What the Hell is going on?????

So lately I have been really really really overextended. I am doing everything that I love to do, but I am having trouble finding enough hours in the day to do it.

It is also really hard to find a job that you love and that compensates you accordingly...

When both kids headed off to school, I had a few part time jobs where I helped my friends out at their shops a few days a week.

I wanted some more days and some more consistency and so I applied for another job to round out my newly freed up time.

Throughout the fall and winter, my time at the shops slowed down, so it was easy to work a lot at my consistent job.

But now, summer is here and I have two kids and four employers who all want and need my help.

I absolutely LOVE my time at the shops. I know in my heart that I am meant to have my own store, but the time is not right yet. The kids are too small and would hate me for making them sit there all day when they are out of school.

But three months is a long time to have off and have no schedule, so I have been looking at a few summer camps for them to keep them busy and socialized!!!

I am currently looking at hiring a babysitter for a few other days a week and some summer camps for the kids on the days that I need to be at my jobs in person.

This is a new concept for me because I stayed at home for 8 years and now, I have guilt that I am doing too much for myself and not enough with them! Why do we Moms have these feelings????

I guess I can really look forward to those days that I will be working at home by the pool while the kids swim and play for the job that needs my help with so many projects.

I just hope that I don't have a nervous breakdown trying to get everyone every place they need to be and everything done that I have to get done though.

It is a really fun and crazy ride, and I kinda love it, but I also really just need a nap! 

Made it through Mothers Day!

I wasn't really sure what to expect this Mothers Day considering that we had lost my grandmother a week before. But it turned out to be a great day! 

Grandma was sadly missed, but she was definitely with us!

The kids spent the night at my aunt's house, so I woke up to a quiet house and  had some time to relax before I started the big day.

First stop: Warrior King Pastries!!!!

These beauties are Shortbead Cookies with Violet/Rose Sugar Topping. They were sooooo good!

And, this gorgeous beast:

A Shortbead Cookie with a Scottish Thistle. It was so beautiful!!!!!

I took one to my friend Jen who owns a Scottish Pub called Hansleys and she was super thrilled to get it. Hopefully they can partner one day.

We treated my Mother In Law to a late lunch/brunch at the Ligonier Country Inn (which was fabulous) and then we headed home to clean up the pigsty before my family came over for dinner!

Isn't it funny that Moms really do not get a day off????

I did have fun setting the table though. I tried not to be super fancy, but it ended up a little mix and matchy. I also got my Mom and my Aunt a pretty cookie from Warrior King. Don't they look pretty in their gorgeous packages?

I finished my night off by doing some laundry, running two loads of dishea throught the dishwasher and catching up on the latest episodes of Empire.

And that my friends, is a dang good day!

Art Bead Scene:April 2016

This is my first post for the monthly Art Bead Scene Challenge. 

I have played along silently before with my friend, Alison, of Alison Adorns. (www.alisonadorns.blogspot.com)

Here is the inspiration for the month.

This piece of art is by Helen Frankenthaler. And honestly, it is very beautiful BUT it is almost like that infamous white and gold or blue/black dress... 

I found that a quick google search changed the color schemes quite a bit! So it was best to stick with the colors from the original post.

I have to be honest with you, I am just scratching the surface of the Art Bead world. And it is absolutely amazing! Kudos to all of you wonderful artisans who are making the world beautiful one component at a time!

Now, since I am a rookie, my supply of art beads is pretty small. Ok, it is almost nonexistent!

Lucky for me, the Allegory Gallery crew headed to Philly for a day at Beadfest. 

I purchased several art beads from Ren Farnsworth.

Aren't they gorgeous!?!?!?!

For my piece, I used the one in the very top of the photo. It is abstract like the painting and also has a few of the colors in it, so onto the string it went.

Here is my necklace:

I used quite a bit of everything! Ceramic beads from Michaels, Wooden beads from Allegory Gallery, blown glass with a pretty floral motif inside of each bead, and an assortment of gemstones.

The scarf that I photographed it on happens to be from The Black Bunny Boutique, a fun shop that I sometimes help out at in our tiny little town.

So, thanks for having me Art Bead Scene! It is so much fun to play along, but now I can for real!

A Girl of the Limberlost: Inspired by Reading Book Club April 2016

I wasn't particularly inspired this month.

The cover of the book gave me zip in terms of visual imagery. And I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover...

So, I got into the book far enough to go with the main character to high school for the first time.

And my inspiration came from the plain brown muslin dress she wore with old work boots that made her a spectacle on that ill-fated day.

A few pages later, she tells her neighbor how awful it was for her to be laughed at, and he and his wife went to town and got her all sorts of stuff to get her geared up for her second day of school 'real proper.'

My piece this month is a simple string to reflect the brown dress and later on the nice dress from her neighbors.

