Happy FAT Tuesday!!!

WOW....the weekend flew by and the parades were a blast. There are more parades today since it's FAT Tuesday but with the weather being overcast and the temp only at 39 (but feels like 34) we are just being couch potatoes today.

Yea....the mister even had the day off and I think he is enjoying just sitting and watching TV (even if it is through closed eyelids at times...hehe) and playing his solitaire game on his phone. The Chazman is still in that horizontal pause mode so that makes the house fairly quiet, which I'm taking full advantage of and working on some jewelry pieces. The first ones I did......earrings!!

 Cockle shells with aquamarine stone beads

 Cockle shells with bronze shell charms

 Moon Shells

 Dyed pearl, polished Jade stones, arc ribbed shells

Same pair as above but with shells turned around. Like having two different pairs in one. 

Once I start working on jewelry pieces I have a VERY hard time stopping. I blame it on my slave driver muse but to be honest....I just love making things. Therapy peoples....therapy!!!  After I finished with the earrings I made some more medallion shell necklaces.

 Three pretty scallop shells all in a row, coquina shell (butterfly), seed & bugle beads, rose quartz beads on a burgundy rope (20 inch) with stainless steel twist closure

 Three pretty scallop shells all in a row, coquina shell (butterfly) seed & bugle beads, glass beads and faerie glitter beads on a small twine brown rope (22 inch) with stainless steel closure.

 Pretty scallop with broken moon shell and two kitten paw shells on a black hemp rope (20 inch) with toggle closure.

 Pretty inverted scallop shell with natural coral and moon shell inside along with one of my wire bone fish on a natural twine rope (24 inch) with toggle closure.

Petrified mermaid tail (broken conch shell really) with two Swarovski crystals on a seed & bugle bead necklace (26 inch) with toggle closure.

As of this posting, these pieces are still available. It seems that I have some awesome friends that have been swooshing by and buying these before I can even get them in my Etsy shop or at Beach Reflections. That's a good thing though. ^_^  If you are interested in any of these please let me know by leaving a comment and your email address so that I can reply back. 

Now........I think since it's starting to sprinkle a bit and the house is so quiet that I'm going to put on a pot of tea and read for a bit. I might even sneak in a horizontal pause. 

Until next time..............HUGS,

Regi

It's FRIDAY!!!!

Well....are ya happy to see that the weekend is almost upon us? I sure am cause tomorrow is PARADE day..Woot Woot!!!

One of the floats from 2007 (thought it was sooo pretty)

There have already been a few parades already over in Mobile and there is one tonight in Orange Beach but we plan on making a day of it tomorrow because there are going to be THREE that I want to go to. (and there will be no fussing from any of my krewe about going cause tomorrow the old saying is gonna be true, "If Momma ain't happy then NO BODY's happy" hehe. The first parade is here in Foley and starts at 11:00am and then the next one is in Point Clear (near Fairhope) and is sponsored by the Krewe of Mullet Mates at 2:00pm. Then the third one is in Orange Beach at 5:30 and it's sponsored by The Mystics of Pleasure. It's gonna be a GREAT DAY!!! If you live close by then you should plan on attending too. Here's where you can find the parade schedule for Baldwin County. 

Now today (while I am very patiently NOT waiting for tomorrow) I'm working on some of my shell medallions. I had a commission piece that I finished yesterday and once I posted it for them to see on Facebook, I received some request for more. YEA!!  A few wanted just the medallions so that they could put them on chains instead of the roping I use. 

 The base of this one is an oyster shell and the two small pieces inside are called oyster wing. I thought the base looked like a piece of ancient lava rock so I added a dragons egg bead to the center. The bead is actually made from quartz.

Finished

SOLD

 Pretty grey hued scallop shell with a grey hued baby's ear shell. The lil vial is filled with some of the sand from our Gulf Shores beach along with tiny shells.

SOLD
 Pretty grey and burgundy scallop shell with barnacles attached. A kitten's paw and a vial filled with sand complete this one. 

SOLD
Grey/buff and burgundy scallop shell with a moon shell and kitten's paw along with a twisted fish bone wire.

(well...that's what the Chazman calls it...hehe)

SOLD
Finished

This is one that I completely finished. Before ya ask, I put the clothespin there so you could get an idea of the size. I haven't completely lost it...YET!!! I call this one "Mermaid Cup" because that's what this shell looks like.....a cup, complete with handle. I used some jasper stone beads and a pretty glass focal bead. The roping is 18 inches and it has a silver toggle clasp.

SOLD

Another completed one. An auger shell says my mermaid soul and it is an auger but my faerie souls says it's a unicorn horn. hehe

I have more shells ready to be placed in groupings and that's what I'll be working on. (Is it Saturday yet?) I hope it will make today go by rather fast. 

If you are interested in buying any of the pieces I post just let me know. I ship Priority Flat rate (small $5.80) and each medallion will come in it's own handmade paper gift box. Just leave a comment and an email addy so that I can contact you. ^_^

Until next time...........Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the good times roll)                          

Regi

Stars fell on Alabama!!!

