Focusing on Life - Week 1 - A Pondering Woman

That's me.  The pondering woman.

I'm thinking of all the things I'd like to do this year and how I wish I had the energy to do them. 

I'm thinking about how I want new glasses.

I'm thinking that I should wear eyeshadow more often.

I'm thinking that the skin on my nose is really dry and it's a mystery.

I'm thinking my haircut is cute and I'm relieved because I had to try a new stylist because mine moved.

I'm thinking I should get my eyebrows waxed more often.

I'm thinking I should get some bigger diamonds for my ears.

I'm thinking about being less frustrated by my job.

I'm thinking about going to the gym.

I'm thinking about the next 51 weeks and the photo journey I'm on.

I'm thinking that I compare my life to others' too often.

I'm thinking I'll get another beer (lite, of course) and go play.

Finishing My 2012 Project 52

My 52nd photo from 2012 is this little number...

A fun trio of sheep along the road on the way out to Dutch Corner in my home town in Pennsylvania.  For some reason, I just love taking pics of the animals on the way to and from my sister's house.  On my last trip I captured some sheep, chicken, and cows.  

I can't believe it has been a year since I dove in and joined my local Hampton Roads Digital Photography Club to grow my skills and meet like-minded creative folks.  It has been a truly rewarding experience to play with my DSLR as well as my iPhone throughout the year.  I'm thrilled with my progress.  I didn't necessarily post every week, but I was able to choose one shot from each week to share in my Flickr group here.  Then, there's a nice link between Flickr and Snapfish, so I used those photos to create my Christmas card this year!

I'm starting another photo journey with Sally Russick of Studio Sublime for 2013.  She's gonna work on "focusing on life" one photo and one week at a time.  If you're interested in joining, here's the link:

Happy New Year!!!

Ali Inspiration

This is a sneak peek at a present that's headed to Utah today for a wonderful young lady, Ali.

I just know she's gonna love it!!

I don't spend a lot of time around kids, so when my bud, Dave, asked me to design something for his daughter, Ali, last Easter, I wasn't really sure where to start.  I've seen tons of pictures of her, and heard all about her larger than life personality, but couldn't really wrap my arms around what she'd like.  I had a gorgeous little set of lampworked beads on the table at the time, and went with the flow.  Purple, pink, yellow and orange...that can't go wrong, right?  Well, I got lucky and it worked!  Look at that sweet face modeling the goodies!!

I was lucky enough to have Ali come for a visit one Sunday afternoon over the summer.  We spent hours and hours digging through bead containers.  She was absolutely chocked full of great ideas and wanted to try all sorts of techniques...we went through lots of beading wire and came up with some really awesome pieces.  We even came up with something her brother liked...and that's a pretty big deal.

So, Ali, I hope you guys have a fantastic holiday and I can't wait for you to come visit next summer so we can play again!!

Art Bead Ornament Blog Hop!

It's 4 December.
It's Tuesday.

I love art beads.

I love fondling art beads.

I fondled art beads over the weekend.

Roger, my couch, missed me.

Now see my Art Bead Ornament Hop contribution...featuring a succulent Alice St. Germain glass focal...

Notice the super-fancy arrangement in front of the blinds in my office.  
I like being able to ooooh and aaaah at it while tramping through emails that go nowhere.

Here's the original bead...

There's more art bead joy to be seen...check them out...

Art Bead Scene 

Humblebeads 

Treasures Found

Song Beads

Viki O'Dell

Sue Beads

Modern Nature Studio

Diane Hawkey

Suburban Girl Studio

Jen Judd Rocks

Ellie's Bijoux

Island Girl's Insights

Life By The Seat Of My Pants

Too Aquarius 

Shelley Graham Turner 

Artfully Ornamental

Charis Designs Jewelry

Harrison Hollow Designs

Silver Nik Nats

Bead Soup Mix

Toodles and Binks

Bead Recipes

Play Sculpt Live

BeeTree by M.E.

Pic Me Up: A Stroll in Williamsburg

It was the perfect day for a walk in Colonial Williamsburg yesterday. 

Here are a few of my favorite shots...

A door full of orange...as seen from the middle of the street.

SHEEP!

Yum, num, juicy pomegranate

Beauty in the Morning

Man.  I love my iPhone.
I love hiking with my nephews.
I love dew.

I love the smell of wet, fallen, brown leaves.
I wonder how much more money I can spend on camera parts and software!  haaaaaaaaaaaa
I love my parents' house.

I love cold.
I love cozy couches.
I love vacationing at home.
I am very thankful.

Still Rockin'

Life is good!

I have been busy living it!

I really can't apologize for not posting on my blog, since that's against the unspoken/unwritten code of bloggers to never feel guilty.  Ooops, just wrote that!  But, I got a wonderfully sweet email from an old friend/artisan-mentor of mine because she was worried about me as my on-line presence has been so slight.  Man, oh, man, I can't even tell you how much it meant to me to hear from her!  She taught me the joys of polymer clay and experimentation that has carried through all my creative endeavors.

So, a few updates.  I have been busy with my hands.  I love the feel of fiber on my fingers.  I found this fabulous lumpy bumpy yarn while shopping in San Antonio over Memorial Day weekend and have since gone on-line and found a dozen different colorways.  I also joined Ravelry.com and found this fabulous pattern from Cocoknits that I've made over and over.  This colorway is called Wildflowers and it's my favorite:

Then I found my way to this Malabrigo Rasta yarn.  It's literally so luxurious and luscious you'll want to lick it!!!  I found a lovely pattern on Ravelry, here and tried it.  Then, I realized I'm a COMPLETE nerd because I actually successfully modified the pattern to do it in the round!  Both of my grandmothers would be so proud! 

 My constant companions are around helping me stay motivated...Frankie and Brando are the best.  I have to pick all the white hairs out of every finished project, but I still love having them snuggled around while I work.

I have a few more stories to tell, but I need to get back to another project while watching random TV shows taped from weeks ago.

Much love and inspiration to all of you!!!
Jen