See you at the Blog Party

For the past two days I have been in Warrenton with my good friend, Riki.  

I shopped till I dropped, and am now home preparing for the

Blog Party tomorrow evening with Theresa.

I will be one of her featured guests, 

 so please come by her booth at Zapp Hall around 6 pm.

I will have my vintage jewelry boxes full & spilling over with some of the goodies 

I'll be selling at Marburger Farm Antique Show  

beginning Tuesday, March 29th!

Would love to see you there!

diane

xox 
BTW....Riki is still out there shopping =)

rhinestones & rosaries

"Crystals & Pearls"

I taught one of my favorite classes, Rhinestones & Rosaries on Thursday.  It was full of awesomely talented students...each eager to bring their own flavor to the piece they would call their own.

In fact, Susan finished hers that evening after class, 

bringing it to our class with Richard (the very next day) to show me!
Beautiful work.

I especially love the crucifix, with it's ornate brass end-caps, 

which matches the bead caps in the rosary.   

These rosaries are higher end, and occasionally I find one I can afford.

Susan is one of those estate sale goers from Dallas.
I would love to hitch a ride on her coat tails sometimes =)
See how she made a double strand, adding a vintage rhinestone brooch across the top of the brass focal?  

BTW...she worked hard on that focal!
That's more than half the fun, 
working out the puzzle of making pieces work together,
cold-join style!

 Sue is a lady I have been speaking to online for probably almost a year.  She and I finally met when she came to a class I taught in College Station last December. 
This is her necklace.
Isn't it gorgeous?  I love that unusual connector, and the crucifix is so beautiful.
I love the deep blue color of the faceted glass beads in her rosary.

...some of the other "works in progress".

My dh was there each day helping me in class...

sharing his knowledge of important things...such as faulty tools.

He's THE gadget guy, and the one who wrote the book on ~

"whoever has the most gadgets wins".

The bottom line~

I had the best day with some great ladies.

Thank you ~ all ~ you were amazing!

Then, after I thought I had one of the best days in my many days of best,

Melissa Manley showed up, to park her tools & supplies for her class,  

Band Groupie, 

which she would be teaching in the room later that evening.

I was packing my things, trying to focus on stuffing getting all my tools to fit back into the bag they fit fine in earlier that morning!

She was wearing a pair of the most beautiful enameled earrings!  In fact, they were even prettier than the ones she had been wearing sitting next to me at Meet the Artist night.

I told her I loved them~'cause I did!

She pulled them off and gave them to me~

...paying it forward she said.
I immediately put them on.

They matched my jewelry AND my outfit perfectly!

She said, "how could I not?  They were made for YOU!"

I almost cried.  

This was the jewelry I was wearing....my bead soup pieces,
along with one of my Etched & Layered cuffs,
wrapped in luscious recycled sari silk.

You be the judge!

I was am overwhelmed.

AM! Vendor Night

Vendor night was fun & furious, as I had taken a class earlier in the day with 

Richard Sally.

I actually had time to visit with Deryn and Sally!

Deryn's soothing color palette of goodies made my soul hummmm.

Stephanie stopped by my table wearing the piece she designed in Richard's class, 

the same one I took earlier in the day, Mixed Metal Milagros.

Richard is a great teacher.  I learned several new techniques, 

which I will add to my bag of tricks.

 One, of which....playing more with enamels and Faux Bone TM.

Each of the vendors donated a piece to be given out for the hourly door prizes.

Here's a picture of the happy attendee who won the necklace I donated. 

Lore took this picture, as we were across the isle from each other.   

She taught her class, Queen of Hearts, on Saturday.  

Her PMC work is absolutely gorgeous!

I was still smiling here, so it must have been pretty early in the evening =)

Because by 10 o'clock I was pooped!

the cat's outta the bag!

I just finished three days of teaching, one class takin' day myself with the talented  

Richard Salley, and hundreds of hours filling my creative tank to way over flowing! 

My ♥ is so full of blessed goodness, that I just don't know what to say.

Really.

Adorn Me! 2011 has been a HUGE success.  

Ask anyone who was there, and I am SURE they will agree.

The venue was large enough to draw BIG name teachers (FINALLY) to Houston, 

yet small enough for teachers & students to give & get the personal attention needed to have a great class from both sides of the table.

Thanks to this well organized lady, Linda

 and her trusty assistant, Chuck.

If we look like an aura is surrounding us ... well, it is. 

One of pure bliss, as this was last night, and was my last class to teach.

It was a short evening class,

Romancing the Cuff.

My first time to teach after dusk, and I loved it!  

And...think the students did too =)

Here is one of Marcy's cuffs, which she sewed all by hand~onto leather!

Made with luscious vintage lace, beads  & a mother of pearl button.

And, here is Debbie's.  

Gorgeous work.

So, guess bet you get the idea here.  I am going to start at the end of 

Adorn Me! 2011

(for me that is, as I did not teach or attend today)

and go back each day to once again relive the fun.

BTW...the cuff at the top was the example I sewed in class last night & wore home.  

I really like it!  

I've actually had that carved bone cat bead for at least two years....

sitting in my little box of bone(s) beads!

I have so much to tell you.  I am bustin' at the seams.

More tomorrow.  Promise.
Sorry....maybe Tuesday =)