Tuesday, June 30, 2009

An outside view of Rum Punch Villa Anguilla

These are some photos we took while walking the outside perimeter of Rum Punch Villa. There is a lot of old coral reef here; protected feet is a must. The views are wonderful.









and yet more pics of Rum Punch Villa Anguilla...






We have eight adults and two children on the main floor of the villa and two adults and two children in the penthouse. Plenty of room for all!

More Rum Punch Villa Pics








I'm no professional, but these are some of the photos taken at Rum Punch....awesome!

Irie Life; Johnny Cakes; Veya Restaurant

Irie Life is the place for Souvinirs in Anguilla. They have a large selection of clothing, jewelry, t-shirts and hand-crafted jewelry items.

Another must have while here is Johnny Cakes - we got ours from Veya Restaurant - and they were yummy!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

AN ANGUILLA VACATION AT RUM PUNCH VILLA

RUM PUNCH VILLA - HERE WE COME! We left for the lovely Carribean Island of Anguilla to visit with Bruce and Elaine Hearn. Bruce is my husband's brother and we have not seen him in five years. My daughters and their families are coming along, too, and it will be a family reunion to remember!

Day One: We flew out of Pittsburgh to Charlotte and then on to the island of St. Maarten. We had about 5 and 1/2 hours of flying time. After going through immigration, we got our luggage and headed out to find a taxi to take us to Marigot. From there we did the necessary gov't paperwork and boarded a ferry boat to Anguilla and then taxi'd to Rum Punch Villa.

I have to say that from the photos we'd seen on the Rum Punch web site, we knew it would be elegant and beautiful, but it far exceeded our expectations. Take a peek!



This beautiful villa has an open living area with an ocean view of St. Maarten, Flat Island, and St. Barts. The dining and kitchen area is combined and is open to the living area, with sliding doors to allow you close it off when necessary. The dining room table seats 10 comfortably with an island that will seat four more. There is a cozy living area by the dining table and from there, an entrance to the barbecue area. Included in another corner of the kitchen is a game table. There are three spacious bedrooms with ocean views. If you love to go to sleep to the sound of the ocean, you can leave your room open to the night air and the sounds of waves crashing to shore. If you prefer air conditioning and a little more quiet, the rooms have doors that slide closed and shades that can be drawn. There is another smaller room with a sofa bed and an upstairs pent house that can be used to house more guests. TV is available in the AV room and in the bedrooms via satellite, that is if you REALLY WANT to leave the pool and ocean view.





Friday, June 19, 2009

HAMMERED METAL FOCALS


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Today I have been practicing some metal work, using stamps, hammers, ink, and a black permanent marker. I'm a novice, as I'm sure you can tell, but overall, I think I like these. The flower is made with aluminum sheet and a button in the center that I thought went nicely. The other is done in brass on copper (this is the piece I was trying to solder with no luck, so when all else fails, improvise with cold connections. I used a copper nail to fuse the two together, trimmed the excess metal and hammered the rest flat. I used inks on the copper/brass and then wiped and sanded to tint and accent the hammered impressions. The aluminum was colored with a black permanent maker and again, sanded until I got the effect I wanted. Let me know what you think! Would you use them in a piece of jewelry? Thanks for looking!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

A NEW PENDANT IN S.S., CRYSTAL, AND BLUE PICASO BEADS


This pendant was a work in experimentation, but I am so pleased with how it turned out. It is done in sterling silver. I made all the jump rings, and soldered them. The crystals came from a "remake" project I did for a friend and she let me keep the leftover crystals. I placed them with the blue picaso beads I purchased at a bead show last year in Akron and worked them around the hoop with s.s. 26 guage wire. I then made earrings and a bracelet to match. Not sure whether to keep it for myself or not!!! I love the color of turquois, so am tempted to at least hang on to the bracelet!



Wednesday, June 17, 2009
















NEW A SNEAK PEAK - NEW DESIGNS!
















I've been doing some work in sterling silver and learning how to solder. Soldering was a real challenge for me, but I did finally get it - at least the jump rings - it's a start. The designs are pretty much unplanned - I just start something and see what it works into. I hope to get some of these items on Artfire within the next week. Thanks for looking!

A BEADAZZLING GIFT FROM JEANNE



At the spring craft show that Jeanne and I did together, I told her I'd love for her to make me a "BeaDazzled Doll" for my display. So..........she did this wonderful red beaded doll and I fell in love with it instantly! She said, "I think that's going to be your BeaDazzled Doll." She left it at that and a few days later, she gave it to me. I am so thrilled - I absolutely love this doll, but most of all because it was created by Jeanne - my friend of many years. THANK YOU, JEANNE - for sharing your talents and for your gift of friendship.




Vist Jeanne's web site at: http://gammiebrat.blogspot.com/ to see more views of the doll (and clearer, too)!