Blog Hops R Us

Did you see the post yesterday about the sign ups for the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color? Go to the page above that says 'take the challenge' to sign up!

As luck would have it, and after all the {supposedly} careful planning that I did on the post and the Wufoo forms over the past week, I completely screwed up. Thanks to some of my faithful readers who pointed it out, I think I have the glitches all worked out!

I have been working on that post for days now. And I thought that I had my forms all set. But what I failed to do was to delete the entries from the LAST challenge. There were already 60 in that file and then it hit the limit of 80 pretty quick! I don't have access to my emails during the day, so I didn't find out until that evening. So I had to go through the list one by one to delete the old ones, preserving the new entries. And this was also why some people who had signed up in the past couldn't do it again, as it is set to only accept one entry per IP. DOH! And even though I changed all the dates on the forms, there was one hidden spot you had to click to see the text of the email even though I changed it in one place. Why do they have to make it so convoluted! So the dates that went out in the auto email were wrong. Double DOH!

The blog hop is November 30th. I will be sending out more information in a few days to clarify.

Thanks for your patience with this one-woman show!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before I forget... The Random Gods have spoken and the winner of the Forest Finery pendant is............................................................................................

Margot Potter!

Miss Madge, kindly shoot me an email with your snail mail address and I will send you one of the limited edition pendants with the message 'i speak for the trees' from the Lorax by Dr. Seuss.

And speaking of the pendants, would you like to see them? I am back up and running in my Etsy shop....finally. I had to unplugged for the weekend and all the crazy deadlines I accepted (or rather put on myself). The new Forest Finery pendants that I referred to with these messages were created just for Heather Powers' Inspired by Nature retreat and each participant got one of these in their goodie bags.

'a weed is but an unloved flower' ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

'i speak for the trees' ~ Dr Seuss, The Lorax

'every leaf a miracle' ~ Walt Whitman 

The remaining pendants are now in my Etsy shop. Shall we celebrate with a flash sale? I think so! Use the code FOREST15 in my Etsy shop now until Monday, November 5th for 15% off your purchases (sorry, the discount will not apply to the Simple Truths Sampler Clubs as they are already discounted. Speaking of which, there are plenty of spaces that just opened up in there! Perfect as a gift that keeps on giving for yourself... or maybe someone you love who would love a new pendant/charm/etc each month! I can even add a chain. Christmas is coming... hint...hint...;-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enough of all that. Today is all about the blog hopping. So come along with me on a creative journey!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Humblebeads Teal Branches Blog Hop

I am smitten with Miss Heather's Humblebeads.

I seriously have an addiction to them. I cannot have too many (I just bought more tonight! What? She was having a special newsletter only sale to celebrate her impending move to a NEW HOUSE! Woot!), and then I hoard them obsessively. But actually, I love that her beads pair so very well with all the colors and motifs of my own Simple Truths, so I really do find that I use them all the time.

When Heather proposed a little blog hop showing what we would do with the beads that she sent her partner for the Bead Soup book, I knew that I wanted in. I happened to have that exact teal branch lentil in my stash, so I just bought the beads.

Now Heather is like me in that she makes things in small batches. So the teal on my lentil is not exactly the same as the teal on the disk beads. But I don't care!

At the Inspired by Nature retreat, Heather taught us all sorts of fun tricks with hammers and wire and beads. I decided to go against the grain and use these pieces in my necklace for this challenge rather than make what was on the instructions. I am a rebel like that. ;-)

We made Vintaj Arte Metal blanks look like birch bark with some simple hammering and buffing. (I used sand paper to rub off as much of the black finish and then used some pearl alcohol ink to add that papery white touch I love). We used wire and seed beads to make dainty little Queen Anne's Lace flower petals.And we played around with Swellegant to created our own rusty, crusty and patina-ed pieces like this flower bead cap I made. At the back I added some teal dupioni silk from my goodie bag, brown silk cord and nubby white cotton yarn for a very soft and cozy feel. I decided to roll all of those things together in this necklace I am calling "Into the Woods."

Thank you for always making the beads I can't live without and for inspiring me to push my creative boundaries my friend! Now go and see what the others made! (But be sure to come back!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michaels Toast of the Town Variations Blog Hop

I have to admit that when I had this idea for a variations blog hop, I really didn't think about the date. I have been a bit busy myself. But I didn't want to let the fine folks at Michaels and Halcraft down, plus I really have to admit that it is a bit self-serving to want to see how you can translate my instructions into something new!

The tip I gave everyone is to find a toggle clasp that is big enough for your two strands to go through and then snip off the loop. Diana at the Inspired by Nature retreat worked on one and suggested a gemstone donut. Brilliant! It would work with any round ring. The strands just need to be free moving.

