Home Is Where The Heart Is...

"House Of Love"

The necklace is made using etched copper, handmade copper wire beads, lampwork glass beads and beautiful solid copper beads from Rings and Things.

The clasp is made from twisted copper wire as well, and the whole piece was patinaed and tumbled to give the copper depth and age.

Underneath the butterfly 'house' is a handmade bezel with our friends' family picture  (check out those two beautiful babies!) covered with ICE resin.

This was a new bezel shape for me, and I really like how it turned out - I'm definitely going to use it again!   I've got more new ICE resin pieces to finish up and list in my etsy shop, so stop by again soon!

Merry Christmas To All!

And the Final Secret Santa Reveals are Here!

Ta-Da!  I would like to share the final Secret Santa jewelry pictures with you, so here we go!.

First, Here is the beautiful and unusual necklace that Deryn Mentock of Something Sublime made for Sally Turlington from Imagine This:

“The Monkey’s Paw”

Second, here is the gorgeous necklace that Jeanette Blix-Ryan of Jeanette Blix Metal & Wire Jewelry made for Deryn Mentock of Something Sublime:

And finally, the beautiful and original brooch that Crystal Neubauer of Other People’s Flowers made for Jeanette Blix-Ryan of Jeanette Blix Metal and Wire Jewelry:

Wow – what a wonderful experience this has been!  thank you so much, ladies, for your willingness to participate and for the obvious care and attention to detail you each put into your pieces.  I can’t wait until next year!

More Secret Santa Gift Reveals…

Hello!

I want to share some more Secret Santa gifts with you:

The first one is a frame made by Riki Schumacher of Riki Jewelry for Diane Cook of Rosa & Josie’s:

“Sisters”

This second set of pictures are of the necklace that Cindy Wimmer of Sweet Bead Studio made for Carolyn Mallin of Fanciful Expressions:

Ladies, you continue to astound me with your unbelievable artistic talent!   Stay tuned for updates from more Secret Santas!

Thank You, Secret Santa!

The only downfall to hosting a Secret Santa swap is that your Secret Santa really isn’t much of a secret.  The flip side of that, however, is that I knew who was going to be sending me my piece of jewelry, and I was so excited to see what this fantastic, artistic woman would send.   So you can imagine my excitement when I opened up my mailbox yesterday to find a beautifully wrapped package from my Secret Santa, Sally Turlington from Imagine This.  With anticipation I opened the box to discover the most beautiful necklace that incorporates so many of my favorite things:  found objects, vintage chain, the color red.  It couldn’t be more perfect for me! 



I love the asymmetrical design with the beautiful handmade watch reliquary.



The beautiful handmade clasp and use of different metals is right up my alley!



Thank you, Sally, for this beautiful gift.  I can see how much time went into it, and I will treasure it always.

2009 Secret Santa Christmas Jewelry Swap

I am SO excited to tell you about the Secret Santa Jewelry Swap I've been hosting with twelve of the most talented women I know. 

The swap works this way:  each participant was randomly assigned a 'giftee' and was to make a piece of jewelry for that person.  I sent out a list of questions so the Secret Santas would know a bit about who they were making the jewelry for (for example, favoite colors to wear, what makes them smile, are they vintage or modern girls, etc.).

After each person receives their gift, they will be taking pictures of them and posting them on their blogs with links back to their respective Secret Santa’s blog as well. 

Here's the list of participants and their blogs:

• Beth Bricker – http://vintagesweets.typepad.com/

• Diane Cook – http://rosa-josies.blogspot.com/

• Carolyn Mallin - http://fancifulexpressions.blogspot.com/

• Deryn Mentock - http://somethingsublime.typepad.com/

• Crystal Neubauer - http://otherpeoplesflowers.blogspot.com/

• Tami Roth - http://cattalesetc.blogspot.com/

• Jeanette Blix Ryan – http://www.jeanetteblix.com/

• Riki Schumacher – http://rikijewelry.blogspot.com/

• Jan Thomason - http://polkadotbarn.blogspot.com/

• Sally Turlington - http://sallyt.typepad.com/

• Cindy Wimmer - http://www.sweetbeadstudio.com/

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  Molly Alexander – http://www.beautifullybrokenme.blogspot.com/
  
  
  

I will also be posting pictures of all the pieces on my blog, so check back here over the next week or so for updates!  Boy are these ladies talented!

Wonderful Surprises...

When I got home from picking up kids from school today, lo and behold, I found a package on my front porch that I couldn’t wait to open! My new blog friend, Jan from The Polka Dot Barn, and I decided to do a swap for each others’ artwork. We decided to include fun ephemera and trinkets in the packages with the artwork, and I have just been bursting with excitement to see what Jan would include.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have though she would send me this most amazing, goodie-filled care package! There are so many fun things that I really must share them with you all…

Here is what I ordered:

This “ALTERED VINTAGE DELICATES DRYER”:

and this beautiful ATC:

Here is what I received:

Jan, thank you so much!!! I can’t wait until our next swap! :-)

Thank You Tami!

My Friend, Tami Roth at Cat Tales Etc. is one of the most generous, kind and thoughtful people I am fortunate enough to have in my life! I am LONG overdue in thanking her for the beautiful birthday present and birthday card she made for me. The little book is made from copper, and has terrific details like handmade hinges and cute charms hanging from the tie wrap. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy! Thanks, Tami, for making my birthday so special!

Thank You Tami!

Once again, my friend Tami Roth at Cat Tales, Etc. has outdone herself! I opened my mailbox up last week and found the most fun care package waiting for me! Last year, Tami and I did a necklace exchange where she made this necklace for me in exchange for this necklace that I made for her. She always applies the most beautiful metal patinas to her pieces, and I had asked her if she had any resources for "recipes" that I could get my hands on. Not only did she send me some great recipes, but also a wonderful hanging collage and beautiful domino collage brooch that I just had to share with you (along with the most adorable Madame Alexander munchkin doll from a Happy Meal no less - boy, the toys have definitely gone up in quality since I had a child small enough to order Happy Meals!)

So Tami: Thank you for being such a wonderful friend, and I can't wait for you to receive the goodies I am putting in the mail for you this week!

All I have to say is how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends out here in blogland!

:-)

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Thank You My Friend...

I can't tell you how excited I was when my friend, Tami, asked if I wanted to do a necklace exchange with her. I love the pieces she has done for the Jewelry Challenge we are participating in that is being hosted by Deryn Mentock, and I was thrilled at the idea of actually having one of her beautiful pieces for my very own. When I opened my mailbox the other day and saw a package from her, I couldn't wait to see what was inside! The piece Tami created for me is so beautiful, I just had to share some pictures with you. Enjoy!

Thank you my friend! :-)

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"...and all about her were friends..."

I have had a difficult time motivating myself to write over the past few weeks. Some very good friends of our family, husband and wife, both passed away at the same time, and every time I sit down to do anything, I find myself sitting here like a stick in the mud. So, in an attempt to pull myself up and out of this mucky mire, I will just say this:

To our friends: we will miss you more than you will ever know. Thank you for the love and friendship you have given our whole family over the years.

"...may the LORD bless you and keep you;

may He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

may the LORD lift up his countenance upon you

and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

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