Adventures in My Backyard

So I wandered about my backyard today with my camera. I don't go outside too often, and am in awe of the beauty that is...leaf season. We call it this at the restaurant, because it is the season where everyone comes out of the woodwork (especially from the cities) to drive up here and look at the trees, and then go out to eat. :) I did happen to take a couple of pictures of the mums that Mike brought home a couple of weeks back. They are in full bloom, and they have such wonderful color. White is a color that is gorgeous no matter what season it is, and this brick red bouquet of mums just sings autumn.

Make A Wish!

Remember when you were young, you would stop and pick up a dandelion (not the bright yellow ones, but the fuzzy white ones), and blow on it, scattering its seeds everywhere? They would go flying in every direction the wind took them, piloted by their fluffy parachutes. The best part of the whole thing was making a wish, every time you did it. While I am still reminiscing the dandelions and wishes from my childhood, I would also like to share wonderful finds from the Great World of Etsy on this very subject.

This clock is awesome~ it hangs up on my wall right now. It was featured on Etsy's front page months ago, and it was one of those purchases that I knew I had to make. The flowers remind me a little of both dandelions and Queen Anne's lace. The color combination is so bold. It not only keeps the time, but it is a work of art as well. This clock was handmade by bode22 (http://www.bode22.etsy.com/). This store has more clocks that have wonderful designs, all of them unique.

I love the different shades of gray in this picture~ very serene! This proves that gray is not just a "one tone" type of color~ there are a lot of contrasts throughout this picture. This print is called "Dandelion Dreams". This photo is by thebunnycage (http://www.thebunnycage.etsy.com/). This store has an array of wonderful prints and phots that are definately worth checking out!

These lovely little dandelion graphics are actually four separate wall decals. These wuld be perfect on a blank wall, spaced out in a manner so they look like they are drifting up, up, and away. They are handmade by holly, (http://www.holly.etsy.com/). She has many different decals in her shop~ these particular decals come in a variety of different colors. A great idea to go beyond the traditional framed art!

This print, handmade by papermoth (http://www.papermoth.etsy.com/), is one in a series of prints that has this particular design, "Perennial Moment", in a variety of soft pastel colors. This one is tea green. I love this color, it is so soft, and makes the dandelions look for delicate. Other colors include silver, aqua, lavendr, pink, gold, and an original color of a mixture of gold and deep aqua. This fun shop has many more designs to chhose from~ all are whimsical and fun, and alot of them bring a soft feminitity to a room!

I couldn't resist putting this print, handmade by Vieiragirl (www.vieiragirl.etsy.com) into this collection. I love the almost grayish blue-violet backgound, and the soft bursts of wisy white. This print is entitled "Fall Branch". You can almost reach out and touch the little white bursts, expecting them to feel like fuzzy dandelions! This shop sports a colorful variety of prints that are nature inspired.

Blue n' Brassy

One of my favorite reasons I love working with glass beads is the amount of colors I can work with. One of my favorite color combinations is a rich navy blue that is paired with antiqued brass. Antiqued brass has a burnished dark gold color that works so well with the dark blue. I have made a few pieces that have this.

The necklace is lariat styled, featuring a simple antiqued brass chain that ends in a cluster of navy blue flowers~ it is worn with the brass ring in the front, with the cluster threaded through it. I like how the earrings turned out~ they are bold, swinging, and dangling. These, too, end in a small cluster of flowers. I was going to go with a streamlined earring, with three flowers in a line instead of the cluster at the bottom, but I love how the cluster has more visual appeal.

I am very much inspired and in awe of costume jewelry from the past century. If anyone is interested in this subject, there is a wonderful book out there called "Fabulous Fakes" by Carole Tanenbaum. It has a gorgeous array of pieces that the author has in her collection and has included for show in this book, illuminating what women wore in the past decades.

Bouquet Lariats

I am still on my little journey through making necklaces. I had an idea for a necklace that fit perfectly with the style of earrings that I make. Glass flowers are one of my favorite mediums to work with, so I incorporated them into a lariat necklace. I really liked the end result. I made a couple of them to match my earrings.


The Caribbean Cluster lariat~















This necklace is very simple, and I believe that my focus is on how the colors, the copper and the beautiful opaque turquoise hue, compliment each other. I personally love the shape of these flowers~ they dangle together in a cluster so well!