A Breath of Fresh Air!

Our topic for August for the Focus On Life: 2014 Weekly Photography Challenge is
 'Outside' 
and for week 32 Sally prompted us with
 'Fresh Air'
and told us to "Spend a little time taking a deep breath of fresh air, feeling the sun or the rain on your face!"




Here's the 'rain on my face' while sitting up at the very top of the tree house the day before we left the cabin.




You can't see the drops coming down through the trees, but it was heaven for sure!! 

 
The View From The Top of the Tree House!


Now, let's see what 'Fresh Air' everyone else captured!




Until Next Time,
 Peace, Love and Breathing Fresh Air!
 Cheers,
~Shel~

Outside the Box

It's August!  (Already!?!)  

Our topic for the month of August for the
Weekly Photography Challenge is "Outside".

This is week 31 and our prompt is 
"Outside The Box".





Sally didn't technically give us any rules for this one and it could be a play on words or it could be literally "Outside the box",  so today I'm going to share a photo I took back on Mother's Day while down at my sis's house.  

We usually take a photo of all the cousins when we get together, but this Mother's Day only Logan and Chad were actually there and so we tried to skype with all the other kiddos who live out of state or who couldn't make it that day.

My nephew had moved to Florida earlier this year and as the boys were standing around the t.v. chatting with Preston, I said, "Boys, squat down in front of the t.v. so I can get a photo of all three of you together."

"Seriously?", was what I think both of them said at the same time.

"Yes, Seriously. How else am I gonna get a photo of all three of you today?"



And if you look really closely, you can see my bro-in-law's face in the little square to the bottom left of the t.v. as he was on the computer skyping with them! LOL!!


So, Preston's actually 'in' the box,...not out of it. 

I'm pretty sure no one else with find this as odd funny as we all did, but I think it's pretty much an 'out of the box' way to take a photo.

What do you think?! 

Catch all the "Out of the Box" pics everyone else has captured and posted today, won't you?

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Snappin' "Out of the Box" !!
Cheers,
~Shel~



Celebrate the Season - FOL28

Our July theme for the Focus on Life:2014 Weekly Photography Challenge is "Celebrate" and for week 28 Sally, over at The Studio Sublime, prompted us to



"Celebrate the Season"



Each summer we spend time at my sis's cabin in the mountains and I love to 'Celebrate the Season' by capturing photos of all the lovely wild flowers growing all around!!  

Please stop by and see how every one else is Celebrating this Summer Season,....

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Celebrating Summer!
Cheers,
~Shel~


FOL14 - Week 27

The theme for the month of July for the Focus on Life 2014 Weekly Photography Challenge is 
"Let's Celebrate"

Week 27: Celebration!  "There are so many little celebrations that occur everyday and you may not realize that they happen.  A quiet toast between friends, a smile for a job well done, a candle on a cake, a sparkler all aglow.   Let's Celebrate the season, family, love hope and life!"



Monday was our son's 17th Birthday. 

He absolutely hates having his photo taken - even on his birthday!


Logan, Day 1 - in the hospital.  Then this summer at the cabin actually smiled and let me take a photo before he went on a motorbike ride!! (yippee!)


I snagged a pic of him blowing out the candle on his cheesecake (he's not a fan of regular cake) and then he turned around to see I was trying to snap another photo.





You can tell by the photo that he's not standing still and the look he's giving me is one that says, "I can't believe you're even trying to take a photo of me, mom!" 




Oh well, I still love it. And him!  

We also celebrated our country's birthday yesterday.

The good ol' USA turned 238 years old. 



So, Cheers to Birthdays and wonderful celebrations!!

Click on the links below to see what everyone else is celebrating this week!

Until Next Time, 

Peace, Love and Celebrating Life's Special Moments!

Cheers,
~Shel~



Happy Birthday USA

Happy Independence Day! 




Each day I am thankful for the ability to live in this country and the freedoms I have because of the sacrifice of all those before me.

Until Next Time,

~Peace~

Cheers,
~Shel~

Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! 2014 Blog Hop Reveal!





Welcome to the 2014 
Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! 
Blog Hop Reveal!



