~chandelier

here

~recycled santa fe art festival

getting ready for the show just a month away. 

gotta work extra hard as my biggest collector is coming today to raid the goods. 

she keeps me busy! i love it!

with numinosity glass beads

with grey bird studio porcelain

with numinosity glass beads

with my pit fired clay and happy fish things clay beads

paper board from cereal boxes adorned with fabric scraps. holiday gift tags

bullet casings and numinosity glass head pins

scorched earth on etsy clay nails and random stuff. love.

scorched earth on etsy robins blue ceramic drops

birds nest pin with numinosity glass bead

happy fish things focal with vintage sterling necklace. subway token.

grab bag pendants and teacher of the week~

some pendants. i made them, reworked them and voila! i ordered some scrappy vintage chain to compliment them. numinosity glass and scorchedearthonetsy ceramics. love.~

yesterday i was named the first ever teacher of the week at our school. extra prep next week, special parking spot, and something else that i couldn't hear over my kids cheers. they gave me high fives and knuckle bumps. sweet kids. happy day all! xoxo

~brooches and i love torching beer bottle caps!

crusty torch enameled beer bottle cap in greens with a petra ceramic drop

i am so digging the beer bottle cap torching with enamels. last night i thought maybe i could show the process as i've grown so much in my enthusiasm & abilities & knowledge. different glass powders & frits melt differently, torch can't be too high or too low, how long to hold the flame, getting flare glasses, which caps are easier to get the plastic off of (which means more beer of that sort), burning off the paint & sanding it before enameling...but i ain't got the time. but i just told you how! kim turned me on to thompson enamel samples & i figured out the rest from trial & error, watching lots of videos (saw the set up, bought the supplies) & reading tutorials. i already had a torch since i used to be a silversmith in another life. just needed mesh pads from the jewelry supply (i use the ones to go in a kiln), a third hand & a metal protective sheet for my bench. i use paper to catch & reuse the frit... 

i've only found one other person doing this so far. where is everyone? anywho, new stock & a new look to my booth is in order when the shows start. xoxo

torch enameled beer bottle cap with a black striped glass bead & ojos!

~back to work

numinosity and beer caps

petra and old tin

petra hearts with vintage love

~newbie

many months ago, as a newbie to the national boards, i waffled back and forth on what to do with crafting jewelry and my shop. open.close.open.close.destash.quit. as i became more in-tune with the process and figured out the scope of the project, i realized i was simply unsure how crafting would fit into my new life (working a ton beyond my existing workload) yet it never really left, did it? no siree. i even find now that, as i ruminate over passages and lesson plans and video taping and how to reach my students, i go putter while i process. it works! not only can i create and play, but doing just a little something every day has had a rewarding effect. you all didn't believe i could stop and you were soooo right! i just needed to find the fit. so whether i'm packaging a sale, making something new or uploading something i've never listed before, i am still in the national boards mindset. thinking.thinking.thinking. i spend so much time thinking and doing and creating and being. it's exciting to say the least. today i've listed a choker i made before the recycled art show. it's great with a plunging neckline! xoxo

new here today

~awaiting surgery

my husband is having a skin graft today. a bit nervous. he'll be laid up for a week with a vacuum and splint on his leg then more time for complete recovery. so, while i'm waiting for the app. i made some earrings and posted them everywhere! lol.

fun. fun.

~bottle caps

bottle caps, petra and kim. reclaimed chains.

~eep

so. in working hard on my boards i shifted gears on one of the entries and wrote about a different lesson. then, bam, i realized i should go back to the original one i started. thanks goodness i learned my lesson to save everything. EVERYTHING. oops. sorry for yelling, but, seriously. i save everything now. i save it on my computer. i save it to the cloud. i send it to my home and school emails. i save it to a thumb drive. never again will i loose my data. my entries. my goals. even drafts that i'm not sure about i save in all forms. i think i'm covered. there was a news story here about two years ago where a women had her whole dissertation on her computer and it was stolen. she hadn't backed it up. i should've taken notice! i think i've got it now. but! i do not back up my photos. i should learn to be as thorough with that as i am with the boards. but i figure they are here. and on fb. or sent to family, etc. but i should be backing them up too. baby steps i guess. anywho, sometimes i hit a wall when writing and kim, of numinosity fame, suggested i go make jewelry. so. every day i've gone in to the studio and day 1 i cleaned. the next day i made something. the next day i made something else. see? blister pearls from kim and crazy assorted beads from fagins daughter.

