Happy Caturday!

Wow! It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted, but at least I have something to show for my time way. :) My husband, Dell, and I renovated our master bathroom. Yeah!!! Truthfully, he did most of the work and I handled design and procurement. Here are a couple of pictures of my coastal cottage style bathroom.

My beautiful new pedestal sink! It was a bargain too. Home Depot has discontinued offering the Kohler Devonshire line in the store and will only have it special order. So I got the last sink for 80% off! We used bead board for the walls and Dell installed lots of molding to give it that cottage look. The walls are painted "antique linen" with white trim. The antique linen paint has a hint of green and a hint of yellow depending on the lighting.

See the frosted edge around the mirror? It has a cool retro look that I really like.

This little alcove was originally the shower. It was so cramped and cluttered. Now I have all my girlie supplies organized in this cute cabinet. It helps me keep the space neat and tidy!

My beautiful new shower. This space was a mirrored closet that had the water heater in it. We moved the water heater to the utility room and that made space for the perfect size shower. It has a nice shelf for shampoo and soap and a beautiful brushed nickle faucet.

I have had this mermaid and dolphin sculpture for many years. They are a soothing verdegris with hints of warm bronze. Perfect for my coastal style!

The little compass was a gift from a neighbor. It is from the 1930s. My Mom gave me the little ceramic flip flop. It was made by students at the Brevard Achievement Center.

This lovely watercolor of a dory is by Ruth Wilton, a Nova Scotian artist. I really like the cool greens and yellow in the painting and am so lucky to have this original piece of art.

Sorry I don't have before pictures. I disliked the room so much, I refused to take the pictures! It was a sad 1980s disaster with too much mirrored wall and Hollywood style lighting. Now it's a soothing retreat! Tomorrow, I will be back to beads! Happy Caturday from the Beach Cats!

Bead Soup Blog Hop

Today is the day!Let's all do the  Bead Soup Party Blog Hop! First a picture of the beads I received from my partner Menka Gupta. Menka sent me an amazing agate focal, some tiger eye, jade, freshwater pearls, lovely toggle clasp and more.

I really love the beautiful greens and carnelian colors in the focal and wanted to show it off properly. I tried several different designs and wasn't satisfied. I knew I wanted the focal to be displayed horizontally and wanted some sterling wire. After several false starts, I ended up with this.

I hammered a sterling frame and wrapped it with finer gauge wire adding three pretty briolettes. I used tiny silver seed beads for the necklace and included carnelian chips, agate rondelles, amazonite rondelles and tiger eye lozenges and squares. I am happy with the design and will create some earrings and a bracelet with the left over pieces.
Well I am heading off to Menka's blog to see what she made with the beads I sent her.

