May's First Friday Artwalk

I am participating in Etsy's May First Friday Art Walk May 4th- 6th.

Use coupon code (ART2012) at checkout.....to receive 15% off all items in both my Etsy and Artfire shops... Save an extra 15% off sale items!

My Artfire: http://www.PatriciaLJohnsonGlassArt.artfire.com

My Etsy: http://www.pljohnsonglassart.etsy.com/

Please be sure and check out participants shops for great deals this weekend!

A Late Family Holiday

Things have been a little out of whack here with our holidays since my daughter got married. Her new in-laws have a much bigger family than ours, so it just makes sense for us to have our holidays on a different day. We finally got to celebrate Easter this past weekend, poor Dexter has been having a harder time with each chemo treatment so it got put off a little longer than usual. It was so nice to see them. With me still recovering from surgery and Dexter not doing so well... We all just hung out here.

This year I bought a spiral ham and was just not happy with it was a little dry. The girls did all the heavy work and I walked them through cooking a holiday meal. I also taught them how to make my mother's Shaum Tortes.

Thought I would share the recipe with you. Very easy and ohhh so good…they just melt in your mouth.

4 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add sugar gradually and beat in. Add vinegar and vanilla beat in. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or you can use a Brown paper shopping bag. Space evenly into blobs on paper...8 small or 6 large. Bake at 325° for one hour. Serve with desired fruit and whipped cream.

My daughter had another great find at the thrift store she works for. She came over with four divided containers full of seed beads and another huge bag of other beads and crystals. They were all mixed together so we spent a lot of time sorting them. But it was great fun and we got to do a lot of talking.

On the jewelry end: I have been working on 100% recycled pieces. I have been using lots of parts from my husbands E-cycling, metal from the salvage yard, and reclaimed beads. I have been buying jewelry and beads at rummage sales, thrift stores, and estate sales for years.

I have also been working on getting a large amount of jewelry together to take to Anderson Arts Center in Kenosha. It is about a 2 Hour Drive from here. With gas prices being what they are, I'm hoping to start showing them pieces online and shipping to them instead.

Thought I would share a picture of couple of my mock peyote bracelets, this time using my very own lampwork beads and bead caps.

If you live in the area and would like to see some of my pieces in person… I do have a few pieces visible in the slideshow... but none of the pictures are tagged. Hard to believe I have been there for over 10 years now… Where does the time go.

I am including a link with the address and hours... Please check them out!! http.//www.andersonartscenter.com

http.//www.andersonartscenter.com

April Showers

Here we are mid April already. It's a little cooler and rainy like it should be this time of year in Wisconsin.

Most of my outdoor plants have come up, and my raspberries started budding too early with the heat spell he had. We did have a few nights below freezing and now what was on the bushes has turned black and fallen off. Hopefully I get some raspberries this year since last year was such a horrible season for them. The seeds I started back in February are doing fairly well this year. I am giving him more light and feeding them more than usual I still have quite a few plants that are spindly but I'm sure they will be just fine once I get them outside.

On the health end I have been a little lax and eating quite a bit of junk food....old habits die hard. I did however manage to take off the few pounds I had put back on, my sugar levels are good and I am still off the diabetes medication.

Last time I posted I had mentioned my surgery March 12 and that I was healing nicely. However that has changed, 10 days into it I had a few complications. I now have an open wound that needs to be packed with gauze twice a day and my poor hubby has to get up extra early so he can change it before he leaves for work. But the doctor said he's doing a great job it is healing well. It should be about another six weeks till it is healed.

I have not been able to do any lampwork at all and it is driving me crazy. I have been able to do some light metalwork and have been working on some jewelry made from all recycled parts. I have been using my hubbies recycled computer parts, some brass and roofing copper I found at the scrap yard. I've also been using recycled beads and crystals that I've been collecting and saving over the years from estate and rummage sales.

Thought I would share a picture of some of the all recycled  earrings I have been working on. The silver colored metal you see is aluminum that is been recycled from computers, it is very light weight and has a finish that is somewhere between satin and high polish. The only part that is not recycled is the ear wires. Those are made from 20gauge sterling silver and much better suited for sensitive ears.

It will be a bit before I get these items online. I need to get some pieces in the galleries first…. So if you see something you like let me know.. I would be happy to make a special listing for you.

The Ides of March?

We have had just gorgeous weather here, in the mid-70s. Not at all typical for this time of year. The entire winter has been very mild and a nice change from last year snow and cold. But it's not going to last we will be back in the 40s next week.


The nice weather did fire up a bug to finish getting my seedling plants started and to make my final garden plans. I plan on adding a few trellises and lots of perennial plants such as rhubarb, asparagus, strawberries, grapevines and a couple dwarf fruit cocktail trees.

I also want to add a couple perennial flower beds and plan to put a flagstone and moss lined path behind the garage. We've been having some water problems and I'm hoping the moss will help with some of that.

I had my surgery on my shoulder the 12th it went very well and I am recovering nicely. Although I am still in quite a bit of pain and not able to do much with that shoulder or arm. The doctor did warn me that it would be really sore for 2 to 3 weeks and that it would take of couple months for all the swelling to go down. I am so looking forward to that day.
I am dying to get back to bead making and have a list of tutorials I want to try.

I did get the chance to try a tutorial by artist Sara Kay from the site lampwork etc. http://lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235

I love the reaction of the foil and can't wait to try it with other glasses.

So happy to have one of my fused glass pendant featured in this gorgeous collection on Etsy!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/ODk1OTkzOXwyMzM4MzA5NTk3/happy-blue

Mooberry Farm Homesteading Journal: Make an Onion Bag Dish Scrubby {tutorial with pict...

Mooberry Farm Homesteading Journal: Make an Onion Bag Dish Scrubby {tutorial with pict...: I just finished making this little kitchen set--a few mama crafted items for my oldest daughter to stash away in her hope chest. I ma...

In Like a Lamb

Wow, here it is the first of March already....where is the time going.
The weather has been so mild this winter, but I am looking forward to Spring anyways. I started some perennial flower seeds and a few veggies in my windowsill. They are doing well so far. Let's hope they do better this year. I have never had much luck, my plants are always thin and spindly. But this year I am using extra lights and fertilising with liquid seaweed.
I have already planned my vegetable garden and plan to get some fruits and other perennial vegetables planted this spring. I also have a large bail of chicken wire to keep the little rodents for destroying my plants again this year.

On the glass end: I have not been able to do much lampworking or anything else lately. I have been having so much pain in my left shoulder, lower back, and trouble using my left arm the last few months. Finally I had a lump appear which turned out to be a large grapefruit sized tumor under my shoulder blade. The good news is I had an MRI and it is benign. I will get it removed March 12th. The bad news is it's not encapsulated like most Lipomas so they will have to scrape it off the muscle. The surgeon said I will be super sore and out of commission for 2-3 weeks. I am scared to death to have the surgery, but I am looking forward to having the use of my shoulder and arm back....and not to be in so much pain.
It has been driving me crazy not to be able to make beads..or much else.

I am still working on taking better pictures and have been trying lot's of different "How To" tutorials on better picture taking.

I did check out a new photo editing software on FotoFuze.com, that I found through Handmadeology.com... they have so many helpful guides for Etsy sellers.

Here's a before and after of a picture I edited....The original on top.
Please, tell me which one you like better.