Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Does not feel like Christams here in New Mexico with the warm weather so we drove down the street to White Sands. Beautiful....looks like snow and feels soft like cookie dough.
Hope you all have a safe, hapy New Year.

Bar Flies

My sister has been after me to make her a set of these for quite a while. I finally got around to it.

She came up with the cute name.
Bar Flies /Wine Glass Charms.
My sister is very clever.

Of course you have to have a fruit fly in the set.

Holiday Season

The holiday season is approaching...
FAST!

What a Mess!

It is no longer an "Organised" Mess.
Honestly... look at the tiny space in the front of my table that I work on. I have so much stuff spread out that I am working in a 6" space.

Time to clean off the work table. Maybe I will find some stuff I have been missing.

My kids would say..."Mom, time to clean your habitat."
Have a good weekend everyone! I will be busy straightening up.

Guardian Beads

These are my Guardian Beads.

They are also known as "natasha" beads or an "inside out" bead. I call them guardians because sometimes I can see angels, animals or faces in them. They are like a Rorschach test and everyone sees something different in them.

They are scraps all mushed together, formed into a log and cut open to reveal the picture inside. When cut the right way and opened up the right way all of the sides and middles match up.

Kind of fun and addictive to make because you never know what you are going to get.

Cloudy Day

My computer caught a nasty cold! I have had it in the repair shop all week and I just got it back with all new systems etc... That means I have to figure out how to use all of the new stuff and find all of my old stuff. I am not patient with this. Grrr!

Meanwhile....I am in awe of all the beautiful clouds! New Mexico has the prettiest clouds I have ever seen. The sky here is breathtaking and I can certainly see why it is called "The Land of Enchantment".

Finished Badge Reel

If you have to wear a badge....


No reason why it can't be fun.

Badge Reel Garden

These are the front pieces for ID Badge Reels.

I only wish my real flower garden looked so colorful.

Happy

Sunflowers always make me HAPPY !           "Sunflower pot" 3" x 3"

New Line

I have been working on some new designs and have been inspired by the beautiful crosses in New Mexico.

I have also seen sooooo many interesting tattoos down here ...

Here is my take on both. I am working on a whole new line of jewelry components and decor with this look.

This is one of the few times that it translated well from my mind to the finished product. Rarely do things turn out how I envision them. This is partly because I never plan. I just go with it and see what I end up with. This, however, is just how I wanted it to look . Yeah!

Southwest Flower

I don't usually play with these colors but I am so glad I did this time.

My daughter said it looks very New Mexican. I have to agree.

Revisiting

I started teaching a class here in Alamogordo and so I have been revisiting old projects. It has been fun and it is interesting to find out that things I did when I first started seemed so hard at the time but are much easier this time around.

I honestly have to say that now I look back at the old stuff , it really was not that good but I remember being so thrilled with it when I did it.

I may look back on this in a few years and think to myself, " I can't believe I thought that was good."

Always learning....= good.

Wings on Things...

Been playing around with a more detailed wing design for my bugs.

Really happy with this one!

My Favorite...

I might have to hang on to this one.

Brassy Bugs Part II

A year or so ago I did some of these with brass bug stampings. These are done with filigrees and dangles and brass connectors.
I think they are a little more interpretive. I love the bright colors and I can't wait to finish them with chain and some vintage glass dangles I have found.

Eyeglass Keeper

Cute little bug pin that
holds your eyeglasses.

BUGS !

I made bugs this last weekend.

I saw a Vinegaroon in my backyard last week and it was the creepiest crawler I have ever laid eyes on. Anyway, it inspired me to make some cute friendly non-creepy crawlers.
I have not made bugs like these for a few years so it was fun to revisit the bug mode.

Flower Pot... Is it Blue or Orange...?

  My Flower Pot is in this months issue of Polymer Cafe Magazine. I sent them a picture of my Orange Flower Pot but thought I sent them this one. I titled it "Flower Pot in Antique Blue".

I really do know the difference between Orange and Blue...LOL

Reminds me of the time I was asked if my earrings were OOAK and I replied "no, they are polymer clay".  (OOAK = one of a kind)  for those of you that did not  know that either.  Now we both know.
Anyway, here is the Flower Pot in Antique Blue.  :)

Displays

These are my beautiful new displays that my hubby built me.  They are  a little more wind proof than the old ones.

Oh, the challenges of outdoor shows.

My Booth

Today was my second show in my new State of New Mexico.
Here is a shot of my new booth layout .

This was in High Rolls NM at the "Cherry Festival".
It is in the beautiful Lincoln National Forest. It was sooooo HOT! Hot and dusty but we survived and had a great day.

It's the little things....