The second tip that I have is to stagger your patterns on your strands to balance them out. That way you won't have the exact same beads competing for the same space. By doing this you get that balanced patterning to satisfy your symmetrical side and all together you get the randomness that those patterns make when stacked to appeal to the asymmetrical side of your personality!

There really is no wrong way to do this design, and the ones that I have seen so far will demonstrate this. And this is a great way to approach any design that you like in a magazine or book or online publication. Don't be afraid to play with it and make it your own!


All told there are at least seven ways to wear this. Discovered another one this past weekend! I pulled up on one strand and the other three fell downward making a waterfall effect. Now there are eight!

Miss Holly Summerville O'Daley decided to play along but she doesn't have a blog, so I am showing off her work. She used virtually the same color palette from the original, but with different beads.

{Holly made this her own with the way cool connectors making this even MORE versatile!}

 And the truly brilliant part is that she made the strands connected to the toggle bar with a spring loaded connector (from the Tori Spelling jewelry line. I love those! I bought all of them up at my Michaels ;-) so that you could remove the individual strands and connect them to yet another blingy link with lobster claw clasps. Outstanding!

Miss Molly Schaller is my partner in crime on the Halcraft Beading Dream Team. I just love her style and sense of color! She was inspired to play along with us and since she doesn't have a blog she just started a blog - today! - with this as her first post! But I told her I would still share. Be sure to go and give her some blog love. You will definitely want to follow her! All the beads used are from Michaels and the Bead Gallery line and have a completely different vibe.Very earthy and almost tribal.

{Molly made this her own with an earth and sky color palette that looks right at home in the southwest or walking on a beach!}

I told the hoppers that I wouldn't get around to making my piece until Thursday night. And as of 7pm, I kid you not, I hadn't even started! I had decided earlier on that I would make this variation using whatever mix of beads I happened to have on hand to show how great this looks with all those random bits and orphans that I know you have lying about.

I started by getting out a bowl and pawing through all my bead orphans to find things in colors that I liked. I spent about 30 minutes just randomly throwing things in the bowls. I walked around my studio and picked up beads left on mats and in cups and even a few that were rolling around on the floor. I also happened to have three different Bead Gallery strands that were already partially used so they went into the bowl, too. I started to notice that I was gravitating to aqua, teal, lavender, champagne and gray.

I mixed them up and just started stringing without looking at what I was picking up. The result is something so deliciously random. Yet it works! I also decided that since I had limited time to execute this, I would set a time limit. I gave myself no longer than 2 hours to make this. And I did it in 1 hour and 16 minutes! (I think writing up this massive post took me more time!)

Here is my latest variation:

I want to point out the clasp. The rhinestone link that I found was not actually a toggle. There were loops on either end. I cut them off and carefully filed the edges smooth (I used a little gold paint pen to match the metal). Since I didn't have a toggle bar to go with this, I opted for a hook clasp. But it was too plain. So I wired on some random seed beads matching the colors of the palette. When you open it up to wear long, the hook gets tucked in the strands and you don't even see it. Voila!

I had three random winners of beads that I sent off for this challenge. Tanya, Lee and Elisabeth each got goodie packages from me and I have no idea what colors they got! The others in this list below used their own beads, or used it as an excuse to trot off to Michaels to use their 50% off coupons last week. Win-win!

Thank you for coming along to play with me in this Michaels Toast of the Town Variation Blog Hop Challenge! This was so much fun. It is very gratifying to see how you are taking the directions that I made and truly making it your own. That is what an artist does, and you are all artists! I feel like popping some champagne and toasting each of you!

Michaels Toast of the Town Variations Blog Hop

Tanya - A Work In Progress

Lee - Strega Jewellery

Elisabeth - Beads for Busy Gals
Molly - Crafting A Life in Indiana

Pam - Re-Maker

Beth - EB Bead & Metal Works

Emma - A Polymer Penchant

Michelada - Micheladas Musings

Penny - Copper Penny Designs

Kay - Kayz Kreationz  (Note: Kay had to go out of town. Do check back for her reveal!)

Mallory - For the Love of Beads

If anyone else is playing along and I somehow forgot you, just leave your link to your post in the comments and I will add it.


If you love what you see, and really want to try to make this yourself, please check out the instructions on the Michaels.com website. And if you would be so kind as to scroll down and review this design and instructions, I would greatly appreciate it!

What colors would you like to try making this in? How would you envision making this necklace your own variation? Do you prefer to make things from instructions exactly like the picture, or are you more apt to play around and make it your own? Do tell!

P.S. The sign ups for the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color blog hop will close on Sunday, November 4th. Join us for a colorful time!

