A Wonderful Surprise

Today has been the most beautiful of days here at ThistleDew....I got out my seed starter trays and planted some seeds that include some of my favorites like Nasturtium, Four O'Clocks, Poppy, Cleome, Dahlia, and Foxglove...after planting the seed I thought I would get the Sunday Newspaper and head out to the front porch swing and enjoy the fabulous day.... :)

And this caught my eye:

A Mother Robin has built a nest on top of my wreath....oh how sweet is that?

Here is a closeup of her hunkered down on her eggs.... precious.... :)

and I will leave you with one of my favorite poems..

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden,
than anywhere else on Earth....
Blessings...

"Perfectly Paired" by Patricia Kimle

I am so excited about this new book!..."Perfectly Paired" Designing Jewelry with Polymer and Metal Clays by Patricia Kimle....I have had the book for over a week and just cannot put it down...it is so well written...and I highly recommend it....I am so anxious to start working in PMC....I just ordered my torch from Amazon.com and looking for the best deals on PMC now...Melanie and a flame could be very dangerous!...better check the homeowners policy to see if I am covered!
Blessings... :)

A Little Birdie Made Me Do It :)

I woke up with coffee in hand....stumbled into my studio....sat down at my computer and started checking my emails...when one jumped out at me from Art Bead Scene on Facebook...this email said "and the winner is"... ME... :) My eyes then were wide open!...and that usually takes two mugs of coffee to accomplish...I became a fan of Art Bead Scene yesterday and saw they were playing a game...this painting was posted along with what the game consisted of...OK...I can do this I say to myself....Match a bead to the painting...and this light bulb goes off in my head!...rarely does this ever happen... :) My cousin Teresa's beads...from "Art Of Grace" I thought... I had looked at her auctions on ebay yesterday...and a set of her beads came to mind...and low and behold they were all a perfect match to the painting!...and what did I win you ask?... "A little Birdie" made by Artist Heather Powers from HumbleBeads!...I have admired Heather's work from the day I started working in Polymer Clay...*note to self: I need to work on My Daily Stops links on my blog!...I only have 4 listed and that list should at least be 20 or more by now...Thanks Art Bead Scene and Heather for the bright spot you have put in my day today! Blessings :)

Part 3....some past and recent work..... :)

I made my two oldest Grandson's Braden and Carter each a necklace...

Braden's is on the left and Carter's on the right...Carter being 4 years old at the time thought the magnet clasp was so cool....he and his mom went to the grocery shortly after getting the necklace...he proceeded to play with the necklace latching it on to the cart....you guessed it!...poor Carter lost his new necklace no sooner than he got it... :(

*had to share this photo of our pond with the boy's necklace's in front on a stone...
I dug the pond with a shovel....by hand....topping off at 900 gallons...that was back in the days before I got "oldtimers"... :)

On to another Polymer Clay Adventure!!
Our Annual 2009 Key Mammoth Cave Retreat
We had a wonderful time of it....just sharing....

The "lightbulb pigster" was made by our own "Leslie Blackford" along with our name tags!
The rocks are my work....I really enjoyed learning how to make them...
The Pigster "I call him"....I won during our grab bag game!

I made this purple cane along with the pillow beads..

my colorful canes...

I recently caught up with with a cousin of mine on facebook that I hadn't seen since I was around 16 years old...Teresa "Art of Grace" is an artist working in glass and mixed media... I won a collection of beads made by her off ebay.... I made the bracelet below with one of the beads...it's the focal bead...and please excuse the poor photography skills by me....



and here's a sneak peak at some Lady bugs for my oldest Granddaughter Avory Grace...she asked for lady bugs and lady bugs she gets..... :)


and last but not least....Spring Cleaning of the pond....
these are our two beautiful Butterfly Koi...

OK....now I feel much better after getting all caught up with everyone....
Gotta run now.....off to do real life stuff...
Catcha later!
Blessings :)

Part 2.....Polymer Clay Adventures.... :)

In Feb. 2009 I attended a weekend workshop in Louisville, KY with none other than Lindly Haunani.

"Combining Colors with Confidence"

Lindly getting set up...

First blends we made....*look at Ron Lehocky's beautiful blend in front!...and directly behind his is mine....See the one with the gob of green in the middle? Yes, folks that is mine that I messed up!...didn't get my colors in the right order...story of my life!... It all works out in the end as Lindly showed me how to make it more pleasing to the eyes... :)
Lindly is an awesome teacher if you ever get the chance to take a class....jump on it!

The second blends we made....

Look at the beautiful work from a fellow pc-er Bobbi...
She worked in metallics... and don't you just love the "Bargello?"

Some of the pieces I made during the weekend workshop....

In April of 2009 I attended a class given by Christi Friesen
She, so like Christi hosted a three day benefit "for Ada" she is the daughter of fellow Polymer Clay Artist Ponsawan Silapiruti...
I was so honored to finally meet Ponsawan....she and I had corresponded through snail mail early on in my Polymer Clay days....I so loved and admired her style...I had a question about the thread she uses in her work and Ponswan so kindly mailed me some of her thread and also a hand written tutorial on how she assembles her work..I was so touched....

Myself, Christi, and Ponsawan


a sampling of Christi's work....

My finished piece....

Playing Catch-Up...What have you been up to over the past year Melanie?.... Part 1... :)

THE BEFORE......

Well I guess I will start with....

"The Main Bath Remodel"
*Staring....none other than...My better half....
and a man on a mission...
Steve :)

*Steve thinking...."what the Hell did I just get myself into?".....

Down to the studs we gooooo......

Buh- bye tile...

Green board....Steve's favorite part!

New sub floor...

"My Hunka...hunka...burnin love"

NEW BATH

Don't ya just love it?
*best thing we did was the curved shower curtain rod...
"so much more space in the shower now!"

New pedestal sink, glass shelf, oval mirror, light fixture...

....and "The New Throne! :)

I made switch plates from Polymer Clay
they are made in Mica Shift....
so much depth and smooth as a baby's bottom!
*picture does not do them justice

I am so proud of all of the work my husband put into our new bath....
I just love it! :)

Full Steam Ahead!.. :)...and the winner that wasn't .. :(

You know me and a good "Give Away".. :) Lisa at Polka Dot Cottage had a recent give away. It was for a copy of "Perfectly Paired: Designing Jewelry with Polymer and Metal Clays"....by Patricia Kimle.....<-boy that is a mouthful!! Of course I didn't win... :( But I did just pre-ordered a copy... The past year has been a rough one, but I managed to survive it with a whole new since of what I am made of....and what my priorities are...I am busy in my studio...creating....it feels so natural...I did over the past year create some nice pieces of which I will post in the next several days to share with you...and hubs and I totally remodeled our bathroom...*and I mean totally down to the studs....I have those pictures to share too...*only because I made a couple of things out of polymer clay for it!.... I love you Steve!....so back to the new book....It comes out the first of April and I am ready to venture out into the world of PMC...So stay tuned folks....I plan on making this blog thing a regular!...Blessings~Melanie