things i've been working on.

needs to be added to website (too tired right now to do it!)

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spoon necklace - needs to be added to website

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"fishing widow"

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vintage mermaid w/ her treasures

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here's a fun project. tie dye a vintage slip. then use some fabric spray (tie dye in a bottle @ Micheal's) and stencil on top of the slip skirt.

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while i had the stencil out and it was wet, i used it on this table i bought at a flea market (i repainted it).

self portrait wed (SP wed) & new listings to website

"self portrait wednesdays": take a pic of yourself every wed and post to blog. check out the comments for this post (by katie kendrick) to see how "SP wed" got started. I keep meaning to do it , but always forget! so in case you want to join in, all you do is take some sort of self portrait every wed and then post it to your blog. some participants are Judy Wise (gotta get a class in with her) and katie kendrick (gotta get a class in with her too!) is playing as well. katie's SP's are cool. so here is my first SP. not super great or anything creative, as i am tired and just remembered it was wed! it shows me sitting at the computer working on my website. it's showing me in the moment, working hard. i figured that was appropriate for today! (note glass of wine by my side.)

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here are some things i added into the website this evening. wow, sitting at the computer loading in all the stats, descriptions, pictures, etc. has made me exhausted! but my goal is to do a little bit every day until all my jewelry has been listed. then i give myself permission to start making new things! i will take a break in the morning and enjoy the nice weather by going to one of our favorite flea markets, "Columbus"

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this is a picture of my little section in a store that is carrying my stuff (well, it's really a co-op). the owner and a few artists have come together to run this little shoppe in downtown Pt. Pleasant, NJ. the store is called "Sea and Green" and it's based on recycling and handmade. The owner, Rebecca, had seen me at an art festival (i refused to call them "craft shows") and ask me if i was interested.

garden statuary goddess

inspired by cindy forrestor's bottle class in california, i made this tiny little bottle with a doll on it and turned it into a necklace

SOLD!

Eternal Love

Here is the design i came up for my friend, Abbie. She gave me a picture of her great- grandparents and asked me to create a necklace from it to give to her mother and grandmother for Christmas. i can't wait for her to see them.

my baby loves her jewelry

new spoon jewelry (and a fork too!) to be added into my etsy shoppe within the next few days.

serving up the pie

here's a pendant i made from an old (small) pie server. it was really cool! it was one of the first things that sold on saturday.

Deryn Mentock workshop alert!

My friend and fellow charmster, Denise is hosting a workshop with guest artist, Deryn Mentock. all the information about the workshop is below and you can check out pictures from the workshop at Denise's blog. alas, i won't be able to go, but wanted to give it a plug

so that more people find out about it.

Joujou WorkshopPublished September 10, 2008 Art , Class , Jewelry , Workshop
Joujou Charm Necklace and EarringsA magical workshop featuring artist, Deryn Mentock
Oui! Let’s play! A juju is a charm or amulet with “magical” powers. The word “juju” is derived from the French word joujou meaning “toy” or “plaything.” In this class, we’ll spend a fun first day playing with charms. We’ll assemble all sorts of joujou charms and create a beautiful charm keeper pendant designed to hold them.
Saturday and Sunday, October 19 & 20, 2008 9:00 AM – 4:00 PMHillsboro, Oregon
Deryn will show how to create mica and paper charms, a glass vial charm, and her special wire bird’s nest charm published by Stampington in Belle Armoire Jewelry. She’ll also demonstrate a transfer to glass technique using a chandelier crystal that we’ll turn into a charm. Students will learn jewelry making basics such as how to make perfect jump rings but they’ll also learn how to make twisted wire jump rings, s-links, rosary style links and wire wrapped dangles. On day two, we’ll finish the necklace by incorporating a beautiful piece of silk using wrapped ends and learn how to make a strong hook and eye clasp to finish the piece. Deryn will also demonstrate how to properly make ear wires and we’ll make at least one pair of earrings to match our joujou necklace.
Workshop Fee: $250
Please email to register. Workshop fee includes two days of instruction and fun, delicious lunches and light refreshments. Class size is limited and will be reserved on a first come/first served basis. Registration is prepaid and non-refundable. Payment will be made using Paypal. Supply list will be provided upon registration. Registration is not complete until payment in full is received. In case of unforeseen circumstances, including but not limited to acts of God, we reserve the right to cancel this event, in which case, workshop fees will be reimbursed in full.

