Summer " Time "

Time for a Summer design challenge !

This is just a  little hop , skip and  jump !

http://thebeaddreamer.com/blog/2011/08/13/long-days-of-summer-jewelry-challenge-2/

The idea was to select a photo that represented what you love about Summer and create a design based on that theme.

Sounds simple enough ...right?

But, I Love Everything about Summer and I have about a zillion photos to pick from!!!

Sorting through them all, I realized they had one common theme....  Quality Time !

Somehow in Summer we give ourselves permission to slow down  and live life at an easier pace.

What are all the picnics ,barbeques and vacations really about ?

I think they are about spending quality time with family and friends.

The photo I picked is of  my granddaughter Caroline and her friend Sophie at the beach .

They seemed lost in thoughtful conversation.

To create my necklace I gathered up some things to represent  the passage of time .

I  selected a hour glass , a "snail's pace shell" and a "take time to smell the roses "bead .

Then I added shells and sea glass my daughter and I gathered walking on the beach .

We love to walk the beach searching for little treasures.

But, the real treasure is the time we spend together .

I picked one of my amazing custom Bottle cap beads from Glass Garden Beads http://glassgardenbeads.com/

Drinking the Bahamian brand beers to collect the caps, is the one and only bead project my husband has ever taken the time to help me with ! lol !!!

I added a wonderful little escutcheon .It has palm trees on it !

How perfect is that !!!

To me it is a symbol of  a  Secret Garden...

the hidden mystery and beauty of life, only noticed if we take time to search for it.

 

So many of our hours are spent rushing here and there,

hurrying to finish this and accomplish that .

My children are grown with busy lives of their own .

Some weeks a quick text or a short e-mail are our only communications.

During the Winter ,our holiday get togethers don't seem as relaxed as shared Summer gatherings.

Maybe the heat of Summer causes us to take things at a slower pace .

Maybe just the concept of "on vacation' gives us permission to change gears.

For me, the beach clears my mind of the everyday to do list .

When I am  beside the ocean ,conversions seem to flow like the tides. A very special time of  give and take .

I treasure those moments of  sharing  hopes and dreams , thoughts and feelings.

I am grateful to see that my granddaughter is learning to experience those precious  moments .

Demands of modern day  life seem to call for a hurried pace . 

For me Summer is about  slowing  down .

Summer is the season we can take time to enjoy  life's simple pleasures.

Summer is the season to  "stop and smell the roses "

this week

stop a moment 

slow down

spent a bit of  quality time with someone special

and 

Bead Happy.

m.e.