It is a simple string of smoky quartz pillows and copper toned seed beads. At the closure, I crimped it together with crimp beads and used a few czech glass rounds to highlight one czech glass oval that has a slight AB finish.

This piece is really long, so it can be worn long or short by being doubled up. So when it is long, it is sort of plain, and doubled up, slightly fancier.

Seems to be my style right now!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and see you next month!

Sarajo's Honey Do Challenge: Inspired by Beer

It is always fun to participate in Sarajo's Challenges because you never know what her husband will be inspired by. 

Afterall, it IS the Honey Do Challenge!!!

Her husband Eric (with a C) is a beer enthusiast, and this month we were to be inspired by beer labels.

MY husband Erik (with a K) got a really cool (possibly microbrewed?) beer from a friend who knows that he is all about the Scottish stuff. (Thanks Seth!h

I mean, we do call ourselves The Ross Clan and all...

So, check out this bottle!

I know this isn't technically a 'label' or a beer can, but it is certainly cool! And I was definitely inspired.

Here is my stuff (fair warning:crappy cell phone pic!)

Obviously, I didn't have a HUGE color palette to play with here. So I used dark browns, yellows and a few cream colored beads.

The focal bead is centered by two golden yellow beads to represent the bottle cap and the rest of the beads are leftovers of browns from several Allegory Design Challenges.

I used brass spacers and Picasso seed beads that are a 'pale ale' color, even though I am pretty sure that this beer is probably dark!

I finished it off with a vintage safety pin closure because most kilts have a very large kilt pin or other decorative pin near the hem. Because, you know, you want to make sure things stay covered when your kilt starts to lift....

And yes, because this is a Sarajo Challenge, I made a matching pair of earrings! Yay me!!!!

Coincidentally, here is a version of the Ross tartan that is called Weathered. Can you believe that the color scheme (minus the red) happens to match my stuff?!?!

That doesn't happen to be Erik's color scheme. But here is a cute one of us on our wedding day:

And here is our latest family pic from the Ligonier Highland Games this past September:

And no, I do not have a Ross tartan kilt. I have one that is black leather and I usually switch up my looks each year. 

In this pic I am wearing goth style tartan boots and pants with a vintage Austin Powers Style polyester pinstriped blazer... Yeah baby! And oh yeah, my fox.

{It's over 40 years old and uber vintage. Don't be a hater.}

So, until next month, stay thirsty and stay beading, my friends!!!! 

Halcraft's April Pretty Palettes Reveal

I was really excited to play along with this month's challenge.

First off, the beads were awesome:

As was the theme:

Wabi-sabi is the concept of the impermanence of beauty, that there is a beauty in the broken, the rusty, the old.

I couldn't wait to get started. And actually, I found wabi-sabi everywhere!

I bet you don't know this, but by day, I split my time at our local Township doing Admistrative stuff for the Public Works and Police Departments.

On the day this challenge came out, I happened to be in the garage taking some pictures of some equipment. And let's just say, I saw a ton of wabi-sabi in there!

Here's a few pics I took.

So with all this yellow inspiration, I knew that I was going to have to shake things up a little with the original color scheme.

Here is what I came up with:

I used yellows, reds, grays and mixed metals. And I love the outcome!

Here is an up-close look:

This piece is super long, so it can also be doubled or worn as a choker (tripled).

I absolutely love it!!!!

Hidden Cove Design Challenge Reveal

Today is the day!

It is almost over and I am barely making the deadline, but I am really excited to show off the pieces that I made for this challenge.

My daughter had a bunch of homework to do tonite to make up for the day we had yesterday visiting friends in Pittsburgh and skipping school, so it was PERFECT timing for me to get my projects taken care of...

The piece above is made with two African glass beads and the gorgeous blue stones that were included in the kit. I strung them on somw leftover memory wire and it is really a nice hefty piece to wear on its own or pair with other pieces.

This piece is made with the blue silk ribbon, a bit of the chain, seed beads, vintage lucite/plastics, and jump rings.

It can be worn as long or as short as you wish, as it has to be knotted to close since I didn't use any clasps.

This piece was made using this fun Dalmation Jasper, the pretty turquoise metallic tubes, seed beads, and headpins. 

It almost has a surfer punk style and I am loving it! 

Lastly, these are the earrings that I came up with. I think these are SO much fun!!!

My apologies because the colors in all of my photos are terrible because I took my photos indoors AND at night. Too dark and too yellow!

Maybe I will take some better photos tomorrow, but I know for sure that I will be wearing that jasper necklace to work tomorrow! I really do LOVE it!!!!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Check back next week for: Sarajo's Honey Do Challenge, Art Bead Scene, Halcraft Pretty Palettes, and the Inspired by Reading Book Club project reveals!!!!