Another Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak peak at one of my Valentines Day designs. I love it! I hope people find it as comical as I do.
I think I am going to call it 'I Love You So Much I Want To Eat Your Heart Out Necklace'.



My silver order did not arrive yet so some of the items I designed will have to wait until it shows up.

Which made me ponder a moral question.

Since silver is so high right now, would it be wrong of me to make a piece out of copper, change the color in photoshop, and then post it on etsy? Of course if anyone purchased the item I would make it in silver, but I don't want to waste the silver if no one is going to purchase the item.

Help on this moral dilemma would be greatly appreciated!

New Years Resolutions 2011

I try to make a list every year of my New Years Resolutions. So here are the ones for 2011.

2010 was a pretty bad year for a lot of my friends. For me it wasn't too bad. We bought a house, my book was published, I started my etsy shop, we let go of the Tombstone Ghost Tour which was nothing but a headache, my cousin Leah stayed with me for the summer, my parents moved 1/2 hour away, business has been really good, the fur children got a new baby pug sister. All in all things have been pretty good here though there are some personal issues I need to work on. Things I tell myself every year that I am going to do, and then never do. Maybe that should be at the top of my list this year...DO WHAT I SAY I AM GOING TO DO ON MY NEW YEAR RESOLUTION LIST!!!! Haha. Well here it is!

2011 New Years Resolutions

- Have more patients with people, customers, the fur babies
- Paint more
- Improve my etsy shop
- Learn to let go of the little things that annoy me on a daily basis
- Be less judgmental
- See more movies
- Spend more quality time with the husband
- Take more art classes, either online or at a local center
- Get the front yard looking pretty
- Get the house looking pretty
- Learn a different language. French...though Spanish would be a smarter choice
- Try to get at least 30 followers on my blog
- Try to make more friends...and keep them

SNEAK PEAK

Here is a sneak peak at new designs I worked on today.
I always sketch them out and then bring my sketches into the computer to do the final drawings.
I can't wait to start cutting, rolling, and making these little babies!! Mwahhahahaha

Inspiration...and where to get it

I find it very difficult at times to become inspired to make new jewelry, or to sew a new dress or a new painting.

I always start projects, yet never finish them. I have tons of sewing patterns that I swear I will one day make into pretty dresses, yet I never get inspired to make them.
I have a pile of blank canvases in my studio that I swear will one day get painted, but I never get inspired to paint them.
I have tons of ideas in my head of jewelry I want to make, but can't get myself into my studio to cut the metal.

Or sometimes I think through a project, only to convince myself that it isn't good, or not worth the time and energy to make it.

So the question is, where do you find inspiration and how to do you follow through with it?

SUPER SALE!!!

Cleaning out the shop for the New Year!
All items in my etsy shop are 45% off from December 24th through January 1st!
Use the coupon code GOODBYE2010 at checkout!!

Making a Ring

So here is the video of me making a ring super fast!
I am upset because the good quality video was too big and youtube didn't like it.
The bad quality one youtube liked, but took away my Madonna and Lady GaGa music. Ok I understand why because of copyright issues and whatnot, but it was so much better with music!

Anyways. Here you guys go! Enjoy.

New piece of jewelry and me in my holiday insanity!

Rut

Have you've ever gotten into a rut?

I bought all these cute metal stamps on etsy, they arrived today and are so cute, but don't know what on earth to do with them now. My sketchbook is open and I am trying to think of some designs but can't.

Grrrrrr.

I hate being in a rut.

Bath Bombs AWAY!!!!

I love taking baths. LOVE taking baths! If the water never got cold, and my fingers didn't turn into raisins I would live in the bathtub!

More then anything in the world I love bath salts, bubble bath, and bath bombs.

I started making bath salts from lavender grown in my garden. I sell it at the Source Within and it usually sells really well.

On a recent trip to Tucson, my mother bought me some bath bombs at World Market, and they were very expensive. I figured it would be more cost effective to make them then purchase them. So I bought a few books, read a few tutorials, bought a kit. And WALA I made bath bombs today!

