Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I share a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week.
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1) New Computer!
Okay, so this one is definitely a mixed blessing...
My lovely computer died a month or so ago, and we have been really sad.  My husband and I have been mooching off my sister and it has stunk.  When we got our tax refund we took our computer in for repairs, and discovered the problem was the motherboard.  Wuh-laa.
We could replace it, but it would have problems sooner rather than later...  blah-blah-blah.
So we made the decision to completely replace the computer, to the tune of a ridiculous amount of money.  But both of us depend on and require access to the computer- him for photography & Flickr (his photos and Flickr acct are HERE) and me for my jewelry & FB.
So new computer- YAY!  Learning a new computer and it's quirks- yuck.
Here's one of Jake's latest photos. I like bragging on my fella'.

2) My First Art Manicure
My sister is in the process of making a decision as to what her job will be for a while.  One of the options she is seriously considering is Nail Art.  She's done a lot of research, and has decided her next step is to practice.  And I got to be her guinea pig this last week!

I've got this thing for butterflies, so she painted the wing for me.  I'm delighted.  I'm also looking forward to getting to be her guinea pig in the future. =)

3) I discovered a new jewelry artist!
Her name is Daniela, and she is in Italy. Her business is Alkhymeia and she is utterly brilliant.  She combines wire-work and polymer clay into stunningly beautiful pieces.  She shared a piece of her jewelry to a Bead Group on  Facebook and I dropped my jaw when I first saw her work. Then I visited her FB page and was sucked in by her graceful wire shapes and detailed organic clay work.
I am going to share a few of my favorite pieces, but this does not even remotely cover all that she can do with polymer and wire.  I want to be just like her when I grow up!