Last Friday Artisan Clay Blog Hop

Hello!
It has been a while since I have done an Artisan Clay Blog Hop but it feels great to be back.

The break for the holidays was more than welcome.
So let's jump right into it, shall we?

I was sent 2 adorable hearts.

I got right to work making a bracelet with 1 of the 2 I was sent.

The second 1? I haven't gotten to it yet :-( I will I promise. I was hoping to make another bracelet with it but I was waiting for time and materials. Didn't happen.

Anyway, please say hello to this little gal. She is so sweet in black, white and red.
With bead caps from Metal Me This and beads from Bubby and McGurk Beads, Gaea Cannaday, and Brenda Scata of amie3.
Perfect for Valentine's Day.

Please visit the rest of the participants to see what they got and what they did with them.

Click the picture links to see what our design team has made with this month's challenge beads!

1. Artisan Clay	2. Carol Dean Sharpe / Sand Fibers	3. Shannon Chomanczuk
4. Staci Louise Originals	5. Jedd Judd Rocks!	6. La Bella Joya

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Thanks so much Miss Kristie!
Visit Artisan Clay Blog: http://artisanclay.blogspot.com/
Visit the Artisan Clay Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/artisanclay

~Shannon

Echo Creative Club - January Challenge Reveal

Welcome to my first Echo Creative Club Challenge reveal post! 

WooHoo!

Are you excited? 

I know I am.

Oh you don't know what the Echo Creative Club is.

A group of artists were sent a bead by the very talented Jeannie Dukic of Jewelery By Jeannie and asked to create something with that bead and to show off what we made by a certain date.

That day would be today :-)

 I was so excited to find out that I was picked to participate in the club and even more excited to receive one of these bea-u-ti-ful polymer clay focal beads to work with.

I tore open the envelope in the driveway and then got right to work.

This beauty told me exactly what it wanted to be right away.

What was that you ask?

It told me it wanted to be a multi strand bracelet. I was like, huh? You only have 2 holes, that won't lay right AT ALL. Nope it won't. 

I was frustrated because I wanted this little guy to be happy.

The next day it yelled at me as I played with a porcelain round with many holes. 

 I was turning this porcelain focal into a multi strand bracelet, why couldn't this guy have more holes? Argh. 

That's the ticket! More holes!!

So I got out a drill bit (not the drill) and I slowly drilled 2 more holes on one side.

Yippie!

I grabbed some Vintaj bead caps, wire, and some glass pearls and got right to work.

About an hour later I had made this beauty:

Thanks so much Jeannie for this fun challenge, I love the focal I was sent.

 I hope you like the bracelet I made with it.

Now check out the other participants did with their beads....

Molly Alexander  http://www.beautifullybrokenme.blogspot.com

Courtney Breul  http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com

Michelle Buettner  http://www.MiShelDesigns.blogspot.com

Shannon Chomanczuk  http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com

Cindy Cima Edwards  http://www.cindycima.com

Beth Emery  http://storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com

Kristen Stevens  http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com

Jeannie K Dukic  http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog

 ~Shannon

Giveaway Winner

Emily Grace helps me pick a winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CoRru7UBhA

Thanks everyone for playing :-) Have a wonderful day!
~Shannon

Silly Girl

I want to thank you all for the kindness and sympathy

 you all showed after my last post about loosing our dog.

Link to video if clicking on it doesn't work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCJ2XJHwq44

Leave a comment if you want some gemstone bead chips

There are 14 small bags of chips in different colors.

I don't use chips much so I thought rather than hold on to them I would let them go and be free ;-)

I'll pick a winner on Friday.

~Shannon

PS: please don't mind the mess in the background, we are still under construction :-)

And Then There Were Three

I sit here alone.
I should be getting ready for my work day.
It is quiet here, hubby took my daughter to his parents.
He is going to bury my dog.
We rescued Lexie. She was obviously abused. We were told she traded several times for drugs. She was burned by cigarettes and had been given up by at least 5 homes.
I had 1 dog, a Corgi named Morgan, and a cat, named Ashes who passed in July.
To say she was hyper would be an understatement. Lexie was bonkers, off the wall crazy.
She had a sweet side though and I think that tempered the crazy.
Like I told you in my last post we knew it was coming.
She was getting sicker everyday.
We knew she probably wouldn't make the weekend.
Yesterday afternoon my husband carried her into her room because she could barely walk anymore.
I laid with her and told her it was okay to go.
I petted her and told her it was time we said goodbye and that she was loved and that she would be missed.
I told her she was a good girl and that she could go play with the cat, she loved the cat.
I know she heard and understood me. 
When we woke this morning for church she was gone.
Goodbye sweet Lexie.
~Shannon