Inside ~ Outside Reveal!

Well, it's finished!  The office in the house has been delegated to only the fine finishing of jewelry ~

Designing takes place here ~

While the art of beading and chaining takes place here ~

Plenty of storage for all the precious findings, wire, metal, beads and pearls ~

Three vintage jewelry boxes hold all the vintage "jewels"

Lillie provides the "form" for final fittings ~

I decided to forgo any idea of shabby chic, euro flair, or kitchy design, for an office that would be functional.  I knew I needed to be able to see my materials in order to use them.  This works for me!

So ~ onward,  to the outside and my Studio!  The Studio is attached to our guest house and offers complete privacy for both artist and guest.  How lucky can a girl get?  I'm able to pound, etch, solder and do all sorts of yucky stuff without bothering anyone!

 During the past three years my Studio has morphed from dedicated paper art, to jewelry.  Will I be changing it again?  I would think and hope so....

As my jewelry evolves, so will the work place ~ new tools and equipment come with the territory.
I hope you enjoyed my reveal.  I so enjoyed sharing it with you.

Oh, by the way ~ each day, the office and/or Studio start out in a very clean and pristine state BUT...so long as I'm involved in a project the space often could be mistaken for Grant taking Richmond!!

Have a most beautiful week, my lovely friends.  I'm off to get ready for some very, very special friends who will be spending the next two days with us!

Angels Amongst Us

There's a very special organization in Tucson that's near and dear to the hearts of the Hess Family, Angel Charity for Children.  

I proudly served in the general membership for more than 6 years, alongside the most dedicated women I've had the pleasure to call "sisters."  

Our family continues to support this amazing organization, which raises incredible monies each year for Tucson's children.

On October 16th,  Angel Charity will debut what looks to be one of the most exciting events for women.....Shop the City  (click here).  More importantly, Tucson's children will directly benefit from the monies raised at the event.

You Are Invited to the Newest Fashion Shopping Event! 

Featuring everything you want from clothing and accessories to beauty and health and wellness, plus the Angel After Five Recycled Boutique and a UofA  logo wear booth!

Wednesday, October 16th, 3pm – 8pm

U of A Student Union, North Ballroom – convenient parking in the 2^nd street garage

Tickets: $10 Students and $20 General Admission at the door, OR $30 Shopping Bag and $75 VIP Lounge tickets* available on-line- click the link above to buy and then pick tickets up at Will Call the day of the event

*$75 ticket includes access to our VIP lounge featuring a private bar, premium hors d’oeuvres, champagne, exclusive offers, private dressing rooms and a VIP goodie bag, courtesy of Gadabout Salon Spas!

All proceeds to benefit Angel Charity for Children’s 2013 Beneficiaries

I am thrilled and excited to be participating as a vendor at this inaugural event!  

The Hive's been abuzz with activity as I design, plan, create and execute new creations that will be featured at Shop the City.

So, without further chatter, I would love to share a small sampling of my latest with you.....

Earrings ~

 Necklaces ~

Bracelets and Cuffs ~

Rings ~

Ornaments ~

So, mark your calendar and join me along with a bevy of amazing women for an unforgettable evening to benefit Tucson's children!

Thank you so much for visiting with me today, you have my heart!

Papers Past...

Before there was jewelry, there was paper.

the beginning of my love affair with Paper Whimsy

my first journey into fibers and paper and buttons ~ oh, my!

a Father's Day card

I love paper and although I don't indulge in this art form as I once did, I have occasion to play with it from time to time.

Last summer, I took 42 years of junkie old photo albums (which were probably "poisoning" the pictures within by their off-gassing) and tore them apart.   This resulted in hundreds of photos going into archival albums....

and, for the time being, the rest are stored in archival boxes, organized by person/place/event.

All of them were then exported to my external hard drive, for extra safekeeping.

I forgot to mention that in the purging, I discovered severely yellowed pages in our wedding album.  So, I've been working on a re-vamp of that album, a la scrapbook style.

I must say, that's a lot more fun than looking at a pristine white leather album, chocked full of photos ~ so many of the guests are long gone ~ with no notations of who or what!  "Who was that?"  "Is that a great aunt?"  "You mean that's little cousin Jerry?!"  "What was the dinner?"  etc., etc., etc.,  

You get the "picture," right?

When I was an ardent scrapper I had some favorite scrapbook lines.
 Basic Grey was one, so I chose their "Capella" line and bought everything, soup to nuts,  that BlueMoon Scrapbooking had to offer.

the album

Here's a peek at a few of the pages....

Some of you might not know that Ron and I met at Slippery Rock University, in western PA.
I dropped out and we got married, while Ron finished his degree in History and Social Studies.  I would later (MUCH later) finish my degree in Elementary Education at the University of Arizona.

Now, I have a most beautiful story which tells so much more than our original wedding album.  I'm happy that my children will have peripheral stories to this, our romance.

My week ended with a trip to Arizona Stadium to watch our beloved Wildcats romp the University of Texas, San Antonio.

It was a great game, although I'll never get used to watching football in 95 degree evening temperatures!!

This week holds some re-organizing and big changes in my studio.  I'm anxious to make it my "down and dirty" place to torch, solder, etch,  and play loudly.  Currently, it's set up for the more refined and placid days of paper crafting.

So, stayed tuned....I hope to have all-new images of an all-new purposed studio next week!

Have a beautiful, safe, and happy week my dear friends.  Thank you so much for your visit, you mean the world to me!

And Time Flew By!

Oh my gosh ~ has it really been 5 weeks since our last visit???  

I must say I really did miss your company, but I managed to stay very busy during that time of "rest!"

Let me begin by sharing some vacation photos with you. 

Many of you know that our greatest vacation pleasure for the year is the family and friends getaway to Ocean City, MD.

Our flight to Baltimore has always been a pleasure...

The drive to Ocean City, an easy one...with some laughs along the way!

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

And finally, the pleasure that awaits us!

The views from the living room deck don't get any better than this!

Of course there are always gifts to give one another....

some pretty hot dudes with their do-rags and shades!

and for the ladies...

Some of our favorite watering holes included...

One morning, Rachelle and I snuck away to the quaint and historic town of Berlin.  Having been there before, I was so happy to introduce Rachelle to its charms.

We did some antiquing and enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Atlantic Hotel ~ both historic and supposedly haunted!

With all the fun in the sun we were having, it wouldn't be complete without numerous trips to Ocean City's Boardwalk...

For my east coast pals, we managed to have our fill of ~

Believe it or not, with all the swimming and walking I did manage to come home without any additional poundage, for which I'm very pleased!

We're home ~ doing the re-entry dance from vacation.  Lot's happening, so I can't wait to share it with you next Monday. 

Have a beautiful week dear friends and thank you for your visit...
I missed you!