Silver Screen Style Challenge

I can remember seeing My Fair Ladywhen I was about 7 years old. Of course, my favorite scenes were the ones that featured the most elaborate of Cecil Beaton's costumes. The Ascot Races! Who could forget that wonderful huge black and white ensemble with the gorgeous outrageous hat!!!! I gasped when Eliza entered the ball in the lovely Empire gown, with her long, elegant gloves, elaborate hairstyle, and the wonderful tiara.

When our team decided to do a Hollywood themed challenge, I knew right away what I wanted to do for my design piece. I modernized it for today's bride, using Rainbow Moonstone, Stardust silver beads, and Swarovski Crystal. This is the most elaborate headpiece I have made to date.

These challenges are just that, challenges. As a designer, they force me out of my "box", and help me to think in new directions. I am having a lot of design fun, that is for sure. Enjoy!!!

Summer Breezes

This summer is certainly going by very quickly.
I have participated in two more Etsy challenges.
The first, was our June Beach Themed Challenge.

This was my favorite! I was looking forward to
this one from the time we formed our team. And
this headpiece designed itself. With the guidance
of the spirit of my mother, too. I had shells that
Paul collected for me from Assateague Island, VA,
and beach glass from our own Presque Isle State
Park here in Erie, PA.



This is Assateague Island. This picture was taken during
the winter, our favorite time to be on the beach. The
shells seem to be the most plentiful then, and we can
drive in the Jeep all the way down hook at the southern
end of the island.



Paul has been taking a long early morning walk on
the beaches of our local Presque Isle, in Erie.
We are blessed that we have a beautiful beach less
than five minutes from home. Paul has been picking up
a lot of beach glass for me. It is a nice collection
of weathered pebbles, so different than the glass that
he finds on the New York beach that he also visits.
Some days, he comes home with just a few pieces. Other
days, his jeans pockets are bulging with pieces of glass
and mother of pearl shell.



Lake Erie is known for its jewel like sunsets. Erie has
a nickname..."The Gem City". The lake is our jewel.
And we are fighting to keep it this way, and to keep
the lake clean.



June's BridalDreamTeam Challenge was Beach Weddings.
As I mentioned earlier, I was really excited about this
theme, and it was a good re-entry for me back to the
world after my mother's passing. She loved the beach
so much. Assateague was her favorite place.


I named this headpiece "Sea Goddess". "She" is made from
Lake Erie beachglass, Freshwater Pearls, Swarovski Crystal,
and of course, shells from Assateague Island. The shells
are small welks and scallop shells.
It was very special to me that this headpiece won the
the June challenge.




The July Etsy BridalDreamTeam Challenge was
Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. A tale
of the delights of love, the pitfalls of little
jealousies, fools, fairies, pranks, merriment
and fantasy. This was another delightful theme
to work with. I immediately thought of my
dragonflies, and wanted to use them in the design of
the headpiece. I have made dragonfly hairpins before,
but have only made one other dragonfly headpiece.

My vision was of a garden wreath, with dragonflies
hovering in flight over the top. I have a delightful
book in my "library" called Fairie-ality
by David Ellwand. It is a book of whimsical illustrations
of "Fairy" fashion. Fairy fashion is made from flower
petals, leaves, grasses,feathers with seeds and other organic
materials for ornamentation. This book is a delight to
sit and enjoy for a few hours of inspiration.
I wanted the veil to be like dragonfly wings. I used
"sparkle" illusion and light cording, embellishing the
veil with smaller wired dragonflies.






"Midsummer Night's Garden" won first place in the
challenge too! Thank you everyone for your votes
of support. Its been a rough few months since
my mother passed. Working on the challenges has
been great therapy for me, and has given me something
positive to look forward to. Working through, and finding
ones way through grief is a challenge. It is a road that
is different for everyone. We all have a road travel,
and sometimes we get lost for awhile. I am so thankful
for the friends and family that have waited for me
to find my way back.

Its already time to work on the next challenge! The
materials have been gathered, and the research is progressing.
Shhhhh! I can't tell you what it is yet! It is a
secret!!!!

New Work!

I love making headpieces from nature themes. This Etsy BridalDreamTeam
headpiece was from our Bacchanalia Challenge in March. I named this
headpiece Ambrosia, which was the food of the gods.

My inspiration was the acres and acres of lush grapevines that
grow along Lake Erie's shoreline. Just 40 miles from Erie
was the home of Welch's grape juice! Now, a lot of these
vinyards are for small wineries. In the fall, when the
grapes come into season, the smell in the air of grapes is
so intense! It is like smelling the chocolate in the air
in Hershey, PA!






The next theme for the June BridalDreamTeam Challenge
is Beach Weddings! Ah, I have been looking forward to
this one all year!

I love the beach. My husband and I have spent many hours
beachcombing the shores of Assateague Island, Virginia.
The beaches are wild there. One does not have to walk
very far before "the people run out". The tide lines
are rich with limpets, welks of all sizes, wampum,
sand dollars, moonshells, and fragments of shells that
all in their own have great beauty. My mother found
these bits and pieces inspiring for her own jewelry.
My husband is an avid collector of Beach Glass, which
he allows me to use in my jewelry, and now, my first
Bridal Tiara, "Sea Goddess". Mom would have loved
this headpiece.

Life Moves Ahead

Its been 6 weeks now since my mother passed away.
This has been quite a year so far. Paul is still
looking for work, the job market is pretty grim.

