Children's Crocheted Necklaces ~ Custom Order

This group of crocheted necklaces was a special order for 4 girls. What a fun project it was too. Each of the girls had their favorite colors and the rest of it was up to me for stones, colors of wire and glass seed beads.

One chose turquoise and so I put three different types of turquoise beads on silver. Finished with sterling silver findings of course, Classic!

Another chose purple so I went with purple wire and amethyst beads. Some were chips, some were smooth rounds and some were faceted rondelles. With all the purple going on I decided to add in some multi peacock colored seed beads that were lined with gold. The gemstone chips give it a youthful funky feel while the entire combination is overall stunning. Can I say that about my own work? Well I can't help myself. They are so pretty and each unique! I finished this in copper findings.

The third necklace was requested in blue. We already did turquiose so this one got dark blue, with semi-transluscent iolite in both faceted barrels and smooth discs as well as smooth rondelles of lapis. Gorgeous on copper wire. Wow. This was also finished in copper findings.

And the last but not least is pink for the youngest who is 4 years old. I used rose quartz diagonal cubes, pink cat's eye, faceted coral, light rose swarovski crystals and some multi colored seed beads which added a lot of dimension to this dainty piece. Wire color of choice was gold. So findings are gold filled. It's so soft and sweet in those pinks on gold. I call it cotton candy, which is what the rose quartz looks like to me.

Pony Riders at the party.

All the kids that wanted pony rides got to ride Grady the pony the day of Joey's graduation party. Joey graduated this summer, but we were so busy with the farm and other resposibilities it took until Nov.1 before we had time to celebrate. There were so many riders, but I have to pick the best 5 pics. It's too bad I didn't get any group pictures, because it's so hard to show everyone that was there.

Jacob was really good to help by walking Grady with a lead rope so everyone could ride.

We have several ponies for sale. Please contact me if you are interested. Tina @ belleadorn . com (remove spaces).

Latest Critter Catches ~ Bunny, Bull frog, Praying Mantis

My husband, Jim, caught all these critters over the last couple of weeks. He's so great about showing new things to the kids. Of course, Noah (being 3 years old), is enthralled with new things and especially new animals.
Keera is holding the wild bunny she named Fluffy. Fluffy scattered with her siblings as their nest was being mowed over. None were caught by the blades thankfully. She was big enough that we hope she was able to make or find a new nest.


This beautiful bright green praying mantis was surprisingly slow when we let him out of the mason jar. They are wonderful for eating undesirable pests in the garden, so all are welcome here. :)





Noah was very sad when his large bull frog hopped away with huge leaps. Isn't it gorgeous with it's beautiful spots underneath it's body and it's webbed hands and feet?! We suspect it was a female as we now have many little frogs all over the garden. Too bad the gardening season is pretty much over. Regardless, we always have frogs in our small ponds, evident by their loud croaking in the evenings. It's a welcome sound heralding the spring after a quiet long winter.

Grandma and Grandpa's

We took the kids on a mini vacation last week down to Warsaw, Mo and stayed with my inlaws. They have a place surrounded by oak trees that overlooks a pond and it is so pretty and peaceful there. My mother in law feeds hummingbirds, orioles and all kinds of song birds, deer and turkeys. I didn't get pictures of the birds or deer this time though. I took pictures of all the wildflowers and will have several posts showing all the ones I could find.

My husband's sisters and their families were there as well and so we were a crowd of 18 people all together! There was lots of cooking and lots of helping hands too, thank goodness for dishwashers and inflatible mattresses! The kids had a blast with their cousins and the weather was so mild we had the windows open with fresh air in the house.

Missouri is usually very hot and humid by the end of June. The muggy hot air was here on Sunday to greet us when we arrived home. I think it will be here to stay for awhile too.

Here's a picture of the children with their cousins just before we left.

New Swing

Jacob fashioned up this swing for his little brother and sisters. The kids love it! They are out here under the mulberry tree all the time now. It has been a favorite spot since we moved here as it is also their climbing tree.
My husband removed the barbed wire fence so that the kids wouldn't hurt themselves on it if they fell. He also trimmed up some of the branches for easier mowing. The kids were not too happy about the trimming. They miss the fence too as it helped them with their climbing! But I think they will get used to it and it's better to have that old fence out of there.

Storm Clouds Before the Tornadoes and Children

I snapped a picture of the strange pouffy storm clouds we had last week. I've heard before what they are called, but can't remember anymore. I do know that when this type of cloud shows up we are in for strange weather and these occured the night before we had all that terrible wind and quite a few tornadoes around the Kansas City area.

So many natural disasters have occured in the last few weeks around the world. It's very sad to see.

Here are the children. I took this picture of them before the meeting at the same time we took the cloud pictures. Aren't they a good looking bunch?! Well, I am their mother. :)