...and it wasn't the peer pressure!

...it will come at no surprise that anything to do with farting was going to win this one! What does that say about all of us? I chose two winners; one subtle, one not so subtle so the pendant would appeal to everyone. Congratulations to Brighid of Brighid's Place for her winning entry of "Keep smiling. They'll never notice." and to Nicola of PMC Tips for her hysterically snarky comment from Jenny McCarthy of "My philosophy of dating is to just fart right away."

You are both winners! Flex one cheek and take a bow, ladies. Then send me an e-mail (rachel@twodogpond.com) with your mailing address and I will send you each your winning pendant on a chain.

Good Friends, Good Wine, Good Times

Sunday afternoon, Tim and I and some of our friends decided to check out some of the newer wineries in Nebraska. In case you want to do your own tour, check out www.nebraskawines.com...

<~Tim, Rachel, Shelley, Bunny, Al, Fred~>

Anyway - we started out at the WunderRosa Winery in Roca. Loved it. Special thanks to Linda the owner for taking the group shot and for being such a lovely hostess! The wine was wonderful, and I highly recommend going there.

The next planned stop was at Glacial Till, but evidently I didn't read the fine print - you have to have reservations... cool sign though....

Then on to Deer Springs Winery East of Lincoln - lots of history in the building, and the wine was wonderful. They have a Firefly Festival in June to celebrate their Award Winning Firefly Wine and all the lightning bugs - sounds magically delicious!

....mmmm....everyone chose their favorite and we went outside to the picnic area with a basket of bread, cheeses, sausage and chocolates. It just doesn't get any better than that.

After 10 tastings, it's just hard to say what Fred was doing with this tree...

It was great fun! We have to do it again! There are some nice wineries here in Nebraska. Really.

Necklace Contest - Week 43

Why this image cracks me up, I'm not sure. I think it's the whole "flex one cheek" thing we learned as kids....anyway - to celebrate the end of summer we're going to use this image for the front of a pendant and just need to know what you think best fits the back side. Submit your suggestion of a quote, saying, word or phrase and enter as often as you like. The winner will be chosen on Friday and mailed a soldered glass pendant on a 24" chain.

~***~

I am going to make some of these pendants that say "Flex One Cheek" on the back. Probably not big sellers at the Flea Markets, but people might giggle when they read it and that's what I live for.

It's Like Living In A Fairy Tale

Teri and Heather are both Winners in this week's contest. I really love the HCA quote - very nice choice, Teri! Heather - I love this saying! Of course it's not actually true for any of us, right? But remember when you were little and it really was true?

Teri - please e-mail me your mailing address and I'll send you your necklace! Heather is a previous winner and I still have hers...

Thank you all for playing! Have a great weekend.

PS - my apologies for getting this post done so late....my garden has been calling my name and I've been canning all things tomato based possible. Not really, but it seems like it....right now there are slices of zucchini in the dehydrator. I'm trying to make them into chips.

I've also been shopping at etc. again (the thrift store) This time for interesting pieces of china to smack up and solder around. Here's my new favorite...."Free Ride".

"I'll take you for a ride in my big green gondola"

(sung to the tune of "I'll take you for a ride on my big green tractor")

Window Shopping

Mama K just asked if the winners pendants are for sale after each contest. Why, yes. Yes they are! If you click the picture it will take you to my photo gallery. The majority of the Contest Winners are in there - somehow I missed a couple. The album called "Soldered Glass Pendants" has some of the pendants I make. I'm trying to get more photographed and in there for your viewing pleasure.

The Details: If you see one you would like, e-mail me and tell me. The soldered glass pendants are $10 each - I have some 24" ball chains for $2.00 if you need a chain. I'll invoice you through PayPal with your total.

As always - if you have a photo or copyright free image you would like custom made for you, the price is still just $10.00.

Thanks so much for asking, Mama K!!

Beautiful Children

Yesterday I had the privilege of taking some photos for nieces and nephews and their children. Here are just a few of my favorites of our great-nieces and nephews:

These are the sweetest children ever.

