Hammer Stitch Burn

Done at last!!!

2011-06-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

I decided I couldn't live without a copy of "Wind Swept" for myself. So I took my little baby to my wonderful casters. We all thought it would be done at the end of the week, but it took almost a month. Turns out, it was really hard to mold and cast because it's so delicate.

I added all the bezel cups. Funny how simple that sentence is, when soldering on all the bezel cups really put my soldering skills to the test. I soldered on 8 fine silver bezel cups ranging from 4mm to 6mm. Then I custom made and added 2 7mm cups for the pretty Peridots. All in all 10 bezel cups for 10 little gems.

Then I added a multi color liver of sulfur patina.

Sanded it back a little to reveal more of the silver.

And began to set the stones, then I set stones, and finally I set more stones. There are Peridot, Blue Adventurine, Green Adventurine, Moon Stones, Rose Quartz, Amethyst, and a lovely little opal. All in all 10 precious gems are sprinkled around this crown.

Now I just have to make one for me. This one is for a wonderfully patient person who has been waiting for me for, about a year. Thank goodness it turned out so cute. I hope she finds it worth the wait.

There are a couple more pictures of the crown on my flickr site. Thanks for sharing this process with me, it's been a lot of fun and very rewarding.

Kitchen Progress 3

2011-04-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

The entire background structure and all the cabinet units for my kitchen are complete. I made the hutch part and the long lower unit removable because I can image using them in other situations. If you want to check out all the progress updates on the kitchen you can go here and here.

What do you think? I'm thrilled!!!

I have more pictures on my flickr site.

I spent hours looking at craftsman color options and I'm really happy with this combo. I think I'm going to try to share all my inspiration images soon. The research was one of the funnest parts of this whole project.

I know the picture in the window isn't to scale, I just clipped it from a magazine, but it gives you an idea of how the window is going to work. I also promised to show how all the "glass" could be frosted instead of stained or clear. So fun and versatile, I love it.

The back splash and counter tops are a slate laminate peel and tick tile. I was able to buy one tile at Home Depot for $1.08, how's that for "bang for the buck"?

The "wallpaper" on the hutch section is from a scrapbook sheet. I scanned the sheet and reduced the image so that the scale worked for my kitchen. I think it adds the perfect whimsical element to the kitchen. The kitchen was getting a little too serious for me.

This picture gives you a better idea of how the structure works. I haven't cut the window in this picture, but I think you get the idea.

And I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I just can't help myself. I'm in love with my "knobs" on the cabinets. They are a tiny brad by Making Memories, with a tiny square element, I found in the 1.00 bin at Micheal's, glued on top. I fully opened the brad so they looked a little more substantial. I think they really give the kitchen the Craftsman feeling I'm going for.

And now I can get down to the fun business of decorating this great kitchen. And to get a jump start on the decorating I made these little baskets to go in the shelves, on the hutch, aren't they sweet?

And speaking of sweet, the sweet treats in the picture above the baskets, are from Kelly, aka tencats, they are so real looking, you just want to pop them in your mouth.

Well the sink is ready, it will be an above counter sink, the hardware just needs a repaint and I'll be happy with it. I also have to build the butcher block table I've mentioned before, but that is on hold until I can decide on a leg. So in in the mean time I'm happy to start decorating, Woo Hoo!!

The Queen of Hearts

2011-04-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

I was able to spend some time in my studio today and I'm thrilled with the results. I finished the "Queen of Hearts" crown. You can find more info on this crown's progress in this past post.

Here it is, WooHoo!!

This did not come out of the kiln as nicely as "Wind Swept". I had to make some minor repairs, BooHoo. But all these repairs went extremely smoothly. And I'm really happy with how it turned out.

This is how the crown went into the kiln.

And this is how it came out, Whaa!!!
Repairs done, Yippee!!

"Queen of Hearts" has ruby briolettes, Swarovski Crystal briolettes and 2.5mm to 4mm crystals in every red color I could get my hands on. They all work wonderfully together to create as much sparkle as I could have wanted on this crown.

I'm hoping to spend some time working on "Wind Swept" tomorrow. I got my bezel cups and I'm ready to solder, solder, solder.

Kitchen Progress

2011-04-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

I find it really funny that I'm making a kitchen. I don't use my real kitchen, but I'm making one, how ironic. Any whoooooo....I've made some real progress on the kitchen, so I wanted to share.

All the cabinets are made.

Almost all the cabinet doors and drawers work. I just couldn't help myself.

The stained glass can be changed out, if and when I get bored, if I want another color scheme, or it can all just be frosted glass. I'll show that option in the next progress shots.

Now all I need to do is pick out wall paper, decide to wainscot or not, make the kick boards for under the cabinets, pick a counter top material, make a counter top, add trim, cut window, attache everything, landscape outside the window, and oh ya, build a butcher block table I can't get out of my head....and the list goes on and on. But I'll get there, one little piece of progress at a time.

Do you ever have one of those days....

2011-04-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

...when you think, "I just shouldn't have gotten out of bed today"? Well that's the day I had yesterday. I was going to spend the whole day working on my Wind Swept and Queen of Hearts crowns, only to discover I was out of 4mm bezel cups. No problem, I'll just pop downtown and get some. Two hours and many miles later, it turns out you can't buy a silver bezel cup in the jewelry district in down town LA. WHAT!! Amazing but true. Did I mention that it was boiling out and all those miles were on foot?

The trip wasn't a complete loss, I popped over to the garment district, and got some wonderful trim you'll see in a future project.

I'd hoped to have a lot more progress to show, but at least I have this to share. I hope you enjoy.

I'm pretty sure this will be a double crown, it can be worn backwards or forwards. I really like to do this, if I can. Sometimes, I make them so they can be worn upside down and right side up, but for this one, the back will be a second front, so here's the back.

I feel like the asymmetry really held up when the crown was bent round. And the PMC pro bent beautifully. I love the tall simple back in comparison to the swirling front. It all seems to work together really well. I'm so happy.

You'll have to imagine the Peridot, Adventurine, Moonstone, and Amethyst stones sprinkled throughout the crown, because you can't buy a silver bezel cup in the Jewelry District, the Jewelry District. I could've bought a diamond the size of my fist but I can't buy a silver bezel cup. Okay, okay, sorry, rant over.

Queen of Hearts has some issues that I decided my luck was not up to yesterday. But I'll tackle them soon and show an update on the Queen of Hearts, maybe next week.

Oh and by the way, I also melted a ring in the kiln that I've been working on for about two weeks. I just shouldn't have gotten out of bed yesterday.

But Wait There's More...

2011-03-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

So the other big project I'm working on right now, aside from the crowns, is a diorama. And if all goes well, hopefully, a series of dioramas.

I stumbled across this really talented artist, Nerea Pozo Izquierdo, she is a painter, but she also makes these adorable dioramas and decorated rooms. Well after staring at every picture on her blog for hours, I was totally inspired to give it a go. Thank you Nerea.

So here's part of the plan for my kitchen diorama

I'm just taking baby steps forward until I have it done. One thing I've learned in my years as a crafter is that if you just do one thing at a time, and just keep going, you will eventually finish the project, no matter how big it seems in the beginning.

So I started cutting...And building....

And testing....

And eventually I get to see?

I'm only about a third of the way through this project and it's going to be a bear, but I'll just keep doing one thing at a time, and then one more, and then one more, and eventually it will be done. That's the way of crafting.

What's in the works?

2011-03-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well...let me tell you....crowns, two crowns, to be exact. These crowns are more than likely going to be my entries for this year's PMC Annual, so they have to be finished by the end of the month. I'm feeling confident that I can get them done in that time frame, but I've got a lot of work between now and then.

The first already has a home. I'm trading this crown with a women in Sweden and I'll share the wonderful thing I'm trading for, when it gets here. For now you'll have to be happy with the crown.

Here's the original sketch

As you can see I'm calling this crown Wind Swept and it's more asymmetrical than my usual work. I was really happy with how this drawing came out. The thing I liked best was the variation in line thickness and I really worried about keeping that look in the execution of the crown.

Here's the first phase of building the crown

And this is the current state of the crown

So far I'm really happy. The look is very close to the original and the feeling is right on. I need to add the texture to the surface of the crown. When it's fired and formed I'll start to add the stones or gems. I'm still debating with myself about 3mm cabs or 3mm gems. I want to wait and see the crown in it's true form, then I can see if it wants adornment or sparkle.

I'm using the new PMC pro for this so I'm a tiny bit worried about all the bending, hammering and soldering yet to come. But I've heard good things about the formula, so I'm hoping for the best.

The second crown, Queen of Hearts, is all for me and my new little lady. It's also going to be made from PMC pro and I ended up deviating from the original sketch quite a bit.

Here's the original sketch

I really wanted to keep the crown as delicate at the sketch so the "snakes" of metal clay that I'm using are between 2 and 3 cards thick, or maybe I should say thin. And I feel like I'm getting the right feel.

Here's my first stab at the crown.

I was pretty happy until I realized that I had gotten one side far shorter and more "cramped" than the other side. So I had to take the exacto knife to the crown. And hence I needed to take a second stab at the crown.

This is how it looked for three days while I got over being super mad at myself for not stopping the second I realized I was getting a little off.

But the PMC pro really was flexible and forgiving and I was able to correct my error and not have to start completely over. I'm very happy about that. I'm not sure I could've made the same major fixes with PMC+, which is what I usually use. The PMC pro really showed it's strength in this phase of the process. And...

Here's the final design.

The Queen of Hearts also awaits it's final texture. When it's fired and formed I plan to hang crystals, and maybe pearls, all over the crown. Really filling the open spaces with elegant sparkle.

And these crowns aren't the only things I've been working on...to be continued...

First Photo Shoot

2011-03-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

Well we had our first photo shoot and these two are my favorites.

There are a few more shots on my flickr site, if you want to see more of the shoot.

I definitely have to get better with the camera now so that I can show you how truly wonderful she really is, these pictures just don't do her justice. But I think I'm going to get a lot of practice sense my head is full of fun ideas of things to make for her. Woo Hoo.

The hat and knit top are handmade by Biscuitbear over at the Enchanted Doll Forum. They are meant to be worn by an Enchanted Doll but I really love how Bohemian she looks in them.

The wait is over

2011-03-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to go into crazy detail because I have about a million pictures to share and I don't want this to be the longest post ever, so I will just say, I ordered a doll from Kelly aka tencats, an amazing artist, and my doll arrive today, Woo Hoo. She actually arrived yesterday but I was working and so they had to come back today. But no matter, she's here now and without further ado

The Box Opening!

I have a muse, and I just love her.

I'm just blown away by her beauty. It was late in the day when she finally got here so the pictures I took in my excitement were not very good. Hopefully I'll do better tomorrow. She is so wonderful I had a very hard time putting her away.

I've been working like a house elf for her arrival and have some fun things to share. So I think this blog is going to get a work out over the next few days and weeks.

Happy Nooking

2011-03-04T19:52:00.000-08:00

I got a Nook for Christmas, and within days I wondered how I had lived this long without it, I love it. As a little tech gadget I didn't think there would be much reason to mention it on my crafting blog. Oh was I wrong. My beloved Nook needed a little carry case and so...let the crafting begin.

I felted "ruined" two sweaters from Goodwill and my Nook has a cute case.

Now if I could get off the public library website, checking out every book I can get my digital hands on for my Nook, maybe I would blog more often. Happy reading and blogging all.

Secret Santa vs. Post Office

2011-01-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

Santa 1; Post Office 0

These are beautiful gifties I got from a wonderful women in Paris as a Secret Santa exchange on the Enchanted Doll forum. And they truly took my breath away as I opened the package today. They are so delicate and wonderful in person, you really can't see how great they are in the pictures. Now that I have these and some other little treats for my future doll, I have to say, the desire for my doll is inexpressible.