Are you ready to see some gorgeous pearls today?  I know I am!

The guidelines for the Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop were quite simple.

"Show Us Your Pearls!" 

Yes, that's about it. It didn't have to be jewelry or bead related. Anything you wanted to design and create with pearls was fine - and welcomed!

Feel free to show off your pearls along with us. Just use the InLinkz Link Up tool at the bottom.

If you'd like to have the InLinkz code so you can have the link up tool on your blog today too, just clink here and you'll go to the page that has the link to the code.

With everything going on this month, it was challenging, but I did managed to create a couple of designs. 


First up, I got to play with some solid gold!

Oh YES! It was heaven!




And it isn't just any piece of gold either.

It's an 18k yellow gold original cross that my hubby, Mike, and our friend, Steve, created and cast earlier this month.

It measures a whopping 1.75 (almost) inches long and has some heft to it - but not too much!

I had no idea what or how I wanted to use this cross - especially since I don't wear gold - so this was a challenge.

I knew it deserved the 'good pearls' in my inventory.
And something that would make it 'pop'. 

The really nice freshwater cultured drop pearl that dangles on it is approximately 13mm in size - rather large.

The pearls in this necklace are freshwater cultured pearls from Majestic Pearl.

I wanted to make the cross charm something that could be taken on/off easily so the pearls could be worn on their own and so the cross could be worn on other necklaces, too.

I'd seen several versions of this sort of 'bail' over on Pinterest lately, so I thought I'd try creating my own version and it worked out quite well.

Did you know there is a difference between a 'bail' and a 'pearl enhancer'?  

You can read a nice article from my online friend Calla Gold about the difference here.
 





This necklace reminds me of Old World Kings and Queens and a time when, despite the rugged materials the craftsmen had to work with, pieces were elegant, opulent and exquisite.

It was extremely fun playing with 'the good china', as I call it!

From the pearls, the handcrafted clasp, to the cross - this one's a keeper! 

Except Mike keeps telling me he's taking the cross and melting it down and making something else with his gold.

Umm,...no. I think it's perfect the way it is. 

And then there's this fun little guy. 

Better known as 'Donald Trunk'.




My hubby found some old molds at a jewelry supply store in town here and he poured me this pewter elephant using one of them. 

Mike calls him "Donald Trunk" because he's got this 'blob' of pewter on the top of his head,...see that??  

It's like a wild pewter 'comb-over' or toupee.  Yep. LOL!!



 The pearls in this necklace are also freshwater cultured pearls.
The dark ones have been dyed to get this awesome deep color and they come from Majestic Pearl as well.

They represent the deep colors of the elephant, both his skin and his eyes.

The really fun 'waffle' pearls (that's what I call them - it's neither a correct nor industry used term!) are keshi pearls that I picked up several years ago from Ayala's Originals at the gem show down in Tucson. 

They represent the rough skin of the elephant and his wonderful 'wavy' ears and the color of his tusks.

Both necklaces were hand knotted on C-Lon cord that I purchased from the BeadShop.com

I like using C-Lon (and Superlon, too) on many of my designs because it doesn't stretch as much or absorb body oils, lotions and perfumes as quickly as 100% silk does. Which makes caring for it a bit easier than designs created with silk. And to me, it drapes/hangs much like silk, which I like.

 When we did the Pearls Blog Hop last fall, many of you said you liked all the links I provided to various educational sites about pearls and many of the video tutorials and things of this nature, so here's the link to
with all the links for anyone who wants to see them and revisit any of the goodies that were included in last fall's reveal post.

Also, here's the link to my Pearls page here on the blog where you'll find lots of pearl information, video tutorials on pearl knotting (not mine, but a lot of other people's tutorials) and other links such as jewelry, tool and pearl suppliers as well, so be sure to check it out.

I do want to share with you a really good video of how to knot pearls with out the use of tools, such as awls, tweezers or knotting tools or boards.  

This is a great method when you're stringing a simple strand of pearls - they come out beautifully!

