Wednesday, January 13, 2010

KAUAI PICS

Well I am way behind on my projects and chores - as usual!  I'm still finishing up 2 Christmas projects...I have a winter banner swap due in a week, OWOH starts up soon (yay!...see the link on the right), i signed up for a bead party swap...and then i volunteered to make another POE tarot card...that of course was due immediately.
So I got the card done....I really love making tarot cards.  I have done about 15 now - all in different styles!

The Temperance Tarot Card, ala Poe's the Pit and the Pendulum...choices...using time, patience, research and moderation to achieve one's goals...and having faith because sometimes, just sometimes a hand DOES reach down from  from heaven and saves you.....
I started out the new year with a promise to take a picture a day...i did ok for about 5 days...and then I forgot.  I just totally forgot.  sheesh.  so here are a few I took:
..
Jan 1, 2010....putting the ornaments away.....

chalupa and sookie playing on the front side yard...

baby coconut trees (banana on the left)

pineapple tops I haven't planted yet that are growing anyway - on a chair...

bitter berries


my outdoor altar area - very neglected.  behind it you can see the open area we call "the back 2 acres"

a garden spider..he's big about 2 to 3 inches

a crab spider...this is "spider season"...when you mow you have to go through the plants first with a palm frond and knock all of the spiders down - otherwise they get entangled in your hair...

another crab spider, actually only about 1/2 inch size...they come in all colors


...this shot shows the legs, etc..
we have cane spiders too...that's the big old spider they used in the movie "arachnaphobia"...they are pretty funny spiders...the run really fast and are terrified of you....but they ARE scary looking - and HUGE!
I'm gonna try and remember to take pictures every day...I love the idea of keeping a "picture diary" of the year.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Lucky me!

Remember the giveaway on Alpha Stamps I posted?
Well I won the very last giveaway! ...and Jood was the runner up! Yay for me! Yay for Jood! ...Really cool stuff, too!
Look at all the goodies they are sending me!
Thank you, Alpha Stamps! http://www.alphastamps.com/


There are 2 collage sheets, a rubber stamp, a set of 20 beautiful (new) bird tags, 3 different metal charms, a sheet of die-cut wings, and some fun little wooden birdhouses.

Victoria (Bird) Tags
New & on Sale! Set of 20 tags (2 each of 10 designs, printed on one side).
3 Raw Brass Filigree Love Birds
New & on Sale! Available in 4 finishes: Raw brass (the version in the Giveaway), antique silver-plated brass, antique gold-plated brass or vintage-patina brass (shown in the photo).
5 Wooden Bird House Buttons
New & on Sale! They needn’t be used as buttons. And I think the combo with the hummingbirds (laying on the buttons in the top photo) should inspire a project or 2.
3 Large Brass Feathers
New & on Sale! Raw brass. No loop.
Hummingbird Charms
New & on Sale! Antique gold-plated cast pewter (lead free). 3D. Pretty small (12mm wide).
Wings Die-Cut Chipboard Sheet
New & on Sale! Thin chipboard sheets with die cut shapes that easily punch out from the surrounding area, background can be used as a template. Sheets measure 6″ x 12″.
M for Magpie Collage Sheet
On Sale! Many beautiful images of birds from children’s story books.
Cinderella & Birds Collage Sheet
On Sale! The German versus French versions of Cinderella vary in certain details (like the clothes for the Ball in the French version being provided by the fairy-godmother, instead of by the birds that Cinderella had befriended in the German version).


WOW!

Saturday, January 02, 2010

"NEW on Etsy...Captured Muse" cards and carnelian Eye necklace

Just listed on my Etsy Shop
2 card set with envelopes.
Carnelian Bronze talisman necklace.

Thanks for looking!


Tuesday, December 29, 2009

KC WILLIS EVERYONE WINS COLLAGE GIVEAWAY!


This is a giveaway where EVERYONE WHO COMMENTS AND LINKS wins an angel book collage! Yep - A fabric collage on an old book cover. Handmade by K.C.Willis just for you! On the back she's handwritten the words..."Post an angel at your door. Fear the darkness nevermore."
You read it right! K.C. Willis is giving away one of these angel book collages to EVERYONE who mentions and links just one more time all the cool stuff that is going on at KC Willis'studio. Your blog, Yahoo group, Ning group or Twitter will work. Facebook status updates don't count as they don't stay around long at all...but if you're part of a FB art group and can post it there that will count. Click HERE to check it out!

Monday, December 28, 2009

ALPHA STAMP DAILY GIVEAWAY

OK, you have to enter this one! Everyday from last saturday until new years, Alpha Stamps is giving away HUGE collections of cool stuff. I shop a lot at Alpha - you just never know what kind of weird new stuff the may have!
Unlike other popular giveaways where the competition is stiff (like 30,000 entries at Tim Holtz) this giveaway has much less competition. Check it out! See the button on the right, or else just use this link: http://www.alphastamps.com/blog/

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

EIGHT DAYS OF CHANUKAH SWAP

I was so very blessed to have participated in a Channukah swap with 7 other friends. Lucky me was the 1st Day of Chanukah. I already posted previously about my trials and tribulations to complete this swap, so this is what i finally came up with and gave to my friends - whew! I don't want to be first again- no time to fudge and be late!
1st Day:
A fine silver hand with a vintage sterling finding on a sterling chain.
Unfortunately, one did not turn out....so, I gave my dear friend Joanne this:
a bronze clay eye with a rose quartz tear on a necklace of turquoise and white coral .

On the 2nd Day Of Chanukah, Kara gave to me:

A handmade and handbound one year diary with tons of details and a beautiful quilted fabric cover.
Isn't it gorgeous!
On the 3rd Day of Chanukah, Andi gave to me:
A lovely paperbag book highly decorated with beautiful art and full of pockets loaded with ephemera and surprises..... what a treasure!
On the 4th day of Chanukah, Judy gave to me:
A stunning necklace with TWO interchangeable pendants - simply beautiful!
On the 5th Day of Chanukah, Joanne gave to me:
...a fabulous resin heart bezel filled with "merriment" and just the right amount of bling, made into a chic necklace!
On the 6th Day of Chanukah Sandee gave to me:
an awesome tassel doll with a handpainted clay face and beaded limbs. I've hung her in front of my shop window where she dances and sways in the breeze....
On the 7th Day of Channukah Fran gave to me:
an incredible embroidered and embellished fabric cuff.
Really Cool!
...and on the 8th day of Channukah, Amber gave to me

A mirrored star ornament with tiny crocheted flowers, and a CHARMING pendant made from a vintage german doll arm capped with a vintage finding. Exquisite!
It was a great swap with wonderful and talented friends and I am thrilled with all of the wonderful presents i received....I can't wait to participate again next year!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Rudraksha Beads and the Hindu Monastery on Kauai

Yesterday, Lorri Scott and I decided to go to the Hindu Monastery on Kauai. You can go to their web page to find out all about the monks and to look at amazing picture of their beautiful monastery...waterfalls, mountains, trees, flowers.....absolutely stunning! http://www.himalayanacademy.com/ssc/hawaii/tour/
This is on the entrance path, going towards the temple.
to the right of the entrance was a lovely garden....
This shows the temple, sort of a side angle....services were going on, so we didn't want to disturb them by standing in front and taking pictures. Pictures are not allowed inside the temple. Eventually Lorri and i went inside...the services were still going on. A monk was chanting on the altar (or whatever it is accurately called). A worshipper/docent, whispered to us that women sat on the left...there were pillows stacked on the side, so we each took a pillow and sat on the floor cross legged. On each side of the temple, lining the walls, were mirrored shelves with small about 15" gold statues of gods/goddesses (? I guess - I am really ignorant of this religion) ...and a recess with a huge black bull decorated with Hawaiian flowers. In the center of the floor, where we sat, was a round mandala looking thing with glass (or crystal?) spheres of different sizes, 12 of them...representing ???. it reminded me of the planets and astrology.....I could/will look this all up - cuz now I want to know - but for the sake of this post I will just give you my immediate impressions..... Anyway, there was also a container with pens/slips of paper on the floor, for you to write an intention on....and a small metal basket for you to put the intentions in, at the end of the ceremony. So pretty soon more people started arriving...not too many, maybe 12 in all....and the monk started burning i guess what were the previous days intentions -in a metal cauldron on the alter statue....then the docent gestured for all of us to stand and the monk came up to each of us and we wafted the smoke into our faces 3 times, while thinking of our intention .... Then he went and got yellow powder, and we each took some and put it on our third eye area on our foreheads...then he brought red powder and we did it again...each time the docent whispered to me and Lorri which fingers to use, how to rub the powder in our hands, taste it or put it on other chakra parts of our neck, etc....we also copied some of the other people who had a clue what they were doing. Then he brought a white liquid and poured it into our cupped hand and we had to ceremoniously drink it. Lorri and I thought it was coconut milk...but it wasn't. sigh. Then more chanting...then the monk left. Then you brought your intention up to the metal basket and put it inside, then we knelt down on the floor in child pose (like yoga!) and then stood up and bowed to the bull, and left. It was WAYYY interesting!
This is a little fresco outside the temple.
Down another path we found a grove of very tangled banyan trees (I love banyan trees!)...
This statue was at the end of the path. Below are a few close ups of the hands.
Isn't this cool?
...Below is a shot from the left side and around the temple, showing the river where the monks bathe. Usually you can take a tour which will take you down to the river, as well as show you the new temple that is being built, but for the next 2 weeks the monks are on retreat, so this area is closed to the public.
a closer view....it is actually pretty far away....you'll get a better idea of the perspective in some pics that are coming up....
This next picture shows the new temple that is being built. The round tops are actually gold colored, perhaps gilded...
This next photo shows you the new temple on the right and the river on the left....i am probably 50 (I know the picture doesn't look like that) feet above the Wailua River, and maybe 100 yards away....
Above is what the proposed temple will look like when it is finished in 2017....depending on how fast they raise all the money to build it. Go to their website to see all the gorgeous pictures of it's fine construction. http://www.himalayanacademy.com/ssc/hawaii/iraivan/
..more of the area where the temple model is housed.
As you walked around you saw many of the monks in their orange robes and flowing beards.
While in the gift shop, Lorri and I were entranced with some gorgeous beads..." " beads. Actually I think they look like a nut. Lorri bought me a beautiful pair of them. This is the brochure we picked up that talks about them:
The woman who was working in the shop told us that the monks had planted a 250 of these sacred trees and that a small section was open to the public. She invited us to go there (it was outside the temple grounds and down the road a bit) and that we would find the gorgeous trees and their nuts and to be sure and hug a tree with our intention in mind and Shiva would bless us...Before we left we both wrote our intentions again on a slip of paper and put them into a pot at the exit that had burning ashes in it, and watched them burn and our desires/wishes waft into the heavens....then we went to find the sacred trees!
Lorri among the sacred trees.
Who can resist hugging a tree?!?
awesome roots!
a
Close up roots...at first Lorri thought they were stone offering bowls...they really do look like that!


Looking thru the trees towards the sky...
More roots...and our rooster friend...see the beads at his feet?
Our rooster companion...Lorri tried to entice him to give her a tail feather, but he was not willing....
...all over the ground we found ZILLIONS of the seed pods/nuts!
this is a pod still in it's husk and one fresh from the ground. The one from the ground is full of dirt and bits of the husk. The leaves from the trees turn a bright red. We also found lots of delicate skeletonized leaves.

