Treasures Found::Inspiration is Everywhere

 
I love the blog Kind Over Matter. Amanda is the proprietor and the self-proclaimed "curator of connection & provisioner of benevolent beauty." There is a gentle wisdom and a total peacefulness in this blog. I love to check in and see what has been going on and I always leave refreshed and emboldened, alive and renewed.

They post these wonderful words of wisdom not to mention these great free printables. One of the first ones I ever printed out was the "Take One" series. I gave this poster to a workmate going through chemo. She has them in her office and tears them off and gives them away when someone needs it. Like me. I am staring at the compliment "You have a beautiful soul" right now.

I always wanted to print a bunch of these and post them on public walls, like at the coffee shop or that kiosk downtown where there are flyers about the bands playing this weekend or a litter of kittens for sale. I just might do that this weekend as a random act of kindness to the world.

{Get yours here!}

If you would like to print off your own, please go to the Kind Over Matter blog post here to share the love.

You readers are all the light in my day, the cream in my coffee and the stars in my sky. So these compliments are for you.

They say that there is no way to do two things at once. Hmmmm... if that is true, then I am in big trouble because my entire life depends on me doing just that.

Where the heck did I go? Did you think I fell off the face of the earth? I sort of felt like I did. But sometimes there is no other option than to unplug and refocus. I sort of feel like I did a whole lot of nothing, or that I did a whole lot of somethings that amounted to nothing, but that just can't be true. Well.... the last time I posted was on 05/16/2012 and since that time this is what I have been doing...

By the Numbers...

...5 baseball games (including a double header about an hour away that the 8th grade won 10-4 and 5-0!)
...3 softball games (all in the win column with my girl pitching)
...1 spring band and choir concert (the same night as both a baseball and softball game) where my son played for the last time on his saxophone exactly 3 songs (including Pirates of the Caribbean - yargh!)
...$14 for softball team pictures (my girl was surly that day so I am sure I paid for pictures that look like she is being forced to do the unthinkable)
...singing for one wedding (it was a lovely affair in gray and yellow)
...putting together 367 photos representing 47 8th graders for a special "then & now" slideshow to debut at the reception for the 8th grade graduation on May 31st for my son...as well as organizing 141 group shot photos into a rough chronological order for a 2nd slideshow focusing on friendships and good times
...purchasing 6 MP3s for both slideshows
...working at the Gallery Q for my last shift as an exhibiting member (I will still be represented there, just changing my membership)
...Arts Walk event in downtown Stevens Point including the opening of the Verse & Vision II poetry and art exhibit at the Gallery Q hosting over 200+ people for the poetry reading and the after party (of which I was in charge)
...preparing 4 poems to read at the poetry reading for Verse & Vision II... and then stepping up and winging it to read 2 more on the fly for poets that didn't show up (apparently I am good at winging it!)
...1 cocktail party attended by over 30 people at my parents house with about 150 meatballs, 300 cheese cubes, 100 jumbo (and I mean huge!) shrimp, 10 pounds of roast beef for sandwiches and about 60 dirty wine glasses (were they drinking double fisted?) and enough food left over to feed 30 more people!

But in the meantime, lest you think I have only been partying and cheering and singing and reading, I have been working on things related to Tesori Trovati including...

...wrangling the 109 comments on my Story Starter Challenge blog into a cohesive story to share with you (soon! I promise! you people are prolific and very creative!)
...completing 4 pieces for a new design team that I am very excited about
...prepping 40+ bezels with clay (while watching that double header - I am a multi-tasking momma!) to get busy making a few things to take to Bead & Button as well as the June Simple Truths Sampler Club, the winners from my Etsy Stalker Shadowbox for April and for some pending orders (please be patient with me!)
...sending off 36 pieces to the new Northwoods Memories Gallery (my 1st gallery outside of Stevens Point!)
...finishing up 3 custom orders including one more commemorative necklace for a 10 year dancer at DEC that was missed, one mother's necklace with 3 birthstones wired to a family tree, and one charm to celebrate the 2012 Family Tree performance

Just a reminder that the Challenge of Literature Blog Hop will start right here on Thursday, May 31st. I will reveal my three pieces created for the Verse & Vision II exhibit, including the poetry and the art beads that were created just for the pieces.



