Daily Courage

Melanie Doerman has an exquisite gift when working with seed beads. She leaves no detail for granted. If you look closely inside this  bracelet you can seen the pattern reverse on the underside. She specializes in using dimension and detail in her work. We came upon Melanie over a year ago at the Pasadena Bead and Design Show. Since then her work has been featured in Belle Armoire. Melanie has taught at Bead & Button, and always has a full teaching schedule. If you can’t attend one of her classes, her kits are fabulous and available on her site.

We believe she is the perfect author for a wonderful new book on dimensional beading. Don’t you agree?

We have long been fans of author Kaari Meng and her wonderful store and product line – French General. Kaari and her husband Jon are a dynamic team and have a very rare gift for creating and expressing an aesthetic that few can match. Kaari will be at Remnants of the Past on April 25th in the central California coast town of Nipomo. She’ll be signing her wonderful books that also includes her wonderful new sewing book with Chronicle. 

It’s sure to be a fabulous spring day, and is a great opportunity to escape from the worries of world and wander among treasures gathered and offered by some of the most interesting dealers you will ever find. 

Shutting down the national news and getting out into the fresh air in a beautiful setting needs to be part of each of our personal stimulus package. Nourishing the creative spirit is part of survival these days. It’s off a long country road in a darling barn and pasture surrounded be rolling hills. Hope to see you there!

Artist Anna Corba showed her array of work at Remnants of the Past last spring.

A basket full of treasure.

The very talented Amy Hanna’s first book, Rejuvenated Jewels, published by Quarry Books has arrived. If you are a lover of all things vintage and get your highs from seeing the treasures that can be unearthed at Paris Flea markets, you are going to be in heaven. The book is filled earrings, bracelets and necklaces that will make you drool. You’ll enjoy following Amy’s blog .com and visiting her Etsy shop too. We promise you will love everything you see!

Amy’s book was, as all good book’s are, a team process. She is the first to shout out her thanks to Pam Garrison for the illustrations, and to her friend Liz King for her work on the layout and design.

Blessings abounded in working on this one.

With school back in session one thing is for sure, Halloween decor is going to begin appearing  in stores, prompting us to get into the mood for what has become one of the largest holidays of the year. Some of the most fanciful characters and spirits you’ll see come from Bethany Lowe Designs. Here in our neighborhood of creative authors, we are very excited that Bethany’s new book filled with many ideas and designs has debuted. Bethany Lowe’s Folk Art Halloween is a must-have for any Halloween decorating afficionado.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at The Bead and Design Show in Pasadena, CA, and came upon a delightful booth that sold jewelry made from Halloween ephemera. I immediately thought of the Bethany and her daughter Erin Glennon Lowe. I had a great time choosing a pendant for each of them. This morning, I decided it was time to get them wrapped and into the mail. Using some of the ideas featured in Make It in Minutes: Mini-Boxes, I enjoyed embellishing and recycling some small tins with fall colored ribbon and papers to put the gifts in. I don’t spend enough time in my craft room, and it felt wonderful to start the day there. I wallow in the colorful handmade papers, ribbons, and trims and enjoy thoughts of gathering each treasure. Today, I used gold braid from a trip to Delhi with April Cornell, doodads from The Art Bar, and ribbons from Tinsel Trading - all favorites!

Once each tin was ready, I decided the pendants would be a much nicer gift with a silver chain. I pulled out my jewelry-making stash and found two nice snake chains and added one to each.

It was a fun way to start the day. Playing amid a stash that is tumbling out of drawers and cupboards just waiting to be part of special project. Today, I lived by the motto, Create Everyday! 

Amy Hanna was here yesterday. She is the upcoming author of Rejuvenated Jewels. Her work is fabulous. If you have seen it on Etsy, I don’t need to tell you, you know! Here is a little peek at one of the amazing creations she has fashioned for the book.

Just spend a day flea marketing looking at vintage jewelry and you’ll see how gifted Amy is. She finds amazing treasures (which takes lots of digging and a great eye), and puts them together is a way that just makes me drool. I know you will feel the same way. Here is a peek at some of her treasured stash.