Tataa! These are the beads that i have scrubbed and tumbled!

Aren't they gorgeous? ...and I haven't even varnished them! For size reference, look at the rooster photo above...these are 1/2 to 1 1/4 inch in size. The bigger ones have a natural hole on at least one side, some are all the way thru. You can halve them and the inside looks like a walnut. They have 5 sides. Sometimes there are freaks of nature, and they can have 11! I found a few with only 4.
I don't know what I will do with them...I thought they would look beautiful with a bronze or silver eye...I do know that whatever i make, if I sell it, I will be donating 50% to the monks and their temple project! These beads are truly a gift from heaven!

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Friday, December 11, 2009

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO...

I have been busy with lots of things...somehow posting on my blog has taken a back burner...I swore i wasn't going to obligate myself to any swaps, especially around the Holidays. This was going to be the year I got all of my Christmas stuff done early and would actually have time to enjoy them and not feel under pressure......
but no - I signed up for 3 (yes THREE) art projects- all due at the end of Nov- early December.
I finally got them all finished.....but I am hopelessly behind on my Christmas gifts and cards....
First I was involved in a Poe Tarot Swap....these are my 2 cards:

The Six of Wands ... the Victory card...angels high above the desolation and darkness, lighting the way....the graveyards are from an illustration of an early Poe book and a photoshopped photo of Poe's actual gravesite.

...the 10 of Pentacles... survival against all odds....reaping the rewards you have worked hard for....The background is made from copied letters written by Poe...and no creature has survived longer, against all odds and still is winning - than the cockroach.
I also was part of a "Rosary Bead" Swap...you had to make a bead that represented yourself. This, I discovered was way more difficult than I thought!

Here is my bead, showing both sides. A wooden bead, painted white with a spider on one side and an eye on the other. then it was coated with resin and sprinkled with clear glass microbeads and clear fine glitter.
My 3rd project was an Eight days Of Channukah Swap. As luck would have it, I was assigned Day ONE! YeeGads....
So, feeeling ambitious, I decided i was going to make English crackers, with hats and a joke and a little gift....
The gift I decided would be my first foray into using Bronze Clay.
Hah!
It was a disaster. Out of 9 medallions 3 were acceptable, but even these had cracks! The stuff took 2 firings and over 10 hours (not including cooling in between) in the kiln. Needless to say by the time I made something usable (2 more projects down the road!) I was lucky to just send out the gifts - the English cracker idea was just not going to happen...

These are the rejects. The backs have a texture and a word stamped on them...
I may drill tiny holes in these and attempt to lace up the cracks as if I'd done it on purpose....but they will probably just become scrap...

This is a necklace I gave away in the swap to my friend Joanne. I know she likes eyes - she has a bunch of eye stuff from me...so i sent it to her. She's already opened it, so that's why I can show it to you! It also has vintage brass chain, turquoise, white coral and vintage brass beads.
Another bronze eye necklace I gave to my fiber artist friend Lorri. Lorri has some incredible Kauai pics of an endangered monk seal and her pup on her blog, so go take a look!
Hers I didn't take a picture of, but I patinaed it blue.
The last one I made into a necklace with all carnelian beads. For some reason the name "Tears for my mama" kept playing over and over in my head.....it doesn't have a clasp yet...it will probably end up on my Etsy shop.

I still didn't have my giftees for the 8 Days of Channukah swap, so I decided to take silverplate forks and make bracelets. Here's the one I did. It doesn't have a clasp yet, not does it have any decorative beads on the top...


But I was not happy with it and all of the pounding was killing my wrists - these utensils were TOUGH! ...and then I had to get all the firescale off!...So I moved onto a project that I KNEW would work.....but they haven't all opened them yet, so I will show them to you tomorrow!

This is a picture of the lighthouse on Monday....not very big waves here, but we did have some 40 footers I was told, in Haena and Hanalei.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

WHO KNEW? WARNING! NUMB FINGERTIP from Spray Can!

OK, another "Who Knew?" (and do you really care?) post.....
My index fingertip is completely numb. Livable, but super annoying. I thought it would just go away, but here it is a week later, and it's just as numb as day 1. My first thought was carpel tunnel ...but this is the hand that had surgery so that didn't make a lot of sense. I went to assorted medical websites and saw a zillion possible causes. Hmmm. I really didn't have any of the other symptoms listed. So I thought back to when it happened and what I was doing...
I had been spray painting beads....
i put "fingertip numb from spray can" into google...
....and sure enough, there it was! Read this BLOG for great information, and read the comments posted, for more tales about this sucko affliction.
Apparently this is a common side effect from putting too much pressure for too long on a nerve in the fingertip when spraying the paint. Unlike spray bottles that have you pull, ease up and then pull again, spray cans require you to press straight down and hold, and that is where the pressure happens that does the damage. The numb sensation MAY ease up over time - or NOT....and there is nothing you can do about it. .. apparently dead nerves take a while to regenerate, if you are lucky.
BUT I really really think ALL SPRAY CANS (are you listening Krylon?) should carry a warning about this! (maybe they do...I don't think I ever looked....I thought I was being safe by spraying outside and wearing a mask....)
oh well, lesson learned.
There IS A DEVICE made to avoid this malady ever happening, it works sort of like a spray bottle trigger and attaches easily to the spray can...HERE is one, I'm sure there are others
....... as it turns out, when I told my DH what was wrong with my finger, he casually commented...oh yeah, I have one of those in the garage.....
Guess I'll be using it from now on. sigh.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

...and a special THANK YOU to all of my online friends ...thank you for your support and encouragement and friendship. Wishing you a wonderful day full of Blessings and Love.




PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Friday, November 20, 2009

I'm Back!

Yep - I'm back at last! My Dad moved from Woodland (near Sacramento) California, to a retirement village in San Jose. He didn't want to move......but my sisters and brother and i packed him up and away he went! He moved into a lovely and spacious apartment that provides 3 restaurant style meals a day and lots of activities and outings. His apartment is about a mile from my sister's house, and close to my brother's house as well. We also got a way cool "pill dispenser" that reminds him to take his pills, and if he doesn't, then it phones us to let us know....
We tried to set the apartment up as close to the way his old home was set up - we brought most of his furniture and knick knacks - consistency and familiarity is very important to him. Lo and Behold - he is having a ball! yay! SUCCESS. He loves the continuous activity and the interesting people to interact with!
Here's my dad on the grounds of his new home...this pic will be for his Christmas card...

I'm still catching up with my email - so please be patient if I have missed your comments or notes to me...I promise i will get back to you soon!

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

VOTE VOTE VOTE for your fave filled bezel!

OK - I entered Objects and Elements monthly challenge. This month it is about bezels. Voting is on their blogsite. You don't have to vote for me (i used shotgun shell brass for bezels) but go take a look and vote for whatever meets your fancy! Voting is Monday thru Wednesday.
This is what i made:

shot gun shell brass filled with bb's and resin, bullet brass, ceramic hands, steel wire barbed-wire links, copper chain, red garnet drops and fine silver. ear wires are sterling silver.

I'll put them on Etsy later in the week - $38



PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Friday, October 23, 2009

GLOVE IN A BOTTLE ...REVIEW!


I recently sent away (because no one had it on this island!) for a product called "Glove in a Bottle"
Glove in a Bottle is a heavy hand lotion that coats your hands so that they repel chemicals and daily grunge. I learned about it from my metals group ...
I get a type of chemical eczema on my fingers that is from certain chemical exposures...I'm not sure which ones... my doctor said it could be from dish washing detergent or even from my paints. I am VERY MESSY with my art supplies. When I remember, I put gloves on, but using gloves with some projects is just a pain. Antway, I get hard itchy sore bumps on the sides of my finger joints that look like blisters but are hard and eventually peel. Gross!
OK. So I have been experimenting (whenever I remember....usually i am halfway thru a project and then I get all messy and realize I have forgotten to put the lotion on!) ....but here are my results.
First off, you have to put a thick coat on. Fortunately it absorbs quickly and your hands feel soft but dry. The instructions say it doesn't wash off but rather it is removed when you shed the skin cells that absorbed it (well that's how I interpreted it!)

1. resin - AMAZING! I put a thick coat on and poured together a batch of resin. I accidentally over mixed it and it spilled ALL OVER MY HAND! at first I was panicked - this stuff is tough to remove, sticky, and I usually need half a bottle of alcohol to get it off. I grabbed a paper towel and wiped my hand. That's it. No sticky, gooey residue - it all came right off! WOW! I should note here that the Glove in a Bottle was FRESH on my hands.
2. acrylics - once dried on my hands, they rubbed off pretty easy. But then, even without Glove in a Bottle, acrylics always rub off easy.
3. ink- last time i painted with inks I got it on my cuticles....it was still there a week later! This time it washed off with soap and water and what was left came off in the shower....
4. black polymer clay - yay! came off easy with a paper towel and soap and water.
5. gel coat - once it had dried on my hands, i washed them with soap and water but i still needed a green scrubber to get it all off.
6. dirt - i work a lot in the garden and we have a thick red clay soil that leaches all of the moisture out of my hands. the dirt is impossible to get out of your fingers - it stains everything red. Ultimately it makes my skin dry and crack. With Glove in a Bottle on, the dirt washed off easy and hands stayed moist! i do wear gloves when i garden - but some of the finger tips have holes so i still get dirty. Next i want to try it on my feet....wearing flip flops all the time makes for grungy feet.

So, I have to tell you, I really like this stuff. It left my hands soft and it really did seem to repel all the gunk I put my hands into. My only problem with it is I HAVE TO REMEMBER TO PUT IT ON!

...I got mine from drugstore.com...i found a $10 off coupon, plus they had free shipping...so i got other stuff too - but most mainland drug stores carry it.


PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

TERRIIC GIVEAWAY!



Here's another Giveaway at Pumpkin Patch Primitives Quilt Shop that's easy to enter with great prizes! 27 fat quarters of exquisite fabrics, and she just added a $100 gift certificate. ...and if you mention that I sent you, I get a 2nd entry!



PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Monday, October 19, 2009

...the WORST and the BEST of halloween costumes

Blog hopping, I came across a fun post on Paul Overton's blog, dudecraft.....it's a blog for men (and women too) with ideas and projects to craft outside one's box and personal gender bias. He had the idea to post about your BEST and WORST costumes.
My son Vincent has been a ninja turtle, a mummy, a vampire, a bug man, a mexican bandit, and my favorite - a giant hot dog!...i have no pictures of those that i could find (in storage, i hope!)..but here is a pic of probably the WORST and the laziest costume i ever made...
is that pathetic or what? it's not even a well made ghost!
now for the BEST - the tombstone has to be my all time favorite. Here is a pic of my younger son, Sky, about age 4, as a tombstone. Poor baby - when he fell down he couldn't get up!...oh the torture we put our babies through! ...but he DID glow -in-the-dark....

isn't he adorable?
...and here is the adult version. I wore this to a Halloween party with the cast and crew of !Huff. See the RIP Huff 2nd season on my chest? Unfortunately the show WAS CANCELLED at the end of that season...haha!

me...and Sky (all grown up), as a SWAT team member.

