Plastic Bubbles

There is something else that I've been meaning to try for a long time. Plastic bubbles. Well that's what I call them. I have been using the glass bubbles or "gems" for a few years now to solder. We have a family owned Plastics business where we make displays for department stores. Since there is so much plastic available to me, I have always wanted to try to make something jewelry related out of plastic. I saw where someone had taken these plastic bubbles, attached images and then glued them to ring bases. So here are the first few that I've made. They look ALOT BETTER in person, my camera skills just don't do them justice. These have glitter but I will probably try some with just images next. I can't wait to glue them to the ring bases! I love to solder but I'm enjoying the "non soldering" projects also.

New jewelry- FINALLY

Well I'm trying to get back into my jewelry making. I got out my beads and supplies and I've been dreaming up new things. I have been wanting to try pendants made from glass and Fimo clay for about two years and I'm just now trying it for the first time!

All you do is take a glass gem and attach your image with Diamond Glaze. Then after it's dry, make a ball out of the clay and press your glass gem into it. Let it come up over the sides so that the clay forms a "nest" around the glass. You may have to experiment with the size of the ball to get it right.

I pressed mine onto a textured rubber stamp so that the back would be pretty. I also pressed a wire loop into the top of each one and then baked them on a cookie sheet covered with tin foil. I just went by the temperature and time on the Fimo package.

I'm thinking about reinforcing the wire loops with a dot of strong glue. I rubbed some Ranger Metallic Powder onto the back of each one so that the design would show up. Next time I will do that step before I bake them.

Art Diva Night

I've been lucky enough to be included in an art group which meets once each month at my local library! The head art diva is the talented Joanna Lewis of sweet.finds@yahoo.com. We each bring whatever we want to work on and visit, share ideas etc. while we work. In addition we each bring a snack to munch on. I decided to make St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes, since I had seen this idea quite a while ago and always wanted to try it. Being the cupcake fanatic that I am, this was a perfect choice.

I brought coasters made from ceramic tiles to work on since I have been in kind of a slump when it comes to jewelry making. Joanna was working on the most beautiful necklace which she made from vintage jewelry pieces. She was also wearing another one that she created the same way. They were breathtaking! She really inspired me. So I came home and started looking around to see what I have that might work for a necklace like hers. I ended up buying some vintage earrings which I have been able to use as pendants and rings. Here are a couple of pictures of what I've made so far.

Valentine Gift Cones

These are my Valentine Gift Cones. They are made with pretty papers and card stock. I trim them with "tissue festooning". I love making them for different holidays. I love the pinks and reds for Valentine's Day.







These are listed on Etsy at www.femininecharms.etsy.com
The vintage style tags are available at www.hudsonsholidays.etsy.com You can order them, print them out and add your own embelishments.

Christmas Cookies 2009

I bought my supplies way in advance. I mixed the dough and chilled it overnight. Then I finally rolled out the dough and cut out my cookies with the help of my youngest son Ryan. I was surprised that he still wanted to help me bake cookies at 14 but I got lucky and he did! He was more interested in the rolling, cutting and baking. My favorite part is the icing and decorating so by the time that the cookies were cool and ready to decorate he was off doing something else. Oh well, I still had fun.

Paper Cowgirl Art Retreat- Classes

I took three classes at the retreat. The first one was an "Altered Canvas" taught by Jan Thomason. This class was really fun and Jan gave us each a goodie bag full of loot! I'm intimidated by canvas and paint so this class was good for me. We collaged images and objects onto the canvas along with paint. I want to try some more of these soon.

The second class "Crepe Paper Spun Hearts" was taught by Ann-Denise Anderson and she really went all out! The room was decorated like a party with gorgeous favors by each each place setting along with some supplies for the class. She brought along many different colors of gathered crepe paper wound onto long cardboard tubes which added even more festiveness to the room. You just can't be around that much crepe paper and not be happy! So that was the day that I got interested in crepe paper. And then I took another class from Ann-Denise in McKinney and made a beautiful crepe paper doll. I have been having so much fun working with crepe paper ever since!

The third class was called "Altered Compacts" taught by Charlotte Garret-Tucker. She showed us how to take vintage rouge and powder compacts and turn them into mini works of art using scrap jewelry pieces and images. I really enjoyed myself and worked so slowly that I was not finished by the end of the class, since there were so many tiny pieces of scrap jewelry that I couldn't decide which to use! Finally I settled on a "religious" theme and started gluing things on but I spend way to much time just enjoying looking through the jewelry! Once I got home I started looking on e-bay for old compacts and I bought a few so that I can do more of these.

Paper Cowgirl Art Retreat- Swaps

In June, I went to one of the most fabulous events EVER. The Paper Cowgirl Art Retreat! The reason this was so super fun for me is that before the retreat I didn't really have the opportunity to spend time with other artists or crafters. So to be around so many other women who love what I love was just wonderful. I met so many fun people!

I was in three classes and also 3 swaps. There was an ATC swap (which I've never made before), a charm swap (that one was right up my alley) and an ephemera swap. We were told that "presentation is everything" so I made sure to spend lots of time planning out the packaging for each swap.

The bags with guns (I burned a little hole into each one with an incense stick) held my ATC's. The brown paper envelopes held my ephemera and the bags with the little chenille cowgirls held my charms.