Yet, the world is still turning. Time has not
stood still. Its not like one can decide that
you can stop living your own life in difficult times.
Although I have to admit I have been spending a lot
of time in voluntary seclusion.

But that is not working for me, and allowing the
healing to happen. Summer is beginning to arrive
in Erie. Our weather is beginning to warm, and with
the longer days, comes sunshine and warmth. Around
here, we need to take advantage of as much sunlight as
possible! My husband has the right idea. He is on
the beach taking a walk everyday, sometimes twice a day.

The good news is, we have two new additions to our family.
Our dear friend, Maria, needed to find a home for her
Chihuahuas, Blu and Emma. Those little dearies have
already spent a lot of time here, visiting when Maria has
had to be away from her home. So it was a natural move
for them to come and live with us forever. They
are quite happy little girls. Blu is a little cuddle bug,
and competes with Abbie for the best "cuddle up with
Mommy" spots around my neck. Emma and Abbie are
great playmates. They love to chew bones together and
chase after their favorite squeaky toys. Our cat,
Pearl, has been quite forgiving. Of course, their
"Daddy", Paul, is a big part of their lives too.
Everybody wants to be in his lap!

Curveballs

My Etsy design team has been hit with a lot of curveballs lately. Eliat's mother is ill in Israel. Eliat will travel halfway across the world to be with her soon. Marie just lost her father - in- law. Other members have been ill. We carry on, and work together as a team, supporting each other, lending an ear, a message, a cyber arm around the shoulders as we can to let each other know that we are there.

My husband was laid off from his job today. We did not see this coming, even with the economy stinking as bad as what it is. Paul is the only one doing the job that he does for his company/division. But wouldn't you know it, the company that own's Paul's foundry has decided to outsource Paul's to outside shops. Doing so makes that part of the job more expensive, but then they are not paying salary and benefits. This becomes our 4th layoff since November 2001, which occured just two weeks after I had my first brain surgery. At least I don't have any major surgeries that I know of planned for this year (although my back needs to be fused, but I am putting that off).

We thought, that after four years, we were safe. That we could settle. We could breathe. We were finallygetting back on our feet from the last round of layoffs. And here we are again. In utter shock and disbelief.Paul is 56, back on the job market again on Monday.

We are putting our faith in God that he will sustain us during this time, and build up our strength. That He will not let us stumble, and will carry us when we are weak. But I am human. And I worry. This is all too much for me to handle, so I appreciate your thoughts and prayers too.



Thanks a lot, my artisan friends and sisters...

Elizabeth

Love In Bloom

Ah, what female does not love to receive two dozen roses, ANY color, from her beloved on a special occasion? That was my inspiration for the February design challenge for the Etsy BridalDreamTeam "Favorite Things".

I had purchased three different styles of handmade glass roses almost two years ago,
but had not known what to do with them for all of this time, except make two pairs of earrings and a necklace. The little dearies had not spoken to me until a few days before the challenge deadline that this tiara was what they were meant to be.

I love designing with floral motifs. Whether it is making silk roses, like those that I have used on several wedding gown projects or headpieces, or making flowers from gemstones, pearls and Swarovski crystals. This must be an influence from my mother, since our home always had a floral arrangement on the table, for any occasion, not just special ones. Mom does beautiful arrangements, even now in her 80's. But no flowered wallpaper. That is just too much. That is another story.

A Day in History

Did you watch the innaugeration on TV today? It was breath taking! I have never wanted to see an innaugeration so much, or found one more meaningful. It was exciting to see history being made today. To realize, that in the USA,anything is possible. The innaugeral speech was amazing. I really loved how Pres. Obama is holding all of us accountable, not just the government, for the future of the USA. The news coverage has been really interesting. The invocation and benediction by the pastors was wonderful too.

And watching the family, to see Michelle and Barack's interaction with those two lively little girls, that was so endearing. There was a picture of the littlest one, giving her dad a thumbs up. What an amazing day this has been. The interviews of the crowd of bystanders has been so interesting. Everyone there has been so excited to witness history. To have a have their own place in this day of history, to be able to tell their children, "I was there when the first African American man became President". Today was a day, when race did not exhist. We are all Americans. Not just white Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans, and the list goes on. We are United Americans. Ah, God Bless America!

Feathers and snow...

There are feathers everywhere. The carpet of course all around my work area.
I think my poodle has been snorting them. They are caught in her fur. The feathers are on my clothes, my tray, a few have even made it to my bedroom!

They are fun! Michele tried to convince me several years ago to use ostrich feathers. I said it would never "fly". Oh my. Was I wrong! They are beautiful, and I enjoy creating with them. They are beautiful for this winter theme, for the BridalDreamTeam Winter Magic Challenge. I have heard that other artists in our group are using them too, so I can't wait to see what else is represented! Feathers add such a sense of playfulness, glamour and drama all at the same time. I see now, why my mother enjoyed making feathered hats. I remember the pheasant feathers that she would have arcing off the side of her hat towards the back.

Meanwhile, I am looking forward to designing more headpieces with feathers in the coming weeks. Our local television station even said they were fashionable this year. Even Erie, with our record setting year of snow, is catching up to fashion!
My back yard looks like is the downy white feathers of pillows that have lost the fight. And the blue spruce along the fense are elegant, with the snow laying on top of the branches like ostrich wing feathers.

So, now it is time to get ready for the next challenge. But shhh....! It is a secret! At least I have something to do until we are dug out from all this snow!