Early July Morning, Cocoa Beach, Florida

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Old Missionary Shirts....Trash them? or Make Something With Them?


When our son first went on his mission, everything was all brand new...new experiences, new suites and ties, new suitcases, new shoes, and nice new white dress shirts.


He served in Arizona. Being a Louisiana boy, he knew what hot weather was...well, what hot humid weather was. The heat in Arizona is much different. We were told, though, that at least in Arizona you could find some shade and get out of the baking sun....not so much in Louisiana. Hot, wet, humid yuckiness is pretty much a fact of life in the Bayou State.

One difference, though on his mission, was the fact that he was on a bicycle for almost the whole two years. No air conditioned car. With that dry heat baking down on you for that long, your clothes get pretty 


trashed


and stained


and holey....

He had seven dress shirts that were ready for the trash. For some reason, I couldn't let them go. When I looked at these shirts, I saw hard work and love. Love for the people he served in Arizona, and love for his Savior...for our savior!.

I folded the clean shirts up and put them with some of my scrap fabric. There they sat for a couple of years, and I forgot about them. The other day, I decided I wanted to make a fabric banner, so I opened my area where I keep my scrap fabric, and came across his shirts. 


I carefully unfolded them, and looked through them...oh wow, lol, they really did get worn.



Then I made the first cut....


....and started ripping away...




...until I had a pile of rags.


I then took some rope I had and tied each end to a chair, and started tying the rags from the shirts onto the rope.


I knew I needed some color in the banner. I was thinking I might use this banner for my TappingflaminogBling business, so I wanted some pink. As I dug around the scraps, I came across this pretty fabric, and ripped it up into strips.


And added it to the scraps from my son's old missionary shirts.


I love the way it came out...


...and it will always remind me of my son....
who served the people of Arizona 
for his Savior....
for two years!










Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Hello! I'm Terry with a Y.....

My name is Terry...with a Y.... I've always hated that. I am the oldest of three girls, and my mom loved the name Terry; and loves y's. I have a sister named Tammy and another sister, Tracey. Mom had to all T names that ended in y....

When I was in jr high, I started to spell my name with an "I", and up until I graduated from high school I was Terri with an "I." When I saw my high school diploma with Terri with an I, I thought, "hmmm...maybe that is not such a good idea; that the name on my diploma does not match the name on my birth certificate. So, I went back to Terry with a Y. 

Why did I hate the Terry with a Y name so much? Because I was always put in the category with boys. As a university student, I majored in dance...for real... In order for there to be equal amount of boys and girls when you register for ballroom classes, there are separate registration numbers. I was always careful to register for the female section, but for some reason, I was put into the male section. Not just one time, either.

I remember one time I got something in the mail reminding me to sign up for the draft. I've been put onto our insurance as a male, which messes up billing sometimes. When I was in the hospital, I had to be taken for a procedure. As I waited for them to take me back to my room, an aid kept walking in, would look around, and then walk out of the room. This went on for quite sometime. Finally, when she came back, I asked her who she was looking for. She told me....Mr. Carter. I told her that I was "Mr. Carter." This happens to me almost every time I go to the doctor....anyway, the list goes on and on as to why I get frustrated with being Terry with a Y. 

Ok...so, the other day, my mom told me that my 15 year old autistic nephew was walking around repeating this phrase over and over....Hello! I'm Terry with a Y, and I'm Terri with an I, and I'm a dance major....5.6.7.8!

Let me just say, I have four children, but the youngest is 23, and my grandchildren don't watch TV, so I'm out of the children's TV/Movie loop right now. We had no idea where in the world my nephew got this. I do have a youtube channel, but I've never said anything about being Terry with a Y or Terri with an I, or being a dance major. Besides, I was a dance major 34 years ago, lol.

So....I decided to search Terry with a Y and Terri with an I on the Internet. Oh. MY!!! a whole slue of things showed up. This is where he got it, and I'll have to say, this is too funny! 


I don't know if there is a shirt with this on it, but I HAVE to have one!!!!! Because....

I AM Terry with a Y and I'm Terri with an I, and I WAS a dance major!!!! For real! 5.6.7.8!!!!






WHAT IS WROING WITH PEOPLE!?

I know we live in a world that people are always in such a big rush. Because of that, there are many things that we miss out on. One thing that has become a HUGE pet peeve of mine, are people who do not read an entire post before they jump to conclusions as to what the subject is about. Then! They have the gall to make a comment!

Recently, I posted a question on a cruise facebook page needing information about how a muster drill is done for special needs children. I gave the ages of 13 and 15. One person commented and told me that anyone under the age of 12 has to have a wrist band.  

WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING!?  LOL

If this person had READ the post, they would have seen that, clearly, these two were not the age of needing a wrist band. 

I had asked a question wanting FIRST HAND experience with this situation, and no one that commented had that. Everyone was telling me things I already knew, and that was already put into the brief explanation. 

