Friday, April 30, 2010

This Week's Winner - Just Pull The Trigger!

This week's winner is Midway Records from Goin' Round in Circles. Her winning entry of "She had him in her sights from day one!" wins the pendant. Miss Records, please e-mail me (rachel@twodogpond.com) your mailing address and I will get your necklace right out to you.
Loved all the PMS and hormonal comments, but this one cracked me up. Like the guy had a chance....
Have a good weekend!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest - Yeehaw!

We haven't had a Cowgirl image for ages, and they are my favorite! So - this week's Necklace Contest image is, yes - a Cowgirl. The contest is simple: enter a phrase, quote, passage you think would be perfect for the back side of this image and sometime on Friday a winner will be chosen and rewarded with a soldered glass pendant on a 24" chain. For more details, read the rules on the side... Yeehaw! Let's ride!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Quite a Pear!

This week's winner is the fabulous Christine of Vintage Christine! She has won a necklace or two in the past - the w a a a y past, and it's great to have her quirky humor back. There were quite a few good entries this week - you all make it hard to choose just one winner! Anyway - Congratulations to Vintage Christine! E-mail me your address and I will mail your winning soldered glass pendant on a 24" ball chain.
...:::~*~:::...
Yesterday I was honored to have surprise visitors and it was wonderful. Miss Kitty was out and about with her son, Chris and they stopped by the shop. I think it was to see the Sweatshop Baby... anyway - Happy Birthday to Miss Kitty! and -
would you please stop right now and send out good healing vibes/prayers for Chris. He's a brave young man (23) that just went through brain surgery and is now on the healing process. He's got the best attitude and took the time to design a very cool necklace for his special someone.
Thank you.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest - Pearolicious.

Here's a lovely old postcard image. Pear-fect for a pendant!
The 'rules' are simple: Make a comment for what you think would be a perfect backside for this pendant. It can be a quote, a question, a poem, a word, an adjective, whatever!
On Friday a winner will be chosen by whomever is in the Two Dog Pond Sweatshop and awarded to the winning entrant! There are more rules posted off to the side.
...:::~*~:::...

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Final Art Camp Project

Since I saved so ding-dang much money by having my own personal art camp, I bought the YUDU system. You know, the one you see on the infomercials where they talk about how easy it is to silkscreen your own t-shirts, pillows, canvas totes, etc.... well - it is as easy as they say!
I actually bought the system 2 weeks ago when my son was home visiting from Seattle, but we didn't have time to play with it because we were so busy eating homemade cinnamon rolls...
This is the first shirt I made. I made three of them and plan on making more.
In case you can't read it, it says "Two Dog Pond - Living life on a gravel road ...and loving it"

The possibilities are endless!!
Now - My camp is ended and I have to get back to work/play.
I highly suggest putting aside some time to have your own camp (or invite a friend) and learn some new crafts. Things you've been thinking about doing but just haven't had the time. Just do it. I feel great!!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Even MORE Self-Proclaimed Art Camp

I bought this kit on clearance at Michael's a couple years ago. I love words. I love cement and rocks. It's my personal Art Camp, so I decided to make a brick.

mix up the cement.
slather it in the mold and press in the letters....
VOILA!
Looks like fudge. I think I added too much water to the cement. It might take a couple weeks for this to dry enough to move.

Even More Self-Proclaimed Art Camp

Safety first. My first project today was to make my safety goggles more user friendly for middle aged eyes. I took the arms off a pair of readers and tied them to the goggles. Yes. I am a geek. Yes. I can now see what I'm doing...
I used my die cutter to cut some circles out of an old English tin

then used my dome block set to make them, well - domed.

I cut some 1" pieces of copper and punched circles out of the middles, then cut 1.25" pieces of brass and filed it all down to non-dangerous edges.

I also torched the copper to give it a lovely patina, then center punched and drilled holes in the metal pieces. I riveted the copper, brass, and lovely tin domes together and attached the pieces to make this chunky bracelet:
This is a close up. Look at the patina on the copper. Love it.
This idea was all mine, I am proud to say. Now I'd like to switch the copper and the tin around so that there's more pattern. AND - I would like to learn to etch the copper. AND - I need to make a pretty clasp for this. I used a brass lobster clast. Boring, but functional. Craft Camp is going way too fast! I still want to silk-screen some tees and make some stepping stones!!

The Voices On Her Head Told Her

This week's Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest winner is Tracey of Spending Time with her winning entry of "The voices on my head told me". I like that so much I did it in four different colors! Tracey... e-mail me your mailing address (rachel@twodogpond.com) and tell me which color you would like and I will get that right out to you!

Meanwhile - you might want to quit listening to the voices that tells you that you are a human clothesline.... (this is Blog stalking at its best...) You Canadians are wild!!


Thursday, April 15, 2010

More Self-Proclaimed Art Camp

For me, it just isn't Art Camp unless I make some fine silver pendants....
These were started on Wednesday and finished up today... I lost two of the earrings already. Just like real Art Camp.

