August Bead Retreat

Once again, it was Bead Retreat time at Penny's house.  Lots of fun, lots of laughs!  Betty was wearing a really cute bracelet made of vintage buttons, so of course we all had to make one for ourselves!  Sharon brought her enormous stash of old, vintage buttons, and here is the result.

Penny takes old brooches and makes necklaces with them that are so gorgeous!

And lastly, Sharon created a mixed media necklace using a Russian Spiral, chain, cross, and beads.  Really unique!

August Rain

August Rain - a strange quirk of the freaky weather that we've had this year in Arkansas!  But, hey, I'm not complaining - it's been wonderful!  Check out this beautiful Etsy Treasury by SpritelyGirls.  Bijou Booth's featured item is "Paris Street".

 'Rain' by SpritelyGirls

Little Silver Lining Qu... SilkstoneDesig... $42.00	Sunny Cloud mobile.... ... leptitpapillon $24.00	Rain on a tin roof. Schroederjim $17.99	Paris Street BijouBooth $20.00
Summer Holiday Badges -... poosac $4.00	Far Folded Mists obsoleteworld $25.00	Organic Lavender Sachet... BelleCoccinell... $17.00	Puddle Reflection dvengrove $35.00
LOST ART- REFLECTION. P... skdanial $15.00	Rain - Original Paintin... JamiesArt $58.00	custom order for LUCY kategreiner $70.50	Puddle Fun - Print Imaginart $22.00
GICLEE Print on CANVAS ... sidorovart $65.00	rain drops - colorful p... lulubeaucoup $20.00	Sorrow Catchers - Rain ... WhiteMoonWitch... $13.00	cute rain drop stickers... 0min $10.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

August Garden

In the South, you can really judge a garden by how it looks in August.  Most, including mine, look pretty sad by the time August rolls around.  Here is an exception, though - my friend Carol's beautiful, lush garden.

There's a sweet little frog peeking out from the foliage in this next picture.

I love this little lady watching over the garden - she looks so serene.

Lastly, a picture of Carol's Koi pond and Carol feeding her fish.  I am so inspired by her garden!  Time to go battle the mosquitoes and pull some weeds - big heavy sigh......

Trees In The Moonlight

I love Etsy Treasuries! What's not to love?! Beautiful little pieces of eye candy all in one place!
Check out my Trees In the Moonlight pendant in this gorgeous treasury.
Fall is just around the corner!

'Sunkissed Autumn' by pohlian

Interesting finds from my Handmade Jewelry members. Enjoy!

Fiber Art Miniature Masterpi... christinemarie... $30.00	Trees In The Moonlight BijouBooth $20.00	TV pin in 14 karat gold JewelryByEmmy $157.00	Swiss Cheese Sterling Silver... AListDesigns $55.00
Gold Twig Necklace amberandarrow $34.00	Solid brass leaf earrings on... EightCatDesign $10.00	gold leaf necklace on brown ... bellstudios242 $39.00	Leaf and berry earrings stillpointwork... $18.00
batik (earrings) aunjanue $30.00	Recycled Glass and Turquoise... esdesigns65 $45.00	uniquie multi strand mixed g... WILDMOONROSEJE... $19.99	Kenya - 10 Cents - 1966 - Si... TheRingTree $32.95
Custom Made Yellowheart Wood... Ebeniste $28.00	Rainbow Druzy Studs JENAWAjewelry $165.00	Earring Double Copper Swirls ArtistiKat $21.95	Brass & Sterling Silver Earr... PuaaNui $50.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Arkansas Arts Center

If you haven't seen The Impressionists and Their Influence at the Arkansas Arts Center, then hurry and get yourself down there.  June 26th is the last day to see this beautiful exhibition.  Sweetie and I went today and it was really nice.  A little bit crowded, but that's to be expected.  For more info, go to http://www.arkarts.com/.  Here's a pic of the museum, located in downtown  Little Rock.  It's very easy to get to, and there's plenty of parking - even some shady parking!

This next picture is Vincent Van Gogh's 'Man With a Spade Resting'.  I had not seen this before and think it's wonderful.

And this is 'Snowscape with Cows, Montfoucault', oil on canvas painting by Camille Pissarro.  Just the kind of art you need on a really hot summer day!

A really lovely exhibition - check it out!

Wrap It Up!

This is a tutorial of how I make the pretty packages for gift wrapping my Bijou Booth jewelry.  Here is an example.

• Go to Walmart, Michael's, Office Depot - any store that has cardstock
• Purchase a bunch of different colors of cardstock, like those below

• Go to http://www.dodadidit.blogspot.com/ and search for "pillow box"
• Follow this nice lady's instructions for making your own pillow boxes
• Resize the template in Microsoft Word to the sizes you want and print them on your cardstock
• I used 90%, 100%, and 145% of the original template size

• Cut out the templates using small, sharp scissors 
• Place the templates on a Rotary Mat and score them with a knitting needle or a boning tool used for folding 
• Punch a little half moon on the same side as the fold edge - see picture below.  This makes it easier to open the box.
• Fold and glue the edge down
• Clip the edge with clothespins to hold it while it dries

Time to decorate!

• Wrap the pillow box with decorative paper or cardstock
• I used Microsoft Expression Design to create my own decorative paper - explaining all of that is another tutorial!
• Use Microsoft Word (or whatever you use to print address labels) to print out your labels on the cardstock
• Punch them out with a decorative punch
• Glue on your different layers
• Add some ribbon and decorations
• Wrap your item in tissue paper and secure it in the pillow box.  Place the pillow box into a bubble wrap mailer, mail it, and you're done!

Here are some more pics of the finished pillow boxes.