3rd Annual Challenge of Color :: Earth As Art

Touch the earth, feel the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, and her seas;
rest your spirit in her solitary places.
~ Henry Beston

A few years ago I was stuck in a rut of blah colors, or lack thereof, in my designing and so I decided to challenge myself to leap from the rut and follow a new brightly hued path. I started the Challenge of Color to push myself, and I took a chance that others might want to play along. 

That first year I was surprised at the response. We used paint store color palettes as our inspiration. I pushed myself last year to find something different. I found the Design Seeds website with awesome color palettes by fellow Wisconsinite Jessica Colaluca.

Welcome :: Brandi Hussey of BrandiGirlBlog

This year I invited my friend Brandi Hussey, my color guru, to be my partner. I was delighted that she said yes! If you don't know Miss Brandi, you really should check her BrandiGirlBlog out. I first gravitated to Miss Brandi for her incredible jewelry. Unfortunately, she no longer sells it, so I am thrilled that I own a few select pieces. Her use of color and love of lampwork and gemstones was a breath of fresh air for me. So delicate and intricate yet so powerful and strong. I love them and cherish the pieces that I have.

Brandi also posts palettes on her blog that are a great inspiration. She is a gifted photographer and it always amazes me at the detail that she focuses on.

{little bud}

Brandi is generous with her many talents. She is a graphic designer as well and has a whole page of freebies of things like printable gift tags and social media icons as well as awesome Photoshop layouts, borders and brushes. You can even make your own cool palettes like she does with her Photoshop palette layout which is the one that I use when I make them. If you get nothing else, please download her Artist's Guide to Pricing. It is invaluable. Did I mention it is free?

But the most impressive thing about my friend Brandi is her command of color. She has shown me that there are no colors that are unloved in nature and that I need to stop and pay attention to the little details all around me to see the beauty. I knew she would be the perfect partner for this Challenge.

Earth As Art

So the point with my Challenges is to challenge ourselves, right? And as a former teacher, learning is in my bones, so it has to be more than just about opening up the crayon box. I knew that I could easily go back to Design Seeds and run the challenge in the same way, but loads of people are using those palettes now, and I wanted to find something to challenge me, too. In preparing for my Challenge of Travel back in August I stumbled on some of the most incredible pictures and I knew that they would be the basis of the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color.

The Earth As Art image gallery is a group of over 120 pictures taken from the Landsat series of Earth observation satellites since 1972. These pictures of the unique features of our beautiful planet are a vital resource for understanding scientific issues related to land use and natural resources. Plus they are just so darned cool! 

All the images that we will be using in this Challenge of Color and all the information that I found came from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which donated all these images to the Library of Congress.

The images in these galleries are spectacular. The views of mountains, valleys, islands and forests was well as agricultural patterns and even heavily populated areas are quite striking in their abstraction. The colors are much different than what you might expect. The satellite land imagery uses a digital palette that relates to the different levels on the infrared spectrum and help to give insight into the specific geography of the image. Here are a few examples to whet your appetite:

Aleutian Clouds: June 1, 2000
Description: These cloud formations were seen over the western Aleutian Islands. Their color variations are probably due to differences in temperature and in the size of water droplets that make up the clouds. 

Isn't that gorgeous? The colors are so beautiful. The patterns are so intricate. And I think what is most impressive is that it is so abstract. If you can't identify the image it has an impact that is just so otherworldly. 

Malaspina Glacier: August 1, 2000

Description: The tongue of the Malaspina Glacier, the largest glacier in Alaska, fills most of this image. The Malaspina lies west of Yakutat Bay and covers 1,500 sq mi (3,880 sq km). 

Oh my. The striations of red and blue with the grounding of the mustard and the brilliant blue. That blows me away!

My pal Brandi got all fired up when she saw these pictures. (I knew she would. ;-) Wild horses couldn't keep her from whipping out about 40 palettes from her favorites. I certainly wasn't going to stop her! So our Challenge of Color will be pulled from carefully curated images taken from the Landsat satellite image gallery from the US Geological Survey complete with the most impressive array of color palettes you can imagine. For this I have to say a huge thanks to Brandi for not only getting so excited but for taking this further than I ever would have expected.

How are satellite images different from photographs?

So glad you asked that question! 

Here is a little lesson in infrared satellite imagery to understand the colors and patterns that you will see in the palettes that will be our inspiration. I am going to get a bit science-y on you, but don't worry, it will be interesting!

Satellite images we see have very different colors than the ones we are used to seeing with our own eyes. That is what makes these images so unique, but why do they look so different?

Below are two pictures of the exact same location: Washington, DC and the Chesapeake Bay area in Maryland. (Hello, DC area friends!)