This is a preview of another project I'm working on...
There was real work to be done, so Sweatshop Baby and Jilly Bean were here today.
I could just gobble her up!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

It's Craft Camp Week at GPCAA

The Great Plains Creative Arts Association is having their annual Craft Camp this week. I have had a wonderful time there the last two years, but unfortunately I can't make it this year. There are a few crafts that I've been wanting to try, so I've decided that this will be my personal Two Dog Pond Craft Camp week. (but I have to do my own cooking and cleaning...rats). Anyway - first up - Papercut Portraits. The Dude of Dude Craft made this fabulous tutorial on making Papercut Portraits, and I suggest you all go there and watch it. I've been wanting to do this for a while and just haven't had the time....
First: Choose your portrait. My sisters are going to kill me for posting this picture, but it's the one I used...
Crop your photo and take it into Photoshop and Posterize it - like this.... then print it out.
I chose to use a white background which is different than what the Dude did, and I forgot to wash my hands after eating a cheeseburger, so mine has a few grease marks on it, his did not. First Layer cut:
...sometimes I got confused. Do not drink wine while cutting yours out. It just makes things confusing....
I didn't have the repositionable spray adhesive used by the Dude, so I used my rubber cement and a tweezers. Rubber cement makes glue boogers. Make sure you wipe them off your face.
a little more confusion... It's taking shape here...
Pop the finished piece into a record album frame and Ta! Da!
I kind of like it.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Two Dog Pond Necklace Contest - It's No Phonie

The Sweatshop Girlies, Lynnie and JillyBean, requested this image for this week's contest...
We used it for some Hooker pendants last week, and after they quit laughing their heads off, thought it would be perfect for all of you to compete for!! All you need to do is to brainstorm and come up with the perfect quote/comment/phrase for this image and enter it here. Enter as often as you would like as some people tend to dream about these images and come up with the perfect answer after submitting some lame-o one earlier in the day (just kidding... sometimes I just like to see if anyone really reads the entire post....)
...:::~*~:::...
Last week, JillyBean's Husband, Jack came up with a great quote for the contest image:
"Save a Horse, Ride a Mountie"
but failed to enter it on time.
Don't let that happen to you!!!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Tres Bon Giveaway at Bliss Farm Antiques

Skip lightly with sunshine on your shoulders over to Bliss Farm Antiques and enter this Giveaway.... it's the most beautiful and generous collection I have ever witnessed!! Jackie is giving away two French Ephemera packets:
Her grande prize is so amazing, it would take me all morning to try to blog about it... just go there and see! The one piece in her Grande Prize that has me all a flutter is this tin:

and that's just one piece of her prize. Holy Cow! Go now!!

...or is it this piece that I crave...

no. no. no. it's these scarves....

Go. enter. now.

Friday, April 9, 2010

The Birds Came Home

I am so excited! Just ten minutes ago the UPS man arrived with a huge package from my friend Jim in San Francisco. I immediately hung it on the wall above my work bench. This is a painting I did in college 30 years ago (is that possible???). Jim has moved it with him and had it hanging in his home in New York, Austin, Iowa, Kansas City and San Francisco. Amazing. I was not able to hang on to one single painting I did in college - (mostly ex-husbands scattered them about), but Jim did. It's not even a good painting, but seeing it again is bringing back tons of memories and making me smile. I love having it again. It's called "God wipes out the penguins". We went to a small Christian college, so I'm sure I impressed the art faculty with this one...
Jim was kind enough to have called it his "one true piece of art" for many years. Jim and his sweet husband now are collecting Real Art and since we just reconnected via Facebook, Jim generously offered to send it back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

What Happens in Canada....

This week's winner was chosen by my sister Rhodie who is visiting Two Dog Pond from Southern California. She about peed her pants laughing at some of the entries, but LOVED Miss Kitty's entry of "What happens in Canada, stays in Canada."
After choosing the winner, Rhodie went outside and cleaned up my flower garden.
Thank you, Rhodie! and Thank you, Kitty! and Thank you, Canada, just for being you.
Miss Kitty, your soldered glass pendant on a 24" ball chain "will arrive in aboot a day, you lovely Canuk. Eh?"


Monday, April 5, 2010

Necklace Contest - Kissing Mounties

This wonderful image is complements of LynnW (see the post below) - isn't it great?
We're using it for this week's Two Dog Pond necklace contest. The contest is easy - you enter as many times as you wish and on Friday a winner is chosen based on popular opinion in the Sweatshop. How to enter? Just make a comment on what phrase, quote, meditation, or passage would be just perfect for the back side of this image. There are more 'rules' posted off to the side >>>. Thank you for playing - feel free to pimp the contest on your blog or to just tell your friends! So far, more than 70 soldered glass pendant have been sent around the world to winners just like yourself!
...:::~*~:::...

Thank you LynnW -and- Things I Finished

After winning the "Sometimes We Just Need Someone to Listen" pendant a couple weeks ago, LynnW send a sweet thank you note and a generously magical pile of photos, postcards, and images she thought I might like. LIKE? says me... More like LOVE!! Thank you, LynnW!!! I'm using one for this week's contest!!
Thought you might enjoy seeing some more Hooker Upcycled Silver Spoon Pendants and finished necklaces too...

... yesterday was so beautiful that I sat on the deck and finished this Wild Granny Squares afghan. I am particularly proud of the lacy edge...
Just look at that blue sky and water and the grass turning green. Ahhhhh - Spring!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Next Stop - Reality World

Congratulations goes to TLee, this week's necklace contest winner!! TLee wins with her entry of "Next Stop...Reality!" There were lots of great entries this week - thanks to everyone who entered. Seems there might be something a bit wacky going on though. I am missing a few comments (I made them) from the comment queue... I hope that no one else's got booted - I swear I did not delete anything! It also seems that there's been a bit-o-trouble in getting signed in and receiving weird error codes. That's what took so long to let TLee know she's a winner! (TLee is a winner whether I declare it or not!!♥) Perhaps blogger is experiencing the same troubles that Toyota is with the sun beam energy boosts making the gas pedal stick....
...:::~*~:::...
I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Hookers Are Back!

The Rug Hookers, that is.... those wonderful women that hook the most beautiful rugs out of wool are having a Hook-In with Judy again, and Judy asked me to come up with some new jewelry for them. Knowing that they love upcycling wool into rugs, I thought they might enjoy some upcycled silver! I'm working on a ton of new soldered glass pendants too...