Hostess, Lori Anderson Special Book Sneak Peeks, Cindy Wimmer

1.  Adlinah Kamsir (Singapore) and Hajer Waheed (Kingdom of Bahrain)

2. Adrienn Lukacs (Hungary) and Agata Grygiel (Poland)

3.  Agi Kiss (Hungary) and Carolien Muller-Genger (the Netherlands)

4.  Agnes Asztalos (Hungary) and B.R. Kuhlman

5.  Alesha Conklin and Becki Mendivil

6.  Alice Peterson and Carol Dillman

7.  Alicia Marinache (Canada) and Dita Basu

8.  Amanda Dittloff and Brandy Thomason McNair

9.  Amanda Tibbetts and Andrea Trank

10.  Amy Freeland and Kay Mallery 

11.  Andra Weber and Christine Murrow

12.  Ann Sherwood and Diane Welte

13.  Barbara Bechtel and Kerry Bogert

14.  Barbara Lewis and Cat Pruitt

15.  Bonnie Coursolle (Canada) and Fay Wolfenden (Canada)

16.  Carmel McGinley (Australia) and Tracy Stillman (Australia)

17.  Cassie Donlen and Deryn Mentock

18.  Cathie Carroll and Janel Dudley

19.  Cece Cormier and Morwyn Mullins

20.  Charlene Jacka and Christina Hickman

21.  Cheryl Brown (Canada) and Diana Ptaszynski

22.  Christina Stofmeel (the Netherlands) and Eva Kovacs (Hungary)

23.  Christine Damm and Deb Brooks

24.  Cilla Watkins (Canada) and Elaine Robitaille (Canada)

25.  Sabrina Straub (Switzerland) and Kathy Combs

26.  Cindy Cima Edwards and Eleanor Burian-Mohr

27.  Cory Celaya and Rhea Freitieg

28.  Courtney Breul and Dana Hickey

29.  Cynthia Abner and Jennifer Boreck

30.  Cynthia Tucker and Jean Peter

31.  Debbie Goering and Heidi Post

32.  Dee Elgie (UK) and Joanne Lockwood (UK)

33.  Dian Hierschel (Germany) and Eniko Fabian (Austria)

34.  Diane Cook and Lyn Foley

35.  Donna Bohler and Lisa Lodge

36.  Donna Millard and Kiersten Giles

37.  Doris Stumpf (Germany) and Eszter Czibulyas (Hungary)

38.  Elisabeth Auld and Eva Sherman

39.  Elke Leonhardt-Rath (Germany) and Marjolein Trewavas (UK)

40.  Ema Kilroy and Laurie Keefe-Cecere

41.  Erika Nooteboom (the Netherlands) and Giorgia Rossini (Italy)

42.  Erin Grant and Jean Wells

43.  Evelyn Duberry (Canada) and Gaea Cannaday

44.  Genea Crivello-Knable and Heather Powers

45.  Ginger Bishop (military, Okinawa) and Martina Nagele (Germany)

46.  Heidi Kingman and Lori Greenberg

47.  Helen Kemp and Lisa Wangeman

48.  Helene Goldberg (Australia) and Karen Vincent

49.  Jamie Hogsett and Jeannie Dukic

50.  Jeanette Ryan and Jelveh Jaferian

51.  Jennifer Cameron and Tania Spivey

52.  Jennifer Justman and Kari Carrigan

53.  Jennifer Tough and Lorelei Eurto

54.  Joanna Matuszczyk (Poland) and Julianna Kis (Hungary)

55.  Joanne Tinley (UK) and Michaela Pabeschitz (Austria)

56.  Julie Anne Leggett and Kelley Fogle

57.  Karen Hess and Linda Landig

58.  Karyn Bonfiglio and Kathleen Lange Klik

59.  Kashmira Patel and Kat White

60.  Kat Barron Miller and Kelly Morgan

61.  Kathy Lindemer and Rose Binoya

62.  Krafty Max and Sandra Miller

63.  Kristen Latimer and Pam Ferrari

64.  Kristie Roeder and Lea Avroch

65.  Kristina Johansson (Sweden) and Penny Neville (Canada)

66.  Krisztina Erlaki-Toth (Hungary) and Nicole Keller (Germany)

67.  Lara Lutrick and Lisa Suver

68.  Laura DeMoya and Lisa Hanna

69.  Libby Leuchtman and Melanie Brooks

70.  Linda Koch and Rosemarie Cowit

71.  Lisa Chapman and Menka Gupta

 72.  Lisa Liddy and Marion Simmons

73.  Lori Anderson and Marcie Abney

74.  Lori Bowring-Michaud and Mary Govaars

75.  Lori Dorrington and Maria Rosa Sharrow

76.  Lori Finney (Canada) and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp (Canada)

77.  Lynn Bennett and Mandi Ainsworth

78.  Marta Kaczerowska (Poland) and Milla Starchik (Canada)

79.  Mary Harding and Shannon LeVart

80.  Mary Jane Dodd and Stacey Curry

81.  Melinda Orr and Molly Alexander

82.  Melissa Meman and Michelle Escano-Caballaro

83.  Michelle Jensen and Sandra Young (Canada)

84.  Nan Emmett and Nicole Valentine-Rimmer (Canada)

85.  Nancy Boylan and Suzette Bentley

86.  Natasha Lutes and Patti Vanderbloemen

87.  Pam Hurst and Rebekah Payne

88.  Patty Miller and Sara Rhoades

89.  Rebecca Anderson (UK) and Lori Anderson

90.  Rebecca Sirevaag and Sharon Driscoll

91.  Rochelle Brisson and Shannon Chomanczuk

92.  Rosa Maria Cuevas (Mexico) and Tejae Floyde

93.  Sabine Dittrich (Germany) and Sally Russick

94.  Sandi Volpe and Sarah/Saturday Sequins

95.  Shanti Johnson and Tracy Mok (Canada)

96.  Skylar Brez and Theresa Buchle

97.  Sonya Stille and Traci Zeller (Canada)

98.  Stefanie Teufel (Germany) and Tania Hagen (New Zealand)

99.  Stephanie LaRosa and Vonna Maslanka

100.  Terri Wlaschin and Wendy Blum

I won!

I can't believe it! I won the giveaway from Jean Wells on Love My Art Jewelry.  She drew my name randomly from those who commented on her beautiful jewelry and I received this lovely heart necklace

.

