Day VII Challenge Crocheted Hat

I crocheted this tam freehand from the same yarn as the collar. I used to sit on my front porch and  make these and kufees for my friends as we sat and talked. I learned how to knit and crochet in high school (Thanks Cass Tech). I paid for many school activities making these. I crocheting another scarf from this yarn
creating the pattern as I go along. I'm going to try and finish it this week

As always click on the title to purchase.

Featured Artist Itina Guidry

Itina Guidry is my featured artist today.  She is an artist (painter) and also has a love for making dolls. For her it's an absolute joy to make something and see the final product. She's based in Stafford, Texas.


Mizz Divaz Fashion Dolls can be ordered and purchased here. www.mizzdivaz.com

Day VI Crocheted Scarf From Sari Silk Strips

Good Morning! I finally completed the crocheting of the scarf with silk sari strips. This was way more tedious than I had anticipated, so it took three times as long. I love to crotchet , it has always been easier for me than knitting. May have something to do with my being  left handed, its just easier for me. I still haven't decided whether to make a sari silk necklace for the turquoise set or use sterling silver chain.

I have show today at a local bookstore which asked me to be the featured artist. I'll try and finish the crocheted hat while I'm there.

 I finally got my creating rhythm going. I made rings and cowrie shell pendants and an ocean jasper and copper ring. You can tell photography is the bane of my existence. Shows up in the photograph of the ocean jasper and copper ring.  I have new glasses on order without that blank coating that acts like sunglasses. I'm hoping seeing better will help my photography skills. Smile. Here's the photos.

Day IV and V New Creations Crazy Wire Rings

I attended a seminar on selling since I know I'm rusty in some areas.  I woke up ill and was going to skip the seminar. My daughter I had kept home because she tried a new nonherbal tea for breakfast and it made her hurl. She started feeling better and wanted to go to school. (I know I'm blessed. How many kids would opt for school on a Friday if they could stay home? )The seminar and school were close to each other so I might as attend since I had to go out.

Best decision I'd made in a long time. The seminar leader was very good. He didn't stand there and throw sell, sell ,sell at you. We were walked through a series of exercises and writings to make you focus on  the way you have to sell in this timeframe. Best to two hours I've spent in a seminar in a long time.

I went home and started working on new items. I crocheted a scarf for Friday but it took so long because I was using the silk sari strands that I had purchased on etsy that I was getting frustrated. I put that done and started crocheting a cap like the purple one my daughter is wearing in an earlier post. I got tired of that and picked up some wire, a new style adjustable ring and some  rose quartz  and fancy jasper faceted teardrop beads. I also put clear quartz and amethyst dagger beads on my work tray.

Here are the results.

I'm going to call these my crazy wire. You can click on the link to purchase.

What do you think?

I Met a Real CSI

I attended the quarterly meeting of Networking Phoenix. Of Course, it was in Scottsdale.  The turnout was expected to be around 1200. I think they were closer to 1500, far surpassing the founder's expectations. This is one of the few networking organizations that can get the people out.

I met a real  CSI (Crime Scene Investigator) . She handles forensics in the lab. She was volunteering at the registration table. Her name is Michelle. Now you can meet her too.

Self Challenge Day III New Jade Adjustable Cabochon ring

Self Challenge Day III New Jade Adjustable Cabochon Ring in a very feminine green lettuce (?) color. I like New Jade because its so feminine even in a large stone.. New Jade is reasonably priced versus jade.  I will have to post that turquoise set tomorrow  I want to get it in natural sunlight so you can see the pretty shadings in the stone.

As always you can click on the the title to purchase.

Self Challenge Day Two Botswana Agate adjustable ring

Day II of my self challenge. I did a quick ring, yesterday was a long day. I love Botswana Agate it is one of my favorite stones. The stone ranges from swirls of gray to beige to a pinkish hue.

Tomorrow I will post a turquoise set I have to finish .  Check back today for the featured my featured arts organization Artizona. So come back and find out all the good things they are doing in the Valley. You might learn something you can put to use in your area. That's my purpose for posting about arts organization. Small arts groups like small business  owners are the innovators. We have to be creative because we don't have the deep pockets to just do whatever.

As always you can click on the title to purchase.

Self Challenge Day 1 New Piece

Today is Day 1 of my Blog Self Challenge to Create one new item per day for the rest of the year. I went back old school to draw on skills taught to me at Cass Technical High School in Detroit. (Thanks Mrs Ayala and Mrs. Pedersen for not getting mad at me when I wouldn't take the easy way out.). I crocheted a collar you can wear it flat or stand it up. Cost $40.00. I making a cap out of this same yarn, like purple blend cap my daughter is wearing in an earlier post. I didn't post this on a sell site so if you'd like to purchase it just send me an email. You can have a choice of shawl pens. Let me know what you think.