The one on the left is shown in 'true color' meaning that it is as your eye would see it. The 'false color' image on the right focuses on colors in different wavelengths that are not visible to the eye.

This all has to do with electromagnetic radiation. All objects emit levels of radiation in varying amounts and wavelengths. A wavelength is the distance between wave peaks of the radiation that is emitted. These wavelengths make up the electromagnetic spectrum.

You can't see ultraviolet rays or infrared. We can only see a small part of the visible spectrum. Remember ROYGBIV? (Bonus points!)

While we can't see past the visible spectrum, satellites can. The Landsat 7, which took most of these pictures (they are launching Landsat 8 in February 2013 - can't wait!), uses instruments to collect data at specific wavelengths. Seven to be exact. These seven layers of data can then be used to build an image. Essentially, Landsat 7 takes pictures of the same location in different wavelengths at the same time, with each of the seven parts of the electrmagnetic spectrum. These layers are called bands.

Landsat 7 Band Number	Applications
1	coastal water mapping, soil/vegetation discrimination, forest classification, man-made feature identification
2	vegetation discrimination and health monitoring, man-made feature identification
3	plant species identification, man-made feature identification
4	soil moisture monitoring, vegetation monitoring, water body discrimination
5	vegetation moisture content monitoring
6	surface temperature, vegetation stress monitoring, soil moisture monitoring, cloud differentiation, volcanic monitoring
7	mineral and rock discrimination, vegetation moisture content

The Landsat 7 takes pictures in black and white. The bands show different objects (plants, soil, water, etc) as reflecting different wavelengths of light. So a bright spot shows where a lot of light is reflected. So how does that wicked cool color get in there?

Basically, computers assign one of the RGB colors - Red, Green, Blue - to the different bands and the composite is put together to see the colors from the Earth As Art image gallery.

Vegetation appears as shades of red, because vegetation reflects a lot of infrared light. I find it interesting that the brighter the red, the healthier the vegetation. For areas of little vegetation, the colors will range from white (for sand) to greens and browns based on the moisture content or what organic matter is concentrated in that area. Water shows up as blue to black. Clear, deep water is dark, and shallow water or sediment filled water appears lighter. Urban areas look blue-gray. Clouds and snow are both white.

Makes a lot of sense, right?

So that ends the science of color lesson for today. And I promise there won't be a pop quiz tomorrow ;-)

Are you super inspired yet? 

As I mentioned, Miss Brandi selected 40 of the images and created her special color palettes using them. We tossed around ideas as to how to make this a challenge. We could have just given you all 40 palettes and had you pick, but truthfully, that would paralyze me because I would want to do them all! I think that the best option is to make this a true random sampling challenge. Which means you will have to let go of a little bit of control, but I assure you that once you see all the palettes you will be blown away by how awesome they are!

When you sign up using the form below, I will randomly assign two uniquely different palettes to you. From the two that I send you, you can choose which one you like better. Or you can be super inspired and make something for both! At some point in the month, I will ask for you to choose which palette you have chosen (or both!) so that I can make up the final blog hop list by palette. Since there will likely be more than one person using the same palette, it will be interesting to see how the same picture and palette produce different results.

Here are the details:

Sign ups are open today through Sunday, November 4th. 
Click the tab above that says "take the challenge" for the form.

I have the limit set to 80 participants. 

Blog Hop will be on Friday, November 30th.

By November 6th (keep your fingers crossed!), I will send out a follow up email to all the participants with more information and a complete list of the participants. I will email you your two palettes directly. Miss Brandi will be creating some special badges that we can put on our blogs when she returns from her trip next week. In the meantime, please feel free to use the banner above that Brandi created.

Join Erin and Brandi in the
3rd Annual Challenge of Color

It is only a little planet, but how beautiful it is. ~ Robinson Jeffers

I couldn't agree more! Let's get inspired!

All Treats. Few Tricks.

I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween. 
~Author Unknown

It is Halloween today but around here the treats were handed out on Sunday afternoon. I am told that we had 66 trick-or-treaters come by! Not only did my husband do a good job of making sure all the candy I supplied him with was taken, but he dipped into the bin of older candy (mostly Lifesavers and the random Dum Dum). So I guess, that was a bit of a trick for those that came late! 
 
Today I have a few treats to share... 
 

