Will you be my Valentine?

Last year I did a one on one Valentine's Day swap and am doing it again this year (meaning you send me a Valentine and I send you a Valentine). It was really fun and I look forward to doing it again this year.

I've decided this year that the Valentine's need to be handmade. Other than that, you can do whatever you want. You can do it collage style, with fabric, paint it, make it out of paper- the skies the limit!

update- FULL!

Our cards need to be in the mail by Monday, February 7th. So if you are interesting in swapping a Valentine's Day card with me, please leave a comment here (to help me keep track) and drop me an email to me: keeshagirl4@aol.com. When you email me, be sure to include your address!

so much to blog about!

So last night around 11:30 when i finally closed up shop for the night, i went to bed and started opening my Valentine's day cards from my one on one card swap. i have to tell you, it was so fun! however, i quickly became overwhelmed with emotion and actually burst out in tears, because i think everyone really went beyond the call of duty. i just sent out these tiny little (although cute) vintage Valentine's Day cards and what i got in return was in no comparison. i got beautiful handmade cards, gifts, handmade earrings, a sewn card hanging, a beautifully heart shaped box filled with goodies, a Charlotte doll/spoon pendant and more. i am used to be the one who goes the extra mile and i just didn't see this coming; so from the bottom of my heart, i want to thank you for thinking of me- i truly am so grateful.

I also want to add that a few of the cards that i sent out were returned to me because of the tiny envelope i used. those cards are being resent tomorrow. however, if in a few days you haven't received a card from me (and you were suppose to), would you please contact me? i'd rather send another out belated then you not ever get one! that would upset me.
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also, don't forget about the "ice resin" blog hop that started today brought to you by Objects and Elements. (it's perfect timing with all this frozen ice and snow all over the ground!) i spent my morning going to each blog to see how the other participants use ice resin in their artwork. so many creative ideas and brillant art! and how fun is this? one of the participants, Marie Dodd, lives not 10 minutes from me; so that was fun to meet her! you can see my ice resin piece here.
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So OWOH ended yesterday and today through random number generator, i was able to pick my winner. congratulations to Kathy of Artful Musings! this was OWOH's biggest year yet, with 1,088 participants representing 40 different countries!

i also had a second "secret" drawing for a very special blogger. she goes by the name of pixie. i made something special for her, so she is the 2nd winner of my OWOH giveaway. (but i'm not going to post a picture of what she won yet because i don't want her to see it!) Pixie is the daughter of a friend of mine and she is only 10! she wanted to start blogging and i have to say, i think that is quite cool. if you have a minute, stop by and say hello to Pixie; tell her Kecia told you all about her blog (just so mom knows where the traffic is coming from)
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and just for fun, enjoy this picture of dillon and his girlfriend from yesterday. he called me down to take their picture and this is what i saw!



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ok, lastly (this post just goes on and on!) i'm leaving on wednesday for las vegas! i am attending artnsoul and getting to see some good friends and my dad, who is driving in from Fallon, Nevada (near Reno) 2 days beforehand just to see me! looking forward to the camaraderie, soaking with Leighanna and Katie and some good old fashion silly fun. Once Artnsoul is over, i will be leaving for California where i will be teaching 2 classes at Gilding the Lily before returning home on March 1st! i'll do my best to stay in touch, but i'm not taking my laptop with me!

aww, young love.....

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day! i realized that i had almost forgotten it in my stupor of getting ready to leave on Wednesday, getting projects finished, travel details finalized and of course, still being in a bit of a fog about kirby. i have been working all day, but tonight when i finally get to lay down on my bed, i will be opening up all the Valentine's Day cards that i received from my one on one card swap. some of you tricked me and sent packages with goodies in it! had i known that, i would have done the same thing for you - but always appreciated that you went the extra mile for me; especially right now when i need that extra little bit of love. a few of my cards (sent out in a timely manner!) were returned to me. apparently the tiny envelope (i set out vintage little cards that you would have given out in elementary school) was a bit of a nuisance for the sorting machine at the post office. they have been placed in new envelopes and will be mailed out on tuesday. sorry about that!




(in case you missed the post before about this heart shaped rock, i found it recently when i was out in California when my sister, niece and i went for a walk on the beach in Camarillo. isn't it beautiful? love that it has holes in it.)

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For Valentine's Day, Dillon and I decided it would be fun for me to show him some basic metal smithing techniques so that he could make a handmade pendant for his girlfriend, Alana. it was fun getting to teach my son some of what i do. when i asked him how he liked it, he said that he found the lettering a bit stressful! but otherwise, he enjoyed it. isn't he sweet?

Classes for February

February is fast approaching so i thought i'd post my class offerings now to give you time to maybe attend!

the first class, "Destash that stash" will be held on Friday, February 12, 2010 from 10:00-2:00. one day when i was sitting around, i decided to spend 20 minutes going through my studio stuff, stuff found in junk drawers, stuff found in jewelry boxes, stuff belonging to my grandma, stuff belonging to my mother and broken stuff! i wondered, "what could i do with all this stuff? it is stuff that has meaning to me, yet it is just hiding away. you would not believe the fun stuff i rounded up in the strangest places (bathroom drawer!) we will be learning jewelry basics like wire wrapping, attaching, component soldering and basic jewelry design on creating a 2 tier charmed necklace and figuring out what to do with all this cool stuff. here are a couple of different designs i created to show what we will be doing. email me at keeshagirl4@aol.com for more information or to reserve your seat.