I am making little fruit flies this week... They always make me smile!

New Spring Bouquet Tutorial

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The Desert

This is the cutest darn cactus.
Being new to the desert is interesting. Lots of  different kinds of plants that I have not seen before.  This little guy looks cute but he is fierce! Those spines are very hard and sharp which is why the resident bunnies have not eaten him yet.

Fairy Drops

My daughter said these look like Fairy Drops.
The little pearls are the swarovski crystallized pearls and I love how they give it a delicate look.

I would love to do a whole set in creams and whites for a bride. I think they look romantic.

Spring Bouquets

These are some beading components that I will be making into necklaces as soon as I gather some pretties to go with them. They have loops on the back for dangles and embellishments.

I am experimenting with the best way to hold them together and think I have it figured out. I have cut a clay backing template and then set the flowers onto that. I need to complete one and have my daughter wear it for a quality control test. 

I usually embed crystals into the clay by pushing them in to create a little bezel.  With this batch I tried the "hot fix" crystals from firemountaing gems. I still pushed them into the clay but think the heat activated adhesive will really hold them in well.

I think I will try to get a tutorial together for these but I have never done one here on my blog so I am trying to figure that out as well. I have so many clay ideas that I am trying to figure out that it is really distracting me from the laundry pile down the hallway. Oh, well, the laundry is not going anywhere and I really need to figure this clay project out or I just can't give the laundry my full 100 % and then the quality of the laundry suffers.
(This is my defense and I am sticking with it.)
Have a Happy Day!!!

Lavender Bouquet

Spring is close and I got the Feva!

Antique Blue

I took all of my little scraps of chain and miscellaneous beads and just started mixing. This is what I came up with.

I like how it has an antique look to it. It is amazing how just a small difference in the way you put something together can change the whole feel of a piece. Usually I tend to put the shading light to dark. This one I did the opposite and put the light part at the outside ends of the petals and it really made a difference.

This is why I love polymer clay so much. You could give ten different people the same blocks of clay and tell them each to make a flower and you would get ten totally different flowers.  Diversity is wonderful!

Lots of folks are feeling blue...

http://jessiemaccreations.blogspot.com/

I am not the only one feeling blue...
Check out JessiemacCreations for some more blue beauties!

Still Blue...

I  am stuck in blue mode but can you really blame me?.......So many possibilities.

Blue

I am in a blue mood...

Not blue as in sad and sullen but the beautiful blue of the sky or my little ones eyes.  I usually don't play with blue because it not on my favorites list, however I am trying to do some different things this year so I am stepping outside my comfort colors ( green,purple and orange).  I must say. I LOVE this! The gold gives it an antique look and I can see it as a lovely brooch or strung with some pearls.....

My next challenge....Red! Ahhhhh!

What I get back...

So I am going to go out of my comfort zone. I am not a good blogger because 
1. I hate to talk about myself. It really makes me uncomfortable because I figure who really cares and I don't ever want to come across as "look at me, look at me. "
2. I am clearly not a writer.
3. I am so afraid of offending someone that I never dare write about anyone else which puts us back to #1.

With that said I had three wonderful ladies blog about my art this week. Two today. I am always grateful and kind of surprised.  Again, refer to #1.
When I sell something I get some cash and we conclude a business transaction and I really hope that they are happy with their purchase and on we go. Well, I am so fortunate to have so many of you share what happens after that transaction.  I want to share with you what one of those talented ladies blogged about today.
Here is a little of what I get back ..... http://sewbrookie.blogspot.com/    PRICELESS!  I am so happy to be a teeny, tiny part in that big memory.  What an honor.  You have made me feel like maybe, just maybe this is what I am supposed to be doing.

So many beautiful blogs....

So many beautiful blogs... Never enough time.
Here is another gorgeous blog today devoted one of my favorites...wine!
eternal eden

She featured my bottle stop among other wonderful vine inspired goodies...

Fairy Portal Giveaway

Visit Purple Lemon designs at www.purplelemondesigns.com/blog/purple lemon designs to see a really cute blog and win one of my fairy portals


Visit purple lemons etsy shop for some of the cutest darn personalized stamps ever!

Strawberry LOVE

These were hearts until my daughter said they looked like strawberries, sooooo I added some seeds and I think they are delicious!

Queen of Hearts

Getting in the Valentine spirit.

These remind me of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.

Please let them keep their heads so they can wear fun jewelry!

Thanks everyone for the good feedback on my new flower pots.

It is always great to hear positive comments on a new project. It keeps me creative knowing that I might actually have a good idea once in a while.

Honey Pot

New Obsession

Ahhh! All I want to do is make these cute little pots!