Oh, and if you would like the chance to win one of my Simple Truths Story Beads, I am giving away 2 this month. Just head over to my Etsy Stalker Shadowbox and leave a comment!

Whew! It is no wonder why I drink so much coffee and buy my undereye dark circle concealer in a vat! I won't lie... I don't go to bed before midnight and while I am driven to get things done, I am pooped just writing this. But it is good to get it all down because I was starting to wonder what I did with all my free time ;-) and it is good to know that yes, I can do more than one task at a time. In fact, I am spinning plates as we speak (just kidding ;-).

I will be back to share more soon. Next up is the Story Starter with the completed tale and the random winner!

Your turn...What one thing did you accomplish this past week that you feel really good about? 

{some vintage plastic, metal, mother of pearl, wood, resin and three special buttons created just for me from Diana!}

{Glint of Green}

{Stepping Stones & Stumbling Blocks}

{The Sea is Calling}

Today you can find me over on the Art Bead Scene as it is my day to welcome you into my world for the Studio Saturday. Hop on over there and leave a comment to win a 'simple truths' pendant!



Just a reminder that the comments will be open through midnight tonight on the story starter post. There is a lot of fantastical, magical, scrumpdilliumptious fun happening in that story! All eligible comments will get you entered for a 3-month spot in my 'Simple Truths' Sampler Club! Go and add your line to the story!

And stop back here tomorrow for a rare posting... I will be revealing my Button Swap goodies!

We are all storytellers.

We all have experiences to share. And we all tell our stories in different ways.

For my daughter, her stories are best told through movement. She did some fine storytelling a few weeks ago with her movements in the special performance of "Family Tree."

{Tiny Dancer performing at a local assisted living facility - telling stories through movement}

{last summer, dancing on the docks with her best friend - Thank Al of Sunflower Studio!}

For my son, his stories are best told as play by play action adventures on the ball field.

{Can you imagine what the story is happening here? I am so excited that baseball has started! the best season of the year!}

For me, my stories are told through wearable works of art. Each piece of jewelry that I make is a little bit of my heart. The story of my life played out in beads and colors and patterns and textures and yes, words. But my particular favorite is to tell someone else's story to make it a personal statement of who they are, where they have come from and hopes about where they are going.




I have been so honored to be the featured Art Bead Partner for Vintaj this past month. Jess and the girls have really become great friends of mine over the years and I am so delighted to be working with them! If you ever have the chance to go to Galena, IL and take a class directly from the Vintaj ladies, you really should!

{September 2011 - Jess is a 'character' that figures into so many of my creative stories! ;-}

The town is so quaint filled with restaurants and beautiful bed and breakfasts and such charming shops... like Galena's newest shop, Rustic River Finds opening this week with the so sweet Miss Trish Italia (that is Jess Italia Lincoln's mom and I am adopting her as my pseudo-mom ;-). Some of my Woodsy Owls are winging their way there this week to participate in the opening festivities and encourage creativity!


I created nine new 'simple truths' designs to go with the storybook/fairy tale theme and took you on a journey of where my creative story lives... in my basement... late, late, late at night... with chaos all around (which I understand is not that dissimilar from where all of you create ;-) Today, you can go over to the Vintaj blog and see the creations of people inspired by the storybook theme. Vote for you favorite... because I just cannot choose one!

Vintaj has been important to me in telling my own creative story and this month has been such a delight for me!

To wrap up this fairy-tale-come-true for me, and to keep to the theme of this month with the Challenge of Literature (reveal May 31st!), I thought we should have a little fun.

You can comment as many times as you like to keep the story going, but please try to build your next line in the story off the one that comes before you. But the trick is to keep the story going and to keep it interesting so that the next person to play will have something to add. I will keep these comments open through Saturday, May 11th. At that time I will try to put together the most pleasing arrangement of the story and hopefully publish it for you to read. I will write the ending! And to thank you for being a contributor to the story,

So you have unlimited chances to play along and possibly win! Of course, if you would like to share this idea with anyone that is great (Facebook, blog, twitter, carrier pigeon, billboard...feel free!), the more the merrier! But please only leave comments here that add to the story... (those that don't further the story will not be counted.) Keep the story going and I will try to wrap it up with a happy ending!

My story starter was taken from Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo and Nancy Wang, members of Eth-Noh-Tec, an Asian storytelling troupe. I thought it was a fitting beginning!