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my second class offering will be a Valentine's themed soldering class to be held on Saturday, February 13th from 11:00-3:00. we will learn all about soldering as we create this vintage inspired ornament. email me at keeshagirl4@aol.com with questions or to reserve your seat.

hope to see you there!

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and speaking of Valentine's Day, i'm still looking for people who want to exchange Valentine's Day cards with me! read the post here!

Would you be my Valentine?

i'm kind of tired of getting really lame snail mail. it usually consists of bills and junk mail; occasionally a magazine. not very exciting. recently i found 2 boxes of vintage Valentine's Day cards at the flea market. they really took me back to the day in elementary school on Valentine's day when all the cards were collected and put into the special container we had made to hold our cards. i loved reading all of them and honestly, felt very special by them! As an adult, it is very rare that we get many Valentine's cards. Our husband, our child, sometimes a friend, might give us one - but not like when we were young! so i was thinking about how could i do something fun with these cards and i decided that i want to exchange Valentine's cards with you! this isn't a swap, there is only one rule: please only participate in this if you will truly follow through. i don't think that is asking too much! your card does not have to be vintage or handmade (both would be preferred, but not required), just send it with love. Cards should be sent out no later than Monday, February 8th so that we receive them on time!

if you would like for me to send you a Valentine day card and you send one back to me, then email me at keeshagirl4@aol.com and we can exchange addresses.

Valentine's swap with friends

i did a Valentine's swap with 3 friends, Kelly, Leighanna and kim, so i wanted to share what they sent me. Kelly Snelling, was the receipent of my broken heart pendant . she made me a beautiful pair of earrings, that so far, i've worn every day since unwrapping them! i can't help it, they are so delicate and the perfect length for me AND plus they look good!

also, and i can not wait to share this with you, she included a surprise in my package. this big huge box arrived and i was thinking, "that sure is a big box for a little piece of jewelry" - so of course, my curiousity was piqued. so i unwrap the package and this is what i what i found:

if you remember from a few posts back, Benedetta, who i met at OWOH and i did an art exchange and she did a folk art painting of my beloved kitty, Pebbles. Well in her note, Kelly said that she saw that post and that she just HAD to paint Pebbles. Pebbles became her muse - and i can see why. when i looked at that painting, i felt like i was looking in the eyes of my kitty. it was so touching - this unsoliticed portrait of someone who meant so much to me. i was so deeply touched is all i can say. how beautiful is this? i feel so lucky that kelly would have thought to paint him in such a manner. if you have a second, please stop by her blog and mention you saw her painting of Pebbles. i think she would enjoy that.

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My next swap was with my cute friend with the darling laugh, Leighanna Light. I honestly can't remember how i met Leighanna, but i'm guessing it was at Artnsoul -maybe she remembers more details? - but she is one of those people that you feel you have known forever. Leighanna and i are both massage therapists and love doing art of all kinds, so we have a lot in common. on a whim, i just emailed her and asked her if she would be my Valentine and do a Valentine swap with me. i was happy when she said yes! I sent this assemblage to her. it was funny, when i posted it, i thought, aww, she'll never catch this post - and wouldn't you know it, she just happened to check in that day - figures! Leighanna sent me one of her metal bird assemblages, which i had seen on her blog. the feet are so cool on this bird - they are from an old erector set! i'm a sucker for rusty metal and birds, so this is so appropriate for me. i added some rusty metal around the sides and have it hanging from my door knob. i think it will be my "in the studio"
message that says: "if there is a rusty bird hanging on the door knob, don't bother me!"

she also sent me some glass pieces that i found quite interesting. i emailed her to inquire about them and this is what she told me: "the glass is from a place nicknamed the glass graveyard.
It is a place out in the middle of nowhere by the river where all of these melted, twisted bottles completely cover the ground, for miles & miles.
No one knows why, we assume that it used to be an old glass dump that had an extremely hot fire". how cool is that? i just love that she thought to share them with me. she also added some of her cool molded faces that i had been admiring. she's been giving me some tips on making my own, but so far, i suck at it! check these out:

this one is my favorite! i will use these in assemblages.

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due to bad weather, storms and loss of power, my last swap with Kim, is pending - so i'll post more on that later!

well, besides taking care of a sick bunny (she's doing better now), in my spare time, i've been working on a couple of pieces. For some reason, I've had hearts on the brain (since making those hearts for Abbie in Dec.) and with Valentine's Day coming up, i felt inspired to create something with a heart and here it is. pretty cool, huh? it is being sold as a pendant (find it here) - don't think i'm going to make a necklace for it as i think a simple chain will do it more justice.

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and for some reason, i never posted the 2nd piece that i created in Cindy Forrestor's class in California, so here it is. it is also a pendant that i wear on my favorite chain.

Valentine's Charm swap necklace

Remember that Valentine's Day charm swap i hosted for "The Charmsters group"? Well, a very sweet lady, name Sammy (http://sammystuff.blogspot.com/) took all my charms and made a necklace for me so i didn' t have to do it. Wasn't that so nice? And she hustled to get it done to mail them back out to me to arrive perfectly on time, yesterday, Valentine's day! i wore it to dinner. i love the clanky sound the charms.