SilverRose Designs

Art Bead Love TourStop #5Who's next?

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 18:37:00 +0000

Welcome to Stop 5 on the Art Bead Love Tour! Started by the wonderful creatives over on Love My Art Jewelry as a way to spread the beauty of and love for amazing Art Beads, this amazing work of art is right now gracing my bead table. The beads in front of me are a true feast for the eyes, and I can't wait for everyone to see what is available on this incredible piece. It's journey alone is surely as beautiful as the art beads themselves. I mean, can you just imagine how many people have contributed to this amazing thing? Not only the bead artisans themselves, but also the stopovers this gorgeous thing has had where different designers and artisans have handled the lovelies and contributed to the ever growing piece of work. The stories these pieces could tell... And so, how can you be the next stop on this amazing journey? It's easy, and details follow. Oh, and what've I decided to take and replace? Well, I'm still working on it, and will let you know when I post the winner! ;)

Please read through the post below carefully.

The Art Bead Love Tour is an ongoing project to spread the love of handmade to new and exciting places. It’s a way to reach people who may have never stumbled upon the Love My Art Jewelry blog on their own, and give them a chance to share the love of handmade. We chose to use a chain to link beads as a symbol of how this project links us all together~ in our unity to stand behind handmade.
This tour is basically an art bead swap, which will go on and on and on. Here is how it works.

PLEASE....... ....please read the entire post before entering.

The Details:

1. The winner of the chain will be allowed to take up to 30 beads from this chain. They will then replace each bead they took, with another handmade bead, charm or pendant of equal quality. It is so important that the quality of the beads be maintained, so that we can keep the Art Bead Love Tour alive. We want to share consistent quality with the next winner. If you make your own handmade beads or components, it’s a great way to get your beads into the world for people to try them out, or, if you hoard collect art beads, it’s a great way to share your collection and get some new additions as well. (Art Beads should be handmade by an artist, and not mass produced, such as Hill Tribes Silver beads or others like them). Remember the focus is on creating handmade with handmade and beads/components taken should be replaced with beads/components that are made by an individual not an organization.

2. The winner must have a blog, and will post pictures of what was taken and what was added, in order to keep an account of the chains progress and to keep our followers drooling. Please be sure to give credit to the bead artists as well.

3. The winner will then have a giveaway, just like this one, to keep passing the chain on and on. Rules can be copied and pasted from here.

4. When you repost your giveaway (remember you can copy and paste from here)-a list should be added to show where the chain has gone, with links to each previous blog. Ultimately, this will end up being a very long list!

Look where the chain has been……

Love My Art Jewelry

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio

Shaiha's Ramblings

Jen Judd Rocks!

SilverRoseDesigns

5. Chain must be shipped to its new home via Priority Small Flat Rate box with delivery confirmation. Please package it carefully.

6. There will be a button on the Love My Art Jewelry Website that links to the current blog and giveaway- so if you have the chain, it will link to your blog, that way our followers can have another chance to win it.

7. You MUST exchange your beads and have your giveaway completed within two weeks of receiving the chain. (Please please please, if you can not adhere to the above rules, do not enter the giveaway at this time. It will go on and on and you can always enter at a later date.) There will be a button on the side bar of our blog so that you can track where the chain currently is.

How to Enter:

1. You must have a blog to enter.

2. Leave a comment below (make sure your email is linked to your blog or leave it in the comment. Entries without emails will not qualify)

3. Share on Facebook, Twitter or your blog for extra chances to win. Leave a comment for each way you share, with a link if possible.

4. Winner will pay shipping and will be billed through paypal-small priority flat rate box with delivery confirmation $6.00.

5. Open only to our readers in the United States- due to problems with tracking and shipping overseas (sorry). Please note- I am having a small giveaway on my blog for our international friends only!!! So hop over to enter.

6. Check back here on MARCH 13th to see if you’ve won.

7. Good luck and share the love of handmade! Please, if you have any questions, you can email Staci directly at staci.lousie@hotmail.com

Happy March!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:41:00 +0000

My first order of business today should be this little man.

Happy fourth Birthday Nathaniel!

I love you so very much, and wish a happy and healthy year to you :)

We'll be celebrating his birthday tomorrow with our extended families and friends,

but today it's just us for a small family dinner and cake.

