Summer Time Jewelry

Aren't these Venetian glass beads the cutest thing ever? I love that foil lined bead look!  And these are much nicer than some I've worked with.  The shape is nice and round and consistent and the hole is much smaller making a far nicer bead than other hand made beads I've worked with. 

I got nine of these little marvels from Artbeads.com and used seven of them in a summer time bracelet. 

I used two strands of heart shaped chain, added these venetian glass beads and some other accent beads and a few silver charms that say "peace."  The purple swirl beads are hand made polymer clay beads I made ages ago.  I love the color combination, and if you look closely you'll see the alphabet beads also spell out "PEACE."  I really love the  bracelet, but the EARRINGS are my fav:

The earrings use the same glass beads, in the 10 mm size and the 6mm size.  Artbeads.com has a great selection of glass beads in general, and venetian glass beads in particular.  They are so pretty that it's hard to choose!  And they have this style bead in a variety of colors, I also like the peridot and aquamarine!

But my favorite thing about the earrings is the little cluster of tiny little silver flower buds!  The individual bead charms look like this:  They are an adorable little silver flower with a loop on the back. 

And then there is this tiny little bud that goes with them so beautifully:

I played around with them some, unsure of how I was going to use them, but when I saw how cute they were when they were all stacked together... I knew that was how I would use them!  I used four of the tiny flowers plus a bud on each earring, and they are SO fun to wear!

Artbeads.com has tons of charms to choose from, and as I was looking through their selection, these little ones were the ones that jumped out at me.  And since Artbeads.com has so many colors to choose from on these Venetian glass beads, this pair of earrings could be made in a variety of great colors.  Wouldn't they be cute in a combination of aquamarine and peridot?  I think so!  

FTC disclaimer: I received some of the products shown in this blog from Artbeads.com free of charge, I have not been paid for my endorsement of these products and I am reviewing the products honestly.

Happy Beading,

-Carmen Rose

These Orchids are just showing off!

My Mom knows I love orchids and gave me this one while I was in the hospital two weeks ago.  It's just blooming it's heart out, showing off like nobody's business.  I popped them out on the porch rail to photograph and managed to catch my two border collies in the photo.  I guess they were keeping watch on the golf course, looking for something/someone to bark at.  I'm winding up my little medical vacation.  I feel good, I just keep being reminded that I'm not back to full strength yet.  But time heals, so I'll try to be patient.  I'm featured artist at the Oasis Gallery in Harrisonburg for May and June, so I really need to be getting my work together for that.  I haven't done a one woman show for some time, it's not that I don't have the inventory.  It's more about putting things out there that are representative of me now, rather than things I've done ages ago.  And some of the projects I've worked on in the last year or so are ones I don't want to sell... so there is no point in putting that work out if the goal is to make it count financially.  Ha ha, we'll see what happens.  I have fabrics pulled out for a new small quilt, it will be good to get back to work on Monday.  Until then I will continue to be a slacker!  =)

Happy Creating with a big dose of floral inspiration,
-Carmen Rose

Flowers for Carmen Rose

The doorbell rang, I made my way to the door and Ted handed me these glorious flowers this afternoon:

Ta Da!  (Well... he didn't include those dogwood trees in the background, he he!)

God was just showing off when He made stargazer lilies!

They are from my boss, Hugh. What a lovely gesture. And since I recently purchased lilies from Ted, he knew what flowers to include. They are (I'm sure it will be no surprise to anyone) my very favorite color in the whole wide world! And now they are on my dining table. I think they were made for that spot with my quilted table runner.

It's funny how little it takes to please me. Flowers just tickle me no end! I'm even giving some thought to putting in a rose garden. All the shades of pinks, fuchsias and magenta, no red. I think that red roses are often too dark and overbearing, the pinks and whites are often much more beautiful.

