Beaded Spiral Icicles

I have made close to 40 of these beaded icicles.  Some for hanging on the tree, some on the chandelier and some on me!  The Beads Knees has graciously provided a free tutorial HERE.  The pattern was removed from the internet a few years ago, but is now back up.  Enjoy!

Mermaid on Red Vase

 Translucent polymer clay sculpted onto a crystal vase.

Detail of vase.  I ended up removing all of the first layer because it felt too busy.  I ended up with the swirls of seaweed and liked it better.

Floating Tree

I "finger painted" the translucent polymer clay onto both sides of this leaded crystal vase.

Mermaid

Translucent polymer clay sculpted onto glass vase.

Another Mermaid

Translucent polymer clay sculpted onto glass vase.

Translucent Polymer Clay

Translucent polymer clay sculpted onto blown glass.

Polymer Pansies

Translucent polymer clay sculpted onto glass vase.

Polymer Clay Coral

I found this beautiful blown glass piece at Goodwill.  Several chips and small cracks in the very bottom, but easy to cover up.  Time consuming layering the translucent polymer clay, but worth it.

Mermaid Vase

 Translucent polymer clay sculpted onto glass vase.  While I've been recuperating from a knee replacement, I've been busy claying.

The End of the Washington Trip

 After Solvang, we returned to Flying Flags RV Park and started packing up for our trip back to Sun City West, Arizona.  We were going to split it up by stopping in Desert Hot Springs, California, but we could not find the RV Park.  We found out later it had changed its name but had not changed their signage.  So it was a long trip home.

The top photo is of some faux plants I purchased in Twisp Washington.  The middle photo is of a Chestnut seed.  We saw so many chestnut trees.  The seed is so beautiful. Crack it open and there is the chestnut.

I was inspired by this succulent arrangement and collected faux succulents all throughout our trip.  They took up no room at all and I can't wait to make an arrangement with them.  So, all in all we were two months away from home.  It was wonderful and we are already planning next summer's vacation.  Thanks for viewing.

Solvang

 I LOVE dipping dishes, dipping oils and tapenade spreads.

 Solvang had many "olive" shops so I was in heaven.

Solvang, California

 Solvang, California is a small Danish village full of anything Danish. [Source]

 Galleries, Restaurants, Motels, Inns, Gift Shops, Antique shops, Bakeries, Snack Shops and...

 Christmas Shops!!!  A huge tourist attraction.  It was fun.

Family

 They had fun at the resort with Grandpa.

 Made a few crocheted pumpkin hats for our 3 youngest grand kids.  They all loved them so I will make more.

All of us together at McDonald's.

Buellton, California

 Flying Flags RV Park & Resort was great.  Spacious RV sites, security, three pools, cabanas and a kiddie area.  We stayed here four days and nights.

 From here we visited with our grandchildren, went shopping in Solvang and Lompoc.

Thanksgiving Turkey

 This big wild turkey came into our camp making all kinds of noise.

 He wasn't afraid of people at all.  He was magnificent.

El Chorro Regional RV Park

 After camping here for two days and nights, we headed on to Buellton, California.

San Luis Obispo, California

 We stayed here for two days and two nights while we went back and forth to Morro Bay.

 Really a pretty area.  These gorgeous purple flowers were everywhere.

Morro Bay

 Huge succulents in a clay pot outside a store.

 Some felted and embroidered cacti.

Shopped till we dropped.

Morro Bay Continued

Second day we were there, the sun came out for about 5 minutes so I could get this great photo and then it was overcast again.

 We went back to the same stores and restaurants.  This time, we bought a few things to take home as souvenirs.

Return Trip to Morro Bay

Overcast with a cloud that hung over the famous rock all day.

San Juan Bautista, California

We stayed at Betabel RV Park in San Juan Bautista, California.

 I really wanted to get going to San Luis Obispo, CA where we were going to go back to Morro Bay for a couple of days.

Back to Calistoga, CA

 We got the biggest kick out of seeing all the homes in town that had wine orchards growing in their front, side and back yards!

From Calistoga, we are heading to San Juan Bautista, California for one night.