Necklace Contest - Week 42

This week's contest features a picture from The Fairy Tale Book. The illustrations are by Adrienne Segur and are just delightful. I'm borrowing this one for this week's contest - now you come up with a saying or a quote for the back side and whoever comes up with the absolute best one will win a necklace on Friday! The complete contest rules are over there>>>>>

Fifty years ago, when this book was printed, stories for children were much more fun. Here's an example:

The giant was talking to his wife. "A disgusting cry-baby," he stormed. "I should have killed her."

"Go get her tomorrow," said his wife. "She'll make us a tasty supper."

"She's too young. They don't taste good at that age," grumbled the giant.

Yeah. Our parents read us these books then sent us to bed. The next day we rode our bikes without helmets, ate peanut butter and pickle sandwiches while fishing by ourselves. Told us to "brush it off" when we fell down, and let us (no made us) play outside until they rang the bell for dinner. Life was good.

Winner Week 41 - Get Off The Path!

Hey Bon! You WIN! You might need a magnifying glass to read it, but YOU WIN!

Bon's quote of "She jumped off the path and followed her heart" is wonderfully appropriate for all of us. I also loved the quotes from Queen since that has long been one of my favorite songs. And REALLY REALLY loved the quote from Chris of Kate Spike and Her Kats about the fish needing a bicycle. Too funny!

Thank you all for playing - you're quite inspiring!

Here is something you might find amusing. I bought a bag of animals because there was a buffalo and a moose in it. We're planning on driving to Yellowstone and Glacier Nat'l Park, and I think it would be funny to take pictures of them in front of scenery - sort of like Travelocity does with the gnome... When I got them home, I realized that the goat in the bag had chewed the buffalo's leg off, so I had to do some quick surgery. Luckily I have some bullet shells sitting on my workbench:

"It's a miracle! I can walk!"

Upcycled Jewelry

I went to our local thrift store, etc. {that's the name of it, etc.} and bought a few of these bug pins...

I removed the stone, bezel, and pinback. Then I smacked it flat, torched it to a lovely patina, did some riveting, added some peridot chips and a resined eye and now have a lovely Evil Eye Amulet called "Beyond It All"

I've also been playing with bending glass stringers and then fusing them to several layers of glass to make a pendant. Love how the sun makes shadows from the stringer!

Necklace Contest - Week 42

...and now for something completely different...

This week's image is an inanimate object~a lovely old bike. The image is from an old postcard like most of the other images in the contest. Your part of the contest is to come up with a thought/comment/poem/saying for the back side of this bike. On Friday, without rhyme or reason, the winner will be chosen and will recieve a soldered glass pendant with your own saying on the back side. Enter as often as you wish ~ be rewarded for your clever thoughts instead of keeping them to yourself!

Take A Bow, Miss Mallory

Make no mistake, I did like some of the other clever entries, and they easily could have won, but what I like best about Mallory's entry of "Practice as if you are the worst, Perform as if you are the Best" is that this little girl is wearing scuffed up white shoes and holding flowers plucked right out of old Mrs. Smith's garden while she was cleaning her dentures. This little girl has chutzpah. Oh - and Mallory - I used your 2,000 bonus points to add some sparkly glitter to your pendant! Please e-mail me and give me your address so I can put your winning pendant on a chain and in the mail!

Thanks to everyone who played this week!

Lauren, your Momma does think you're special.

From The Pines - it really is all about you!

TLee - Shine On!

The rest of you - you're all clever. Take a Bow.

Necklace Contest - Week 41

From an old Swedish(?) Postcard, this cute little girl is taking a bow and waiting for the perfect comment from you for the backside of a soldered glass pendant. There was something written on the border of her dress, but I took it off (magic). It said "Hartelijk Gefeliciteerd". You will earn bonus points if you know what that means....

The contest is simple: You make a comment on what you think should be on the back side of this image and on Friday we'll choose a winner and if you are the winner you will be awarded with a soldered glass pendant of this image with your comment on a 24" ball chain. Enter as often as you like...
*** It is a Dutch Postcard, and both Mallory and especially Dawn Treader are correct in their interpretation. You both now have 2,000 points. ***