The Victorian collection, as I'm calling it. It's it all just wonderful? Everything is so delicate and perfect. The corset and hat are completely hand made. And of course the little pictures are of her beautiful dolls. She has two porcelain dolls and I believe the only resin doll in circulation.Can you believe this details and beauty? And the pictures are truly not doing them justice. They are both truly amazing, but, and I know one should not have favorites, but oh my goodness this hat. I just can't get over this hat. It's just soooooooooooo.....purrrrrr.

And will you look at these adorable little sushi. It makes me want to eat sushi. They are even cuter in real life. Can you tell I'm completely over whelmed by this gift? It's just so fantastic, I'm so happy. Thank you so much Secret Santa(s) for these amazing gifts they really mean the word to me. I can't wait to put them on my future ED. Just so happy today, thank you. Did I mention how happy this made me today?

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-11-17T08:14:00.001-08:00

Sorry I've been away but life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have been crazy lately.....But I'm back and happy to share my birthday gift, from me to me, with tons of help from my wonderful friends.

The wonderful texture is a, one of a kind, collaboration between myself and my friend and fellow artist dona D. It was worked in the computer and "printed out" with a cool new toy of Michelle R's, which I wont talk about here because she is going to do a demo for our Metal Clay guild this year and I don't want to steal any of her thunder, but I will say, this toy is super duper cool.

Michelle gave me the piece of copper, how super nice was that, and we ran it thru her rolling mill with the the "print out" of the design. The stone in the center is chrysocolla and malachite. It's from Cabs by Mitch, my favorite online cab maker. I've had the stone forever and I'm so happy to have finally used it. I had to use both my torches to attache the stones bezel cup to the copper bracelet, wow was that fun. The little round guy is an amazonite. I love the way the blue and the copper look together, they just pop pop pop.

I couldn't be happier with how it turned out and I may never take it off.

Filigree Crown

2010-07-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick post to share my new filigree crown. I made it from sterling silver wire and bezel cups. The focal bead is a Blue Lace Agate and the smaller stones are all Moonstones. The dangles are sapphire Swarovski crystals.

I love how delicate and romantic it is and of course I wanted it to feel vintage, which I think it does. This was my first large scale filigree project and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I've added this crown to my newly re-opened etsy shop. I don't have much in there at the moment, but I really love what I do have in the shop. Thank you for sharing my journey with me.

Barter is Better!

2010-07-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

I love trades. I love the idea of them, the spirit of them, and I love getting goodies in the mail. I recently made a trade with a fellow Enchanted Doll Forum artisan and I got my wonderful goodies yesterday.

I don't have a doll, but Ms. Bunny was nice enough to join me for a Tea Party.

Aren't these goodies just the most amazing things you have ever seen? I really am thrilled to have these little beauties. I hope she is as happy with the Jewelry I sent. Here's one of the necklaces. Sterling Silver filigree and chain with a 5x7 Rodalite and a 4mm Moon Stone.

To Build a Head Dress: Done

2010-07-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy with how this set of Warrior Elf Queen Antlers turned out. The person who ordered this pair wanted a wider stance on the antlers and I love love love how they look like this. They seem more "wild" somehow with this wider stance. I find it so interesting to see my work re-interpreted by someone else. It was a joy to work on this project and I hope their new owner is as happy with them as I am.

To Build a Head Dress: Part two

2010-07-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

So the next little step was to build the Pedicle for the head dress. What's a pedicle you ask? Excellent question. The pedicle is the bony growth that connects the antler to the head bone of the animal. In our case they attach the antlers to the head piece.

They start out as cute unassuming little things. Then they are connected to the head piece and become down right adorable.

The last step is to attach the antlers to the cute little pedicles. And I'll show you the completed antlers hopefully on Friday.

To Build a Head Dress

2010-06-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a little of the process I use to build the Elf Queen Warrior, head dress. I use Silver Metal Clay and roll out snakes to create the shape. I create this shape flat.
This piece goes into the kiln at 1650 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours. When it comes out I carefully bend it into the head shape. And hammer a bit to work harden it.
Next I'll show you how I add the horns.

Marie's Shoes: little change

2010-06-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've sent off my first pair of Marie's Shoes. And in getting them ready to go I discovered a little design flaw. The shoes wouldn't stay on the "feet" unless they were touching the ground. This really would have limited the posing that could have been used for the shoes. So I did a little redesign and added a strap across the back of the shoe. I really love how it looks.
The strap is satin with Freshwater pearl embellishment and button closure. I think it looks really cute and period accurate to boot.
I'm sure that if I had a doll I would have caught this problem a long time ago. But because I've never "played" with my shoes I didn't bump into this issue until I was photographing the shoes with the "feet" in them. So all I can say is; I obviously need a doll...Right?

Goes to Show, You Never Know

2010-06-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

I love silver. Not as an alternative fine metal, but for itself, I love silver. So when I design I always gravitate towards silver. I made my original Elf Queen Antlers in, what else, silver. And I love them. But... someone ordered a set of antlers in bronze and when I got them from the casters I was shocked to find that I am torn between my beautiful silver pair and these new bronze ones.
The bronze is so beautiful. They look so natural and timeless. I really didn't think I would be so blown away, but I am. And it just goes to show you, you have to be open to new materials and techniques as an artist, or you could be missing out.

I'm actually a lot farther along on the bronze antler headpiece, but I wanted to share the pleasant shock and awe I experienced working with bronze. I'll share more pictures soon.

So Very Anthropologie

2010-06-16T10:00:00.001-07:00

As you know I have a love, bordering on obsession, of Anthropologie. I refer to all Anthropologie stores as the "Mother Ship" that's how obsessed I am. That said, the story can begin...My honey (I mean very manly man) found a fire engine red dresser outside our house a few nights ago, brought it in the garage, and set to work. Finally he called me into the garage to ask what I thought and I was blown away.

How Anthropologie is this dresser?

We went to the 3rd Street Promenade "Mother Ship" and got two amazing knobs for it. Can you guess which ones they are? The rest of the knobs we got at Home Depot at a much more down to earth price.

I still smile every time I look at it. It's so wonderfully urban shabby.

Surprises From Across the Sea!

2010-06-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

I got home this afternoon to the most exquisite surprise. A rather large box from Paris on my doorstep. What could it be? Well it was a box full of the loveliest Enchanted Doll Gifties I have ever seen, from Biscuitbear. This was a wonderful surprise to come home to, it's made my day. Thank you so much.

I've read my beautiful book three times.

I've decided my little acrylic Enchanted dolls are going on my tree this holiday season.

And I'm dreaming of ways to use my lovely Laduree box.

The only problem is, now I want a macaroon but I gave up sugar seven years ago, so no macaroon for me.

Elf Queen: Antler's Final Phase

2010-05-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

The Elf Queen Warrior Antlers are done and I couldn't be happier with them. They have taken about twice as long as I thought they would, but it's like they say "Good things come to those who wait."

They turned out beautiful and even better than I imagined.

The antler's are sterling silver and the head piece is fine silver. My initial hope was that the antlers could be removable but their weight made that impossible. A patina has been applied to help highlight the details in the carving. Thank you for your patients and I hope you have enjoyed the journey of this piece as much as I have.

Elf Queen: Phase II

2010-04-21T19:50:00.001-07:00

My plan for the Warrior Elf Queen antler headdress (seen here and here) was to take the original models to a caster and have them cast in sterling silver. Well...do to some unexpected costs, ie: the molds were wicked expensive, I decided that I'd have to do the whole project myself. At first I was worried about this, but I can say now that I'm really happy I did. I learned a lot about the mechanics of casting and this new information will help my design work in the future. So definitely a lemonade moment here.

Anyway... the next step in the process then became making molds of the antlers for lost wax casting.

Here are my babies in the mold frames and getting ready to be covered in two part, pepto-bismol pink, silicone.Actually the pink brick in the pictures holds one of the antlers already. They had to be molded in two separate molds because of their size.

And here's how they came out.

Amazing right? They are so cool. There was a lot of clean-up at this stage but because they are wax it wasn't too hard. I was also able to make some fun modifications to the horns at the same time. The waxes have the same wonderful texture that I was so happy with in the originals and obviously the shape is the same. So I really couldn't be happier.

This week I will be able to make my plaster investment, next week I will pour my first vacuum cast ever, and then I'll have sterling silver antlers. I hope. Cross your fingers for me and check back next week if you want to see how things went.

Marie's Shoes

2010-04-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

I knew that making shoes was going to be hard. Let me rephrase that, I thought, I knew making shoes was going to be hard. But really I had no clue how difficult this project was going to be. But in the end it was so rewarding. They turned out just as I envisioned them.
I love construction and engineering and it's a good thing because this project was all about construction and engineering. I wanted every part of this shoe to be special. So I tried to add as many one of a kind details as I could pack into these small shoes. The exterior texture has the feel of a vintage textile, which is exactly what I wanted. I love it. I also gave the sole of the shoes a cute little bird detail. Is it possible to have to many details in a Marie Antoinette shoe? I didn't think so.
And I'm in love with the heels. They were difficult to get right, but I'm glad I redesigned them a couple times and never compromised, because I really love the way they turned out.
The decorative trim is a ribbon flower I found in a fantastic embroidery book, an amethyst and opalized Swarovski crystal, and an amethyst briolette. I'm also designing a little Fleur de lis dangle that I'm really excited about.

I'm so happy with how these little shoes turned out. And if the crown and necklace turn out half as good as these little beauties, this Marie Antoinette set is going to exceed my wildest exceptions.

Wow it worked!

2010-03-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to show how the antlers have progressed. They look exactly like they looked in my head. That doesn't happen often, so I'm over the moon with joy.

Front View

Side ViewBack View

It's hard to see in the pictures but the texture of the antlers is really nice, all rough and organic feeling. I know I have some more work to do when I get the wax castings back but I'm just so happy with how they are coming along. I'll keep you posted.

And if you are asking yourself how are these antler going to stay on the doll's head? This is a question I have grappled with also. In the sketches you see that one drawing shows a head band with what appears to be the antlers broken off. That is going to be a structural head band that the antlers attach and unattach to. Cool ha! Here's my first run at the head band, in copper.

I like the shape so I'm going to move onto building it in silver. For all kinds of reasons the copper snapped when I tried to bend it to fit on the head model, but that was all user error, so I feel confident to move onto silver.

And if that's not enough, I was busy all weekend at an amazing jewelry workshop with a fabulous teacher. I'll tell you all about it later this week. I made the funnest "Alice in Wonderland-ish" pendant. So stop back later in the the week.

What is with me?

2010-03-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

I'm usually the kind of person that has serious tunnel vision. I get an idea in my head and I can't do anything until I complete it. Because of this, I have a little guilt that I haven't progressed on my Elf Queen project very much. But I have been designing, designing, designing. It's so strange for me. The minute I get the idea on paper, I have another idea I need to get on paper. So here's what I've been up to...

"Marie"

I designed about 10 pairs of shoes and I seriously could have done 10 more. Shoes are super fun to design. But I really like this one, it's clean and looks good both embellished and not embellished, so that makes me happy. I didn't want to create a shoe that would only look nice half covered by ribbons, tassels, and beads.

The crown can be either pearls or gems and I haven't decided which I like better. The pearls and gems are both very pricey so that's a factor. I could do pearls and Swarovski Crystals and that would look beautiful and keep the price reasonable. But I can wait to make up my mind until I have all the metal work done. So no pressure there. I really love the look.

And the necklace is very simple by comparison but I think it will look fantastic with the crown. It will be solid silver with a pearl or gem that matches the crown. It's kind of a cuff necklace. It will be form fitting and rest around the shoulders. Very cool.

