Sparkling Keys

Remember my post, The Man in the Dusty Antique Shop, well here are just a handful of those fablous vintage keys after being cleaned up.

I found some awesome vintage Swarovski medallions from a seller on Etsy, and used these as embellishments to make these cute sparkling key pendants.

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We just got back from a wonderful weekend getaway, to Banff. I love going to Banff, we are so lucky to be so close to such a beautiful part of the world!  It was the hubbys birthday today....September 11th, which is not the greatest day to have a birthday any more, as the world is always filled with the reminders of that fateful day 10 years ago. However, none the less we, had a super time, with amazing summer like weather...HOT!  We actually went Geocaching for the first time, and had a blast. Out of  the  two hunts,  looking for the "cache", we found only one. The other one really stumped us, and we came out of the long, hot,  sweaty, uphill hike, with nothing. However, it was worth it, being outdoors and getting our exercise in the beautiful natural surroundings of the Rocky Mountains!  A superb weekend! Pin It

Wired Monkeys

When we were in London this past Summer, we visited the Tower of London, which I have been to on two previous visits to England, but never tire of. It is absolutely amazing, and I think probably one of the best things to do if you plan to visit London.

Anyhow, one of the most unusual things that I saw while we were there, and I am not sure how this relates to the Tower itself...but there were these very interesting monkey sculptures! 

They are made out of what appears to be chicken wire, and perched up on one of the walls. I thought they were quite amusing!

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Busy little bee!

I must apologize for the lack of posts over the last few days, but life has suddenly become super busy! My son is heading back to school on Tuesday, so of course that meant shopping for new clothes and the required school supplies.Yesterday, we also entertained our good  friends that we have not seen since June. I also have been madly working on an order for one of the art galleries that I supply to, as well as getting my Etsy shop back up after being closed for the whole summer. So, between creating, photographing, editing, posting, shopping, cooking, baking and cleaning, there has been little time for blogging! 

 I hope to catch up with you all this week. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend! Here are  photos of some designs, that will be off to the art gallery soon:

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Shopping for that special Treasure!

On my last post, regarding my shipment of vintage beads, one of my readers, asked where I purchased my beads from. While I do scrounge through antique shops and flea markets for vintage treasures, I do most of my serious bead purchasing online. Craft supply stores like Michaels, are great for beginners, or for someone who just wants to make a personal piece of jewelry. If, however, you want to sell your work, you need to buy wholesale, and look for competitive prices, or look for unique beads and findings to make you jewelry stand out. I have spent countless hours searching for certain bead suppliers, but I know the time is well spent when I locate a fabulous and dependable supplier or an amazing bead artist. Now...some of them I will keep secret, so that I can keep some of those goodies all to myself. However, for all you beaders, jewelry designers and crafters out there, I will share with you some of my favorite sites.

For sterling and Bali silver (wholesale only) www.bamiyansilver.ca
For vintage and unusual finds: www.agrainofsand.com and www.jewelex.com
For wire and jump rings: www.theringlord.com
General beads and findings: www.artbeads.com and www.ringsnthings.com

There are also many great suppliers and talented artists that create handmade beads and findings on Etsy, eBay, and Artfire.
Happy shopping!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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Package of treasures!

 Look what arrived in the mail today! Some FABULOUS vintage beads for my Fall designs. There is nothing like new supplies to get those creative juices flowing.

I am so excited! These are gorgeous aren't they? Pin It

Love Locks

On the Pont de l'Archevêché, which is the  bridge that crosses from Notre-Dame Cathedral to the Left Bank of the River Seine, and the Pont des Arts bridge, thousands of ribbons and padlocks with messages,  names and initials are attached to the metal rails. These are known as "Love Locks", and are quite a sight to see. Since my son is an avid lock collector, this was certainly a trip highlight for him!

 I found it to be a unique form of art!

 Apparently, you are supposed to pledge your love to each other, lock the padlock to the bridge, and toss the key into the river below. The story goes, that to break the pledge of love, one must find the key and unlock the padlock. Yeah...right!

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A Visual Banquet!

Well you can't visit Paris without going to the Louvre...so we went. The Louvre is one of the largest museums in the world,  and if you want to see some amazing art, sculptures and artifacts, you will not be disappointed here! First let me tell you that this place is MASSIVE! It is quite overwhelming, and you will never see it all in one day. 

 All I can think of as we approached the Louvre is, The DaVinci Code!

We picked a couple of sections and took our time to appreciate everything.  We spent most of our time in the Egyptian section, which houses the most Egyptian artifacts outside of Egypt itself. This collection alone is housed within 20 rooms!

I was quite taken with this mummy.

Check out the intricate wrapping pattern.
I loved the colors and designs on this sarcophagus.

 and of course we just HAD to go and view the Mona Lisa!

 

The interior was stunning!

 

The way the artist used the the colors in this painting were intriguing. The faces are neutral colored, with the background and garments being brightly colored.

 

I also loved the intricate details on this metal door!

Everywhere you looked, was a feast for the eyes!

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Inspiration a la Art Nouveau!

Just down the street from where we were staying in Paris was this amazing building....very Art Nouveau!

 Art Nouveau design is very organic and sensual, ornamental and asymmetrical, and is extensively influenced by nature, with its decorative use of flowers, plants, vines and the female form. Art Nouveau design was popular from the 1880's to about 1920.

Isn't this the most exquisite door way you have ever seen?

 What a fabulous building to live in. It would be a pleasure just to come home everyday and see this magnificent work.

 Just look at the details! Now this is inspiration!

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City of Light

After spending 2 action packed weeks in England, we took the Eurostar train from London to Paris, to enjoy a week in the city of lights. There is something quite humbling about being in a country, where you do not speak or read the language fluently. However, having read that the French people can usually speak English, AFTER you have made an effort to converse in French, we did just that, and put forth  our very best effort each and every time we were out and had to  order from a menu, or inquire about something. Being Canadian, and being exposed to the French language on all our packaging and having learned some French in school, did help...but we were still pretty lame at it! However, the French people seemed amused and grateful that we were trying our best to learn their language, and were very friendly towards us. My son who always hated having to take French in school suddenly seemed to be enjoying this new way of communicating, and actually admitted that speaking French was fun!

Our apartment was a quick 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, so obviously that was our first stop in this very beautiful city.

 

 This is the view we had from our apartment window.

 There certainly was a lot of action outside our apartment, and it was quite entertaining to watch the world go by from the comfort of our living room.  We got around on  Batobus which cruised along the river Seine, and made stops at certain landmarks and attractions along the way.

We also took the Metro, which is the subway system in Paris and we walked everywhere, we must have walked 5 or 6 miles everyday! Walking was a great way to explore the streets of Paris, and who would have thought that we would have seen this:

 Or especially this!

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