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i am taking part in the i heart handmade online art and craft show. i am offering 20% all orders made through february 10 in my etsy shop. check out the show - they have giveaways everyday, great features and sales!! what more could a girl want!!
enter i heart handmade in notes to seller to receive my discount!!
i joined a valentine swap with prim and whimsy. i am excited to join - it is a good opportunity to meet new artists and also forces me to stretch myself creatively. so i have some ideas rolling around in my brain - but in actuality nada -yet!! so this week - i gotta get going...(hopefully my trading partner isn't reading!!)
when i approach a project i always want it to have some practicality...i'm not a big fan of creating something that gets some display and then gets stashed in a cupboard because, 1.you know the creator took alot of time to make it, but 2. there isn't much else to do with it but save it...
so i am trying to create with purpose - function and charm. i'll be posting this week with my progress. i want to try a new-to-me technique....
don't you love retro valentines??- i'm not that old - but these were the kindwe were trading in elementary school. the week prior, we would bring in our shoebox, cover it in pink and red tissue paper, white paper doilies, cut out letters that spelled our name and gobs of elmers glue. the anticipation of receiving little white envelopes, some with red heart shaped lollipops, a few pastel conversation hearts, or even little cinnamon heart candies....
i never experienced the horrow of receiving no valentines - but i think i didn't open my little mailbox at school and compare either....
today i completed my first tutorial in a series of 3. i have decided to share my how to's for creating the memento pendants and charms. i have worked on these for close to a year. i am thrilled with how sweet they are.
i received a comment recently that described them perfectly "i love these charms… it’s like a more modern locket" thanks harley!!
they are like a modern locket - the colors are muted, the charms are transparent.
looking forward to this weekend - will get to spend a few days with my sisters, brothers in law and my niece!! we celebrate three birthdays and one anniversary in the lowly month of january...
we have reservations to a newly opened french restaurant. i'll tell you all about it monday!! i'll only say that we dined in his restaurant in new york two years ago....oh the madelines!!! my mouth is watering!!
i don't want to sound like a broken record - but taking old, discarded necklaces and beads and re-creating them into wearable jewelry today is not only satisfying but i have the satisfaction of recycling and re-purposing. try looking at what is in the bottom of your jewelry box or hastily strung on display at your favourite thrift store in a new way. look at the beauty of the beads - not the gaudy design!!
this vintage beaded bracelet includes vintage crystals, pinky pearls, and delicate beady beads.
i glanced into my garden this afternoon - and was so surprised!! daffodils poking their heads above the cold damp ground. oh what a beautiful sight!!
i will be posting some new designs into my etsy shop in the next couple of days... below is a little collection of favourite things as i am creating a new banner. the little couple is a royal copley planter. their faces so sweet, the colors still vibrant...i think i must plant them with a small violet or spring bulb - snowdrops are so sweet - i wonder if they would grow indoors....
weekend blessings to you!!
feeling sick - have been for over a week.... i want to work, but cannot....so i surf. thought i'd share some favourite links....
living the sweet life in paris!! http://www.davidlebovitz.com/ i think my sister originally sent me here - the only problem...makes me hungry!!!
i love emily martin : her art http://theblackapple.typepad.com/ her fashion blog http://www.theblackapple.typepad.com/somegirlswander/
simple - green - frugal http://simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com/
quilting a story http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/ wow, talk about inspiring - makes me want to take up quilting!!
nina bagley http://ornamental.typepad.com/ her designs are copied by many - but she is the original!!
and lastly my nemesis - i share in hopes of bringing awareness for the many who suffer - of which i am one... living with cfs http://livingwithcfs.wordpress.com/ this one is good, two articles - one about not letting the illness define me!! the second about the disease being taken seriously - probably my greatest frustration!!
i love salvaging vintage beads and remaking them into new designs. they can be difficult to identify esp. when they come from broken strands of necklaces or stuffed in bags with assorted bits of junk. but those are usually the best finds!!
look at these luscious pink beads. they are a sugary sparkly pink. i have combined them with vintage 6mm crystals and crystal spacer beads.
they are truly unique - keep on the lookout for treasures...they could even be hiding at the bottom of anold jewelry box!!
a card my great grandma sent me many years ago - it is so sweet!!
friday was my bday....and i received the sweetest surprise from my 'rwanda' family...lunch, a cake, and presents.
they told me before coming to canada they did not celebrate birthdays -they had nothing to celebrate....we are trying to teach them.... how we celebrate together!!
i am blessed!!
i just found these beauties at a thrift shop - a picture can't even do them justice....screw on earrings!!
the sparkle, the color, hmmm, i heart these!!
i've added to my shop an new memento pendant....i call it the memento mini.i create the frame with fine silver bezel. and then layer the image with a doimng resin.
this is my sweet great grandmother. i've scanned her picture, resized it, and transferred it to tissue paper before setting into the resin. i think this might be my favourite so far!!