Ice Storm Dec. 2013 Pictures

This is what our road looked like at the time of the ice storm. No traffic at all due to the ban on all travel except for emergencies. Below are pictures I took during the ice storm.  

Iced Hay Rake  Below Iced Berries

                       

Iced Small Blue Spruce Trees

Iced Brussel Sprouts

Arch of Ice   Bent over Birch Tree

Iced Maple Tree Branches bent down and touching the ground

Iced Birch Catkins

Iced Maple Leaves

Iced Sunflowers and Netting for Peas

Iced Netting close up

Iced Grape Vines

After 5 days of temperatures above freezing, the  thick coat of ice has finally melted from the roofs.  All of the bent over trees popped back upright as soon as the ice fell over their branches. 

Inspired by Reading Book Club Bridge of Birds and Journey to the East Blog Hop

Today is the reveal for the November and December selections for  Andrew Thornton's Inspired by Reading Book Club.  Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart and Journey to the East by Herman Hesse.

We are doing the two months together due to the two major Holidays that came during that time and our lack of time to fit them in sooner.

I no sooner began to read Bride of Birds than I became quite taken over by the idea of making a necklace focused on the central theme of the book:  a quest to find the Great Root of Power.  I spent quite a bit of time looking into what the ginseng root looks like and than proceeded to build one out of polymer clay.  It enchanted me.  The Great Root took hold of my mind and guided me into making a larger than life necklace of charms that bespeak of  magic, love and the unspeakable!!

Once I made the Great Root (see below)

The Great Ginseng Root by Mary Harding

I began on the chain of all chains--from Cindy Wimmer's book The Missing Link.  I spent countless hours bending wire, trying to figure out how to use the stepped pliers and finally tumbling it for half an afternoon  to wash away my many wire working mistakes.  

The chain is magnificent.

chain made from Cindy Wimmer's sliding rings link in her book The Missing Link: part before patina and part with a Liver of Sulfur patina

It was some weeks later that the Great Root lead me to discover the charms I needed to make .

Magnolia bud charm

Love charm

Magical Leaf Charms

Dragonlike charm

Jade Green bead charm

And when I was exhausted from all this creating and making I collected up the Great Root, the magnificent chain and the large polymer charms and put them all together into the

Bridge of Birds Magical Charm Necklace

Bridge of Birds Magical Charm Necklace by Mary Harding

A special thank you to Christine Damm for teaching me how to use polymer clay and for helping me find my inner polymer child.  I am having so much fun!!!  Another special thank you to Andrew Thronton for hosting the Inspired by Reading Book Club and giving  us this forum to display our inspirations and creations.

I hope you will check out what others have made.  Clicking  HERE will take you there.

Inspired by Reading Book Club Sneak Peak

The blog hop for Andrew Thornton's Inspired by Reading Book Club  is tomorrow, January 8, 2014.  

Since we are doubling up two months because of the Holidays we have a choice of  books to write about  Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart and Journey to the East by Herman Hesse.

This picture is of two beads that will be featured in the necklace I am making that has been inspired by Bridge of  Birds.  Both books are rich in imagery so I am sure you will find  lots to read about and look at. I hope you will stop by tomorrow and see what we all made.