A New Take on Felt!

Well, here I am in Pennsylvania visiting my son...and freezing my buns off! Very cold for this Florida gal!

Cold weather makes me think of warm things, and since the winter promises to be long and frigid, I thought I'd share a few found items on Etsy that I truly love and would own in a hearbeat, all things (like my wallet!) being equal. Today it's felt. A long time ago, someone gave me a couple of bars of felted soap. Never having seen that before, I was never sure what to do with it.

Before that, I'd never really thought much about felt, except that I could put it on the bottom of things that I didn't want to scratch tabletops. When my partner, Patty Lakinsmith, and I were designing the last piece for the ISGB Convergence exhibit, she suggested lining the back of the piece with felt, which she was willing to make herself. After ordering the materials and instructions on Etsy, I think she thought it was quite a bit of work for such a small piece. It turned out beautifully, and I think we both gained respect for the felt artist.

So while I'm looking for warm things, here's some felted designs I've fallen in love with!

 Of course here's some of the felted soap...I confess I am now actually using the one I was gifted and am enjoying the benefits of having my own built in "scrubby"!

These are by SoFino 





Here are some gorgeous fashion items....I'd really love to own! Santa are you listening????



Cutie Olive earrings by 3Fun



Gorgeous felted scarf by Rudman

I could go on, but you get the idea! I now have a tremendous amount of respect for felt artists, and I've added learning how to do this on my long "bucket list"!

That's all for now....
Toodles,







        





Girls' Cruise!

87 girls on a cruise ship!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well I finally did it! My friend, Marie, has been asking me to go on one of her girls cruises for a couple of years. This year, along with my YaYa sisters, Audrey and Judy, I finally went.

These gals have been doing this for 13 years! And it was such fun, it's no wonder they keep doing it year after year. On this trip there were 87 of us, all organized by Heidi, friend and travel agent, and she didn't miss a thing.

First of all, we all wore hot pink Tshirts so we could identify one another. Everywhere you looked - hot pink! Hot pink Tshirts, boas, beads, hats....you name it.

The famous YaYa sisters!

A sea of pink shirts!

Audrey, Judy and I shared a deluxe cabin. This is my only complaint...it was the smallest cabin I've ever seen. When we entered, we all had one thought....how in the heck would three grown women survive 5 days in such a small space???? It's a good thing we've known each other for years, and have shared living space before. Frankly, there was absolutely no problem! Partly because we were hardly ever in the cabin...and partly because none of us are slobs!

The cabin had a couch that opened into a bed, and a double bed, and...get this...a murphy type bunk bed that dropped from the wall over the double bed.
I picked that one....and it was like having my own private space! I loved it!

Ggggggood nite, folks!

Always laughing!

We even had a guest one night!

I think the most fun I had was when Audrey and I would trip into the cabin around 2 or 2:30 a.m ..(after playing in the casino and seeing shows) trying to be quiet and not wake up Judy. Every single time, she'd get up and the three of us would sit out on the balcony, overlooking the gorgeous ocean, with our drinks, and laugh until the really wee hours! Then room service would arrive with our morning coffee at 7:30 a.m. !!!! Yikes! We sure didn't get much sleep, did we girls?

I celebrated my birthday while on the cruise, and every day Heidi and Marie would put something on the door for me...kind of a countdown! It was really cute....and a fun way to celebrate!

I don't know that I've ever laughed as hard and as long as I did these 5 days! My sides actually ached at the end of the trip.

Now it's back to real life....but it was sure fun while it lasted!

Toodles,

Fun at the ISGB conference!

Well, I finally have some time to catch up here! I've been pretty busy since returning from the ISGB conference in Rochester, NY.  But I really do want to share some of the fun I had while there.

First of all, Rochester was a wonderful city. Patty and I got to see some of the cute shops and bistros in the SUNY section of town. Lively and lots to offer. But the real attraction, for me, was meeting all the wonderful glass beaders and seeing their fantastic work. Such extraordinary talent! It's hard not to be around all of them and not catch the bug! And I did get to try my hand at making a bead or two at the open torch sessions in the evening, thanks to Marcy Lamberson from Atlanta, and my partner in crime, Patty.

You can tell I'm concentrating very hard! It's not as easy as it looks, I soon discovered! Not that I want to switch from metal to glass, but I do want to learn more about it and will actually be taking lessons this month.

Another highlight was taking the gallery tour and getting to see our piece that we made for the Convergence exhibit. The piece is actually touring with the exhibit for about a year before we'll catch up with it again, so this was a treat.

Of course, yours truly has her eyes closed! But that's our piece on display in the background. And, in case you don't already know, that's my partner, Patty, with me.
Here's a close up of the piece -

The Bone Goddess

I'll add some more of the highlights in another post! It was such an enjoyable experience - my first time at the ISGB - and I took tons of pictures I want to show off!