The first is a treat for me. I just found out that I won $100 worth of online classes from the "Dream Jewelry Studio" drawing at CraftArtEdu.com. Woot! I am going to treat myself to some polymer clay classes, like this one to make enchanting crown boxes. Or these interchangeable rings. Or perhaps Tiny Dancer and I would like to make these cute polymer clay bugs. Or maybe a make your own rubber stamp. Or a mixed media jewelry making exploration of a winged steampunk heart. Or a class making felted flower earrings to feed my new love of felting after making embellished felted leaves with my daughter at the Inspired by Nature retreat last weekend (pictures and more to follow soon!).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few weeks back I was surprised by a package of beads from Kalmbach Publishing, publishers of the Bead Soup Book that I am honored to be a part of. They are hosting a little bead soup party this month in conjunction with the book. They asked bead stores across the country to put together a little bead soup to share with random participants. I got a sweet little package of beads from a shop right here in my state of Wisconsin - Meant To Bead in Sun Prairie! I have never been, but now I know that I will have to stop in sometime when I am in that neck of the woods. 

They sent me a pretty and springy palette of light blues, yellow and white with a gold clasp. I got glass tulip beads, faceted fire polish, crystal bicones, a sweet little flower lampwork bead and a pretty hammered Tierra Cast clasp. 

I added some ice blue shell coin beads, a fancy gold plated bracelet chain and some dainty gold plated fancy headpins from Beadalon. 

I went with a charm style bracelet. My trick with making these is to stagger groups of the beads along the length of the chain. I lay the chain out and then put the beads along the edge to give me a sense of the rhythm of the piece. Then I make all the dangles up and attach them. I kept switching between my round nose pliers and my wire cutters until I realized that my round nose pliers has an integrated cutter in them. Doh! Trick is on me!

My result is this flirty charm style bracelet I am calling "Meant to Be" in honor of the name of the store that graciously supplied the beads.

I wrote about the 7,000 Bracelets of Hope on the Art Bead Scene last week. This is an arm (no pun intended) of the Global Genes Project dedicated to putting a blue bracelet on the wrist of a caregiver of someone with a genetic disorder. To let them know that someone out there is thinking of them with hope. Did you know there are 7,000 identified rare diseases and over 80% of them are caused by a faulty gene? It makes me grateful and frankly amazed that my children do not have a genetic disorder. Since these beads were donated to me, I plan to donate this special bracelet to the 7,000 Bracelets of Hope charity. I have donated to this cause in the past, and I hope that this "Meant to Be" bracelet will bring cheer to someone. If you are interested in donating to the cause, please check out their website.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Each year we have a tradition where we carve pumpkins with our friends the DiSalvo family. We figure that we have been doing this for 15 years, since I know that we started before we had children. We get together for an evening of food and football and carve our pumpkins with the Pumpkin Masters templates. 

Every year when I was little I would ask to be a princess. I remember that we would parade around the school up and down the hallways in our costumes. I had this pink dress that was thrifted and my mom made this way cool cone hat with a scarf at the top. And I had on a long strand of my mom's pearls. I remember the tink-tink-tink as they went bouncing down the hallway when the string broke. 

For years, my daughter asked to be a witch. Or Tinkerbell. I remember the year that I made her into Hannah Montana. And the so-cute costume I made when my son was two of a dinosaur made from two pairs of green sweatpants, a green hooded sweatshirt, stiffened felt, batting and googly eyes. I hate premade costumes. We go to Goodwill and get creative. This year Tiny Dancer picked out a black bob wig, some big sunglasses and a short black trench coat. She was going to be a spy at school. When we got there today, I asked if she had her costume. Of course, she left it at home. I could have gone back to get it, but she blew it off saying, "That's okay." But it wasn't okay with me. So now I have a $12 wig, $4 sunglasses, and $10 jacket. I sure hope she knows that she will be wearing that for Christmas. ;-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bead Style Magazine has a new Pinterest board called "Words to Bead By" that I just love. It shows what looks like a message tacked up on a board. I think this treat is a 'something good' today!

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And the final treat is one for you...with a bit of a trick ;-). I have to get my Etsy site back up and running after shutting it off from my weekend trip. But before I do that, I have to double-check that I won't be putting some of the Simple Truths back out there that sold during our trunk show. I made three exclusive designs for the goodie bags that all had a woodsy feel. Of course, I made extra and they will be in the shop soon. They are in my Forest Finery style. For one random lucky participant, I would like to give one away. That is the treat. The trick is that I am going to make the winner select from the quotes only, and not the images. Which quote is your favorite?

'a weed is but an unloved flower'  ~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

'every leaf a miracle' ~Walt Whitman

'i speak for the trees' ~The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Leave a comment below telling me your favorite of these three quotes or a favorite trick or treat memory and I will announce a winner on Friday! 

P.S. For another treat, tune in tomorrow, November 1st, as I reveal the new Challenge of Color inspiration. I think you are going to love it! And then come back on Friday, November 2nd as I share the Michaels Toast of the Town variation mini blog hop and the Humblebeads Teal Branches blog hop! Treats galore!