and then today, i drew something. it's really helping. that and getting out with the hubby. he needs it. he had a bad snowboarding accident and did some damage. they tried to sew his calf back together but it didn't take. skin graft is next. poor thing. won't even eat his chocolate. afraid he'll get fat because he can't exercise. so. we get out and check mail and go to the bank and go for a beer (though now i'm off beer while supporting my daughter whose on a new diet for intestinal stuff). she's a trooper. i miss my beer, but got my gin. hear that petra?  lol
thanks for being there you wicked awesome peeps. your inspiration is motivating and invigorating! xoxo

loads of new work and a blogger sale~

for your eyes only. lol seriously though. i'm still gathering the cash needed for my national boards that i officially started last Monday. Yippee! soooo, i'm having a blogger sale. if you have seen anything here in any of my posts or sidebars that is not on etsy and you would like it, i'll list it for you and then you get a 50% discount! then anyone who buys from either of my etsy shops will also get a 50% discount just for being here and supporting me. share the word. muh! my shops are here for jewels and here for destash and little gifties. coupon code at checkout is blogger. xoxo

so here is reclaimed tin, a shell flower from kim, gilded bone and copper on a reclaimed chain.

                                    

petra drops and connectors with silver leg milagros.

                                   

old clay cones, donna millard beads and copper.

                                    

scrumptious bangles set found here

                                    

more bangles can be seen here.

                                    

one more bangle set to be listed soon.

bottle caps~

I'm obsessed with making bottle cap jewelry this week. happy fourth everyone! xoxo

top notch uinta brewing, moonstones and numinosity glass drops.

lagunitas 'lil sumpin ale, silver chain, numinosity glass drops.

 sierra nevada pale ale, numinosity beads and drops.

lagunitas ipa, cookie tin, silver beads, numinosity drops.

duvel, inlaid bone, petra drops, turquoise.

always loven a challenge~

i decided to sign up for a bead soup swap at lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.
always one just up for something new and exciting. imagine getting a bunch of beads and making something using the exact clasp and focal you are sent. other beads might come with, but gotta use the clasp and focal. no holds barred. add your own, add a friends, add kim. lol. cause she's awesome!
i'm excited! i've been paired with hannah of good river gallery and you can see her shop here. she is a seed beader with raw material that in my eyes speaks of the earth. so, onward and upward into a challenge.
here is my fav of hers

cheers y'all!

three day weekend~for the love of pete!

yup. got myself a three day weekend and endless possibilities. dreamt of so many over night. get together with girlfriends and cook a meal. walk to the pub and have a drink. do nothing! make jewelry...gosh. bet i could think of a million more things before lesson planning on monday. ;)
last night and this a.m. i decided on jewelry. three pieces done by 8:30. now photographed and ready for viewing. i'd put in a photo of my workspace (like pipnmolly suggested), but it's the back porch and it's so COLD that i haven't been working out there, just grabbing supplies and coming inside 'cept for the hammering. gotta do that on the porch.
the porch does have an enclosure, but at 1 degree, not very inviting. xoxo although this week, during the day, they say 50's. woah. way far cry from the 0's and teen's. cool! but hubs is mad 'cause he wants snow and i don't blame him. in the desert southwest, all the snow-pack we can get will help crops and animals (including the ~humans~) to survive. anyway.

i recently decided on a few career moves at school. career moves. lol. i'm going to mentor a few kiddos (along with providing the morning club, after school tutoring two days a week, art one day a week and board games on another) AND be the snowboard-sponsoring-teacher. so, for 5 friday's, i will strap a board to my feet after hiking up the bunny slope, and board down with a bunch of teenagers. i figure hey, the kids need comic relief and i can provide that! so, i be busy and it's all good fun.

