Treasures by Louise

This giveaway is closed now. Congratulations to the winner! Please check out Lorelei's Blog for a giveaway of her fantastic linen cord: Week-of-giveaways-wednesday and go back again for more giveaways on Thursday and Friday! Pretty colors from Lorelei's "A Jewelry Accord on Etsy"

If you are looking for BSBP #8 click HERE   I recently started listing some vintage china from the 1950's. This interesting porcelain pattern is from Princess China, and is called Tru-tone Flair. It was sold door-to-door until 1955. It is a pink Lily-of-the-Valley pattern with charcoal grey foliage and is edged in platinum. I have a set of six place settings, plus a few chipped pieces. I have always found this pattern intriguing and unique, similar to the Mod "Atomic" style dishes, but with a more delicate look. I have used them once or twice a year for holidays over the past years, and they look very nice paired with pink depression glassware on a grey table cloth. They also would coordinate well with similar china pieces that have a silver or platinum rim. The central motif: a delicate spray of pink Lily-of-the-valley The six cup and saucers sold quickly, they were listed for just a few days. Tru-tone Flair by Princess China: Cup and saucer: SOLD

Check out the giveaway at Lori Anderson's Pretty Things Blog: Edit: This giveaway is over. Congrats to the winner! There's another giveaway,  (you know how I love these) and you can win a marvelous book; seven chances to win in all! Check out Lori's post and review. Here's the link: calling-all-seed-beaders-book-giveaway.html The title is Beading All-Stars: 20 Jewelry Projects It looks to be just the thing to kick up my skills a couple of notches! Have Fun and Good Luck! This is a Beaded Bead I made earlier this year - just for fun! P.S. I can't get the link for a picture of the book to work, so here is a beaded bead ( not from the book ).

I have been trying out Kumihimo lately:       Kits and Kumihimo materials have been showing up in the local craft stores lately, so I picked up a loom to play around. Here are the results. This bracelet was the result of a happy accident in measuring incorrectly. I was frustrated it was too short, until I remembered I had the matching beads in my stash. This may be the beginning of a new series!      Here's a Tip : An easy way to remember is to cut your eight cords 3 X the length that you want your bracelet to be. So since I use four doubled cords, I would recommend cutting 4 cords 6 X the measurement of your wrist. (You can make it an inch shorter to accommodate the clasp.) Bracelet: Beaded with Kumihimo This necklace is made with red-orange, black and white rat-tail cord. The butterfly focal is dyed Howlite and is finished with bead cones and chain, which makes it adjustable at the back of the neck. I am finding that point in making a braid where you are comfortab