I wanted to thank her for the giveaway and get another piece of her work. So I was off to her store Jean A Wells Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry and I selected these great earrings! They are made of recycled Aqua Glass, Copper and Sterling Silver and I love them too! Thanks Jean!

Goodbye for today. Come back tomorrow for the Bead Soup Blog Hop!

Happy Caturday!

This beautiful Bobcat was spotted enjoying a sunny  day at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B. As NASA is transitioning from the Shuttle Program to the Commercial Crew Program and other exciting adventures, various facilities are being decommissioned and fewer humans are working in these areas, so the wildlife is reclaiming some territory. 

Kennedy Space Center is located on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and provides a safe home to many wild creatures including Bobcats, Bald Eagles, Alligators, and Manatees to name a few.  Here is another picture of the Pad B Bobcat.

 

Trixie's Garden

I have been playing with Vintaj Brass today. What fun! I did my take on one of their published butterfly necklace designs. I like a little simpler design, fewer bead connectors, more chain, and a few dangles. I had a major stamping disaster with the butterfly, but I like how I hid my mistake.;) I planned to stamp "Dream" on one side and "Do" on the other, but I hit the "M" poorly. So I sanded off as much as I could, dinged it up with my trusty hammer, and stamped "Dream" over and over. A little green Sharpie to bring out the letters and it doesn't look bad. I named the necklace and two earring group "Trixie's Garden" for my sweet feral tabby, Trixie. In her honor, the proceeds of the sale of "Trixie's Garden" will go to a local spay-neuter group. Have you ever had a stamping disaster?

My Bead Soup is Here!

My Bead Soup arrived Friday and I couldn't wait to see it! A beautiful oval Agate Focal in shades of green and caramel. I had forgotten how much I love Agate. Menka added coordinating lovely Tiger Eye, Carnelian, Jade, and Fresh Water Pearls to the mix along with a Silver Toggle, Silver Bead Caps, and Gold Beads. It is a wonderful collection bringing out all the different colors in the Agate focal. My mind has been swimming with design ideas.

The first jewelry class I took at the Down the Street Bead Show featured a round agate pendant. I still have the necklace and will post it soon. I have to go now. It's time to play and my Bead Soup awaits.
Happy Caturday!

I am so excited that I was selected to participate in the Bead Soup Blog Party. I finally finished my Bead Soup and it is on the way to my partner, Menka ! I hope she has as much fun designing with the beads as I did putting it together.

Caturday Morning

Happy Caturday from the Beach Cats! It's a beautiful day in New Smyrna Beach and all the Beach Cats were up as usual at 5:30.That's Bobby in bed and Gamble in his favorite chair.  They never take a day off. :)
That's fine with me. It gives me some quiet time to work on my Bead Soup. I am putting the package together for my Bead Soup partner Menka Gupta from Menka's Jewelry blog! Menka makes beautiful jewelry with gemstone beads, pearls, Swarovski crystals and more. You can see her designs at her blog. I hope you have a wonderful Caturday!

5th Bead Soup Blog Party

I am so excited! The 5th Bead Soup Blog Party is coming soon. Thanks to Lori Anderson at Pretty Things Blog for organizing and managing this fabulous event!
I am sorting through my bead stash in anticipation of the fun to come. Here are a few soup starters that I picked today. I included lampwork beads, ceramic beads, pewter, bronze, and sterling silver charms, gemstones, and czech glass. All of my favorite things!

Beach Day Sunday

These gorgeous lampwork lentils were made by Raida of Havana Beads. You can see waves crashing and water droplets sparkling on these beautiful beads. I joined them together with little sterling silver Thai seashell beads and sterling wire and added a dainty charm with a sun on one side and the words, "Shine Brite" on the other.

I think I will have to take a bike ride to the beach today! I hope I see you there too ;)

Fossil Stone and Sterling Silver with a pretty little rutilated quartz dangle. I love this beautiful fossil stone! One of the rondelles has a flower design. The variation from stone to stone is interesting yet the overall caramel color makes this a very organic wearable bracelette. :)

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Happy Fourth of July from beautiful New Smyrna Beach! We have a great sunny day for beach parties and a clear night for fireworks over the ocean. I had a wonderful long weekend designing several new bracelets and earrings for my Etsy shop, Beach Cat Beads. Over the next few days, I will be adding new items to my shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeachCatBeads

I will be adding a special group of earrings from which the entire proceeds will be donated to a couple of local animal rescue and low cost spay neuter groups.

I hope you had a safe and happy fourth!