Now, my only problem was that the kit I bought did not come with a mold. So I had to search around the house trying to find something that would work. Of course the only molds I have are halloween molds of skulls and skeleton bones. I also found cupcake liners and a cupcake tin. Sooooo I messed around a little bit, and WALA...cupcake bath bombs were made! The photos are what they looked like after we let them set for a couple hours. They still need to dry for a day or so.


Don't they look good enough to eat?!?

My Hubby helping take them out of the cooking sheet.

At that time I will fill up the bathtub, and drop one in!

Others who I admire

I wanted to make a quick post about other artists whom I admire.

First being Nova by Tess. Her work is amazing. The way she uses stones and wire to make pieces of art is inspiring! She is having an awesome giveaway on her blog! So check her out BY CLICKING HERE.

The other is an old friend from high school who just started an etsy shop. She makes handmade soaps. Most are vegan friendly, some are vegetarian friendly. You can check out her shop UncommonSoap by CLICKING HERE.

That is all :)

Inconveniences frustrate me!

Inconveniences frustrate me!

It is extremely rare that my husband and I get to do anything together on the weekends, due to my day (night) job. I work on the weekends, he works during the week. He is also in a play this year and today was the one night all week that he did not have a rehearsal. So we decided to go on an outing.

I canceled the Old Bisbee Ghost Tour for this evening because 1) it is our slowest time of the year 2) My husband and I wanted to go to Phoenix to pick out furniture at IKEA for the TV/Guest/Halloween room. Mind you this is a HUGE task. The drive is 3.5 hours long without stopping. We decided to bring the new puppy, Tootsie with us since she is way too young to be left home alone for that amount of time. Office calls were forwarded to our cell phone in case we needed to make reservations for a future tour. We were set to go!

We figured that while in Phoenix we might as well hit the bestest craft store in the world Hobby Lobby!!

We get to IKEA, put Tootsie in her snuggie and get our TV unit (mind you we don't have a TV yet :) I pick out a display case to showcase my jewelry at the Source Within and all was good.

We head over to Hobby Lobby less then a mile away. The parking lot was empty! I figured that the store moved. We pulled up next to the front door and there was a sign hanging on it stating 'We are closed on Sundays to allow our employees a day with their families and worship'.

Ok. Now you can't tell me that every employee at Hobby Lobby uses Sundays to spend with their families and to go to church. There is not a person in the world that can convince me of this.

I was upset, beyond upset! I had been looking forward to going to Hobby Lobby all week. I did a Hobby Lobby dance around the house! I can't go by myself, not with the puppy. This was my ONLY chance and it got ruined by employees having to worship? I am all for worshiping, but come on! This is just silly! Micheal's and Joanne's were busy busy busy, and obviously taking all the business away from HL since they were in an adjacent shopping center. And good for them!

Next time I get a chance to go to Phoenix I will have to make sure it fits in with HL's prayer schedule.

That is my rant, and it is over.

75 Degrees here...

It feels like spring. Unreal. It is almost Christmas and it is 75 degrees outside.
I have been going crazy lately. No time to go into my studio yet having tons of orders to fill. Not to mention holiday gifts.

Today I did get some time and decided to turn a ring I had made a few weeks ago into a necklace. Had a dream last night about turning it into a necklace. So I did it, as my dream told me to.



I also make this great druzy ring. I love it. I have been wearing it all day. It fits my finger like a dream. I really should take it off, and put it away with all my other items for sale.

Tomorrow my mother and I are picking up the glass balls we made at our glass blowing lesson. If only I had millions of dollars and all the time in the world!
We are also going to find an 'Art-O-Matic' machine. Ever hear of these? You insert a $5 and get out a piece of artwork! I'll post about what we get!

New Stones

I went to the Tombstone Gem & Mineral Show today. Not too many vendors, but my Mexican Jelly Opal supplier was there! That made me a very happy girl!



Matching (as close as one can come) opals for earrings. Bigger ones for rings or pendants. The fire in these are amazing! I can't wait to get into the studio.






