Art Charm Auction benefiting Beads of Courage

Okay maybe you're like me, and wait till an auction is about to close before you bid.  Well, get ready because our charms from the Art Charm Swap will end in less than 24 hours.

Check them out HERE.

One of my fellow charm swappers, Monique of A Half-Baked Notion, made some great photo collages of the charms up for sale.  Like this one which features my bead.  See mine bottom left?  I'm still very honored to be a part of a group with all this talent.

Now take a minute, and head over to eBay to place a bid for a great cause.

You'll be glad you helped out, and be the proud owner of a wonderful, tiny piece of art.

Well Worth the Wait

I won a giveaway from Eileen of Dorset Hill Beads back in August.  Check out some of her work in my post about winning and her blog.  She's a great lady and a truly creative spirit.

She even sent me a second gift since the mail system decided to hide the original package from the two of us.  That was above and beyond since it was simply a giveaway.  I received the package weeks ago, but only when I was under my beading table cleaning rouge beads from the tracks of the sliding glass doors did I finally find the tag that must have slipped out when I opened it.  So now I can thank her properly.  Thank you for the awesome gift.  There are no better coasters in the world!  I love coasters by the way, and am never in possession of less than 4 sets.

they're super absorbent.

they're over-sized which means great for hot bowl of soup too.

 and best of all...

Thanks again for the great gift Eileen.  I love gifts I can use.





DorsetHillBeads on etsy 

 

Art Charm Exchange 2012

The wonderful and talented Jennifer Cameron of Glass Addictions took on the enormous task of organizing a charm swap for Beads of Courage.  Thank you, Jennifer, for allowing me to be a part of this project. 

Beads of Courage is a program many hospitals use to brighten the outlook of their pediatric patients by giving them a fun, colorful bead for each surgery, procedure, etc. that they endure.  It gives them a playful visual of how far they've come in their treatment and a tactile reminder of what they are capable of overcoming.

I like almost 50 other participants, I made 11 charms which I mailed to Jennifer back in October.
Then she sorted them all, and sent each of us one of our own charms plus 9 different charms from other participants.  The last charm from each batch is being auctioned off on eBay for BOC.

The theme was LAUGHTER which immediately brought children to mind.  While trying to figure out what to do I ran through dozens of ideas with metal stamping and polymer clay, but when I went to put my son to bed an idea hit me and held on.  So here's my inspiration:

See my silly little man?  Look behind him.  See the Mario shaped planet?  He has a game with gardens in all sorts of shapes, but his favorite part of the game is running around and around on the planets. Like I said this idea took hold, but I couldn't figure out how to translate it into a charm.  Then I was tending my flowers, and it hit me.  A round garden!  That idea still makes me laugh.  SO I set to making some.

I was trying to decide what color to make them in.  Then I read in the Facebook group Jennifer had set up for us that they didn't all have to be identical.  That's when this really got fun.  Here's what I submitted. 

Well, I kept the red one because I had forgotten we'd get one of our own back.

click any picture for a better look

I'd never made cards before, and I waited till after 10 at night to do them so yes I wrote lilmummylikes@blogspot.com instead of lilmummylikes.blogspot.com.  Honestly I didn't catch that mistake till I'd made about a dozen cards for earrings too.  Oh well, it was good practice.

I have to say packaging is something the Japanese are very good at.  I love these cards and baggies.

(In case this is your first time here I live in Okinawa, Japan.  Oh and welcome!)

All bagged up and ready to go.

Now without all the waiting I went through, we'll take a peek at the fabulous charms I received.  In no particular order because I couldn't possibly choose a favorite.

first impression

http://carolynchenault.wordpress.com/

Love the back of the card on the faux sea glass!

I've bought a few of these from Jeannie in the past.
I even sent one to my last BSBP partner Debbie.

/http://ingetraud.wordpress.com/

blue bottle with tiny book

one of the many great page spreads in this tiny book

another great set of pages

See how tiny next to the business card.

Sandpail by Sundown Bead Design

Cupcake and smile by Jean P Designs

From our fearless and fabulous leader

This cutie from Studio Marcy may make it's way to Sam.

love the image on this card

http://bahamadawn.blogspot.com/

Tell me please 'cause it's driving me and my kid crazy. "Find a happy place, find a happy place, FIND A HAPPY PLACE!"  What kid's movie is that from?  As I write this I'm watching Finding Nemo because that's my guess.  Update:  I was r-i-g-h-t!  When the "fish killer" child taps on the glass of the aquarium till the starfish falls off the starfish says the line.

The one of mine I got back.

Alrighty, off to visit the BOC auction this whole swap was about.  Please take the time to visit the eBay listings Jennifer set up, and feel free to outbid me because it's for a great cause.

Auction Site: http://www.ebay.com/glassaddictions




Then check out the other participants' posts.  There is a lot of talent involved in this swap.

