Round Bead Necklaces

I think every one has seen the round glass beads that are available in Michael's and JoAnn stores. My mother has always liked them, but she has rather tiny wrists, so the bracelet that comes with several of the beads is far too big. I figured it wouldn't be hard to just make a necklace with the same beads.

I even used the ribbon the beads are displayed on for the necklace.

Supplies:

*Beads (as many as you like)
*Ribbon clamps (2)
*Jump rings (2)
*Small length of chain
*Ribbon
*Lobster clasp
*Needle nose pliers
*Flat nose pliers

*Tip 1- Plan It Out* As with all jewelry designs I laid out the design on my bead board before I started doing anything. Had to try out different style gem stones to see which one matched best, as I did not buy any of the beads at the same time. This also includes making sure the clasp and clamp beads match the color pallet. (This doesn't really apply for this necklace)

 *Tip 2- Measure* Always measure for each project to make sure the lengths that fit best are correct. This is important when making items for other people. Once you have done them enough times you will know the required lengths and can skip this step.
 Steps:

-Measure out the length of ribbon you will need to fit around your neck. (see *Tip 2*)

-Take one ribbon clamp and position it at the end of the ribbon.

-Take the flat nose pliers and secure the ribbon clamp into place.

- Take the open end of ribbon and slide on the beads (in the order determined in *Tip 1*)

-Take the other ribbon clamp and position it at the open end of ribbon.

-Take the flat nose pliers and secure the ribbon clamp into place.

-Take the needle nose pliers and open one jump ring. Slide the jump ring onto the open end of the ribbon clamp. Leave the jump ring open.

-Attach the lobster clasp to the open jump ring. Then close the jump ring with the needle nose pliers.

-Use the needle nose pliers to open another jump ring. Slide that jump ring onto the open end of the other ribbon clamp. Leave the jump ring open.

-Attach one end of the small length of chain to the open jump ring. Then close the jump ring with the needle nose pliers. (The other end of the chain will remain not attached to anything, as to allow for 'give room' incase you ignored *Tip 2*)

-At this point everything should be connected and you have a finished necklace.

You can also do this same idea with just a length of chain instead of ribbon. I did both because Mom found several more she liked and wanted the necklace to seem fuller.

New Treasures

Several years ago, way back when I was still in college and living at home..... sounds a little sad now that I think about it cause I'm back living at home.........
Anyway!
I baught this glass blown clover at Hobby Lobby. This was about 7 years ago. Every year since I have looked for another one. I LOVE all things Irish and green. (big surprize... look at my page!) Anyway I have never been able to find another one, big or small. Until yesturday!

While wondering around the ARC store with my Mom I found one. The metal loop piece at the top that holds it was bent and not glued down anymore, but other wise it was in good condition. I needed to clean it up, but that is easy enough. Didn't take me more than 5 minutes to re-glue the metal loop back down to the base. Let it sit for a while and it was perfect.

Right next to it on the shelf was this beautiful green glass container. It was filthly as hell, but it was in perfect condition. Once I got it home and washed out and scrubbed I could read the writing on it and that just made it an even better find.

Couldn't have asked for any better finds. Granted I found some other great things, but these were worth the trip down the mountain. Got about 5 yards of denim too, so score!!!

I love the ARC stores. SERIOUSLY have to check them out! Plus the clover cost me $.50 and the glass was $1.99. Totally great. CHECK THEM OUT!!!

Rock Ledge Ranch '11

The historical Rock Ledge Ranch site at the Garden of the Gods hosts a craft fair every year in September. They also have an silent auction on handmade quilts.

Mom and I have been going for the last 3 years now and we started taking my father with us last year. He seems to really enjoy it now.
This year the weather was not amazing, but it turned out to be a relative decent day midway through the day.

I love seeing all the quilts they have for auction. They also give away two quilts for charity. This years were very pretty and detailed.

You pay a dollar for a ticket and they draw for it on the last day. The nice part is that they inform the winner by phone, so if you aren't there you still get it. This year as a nice gesture to my Mom I put in two additional entries on each for her. Dad also put in an entry for Mom on both quilts, so in all she got 4 entries on each. I Think it would be great if she got the tree one, that is my favorite of the two.

The auction quilts were all very lovely. They had quite a few this year, so that was nice to see.

This year there were not as many vendors as normal. The weather has been rainy and foggy, so not many people came to sell this year. Still had a decent amount and the regulars were there with new stuff, so that cool with me!