Echo Creative Club - October

Jeannie Dukic is a multi-tasking, multi-talented artist. I have had the pleasure of being a part of her Echo Creative Club this year. I love that she is always coming up with new things. One of her polymer clay creations is a line she called Peeled Paint beads. These bright colors peeking out from gold and copper leaf, as if they are a relic that was unearthed from another time.

Jeannie sent me these bright aqua peeled paint beads. I thought they would be just perfect for earrings!

I don't normally work in gold, but I happened to have these sweet little gold paisley charms. That meant that I was going to do something bohemian! I pulled out The Earring Style Book by Stephanie Wells and found a pleasing shape.

I created a frame from 16 gauge wire and hammered it for strength and texture. Then I took 22 gauge wire and strung the paisley to the middle, bending it so that it overlapped in a teardrop shape. Next I wrapped the wire around the frame adding little brass cornerless cubes, and I found a perfect match to the aqua color in some little czech faceted rounds. Add a bit of chain... et voila!

{Aqua Dancer Earrings}

Thanks to Miss Jeannie of Jewelry by Jeannie for inviting me to play in the Echo Creative Club this year! It is always a treat to get little beady presents in the mail, and Jeannie's beads and pendants are the best!

P.S. Off to Michigan for the Inspired by Nature retreat with Heather Powers! This is a girls road trip with my Tiny Dancer. I am bringing my entire jewelry studio. At least that is what it feels like. I will check back in next week with you and share more of the inspiring time that will be had!

And just a heads up.... Friday, November 2nd is the reveal of the Michaels Toast of the Town Variation necklace mini blog hop... and Thursday, November 1st I will be revealing the details of the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color.  It is going to be awesome!

Commitment...With a Kiss

"Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision,
and give us the 'right stuff' to turn our dreams into reality."
~James Womack

Today is my 20th wedding anniversary.
I found this post that I did on October 12, 2010, 

on the 25th anniversary of our first kiss.
I feel that it is appropriate to reprint it today
to remember the commitment I have to the love of  my life,
my best friend, Paul. 

 Babe, you knocked my shoes off then and you are still doing it now. 

I love you!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat down just before midnight on October 12, 2010 to write this post not sure where I was going with it. I am choosing a Virtues card at random and Commitment is the one for this week {truthfully, I almost tucked it back in and picked a different one...but that would be against my commitment to this process...hmmmm?}. I had just come home at 10:30pm from buying milk and about $135 worth of things that weren't on my list. I was tired and crabby. I wanted to read a book and tutorial to prepare myself for some experiments for tomorrow. But something stopped me about that date.

I spent some time thinking about it. Then it hit me. Homecoming is this weekend for my alma mater Pacelli High School. My {then} 7th grade son, Rocket, will be marching in the parade and playing during halftime. And that is when I knew what it was.

Twenty-seven years ago on this very night, October 12th, perhaps at this very moment, I got my first kiss.

Okay. It wasn't my FIRST kiss. But it was the first one that counted. Because it was with the man that I have come to regard as the best thing that has ever happened to me.

I have known my husband since we were both the new kids at St. Stephen Elementary school back in 1978 for 5th grade. We were about the same age that my daughter is right now. We lived two blocks from each other. We rode the same bus to school.

Over time he developed a crush on my best friend {everyone did - Hi Lynna!}. Our paths might cross, but we didn't run in the same circles {even though our circles were mighty small in a graduating class of 93 students}.

Earlier that year we carried on a bit of a flirtation one weekend during the annual Trivia contest in our city {World's Largest. You can look it up.} There is a picture of us peeking out from under a blanket. And no, we were not up to anything other than warmth...and flirting. {What kind of a girl do you think I am?} I wish I could find these pictures now... but it is so late and I am too tired to know where to start. He was always gone every summer, out to tend the land on the farm that his family owned so after that spring, I thought little of it {and besides, I did have a boyfriend at the time that I was busy breaking up with...good thing, too.}

On that end-of-summer day in 1985 there was a yearbook signing party. I recall him striding over to me and my best friend sitting under a tree. He asked to sign my yearbook {not hers}. I remember writing some trite thing like, "1986 will be the best year yet!" But it is what he wrote in mine that I will never forget.

"I hope we become better friends."

Wha? I remember my best friend and I being all in a tizzy about that. And with those words he set into motion the start of something special.

He made a commitment after our flirtatious spring to find a way to ask me out. I found out years later that he spent all summer working on the farm thinking of ways to do it. That certainly shows that he had vision and a confidence that his plan would produce the desired result. And that little note in my yearbook still makes me smile. For it set in motion a series of events that forever changed my life.

