FAM Scavenger Hunt!

I joined my first Etsy Street Team! I am now a proud new member of FAM, Fabulous Artistic Moms and they are just a super bunch!

Fellow FAM Winklepots was so kind as to ask me to participate in the FAM Treasury Scavenger Hunt. I really had no idea what that was, but it sounded like complete fun. And now that I've seen how it works .... it is GREAT FUN! Click on this link to go the treasury. The instructions for how to play are in the first comment from Winklepots below the treasury pictures.Remember, Treasuries expire after a limited time, so get over there to play before 3:37 pm Sun. Nov. 30. Happy Scavenging!!

And if you really love the piece Winklepots picked from my shop (that's me -- the Happiness Bird Necklace second row from the bottom) I have three other hand-illustrated bird tile designs available at the web boutique on this page. Check them out!
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Other posts you might enjoy:
Treasury Happiness
My First Treasury!

Market Pics!

The last day of the Saturday Market I sell at was a fantastic success!! These pics are a bit late being posted, but the family was really hit hard by that pesky virus and we are just now getting back on our feet. My husband is still pretty ill but the kids are fully recovered which is great news! Me? I'm really tired but almost fully recovered and should be back up running at full speed by early next week. Yeah! Because I have a TON of things I can't wait to get crackin' on in the studio for the holidays. So excited! Wait until you see!

Remember the images from these posts?:
Hand Tinting an Engraving -- Marie Antoinette in Color
Hand Tinting an Engraving -- Further Explorations
Well, I bought a color printer!!! This is the first color printer I have ever had in my life and it is so exciting! And these are my first little efforts into printing. The printer came without an instruction manual, which is extremely annoying, because I'm sure the things I'm trying to do could be taught in about 10 minutes, but... I don't give up easily and am learning as I go. These framed pieces had a great debut at market and they went to a gallery the day after, so we'll see what happens!

Some of my reproduction vintage image tile necklaces from market. "Dream Bold" sold quickly, but "Dream" with the nest image is still available ($24). I just love the whole line of these pendants!

The Little Tweets have gone from 3D to 2D! I did these two mini-paintings on rough wood for some handcrafted cottage chic charm. I added real buttons for the eyes just like the real Little Tweets and drilled them so they can hang from a sweet lime ribbon. I really want them to sell as a pair, so they might be heading to the gallery too. Thinking, thinking .....

Oh, I also added a Little Tweet in red to my Etsy site! The listing is for one, but I had enough red fleece to make two. I'm thinking they would be super, super cute Christmas tree ornaments?

These are two Starfish Necklaces from market. I applied patinas by hand to the sterling starfish and then complimented them with various gemstones, beads and freshwater pearls. They turned out just fabulous! I called one "Sandy Starfish" and the other "Ocean Starfish" because of the colors the necklaces ended up. Hmm.. maybe I'm longing for a tropical vacation?? LOL! I'm going to try to get these added to one of my boutiques soon ($28 each). Still have a bunch of other things to catch up on first :)

That's all the news for now. I've got a bunch of correspondence waiting for me to answer and a pile of mail to go through still, but I still need a day or two more to rest so please bear with me!

Needle Felting is Fun

"Winged Beauty" at Etsy.

What's this? Two post in two days? Yes, indeed! But I was just so excited about my recent foray to the yarn store, I had to share!

But first a serious note: if you have a hotmail email address and have been waiting for an email from me, I have not able to email hotmail addresses because hotmail is currently blocking my ISP for "reputation problems". That is ... someone else (not myself) on the same server as my company has been a bad spammer. All shipments have gone out, but if you have a hotmail address, you may not have received the shipping confirmation email.

"A Bird's Nest in Your Hair" at Etsy.

Now.... I began dabbling in needle felting a few years ago and although I turned out not to have the talent to make the cute little 3-D little creatures I so desperately wanted to make (I really wanted to make tiny felted bunnies, birds, and bees with a beehive), I did discover that I could turn my felted nests into better even more awesome nests with the application of a little needle felting! Then, one stormy night, working away furiously, I managed to break every single needle felting needle I owned and, since I live in the middle of nowhere, no replacements were to be found. BUT ... I was able to find a yarn store recently that carried the needles!! Yeah!!!