Long ago, in a faraway place, there was a land filled with wonder. In this fantastic place there was a little girl. She was very special, for she had a magic ...

Your turn....
P.S. Be sure to REFRESH your page to be sure that you are adding a comment that adds to the story!

I do!

Saturday, May 12th OOPS! Sunday, May 13th is the reveal for Cindy Wimmer's Button Swap Blog Hop. Today I am giving you a sneak peek at what I got and a vague look at what I have been creating!

I was paired up with the sweet Miss Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio. She makes lovely ceramic components and writes a fun blog. She just seems like she would be a really fun person to be with. How lucky am I?

Today is a sneak peek of the buttons that I got from Miss Diana.

 The package was so lovely. Two tins and a sweet circus card (did you know that my daughter is hooked on elephants?) They were stuffed full of great treasures!



 Here are all the goodies that were contained within!



Brightly colored plastic buttons. I love the texture on these. Makes me want to get some mold compound and make impressions of these! And look at that sweet little brass anchor button there! I have some thoughts a-brewin' for that treasure.





Some wood, some leather, some resin... look at the fun shape of that wooden barrel button!

<------------This wood button is crazy huge!

And there is a leather button in there with a leather loop for a shank. (Blogger is messin' with me. You get the idea, right?)












Diana also included some beautiful mother of pearl buttons. I love the glow and warmth of mother of pearl. It is so classic and goes with everything.






But I am most delighted with the beautiful ceramic buttons that Diana made just for me! Isn't she sweet?





Your turn... do you collect buttons? What is your favorite? Do you ever use them for crafts, decorating, jewelry, counting, sorting, currency? Do tell!

This month, I received a package of Festive Crystal Clay* and a channel bead bezel* from Nunn Design as part of my FusionBeads blog partner program. Coincidentally, I am on the Nunn Design Innovation Team, so while these pieces were not new to me, I decided to try a new-to-me finishing technique with them.

I have been using the Nunn Design channel beads since earlier this year for my Story Beads. The shape is unique and the metal has some weight with a nice rich plating on it. There are so many possibilities for these channel beads!

The one that I received has the really neat domed bead caps already soldered on. I like this style so much that coincidentally this was the type that I recently ordered from Nunn! There is a head pin strung through it but I decided to cut that off in favor of making a wrapped loop on the bottom. As I was creating this I thought that it ended up looking rather old fashioned with a modern twist, so here is the tutorial for you to make something similar! I call this my 'Victorian Time Capsule.'

Victorian Time Capsule

{Crystal Clay has a slight corn nut smell to it. Pleasant! But the package warns not to eat it ;-}

1::CLAY::For the pendant, I chose to use the lightest blue clay. The instructions that come with the clay are easy to follow. I don't really like wearing gloves, but this stuff is extra sticky, so do follow that advice. After rolling the part A and part B together you have about 60-90 minutes of work time, so have your ideas ready to go!

2::FILIGREE::I found a four sided silver plated filigree in my stash. I cut the petals apart, filed the rough edges and used my bail making pliers to gently form the petals to the curved shape. I happened to make up just enough of the clay for this one bezel, but it helps to have some extras handy in case you make up too much because you won't be able to reuse it like you would polymer clay.


3::GLITTER::I have tons of really fine glitter in various colors. I decided to see if it would stick. I pinched little bits of it onto the clay and then rubbed it in with my fingers. Then I pressed the filigree pieces into the glittered surface. Unfortunately, I pushed some of the filigree into the clay a little too aggressively to the point where it is embedded a bit too deep. I tried to scrape away the excess clay oozing out as best I could and just smoothed it over and applied more glitter. The nice thing is that glitter really is embedded in the clay now, and when I rub my fingers over the finished piece I don't get a glitter trail, but I could still seal it with something to protect it.


4::CHAIN::I have a little bowl with leftover bits of chain and this was a perfect opportunity to use them up. This shape was screaming TASSEL to me! I grabbed some wire and made a loop, leaving it open to add the chains. I found several different silver plated chains as well as some black or gunmetal plated chains in various lengths. I cut four different lengths in the two finishes.I added them to my loop then made a substantial messy wrapped loop to the bottom.


