It's Hammered Time!

Get out you hammer and bench block and take out your frustrations on some copper washers and wire! This modern bracelet is my take on an awesome project presented by Sharilyn Miller just a few weeks ago on her Wire Jewelry Lessons blog!

While reading the instructions, I remembered seeing a box of copper washers in the garage, left over’s from an auto repair job that my husband had done some time ago. He was more than happy to give them to me, saying that he no longer needed them and couldn't wait to see what I would use them for!

Hammering those washers into shape was very noisy and fun, not to mention the stress that was relieved that night! Unfortunately the project came to a halt because I was missing a tool needed to make the extra large figure eight links, bale making pliers! In the mean time, the kids had fun playing with my hammered treasures, they stacked, sorting, counted and tossed them for a few days!

On a trip to one of my favorite bead stores, I discovered the pliers needed to complete the bracelet and purchased them (Yea!) Upon returning home, I got busy making those all-important links to complete the project and because I didn't review Sharilyn's instructions, my bracelet is slightly different than her design.

In her tutorial, Sharilyn used two figure eight links to connect each pair of washers and a different handmade clasp; I used a single link and textured them and the clasp to match the washers. Also, instead of using liver of sulfur to age the copper, I used my torch to heat the metal producing a different patina!

While working on this project I thought of some other things you could do with the copper washers, here a few:

1. There are loads of metal stamp designs available, so texture your copper with your favorite designs!
2. Use letter stamps to put words, names or phrases on the washers.
3. Make a necklace to match your bracelet!
4. While you’re at it, make some earrings with smaller washers!

Altogether, I am very pleased with the way my bracelet turned out and will make more of these textured washer bracelets and much more! Many thanks to Sharilyn Miller for sharing this tutorial and sparking some new ideas!

Blessings,
Debra

Be kind,

for everyone you meet

is fighting a hard battle.

~ Plato

For the Bride-To-Be

and

Her Wedding Party

For your special day, consider nothing less than custom made jewelry for you and your bridal party! You will find many unique, and one of a kind pieces of jewelry at Heart's Desire Beading Company, all made with you in mind! Each piece is lovingly handmade using only the finest metals, pearls and Swarovski crystals for a quality design!

For you bridal party, custom made earrings, bracelets and necklaces with Swarovski crystals and pearls are a must! Swarovski crystals come in a wide variety of styles and color palettes to match the current fashion trends! Their crystal beads and glass pearls are the highest quality product in the beading industry, which is why I use them in my jewelry!

The pearl is the oldest known gem, and was considered a most valuable possession during ancient times! Because they are a symbol of unblemished perfection, purity and innocence, they are often found in traditional wedding jewelry.

The ancient Greeks thought of pearls as the "wedding gem" because they believed that pearls would help ensure marital bliss for the couple and prevent new brides from crying.

I hand pick each strand of freshwater pearls used in my jewelry to assure the quality of each handmade piece!

Custom orders are always welcome and I will do my best to create what you have requested within the budget you have to work with! Please note that all custom orders must be paid for in advance, and allow at least 14 days to complete your specially made items. A good rule of thumb is to special order your jewelry at least 2 months (or more) before the date of your wedding. Also, you will be able to see a picture of your custom made jewelry order online in my Flickr account. This will insure that the items are exactly what you want before your order is shipped so that we can both feel confident that your special order is correct! Please be sure to read the terms of service on my website for all pertinent information on custom orders.

Thank you for stopping by, and I look forward to creating something very special and elegant for your wedding day!

Blessings,

Debra

Shop Heart's Desire Beading Company

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

~John Quincy Adams

A thought for today....

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

Abraham Lincoln

What Memorial Day is about!
Interesting facts and my own feelings too!

For to many people Memorial Day is just the unofficial beginning of summer, a day off from work, and the start of grilling season. In the past, I can remember that's why I looked forward to this weekend, but that changed last year!

In June of 2008, I attended the funeral of a loved one who proudly served our country in the military; he was buried with military honors. During the service an Honor Guardsman told us we would never hear Taps again and not remember the sacrifice that many of our military men and women gave, the ultimate sacrifice - their lives for the protection of our freedoms, our rights, and our nation. Yesterday, as I watched the beginning of the Indianapolis 500, which always begins by honoring our fallen heroes with a 21-gun salute and Taps I did remember! So I would like to pass on these facts about Memorial Day, so that you will know what we are truly celebrating today, and that you will remember too!