"Beauty of Flight" soon to be at Etsy.

So, nests are back on the menu! You can see them all over at my Etsy shop. And of course, being on my vintage label craze, they all come on a cool reproduction vintage label! :)

The Glory of Felt

Little Tweets are now online!! These little felt birdies are so cute and adorable and just perfect for hanging ... well... just about anywhere! I like to use them in giftwrapping and tie them into the bow on top of the package or to the handle of the gift bag. The perfect artful touch to finish off a handmade gift. They also make fabulous Christmas ornaments!

Little Tweet --bubblegum pink sparrow
At my Etsy store.

Each Little Tweet is hand embroidered, sewn and stuffed. I use many recycled bits of felt, ribbon and buttons on them, so they are eco-tweets too :) I've had several people ask me how I can sell them for so little, considering the amount of work put into them. The simple answer is that at shows and markets, the Little Tweets are my loss leaders. What is a loss leader? A product sold at a low price (at cost or below cost) to introduce customers to your product. Basically you take a loss to lead someone to your store. So they are an awesome deal! :)

Little Tweet -- chocolate sparrow
At my Etsy store.

These are two cuties available now at my Etsy store and I have some Little Red Sparrows and some Little Red Robins ready to join them. Again, I might need to wait until school starts to get everything uploaded online that I planned to - this summer is just SO busy!! I am getting a TON done during my bloggie break, but my To Do List is still a serious foe to be reckoned with.

And look at what I won in a blog contest over at Felted Treasures!! This awesome felted grape bowl!! It is just huge and it is sooo beautiful!
Valerie was so sweet and even included a darling miniature felted bowl too. If you remember this post, at the bottom is a stitched mouse my children fell in love with -- well, it now lives in this bowl :) The awesome white bowl I've moved around the house several times already - it looks good everywhere, but especially good with my collection of buttons in it so that is probably where it will end up :) You can see more of Valerie's work at her Etsy store.

Spring Arrives in Style

Spring is here! Blue skies, singing birds, blossoms and flowers bursting out everywhere ... it is just beautiful!

Just yesterday, my little 1st grader came in from playing outdoors grinning happily from ear to ear and holding out this bunch of Spring daffodils. "These are for you, Mommy!! Happy Spring!" He was so cute and sweet and it was such a beautiful, thoughtful gesture. We made a big show of putting them in water on the kitchen table. (Yes, I am a Japanese pottery addict). I was, however, a little mortified, because you see... I have never, ever planted daffodils on our property. That means that someone, somewhere in the neighborhood is now missing three daffodils.No illicit flower activities for me, but I have been gathering rushes of pussy willow branches - which I just love to decorate with. A container of dried branches adds instant visual height and a certain sculptural element to any room. If you have cherry trees, a vase of cut flowering cherry branches is a great idea too.
And what a lovely backdrop they make for a glamour shot of one of my Bird's Nest Necklace Deluxe necklaces. These have driven me absolutely batty trying to photograph them, but I finally achieved some decent pictures and they are up on the website. Each one turns out so unique that I decided to list each one separately so you can choose your favorite.
And if you've checked out my etsy site lately, you will see a fresh crop of pink hand crocheted embellished brooches. These are so festive for Spring and look just gorgeous pinned to a shirt, hat, purse or blouse! And each one is one of a kind, so you'll have a true original.

More exciting Jeweled Elegance news: The very sweet and talented Nyx Enchantments is doing a running blog article on etsy sellers and was so kind as to feature me! If you've ever wanted to know more about the inspirations behind Jeweled Elegance, check it out here.

This week is the start of Spring Break for us, so my little guys and I will be busy enjoying the nice weather, going on field trips, working in the garden, and baking yummy goodies. We are not so fortunate as to be able to go on vacation, but we have our copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys on hand (which they adore) and we are going to have some great boy adventures! I hope you all are having a happy Spring!

Anne Boleyn Would Be Jealous.

