Embossed Metal

Distressed Silver & Blue Tree Earrings & Necklace

I stumbled upon a new technique this week & I'm excited about the possibilities! I'd seen a similar look on etsy some months back and was wondering how it was done. Then, while shopping for crafts to occupy my kids, I saw new Vintaj Sizzix Embosslits & put 2 & 2 together.

I already had tons of stamping blanks & used those with the embosslits in my Big Shot to make earrings and pendants. Then, I painted with acrylics, distressed and sealed them with an acrylic spray.

Distressed Silver & Blue Owls

Patina Tree & Wind Tag Pendant

Patina Wind Earrings

Embossed Metal

Downton Abbey Scrabble Tile Pendants

I've been pretty busy (4 kids, chairing a gala, kitchen remodel, yada, yada) so haven't done too much new lately but like many of you, I caught the Downton Abbey bug and so created these new designs featuring the Dowager Countess at her best and other Downton Abbey-inspired sayings. Usually, I buy my graphic designs but this time, I had to create these myself because I couldn't find anything like them (well, maybe I borrowed a few of the sayings :) ).

Downton Abbey Scrabble Tile Pendants

Polymer Clay Jewelry

I know I haven't posted much this year but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy making new things! I've just been too busy I guess. Add in baby #4 and well, the blog takes a backseat.

This summer I decided I wanted to try stamping with polymer clay. I've never worked with polymer clay before so I spent a month just reading & figuring out what supplies to buy. Somehow I stumbled upon an ArtBliss jewelry/crafter meetup group and learned there's an ArtBliss jewelry workshop near Dulles twice a year. It was my good luck that the one in September offered a class in stamped polymer clay jewelry! AND I took a class on how to photograph my jewelry (better). You can let me know if you see any improvement :-)

I'm really excited about the possibilities this new medium offers. Here are some of the pieces I've made thus far: 

I used some spiral earrings to stamp into this pendant.

I made a mold from a really pretty button to make this pendant.

Used a good old acrylic stamp here.

Polymer Clay Jewelry

Breaux Vineyards Key West Festival!

One of the fun perks of having a craft business is the opportunity to discover new family events. Often I learn about fairs/shows from other vendors and this weekend I'll be at one that came highly recommended, the Breaux Vineyards Key West Festival, for the first time. They had me at "wine". :-)

Whether my husband might be willing to bring the kids to an event (& if the kids would like it!) is a major factor in deciding to do a show because I like it when they can get something out of it too. Yeah, I had my husband at "wine" too!

Located in Purcellville, this Festival has a laid-back Key West theme; come & enjoy wine tasting, kids' activities, craft & food vendors & live music in a beautiful venue!

Sat., July 16, 11am-6pm; tickets can be purchased from the vineyard's website: http://www.breauxvineyards.com/

Breaux Vineyards Key West Festival!

Retro Othello Pendant & Mini-Scrabble Earrings Set

Love this retro print!

How cute are these little mini-scrabble pieces??? They are about 1/2" square. I happened upon a travel game of Scrabble in a thrift store, came home & immediately bought three more sets off ebay (they don't make the wooden pieces in the travel games anymore). I'm also using them as simple initial charms too.

Made this charm bracelet for a customer at a craft fair this past Saturday.

Retro Othello Pendant & Mini-Scrabble Earrings Set

Patera Necklaces with Transfers

I've discovered a new product (for me) at Nunn Designs (where I get my premium supplies)--transfer sheets! These are really fun and easy to use--just punch or cut out, soak in water to separate the image from the backing paper and slip the image onto the surface of your pendant. For the antique copper pendant on the left, I first colored it with a pearlescent green chalk ink and heat set it. The transfers are translucent so the color shows through. Finally, I sealed them with my favorite resin. I won't be posting these in my store as I have a very limited supply but you can find them at one of my upcoming shows. :-)

Patera Necklaces with Transfers

Vintage Paperweight Bracelets

Latest designs--images from vintage paperweights made into bracelets! You can easily add your favorite charms to these chains too. I'd be happy to stamp an initial onto a small charm to personalize these.

