ONE WORLD ONE HEART

I am Lady Faith Barbara Branson and I joined the One World One Heart blog give away. I am excited aboout this as I have been told the is the 5th and final year it will be held. If you click one the picture logo it will take you to it. It really should say International, because people can enter from all around the world. I want to tell you a little about my self. I am a jeweler and an artist. I love drawing and painting. I discovered the world of ATCs a few years ago and have enjoyed doing the paintings and drawings in this small format. I am also a jeweler. In years past I did jewelry mostly in Lost Wax Casting. But with the passage of time and teaching I discovered I only had time for forging and fabrication and repurposing old jewelry into new pieces. Repurposing the old watches, necklaces and bracelets is really fun. I will be giving away this lovely pin to some Royal Person at the end of one week from today that comes and leave a comment. So be sure to leave a comment if you stop by. The picture of the pin is at the bottom of the blog just keep going.

The 5th of December I decided I needed to take a break from making jewelry 7 or 8 hours a day.  I was getting ready for Christmas.  Then as ususal with vacations the Holidays came and went and I was passing my time reading my books and magazines.  I had ordered from Amazon the book "Making Mixed-Media Art Charms and Jewelry," written by Peggy Krzyzewski and Christine Hansen, and it is a short book and one that you can read from cover to cover in one setting.  I liked it so well I have now read it 3 or 4 times and gotten some new ideas, and recalled some old ones I had forgotten about.  It is a very good read and one you can read and enjoy and it is thoroughly informative on technique.  If you are new to making charms or jewelry it is a must for the beginner and intermediate jeweler.  I am in an ART CHARM group with these 2 ladies and although we live hunderds of miles apart I love being in swaps with them and seeing what they have done in the Photo Albums.  It is great fun and very exciting to see what we get in each swap.  We always have a big group in the swap.  Right now we have sign up going on for a Steampunk and Found Objects.  So far we have 27 or 28 participants and I am working on my charms now when I am not blogging.  I can't wait to see what my 28 charms will be.  I am thinking that this time I will put them on a necklace instead of a bracelet.  I will put in my slide show when I do.

Once a Upon a Time

One day when I was 5 years old, my grandmother, a manager of an exclusive dress shop, came home with a pirate's treasure in a paper bag.  In that bag were diamonds, emeralds, rubies, gold and silver.  All broken or returned jewelry from the store that couldnt be sold.  My, my did I have a good time.  For days, weeks, and months I played with these things.  I would dress up with all my jewels and play for hours.  Then I got a little older and discovered Wackers 5 &10 cent store and their diamond, emerald, and ruby rings.  Then F. W. Woolworth's made an appearance on the scene.  A new store for me to shop for the treasures of a lifetime.  More rubies, diamonds, and emerald rings, earring, brooches and last my not least bracelets and necklace sets. It was like I had a my summer days planned out.  I remember the rings and bracelets especially as I loved those the best.  I remember dressing up like a gypsy will all my jewelry, a long flowing skirt, a scarf around my head playing at telling fortunes for hours.  The rings cost 10 cents and 2 cent tax.  I would wear them until my entire finger was green, then I would clean the green off and paint the inside with clear nail polish I was good for another month.  One day my great grandmother was give me 25cents and we walked to town for her to pay a bill and me to spend my money.  It was a nice warm sunny morning about 9:15 a.m.(shops opened earlier then) and she gave my 25 cents on the corner of 4th and Grant and I was to meet her back at the corner in 30 minutes (I had to hurry there were so many to choose from) but I had my eye on this special ruby and brass ring so I ran off down the street.  My great grandmother told me that my money was burning a hole in my as I was fanning my hand all the way to Wackers almost at the end of the block.  She said she laughed so hard she nearly fainted.  But off I went running down the street to buy my special ruby ring and I thought I look just like a rich lady when we met back at the corner.  Wackers really had the prettiest rings I was sure of that as they nearly got all my money.  Visting with Brenda Sue at http://www.bsueboutiques.com/ this week made think of all the treasures I had access to at the time and the fun I had with my part of it.  Brenda Sue at http://www.bsueboutiques.com/ is having a Challenge: Five and Dime Challenge Part Two, Brooches and Earrings sets.  If you want go take a look at her website and get the idea and join the challenge.  She is a delightful person and really does some fine designs and her how to videos really inspire her.

Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

Well, we just 3 more shopping days left for shopping each and everything, the food, the presents, and the normal things that make a household run.  I know everyone is probably running around like chickhens with their head cut, and then wrapping and cooking, the unwrapping, cleaning up the mess, eating and playing games, then falling down to sleep after it all over.  Sometimes Christmas is like taking a long vacation, packing and traveling, getting there running doing everything you planned to do  packing again to travel home, unpacking and collasping to rest up from the vacation.  I dont know for sure how the weather is were all you friends live.  For my weather report today it was dry and 77, forcast for tomorrow it is going to be 79 with no rain in sight and a little wind, but then on Wednesday it is going to be cooler with a high of 74 and on Thursday it will be 72 then on Christmas Eve it themperature will drop 20 degrees and it will only be 52 with a very cold night for us and only 49 degrees for us on Christmas Day.  So we are not suffering any ill effects from bad weather only we have been withou moisture for more than 70+ days without rain. 

I do hope everyone that reads this blog has a blessed and happy Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.  Thank you for reading my poor weather report just know I am not unhappy with our weather I havent had to dig out a coat yet just a little sweater or sweathshirt. 