No really....they did!! I kid ya not. Tons of stars have fallen on our Alabama coast and it caused me to have so many different emotions at once that I (looking around) sat down and cried.

As you have guessed by now and with the help of this image, I wasn't talking about those HUGE stars up in the heavens. No, I was talking about these precious li'l creatures.......sea stars.

I have been researching since last night trying to discover just what type of sea stars these are. I knew they were in the starfish family and did you know that starfish are NOT fish at all?  They are related to the sand dollar and sea urchin. I kid ya not!! (and my feeble mind is thinking that sometime in a past post I might have even told ya that already..hehe) They can move quite quick too by using the tiny little tube feet on their underside. These same little feet are what helps them hold onto their prey. Oh yes...they are hunters!! They even have eyes (that we can't really see though and they can't see well out of) on the ends of each arm. This particular star that is washing up here is in the banded family. Thier little legs don't curl up until they are dead. That is what caused one of the many emotions that ran through me when we found these. First I was sooo excited that Mother Nature had given us such an amazing treasure. Then right after that emotion, sadness hit me like a ton of bricks. These ancient creatures that have been around for what scientist believe is over half a billion years are dying and washing ashore in the hundreds. It's happening everywhere....not just here on our Alabama coast. They are, of course, doing research and several different theories are being bounced around
but the main cause is not known as of yet. I did sit and cry as I felt so sad for all these creatures but I was happy too that I was given a gift from the sea that I intend to preserve and they can continue to be remembered. Yea.....ya'll already know I'm a bit quirky...and now I really just proved it but HEY...it's just ME!!!

Now, in case YOU might have been walking on the beach and picked up a few I'm sure you discovered that they might not be fish but PEEEUUUUU they sure smell like dead fish. I did some research on taking care of that little problem plus asking a friend how she took care of it with hers. So here's two ways you can do it:

Friends way (which is popular on any search...so we know it works) Take sea star and place in 3 parts water to one part bleach for about 60 seconds. Take out of solution and place on top of equal parts salt and baking soda covering the bottom of a box. Place the legs in the position you want them to dry and then gently weigh them down with something. (Gently, because you don't want something so heavy it breaks the legs off) Sit in the sun to dry for at least 48 hours.

Here's my way after friends suggestion and doing some research. I love keeping the colors in anything that Mother Nature has designed so I didn't want to lose the brown bands in mine. So.....I found that instead of placing them in the bleach/water solution that I could soak them in a 70% alcohol bath for 48 hours which will kill the smell, remove any bateria (same as the bleach solution) and keep their natural color intact. After the bath solution it stated that I could take them out and place on newspaper, place legs in position, gently place something on top and let sit in the sun until dried out. After they are dried then I will seal them. Fingers crossed this works. My muse is singing up a storm in wanting to use these with some mermaid and sea horse sculpts.

Yesterday brought some shell treasures too. I love my shells but ya'll know that already too. ^_^

These are just a few of them. 

Some moon shells in all sizes. Some whelks and some slipper shells. 

Different colors of kitten paws. 

These broken ones are going to become mermaid tails of some ooaks I'm planning. 

Some barnacles and two types of coral. 

Pretty scallop shells...even a tiny one.

Now I need to plan some designs for some more jewelry pieces with these new treasures and patiently wait to be able to finish working with my sea stars.

Until next time...........Hugs,

Regi

Mermaid muse is a dancin!!!!!

Good Morning!! I hope that the day started off great for YOU. Each morning that  I wake up then my morning definitely starts out great. HEY...I'm getting old. ^_^

I didn't get to post yesterday because I was busy working on some necklaces and ummmm well, I ummmm, kinda started reading a new book and well ummmm couldn't put it down..hehe!! I love to read but that's not what this post is about.  It's about showing you the necklaces I made. (with my mermaid muse happily dancin about)

Pretty, yes? It's a scallop shell found on one of our beach walks in Gulf Shores. Well, ok, it's actually two scallop shells found on the beach walk in Gulf Shores..HA!! The bigger one, I just fell in love with the colors that Mother Nature herself gave it. The deep red or rust and the light and dark gray...so pretty. Since it was a tad bit broken I decided to place a small scallop on top of it...with the same beautiful colors. It's attached to 26 inch hemp rope with a Tibetan charm holder with silver twisted wire running through the shell. Mother Nature placed those holes in just the perfect place, eh? It has a circle and bar closure.

This one I made using one of my broken moon shells found on a walk at Fort Morgan. It's attached to a 24 inch hemp rope on a Tibetan charm holder with silver twisted wire and hemp rope. Another one painted by Mother Nature. She so has the eye!!

Here's one of the olive shells that washes up already polish to perfection. (found at Gulf Shores) It's on a 24 inch hemp rope that has a barrel clasp closure. It's attached with hemp rope to a Tibetan charm holder and has a silver Tibetan turtle charm attached as well. This olive shell is a tad bit, I mean just a smidgen over 2 inches.

I think today I'm going to make a few pretty hair barrettes with some of the scallop shells. They are just so pretty and well....I think would look even prettier placed in someones hair. I mean, mermaids can't have all the lovely shells for just their hair.

Until next time............Hugs,
Regi