This video is compliments of the wonderful folks over at Pearl Paradise.  Pearl Paradise owner Jeremy Shepherd and his wife, Hisano are a wealth of wonderful information and the designs that Hisano and the crew over at Pearl Paradise put together are just AMAZING!!  

Make sure to check out the latest post over on their blog, here.  And, of course, have fun drooling over all the beautiful pearls they offer for sale - wow!

And yes, the pearls in the below video are real, Saltwater Cultured South Sea Pearls,...Honkin' Huge!!




Now it's time to check out what all the other participants below have created with their pearls! 

Thanks to everyone who is jumping in today and sharing your pearls - I can't wait to see what everyone has created! 



Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and All Things Made With PEARLS!!
Cheers,
~Shel~


FOL14 - Week 26

Wow - half way through the year.  The first part has flown by, if you ask me.  Hopefully the second half of the year will slow down just a tad bit so we can all catch our breath, right?!

For week 26 of the Focus on Life 2014 weekly photography challenge, Sally has given us this prompt:

June 2014: Putting the Fun In Photography
Week 26: Free Space!



"Like the good old bingo cards state, "FREE SPACE" right smack dab in the middle of the card!  We have reached the half way point of the year, REALLY!  
We are half way through 2014!  
For this week you have a "free space" to photography what ever you would like in what ever way you would like."

Oh, so many possibilities.

I took some pics over Memorial Day Weekend while we were up in the mountains at my sis and brother-in-law's cabin.   

I rather like the look of this one, so I played around with editing it a bit. 



And, being our country's symbol of Freedom, I thought it would fit nicely for our 'Free Space' prompt.

I haven't watched the video that Sally no nicely put up on 'softening' your photos - so I'll have to do that because this one might look cool that way. 

Please check out the below links and see what every one else chose as their 'Free Space' this week, won't you?! 

Oh, and be sure to come back 
here tomorrow for the 
Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! 
Blog Hop - Link Up.



I'd love for you to link up with us and show us what you've created with your pearls!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and "FREE" Space
Cheers,
~Shel~

Free Space to Grow! ;-)

Getting Ready to Show Some Pearls!

Hello Pearl Lovers!

The Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop Reveal Date is Sunday, June 29th - 2014.
 
 
 

To make things super easy for you to join in the fun, 
we're doing a Link-Up type of Blog Hop via InLinkz.

You can simply add your link to the Pearls Hop by coming back here to the MiShel Designs blog on Sunday, June 29th and following the prompts for the Inlinkz linkup tool at the bottom of the reveal post. 

If you'd like to add the Inlinkz tool to your own
Pearls Blog Hop Post on the reveal date, 
Click here to go to the page on the blog where I will have the code.

Go to this Inlinkz page to find out how to add the code to your blog if you are unsure how to do this.
 
 
 
 
Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Pearls, Baby!
Cheers,
~Shel~

Wearing Your Pearls!

Although the 2014 Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop that's happening this Sunday, June 29th here on the MiShel Designs blog had simple instructions that you could create ANYTHING with your pearls - it's a pretty obvious that my contribution will more than likely be PEARL JEWELRY. 

NO!?!  (You would have never guessed that, right?!)

So, let's get a little pearl fashion going on here, shall we?


 

It's fun and exciting (to me, anyway!) to see how pearls have been pushed front and center these last couple of years (FINALLY)!!

I'm thoroughly enjoying their nice little run in the fashion spotlight.

Here's a few things I found on the Internet
to get your pearl fashion cravings satisfied.

First up, this article by Brittany Siminitz a couple of weeks ago over on JCK online, (which is super!) highlights some great luxury pearl jewelry, like this awesome cuff by 
Vincent Peach.

 
Vincent Peach Cuff - LOVE this!!!
Fashion forward and fun!

Then there's the pearl body chains that every one's wearing - sexy, aren't they? 



 
What a great way to wear your pearls!

Then of course, one of my favorites,
Layering your pearls! 




The hottest earring designs around this year 
are those with pearls, too. 

Like these by Dior,...


Dior Earrings, worn by actress Emma Watson - Via Pinterest, Charmandchain.com

Worn by actress, Emma Watson.

FABULOUS!!

