Tuesday, June 19, 2012

lightning bug: noun

Lampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies. This chemically produced light from the lower abdomen may be yellow, green, or pale-red, with wavelengths from 510 to 670 nanometers.
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for me, especially as a kid,  lightning bugs = summer

Sometimes when I am inspired, it's like a vague swirl floating in my brain, and I'm not even sure how to act on it, but it just swirls and floats in my "creative" center until the right moment, when I go aha! That's what happened when I read BJ's post about using the Summer of Color Event where every week we are given an ice cream color prompt to use anyway we want basically.

This week we were given mint chocolate chip, now I just happen to love mint chocolate chip ice cream so I had planned on making a jar votive candle holder using that color prompt. A friend and I headed to the park where we painted jars various colors, yellow, pink and mint green. Then we came back to my place to get creative:
Wendy used wire to wrap around her jar, as hers will be hanging and then added some pretty ribbon, here she is hard at work:
Now, remember that swirling inspired thought in my head? Well, I had finished my mint chocolate chip jar and was contemplating the pink colors when it hit me...that aha moment! Wouldn't that pink jar look great in the sherbet colors? What if I made a jar each week from the ice cream color prompts!???! AHA! lol OK, so it was a little moment I had with myself but now I have 2 completed jars, one in mint chocolate chip and and the other one in sherbet colors!
Now while they look pretty in the day, I am looking forward to adding the candles to them and lighting them up tonight. I am also writing on the bottom of each jar the "name" of the ice cream:
Every night I have a lighting bug show outside my balcony. Because I live by a creek and the woods, I have tons of them. I wish I had a better camera to capture what I get to see each night, but now I have a little show of my own to add to their brilliant display!
and a close up...should I cut out more on the pink one, it doesn't illuminate as well as the green one :(

and a picture of a fire fly all lit up in case anyone is not familiar with them:
( stock picture )
and when I was a kid we use to catch them and put them in jars like this:
( stock picture )

what brings back memories of summer in the back yard to me as a kid?

The sounds of a pulsating water sprinkler, catching fireflies, the smell of Southern magnolias and gardenias, a slice of watermelon and spitting seeds, playing kick the can until dark, standing under the neighbor's muscadine vine and eating them one after another with my mom....
to be a kid again...

how about you, got any favorite summer memories to share?
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As always, I hope that you Pinterest peeps out there are creating away, and I look forward to your linking up with Project Pinterest!

31 comments:

...the yorkshire fox... said...

...Sandee these are just beautiful and such a fabby idea to make with friends, they've turned out beautifully and so so pretty to see all lit up & glowing & the fireflies are natures fairy lights, they look great in the jar too...I've never seen one, only in films...your posting has really made me smile this morning, thank you...Mel :)

Roudi said...

Living in a beach city, my favorite childhood memory was playing on the shore with my cousins and chasing the waves. (No literally, we'd pretend we're pirates and that the waves were running away from us! lol)

Eating ice-cream and watching the sun set over the sparkling water is also one of those great memories.

Oh Sandee thank you for the lovely flashback! :D

Sending some love (and cold lemonade) your way! :D

Roudi

Shoshi said...

Wow Sandee - fireflies! I have to say I have never seen one, but have always thought they were magical and fascinating. Someone shared this on a forum a while back:

I wish I was a glow worm,
A glow worm’s never glum,
’Cos how can you be grumpy,
When the sun shines out your bum.

Ha ha!! Imagine going round with your own personal illumination! Not a very convenient place to keep it though, is it!!!

Thanks for your comment on my blog. You will be happy to hear that you are no longer invisible (wot you? Not for long - ever!! Lol!) and that your cheery wave is reaching me again across the ocean from N. Carolina where the fireflies skip and dance and fill a girl's prettty jar with light!

I've nearly caught up with all my comments now, and hopefully will be ready for the next round of WOYWW tomorrow!

Shoshi

CraftygasheadZo said...

Hello my friend! These are just so pretty! Zo xx

Diana Taylor said...

What a lovely blog post - I have enjoyed reading it. The jars are both fab but I think I love the mint choc one a little bit more!
Lovely summer memories - we didn't have fire flies over in in UK but glow worms - not sure if they are the same thing or not - but we used to put them in jam jars and watch them in the dark - kids are the same all over the world!

Craftychris said...