I also got some great pictures back from one of my fantastic models Iðunn. She's a modeling sterling silver, rose quartz and freshwater pearl choker. It fits just where I had hoped, so I'm really really happy. And I love her in this blushing pink color. She is so beautiful any color would look good, but I think the pink really enhances her blond coloring. I sent some earrings as a thank you giftie but Iðunn doesn't have the kind of pierced ears that can wear french hooks. Boo Paige. But I really love this picture so I wanted to share it.Well I'm back to the drawing board, literally, for more design work. Seriously what is with me these days? What ever it is, I'm going with it. And I have permission from my good friend and amazing artist M, to just let it happen. So I'm pushing back the guilt and enjoying the design time.

And I'm off

2010-03-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Because "why not take off running the second you learn to stand?", I have started working on a Warrior Woodland Elf Queen set. Why? Because I want my doll, when I get her, to be a Warrior Woodland Elf Queen of course. So she has to have horns/ antlers and a staff. So I've done some sketching and I created my first ever wire armature.
I'm so thrilled with how they turned out. Now full disclosure, the antler armature came before the sketch, because I couldn't sketch them until I had them in front of me 3D. I'm just not that good of a sketcher. But I'm glad I've been sketching the rest.

And I've set a goal for myself to spend a lot more time in the paper design phase from now on. With all the issues of size and scale, not to mention just working smaller than I'm used to, I feel like I need to be more disciplined if I want to continue on this path. And I really want to continue on this path. So from now on you'll see sketches, sketches, and more sketches.

And then............

as if to confirm that I'm going to be fine, I had two more big wins this morning. First we have Arya with a swirl necklace that I just love. I made the earrings also. They have the cutest little ear wires.
I love it so much. I'm so happy the size issues are worked out on this design. The necklace is Sterling silver hammered and shaped by hand with a tourmaline and Swarovski crystal dangle.

Then if that weren't enough Nayana arrived wearing this little crown. Sterling silver and Amazonite. I'm so happy with this crown. The thing I'm most excited about is, I can get away with using a much larger stone in the next design. These dolls are so exquisite that you can really push the design elements without over powering them. I love it.

Put one in the win column!

2010-03-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

Actually make that two, and they both fit. Yaaaa!!!

The first is modeled by the beautiful Amalie and is 2 2mm opal Swarovski's, 4mm Garnet and Sterling silver chain and hook clasp.

The second necklace is modeled by Firenze and is 3mm picture jasper, Freshwater pearl, and Sterling Silver chain and clasp. This necklace is the test piece for a roaring twenties look I'm currently dreaming about.
In order to put this information to the best use I created a new bust, sense I don't own one of these lovely dolls, to check size and fit in the future. The bust is aluminum foil packed and shaped to 3mm-5mm under the dolls measurements. Then I rolled out polymer clay to a thickness of 2 playing cards and covered the foil structure. Double checked the measurements and baked. So far it works great.

The learning curve.

2010-03-08T10:27:00.000-08:00

The problem with the learning curve is... well, it's a curve. So you can't see how much is left in front of you as you travel this necessary, humbling, and sometimes frustrating path. So here's a little more of my journey on the curve.

If your a smart person you make one thing send it off and wait. See the results and make the next piece. Well I'm not a smart person, or at least not a patient person. So I made a batch of things and sent them off and well...you can imagine....

Now all the smart/ patient people saw it coming, the same results as last weeks post. Proportion is great, I'm really happy with that, but size is magically off by around the same amount on all of them. How did that happen? Patient people around the blogosphere are shaking their heads and saying "you should have waited". Well I didn't and I have all these great pictures to share on my blog...taadaaaa lemonade!

But as if like a little miracle from down under. It's true things work differently in Australia.

Crowns and earrings aren't necklaces. Who knew? And with this new boost of confidence and all the knowledge I should have waited patiently for but couldn't, I made my second batch and sent them off to these beautiful women in Sweden, Belgium, France, Australia, and Kalamazoo. Yes I said batch. What can I say I'm not smart. I'm impatient and I'll grab the donuts every time. If you don't get that last one, trust me it won't help if I explain.

So that's been my journey so far. Hopefully I've reach the top of the curve, but it's a curve, so you just can't tell.

I've gone to the dolls

2010-03-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

I've been working on something a little different, emphasis on little. I've been making doll jewelry. And I'm afraid I'm hooked. It's so little and delicate. I even did a little enameling and I mean little. But I have one problem, I don't have an Enchanted Doll of my own. Enter a generous group of doll owners from the Enchanted Forum. And I've been sending my creations around the world for fittings. I've sent to Belgium, France, Sweden, Australia and Kalamazoo. No really Kalamazoo MI, how fun is that? The first fitting is in and...

Oops

I think I just need to add one jump ring. But I also think I can make my hooks a little bigger. They are so small right now, that you almost need a tweezers to hook the necklace. But given this picture the hook could be bigger, making it easier to hook the necklace.

But I did get proportion right. So I'm very happy about that.

The necklace really suits the delicate style of the doll. And that's what I'm shooting for. This and all the jewelry I sent off in this first round of fitting has been very simple and all about size and proportion. But once all the info is in, from these first proto types, I have some really ambitious designs in mind. Think, Crowns and Pendents and Horns, Oh My. I can't wait.

Weekend Eye Candy - Secrets Revealed

2010-02-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

In order to bring you this weekend's eye candy I have to admit to something I generally keep secret. I love dolls...now. As a little girl I never had a doll, I never even wanted a doll. I was quite the tomboy. But as I've grown up I've been drawn to dolls. Not the lace and dolly dolls of old ladies, but beautiful and daring art dolls, like the dolls of Marina Bychkova. I blogged about these beauties awhile back. Well these dolls led me to...which led me to...which led me to...you know how surfing the net goes, but most importantly I bumped into artist, and fellow Enchanted Doll fan, Monika Viktoria.

She has a playful, fantastical and whimsical collection of original artwork on etsy, at crazy affordable prices. Her shop is The Long Lost Woods Boutique. She also blogs under The Long Lost Woods. She is talented, imaginative and as I learned this week extremely nice. Please check out her shop and blog you'll be happy you did. Good Weekend!!

P.S. if I didn't mess up, in a couple weeks, I'll have pictures to share that will prove what a great person Monika is. Until then go snap up her artwork.

We have Guests!

2010-02-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

For the last four years our back yard has been home to a series of humming bird nests. Each time two adorable little hummingbirds fly away from home, from my home. And I'm happy to report that this is year five.

Welcome back little humming birds. I can't wait to see your babies.

Very Happy Surprise

2010-02-23T20:25:00.000-08:00

I came home the other night to a great surprise. A very nice lady in Wisconsin had ordered two pieces from my etsy shop. Woo Hoo.

These are the babies that found a new home.

Off they went today.
I hope she loves them as much as I do.

Weekend Eye Candy - I'm in Love

2010-02-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

I think these are just about the cutest little creatures in the world. They are the creations of "Sweet Bestiary", and I'm in love with them. I think it's the whimsy that gets me, or it could be the imagination. No, I think it's the sweetness in their little faces. I've got it, it's the...okay I admit it, it's everything about them. I just love them. The artist has a blog by the same name. Very inspirational and full of great eye candy. Please check out the blog and shop, you'll be happy you did.

Then on Thursday and Friday of last week...

2010-02-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

OOPs I have to start with a little back story; on February 7th I gave a demo on enameling to the LA chapter of the PMC Guild, the New Metal Artists. A great group of ladies. Because of the demo I had 4 charms in various stages of completion, to show all the steps in enameling. So Thursday and Friday which were cold and rainy, perfect weather for snuggling with a 1400 degree kiln, I completed three charms.

I'm very happy with how they turned out. Two are for the guild's "charms for charity bracelet" project and the other one is for me to do with what I will. Maybe I'll start that charm bracelet I've always wanted.

That leads us to Saturday of last week. A dear friend of mine was in town and totally spur of the moment we decided to go to the Getty. We walked thru the beautiful rooms and talked about art, life, books, and well everything. It was a magical day.
And last, but not least by any means, Sunday I finished painting my living room.

This project has been on my "to do" list for about three years. I don't know how, but it just never got started or finished, until Sunday. Don't think I can paint an entire room in one day. That's superwoman stuff and I'm no superwoman. The painting of the doors and trim started on Tuesday, went to Wednesday, and final touches Thursday night. All in all about 15 hours of doors and trim. Then on Sunday I edged and painted the room, that took about 5 hours. So total running time on this project about 20 hours to a new room. Totally worth it.

It was an amazing week. That's the thing about turning around and focusing on the future. There's so much more to do tomorrow than you can fix about yesterday. Thank you all for your patience.

I've been thinking.

2010-02-17T15:36:00.001-08:00

January has always been a big time of refection for me, and this year was no exception. 2009 was one hell of a year for me, as it was for many. And like Narcissus I got a little caught up in my reflecting. But last week I walked out of my self reflecting cave, back into the sun, and I had the most incredible week.

Monday of last week...

Thru a strange twist of fate my Honey and I met a friend, not for the dinner out we were expecting, but at his gourmet hot dog truck on Abbot Kinney in Venice. We shared a Dogtown Dog and Tatter Tots...they were amazing, I'm so glad the fates twisted. You must check out Dogtown Dogs if you get a chance. And I can highly recommend the Dogtown dog and Tatter tots.

Dogtown Dogs

Then we walked and window shopped Abbot Kinney from end to end. This street is one of the coolest parts of Los Angeles and has several of my favorite galleries. It was a great way to start my new start. Then.....

Tuesday of last week...

I got a rare and very special treat. We went to an invitation only dress rehearsal of "The Subject was Roses" at the Mark Taper Forum Staring Martin Sheen. The play also stars Frances Conroy and Brian Geraghty. If you get the chance you really must see the show.
Marin Sheen first appeared in the play on Broadway in 1964, he played the son home from the war. Now he's appearing in it again, but this time as the father. To watch Martin Sheen live on stage was very special. He's so alive and dynamic. It felt as if he took you by the hand in the opening moment and said "Come with me, I want to show you something". Then he lead you thru the life of the play with confidence and grace. To see Martin Sheen on stage is a treat you will think about often, I know I have. Then on......

Wednesday of last week...

My amazing Honey called and said he had tickets to the theater again, but this time it was a surprise. And I couldn't have been more surprised. I put on my theater duds, and it's a good thing I dressed up, because we ended up at the opening night of "The Color Purple" at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles.

The music and cast were amazing. I cried like a baby. The Color Purple is my favorite book of all time and the musical definitely captures the scope and joy of the book. I'm not an American Idol watcher but the cast reads as a who's who of American Idol. I especially loved the actors playing Harpo and Sofie, and I can't find my playbill anywhere to tell you their names, but they were mind blowing. So an early, but very much loved, Valentine to me.

But it doesn't stop there. On Thursday I played with glass on metal. But you'll have to tune back for those pictures and stories because this post is already waaaaaaaay to long already.

So I'm out of my cave and back on the shore. And it's nice to be back. I missed you all.

Better Late Than Never

2009-12-28T11:37:00.000-08:00

I have a couple last minute Holiday projects to share. This one is a ginger bread house that my friend Taylor and I made. This whimsical little house took about 5 hours to make and was totally worth it.

It was a kit from Michael's but we added a ton of custom details. My favorite is the candy wreath. I cut up a couple of the spearmint candies, then attached them to a peppermint candy, and lastly added red candy dots as holly berries. We also added a lolly pop lane and coconut snow.

I hope you like the last hurrahs of my Holiday fun.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-24T17:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas Everyone

This photo was taken by my friend Victoria J. She took this amazing photo of the Eiffel Tower in 2006 while attending her nieces wedding. Not to get off topic but Victoria took some fantastic pictures of her nieces wedding and the wedding was so beautiful it took my breath away. But back to business.

Happy Christmas and Have a Wonderful New Year!

Confession

2009-12-22T00:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have an confession to make. I'm a huge fantasy story lover, I read any book I can get my hands on, I obsess over fantasy movies when they come out, and yet...I expected Avatar to be so-so. I could not have been more wrong. Avatar was amazing.

