A Rose Is a Rose.... Artisan Jewelry at the PFATT Marketplace

“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.”
Alphonse Karr― A Tour Around My Garden

No thorns on this Rose bedecked necklace, but beautiful blooms to dress up your wardrobe. 

Available by clicking PFATT Marketplace

Broken China Heart Pendants

When we lived in the west desert of Utah we loved to explore the different dirt roads for treasures. We came upon an abandoned dump from an old mine about 8 years ago, where there were remnants of broken china and depression glass, eek! We will never know if someone intentionally broke up the kitchenware but we found fragments of Jadeite and gorgeous depression glass bowls and such. I'm such a collector I gathered up bits and pieces of the most intriguing pieces to bring home and use in some creation or another. I initially planned on creating mosaics with the pieces, but never got around to it. Well today I pulled out some of the pieces and created some pendants for necklaces. The two hearts were easy as the broken pieces already had a somewhat heart shape to them. I'm itching to get them turned into a one of a kind jewelry creation so I'm off to the table to play with beads and chain.

More Creations for Chief Joseph Days

 I have managed to squeeze more jewelry making while trying to spend quality time with Nature Guy. We have gone fishing, got skunked, rats! Took a ride up towards the Hells Canyon Lookout and had a picnic, then collected flat rocks for paving some areas around the deck and garden boxes, yay! Now I'm ready to rock and roll as Nature Guy is on the road to visit his sons.
The bracelet above is created on memory wire using ceramic turquoise beads, red stone beads and bright shiny silver beads. All my pieces are one of a kind.

 Another fun and funky, chunky necklace for rodeo queens or any chic and fashionable lady who loves turquoise colors and silver.

 To mix things up a bit I will have some home decor products such as these re-purposed china dishes that are now suitable for vintage style soap pedestal dishes, or jewelry caches.

One of the best things about being in Wallowa County in the summer is a possibility to find fun vintage pieces that can be re-purposed and useful. I will share more of my fun finds soon so stop by again when you can. It's time to head to the studio to sculpt so here's to a good day for all!

Chief Joseph Days here we come!

It's almost rodeo time again, and one of my best childhood friends and I are taking the challenge to have a booth at Chief Joseph Days  . If you have a moment, take some time to check out the goings on for Chief Joseph Days. It's the biggest event around and draws folks from all over the world to come see the wild bucking horse stampede, the PRCA rodeo events, and dance the night away. The Nez Perce set up teepees outside the rodeo grounds and have dance demonstrations among other things, along with everyone who can find a reason participating in the kiddie and grand parades. It's with a bit of trepidation that we do this, especially for me as I've not tried an outdoor venue like this before. Luckily for me, Teri is a pro at this sort of thing.
Teri is the owner of Calamityville Mercantile, a fun and very cool vintage cowgirl "chic" sort of shop with western treasures galore! She also creates hand woven saddle cinchas, and does beautiful work. Her hubby is a saddle maker among other things and they live out in the farm/desert country of southern Idaho in an idyllic location surrounded by fields of green and fresh produce everywhere to be had. Click on her link and see what's going on out in her shop.
So I'm going to get my cowgirl on, and get to  making some fun jewelry, and home decor, including gourd country critters, and some art pieces (hopefully)....lol.

An Amber Colored Autumn....

 Leaves have started to change their dressing..
Bright green fades to a golden blessing.

 A touch of amber is seen on some...
Or rust, like copper soon to become.

 Drifting slowly to the ground,
An amber blanket, all around.

They crunch and rustle in the breeze,
Gold leaves or amber, if you please.

Earrings can be found here and necklace can be found here.

Autumn Elements...

Another of my Autumn clothing favorites was pulled out of storage, and thus the inspiration in part for this necklace. I figure that if I want to sell jewelry, it doesn't hurt to be a walking advertisement for what I do. Or, it's probably a great excuse to make jewelry for myself. :-) This soft burnt orange faux suede top matches a skirt with the many colors of this piece. So now I'm ready to show off some more new work as we head to the city today for temple and feasting at Benihana.