Simply love your jars - look stunning in the dark. xx

Caz said...

oooo I love these!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Wow, that's one creative way to enter the Summer of Color. I like how you are keeping all yours in the same/similar theme. I think this will be perfect.

I saw fireflies the night it hailed so badly. I have not seen any since then. How sweet to see them, especially since I am like you and think of them as being associated with summer nights.

Terrie said...

What a fabulous idea! You'll have such a festive table grouping or garden display at the end of summer! Can't wait to see them all!

Mary Pat Siehl said...

oh what a fun fun post!!! what wonderful decorations and i so loved cathching lightening bugs!!

Rita said...

Oh, I love your jars! What a great idea to make one each week in all the various colors of the challenges.

I remember spending a lot of time alone (or with my dog) in the fields or by the lake. When I think of my childhood, I think of Minnesota prairie grass and the woods by the lake. But we also played house, school, store, night club singers, wild horses...and we wrote and put on plays, parades...played jumprope, hopscotch, marbles, and jacks...rummy 500, gin rummy, Chinese checkers, Monopoly, Parcheesi, and checkers. And then just laying in the grass finding things in the clouds, of course. Ahhh! :))

Dawn said...

Awe Sandee, what a fab post. I love your jars, great to see the photos of them at night, so very pretty.
Lol I spent my childhood between the beach and local coast, the back garden and my bedroom full of books, some happy outdoor memories of picking and eating fresh fruit and veg out of my dads garden, hunting for slow-worms and any other creepy crawlies I could find and generally getting as mucky as possible!!
Hugs x x

BJ said...

Your jars are so pretty Sandee and quite bonkers all the same - I've come to expect nothing less. So glad you have been inspired to take part in this event, it is rather fun isn't it? BJ

Redanne said...

Loved your post today Sandee and love your little lanterns, they are so pretty.

Where I grew up in Canada we lived beside Lake Huron and my brother and I spent idyllic summers on the beach, using an old ironing board as a surf board and catching turtles and mud puppies. Free as birds, pity kids cannot do the same these days. Thanks for the memory of fireflies too! Anne x

Unknown said...

oh I love these light jars!!! they look amazing!!!

Tracey FK said...

great to catch up with all you have been doing... and you have been busy... the chicken post made my morning... and these jars are just gorgeous... we don't get the lightning bugs here in this part of the world, but I think a tea light would work here... so I may need to start saving some jars...xx

Mandy said...

Great little jars and wow...fire flies are fascinating...we don't get them here in Australia...

May said...

Fabulous Sandee.. love these great idea.. I might have to make some for my garden in the summer.. Hugs May x x x

Jen @Sadie Inspired said...

Clever idea! Lightening Bugs are so magical. :)

Carolyn Dube said...

Fireflies and ice cream- some(outside of the art community) might think it strange- I think it is inspired!!! How great to have this to look so fabulous during the day and a magnificent look at night! Looking forward to next weeks!

Deborah Verhoeven said...

Oh, those are fabulous! I miss fireflies. It's too hot in Florida for them, I guess.

Lindsay Craftymonster81 said...

Oh what a wonderful idea, your jars look fabulous all lit up, I have never seen a firefly (I don't think we have them here in england) how beautiful. Thank you for joining in with the PanPastel challenge blog
Lindsay xx

Ritu Dua said...

Absolutely awesome :) Just love your jars especially the minty one and I have seen fireflies in my garden...a whole tree lit up :)

Joyce said...

Wonderful! These will be great to do with the grandkids.

Joanna said...

These are beautiful, what a brilliant idea for Summer of color!

Beverley Baird said...

What a great way to do the challenge! Love the colours on both of your jars.

Unknown said...

Really pretty thanks so much for sharing your projects with us at Panpastel UK.

Kerry DT Leader

Gillian .... said...

Super idea and lovely summertime decor, thanks for sharing at PanPastel UK.

Molly said...

ah yes... what a fond memory... running around with jars at dusk, catching fireflies. seems like yesterday!

your jars are beautiful... especially magical when lit up at night. what a creative project!

Daniele Valois said...

oh fab!!! great pics too!

Kathryn Zbrzezny said...

I am a firefly lover too!! At the end of our little road there were hundreds of them the other night, lighting up like twinkle lights, even at the tops of tall trees, and all the way in between. Spectacular! I LOVE your candle jars! What a great idea, especially for the Summer of Color ice creams. I look forward to your next creation! Enjoy those lightning bugs! Kath