Who Are You?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, here's a few thousand.

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

For more shadowy goodness, go here:


Have a good one~
Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Dreaming of Spring

Slowly but surely, Spring is showing her face. Splotches of color are starting to pop up throughout the landscape. What a welcome site! Soon every flower in the collage will be blooming, bees will be buzzing and I'll be knee deep in gardening. It don't get no betta than this!

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

Love shadows? For more shots go here:

Have a great Sunday!

Until next time.....

DIY ~ Make Your Own Ice ~

OK, so Spring is here. Time to think about Spring activities; like camping, hiking, picnics, outdoor concerts. Many of those activities include a cooler. At least it does for us. Store bought ice seems to melt so fast and the thought of buying enough bags to cover the food and drinks in our 100+ quart cooler that we take up to Crystal Lake........no thanks! I'm a DIY girl.

Several years ago, I started to make our own ice. Here's the method to my madness:

Start filling up ice cube trays days before you're going on your trip/event. Dump the cubes in a bag and store in freezer. Fill quart size yogurt containers or freezer containers with water. Make sure you leave room for the water to expand when it freezes; about an inch from the top.

When you're ready to go, run those under water, pop them out and use whole or 'ice pick' to the desired size.

You'll be surprised how long the ice lasts. Plus you can use the cubes for drinks and know where your water came from.

Happy trails~

Until next time.....

Welcome Spring!

Spring at last! So nice to see an old friend again. Here's to days filled with warm sunshine, green grass, fresh produce and lots and lots of flowers.

Until next time.....

Crystal Lake in Winter

Each season brings new wonders up at Crystal Lake.
Winter is a great time to camp, although it does get cold in the tent, according to our LL Bean travel alarm clock equipped with our trusty thermometer.
The bare boned landscape is gorgeous. Shades of brown and gray, highlighted by the brightest of blue skies. Nothing more. Nothing less. And NO bugs!
Spring is just around the corner. Soon the mountain will awaken and the neutral tones will give way to greens and flowery hues. And bugs!
Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'll be making corned beef and cabbage today. No Irish Soda Bread for us though. We're not a big fan of it. Instead I'll bake a loaf of rye bread. Irish Whiskey will be the beverage of choice. No green beer this year!
How about you? What's on your plate for today?
Until next time.....

Rust

I love rusty relics. My heart starts to race when I walk up on one of those tables at a flea market where the booth is full of boxes of rusty bits. Who knows what treasures they hold?

When I take our garbage and recycling, I always scan the metal bin. "Excuse me sir, but can I please use your tool to fish out that rusty thing over there?"

With Spring just around the corner, I think I'll start to hit my favorite spots again.

Make mine rusty~

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

This is my first Shadow Shot Sunday post. I love shadowy photos and when I saw a photo on Lisa B's blog, I knew that I had to join. For more shadow shots, click the box:


Happy Sunday.
Until next time.....

Interview With An Etsian: BlackSheepDesigns and BlackSheepBeads

Anyone that knows Pam will agree that she is one of the most genuine, friendly sellers on Etsy. I started ordering vintage beads from her a while ago. I also own some of her jewelry. One day I sent her a convo with a picture of a pair of earrings that I made with some of her beads and the rest was history. We've been buds ever since. I do want to give a shout out to her other half ~ Jay. I always imagine him sitting atop a mountain of beads. One look at their sold items in the bead shop and you'll know why!

1. Your name: Pam Laurenzo
Your shops: Black Sheep Designs and BlackSheepBeads

2. How long have you been at your craft(s)?
This is my 13th year - how the time does fly!

3. One thing no one knows about you that influences your craft.
I'm a very tactile person - I look for materials (particularly vintage beads) with interesting textures. I also love to experiment with color mixes. When I was young, I used to spend hours and hours coloring and drawing - and noticing which colors looked harmonious together.

4. Favorite color? Does it affect your work? Why/why not?
Definitely turquoise/teal/aqua. My studio is painted a soft pale aqua - a color that helps me stay calm and focused. I could design endless pieces with aqua as a focal color - sometimes I have to forcefully steer myself toward a different color scheme.

5. Learn anything new lately that's related to your craft? If yes, what is it. If no, what would you like to learn.
I've started adding green and blue metal patinas to the metals in my jewelry - it's given me an excuse to add more of my favorite colors to most of the pieces I make. :) I'm having a great deal of fun mixing different finishes, and experimenting with their effects on different findings and vintage stampings.

6. Best piece of advice that someone gave you that benefited your shop?
My favorite piece of advice was to make what I love instead of following trends. I'm very fortunate to have many creative friends - their influence and encouragement keep my ideas flowing and give me inspiration.

7. Favorite Etsy category to browse and why.
I can't choose just one! I love to browse handmade findings, vintage beads, edibles (particularly cookies) and children's clothing.