These were too neat!

Cabs made from dinosaur bones! Had to get a few to have fun with!

Winner of my Dec Giveaway

Watch the video to see who won my December Giveaway!




I don't want to, but need to get dressed. Poopstone's Gem & Mineral show is starting today at 10am. I must get dressed to go. I swore I would never step foot in that town again, but the thought of lushish cabs overpower my dislike for that town.

New Baby

Our new pug puppy. She does not have a name yet.
She is starting to bond with Gup Gup our five year old pug. They have been cuddling for the last half hour. So cute. I hope that Gup Gup adopts this little one like she did with all the kittens.

Puppy slept from 10pm til 5am which made me very happy. She slept in bed with us and cuddled with Peter for most of the night. It was too cute!

She eats a lot! My goodness! Remember there is only one letter differentiating Pug and Pig!

It is so difficult to get a good photo of a black pug. The flash washes out all their adorable details. Tomorrow once the sun is shining I will try to get a better shot of her to share with everyone.

In other news, my mother and I had our glass blowing lesson today. The instructor did most of the hot glass handling, but we got to blow it and design it! I made a pretty pink glass ball with blue 'pimples'. My mother made a pink ball with gold pimples.

It was so much fun. I wish the studio was not two hours away. Otherwise I would take classes there every month! So much fun. I love working with glass and should really start making stained glass again. I have my carnivorous plant window I still have not completed and a Tiffany pattern bat lamp I haven't even started yet. There needs to be more time in the day!

These last three days have been exhausting and I have been ignoring all my duties! I have 4 new turquoise earrings to take photos of and put in my shop tomorrow, as well as two orders to package up and ship out.

Our new addition! and a GIVEAWAY!

We were given a pug puppy from our friend Dee. Happy Hanukkah to me!
I also decided to extend my 10% off sale for the entire month of December! Happy Holidays to you!
Watch the video below to see my new December Giveaway!!! Its easy!

New Jewelry

I wanted to post really fast about the new items I put on etsy this morning.

First is a flower pendant which I had no plan to make. I just started soldering silver and WAALAA a flower pendant appeared out of nowhere!

Seeds Sprout into Beautiful Flower Pendant



The second listing is for a necklace I made from another piece of Bisbee Blue Turquoise which I dug out of the ground during the annual Turquoise Dig in Bisbee!
Dave Owen a local jeweler in town turned it into a stunning cab for me. Drooool!

Bisbee Blue Turquoise Necklace



There might be a new addition to our family. We find out for certain on Tuesday. Details to follow...

New Jewelry

I spent most of the afternoon working on a few new pieces for my shop. This weekend is crazy super busy, so they might not get listed until Sunday.

Tomorrow I will be a docent at one of the homes on the Bisbee Home Tour. They needed someone who could wear a Victorian costume...and well who else in town has Victorian costumes other then me?

Thanksgiving was nice. We went to my parents house. It was the first time in 14 years that I had Thanksgiving with family! It was very nice. Not to mention they have TV and I got to watch the Adams Family!

It is still cold and I have sold out tours this weekend already! It is going to be busy crazy!

The Royal Snuggie

A requested photo of the Royal Snuggie & Snow Princess of Bisbee Crown!
Don't I look like royalty??

SALE

I am having a holiday sale in my shop.

GET 10% off all items in my etsy shop from Wednesday November 24th until Monday November 29th. Use the code HappyHolidays at checkout!

Nay Designs

It is cold and the royal snuggie is in the wash, but the snow princess crown is on! (yes I am strange)

And just when I was giving up hope...

Was extremely upset this morning to find that someone had egged our hearse this morning. The egg goo dripped down the side of the car and because it was so cold last night, the goo froze!
I got off what I could before having to get my allergy shots, but couldn't get it all.
It made me very very very very very angry!!!

Allergy shots hurt.

Mother met me at work to bring more of her pieces. If you don't know my mom makes pretty mosaic pieces of art.

Click here to view her website...which needs work...its on the list.

She helped me set up all the stuff form Morticia's Boootique as well.