I can't remember the last time a movie sucked me into its world so deeply and with such wonder. Well actually I can. Avatar made me feel the way I felt when I saw Star Wars in the drive-in, sitting on the hood of the family station wagon having my mind blown. I was taken to a whole new world, a world that seemed so real so stunning that I felt like I had awoke from the movie, not that the movie had ended.

Now I hate to tell people what to do, buuuuut... you absolutely must see it in 3D, and if you can see it in Imax 3D even better. If you have not seen a movie in modern 3D you must treat yourself and I can't think of a better movie to treat yourself with.

What are you waiting for go to the movies. Happy Holidays everyone.

Weekend Eye Candy - Gift Ideas 4

2009-12-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

I realize this is cutting it close on gift ideas, but if you are a wait for the last minute person, there is always fedEx, Express Mail and UPS one day. You may need to convo the artisans and do a little begging but they say humbling oneself is good for the soul. So here are my final Holiday Gift Ideas, it's now or the mall.

$10.00 and under (stocking stuffers)

1. Arcadia Aromatics - These are solid shampoo bars. How fun is that? Give someone a new and fun shower experience, and still remain G rated.

2. The Twilight Shop - This is the second cool use of a fork I have featured, maybe I have a thing for forks. Can you imagine one of these cuties sticking out of your favorite book? Love these guys.

3. Tortoise Loves Donkey - Terrariums are very hot this year. And this little beauty is a fantastic example of simple and cool. You must check out Tortoise Loves Donkey's terrariums you wont be disappointed.

$25.00 and under

1. Elsita - This shop is a must visit on etsy. This artisan is wicked talented so treat yourself to a visit to her great shop. You will be happy you went. She also has 3 blogs you can visit. I don't think she sleeps.

2. Figs and Ginger - is a husband and wife team making Eco-Friendly sterling jewelry. And if that's now enough, look at how unbelievably sweet these little studs are. Great gift for anyone with pierced...well anyone pierced.

3. Multifarious - Not as evil as it sounds. I really enjoy the work of this artisan and the description on her header would make for a good opening for a book, it says....Although this sounds an awful lot like nefarious and therefore makes me sound a bit wicked... rest assured, I'm too dull to be wicked. It makes me want to read on. Check out her shop you'll be glad you did.

$40.00 and under

1. Janny's Girl - Hats, Hats, and more Hats. If you are a hat person you know what I'm saying. If you aren't a hat person, why not? They are fantastic. And Janny's Girl's shop is a good place to start. This artisan makes fun, pretty, warm and casual hats.

2. Village Clayworks - This whimsical pottery is so fun and happy. This artisan has bowls, plates, mugs,and vases that I promise will make you smile. Pop over and take a look, even if you don't need anymore gifts you will get a warm feeling from your visit.

3. Something's Hiding in Here - And sense we're on the subject of whimsy. This maybe the ultimate in whimsical gifts. Yes, you are looking at a "Mustache on a Stick". I doesn't get more whimsical than that. When you check out the shop look at the pictures of brides with mustaches, so fun.

$60.00 and up (The "A girl can dream, can't she?" category)

1. Mara Goti Joyas - I lust after these earrings, so please someone buy them and take them away from me, then I can sleep at night. You would be doing a public service really. But seriously this artisan has such beautiful jewelry if you miss out for the Holidays, Valentines Day is just around the corner.

2. Compulsive Collection - I dream of owning real Adirondack chairs. So I have to include this fantastic example. The design is so stylish and simple, my back yarn needs two of these chairs. This shop also has some great vintage trays and planter boxes.

3. Ekaa - I think by now we all know I'm loving the color blue. So is it any wonder I love this ostrich purse? I should hope not. This shop is full of great stuff it would have been impossible to pick just one item if not for the beautiful blue on this particular bag. Go check out this shop, I'll wait for you here.

Go check out Such and Such. Lora added a fantastic Weekend Eye Candy. It's really beautiful.

Happy Holidays everyone.

An Oldie but a Goodie

2009-12-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

I know "elfing" is old but it still makes me laugh until tears stream, so I must share. If you haven't seen this you have to check it out at JibJab, so fun. Enjoy.

These little cuties are my niece and nephews.

Okay my first attempt at adding video was a total flop. Here's another option. Let's see if this works better.

Weekend Eye Candy - Gift Ideas 3

2009-12-11T09:38:00.001-08:00

Here are some more gift ideas. It's getting close, time to shop shop shop. So check out the following shops and see if they have what you're looking for to fill out your Holiday list.

Gifts under $10.00

1. Leo and Company - These guys make fantastic organic dog treats. They are healthier than anything I eat, I can tell you that.
2. Chic Earth - "Who knew saving the Earth could look so chic" is this shops motto. Really fun stuff, green and beautiful, check them out.
3. Pretty 'n' Preppy - This artisan makes really nice quality accessories. And I love a good lavender satchel so I couldn't resist.

Gifts Under $25.00 (the Patchwork Long Beach addition)

1. Corrie Hill Design - I met Corrie at Patchwork Long Beach and her baby cloths are fantastic. She is a super nice person, so excited about her work, and the designs are even cuter in person. Check her shop out you won't be disappointed.
2. Chocolate and Steel - Was also at Patchwork. You know how much I love Christine's work so I won't go on and on. But if you're looking for simple and modern Chocolate and Steel is the place to shop.
3. Done by Digits - Graziella was my neighbor at Patchwork. Her hand crocheted stuffies are so nice. They are unique, adorable, cheerful, sweet, and so inexpensive you should snap one up now before she comes to her senses and raises the price.

Gifts under $40.00 (jewelry addition)

1. Copper Frog Studio - Really beautiful jewelry. There is so much great work on this site, I hope you enjoy looking around this shop.
2. Zeal Creations - This is a brand new seller on etsy and the work is really beautiful. Take a look at this shop.
3. Naftali - This artisan makes beautiful polymer clay and sterling jewelry. This is one of first shops I hearted on etsy.

Gifts $60.00 and over

1. Gabriela and Catalin Art Gallery - This art work is really stunning. You have to look at this shop.
2. Darrielle's Clay Arts - I love love love these tumblers. The glaze is so beautiful, the color is wonderful and the tray is super cute. Who could ask for anything more?
3. Jenni Brant's Ceramica - I have a thing for tea cups. I know, who would have guessed it, but I love delicate beauiful tea cups. I love this artists work and hope you enjoy it also.

Check out Lora's blog if you need a bit more Weekend Eye Candy. Have a great one.

My only Holiday Bah Humbug

2009-12-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

Since my family and friends are visitors to my blog, thanks guys, I can't share all the Holiday gifts I'm making. But I can share some of last years little gifties. So here are a couple of last years handmade goodies.

Soap, lotion, lavender satchels, and face masks for most adults

And the kiddies all got Hand Felted Slippers. They were a chore to make but they turned out great.

This was my nieces' pair.

I'm taking pictures of this years gifts and I'll show you all the fun when gifts have been opened and no surprises can be ruined. I hope your hand made Holiday creations are coming along nicely.

Stocking Stuffer Giveaway

2009-12-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

I have a fun giveaway to share with everyone from Michelle over at Cafe Boulet. I featured Cafe Boulet two weeks ago-ish on a gift idea post and Michelle sent me a fantastic coffee cozy to share with everyone for a giveaway. How cool is that?

First I want to show you a few of the great items at Cafe Boulet

Now what will you win? This little beauty.

Michelle's coffee cozies make a great stocking stuffer. We all like to indulge in a little white cup of goodness from time to time. Now you can skip the cardboard cozy, express your personal style, and be green with one of Cafe Boulet's creations.

How to Play;

Go to Cafe Boulet and then come back here and tell me which item in the shop you can hardly live without, and your in. Blog about these fantastic little gifties and come back and comment. You could tweet about it, come back and comment. I think your getting the idea. I will sign you up for the giveaway for everything you do to help get the word out about Cafe Boulet. Make sure you give me your email address so that I can contact you if you are the winner. The giveaway will end on December 10th, I will announce the winner on December 11th, and mail the cozy anywhere in the world.

Good luck and Happy Holidays.

Up-Cycling at its Very Best

2009-12-01T15:15:00.000-08:00

Ken over at Stave Creations up-cycles oak wine barrel staves into beautiful home decor. The wood of the stave is full of character, the color is a rich contrast of deep oak grain, and the history just seems to reach out to you as you hold it. I couldn't help wondering what kind of wine this stave protected, for how long, and I wished I could taste the wine. And all this beauty is green. Ken is an amazing artisan, he has a passion for up-cycling, and he is extremely generous.

Ken's fantastic work:

So if you have a candle lover, wine drinker, or just someone who loves beautiful home decor on your Holiday list get over to Stave Creations you will not regret it.

Wow what a weekend!

2009-11-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Hello my friends. What a crazy, long, fun, productive, and wonderful weekend. I have so much to talk about I actually don't know where to start. So for want of a more creative way to organize things I will start with Thursday.

My Honey and I had a great day. It was just the two of us this year and we had a great time. We laughed our way through cooking a huge turkey and some of our favorite trimmings. Now I'm not going to lie I did miss my Thanksgiving family a lot and kept calling to see where they were in their celebration; Is the turkey in? Is the table set all beautiful? How was your meal? What movie are you watching? But it was fun just the two of us.

Then came Black Friday and Saturday.

Friday and Saturday the New Metal Artists, the Los Angeles chapter of the PMC guild, had a boutique Sale. We had a lot of fun, the jewelry was beautiful, and the sale was very successful. Congratulations to all the New Metal Artist members who participated. We did it!

Than I had a Black Sunday also.

Sunday I did Patchwork in Long Beach and it was great. The view in front of me all day was a show packed with people. And if I turned around this was the view behind me...

Beautiful right? I really can't recommend a Patchwork sale to strongly. The artisans were all of a really high quality and super nice to chat with all day. I have some fun stuff to share on Friday regarding the amazing work of my Patchwork sale neighbors. Whether you're a seller or buyer Patchwork puts on one hell of a show. Thank you Nicole and Delilah for putting on a really wonderful show. They even provided the best weather anyone could have asked for, sunny with a mild breeze.

My weekend was jam packed with fun, friends and sun shine. I hope your Thanksgiving weekend went as well.

Weekend Eye Candy - Gift Ideas 2

2009-11-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

I'm making another bid for buying handmade this Holiday Season with my weekend eye candy. Why buy a gift the recipient can get at the Gap near their house when you can get them a handmade something? And because the answer is "So true" here are some more handmade gift ideas.

$10.00 and under

1. Whimsy and Spice - It was hard to pick one goodie over another but in the end I had to go with the brownie, although a close second was the chocolate marshmallow.
2. Bead Siam - I really love the cool and simple leather bracelets on this site. Click over and check them out.
3. Vervain Savon - These soaps are so beautiful you don't need wrapping paper, just put on a bow and you have a beautiful gift.

$25.00 and under

1. Nature Design - They have all these wonderful wooden items. I featured their great coffee scoops a couple weeks ago.
2. JJ Evensen Art - I love these fork hooks, and check out the Peace, Rock On, and Fork You hooks, hilarious.
3. Dee Beale's Hand Pulled Prints - I love these prints so graphic, simple and elegant. I had a hard time picking just one, so I'm not, I also love the Cornflowers.

$40.00 and under

1. Granny Purse - The clutches available from this artisan are really fantastic. A can't miss gift.
2. Foxy Girl Boutique - Isn't this ring sensational. Anyone would love it.
3. Darrielle's Clay Art - I don't knit but this bowl is killer. Their sponge holders are pretty sweet also.