I started watching The Tudors over my blog break and was inspired to make a gorgeous crocheted collar with pearl accents.

But first ... I wanted to share this lovely custom silver bird's nest necklace on it's way to Natalea! I spent a good chunk of my blog break studio time weaving more nests for the secret garden portion of my shop. They are all back in stock (except for one) and I now have some with white/cream "eggs". I should have the pics of the white ones uploaded in the near future. I've been spending much of my free time trying to get my Etsy shop off the ground. Not having much luck yet, because there is SO much competition in jewelry, but I'm not disheartened yet! And here is my Tudor inspired collar! I picked a really rich red color and crocheted it with a wonderful complex lace pattern. The front is embellished with some large white pearls. I think it looks very regal! Worthy of any of Henry the VIII's queens!

Wait, one more thing :) My friend Michelle at Hold Dear is having the most awesome swap. A mermaid and seaside inspired swap featuring mermaids and all the bounty of the sea. Sign-up closes on Jan. 14th though, so hurry!

Happy, Lovely Things! And One Sad Thing.

Time to do the Happy Dance!!! Looks like I'm featured in not one, but two marvelous gift guides this Holiday Season! The Modish Holiday Gift Guide and the Creature Comfort Holiday Gift Guide!

The Modish Guide is featuring my new line of Vintage Dictionary Earrings.The Creature Comforts Guide will be featuring these combs and these necklaces.To celebrate such wonderful holiday press I would love to offer everyone a discount. Unfortunately my website shopping cart can't do discount codes, so instead .... every order $24 or higher is getting a free holiday gift! Hammered copper and turquoise earrings! (Sorry about the fuzzy picture. I need to retake this with my undamaged camera).
If you've read the premier issue of Victoria Magazine's relaunch, you may remember the glamorous photo shoot of Tasha Tudor's historical gowns. You can view all the gowns being auctioned at this site. You can also purchase a full color auction catalogue. I was a huge fan of the old Victoria and this new version, while nice, just doesn't have the same magical grace or sense of style ... at least for me. This auction gown, however, is lovely! Look at that great seafoam color! You can almost see the cameo at the neckline and the upswept hair pinned with a tortoiseshell comb.
Green Changeant Silk Dress, 1840s - Lot 77 (from the Tasha Tudor auction site)
And the sad thing. My husband and I have "date nights" (where we dress up and dine out without the kids) and I was so hoping to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age on our last date, but the movie showtimes didn't match up with the childcare opportunity available to us. So, alas .... looks like I will be watching it on DVD in the spring of 2008 in our family room. Not quite as romantic as I'd envisioned. :)

Oh! And I DID go to that graveyard. Not at midnight though :) My oldest son and I went for a walk to check out this bit of our town's history. Very still and creepy. And the creepiest part? One of the graves had ... dare I say it? ... had a stake on top of it wrapped in a silver wire! Now, I don't know if that wire was real silver or not, but one look at that and we were out of there. Waaay too spooky!

The Kitchen Table with Earl Grey at 4:00 AM

One morning this week I had the most wonderful date. With a cup of piping hot Earl Grey Tea, a new tool, a bunch of paints and absolute silence. Yes, silence. How was this amazing feat accomplished? At 4:00 am while my family was still snug in their beds. But a girl has to craft when she can!

All of you awesome paper artists have inspired me to try card making. So .. this is the first card I have ever made. History in the making *grin*. This was a Buddhist theme card for a friend, so I started with a 2"x3" image, enlarged it, embellished it (it has lots of gold glitter on the figure and plants which of course doesn't show up in the photo), and then made a border and trimmed it with ribbon. For a first try, I like it!Then I whipped out the acrylics and painted a modern and masculine card for my brother. He lives in California, so I tried to do a California hill and valley theme. Didn't foof it or he might have run for those hills :)

And here is my new tool: A professional ring mandrel!!!! This thing is *heavy*, as in you could use it for weight lifting. I didn't get to play with it much since I've spent the week cleaning for my mother's visit, but I did take one of my bird necklaces and wire in into a ring and then made a "baby one" too. Fun??? Oh, yes!!!!!


