Spring will.....?

So I'm just hanging around here, trying to accept the slow down, waiting for my heart to get fixed! What an emotional drag as well as physical. As the snow still sits in the yard, laughing at me, I found I (StuStuStudio) was featured in a Springtime blog.

http://dzfantasy.blogspot.com/



Just what I needed this AM. The cheery colors of Spring! Take a look, leave a comment, then come back here and tell me Spring is coming and all will be well.

BTW, I did get a couple of listings up in my Etsy store, a split second before we lost our power Sunday, for 8 (Yeah, that's eight) hours. Thankfully, my daughter & granddaughter had just moved into a sweet new home with a fireplace. DH & DD were able to scrounge up enough wood to keep us warmish and smoked. I got the smoke out of the LR before we inhaled too much. It all left me feeling pretty wiped out by Monday. But hey, 13 hours of sleep will cure almost anything!!

Internationaly speaking

Isn't this awesome? That's my clock top & center. This treasury of beauties was put together by Ovgilliesdesigns Isle of Arran, Scotland, UK. She was inspired by her own listing called M I D N I G H T (found H E R E http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16911295 on Etsy ).





Today's weather: S N O W G L O B E.



Started like yesterday did, around -12 degrees f. Frickin' COLD! But now, the thermometer that sits in the sun is reading 47 degrees but I seriously doubt that. There are some drifting snowflakes lazily swirling around out my front window with the sun backlighting them. With the 3 to 4 feet of snow still laying on the ground, it makes it look like I'm living in a snow globe. Yeah, that one just to the right of center, the white fluffy round white one is me!


Go to my Flickr account and scroll down a bit, and go into the second page for some more phantasmogorical winter on the coast scenes. That is if you're not already sick to death of winter. If you think you can stand one more shot of ice and cold on the wintery coast!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1cher/

Light as a feather & Steel Blue

Light as a feather & Steel Blue
Originally uploaded by 1Cher

follow the creek into Lake Michigan

follow the creek into Lake Michigan
Originally uploaded by 1Cher

Once of those perfect days of winter. What more can I say?

(Besides, click on the photo to go to flickr, the click on the "all sizes" icon and view large)

GO RED DAY

In honor of the American Heart Association's February annual event "Go RED FOR WOMEN", I'm offering a few pins and pendents that I have designed for this occasion, which just happens to be near and dear to my heart!

As a survivor/advocate who was able to appear before my representatives in Washington DC a few years ago, I've been inspired to creat these reminders, as well as offer a few official RED HEART PINS from the AHA.

I will donate 50% of the profit from any of my GO RED listings on Etsy to my state's chapter of the American Heart Association in your name.

Hopefully, the listings are showing up in the strip to the right. If not, check out http://www.stustustudio.etsy.com/

and Thanks for looking!

I'm BAAACCCCKK at work, in time for Valentines!

After a long absence, I'm finally back at work. If you can call this work! I know, in this economy it's tougher than usual, but it is what is is.
My take on it, at least for now, is that my items are Affordable, Artistic and "gift~able". With Valentines Day right around the corner, there's still a lot of love to spread and I've got a way to do it in an elegant manner without spending an arm & a leg.

Click on the Etsy pics on the right side, and it'll take you there. (my sales dept)

dark skies green waters fall hills Homestead ridge

Sleeping Bear Bay, Glen Arbor MI

dark skies green waters fall hills Homestead ridge
Originally uploaded by 1Cher

A belated acknowledgement of this photo being featured on a way cool blog!

"farlane", one of my flickr buds with an obvious great eye for the beauty of our land wrote:
Hey Cher - we're featuring your photo on the Leelanau Almanac for the week of November 6-12, 2008 - thanks for adding to the Leelanau (dot com) pool!

( http://www.leelanau.com/blog/leelanau-almanac-for-the-week-of-november-6-12-2008/ ) in case the other link doesn't)

I guess I got bogged down in November. Go Figure!!

This photo has also been selected as a subject for an oil painting by a 'famous' downstate painter who had requested permission. Permission granted, but of course! Just send me a photo of the painting of this photo please!

DH Day Farm 12-23-2008 5-43-43 PM

C DH Day Farm 12-23-2008 5-43-43 PM
Originally uploaded by 1Cher

This photo was selected to be featured on the Leelanau Almanac for the week of December 25-31, 2008. How cool! (OK, its cold, not cool, but you get the drift)

Empire Wintertime....SNOW UPDATE

jan 30 storm day Manning Light house
Originally uploaded by 1Cher

....Is a good time to be in Empire! For us locals, it's a time to get out the snow shoes or the nordic walking poles and get about one of the most engaging places on our planet.

OK, so some of the locals do flock to the warmer climes, and toast their bones.

THIS JUST IN!! Breaking new flash! As of 12-9-08, we have already received 1/2 of our average winter snowfall.

With the exception of last winter, we usually hope that we at least get a white Christmas. We have returned to Winters of 'yore, where white Thanksgivings were the norm. Global warming is now referred to as "climate change".

Mt Baldy in glass from Esch Rd (otter creek)

Mt Baldy in glass from Esch Rd (otter creek)
Originally uploaded by 1Cher

Here it is!

A vision in glass 12 inches across, 2 1/2 inches tall and 1/2 inch thick. NFS.
(The 'tongue' shape center right is a reflection from the lamp, nothing else!)

This piece of glass was kiln fired a total of 4 times. Originally, all of the Bullseye glass was crushed into tiny bits. I laid out the buff's' shape on a kiln shelf and fired it, then layered more to build up the depth needed to achieve a dimensional appearance to the bluff. The sand, water & sky were added with layers of crushed glass in different colors until the piece measured about 3/4 of an inch thick. Approximately one third of the volume is reduced during the firing process.

After a final slumping fuse to give it a bowl shape, the finishing sanding with a wet belt sander (See "Tool Gloat" entry below) gave it a smooth edge, and by using increasingly finer belts, a wonderful shine.

I have another bowl that will show this scene from the Empire Beach side of the bluff.

Now, off to clean the studio. a bit.