By the way....skimming is NOT reading!!!! If you skim over stuff, you loose out, you do NOT get the whole gist of the article. 

So....if you want to comment or help someone out, make sure you have READ the ENTIRE thing before you give your two cents worth. 











Monday, April 9, 2018

Dragons!

I have a friend who loves dragons. Several yeas ago, she ordered a couple of custom necklaces from me....with dragons. She has also bought some dragon earrings from me.

Recently, she went through some of her old jewelry and asked if I wanted any of them. Most were broken, and she was not interested in fixing them. One of the pieces was this multi strand bracelet. I loved the color of the beads, and decided to make her something with them as a thank you.....


So, this is what I came up with. I remembered I had this disc that had a couple of dragons on it. The other side has some sort of oriental writing. 


I used all the beads from the bracelet, which made the necklace a longer piece...not too long, but long enough where it did not need a clasp. It is easy on and off...just pull it over your head.


I had another small dragon pendant, and decided to add it to the back of the piece. 


I hope she likes it. I love making things for people, especially when they have no clue about it. :)

Check out TappingflamingoBling for unique, handmade beach and cruise inspired jewelry and accessories. 

Whether she cruise the high seas on a ship, hang tens on a surfboard or just likes a quiet walk along the shores....Wearing a creation from TappingflamingoBling will keep her favorite places close to her heart and should....



Friday, April 6, 2018

Swap N Hop 2018

Today is the day for the BIG reveal!!!!
So let me refresh your memory as to what my partner, Lisa Johnson , of Spud & Mrs Butters, sent me....

Red Czech Glass Beads!


ooooo!!!! RED!


Actually, there are all shades of reds, pinks, corals, and different shapes too!


Ceramic Beads!


 Blue Czech Glass Beads and Handmade spotted beads. 
Love the flowers!

Some more blue Czech Beads!


Hand painted focal bead from Summerwind Art. https://www.etsy.com/shop/SummerWindArt



I love these!!!!


Here is a better look!!!!


leather cord, spacer beads and a toggle clasp.

So....what did I do with all of this fun stuff?

First, I sorted everything out...


Then I did some pondering, and moving stuff around....


Then I got to work....



 The first thing I did was make these earrings. I just loved the flowers. I wanted to make earrings in a different way than I normally do. I used copper wire and silver tone clam shell bead crimps. Then I needed to make a matching necklace. I used copper wire to wrap this shell piece I found while beach combing close to my old stomping grounds of Cocoa Beach, Florida. To match the earrings, I used a copper lobster claw clasp, and silver tone crimp beads like the ones in the earrings. 




The next thing I made were these mismatched earrings. I think they look sorta space shippy (I know, not a word, lol) I used the faceted red Czech beads and the blue faceted beads I got from Lisa, and then added a champagne colored crystal I had in my stash. Do you like mismatched earrings? They are pretty popular right now. 


This next piece I LOVE! I used the red glass beads (picked out the square and round red beads), and some of the tiny blue Czech beads with some champagne colored crystals I had in my stash to make this piece. Again, I wire wrapped a shell piece from Cocoa Beach, this time using silver tone. I dedicate this piece to Autism Awareness. I have two nephews who live with Autism, and I've been making autism awareness bracelets, which I offer on my Etsy shop, and then donate a portion to various non profit autism awareness organizations. I'll be wearing this a lot during April (Autism Awareness Month). 


Had to make another one of those necklaces. This time I used brass wire to wrap my Cocoa Beach shell.


I just loved this focal Lisa sent! Don't you!? Goes nicely with the dark blue ceramic beads she sent. I also used the hand made spotted beads and Czech beads.


I really wanted to use the leather she sent, but was stumped...until I found some large jump rings. 

After I strung up the red Czech beads, ceramic beads, and spacer beads, I attached the jump rings and then knotted the leather around them and also the toggle clasp. I love the way it turned out.

Then, of course, I had to make some matching earrings....

Soooo...what did I sent her?


Abalone shell chips


Three different pendants...wire wrapped shell form Cocoa Beach, wire wrapped sea glass with mermaid and guitar string mermaid pendant. 

                          
Some guitar strings. Curious if she uses these. I make all kinds of jewelry and accessories from them....

These are some of my favorite crystals to use. Look at all the colors!


Turquoise glass beads

I think she said she like colors from nature. I love the shape of these!
You really can't tell in the picture, but these have some sparkle to them.

Ok, so now go see what kinds of creations Lisa came up with...and check out the creations from all of the other participants! 


Terry Jeanette Carter https://tappingflamingo.blogspot.com


Linda Anderson http://fromthebeadboard.blogspot.com (Hostess)
Hope Smitherman http://CraftyHope.com
Rosantia Petkova http://bairozan.blogspot.bg/

Seed Beaders