Turquoise Love

 Part of what I do is make jewelry for other retailers. My Hooker friend, Judy, has the Largest collection of turquoise ever. She brought over a giant jar and said "make whatever you want, and please use some of the giant turquoise hearts". So - I did. Even using all that turquoise - there is still 10 times more left in the jar!

I've also been remodeling and rearranging my shop - here's what things are looking like.

Bleach and a Snow Day

 If you've ever been to a show where I'm set up, you know that I use table covers that have bleach designs on them. A couple years ago I went nuts drawing with bleach on everything! Today is a snow day. My plans were cancelled so I decided to have some fun. After I took a nap. So - here's a tutorial on how to make your own bleach designs....

 Put some cardboard inside your t-shirt to make it a nice tight canvas. 

Fill a syringe (or a craft-store alternative) with a gel bleach. I use Soft Scrub.

 Start doodling (unless you have a definite design in mind.)

Below shows how I hold the syringe. Keep the needle away from your eyeballs.

 doodle some more....

 ...and some more...

 eat some lunch and when you come back your design appears!

 Originally I was going to just draw on the side like below...

 But, it's a snow day and I kept doodling. Perhaps it's overkill, but I like it.

Another Bug Cuff

This weekend I bought an iPad thinking it would be great for taking photos and blogging on one item. I thought it would be great for etsy and Facebook too... We'll see! Meanwhile I finished this bug cuff. 

If anyone has pointers on posting from an iPad I would love to hear them! 

Eventually...

 these become these...

 another of these:

 this is a custom order piece...

eventually.

Working On A Chain, Gang

After taking Stephanie Lee's Essentials of Metalworking class, I've been making lots of chains and pendants and am now putting them together.

I love the rusticness of it all.

This is a little shrine-like bezel I made. I wanted it to look like there were little flowers at the bottom. I'll keep working on that.

A rough little fresh water pearl found it's way into one of my scrappy bezels - added a bead I made and there you go...

Much of what I've been doing involves rough cut stones and rosary-style chains like this flourite necklace I finished yesterday.

got it.

Here's a quick peek at some of the custom orders I did this season...

These two necklaces were favorites of mine. Particularly those giant diamonds in little pipe bezels!

Here's a couple of 'belt loop clips' I made for some little boys. Isn't that a fun idea (not mine - the customer's)

Yes. I glittered my head off this year. I had so much glitter stuck to me, I looked like an old-stripper.

Hey.

Maybe it's one of those "use it or lose it" situations... I can't upload pics. Since I'm pretty sure no 'reads' my blog for my infinite wisdom, I'll wait to post again until I can go back to illustrating what I'm trying to say. PS happy new year.

working like a dog

I still can't show anything I've been working on...

BUT - there's the stack of boxes ready to ship out today - full of personalized pendants and ornaments! There will be several more before the post lady comes by...

I've totally trashed the lovely new work table Tim built for me. I'll work on that after the holidays.

Meanwhile - we went to the farm supply store and bought some barn style light fixtures - the other one is hanging above my desk. I love my work space even when it's a big fat mess.

Yesterday a lovely customer/friend came by to pick up her order and it was such a lovely day that we sat outside and had a glass of wine-or two! Less than an hour later another lovely customer/friend came by and so we sat down and had a glass of wine. Two more lovely customer/friends came by....I love my work.

...::~*~::...

Truth: that's the only time this season that happened. I promise I didn't work on anymore orders - but I did knit a baby hat. Speaking of baby stuff - here's a pair of baby booties I made last week:

The Sunrise Keeps Me Humble

Day one

 Since I can't post any photos of the projects I'm working on, I thought you might enjoy seeing what I see every morning from my studio window...



Day two

Everything I'm working on is Christmas Gift Orders. If I posted photos, I could possibly expose surprises - because I'm pretty sure that everyone in the world looks at my blog to try and see what they are getting for Christmas! 



Day three - this time you can see the Canadians on the Pond

We are thrilled with the sunrises and sunsets we witness here at Two Dog Pond. It reminds me that no matter what I create and have a sense of pride in, it does not compare to the beauty of Nature. The sky is quite large here, so imagine the above sunrises covering 75% of what you see. It brings me to my knees.

Let The Holidays Begin

 Tomorrow, Saturday November 17, is the SJW Holiday Craft Show in Seward. It's the largest, best, show in the area. If you are within 2 counties of Seward, it's worth the trip over. I will be in the Harvest Hall (not the Ag Pavillion) with lots of jewelry. LOTS of jewelry. There's a sampling above. Bottom middle shows what a mess I'm making.

When I need to relax a bit, I turn to the torch and make beads. They end up in many of my designs.

I can't express enough how much I appreciate the support that my customers show me during this season.

Remember: It is time to start thinking about those ornaments - next week we'll discuss that a bit more.

Tomorrow's show is the only show I plan on doing this holiday season. It's just that grand.

Keeping Secrets

 There's been lots going on here at Two Dog Pond, and in between events, funerals, visitors, etc. I've been working on these necklaces. I learned the technique from Stephanie Lee's Pipe Dreams Class, but wanted to take it a step further... 

 I wanted to hide my secrets inside the pendant instead of sticking out the top.

 Each pendant has a copper tube to hide your treasures in...

 The large lampworked beads were made by moi, as are the headpins turned dingles.

A lovely place to hide a secret note, emergency fairy dust, your crazy pills...

Holiday Sparkle

 New Obsession: soldering vintage chandelier crystals and

...beveled glass back to back.

 garnet rosary style chain