This last picture was taken long after the sun rose, but I just HAD to show you all this. I have moss on my patio!!!
This was the first section of the patio we finished, and it was a ..very...long....project, so I suppose there's a slim possibility moss spores were there, invisible, waiting for the fall rains, but I'm going to swear by my moss food recipe, because this is the same area I painted it on and misted religiously. Doesn't it look great!

My mother arrives tomorrow for a week long stay, so I'm not sure how much computer time I'll get, but I'll visit everyone when I'm back!

Bird Nest Necklacles & The 2007 Bead Journal Project: June

OK, I've finally started rolling along on my June entry for The 2007 Bead Journal Project!! Once upon a time (otherwise know as last Spring) I obsessed endlessly about a magazine full of Renaissance wedding dresses. A year later, I started making my Queen & Courtesan vintage button cards. So.... I've decided to theme my bead journal around living out my dreams of being a medieval fashion and accessory designer. I'm looking forward to developing my bead embroidery skills - which right now border on about zero - and developing this passion of mine as an artist which has clearly been trying to express itself for at least the past year.
I have ordered several books to teach me how to do bead embroidery, but as they haven't arrived yet, I decided to jump right in and start. I'm going with a small 3" x 4" format to keep it manageable. I bought some lovely fabric to paint before beading, and have some wonderful ideas for stitched cross medallions, but those button cards were still fresh in my mind. So, here we have beading on card stock (heavy with a UV and water resistant spray), backed with felt, based on "The Girl With A Pearl Earring". Above is the image after gilding, painting & stamping.....hmmm... should have had one without the paint too.....
.....And here it is beaded so far!! From my point of view, my vision far exceeds my skill, but for a first try, I'm OK with it. I have a bit more to do yet and haven't started to think about how to finish the edges ... and then how to bind it into a book. How to get *12* thick pages into a book?? Pretty thick book :)

Other bead journal thoughts: it's amazing what a great way this is to use up all those extra beads from other projects and looks to be a fantastic way to showcase special handmade beads! And it is SO adaptable... I was looking at ribbon and fabric bits around the house and thinking .. "oh, these would look good with it too!" :) Not even finished with June yet and already looking forward to July!!

And some more exciting news... the Bird Nest Necklaces are finally at the shop! I have both the pink and blue delicate nest charms on some wonderfully slinky sterling snake chain. Also, one each of the charms with polymer clay eggs.

Thank you to everybody for your well wishes while I was sick. I finally have my voice back ... Yeah!!... and am almost back to 100%. Just in time to enjoy the returning sunny weather!

The Countdown: 19 Days to Market ........

There are only 19 more days to the start of market! I have literally been locked in my studio the past week creating product and dreaming up new packaging for the 2007 market season. No internet, no mopping the floor, nada ... nothing except beads :) My booth is 10ft square and given that jewelry is very, very small ... I have a lot of creating to do! For the next 19 days I will live in my studio, but will be giving periodic updates of what I'm working on. The Jeweled Elegance web boutique will not be updated with any of the new product until after the start of market, but everthing will be available for purchase. Right now I have barely anything finished ... but lots of things in the works :)

Above is my only completed piece so far. A gold/white lampwork glass and wedding cake bead Y necklace all done in handwrapped copper and handmade chain. It would be a great bridal piece, but I can see it glowing softly against tanned skin and think it would be a lovely summer necklace. You can also see my new necklace/bracelet tags in the photo. I developed and started using them about a month ago and they are WAY better than the old ones - trust me on that!

And bird fever has struck! I have been weaving nests with little pearl eggs in them and will make them into necklaces. On the right are lots of little handmade polymer clay eggs ready to be added to some of the nest charm necklaces to make Y necklaces. I have baby blue, soft green and Tahitian black pearls, so have a lot of nests to weave! I even made myself a huge nest egg ring .... which was promptly claimed by my munchkins as pirate treasure. I'm sure it will surface again in time :)

This is an example of technique for some of the new market pieces. The top chain link is bright, shiny copper. The bottom link has been hammered and then flameworked. Yes, put in a hot burner flame and then doused in cold water ... and it produces this really attractive finish! The one on the bottom looks like an antique find from a long forgotten copper mine. I find flameworking copper to produce patinas fun and addictive. I have produced red, gold, brown, black and even a silvery-grey patina, but it's a little like raku .. a mystery until you clean off the carbon film. (And I always stay safe with eye protection, fireproof surfaces, etc. Hot metal can burn and hot beads can shatter.)