nest spoon pendant

i've been creating some new pieces for my sept. show down in Bloomsbury, NJ. it is a 2 day show. it is about 2 hours from here so i am kidnapping dillon to come and help. we won't have enough coverage for tucker for jeff to go and also with all of kirby's meds, someone has to be there to give her what she needs. dillon and i are spending the 2 nights at a cute little B&B. we'll be on the 3rd floor and we both get our own rooms. i think it will be fun. dillon, will probably be bored!

Philadelphia Bead Fest, 2008

this morning i got up nice and early to drive an hour and a half to Philadelphia to take a class with Tracy Stanley, called "Simply Charming Bracelet" - where we learned to create our own personalized charm bracelet by stamping messages on metal and turning them into charms. We made our own chain and finished it off with beads and assorted charms. (although i am still working on mine). Tracy is from the Seattle area and has been teaching for years. she's a great teacher and i really enjoyed this class; she's funny too. i added it at the last moment and i am glad i did. i'll show my piece later when i've had a chance to complete it. my bracelet was themed around family. i also met a really nice girl in class, my seatmate, Tabitha, from Conneticut. We are going to share a room tomorrow night so that i don't have to drive home late. saturday i take a jewelry class with Cheryl Strait called Found Object Jewelry 101.

i decided to purchase some tools from Tracy and she gave us a brief introduction to various types of hammers and their uses. she's selling a really cool line of texturing hammers made in Vietnam that she sells on her website. they are a little pricey, but well worth the price. i just loved them and the effects the give. the chasing hammer is to die for. check them out at :

Frietz Texturizing hammers -
Finally a well crafted hammer. beautiful and functional as well.
These little beauties are so exciting. Each hammer is work of art. They measure 9” tall, so they are portable.The handles are made of Padouk wood, a member of the rosewood family.They handles are small and so smooth. The heads are made of steel and each head is different.

i also bought a couple of other tools, my favorite being a little basket/strainer to put your small items in and then just lower the basket into a blackening agent. very cool!

Valley Ridge Studio with Nina Bagley, 2008

early in the morning, on the way to class,N we saw this horse and pony crossing a field covered with lovely purple flowers. it was really something out of a movie. they were making their way too this stream to graze and laze.

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Nina and i, last day of class - boo hoo

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i picked this on a walk. i'm sure it has a great name, but i was just calling it my oversized dandelion

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the quarry

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class photo, Valley Ridge 2008

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playing on the hay bales

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Nina gives a demo

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kim and i behind the studio catching some rays

"Bijouterie novelas" line of jewelry

these are 2 new pieces in the line of jewelry i'm creating which i am calling "Bijouterie novelas" (jewelry stories). the first piece is definitely Nina Bagley inspired using the piece of small driftwood. the doll is from the flea market. the second piece is a really cool flea market procure - a vintage match holder. the top is something similair to bakelite (but not quite). and then the box inside slides out where the matches were held.

i wanted to thank my friend, Allegra, for suggesting the cool name of "Coco" for my manikin. it's a great name and so perfect for her!

my prizes from OWOH arrived

My first prize is from Jeweled Elegance at http://jeweledelegance.blogspot.com/. how stunning is this ring? i still can't believe it won something so beautiful. i just wore it to lunch and received several compliments on it. i have to say it sure looks great on my finger!

my other prize came in an ENOURMOUS box. if you go to her link, she is holding up a wreath and i thought that was the wreath i won . http://creativemusingswithmya.blogspot.com/2008/02/happy-valentines-day-owoh-giveaway.html so i had no idea what was in this box that jeff had put on my bed. i said to him, i didn't order anything that big, wonder what it is? i didn't recognize the address either. When i opened it, i was thrilled! it is so gorgeous. i was immediately filled with a sense of spring! look how wonderful it looks hanging on my front door. what nice mail to come home too!

thank you both so much - i so appreciate you sharing your beautiful things through OWOH.

kEcIa