~July Art Bead Scene Challenge

Tiger in a Tropical Storm by Henri Rousseau was the inspiration for July. 

I liked the colors and did my best to grab some of them and create a
lovely torch enameled pendant on recycled copper.
Dangles by RaggedRobyn compliment the look with colors also found in the painting.
Just a perfect pairing! 

The complete listing can be found in my shop which is 75% off this month as is darlicioushouse. Use the coupon code gottago at check out in either shop.
As school starts up with new roles and responsibilities, I am liquidating as I simply do not have time to create, maintain shops or do shows.
My focus will be a few items here and there and then donating to silent auctions. xoxo
Enjoy your day!

~New Decals

I found some time, as I awaited a needed document for my dossier, to return to torch enameling decals onto my recycled copper.

I had given up on the decals as over the winter the enameling was popping off when I slowly returned to the second firing of the piece. I was so upset and discouraged that I stopped trying.

But then, I realized it was thermal shock as my torching area is in an enclosed back porch with no heat, so even though the sun would warm it up some, it was just too cold despite the space heater.

Now that we have 90 degree heat, I decided to give it another go.

Woot! Success.

So I will be doing the decal dance again and selling them through my enameling shop. You can also find some finished pieces here as well.
xoxo

~50% off sale!

Hi everyone! Hope all is well. 

I am liquidating so it's all half-off in both of my shops until the 30th.  

darlicioushouse with funky/junky sundries of past and present or artisticrejuvenation with my torch enameled recycled copper pieces. 

Lovelovelove! Happy shopping!

~torch enameled recycled copper components

lovage

alligator

terra

easter eggs

lovage II

dew drops

here

~grunge

skulls

~ceramic lace

torch enameled beer bottle caps.
numinositybeads glass, donnaperlinplim ceramics. here. 

playing with glass and stuff~

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!

~love and faith sunday earrings

found here

~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~

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.

mumford and sons~

super tired! went to taos to see mumford and sons last night. what an adventure! taos is about an hour and a half away. so gotta drive. good there. then, as we round the horse shoe~shit~is that a massive thunderhead? yup. we manage to get a shuttle downtown before the hail and lighting and downpour. we did what we thought best; we looked for a pub. after some scouting, tommy found one that wasn't packed and we tucked into some food and beverages. not so good. we won't go back, but grateful for the roof and friends. so, the rain eventually stopped and we were on our way. that's when we saw the line. on the sidewalk. a huge line. so we walked to see what was going on and it was the line to get into the show! we backtracked to the end (after being bitched out by some supper stressed girl) more than half a mile away so had to make another decision. stay in line or find another pub. yup. find another pub to sit in and just wait it out was decided. we be so smart!
sure enough, after a libation or two, we were back on the street with a tiny little line and into the show. my ticket wouldn't scan and the guy swore, thrust it back at me and said ~just go!~ me be lucky. tommy not so, his wouldn't scan and they made him go to will call to get a replacement. luckily they gave him one.
in we go. the show had been delayed more than an hour due to the thunderstorm (to be expected) and it was dark and the lights were pretty and the trees were all decorated and the air smelled of foul skunk weed and the stars twinkled overhead. some people were a bit over the top and some had too much to drink and some had their kids and some had their moms and dads and friends and stuff. it was cool.
the guys in the band played for almost two hours and did not disappoint. energy! oh my gosh so much passion and energy! twas a lovely evening despite my anxiety over the crowd of 8,000. not used to crowds donchaknow? la! it was a great night with great friends.

 i've been reading a book called ~the secret life of pronouns~.

~What our Words Say About us:

The smallest, most commonly used, most forgettable words serve as windows into our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The ways people use pronouns, articles, and other everyday words are linked to their personality, honesty, social skills, and intentions.~ secretlifeofpronouns

what a read! it is fascinating, but i am still a bit lost in it all. i suspect it will come together the further i get. :)
 

at one stressed point last night, my lovely social working friend said, let's think of this as an adventure and it reminded me of something! charlie the unicorn. ~it's an adventure charlie!~ here goes charlie, though a bit odd at the end. hmmm. enjoy your day 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