 Brass acorn beads, vibrant ruby Lucite leaves, moss green pearls and soft turquoise twists are complimented by gray wood beads in this Autumn elements necklace. I found a new bead store in Salt Lake City, and while some of the beads I know I can get much cheaper on ebay, they had some pieces that I've not seen in my internet travels through bead land.

Of course, what jewelry ensemble would be complete without matching earrings? Who knew jewelry making would be so addicting? If you have a special outfit that you would like some matching jewelry for, contact me and lets see if we can come up with a custom set or piece for you. You can email me at mothersdream@mac.com

Cowgirl Chic and Vintage Button Magic

 It's rodeo time in Joseph, Oregon, with Chief Joseph days right around the corner so all the local shops have cowboyed, or dolled up their windows with everything western. We kick off the big week with the wild bucking horse stampede on Tuesday, then Wednesday night the rodeos start. For all you closet rodeo queens, or styling cowgirls, I've created a chunky but chic faux turquoise and large pearl piece. Can't you see some cowboy's sweetheart dancing the night away at the Thunder Room with this lovely necklace around her neck?

 No ensemble is complete without earrings to match. Some lil darlin will dazzle all the men next week for sure!

 A match made in heaven was formed with these large vintage button and the flat shell beads. I've been trying to pull something together with the pearly brown and white beads, but couldn't quite do it until I got back to Oregon and found the vintage button stash I'd left here. The delicious dark chocolate brown pearls and sparkly crystal beads compliment the overall collection of beads and button. Copper chain was a perfect choice to finish this necklace with. I'm making one similar for me because I like how this design turned out. What color would you have used with this button?

 Another cowgirl chic piece, complete with ox brass beads, deep red crystal beads and Howlite turquoise beads.

 I so wish I had another button like this one to create with as there are so many possibilities for use, but here's a fun and funky version that was a conversation piece at the Westsider's dinner last night. The greens are really more of a teal, but are showing up as more of a true green on my screen. Pearl beads, vintage shell buttons, copper flowers and findings all came together to showcase this awesome button.

Earrings to match. This is for my own personal collection, but I just had to share. :-)

I Love Halloween! A new jewelry collection from Simply Sheryl's

 I have a new addiction...... the good thing is there are no calories, harmful chemicals or weight gain involved! Okay, there is a down side, it can be a bit costly unless I put a limit on my spending, but I am really really enjoying making jewelry. It's sooo hard to just buy one thing when I run in to find some jump rings, or a tool or something. I was walking through the bead aisle of my favorite local store and spied some black ceramic hearts, which led me to the orange ceramic beads, and then to the off white shell beads and on it went. I immediately saw Halloween when I saw those hearts, probably because a good number of my contemporaries love creating Halloween. Thus my I Love Halloween collection was born.

 My first piece includes OX brass findings and an adorable owl charm, along with all the afore mentioned beads.

At 24 inches long it will be perfect for the colder weather clothing, I can see this dressing up a very cool sweater or cowel neck top. Perhaps something layered but what ever you wear this with you are sure to get attention. Stop by Simply Sheryl's at etsy for more information.

Copper and Turquoise and Silver Together...why not?!

 When I was 13 Mom decided to make us some clothes for the upcoming school year. Money was tight, so we marched on down to the fabric store in Enterprise, and got to pick out the colors of our outfits. I chose a pretty turquoise fabric for a skirt and reversible vest set she was making, and along with that some chocolate brown velveteen. The vest had button holes on each side so that three chain and button set could keep the vest laying down nicely in the front. I really loved the combination of the brown with the turquoise, just like in this necklace I've put together.

 Granted, chocolate brown and copper are not the same, but the antiqued tone to the copper findings and chain in this piece are very earthy and go well together with the turquoise colored pendant and beads.

The silver tone to the hinged bail and spacer beads makes a nice contrast to the copper, the heishi shell spacers are a lovely dark and light brown mix. Another fun creation you can find at Simply Sheryl's

A trip to the orient.....

 I had so much fun putting this necklace together! It took me back to the days, when as a child I lived in Taiwan. What an interesting adventure that was, with water buffalo taking a bath in the river next to the rice patties below our home. Often, when we would be out playing on the patio in our inflatable pool the Taiwanese children would be coming home from school. They would giggle and point at us, waving and smiling as they trudged up the dirt road to their tiny huts.

