Beaufort, SC

I had quite a few pictures from Beaufort, such a lovely place! I thought this would be the best way to share our trip photos!

-Blanche

Carolina Stampin - Beaufort, SC

Carolina Stampin was a sheer delight! Even hubby got swept up in looking for stamps to add to my collection! They have the most stamps I have ever seen in one place in my life! OMG! Every category of theme was covered. This is a place you have to see in person, as they do not have an on-line store, but well worth the trip if you are ever in the area! And I do highly recommend visiting this beautiful Southern town - in fact we are planning another trip there in a couple of weeks (yeah! more stamps, more beads!)!!



The bead space was vast, given it was only a room and a half and I managed to pick out some cool vintage beads, glass beads, silver weave, and of course many stamps and Distressed(tm) paint.



If you are into scrapbooking, or any kind of altered art, they have supplies galore. I will definately go back again and again (like everytime we go to Beaufort!).

The staff was friendly and helpful - they even had a bubble making machine out front that was way cool!

From the Ocean to the Mountains...

The past few weeks I have either been on vacation or taking a weekend jaunt off to places I love. Not much beading going on, but lots of inspiration for when I do get back to my beadwork! I have just returned form the North Carolina mountains, where I used to live, and was pleasantly surprised to find out I placed second in the Winter Rose Designs Jewelry Contest!

I will wait until they post, but I do love the piece I made and can't wait to see the other entries for the contest.

The week before the 4th of July, my hubby and I took our boat down the Intracoastal waterway to Beaufort, SC. I was writing about this trip last Thursday when the power went out on us...

So picking up the pieces and filling in with photos:

The last few weeks have been busy, busy, busy, and some, not all has been jewelry related.

Hubby and I took a boat trip before the 4th down to beautiful Beaufort, SC by way of the Intracoastal waterway. What fun we had!
Hubby has taken the trip before, so armed with a GPS route, it was quite an enjoyable trip. Beaufort is a - dare I say - a quaint little town, but I mean that in the best way.

We docked at the Downtown Marina (above)

Beaufort's Waterfront park is amazing!




Shopping, dining, and relaxing along the Waterfront was the quintessential getaway for us...

Nippy's was the first stop we made to re-fuel ourselves, and we found our way back there again because the food was soooo good! It's a shrimp-shack kind of place, no-fuss-no-muss, but the food hit the spot!



Will write more late about this excursion, as it merits much more...
(update 7/23/09)
Tabby walls are composed of shells and mix of limestone- read the except if interested. They are so beautiful! Charletson has very few of these, so it was a delight to see this long wall - it's my current desktop photo!

Fare Thee Well Deep Blue Sea

My favorite piece of jewelry to create has to be my loaded charm bracelets. Locally, I think that is what is I am best known for, and since I love them so much, I have made many!

A while back when the economy took a turn, the gallery I sell out of had an ample supply, so I decided I would not make anymore until the ones in stock sold.

Last week while I was on vacation, I got a call from Karen's Korner - and Deep Blue Sea has sold!

This one was definitely one of my favorites - with Kyanite gemmies and Indicolite Swarovski crystals as well as the usual abundance of sea life charms and the special touches of Artisan Lampwork beads and Shiana Karen Hill Tribe charms.
Fare Thee Well, Deep Blue Sea - you are one of my favs!

Friday, Food & Fireworks

For many, the holiday weekend has already started so today I am planning our family's festivities for tomorrow. Instead of grilling out hotdogs and hamburgers, we are going to have a summertime variation of Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey is all-American, so why not?

Yesterday's stop at a vegetable stand yielded lots of fresh fruit and veggies which will play the part of making the turkey dinner a summertime treat.

Menu

• Roast turkey breast
• Mashed potatoes and gravy
• Herbed dressing
• Butter beans cooked with smoked meat
• Corn on the cob
• Fried okra
• Cucumber, onion, & vinegar salad
• Sliced tomatoes
• Peaches & mangos for dessert

After dinner we will mostly likely start hearing the shrill squeals, loud pops, and booms of fireworks going off all over the area. A bike ride down to the old bridge that went from Mt. Pleasant to Sullivan's Island to view the displays will cap off the evening!

Have a fun, happy & safe 4th of July!

Update:

Having turkey for the 4th of July was pure genius, if I do say so myself! We live in a town that allows fireworks and we are inundated with booms, cracks, and bangs till the wee hours of the morning. This was the first year I slept through all of it!!!
:)