My Favorite Things at the Huntington Library

Yesterday was my birthday!  So we spent the day at the Huntington Library and Gardens, in San Marino CA.  It is truly a lovely place, inside and out.  Many different types of gardens, home to a variety of plants and wildlife plus several museum buildings, with paintings, furniture and even a Guttenberg Bible (camera's not allowed in that exhibit...).

Here are some favorite things from our trip:

This fella posed in the sunlight for us

This guy has a very prehistoric, kind of snakey face

Gorgeous stained glass

I actually liked the shadow of this sculpture better than I liked the sculpture itself...

The artist wanted to show how smart his subject was, but it just looks like he needs glasses.  Also, this chair looks like it was made for Hagrid!

Loved the sweet dog in this painting

  

Amazingly tranquil watching koi

Naturally, I took an interest in the jewelry in this painting. 

This was painted in the 1400's but the jewelry seems very modern.  I could buy what looks like those Swarovski crystals at Michaels!

 If you ever get a chance to visit the Huntington, GO!  But bring your walking shoes and plenty of water.  And a camera...

 

Do What You Love!

 

http://www.bearchick.etsy.com/

http://www.bearchicksundries.etsy.com/

More Sparkly Shoes!

Here’s an update to my blog post from a while ago, ‘splainin’ my propensity for crazy shoes in my old age. When I finished photographing these, I remembered I also have some new sandals--ah, we’ll see those another day!

Aren’t these fun??!!

I was longing for a pair of shoes just this color blue, with something shiny or colorful--Sears.com came through!

OMG! There’s no way I could have resisted this bling overload! And they were only $4 at Target. Bliss!

I loved everything about these when I saw them on clearance at Payless, except the size… They didn’t have mine… So, when I happened to be near another Payless, I dragged The Husband in and there they were. Guess he’s my lucky charm!

For someone who hates to wear shoes, I’m getting quite the little collection!

Do What You Love!

www.bearchick.etsy.com

www.bearchicksundries.etsy.com

July Sale on Bear Chick Sundries!

From now till the end of July, I have a 20% off coupon code for my Etsy Bear Chick Sundries shop, where I sell vintage items, destash jewelry supplies and, right now, I have a bunch of crafting books at half the price I bought them for. Here’s a sampling of what I have:

 

 

Use coupon code JULY11 at checkout for the 20% savings. What a deal!!

 

PS-This sale is only on Bear Chick Sundries, not Bear Chick, where I sell my handmade jewelry…

Do What You Love!

 

http://www.bearchick.etsy.com/

http://www.bearchicksundries.etsy.com/

My New Line of Handmade Jewelry Components

I love creating jewelry! And so do a lot of other people. So I thought I’d try my hand at selling some handmade jewelry components.

I’ve been stringing sequins for various projects for the last 10 years. At a Bead Society Show and Tell, a member passed around a vintage Miriam Haskell necklace. It was black, the material moving with a strange fluidity. When I examined it, I found that it was black sequins strung to create a totally unique piece of jewelry. I went home and started stringing necklaces. I’ve also used them to make memory wire bracelets and the components I’m offering for sale now.
 


These connectors are about an inch and a half long and they’re perfect for earrings and chains. I’m sure you can come up with lots more inventive ideas, too!

The “sequins” in this set are actually recycled red record albums from back in the day!

 


I’m also going to be selling chainmaille components suitable for use as connectors for earrings and other jewelry, plus keyrings or purse jewels. Whatever your imagination can come up with!

I’m selling these in pairs, but if you need more for a project, let me know and I’ll see what I have on hand. I’m also open to giving a good deal on bigger orders.
 

Do What You Love!

www.bearchick.etsy.com

http://www.bearchicksundries.etsy.com/

Classes are Fun!

A few weeks ago, I took a class to make a fabric flower and embellishments brooch. I’m not a big fiber person but I thought it would be fun, since it was being taught by my friend, Anneliese, and it might open me up to something I’d like to pursue. Lately, I’m really picky about classes I’m taking because I just don’t want to start something new that will require a new range of tools or materials. For this class, all I had to buy was the fabric and the pin. Everything else I already had. Yay!

This class was offered through the Bead Society, after our main meeting. Sometimes those classes get a huge turnout and sometimes, if it’s a busy weekend, they become somewhat intimate--this one had three students! Which was actually quite nice. We got to know each other better than in a big group and we got undivided attention from Anneliese.

Here’s what I made:

Anneliese taught us how to fold and scrunch the fabric to create the flower. As with any first attempt,

it’s not perfect :-) The proportions are off (the flower is way bigger than the pendant) and the chains aren’t placed well, so they hang a little off from the pendant. But it’s my first baby and I like it. I used sequins and seed beads to add sparkle to the flower petals and my beloved Eiffel Tower has fire polished glass dangles.

Mostly what I wanted from the class was to learn how to make the flowers. Now I can make smaller ones to attach to necklaces or use in ways I haven’t thought of yet. It’s a new skill, that I need some more practice on, and that’s what I love. The more knowledge I have, the more inspiration I have to draw on!

Do What You Love!

http://www.bearchick.etsy.com/

www.bearchicksundries.etsy.com