Then I came home to find that I sold 4 pieces in my etsy shop today! OMG! So happy!
Tomorrow they will get packed up and shipped out.

I am planning on making some recycled record purses for the Source Within tomorrow along with some jewelry pieces for my etsy shop.

Morticia's Boootique

Morticia's Boootique is closing.
It was an experiment which didn't go very well. I admit defeat and failure.
All the items will be taken to the Source Within on Main St. here in Bisbee tomorrow morning.

If you wanted to purchase something from Morticia's Boootique now would be the time. After tomorrow they will all be gone.

Morticia's Boootique

Week 2 Drawing Lab

The challenge this week was to look at a photo of a giraffe and to do a blind contour drawing. It didn't mention how many to do, so I did 5.

I remember blind contour drawings from college during Life Drawing classes. I always hated them. I tried to enjoy this project though and to not care about what the final result was.






In other news we are dog sitting a friend's dog. His name is Riley. He has a sad history.

He was discovered in the desert and brought Border Animal Rescue. I saw him there and didn't know what to do. He was adorable and what I thought was a shih tzu (which are the best dogs in the world if you didn't already know that). I could not take another dog so I called my friends Donna and David to see if they could take him. They told me to adapt him and to bring him to their shop in town.
So I did.
In the shop was Patti. A local who a year prior had lost her dog Lilly. Riley found his forever mommy that day!

So Patti took Riley and spoiled him rotten! Except she had to go back home to take care of her mom for a few weeks while her mom goes through chemo.

So we are dog sitting Riley. Sad thing is that he pees on everything! I can't get him to stop marking up my house!

Since I doubt anyone really reads this blog (except you mean people who spy on me...you know who you are and don't think I don't know that you read this to keep tabs) if anyone knows a way to get Riley to stop marking up the house please let me know. It is starting to get very frustrating!

In OTHER news I made two more rings for my etsy shop which I am absolutely IN LOVE with!


This is a simplistic flower ring. Made to order and can be found at the linky below. Sweet, simplistic and a reminder that despite the freezing cold spring is just around the corner!


http://www.etsy.com/listing/62367318/flowers-in-the-winter-ring-made-to-order?ref=v1_other_2


And this ring! Which I am absolutely crazy about. It is big, chunky and that malachite stone is to dye for!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62368499/spring-is-eternal-ring-malachite-custom?ref=v1_other_1

I might be doing a giveaway in a few days...we will see.

COLD!

Brrrrrrr. It is cold here in Bisbee! So cold that I was too cold to take my PJs off and put clothes on this morning. So cold that I had to take out the good ol' space heater and put it in my studio.
Brrrrrrr...cccoooolllllddddd!

I had been working on these for some time now. Not really jewelry, but still super fun. I wish that I had started them in September, before the Halloween rush hit! Though these will be great fun all year! I am hoping they find a good home so I can make more. I might make some for the Source Within because I bet they would fly out the doors!

Etched copper miniature planchette to be used with a spirit / Ouija board. I designed the board too...which will be used in another creative application to be announced hopefully in the next couple of days :) BTW...is that an orb in the first photo?



The back has two bezel set turquoise stones as feet, and a glass bezel set to help enlarge the symbols that it rolls over.



A Ghost Writer or Automatic Writer. Oh these are fun! You simply put a pencil in the hole and place your fingers on the back and let the ghosts or spirits do the rest!

Again I bezel set two turquoise cabs to be used as the feet.



This one is neat in that you can put the chain through the pencil hole and wear it around your neck. Oh duel purposed!

If only I were in NYC!

A few months ago I won the Bisbee Idol 2010 contest.
My father caught my winning performance on video...except he held the camera the wrong way. Haha.
So if you watch it don't hurt your head while cocking it to the left!!

Week 1 Drawing Lab

Week 1 Drawing Lab Exercise.
Sit in bed and draw 30 cats from memory using a permanent fine tip marker.

This was a fun project. Since I have 6 cats.