Perfect.

I'd also like to thank everyone who visited yesterday for the Challenge of Music Blog Hop. Erin, as always, was a fantastic host, and I really enjoyed visiting everyone's blogs to hear what they listen to, and see what they created. One thing I didn't mention in the post yesterday was that the song I ended up choosing, Courage Is..., I'd found quite by accident on Sunday. Night. At about 11:00 p.m. Just before bed. And that song just called out so loudly to be part of this challenge that I couldn't resist. Which meant I'd only one day to put together something and blog about it. So yeah, pressure. No doubt. But it all ended up okay in the end!

However, I did want to share the song that I was originally going to use for the challenge. Mika is another artist who I've just recently come across and fell in love with. His music is quite different from The Strange Familiar, and has a completely different pull and drive to it. He's a singer-songwriter from England with a phenomenal vocal range, as is evident by his songs. Please take a listen.

This particular song was my original choice for this challenge. It's emotional and a bit dark. But it has moments of, well, not quite lightness, but perhaps sort of, at the end. For me, it a reminder. No, not of past romantic entanglements. But rather of a particular darkness that my family has had to endure. A darkness no family should have to work through. It's okay though, that darkness is a part of our lives, and we've dealt with it. And are stronger as a result. The lyrics? These:

This is the hardest story that I've ever told
No hope, or love, or glory
Happy endings gone forever more

If you'd like to hear more of Mika, YouTube has a few of his videos up - check out Grace Kelly, Relax Take it Easy, and Rain for a start. But be aware that some people just don't get his vocal range. It's quite high. (He's a countertenor - like Chris Colfer, aka Kurt from Glee.) My husband was quite startled when I had it blaring from the speakers the first time ;)

I've been wanting to participate in a Photo of the Day type of challenge for a while now, and have finally decided to throw my hat in the ring. Here's hoping I'll be able to do it every. single. day! LOL Hosted by The Maternal Lens, here's the challenge I'm going to participate in! Do you want to do it with me? Please do, and let me know! And check out my photos on FB, Twitter and Instagram...

The Challenge of Music blog hop

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:45:00 +0000

Normally, when it comes to a challenge or blog hop I have a tendency to be very verbose. Not today. Erin Prais-Hintz's awesome idea to challenge us to create something based on a specific song really drew me in from the first moment. I've struggled with coming up with something to say that will properly introduce the song I've chosen, and the reasoning behind it. It's just not happening, though. I guess it simply shows how powerfully music affects a person. I know it does me. Especially this particular song. So this time around, I'm going to simply let the music speak for itself.

This is a group that I've just found, The Strange Familiar. Their song, Courage Is..., touches an emotional core that I try to avoid reaching with any regularity. It intensely moves me. And I hope the necklace I've created shows how intensely the song affects me.

The pendant is simple and rustic. It's a copper tag that I cut out, hammered for texture, stamped with "Courage Is" as reminder to myself, and then partially enameled.

The necklace features dark blue freshwater pearls and white freshwater pearls that were wire wrapped. Copper chain and a handmade clasp complete the necklace.

What I was thinking while creating this piece was that courage is such an overused, but seldom completely understood word. Courage is something that we all need, and can show itself in so many different ways. I truly hope this necklace portrays what the song was trying to convey. If it does, I'll be content.

Thank you, Erin, for organizing this challenge. Music touches so many people. Thank you for letting us show how it affects us.

Please join everyone who's participating in this awesome challenge!

I know that everyone's worked extremely hard on this...it seems to have struck a chord with so many :)

Michelle Escano-Caballero

Holly Westfall - you are here!

Shaiha Williams

Just Because...

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:51:00 +0000

...Darren Criss is adorable!
And with Kermit the Frog? Even more adorable!

(so I just realized they won't let me embed the vid - but do check it out, here's a link....it's precious!)

How is your week shaping up?
Mine will be busy.

Erin's Challenge of Music is on Wednesday, February 29th, and I just did a last minute switch for my song and now have to revamp (read: completely redo) my design. So I'll be busy each night up until then! I've been told, though, that I thrive best on last minute work, so I guess this is a good thing to verify ;)

And on Thursday, my little man will be four years old. Wow. We're having a party for him on Friday, so I'll be busy preparing for that this week too.

