HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

May your troubles be less

 and your blessings be more

 and nothing but happiness

 come through your door.

             ....author unknown



Blustery day......

Lots of paperwork on this very grey day. Time to close the year and get ready for taxes. Not my favorite thing to do but I have a date with my guy tonight so I have something to look forward to. Now where did I put those receipts..............???



4 more days......

In my Etsy shop. 

Etsy



Pendants

"Always Charming" pendant. New in my Etsy shop.

"Blue Yonder" pendant. New in my Etsy shop.



Christmas Shopping

"Clarksville Hearts" necklace in my Etsy shop.

I started my Christmas shopping today. I'm usually done by this time. Trouble is it's so hard to choose the perfect gifts. There is just too much to choose from. I go to the toy department and I just circle. Then I circle some more. It really shouldn't be this difficult although I really like the toy department It inspires my creativity. All those bright happy colors. Guess I'm just a kid at heart...... easily distracted.



Smile, it's Friday!!!

"Thingamabob" Necklace

Stacked Dot Focal Pair

Dichroic Slider Necklace

Stacked Dot Focal

Stacked Dot Focal

What a beautiful frosty December morning! The sun is shining and the sky is a brilliant blue.
Today is a computer day. I've added a few new things to my Etsy shop and you may just find the perfect gift for that special somebody.
Have a lovely weekend!



Big Beads

This bead has been made into a pendant that hangs from a ball strand chain. Find it in my Etsy shop.

Playing around with dots. Stacking and manipulating into sweet little hearts.

Monday Monday

"Eye of The Beholder" totem pendant new in my Etsy shop.



Stuffed!

"Devil's Food Daisies" new in my Etsy shop.

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.....



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. 

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.



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! 

 

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..........



And the WINNER is..........

......Lori Peterson, COME ON DOWN!!!

(Lori, please contact me at vicmil@wavecable.com so I can get your shipping address.)

Thank you all for playing and for all the nice comments! I LOVE you guys!



Don't miss your chance......

To win the bead in the previous post! Contest ends at midnight.



Would you like to win this bead?

One bead shown both front and back.

All you have to do is leave a comment. Yep, simple as that!

Contest will be active until Sunday Oct. 30, 2011 at midnight, (Pacific time). Drawing for the winner will be held on Monday October 31, 2011, (Yep, Halloween), and announced at 9 am. So go on, leave a comment.......