I sometimes treat myself to flowers, I think it's a wonderful self-indulgence.  I bought these pink roses about seven years ago and happened to get this photo of one of them.  I think this is just about my favorite flower of all time.  I am Carmen Rose, this is my color, my flower.  My brother was five when I came along, he wanted me to be called Rosie (Randy & Rosie) but my parents already had my first name picked out.  Their best friends had already used the names they had chosen (Carmen Joy) so they made Rose my middle name.  

I remember the rose gardens on the farm where I grew up, there were so many pretty varieties. Even one small bush that bloomed lavender roses, my Mom's favorite color. Ah well... maybe one thing at a time. Digging flower beds is not on my list of things to do right now.

Each day I continue to improve. I'm off the pain meds completely. The bruising around the incision is gone and I have one big whopper of a bruise on my arm from an IV attempt, the rest are barely visible anymore. The anemia is the worst part right now I suppose. My old sleep patterns are back, which is not really a good thing. Physically, I'd have to say that it's hard to believe five days out from major surgery I no longer needed pain meds!  I am on day eight now and amazed to be feeling this good! I am really grateful. There have been a lot of people praying.

Gratefully,
-Carmen Rose

Blooming Blessings

I am just loving the flowers I've been given during my recovery so much! And these are the very best:

A beautiful orchid from my Mom, so many little smiling faces peeking out at me, it is LOVELY!

A hydrangea from my husband's parents, isn't it lovely?

And this vibrant pot of petunias from my church family.

I have always loved flowers, from the early days when I worked as a floral designer and many times floral images show up in my work.  I'm not good with house plants but last year I managed to keep some flowers on  my front and back porches and they were so much fun.  My first art quilt all those years ago was inspired by a dogwood.

This is a combination of hand painted fabrics, all kinds of fabrics, not just cottons, even some sheer organza if memory serves.  Each of the four petals is bound with an edge that goes to the center and the double wedding ring motif seems to show through.  It's mounted on a wooden frame that I made especially from a piece of 1/4 inch ply, made to fit and provide support with all the rough bits sanded off.  I think I camped out in a friend's woodshop to make that, every tool you could imagine at my fingertips, if I could just figure them all out.  I remember the house I lived in when I made it (that would have been six houses back) and the table I made it on (which I still have though it needs some repairs.)  I also remember having it in an art show and they put it in a place where you could see it the moment you walked into the display area, I was really pleased with that.  It seems like a long ago chapter of my life, so much wrapped up in a simple quilt.   

And the three dogwood trees in my back yard are on the verge of full tilt glory!

I'm really thanking God for the small things right now.  I'm med free one week out from major surgery - that's a miracle I think.  I am so very grateful!  I still have to take the iron, it's just going to take a while to kick the anemia I suppose.  For a while my fridge looked like a food traffic jam, I stuck a bunch of stuff in the freezer.  I think there is a meal coming Thursday evening and that will be that.  I threw together a quick dinner tonight, mostly reheating things I'd put in the freezer before surgery.  Mashed potatoes, meatballs and green beans all smothered in mushroom gravy.  It really hit the spot.  I sat in the cool breeze on the back deck, wrapped in a light blanket enjoying that comfort food and it was worth it.  I really hope to be able to get back to some real cooking before long, I've got a dozen beautiful brown eggs, and they are just beggin to be made into omlettes when I get a little more mojo.  Now if I can manage a trip to the grocery without anyone screaming at me, I'm not supposed to drive for three more weeks.  Well... we both know that's unrealistic.  I've got the cabin fever without the energy to do anything about it, so I'll stay put for a while yet I suppose. Although... I'm not ruling out a trip to Food Lion in the very near future, should the body allow.

It was last week at about this time that I was coming out from under the anesthesia and before I headed back to the OR for the second time. Seasons like these make me so overwhelmingly grateful for the smallest things. Strong muscles, incredibly complicated yet simple systems of the body, we really are fearfully and wonderfully made. I've also been very grateful that if I had to be cooped up in a house, that it was at least this house... where the views are beautiful and the dogs are my constant companions. There have been cards, balloons, phone calls and messages of caring from all over, which is humbling really. I am so grateful to have so many precious people in my life!  And so... if I must be glued to my sofa for a while longer with a novel in my face... well then... so be it!  I am grateful.