The first page of drawings I did were line drawings. Very stiff. The second page were more quick sketches and you can tell that being loose works best! The second page drawings are filled with more energy.










I found a arts and crafts carrying case I bought years and years ago and never used. So I put all my drawing supplies in there and will take it with me for the more adventurous projects where we get to go on field trips!

Books and commitments to oneself

I bought this awesome book called Drawling Lab for Mixed Media Artists (yes I do more then just work with metal) by Carla Sonheim. Believe it or not I graduated from OTIS College of Art & Design and have a BFA in Toy Design. Though I have not touched a pencil to paper in a really long time.



I decided to purchase this book to help me commit to my sketchbook. There are 52 'creative exercises to make drawing fun'. One for each week of the year. I have the book, my sketchbook, and an array of pencils, pens, paints, and markers and I am ready for the challenge. After each exercise is completed I will scan in my sketch book and put the results on my blog. FUN!

In other news my etsy shop has been slllloooowwww!!! I thought everyone was getting into the giving spirit and starting to do holiday shopping. If they are, they are not doing it in my shop! POOP!

I made a few new pieces that I adore and I am hoping they find a new home for the holidays!

This is a Mexican Jelly Opal necklace. They look soooo yummy that you just want to eat them up!



A piece I made with a cab of Bisbee Blue Turquoise that I dug out of the ground myself! I took the rock to a local jeweler who turned it into a beautiful cab for me. Yummmm!



A fun Amethyst ring which I had been working on since summer. I kept putting it away and putting it away and finally was able to complete it. It is so bohemian!



And last but not least this fab Agate/Drusy ring with a hint of Moonstone :)



We are taking care of my goddog Riley for a few weeks while his mommy takes care of her mommy in the mid-west. It is hard having 3 dogs, but boy do they keep the bed warm at night! It is a good thing because it is getting cold here in Bisbee! The lows are in the 30's. Yikes! Time to break out the winter sweaters!

So I bought this cup...

My mother and I went to a thrift store yesterday and I found this cup. It looked like sterling, but we couldn't tell. It was $3. so I didn't think it would be too big of a deal if it wasn't. The video below is me testing the cup to see if it is sterling or not.

Can we say YUMMY!!!!
This is the Bisbee Blue Turquoise that I dug up during the annual Bisbee Turquoise Dig! A local jewelry turned them into cabs for me and shinned them up all pretty!





This is a neighborhood cat who followed us home this morning from walking the dogs. She cried, so I fed her. This afternoon she came strolling up the driveway and would not stop purring and rubbing on me. I named her Georgie and she is my new friend. Though she is not allowed in the house because we already have 6 cats. She will remain outside. Poor thing! Isn't she a doll!

My bisbee blue

My mother and I went on the annual turquoise dig here in Bisbee.
I found some nice chuncks of what is called Bisbee Blue Turquoise.
I took it to a local jeweler in town and he made them into cabs for me. I think he wanted to keep some of the cabs because he said I could pay him by giving him one or two. I told him that I would rather pay him in cash. More stones for me I guess.
Tomorrow I pick them up. I hope they turned out good.

In other news things here have been stressful with the day / night job. Not something I am going to blog about here tough. At least the bathroom is complete and I am able to take a bath!

This afternoon my folks are suppose to come over to help me rip the carpets out of the TV/Halloween/Guest room. The carpets capture allergens and cause me to get bad asthma attacks. So we have to pull all the carpets in the house out and put in either tile (yuck) or those fake wood floors.

Maybe for X Mass santa can bring this atheist jew some new floors!

revisited some old pieces

I have been down in the dumps this entire week. Maybe due to Halloween being over and being less climatic then anticipated. Who knows. Anyways, I decided to stay off of facebook for a few days to try to get more accomplished.

First off I revisited my bat earrings and necklace. For some reason they didn't sell during Halloween, and this upset me greatly. So I decided to give them some personality by adding a face to each.




I have also been trying to make some dolls. I bought a few doll patterns on etsy, and want to use the patterns to help me make my own. Though you would think that I would remember how to make plush patterns having been a Toy Design major in college! I guess I am just being lazy.
I also bought a bunch of vintage sewing patterns and I'm hoping to make a few dresses in the next couple of weeks.

