Well.....La De Da

What a wonderful day my girlfriend and I had at the Remnants of the Past Antique Faire a week or so ago. The weather was beautiful and my friend and I had the entire day to just play. This faire is the same one that I participated in in the spring but decided not to have a booth this time. It was so fun just going as a guest and not having the pressure of prep, setting up, tearing down and all of the other responsibilities of having a booth at a faire.

Remnants of the Past is sponsored by Judy Watkins who has enjoyed antiques for many years. Judy generously donates a large portion of the proceeds from this faire to Ovarian Cancer Research.

There were some awesome vendors and I picked up a few treasures here and there.

I didn't purchase anything from this booth, but did come home with this great photo of their display which was a treasure all itself. Great presentation!

We spent a few hours just browsing, taking photos, talking to the vendors, meeting friends we hadn't seen in such a long time and purchasing those few items we just couldn't live without.

Loved the treatment on these antique bottles.

The faire is held at the Dana Powers House in Nipomo, California out in the country surrounded by the coastal mountains and groves. Very picturesque location. Anyone looking for a destination wedding location might consider the Dana Power's House. Judy Powers, the owner, opens her beautiful home and gardens for weddings and other events. When I owned my floral event design business, this was one of my favorite locations to have weddings.

After going to the faire, my friend and I decided to take in a movie and saw "The Secret Life of Bees".....loved it......a must see. What a fabulous day we girlfriends had and treasured. Wish we could have brought you along with us.

"TIME brings a kind of wisdom only the HEART can understand. LIFE'S JOURNEY is about the pursuit of our DREAMS, the STRENGTH of the human spirit, and the JOY of LOVING one another."

May you all be fulfilled by the pursuit of your dreams and take the time to enjoy this journey we call "life."

Tootles

Diana

Viking Knit Class 2009

Wouldn't you like to learn how to create this ancient wire weaving technique and incorporate it into your designs?? Well, here is your chance. This Viking Knit Class will be held Saturday, February 21, 2009, in the quaint Village of Arroyo Grande, Ca. If you click on the flyer, you will see a full-sized version which you can print out. Space is limited to 18 students. Reservations for this class can be made by emailing me at: belladonna1351@charter.net. Other contact and registration information is located on the flyer. I would love to have you join me!

Diana

NEWS FLASH!! AS OF NOVEMBER 23TH, THERE ARE A FEW SPOTS LEFT IN THIS CLASS.

Autumn Muse

Just sharing a few pieces I worked on last week for a special order. I had fun working with resins, soldering, experimenting with new wire wrapping techniques, and metalsmithing. I fell in love with this vintage butterscotch colored bakelite rose and showcased it in resin within an antique pocketwatch frame. I liked the contrasts in texture adding the filigree with amber nuggets and sterling.

My first piece using one of Nina Bagley's sister's lampwork eggs. You can find her under the name of Starcatcher in Etsy. I loved it grouped with the hand-carved ivory antique bird, a World War I military medal from England and ivory turquoise beads.

And here is a piece that was hard for me to give up. This large, antique silver locket with original photo inside was a real treasure to find and grouped with a filigree brooch, crystals, and brown Swarovski crystal pearls....yum!

Lady Liberty coins are so romantic. Again I liked the contrast in texture between the coin and Victorian shoe buckle. I paired it with Swarovski crystals, rhinestone rondells and sterling. The clasps were fun to design out of textured nickle alloy and sterling wire. These pieces along with others are now available for purchase at the Kati Koos Gallery in San Francisco. I guess the word for me this week is "texture".....which fall so wonderfully depicts along with its vibrant color. I will add additional photos to my flickr album for those of you who would like to see more.

Dream more, Wish more, Live more

Twisted Sistahs

" One hundred-thousand years ago and twenty miles away, there lived three sistahs known to be most gorgeous in their day. They had the kind of beauty only read about in books, and everyone across the land was taken with their looks. The oldest was TALLULAH-ROSE, the second, AGNES-BEULAH. The third, and loveliest of all was JEZEBEL-PECULIAH. Now, though the girls were beautiful, they hardly looked the same - some said the only thing they shared was GHOULYAH, their last name."

So begins the story written by Mark Kimball Moulton, illustrated by Karen Hillard Good and Dan DePaolo, my favorite Halloween story book. Let me share a few passages here and there as this post continues interspersed with my goings on this past 30 odd days.

The first of this glorious autumn season brought my copy of the Autumn Issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine including a article on my "Delicious Autumn" pieces. I was so excited how the photographer captured these pieces and the honor of being presented at the beginning of the publication. Thank you Stampington.
Decorating.....

Halloween decorations are a must for me during this season and I decided that my German bisque dolls were goofing off just hanging out in jars in my studio. So here they are in my doll cemetary. My daughter thinks it is morbid.....but hey.....it's Halloween afterall.

"Suitors came from miles around, the most attractive mistahs, each vying for one moment with those lovely GHOULYAH sistahs. Counts and kings and firemen, and every grand marquis, would wait for countless days to date one of the lovely three. "........................

"By now, it must seem obvious the girls were in a pickle...how could they choose just one of them and not appear too fickle? So they put their heads together and decided on a plan - they'd throw a giant party and they'd invite every man!"

During this month for the first few weeks, I was taken with an ailment and taken off my feet. My studio I did not see for several days on end but finally with the doctor's help I seem to be on the mend. OOps...I forgot this isn't part of the book...

I am now back in the studio and working on catching up with custom orders, updating my blog (so be ready for a change) and pulling together the details on up and coming classes beginning 2009. Prep work for my November 8th class is soon to begin. Doll heads need to be ground down, and goodie bags to be filled.

"The food was simply scrumptious-almost sinfully delicious- fit for kings and counts and queens and mummys, ghouls and witches. (They did run out of spider legs but no one seemed to mind. They just fried up some fresh rat tails-- all that the girls could find!). Everyone loved all the games planned by those lovely sistahs- (except that bad WITCH OF THE EAST - she hated playing "Twistah"!). They bobbed for apples (green ones with worms!) and then played Blind-Man's-Bluff, Spin-the-Femer, Charades and Tag and Lotsa other stuff. Oh, yes, those scintillating girls sure could throw one grat bash! And everyone agreed that night - those girls just ooozed panache. Now, the purpose of this whole affair - if you'll remember, friends- was so that those enchanting girls could choose between those mens."

Well, speaking of sisters, I had my sweet grand daughters (ages 3 and 6) visit this weekend. What fun we had going to the pumpkin patch, decorating pumpkins, going shopping at Toys R Us, reading, laughing and playing. They are such delights in my life. And in a few weeks, I will be visiting my "sistahs". Can't wait! It has been far too long since we have spent time together. My younger sister and I will be celebrating our birthdays as they are only two weeks apart. This year is a BIG one for me. I just can't fathom that I will be 60 years old. There I said it! It really is difficult for me to actually say "60". I just can't believe it. But so it is! And I am so blessed!

"So the sistah's slipped away and fled up to their widows walk to fix their make-up, catch their breath and have a little talk.... "Well, goodness gracious! Me, oh, my!" gasped those poor, worn out sistahs - "Who knew it would be so much work to fend off all those mistahs!" They slumped against the railing, and decided there and then - if this was how their lives would be they didn't need no men! But still...they did love the attention all those handsome men bestowed (though they laughingly suggested they should turn em into toads). So our three girls decided on that same day, (October 31st), every year, they'd go all out, invite their friends and hold a shin-dig there!"

I wish you all a delightfully delicious autumn. Let this season seduce you with its beauty.

Tootles

Diana