Harvest Candles

I don't know about you, but this is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the exquisite fall colors, pumpkins, candy corn and especially Thanksgiving. Having my family close and celebrating with a wonderful turkey dinnerbrings me great joy. Part of this annual tradition in my home includes decorating with pumpkins from my garden, lovely fall candles and linens to match. I have just visited the wonderful shop of Donald Mckinnon.
His fall candle selection is absolutely beautiful and any of his candles would be a perfect addition to your tables, fireplace or just about anywhere in your home. The colors and scents of his candles are so appealing that you can almost smell them just by reading Donald's perfect descriptions. he also gives you tips for caring for the candle . Visit his wonderful shop today!

A Wonderful Street

Do you live on a wonderful street? If not , you can add this street to your home and feel wonderful whenever you look at it. Linda Williams ,the artist who painted this incredibly lovely and cheerful acrylic has many beautiful items in her etsy shops. She carries, watercolors, paintings, graphite, pastels and altered art in her Lindacaterpillar shop. The colorful magnet and greeting card you see here are located in her Lindabutterfly shop. You won't go wrong with a visit to either shop. Linda carries wonderful original works of art that will warm your heart and put a smile on your face!

Roman Glass Necklace

These photos are long overdo. I wrote about Roman glass in my last post and here is another lovely piece I made with this ancient glass. The iridescent quality of this glass makes it a perfect element to use in jewelry design.

A Love Affair with Roman Glass

I don't recall how or when it happened, but the very first time I put my eyes on a piece of jewelry made with this amazing glass, it was love at first sight. Perhaps it was at the Boston gift show where I visited the booth of some amazing Israeli jewelry designers who had incorporated Roman glass into their designs. I think it is the colors of the glass and its iridescent qualities that I find so appealing.

Here is a little information about this ancient glass:

The earliest man-made glass was first produced over 2000 years before the Roman Empire. Core formed and cast glass was produced, although in small quantities in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was often made to imitate semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli and turquoise.
Glass vessels were initially available only to the very wealthy and only in rather diminutive sizes. They were manufactured by core forming, casting, cutting and grinding, The invention of glass blowing around 50 BC brought glass vessels to the general public in vast numbers, mass produced in great variety of forms and hence brought ancient glass into the reach of the modern collector of even modest means. One can nowadays own a Roman glass bowl, or drink form a Roman glass beaker, or wear ancient jewellery where glass was used widely.

Recently I was able to purchase some lovely Roman glass beads and design a few new pieces with these ancient beads. Stay tuned for more photos of my new jewelry pieces.

Team Work

As you know, getting your items seen on the Internet is a labor intensive and complex endeavor. I have been working with a fellow teammate to feature our items together in the hopes that both items will become more visible on the Internet. Lindabutterfly and I are members of a wonderful team of artisans who work together to help promote our products and websites. Linda is and artist whose incredible work can be seen here and here. We have recently listed two of our items together on our etsy shops to be sold for a discounted price. We thought that these items complimented each other beautifully and would make a wonderful gift item. The listings for these items can be seen on our etsy shops. They can be purchased in either Linda's shop or at my shop. This experience has been a great deal of fun and we think you will be as pleased as we are with the results of our team work.

For Your Girly Girl

Those of you who have little girls that love girly, feminine accessories will enjoy the handmade items offered by Gayle of Whats Her Name, a wonderful Etsy shop. The items featured here are certain to put a smile on the face of your daughter, niece or any little girl you might know. Gayle also caries handbags, spa items, bookmarks,card and wall hangings in her eclectic shop. Pay her a visit today to find something special.

Do you Love to Crochet?

I am a knitter and have just learned some basic crochet stitches. I know I am always looking for new and exciting patterns for my knitted items. Sandy of Sandy's Cape Cod Originals is one very talented lady. Not only does she crochet the most darling items , but she designs patterns as well. Her shop features some very unique and adorable crochet patterns, like the ones you see here. She also sells items that she has crocheted, should you decide the that your crocheting skills are lacking. Be sure to visit Sandy's shops and stock up on wonderful patterns for your children or grandchildren.
Put a smile on the face of a friend or family member when you present them with a lovely handmade crocheted gift.