The Beautiful Beading Work of Jeanne Evans

About a month ago, a lovely customer on Etsy purchased some of my buttons to use in her beading projects. I asked if she would share her work once it was finished, and this arrived in my Etsy mail a few days ago. It is a beautiful example of her artistry, and I can't wait to see what else she creates! (Mandala used: Connection Mandala)

Mandala Monday: Lilac and Green

Pillow Covers Now Available

Yay, my pillow covers are now available and come in three different sizes, made with indoor or outdoor fabrics! I've been listing more and more designs on Etsy over the past few weeks, and hope to have many more available soon. Check them out here, or contact me if you would like to order directly from me. I'm happy to answer questions, so feel free to drop me a line.

Amazing Springtime

Tim spotted this beautiful beetle on our driveway yesterday and snapped a few pictures. After some searching around the Internet, I discovered it's wonderful name: Fiery Searcher. Amazing! It was the most beautiful greenish-gold iridescent color, and quite large — I'd say about 1 1/2 inches. I found a web page dedicated to this beetle that says it preys on caterpillars, of which we have many right now. Check out their site if you'd like to see some other terrific pictures of this type of beetle.

Mandala Monday: May Mandala

Mandala Monday: Wedding Mandala

I'm so in love with this beautiful, softly-color mandala. To me, it would be a lovely way to commemorate a wedding day. I've just made it available in my Etsy shop, of if you would like to order directly from me, please visit my contact page with your requests.

What's Right : Celebrating the Good in My Life : February 20

Current Infatuation

My obsession of the week is with banners. You know, like little paper banners or fabric buntings. They're everywhere these days, and so, of course, I've had to try my hand at making some. My crocheted bunting isn't finished just yet, but I did throw one together using some spring-y colored mandalas (see photo above, which also includes one of my many recent crochet projects). Such a cute and easy way to add life to an undecorated space, a kids room, or what have you. Love them!

Food & Drink

I've not eaten ketchup for a year. Not because I haven't wanted to, but basically because I haven't eaten anything I could have with ketchup! But recently we found some gluten free battered cod that we now make every once in awhile, and guess what, I've found some yummy gluten free ketchup to go with it — Annie's Naturals Organic Ketchup. Yippee! I guess it's the small things that get me excited these days, but when you take for granted what you eat every day and then completely change your diet, you start to miss the little things! 

Having Fun With

I've been messing around with watercolors this week. I'm having fun painting little sketches I've made. Most likely none of these will ever see the light of day, but that's okay with me — I like having little experimental projects lined up for when I have the extra time just to try something new...

Tuned In To...

Florence + the Machine. Where have I been for the last few years to completely miss this band? I mean, they've not even been on my radar at all! That is until sometime last week when I saw a part of their acoustic set on tv, and now they have been playing in our house daily ever since! I've been listening to their Ceremonials album and also their MTV unplugged album, but I have yet to explore the rest of their work — so looking forward to it!

On Our TV

Tim and I started watching the Showtime show Shameless a few nights ago. It's kind of quirky and strange but not so much so that it isn't still engaging. The show stars William Macy as a drunken father of six children and Joan Cusak as an agoraphobic. We're only a couple episodes into the first season, but I'm thinking that we'll hang in there for the long run.