Taken a few weeks ago at Old Sturbridge Village.

And of course, there's the usual "momma" type of activities - school, Daisy Scouts, dance class, nursery school, and my day job. So yeah, I'll be busy this week.

What's on your agenda for the week?

7000 Bracelets for Hope Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 05:39:00 +0000

As I did last year, I am participating in the 7000 Bracelets for Hope Blog Hop. This year, however, the blog hop was organized by the lovely pair of Erin Fickert-Rowland and Christine Altmiller. Ladies, thank you so very much for offering everyone this opportunity to help such an important cause. Truly, I'm honored to donate my work for this.

The Global Genes Project has asked for donations of blue bracelets from 7000 jewelry designers, various artists and crafts-folk. These bracelets, created for the campaign, 7000 Bracelets for Hope, will be given to those families who are suffering from things such as Williams Syndrome, Juvenile Dermatomyositis, and Russel-Silver Syndrome (google for more information, or go right to the Global Genes Project website).

I created two different bracelets for this blog hop. The first one features a lovely glass vintage focal that I'd found at a local bead store. Wrapped with copper and dotted with Swarovski bicones, this bracelet is a sort of hybrid between a cuff and regular bracelet. I wanted to make sure the bracelet was adjustable, so I created a simple wire clasp with a few links for the closure.

My second bracelet is more of my favorite, copper, this time with lovely lapis nuggets that were simply wire wrapped. Again, I was trying to make sure that the bracelet was adjustable, so my clasp is a handmade copper wire clasp with simple "S" links.

I'll be shipping these bracelets out this weekend, and I hope that whoever wears them enjoys them! Please check out the other lovely jewelry bloggers who've created something for this wonderful blog hop!

Elysian Studios and One Kiss Creations

The Studio Sublime

Crafty Hope

The Gossiping Goddess

SilverRose Designs - you are here!

Firefly Visions

Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry

Michelle Mach

Pine Ridge Treasures

Backstory Beads

Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean

Carefree Jewelry by Lisa

My Life Under The Bus

My Life…one bead at a time

Tell Your Girlfriends

Vitamin C...A Daily Dose of Creativity

Beads and Bread

Sharyl's Jewelry and Reflections

All The Pretty Things

Skye's Creative Chaos

My Addictions...Handcrafted Jewelry by Patti

What I'd like on my Bead Table Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:17:00 +0000

Happy Bead Table Wednesday! Well, really, for me it's a What I'd Like on my Bead Table Wednesday, simply because I don't have anything on my bead table at the moment. I had two projects I was finishing yesterday, and cleaned the bead table once I finished those, I put everything away in preparation for starting another project or twenty. ;)

So, since I've put myself on a bit of a bead diet lately, and have been quite good, I've decided to indulge myself a bit...

And my first indulgence, of course, is of the equine kind. I just love EquosDesigns' offerings. Her Etsy shop is usually one of my first stops.

Celtic Pegasus Pendant

With these, I'm trying to stay away from my usual palette of greens and blues and browns...aren't they gorgeous? I love ArteBella, and I know so many of you do too!

Czech glass

I then ventured on to Diana of Suburban Girl Studios, and found this lovely Gingko pendant. Gingko...such lovely leaves. But have you *smelled* one? Oh goodness. Not so lovely. We have a gingko tree in front of our building at work. Not cool. In the least. Why, oh why, would you plant such a smelly tree in front of a college admissions office? Really. It's bad. LOL But I'm so glad the pendant is not! It's beautiful.

Gingko leaf pendant

These lovely lampworked beads are because my six year old is all about the pink. But, then, do you know any six year old girls who aren't? I just adore SpawnofFlame...

Pink Velvet

And because I love beadcaps, I next visited with MetalMeThis and found these lovelies in copper. Because copper is my favorite material to work with.

Copper beadcaps

And lastly, I'll leave you with this incredibly detailed button from uniquebuttons. Isn't it just amazing?

Black Flower button

So, then, what's on your bead table today? Or is your bead table, like mine, still in your mind?

Just Because

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:55:00 +0000

Images of my home town can be seen in this video.
Including the football field of my high school
where my father, brother and cousin played.
While my boy won't play for NBHS, if he plays any sport,
I will ask that he carry the family tradition of wearing 51.

