What I've Been Up To

I taught a basic jewelry class Wednesday & came out to this. It snowed for 3 hours & all I got was this. I'm such a kid when it comes to snow. Actually, our whole family loves it when it snows. For my husband & I, it is probably a product of living in the South for too long & 3 years in Phoenix, AZ.

The class was fun. I love to see what students will come up with. It's always nice to get a different point of view. This is what I worked on. I'm still on this "slider as a pendant" kick.
I met with a stamping club that I'm a part of. I don't really "stamp" or make cards when I go. I bring my bag or basket with all sorts of collage goodies. I've worked on paperdoll dresses & a crown. This past week I did a couple of journals & started on my Hanging Up Springtime Swap. I've seen a couple of participants are done with their swap pieces already (here & here!) The fun thing about the swap is we are making 6 different items & will in return get 6 items back from different artists.

I had an open house last week with the OSC. There weren't a lot of people in attendance, but I still did pretty well. I managed to sell the ring off my finger. (Thanks Kim!) That ring seems to be a hit. I've also recieved 4 other special orders for it. I forgot to bring some of my paper mache dress forms, so my table didn't have much height. I've been loading up the full size dress form in lots of items in the same color scheme. When I do it, it looks full, but when I look at the picture it doesn't look so full. I also need to remember to take pictures when I finish setting up & not at the end!

PIF... Thank You Sandra

The wonderful Sandra of Sandra Eileen Jewlery sent me a week's worth of earrings all made of sterling silver, semi-precious stones, art glass, & crystals. I just love all the colors! I don't know if I can pick a favorite. It's such a treat to receive handmade jewelry from other artists. You understand the work & design process & it makes it that much more special. Thank you Sandra. I will treasure these & think of you every time I wear a pair.

What is a PIF (Pay It Forward)?

This is the concept (verbatim from Dawn Chastain's blog, who took it from Carol Deans blog, who took it from Linda's blog who took it from Carla):"Pay it forward rules: I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a Comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange, and who make the same pledge on their own blogs . I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward."

I blogged my PIF post here. Anyone interested? I figured after the OWOH event someone may want to join in. Let me know in the comments here or on the original post.

OWOH ... We Have a Winner

I can't even tell you what a wonderful experience this has been. I've been so excited sharing this with everyone in my family. I plan on printing up all the comments & using them as part of an art journal. I did a print preview & it's 30 pages long. I am overwhelmed by the love of the blogging community. I know we don't need validity as artists, but it sure is nice to have such supportive comments when your work is so personal to you.

I used the lovely random number generator, thanks to Carrie & her husband of Violets are Blue. I don't know what I would have done without it. Last year, I had 48 entries & my son was my random number generator.

Here is the winner for the bracelet...

It's Dagmar of Quilts & More.

The winner for the collaged clip magnets is... Jo of the Cart Before the Horse
I'll be emailing both of you for your particulars.

Thanks to everyone for visiting me. I plan on visiting everyone on the list, yep all 426. Boy is that gonna be fun! I also get to visit each one of you that came by to see me. See you soon! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Lisa Oceandreamer, you're the BEST

More New Work

I'm still on my collaging kick. I finished this journal Saturday night. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I had a fun time because Brandon asked if he could do artwork with me. He really is such a creative guy. His teacher keeps pointing it out to me & I really see it at home. I just want to keep fostering that. The only problem is that he keeps wanting my GOOD stuff. One time he took my Making Memories ultrafine glitter. He couldn't use his Wal-Mart tube! Thank goodness he didin't get into the glass glitter.
Here's the balance of my Valentine magnets. I think I'm done. I made a list of people, of course, but I just kept making the clothespins because they are so much fun! I even made a few for me (the monogram "N" ones - check out the one with the crown)

I've Been Busy

My hubby doesn't ready my blog probably because I go running to him with my new creations. I told him about the Why My Laundry's Not Done post. He didn't laugh...
Well here are a few more reasons. I have an open house on Valentines day & I don't have much in the lower price point. I LOVE mixing & adding all sorts of components on pieces & I realize it adds to the price. I wanted to offer some lower price point pieces & small things you can grab & go. I've been working on collaged frames & did a bunch of journals. I think they turned out really cute. The pink journal is my personal one. I just got sick of taking out a plain (read: not pink) journal. The altered clothes pins are going to be magnets & attached to simple homemade Valentines. I've wanted to say thank you to those special people that supported me during my first year of business.

Hanging Up Springtime Swap

This swap is the cutest. I mean, look at the swap button. It's being organized by Sarah of Gypsie Mermaid Life. I'm already planning & will probably start this weekend. You make 6 items: dress, bloomers, hat, gloves, butterfly, & bird. Sarah is going to give each swapper items from 6 different artists & hang them on a line. Oh so fun! There is a cap of 30 people & it's filling up quick. Go sign up now if you wanna join! She even made us samples. This girl is GOOD!

Why My Laundry Isn't Getting Done

This blogstacular OWOH event is so much fun. I can't even tell you about all the cool people I've met & blogs I would have never found. I found the cutest whimsical Valentine cards to download from Vanessa. It's on her sidebar. Go take a look at her work while your at it. AMAZING. I printed up the cards & am going to incorporate them into some collaged Valentines for family & friends.

