My Vintage Bling Bracelets have been published!

What a pleasant surprise to find all my hard work on these babies published in Jenny Doh’s new book, Creative Pilgrimage, on page 123. 

 

And this is only part of them; I think there were 20 in all.  That  was 400 jump rings, oh my!  These were and still are one of my favorite jewelry designs.  There’s a close-up of the original and 2 other versions on the my right side bar.  If you’re interested in a one-of-a-kind Vintage Bling Bracelet of your own, please email me at smndesigns@yahoo.com.   Bling it on!

Happy New Year!

2011 was another year filled with FabUlous friends and creative adventures. 

 
Wishing you a happy, healthy and FabUlous 2012!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Pumpkin is totally wiped out after yesterday’s festivities.  We hope everyone had a FabUlous Christmas with family and friends.

Vintage Marketplace and Matilda’s Mouse Weekend!

It only happens once or twice a year where you can hit both of these FabUlous places in one weekend and last weekend was it!  The winds cooperated and while it was a bit cold for us spoiled California girls, my friend Cynthia and I were on a vintage holiday mission.

 
The Vintage Marketplace had this FabUlous photo op vignette set up as you walked through the garden arches to welcome you to vintage holiday wonderland.  There were aluminum trees, feather trees, pink trees and even lampshade trees.  And, of course, a ton of bling everywhere!

This is Sweet Magnolia’s Farm’s Booth

Close ups inside the doorway . . .

And this wreath is made of a ton of their FabUlous handmade, German glass glitter-edged roses – to die for!

 
Since it was quite cold, I decided to wear “Muffy” and while I was strolling the Marketplace, Muffy found her man!  Take a look at this masterpiece created by Denise Chafin of White Horse Relics.  He’s part Viking, part knight and totally FabUlous!  Denise and her partner,  Ashley Adams, are regular vendors and create a one-0f-kind mannequin for each Marketplace.  And they are all over the top FabUlous.  I think I have a matching jacket at home!  LOL

Next stop, Matilda’s Mouse Antiques.  They are a bit farther south and a tad inland from the Vintage Marketplace but totally worth the trip.  Matilda is a Wire Hair Fox Terrier and is the mascot for the shop.  Is she just not the cutest thing ever!  Her mom got a much better picture than I did, so I borrowed this one from their blog.

 
Matilda is wearing the color theme of this year’s winter event.  As you enter, everything was icy white, silver and a gorgeous turquoise.

There was even snow on the floor!
   
The flowers on this tree are made from vintage pattern tissue.

I know quite a few ladies who would die for this FabUlous carriage – OMG!

 
Thanks for coming along on this FabUlous vintage winter wonderland of a weekend.  If you get a chance to visit either of these venues, you will not be disappointed.

Happy Vintage Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 
Wishing everyone a wonderful day of thanks for good health, family and FabUlous friends.

Pumpkin

Not sure why but I have a keen sense of hearing when it comes to kittens crying.  This week while finishing up my morning hair ritual, I thought I heard a kitten crying.  I looked on the bed and Boo Boo & Rory were sprawled out as usual, enjoying there preci0us morning time on my soft, fluffy bed.  I muted the TV to make sure I wasn’t hearing things and there it was again.  I went out in the backyard to see if I could hear the direction it was coming from and when I opened the side gate, there he was and he came right to me when I called him Pumpkin.

He’s very tiny and looks to be about 6 weeks old.  Guess we have a new addition to the family.  I introduced him and had a quick “don’t have him for a snack” conversation with Boo Boo &  Rory before I hit the road to the office.

Funny thing is when I got home my feral kitty, Morris, was waiting at the door.  I haven’t seen him in quite a few months.  He showed up on my doorstep about a year ago and it was clear that he’d lived a long and very hard life.  He was pretty beat up and dirty and I did my best to fix him up.  My neighbor took him in for a while but we agreed that after I had fixed him up he had a few homes that he visited.  He would be gone for a few months and we would hope for the best and then he’d show up again, have a snack and be on his way.  This time, he looked so good and clean and had gained quite a bit of weight.  I know he has found a good home and it was almost like he came by to let me know he’s doing good and to pass the gift of my love and attention on to Pumpkin.  They say that animals never forget a human’s kindness and I do believe this is the case. 

When I opened the door, they were all waiting for me so I guess they listened as Pumpkin was still in one piece as was the house.   Hope you can take a  minute this busy season to share your love with an animal that may be in need.  The rewards are priceless.

And we’re off!

Yikes!  Summer has come and gone as well as some FabUlous friends and a whole lotta crafting has been go’in on in here. You all know Miss Charlene was here and just a few weeks after she left, my crafty and VERY camera shy friend, Robin, spent the weekend when we worked on 4 different projects. Sorry, no pics cuz some of them are gifties!  hehe  Of course, there's been some MAJOR jewelry making, vintage hoarding shopping at the Vintage Marketplace, Urban Barn and Matilda's Mouse just to name a few FabUlous spots.

And then it happened  . . Every crafter in a 100+ mile radius of Rancho Cucamonga, CA has died and gone to Crafter Heaven!  Hobby Lobby has come to Southern California and I'm only about 15 mins from their doorstep - OMG FINALLY!! 

And now it's officially the Holiday Season - already???  Well, it must be because I shopped the pre-Black Friday sale at Michael's on Nov 1st and they were playing Christmas music on the PA - OMG??  And now the rest of the retail world has jumped on the pre-Black Friday bandwagon.  So good luck out there in the Holiday trenches, stay strong and remember your local and on-line handmade artists.  They inspire us all by following their dream, doing what they love and sharing their talent.  There are a quite a few upcoming shopping opportunities, so click on the links above, mark your calendars and I'll see ya out there!

Happy Holidays!