Artist Feature:

I am happy to feature Robin of Bead Nest Designs. I came to know Robin from the Bead Hive Street Team on Etsy. I've just recently in the last few months become better acquainted with her and her work.

We have a lot in common actually. We both love jewelry, and are Jewelry Artisans. We sell our jewelry creations on Etsy. We're members of the Bead Hive on Etsy. We like gemstones, lampwork beads and silver. We live in the south (Robin lives in Georgia, and I live in Louisiana) and have to put up with extreme heat! We both LOVE sports, especially college sports. We're both "in" the SEC (Southeastern Conference)...though my heart is still in West Virginia; I live in Louisiana and therefore, I must cheer for LSU. And, we like each others creations.

I just recently added these earrings she created to my personal jewelry collection. Don't you agree they are gorgeous??


















Although she's been "crafty" all her life, Robin has been creating fine jewelry for over 5 years. All of her pieces are unique and are the results of what she's envisioned in her head. It's amazing to see an idea being created into a gorgeous piece of art. She says, "The creative release and freedom that jewelry design and lampworking allow is simply put... awesome! There's nothing better than taking an idea and turning it into something a customer will love for years."

She uses gemstones, artist lampwork beads, and she loves silver; Bali, Hill Tribe or Sterling.

Here are a couple of pieces available in Robin's Etsy Shop:




















To view more, visit her Etsy Shop; BeadNestDesigns

Happy Independence Day America!

I haven't blogged in a while and figured today is as good a day as any!




In celebration of July 4th, I made this fabulous red, white and blue pie.

A pie crust is baked and allowed to completely cool. Melted white chocolate coats both the bottom and the sides of the pie. On top of the white chocolate goes a nice thick layer of sliced strawberries. A smooth filling of cream cheese, milk and white chocolate pudding mix smothers the sliced strawberries. And for the finishing touches? Whipped topping is piped around the edge. Succulent strawberries have been dipped in melted white chocolate and surround a mound of plump and sweet blueberries.




Happy 4th of July! Hope you have a wonderful, but safe, Holiday :)

This is the Mosaic Describing Me!!

1. Amanda's Pennant (Celithemis amanda), 2. Pasta Flower, 3. Lower North Falls, 4. End of the day, 5. Keith Urban @ Point Nepean, 6. got my juices flowin', 7. "La mia casa è il mare e con un fiume no, non la posso cambiare", 8. homemade berry ice cream, 9. Waiting for mom!!, 10. State Outline - WVU Marching Band Pre-Game Show, 11. Outgoing..., 12. Custom Order for wildlifer78


Have you played yet? Ginger introduced me to this fun Flickr game and so I thought I'd give it a go since it looked interesting.

How to do it:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into a Flickr search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker and make a cool mosaic to put on your blog or flickr. Simple enough!

The questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

This was so much fun!!! It was interesting to see the different types of pictures that came up when you typed in a word. Come on and try it for yourself. What a neat way to show off your personality. Let me know if you do this so I can see it!

Have fun!

It's Officially Summer...Time for a Contest!

Summery. Fiery. Vibrant.

I have so many fun and vibrant colored flowers around my yard. And I love photographing them. I generally have a hard time getting things to successfully grow and flower as we have very poor soil. Not to mention, the sun here in Louisiana is brutal. The "more often than not" poor conditions don't stop me from trying though. I plant something new every year in hopes that I'll find something that will succeed!

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Let's kick summer off right with a contest. I took the below picture today.

What Am I?

*I am a small to medium-sized fruit-bearing tree.
*I am native to the eastern U.S, most commonly found in the South Atlantic and Gulf Region.
*My fruit ripens in late summer to early fall.
*Sometimes my nickname is Possomwood.

Do you know what I am?


The first person to answer correctly wins a $10 gift certificate to my shop!!!! Come on, you know you want to play!

Summertime in Louisiana...Time for a Cool Down

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this post. I haven't posted anything on my blog in a while and I found this picture...made me think I needed to write something!

*note: this picture is NOT Chloe...I found it online!

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Ok, so it's mid June and we're already experiencing ridiculous heat and humidity. Our summers essentially go from early to middle May through middle to end of November. Our winters are extremely mild; I won't complain about winter.

What I truly miss most about home... I miss the true seasons I experienced when living in the northeast, Appalachian Mountain range. I mostly miss autumn. Everything about autumn makes me smile. I love the fabulous palate of colors ranging from burnt orange and brick red to brilliant yellow and eggplant purple that the Maple leaves change to. I miss all of the fun fall festivals. I miss walking in the woods. I miss the cool breezes.

Now snow? Sure, I miss SEEING snow draped over the limbs of trees, and covering the lawns. I miss PLAYING in snow. I miss making snowmen and snow angels. I do not, however, miss driving in the snow. I don't miss the below freezing temperatures either. I don't miss having to warm up my car 30 minutes prior to leaving in the mornings. I don't miss kicking the icicles off the bottom of my car door.


Ok. Again, not sure the origination of this post. I found that picture of the pug in the snow and it made me smile, but it also made me miss home. I haven't been home since June 2007. I'd say it's a trip long over due. I am excited that we'll be traveling to Baltimore at the end of August to witness our God Daughter's Baptism in Annapolis. Since I'm from Fairmont, West Virginia, Baltimore is only a 3 hour drive to get home. I can't wait to see my family!

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In closing I'd like to invite you all over to my jewelry shop on Etsy. I'm having a "Pre-Summer" sale. Tomorrow is the last day of the sale since Saturday begins official summer.


¤´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·`¤~ PRE-SUMMER SALE!! Chloe Boutique

Now through June 20th, enjoy 15% off my entire shop! Please put "SUMMER" in the comments to seller when completing your purchase. I'll follow up with a revised invoice! *Also, if your purchase is over $50, it ships on me!

*Note: Free Shipping valid for the US and Canada. International Shipping will be reduced.

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