i hope to see some sewing happening in monster art this coming week. the kids have been drawing, making patterns, picking out fabric and starting to pin and cut. i'll do a whole post on the steps when they are complete. these are plush monsters, so the kids are psyched to make their own monster pillows! most of the class of 17 are boys from grade 3-6. they are more excited than the girls! stereotypes be damned!

cheers y'all!

worm exoskeleton from the sea. sari silk and antique shell buttons. thanks kim xoxo

paper wrapped and sealed vintage belt buckle, sari silk, antique shell buttons, scorchedearthonetsy ceramic dove, sundries

smooshed bottles caps, reclaimed chain, rhinestones, clay roses. love.

back to work~

listed today~Becca. 

back to work even though i'm still officially on vacation but 28 report cards take time. not like when i taught middle school and all grades and report cards were computer program based and calculated and printed no prob. these are hand typed with many various fields to fill in. the new ones starting next semester are even more involved. weeee! gotta shift mindset. love my job though the paperwork be voluminous. silly me though, i just wanna create! <3

 i like the way she hangs.

 then i made some collaged glass lens pieces. backed with cookie tin.

love to you all! xoxo

wire woes 'til the copper explosion~

sterling silver wire~oxidized of course as i love the black. i can no longer afford it though. even traded in my handmade silver ear wires for personally transformed surgical steel as a result of the prices.

steel wire~started using it back when a friend showed me some squiggles he made with bailing wire. never worried about it 'til i bought a pair of earrings made from various sizes of steel wire and they rusted just from a small amount of moisture while hanging out in my car overnight (not me, the earrings). i then pulled everything i had made with steel wire and sealed them real well with wax or took them apart. now i only use the very thin wire to hold my silk in place on earrings and seal reallll good.

copper wire~spools of it! i brought some home the other day and oxidized it. what a mess! i have to wipe down the wire to remove some of the tarnish or else it transfers, but i love the look once i get the excess off! i recently decided on copper as i noticed more and more of the women i admire have been using it and i love the look. then a friend mentioned how inexpensive it was, so i made the leap. i think i can use the copper to hold the silk in place and i won't have any worries about rust.

well, here are my new attempts at prettiness using the copper wire~

copper wreath earrings~

kim and i gifted each other yumminess. here are some of her lovelies on my new lovely wire.

Sara~

these are me favs. enameled copper roofing material with vintage roses and vintage dress makers accents all on copper wire.

Trade~

matte chevrons and sterling silver with numinosity head pins. copper wire.

Charming~

labradorite, painted porcelain doll arms, little rosary connections from robyn and copper wire. i have a tiny stash of stones. not many mind you and i pretty much used them up (save some moonstones from kim) on these next three pieces. i usually stay away from wire connections as the silver was too expensive and the stones are not recycled, but i went for it and made sure to put something recycled with the stones.

inspired by robyn~

old belt buckles from uncanny artists and faceted garnet. definitely french circus inspired. oops, see a little copper tail, gotta go fix that! <3

lipstick love~

50's era metal lipstick case for your little treasures! double strand of orphaned stone beads with some accents ~antique metal button from fagins daughter, an italian coin from my buddy trent, a small charm from an old earring and a small spade charm from laura at uncanny artists~.
so, i say orphaned stones 'cause some of them are slightly chipped around the holes and most people wouldn't use them. i found them at a thrift store during the summer months and with the holes being so teenie, i had no idea what to do with them until the recent copper wire explosion!

hahaha funny life~uncanny artists is actually owned by laura from the recycled art show i do every year. i hadn't seen her there in the last two years and wondered what had happened. i love her stuff! doll parts, odd toys, tons of ephemera...  well, kim knew what happened! laura opened an online shop. funny, it took someone from far away to tell me someone close by had their own shop now. small world! visit her shop, ask her for specifics if something your looking for is not listed as she has thousands of items and not all are up in the shop. she is amazing. watch out kim, a ton of collage goodies are on their way!

cheers and happy new year everyone!