If you need a laugh, watch this

This is way too funny and very cute! Enjoy!




H

I'm going to be here in a few days!

I can hardly contain myself, I'm so excited about this trip. I will get to go to the top of this mountain and hopefully take some wonderful pictures. Here is a little taste of how beautiful this place is. Enjoy!





I hope you are having a great holiday weekend. Nothing much so far here but that's just fine. A nice quite weekend at home. Chat with you later.

H

We had a storm...

I'm so sorry for the telephone pole in the middle of the picture. This is not my best work but the sunrises after a storm here are amazing. So I'm showing the colors not any skill I might be gaining.

And this was the sky a little later that morning. I just love the blue and white of the sky!


I hope you enjoyed the pictures! I'll have some more for you soon. Have a good rest of your week.

H

Finally!

I finally have some new stuff! And lots of gold and mixed metals - my favorite! The above is rose gold hoops, also available in yellow gold. Below is one of the mixed metals that features sterling silver, yellow gold and rose or pink gold.

I wanted to have more then just earrings so below is a tri-colored 'flower' with sterling silver, yellow gold, rose gold.

I have these available in sterling silver but the picture below is the yellow gold version. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this gold soldering stuff! I love working with it!

A French hook version of the post tri-colored metals dangles from above. I think these in the post version are my favorites!

And last but not least I've got a new personalized pendant to show you. It has 4 sides so you can personalized it however you want. Below are just some examples. Okay wait maybe this one is my favorite, well I do like making them!

Thanks for stopping by! All of these are or will be soon available in my shop. I hope you are all having a good week.

H

Celebrating 50 years of statehood

Hawaii is celebrating 50 years of statehood today. There are celebrations all over the islands! I will be there in less then a month and I am so looking forward to it!

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late, lots going on here and hopefully I can share with you all soon. Have a wonderful weekend. Here are a few sets of pictures that are all about Hawaii: pre-statehood, before it was hot, surfing and Hawaii 5-0.
Enjoy!

H

Desert Botanical Gardens is for the birds

Okay so not really but there are a lot of birds. Above is a Cactus Wren and below I think its a woodpecker. I got there as early as they open, 7AM to get these. There are lots of little creatures out and about that early on a Saturday morning. Some of the little creatures didn't want to stop and pose for me. Like the rabbits and quail. Maybe next time.






I hope you all had a good weekend. Bailey officially starts school in the morning, not just the jump start to kindergarten that she's been doing for the last 2 weeks. She is very excited! I'll post pictures sometime this week. Have a good week with whatever you have planned.

H

Full Moon

We had a full moon last night and I photographed it. Well I tried anyway. I went to the Desert Botanical Gardens and took a class on photographing the moon. We didn't get a chance to photograph any of the night blooming flowers. We did a little painting with light. The following photographs were done on a long exposure and then I took a flashlight and 'painted' the cactus with the light as the shutter was open. I so need some work but I think I'm going to have fun try this new technique out.










We had a few clouds last night but I love the way it looked as it lit up the clouds around. These we're also taken on a long exposure so the picture is still pretty dark but I like the effect.


And one last shot of the moon. I wish it hadn't been so hot that is my only complaint! It was still over 100 degrees at 9PM last night. I am so looking forward to the cooler weather. Well the weekend is coming. I hope I have time for some more enamel and maybe some more pictures of the desert!

H

Enamel time

Okay I've been meaning to post this for a while so here it is. (And because Wendy was being pushy!) I took an enamel class about how to enamel on shapes not just a flat surface.






I took a class on enamel recently and the instructor is just amazing! This bracelet is her work. I love it! We used copper mesh and 26 gauge sheet. The 26 gauge sheet was run through a corrugater (blogger doesn't like that word but I don't know how else to spell it!) The metal gets work hardened as you put it thorough the little machine and then you get texture under the enamel.