In gratitude,
-Carmen Rose 

Sunflower in the Breeze

Some photos from Friday's shoot. Here I am getting her petals on:

We started off with her hair down...

Sunflower in the Breeze

Mossy bracelets

Vines on the legs

A little visit from a cardinal...

Sunflower and Rose together

Thanks to the lovely and patient Jill, this was fun!

Polymer Clay Learning Curve

Oh yeah, nothing like learning the hard way. I made these for the bi-fold doors on the pantries in my kitchen - three doors need three knobs.

Apply heat to set the polymers. Heat is what takes it from being mailable to being just like PVC pipe at the hardware store - same stuff. Check out those three bad boys in the middle of the firey furnace. They looked good at the beginning!  (Yeah, we all look good at the beginning)

However... the plastic of the door knobs just didn't stand the heat so well.

And they turned out looking like rather sad mushrooms. No worries, I'll find another use for my three homeless flowers, but just in case you give this a whirl... don't put plastic knobs in your polymer oven!

Lesson learned.

Carry on.

-Carmen Rose

Polymers and Cabinet Knobs

I waged a little war with my body today and lost... so I did more sleeping than working. I've been thinking for a few days about covering my cabinet hardware with polymers inspired by the work of Mary Walsh. So yesterday I started mixing and conditioning the polymers until I had a broad group of colors to choose from.

Then I started covering the old knobs. When I get the chance I'll upload the other photos and give some of the step by step action. It's not difficult at all, maybe a bit on the tedious side. Mine are pretty simple but I'm pleased so far.

I'm two short at the moment, but I wanted to make extra so I could chose out my favorites. And I'm only doing the upper cabinets, I'll see how that looks and then evaluate what needs to happen with the rest. In a kitchen with 60 cabinet doors and drawer fronts, it's unlikely that I would do them all. I've got new knobs and hinges ordered, it's just taking them a really long time to get here. I'm really impatient to see how it's going to look! Next week I'll expect to get back to the kitchen painting, we'll see. The new hood and faucet are here, I am waiting on someone to have the time to give them a little TLC.  Well... the ol bod still isn't cooperating, so I'll write more another time.

Happy Creating,
-Carmen Rose

Color in the Kitchen

What color should a kitchen be? O more precisely, what color should MY kitchen be? That's a great question in my opinion. My theory is that a kitchen should be a (not exactly blank) slate for a great art collection, a room that fits the owner's personality and culinary needs. It should be great function with great form and then... there should be ART and COLOR!

This kitchen looks like a blank slate to me, so many ways to dress it up and give it some personality.  If only they hadn't taken the photo before the work was done.  Even some black and white photography would have been an improvement... now it comes across as sterile and the marble reads as cold.   

This is a bold move to use this much olive green in a kitchen.  One really has to be committed to a color choice like this to make it work in a room where one spends so much time.  I wouldn't do this color, but that's ok, that's not my house.  I just wish they'd taken some risks with the accessories and instead of spreading the green like moss growing on the north side of the... kitchen - they could have done something wonderful with red, fuchsia or plum!  It's a trend now to do the island in a contrasting color and this kitchen would have been a great place to give that a try! 

This is an interesting choice with lots of black outlining.  I have the urge to look a little closer than this photo allows, and I'm curious about the gate in the foreground but the beauty of this kitchen is the commitment they've made to making an original statement.  I think it's charming.

This chocolate brown and white kitchen features a show stopping stencil on the cabinet doors.  I think this is an idea that could hold some possibility, however, I've done enough stenciling to know that it's tedious to the extreme.  My tastes don't run country and I've got far too many cabinet doors to ever give this any real consideration so it's just as well.  But I think it's a successful choice here.