Turquoise is a natural with copper and I've been making lots of different shapes of hand hammered and flameworked turquoise and copper earrings. I'm hoping to get some niobium in copper for the earwires, but they'll be sterling if I can't get the niobium in stock soon enough. In this picture, I'm trying to show the rich flameworked patina of the earrings contrasting with the bright, shiny finish of the necklace chain at the top. It is storming today and the light is very grey and dim, but hopefully you can see it :)

Now ...... it's back to the studio!

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring To Everyone! Everything is blooming like crazy here. Daphne, tulips, pansies ... you name it. The air smells wonderfully divine, and so very ....Spring! Now if only there would be a few sunny days in a row so the ground can dry up and I can make the garden look as pretty as it smells!

I whipped up the cute little bird graphic just to celebrate the season, but it is really growing on me. I think I'm going to need to find a new role for it after being a Spring greeting! And speaking of birds, I am almost finished with these. Finished enough to photograph for the blog, at least.The one on top is still waiting for it's final Olivine crystal on the extender chain. It is maddening to be working on a project and be out of the exact thing you need, is it not? If I had needed pink or yellow or blue .. no problem, but because I wanted three green crystals, I of course only had two. Murphy's Law in action. I traveled to two bead stores this weekend, but neither one carried that color, which made it even more frustrating. (Have you ever tried taking an active, inquisitive toddler into a bead store??) So, I ended up ordering online and am waiting for it to arrive by post. I'm really, really pleased with how these turned out. I tried a gold ink wash on the moss agate necklace tile and it gave a nice, subtle effect -- like a touch of worn gilding.

Look what was in my mail this morning! Last week in the "ONE World-ONE HeART Spring Giveaway", I won this gorgeous set of vintage Easter tags in the giveaway drawing at The Decorated House. Aren't they just darling? And the perfect finishing touch for the Easter gifts I am working on!

Firebird Necklaces

I've gotten so many lovely comments on the little Firebird pins that I made especially for the "ONE World-ONE HeART" Spring Giveaway, that I decided to make some as necklaces for the shop. With their sparkly surface treatment, they were challenging to photograph, but I finally was able to capture their look by putting them in a sunbeam to photograph. Usually a very bad idea, but it worked great! I'm also happy to report that "Happiness" is a new best seller for us. Yeah!! So, I'm making two special ones, both as horizontally drilled pendants with gemstones and crystal, but one has a really cool gold antique finish. I *hope* to have them finished and posted this week.


I also had a rare chance to go shopping. I found these great flower sliders, some yummy wool yarn for felting and these vibrant chopsticks. I've always wanted to make hair sticks and I think these chopsticks would be ultra-cute turned into hair sticks. I also found some amazing washi (Japanese paper) at one of my favorite places, Uwajimaya!! The one I visit has a Kinokiniya bookstore attached and if you like Japanese craft books, is an amazing place to get the newest ones, hot off the presses.

Pretty Vintage Style

Finally! First we had the debut of our lovely crocheted hoop earrings, and now .....(drumroll).....the vintage inspired wood bird pendants are here! These have been individually hand painted from scratch and the wood artificially distressed and worn, so they really have that timeworn look of an old original. The hand drawn and hand painted images are original paintings exclusive to Jeweled Elegance.

You can find these sweet bird necklaces in our revamped "Vintage Inspired" jewelry category. I made a bluebird one for myself ("Happiness" in the boutique) and I am really enjoying it. It's fun, pretty and makes me think of Spring -- which I think has already come to Oregon. It has been just lovely here and all the geese have returned and the robins are out eating worms.

Bejeweled - Jeweled Elegance