This poem, written and read by an alum of my high school alma mater, tells a stirring story of life in an inner city. The poet is now the Dean of Students at New Britain High School, our alma mater, and a true testament of Hardware City grit and determination.

_________________________________________________________________

In other news, I know I haven't been the most consistent blogger or social networker lately. Just been kinda busy with real life I guess! I'm hoping to get back into it with more consistency again ;) I've got a few things coming up that should help that, so we'll see. What are those things, you ask? Well, since you are asking so nicely.... ;)

As you might have surmised from other posts that I've done in the past, I find it satisfying to use my meager talents to assist with charity work in various ways. ForeverMorgans is my favorite charity to support, but there are a number of other organizations and charities that I donate my work to support. As such, right now I'm working on a bracelet, or possibly two, for the 7000 Bracelets for Hope Blog Hop organized by Erin Fickert-Rowland of Elysian Studios and Christine Altmiller of One Kiss Creations. I've participated in another 7000 Bracelets blog hop in the past, and really enjoyed creating a bracelet that was for such an important cause.

Another cool challenge that I'm participating in is Erin Prais-Hintz's awesome Challenge of Music Blog Hop, slated for February 29th. Music has always played an integral part in the background of my life. It's not at all that I have any musical talent. I'm woefully untalented as far as that's concerned. But there is always some form of music playing itself out in my head or heart. And as such, playing itself out loud in all parts of my life, as a necessary background. That background, I find soothes and comforts me. Or it can pump me up, and send me into a frenetic dance party with my children, causing all of us to laugh and finally collapse in a pile of legs, arms and panting breaths. So when Erin offered this opportunity up, I had to jump at it. Designing one specific piece, based on a song and how it affects us? Yes, please! Sounds lovely! Now, the only problem is trying to figure out which song to use! I've gone through a gamut of possibilities, and finally am swinging back to the song that I'd originally thought of. Proving that the first choice is always the right choice ;)

Oh, and guess where the Love My Art Jewelry Art Bead Love Tour will be stopping? Yep, that's right, these needy-beady hands! Yay! Thanks to the lovely Jen Velasquez of Jen Judd Rocks! for selecting me as the next stop on the tour. I can't wait to see what this lovely piece looks like! Yay! And, of course, I'll be selecting the next hostess for the tour...so stay tuned! I'm super excited about this :)

Anyway, that's enough for now....and work is calling me back to reality, and I must heed that call...Have a great week everyone!

a simple reminder

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:28:00 +0000

via pinterest

Bead Table Wednesday It's been a while!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:06:00 +0000

So, yeah, it has been a while since I've played Bead Table Wednesday with ya'll! I haven't really been in the creative mood lately for some reason. So my desk/bead table has gotten covered in well, just plenty of STUFF. I'm sure you know how that goes ;)

Copper Chain - call me obsessed, but I am ;)

But this past weekend my husband and I piled the kids in the car and went for a visit to our favorite place in the world. Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA. The weather was gorgeous, and we just let the kids run. and run. and run. And we all had a blast. Before we got there, however, Eric and I decided to go on our separate ways for a little while. So he dropped me and Erin off at the local bead store, while he and Nate went to the local knife store. Serious. A knife store.

Various beads and art beads

My husband, by trade, is a chef, so of course he covets nice knives just like I covet pliers. And Dexter-Russell is based in Southbridge, MA, right next to Sturbridge, so he enjoys going to the Seconds store on occasion. He picks up some awesome knives for great prices. As he did this time...to the tune of $40. For knives that would normally be $160 or so.

A close up of some of the art beads.

I married a bargain hunter ;) Did I tell you about the time he bought $600 of fishing and camping equipment for $6? Serious. It's a family "thing", asking Eric how much he spent on his various gear.

Anyway, in addition to the fun we had at OSV, Eric & I had fun at our two additional stops. I bought a few things at the bead store that caught my eye, but not at Eric's bargain prices ;) And that is what is covering my bead table these days. I do have projects planned for these lovely new beauties. And I *will* work on them. :) Promise. And I also have to start the three custom pieces I have on my To Do list. And I also have to finish and start a number of other projects too....so that creative energy had better find me again soon! LOL

Oh, and here's my favorite shots of the kids at OSV. Simply because I have to.