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

POE TAROT CARDS..and 2 great links...

Once again I'm in a tarot deck swap. This one is with TravelersHart Group, and the theme is Poe...as in Edgar Allan POE. My cards were the 10 of Pentacles and the 6 of Wands. I did not choose these cards - they were assigned to me, which I took as a good omen, because both of these cards represent Victory, overcoming adversities, and blessings.

The 10 of PENTACLES. Roaches climbing over a skull. The background is copies of letters written by Poe. Roaches always were and always will be...since before we were and probably long after....you just can't get rid of them. survival. overcoming obstacles. VICTORY!
(gosh i hate 'em!)

The 6 of Wands...Victory again...with a little help from our friends....a digital card with vintage illustrations of Poe's works and the grave site where Poe is buried. Click on the picture to enlarge it and see the ghostly details......

Here's a really cool BLOG with tons of free graphics to download and print out....The Graphics Fairy
and here's another one...Adele Sciortino's Costumes and Trims......you MUST sign up for the NEWSLETTER....There are 10 of them now, all high resolution color...an e-zine that is fabulous with ideas, freebies, patterns, etc from famous dollmakers.....and it's FREE!


PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge Blog Candy

Here's a great blog giveaway - a TON of good stuff!
PeachyKeenStampsChallenge

Pink Artist WINNER!

This is what I saw when I went to Monica Magness's Pink Artist's Blog.
Prize #56: Necklace by Gretchen Coats of art blog libeado.
The drawing winner is:
Concetta Williams

The focal bead pendant is from Guru Glassworks
YAY ....lucky lucky ME!
...and thank you to everyone who donated prizes and bought tickets!



PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Dolphin's on Kauai Video

Here's the video I promised you from our boat adventure on Friday. If you are a friend on facebook with me, then you've already seen it!

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Painting Update

Continuing with the painting.....I made the bird blue and gave him swirling feathers and an eye.



tried different eye ideas...

...added "eye" leaves...they look like roaches...ugh.

..a bit more clarity...

so this is where i am now..
next, i want to take out the stars and most of the yellow, add in some leaves on the branches....put in some bright red and get rid of a lot of the blue background...maybe add tangerine... add some copper and metallics...and some pearlex powder...reline with black and white pens adding details, and lastly i want to put crackle over some parts and fill the cracks with dark burnt sienna....
..still a ways to go!








PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Friday, October 09, 2009

Kauai Ocean Boating

We took the boat out again today - our second time! We launched the zodiac from Nawiliwili Harbor and went partially around the island all the way to the Kilauea lighthouse, which is where we live, about 24 miles by car, only 20 by boat!
The day was beautiful and the glassy and calm. There was a mist out to sea and over the island in some places - we suspected vog, but since we weren't having any respiratory problems we decided it must be a sea fog or something.
No matter! This time I took dramamine instead of the bonine, and I didn't have the sea bands with me to put on 0 but I never felt queasy - not even on the ride back when the water started to get choppy! Here are a few pics. We took some videos too, but DH has to edit those and put them together.
We even saw a flying fish jump up "fly" (more like glide) over the water for about 30 feet ....

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

a new painting...

I started a new painting. The idea was Tuscan colors and some favorite things. I couldn't scan it because the canvas is 18 x 24, so it won't be a scanner painting.
First I sketched whatever came to mind...

Then I painted in some color, sort of haphazardly...
...then i blotted out some color...

..starting to paint in the white to "pop" the images...the"rainbow" definitely didn't work for me....

more layers of color, a bit more Tuscan...

...more depth added....
...so this this the basic background for the painting. Tomorrow i will begin the drastic altering of and over the images...got to get rid of the "cuteness"... At the moment I am uninspired, it is not calling to me...so we'll see what it ends up as. ...i'm pretty sure I need eyeballs somewhere.... maybe the leaves...

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

VINTAGE GERMAN BISQUE DOLL PARTS .....

I have had a lot of inquiries about the Vintage Bisque Doll parts from Thuringia Germany, that I have available thru my ETSY shop. It is too tedious to list them all...I am slowly adding them to my shop...but here is what I have available...Most of the torsos with heads have arm/leg sets available to make a complete doll. I do have multiples of the same doll. Complete dolls are around $14 - $20, depending on the size and condition. They come uncleaned, for the most part, but i will clean the whole doll for you for $1 extra. Individual parts are $.25 each for me to clean them for you. I have examples that show you an uncleaned part, and then the cleaned doll part. All parts come to you washed, but by "clean" I mean they have been soaked in water (so they don't absorb the solution) then treated with a solution and scrubbed...and then washed again, rinsed and dried. I repeat the process until they are as "clean" as I can get them. I tested many many products to find the best one that worked good enough, but did not damage the doll. Not all rust comes off - or burn marks.... but they do whiten up considerably.
OK. Below are the HEADS I have. Some have jagged edges, but I will file them smooth for you, no charge, if you indicate you'd like that done..... the price range is from $7 to $10, depending on the size and whether or not they are painted, the condition etc....lots of choices....



Next, are TORSOS. I have many many sizes and styles of torsos. The first picture shows a CLEANED torso, next to a row of dirty ones. Matched arms and legs are available for these torsos to make your own full doll. They are matched to the doll by me, and are not necessarily the arms and or legs that came originally with the torso. Full dolls are $14 - $20.....and $1 extra if you want it "cleaned".



Below are headless torsos. They are $4-$10 each....some are painted and pretty cute. I believe some of the heads at the top of the page were meant for some of these torsos, but the breaks do not match up...i tried!... Again I will round off the corners for you if you'd like.

...and then there are the frozen charlottes. All sizes teeny, small, med, and large. All of these are missing feet, legs or hands.....$7.50 to $10

This little doll (below) has a hollow on the top of her head for hair, I guess, and is still wired...she is painted. $30. Below her is a large body/torso that looks like it was knocked against another doll in the kiln and has porcelain gunk on it...$5...and on the bottom is an UNBROKEN frozen charlotte...$22

..and unbroken head with shoulders, painted...$10, and an unbroken hallow head and dress torso, $14

and then i have arms and legs. I have matched up the legs and have paired them...UNMATCHED legs are $3.50 each...I have many, many sizes. MATCHED Pairs of legs are $9....I have over 300 legs....ARMS are $2.50 each, and MATCHED ARMS are $7.




If you are interested in anything, let me know and I will send you more detailed pictures and we can work out a price. I will make an invoice thru ETSY for you! ...and I'll answer any questions you may have too!
Thanks for looking....

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Saturday, October 03, 2009

***FREE SCREENING of MY FRIENDS NEW FEATURE FILM!***

My friend Jill Maxcy has directed a new film, "Black and Blue" and she is having a free screening at the Directors Guild in Los Angeles. If you would like to see this film...for FREE, please call the DGA (Director's Guild of America) and make your reservation.

Here's a blurb about the film:
'Every once in a while, a young actress finds the right role to truly showcase her talent. Noted Canadian singer and songwriter, Christine Evans, makes her motion picture debut in the independent feature film – “BLACK AND BLUE.”
17 year-old Amber doesn’t have much in life but her music and her dreams. When her mother O.D.s, the closed-down teenager is sent to live with a violent uncle. Amber escapes to the streets, where she hooks up with a group of kids who survive by playing their music for anyone who will listen. Frightened and lonely, Amber is given the gift of hope by an aging blues legend, Billy (Zac Harmon), who teaches her how to play from her heart. Armed with her guitar and her indomitable teen spirit, Amber begins to build a positive life for herself. PG13 (great for teen girls.) '
This is the TRAILER



...or you can go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUy5mkQXa58

You and anyone else you want to invite are welcome to attend the free screening of "Black and Blue."

Black and Blue
Friday Oct. 23 @ 3pm
DGA Theater 2
7920 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles 90049

Free parking

You must RSVP at mattg@dga.org or 310-289-2034
If over 150 people RSVP, we will be holding a reception after the film!
So you can invite anyone you like!


Please come and support this fine new filmmaker!



PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Friday, October 02, 2009

Aimee's Birthday Giveaway...

To help celebrate her birthday, Aimee is having a HUGE GIVEAWAY on her blog...she has over 15 prizes, most contributed by cool sponsors. Check it out and spread the word! Click here to see....

Turquoise and Silver Eye-in-Hand Necklace

I have finished a new necklace....I should be hacking down over-grown hedges or cleaning windows...but no, I am stringing necklaces....


This necklace is turquoise nuggets and heishi with natural coral. The focal amulet is a carved bone Eye-in-Hand . The amulet was a gift from my friend Kathy. She actually gave me a pair of hands, but the first hand lost its wrist when I tried pounding the silver cuff onto it with a hammer....after I had accidentally scorched it when I tried to ball up fine silver wire to attach the silver cuff and I left the bone hand in place with the cuff over it and the wire inserted thru all of it....I put kiln paper against the bone to protect it.... the paper didn't catch fire, but instead it turned to ash and wouldn't let the silver melt....so I ended up keeping the torch there too long .....it sure all smelt bad...live and learn....
This second hand I re-shaped a bit (rounded the edges) and put a smidgen of blue in the eye to make it "pop". I used a brass bolt and nut to attach the cuff....no more fire...
The "Khamsa" amulet symbol is said to ward off evil and bring blessings and prosperity to its wearer.
I've listed it in my ETSY shop.

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Monday, September 28, 2009

CROWNS FOR A QUEEN!


My friend Joanne has reopened her website, and has some of the coolest things! Check out her gorgeous crowns....and while you are there look at her washable polymer buttons and her fabulous dolls!
Here's a pic of me wearing my very own crown made by Joanne.


PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

SCANNER ART PAINTING...(SAP?)


Here are 2 more versions of the "Captured Muse" paintings...I'm making a series!
I love the technique I am using...it is sooo forgiving and gives me a lot of freedom to experiment. When I took DJ Pettitt's painting class, I watched her paint with abandon, adding avant garde splashes of color and then drawing and painting over part of her work to create depth and texture. Often she will take a painting and play with it in photoshop giving it new background or a twist of the colors. This is a great way to see your vision and play with ideas without wasting paint or possibly losing something you really liked.
I also took a class with Jesse Reno - and although his style is very different, Jesse loves to paint over any part of a painting that isn't working for him and turn that portion into something else, letting the painting dictate what it wants to become. He does this over and over again...and when he is done, his painting too, has layers of depth and texture and nuance.
OK. So I WANT DEPTH. and TEXTURE... and NUANCE.! ...or at least the illusion....
....but I am a big chicken.
So, I took a picture I hated and painted it into something I liked a bit better, using Jesse's principles of drawing black outlines around forms and shapes in a painting that your imagination sees. Then you paint out parts AROUND your drawing, to make your drawing POP!....whew! I am so rigid and afraid to wreck things.... Then I took the painting and I scanned it using my best matte photo paper. I put the painting aside, and I painted ON THE SCAN. I also used colored pencils and ink. I drew in things I saw in the colors. I painted out parts i didn't like. I added squiggles and dots and smears, like DJ likes to do.
When the paper wouldn't take any more paint, I let it dry and I SCANNED IT AGAIN. Then I painted on the NEW SCAN. If I didn't like where it was going, then I just scanned the previous scan again, and I started all over.
I LOVE this layering technique. Everytime I scan the newest paper painting, I get a new FLAT surface to paint on, draw on, to shade smoothly. Because the 3-d parts of the paper painting have all been flattened by the scanner, the colors and shading and shapes subtly change in the new scanning. I can never make a mistake, because I can either scan the paper painting I am working on now and then paint out the mistake on the new flat surface, or I can start over from the previous scan and take the painting in a new direction.
As lines become faded, or whites go dull, I re add them back in each time.
For "Captured Muse" I went off in several directions, but all began with the initial painting.
I probably did about 10 or so scans to make these paintings.....at one point I took the original canvas and painted/drew in all of my favorite "discoveries" from the painted paper scans. Then I scanned that painting and came up with these 2 new paintings. Usually, when doing a conventional painting, I get frustrated and the paint gets too deep, or it takes too long to dry, or I ruin a part of the painting i liked. THIS method I am now using allows me to experiment all I want . OK. So the finished product is actually a PRINT...sort of...I mean you can't call it a digital painting, because it isn't...but like digital art there really isn't ONE ORIGINAL.
Are you following all of this? Does any of this make sense?
..OH! I found that for some reason, with my scanner (Epson Stylus RX500 All-In-One) scanning the paper painting in"mirror" layout, INTENSIFIED the colors. I only use Epson Matte Premium Presentation Paper.
In any case, I love doing my art this way....it's like sketching many versions, taking pieces of this and that to come up with a concept...
...and it works for me!