$60.00 and over

1. Eight Seasons - Okay you are going to love these bags, they are out of this world fantastic. Because I can't pick just one you have to check out Pod Pouch in black also. You won't regret it.
2. Chocolate and Steel - Christine's work is so well made and her finish work is impeccable. And if that's not enough she is having a great Black Friday thru Cyber Monday SALE. Really it's amazing; FREE shipping and a FREE stud earring with purchases over $75.00, you must check it out.
3. Hydra Heart - These shoes are so cool. I want at least three pair but I had to go with the Lotus Mary Janes but the Flora Flats were a very close second.

I hope your Holiday shopping is going well.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

It's just my honey and me, in Culver City for Thanksgiving this year. And I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm actually looking forward to cooking thanksgiving dinner. I almost never cook and by that I mean I almost NEVER cook. So don't worry this will never be a cooking blog. I'm sticking to very traditional dishes; Turkey, mash potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and an experimental stuffing. No green bean casserole because I'm from MN, the only state to have its own word for casserole "Hot Dish", and if I never eat another "Hot Dish" in my life I will die happy. Macaroni and cheese and lasagna are exempt from this hot dish ban. And the honey thinks peas go with mash potatoes so there will be peas. Am I the only one that finds that strange?

I usually spend all my holidays in Stockton and I'm going to miss the French/ Italian/ American fusion thanksgiving my dear friend V puts on. If you think that's not possible, your totally wrong. The turkey is cooked with these amazing Provence spices, there's this, dream about all year, risotto, and a very traditional fruit salad. We all dress up, not too fancy, but just fancy enough to make it special. And in true European style yummy wine in the kitchen, on the table, and in front of the fire after dinner. I'll miss this dinner so much, people and pageantry, but I'm looking forward to spending the day just the two of us.

I hope your Thanksgiving is special, happy, and full of love. I also hope your turkey is juicy and fully cooked.

I love to Gift Wrap

2009-11-24T12:43:00.000-08:00

I honestly think one of the best parts of giving gifts is wrappping them. Today I'm off to get my gift wrapping supplies for my Holiday gifts. So I thought I would share some gift wrapping inspirations. Most are from last year. I think I maybe the only person already wrapping gifts.

The blog Bugs and Fishes has a lot of fun ideas check it out if you can and Wuhao has information on cloth wrapping gifts, very eco friendly.

And can I say gift tags?

I love them. You can find these amazing tags and many many more on etsy;
1. Fancy-Schmancy Letter Press from - Old Tom Foolery
2. Paper Eclectiques
3. Muddy Feet
4. Shim and Sons - also one of my favorite blogs by the same name.

I hope this helps get you in the mood. I know I'm already wrapping and listening to Holiday music 24/7 on Pandora Radio, much to my honey's dismay.

Weekend Eye Candy - Gift Ideas

2009-11-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

For the next few weeks I'm going to use Weekend Eye Candy as a way to share my Handmade Holiday Gift ideas. I hope you see something you love or get inspired to buy handmade.

$10.00 and under

1. Cafe Boulet - They make great green coffee cup sleeves and other accessories for the trendy café goer.
2. Studio Petite - Jennifer Lambein has these super fabulous mini prints for just 5.00. Can you image, art as a stocking stuffer.
3. Intentions - Soap that looks good enough to eat. Intentions makes such beautiful soap, if it looks this good can you imagine how good it must smell.

$25.00 and under

1. Made by Swirly Girl - For the dancer in your life this is a beautiful set of cards. She also sells really great prints.
2. MaReRi - Mareri makes amazing bags and purses. She also has a cool blog by the same name.
3. Pinkkiss Pottery - I love these whimsical striped vases. The pottery in this shop is whimsical and yet classy, really great work.

$40.00 and under

1. Designs by Maya*Made - These are the cutest burlap buckets ever. This shop has a lot of truly original home decor, you will want it all.
2. Pelpa - This London based artist is making the perfect gift for the person who has everything; a handmade, hand painted, one of a kind; finger puppet. Who could ask for anything more?
3. Stave Creations - Talk about beautiful up-cycling. This artisan takes oak wine barrel stave's and makes them into beautiful home decor.

$60.00 and up

1. Ivar's Design - These up-cycled barn wood frames are to die for. The wood in these frames is estimated to be 100 years old.
2. Pink Perch - This is the cutest monkey mobile ever. This shop has the cutest mobiles, there I've said it, the cutest.
3. Bure - Bure Felts - Can you believe these felted slippers are in my shop's colors? I love felt and this shop has some amazing felted products.

Craft Sale Cash Wrap

2009-11-19T00:17:00.000-08:00

One of the things I learned at my first show is that check-out can get a little chaotic. To make the process simpler I created a handy cash wrap station for myself.

I found a vintage box, in this case an old steno machine case.

Then I cut dividers out of card board and covered them with fun fabric.

And voila, looks and works great.

The only thing the images don't show is that I have a clip board velcro-ed to the top with of the case to hold the receipts while I write them out.

Take the Hand Made Challenge

2009-11-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

Now that we are all on the hunt for that perfect Holiday Gift I would like to issue the Handmade Challenge to my friends and family.

With money so tight and the economy so scary we are thinking more about, not just what we want to buy, but who we want to buy it from. If you go to, insert big box store name here, and buy something you are a drop in their huge pile of gold. But if you buy from, insert name of individual artisan here, you are helping that artisan make a living, stay home with the kids, or helping them support their crafting habit. If you buy hand made you are that artisan's customer and supporter not just a consumer. I hope that sounds as upbeat and fun as I mean it to sound. Take the Challenge, truly unique and one of a kind gifts are in your future.

And don't worry I'm not going to abandon you to the wolves of finding hand made gifts. I have some ideas for you and I will be sharing a ton of them over the next month and a half.

A great place to start your hunt is on etsy, Paper Stitch, 1000 Markets, or one of the other handmade market places. I will share more in the next post.

okay now for the gift ideas. I have 4 categories: $10.00 and under, $20.00 and under, $40.00 and under and $60.00 and over. I hope you enjoy them and get inspired.

$10.00 and under from Nature Design

Standard size coffee scoop to measure the quantity of coffee to coffee machine. These may also be used for simple decoration or as a souvenir. 15g (4.5 x 1.5 x 1.2 inch). These super cute coffee scoops would make a great stocking stuffer or teachers gift.

$20.00 and under a print by artist Elle J.Wilson

All her prints are individually printed by the artist. They are printed on Specialty Bockingford Watercolour Inkjet paper, which gives the print the look and feel of an Original watercolour. Each print is hand-signed, titled and numbered by the artist Elle J. Wilson and comes with a Signed Certificate of Authenticity.

I have one of these prints and I absolutely love it.

$40.00 and under a sweet ring from Chocolate and Steel

Christine's work is really lovely, impeccably finished, and loved by many. This ring is made of reclaimed fine silver. It is a beautiful pure bright silver. The ring band is roughly 1/8" wide and has a hammered texture on the outside. The tiny heart is stamped deep into the organic shaped metal, oxidized and measures about 3/8" in diameter.

And on a personal note Christine is a warm, giving, and inspiring person who I'm glad to call a friend.

$60.00 and over this sweet bag from Thongbai Tatong

This item ships free, all the way from the Netherlands, to anywhere in the world!

The exterior of the bag is made of dark grey home décor cotton with floral print in camel color. The middle part, the top and the straps are made of medium weight cotton canvas in coordinating camel color. The three appliqué flowers in the middle are made of black cotton canvas. Contrasting red hand stitches around the applique and red machine stitches on the exterior, including the straps, are added to give some fun and unique look to the bag. The lining is made of natural unbleached cotton. There are five interior pockets of different sizes and one pen slot. They are made of unbleached cotton and lined with beautiful home décor weight floral cotton print.

I hope you liked my first four ideas. You will see many many more.

I'm an Ad Man - And Give Away Alert

2009-11-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick post to do a little bragging and pimping.

The pimping is to tell everyone that Christine of Chocolate and Steel is having a give away hosted by etsy stalker, one of my favorite sites. You can win the fantastic heart ring featured in the above ad. She is showcased and gave them a really fantastic interview. Christine is upbeat and inspirational, the interview is a must read. So go check it out.

And the bragging is that I created the above ad for Christine and I think it turned out really nice, if I do say so myself.

A Display is Born; last entry

2009-11-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

As you all know, I've been obsessed with creating my display for craft shows. See Parts 1, 2, and 3 if you doubt me. Well this Sunday I put the display to the test at the Rose Bowl Flea Market/ Arts and Craft show and it was a success. I got several compliments on the display from other vendors and Christine of Chocolate and Steel said the colors really popped. I really value her opinion so that made me happy.

I think the only things you haven't seen are Table 2 and any of my work on the displays, so lets start there.

Here's table 2. I'll be tweaking it a little but I'm mostly happish.

And Here's table 1 all dressed up with my work.

And last, but not least, here's how are booth looked all together.

And now you probably want to know if I hit my target budget...Yes. WhooHoo. So the final tally is thus:

Table clothes; Michael Levin Loft 2.00 a lbs cotton fabric. $10.00
Frames; Michael's Arts and Crafts 1.00 pine frames. $10.00
Floral Foam; Michael's Arts and Crafts $8.00
Potpourri; Michael's Arts and Crafts. $10.00
Blue Craft Paint; Michael's Arts and Crafts. $2.00
Grand total $40.00

I'm so excited. Now, full disclosure, before the SD show I did buy a cool sign for $25.00. And I bought a vintage box for $8.00 to turn into a cash register, which I will show you soon. So at the moment I have $73.00 invested in my booth. But I think I have done a good job not braking the bank for this part of my new business. And although the frames may be an obvious choice, I really like the way the whole thing has turned out.

Tell me what you think of the final product. I would love to here your thoughts.

A Display is Born; part 3

2009-11-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

I know I'm suppose to do a weekend eye candy, but I'm so excited about how my display is coming together I just have to continue with this series. As you remember the challenge is to create a stylish display on a $40.00 budget. So far I have altered some $1 frames from Michaels, added felt to floral foam for in the frames, and now I'm adding decorative potpourri. Yes I said potpourri.

While at Michaels trying to get materials to bring to life the inspiration I got from Anthropologie I gathered all these organic "objects de art" from the floral section, you know the stuff I'm talking about. But it was so expensive I realized there was no way I could buy the variety of items I liked. Then I spotted a big bag of potpourri. It had several interesting organic elements in one $10 bag, problem solved.

Here's the potpourri just out of the bag.

And here are some of the visual vignettes I created with it.

Money spent to date 29.00. Table two is giving me more problems than table one. Aargh! I'll try to show it to you tomorrow or later today.

A Display is Born; part 2

2009-11-05T00:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks for stopping back. Yesterday I told you about my display inspirations, frustrations, plans and what I did with the Michaels $1 frames. Today is all about the floral foam and how the frames and foam came together. The color in the bottom pic is more accurate. Why do colors change so much from picture to picture sometimes? Aargh!!

I painted the foam for the picture frame inserts with the same blue that I used on the frames and glued brown felt, in this case a felted jcrew men's sweater, to the front. As a total aside, I find that jcrew wool sweaters felt up beautifully. Now back to the topic at hand. Half way thru painting the foam I started to worry I would run out of paint, so I didn't painting the foam inserts for the boxes, that's why they are still white. I think this is going to bite me in the bum, because I have plenty of paint left, but now that I have added the felt there's no good way to paint the box inserts. Boo.

Here is the total effect so far. Table #1 done.

I'm very happy with how this table came together. I have real concerns about table two.

Frames - $10.00
Foam - $9.00
Cheese boxes, bamboo boxes, felt, and decorative stickies - in house.
Spent so far - $19.00
Money remaining in budget - $21.00

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you table two and what I did with the potpourri. So far operation "low/ no budget but nice" is a success.

A Display is Born

2009-11-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

I have my first LA Craft show this Sunday November 8th at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. And I'm just now getting my display put together. I know crazy last minute right? And if you knew me you would know that I'm not usually a last minute person. But I've had a hard time getting all my ideas to come together into a cohesive design. So for inspiration, I spent this past weekend in my personal retail "mother ships", Anthropologie, Santa Monica and Hollywood. I love these stores, I always feel like they have somehow gotten in my head and set up the store just for me. I can't afford to buy anything at Anthropologie put I love to "shop" there.