5::FINISHING:: I threaded the tube onto the wire and added some intertwined jump rings for texture surrounding a large cut glass bead for some more bling. I happened to have some of the Nunn Design antique silver plated etched chain in my stash, so I opted to use that for the necklace. I like that this chain matches all their finishes and that it has open links! I recently ordered some of the matte black chain variants from Fusionbeads and that seemed like the perfect way to bring in the black with a different texture. I staggered the pieces of black chain for interest and made sure that this would be long enough to go over my head without a clasp.

{Victorian Time Capsule}

Thank you to Nunn Design for making such lovely components and to FusionBeads for the opportunity to share this tutorial with all of you!

I have always had a love affair with words. But a true hate affair with cooked vegetables.

I credit learning to read with hating cooked carrots and peas. Whenever we would have them I would simply refuse to eat them (I still have a hard time with them). My parents would make me sit there all night until I ate them. I can vividly recall them cleaning up the table and kitchen one night and then going downstairs to watch television, where I could hear the obviously enticing strains of the World of Walt Disney hour wafting up the stairs while there I stubbornly sat. There were bookshelves in the dining room and I was content to sit and look through all the books, never really understanding the words. (I wonder if I ever hid those dreaded cooked carrots behind the books?)

When I was younger, my mother worked at the Hennepin County Library. On Saturdays I would go with her while she worked for a few hours. I remember that she would park me in one of those little chairs in the children's section and tell me to read whatever books I wanted. I would soon get bored and would wander out into the stacks. They would find me sitting cross legged on the floor surrounded by all the books from the bottom two shelves, the only shelves I could reach. I didn't know what was said but I always enjoyed looking. 

When we moved to Stevens Point, my mother found work at the Portage County Public Library right across the street from my grade school. I would go there after school and get lost all over again in the stacks. All through grade school and high school I had my nose buried in a book. My dad would take us out for boat rides on the small lake we lived on. I always wanted to stay home and read. I would get lost in a book, I would become the main character. I would envision what my life would be like in that time period. When I was about ten, I remember getting sucked into the Little House on the Prairie series. I started calling my parents "Ma" and "Pa" and talking with some slightly twangy accent and started looking for gingham clothes. My "Pa" put an end to that right quick!

Fast forward to college. I could never go to a library to study because I would always wander off into the stacks to sit and peruse the books around me. I was originally an advertising/public relations major. One day I was approached by a floormate who was struggling in English ask to pay me to help tutor her on how to write a research paper because she knew that I was ace-ing English. She went from a solid D in that class to a B+ with my help (and no, I didn't write it for her). So I switched my university and my major to English education.

I was an 7th grade English teacher in a former life. We read novels and wrote short stories and did research papers. We acted in plays and found poetry in the everyday rhythms around us. I so enjoyed the creativity and the originality of my students. It was the grading and the discipline I hated. That and all the paperwork. If it weren't for all that, I might still be a teacher!

So I guess that words are in my blood.

And it should come as no surprise that I gravitate to art beads with words on them, like this or this or this, or that when I was coming up with my line of components that the only thing I could agree on is that they had to have words, powerful messages of hope and encouragement. 

I am currently the Vintaj art bead partner of the month. The theme is storybook and it feels like I have come full circle. Head over to this blog post today to tell your Vintaj story and win a great assortment of limited edition 'simple truths' and Vintaj product!

So when I was thinking about what I wanted the next quarterly challenge to be about, I knew that it had to be all about the story.

Unlock Your Story

{unlock your story - available on Etsy}

Did you have a favorite book as a child?

I can recall the likes of Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein coloring my life with their fantastical worlds and language play. I have always been smitten by children's authors and illustrators. Tomie de Paola made an appearance at the Hennepin County Library. And my father was the Vice President of Sales for Worzalla Publishing which publishes so many of the books your children are reading now, from textbooks and yearbooks to the Scholastic Book Club offerings, like some of the printings of Harry Potter and all of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. 

As I grew older, so did my tastes in stories. I fell in love with Madeleine L'Engle and her Wrinkle in Time books. I also went through a Ray Bradbury phase. His short story "A Sound of Thunder" evoked some of the greatest discussion with my students, and I am still haunted by the imagery of "There Will Come Soft Rains." His novel "Something Wicked This way Comes" is still one of my all-time favorites.

Reading is such an amazingly generous gift you can give to yourself. You can learn so much, be transported to another time and dimension, connect with the stories of all that have gone before you and feel the depth of emotion that a poet can elicit with just a few tasty word choices. There is nothing finer than to read with a child and watch their eyes light up with the magic of words.