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

TREASURE BOX

Today I received a large package in the mail. It was from my friend Sandy who had just recently moved...
Inside the box I found this beautiful "chest"...

...and when I opened it, to my delight, it was filled with all of these wonderful treasures, just waiting for me to recycle and reinvent them! Lots and lots of old chains, vintage pins, old watches, pearls, bits and baubles.

I just love other peoples jewelry cast offs!


PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Skull and Bones Earrings and Necklace Set


This is a simple and understated skull and bones earrings and necklace. The skulls are raku blue glazed ceramics, and the baby blue bone beads are vintage glass, as are the white swirl beads. Sterling silver beads, fine silver wire and a fine silver clasp finish the pieces.


Available in my Etsy shop!

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

WHO KNEW? ...how to fold a fitted sheet FLAT

Here's a You-Tube video my friend Jackie posted on her facebook page....I liked it so much I am posting it too! ...mine never turn out like this!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Prayers For Jessica Easley.....September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Each year over 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer...the number one killer disease of children. Unfortunately very little money is steered towards childhood cancer, and it is totally different from adult cancers. I follow many of these children on Carepages and Caringbridge , offering encouragement and support. Anytime I'm on my pitypot i just pop over to one of these pages...and count my blessings!
I have been feverishly trying to finish up a necklace for a little girl, Jessica Easley, who is terminally ill with cancer and at home with hospice care. Jessica wanted to take her beloved dog LeeRoy with her on her final journey...figuratively, that is. And so I made her this PMC fine silver necklace with a picture of her and LeeRoy that I took from a video on her website. The picture is encased in resin. Jessica has bravely accepted her destiny, and she would welcome prayers for a miracle and/or a peaceful and joyous earning of her angel wings. You can read more about Jessica here......feel free to leave her a comment or a message, too.


This is a new talisman necklace I have just listed on Etsy.

The design is Unisex....Hand cast PMC Fine Silver from a Photo polymer mold I made from a photo i took...
PLEASE remember to leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Painting Make-Over

This is a self portrait painting i did a while back that i absolutely hated. Maybe I look like that, but i couldn't stand to see it in my studio!

So.......... I painted over parts, ....drew on it, painted out some more, .....drew some more, etc, ala Jesse Reno, and this is what I came up with....

...by the time i was done, only part of my eyes remained!

I took pictures that showed the progression, but since I reloaded my hard drive I can't get my scanner to work....

TODAY ONLY! Terrific mini light studio on SALE AGAIN!

OK, here it is again, on sale at 1sale-a-day, for today Sept 18th only, until midnight. This is a terrific mini lighting studio....i just ordered a second one...just because! I posted about this a while back when I got my first one......it is small, only 8x8, but it comes with 2 balanced lights, a camera tripod, 2 backgrounds, filtered side walls and a great case to put it all in - seems to be really good quality.... http://www.1saleada y.com/



PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Easy Recipe Blog

Here is a link to a delightful new food blog that has some scrumptious recipes!
"Man That Chick Can Cook"
I've added it to my sidebar favorites, too.
Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

MAIDEN VOYAGE


Yesterday we finally took the boat out! It was a beautiful hot clear day, with gorgeous cobalt blue waves 4-6 ft. Perfect! I armed myself with seabands and bonine. We packed a lunch and sunscreen and set off around 8 am.
Boating was so much fun! ...but out on the open ocean is REALLY ROUGH...and today we are both sore, just from trying to keep our balance.
I am so NOT a boat person. But I tried real hard. Whenever I would get queasy I would try to think of something to divert attention from my unhappy stomach. Out of sight, out of mind.....
I even tried steering....please, I'm lucky I can drive a car! Ha!
We were out about 3 hours. We did not eat the lunch. I was happy to get back to dry land.
We did notice that the ocean was much calmer and silky the farther north we went. Next week we will go again, launching a bit farther north. It can only get better..... right?
Here's a silly video (the part where I glare at the "mean captain" has been edited out...LOL)

and a few pics....

...launching the boat

the Captain at the wheel....

the 1st Mate....

Monday, September 07, 2009

COMPUTER BUG CULPRITS (sort of...)

Our desk top computer is only about a year and a half old, but lately it has been crashing with the black screen of death. My first thoughts are always the mother board or hard drive, but my DH did some investigating and discovered that when the computer starts fine and then instantly shuts itself down, usually within minutes of booting up, that the problem is often dust inside the computer that causes overheating. Solution? vacuum it out. So my DH takes the back off of the computer ...and surprise! it looks pretty clean.....
no matter, he diligently vacuums it anyway, puts it all back together again, plugs it in and PRESTO!....the black screen of death again.
so, more internet investigating....cheaper than taking it in for diagnostics to see what is wrong ...
anyway, he comes across another possible problem.......the power supply going out ....intermittent power will cause the computer to shut down (of course) when the power is interrupted. A new power supply is anywhere from $35 to $300, but the source says the $35 one hopefully will do the trick....
So DH decides to pull the case inside the computer that holds the power supply out of the computer so he can check the model number and thus be sure to order the correct new one. So he unattaches the power supply and pulls the case out of the computer...
then my DH gets the idea to open the back of the power supply case to see if there are dust bunnies in there....
...and look what he finds!



Three dead (fried?) large geckos, corroding away on the terminals....
... after cleaning out the geckos and their mess, and putting it all back together.....
VOILA! so far the computer has been working good as new!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

SNAIL MAIL DECADENT CANDY!

LOOK AT WHAT I GOT IN THE MAIL! LUCKY LUCKY ME....there they were on my work desk when I got home, just waiting for me to open them!
Below is an amazing stash of incredible things sent to me by Amber (...aka the "CHARM QUEEN") Dawn. A while back ago Amber commented on liking some beads I had used....I had 2 more left, so i sent them to her along with a FEW other little things. Amber then asked me if I needed any more rusty bezels. Now I LOVE Amber Dawn's rusty bezels. She digs them up herself from fallen decris from a metal factory....lots 'o work! well, of course i needed more bezels. So we decide to call the exchange a swap........so...... what does Amber send me?
Bezels, of course.

BIG ONES....for pendants and shrines and mixed media paintings. She also sent me "chaton roses" ....vintage, crystal and from Austria. ZILLIONS of them!
all wrapped up in their original vintage paper....


green aurora borealis ones, bronze ones, black ones
but wait...there's more!
just look!

is that a cool hand or what? ...and look at the BUGS. The brass flowery things are findings to hold the chatons. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the barrettes with my name on them!

if you click on this pic you will see that the black flowers at the top left are velvet metal roses!

...and see those tiny square sequins? they are metal! (or maybe they are spacers?...whatever...they are FAB!)
thank you thank you thank you Amber Dawn! You are a great friend and beyond GENEROUS!
...About THREE YEARS AGO I participated in a "virtues" tarot swap...at least that is what I thought it was called...but it was so long ago I don't remember. The host ran into an amazing amount of life incidents and so the cards were never distributed. Now with this swap you made your assigned tarot cards and submitted the original art, and then the host was to copy them and mail them out.
well lo and behold when I got back on Thursday night, my deck had arrived.
Boy was the wait worth it!
The cards came in a wooden box and were accompanied by a booklet that explained the meaning of every card. Truly beautiful!

..the cards in their box....

...the booklet...

...the cards....
...oh, and here's the centipede bracelet...not exactly a success....the resin is hard, but still flexible...weird and rather UGLY.

WEDDING IN SEATTLE

On August 15th, my niece Jackie got married. It was a fabulous wedding - great food, family, friends and fun!

Jackie was a GORGEOUS bride....and her gown was stunning!

Jackie, Johnny (the groom) , and Jaden (their son and ring bearer)
The bride with 2 of the 3 flower girls. The 3rd one refused to march down the aisle, and Izzy, pictured in the center, wouldn't wear the headdress and only walked down the aisle after being bribed with a tube a lipstick and a chicken nugget! Too funny! The bride was wonderful about all the tiny mishaps....


...a jubilant mother of the bride.......
yay! it's over!

...the new Mr. and Mrs. Taylor.....

My 89 yr old dad (who needs a walker to walk!) insisted that he dance with his grand daughter.....we told him NO!....but he took his walker and made his way to the dance floor and ....
danced with Jackie...

Sleepy in Seattle.....

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Pic of the Day

a bird in the hand........
Sookie the dog was outside barking and barking at something ........this little bird was just sitting there on the lanai, staring up at the dog..... it wasn't afraid of lance, so he picked it up, we took some pictures....and then it flew away. We decided it was a baby that had just left the nest and learned to fly and it didn't know humans were scary.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Micro nuts and bolts...Bullet Cross pics and MORE!

Yesterday i received various sizes of nuts and bolts from micromark. The smallest, a size 0-90, is my favorite! I got flat head screws and hex head screws.... I got a matching drill bit too so i could drill skinny holes that fit. I also got size 0- 80's, 1-72's and 1-256's.

The 1st one is a size 0-90 - my fave
the 2nd one is a 0-80 hex head, 3rd one is a 0-80 flat screw head, with the matching nut
4th one is a 1-72 hex head.....all of these are supposed to be 3/8 inch long
the 5th one is from susan lenart kazmir's Objects and Elements Shop - a good deal actually, $20 bucks for 50 nut and bolt sets! ...probably a size 0-80 as far as I can tell. 1/4 inch long..the nut however is bigger than the other ones...
...and the last one is a 1-256...small, but too big for me. Look at the head...this is what you don't want - it is a recessed head - not a flat head...not good for attaching unbeveled metal together tightly. here's a better pic to show you what I mean...

...see the beveled (or counter sunk) head?
The best part of my purchase, though, were the tiny nut holders I got that hold the nut and help you screw it on easily.


