one more winter related item on the agenda.  And that's my ArtBeads blogger partner project.  The theme was Winter Enchantment!  I had a really good idea of what I wanted to do as soon as I heard the theme.  I knew I wanted to do something with blue, white, and silver.  The colors I always think of when I think of winter.

I found this wonderful cab.  It was so beautiful and the perfect color combo for my vision.  I had to have it.
And the rest of the project just fell into place (don't you just love when that happens).  I did a diamond shaped bead embroidered pendent with loads of fringe (ugh, fringe).  I used the TOHO seed bead mix in blue frost for most of the embroidery and fringe with a mixture of white, silver, and blue beads I already had.  The fringe has Swarovski cubes, stars, and snowflakes.  The perfect addition for the sparkle I was looking for.

Then there was this absolutely gorgeous cameo.  I mean look at it, it's beautiful.  I fell in love with it online, and then I fell in love with it again when I ripped open that little package of beads.  The three ladies dancing in the wonderful light blue color is just stunning.  I'm not sure if you noticed, but I kinda like this cab.  

I have a few cameos from art beads and have never been disappointed.  They are wonderful.

This project isn't completely finished, I was waiting on some back ordered seed beads to finish the beaded rope (but I have them now, so I need to get my butt going).  I normally don't use anything that's on back order for these projects, but these beads are perfect.  They are light blue lined with white.  Like I said perfect for this project.  I'll get pictures up as soon as I finish the rope.  Then you can see how it all works together.              

From ArtBeads.com

I also have a wonderful sterling silver snow flake toggle clasp.  It's so pretty and will add the perfect addition to this winter themed necklace.  I'm really enjoying designing with these themed clasps.  It just brings a piece together.

Now I just need to get that beaded rope done.  I promise I'm working on it right now.

Disclosure - I have received these products from ArtBeads free of charge to honestly review. I have not been paid for this post.  

*I'm redoing the pictures for this piece.  I know they are too busy.  I will hopefully have new pictures up by the end of the week.             

I've been crafty!

So I wrote about this on my other blog, but I was so excited with how it turned out that I decided to post a few pics over here as well (sorry for the repeat for those of you that visit both blogs ☺).  

I am dying to decorate our new house.  I mean I've sort of started, but without most all of our furniture, it's sorta hard to start decorating.  We have so much we still need; a dining room table, sofa table, side table, shelves, coffee table (a bigger one), etc.  I just can't possibly start putting out the candle holders and decorative vases until we have some of this stuff.  So I'm dying here.  I want to decorate so bad.  I want to take my picture frames and crap out of boxes and get it up.  But I have to be patient, I have to wait a little bit longer.

So to quite my frustrations, I've started to make stuff that will have a place soon.  My first project was a coffee filter wreath.  I've seen a few of these online on various blogs and really fell in love with them.  I like how they look and I couldn't wait to try and make one.  So here's mine.

I went back and forth on weather or not to dye the filters, but since we have a brown color scheme going on, I felt the tea dyed filters would fit the room better then white ones.    

I just dyed the filters with tea, let them dry, then hot glued them to a wreath form.  And this is the outcome.  I'm really liking it.  I think I might get a little bit wider ribbon, but over all I'm happy.  Even J likes it (he was a little iffy, but he always questions my DIY projects). 

I have it hanging on our horrible brown door right now, but I think I might hang it on our red wall (once it's painted).  I think it will contrast nicely with the red wall. 

But I'm just excited with how it turned out.  It looks pretty good for just a wreath made out of coffee filters, don't you think?

Wordless Wednesday!

A little sneak peak

So here a little taste of one of the projects I'm working on right now.  It's a little pendent.  Okay, let's not be ridiculous, this is a big pendent.  It's a big, beautiful, bold pendent that a shy girl just couldn't and wouldn't want to pull off.  My favorite kind of jewelry.  Sparkly jewelry that screams, "look at me."  I love it.  I'm just working on a beaded rope to go with this pendent and then I'll share the whole thing with you!!  I'm gonna try to make a long rope for this one, but we'll see if my patients (and excitement to finish this) lets me get one done. 

I've been having so much fun with bead embroidery lately.  I've been making up little bead brooches like crazy and even my ArtBeads project (that will be done this week, I can promise you that) is bead embroidery.  It's just so much fun to create with it.   I have a couple of cuffs that I hope to have finished by the end of the month.  I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.

I also wanted to let everyone know that I added a clearance section to my etsy store.  I'll be adding things on a regular basis.  You can save up to 50% off some of the items.  I'm just looking to update some of my stock and get rid of some of my older pieces.  It's a perfect way to pick up a beaded cuff or pair of earrings.  So out with the old and in with the new :-D