Falling Leaves

 As I rounded the corner into Lostine, a tiny burg not far away from where our Oregon home is, I was met with a literal wall of golden leaves, shimmering in the sunlight. "Wow! I wish I had known about this before I came into town so I could stop and take a photo. I will on the way back to Utah Thursday, as it was so pretty! It reminded me of Autumn in Alaska, with the paper birch brilliant with a Midas touch of gold, against the deep green of spruce and the pastels of the cloud laced skies.

There is a strong breeze blowing here, and the leaves are turning gold on our tall willow. They are falling to the ground, covering the grass with a blanket of leaves, so I will have to rake before I mow tomorrow. The dried leaves are skittering across the pavement, as if they are running away. Ahhhhh, the joys of Autumn.

Sometimes you just have to make something for you....

I don't know about you, but sometimes it's hard to let everything you create go out the door for someone else. Sure, we all enjoy the joy and pleasure folks get from our creations, but sometimes don't you just want to keep something for yourself?
I decided to get ahead of that and just create a necklace and earrings set to go with a western shirt I have. Funny thing, the shirt is almost too big for me now, but hey, I can still wear it so why not? The colors are compatible with other items of clothing in my closet so its a win/win!  I wore this to watch the Chief Joseph Days parade, and got several compliments on the necklace which is a pay off wouldn't you say? Giggle!
It's time to put this set away though as we are going on a picnic out in the woods, and then on to fishing. Not the sort of thing you wear to the lake where the only company you have are folks in jeans and t-shirts or cattle or deer and a heron or flock of geese. I'm thinking I want a nice sweater to wear this with for Autumn time...what do you think?

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. :-)

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

Amethyst... the color of me.

 While not a true purple, these glass beads and shells are a shade of amethyst that caught my eye immediately. Having worked in a jewelry store for a bit, I noticed that many stones we assume are a just one color, often come in a variation of the common shades. From what I've garnered in research, a true amethyst is purple with flashes of red. I do like the version with a touch more of the red, but all are so pretty!
Throughout history amethyst has been used to guard against drunkenness and is thought to be helpful in overcoming addiction. It has been used for hearing disorders, insomnia, headaches and other pain. Some sources suggest it is used to stabilize mental disorders. Worn to make the wearer gentle and amiable. Amethyst powers include: dreams, healing, peace, love, spiritual upliftment, courage,  psychism, protection against thieves, and happiness. While these beads are glass, and not true amethyst, I wonder if the color itself has magical powers......

This shell pendant is much like a true amethyst in that it is a deep purple, with flashes of red. It's hard to pick that up by photo though so you will have to take my word for it. Regardless, this lovely necklace is so feminine and yet bold, with the chunky beads and large pendant. For more information you can see them here.... 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