a little love

this necklace is so sweet.  the 18"chain is a tiny ball chain and the "love" is stamped on a 3/4" hammered sterling silver disk.  i am going to put some in my etsy shop. right after i make one for myself!

three new babies

Some new enamel pieces!!!  It is hard to see, but this one is a translucent green.  
The black spot on this piece were a happy surprise!  I love the way they come through.
The squares are my favorite....love the translucent brown.  Yum.  Now  I need to list them in my etsy shop!!

new lease on life~possibility

Maybe it is turning 40, but when I came across a post on Ali Edward's blog, it struck me.  It didn't take long this morning to find my word for 2009...

Possibility

pos-si-bil-i-ty

noun

1. the condition or fact of being possible

2. one's utmost power, capacity, or ability

3. something that is possible

4. potential or prospective value

Every situation has possibility to be good.  My goal is to enter every thing this year with possibility!  

copper mother load!

It's a great day when the UPS man rings my doorbell, even though, I'm his LAST stop, oh well, he must be saving the best for last!  Some new heavy gauge wire for wrapping, oh the possibilities!
These pretty little things were made by a great group of girls.  My friend brought her staff to my house for a little fun.  We made copper enameled necklaces.  They did the entire project themselves!!!  
Here is the group photo!!!  Each one has a different personality!!!

hit & miss

Yesterday I worked on these two pieces, I love how the red/brown enamel and copper look together.  I used a paper snow flake to do a little resist with the brown enamel.
I started filing these so a little copper shows, then I used too much strength and chipped a little bit off, so bummed.

new toy....

I've been playing with my new cameral lens....too much fun.  

mischief

Everyone at our house was full of mischief yesterday!  We are die-hard Husker fans....
As you can see by the red, white & black....
Lots of fun playing games with cousins....
And lots of "candy-sneaking-mischief" by this little "sweet tooth!" 

Peace, Hope & Love

A few pictures of new enamel babies.
I need to put these together as bracelets and pendants, however....
it is Christmas Eve, and there is so much to do!!!   Peace, hope & love to you!

happy birthday, Carl!

Yesterday we had two milestones....I set up the new bead collar on my kiln and got busy making some new enameled copper disks.  
AND.....it was Carl's 1st birthday!  I wish he would calm down just a little bit.  He gave himself a birthday present...christmas lights,....he came up the steps of the deck carrying a string of lights he had acquired.....we're not sure how he did it.  We should have named him "Digging Chewing Houdini."

final project

My final project from the enameling class with Jess Starkel at the Lux Center.  Three weeks before finishing my project, I was overwhelmed with the thought of making a "final project!"
This piece is hammered copper disks with random holes punched then enameled with transparent green.  The copper links are repurposed copper from my dumpster 4 years ago.  I am beyond excited with how it turned out.

Hopefully, the first of many!  By the way, thanks Kelli, for the invitation and new addiction!

little trip to the zoo

My good friend and I took our boys to the zoo on Friday.  Which was much better than shopping!  There is a new butterfly pavilion, it was amazing!  I need to go back with my camera and take more pictures.

this thing called "love"

On Saturday, my good friend and fellow "addict got" together and played with enamels and metal...
Talk about instant gratification!!!  I feel so much better since pounding a little piece of metal!  As soon as I can make more they will be on my etsy site.

special request!!!

I had a comment from my sweet sister to give her a link to my little website....sometimes I actually post something.  Here you go, you may have to copy and paste.

http://web.me.com/betsyramm/Site/Welcome.html 

bags & beads

I've been busy making bags and beads for the upcoming Art in the Bag...check it out at http://artinthebag.blogspot.com  Lots of really cool bags and of course, lampwork beads!  

I am transitionin over you can also find me at www.web.me.com/betsyramm  it's a little easier to upload photos!

today is the day

I get to do the happy dance!!!  For one year, every one of these boys will be in the same school!!  It makes me so happy.  I will drop them off at the same time, pick them up at the same time and they will all wear uniforms!!!!  

My youngest is in Kindergarten.  He is really excited, some of his buddies are in his class, oh boy, those kindergarten teachers better be prepared!?!?!

Middle is in 2nd grade and so excited for his first sacrament.

Oldest is in 8th grade, where did the time go?  I am so proud of him.  Playing football for the first time, I am not ready for this!!!

waiting...

No pictures, not many words, still waiting for my iMac. They told me mine was first on the list today. Oh, please let it be true! I have so many pictures from Minnesota and "THE" reunion to post.....waiting, but not very patiently!!!

tuba-ruba!

We're in Minnesota! Splash Camps is so much fun! The kids LOVE Wild games. Today they played Tuba Ruba...Sumo wrestling with inner-tubes!! Oh my!!!

2 xcting not 2 share

bread love

I've been experimenting with different grain combinations for bread...this is sprouted red wheat in the dehydrator.  I neglected to take pictures of it before I dried it.  
Once this is dried, it can be used in a bread recipe like white flour.  My friend Anna told me about www.suegregg.com .  I was amazed the first time I tried the two-stage process whole grain bread.  My bread came out moist and delicious.  The suegregg recipe for blender waffles is awesome, no sugar in the recipe!  It's worth the time the night before!

almost completed....

I started this last week, it's almost finished!  A few beads and some embroidery and it will be done.  
I really like the detail on the top, I ironed small parts of the fabric to fusable webbing then cut out the flowers.  The ric rac is vintage, I didn't want to machine sew it on, so it's handsewn on.  It is difficult to bead in the evening!  I'm going to save this for sitting and watching the kids swim!
Last month I found the handles on a bag at the second hand store....for .99 cents!  The bag had seen better days.  A few years ago, I found this fabric in Mendocino, CA.  I love it!