N.o.o.o.o.o!!!
It can't be!!!
I don't believe my eyes!!!
Are you kidding me???
I had given up that you would ever come back.
You've been gone so long I hardly recognize you!
Are you absolutely sure that's you?
Yep.
It's really and truly me!
Even for someone who's blog banner states that I lead a quiet life, I have been really, really, really quiet for a long, long, long time.
I'll be back soon with the rest of the story.....
Greetings!
Enjoy your weekend!
No, I'm not going to show them to you.
But I was pleased to read two things on the package that I thought I would pass along....
Always good to know.
And I am now relieved from the tremendous load of guilt I've been carrying around for years because I haven't been ironing my underpants.
Hallelujah.
I'm still trying to get a shot of the Mrs.
She is very camera shy....
Have a spectacular weekend!
I have got to say that I even embarrass myself when I realized how long some of these unfinished projects have hung around.
Like this one...
I spied these cool beads in a favorite bead shop.
Hard to describe them.
Even harder to photograph them.
Kinda an Iris finish, kinda Aurora Borealis.
But hold them up to the light...
And they are Root Beer!
Awesome.
There was only one string, so I snapped them up right away.
And I've never seen any more since.
Drat.
I made them into a three-loop bracelet which promptly sold to a gift shop account I had at the time.
{that is how I know just how long this project has hung around...I haven't sold to that shop in ages....}
Immediately I regretted selling that bracelet with the cool beads....
Wished I'd kept it for myself....
I don't know what it was about that particular bracelet.
Was it the unique color and sparkle?
Was it that the beads are slightly larger than what I usually use?
Was it because it was just so downright cool?
I don't know, but customers at the gift shop were drawn to it like a magnet.
They kept playing with it like a Slinky, stretching it out of shape.
I re-strung it free of charge a time or two, then offered to exchange it for something else.
This time I would re-string it and keep it for me!
I was so excited!
So excited that I threw it in an Inspiration Tray and left it sit.
For years.
Until I dug it out the other day...
I added different dangles...
And re-strung the beads on tight new wire.
But as happens once in a great while, I had such a hard time getting the bracelet to finish right, that at the moment, I don't care if I ever see it again or not....
Moving along.
Since I'd switched out the dangles, I was left with a funky set of big Brown Iris balls.
What should I do with those?
How about an experiment....
How about nine loops of {tiny} seed beads in two very similar colors, alternating between matte and shiny finish with each loop?
Sounds good to me!
I think this is the most loops I've ever used for a bracelet before.
I think I like it.
I think I'll make more.
The experiment was a success.
And these pieces are....
FINALLY FINISHED!!!
A little friend came to lunch the other day.
His table manners weren't the greatest and he made fast work of it.
Going....
Going....
Gone.
A few short weeks ago we had a brief burst of winter, but now it looks like spring has sprung.
The daisies are up.
As are whatever these are in one of Mom's backyard flowerbeds.
I haven't been here at this time of year for so long that I don't have a clue as to what comes up back there.
Guess I'll find out....
All the iris beds have green shoots.
And here comes the rhubarb!
After Friday's record setting high temp of 82, the buds on one of the lilacs burst forth with teeny tiny leaves.
I sure hope they aren't jumping the gun and starting too early.
After all, you may remember that just a short time ago they looked like this....
But the surest sign of spring appeared on Saturday.
The neighbor across the back fence brought out his grill for the season.
Wienies, anyone?
Some days I feel like her.
Really.
I do.
A few {ahem} years ago, I spied some cool clasps in a bead shop....
I fell in love with them immediately.
Even though they were a little more than I usually spend for a clasp, I couldn't resist.
I grabbed a couple sets and added them to my {somewhat large} pile of goodies on the counter.
Only after I got home did I notice that in one of the sets the main part of the clasp and the bar closure didn't match in color.
Drat.
I was bummed.
And to take it back to the bead shop was a 100 mile round trip....
What to do with my now worthless clasp?
I did what I always do.
Tossed both in one of my Inspiration Trays and ignored them.
After awhile, I had an inkling of what I wanted to do with half of the unusable clasp.
So I added a single bead to the baggie and left it to stew for another long length of time.
What did I expect?
That the piece would make itself while lying there in seclusion?
Anyway.
As Pammy's Simplification Act of 2012 continues, I dug out the baggie the other day and decided to get the show on the road.
I fiddled for awhile using the large piece of the unmatched toggle set and some wire...
Not so bad, huh?
Maybe the terrible problem wasn't so terrible after all.
Add a simple necklace of Czech glass beads and the non-offending clasp.
Things are looking up, indeed.
Silver-lined Root Beer has always been a great seller, so I figured a fun and flirty two-loop bracelet to match was in order.
Love those little Golden Honey fresh water pearls!
So sweet.
I'm starting to like this "accident" more and more!
But how could I use the remaining piece of the toggle clasp?
That tiny little bar...
Hmmm....
How about for the intended purpose....
Only different....
As the toggle bar for a stone donut on a front-closure necklace!
I had purchased this donut quite some time ago, but it was such a departure from the colors I usually use that I was never quite sure what to do with it.
The stone--Chalk Green--was one I had never heard of.
Loved the color.
Bought it.
And there it sat.
I found it goes great with these.
Also stuck away deep in my stash.
Czech glass.
Perfect.
Add a little Dark Bronze.
I've always liked the Dark Bronze glass.
It has sparkle without being too flashy.
An understated richness.
Yup.
I just couldn't leave this new-found color combo alone.
So.
Add in a funky two-loop.
And how about a hefty seven-loop cuff....
With really big balls.
Earrings?
No problem.
Why stop with one pair when you can have two?
Wow.
This whole pile sprang up out of that one teeny mismatched clasp bar.
Cool.
So I guess you could say my problem turned out pretty good in the end.
The old lemons/lemonade theory triumphs once again.
And these pieces are....
FINALLY FINISHED!
I am linking this post to:
Time once again to warm up the keys.
And I'm not talking about the piano.
I'm referring to the adding machine.
As in income tax time.
Ugh.
I'm busy running tapes and adding columns.
But this year, once I get all my figures, I've got an appointment with an IRS Certified Volunteer at the Senior Citizen Center to have my tax return prepared for free.
{because I always manage to screw it up when I do it myself...}
I guess there is some compensation for reaching that Golden Age.
HO.
HO.
HO.
Besides taxes, this time of the year also means the season for these little gems...
I feel better already.
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