It is getting cold out, but for some reason the mosquitoes are still invading my studio.

Oh and the other day while putting away my Halloween decorations I saw a giant tarantula. He was cute and scary at the same time!
I named him Mr. Legs.


I am not sure where he came from or where he went. My only wish is that he stays outside because I fear if he made it into the house one of the six cats would think of him as a new cat toy and eat him!

Poor DeMonica!

Keith laughed at DeMonica! LAUGHED at her! Waaaaaaaa!

Halloween is close and my insanity has reached new levels!

New items in Mortica's Boootique and why this was a horrible day!

Bye Bye Scraps

I decided to take my 5 years worth of scrap silver and cash it in!
Ok not cash it in but credit it in.
What good is it doing sitting in a drawer? I use scraps occasionally, and decided it was just time to do something with it.

Though going through that little plastic drawer brought back memories.

The awful attempt at making my husband's wedding band was in there.

Scrapes from when I would babysit for my friend Mel and bring my saw, silver and bench pin to her house to get work done.

Lots of odds and ends of mistakes and melted pieces which occurred over the years.

Sad to see them go...

BUT Peter thinks I have anywhere from 4 to 8 ounces of silver ready to be melted down. With silver being so high right now, hopefully I get a good sum of credit at Rio Grande for it. Plus I figure this is a good way to recycle since taking silver out of our earth is not the best thing to do in this eco friendly world we now live in. So recycling it is a step in the right direction.

Bye Bye sweet silver and all the sweet memories you hold.

Giveaway Winner...and me in the depths of my insanity!

Announcing the winner of my October Giveaway, and showing how truly and utterly insane I get during Halloween Time!

WOOT

I am very excited because yesterday I made my 50th sale in my etsy shop!
WOO HOO FOR ME!

Morticia's Boootique still has yet to make a sale :( But I won't give up hope.

Soon I will posting a vblog about the winner of my last giveaway. I didn't want to cough up a lung while doing it...and since I have been coughing nonstop for the last week or so I felt it could wait until I was feeling better.

Halloween is in the air, and only two weeks away! My costume is almost complete...I am going to be Lizzie Borden! Its a costume I can reuse as a Ghost Host costume so feel it is serving a duel purpose.
My costume actually looks like the one in the picture below. I will have to figure out what to do with my hair though.



Anywhos, I must go and answer phones. The ghost tours are crazy busy and I really need to rest up before the tours tonight.

GIVEAWAY

Watch the video, answer all 5 questions correctly, or answer 4 correctly PLUS the bonus question and win!

First person to answer them correctly wins the prize that was not won in the last giveaway!

Halloween is fastly approaching

Halloween is in the air!

I started a new shop called Morticia's Boootique.
The items in there are more on the fun/funky/gothy/punk side. It is more of the items I sell in town at the Source Within.
Thus far I have been included in a few treasuries, but nothing has sold...yet.

My Halloween decorations blew away in a freak storm the other day. I have to fix all the tombstones in my front yard graveyard now.

I have been working on my Halloween costume this morning as well. I am lucky enough to have a night job where I have to wear victorian clothing. So I usually try to make my Halloween costume in the victorian style so that I can then use them for my Ghost Host duties.

This year I am going to go as Lizzy Borden for Halloween. That is if I get the costume done in time. So much to do and so little time!

Not sure if I will actually go to any Halloween parties, but at least I can do the ghost tour as Lizzy.

Anyways...no one won my give away, so at some point I will do another one.

That is all.

NEW GIVEAWAY

Watch the video for a chance to win something super cool! Summer is over and fall is here and Halloween is in 31 Days!!!!!! WOOT

Morticia's Boootique

I spent the entire weekend, mostly yesterday working on my new etsy shop.
It took me forever to think of a name for it. While in DisneyWorld I came up with Morticia's Boootique. I wanted a shop where Morticia Addams would want to go shopping.

