Friday, November 25, 2011

Stuffed!



I feel like the turkey I stuffed yesterday! All I want to do is eat leftovers play on the computer.
I hope you all had as good of a Thanksgiving as I did. It's been of couple years since I've prepared dinner and had the whole family over. I loved it! The grandkids are getting older, (and bigger), and it's getting harder to cram everyone in my little house but we made do. The turkey and all the trimmings turned out great and I am so thankful for my family and everything I have. It's a good life!

Now I'm going to try and get motivated to make some beads.....



Sunday, November 13, 2011

Custom Jewelry Tags

Custom stamp with small bench block, (purchased separately).

Mirror image of logo seen in shiney tag allows me to
line up evenly.

Looks even but the impression is a little deeper on one side, (this is the
reason I wish I would have purchase the 2 part stamp).


Now I use a Sharpie to color over the logo making sure the ink
sinks into the impression. Much quicker than mixing up a
batch of smelly liver of sulphur).


Remove excess ink with a polishing cloth and there you have your finished tag.
Just add a jumpring to attach to your jewelry.

So many folks have asked me about my custom jewelry tags that I thought I would post the information for all to see.
I bought a custom stamp with my Hippkitty Beads logo on it at Infinitystamps. I also bought the tiny sterling tags from them the first time, (more on this later). They have different shapes and sizes depending on your logo. They have instructions on their site explaining how to upload your logo for them to make a custom design. I simply chose my favorite font, typed my business name to create the file they needed and uploaded it to their site. I can't remember how long it took to get the order but I do remember they recommended that I buy their 2 part stamp, which I didn't do, thinking I didn't need to go to the extra expense. The cost was quite a bit more but now I wish I would have gone that route because the chances of a miss hit are pretty much non existant with the 2 part stamp and I do mess up a tag every now and then not having the base that the stamp fits in. Take a look at the site if you are confused and this should become more clear to you.
I now purchase the sterling tags from RioGrande because the guage
is a bit thicker and I get a deeper impression, thus a nicer
looking tag. 

Friday, November 11, 2011

Etched turquoise and ivory series


"Sky High" available in my Etsy shop.

Another adorable bracelet in a series of turquoise and ivory pieces that I've etched with acid for a satiny matte finish. I love the effect and especially for this color combination. I use turquoise and ivory glass together often because I like the black outline effect around the designs, (looks like I worked much harder than I actually did). This black line is caused from a reaction that occurs when the metals in the two colors are mixed.
I love to combine lots of different shapes and textures in my work and this bracelet is a really fun example. The etched turquoise and ivory beads are very popular with my customers and the pieces that I create from them sell very well.



Thursday, November 10, 2011

I Heart You!



I'm on a quest to create some low dough gallery items for the holiday season. This is my first bunch of heart key rings. Aren't they sweet and oh-so-colorful! 

 

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Frost on the pumpkin

A big honker! 21mm. I'm going to turn this into
a necklace for Shack Art Center.


It certainly is a crisp fall morning. I think I'll build a roaring fire and make some rib stickin' soup for dinner but first, some excersize and fresh air. A round of golf is in order. Just as soon as the frost melts..........