Memorial Weekend - Wine & Art Show

10th Annual Lemon Creek Winery Art Festival!

I love doing this show!  Music, great wine and art show too!  It's a small show with a home town feel and if you're looking for a fun afternoon without the big crowds, this is the show for you!

I'll have pieces from my new vintage jewelry line on display and much more to tease you with.

So, come on out to Lemon Creek Winery in Berrien Spring this Saturday and Sunday for a great time.

Bring your lawn chairs, a picnic basket and sit back and enjoy the music, taste some wine and enjoy the mixed media art by local artists.  What a way to start the summer!  Bring a jacket too, sounds like it will be cool.

 Show hours are from 12:00 - 5:00 each day. 

A Day at the Beach

     My goal Sunday was to search the big antique show up at St. Joe, Mi for treasures to use in jewelry designs.  Nothing like shopping on the bluff with the breeze from Lake Michigan gently blowing in your face.  I didn't get much, but did find 4 pieces I think will make sweet vintage necklaces. 
     It was just a perfect day, the breeze felt great, the sky was that perfect color of blue and oh, it was warm and the sun was shining!  Something we haven't had in this neck of the woods for a long time.
I was hungry by then and stopped for a sub at Jimmy John's (my first and last for sure) and then headed to the beach.
      I walked the shoreline, gathered small pieces of driftwood, took lots of pictures and sorted through issues in my head as the waves lapped upon the beach.  The water was oh so cold, but I found it refreshing.  Nothing like time spent at the beach to wash away the cob webs in your mind and fill you full of inspiration. 
  Now I'm ready for the challenges of the week ahead!

“I am forever walking upon these shores,
Betwixt the sand and the foam,
The high tide will erase my food prints,
And the wind will blow away the foam,
But the sea and the shore will remain forever” 

-Kahil Gibran

5 New Things Learned - Task Accomplished!

Well, sometimes life just whops you up the side of the head and changes your plans. My springtime headaches are back with a vengeance so Wednesday and Thursday's new challenges had to be put on hold for another day.

By Friday the headache's simmered down, and the UPS man delivered my new toys, a dapping block and sheets of copper and bronze!

I couldn't wait to get started, so I gather up my supplies and headed out to the deck to work in the sunshine. Off to work I went, hammering and punching out copper discs from the piece I'd etched earlier in the week. Oh, so much fun.  It takes some muscle to cut these discs!

Now that I had the discs cut out, it was time to learn how to dome them. This proved more of a challenge than I expected.  It's going to take me a little time till I get it mastered, but you know how headstrong I am, it won't take long.

So, the work week was quickly coming to an end and I had tackled and learned 4 new things!  So, right now I can hear some of you say, hmm, I thought she planned 5 new things.  What great memories you have.

Last but certainly not least -  #5 - Hooking up my laser printer! It has set in my studio for the last year, waiting for me to hook it up!  Oh yeah, I can do it.  The laser printer will allow me to print designs onto specially formulated PNP paper so that I can make etching plates.  I can't wait to get going on these now.

Amazing what we can do in a week if we just try!  Challenging myself to learn 5 new things in one week not only was rewarding, but it stretched me and I grew.  It also took me out of my comfort zone and expanded my horizons and challenged me in many ways I hadn't expected.

Challenges! Goals! Ideas!  If we don't make the time to play, no one else will! 

Take time to learn and grow - I did!  You can too!