And you can now find me Instagram'ing it! Well, trying to, that is. I'm hjwestfall, should you want to follow me ;) And yes, the bead photos are Instagram'ed. It's a bit fun...and addictive. LOL

Anyway, that's my BTW and "what we did this weekend" post. Hopefully I'll be back to blogging on a more regular basis once again! What's on your worktop this fun Wednesday?

Just Because

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:18:00 +0000

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Dreaming of...

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:13:00 +0000

...beaches, today.

via Pinterest

And Block Island in particular.

via this site

Because we'll be there for a week this summer!

via Pinterest

And I can't wait.

And neither can this girl ;)

She's a beach babe, there's not a doubt about that!

Just Because

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:28:00 +0000

2Cellos

Smooth Criminal

I Heart Macro

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:36:00 +0000

Joining the awesome Lori over at Waterstone today for some Macro love...

I find that you can tell so much about a person from what's on their bookshelves.

In our case, it's all about the books:

And works in progress:

What are on your bookshelves?

And don't forget to visit with everyone else playing on I Heart Macro!

Just Because

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:35:00 +0000

Have a spectacular Monday everyone!

And because it's fitting....

Almost always, the creative dedicated
minority has made the world better.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I Heart Macro

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:19:00 +0000

So, I'll admit that I've had a hard time getting my blog on lately. Unsure why, but it's just happened. All I know. Excuse me while I try to regroup ;)

Anyway, to try to get back into the swing of things, I'm going to show you a bit of the....debris....that's hanging around my craft room/office lately. Macro-style!

Erin, my six year old, draws all the time.
This is a picture of her daddy with me.

For Christmas, my kids received a box of 120 crayons.
120 crayons. That's a huge amount!
Don't you remember that joy a new box of crayons would bring?

My mascot - a toy plastic lion that was my own toy as a baby.
He sits on my shelves, above my desk.

Erin's new moccasins.
A hand-me down from her cousin, Erin loves these!

A closeup of the bracelet that was in the January issue of Bead Trends.

You can find my bracelet on page 36

And here's the bracelet in it's entirety.
Made from texturized copper rings, sterling silver wire,
sterling silver clasp, sari silk, and copper fire-colored barbells.

So there was your little glimpse of my craft area. Little bits and pieces are all you are going to see right now, though, because it's such a mess!! ;) Please join the rest of the macro-play over at Lori's awesome blog! And I'll leave you with a little bit of something I'm listening to. On repeat. 'Cuz I can't wait for Tuesday!!

(yeah. sorry...wiping drool...something about a man who can dance.
or in this case, six men who can dance...)

I know this vid isn't the best, but I still like it ;)

And have I told you I obsess a bit? Yeah. Uh huh.
And Glee is the latest Big Obsession.
Even my daughter is getting into it. ;)

A Reminder

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:36:00 +0000

Simply because I need one.

via Pinterest

And thank you to those of you who saw my post on the Morgan horse I mentioned earlier. I am happy to let you know that my friend was accepted as his foster home, and he will be journeying to Kelsey very soon! I'm so very happy for Kelsey and Major! :)

I also have to let you know that not only did ForeverMorgans rescue Major this past week, they also rescued two beautiful Morgan mares at the same time! So this past week, three Morgans were rescued from that Final Ride. ForeverMorgans does incredible work, don't they?

Helping out a Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:24:00 +0000

Some of you might know that I have a section of my ETSY shop designated as 100% donation towards the good work done by ForeverMorgans. Well, today I'd like to call on your help for that cause.

See that handsome boy up there?

(I'm talkin' about the horse, people)

Parked out so nicely with a rider on....

...bareback.

And a halter on.

No bridle. No bit.

He needs help.

He needs a home.

Well, actually, he's got a foster home. But he needs a way of getting where he needs to go. And hopefully that foster home will be with a friend of mine.

Isn't he lovely going out so nicely?

He deserves a great place, doesn't he?

(Well, don't they all?)

What I would like to do for this guy is offer not only my pieces already set in my ForeverMorgans section, but also a special. If you are interested in something, anything, in my shop, and would like to help out, purchase the piece and I will send 20% of the purchase price to help this guy get to his Foster Home....and maybe from there, to his Forever Home. Because, isn't that, after all, the goal?

