Nichole and Adam are getting married

I have another wedding to announce. May daughter Nichole is getting married to Adam Carver on Sept 22nd.  When I found out my daughters were both getting married this summer I was both sad and happy for them at the same time.  In some ways I feel I am giving up a part of my life as they move on and make there own little paths in life.   I now understand with the marriage of my first daughter in June that I am not giving them away but gaining two wonderful sons.  I will have now have three sons and two daughter's and for the first time in my life I now have more son's then daughter's.  I am sure that won't last long as my son is still at home and single.  Hint Hint!  He would hate if he read this, so please don't tell him.  Jordan has no  plans to get married for a long time and I am really happy about that as he is still home.  The good thing is I will not have to plan and finance any weddings, at least for a while.  I have to admit it has been fun helping my kids create their beautiful weddings, even if they refused to have a double wedding to help their mother keep her sanity.  It has been a busy year with a job change in May, Brooke's wedding in June, the Utah Arts Festival in June, surgery in July, vacation in August and now the upcoming wedding of Nichole on Sept 22nd. Sometimes I think I will be glad when this year is all over, but the good thing is it is not over.  I now have a larger family which is nice since I grew up with only one brother and have very little family left on my side, except for a couple of uncles and cousins I rarely see.  Congratulation's Nichole and Adam.  I am looking forward to see my beautiful, talented and artistic daughter get married.  It will be a memory that will be etched in my brain and live in my heart forever.  I look forward to your special day as your life forges it own path.

Brooke is getting Married!!!

I have not posted on my blog in a while because I have been so busy planning my two daughters weddings and dealing with family health problems. This is a picture of Brooke and Jared.  Brooke is my youngest daughter and is getting married on June 29th in the Bountiful temple. I am so happy and very proud of her and we just love Jared.  I am excited to have another son in the family and will now have my son Jordan and Jared as well.  He is a collage student and goes to BYU and is majoring in psychology.  He has plans to be a psychologist.   Brooke is planning on finishing her collage education as well and is well on her way to earning her BSN in science but not sure of her major yet. She is a math wizz and may end up going into engineering.  I will post some more bridals and beautiful wedding pictures soon.   The reception is at the Grand Ball Room in Bountiful Utah on June 29th from 6-8pm.   She has chosen purple and gray as her colors.  I will be fun to decorate and prepare for the wedding.  I good friend reminded me last week to make sure and take the time to enjoy everything and not get to caught up in all the planning a busy work. Thank you for that advise because it was just what I needed to hear. It has been a stressful year for our family but it is going to turn out to be a very happy year.  I just have to have faith and keep looking at all the blessings and positive things in our lives.  Brooke is the baby of the family and it will be hard to see her go, but life has passages and this is Brookes time to shine.

Utah Arts Festival

This is a picture of the Utah Arts Festival that is going to take place this year on June 21-24th.

It will be in downtown SLC at the library square on 4th South block between 2nd and third east.

You can find more information on about the event on their website at: http://www.uaf.org/  I applied this year for the first time and am happy that I was selected to participate in such a fun event. I have attended  this festival many times and have always wondered what it would be like to be a selected artist. So this year I have my chance. I hope to see you there. 

Jewelry Affair

A good friend of mine went treasure hunting at a flea market in California. She found lots of keyholes and was so sweet to share them with me.  She knew I loved to make jewelry out of found objects with an industrial edge. So that is how these necklaces were born.  I have worn a few of these and gave some as gifts and many people really seemed to like them, so a sent a few of the  necklaces to Jewelry Affair. You can find them in the upcoming April 2012 issue that will be available on April 1st. In the article you can learn how to make the keyhole necklaces.  If you do not find this publication in your store then you can find Somerset magazine publications at: http://www.stampington.com/jewelryaffaire/2012/aff_sp12.html

I hand stamped this necklace with the words: "Key to my heart." This is the one you see in the picture that has a key for a clasp.  I have added collaged words on the sides of some of them for an easy and fun idea to personalize them.  Also, the designs in the magazine are different then the ones pictured on my site. I love that they are not all them same. 

