Life is a Whirlwind right now....

 I think I've spent one of the busiest weeks of my life this past one, trying to catch up and just "do" things I've wanted or needed to do. There was the garage sale to get ready for, finish these paintings, finish a batch of Santas which I will have to share in another post....

 work at Roxy's most of the week, pick blackberries and process them, More work at Roxy's....

 I re- worked the face on this gourd bust, but am debating making him look bronzed.....

finishing this little pumpkin guy, texturing and painting my living room walls.....still need to finishing glazing them, and then tonight I will need to clean....whew! I have one Halloween piece to finish, another Santa, and then it's sculpting on more....no rest for the wicked.....

Queen Cucurbita Maxima, Ruler of the Pumpkin Patch!

 

All hail the Queen Maxima, ruler of the pumpkin patch! She reigns with a gently but firm hand. She's looking for a place to hold her Harvest ball, so if you are willing, she would love to make your "castle" her new home! You can view her at ebay.

A Christmas Song Quiz & Giveaway - The Winner!!!!

 I was going to start by stating that it's been quite a week, but I'm beginning to notice they have all been like that lately. No excuses though, it's time to gather all the names and write them on slips of paper.

 Then they go into the hat, cute isn't it? I draw one name out....ooooh, who will it be???? Oh golly, this is exciting.! ;-0

 The winner is Denalee!!!! Thank you so much to all of you who participated, and those who left comments in general! This was fun, I've learned that I'm not as thorough on thinking rules through as I need to be, but hey, all in all we had a good time!

So now I contact Denalee and let her know that she won! I'm thinking she will choose the Santa ornament as I know she collects them, but watch, she will surprise me and pick the little pumpkin guy. For a fun and friendly blog stop by and see what Denalee is up to over at Silver Strands.

A Christmas Song Quiz & Giveaway Part 5 Final...

Those are a lot of eyes staring at you.....heeheee! I will keep this short and sweet tonight as I have some clean up to do. The drive to Spokane was lovely! I want to take my husband up there soon. For now, let the games, begin...to end...lol. Those of you who have played are amazing! Here are your final 4:
17. Behold! I envisioned a trio of nautical vessels.
18. Listen, the winged heavenly messengers are proclaiming tunefully.
19. A joyful song relative to hollow metallic vessels which vibrate and bring
forth a ringing sound when struck.
20. As the guardians of little woolly animal's protected

A Christmas Song Quiz & Giveaway Part 4

I must be a glutton for punishment. After running 3 1/2 miles I came home and finished the trim on the roof of the garage, patched some repaired holes in the house siding, (ugh, renters!), and then got a wild hair to repair the walls in my living room and paint. I pulled off all the baseboards and window trim, taped the seams and cracks, and slathered joint compound all over the walls.  Tomorrow we are driving to Spokane to go to the temple and then I will be back hopefully in time to paint. Friday is my first day tending the store for Roxy, a gallery owner who is running down to her sister's to help with her BIL as he had back surgery today. I will get the opportunity to set up and work on my sculpting and painting while tending the place, and plan on making the most of it. If you have a moment, check out some of the amazing hand crafted furniture and such she has here - Roxy's. Friday night we are having a Shelf Reliance demo at my place, so I must get the walls done and things put back together before folks show up. Gee, think I have enough to do? Well, it's fun and games time as 4 AM comes very early....

13. Uncouth dolt has his beezer in the booze and thinks he is a Dark Cloud's boyfriend.
14. Far back in a hay bin.
15. Leave and do an elevated broadcast.
16. That exiguous hamlet south of the holy city.

Have a great night all!

