January Classes

Girls just wanna have fun

He's coming to town

MERRY CHRISTMAS

RIZZO WANTS TO WISH ALL HIS DOG AND CAT BUDDIES A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Deck The Halls

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

I don't do much decorating (like some people we know .... check out Mandy's blog) but Jackie and I went to Ralph Jones
yesterday and I did buy a few new things to make my centerpiece.

Thanksgiving at the McGraw's was "Smokin"

We had such a fun Thanksgiving this year, our Daughter Vickey and her family flew out from Hawaii,
Our son Tyler and his family came from So. California, and Greg's Sister and Husband flew out from
South Carolina. Thank you everyone for making the time and effort to spend Thanksgiving in Las Vegas
with us. Greg smoked 2 turkeys and Vickey and I made all the fixings, it was great!!



Top Photo: Vickey, Tyler and Kaitlyn














Bottom Photo: Oliver, Willie,Kaitlyn and Reese

December Classes

Christmas Preview

December is just around the corner and some of the new classes have the Christmas theme.
This is my new Holly Berry bracelet class and is scheduled for Dec. 10th. Some have asked me to
find the red melon beads I used on this bracelet. I found some on Shipwrecked web site,
(see my favorite vendors on the right hand side of this blog) the part number is #72mn244 for ruby
and #72mn246 for garnet. If you don't like the melon beads I think red teardrop beads would look great!

Pumpkin Patch

Check out my pumpkin patch!! Mandy and I went to a rubber stamp show and saw these really cool REAL pumpkins covered in beautiful paper; so of course we had to buy the paper and do them for ourselves.... can you see the 3 did???

click on the photo for a larger view.

Programming your Paragon Kiln SC series

The party animals

This weekend I was in California for my father's wedding and was so happy to be able to see some of my family
Here are the 2 biggest party animals ever, my grandson Kaleb and my great niece Peyton.

Happy Halloween

Isn't she the prettiest little butterfly ever???
(of course she is ... it's my granddaughter; Kaitlyn)

November Classes

West Side Girls

Last week the gang went to the Rings and Things Bead Show in Henderson, we also met for
breakfast for Jerry Buckler's birthday ..... THE BIG ONE!! We had a great time getting together
with the East Side and West Side girls.

Witchy Woman

Here is our own little "Mandy The Good Witch" working up some great design in class today. She flew in on her broom and made the class some powerful brew.

Wholesale Bead Show

Next Friday there is a wholesale bead show downtown Henderson. The vendor is Rings & Things from Spokane Washington, I have one more ticket to get in for anyone who wants it. You do have to have a tax I.D. or get a special invitation from Rings & Things in order to get in. A bunch of us are meeting at 10:00 a.m. for breakfast first to the Omlette House on Boulder Hwy. It just happens to be Miss Jerry Buckler's birthday as well. Hope to see you all there.

INSPIRATIONS

Last week we did a class in cold connections, that is where you connect two or more pieces of metal together without using solder. In this case we made our own rivets, and everybodys projects turned out really nice. This piece was made by Pat K. as a birthday gift for her son who is really into fishing. Pat is our newest Silver Art Clay student and is doing really nice work.

Betty's son Eric was visiting from Florida and was able to fit the class into his short trip, he made 2 amazing projects with rivets. This class will be repeated next month .... so keep your eyes open for it.

Concert Night

We took a Road Trip to Laughlin to see the Trisha Yearwood concert at the Aquarius Hotel, this girl has one great voice. The concert was really good & we had great seats. If you are ever going to Laughlin to see a concert at the Aquarius Hotel I suggest that you don't get the package deal. It is better to pay a bit more and be able to pick out your seats. We were dead center in the bleachers and had a great view. We met up with 3 other couples and just had "Too Much Fun". She has a new CD due out in November and the songs were heard were really good, can't wait to get the CD.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I wanted to say "THANK YOU" to all my friends that helped me celebrate. You guys are the best and I appreciate each and everyone of you. The lunch was a blast!!! I loved all my gifts .... you shouldn't have but OHHHH AM I GLAD YOU DID.

Thanks!!

5 min Soup

Okay, so last week in Silver Art Clay class I made a really easy soup that the girls wanted me to post. This is all of 5 min. and a great soup for the cold weather ahead.

2 cans white beans (drained)
1 can chicken broth
1 can water
1/2 jar green chilie verde
1 chicken (already cooked from the deli) shred it off the bones

Throw this all in a pot and heat. I put it in the crock pot on low and it is warm and ready to go by noon.
I top it with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips.

Did I say this was easy????