This buttery little confection of a kitchen is the picture of warmth and sweetness.  I do wonder, however, why they made the kitchen island top so small.  If they would have added 18 inches along the side facing us, it would have been a fantastic change!  (depending on things one can not see beyond the scope of the photo.)  Being able to have a few guests on stools while one cooks is a wonderful perk in my opinion. 

I think I kept this photo because of the floor.  I also like the color scheme of black/white plus one!  The pale mossy green in this one is a soothing choice but again my eye wishes for some real saturated color in that room somewhere.  I'd put a few flowering violets or an orchid and a beautiful textile on that table to soften the look of the cold hard looking appearance.  There are many good reasons to use white marble in the kitchen, but something must also be done to soften the cold hard look of it.

The careful use of turquoise in the floor and backsplash saved this room from the hum drum and I think it's successful.

No matter what the basic colors are of a kitchen, one should be able to dress it up with beautiful color like this table scape.  A lovely piece of fabric, some fresh flowers and perhaps some fruit and candles and the table and kitchen are dressed and ready for great food and friends.   

One of my favorite places

A little blog reading music for ya:


Remember my little bird bath garden inspired from this Spring?
Well, it has become our golf ball garden. I thought I had ten balls in there but counted today and there are eleven. I asked hubby if he found another one and he said no. So maybe one of the golfers is really THAT good. We live on a golf course and the golfers aim at our house on a 90 degree green so whenever hubby mows, he has to be kind of careful.
The plants on the back deck have done surprisingly well, considering I'm not much of a gardener.
Here are a couple tomatoes, some mint and the grill. I grilled a whole chicken the other day and inadvertantly left some of the olive oil marinade inside. It was a BIG fire in that poor little grill, I had to grab the bird while hubby doused the fire. I was really glad for a brick house that evening! Lesson learned, as much as I like fire, I don't want to burn down my house.

Misde is my sweet girl. She's a border collie and mystery mutt mix.

I can't believe how fast my tomato plants grew, we've got green tomatoes and it won't be long before the cucumber is big enough to pick. It's not a real garden but container gardening on the deck at least gives us the hope that we can keep some of it away from the deer. Our deer population is thriving here, so much so that they got the SWAT team to thin the herd a while back.

This is Hope, my border collie. She's a lovely creature most of the time. And sometimes she's a brat, but she's my girl.

I think this deck is one of my very favorite places right now. The other evening I wrapped up in a blanket and watched the stars for a while in the stillness of the night. There were some lightening bugs out and the evening was so perfect and peaceful. I love this place. It reminded me of the lyrics of a song:

I see skies of blue, clouds of white.

Bright blessed day, dark sacred night

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

Thank you Louie Armstrong!

A Walk in the Woods

It was a beautiful morning for a walk in the woods.
There are some yellow lady slippers in this shot, not easy to see unless you have someone beside you pointing them out. There are about six orchids in this shot that I can pick out.
This is another wild orchid, I should look these up the book so I can give you the names because I don't remember them.
Beautiful orchid country, don't know what that haze was about but I don't mind it so much.
The Orchid Man, an excellent tour guide and friend. See his website here.

Oh yes, it's really THAT beautiful!
A little lavender wildflower, but mostly the foilage is what I find striking about this one.
We came up on a HUGE display of these, even made the orchid man say "WOW!"
Again with the haze, what's up with that?! There are three pink lady slipper orchids in this photograph, see if you can find all of them.
Another lady slipper, we even saw a white one which is rare.
The graceful ones, love how this turned out. Most of the photos I took turned out horribly. But it was a lovely walk, a welcome change of pace.
We stood near an underground spring and in the stillness the sound of running water could be heard. I had to stand and listen to that mysterious sound in the stillness for a while, it was a beautiful moment. I’m well aware that I don’t do this often enough, that is, take the time away to charge my batteries with something completely unrelated to the life I lead. It was good.