 We loved to go to Taipei where there were shops filled with smiling buddhas, gorgeous hand painted fans, and rooms filled with hand carved teakwood furniture. We begged and begged until we got our very own fans to hang on our wall in our bedroom. We had several momentos of our time there, including a lovely set of coffee and end tables with a hand carved pagoda design, and brass vessels  plus brass dragon candle stick holders.

 Sometimes Mom's helper DeeDee, who lived with us, would take us down to the market and buy us fresh sugar cane as she did her shopping. We were a novelty to the vendors and they loved looking at us American children, touching our hair, mine is extra curly, and patting us.

 I have plenty of snake stories to share, and a couple of accidents that happened but all in all Taiwan was a magical place for us. I still have copies of the hand painted Christmas cards we sent out the year we were there.

There is a romance to the orient that is hard to define, and I sure had a fun walk down memory lane as I created this one of a kind necklace. You can find more about it here - Simply Sheryl's

Clowns and Santas and Jewelry, Oh My!

Hmmm, we shall see if blogger cooperates here.....lol. I'm so torn right now, between jewelry making and finishing up some projects that have been waiting to be finalized. In order to make room in my studio, and you can somewhat see how crowded I am, I'm trying to be diligent. The problem, my days are broken up so much I'm stressing over not having a nice chunk of time to just go at the big stuff.

 Jewelry on the other hand, is faster to do, although I do spend a couple of hours on each piece, trying out different beads and combinations before I finally put one together. I really need to get a beading tray, as I think it will help speed things up.

Regardless, I can get things done on a daily basis instead of taking days to finish things. I think I just need to have an attitude adjustment, but I will say I love to see finished products. The jewelry is up for consideration on etsy at Simply Sheryl's.

The color of rain.....

 Lightning is flashing and thunder crashing,
soon there will be rain coming down.
I tremble and shiver, my heart all a quiver,
at each thunderous deafening sound.

I think I should go now,
for how do I know now....
that lightning will not hit the ground.
So I'm off to go hiding,
no more will I be writing....
as I don't like noisy loud sound.


If you like what you see here,
then please do be a sweet dear....
and stop by my etsy shop now!   Simply Sheryl's

Orange and Black and Halloween Like That!

 Orange and black and Halloween like that!

we decorate each Autumn,

For fun and scares, black cats and bats....

we frolic, and shriek among them.

The moon and sun will take their turn,

to add the colors of Fall...

with chill and cold and sun and night,

it's the spookiest season of all!

A little fun with vintage buttons, beads and wire to get you in a Halloween mood. 

SIMPLYSHERYL'S

Lovely sparkly glittery things........

 I've always loved sparkly pretties, especially when they are colorful and wearable. Mom used to have charm bracelets that we would put on and play with when we were doing the dress up thing.We loved to look through all her pretties and try them on, and since she's passed I've gotten a couple of her pretties to remind me of her.

 I also love to create gifts of all sorts for friends and loved ones, and anyone whose looked at beads knows you can't just buy a couple of strands. Once you get started, you come up with all sorts of rationales for why you need this or that color or style. What woman doesn't like to have a nice matching set of earrings and bracelet or necklace to match their favorite outfit?

 Okay, so maybe there are a couple of women out there, but really..... I would bet truth be told, they have a secret stash of bangles and baubles somewhere they will pull out for that special occasion. For me, that occasion can be as simple as running to Walmart.

I've opened a new shop on etsy to sell jewelry and collectibles. I have a bunch of pretty things created, and will get them all posted here shortly, but here is where I'm starting. I use all glass, metal or gemstone beads, no plastic here! To see where I'm starting, here's a peek at my etsy shop, Simply Sheryl's

That Creative Place Give Away.....

Oh what a lucky gal I am! I was visiting That Creative Place blog and signed up for a giveaway that I thought I would surely not win and to my surprise and joy I did! Here is the fabulous book and wonderful buttons I received yesterday. I'm so thrilled to be able to have the buttons for my collection, and have already used a couple of them in my new blog page design. A huge thanks to Lisa Gatz and friends for hosting this give away.