October Classes

I HOPE YOU DANCE

Last night was concert night, we went to see Lee Ann Wormak at the Orleans. If you haven't been to the Orleans for a concert, you should. Nice small venue, every seat in the house is a good seat ... of course we were in the front row.
Here is one of my favorite songs she did last night.

INSPIRATIONS

This weeks inspiration comes from Susan"s Wire Cuff - Great Job!!

September Classes- Sign up Now! Click on the calender link at the right for dates.

Here I am ... You have all heard about me

Hi everyone! I know you have heard all about me by now cuz my grandma talks about me in your classes. Well I drove all the way from California with my mom and dad last weekend and I learned all about how to make jewelry. When I grow up I am going to be a "bling girl" just like grandma's friend Mandy.

Sea Breeze

Last week my sister taught the class "Sea Breeze". Everyone did such a great job, and I have to say that Peter J. is one brave man to sit in the class with 7 woman and listen to all our chatter .... he is a trooper.



Thanks to my sister for taking
the time to teach such a beautiful class.

INSPIRATIONS

I was thinking I should start sharing some of the work you guys do in class. We all learn from each other, be it color combinations, design or just learning about who we are as people.
Last week the Silver Art Clay class was making watch bands. This is Betty Scott's finished watch band, she is so controlled
with her syringe work. It looks great Betty, good job.

(click on photos to see more detail views)

Only days away

The Metal Clay Conference will be held in the South Point Hotel on Aug. 23, 24 & 25.
The 3 day conference will be full of information, guest speakers and demonstrations.
The cost for the actual conference is $300.00.

The public is invited to shop the vendors for free on the following days and times.
Friday 24th from 2pm - 7pm and Sat. from 2:30 p.m. - 4pm

For more information call: (866) 381-0100 www.artclayworld.com

Sneek Peek

Just wanted to let you in on a sneek preview of a few new classes for September.

Keep your eye out for a large button for this new September class. I used a very large vintage button that was given to me by Betty Scott. The bracelet is pretty wide, and I made this one with all crystals to bring out the bling factor.

Rock and Roll

Today was a perfect day for rock cutting. I bought a few new pieces while Greg and I were on vacation. One is a small chunk of white turquoise, called "White Buffalo Turquoise and the other is green turquoise. They both were mined in Tonapah; as a matter of fact the guy who owns both of the mines was in his shop and I got to talking to him about ... what else?? ROCKS, and so he took me back to his shop and showed me around and told me a little about the White Buffalo. He has the only mine that this stuff comes from. When made up in Jewelry it is really pretty. I think I will make a new bracelet.
I love cutting and polishing rocks, it is so theraputic, if anyone is interested in going just let me know and I will hook you up.

So you thought on my day off I wouldn't be working on jewelry??? Think again.

Guest Instructor

Next month the Silver Art Clay conference will be held in Las Vegas and my sister Denise will be fllying out to attend the conference with me. While she is here she has agreed to teach a great wire wrapped cuff she desinged a few years ago.
I keep telling her to have it published. What do you guys think???

The class will be Wednesday Aug 22nd. I will send out all the details when I get them, but for now here is your sneek preview if you want to sign up.

To have and to hold from this day forward

20 years and still going strong,
Greg and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary by going back to Lake Tahoe where we were married on July 16th.
We were married in Zepher Cove in a nice little chaple named "The Chaple By The Lake". We were disappointed to discover that the chaple is not there any more.
We did however stay at the Inn By The Lake ... the same hotel we stayed at 20 years ago. Very nice hotel that overlooks the lake, our room was one that faced the lake.

We had a wonderful time in Lake Tahoe relaxing and took a few bike rides and went out to a nice dinner for our anniversary. We spent a few days in Carson City and drove around Virgina City, that is one small town.
Being married has been a blast, Bring on the next 20 years!!!!

Chainmaille class

Check it out!!! finally I found a way to get the photo on the page. This is the next chainmaille class scheduled for Monday July 30th. If you would like more information on this class please leave me a message.

It's harder than it looks

Well I have been working on this blog for several days now and still have not figured out how to import photos or how to put a link on my e-mail to my blog. Hopefully by next month the overall layout will be complete and I will have worked through all the fun little problems and be able to just come here and drop in my updates. Jackie makes it sound so easy but boy is it ever frustrating. Someday it will be done and all the hard work will pay off.

Oh my God I am finally doing the blog thing. Never thought this would be something I would do but I started reading on of my students blogs and from doing so I learned so much about who she is what she likes and what she doesn't like that now I no longer read my students blog but I am now reading "my friends" blog. Thank you Jackie for being so open and sharing of who you are.

I don't think my blog will be as interesting as Jackies but I will try to keep up with it at least once a week ..... if I get it all figured out.