My Fine Silver Heart Pendant was included in a Treasury

My Fine Silver heart pendant was included in a free shipping treasury by Midwest Finds on Etsy. Thanks Midwest Finds.

You can click on the title to see the full treasury I couldn't pull it to post it.  You can click here to purchase the Heart pendant. http://www.etsy.com/listing/42654042/heart-pendant-fine-silver Let me know what you think?

We attended Sunday A'fair in Scottsdale and Had Crepes

The crepe makers. They are good.

We attended Sunday A'fair in Scottsdale and had delicious crepes made by the young lady pictured. Sunday A'fair is put on by the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts most Sundays. If you're coming to Scottsdale you have to check it out. The atmosphere, food, artwork  and music is top notch. The lady setting up the entertainment out did herself this year. We missed the opening act Sugar Thieves, but Big Daddy D and the Dynamites were awesome. They played all the old school jams from Ray Charles to Stevie Wonder ( yes they are a white group, it didn't matter. They jammed). This is as close to multiculturalism as Scottsdale gets, so we try not to miss it.

.  Located right in the heart of old town Scottsdale, its an easy two block walk from the Trolley. Can't walk the distance take the neighbor Trolley which will take you to the Civic Center Library. Then just follow the music. Sunday from noon to 4pm. (You can sleep late then come, after all this is Scottsdale. We know you hung out last night.) Smile.

So if you're in Scottsdale for business or pleasure check out Sunday A'fair  Admission to Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMOCA) is free on Sunday, come out and make a day of it. Let me now what you think.

Check back later for the artist of the week.

Have a great Monday.

Self Challenge When Told You Can't Do Fill in the Blank

It's Sunday Morning and as I got up to prepare for prayer I was thinking about,"What I could to do enhance my business and push my self to do better?". I am a firm believer in self challenges. All my life, society told me I couldn't do certain things because of, race, gender, height, wearing locks before they were fashionable, surviving illness and any other foolishness a person could dream up. I always used those "You cant's" as self challenges to motivate me to do what I set out to do. Whenever I was striving for a goal and got tired, discouraged whatever, I would replay that persons' voice who told me I couldn't. This always gave me that boost I needed to reach my goal.

So now to self challenge myself I'm going to make one new item everyday for the rest of the year. People who know me personally know that I can be very prolific. I will make a bunch of items in a sitting and them not make anything for a while. So what I'm working on here is consistency to make myself create something each day. Maybe I'll learn some new skills as I get bored easily.

My Granddaddy who passed just shy of his 96 birthday taught me that you should learn something new everyday. When Granddaddy turned 90 I asked him if there was anything left for him to learn. He smiled and told me what he had learned new that day. He then said," Baby you should not stop learning until they throw dirt on your face."

I expect this to be an interesting journey so sign up for my RSS or join or link to my blog and lets' see where the path goes. Let me know what your self challenges are or have been and how you dealt with it. I'd really like to know.


The challenge will start Tuesday January 25, 2011.

Adjustable Rings Part II

I had a ball creating these rings. I finally got them photographed (still working on my photography skills) and I'm  listing them in batches on my Artfire.com site. Here's part of the most current batch. Blogger's acting quirky and wouldn't let me put the words over the pictures.

Picture #1 is a Blister pearl. Love them , each one is uniquely different. The very first one I had I bought it because it reminded me of the "Madonna and child image". The lady who purchased it didn't want anyone to touch it. Smile.

Picture #2 I can't remember what the heck it is, I've had it for so long. If you know the name of the stone be the first person to leave it for me and I'll give you a ten% off one item on my Artfire store.

Picture #3  is of course Tigereye. One of my favorites and believed to be a stone of protection for women. When I did a lot of shows, I always had Tigereye in many different shapes and sizes on my table. I made it into jewelry for men and women. Something about the stones beauty just draws you in.

Picture #4  I believe its green chalcadony. This such a deep green rich color.

Picture #5 is another favorite, Botswana Agate. I really want to visit Botswana, I have met some wonderful people from there.

Please let me know what you think of these rings. As always you can click on the title to purchase.


Enjoy your weekend.