A Christmas Song Quiz & Giveaway Part 3

Today started out with a bike ride, and then I held my breath as I climbed our 18 foot ladder to finish the trim on the back of the garage. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if the ground the ladder stood on was level, but it's in an alley where there are boulders here and there, weeds that have been matted down, and it appears that while we are gone, someone likes to use our side of the alley to dump their junk. UGH! So, I crept up the ladder and fastened the paint bucket to one of the rungs, and gingerly reached upward to paint the areas that hadn't gotten done two years ago. Long story, but hey I finally got it done! Whew! I didn't even drop the paint bucket, well okay not this morning anyway. Yes, it hit the gravel in front of the garage when I was working there tonight. Almost done, have one easy side to do, yay! Oh and some touch ups as I got yellow on the red. Ooops! Then it's on to the living room. It's bugging me to death to see the scuffs and marks from a renter and our house sitter. Besides, I want to feel like I accomplished something here this year. So tomorrow I will tape and mud cracks and seams, and then texture and paint, whoohoo. I did get some work on creations done as well, it's fun what you can do with a light bulb. I will be sealing this little guy and some other pieces before antiquing. Okay, I'll stop already....here's the next clues......
9. 288 Yuletide hours.
10. Do you perceive the same longitudinal pressure which stimulates my auditory sense organs.
11. The red-suited pa is due in this burg.
12. Stepping on the pad cover.

A Christmas Song Quiz & Giveaway Part 2

 I bet you thought I forgot, huh?! Well no, but here's how my day went. At 4:45 this morning I got up to well, you know, and as I got back into bed the phone rings. "Who could that be? Oh, my Amanda!" So I pick up the phone, "Hello? Helloooo?, Amanda....answer the phone!!!!! AMANDAAAAAA!!!!" My daughter had done it again, she was out for a bike ride in the wee morning hours in Fairbanks, and she accidently speed dialed me. Happens a lot. I think she might need to find a different number for me. So I tried to go back to sleep, but no dice. I went for a run, almost 3 and a half miles, and then came back and canned cherries, some rhubarb and cherry, raspberry, rhubarb and cranberry conserve. Don't they look yummy? After that it was time to go outside and see what damage I could do out there.

I pulled weeds around my berries, unstrangled the hold some netting had on my plum tree, and knocked some wasp nests off the garage peaks so I can paint the trim when the weather warms up. I watered plants, came back in, showered, lunch and time to paint. Here's the progress I've made, and somewhere in this pile is the giveaway piece. Hmmmmmm, which one will it be? Then I had a widow neighbor over for dinner, and went for  a walk to work off the dessert we had.
Now, more fun and games! I boobooed yesterday as I forgot this posts on the Hive as well. So all you Hivers who might want to try and take a stab, I will count the first right guess on the Hive as well.
Okay, here's today's 4
5. A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.
6. Present me naughty but dual incisors for this festive Yuletide.
7. The smog-less bewitching hour arrived.
8. Exuberation to this orb.

A Christmas Song Quiz & Giveaway

Santa let me know that he didn't want this to be just any old post. He thinks we should jazz things up a bit. Sooooo.......

We want to have a little give away, because we love you! So here it is, we want to offer a cute little Santa ornament, he will be a surprise, perhaps posted later on in the week. Here's the quiz....
How many Christmas songs can you identify?
1. The apartment of 2 psychiatrists.
2. The lad is a diminutive percussionist.
3. Decorate the entry-ways.
4. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis.


Here are the rules:
1. Each day for 5 days I will post 4 song prompts. Name as many songs as you can and post here.  The first person to post all the right answers wins for that day. If no one gets it all right, then the closest will be the winner and if I have to I will do a drawing for that day to choose that person.
2. You must be willing to send me your mailing address so I can send your gift to you. 
3. You can only send one answer each day so think these out carefully. 
4. You must have fun! Okay, get those thinking caps on. There will be 5 winners to draw from so your odds are pretty good that you could be THE one in 5 to win. Good luck.

A Country Style Santa, or is that Primitive, Rustic, Northwoods?

 I googled Northwoods Santas and guess what?! My Santa listing on Reasons to Believe came up top of the list. Wow! I'm going to have to give Scott a high five for that one! Anyhew.... Santas come in all sorts of shapes and styles. Fat, skinny, tall short, round, smiling or serious, or even frowning!