I still needed my needle nose flat pliers to do the final tightening, but my fingers always seem too big for tiny things and this tool really helped. you get 4 sizes of nut holders for $19.95. I LOVE micromark. I also found a source for the nuts and bolts that has really reasonable prices, now that I know what the sizes really look like. The other company is microfasteners.
I couldn't finish my bullet cross because it was too late to rivet the wings onto the cross and resin didn't seem strong enough nor did superglue....so nuts and bolts were a great solution..(heaven forbid the wings come off).....they went on really easy...i had ordered 3/8 inch long bolts - probably would have been better with 1/4 inch, but i just cut off the excess.

I also used loctite on the threads to further keep the nuts from ever loosening, and a drop of superglue for good measure!...so now the "goth steampunk skull and bullet cross" necklace is finished. YAY!

The cross is made of brass bullet casings (used - from the set of "Jericho"). A snake vertebrae (I was told it was a cobra...maybe) is at the top of the cross. The center has a tiny blue raku ceramic skull and the hands are also blue raku. It also has vintage metal eagle buttons and brass shotgun shell bezels filled with resin and bb's, and barbed wire (but not sharp!) style baling wire links. The clasp is a forged steel toggle. Garnet drops hang from the cross as well as from the chain.

details...

metal vintage button link....
Chain is approx 34 inches long...I may shorten it to 30" and make a pair of earrings...or not!
Cross is an additional 4 1/2 inches high.
Here is a pair of steampunk shotgun and airplane earrings. They were made with little stamped airplanes that were filled with resin and microbeads, brass shotgun shell bases and old watch parts. The back of the brass base is lined with resined vintage bible proverbs and old watch parts and microbeads in more resin. The earwires are yellow non reactive niobium.


I will put these on my Etsy shop, eventually!

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Monday, August 10, 2009

huge soul clearing sale!

Kate McKinnon is having a 2 week SOUL CLEARING sale, and she is selling a ton of great stuff! Clearing the clutter out of her life, her soul! Sale starts tomorrow Aug 11th! Click here to see!

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Pic of the Day, lighting in a box...progress on projects...and more!


Faster than a speeding bullet... (it's Sookie the dog - running, in case you can't tell....)
Recently I purchased a mini lighting system from sale-a-day, and I have to admit i was very skeptical. It was only $9.99 and shipping was $5.99....but others on my Metal Clay group already owned it and said it was terrific and the price was normally $40, so along with others I took a chance. I didn't think they'd ship it to Hawaii for so cheap...but lo and behold ...it ARRIVED...and it is A GREAT SET UP!...it is small, only 8x8, but it comes with 2 balanced lights, a camera tripod, 2 backgrounds, filtered side walls and a great case to put it all in - seems to be really good quality.... next time it goes on sale again I'll let you know about it here on my blog (it went on sale again last week!)

cool, eh?

something ate my pineapple...sheesh!
simple resin earrings...

remember the bullet cross I was working on? well, this is part of the chain for it....it has winchester shotgun brass...the backs are filled with resin and copper bb's, and they are interspersed with vintage metal buttons that look sort of military to me.....and wired together with a barbed-wire link...the edges have been rounded so they aren't sharp!


...and below is the partially assembled cross......the center hole is where the skull with the wings goes.....the top 4 wires will get some sort of hanging beading...maybe glass tear drops....and the bottom 2 chains will also get a similar treatment......the whole necklace still has a long ways to go...i am so unfocused lately with my projects..... i like the chain, but the cross has been a real pain...it is all cold connected...i really MUST learn to solder (or braze) with the torch......

...and i haven't even LOOKED at the dolls I was supposed to be working on......

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Gift from TANZANIA and NEW projects


Isn't this bracelet gorgeous? My friend, Terry Ross, just got back from Tanzania, and she sent me this bracelet. There are ceramic beads, bone beads and glass beads....and you know, I LOVE BEADS! Thank you SOOO MUCH, Terry!
This morning I turned on the shower and THIS came out of the drain. This doesn't happen very often, but our bathtub, bathroom sink, kitchen sink and washer all drain outside as grey water.
This is a small one, about 3 inches....silly me didn't turn the light on, and I was so excited to take the picture that I took a pretty bad one....but here he is:

...and being the macabre person that I am, I ran outside and got my large canister of alcohol and my hemostats and I picked him up and dropped him in. In less than a minute he was a goner.......but for some reason his legs and antennae turned blue! I thought of coating him with silver clay slip - but I knew all the details would be lost....so......I RESINED HIM!
Into a bracelet mold! HAHA! Gross, huh? It is not done yet...it needs more resin and maybe some river rocks or glass balls or something.....I'll post again when it is done.......
...and here are the beginnings of doll heads.....works in progress

this one is polymer clay covered with paper

this one is paper clay....when it is dry it will get covered with cloth and then painted..

and this one needs to be sanded and then painted....
i have also been working on a steampunk goth cross necklace...this is what goes in the center of the cross that is made from 3 bullet casings.

...and below are the sides of the cross ...they go under the wings....

These above casings are actually from used bullet blanks (that I picked up off the set of Jericho ages ago), which is why the edges are flared....


PLEASE be sure you leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Other bloggers GREAT Blog Candy!

here are some cool sites with GREAT blog candy! check them out!
Priscillastyles

or look at this one! it's from junesartyretreat, it is a HUGE giveaway!...

...or how about this big box of stickers from bonniebleax?
...or you could win this great bundle....from artisticstamper

PLEASE be sure and leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Diary Project Pages

These are the two pages I did for the Diary Project, 2010.
If you would like to do a page, there are still a few days available! Click HERE.
You can click on my pages themselves to see them bigger. The diary will be printed in 2 sizes, or available downloadable so you can have it printed yourself in any size you would like.....

OCTOBER 31st

MAY 15th

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

"Buried Treasure" - a blast from the past.....

Seth, of The Altered Page, recently challenged bloggers to post a "Buried Treasure"..that is, a favorite post(s) unearthed from the past. You can visit his site on July 23rd to see a list with links to all of the bloggers who are participating in the challenge. I am posting today, because of the time zone differences......
So here is mine, it is from January, 08 and at the time I was posting about things I was grateful for, each day.....

Thursday, January 10, 2008
Gratitude Day 3

I woke up this morning while it was still dark and immediately my thoughts went to gratitude. yeah! Maybe it will become a habit. I started coming up with all kinds of things...but I'll just list one for today...
Today i am very very grateful for ....my childhood.
I truly had an idyllic, blissful childhood. Some of my sisters would disagree (for themselves), but for me it was a childhood made in heaven. I was allowed to be a child for a long long time - I still played with babydolls until I was 13 and I never had a barbie - just not my thing. I've written about this topic before, so this time I thought I'd post part of a round robin book I worked in ages ago. The theme was "childhood" and I wrote and illustrated about my own....
"The House on Bird Avenue"

The closed pages. Each word opens a window with a photograph and explanation...

The pages opened....This is what it says:
I GREW UP IN A RAMBLING 2 STORY 5,000 SQ FT SPANISH STUCCO HOUSE ON 2 ACRES. The house was located in the heart of san jose, calif at the base of the curve in the road. The house itself was set back 50 feet from the street, with a 3 ft high white 2 foot thick concrete white fence that protected the house from the street traffic. (many a night we would hear the screech of tires and the crash of glass as someone once again was driving too fast and missed the curve in the road….but they never could penetrate that fence!)
My sisters and I and our friends would spend hours on that fence playing statues...like the local traffic didn’t think we were really kids standing in awkward positions on the fence as they went by!
The front yard was lined with 100 foot redwood and pine trees. Many a Halloween my mom would string flying witches and ghosts from those trees. My brother built treehouses, 40 feet up in the pines… we also had many water balloon fights from those huge, strong trees. Mama had an extensive garden with giant colorful peonies, snowball trees, calla lilies, elephant ears and snap dragons. There were 3 other homes in the neighborhood that grew champion irises, so of course our yard had gorgeous hybrid irises of every color everywhere, compliments of our neighbors!
The front yard also had a fish pond with tadpoles and fish and lily pads…..and the front door was placed deep on a brick terrace.
This house was a child’s dream! There was always something to do! In the main backyard we had more huge pine trees for climbing and a swing set. ..and there was a great mulberry tree full of fruit every year.
My dad put in a 20” doughboy pool, and then when I was in high school, he added an addition to the house and put in a huge built-in swimming pool.
The backyard had a detached 4 car garage that my parents set up as a rec room, with a billiard table. My dad built me huge extensive breeding cages, and I raised rats and guinea pigs. I loved those animals! My mom sold them once a month, but it wasn’t until I was much older that I found out she was selling them to Stanford University for research!
Many of the rats would escape from those cages, and my mom adopted them as pets and they would run wild in the garage...(she would feed them in their own dishes everyday).
We also had lots of dogs, and rabbits and even chickens, once. But no cats. Mama hated cats!
The back yard was fenced separately. It had avocado, peach, apple, cherry, apricot, persimmon, orange, lemon, walnut, and almond trees. My mother also grew artichokes and rhubarb year round. Once a year my grandfather would come and plant corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans and potatoes. The potatoes never grew!
…and to top it all off, one half of the “2nd backyard” as we called it, was naturalized with yellow daffodils – still my favorite flower.
Our house was a kid magnet! You could bring home anyone you wanted and not have to ask permission. My mom never fed less than 20, every night…..when I was in high school I had no less that 5 different classmates move in – from 2 weeks to one year - everyone was welcome in our house. Everyday after school my mama had beans and home made tortillas and rice pudding or Italian cookies for us to munch on…wednesday was always spaghetti night...
But- we were not spoiled…..we didn’t have a lot of money and I thought my dad was the cleverest man alive, the way he built things and recycled things….and my mom sewed all of our clothes and canned our food and we sold the fruit and nuts…and she did lots of volunteer social work for the church and our community, and we did volunteer work, too! (mama would have me babysit very old and infirmed women over night so that their caretakers could take a night off – very scarry in their old houses…one old lady made me snort snuff with her – I was 12!) …40 % of any money we earned had to be given back to the household…and we all had jobs early in age….
My mom loved fires….and would pack all 8 of us kids into the old station wagon to follow the firetruck. I still remember the fireman saying to my mom – please, Mrs. Rinaldo, take your children home !
We had a crazy woman named Millie, who lived in our basement. Mom had hired her to help with the ironing., but she never did a lick of work…
mom didn’t have the heart to throw her out in the street, so she made her an apartment in the basement and Millie would bang all night on the plumbing pipes and berate the air. But she’s another story….
the house was always chaotic and noisy and wonderful. Mama made mud pies with us and sang to us, and made funny faces at us that made us laugh. She told us great stories and had an incredible imagination which she shared with all of her children…. I could go on and on with my childhood memories…I was very lucky…….
My childhood was a joy !


Monday, July 20, 2009

New Pics....

Beach day!

Good 'ol Kealia beach! water was blue blue blue, but a bit choppy...large areas were posted no swimming due to rip tides......
.....a couple of pairs of earrings made as gifts....

...pearl crosses, fine silver wire, sterling silver and garnet earwires....

polymer clay, patinaed brass leaf, fine silver wire, amethysts and sterling silver earwires....

...some more pics from the fairy bamboo forest....

...and a few more beach photos....

PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS ...otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Detour - Kauai Style

Yesterday i went into town to take care of some needed shopping, etc. I was just leaving Walmart, when Lance called me to tell me he needed some simple green. It was 11 am. So, I circled around and went back to Walmart. 20 minutes later, on my way home, I turned onto the main Highway (actually, the ONLY road that goes back to the north side of the island to where i live )...and found it to be bumper to bumper traffic. The local radio station said that a 2 car collision was up ahead that had happened at 11:06....and that both sides of the highway had been shut down. So me and a zillion other locals and tourists just sat...and sat...and sat. There is only ONE road out of the main city of Lihue and it snakes following the ocean all the way to where there are no more roads - Haena. I had the Garden News with me, so I read that....police cars raced by one way, ambulances the other...about 1/2 hour later, cars started to slowly move....until we got to the golf course next to the highway...then we were diverted onto a paved and/or dirt maintenance road through the golf course, and around the accident and then back onto the highway. Unfortunately I didn't remember to pull out my camera at first, so there are no shots of the puzzled golfers we drove through.....but just look at that blue sky!







PLEASE leave me your EMAIL ADDRESS if you comment....otherwise I can't thank you for visiting my blog!

Friday, July 10, 2009

A GIFT! ...plus.....Power Tools in Reorganized Shop, New Project

Recently I posted on one of my groups about my love of using old broken rosary pieces in my jewelry. My friend Kathy McElroy asked me if I would like some old rosary pieces that had belonged to her father. Of course i said yes.....now previously, Kathy had inquired about my bird beads. So - we decided to do a swap. I sent my Kathy some bird beads and a few other small arty things and Kathy sent me the rosary parts....and lots and lots of wonderful rusty metal.....and some vintage dominoes, vintage buttons, tart plate, silver beads, tie tac, belt buckles, lock parts, coins, and on and on!..I mean just LOOK at what she sent me!
I am overwhelmed!.......I, obviously, got the better end of this deal!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU,KATHY!
and then, kathy also sent me one of her gorgeous Jewelry Hangers, made from a door knob, crystal and escutcheon(?).

Isn't it lovely? It is about 9 inches or so.....and has a clear crystal door knob as well as a large hanging cut crystal......
Here is a picture of some of the brass Winchester shotgun shell brass bezels, fresh out of the tumbler. Some of the centers have slipped out, but they pop right back in!

Today I went into town to get some grocery shopping done, and when I got home and went into the shop I saw that lance had mounted some of my power tools for me, for a surprise!

To the left is the polisher/grinder ( I have never used it...soon, i promise!), in the center is my NEW mitre/chop saw- that I have had for almost 2 years and was too intimidated to use..., and on the right is the drill press. I LOVE my drill press. Underneath is the tumbler....

Here's a closer view of the chop saw. Now i don't have to spend forever cutting tubes with a tube cutter...this cuts through metal tubing AND solid bar stock (with a different blade it cuts wood)....and it's EASY PEASY! WHO KNEW?

This is my glass work station - glass grinder, glass saw.....

and this is the heat press, my torch, and my little kiln

...this shows you the 3 work stations that are actually in one small area...
...and BELOW, shows you the rest of my reorganized shop area.

...above, the bead station

This is my craft/painting/general purpose table. My printers and computer are here too.
I keep everything covered because we get a lot of moist salt air...and BUGS!
...please note the junk stacked up in the left corner ready to be sorted...later. For now it will be put in a rubbermaid container....
...and below is looking back the other way.....


Lots more shelves to still clean out, junk to get rid of....but at least i can walk through it and i can see the counter tops!
I am SO SPOILED....and blessed!


Sunday, July 05, 2009

DIARY 2010 PROJECT


Diary 2010 Project is a three language calendar/diary filled with art from artists you know and admire....and you can be one too! Not only do you get to design your very own page for the diary, you also get to place your blog or website/etsy address on your page. Some dates are still available, but artwork needs to be in by July 15th! Please click on the picture link for more info.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!


(photo courtesy of Marine Sgt Skylar Adams, my son, taken when he was serving in Iraq)
LET FREEDOM RING!
"Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom." (Lt.Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr)


..Me (age 6) at Cordelia Ave House with 3 of my 4 sisters....I'm the tall one with the round face!
...when I was a child, growing up in San Jose, we lived on Cordelia Street in a custom built 4 bedroom ranch house. It was a new neighborhood, and was filled with lots of children and families. Behind our house and extending up the block of houses was a cherry orchard...and at the end of the block was a grove of giant oak trees that extended through the orchard and into a winding creek.
Every 4th of July there was a block party at the end of the street under the oak trees. All of the neighbors got together and we had hot dogs and potato chips ....and every kid got a box of sparklers and a sugar daddy.....and then we had fireworks on the paved asphalt and watermelon.
Such sweet memories!....
...Please, don't forget where freedom comes from.....

..below is a terrific 4th of July post from Peggy Larson, whose son's Care Page I follow. Coleman Larsen earned his angel wings last December but Peggy still updates his page and works tirelessly with other families whose children have cancer. She also keeps readers updated with the going-ons of his twin brother, Caden. She posted it for 4th of July, and so am I, because it is so true! How easy it is to jump to conclusions and get mad over something that disrupts our usual routine or seems annoying or unnecessary.

So, here it is:
She writes:
"Before I end, I usually don't post emails here, but this one really made me stop and think- that we need to try to put ourselves in other people's shoes and be slow to anger- for we don't know THEIR story." **************************************************************************
Some of you may have read this one already:
True Story.....Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by new neighborhoods that complain about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit. The complaint:
'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated. The response:Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques." SPE.Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day. At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured...A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning airshow? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives. Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. Lt. Col. Grant L.Rosensteel, Jr. USAF

HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY!

Friday, July 03, 2009

Tee Tee Tittles arrives!


Our Boat is here! ...and this is a picture of her, all cozy inside our shop! She is named "Tee Tee Tittles" ...yes, she really is! The previous owner named her that... he said that's what he always called his brother when they were little, and he named the boat after him. They were fishing partners. She'll stay in the shop for a few weeks while Lance details her and adds radar, etc. She is a beauty!
The area to the right in the picture is where I do my artwork, but I am still rearranging all of my art supplies and shelving, - so I am not producing any artwork. I have a few necklace ideas I need to get out of my system, and then I am starting a series of dolls....deviant dolls....fallen angel dolls....well, you get the idea.......

Saturday, June 27, 2009

ETSY TREASURY - EYES and a pic of the day

My Eye earrings were placed in my first ETSY Treasury ever. A Treasury is an Etsy thing where art of a particular theme is grouped together. I have no idea what it really does for you - I'm not very familiar with the ins and outs of Etsy - but I think it is to help promote you and give you more traffic to your store. Anyway, I am very grateful!
Click here to see!
Lance pulled this little fellow out of Sookies MOUTH! gasp, gasp, gasp. We think he was learning to fly and Sookie interfered.

I put him on the ground, and his parents were flying around us and squabbling. He walked a bit. Then the parents flew off. He was almost as big as his parents, only he was fluffy and they were sleek. They are a brilliant green, and about 3-4 inches in size. BEAUTIFUL BIRDS! I tossed him up a few feet and he flapped his wings and flew a few feet. I did this several times. Then I threw him up high a few time. On my 3rd try, he flew high and landed in a palm tree, where his parents then flew to and joined him with lots of chatter.
.
this photo shows you his size....
So hopefully he has now learned to fly and will be ok.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

PIC(S) OF THE DAY...

We finally finished cutting down 40 areca palms today. We had been waiting for some baby birds that were nesting in the trees to finally grow up and fly away!The trees drop nuts and huge fronds and were approaching 30 feet tall and were very messy and driving us crazy! Besides, we needed to clean up the whole area, replace the tarps and finish an enclosure for the new boat that's coming. The boat won't be here until next Monday - it was delayed leaving the port in San Diego because of an impending hurricane off the coast of Mexico - but it is on its way now!
So, this is the before picture: (That's my workshop on the right)

well sort of before - we'd already taken down 20 trees!

We attached a strap to the winch on the jeep and wrapped it around each tree trunk, and we pulled them down! Then lance cut them up with his chainsaw. It was my job to haul them away!
Here's the after picture: (....kind of naked looking...)

Now don't worry- it will actually all grow back in and be ready to be cut down again in no time! Things grow FAST around here!
...and here are close-ups of treasures we found while we were working. Lance said that we had cut down a fairies hideaway paradise, and that they were probably very angry with us for destroying their unique habitat. Such a cute, but unLance thing for him to say!...but he was right - the thick intertwining roots from the trees and all the nooks and crannies and debris really do look like a fairy wonderland!


POOR FAIRIES! they'll have to rebuild...

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Pic of the Day...and more!


Well here is a willy-nilly whenever i see it Pic of the Day. I just can't do it EVERY day. I tried....but I just didn't have the motivation to make it happen.....but here is something i spotted and thought I'd show you.
This is a Hawaiian garden snail. I'm sure they are not native...we don't have the regular brown garden variety in my yard...only this type and a much smaller long coned one.
This guy is about 3 inches!...and it's not even a big one!
...and then, a few new pieces for the shop..... a Bone Owl Necklace. The carved bone owl is sitting on a preserved chicken bone with a rusty moon rising from behind. The chain is handmade from pounded rebar wire....turquoise emperor stone, turquoise beads and cobra spines for accent.

...and a simple pair of red lampwork heart earrings accented with swarovski crystals on fine silver. The earwires are sterling silver.


...and check out this news link.....
"Kauai unfazed by missile threat"
..since were the most likely target....Polihale by the way is the beach where lance and i went camping ages ago...and encountered THOUSANDS of paper roaches that we thought were flying moths.......yuck-o!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

OUR BOAT!




Our boat is on its way! It is being trucked from Indiana to San Diego and then will be put on a barge for an ocean crossing to our island! It should be here by the 29th or so........
The boat is a Zodiac Pro Open 650 RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) - which is a civilian derivative of a Navy Seal ocean boat. It is 4 years old and came with everything imaginable - including GPS, life jackets, fish finders, rod holders, etc etc.
...now keep in mind I am a TERRIBLE sailor.
I guess i will learn.... Dramamine will be my best friend.... I will not FEAR deep water.

...and a new pair of earrings: Tears of Joy Earrings...using one of Amber Dawn's rusty bezels, pewter eye, resin, copper and a carnelian tear. Check out the full description in my Etsy shop!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

YARD PHOTOS, NEW ART


coffee beans, drying on the tree...

wild fungus under a wood railing....

new youth....

glorious mid life....

...the fat lady sang....

..a stray bullet hole......


drawings to be resized and used in resin bezel earrings.....i also made them into art cards to mount jewelry on......
I made a pair of pink rose quartz calla lily earrings today.

..and here they are on an art card.....

I've added these earrings to my Esty shop, as well as a "Fighting Tooth and Nail" necklace, with 3 vintage antique square nails and 5 fake teeth. It is on a figure eight iron wire neck chain and is a much larger more complicated version of the single nail ones I like to give away to those who are in a health battle.......other than that, we have been very busy with the yard. Thursday was mow day, and we have also been trimming heliconias and gingers as well as finally picking up all of the hundreds of palm fronds that have fallen because of the heat. Gorgeous weather - but it makes for a lot of yardwork!
...and
WE BOUGHT A BOAT! I''ll post pics tomorrow......

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

WOOHOO! I AM A FEATURED ARTIST FOR ANIMA DESIGNS' NEWSLETTER!