Bead Soup Blog Hop

I want to thank Lori Anderson for hosting the bead soup blog hop.  You can find a link to Lori's blog at: http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com/   Lori has a book coming out in the fall on  bead swaps so be sure to watch for it.

My partner for this bead soup is Jessica Klaaren.  We were late signing up but met on the FB page for the bead soup. You can find Jessica's blog at: http://beadful-things.blogspot.com/  She makes some beautiful jewelry.  I think we were meant to get together to do this bead swap because we decided to do this on our own.  We also sent each other beads that were blue/green and butterfly pieces.  When I opened my package and seen all the beautiful beads and Vintaj findings I was so happy because I love to work with filigree findings. You can see the beads that Jessica sent me below this post. It was a challenge taking the beads and deciding how/what I was going to make.  I looked at them for a few days and finally had the idea to use a Vintaj butterfly finding and solder it onto a piece of textured metal along with the word inspire.  I used the word inspire because I think it conveyed what the swap was all about. Below is the link for the blog hop.

http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=132965&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Bead Soup Blog Hop

I just recieved my beads for the bead soup blog party. This is all put on by Lori Anderson.  My partner is Jessica Klaarsen. To see all her colorful designs go to: http://beadful-things.blogspot.com/   We started this late, but teamed up anyway to join this fun adventure. I love all the bright colors and Vintaj findings in this bead group. I am looking forward to making my designs to share with everyone on March 3rd. If you want to see the hop just go to the left side bar of my blog and you can see Lori's blog and follow all the fun.

Art Studio Pictures

I have been having problems with my computer but I think I have the computer issues fixed now. I love technology but it can be a real pain when things go wrong.  I ended up deleting some posts in the process. The top picture is from the old studio downstairs which is still not completely cleaned up.  I have been working on moving my studio upstairs the last few months. I painted in a charcoal grey last year and finally got around to getting things moved upstairs. I still have to hang a few things on the walls. I bought organizers at Michael's and have tons of storage place for all the beads and components. I love the storage cubes and the work great for beads.   It seems like no matter what I am creating I often times still do not have the right shape, size, color or component to make what I want. I have 22 plastic organizer boxes of beads that I have been collecting for over 10 years and you would think I had everything I need. I girl can never have too many beads and findings. 

A lot of what you see in my studio I created at art retreats or purchased from other artists.  The dolls hanging on the wall are from my good friend JoAnna Pierotti. You can find her blog at: http://mosshill.blogs.com/ She is a full time artist and teaches at many retreats around the country. JoAnna is really a great artist/person and fun to hang out with. If you have the opportunity to take classes with her I would jump on it. 

I bought a new table for my studio and waited almost two months for it to be delivered but when it showed up I knew it was just right for my studio. The table is wrought iron and has reclaimed wood on the top and I love anything that is vintage or with a vintage look. I also picked up the french bakers table that has my jewelry displayed on it at a local antique store.  The table is an original patisserie table from the late 1800's that  used to display all the yummy desserts. I like to imagine the French street where the bakery was located and all the beautiful French architecture. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era.  It reminds me of the movie "Midnight in Paris." What a fantasy to be able to get into a car and go back to the place in time you dream of being.

Steampunk HeARTs

Happy New Year! I am really thankful for the new year and really excited at the opportunity to do an artist interview that is published in the new Jan 2012 issue of Belle Armoire, the artistry of clothing and accessories.   The link to their store and all of their great publications can be found at: http://www.stampington.com/somersetstudio/ or at most of the Barnes and Noble bookstores. What a great way to start off the new year.  Thanks so much to all of the editors of stampington and Amanda for this opportunity.  I want to say thanks to all of my family, friends, followers and customers! I would not be able to do any of this without all of your great support. Also, I would like to add that I used the game spinners in these heART designs and you can find the spinners in Tim Holtz's Ideology line. To find out can find out about all these great products from Ranger go to Tim's site at: http://www.timholtz.com/index.html