I found these cute plates at Target for only $1.99 apiece. I'm trying to find my "look " to merchandise & brand my jewelry so I've been experimenting. I love crowns, damask, swirls & flowers. I thought these plates would make nice display pieces on my table for open houses. We'll see how it looks. I'm fortunate enough to be selling my jewelry on Valentines Day for our OSC function. I need to take more pictures of my open houses.

Here's a new ring I made. I've been wearing it since it's my favorite pink & I happened to make it in my size. Hee-hee. If you noticed, my pictures look a little different. I found out by accident that I own Microsoft Picture It. I can now add softened edges, texts, & shapes. I really wish I could "draw" on them. I'd have swirls galore. Like I've written before, I am not computer savvy. I'm barely literate, in fact. I couldn't believe we owned the program. I kept asking my husband when we got it & he kept looking at me like "What's the big deal?" I'm still playing around with the program & taking pictures (like the shadows on the plates). Isn't it funny that the days you want to take pics, it's cloudy outside & the days you don't it's sunny. Grrrr.... :)

I may try to make my own blog banner. Hee hee. I had a lame attempt quite some time ago. I saw a tutorial using PowerPoint, which I've become somewhat proficient with. Bonnie also has a tutorial on the Snap & Scrap blog. Spreaking of, I'll be a featured artist with an interview & basic earring tutorial. I'll let you know when it's up. Take a look at the blog, though, there are lots of great tutorials on digital scrapping & paper crafts.

One World One Heart - Happy 100 Posts For Me!

This year I'll be joining in the One World One Heart event hosted by the wonderful Lisa Oceandreamer. I participated in it last year & found it so rewarding. It was fun to get to know everyone; I met bloggers I may have never found. I was just getting into blogging regularly so I felt like I was putting myself out there & it was a little frightening but I enjoyed it so much. If you're not familiar with it, bloggers from all over the world giveaway a piece of their work, something from their store, just some sort of really nice gift. It's wonderful to see the outpouring. Here's part of what's on the OWOH blog:

What IS ONE World-ONE Heart?It is a blog-wide giveaway event. The original idea behind this was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. Last years event had nearly 100 participants and many connections were made because of it......friendships that are still going strong.

Go to the OWOH blog & on the side bar you'll see all the participants. Have fun in blog land! I'm going to join in in conjunction to my 100th post. I'm giving away the bracelet below. Yea, Happy Anniversary to my little blog. I've so enjoyed meeting & making great friends. I'm opening this up to anyone who would like to sign up. You don't have to have a blog, but please leave me an email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll be closing the contest on Wednesday, February 13th late in the evening (somewhere around 11PM EST). I'll post the winner Thursday February 14, hopefully in the afternoon. (By the way, if you're family, you can't enter. You know I'll make you whatever you want :)

Here's to my next 100 posts.

The bracelet is made of Czech firepolish crystals, coral, & a carved cinnabar flower. The chain & clasp are sterling silver.

To those of you that are first time visitors, thanks for coming over to celebrate.

EDITED: This has been so wonderful to meet so many bloggers. It's gonna take me awhile, but I'm planning on visiting all of you. When I have a down in the dumps day, I'm going to come back to this post. Your comments mean so much to me. Thanks :)

I've decided to add another giveaway to this post. I've been making some Valentine clip magnets for the big day. I'll make a set of 3 for the second winner. This is just a sampling of what I've made. I'll post them when I make them!

It's Mine

I'm kinda obsessive complusive about magazines. I can't get enough of them. Once I have them I devour them until the next issue comes out, then I save it... for all eternity. I did a little experiment for January. I knew I was a bit of a magazine fanatic, but is it really this bad? I'm even a little embarassed, I bought 9, count 'em NINE magazines in the month of January alone. The ironic thing is I didn't buy a single beading magazine. Here they are: Romantic Homes, Romantic Country, Creating Keepsakes, Country Living x's 2, Home Companion, Blueprint, Somerset Life, & Somerset Studio.
I'm on to February's magazine stash. I got Artful Blogging today from a cute little stamp store in New Castle, DE. The little one & I took a field trip since his older brother was staying later at school today for a special lunch. We went to White Swan Rubber Stamps & found some fun stuff for me. In addition to Artful Blogging, I got a new cube rubber stamp, probably expected from a rubber stamp store & a book on soldering projects. I had to drive 50 miles to get my Artful Blogging. I knew it was hitting the newsstands today, but no one in Dover carried the first issue. I went to the craft stores here & even a Barnes & Noble in MD. It was so funny asking for it. No one knew what blogging was. Artful Logging? Someone even looked at me with my youngest in tow asking if I said Artful Flogging. I'm glad I have the new one. So well worth the drive :) I'm planning to go back to New Castle. The downtown area is beautiful. It was raining today, so I didn't bring my camera. Yes, I broke blogging rule #1. The downtown dead ends into a park on the bay.

I'm preparing my next post for my 100th giveaway. Stay tuned!!

There have been quite a few blog friends asking how the open house went in FL. First off thanks :) It's great to have blog friends that care. There weren't a lot of people that could make it but the ones that did bought. I will defintely do it again. Like I said - my mom has big plans for the holiday open house. It was fun with family - friends - & munchies. I can't use my comma right now because the little one popped the key off - AGAIN. I'm waiting for the insurance company to drop us. Thank goodness this time it's only 2 keys & I have the spare key board from the last incident.