the attention span of a gnat...

Sometimes having the attention span of a gnat is a good thing...

because of it, I am really never bored.

I am someone who has to keep her hands busy,

I generally don't watch television with the family

unless I am multitasking.

(unless I plan on letting it lull me to sleep)

Earrings are a good thing to make while I 'watch!'

I grab a handful of beads and findings and

snuggle in with everyone.

 The early hours of the morning are my

favorite time to solder.

Generally I have the pieces all put together and like to accumulate 

a nice pile of them to solder.

I'm usually the first one awake 

and it's quiet around here and I drink my coffee,

listen to pandora, and go to town!

this one is a double sided

vintage fabric scrap from a small vintage napkin with the trim on the front

and the word simplify on the back.

this one is made from a vintage piece of embroidery 

the latest pieces from the worktable,

most of them are listed in the shop

The Old White House

...and when I'm not making jewelry,

you know I'm sewing sachets and making soap!

These were the sachets that I made for the 

Soap'n House that I mentioned a few posts ago.

It unfortunately was postponed because

of the late winter weather so these

are waiting for the next show or for sale on etsy :)

I just love using the vivid colors of the vintage fabrics,

for the dryer sachets, it makes them easy to spot among the laundry,

and of course the Michigan stamp one is a favorite of mine.

So you see, having the attention span of a gnat

has served me well,

I flit from project to project always trying something new!

I do miss creating collages, and assemblage pieces

but this gnat has also learned her limits.

There is really only so much time in the day,

and right now my days are very full.

In between creating with my hands, I have been 

expanding my lil brain too!

I am in the process of creating a new website for us.

The blog will be connected to it,

but I wanted to create our own site 

apart from etsy.

Sometimes as I'm putting it together,

I think of it as one of those brain exercises 

that they encourage for gnats my age!

"If you don't use it, you lose it"

(I wish that worked for the rest of my body!)

That's a little of what I've been up to,

how about you?

I'd love to hear all about it!

love,

t.xoxo

linking to:

Be Inspired Party

the beautiful north...

Recently I was lucky enough to go on another girls weekend

with some of my favorite girls...

my sisters.

I only wish that all of them lived close enough 

to join in the fun.

we would have made room in the 

'must visit' phone booth!

Our stay at my SIL's parents cabin was fabulous!

Here is the view from the living room...

heaven.

Lake Michigan is gorgeous

in every season.

What used to be cherry orchards and farm land has now

a vast amount of excellent vineyards.

...So we went to a few

MANY

wineries.

MANY.

here is the run down of some of the ones that we went to...

Really, something for everyone!

I fell in love with this little old school house one,

the theme of all of their wine was about a school house.

I'm going to apologize now,

right up front,

I do not remember the names of most of the places we visited.

Although that has NOTHING to do with

wine tastings...

MANY.

They are scattered all up and down
the peninsulas.

Black Star Farms

(I only remember this because we went there last time!)

Thanks for the fun girls!

This one is the newest and has won many awards for their wine.
The whole decor was very contemporary with a focus on the view,
they built it on top of the tallest hill on the vineyard.
perfection.

It was the last one of the day and 

oh my gosh, I could work here,

if just for the view!

Those huge windows are actually doors

that open up to a patio for wine tastings in the summer.

how perfect is that?

ok, this one is called 45

(thanks to that t-shirt for sale!)

They had about 5 of the sweetest dogs

wandering around inside,

waiting for the little oyster crackers that 

they gave us for between wines.

This is the old asylum in Traverse City

that has been converted into

condos and low income housing

with restaurants, boutiques, and a farmers market on the bottom floor.

There was also a winery on the property.

Very beautiful, but I know that I couldn't live here...

all I could think of was some of the awful movies

about places like this.

way too eerie for me.

We did eat in the Cellar Restaurant there

and it was fabulous and we went to the

winery and that was awesome too.

We also visited the old fishing village...

but we were the only visitors!

That's what happens when you go up north

Michigan in March!

I wish I was a better tour guide and could remember the

names of the wineries, but honestly

all of the wine was delicious and if you are the

level 1 of wine connoisseur like I am

then you will be fine at all of them!

Just get yourself a map of the wineries on

the Leelanau Peninsula and you will be fine.

Now as much fun as we had tasting, and 

staying up late laughing and 

conquering world problems,

one of the highlights of the trip had to be this lady...

Our Aunt Virg,

last remaining sibling of my moms,

84 years young with the ability to make us

laugh so hard that my face hurt when I left her!

She is doing her diva pose for us as we pulled away.

love. her.

Now how do you top a weekend like that?

I'll tell you how...

You get dropped off at the movie theatre to meet your family

to see 

OZ the Great and Powerful

because if you stay til the end,

then you see what for me was the best part of the movie...

see that name, 4th one down?

...yup, that's our girl!!

and then to add more pleasure to the day,

we picked up our copy of the NY Times...

NY Times, T.mag

...yup, that's our boy!!

That's going to be a tough weekend to top!

wish me luck,

tomorrow's Saturday and my day will

be spent grocery shopping.

I don't think it's going to cut it.