Awash with inspiration I hit Michael's. I got 10 frames, $1 each, floral foam, and potpourri. I already have my table fabric at home. My hope is to put together a light weight/ versatile display for about $40.00, using the items from Michael's, things I have around the house, and the inspiration I found at Anthropologie.

First up the dollar frames, bamboo boxes, and cheese boxes from my aunt. $10.00

I gave the frames a "Blue Wash" with watered down craft paint in my HSB blue and then.....Check in tomorrow and hopefully I will show what's up with the floral foam. Cross your fingers it all comes together. Attractive and low/no budget is a hard combo to pull off. I'm almost bald from pulling my hair out.

Weekend Eye Candy - Jewelry

2009-10-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

There is so much talent on etsy. I just typed in jewelry and got 54,000 pages of choices and I found these 9, brand new to me, talented people and I barely scratch the surface of those 54,000 pages. I hope you enjoy the work of these talented artisans as much as I enjoyed finding them.

And here is where you can find them on etsy:

1. Kommara
2. Katherine Sheetz Designs
3. Mary and Jane
4. Kelly Reece
5. Marcus Berkner Jewelry
6. Lemonade Handmade Jewelry
7. String Beadz
8. What Katie Did Next
9. The Beaded Lilly

Check out the rest of the eye candy this weekend from:

Lora at Such and Such
Michelle at The Ornamentalist
Christine at Chocolate and Steel

Sorry Ming

2009-10-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

I promised a fellow Los Angeles Metal Clay Guild member and friend, Ming, that I would post a tutorial on how to make these cute little earring stands.

And I have not gotten around to it yet. But I plan to get to this post on Wednesday. Sorry Ming. But I did re-arrange my studio so it's a lot more user friendly.

Here's the old studio set-up.

I sat at the comfy desk chair. If I needed to enamel or solder I had to go to the other table. I also used the end of the Metal Clay table to do my sewing.

And here's the new and improved set-up.

I still sit in the comfy chair to do my Metal Clay work. But now if I need to enamel or solder I just swing around and pull the chair up to other table. And thanks to the dream team I can set up the sewing machine anywhere in the room when the sewing bug bites.

I'm also able to use the window better for my etsy photos and I think the new photos are better than the old ones. So all in all I'm very happy with the new set-up.

Weekend Eye Candy - Small World

2009-10-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

Or should I say small worlds? I love terrariums. And here are some of my favorites of these small wonders.

You can find the amazing artisans making these living art pieces in the following etsy shops;

1. Funk• tion•al
2. Doodle Bird Designs
3. Teresa’s Plants and More
4. Wee Green Spot
5. Doodle Bird Designs
6. Coco Honey
7. Tortoise Loves Donkey
8. Knotty Nature Art
9. Augury

Check out the other weekend eye candy from;

Lora
Christine
and
Michelle

The Bags my new team created

2009-10-14T01:08:00.000-07:00

As promised here are the bags my little dynamic duo created.

I'm going to make more of this long design.

This tall design doesn't work for me so I'm not going to make anymore in this style.

This is the liner inside the long yellow bag.

And the side view.

How Lucky am I?

2009-10-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Super lucky. My friend and amazing artisan dona di Carlo has been cleaning out and creating a studio in her garage. A couple months ago she gave me this little beauty.

Isn't it just the cutest thing? Lucky me right?

A week or so later I'm walking my dog; this sounds like it doesn't go with the beginning of the story, but wait, it all comes together; I'm walking the dog and I come across someone giving away two cool old wooden card tables. They are in good, not great, shape but they are wood not crappy aluminum and cardboard. So Magnet and I end our walk with two wooden card tables in tow. Again lucky me. When I get the tables home I notice one has a strange cutout.

Now you see how the stories are coming together. Fast forward to Friday night and a sudden urge to sew. Out comes the card table and I figure out how to open the insert. Now I thought the opening was way to big for the little singer. But when I get it open I see that the holder is much smaller than the opening.

I cross my fingers and...It's a perfect fit.

And I mean perfect, there are even these cutouts in the sheet metal for the fly wheel and the plug.

And look at how flush it sits with the table.

One more pic just because I'm so happy about this convergence of events.

I can't believe I was given a great little sewing machine then found, on the street, the table that was designed to hold it. Again I say how lucky am I? Super lucky.

Tomorrow I'll share the bags this little dream team whipped up.

Weekend Eye Candy - Wild Things

2009-10-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

I'm about to make the most personal admission I have ever made on my blog.... I'm deeply afraid of Birds...yes even little finches scare the bejibbers out of me.

I share this because this fear informs one of my most important core beliefs. I fear birds, I don't hate birds. For many of us the things we fear become the things we dislike, or even hate. In a way I'm glad I fear birds, it gives me a chance to remember that the things I fear, or don't understand, don't have to be, or become, the things I hate. I fear birds, I don't hate birds.

Now lets look at these scary beasts.

You can find these beautiful bird creations in the following shops on etsy;

1. Studio of Madelaine Fedorowich
2. Siempre La Lucha
3. Retro Ranch
4. Pesky Cat Designs
5. Chocolate and Steel
6. Red Hot Pottery
7. Mad Art
8. Lulu Bug Jewelry
9. Blenda Studio

Check-out the other Weekend Eye Candy from;

Lora
Michelle
and
Christine

I'm Baaaack!

2009-10-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been MIA for the last month but I had to get ready for my very first show and it was a lot of work. As you all know.

The show went great all things considered. I thought the show was much, much, much, bigger than it was, note to self: get a second source for all numbers you get off the internet. I don't think there was any intentional deception, just an honest but vague number that could have been interpreted in many ways, and I interpreted it wrong. All part of the learning curve. The silver lining to this sad tail is that I have all the product I need to get me thru the holiday season and into the next year. I'm feeling very ahead of the game at the moment. I will be adding it all to my esty site over the next few weeks so take a look at the store when you get a chance. I'm really proud of the designs for this year's jewelry.

Enough of the nuts and bolts, lets look at some pictures.

This is the beautiful campsite I stayed at in South Dakota. I didn't get to do any hiking or horse back riding this year but next year both will be part of the plan.

This pic was taken during set-up. I could never have done the sale with out a lot of people be incredibly kind to me. I hope I remember you all here, I'm humbled by your generosity. Pam, a fellow member of the LA PMC guild loaned me the black table cloths that made up the base of my table displays.

My uncle built all the beautiful displays you see in the next pictures and mounted the beautiful root in the above picture. A ton of people said they came to look at my booth because the display looked so interesting from across the show. The booth would have been nothing with out his help and artistry. I'm just sad it all had to stay in South Dakota, I would have brought it home in a heart beat. Thank you.

Michelle at The Ornamentalist loaned me some extra pieces of leather. They really helped define the display areas and added great visual interest. Michelle also gave me support, encouragement, play dates to explore, and so very much more, thank you Michelle you are a wonderful person.

This last picture is of me making my first sale. My aunt took the picture and worked the booth with me both days. I think I totally wiped her out. She probably needed to nap for a week after I left. She also spent endless hours, and I mean endless hours, on the phone helping me organize, encouraging me to continue, and just being amazing, thank you, you mean the world to me.

Also thank you to everyone who let me pick their brains about what the heck to do. Christine at Chocolate and Steel, honestly you are an inspiration to me and I don't think I would have gotten this far without your generous flow of information. Lora Hart of Such and Such you have been so kind and giving in these months leading up to this sale, thank you. dona DiCarlo for all your positive feed back, you always gave my ego the boost it needed and it needed it, thank you.

And last but definitely not least thank you to you, my poor blog readers, for your patients with my little break. I have a ton to share, like my cute little earring displays and my fun cash wrap in a case so hopefully you will forgive me and come back for the payoff.

Weekend Eye Candy - Hats

2009-08-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

I love hats. I have a really great collection and I'm always looking to add to it. So for today's eye candy I thought I would share with you some of the hats on my hat wish list. I hope you enjoy.

You can find these amazing milliners on etsy in the following shops:
1. Bonnies Knitting 2. Liza Rietz 3. Nadine New York 4. Leatherhead Originals 5. Couture Millinery 6. Retro Repro Handmade 7. Moe Sew Co. 8. Twigs and Honey 9. Couture Millinery

Don't forget to check out the rest of this weekend's eye candy from Lora, Michelle, and Christine. Have a great weekend.

I'm back.

2009-08-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

I was off the internet all last week while I was in MN. Except for a couple trips to a free wifi zone. Sunday, I called home to say I was coming home and I was going to get online and stay online until my head and eyes popped. Then I was informed that our home internet was down. I almost cried. But thanks to a 10 minute visit from Time Warner, I'm back online, and I didn't die of withdrawal. But it was a close thing.

Now onto important business...

I need a banner for my show. This is the design I have come up with it's 4' x 2.5'. What do you think?

This?

Or this?

Does the picture extended all the way under the flourishing on the left hand side look muddy? Or does the picture cropped look strange? And if both are true, which bothers you less?

Weekend Eye Candy - Minnesota Edition

2009-08-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

I'm visiting family this week in Minnesota, my state of origin. Minnesota is so beautiful I want to share it with you for this weekend's eye candy. I hope you enjoy my great birth state.

You can find the amazing photographers who took these shots on flickr:
1. Scott County, Minnesota, 2. Float Plane ride, 3. Split Rock Dawn at -55 degrees, 4. Cascade Falls - Lake Superior, 5. Northern Glow, 6. Duluth Minnesota, 7. Stone Arch Bridge Minneapolis Minnesota, 8. Minnesota Farmland Near Harmony, 9. Minneapolis Winter Cherry , Spoonbridge, Minnesota

You might ask, "If it's so beautiful why don't you live there?" And my answer would be "because I'm a total wimp and for 6 months a year it could be 40 degrees below zero on any given day. And did I mention what a wimp I am?".

Don't forget to check out all the Weekend Eye Candy from;
Such and Such
The Ornamentalist
and
Chocolate and Steel

Weekend Eye Candy - The Enchanted Dolls by Marina Bychkova

2009-08-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I've been very MIA from my blog all week. I've been very busy trying to get ready for my first ever craft show. But, I'm about to make my bloggy absence up to you, and in a big way. While surfing flickr, at midnight, coming down from work, work, and more work, I found Marina Bychkova. Actually I found her photographer, Chad Isley, at least I think he's her photographer. But whoever he is, he brought me to Marina and I'll be forever grateful. And now I bring her to you. I hope you enjoy her work with the same jaw dropping delight that I did.

I could keep adding photos all night but I will stop here. I am not affiliated with this artist in anyway, I just really, really, really want one of her dolls.

Check out the rest of this weekend's eye candy from;
Such and Such
The Ornamentalist
and
Chocolate and Steel

Weekend Eye Candy - Undiscovered Talent II

2009-07-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to highlight some more of the fabulous undiscovered talent on etsy. These great artists have not made their first sale...yet. I hope they make that first sale very very soon.

You can find these great artisans in the following shops on etsy;

1. Carbon Footprints 2. The Bow Spot 3. Von Chandler Imaginarium 4. Lime Green Rhinestones 5. Tenebra’s shop 6. Lady Pym 7. Vervain Savon 8. Jen’s Bags 9. Mystic Fibers

Check out the rest of this weekend's Eye Candy from;

Such and Such
Chocolate and Steel
The Ornamentalist

Best of my Friends and Family - Wednesday

2009-07-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures while in graduate school. These first two pictures are from the show Twelfth Night. It was fantastic. The people are my friends/ family/ fellow classmates Tim, Gena, and Naila.

These next 2 photos are from the show that was in rep with Twelfth Night, The Rover. The stage and lighting design for this show was really beautiful. The people in these photos are Kat, Paul, Nico, Mike, Victor, Pamela, Carolina. and Gena.