Our first date was Friday, September 6th. We went to the first football game and to the 'sock hop' after {doesn't that make me sound ancient? Really, it was just a dance in the gym...in our socks ;-}.

We spent many days after that walking through the halls holding hands, causing everyone else in our class to gasp {"What is he doing with her?"}. He lingered with me at volleyball practice. He drove me home from school and then called me on the phone at night where I would spend hours talking, he listening {he said he liked to hear me talk, but really he was just shy...and truthfully I never shut up!}. He passed me little origami-like notes in class {I still have an entire shoebox of them.}

But he never kissed me. Not once.

It drove my best friend a little nuts, I think. But I wasn't worried. And I am forever grateful that he didn't cave to the pressure of others wondering why it hadn't happened yet.

Whether he planned it or not, this waiting was a commitment. We let our relationship build and develop. We spent time finding out the truth about one another. That time that we took built our loyalty and certainly contributed to the 'right stuff' that made our dreams a reality. I think that has made all the difference during this life.

I clearly remember October 12, 1985. It was our Senior year Homecoming. So that was special in itself. I remember that I wore a black sparkly cocktail dress that was loaned to me from a friend of my mother's {wish I could find the picture... I was so skiiiinnnnyyy!}. I bought some crystal and jet rhinestone earrings that were quite stunning. I had on impossibly high heeled black pumps.

{Found the pic! from the Color Palette Blog Walk from Brandi Hussey last year. Man was I skinny!}

We danced the night away. Our class was notorious for not agreeing on anything, so the theme for Homecoming was B.Y.O.T. {Bring Your Own Theme... I know. Completely lame.} I also remember that he chose the first slow dance theme of the night. That fluttering feeling of hearing the DJ announce Bryan Adams' 'Heaven' as dedicated to me still makes me swoon. That will always be our song {and the lyrics are even more poignant today}.

My feet hurt from those impossibly high heels and I recall that he carried me to the dance floor. {Probably the first and last time that ever happened, but it was sweet.} I remember not wanting the night to end.

We sat in his car around midnight parked outside my grandmother's house on Portage Street where I was staying for the weekend while my parents were out of town. The light of the one street lamp across the street provided a warm glow that chased away the chill in the night air. We talked about everything until there were no more words {and you can imagine how rare that must be for me!}. But the silence wasn't awkward. It was comforting. In that momentary lull, it happened.

He leaned in and kissed me.

And it wasn't a polite peck on the cheek.

But it wasn't a floodgate of lust either.

It was the single most electrifying sensation that literally took my breath away. And actually knocked my shoes off.

Can you have flash forwards instead of flash backs? Because I swear that is what happened in the moment. I flashed forward to what my life could be like. I liked what I saw. And the rest is history.

What does this have to do with commitment?

Commitment is about making a choice and keeping it. It is about accepting responsibility and having the confidence to remain true. It is about giving yourself fully and going the distance.

Twenty-seven years ago tonight the kiss that was more than a month in the making held so much promise. It was as if in that moment I knew that my heart was making a commitment to this man. It felt like so much more than giving into the moment. I quite clearly remember a feeling of revelation. It wasn't love at first sight but rather love at first kiss.

And on this day twenty-seven years later I realize that it is still a thrill to be with this man, this Husband, who knows that no two kisses are ever alike. Who knows that a kiss is not to be taken lightly or be pressured into giving, or receiving. Who knows that there can be a lifetime of promise in one.

On October 24, 1992 we sealed that commitment with another kiss in front of our parents, friends, family, congregation and God.

Happy 20th wedding anniversary, my sweet!  

Can it really be that long?

And thank you for the kiss that started it all 27 years ago. It literally rocked my world. And for all the kisses since that continue to rock my world... I treasure every one as a symbol that our commitment is still as strong.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Virtue Card: Commitment

"Commitment is caring deeply about a person, a goal or a belief. Once we discern a direction we go for it wholeheartedly. We don't hold back, second-guess our decision or hesitate to act on it fully. We set goals and achieve them. We make promises and keep them. We go the extra mile. We are faithful to our relationships and don't allow problems to make us waver. Keeping our commitments strengthens our inner integrity. It deepens our capacity to carry responsibility with grace."

The Practice of Commitment

• I am discerning about my decisions.
• I give 100% to whatever I do.
• I am confident in my choices.
• I keep my agreements.
• I am loyal to those I care about.
• I have the strength to go the distance.
• I am thankful for the gift of Commitment.
• It brings passion to my purpose.

Was your FIRST kiss your first kiss? Or did it take some time {and some frogs} to have that revelation?