First day of November 2010

Well, I missed blogging totally in September, October, and now I am catching up (I hope).  In September I went to my high school reunion.  I have to admit that I was disappointed the events were great, but everyone started leaving by 9:45-10:00 like old people.  I will admit that we are on the down hill slide as this was our 55th reunion but my goodness find a chair and visit until you fall asleep and then go to your room and go to bed.  There wasn't any music, so no one could complain that the music was to loud on  Saturday night, but after the group picture it seems that everyone thought that it was signal to go home.  I drove to the reunion and I made a journey of over 400 miles to see everyone and I didn't have time to visit with everyone.  However, I have to say that we all or almost all of us looked great even though we are a little long in the tooth.  All in all I had a great time.  I even sold some of my jewelry.  That thrilled me very much, as I had taken it to just show everyone what I was doing.  In October I had a very good month, it seems that last year I made contact with a girl friend from the 2nd grade and 3rd grade in Luxora, Arkansas.We hadn't seen each other in 55 years but she remembered me.  We have been planning to meet all year but due to the health of family members on both sides, we couldnt get it done until the last week in October, and we met in Eastland, Texas and had such fun laughing and talking about when we use to play everyday down at the levee.  So carefree and fun.  We took dancing together and did almost everything together for those 2 years and for all the years in between after the war I dreamed and hoped I would get to see Clementine again.  I am so happy we got together again.  It was like we had never been apart.  Nothing seemed changed we could talk about everything even politics and not get excited because we had opposing views.  We just laughed and decided that all need to go and start over with a new congress on both sides of the isle.  Well fall weather is here on us this morning here in the big O it was cool and only warmed up to 70, going to be cooler tomorrow.  I am adding new jewelry all along besure and check it out.

Getting ready for fun

Summer is quickly winding down.  It was a very fun summer, and very hot after a cool start.  July was a cool month for us here on the northeastern corner of the Chihuahuan Desert but it was pure chaos around here went to Eastland twice this summer and one time I had Princess Penny and Grand Duchess Faith and we stayed a week.  My car got over heated on the trip when we took the girls to camp and I had to buy a new one because of trouble in Saturn Land of Nevermore.  I got a Fusion SEL a four cylinder and it has lots of nice extras.  My dogs are having fun this summer playing and going for some rides.  I have been busy making jewelry and getting ready to go to my high school reunion.  I am making big plans to have some fun. I hope I get to see a lot of  people that I haven't seen before.  Time marches on and we are all getting older. I hope everyone has a good time, but you that is optional it is kind of like attitudes you can choose to have fun or not.  I choose to have fun.  I talked to Linda Sumeral Gruer the other day and I am going to work the registration table for a while Friday afternoon.  I am having fun making the jewelry I have enter some art in Cloth Paper Scissors magazine Artisans Search 2011 some of  Dance with A Dolly series and a pin take a look at my jewelry and see them or go to www.clothpaperscissors.com/content/ArtisansSearch2011.aspx
and take a look at them.  By now.

Rainy Friday

Living on the North Easter edge of the Chihuahuan Desert rain is a rare occurance and today is one of those rare occurances, but rain is a good thing, the day is cool and lovely.  You know life is good when you can appreciate a little bad weather or maybe it is really true that I was born when the earth was cooling.  According to the newspapers and tv all fireworks displays, the parade and all 4th of July festivities have been cancelled, well so much for that, part of the child hiding in this Old Model '37 Body, I cant even get the muse musing on how to come up with an alternative, maybe next weekend.  The Queen and the Queen Mother took the Grand Duchess to Church Camp in Big Sandy, Texas alllllllllllllllllll the way across Texas to just 80 miles west of the Louisanna State Line.  We went first to Queens's Castle in Eastland, and stayed the night.  Then on down the trail again for another 4 hours to Big Sandy.   The Grand Duchess had to check in by 3:00 p.m. and boy was she excited.  We got her there and checked in and looked over the camp and "store" and left money in her account.  The dormitories were big buildings with open screened windows around all four sides, no air conditioners in sight.  I would tell you it was hot, but the flies and other flying insects could only soar about 4 inches off the ground, the air was so thick.  Big Sandy is in the Piney Woods of Texas.  The town is about a blink in size, blink and when you have open your eyes you missed your turn for I-20.  The Queen and Queen Mother left her for a week of uninterrupted pleasure for the camper and the the Queen and I.  For the first day of freedom, the Queen, and I wandered around the castle (Eastland) in pj's and read, and napped, the next day we waited on the plummer and then went to Weatherford, a 2 blinker town and looked around at little stores on the square.  I indulged my whimsey and went to the bead store (of course) and on down the street to where the Queen has made friends with the people that own the store.  Then on to the Tesky's Western store in the 2 blinker town, and boy did we find a sale, they had two racks with 95% off of the merchandise can you believe it.  The Queen spent $200 and saved $1200.  An example I bought a dress for $7.80 the original price was $159.95.  Now why I did now buy the other one I dont know, it was to small, but my thinking cap was askew and I didnt thing about the material in the dress being used another way for all sorts of ideas.  Of course I have kicked myself several times, and now try not to think about the stupid thing I did of not picking up stuff for the materials to be used.   Before the ten days were up, I felt like we were gypsies running up and down the highway from 2 blinkers to cities like Ft. Worth.  As the time grew less and less, I began to pack my treasures and trash and stash of goodies and found that I had a car full.  We treked back to camp to pick up the two girls and came back to the castle, to clean it up and close up for a couple of weeks.  Then back to our own 2 1/2 blinker, well  maybe 3 blinker because we do have Michaels,  Hobby Lobby , Lowes and Home Depot here. The trip was really a fun time by all I hope.  We had some mishaps, but nothing we couldnt fix I hope. 

I have added some hair jewelry that I make for the Grand Duchess' birthday, that was this week and I hope that she enjoys it and I hope that each and everyone of the readers, followers enjoy looking at it.  Come back from time to time and see what I do sometime when I am not putting on all my jewelry, and full skirts and running up and down the highway in the caravan.