Toodles,

Musings

I'm in the final throws of preparing for the Gathering in New York at the end of this month. I'm never sure if I'll have enough pieces for the booth I'm sharing with Patty Lakinsmith, my partner in crime, but I just keep plugging away and  hope for the best.

In my efforts to make my life a little easier, I ordered some tools from various supply companies that I had hoped would help speed up the process. Now I'm going to whine a little here, so bear with me. I was so excited to get my new tools and hounded the UPS tracking site until they arrived. There's no greater feeling than opening up boxes that have been delivered! Here's the problem: NO INSTRUCTIONS!!! Now in most cases, the tools are pretty basic and no instructions are needed. But this time I ordered the Swanstrom link forming pliers, complete with jigs and pegs that I saw in a trade magazine. (they were highly recommended) There are so many parts and no instructions on how to assemble the tool for it's various uses.

Why on earth would a manufacturer not include instructions.....even pictures...or something???? I contacted Rio Grande and asked them to send me a tutorial or instructions and they said they'd get back to me. That was a couple of weeks ago, and still nothing. I find all this very frustrating. The tool was not cheap and it's just going to sit on my bench until I have the time and patience to try to figure it out.

I confess, I'm a tool junkie and have collected, over the years, quite an array of assorted dodads. Some I find very helpful and time saving.....like my guillotine cutter.....nothing better than quick clean cuts on sheet metal, and my jumpring maker....I can make dozens of well formed, well cut, jump rings in just minutes.
But some, which were fun to use at the start, become more troublesome than need be, and I wind up back at the bench using old fashion hammers, pliers and files, and the new thingamajig just sits there.  But I would like to at least try the new tool before making a decision about it and with the new tools I just got, I won't even have that opportunity for a while. FRUSTRATING!!!!

On another, brighter note, I had the opportunity to teach a basic metalsmithing class to my gals in my Altered Minds group. I put together kits so they could make basic earrings using metal squares and beads of their choosing. They learned to texture, file and sand, and patina their pieces, punch holes and add beads and earwires. They learned to bend wire to form loops to attach everything and then they were turned loose to create. I have to add that this group is very creative as a whole....they are painters, quilters, papermakers, photographers, beaders, doll makers, artists of varying degrees, etc. and I learn from them every month. This month was my turn to tutor them. I was amazed at the beautiful earrings they created!  Here's some pictures of the group at work and some of the results.

That's all for now.
Toodles,

Featured Artist- X2 !!!

Wow, it's been a busy month! The stars must have really been in alignment because one of my designs (lil meanie earrings) was featured on two different sites! What a thrill it was to get those emails that start out "you've been featured"!!
The first was at Crafthaus, an on line site for professional artists, designers and craftspeople. This site has some unbelievably talent folks on it, so this was such an honor for me.

The second was Art Jewelry Magazine on line. (see logo on the right) Again, with all the artists submitting their designs, this was quite a surprise and a thrill for me.

This exposure has kept the email and requests coming in, way beyond my expectations! It sure is keeping me busy!

Lil Meanies

This design was inspired by the original piece, Mean Green Mother Earth, that was a collaboration between myself and Patty Lakinsmith, made for the Convergence I last year. We've both had a lot of fun creating designs that we call the "spawn" of  Mean Green Mother Earth.

The original - Mean Green Mother Earth

Patty's Meanie Bracelet

                                                                     Patty's Ring

My necklace

Just a few of the "spawned designs"

Well that's all the news for now.

Toodles,

Gallery Opening

Well, it was short and sweet! My recent gallery opening happened on Friday, and, though the foot traffic wasn't tremendous...sales were great! And it was wonderful to see old friends and customers who attended and supported me! Thanks to all of you!

Here's a few of the highlights!

The photo is of the "Bone Goddess", a collaboration with Patty Lakinsmith

that was recently selected for Convergence II.

Tree of Life

This piece was dedicated to Hospice. When my mother was there, I passed by a huge

wall sculpture of the Tree of Life every day on the way to her room.  There is no way to express my

gratitude to them and that sculpture left quite an impression on me.

Ring featuring one of Patty Lakinsmith's  fabulous beads! This was quite a hit!

And of course, a good time was had by all!

Now that the weekend is over, I must admit that I am glad I did it but am also glad that I have no deadlines or schedules to adhere to for a while. Time to get to all the other stuff - laundry, house cleaning, etc. - that got neglected while I was preparing. I also have dreams of trying some new stuff, like PMC and enameling.

We'll see...stay tuned!

Toodles!

I've been featured!!!!

I'm so excited! One of my rings has been featured on Art Jewelry Magaizine's on line Friday picks! What a cool honor!

It was such a surprise to open up  my email and find that message! Made my day!!!!!