I am so excited!
Anima Designs
is my FAVORITE source ( it really is - I've said this before) to buy unusual
and cool jewelry design elements.....I have recommended them many times before.........so imagine my surprise, when from out of the blue, they contacted me and asked permission to feature ME in their newsletter!
Greetings!

June Customer Spotlight: Concetta Williams

As a new monthly feature of our newsletter, we plan to focus on customers who are making great art and jewelry with Anima Designs purchases. We hope to help drive more customers to the featured artist's blog, etsy store or website.

Today, our focus is on Concetta Williams, a mixed media artist with "a passion for the unusual and bizarre" who lives and works in beautiful Kauai, Hawaii. She has an etsy store: http://concettawilliams.etsy.com

and a blog:

http://cettacheese.blogspot.com/

Connie has made the most fabulous jewelry using her Anima Designs purchases. Take a look:

Wooden hand necklaceBunny earrings

Gothic Owl Art Necklace

Be sure to see all of her handcrafted jewelry and artwork on her blog and in her etsy store! (all photos used with permission). I personally have my eye on a pair of earrings that I would love to add to my collection!

Please visit Connie today!

If you would like to be featured in an upcoming issue of our periodic newsletter, please send us an email at animadesigns@animadesigns.com

Please provide your full name and a link to your website, etsy store or blog with pictures of your creations using Anima Designs products. We will select one customer per month. The benefits that you will receive will include a featured spotlight in our newsletter with links to your etsy shop, blog or website, a link on our links page at animadesigns-shop.com and a $10.00 gift certificate usable in our store. (You are, of course, under no obligation to use the gift certificate. It's just our way of saying thank you!) We can display up to three photos of your work, with your permission, of course!
SHOPPING CART TUTORIAL: ACTIVE CARTS

In each newsletter, we will focus on explaining in depth key features of our new shopping cart system so that you will better understand how to use it.

While our new system does not technically allow you to save your shopping cart, if you have either logged in, or entered your contact information, but have not checked out, your shopping cart remains active. What this means is that we are able to see the cart and to send you an email which contains a link to your cart, enabling you to complete or modify your order.

If you have not completed the contact information, we can still see the cart but are not able to identify it with you. So if you've browsed our shop and placed some items in your shopping cart but want to complete your order later, please be sure to either login to your account, if you have one, or to enter your contact information, including an email address. We will be happy to send you a follow-up email that allows you to complete your order.

Please note that until an order is completed, all items in the cart are subject to pre-sale so there may not be the same quantity available on an item as when it was first placed in your shopping cart.


horizontal drilled mahjong bone tile beads

New Items, New Mahjong Tile Category & More


To see the new products that we've added, please click on the following link:

http://www.animadesigns-shop.com/NEW-PRODUCTS_c_262.html

We've added a pewter breast milagro and new pewter Guadalupe and Frida pendants.

We have new bone mahjong tile beads (many suitable for bracelet-making) and have listed them in their own category. To see these, please click on the following link:

http://www.animadesigns-shop.com/Mahjong-Beads_c_266.html

We are having a clearance sale on bracelet blanks. We have limited inventory of these left and would like to make room for new items. They are at or below cost . . .

New items have been added to our penny bonus category. These are items that you can purchase for a penny with any order. They are limited to the quantity on hand and there is a limit of one per customer per order.

We are offering special, introductory pricing on our limited edition decorative paper packs. Assorted papers have been culled from a variety of sources and put together in packs that we're offering for $2.75. While quantities last.
Some Benefits of Account Registration

Product reviews

Only registered customers can submit product reviews. You must be logged in. Just click on the "review this item" link under each product photo. You will have to login to your account before proceeding. We will send you a free product for each review that you submit (our choice but we look at what you have ordered in the past for the selection of your free product!)

Account management

Registered customers have the ability to login to their account to check on the order status, see tracking numbers, shipment date, wishlists, customer inquiry ticket status, and more.


Thanks for your continued support!

All the best,

Kim Nickens
www.animadesigns-shop.com
www.animadesigns.com

Monday, June 08, 2009

...NEW FINISHED PROJECTS (whew!)


garnet and sterling silver earrings for a wedding...I made 7 pairs!

...an amethyst and gold pendant (she has matching earrings) for the bride's mother...
Garden Bunny Earrings
gorgeous orange aventurine, carnelian, copper leaves and a bone bunny. Earwires are copper.

.
...green aventurine calla lilies, with fine silver and glass beads.
Round bead is jade, Earwires are sterling silver.

...a simple pendant ..."Hands of Honey"
the rusty bezel is a trade from Amber Dawn. It is filled with a wooden hand, balled copper and resin. The copper bee is vintage (look at the detailed photo below) and the drop is a carnelian.
.
...i love the detail on the wings!
Hands of Honey Pendant, Garden Bunny Earrings and Green Calla Lily Earrings are all available on myEtsy, as well as 2 different Vintage German Bisque Dolls (in parts!)

Sunday, June 07, 2009

pic of the day....

Friday, June 05, 2009

PICTURE of the DAY...and New Art Jewelry!


ok, I was desperate. It was getting dark. Then SHE poked her face in my camera....

I made a couple of new pairs of earrings..... This one is made with my bird beads, and emperor stone (whatever that is- it's from Russia) egg beads, fine silver, and earwires of sterling silver.
...and then I made these Bisque baby bullet Earrings.
They have tiny droplets of garnet. The chain and findings are copper, the bullet casings are brass, the arms are vintage German bisque doll parts. The earwires are gunmetal colored niobium.
You can find these on my ETSY shop......yes - I finally opened it! woohoo! I hope to add bisque doll parts soon (complete dolls!), and I've listed some BIRD BEADS as well!

TIES THAT BIND ....DOLL RAFFLE!



The "Ties That Bind" doll raffle to benefit Ovarian Cancer Research has begun! Click the picture or the link to read all the details! The doll is created out of artist neckties and then covered in art charms donated by your favorite artists! You can view all of the charms individually on the website...The raffle runs through the end of September......

Thursday, June 04, 2009

PICTURE OF THE DAY


A baby pineapple growing in my garden!
Today you get a picture AND a How-To-Video. Creating your own video by yourself without a tripod is not hard - just jerky......but here you go anyway!
video

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Picture of the Day...a bit macabre!

I have decided to try my hand at posting a photo of something - ANYTHING! every day. well, ok, maybe not everyday...but we'll see how it goes....
Today on my bike ride i spotted this. I turned around and got flat down on the asphalt and took the photo. I apologize in advance if this offends anyone, but I just have a quirky streak in me!

...and you think you had a bad night?!?.....

yes, it is a toad... only this toad is already toast, but he doesn't seem to know it!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

catch up!

I have been away on the mainland for my niece's graduation party - and of course am hopelessly behind in my answering emails and blogging! Jennifer is now Dr. Rasmussen, MD...her specialty is neurology and she will be doing her residency in San Antonio, Texas. (which is coincidentally -hah!- where her mother and dad live). My sister Marianne and brother-in-law Frank gave her a fabulous party in Las Vegas. Lots and lots of family and friends came, including my son Vincent, and we had a blast! here are a few photos:

Queen Marianne and Princess Izzy

Frank and Izzy's mom, Brittany

Vincent and his Godchild, Maggie ( Jennifer and Jim's baby)

Great grandpa (my dad) and Izzy.

My aunts and uncles and the honoree Jennifer

The babies playing with Las Vegas in the background....
Art wise, I have been working mostly on gifts for family and an upcoming niece's wedding, and a few new necklaces.....I will post some pics as soon as something is finished...too much to do!
Healing Tree Doll beginnings...so much for finishing a gift for Jen!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!


...just look at the blues in that ocean!
May 17th was my 22nd Wedding Anniversary. My dear husband Lance brought me my favorite breakfast (poached eggs on toast) in bed and lots and lots of awesome presents! After i was up and dressed we spent the morning at the beach....a gorgeous day at Kealia. Then we came home and I worked on projects and we watched a movie and then he made a marvelous dinner of steak and lobster. It was a fantabulous, perfect day. I sure do LOVE MY MAN!
Lance and I...

a natural rocking chair....

Sunday, May 10, 2009

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

This was my wonderful dinner last night - pre mothers day. Blackened local opah fish with sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms. yummy.

this morning my dear husband gave me breakfast in bed - poached eggs on toast with fresh strawberries, pineapple and oranges in orange/raspberry sauce. my favorite!
...and here are 18 roses!
I had wonderful chats with both of my boys and with grand baby Hana....and it helped that today was a beautiful day (weatherwise) on Kauai.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

"My best Friend" Photo Ragdolls

I have put the jewelry making aside and am trying to catch up and complete started but neglected projects.
I finally finished the "My Best Friend" photo ragdolls i promised my grand nieces for Christmas. Hah! Each grandniece gets a doll of her "best friend" (her cousin) along with a tiny doll of Grandma Marianne. (well almost done, the mini grandma dolls still need their hair) On the back of each doll is Grandpa Frank on Dallas Cowboy fleece.

Maggie is on the right, Izzy is on the left

The backs- Grandpa Frank

Friday, May 01, 2009

LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL!

Recently I traded Dot Christian from Australia some bird beads for a Dotee Bird and egg. Woohoo! am i one happy camper! Dot is famous for her Dotee Dolls, and although I've seen imitations, I had never seen an original before.
I HAD NO IDEA how detailed and fantastic they are! Just look!

That is all teeny tiny hand embroidery and beading. Look at the close up of the egg below:

...and this is from the birds body. those little flowers are each sewn on, and they are itsy bitsy. The whole bird is only about 5 inches across!

aren't those baby stars (in the right corner) just wonderful?
BUT WAIT...there was more - Dot also sent me, as an EXTRA - a DOTEE DOLL!

Isn't she gorgeous?
LOOK AT THE HAND SEWN DETAILS!

Dot also sent me some beautiful postcards with pictures of some of her other artwork.
I am so thrilled and delighted!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

AND THE WINNER OF MY CHARM GIVEAWAY IS......

TERRY PITZEL of The Ravens Whim
Congratulations Terry ! Soon the goodies will be winging their way to YOU......

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

MORE ..... GIVEAWAYS

Here are more great giveaways......and if you want more, go visit the site where many giveaways are listed celebrating today as International Charm Day...
..
http://theartisticstamper.blogspot.com/2009/04/happy-easter-and-celebration-blog-candy.html

Nicola Callow from Murano Silver is giving away art silver clay, a fine silver ring with YOUR name on it, or a fine silver heart pendant (your choice!). Enter here:
http://muranosilver.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-giveaway-for-england-st-george.html



http://lifegoesondeb.blogspot.com/ Deb

cassandra http://myartfuladventures.blogspot.com/2009/04/marie-giveaway.html

Monday, April 27, 2009

...more "Blast from the Past"

Here is a link to Sherry Goodloe's "Blast from the Past" favorite song playlist from 1968-1971. She lists 36 GREAT songs for your listening pleasure and has some fun pictures posted.
This is a nostalgic challenge that Heather Powers of Humblebeads is sponsoring. My favorites are listed below a few posts down!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

~*International Charm Day*~: Let's Celebrate! These are just some of the goodies being gifted away!

~*International Charm Day*~: Let's Celebrate! These are just some of the goodies being gifted away!

