Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest - Last of 2010

It's the last week of the year... that's why I chose this image. Doesn't it look like they have reached the end of a hard day? Or just haven't shaved their legs in a year?

Here's the contest in a nutshell: Make a comment as to what you think is a perfect caption/quote/saying for this image. On Friday a winner will be chosen and rewarded with a soldered glass pendant of this image, your own quote, and a chain. Yeehaw!

Have a great last week of 2010!

I'm fixin' to go babysit Sweatshop Baby and Brother Cael now...

This Week's Winner - Cracks Me Up

This week's Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest Winner is:

tracey!

Tracey entered "Friends are bare essentials". Very nice and oh-so-true! Friends are the bare essentials in life. and chocolate. and beads.... Thank you to everyone who entered - and especially to tracey. Miss Tracey - e-mail me (rachel@twodogpond.com) your mailing address and I will send out your winning pendant on a 24" chain.

HEY!

I just got my Christmas wish of a 100th blog follower! WooHoo!

Welcome, Sandy-Davis - scrapbooker and jewelry maker extraordinaire!

Last Minute Gifts

Here's what I just made for some local nieces and nephews... a jar full of beer bread mix with the baking instructions tied on it...
I put the jars in some fruit baskets along with a beer and a couple jars of jelly I made. I also added a crocheted dishcloth (this year's obsession) and a Christmas bandana (for the yee-haw in all of us).

The Beer Bread Mix is from the Joy of Cooking Cook Book - it's my favorite, and because I love you, here it is:

QUICK BEER BREAD

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add:

1 1/2 cups light or dark beer (but not stout), cold or at room temperature, but not flat.

Fold just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the batter into a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan and spread evenly. Bake at 400 degrees F until a toothpick inserted in teh center and all the way to the bottom comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5-10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.

A Lovely Tradition

My three sisters and I have a Christmas Tradition. We exchange ornaments every year. We live thousands of miles apart (OK, I do. They all live in Southern California) but our Christmas trees all have many of the same ornaments. "Sister Ornaments". Hanging these ornaments makes me miss my sisters. I have the best sisters ever...

anyway...

I like to make my ornaments - and thought I would show you what I made this year. (they have all received their ornaments already, so I'm not ruining any surprises.)

I used my favorite piece of stained glass, some 1" bevels and lots of copper wire - bent, smacked, torched, balled up, hammered flat.

assembled:

Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest - Friends on a Stick

This week's Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest image
is the result of me looking for a good image of friends. (an image of good friends?) When I came across this in my stash, I stopped. I love it. So, my blogger friends, it's now your turn. Come up with the perfect saying/quote/phrase to go with this image of friends on a stick and enter it here. On Friday, Christmas Eve, a winner will be chosen and rewarded with a soldered glass pendant.
This is a good diversion from the hustle and bustle of the holidays - at least for me it is. I hope you all have a wee bit of time for yourself this week. Relax for a few minutes and recharge. Sit naked with a friend with just one shoe on.

True Love Winner - Miss Kitty

This week's necklace contest winner is Miss Kitty with her sweet entry of "True Love can melt the coldest of Hearts". There were so many great entries that yesterday I had to call in help with choosing a winner. Several customer/friends at yesterday's show were commenting on the weekly contest and how much fun it is ~and~ how hard it would be to choose this week's winner. Lynnie from::Silverwork:: said that she would, without a doubt, choose Kitty's entry. It seems that everyone agreed! Congratulations to Miss Kitty - your soldered glass pendant on a 24" ball chain is on it's way.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to see us and do a bit of shopping yesterday - love you all!

It's An Open House and You're Invited!

This Thursday, December 16th, my friend Lynn Bowes::Silverwork and I will be having an Open House at the Liberty House in Seward from 2-7pm. We would love it if you would all come and see us and help us eat cookies and then, of course, shop your head off. The Liberty House is located at 441 N 5th Street. There are lots of great antiques and collectables in their gift shop.

Bring your friends - Buy each other presents!

Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest - Snowman, Love, and a Dog

You just couldn't ask for more! Snowpeople coming to life and hugging to keep warm... and a dog {is that a snowdog?} with an umbrella... it's just pure Winter Magic. Welcome to the Two Dog Pond Weekly Necklace Contest. It's where your clever thoughts and comments become fun to wear soldered glass pendants... it's pure magic. Just leave a comment here as to what you think would be the perfect saying/quote/word/phrase for this image and on Friday a winner will be chosen and rewarded with a necklace. Hey, it's the week before Christmas - what else is there to do? (I feel a panic attack coming on...)

This Week's Winner - She Holds The Candle

This week's winner is Miss Nomaloke with her winning entry of "No one holds a candle to Frosty". First time I read her entry, sweet thoughts of "Oh she loves Frosty and there will never ever be another snowman as magically wonderful as him..." but by the time I was soldering the necklace my thoughts were more of the "You wanna piece of me? NO ONE holds a candle to Frosty!" hmmmm... anyway - dear kind Nomaloke, please e-mail me your mailing address and I will send you your winning pendant on a 24" chain.

My entry would have been "Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Frosty" Mad SnowMen.

...:::~*~:::...

Meanwhile - look what my hens are laying! It's like Easter every day!

Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest - Smokin'

This week's Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest image features one of the "Naughty" children we sing about... The contest is simple and fun and keeps your mind alert and working while sitting at your desk. Jot down clever ideas while you're in a staff meeting - wake up and have a clever idea come to you... feel inspired at all times of the day! Enter as often as you like. A winner will be chosen on Friday and rewarded with a soldered glass pendant on a 24" chain. For detailed 'rules' see the blurb over there>>>

...:::~*~:::...

Meanwhile - I've lost my voice. Laryngitis or an Act of God, I'm not sure. It's weird - can't answer the phone. The dogs don't 'listen' to me (Oh - like they ever did...) I feel like I'm trapped in a bizarre Mime World.

"GO! ENTER THE CONTEST"

(This is NOT the contest picture. Too Scary!)

Inside Outside

"Inside" I have some pieces of copper I've etched just screaming at me to make something...
"Outside" the pond is frozen with a smooth surface perfect for skating (except for that it's a thin layer and you would break right through)

"Inside" my workspace gets messier and more dangerous by the day as I am working on custom orders for Christmas and no one is cleaning up after me....

This Week's Winners - Times Two

I chose two winners this week, and even that was hard! There were lots of good entries that would have made great pendants... Here are the two I chose: Heatherj's "Magic comes in moments easily missed" and Natalie's "Naughty or Nice".

Turns out, I'm so worried about Santa skipping over my house this year (that whole "naughty thing") that I couldn't pick a really snarky one to risk further alienation by the jolly old man.

Ladies - please send me your mailing addresses and I will send you your soldered pendants.

Thank you everyone - have a "Nice" weekend.