Color themes vary from  the ever popular red and green, to purple and gold, blue and white and all shades in between. This Santa has a touch of Victorian with his long robe and flocked greenery, but goes country with the leather belt and homespun ribbon on the wreath. He's a bit rustic  with his wired on arms, and Northwoods with the vine wreath and birdhouse with cardinal, as well as the driftwood he's made of. So no matter your Christmas style, this handsome fella will fit in well. He stands 19 inches tall. He's ready to find a new home, so if you are interested please send me an email and I will paypal you. $175.00 with free shipping

Muuuwaaahaaahaaahaaa....he's dooone!

"Did you move him?" , "No, I didn't, I thought you did!" , "What's going on here?!" I don't know, but it's probably time to find a home for Jack. He has been showing up here and there, and I'm not moving him, sooooo......
 He can be found on ebay

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?

Wednesday's WIP's Wild Horses and Santas?

 

 Yesterday marked the opening of Chief Joseph Days here in Wallowa County with the Bucking Horse Stampede down main street in Joseph. I had a front row seat of sorts as I was able to set up a table and work on some of my Santa's in front of Missy's Uptown Art Gallery. What fun that was, with all sorts of interesting folks stopping by to watch and chat! It also gave me insight as to what people are thinking about my work. I garnered a couple of potential collectors, and met folks that have already bought a couple of pieces or are interested, so that was a wonderful thing. I will be able to do more demo work on Friday in front of the same gallery, right after the Kiddie Parade, and another gallery wants me to do the same at her place. One of my larger driftwood Santas sold last week, along with a fish wall hanging so I'm raring to get some  more work done. 

Oh, and the horses finally found their way down through town, running through at a "stampede" pace, which was much better than last year, as you can see in the above picture when they seemed to stop to pose for photos in front of the bowling alley....lol.

So how's your week going?

Brigham Young - Creator, Inventor

Although he is probably most known by non-Mormons as the man who led the church into the Salt Lake Valley way back in 1847, there is  a side to this amazing man that many don't know. It's Pioneer Day today, the day we of the LDS faith commemorate the sacrifices the early pioneers made to trek to Utah where they could live in peace. So I thought I would share a bit of information about a man who not only was an early prophet and leader of our church, but a city builder, and amazing carpenter and wood worker.
As a young apprentice in a boat painting shop he created an invention to crush the dye used in making the paints.

He was a master carpenter and wood worker who built door fittings, carved mantle pieces and various pieces of furniture still found in the old homes around Auburn, New York.
Not only was he a wise leader, but he built homes cities. An amazing man that I thought I would share a bit about with you.

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. :-)

Wooohooo do you love?

Shrieeeeeeeek! I said as I perused the internet for black heart themed things to reference, so I will not go down that road because I love you. ;-) Instead I will try and entice you with a photo of this wickedly cool necklace that has "I LOve Halloween!" all over it. From the black ceramic heart to the heart shaped lobster claw clasp, complimented by a delightful owl charm and the orange, black and white theme, this one of a kind piece is the second in my I Love Halloween jewelry collection. It has a nice chunky chain, and at 24 inches long, this will be able to be worn with any ensemble, outfit, or clothes you might wear...;-0.
See more at Simply Sheryl's.

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

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

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

Gallery Feature In Oregon....

 It's been a whirlwind week of visits and art fun. I stopped in Idaho on my way to Oregon and helped a dear friend get her blog going. Calamity is the name of her business, and well worth a stop by to see what she has. I will post a feature on her later and share some of the fun work she does.

I stopped by the gallery I show in to see if Missy would take some of my new art, and yes! She was so excited to see my newest abstract art that she built a front window around those and other spring/summer art I do. How fun! She had good news for me as well. Two of my older art pieces she's showing have sold, so that's a nice bonus. Wish I could stick around and see what you've all been doing, but that will come this week. Have a great weekend all.