January Was My Lucky Month!

I won this pretty bling from Karla Morgan of Texas Pepper Jams! She made this Arabesque bracelet and matching earrings last month while reviewing "Easy Crystal Stitching" by Nikia Angel. I was thrilled to receive these in the mail yesterday. So sparkly... I can honestly say this is the blingiest jewellery I own!

                           

 

Hard to tell from my photos... there are gold and AB beads as well as some that look like royal purple. I love my beautiful set, Karla... thank you so much!

Karla has more book reviews for you so check her blog regularly. If you love pepper jams and FUDGE, you'll want to visit her Etsy shop. YUM!

Amazing Polymer Clay Cane

I was so impressed with, and moved by, this touching work from France's Sophie Arzalier (of the blog Cristalline). She shared this yesterday, calling it a work in progress, and accompanied by a beautiful dedication. Sophie singles out friends and family, but devotes her wonderful design also "à toutes les mamans" (to all mothers), especially those who "have struggled and continue to struggle in order to become mothers", those "remembering their own mothers" and "those who have known the joy of motherhood". These translations are my own. If you read French, it is well worth a visit to experience Sophie's poetic and uplifting words in her own tongue.

Sophie Arzalier is a talented polymer clay artist, teacher and the author of Tout sur... Les bijoux en pâte polymère (2009), a book about creating PC jewellery which has also been translated into Dutch and English. She shares many free cane tutorials on her blog. I hope she will someday develop a tutorial on this sublime cane design. Bravo, Sophie! 

It's So Stormy, I May As Well Shop!

I created my first treasury on Etsy... why didn't anybody tell me how easy this is?! We are halfway through a two-day storm here in eastern Canada, expecting up to 65 cm of the white stuff. I thought it was a great time to admire some of the white stuff by Etsy sellers.

'White Winter Wonder' by SewMF

It may be cold and blustery, but these will warm your heart!

White owl Gatta1700 $25.00	Winter White Polar ... sierracatz $20.00	Handmade artisan la... GaysieMay $25.00	OceanJasper Dangles... MissCAlexandri... $26.00
Ivory White Pearl C... GemFrenZ $75.00	Five Porcelain Snow... joheckett $16.00	Organic Handmade La... mermaidglass $24.00	15 WHITE Crystal Qu... KanduBeads $28.00
White leaves and sm... Periay $20.00	IVORY ROSES Lampwor... SerenaSmithLam... $24.00	Handmade Lampwork B... MonasLampwork $58.00	Lot of 25 White Vin... PrincessInMeCo... $19.99
20 Tiny Angel Beads... TheCraftyBead $15.95	Crochet PATTERN Set... AlenasDesign $16.50	8 Crochet Flower Ap... CaitlinSainio $16.00	Winters Breath Soft... WondrousStrang... $16.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Enjoy!

A Heart from South Africa

Just a quickie post... I have been impatiently watching the mailbox for a couple of treats I won over the last few weeks. Today the first arrived: this  beautiful set of ceramic beads from Wellington, South Africa, courtesy of Desirée Malan (earthbutter studio blog).

Until I decide on a design in which to use them, I've strung them on some lovely coordinating silk ribbon from Marsha Neal Studio that looks and feels so nice with ceramic. So pretty... on second thought, this may well be their permanent home!

  

Desirée now has two Etsy shops, EarthButter Studio, where she has been busily selling for just over a year to very appreciative customers; and her newly opened EarthButter Beads shop, for larger bead orders, and featuring a great opening special... a coupon code for 20% off! Here in Desirée's own words is her creative statement:

"This is where you will find unique colour co-ordinated ceramic bead sets & one-of-a-kind ceramic beads made in South Africa. Earthbutter beads are hand shaped by single mothers from a disadvantaged rural community near Cape Town. I design, glaze and fire the beads in my pottery studio.

Each bead is a small work of art and the finger prints of the beadmakers are often visible in the clay surface. This is the reason why Earthbutter beads are so special - no two beads will ever be exactly the same!"

Thank you so much for this beautiful and unique set of beads, Desirée! I can't wait to wear them proudly and carry a bit of sunny South Africa wherever I go.♥

 

Season of Storms

I'm working on my creation for Miss Erin's Challenge of Music, inspired by the unbelievable weather we have been "enjoying" here in the eastern part of North America (and many other spots). I have selected a favorite piece by Antonio Vivaldi. You should easily guess which movement from the following hints:

On a more pleasant theme, here's a musical treat for today, a lovely interpretation of a traditional hymn, from a 1993 recording by Marty Haugen, Jeanne Cotter, and David Haas. There is a newer version out there covered by many other amateur and professional singers, but I love this older melody, written by American Baptist minister Robert Wadsworth Lowry in 1869. The original words by "Pauline T":

My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth's lamentation,
I hear the sweet, tho' far-off hymn
That hails a new creation;

Thro' all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?

What tho' my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Saviour liveth;
What tho' the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smooths,
Since first I learned to love it;

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing;
All things are mine since I am his—
How can I keep from singing?

These words were later adapted and "folksified" for performance by 1960s folk revivalist Pete Seeger. As a hymn, this beautiful composition remains inspirational. Hope you enjoy it!