Do tell!

Michaels Toast of the Town Variations Blog Hop

The three winners of three bags of beads and a toggle clasp to make a variation of my Toast of the Town necklace are...

Tanya of A Work in Progress

Lee of Strega Jewelry

Elisabeth of Beads for Busy Gals

I am ready to ship out your beads to you TODAY so you can get started on YOUR VARIATION of this necklace ASAP! Please email me your address to enjoytheday@tesoritrovati.com

For those of you that did not get selected by the random gods, never fear! You are still invited to play along. I will be responding by email to each person who commented with a copy of the instructions that I wrote. These instructions can also be found on the Michaels website here. If you are up to the challenge, I invite you to join me!

{Click here for a coupon!}

The blog hop will start right here on Friday, November 2nd. The only rule is that you use the instructions for the Toast of the Town necklace as your starting point to make your own variation of the necklace. You can use whatever color palette you prefer and although it is not required to use the Michaels/Bead Gallery line, I would love it if you did! And someone said that there is a tremendous sale (50% off strands?! Woohoo! I am going shopping!) going on right now.

If you would like to be included in an official blog hop list on my blog, please leave your blog address in the comments and I will have a master list on my blog revealed on November 2nd.

Get creative!

Quick Fire Challenge: Michaels Toast of the Town Necklace Hop

Hello peeps!

Sorry for the radio silence this past week. That was completely unintentional. I had some big projects brewing that had to be focused on. I just never found my way back to you. But I missed you!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a concert of the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma. Right here in little Stevens Point, Wisconsin. What an incredible collaborative musical party that was! They were in our city for about 5 days and over that time they held master classes with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students as well as local high school band students. My daughter was one of 1200 students that got to attend a presentation where they shared some of the very unique cultural instruments they played. There were 15 members from far-flung countries like Russia, India, Iran, Spain, and China. They did an impressive 2nd half performance of a work that was commissioned for them to perform that was inspired by Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. We learned that it was only the 3rd time that they had actually performed that live. And that our concert was the last stop on their 2012 tour. All I can say is WOW!

I think I have some ideas for my February Challenge of Music. ;-)

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quick Fire Challenge: Michaels Toast of the Town Necklace Blog Hop

{Toast of the Town necklace}

Remember this post where I shared my participation in the October Jewelry Celebration "Made by Me, Inspired by Life" over at Michaels.com? The whole point of this experience is to encourage you, dear reader, to make the projects that all the experts created.

Well, the fine folks at Michaels and I have come up with a fun Quick Fire Challenge for you: using the instructions that I wrote and my piece as inspiration, I challenge you to create your own Toast of the Town necklace in a completely different colorway.

{Wore this to the Yo-Yo Ma concert last night!}

The beauty of this necklace design is that you can make unlimited variations of it just by changing the beads. Right after I made this, I made another in a purple/fuschia color palette. Just goes to prove how versatile this is!

To help jump start the creativity, I went to Michaels today and selected four strands of beads each in three different color palettes. I will be giving away these bead strands, plus a toggle clasp, and a copy of the instructions as a kick start to your creativity and to prove that YOU can make this necklace in any color combination.{Pardon the raindrops! Just as I was taking this picture it started to sprinkle! I promise that raindrops will not be included ;-}

{Grey/Blue Palette: hematite - silver - dyed jasper - ceramic}

{Red/Black Palette: faceted glass - millefiori - hematite - etched silver}

{Copper/Brown Palette: shell - metal - ceramic - glass}

Are you up to this quick fire challenge Michaels challenge?

•  Will you use the instructions provided to make your own version of the Toast of the Town necklace?

• Will you be willing to add beads from your stash, or better yet, take a trip to Michaels and fill in the blanks?
  
• Will you share your variation in a blog hop on Friday, November 2nd?

If you are can answer yes to those three questions, and you are willing to play by those rules, please comment on this post by Sunday, October 21st.

Be sure to have a way to quickly get in touch with you {Note: I try to reply to virtually every comment on my blog. If you have never received a reply from me, you don't have your email address turned on in your profile!}

I will pick three random winners to be gifted with a random colorway of four strands of beads, a toggle clasp and a set of the instructions. Since this is a quick turnaround, I have to limit the giveaway to U.S. addresses only. I will announce the winners on Monday, October 22nd and mail out the beads that day. I will also be playing along to make a third variation of this necklace.

This is a quick turnaround, hence the Quick Fire name! Would love to have you join me!

And even if you are not randomly selected, or you are outside of the U.S.,  you can still play along by taking a copy of the instructions found on the Michaels.com website and making your own version. Everyone is welcome to participate in this Quick Fire challenge!