I love these pictures. Doesn't everyone look great? Enjoy.

Business Cards

2009-07-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to design my business cards. I have two designs I like, take a look and let me know what you think.

I'm also curious if you think I need to include a phone number on my card? Is it unprofessional without a phone number?

Weekend Eye Candy - Paths

2009-07-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

These images speak to my current state of mind. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

You can find these amazing artists on the following flickr pages

1. Lars van de Goor 2. Edward Dullard 3. Astanse (Angela) 4. Lizza0222 5. Hans IH 6. kweaver2 7. Angela7Dreams 8. Art by Chrysti 9. Ginger

There is more Weekend Eye Candy available from;
Such and Such
Chocolate and Steel
The Ornamentalist

Have a great weekend.

YA....First Etsy Sale....YA

2009-07-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

And I also want to announce that I made my first etsy sale YA YA YA did I mention YA. A very nice lady from North Carolina ordered my Rustic Leaf Earrings. I'm so excited to have made my first sale.

This person has no idea, but she will have a very special place in my memories. I know that sounds corny but it's true. You should have read the first 12 drafts of that sentence sappy, sentimental and corny, all true but my stoic MN roots required that I simplify to just corny.

I made the ultra suede pouch and I really love the way it turned out, so I'm definitely keeping the pouch. I made the thank you card and like it also, so that's a keeper, but it seems a little bare. I know I need to add a business card but does anyone have any fun suggestions on a little something to add zing, without breaking my piggy bank. All input appreciated.

Grab Bag Post

2009-07-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry my Monday post is coming on Wednesday. I was visiting Christine of Chocolate and Steel on Monday. She did her first wholesale/ gift show. Her booth was lovely and she seemed really happy with the results.

Here's some of her great work so you can see why she did so well. I'm sure she will talk about The California Gift Show and Renegade on her blog soon.

Then I spent all day Tuesday helping a friend, and amazing artist, dona di Carlo organize her studio so she can host a PMCC certification class with the amazing Lora from Such and Such.

Some of dona's amazing jewelry.

And I still have to make a million pieces for my first craft show in September. I'm a little crazed. So nothing really goes together today it's a "grab bag" snap shot of my busy week.

Giveaway winners, yes that winners plural. Since Christine and Tamara were the only two interested in the animated gif I decided to make them both winners.

Here's one in action,

So ladies, pick a style that you like and send me an email to hsb@paigelitfin.com, we'll hammer out the details size chances, color changes, add logo, what do you want it to say and things like that. And thank you for entering.

Weekend Eye Candy - Visiting the Old Haunts

2009-07-17T11:25:00.001-07:00

This week I found myself looking around my old etsy haunts. Visiting my etsy favorites and checking out what's new. I hope you enjoy visiting my etsy haunts for this weekend's eye candy.

You can find these amazing artisans on etsy in the following shops:

1. Steel Toes Studios 2. Chocolate and Steel 3. Lora Hart Jewels 4. The Peppermint Forest 5. Jennifer Kahn 6. The Builder’s Studio 7. Meetalls 8. Copper Frog Studio 9. Lulu Bug Jewelry 10. Lizards Jewelry 11. Sonya Rasi Jewery 12. Njia Studios 13. Rainbow Swirlz 14. Tui Zui 15. Made by Swirly Girl 16. The Abbey James Co.

And checkout all the other great Weekend Eye Candy from

Such and Such
The Ornamentalist
Chocolate and Steel - Christine is actually taking this week off eye candy to do the LA Gift show, Good Luck Christine, but check out her blog anyway, it's great.

Renegade LA - Fantastic

2009-07-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday I went to Renegade LA with my friends and fellow bloggers Lora at Such and Such and Michelle The Ornamentalist. The show was fantastic. This was my first Renegade show and I could not have been more impressed. I want to share a couple of my favorites from the show.

The amazing Christine Street of Chocolate and Steel

Adriana Osborn of In-Vita Paper Studio

Kurt Van Maarth of Swearjar Design

and Appetite

Honestly there were many many more like Karlee Fuchs, Amy Lucas McClure of Olaria Studio, David at Survive Design, Kate Burge and Rachel Price of Spincycle Yarns, Lucymachine Jewelry...and on and on. It was just a great show. Congratulations Renegade and Bravo Sellers.

Weekend Eye Candy - Ode to the Pooch

2009-07-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I would do a little "Ode to the Pooch" for this weekends eye candy because well, I love my dog, all dogs really. I hope it inspires you to scratch your pet's ears.

You can find these amazing artisans on Etsy in the following shops.

1. My Pooper Scopper 2. Campfire Designs 3. Art by Elle J. Wilson 4. by Nicola 5. Strawberry Luna 6. Cristina Ashley Designs 7. Le Petit Garage 8. Lucky Fiona 9. Gracious May

Check out the other great, and I'm sure more elegant, eye candy from the rest of the Weekend Eye Candy contributors.

Christine
Lora
Michelle

And have a great weekend.

Best of Friends and Family Wednesday

2009-07-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

A few years ago Mike and I went trail riding in the Cloud Peak region of Wyoming with my aunt, uncle, cousin, his daughter, and my parents. Usually I think I take better candid portraits. But it was so beautiful every where you looked, it was hard "not" to take a great picture. Here are a few of the pictures that I love from that trip.

Lake Solitude

Water Fall Feeding Lake Solitude

Weekend Eye Candy - American Folk Art

2009-07-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July Weekend everyone.

These amazing artisans can be found on etsy at the following shops:
1. Door County Woodworks 2. Primitive Prints 3. Folk Art by Catherine Holman 4. Wendell Fiock art shop 5. Folk Art by Campbell Jane 6. Nauvoo Quilt Co. 7. Studio Petite 8. Cathy’s Crafty Covers 9. Tara Treasures

Animated Giveaway

2009-06-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

I want to celebrate my being published with a giveaway. So to honor this achievement in jewelry, this giveaway represents an achievement, for me, in blogging. When I started this blog the idea of editing html caused me to break out in a rash. But my need to customization has forced me to learn a little (wee bit) of html. One of the things I really wanted was a custom made animated link to my etsy shop, which you can see on the right. I really love it. And I want to share, so I’m having an animated gif giveaway. The winner of this giveaway can choose one of the borders below. I'll be happy to make small adjustments; text, colors, re-size, and/ or add logo. "We'll tawlk." You'll just need to send me the images you want rotating in the frame. Then I will send you the animated gif. We’ll also talk if you need help creating the html to make it a link to…wherever.

Here are the choices,Here's one in action,

And here's how you win.

Just leave a comment here about one of your blogging achievements and get one point. If you blog about the giveaway you can get an additional point, but please leave a link to the blog post so I can find the post and give you your extra point. The giveaway will end on Friday July 3rd, 2009 and I will announce the winner on Monday July 6th, 2009.

Weekend Eye Candy - Photography

2009-06-26T23:37:00.000-07:00

These artists can be found on esty in the following shops;

1. Get The Picture 2. Jason Nichols 3. Made by Swirly Girls 4. Irene Suchocki 5. Gary Heller 6. Tony Carlisle 7. Lori Hildebrandt 8. Arnold Blanchet 9. Alicia Bock

Checkout the other Weekend Eye Candy from;

Christine
Lora
Michelle

Best of Friends and Family Wednesday

2009-06-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

This weeks BFF - Wednesday offering is my friend Regina. I love this photo. I know it's mostly the subject, she is beautiful and I love the calm radiant joy in her eyes. But I hit the button, so I'm taking all the credit for the great shot. And I'm happy to report three beautiful babies and still joyfully married.

I'm going to be Published

2009-06-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

OMG! I'm so excited. A piece of jewelry I made is going to be published in this years PMC Annual. I submitted 2 pieces last year and did not get in. But I submitted 2 pieces again this year and I got in. Ya! I'm not sure which piece is being published. I will let you know when I see the book.For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about; the PMC guild, an international guild of Metal Clay artists, for the last three years has published a book of what they deem exceptional work in Metal Clay.
This years jurors: Linda Kaye-Moses, Catherine Davies-Paetz, Bill Griffith, and Terry Kovalcik reviewed 456 entries from 8 countries and 25 states in these United States. 109 photos were chosen to appear in this years book, and one of my pieces of jewelry will be one of them. I'm on cloud 9 and cloud 10.

Weekend Eye Candy - Books

2009-06-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

I love books. I have more journals than I will ever fill, love to read, and I create photo books with iphoto. But have never done any book binding. I've always wanted to but have never tried. So for inspiration, on an unfulfilled hobby, here are some very cool books I found on etsy, for this weekend's eye candy. I hope you enjoy and have a great weekend.

You can find these amazing artisans at etsy in the following shops:
1. Somavenus 2. Double Happiness 3. Evalicious 4. Daily Threads 5. Painted Fish Studio 6. DutchCraftWork 7. Juliehum Creations 8. Quinn Bookbinding 9. Campbell Raw Press

And don't forget to checkout;

Such and Such
The Ornamentalist
Chocolate and Steel

for more great Weekend Eye Candy.

BFF

2009-06-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

Okay I'm over the age of 15 so BFF can mean whatever I want it to. So, for this blog BFF will stand for Best of Friends and Family - Wednesday.

My favorite photos aren't the zen photos that fit the idea of Silent Wednesday. But I have a ton of, what I think are, great photos of my friends and family. And I want to share them, and some of my zen photos, here on my blog.

First up, my beautiful niece Abigail.

Here's the original photo cropped, sharpened and how I will give it to my sister.

And this is how it will look on my wall.

I love the old fashioned look to this Lomo action from Action Central. Action Central is a great resource of free actions you can add to photoshop and one of my favorite haunts. I hope you enjoy.

Treasure Hunting Weekend

2009-06-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

Hello it's great to be back. I took a little blog-cation last week. But I'm back this week with my creative juices jazzed by a weekend of treasure hunting. The Gem Show was in town....sooooo dangerous. I spent many hours with Lora over at Such and Such going from booth to booth drooling over all the purty shiny objects. Amazingly enough I stayed in my assigned budget. Then on Sunday the PMC Guild in LA the New Metal Artists had a "Trash to Treasure" meeting. Everyone brought items they no longer wanted and we bartered, traded, swapped freebies, and generally had a great time. Lora has a much better description on her blog, check it out. So here's my haul.

And I'm proud to report it is all safely entered into my component data base. I have spreadsheet I have been working on for pricing my work in my etsy shop. The first page is a spreadsheet for pricing a piece and the second page is a data base of my components and what they cost. It's extremely handy. I'm trying to get it all together to offer a class. But I must admit I have missed almost all my self imposed deadlines. It's turning out a little harder than I expected. But I will "keep on keeping on" and hopefully sometime soon it will all come together. I'll keep you updated.

Weekend Eye Candy - Blog discovery

2009-06-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

This week's eye candy is all about finding amazing artist through your blogging friends. I have been a follower of my friend Lora Hart's blog Such and Such from it's beginning. Through Lora I have been introduced to some incredible artist's. This mosaic highlights only a few of the talented people Lora has introduced me to through her blog. I have had the honor of meeting in person three of the talented people in this mosaic, thank you Lora, Christine at Chocolate and Steel, Michelle "The Ornamentalist", and Maggie at Play! Design! Create! and someday I hope to meet them all.

1. Maggie Bergman 2. Celie Fago 3. Ag Jewelry Design 4. Chocolate and Steel 5. Lora Hart 6. Silver Garden 7. L’Ange Est Lá 8. Lizard’s Jewelry 9. Michelle Ross

I'm off to check out all the great Weekend Eye Candy.

Such and Such
The Ornamentalist
Play! Design! Create!
Chocolate and Steel

Look how are weekend eye candy family is growing. Christine is doing Renegade Brooklyn so I think she took the weekend off. But check out her blog anyway.