Alenka Obid http://pepita-handmade.blogspot.com/2012/11/art-charm-exchage-reveal.html

Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca/2012/11/charm-swap-reveal-blog-hop-and-auction.html

Babette Cox http://babettecox.com/blog.htm

Carol Watson http://www.carolwatsonartglass.blogspot.com

Carolyn Chenault  http://carolynchenault.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/beads-of-courage-auction/

Cassi Paslick http://cassisbeads.blogspot.com/2012/11/beads-of-courage-charm-swap-reveal.html

Charlene Jacka http://clay-space.com/2012/11/early-christmas/

Cheri Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/2012/11/to-participate-in-charm-swap-you-must.html

Cheryl McCloud http://cherylmccloud.blogspot.com/2012/11/charm-swap-reveal-blog-hop-and-beads-of.html

Deb Kauzlarich http://debkauzlarich.blogspot.com

Denielle Hagerman http://somebeadsandotherthings.com

Emma Todd  http://apolymerpenchant.blogspot.com/2012/11/art-charm-swap-in-aid-of-boc.html

Erin Prais-Hintz http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/2012/11/art-charm-swap-laugh.html

Ginger Bishop http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com/2012/11/art-charm-exchange-2012.html

Inge vonRoos http://ingetraud.wordpress.com

Jean Peter http://jeanpdesigns.blogspot.com/ http://jeanpdesigns.blogspot.com/2012/11/2012-charm-swap.html

Jeannie K Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/2012/11/12/beads-of-courage/

Jennifer Cameron http://wp.me/p1xIa0-wn

Kia Dallons http://kiadallonsstudio.blogspot.jp/2012/11/laughter-is-best-medicine.html

Kimberly Roberts http://bahamadawn.blogspot.com/2012/11/art-charm-swap.html

Kristi Bowman  http://dreamsomedesigns.blogspot.com/2012/11/charm-swap-reveal-hop.html

Lea Avroch http://lajewelrydesign.blogspot.com/2012/11/2012-beads-of-courage-art-charm-swap.html

Leslie Schenkel http://twistedchicken.wordpress.com/?p=171

Linda Florian http://www.lilysofthevalleyjewelry.blogspot.com/

Lori Greenberg http://lorigreenberg.com/blog

Lynnea Bennett http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com

Mallory Hoffman http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-time-has-come-art-charm-blog-reveal.html

Marcy Lamberson http://studiomarcy.blogspot.com/2012/11/charmed-by-minions-im-sure.html

Marsha Neal Studio http://marshanealstudio.blogspot.com/2012/11/charm-exchange-and-beads-of-courage.html

Maureen Connolly http://mrsbeadsley.blogspot.com/2012/11/charm-reveal.html

Melissa Meman http://melissameman.blogspot.com/2012/11/art-charm-swap-blog-hop.html

Monique Urquhart http://ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.com/2012/11/charmed-im-sure.html

Natalie McKenna http://www.grubbi.co.uk/

Perri Jackson  http://shaktipajdesigns.com/11/blog/reveal-the-laughter-art-charms/

Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/2012/11/art-charm-exchange-auction-and-reveal.html

Robin Koza http://www.robinkoza.com

Shaiha Williams http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/2012/11/art-charm-hop.html

Shannon Hicks  http://uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/

Shelby Foxwell http://sundownbeaddesigns.blogspot.com/2012/11/charm-swap-reveal.html

Shelley Graham Turner http://shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com/2012/11/reveal-2012-charm-swap.html

Shirley Moore http://beadsandbread.blogspot.com/2012/11/beads-of-courage-art-charm-reveal.html

Stephanie Haussler http://pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com/2012/11/laughter-art-bead-charm-swap-auction.html

Susan Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com/2012/11/beads-of-courage-charm-swap-reveal-and.html

Toltec Jewels http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com/2012/11/BOCArtCharmRevealBlogHop.html

Vanessa Gilkes http://culturezine.com/blog/

Burst of Energy and Beachcombing

Just a quick update from the best time of the year here in Okinawa.  It's still warm enough to be out and about, but cool enough people stop asking you to things that require a swimsuit.  I love it!

I've been walking with another mom from the bus stop for a while now, and we've added in a bit of running slow jogging.  It's totally zapped my energy, but I'm gaining it back slowly.  And I know the best is yet to come. 

Well, as a treat we decided to go beach-combing on our walking day yesterday.  'Mind you, we walk past two beaches on our regular path, but we hopped in the car for an adventure.  We visited 3 beaches including one she calls "Secret Beach."  Boy was I ever bummed I didn't bring a camera, but I had a blast.  She calculated it as 4 hours and 45 minutes of walking.  So I earned a nap yesterday.  But I also brought home a few surprises. 

For your viewing pleasure: (click any picture for a larger view)

reminds me of what the water looked like

shiny things

spiky things

tiny things

bit of a big thing

variety of sizes

variety of colors

this side is not so pretty but...

...the other side  has a MOP look to it.

another one deceptively beautiful underneath

new to me-orange and purple sea glass

these are a few of my favorite things

fav find of the day

group shot

And no I don't have plans for all of them yet.  The tiny bits will go into tiny vials for necklaces.  The coral will be come wind chimes, and the I'm still waiting on the rest to speak to me. 

Anybody know how to get the sea smell off?  We've had a lot of storms.  Not sure if that's the problem, and as you can see they've been washed.  That just isn't enough this time.

That's it for me.  Just reminding you to enjoy what you do when you aren't creating.

My partner for HBBH#2 Tammie Everly!

I think my favorite part of blog hops is really taking the time to discover new artists.  I move a lot, and by the time I've found a good local community of creative people it's time to move.  That's why I am so glad blogging has led me to the blogs of other creative people which lead me to facebook groups and on to many wonderful blog hops & challenges.

This one is a challenge in getting to know your partner well enough to create something they will enjoy.  We literally live on opposite sides of the planet, but we've both lived close to where the other lives now.  That's the small world traveled by military spouses.  Well, enough about me here's where I'm off to to to learn more about Tammie.

Her blog TTE Designs 

TTE Designs on facebook