It is filled with more of the macabre, goth, yet fun, funky, and colorful stuff I enjoy making.

Today on my HUGE list of things to do is to update my NayDesigns.com website. I need to add Morticia's Boootique to it. I also have to update all the ghost tour websites.

I am a busy busy girl. Never a moment of rest.

Next week I am planning an October GiveAway. So stay tuned!

I'm Back

I'm back from my vacation to Disneyworld.

I am exhausted.

Been doing laundry all day and trying to keep up with e mails and return phone calls for the night job.

I am starting a new etsy shop. This one will be geared towards my darker side. Mwahahaha.

More to come once I actually get some ideas out of my head and turn them into reality!

In the meantime I am pledging the following:

I, Renee, pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

Excitment

I am leaving soon on a trip. I need this vacation more then anyone could ever know or understand! It is well deserved by myself and my hubby.
Though today I am not feeling too good. My tummy hurts...it has been for a month or two. Gets an achy feeling, mostly when I am doing my tours. And my throat hurts. I better not be getting sick!
I put my etsy shop on vacation, though I have been working on other things.
Paintings mostly. I bought the book Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts and I am really enjoying it.
I tried to make a painting yesterday, but life got in the way. I want to do everything that I can possibly do, but time does not allow this. I spread myself thin sometimes, I know, but sometimes I get bored and need to try something different.
I made a sketch book yesterday which I will bringing with me on my trip. Hopefully being out of Bisbee will help me find some new inspiration. Sometimes you get stuck and you have to go away and come back to really appreciate where you are and what you have.

Summer is almost gone...

Summer is almost gone and fall is almost here!! I love fall. I loved it more when I lived in Philadelphia and the trees changed colors. I loved the smell of Halloween. Yes it has a smell. Fall and winter in Arizona is not as exciting. Everything dies and the entire landscape looks bare. The animals move into the mountains and there is little life.

The saddest part about summer ending is that my carnivorous plants will go into hibernation until next spring. They will look their best in the next month or so. I feel bad because I feel like they have been ignored this year due to the new house.

This morning I took photos of my carnivorous plants to preserve their beauty until next year.




This hawk was eyeballing a poor defenseless bunny in our front yard.



The hawk in mid flight. The bunny was unharmed!




My entire collection of perennial carnivorous plants. These guys stay outside all year long. In winter they go dormant and then spring back to life when the weather gets warmer.



I never had any luck growing venus fly traps and gave up purchasing them this year. Then low and behold the ones I had last year came back better then ever! These have to be my most impressive plant in my collection this year!




This sundew was given to me by Kerry Kate two years ago and it is thriving! It died, came back, and had to be thinned out twice!



My scarlet belle pitcher plant and some sundews I rescued from Lowes!



Two members of the purple pitcher plant family. These are by far my favorite type of pitcher plant!



A pitcher plant I saved from Lowes. I don't know the kind but I love the color! They will be at their prettiest in a month or so!



Another pitcher plant. Not sure of the name. I love the white and red veins! So pretty!


This is a holiday weekend and the ghost tours are crazy busy! Holiday weekends are always more work for us, but we don't mind.

I am putting more items into my SALE section on my etsy store this weekend, so check back there! Also the current items in my SALE section will be moved out this afternoon and taken to the Source Within on Main St. in Old Bisbee!

Earning your keep

A few weeks ago the hard drive in my MacBook Pro died.
I lost everything that I had not backed up. The last backup was a few weeks prior to this happening.

Luckily when this happened I had 12 days left on the computer's warranty. Which makes one wonder if there really is a god up there!

So the last few weeks have been spent trying to get all the software and programs back up and running on my computer. Luckily I have a patient husband who has been doing most of this for me. If I was doing it by myself the computer would have ended up through a window, in the yard, with a hammer in it!

That being said, I have had a lot of issues with frustration lately. The littlest thing is setting me off. I NEED a vacation and badly! Luckily one is coming up and I DESERVE it!

Which brings me to my next issue...DESERVING WHAT YOU HAVE!