10 New Adjustable Gemstone Rings On My Artfire

I added ten new rings in red jasper, pearls, fancy jaspers and African trade bead cabochons to my sell site. The rings are all on adjustable shanks. I wanted to add a fun line that could be given as Valentines presents to friends, secretaries, and others who were not a "LUV" interest. Smile. I made at least 40 with cabochons and I have another 16 shanks that are dangles.  I will be adding new rings every day. Most of the rings are one of a kinds so grab the ones you like when you see it. I most likely won't be able to duplicate it with that same item. Take a look and tell me what you think.

So, what do you think? As always you can click on the title to purchase.

Stay Blessed,

Tempe's Martin Luther King Celebration

We attended Tempe Arizona's Martin Luther King Celebration Brunch. The event as a whole was outstanding. The entertainment by the students included a guitar duet and the steel drum group. The steel drum groups excellent playing and high energy had everyone alert  and upbeat for the event.

The speaker Dr. Betty Greathouse, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University, did a timeline on diversity in Tempe. (I have to keep reminding myself that Blacks are only 17% of the entire state.) Dr. Greathouse detailed the important stops in Tempe's history since the late 1800. Sufficient to say Tempe got their first Black council member two years ago. They have made great strides but still have a lot of work to do in the area of diversity.

I gifted the good Dr. with a pair of my cowrie shell earrings in copper and a bookmark. A very interesting day indeed.

What Do You Think of My New Banner

I had a new banner made by an etsy graphic artist. What do you think? Feedback appreciated.

My I Heart Breakfast Basket

I went through the basket and discovered I heart breakfast rings (really nice) and cereal bowls. Even my kitten Tiger got into the act, climbing to the basket and making it her playground. I am on a restrictive diet so I was loving it when I saw all the gluten free products.

I  took a class to  do  voice overs last year. I have always had a distinctive voice so I might as well put it to use. I had my daughter on the floor crying with laughter as I did the old General Mills commercials in different voices. Commercials during the 1960's through 80"s that were well before her time (She's twelve). I'll have to make a YouTube of the voices and upload it.

I'm going to make a trail mix with the Chex cereals. I'm from a big family and my parents are Southerners and very creative cooks. My parents would mix Chex cereal .with popcorn, nuts, sunflower seeds , roasted pumpkin seeds, raisins,berries or whatever else was in season. Throw some seasonings in and we were good to go.

I going to mix some up for my daughter and post pictures.

Did you know Trix is good with your morning yogurt? Who knew!

As always you can click on the title or the links on the side to make purchases.

I Won the General Mills I Heart Breakfast Contest.

I won the General Mills I Heart Breakfast contest. Baby girl claimed the I-Pod Touch as soon as it came out of the box.There was so much cereal and other goodies, I took half of the cereals and mixes and put them in the laundry room. We have a lot of college students here so thats how the elders share. Whoever needs it can take what they want without questions or finger pointing. Smile. I entered at Sistasense.com. Thanks LaShanda for having the contest on your site.

New Toys to play with

I purchased silk sari strands from designtalentedone on etsy. I created a necklace lariat for a pendant I had made from old stock Pietersite that I had.I love the Pietersite it is so scenic. I think it came out pretty good. what do you think?

I Started Back to Crocheting

I started crocheting again. I hadn't made anything in 15-20 years. (I did crochet a piece freehand for the coral reef project that was on display for Scottsdale Library. I was a Clothing and Textiles major in the Home Economics Department at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan. We had to learn many skills of what I now term the Home Arts. We had to knit,crochet, learn to make a garment by draping it alone., reupholster car seats, make garments. Destroy fabrics to learn how they were made and their properties (My personal favorite.) I used to be able to rub fabric between my fingers and tell you its fiber content, thats how good my teachers were. This talent used to blow my Mother away, I was always right. Unfortunately, Cass no longer has a home economics department. Strangely, although I sold jewelry though out high school, I didn't take a class in jewelry making.

I made the set baby girl is modeling free hand, without a pattern. I've completed some collars and dishcloths. I will be adding pictures shortly. Of course she kept this set. Smile

ESPN Broadcasting Live InScottsdale

I took my daughter to the ESPN live broadcasts on Monday and Thursday here in Scottsdale. On Monday they were only using a small section of the field next to Nordstom that was converted for this event. By Thursday the area had quadrupled in size, many more activities and food vendors were added. They even had a spa set up(Only in Scottsdale. LOL) The usual Scottsdale crowds were not there this time. Hopefully it will pick up starting tonight and the rest of the weekend. Usually people go to Glendale for the games and come to Scottsdale for everything else.

Eddie Matney of Eddie's House was creaming the competition with of all things mac and cheese. It was in a word, "Awesome".

 

Me with my shooters

Me and my baby girl.

My baby dancing to Knect and Xbox at the Microsoft tent.