All you have to do is visit my ETSY shop, make a purchase, and at check out, put ForeverMorgans in the comments section, and I will make sure that 20% of the sale will go towards getting this guy where he should go.

So, go to my shop.

And go to the FM section.

And don't forget to leave me a note!

Thank you.

(another option, if you'd rather help directly, is to go to this link and donate.)

Why do I do this?

Simple.

Because I can.

And having experienced the joy of the Morgan Horse, I can't not.

(yes, these two pictures are of me, taken years ago. The Morgan is HD St. Regis. Reggie was my project horse on my internship at the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, NY while I was a student at the University of Connecticut.)

Happy New Years! and I Heart Macro

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:36:00 +0000

May you have a happy, healthy and fun New Year!

And Happy Birthday to my little girl who growing up oh, so fast!

I never knew six years could fly by so quickly!

(she's a New Years Eve baby)

(picture taken this past summer in New Hampshire)

And I'll leave you with a few images, macro and otherwise, of my sweet girl Meadow,

who we had to let cross the Rainbow Bridge this past Friday. Suddenly and shockingly.

Puppy girl, your brought so much into our lives.

We will love you forever, and miss you beyond that.

So, yes, you can see that this past week has been

an emotional roller coaster for all of us here.

Joyous celebrations, crushing sadness,

moments of flying high, seconds of doubt and unknowing.

But we know that 2012 will be a better year for us,

and as such look forward to it, embracing all it's potential.

(and please join the awesome crew who participates in I Heart Macro over at Lori Plyler's inspirational blog)

Really, I'm back...

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:55:00 +0000

What can I say, this is an extremely busy time of year, isn't it? I didn't really mean to take a bit of a blogging break, but so be it ;) I'm back. And hopefully with more regular posts! I've got a few plans for the rest of the winter, and I'll share them with you when it's a bit more timely. Let's just start it off with playing with new techniques and working through a few books.... ;)

Anyway, I hope that you are having a wonderful Holiday Season. We're still in the midst of ours. Yes, Christmas has come and gone, but for us, New Years is a big holiday too. Well, not so much "holiday" as it is a "celebration". As in Birthday Celebration. Our daughter is a New Years Eve baby, and she's turning six years old! So we're getting ready for that right now. She's just a tad excited. A tad, really, that's all. She's only been asking if her birthday is tomorrow since Christmas night. Ha. I remember my own sixth birthday because I got the best birthday present I could have ever gotten - a Beagle puppy. I hope to make her birthday just as memorable....without the puppy!

via pinterest

Anyway, I guess that's all for now, but do keep checking back for hopefully more timely blogging from me! I'll leave you with a few things...

Here's a cool treasury one of my necklaces was in this past week! Isn't it lovely?? And truly, who doesn't love Czech Glass? ;)

And I'll leave with a question for you. Did you get any cool new toys to play with? Please tell me! My latest greatest toy is an iPad. *LOVE* it! If you have an iPad, I'd love hints on cool apps to use...

Wishing you...

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:42:00 +0000

...the best the season has to offer!

May you have a Happy, Safe and Joyous Christmas!

Holiday Ornament Swap Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:03:00 +0000

Even though I'm woefully behind with my to do list this Christmas and Holiday Season, this is truly my favorite time of year. I'm a sentimental and rather sappy gal, and this season brings out these traits in spades, sometimes much to my dismay when I end up weeping over a particular Christmas song or twenty! My dear husband just laughs and shakes his head when he sees this.

As a result of this never-ending sappiness, one of my favorite things to do every year is to decorate the Christmas tree, and I'm always on the lookout for that particular ornament. You know the one, right? That perfect combination of beauty, meaning and that specific "feel"...yep, that's the ornament I want on my tree!

So of course, when Sally Russick, of Wireworked, mentioned that she was thinking of having a Holiday Ornament Swap Hop, I jumped right on that with both feet and big ole splash! I was very excited about the whole thing, and couldn't wait to find out who my partner was!

Turns out, my partner was the wildly talented Mallory Hoffman, who's an awesome lampworker. I was so excited when I realized this - I love lampwork. But then again, who doesn't? Right? Right. ;)

Eagerly, I awaited my package. And when it arrived, the kids and I hurried into the office to open it up and ohh and ahh. And boy, did we all ohh and ahh! Who wouldn't, when this is what they find?