Have yourself a fabulous weekend!

love,

t.xoxoxoxo

the weekend...

Popping in to say hello to all and then off to the sewing machine!

No time to really style the photos, 

more  'work'  wink wink

to be done...

I just wanted to share a few pieces from time at the table this weekend.

If I had to choose a favorite,

it would have to be the one with the 

tiny moccasins, an old souvenir from ???

along with more remnants of days gone by

that remind me of my heritage.

Happy Monday to all!

love,

t.xoxo

re-done, re-did, re-purposed...

Re-done, re-did, re-purposed, re-cycled...

It's all relative to me and my love for the cast offs.

Bits from old earrings and necklaces to create a new bauble,

 it's like piecing a puzzle of jewels together.

(white glass beads from a vintage necklace, those dreamy rondelles,

and white glass flowers from a pair of vintage earrings)

Recently for my bday a wonderful friend bestowed me with a fabulous old necklace 

loaded with my favorite... rhinestone rondelles,

all tarnished to perfection!

She knows just the treasures I love to create with, because she loves them too,

and has used them in her creations in the past.

I love to add one or two ( and sometimes 3) to every creation. 

They just add the perfect amount of sparkle!

Thank you Judy! xoxo

(vintage pearl rice beads and crackled glass yellow beads from old necklaces)

these escaped the rondelles somehow, and got glimmery silver beads instead.

(more of those glass white beads and rhinestone rondelles make up this set)

So today was spent making new pieces to add to the stash going to the show 

as well as getting the sachets ready.

Tomorrow looks like more of the same.

Lucky me!!!

A good days work is doing something 

you don't consider work at all...

If you have been a regular visitor here, than you know that 

anything old is my go-to supply.

The thrown away, the forgotten beaded necklace, 

the vintage and tarnished trinket, they speak to me.

Not that I don't appreciate beautiful new beads,

but when I create a piece with old jewels

I think they give the finished product a soulfulness

that I have come to love.

I hope you do too.

Thanks for stopping by!

love,

t.xoxo

linking up to:

the Be Inspired Party

p.s.  if you see something that you would like, just send me an email

and I can set up a listing for you before I go to the show! xoxo

It's all in the details...

I have been spending most of my creating time making jewelry and I love it , but recently I used some of that time to create pretty packaging for the baubles!

Still a work in progress, but at least now I have an idea of the direction I want to go!

I have spring fever and it's not nearly spring around here yet.

I want to paint every room in the house and 

clean, clean, clean,

change things out, 

freshen things up,

and throw open the windows

(though that wouldn't be a good idea yet!)

I just need a few more minions around

 that can help me accomplish all of the tasks 

that need to be done around here!

Until they show up,

I need to get ready for another show,

so more baubles to be created

and more soap to be made!

My friends, Tammy and LeeAnn are having another

Soap'n House

on Tuesday the 19th @ 4:00

(for all of you local folks)

and have invited me to sell the goods!

They are the girls behind

Clawfoot Bathworks

and they make some really beautiful and luscious

soaps, scrubs and lotions for the whole family.

Click on the link to check out their FB page

for more info.

and to order your own.

(for all you far away folks)

:)

spring is around the corner

&

life is good.

Thanks for stopping by!

love, 

t.xoxo

The Marketplace

Have you shopped 

The Marketplace

yet?

Debra has a large following of 

etsy and online shopkeepers

such as myself that she has created a party for!

I know, isn't she so sweet?

If you haven't joined in yet, 

you really should,

let everyone know what you have listed in your shop

and find some fabulous 

items from someone elses.

I added a couple of items to the party today...

washed ashore...

an organic piece of sea glass, soldered, aged and

adorned with a rosary connector and pink stones,

embraced with a few rhinestones for the sparkle that we all love!

blessed...

a tiny brown and white striped feather in a bottle with some glass glitter,

soldered, aged, and labeled with the word

that keeps me grounded.

Debra featured my sparkly green earrings this week!

Thank you Debra!

a combination of beautiful green disco balls

and rhinestone rondelles along with a dangle of 

green glass tiny bell flowers.

You can find all of these and much more at the shop...

The Old White House

Debra's Marketplace posts are wonderful

opportunities for us shopkeepers to

share our products with folks who might 

otherwise not find us among the vast

array of shops on etsy and the www.

If you have a moment, stop by Debra's

fabulous blog

Common Ground

she is hosting a giveaway today!!

You can enter her giveaway and visit a few of the shops

for some ooak vintage and handmade goods!

Welcome to all of the new followers of

the blog and to those who have 

started following along on the FB page!

I really appreciate your visits!

Thanks again for stopping by!

love,

t.xoxo

sigh...

Source: wheretreasuresreside.tumblr.com via Theresa on Pinterest

...because this photo captures the beauty of living life with a 

tender love for all things.

No matter how gnarled the hands,

no matter the unkempt manicure,

no matter the hard work ahead,

she shows a love of life.

May we all see the day when 

the lines and creases on our own faces

amount to a life well lived.

Have a LOVEly weekend!

love, 

t.xoxooxoxox