A Lucky Couple of Weeks!

I've been on a lucky streak! A couple of weeks ago I was excited

to find out that I was the winner of this awesome book,

courtesy of  Create Mixed Media.

I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival. You can watch a video

review of this book here. It looks to be packed full of fun techniques!

But there was still more luck to come! A couple of days ago I won one of these awesome stencils from StencilGirl Products for leaving a comment on Carolyn Dube's blog.

Seth Apter is the stencil designer...love his style!

I do have a favorite stencil but all three are pretty cool.

I can't wait to see which one I get!

I'm not sure if winning two great inspirational items was just pure luck or if the universe was trying to tell me to get back to creating! Either way, I'm feeling pretty happy and am incredibly grateful to

the art world's generosity!

 

Jewelry Affaire Trifecta

I never would have bet on having three articles in the Summer issue of Jewelry Affaire, so I do feel like I've just won the trifecta!

 

Strength

New Beginnings

Key To The Past

 A closer look at each piece...

Strength

New Beginnings

 

Key To The Past

The Summer issue of Jewelry Affaire is full of beautiful

and intriguing pieces including a few from my art friends,

Cindy Cima Edwards, Lexi Grenzer and Kristen Robinson.

It should be hitting the newsstands very shortly!

 Thanks for stopping by!
 

Rock-A-Bye Babies

It seems like just yesterday I was singing lullabies to my babies.

It's hard to imagine that they are turning 31 and 28 in a week.

Time does fly...
My babies have grown into wonderful young men

that I could not be more proud of. But, I do have to admit

that I'm feeling a little sentimental this week thinking about

when they were...well...still babies.

So I thought this would be the perfect time to share this project that I made while I was on the ICE Resin Creative Team last year.

 

Mixed media assemblage is not something I do often and is a little out of my comfort zone but when I found a rusty old trowel that was partially covered in plaster at the thrift store,

I couldn't resist the urge to alter it!

I covered the trowel with sheet music. By using resin as the glue, it caused the paper to become somewhat transparent allowing the yummy rust and plaster to show through.

 

I then added loosely bundled twigs to represent branches high up in a tree, a moss nest, and resin coated paper birds and eggs that I found at The Graphics Fairy. I finished it off with a sweet little poem sandwiched between a piece of birch bark and a sheet of mica.

You can find a complete list of supplies

and a tutorial on how I made it here.

This project was featured at
Knick of Time's Tuesday Link Party! :)

Happy Birthday to my wonderful sons!


  
Sharing with: I Gotta Create!: Wildly Original Link Party, French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday, Funky Junk Interiors: Party Junk, The Graphics Fairy: Brag Monday Party, Knick of Time: Knick of Time Tuesday

Winners of the Mixed Media Jewelry E-Book GIVEAWAY

I put all the entries into a hat and asked my husband to draw out three winners for the Volume 1: Mixed Media Jewelry E-Book.

 

The winners are:
Thoughtfulhands
Beetique
Cathy

Congratulations to Thoughtfulhands, Beetique, & Cathy! And thanks to all who took time to participate.

For another chance to win this E-Book, visit my friend Tina at PatinaMarie as she is also giving away a couple of copies. Her drawing will be on October 20th.

Volume 2 of this E-Book is now available and I will be having a giveaway for it within a couple of weeks.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

A Creation from Friendships

Quite a while back my friend, Cathy from Ma Vie Trouvee posted about winning a "workbench stash" from Linda at Objects & Elements. Cathy had pictures of some of the items and talked about how she might design with them. There was an awesome metal disk with a "K" on it and she talked about covering up the "K". Of course, with my name being Kathy with a "K", I jokingly commented to Cathy with a "C" that I personally loved the "K". Cathy immediately emailed me and said she wanted to send me the piece. Really?! How lucky was I?! A few days later I received the piece along with some other fun trinkets all wrapped up in these super cute packages.

 As luck would have it a couple of weeks later

I won a "workbench stash" from Linda.

I combined the "K" with some of the stash goodies

and came up with a fun "Creation from Friendships".

(The only items I supplied were the neck cord and copper wire.)

I attached the "K" to a strip of metal with rivets. I drilled holes in the top and attached a metal spring. I drilled another hole at the bottom to attach a couple of dangling pieces.

I'm so happy with the way this piece turned out.
Thank you Cathy and Linda 
for providing great inspirational items
and especially for your generosity!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Fun To Wear Hardware

What do you get when you pair a
rusty piece of hardware with a vintage bottle cap?

Jewelry, of course!

 I found some cool old hardware at the thrift stores and from a fellow blogger who just happens to have a store only three miles from my house. Barbara Jean at Treasures From the Heart has some of the best rusty, chippy pieces of anything and everything.