When was Memorial Day first celebrated?

May 30, 1868

Why is Memorial Day celebrated on May 30?

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.

How is the 3rd U.S. Infantry associated with Memorial Day?

Since the late 1950’s on the Thursday just before the Memorial Day, around 1200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.

Why is the poppy a symbol for Memorial Day?

In 1915, inspired by the poem, “In Flanders Fields”, Moina Michael authored this poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to all of our military men and women, those serving currently and those who have served in the past! My family and I appreciate you and the work you have done to protect the freedoms that our country holds so dear! To the families of service men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice, their lives to protect our freedoms, we say thank you and pray the Lord's peace be upon you today and always! We will never forget!

Blessings,

Debra

Tag....I'm It!

Gayle from This Artist's Journey has tagged me, and I am it! Now it is my turn to answer a few questions that will tell you a little more about me! So here I go, and by the way....watch out you might be tagged next!

Eight things I'm looking forward to:

1. School being out!
2. Warmer weather and being outside in the garden
3. Swimming and getting a tan
4. Fresh peaches from the Farmer's Market
5. Heaven
6. Veggies (especially tomatoes) fresh from my garden
7. Cosmos (my favorite flower) in the flower beds
8. Learning another new jewelry technique

Eight things I did yesterday

1. Homeschooled the boys
2. Dreamed of making several different pairs of earrings, after all there are so many ideas floating around in my head!
3. Took my boys to AWANA for their end of the year ceremony, and smiled big grins when they got trophies and ribbons for all their hard work this year!
4. Read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe on the back deck in the warm sun
5. Twittered about numerous things
6. Contacted some of my dear Internet friends
7. Listened to my favorite talk radio station
8. Made spaghetti for dinner, Yum!

Eight things I wish I could do:

1. Speak Spanish and French fluently
2. Talk to my Grandma again
3. Adopt one of my girls from the Coq Chante, Haiti orphanage and bring her to the USA
4. Have Solomon's wisdom (and his riches would be good too!)
5. Get my parents to move closer to us
6. Put an end to all the hate in the world
7. Go to the beach again
8. Remember what it was that I went into another room to get! Argh!

Eight Things or Shows I Have Watched:

1. Mythbusters (my boys favorite show because they blow up so many things!)
2. Platinum Weddings
3. The Saint (the movie with Val Kilmer)
4. The Tangers sitting on their nest in the maple tree in our yard
5. The constellation Orion in the fall and winter night sky
6. The people I love getting older
7. The space shuttle taking off
8. The Northern Lights

Eight of My Favorite Blogs:

de Cor's Handmades - Lots of great wire wrapped tutorials, and pictures of her everyday life. After reading her blog you feel like you really know her personally, and the things that Cora does with wire are so inventive too!

Zaplecione - This jewelry artist is from Poland and her writing isn't in English but Oh! the jewelry she makes! When I grow up, I want to make jewelry like she does!

Angela's Heartwork - Angela takes the most awesome photographs, and writes inspiring poetry to go with each one! Her work will touch your heart, and her stories of everyday life will make you grin!

Paulette Insall - mixed media artist and mom - The ladies in Paulette's paintings and prints just speak to me! She also does many online workshops, so if you would like to learn mixed media and more check out her blog!

Gailavira - Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry - Donna has awesome wire wrapping tutorials (many of which I have), she has inspired me to make lots of new pieces of jewelry!

the b-line - have a lovely day - A well written, down to earth blog with so many different "every day" topics that makes it very enjoyable to read! Amy shares recipes, pictures of everyday life and continually promotes many artists and crafters in her blog!

Merry's Musings - Another well written and thoughtful blog with a variety of topics! Intermixed with wonderful poems and stories you will find lots of old fashioned prints and pictures. Nora's writing makes me smile!

A Year of CrockPotting - Lots of delicious crock pot recipes worth checking out!

In closing I'd like to say thanks to Gayle for the tag! Answering these questions has been fun and thought provoking! Also, if I could add one more thing to the "wish I could do" list, it would be paint like you! Painting with watercolors was one of those art class "must do's" when I was in school and I didn't appreciate it like I do now! Hopefully Mr. Ryan, my art teacher will forgive me! :)

I hope you have enjoyed reading the answers to these questions, and hopefully I've given you a little more incite into who I am through this posting and all my other musings in this blog! And be forewarned, you might be tagged next!

Blessings,

Debra