And then of course, there's always my favorite designer,
Todd Reed.

His new line of jewelry has bunches of gorgeous pearls included! (Yeah, baby!!!)

Just look at this gorgeous ring of his!

Todd Reed Ring - with PEARLS!!!
 

So, now that your creative juices are flowing,
get out your pearls and start creating!

Then come back here on 
Sunday, June 29th,  and join in the  
2014 Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!! Blog Hop 
and show us your PEARLS!! 




Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and All Things Pearls!!
Cheers,
~Shel~

Girls and Their Pearls

This Sunday, June 29th, is the 
here on the MiShel Designs blog. 



The challenge was simply this: 

Create something using pearls. It doesn't have to be jewelry or bead related at all. It can be anything your little heart desires; from pearl encrusted stilettos, to a pearl laden writing journal or lamp shade, the choice is yours.



June has been a much busier than normal month 
here in our household.  

There's been more travel this month than usual, some very sad moments of losing friends and other loved ones, an unusual amount of extra paper work for our business and school (yes, even though it's summer!), appointments for senior photos, dental and doctor appointments, designing and ordering our 20th Wedding Anniversary rings (Mine's being created by the wonderful team over at Todd Reed in Colorado, and Mike's having our friend Steve help him craft his own - I can't wait to see them both!!) and all sorts of other 'home' stuff to manage.

So, needless to say, I started to majorly stress out about the Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop I decided to host this month. 




However, a friend nicely reminded me that although I'm hosting this hop, it shouldn't be stressful at all because it's just a "link up" type of hop. 

What's that mean you ask?  

It means that if you'd like to participate that all you have to do is come here on June 29th and 'Link Up' with us via the InLinkz link up tool that will be at the bottom of my blog post that morning. 

Simple as pie!  



So, I hope you'll link up with us here on 
Sunday, June 29th 
and join in the Pearl Fun!




In the meantime this week, I am going to give you a couple of posts to wet your whistle on pearls - I mean, how could I knot. I mean not. LOL!




First up, here's a couple of quick and easy reminders on how to care for and store your  pearl jewelry.

Always keep your pearl jewelry, whether it be real pearls or imitation pearls, out of the 'chemical baths' of perfume spraying, lotion lathering and hair spray fogging.  Seriously. Be sure to use your lotion, your perfume and your hair spray BEFORE donning your pearls - and yes, that goes for pearl earrings as well gals! 


Never clean your pearls with liquid chemical jewelry cleaners. I did this once. It was on some really nice Swarovski Crystal Pearl jewelry I created many years ago with sterling silver. I dunked the entire necklace into the little basket, put it in the jewelry cleaning liquid, sealed the lid and left it there for almost 15 minutes. When I came back and took out my beautiful Swarovski Crystal Pearl and Sterling Silver Necklace,...the silver was all shiny and gorgeous again, but the crystal pearls were, shall we say, a bit 'sticky'. 

I had thought, "I'm only dipping them for a brief moment, what could possibly harm them that quickly?"  Well, DUH!  It's a chemical that cleans,...deep cleans. And obviously eats away at certain substances,...like pearl coatings, plastics, pearl nacre, resins, the stabilizing materials in stabilized turquoise and other gemstones.   So, my advice, "No chemical cleaners for your pearls, okay?" 


Also pearls, if strung on silk, nylon or other cording, should not be hung up in your jewelry box or from those cool DIY jewelry displays made out of a old picture frames and vintage drawer hardware or hooks. Nope. It looks really cool indeed, but it stretches the cord more quickly than normal wear and tear, thus leading to having your pearls restrung sooner than is actually needed.
Not Knot on Etsy


Ideally, it's best to store your pearls in a flat box - not a zippy bag or sealed plastic container as they need to breathe - with a nice soft jewelry cloth around them. I've used antique hankies to store mine in and to wipe them clean (you'd be amazed at the damage oils from your own skin can do over time) before I put them away.   And, I feel good that my antique handkerchiefs are getting used and not just stored in a drawer somewhere. 

Okay - that's about it for today. 

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Pearls, Baby!!
Cheers,
~Shel~