Isn't it just lovely??

The details, and the colors are just so yum!

That hat, with the incredible swirls, and the scarf? Oh wow, I'm just in total awe of what those who play with fire and glass can do!

And of course, I have to show you the ornie on my tree....I do, however, with that my camera liked taking tree pictures better. ::sigh:: Ah well ;) (I should say it's probably me, and not the camera! LOL)

Anyway, thanks so much, Mallory, we all love your sweet little Santa!

And what did I send Mallory, you ask? Here's the ornament I sent to her, which you can also see on her blog:

It's a polymer clay bird that I made, with some lovely SueBeads lampwork, and a Swarovski briolette. Simple. And I hope Mallory liked it!

Would you like to see who else is playing along? Well, here's the Holiday Ornament Swap Hop Partner List!

Erin Prais-Hintz and Alice Peterson

Sally Russick and Kim Hora

Susan Kennedy and Kathleen Lange Klik

Patty Gasparino and Cindy Wimmer

Hope Smitherman and Melissa Meman

Jennifer L. Justman and Sandi Volpe

Jenny Davies-Reazor and Christine Altimiller

*Rebecca Anderson and Jen Velasquez

Jeanette Blix Ryan and Tamara Soper

Holly Westfall and Mallory Hoffman

And to keep you feeling the magic of the season, I'll leave you with a song from Christmas playlist that gets put on repeat. And causes laughter ;)

Just a quick (or not so quick!) "HELLO!"

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:27:00 +0000

So, yeah, I disappeared from bloglandia for a little while...

no reason, just kinda happened. You know, real life and all!

Real life.
With two little kids during the holiday season.
Fun, right?

Of course :)

But I'm also missing everyone who visits, and just want to say "Hi!" to everyone.
So here's you go!

"HI! What are you up to? Anything good?"

Well, for us, other than the usual, my daughter has officially had her first horseback riding lesson. Yes, this is a Big Thing. I started riding when I was six years old, thanks to a wonderful family friend. Since then, I've had a slight obsession with anything equine (emphasis on slight, tone set to exagerate), so to see my daughter enamoured with riding, just like me, is a precious and wonderful thing. I have just recently learned of a wonderful lesson barn about a half hour away, and will be signing her up for official lessons in the spring, when she's actually six.

And my boy? Well, he's a boy. What else can I say? He'll be hopefully doing T-ball or soccer come the spring because he needs something to help him expend his energy! 'Cuz I certainly can't keep up ;)

Of course, we have to get through the holidays first, and then the winter, before we get to spring. But it's all good. But I suppose I should start shopping. Because we only have, what, 10 days, right?

Gah, excuse me while I go hyperventilate!!

Phew. Okay, s'all good.

But does anyone have any pie?

And maybe some wine?

Ha. While I go back to hyperventilating, I'm going to leave you with a few things.

I've just listed my earrings and bracelet from the Second Annual Challenge of Color Blog hop to my etsy shop. Please check them out!

Sprinkles earrings

Sprinkles bracelet

I've also been featured in three treasuries recently too :)
So please do check the treasuries out, they're gorgeous!

Holiday Shop Hop 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:54:00 +0000

Welcome, everyone, to the Holiday Shop Hop!

December 3rd & 4th, 2011

Organized by the awesome Michele of MiShelDesigns, check out what everyone is offering on this lovely shop hop! You'll find many different people and shops offering many different things for your holiday shopping pleasure! It's sure to be fun, and easy on your wallets (ha!), so please check out what everyone has to offer :)

Autumn
found in my Etsy shop

As to my part, I'll be offering free shipping with

the coupon code "SHOPHOP" at check out!

I'll also be throwing in a free pair of earrings

with every bracelet and/or necklace purchased.

Blue Bee
also in my Etsy shop

So please do check out my Etsy shop!! I think you'll like what you see :) And have a wonderful Saturday, and don't forget to check out all of the awesome shops participating in this lovely Holiday Shop Hop!

Blackbeary Mountain

Blue Pearls Handcrafted Goods

Chic and Frog

Crafty Hope

Dragonfly Dreamers

Etania Gems

ExPostFacto Jewelry

Fangdangles

GreenBead Designs

Handcrafted Serenity Jewelry Designs

Happy and Healthy Magnetic Jewelry

Holly Westfall / Silver Rose Designs - you are here!!