I will have a list of some of the vendors I liked websites listed for you at the bottom.

The views of the park (Garden of the Gods) are visable from just about every angle in the fair grounds, which adds a nice atmosphere.

My mother and father waiting for me to get a picture of the blacksmith shop. It was closed for the first half of the fair due to the wetness.

There were individual tents for those who have them and then three large tents for the vendors that did not have their own.

Dad and I thought these were cool. Wooden belts made with fishing wire to allow for bending. They were amazingly strong. The guy showed us how flexable they were and expandable.

Mom and I like to get the very many Christmas ordanments we send to my cousins and second cousins. There are always TONS of great ones here.

Mom also gets all excited because her favorite craft lady comes with her santas. I can't recall her name, but she makes the most AMAZING santas. She also makes other dolls, but the themed santas are by far our favorites. There is this wilderness santa that rides a black bear that I love. It was being sold when I got there, so I couldn't get a picture of it for you.

I thought these were SO cute! There were also mugs. There were ones that were ravens too. That would be seriously cool for a Halloween decoration or center piece, but they were a little pricey.  

This lady had the greatest vintage tins and cards. (Of which I got a few... see the pictures at the end)

The jewerly shown here is from Bella Tesori.

There was literally too much stuff I wanted. The workmenship on some of the items was just amazing. The jewerly in the picture above is some of the most detailed I have ever seen.

(I have cards from several of these places and I WILL be posting the websites [if they have one] as soon as I get a second to edit this)

Mom found a booth that was selling diachronic glass. If you have never heard of it, or seen it, you really should check it out.

Here is a little lesson for the day on Diachronic glass:

Diachronic glass is glass containing multiple micro-layers of metals or oxides which give the glass diachronic optical properties. The main characteristic of diachronic glass is that it has a particular transmitted color and a completely different reflected color, as certain wavelengths of light either pass through or are reflected. This causes an array of color to be displayed. The colors shift depending on the angle of view and the light.  (brought to you by Wikipedia)

This would be why my mom is holding it out in the sunlight. It shows the hidden colors and highlights them significantly. Mom is a BIG fan. Every year for Christmas (for the last 7 at least) she has gotten Diachronic glass jewerly from the Glass Blowers of Manitue here in Colorado.

Here are some examples of what it looks like so you know in the future.

I happily found a few items that I just couldn't walk away from, along with some favorites that I always purchase something.

Check out Lotion Bar Cafe for more items.

These lovely items are from Lotion Car Cafe. The celtic heart in the tin is a lotion bar. You rub your hands on it to get the lotion worked into your hands. Much cleaner than lotion in a bottle that can leak all over. The capstick is natural, so I like it much more than other kinds.

Check out Lotion Bar Cafe for more items.

See more items at Warm Personality's etsy site or you can email her about more.

Warm personality made this lovely bird. They make several types and I got this to tortue my babies. They enjoyed it too.

The classic tins and post card, along with the vintage flour sacks, are from one tent that was filled to the brim with vintage items. I was going nuts because I wanted SO many things and I just couldn't afford them all. *sigh* There is always next year!

Puzzle Place is a favorite stop of mine. They hand paint blocks and then cut them up into puzzles. They have about 300 different ones in all sizes. I mailed several off last year to my cousins that were the size of a shoe box. This one is the size of a lighter, but I'm partial to the smaller ones.

The day was full of family fun. We always have a good time going to the craft fair. We were missed while we were gone. I had a welcome commitee when I got back.

This is when I showed my babies the bird I got. I was trying to figure out how high or low would be safe for them to NOT reach it, but to drive them nuts at the same time. {Don't get me wrong I LOVE my kitties, but I like to give them, and me, some fun.}

Stue was of course overly curious and clamped onto the tail right away. Ah how I love my kitties!

It was a fun day and I got some real treasures to display once I get my own place. For now they will get wrapped up and stored downstairs in the storage room. Well not the lotion or capstick or the birdie, as the kitties have been hunting for it. They saw me put it down and now they must find it. It must die!

If you ever get a chance to come out to Colorado I would say the 16th through the 18th is a good time to visit and enjoy a little local color.

Vendor websites:

Art Wear email
Creations by Cami
Lotion Bar Cafe
Warm Personality
Bella Tesori Gallery
Victorian Elegance Jewerly