Gardeners Beware!

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite summer delights is delicious home grown tomatoes. After experiencing some difficulties with garden pests such as groundhogs and deer, I decided to grow a patio tomato on my deck this summer. I was so proud of my beautiful plant. Lush and green,with many flowers it was one of the healthiest plants I'd ever seen. I babied this plant, fertilized it, watered it, and yes even talked to it.

I am sure you can guess where this is going. To make a long story short, I went away to the Berkshires for 4 days leaving my beautiful tomato laden plant at home. The last thing I did was tie it to the stakes because it had so many tomatoes on it, I did not want it to fall over and break.

When I returned from my trip the plant was devastated as you can see in the photos. Hideous creatures, tomato hornworms, attacked and devoured this plant in 2 days. I know it was done in a day or two because my son checked on the plants and told me that overnight all the leaves and most of the tomatoes were gone! Apparently these creatures are very hard to see until the enter the stage where they eat everything at a sickening rate just before they emerge as giant moths.

They will also attack potato , pepper and eggplant. Take a look at your plants today and make sure there are no caterpillars crawling around or you too may have a shocking discovery.

Take a look at this site for further info.http://www.tammysrecipes.com/tomato_hornworms

To Antique or not to Antique- That is the Question?

I am having a really hard time deciding whether or not to antique my latest piece of jewelry. I love the way the copper and silver look right now, but with time the copper will tarnish and will not have the same vintage look as some of my other pieces unless I decide to "antique" the necklace in liver of sulpher. I would love some feedback before I do anything. So please give me your opinions.

A Work in Progress

I have been working on new wire projects with a vengence since my Wild Wire Woman's Retreat and I am proud to present my lastest new necklace which is still unfinished. Stay tuned for the next installment. I will be asking for feedback and would love to have your input.

Matching Earrings

What is it about the combination of copper and turquoise that is so eye catching? These hand hammered, copper, 16 gauge, wire earrings seem to do just that. When I finished these earrings , I had a hard time deciding whether or not to antique them because the turquoise ceramic rounds looked so pretty on bright shiny copper. I decided that antiquing them would give a richer look and contrast just as nicely with the turquoise. Hope you like the results!

Great Instruction is the Key

I have been talking quite a bit on this blog about the wonderful Wild Wire Woman's retreat where I studied under master teacher Sharilyn Miller at her home in Idywilld,Ca. Even though some of the techniques we learned were challenging and frustrating, my persistence has certainly paid off. Practice really does make a big difference and having Sharilyn's DVDS has helped tremendously.

Although I still enjoy working with genuine gemstones to make some feminine and delicate jewelry pieces, wire working has been so much fun and I find that I love wearing the bold, chunky pieces as much as the delicate ones. Working with wire is a very satisfying experience and I particularly love antiquing my pieces in liver of sulpher. Check my blog to see my current metal pieces.

Just Do It!

These three words have become my mantra after my fun and fabulous wire retreat at the home of Sharilyn Miller. Often people will sign up for a instructional course, buy all the materials, learn the techniques and then feel hesitant about trying them out once they are home in their own workshops. It's human nature to go back to what is easy for us and to push the challenges aside. This time, I decided to listen to the words of my teacher, Sharilyn and "just do it" with the help of her wonderful book Bead on a Wire. I am really pleased with the results and have so enjoyed working with silver and copper wire. So next time you are feeling insecure about trying something new, give a whirl and "just do it."

The Joy of Wire Wrapping

I am very excited about my new creations. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I recently attended a woman's retreat at the home of Sharilyn Miller in Idyllwild, Ca. where I learned to make the wire components of many of my new jewelry pieces. These two pieces are a result of my effort and yes frustrations in Sharilyn's workshop. Although I found some of the techniques to be difficult everything I learned was well worth the effort.