The picture above has been enameled yet, its the kind of shapes we were working with. I haven't had a chance to play since the class but as soon as I do I'll post more pictures for you. I have taken other enamel classes and knew I loved it but this class reminded me how much I love it! I will be putting more enamel in my work because I love the color and I love the technique. When I took before I didn't have a kiln but I do now so there should be nothing to stop me, right? I hope you're having a good week!

H

I took a challenge

Bailey's picture

So the challenge was to take a child out and photograph the same things and see what you come up with. I gave Bailey my Point and Shoot camera and I used my Canon Rebel and this is what we came up with. I let her decide what would be a good thing to take a pictures of at the zoo. We went when they open, 6AM, because its real hot here right now and not too bad that early. We also got to see some animals that usually aren't out, ever, because we were there so early.

my picture

Bailey's picture

My picture

Bailey's picture

My picture

Well whatcha' think? I think she did a pretty good job on composition. I think we will do this again sometime.

H

Saw this driving down the road

Not the clearest of pictures since it was taken from a camera phone AND the person was driving! but thought it was kind funny. Yes it says 'Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee'. I thought the saying was 'Nobody does it like Sara Lee'?
So you're funny pic for the day! Have a good one!

H

Little Old School House

I found these 'tips' for students at the school house and thought I would share:

1. Mind to have your hands and faces washed and heads combed every morning before you come to school and be careful to be there by the time appointed.
2. Come to school quietly and soberly, and when there be quiet and still at your proper business, and mind the instructions of the teacher.
3. Respect your schoolmaster. Obey him and accept his punishments.
4. So not scribble in your own or one another's spelling, reading, writing, or ciphering books.
5. Tell no untruths, or miscall one another, nor use the corrupt or unscriptural language to a single person.
6. Never make noises or disturb your neighbors as they work.
7. Be silent during classes. Do not talk unless it is absolutely necessary.
8. Do not leave your seat without permission.
9. No more than one student at a time may go to the washroom.
10. Go quietly in and out of the classroom.
11. Let there be no quarrels, fighting of challenges to fight, no wrestling, or willfully provoking one another to anger in or out of school.
12. If the master calls you name after class, straighten the benches and tables. Sweep the room, dust, and leave everything tidy.
This is circa 1798.

Now this is for the teachers:

1. Teachers each day will fill lamps and clean chimneys.
2. Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's session.
3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.
4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings each week if they go to church regularly.
5. After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.
6. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed. 7. Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefits during his declining years, so that he will not become a burden on society.
8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.
9. The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of .25 cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.
Circa 1872

Well now that is quite a raise! I just thought this was funny and you might too! The school house in the pictures is circa 1884 and it looks like its in really good shape for being 120+ years old. There is even an outhouse, which I didn't feel the need to go into. Have a good week!

H

In honor of school starting...

Well, Bailey starts kindergarten today so in honor of that I thought I would show a few pictures of the oldest school house in Arizona. We saw this on our trip to Strawberry, Arizona. The picture above is Bailey's outfit that she picked out for her first day of school. Please note the jeans and the belt, she told me she looks 'cool'. I don't think she knows what that means.

No this is not her new school room but it was a big step back in time. When I went to grade school I lived in such a small town that I went to a one room school house with all 8 grades together. Just like 'Little House on the Prairie'. I have more pictures to show you but that will have to wait for another post. I have to take miss priss to school! Have a good Monday!

H

Do you like Strawberries?

So I've been crazy busy lately but we took a quick day trip to Strawberry, Arizona. Its about 120 miles or so North East of us and it was also 40+ degrees cooler! That was a wonderful thing since we've been dealing with 110+ degrees here in Scottsdale for the last month or so.

I know all the pictures are of the clouds but I just couldn't get over beautiful they are! A storm was rolling in and then it started to rain and hail! I couldn't take pictures anymore because it was raining and hailing so hard. It was beautiful. I love the smell of rain.


Bailey starts school tomorrow so I will have more pictures to show as the week goes on. We saw the oldest school house in Arizona while we we're in Strawberry so I will have pictures of that cute little place later on in the week. Oh and I do like strawberries and I like Strawberry, Arizona! Have a great week.

H