Amy Hanna

a little special special

The art of playing with friends

 
Why is it that we have such a hard time finding time to do the things that matter the most?  LIke taking your kids for a walk at the beach, having friends over for dinner, or giving your time to help a friend or family member.  When we all know that we feel the best after we share those special moments with loved ones.  

It was so great to experience one of those special moments Friday night with my friend Pam.I had so much fun Friday helping her create some jewelry out of her amazing collection of treasures.She had gathered lots of goodies when we traveled to Paris together a few years back and they have been sitting in her beautiful boxes waiting to be turned into something new to be worn. So I showed up at her house drill and oxidizing agent in hand and we went to work for about eight hours.  Busy like two little bees!

She let me snip this beautiful strand of vintage Mother of pearl beads that she brought back from her trip to Rome.

 

 

She had some great chain and rhinestones to work with.  

I loved digging through her collection of goods.  One of my favorite things  that I found was this old brass numbered tag that to identify them cows by hanging in their ears.Now it hangs next to chunky garnet gemstones.
  
 

The beautiful Mother of pearl heart shown above is like the one I had used in my book.  Pam had always loved it so she was so excited when she found this one in Paris when we were together.  The bummer is that it cracked during our return home.  Luckily you cannot really notice it unless you stare at it up close.   The heart is so stunning on her piece we let it be the main attraction of the necklace by just adding a simple chain to the piece.

We had a very busy night but the good thing is that she ended up with six necklaces and one bracelet.  I returned home a very tired little elf at 2 am.  Now I can't wait to have her over to paint something somewhere.  It is so wonderful to have creative friends.  It was such a good remember to share in your creativity, it is such a blessing to all!!  I can't wait, I will be teaching again September 17th at Gina's, I had so much fun with the gals at Jenny's I look forward to spending the day with everyone in Malibu!

 

 

The Seahorse

Elements

 

A little bit of this and that!

Entryway's

 

Isn't this a beautiful view!!  My girlfriend is renting this amazing beach pad  in Laguna Beach and we have been lucky to enjoy the beach with her.  

I had such a fun day teaching at one of my favorite friends, Miss Jenny's house this weekend!!  I loved meeting all of the wonderful ladies and spending the day playing with them.  The best part of teaching a class, is looking through everyone's amazing stashes that they bring.  As usual their treasures were dreamy.  This was a  such a wonderful group of women and Jenny was the perfect hostess!! 

I was greeted by this wonderful Skeleton at Jenny's house. Isn't he charming!!

An amazing piece of art work done by Jenny's dear friend, the late Janice Lowry that hangs in Jenny's entry way into her home.  

 

Working on Souvenir

Working on my friend Heather's next souvenir issue!  Who needs a charm bracelet when you can have a charm necklace??  Especially when you love charms as much as I do!!!

Busy bee

 I have been busy getting kits ready for my class at Jenny's this weekend.  I am going to be sharing some precious mercury glass beads and vintage goodies. I have been digging through drawers and cabinets to collect some sweet parts to sell as well.  For anyone who was not able to get into my class at Jenny's I will be teaching in Malibu at Gina's place at the beach, September 17th.  I will also be having a trunk show at both places with new jewels and assorted treasures.  Rare that I teach so close to home so I am thrilled to be loading up the car with all kinds of goodies to bring to sell.

 

Beach lovin fun!

  Both of my daughters participated in OC Jr guards this summer.  What an amazing program this is for kids to learn about ocean safety and ocean life. The picture above and below were shot during their vitamin which is the competition they have on the last day.  It is a three week program that goes from 9am to 3pm. How cute is there instructor in the yellow.

 The picture below is of the girls clowning around later in the day with their girlfriends.  They have so much fun together!!

 

My friend Charmane and I were lucky girls to have our buddies Stu and his wife Mel,take us on a lovely dinner cruise around the harbor to celebrate our birthday's.  It was a wonderful belated birthday celebration and a beautiful evening.

I brought some yummy watermelon margarita's to share.  They are so delicious!! I just love summer and wished it lasted a few months longer!!!

Antique Tractor Show

 

I couldn't resist taking my girls to the Antique Tractor show that was going on when I was in Michigan.  My daughter,  Sophia was so excited  to go because she thought they sold baby chickens at the show.  To her disappointment and to my relief, they did not have any chickens for sale.  Poor girl, she had already picked out a name for her new chick, she was going to call it bubbles. She and is still talking about the chicken she could have had.  I tried to explain to her that we would not be able to take bubbles back on the airplane with us but her little mind could not wrap around the thought of it. 

I have never been a big fan of clowns but I got such a kick out of this one. It was about 94 degrees out side and humid, I have no idea how that man could stand it!  To my surprise I actually really enjoyed going to the show and seeing all the OLD tractors.  They were so beautifully built, I wanted to take one of those cute Oliver's home with me!!