Vintage Paperweight Bracelets

Mimi & Mommy Custom Hand-Stamped Metal Pendants

Whoo-hoo! Now in my store, hand-stamped metal pendants custom-made for moms and grandmoms! These are on 1" silver aluminum discs, which keeps them affordable, yet they polish up to be nice and shiny like sterling silver. The Mimi pendant features the initals of each grandchild, separated by family by a heart and the rhinestone is the grandmother's birthstone (uh, Happy Mother's Day, Mom! if you happen to see this :-) ) The Mother pendant can feature an optional decorative stamp--either a heart, a heart with wings or baby footprints. I love the heart with wings because it can remember or symbolize Angel Baby Sisters or Brothers watching over your other kids or a Guardian Angel.

Mimi & Mommy Custom Hand-Stamped Metal Pendants

NEW Metal-stamped Pendants!!

You've probably seen this trendy style of pendant & since it involves stamping, I just HAD to try it myself. It involves a whole lot of new tools and supplies so it'll be awhile until I can ramp up to lots of different designs myself so for now, I'm starting simple with the Maddie Pendant. It's my little girl's birthday in February so I made one for her with an amethyst (February's birthstone). It's also my first project since returning from a self-imposed sabbatical. (We welcomed another baby girl, our fourth child, in December! So, now the "4" in Stamp 4 Life has even more meaning for me :-) )

Now available in my webstore: "The Maddie Pendant makes a special gift for a little (or big) girl in your life. Choose a name or initial to be stamped onto a 16mm vintage classic silver-plated disc. You may also add one birthstone. If a name can't fit straight across, it will curve around the edge of the pendant. The pendant comes with a silver-plated ball chain."

Stay tuned for new designs for Mommies & Mimis!

NEW Metal-stamped Pendants!!

Christmas Fairs are Here!

This weekend begins the whirlwind of Christmas shows for the season. I've been busy this fall with new designs for the holidays & now it's time for me to rest and gestate (baby #4 is a-coming in the next couple of months--I tend to go early so all bets are off :-) Here are some samples:



Stamped Teal/Gold Celtic Cross Large Mah Jong Pendant (my new favorite!!)



Square Stamped Bananagram Game Piece Rings



Stamped Snowflake Othello Game Piece Pendant




Christmas Fairs are Here!

Little Critters Scrabble Pendants

Little Critters: Mouse, Puppy, Two Chicks, Turtle, Kitty & Bunny

Had to share these new "Little Critter" pendants I made using the cutest stamps! They are stamped directly onto the Scrabble (or Sudoku) tile in black. Then, I hand-colored them using chalk inks (so I can customize the colors to match someone's pet if they want). The sky & grass are pearlescent colors, which make them reflect light very prettily. I'm confident kids will like these because mine kept trying to take them (even my boys)!

Little Critters Scrabble Pendants

New Pendant Designs

New Pendant Themes: Vintage Dogs, Horses & Cats, Irish Fun, Pregnancy, Funky Trees, Madonna & Child, Matryoshka & Yoga

I apologize for being so remiss on my blog postings; it's been a long summer! In early 2011, I shall be changing my profile to read "SAHM of 4!" (& hence the belly love pendants ;-) ) Anyway, I tend to get pretty sick when I'm pregnant so I haven't had much energy to do anything but gestate, lol. Also, the resin I use for my jewelry is toxic before it cures, meaning I have to wear a ventilator to avoid the fumes. It's pretty hard to breathe easily in the mask & when you feel like throwing up anyway, well, it's easy to see how this is the first batch of pendants I've made since May.

I picked out these new themes some months ago but wasn't able to motivate myself to do the final resin & glue steps until this past week. I've had lots of requests for dogs and yoga and am happy to finally have some in my inventory! I also thought the Madonna & Child images would be perfect for the upcoming Christmas season; I used a fun new gold shimmer paint spray on them to add to the icon look.