Gothic owl beads, resin, new charms and INTERNATIONAL CHARM DAY GIVEAWAY!

I just finished a batch of Gothic owl beads. I will have them listed in my Etsy shop, if I ever open it.... they are about an inch long, made of cernit polymer clay, sculpted, baked, carved, painted, etc....probably baked at least 5 times!

Look - there's a tuscan one that snuck in!
I have also been working on a resin necklace and earrings. The bezels from these are old rusty ones that Amber Dawn (literally) dug up! This is the first stage, with just a thin layer of resin to smooth everything out. next I will layer with images of bird eggs topped with more resin. each of these links will be spaced with a bird bead...I have a double hand that will hold a large 3-D egg for the centerpiece.


Here are more bezels --bees with carnelian drops yet to be added, mini starfish that will get hanging swarovski stars and say "shine" on the back, and hands that i don't know what i will do with. I also filled round bezels with eyeballs, but i didn't get a picture of those.

...and for INTERNATIONAL CHARM DAY, APRIL 28th, I put together a charm bracelet/necklace out of left over charms and components! The bracelet attaches to a separate chain to make it a necklace.

The bracelet is a little less that 8", as a necklace it is 24". It has 33 charms on it.

This is a left side closeup.

...and this is the right side close-up.
This too, is a potential Esty shop assignee!

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
here are 2 new charms I made for the bracelet/necklace, One is patinaed metal wings and a tiny porcelain skull......I call it a "skull bird". Next to it is a bullet casing with a ceramic foot coming out of it. I made an extra set of them and am giving away both of these charms

as well as a pair of bird charms (for earrings or whatever...)

Just leave me a comment on this blog entry by midnight Hawaii time April 28th (that's 3 hrs EARLIER than PST) , and you will be entered in a random drawing to take place on April 29th! One winner gets the skull, the foot, the pair of birds, an owl and whatever other goodies I decide to throw in! Good Luck!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Blog challenges and giveaways.....

Heather Powers of Humblebeads.com is having a nostalgic blog challenge, with great prizes. To enter twice , you need to list your five favorite songs from high school and post them on your blog, preferably as a playlist, and for a third entry, post a picture of yourself from high school......this sounded like fun to me, so here goes....

Here are some of my favorites tunes - (I have so many more!)

Light My Fire......The Doors
Somebody to Love.......Jefferson Airplane
You Don't Own me......Lesley Gore
Kicks........Paul Revere and the Raiders
Close To me....The Carpenters



...just thinking about these songs brings back so many memories! ...I was a very romantic hard rocker.........haha
and
...and here's a picture from graduation day...
.
yes, those are white gloves...it was 1970!

2. Bobbie Olivo is giving away a copy of her book "16X Mom" just in time for Mother's Day!
Click HERE to enter.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

what I did this week.....


I am trying to come up with a logo for my etsy shop I hope to open soon. I wanted to write the name of my shop in the sand...but i have to tell you this is easier said than done! this example combines a wave, my name and paint shop pro....for the life of me I couldn't do it for real....and it's still crooked! I guess I'll just have to go back to the beach and try again. POOR ME.
This week my friend and fellow artist, Lorri Scott, came to the island for a bit of R & R. She and I took a two classes in Waimea, taught by Marionette. The first was a silk painting class. I painted irises - purple and blue with a yellow background. Lorri painted 2 luminescent luna moths with a silver background and used salt to create way cool orbs (i thought they looked like nipples, er, ah....CORAL nibs). I wish I had taken a picture of it, because her scarf was GORGEOUS.
The next day we took a watercolor class. I have never done watercolors before...it really makes you think ahead of time - watercolors are NOT very forgiving. Also, I paint very slow -
...here is a pic of Lorri and Marionette and I...Marionette has more pictures on her blog....

...and below are Lorri's beautiful palm trees...

...and this is my seascape.

The pic on the top is the original photo, and below it is my pen/watercolor painting. Marionette has you rub a graphite stick on the back of the original pic. Then you turn it over and put the pic on your watercolor paper and trace over the predominant lines with a ball point pen. Then you remove the picture and the design has been transferred to your water color paper....and you go over these lines with the micron ink pen. Then you get the paper wet and paint it!

This is a cool junk store Lorri and I found across from Marionettes studio. Unfortunately, we only had 10 minutes before class started, and they were closed the next day. I got a lovely blouse for 50% off and a cut velvet dress for $1!
I had a wonderful time with Lorri, and we were supposed to meet up again yesterday or today, but my back - ye gads - how did this happen? - went out. I went to a chiropractor yesterday and he said I was de-stressing - and that I should expect to get very tired after he realigned me.....and i was! So I did not meet up with Lorri, but instead went home to bed....and I slept...
Today I could barely walk - I was really sore.....but, I was told to expect this too.
I go back to the chiropractor tomorrow.........and Lorri returns to California tomorrow, too .....
on another note, I have been working on several projects at once...
three dolls
multiple resin projects using Amber Dawn's rusty bezels (thank you Amber!)
2 iron wire projects for a submission
earrings for a bridal party ...
and a charm bracelet for a National Charm Day give away I will post about tomorrow!
...and I have just finished up some owl beads!


Monday, April 20, 2009

INTERNATIONAL CHARM DAY - APRIL 28th

Amber Dawn, Internationally known gorgeous charm maker, swap host and collector has declared a NEW HOLIDAY!
International Charm Day! ..and for the occasion she has created a special blog! lots of prizes and fun new ideas......I'm playing too, and will be posting new charms and a giveaway.....so stay tuned!

http://www.internationalcharmday.blogspot.com/
WEAR YOUR CHARMS PROUDLY!

Friday, April 10, 2009

...HOME AT LAST!

Well i am back at last from my months journey.....
While gone I was so consumed by my job that I was unable to keep up with my emails and blog comments, let alone do any blog hopping. If i didn't answer you, please understand I was not ignoring you - and i apologize for my lack of communication.

This is a photo of the airport terminal in Philadelphia, on my way to Richmond. I loved the rocking chairs!
The job turned out to be pretty grueling - 15 hr days - but Richmond VA was gorgeous!
The Virginia State Capitol Building (we shot on these steps and through out the interior of the building....we shot here as if it was Washington, DC)

....statue outside the Capitol Building.....

The Governor's mansion...we shot a big DC party here.
I meant to take a zillion pictures - Richmond is full of incredible bronze statues, brownstones and historical monuments. I was told there was a fantastic cemetery there, but I never got a chance to see it.


The weeks just flew past!....I never even got a day off.... video
video
After the job was over, I flew to New York City to see my son Skylar. Sky lives in the most amazing loft apartment - the building is about 5 stories high and there must be 20 apartments on each floor. Sky lives with 6 other young professionals....each has their own tiny make shift room - and his particular loft is 2 stories, with a narrow spiral staircase that leads to the basement and 3 other bedrooms. One of the bedrooms is entered by crawling over the staircase rail. The apartment has graffiti on the mirrors, decoupaged doors and huge paintings and artwork on the walls. It is very clean - but very bohemian. Every week, "Junior" comes over to clean the bathroom and tidy the kitchen and do whatever else he thinks needs doing.....he does this for several apartments in the building - and in exchange he gets to sleep on a couch and take a shower......on the street level is a small cafe owned by a Frenchman named Max...in front are two old stadium chairs that will tip over if you aren't careful. Everywhere you look is eye candy....it was wonderful!

i had never taken the subway, and Sky showed me the ins and outs.
The people were a real treat! I saw a young girl with 4 nails on each hand painted one color, and the center nail painted a new color - a new trend, i thought! I loved how everyone dressed - hats, gloves, scarves, boots - fabulous leggings and socks and tights! Sky and I met my niece Jenny and her baby (my grand niece!) Maggie at Penn station and then the 4 of us went to Starbucks for breakfast and then shopping at Macy's - Macy's is 8 stories high! ...and the sales are phenomenal!
Then we went to a sushi restaurant and afterwards Sky had to get to school. Jen and I walked to Times Square - and OH MY! the shopping just blew me away. Button stores, bead stores, trim stores -- too much to buy! it was heaven! Then Sky and his cousin Francesca (who is studying fashion design in NYC) met Jen and I and Baby Mags at a steakhouse for dinner.

By now it was pouring rain and Jen and I were soaked (Mags we kept dry), but i learned how to hail a cab.....we took Jen and Mags back to Penn Station and the I went with Sky back to his apartment.
The next day I flew to my dad's in Sacramento.

My sister Teresa and her husband, Rick, nephew Jameson and girlfriend Lara, Martha my dad's friend, my dad, and Jan, Rick's mom....all of us at dinner at Don's Diner in Woodland, CA.
My eldest son Vincent had a few days before let me know he was in a Passion Play in Los Angeles....so of course I had to go see him!

Vincent, the Roman soldier

cool cross at Shepherd on the Hill Church, where the passion play took place.
I flew to LA Sunday morning. My dear friend Cassandra
picked me up at the airport in Burbank and she went to the play with me.
Later, she and i and her husband Bill went to dinner....and then I flew back to Sacramento. Whew!
I had a great time with my dad and my sister Teresa and yesterday i flew back home to Kauai.
I am so happy to be back home with my Lance, Chalupa and Sookie.
I really missed my family and am so excited to start up again with my artwork.
So there it is!
...now to catch-up!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

...and I'm off!

I just accepted a short term job in Richmond , Virginia and will be flying off tomorrow night. Pretty short notice! It's a quickie - I'll be back in a month - and I don't even know what the assignment is about - although I was told it is "political". Anyway, I've been to Richmond once before - for just a few days - and it is a beautiful city!...but what will I wear?...where are my boots?...sweaters?...my down parka? YIKES! They told me it was 6 degrees last week!
I'm also going to take this opportunity to go to NYC for a day or two. My youngest son is living there, so I will see him in the evening when he is not at school.
Anyway - I won't be opening an Etsy shop until I get back (on the 9th -so we're still on, Lorri!)
...i know, excuses, excuses. I'm not taking any art supplies with me because I am working a 6 day week while on location and there won't be enough time to really get anything done... so I will be art starved....wouldn't you know it - right now my muse is working overtime and I have a gazillion ideas, plans for projects I want to do, and multi projects in various stages of completion!
I'll have internet access once i get there, hopefully, so i will be able to keep up with my email.
Wish me luck!

Friday, March 06, 2009

NEW MEMBER OF THE FAMILY!

Yesterday Lance brought home a new member to our family.
She is half whippet, 1/4 suluki and 1/4 smooth hair terrier. A whippaterrasuki!
We named her Sookie. She's a little devil and our other dog - Chalupa - is not very thrilled yet to have a new sister.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Grosgrain: Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Purple Lady (Brenda Lea) Giveaway!

Be sure to check out Brenda Lea's 29 days of Giveaways. I won a set of stamps and other goodies! She doesn't have too many people playing and she is giving away some really nice prizes!
Come enter here:
http://prpldy15.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 02, 2009

Birds and Chickens...

I have been playing with the camera my DH gave me. the focus is so much better than my old camera - especially the zoom. The next few photos are of a mocking bird next to my car in the Safeway parking lot.

...and I just love the next one. They were happy little birds, dancing around....

...then they took a break to reconnect and do a bit of snoodling!

Then I headed into Lihue and found this duo outside my car at Walmart.