books, jewelry and classes

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here is my book from Judy's class this past weekend. i didn't get any of the inside pages done. i just played with my cover. my thought was to make it look really old, but also as if it was falling apart and somone tried to repair it with some handmade stitching, etc. on the inside and the side panel, i used this wonderful old upholstery fabric picked up at the flea market. it has these beautiful birds on it. and it is quite fragile and frays easily, which was a plus for my book! i also used as a signature an old men's leather toiletry bag that i had deconstructed.

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(click on photo for an enlarged view)
and look at this yummy necklace! Barbe St. John and i did a necklace swap with each other when we met up for dinner in San Fran last week. i just love it. everyone is quite taken with it (strangers and friends alike!) thanks so much Barbe. i sure wish i could get that girl on a plane to visit me! (hint hint)

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In other news, i'm planning some classes for Nov. and early Dec. when i finally get a break in my schedule. you can read about it on my other blog, Jersey Jypsies.

Charity auction for "A place to Bark"

our yahoo group, the Charmsters, are holding an ebay auction for a necklace of handmade soldered charms with a Christmas theme. 100% of the proceeds are going to Bernie Berlin's, "A place to bark". here's some need to know info about the charity:

About this nonprofit:
A PLACE TO BARK'S mission is: To provide assistance and care to animals in need. Working together closely with other animal welfare agencies to help end the needless killing of adoptable animals. Proactively working to save lives, by spaying and neutering, eliminating needless deaths. We are dedicated to educating the public on responsible pet ownership and to helping those who would like to have their animals fixed by providing low cost spay/ neuter.

the auction is starting today, just not sure what time. the ebay listing is 190272807952. i can also forward you the listing as is if you'd like to see it before the auction begins (make sure i have your email!) after it starts, i will add the clickable link to my blog. now here's the info on the necklace:

You are bidding on a beautiful hand crafted charm necklace. This necklace features 15 soldered, Christmas-themed charms. Each beautiful charm has been created by an individual artist. This creative group of women collaborated to make a very special work of art which can be yours just in time for Christmas. You can leave the charms on the necklace as shown or remove them to be worn individually. This would be a perfect gift for someone special. the length of the necklace is 24". the ebay listing has great pictures of the front and back of each charm.

necklace from Amy Hanna's class

here is my deconstructed necklace that i made in Amy's class. it was really challenging since i decided right away to add 3 strands and a brooch. the brooch is a little off kilter in design, so it really tested my patience as it took awhileto get it to hang correctly! i wasn't very good at wire wrapping, so eventually i gave up and used jump rings (cheating....) i still have some tweaking to do and some soldering; but i love it.

the brooch belonged to my Grandma Frazee and while i was visiting my dad in Nov., my stepmom let me pick out some of her things. the little face dangling from the brooch also belonged to my grandma. it was on a charm bracelet of all her grandchildren. that charm has my name and birthdate on it. there is also a double heart with rhinestones on my necklace that belonged to my cousin, who died very young while she was in college. i've had it for years, so i was really happy to get to incorporate it. the strands contain bits of pearl necklaces, rosary beads, some beads off a vintage necklace and some clear beads i traded Kelly for during class. the rest of my photos from Artnest can be found here http://www.flickr.com/photos/lemoncholys/sets/72157603983764642/