In general I've got some fun new toys (shimmer paints & accent inks) & stamps I'm excited to start using, so stay tuned :-) This fall I'm slated to do a couple of holiday craft fairs, Chicks Picks by Hillary boutique shows & am taking reservations for home jewelry parties.

New Pendant Designs

Card Suit Necklaces

I've had these card suit "stones" for awhile now--found them at a thrift store. They have a hole through the middle already so I all I had to do was put an eye pin through them and add a dangle bead & bail to complete the necklace. I used my usual alcohol ink & embossed image to decorate them & sealed with a waterproof epoxy resin. Here are my "Queen of Spades, Clubs & Hearts" necklaces:

Card Suit Necklaces

Glitter Glue/Alcohol Ink Storage

Just thought I'd share this cool & inexpensive storage solution I found through a stamping forum. I already had the acrylic frames (can be found at an office supply store). You want the kind that stands straight up. Then, buy a roll of sticky back velcro. I bought a 1" wide roll and just cut it in half (cheaper). You can see through the back how I just laid a strip of one side of the velcro across the frame in four rows. Then cut little strips of the other side of the velcro and attach to the backs of your bottles. They say Glitter Glue should be stored upside down. I have a second frame filled with my Alcohol Inks (NOT upside down!) You can use up both sides of the frame too.

Glitter Glue/Alcohol Ink Storage

Mother's Day Shimmery Rose Cards

I wanted to make some Mother's Day cards to sell along with my jewelry at Celebrate Mama this past weekend, plus I needed a new technique for our last technique club of the year so I borrowed this technique from http://www.pattystamps.com/ who also used the rose from Fifth Avenue Floral in her samples. It's kind of like watercoloring on steriods--I love it! I don't know the name of it so I'll dub it "Juiced Watercoloring" hee.

First, stamp the rose in white craft ink on shimmer white cardstock. Sprinkle on clear embossing powder and heat emboss. Mist the flower with water until it puddles. Then take a drop of re-inker (I kept them handy in a little palette tray) with your aquapainter and drop in the puddles. The color won't stick to the embossed part so the flower outline still shows. I used Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette & Bashful Blue (without rhyme or reason). Trim the flower & use as a pretty focal point.

Btw--the four cards I made all sold in the first hour!

Mother's Day Shimmery Rose Cards

Busy, busy, busy! & Gala Table Signs

Busy is good. I've been so busy with various family, volunteer & jewelry business, I haven't had time to post for awhile. But that's good too! I've got quite a few shows coming up in the next month. Next weekend I have two at the same time!

A friend of mine told me about Chick's Picks by Hillary and thought I should check it out because my jewelry would fit in. So I emailed her (she features local artists in frequent boutique shows in her own home), showed her my stuff & she wants me in her next show! It's the same weekend I'll be at Celebrate Mama in downtown Bethesda but luckily all I have do is drop my stuff off and she sells it for me. So I've been dividing up my inventory--man, I've got a lot of stuff.

Then, on May 7, I'm doing a Japanese Culture Festival Craft Fair at Fox Mill Elementary in Herndon. On May 15, it's the Virginia Wine and Craft Festival in Front Royal, VA.

On top of that, I'm organizing the auction display (bid sheets, checkout) for our church/school's annual gala this weekend--131 items & most of them are in my living room. You try keeping a 3 year old out of huge baskets filled with games, toys & candy. Oy. The fun thing for me has been getting to use my stamps & paper again to help make table signs and decorate posters, etc. Our theme is "Night on the Orient Express" so I found a retired travel set & went to town with embossing. The table names are stops on the route. I think they're a cross between a ticket & a passport page with stamps (at least that's what I was going for!)

Busy, busy, busy! & Gala Table Signs

More Resin Discussion

A reader sent me some good questions about Magic Glos vs. Colores Doming Resin and doming effects so I thought I’d address resin a little more.