8. Ever collaborate with another seller? If yes, what did you learn about yourself?
I collaborated with several other sellers for an Etsy contest. We created a mermaid doll with a cradle (I made the jewelry - a matching set for the doll and her owner). I really enjoyed watching every one's ideas come to fruition. Even though we didn't win the contest, I was very proud of what we created! When I sold children's jewelry on eBay years ago, I often collaborated with clothing designers - an experience that I found challenging and enjoyable. I don't make children's jewelry anymore, but I did enjoy dreaming up wild and funky designs to match particular fabrics. My daughter has quite the jewelry collection!

9. What one thing on Etsy can't you live without?
Time Machine 2 (for sold items). I've found many of my favorite sellers this way!

10. What question would you like to see included in an interview, that you've never seen? You can answer it if you like.
What is your most favorite material? Do you still work with this material?
Vintage sugar beads. I love their texture and the nifty way they catch the light and "sparkle". I still have a few in assorted colors, but they've become increasingly hard to find. Every now and then I make a pair of earrings with them to showcase their beauty!

I want to thank Pam for her friendship, her beautimous vintage beads, her lovely jewelry and for taking the time to let y'all know a little bit about herself. xoxo

Until next time.....

Moving Right Along

The broccoli and cabbage seedlings were thinned and transplanted into individual APS's the other day. It was almost 80 degrees.
Today it's going to be in the 30's with rain/sleet/snow in our forecast. Gotta love Tennessee weather!
Until next time.....

S.O.S.

The photo in yesterday's post is bugging me, so I redid the collage. I can NOT figure out how to delete that picture and add this one:

Can someone please tell me how to do this? Pretty please! I'll be your best friend. I know that there must be an easy way to do this.
UPDATE: Thanks to Hey Harriet, my problem is solved!

Until next time.....

Ramble on Rose

I love roses. Maybe it's because my middle name is Rose. Maybe it's because I'm a Dead Head. Could be because I love the blossoms and their scent. But one things for certain, I'm drawn to them.
I've collected rose beads for a long time; whether they are carved from glass, stone or plastic. I also love rosewood, with it's subtle pattern and pinkish hue.

I do have a few rose bushes. My favorite is the White Dawn that crawls up the trellis and covers it with beautiful, aromatic blossoms. I could smell it now~

And as I type this post, I can hear the Dead singing in the background.....

Did you say your name was Ramblin Rose?

Ramble on baby, settle down easy

Ramble on Rose.

Until next time.....

The Cottage Garden

Look out that window. It's greening up out there! It's been very Spring-like lately and the landscape is quickly changing from greys and browns to shade of green, with a splash of color from the early Spring flowers. My to-do list is growing faster than the grass.

~Order seeds, start seeds, feed seedlings, cut grass, clean beds, till again, trim bushes, pick flowers to bring indoors.....

I love growing flowers. They are a treat for the senses. I tend to gravitate towards the heirloom blossoms; flowers that grew in the Cottage Gardens from days gone by. Some of my most treasured plants and seeds are those that I've carried with me through the years. It's wonderful to see so many nurseries carrying heirlooms now. One of my favorite catalogs to get lost in is Select Seeds. Check it out if you're looking for a good source of heirloom treasures. And don't forget to check Etsy's plant and seed collection. You can find heirlooms posted there also.

Speaking of heirlooms, my shop is blooming with them. I have designated a category just for my vintage blossoms.

And on that note, I need to wrap this up and head outside. Spring is calling.

Until next time.....

Waiting For Spring

Congrats Are In Order

I love logging onto Etsy to find that some of my friends are in the spotlight. Funny how you gravitate towards certain people in cyberspace, isn't it? I have a strand of sellers that I feel this way about. Sellers that you can go to with a problem, a joke, or plain old fashioned conversation.

Yesterday, two of my peeps were making news.

I gasped when I saw the featured seller yesterday, followed by a scream and a quick convo to Ginger, known on Etsy as msbelle. She's the current featured seller.

And this morning, while reading blog updates, I read that Sherry, otherwise known as sherrytruitt, is the featured seller in the 'Quit your day job' series in the Storque. With one eye open, and coffee in hand, I rushed over to the blog to read the interview.

Great interviews! I'm so, so happy for these two women.

May you both have more sales than you wish for, and then some.

Until next time.....

Snow Dusted Flowers and Icy Leaves

I've been looking at a lot of snow dusted flower photos on flickr and on blogs. Us Southern girls are proud of the snow that we FINALLY got. It is strange to see flowers and leaves covered in snow and ice; strangely beautiful.

Until next time.....

March Comes In Like A Lion

Way to go March! I know that some of you are so sick of snow, but I'm am proud and excited to say that we got our second snow of the season last night. It may only be two inches, but it's two inches more than we had yesterday morning. Life is good!

Until next time.....