I believe in hard work and working hard for what you have.

In college some classmates called me Princess...gosh locals still do call me that. They thought that I was spoiled rotten (of course they did not grow up in Lower Merion and have NO idea on what spoiled is...but I degress) I don't know why. Never understood why. I work. I work hard. I have earned everything I have. My parents always provided for me food, clothing, shelter, an education and culture. But they taught me that you have to work, save, and earn your keep. I was never given a car. I had to buy my cars. Working = Earning!

So it really drives me nuts when people get what they don't deserve...handed to them on a silver platter. I call it Paris Hilton Syndrome. Be a fuck up and get rewarded for it.

If you don't work for it, how can you appreciate it?

I have my tours, my jewelry on etsy, all the stuff I sell in town, and work in a shop one day a week. I work and work and work and feel that I have earned my house, my new bathroom (which still isn't finished) my hearse, my saturn, and my VACATION!!!
And because I have earned them I appreciate them. I care for them. I love them.

That being said, my tangent is now over and I will now blast Lady GaGa and finish my custom orders!!

*smiles*

THE WINNER OF MY FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY

Watch the video to find out who the winner is!

NOTE TO WINNER: Please send me a FB message with your address!!

NY TIMES!

So I didn't want to involve my work life onto my blog but I couldn't help it. The excitement is just bursting at the seams!

This morning our mayor came into the shop I work at once a week and handed me a copy of the New York Times. He said it was a gift for me.

I looked puzzled, took it, opened it, and noticed that I was in it!

A Link to the Article

I bought every copy I could at the local book shop which luckily was 2 doors up from the shop I work at.

So exciting so exciting so exciting so exciting!!!

YAY for me

This morning my Aunt Sharon bought my seahorse necklace and it made me happy. I looked at my sales and thus far I have sold 31 items in my etsy shop and that made me happy. I also get to pick up my computer from the Apple store and that is going to make me SUPER HAPPY!
So here is too a happy day!

Sawing Metal Tutorial

This is going to be the first tutorial in (I hope) many which will take us step by step into making a pair of cool copper hoop earrings. Of course this technique is the first you will need to learn for any jewelry design project using sheet metal.




When cutting metal with a jeweler's saw there are a few key points

1) Always draw directly on the metal your design, or draw it on a computer, then rubber cement it to the metal

2) Insert your saw blade into the saw properly

3) Rub a little of wax or soap onto your blade

4) Hold your saw at either 90 degree or 45 degree angle. Whichever works best for you

5) Slow and steady wins the race!


Next time...filing and sanding. Ohhhhhhhhhh fun!




So is anyone out there watching these??

Halloween Time

The stores are starting to get ready! Back to school stuff is slowly leaving the shelves and soon they will be filled with Halloween goodies!

My mother and I went to Tucson to do some early Halloween shopping. I spent my Halloween allowance for the year in one day!

Despite that, I decided to get more into the spirit and make some more jewelry inspired by my favorite holiday!



I etched the copper for these earrings months and months ago and forgot about it until looking for something in my scrap copper drawer.

These were etched using salt water and a battery! Pretty cool huh? Etched onto the copper is a little spider web design. I thought it appropriate for Halloween. I want to learn how to preserve spider webs under glass and found several tutorials online. I just need the time and energy to do it.



I just adore these bat earrings. Like the bat necklace I made, they are taken from the weather vane design at the Haunted Mansion in DisneyWorld. I might be tempted to wear these on my trip if someone does not purchase them before then.



How I love eyeballs! This is a taxidermy eye. I bezel set it onto this ring along with some onyx stones I had laying around. I love this ring! It so creepy! I imagine it on the finger of a female vampire.

All these pieces can be found on my etsy shop by clicking here.

My camera battery is still MIA...darn cats...and my other digital cameras do not have a video mode with sound. So until the new battery arrives, or my cats decide to stop being so mischievous, I won't be able to do my sawing lesson.:( grrrrrrrrrr. Anyone want 6 cats? Free to a good home!


So does anyone really read this blog???