To answer her question on whether I tried it on paper as opposed to just over Diamond Glaze--I did try just the magic glos on a paper item about 5/8" in diameter. I had to do several layers to get the thickness and "dome" effect I wanted. I don't remember bubbles being a problem with that but I still felt like I had to babysit it--maybe I'm just paranoid.  However, it eventually cracked! I've never had Colores crack on me.

There should be time to catch initial bubbles if you first work in the shadows before moving into the sun--but once in the sun, magic glos does cure fairly quickly.  John Golden has a good video up on youtube using magic glos & he had bubble issues--it's interesting to watch his system--he also has a video on using Easy Cast Resin.

She wanted to know if I had to do several layers with Colores to get the doming effect.  I only do one layer, one last check for bubbles (blowing lightly through a straw will take care of most of the bubbles), cover with a box to keep out stray particles & leave overnight to cure. I usually mix 15 or 30mm worth of resin (1/2 or almost 1 medicine cup respectively) & do a bunch of jewelry pieces at once to save on the cups, sticks & gloves. You can definitely make more pieces for your money with Colores than with the magic glos.  Of course, if you only plan to make a few items for gifts, personal use (not necessarily to sell), then it might be more of an investment since Colores only has a shelf life of six months.

But back to the doming--I personally think the doming works better on flat surfaces. Everyone always asks me how I keep it from running over. The short answer is: surface tension. As long as you add a little at a time (and you’ve mixed it well and with two equal parts), you can bring it to the edge and it won’t go over. If you use a bezel cup you have to keep adding more to get the dome-- to the point where you think you're about to spill over--but you really won't because of surface tension if you're careful. That said, don’t be surprised if your “cup runneth over” a few times before you get the hang of it!

If you really love the big bubble look, I’d recommend finding bubble glass (can be found on etsy) to put on top  because you really won’t get THAT much height with a doming resin.

More Resin Discussion

Easter Bunny Scrabble Tile Pendant

In honor of Easter (& because someone requested a "bunny or egg or something"), I made a special Easter Bunny Scrabble Tile Pendant. Isn't he cute??

Since I discovered I could color my wood Scrabble tiles (my last post), it made it a lot easier to be able to create this right on the tile as opposed to on a piece of cardstock, punch it out, seal it & fit it securely on the tile. First I colored the whole tile in a white chalk ink (drying with a heat gun between about three layers of ink). Then I stamped the bunny in black Staz-On. To get the blue sky and little bit of green grass, I just used a Fantastix dipped in chalk ink. Then I added the little Swarovski crystal and my Colores resin on top. I couldn't seal it with Mod Podge like I would with paper because it smudges the chalk ink I've found. But the resin doesn't seem to affect chalk ink like it does alcohol inks.

By the way, if too much ink gets on the side of your pendant, rubbing alcohol should remove it.

Easter Bunny Scrabble Tile Pendant

Game Piece Charm Bracelets

I made a great discovery a few weeks ago--You can color wood with alcohol inks! I can't believe it took me this long to try it. The results aren't as bright as paper or plastic, but I liked them enough that it gave me the idea of using scrabble tiles colored that way as a bracelet focal point. I simply glued earring bails onto both sides to connect the bracelet chain. Regular bails would work too. I also made some using small dominoes.

And one last pic--my favorite mini domino ring to match the blue wave bracelet--all to be posted in my shop soon:

Game Piece Charm Bracelets

I Like Big Rings & I Cannot Lie

Inspiration can find me in the strangest places--the latest one came in the ER when I took my youngest in over a weekend for an ear infection. The nurse had a big mama-jama ring on her finger & it looked so cool & funky, it made me want to make a bigger ring. I've been keeping it rather conservative with 5/8" round rings.

So, I came up with making rings with my mini-dominos! I hope they fill a need for people who like big rings :-) They're 1/2" x 1"-- so not ginormous, but still a little more funky.

A few samples now in my store:

 

  

 

I Like Big Rings & I Cannot Lie