I found some bottle caps from another blogger friend.
Linda at Itsy Bits and Pieces had a fabulous collection of them
and I was lucky enough to snag a few.

The first step was to hammer the bottle cap. I used a regular carpenter's hammer to lightly tap around the edges of the cap.

I continued working my way around the cap

until the edges had curled up.

Then I hammered the center area with the ball end of a ball-peen hammer to create a concave area or a "well".

The cap looked like this once I finished hammering it.

I filled the "well" with ICE Resin®. I rubbed the hinge with wax and buffed it. And then once the resin was cured I used

an epoxy glue to adhere the cap to the hinge.

I glued a piece of brown suede to the back of the pendant to cover the glue that showed through the holes on the back.

And then the fun began!

I embellished the hinge with wire and gemstones.

I added a black suede cord and finished it off

with a handcrafted hook and eye clasp.

I've designed several more of these Fun To Wear Hardware pieces but I have plans for them and I will have to keep them a secret for now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing With: I Gotta Create!: Wildly Original Roundup, Lil Pink Pocket: Show & Share, One Artsy Mama: Shine on Fridays, Too Much Time On My Hands: Get Schooled Saturday, Funky Junk Interiors: SNS, Knick of Time: Knick of Time Tuesday, Here Comes the Sun: Fabulous Friday, DIY Home Sweet Home: More the Merrier

On The Road Again!

Those of you who check in on my blog every once in a while might remember this mixed media necklace I created last year called

 ROAD TRIP

I created it from - what would be considered - unusual jewelry components. You can find out what those components are

and the process behind the creative journey here.

I'm thrilled to say that somewhere along the roadside

this unique piece was picked up and hitched a ride into the 

Summer Issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry.

This issue is packed full of interesting jewelry articles including one by my good friend, Cat Kerr. Cat and her sister collaborated together to create a heartfelt necklace called

"A Sister's Bond"

Linked to: Six Sisters' Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Saturday

Thanks for stopping by!

Enhancing and Protecting a Rusted Metal Patina

I love using metals with rusted patinas in my jewelry designs.

If I can't find rusted metal, I'll create my own.

A steel washer that I rusted, stamped and hammered is the focal piece in this necklace that I designed for an ICE Resin® Technique Tuesday Video that recently aired on the ICE Resin blog.

In the video I share with you how to enhance the color of a rusted piece of metal and how to protect the finish

using ICE Resin®.

Rusty washers also make interesting connector pieces. I used them in this same necklace to attach the leather neckband to the copper chain.

I finished the chain with a handmade copper hook and eye clasp. You can learn how to make your own hook and eye clasp from my tutorial.

My necklace made from rusty washers, a rusty piece of metal measuring tape, and a couple of rusty nails may not be for everyone but it suits me perfectly and it certainly is unique!

You can find a great tutorial at Altered Alchemy 

on how to rust iron/steel.

Sharing With:

Not Just A Housewife: Show Me What Ya Got, Southern Lovely: Show & Share, Ginger Snap Crafts: Wow Me Wednesday, French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday

  

 

the Value of a Postage Stamp

What is the value of a postage stamp?

My dad is a philatelist which is just a fancy word for stamp collector. He has been collecting stamps for almost his entire life. Our local newspaper even wrote an article about him and his hobby. Here is the photo from that article.

Over the years my dad has acquired many stamps that vary in value. Lucky for me, I get the ones that he deems worthless. When I asked him what makes them worthless, he said it is because they are torn, bent, creased or just too common to be of any value at all. This may be true in the world of a philatelist but in my world...not so! The colors and designs of most stamps are beautiful and as for the creases...well...that just adds character!

I finally got around to making a necklace with a few of

my not-so-worthless stamps and wanted to share it with you.

I made the frames from brass washers that I purchased at a hardware store.

I hammered them for texture and then used E600 to glue handmade

copper rings and brass escutcheon pins to them.

I chose to use numbers because I have a thing for them...they're graphic and they just look cool! Besides, they were about the only area on the stamps that would be recognizable once placed inside the tiny frames. I lined the back of the frames with clear packing tape, used Modge Podge to glue the numbers into place and covered them with ICE resin.  I love how the resin magnifies the numbers! I wrapped copper wire around the escutcheon pins and wired each frame onto a strip of reclaimed green suede and then finished off the necklace with a copper chain and a handmade hook clasp.

What is the value of a postage stamp? I guess it depends on who you ask; but if you ask me, the value of these stamps are priceless because every time I wear this necklace it reminds me of my dad!

Linked to Funky Junk Interiors and some of these other link parties.