Just A Tish

Just Mare Pottery

Keefer Style Creations

Kabs Creative Concepts

Klassy Joolz

Kristi Bowman Design

Lilly Rose Jewelry Designs

Little Rocks

MiShel Designs

Melinda Orr Designs

My Life Under the Bus

Olive Branch Organics

Pine Ridge Treasures

Pink Poppy Studio

Rosebud’s Lampwork Beads

Sand & Sea Designs

SCJ Jewelry Design

Sew Stacy

SongBeads

Studio Waterstone

Sundancegems

Suzanne Stevens

Sweet Creek Herbs

Sweet Water Designs

And for those who've made it this far, I've decided to add on a giveaway! Leave a comment, follow my blog and FB/Twitter for entries (leave a separate comment below for each of those you do), and next Saturday I'll have a drawing for these earrings!

Featuring Czech glass, Vintaj charms & bead caps,
brass chain, Swarovski crystals and brass earwires.
yeah, this is not the best pic, I agree...

Paint the World with Your Palette: 2nd Annual Challenge of Color Blog Hop!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:03:00 +0000

The brain-child of the incredible Erin Prais-Hintz, today is the day of the blog hop for the 2nd Annual Challenge of Color. This time around, we chose a color family we wanted to work with, and Erin sent us a link to a specific Design Seeds palette to base our designs on. Design Seeds is the wonderful creation of Jessica Colaluca, and her palettes are such an inspiration to those who enjoy working with color. I chose the color yellow.

Why yellow? Simply because I don't work with it enough. Or rather, at all. I'm more of an earthy and watery person, and don't feel comfortable working with the bright, hot colors like yellows, oranges and reds. And so I anxiously awaited my inspirational palette....and finally received this:

Sprinkled Tones
from Design Seeds

Oh goodness. Isn't it lovely? And oh so edible? And so totally unlike what I usually work with! LOL But it's all good. I promptly put the palette away to mull on it a while. When I pulled everything back out, I realized I really didn't have anything in that lovely yellow. So off to the bead store I went, dragging two children with me. I came back home, and that's when everything gets complicated....

And so, here we are, 9:30 am EST, on the day of the blog hop and I'm still editing my photos for this challenge. Granted, I'm a bit of a procrastinator, but this last minute deal goes beyond that ;) We're talking about both kids with strep throat, and theBoy also has an ear infection and impetigo. So I've been a bit busy, but it's all good! They are now medicated appropriately, and we're hoping that Daddy and Mommy don't get sick too! ;)

I was able to create a pair of earrings and a bracelet for this challenge. I'd wanted to work on a necklace too, but didn't get around to it. If I end up putting a necklace together, I will, of course, post it! But anyway, onto the eye candy, because I know that's what you are really here for!

The bracelet is a simple triple strand, featuring yummy yellow seed beads, Czech glass and bronze wire and daisy spacers. I tried to pull in the yellow into both of the wire-wrapped strands for a bit of uniformity.

I particularly like the contrast of the blue/green ovals with the yellow. What's interesting though, is that the blue/green ovals match the green color of the palette perfectly in person, but not so much on my computer screen! Ah well ;)

The earrings, well, they were an interesting creation. They evolved through three or four manifestations before I came upon this design, which I quite liked!

Anyway, that's it for me! Please don't forget to visit the other participants! It's sure to be eye candy central! :) And thank you Erin, for organizing all of this!

1 Norma Turvey ~ Teal ~ Color Crave

2 Jeannie Dukic ~ Green ~ Mineral Tones

3 Mary McGraw ~ Teal ~ Embellished Hues

4 Jo Tinley ~ Red ~ Decadent Tones

5 Rebecca Anderson ~ Pink ~ Tulip Tones

6 Kristi Jaro ~ Red ~ Temple Entrance

7 Stephani Gorman ~ Green ~ Dew Tones

8 Melissa Meman ~ Green ~ Fruit Star

9 Kathleen Lange Klik ~ Teal ~ Silk Hues

10 Cynthia Riggs ~ Red ~ Autumn Comfort

11 Heidi Post ~ Teal ~ Flora Bright

12 Cece Cormier ~ Teal ~ Merino Teal