Crafting Coast to Coast

2009-06-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

I want to do a little pimping for my friends Lora and Christine and for the crafting community in general. There are two great craft shows happening this weekend June 5-7, 2009. The Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn NY and the Contemporary Craft Market in Santa Monica.

The fabulous Lora Hart will be in the Contemporary Craft Market here in California at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium - Friday, Saturday and Sunday. June 5 - 7, 2009.

FREE admission and more info on the show can be found at the Contemporary Craft Market’s website.

Here are some of the other artists who will be at the Contemporary Craft Market.

1. Hannie Goldgewicht 2. Anna Tai Enamels 3. Diane Komater 4. Christine Chapter Moorhead

And the amazing Christine at Chocolate and Steel will by in the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn NY - Saturday and Sunday June 6 + 7, 2009 from 11am - 7pm, at McCarren Park.

The Renegade Craft Fair is FREE to attend, and open to the public. Take public transportation to the Fair by hopping on either the G or L trains to Brooklyn. Hop off at Bedford Ave. and walk north to McCarren park if you’re riding the L Train or, if you’re riding the G Train, get off at Nassau and walk two blocks south!

Here are some of the other artisans who will be at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn.

1. Dhara Holistics 2. Alison Tauber 3. Albertine Press 4. Beth Pohlman

If you are in the LA or NY areas please check out these crafting venues and support the fine artists involved.

Weekend Eye Candy - Undiscovered Talent

2009-05-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Christine over at Chocolate and Steel has this really great feature, where she highlights some of the great undiscovered talent on etsy. I really love this idea, so my Weekend Eye Candy this week features all undiscovered talent over at esty. These folks have created some really great work and are yet to have the sales they deserve.

These artisans can be found on etsy in the following shops;

1. LRP.Photo 2. Sterling Roots 3. Jen Kiaba Photography 4. Nap. Play. Bark. Love Barklee. 5. The Peppermint Forest 6. Unusual Birthday Cards 7. Karen Sam Norgard 8. Foursight Designs 9. Jane E. Roberti

Now I'm off to Such and Such and Chocolate and Steel for their weekend inspirations.

In the Beginning....

2009-05-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

One of the known side effects of crafting is accumulation. But this happens slowly over time, so rarely do we see the evidence staring us in the face. But, this weekend, I had to open my old photobucket account and I found a picture of my original PMC workspace. This is from 2006 when I got my first packages of PMC.

That's how innocently it all began. And now...I have two worktables..

And several storage units for...well...stuff. This is my favorite cabinet, and the only piece of furniture in my workshop that I actually paid money for, everything else is street finds or hand me downs.

Thanks Boy's and Girl's Club of Venice.

And this one is my favorite table top storage piece, an old cigar box with drawers. Isn't it the sweetest thing you've ever seen?

Thank you Kate.

And that doesn't even begin to address the tools, tools and more tools I have accumulated during this short 3 going on 4 year period.

Aaaaand I have the closet you saw in my "Order Restored" blog from a monthish ago. Wow, where did it all come from? Don't get me wrong, I love my stuff and wouldn't change a thing. But seeing the humble beginnings this weekend, then looking at all that I have now, and thinking of all the stuff on my wish list...I was a little amazed.

Weekend Eye Candy Circus

2009-05-22T08:19:00.001-07:00

I love handmade bath and body yummies. They are a great way to pamper myself without blowing my very tight budget. And, as you have read before, my budget calls the shots around here. So it's nice to find things that I can buy and really enjoy, guilt free.

You can find these amazing artisans on etsy, at the following shop locations;

1. JM Creative 2. Made1ine Bea Soap 3. RiffRaff 4. The Abbey James Co. 5. Heathen’s Hearth 6. Earthway Soap 7. In a Lather 8. Anderson Soap Company 9. Enchanting Soap Favors

I hope you have a great weekend. I'm off to Such and Such and Chocolate and Steel to check out their great eye candy.

A Bag is Born

2009-05-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Sewing is not my first language. I like to create my own patterns but I don’t think in fluent “sewing”. This means I have to construct things to realize that they totally don’t work. But I have a really hard time reading other peoples patterns: because I don’t think fluent sewing. It’s a vicious circle.

But for this project all I wanted to do was rework the pattern I created for a felted bag. I just wanted to simplify the bottom construction. That should be super simple, right? Well not if you don’t think “sewing”. So I got this little mess at first.

It turned out about 4 inches to short. Oops! The seams were crazy bulky and my elna didn’t want to sew through them. And my elna will sew through almost anything. I love that machine.

Once I got that mistake out of my system, the new pattern came together great.

And I want to share a fun pattern trick I use. I love good quality wrapping paper, but it’s expensive and I’m cheap. So to justify buying good wrapping papers I use the left over wrapping paper to make my patterns with. Win, win.

So here’s the new bag in all her glory. I’m really happy with how it turned out. And the construction is easier than the original pattern.

The burlap is all lined with the pink so you can see pink through out the bag. I like to have pockets on my bags; I’m a function first kind of girl. So each end has an outer pocket, for my keys and cell phone. And the inside liner has many little pockets for pens, ipod, notebooks, and much more.

I want to thank Maya over at Maya Made; her burlap buckets were a big influence on this fabric combination. I loved the look of her burlap and knew I wanted to add some to my summer bag. Thank you Maya.

And the winners are....Everyone!!!!

2009-05-13T22:43:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone for your comments and proof reading. It was all really appreciated.

I only had 7 strangers and one friend enter to win so everyone is a winner! It's my blog I can change the rules, can't I? Soooo...Karen Gill, Auntrene, Sarah - thrifty minnesota mama, Sarah Crawford, Christin Banda, And Julie - jnkurrie You are all winners and I will email you so you can give me an address. And Pat Evans, I know you didn't feel lucky but, you are a winner also. Pat you didn't give me an email address, so please email me at hsb(at)paigelitfin(dot)com with your address. I will get the cozies in the mail as soon as possible.

edit***oops Karen Gill I need an email from you also to hsb(at)paigelitfin(dot)com***edit

I want this to be the first of many giveaways so check back often. Thank you, Paige

Summer Bag Fixings

2009-05-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

I went to the fashion district in downtown Los Angeles last week and picked up some new summer prints. This set; burlap, linen floral, bright pink and cream cotton, is going to be my new summer bag. I'll let you know how it goes...

Weekend Eye Candy Circus

2009-05-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend's eye candy is all about pottery. I love pottery. I use it all over my house for decor and storage. You can find these amazing artists on etsy:
1. Rebecca Humphrey Designs 2. Brookhouse Pottery 3. Judi Tavill 4. Mary Judy 5. Unmasked 6. Creative with Clay 7. Kind Kiln Pottery 8. House of Harriet 9. Jim Joe

I hope you have a creative weekend. I'm off to check out what Lora and Christine have for Weekend Eye Candy.

Green Giveaway

2009-05-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'm having my first giveaway to celebrate two very cool things. One, I have successfully blogged for one month, ya!! Two, I put my first 5 items in my etsy shop today.

One of the things that really drew me to the craft blog community was the generosity. Ideas, inspiration, tutorials and, can you image, giveaways of beautiful items. Just given freely and with love. Who are these amazing people? So I'm super excited to have my first giveaway. To give a little something back to the community that has given me so much.

Here is what you can win. I make these fun to-go coffee cup sleeves, a pretty and green alternative to the cardboard sleeves. I whip them up as gifts for friends and family. They seem to like them, I hope you do too.

I have 6 to give away. So 6 lucky winners. And yes I know one is totally different from the rest. I had some left over felt and felted flowers from a bag I made a friend, and I thought, why not?

The rules of the road for this giveaway are simple, but you can really rack up points here. You get one point if you just check out my etsy shop and leave a comment. Good, bad, or ugly, I welcome all input. You can get another point if you blog about my giveaway, but make sure and comment to let me know you blogged. And last you can get a point by helping this Dyslexic out with her proof reading. (Dyslexics of the world "untie"). If you are the first to spot a spelling error on my etsy site, comment about it, and I will give you another point. One spelling error per person. That way my mistakes can really spread the love.

The sleeves have buttons and elastic in the back, so they adjust to fit all cup sizes.

The giveaway is over next Tuesday the 12th. I will announce the winners on Wednesday the 13th.

Thank you all so much for your support during this first month of my new adventure, Paige

Weekend Eye Candy Circus

2009-05-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

I really need to make myself a summer bag. I love my felted tote bag buuuut I've been carrying it for a year and it's not very summery. To give me a little extra push this weekend's eye candy is all about the fabulous bag. Enjoy.

The amazing artisans that made these bags can be found on etsy in the following shops:
1. York Town Road 2. Kinies 3. Cotton and Cloud 4. Bag Lady Mamma 5. Designs maya*made 6. Handbags by Daphne 7. Rainbow Swirlz 8. Pook & Thy 9. {AO3} Designs

I'm off to see the fantastic Weekend Eye Candy at Such and Such and Chocolate and Steel. Have a great weekend.

Flat Tharan goes home to Minnesota

2009-04-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I got a Flat Tharan in the mail. And I had a great time with him. I'm a little late in blogging about him, I mailed him off a week ago, but it was such fun I wanted to share.

I took him all over the city and we got some great shots. These guys were so nice. They let me take a bunch of pictures and "Jack" even made me check to make sure the images were in focus before he let me walk away.

Hollywood and Highland

Santa Monica Carousel

I wanted to add a little treat bag for each of Tharan's classmates with a couple of California items. I remember how cool you felt as a kid when you were the one giving out the treats to your class. Each bag was stamped with a sun and palm tree on the front, a cool palm symbol on the back, and tied with a little yarn bow.

Inside each bag were two caramel treats and three sea shells wrapped in foil and tied with curly ribbon. The caramel's were from Beth at Have it Confections in Glendale CA. Beth made me a kid friendly special order of Heavenly Vanilla and Belgian Chocolate.

I feel I have to give a big thank you to etsy here. I really wanted the treats to be made locally (in the LA area). I never would have found a local candy maker without etsy. And the kids would have ended up with See's Candies, which are made in Culver City, but you can buy at any mall in the country.

I ordered an ibook filled with all the shots I took. If you are a mac person and have never ordered an ibook through iphoto I highly recommend them. They are extremely professional looking and it's really easy to do the book's lay-out in iphoto.

I packed up Flat Tharan, some other goodies for my nephew, the treats for his class, the book and sent them off to Minnesota. I hope it goes over well, I haven't heard yet.

Photo Weekend

2009-04-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much everyone for all the great help and input on my photo taking. I think it all paid off.
I spent all day Saturday taking photos and waiting for the perfect light. But I was still getting some blowout of the high polished silver areas. Then I remembered that I had made this cool velum and balsa wood light baffle. I placed that behind the jewelry and ta-da it worked.

And here are the results.
Adding back some props.

Now the only question is for my enamel work.

Do you like the colored background or the rustic background for this kind of work? I like the rustic one. But I worry that the enamel work isn't really rustic. It's more clean and fun. Which makes me think it needs the solid colored background. So I'm torn, what do you all think?

Weekend Eye Candy Circus

2009-04-24T01:33:00.000-07:00

Okay I might be a little obsessed. As you may know from yesterday's woes, I have not been having much luck taking photos for my, coming soon, etsy shop. So this weekend's eye candy is all about inspiring better photos. These etsy sellers have some really great photography. Not to mention the items themselves. I'll spend the weekend trying to live up to their example.

You can check out their shops at:

1. Metal Heart Design 2. Umbilicus Designs 3. Chocolate and Steel 4. Jen Kahn 5. Lora Hart 6. Copper Frog Studio 7. Souly Yours 8. Besa Design 9. LuLu Bug Jewelry

I'll let you know Monday how it went. Now, let's go check out Such and Such and Chocolate and Steel to see what treats they have to offer this weekend. Thanks for visiting.