Ceramics!

Last semester, we did a project with ceramics, making a food dish/ platter that had meaning to our family traditions. I chose to make this tortilla holder in honor of my Mexican heritage, that we had tortillas with our holiday meals and I remember my Grandma Josephine making the BEST hand made tortillas!

This summer, since I am not able to take classes, I decided to do some "home schooling".  I have been playing around with clay, the textures that I can make in the clay, and the beautiful glaze colors.  Of course, I love jewelry, so I have been making some focal pendants as well as buttons. Small bowls are also a favorite--coming up soon in a blog post.

Bead Storage

The subject of Bead Storage came up last week on the Art Charms Group. I thought that I would share with you my very unique first bead storage system--Skoal chewing tobacco cans!

I started beading as a freshman in high school, using tiny size 12 seed beads. As a young person, I didn't have a lot of money to spend on bead storage--I wanted to spend my money on supplies. Some of my guy friends chewed tobacco (yuk), but I discovered that the cans snapped shut tightly, and were just the right size to hold a hank of beads. Plus, they were cheap--I paid my friends .05 cents to save them for me. I would wash them out and put the beads in. The only disadvantage was not being able to see through the green tins. But I typed out labels (yes, on a typewriter), and taped the labels to the cans. I still use these cans for the older stash.

My newer stash, though, is color coordinated in the clear plastic compartment containers that you can get everywhere. I have about 3 shelves stacked with beads and wire in my living room!

So Many Pendants!

I thought I would post a collection of some of the pendants I have made recently.

I have been noticing lately, all the stuff I have made that I can't use myself--I just have too much. But somehow, I can't stop making it. How many pendants does one woman need? How many earrings, bracelets, journals, bookmarks, scarves, fabric, etc? I have more than I could wear/use in a lifetime, and yet, I still make more. It is more about the artistic process, getting into the zone when I am creating, than about the end product, I think, although I usually like what I make too. Am I rambling???

I have also had to make some changes to my artistic habits since the arrival of the new baby. Namely, I don't have as much free time, and second, I have to be able to drop what I am doing at a moment's notice if he wakes up and needs me. He isn't in enough of a napping routine that I can count on when or how long he will nap. He also likes to be held, and notices when you put him down in his crib and wakes up.

So, I am listing more of my creations on my Etsy site. Killing two birds with one stone. First, I can let go of some of my creations and pass them on to good homes with people who will use and enjoy them, and second, I can take photos and list items on Etsy while I have Fletcher in the front "Snugli" carrier. He's happy, I'm happy. So, that's what I've been up to lately.

Mixed Media Necklace

I made this necklace during TV night a couple of weeks ago. The central pendant is one that I made awhile back with polymer clay, and there are two matching polymer clay beads too--I love the copper/ patina look. I added copper wire squiggles with an assortment of beads, and linked them all together. It was fun to make, and I was happy to be able to use some of my polymer clay beads in a finished piece.

The Latest Batch of Polymer

Here is the latest batch of polymer clay buttons and beads.


I made some bracelets with some of the polymer clay beads that I have made over the past year or so. Sometimes when I am making these little beads and buttons, my husband will look at me and say, "Are you actually going to DO anything with all of those?" The answer is YES! And here they are. I made all of the little jump rings, eye pins and clasps (except the toggle clasp) out of wire.

I'm Published! x 2

Getting into the back to school routine has really cut into my play time! I end up spending about 2 hours a day shuffling kids to and from school, then work while they are gone, in the evenings, and on weekends. So, my brain has been pretty much fried--too fried even to make much art. BUT....

I have been published in two different publications in the last month. The first is the Jewelry book that several artists collaborated on: Jewelry Beyond Time. Get more information and a link to order with a $5 off coupon here.

The second time was quite a surprise, as I have two jewelry charms in the current issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. I participated in their charm challenge earlier this year, but hadn't heard that my pieces were going to be published. Of course, I didn't take pics before I sent them, so you'll have to look in Issue 26. I'm on pages 51 and 56, with charms #3 and #57.

Surprise--More Polymer Clay

Surprise! I've been working with polymer clay! Not surprized, huh? Yes, the obsession continues. For the past several weeks on our T.V. night, I have been dabbling with polymer clay as we catch up on our shows from the week.


These are some of the latest products: Blue and copper leaf beads, buttons and dangles. And here is a bracelet made with some of the tube beads.

DH finally asked me, "So what are you going to DO with all of this stuff?" So, I whipped up several pairs of earrings:

Added some wire spirals to a few for a little extra touch.

Coming Soon--Jewelry Beyond Time

I am pleased to announce that I will have a jewelry project published in the soon to be released book: Jewelry Beyond Time. Be sure to check in at our Latest Trends in Mixed Media Arts website for more information.

Not So Boring Polymer Clay

Went back to polymer clay last weekend--this time with some more exciting colors! Had a lot of fun playing with the different colors, making some patterns, mixing colors and doing some stripes and marblizing. I made a faux jade which looks better in person than in the pics, and was fun to do. I made a bunch of buttons to use on journals and art quilts, and some dangles and pendants to make jewelry out of. DH got me a book at the library, so I am reading that over to build my skills. I've got some more ideas to try out this weekend.

Happy Dancing Pig Postcard and More

I've been playing around with fabric postcards again. A friend of mine gave me this pink pig fabric, and it was just screaming to be made into a fabric postcard!


I had this cool giant bumblebee fabric too, and so I combined it with several of my hand dyed fabrics to make this postcard--I also hand stitched the little "bee tracks" and sewed on a little copper bee bead:


And on the jewelry track, I made some earrings out of my favorite hand carved bone skull beads--you might remember these from a Halloween charm swap I did last fall.


These earrings were made with little "Chinese Coin" charms. I hand coiled brass wire, and made a loop for the coins to thread through. Kind of fun, and they have a neat movement when you wear them.


What am I going to do with this stuff? I don't know, that's why I put it in my Etsy store.

Jewelry Set for my Sister

This is a set of jewelry that I have been working on for my sister for Christmas. She requested brass metal, so this is what I came up with.