What is your favorite literary pastime? Do you enjoy reading poetry? Are you a fan of the classics like Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, or the Bronte sisters? Do you recall the first novel that you ever read that you so fully connected with? Or are you in the throes of reading bedtime stories so that colors your literary world?

Whatever your inspiration... poetry, drama, mystery, fantasy, realistic fiction, romance, graphic novels, children's illustrated or young adult... I challenge you to be inspired by literature this month!

If you love reading, this is the challenge for you! For the Challenge of Literature, we will choose a piece of writing that speaks to each of us personally and translate that literature into an accessory. Here is how it will work:

1::Go to the tab above that says 'take the challenge' and sign up. Participation is limited to the first 60 who sign up between May 1st-May 5th.


2::Start thinking about a story. (Don't worry, you don't have to know right away what story or literary style, just start thinking!) Will it be something you read over and over as a child? Or maybe it will be the last novel that you read and couldn't put down? Perhaps your favorite is the flowery language of sonnets, or the gritty realism of the crime drama. Maybe you love the romance and lessons told in fairy tales and folklore. Whatever your favorite form of literature is, you can't go wrong.

{'Thornfield's Secret Tower' inspired by the novel Jane Eyre}

So what can you do? You can be inspired by the characters, the time period, or the title. You can research the author. You can incorporate the title or some passage from the literature in your piece, but words are not necessary.


OR challenge yourself to try a write your own story or poem(it is called a challenge after all...)If you cannot think of any particular story or decide on one type of literature, what about writing your own mini story or a small poem? Sometimes I like to think of a title for the piece first and see where that will take me. I found this clever little Random Title Generator app. Click it and see what comes up. Maybe you will be inspired to tell the tale with your own design. ;-)

3::Mark your calendar: Blog Hop on Thursday, May 31st. Yes, you must have a blog to participate in a blog hop. You are encouraged to blog about your literature selection, your inspiration, your creative process. Be sure to tell us of your connection to this story, this piece of literature, why you chose it. Please find a way to share something about the literature you chose on your blog: link to the author's website, immerse yourself in the time frame or the fantasy world, supply part of the poem, etc. It doesn't have to be all of these, but some way that we can learn about this piece of literature that will be helpful in making the connection with your accessory.

Hopefully we will have as many different types of literature as we have participants. You won't reveal your literature until the blog hop, so don't worry about claiming a story as your own. I don't care if you all pick the same one (that is highly unlikely). But even if we all did we would still have so many different interpretations. This is an exercise in how to take the magic of words as your inspiration and interpret it in your own way. I hope that this Challenge of Literature hop will be a great way to expand your horizons to new literary genres, find a way to make the intangible tangible, and show off your unique and lovely personality!

I will compile all the entries into the database and email all of the participants by Tuesday, May 8th with more information to help you enjoy the hop.

The most important thing, the only rule really, is to HAVE FUN!
(I will come up with a blog button that will be posted on the 'take the challenge' tab this week!)

Here is where you can find me today:


I wrote about adding your signature to your jewelry over at Art Bead Scene. (And I am totally crushing on how good this macro shot came out. I only used a +10 filter for my lens! Incredible!)



Lorelei Eurto blogged about and gave away 5 of my new Motley Owls to some lucky ladies who will be creating with them for a mini blog hop on May 16th. You can get one of your own from my Etsy site if you want to play along as well!



And today is my day to post over at Earrings Everyday where I share a poem I wrote in ode to the "liquid courage" that starts my day!

Come on over and find me!

I will be silent a few days as we prepare for the annual Dance Education Center recital and special performance group this weekend. Plus I have 11 special necklaces that need to be etched in copper, stamped with messages, patinaed and finished for a special project for Miss Tori, as well as the fundraiser for the DEC National Honor Society for Dance Arts Scholarships (we are the only dance studio in the state of Wiscsonsin with a chapter of this prestigious National Honor Society) as well as cranking out the custom orders (thank you for your patience!) for Motley Owls and Story Beads and Message Sticks and all sorts of special 'simple truths' for my faithful Etsy followers. But I surely have room for more!

And just a heads up that I am working on the next quarterly challenge. I will reveal all about it next week with sign ups in case you would like to join me on the journey!

What is keeping you busy this week?