Amy and her dear friend Pam Garrison are headed to Paris soon. Don’t you wish you could tag along with those two?! You can see what kindred spirits they are, especially when you gaze upon the jeweled crown Pam created for Crowns & Tiaras.

It’s a beautiful day here in SoCal. One that makes you just breath deep and be thankful to be alive! These are the green hills just outside my office door. They were aflame in October, and today they are turning a beautiful green.

The mountains off the back lanai. Praise God!

Toodles!

We have been so excited about the publication of Crown & Tiaras: Add a Little Sparkle to Everyday Life by Kerri Judd and Danyel Montecinos.

www.barnesandnoble.com

Oodles of creative bloggers have been too. Our special thanks on behalf of the authors to the wonderful artists who made the magic happen. Pam Garrison created the incredible crown in the above shot. While we were working on the book, our friend Judy Watkins, www.remnantsofthe past.com, lost her mother after a long battle with cancer. Placing Pam’s crown upon her head the day of the funeral brought a smile to Judy’s face and reminded her that, “Everyone is the Queen of Something.” We want to be sure that credit is given where credit is due. This book would not have happened without the creative genius of : Ashley Carter, Anna Corba, Sandra Evertson, Pam Garrison, Ulla Norup Milbrath, Nicol Sayre, Barbara Schriber, Denise Sharp, and Dianne Stickley White. Of course Kerri and Danyel were big contributors too.Here are one of Danyel’s masterpieces: Ladies: You are all the Queen of Everything to us here at Red Lips 4 Courage. Today is a Red Lips 4 Courage Day. I will be passing the red lip-imprinted tissues down the row to my dear friend Becky as we celebrate and honor the life of her father today. He was a great man who made our lives richer. I’ll be thinking of Pam’s crown on Judy’s head and wishing I had it to share with Becky today! Eileen

Life has slowed a bit, and I am delightedly getting around to one of last year’s resolutions… Getting the blog section of the Red Lips 4 Courage website up and running. A few failed attempts discouraged me, but that’s it, I am jumping in. Covered in red lipstick for courage – here goes…

I am going to nickname this my crlog instead of calling it a blog. It’s the corralling of creative endeavors, mostly related to the books we produce. We have been blessed to have worked, and continue to work with, some of the most amazingly gifted artists and designers of our time. It is my hope to weave together these women, the readers of our books, and all creatively inclined souls.

A brief visit to Barnes & Noble the other day resulted in a few sightings of our current books for Lark and Sterling Publishing. French-Inspired Jewelry by Kaari Meng of French General fame www.frenchgeneral.com was face out on an eye-level shelf. It saved me from pulling the trick from my magazine days when I’d pull the publication from where it had become hidden behind all others and put it up front. French-Inspired Jewelry was right up front where it belongs.

French-Inspired Jewelry received a wonderful review in the February/March issue of BEADWORK magazine. Check it out on page 17 of the current issue.

Two weekends ago my husband and I had the pleasure of taking our daughter to New York City to celebrate her 16th birthday. I promised not to work while we were there. (I did sneak into the Sterling offices while they were still in bed Monday a.m.) I didn’t make calls or attempt to make stops anywhere that might constitute trying to work. I managed to get them into ABC Home and Carpet under the auspices that we need decorating ideas for home. I was delighted to come upon a Tinsel Trading boutique on the first floor. Check it out if you are in the city. Be sure to go by the main store and The Store Across the Street. If you can’t make the trip, visit the website. Tinsel Trading: Beautiful Bedrooms With Ribbons & Trims is the delightful work of owner Marcia Ceppos, her friend Rosemary Warren, and photographer Art Gray. You can order a personal copy on the Tinsel Trading site. www.tinseltrading.com

Images from the book will be appearing in an upcoming issue of Romantic Country.

As Monday comes to a close, I may have mastered a few of the buttons and gizmos on WordPress. I must thank Cory O’Connor for assuring me that this can be done, and be lots of fun! Cory is a lifelong friend. He is currently a professor at Chapman University and among the classes he teaches is one on blogging.