Special Order Rifle Casings

I was asked about 3 weeks ago from a young lady via Etsy,  if I would be interest in creating something from the casings that were fired at her fathers funeral. My heart dropped a tad because I always hate to hear of someones passing.  I accepted the challenge!  A couple of weeks of us writing each other back and forth, we finally decided on the keychains.  I did a little practice drawings and a little research on what to draw on the casings.  We came up with the idea of flowers from Hawaii and some simple vines.  I dug through my "junk jewelry" and found some great items I knew would look awesome and that would relate to her father.  She sent me the casings and I got to work almost immediately when they arrived at my house.

I am so thrilled that they turned out beautifully! I have not done many casings this size, only about 3 others.  And these were so special I didnt want to make any kind of error.  I asked if I could show off these casings, and she said "Feel free, you should be proud, they look great!  I feel very honored that she had asked me and I am so glad she really likes them.

Thank you again Celeste!

Another Creative Spark Magazine hits the net!

I am quite excited about this magazine.  Not because I have some of my creations in it, but because it is packed with so much, such creativity from many designers. Each time the magazine comes out, I see some really amazing pieces.  Its funny that we all have such different views of what to create when we get our beads in the mail.

This time there were a small handful of us who received the NEW porcelain beads from ZNETSHOWS.  I knew which ones I was getting from the email I was sent.  I actually have been wanting to play with these beads since they came out!  I was all geared up for my package to arrive and when it did...it was the first thing I opened.  I know I know...they are just beads right?  Well..yes, they are, but to a bead junkie, every bead is exciting to get! I love the feel of them, so smooth, so light and the designs are so pretty.  I am not one for blue, but it seems like every month, blue is getting easier and easier for me to work with.  Its mental I know!  I do like the color, but some colors are just easier to work with!!

So, I got to crackin! I knew kind of what I wanted for a couple of the pendents.  The beads are very vintage to me, so I took out my stash of vintage beads and played a little with them.  I then decided I was going to do wire wrapping for the necklaces.  I don't think I have made an entire necklace with just wrapping beads with wire.  It was quite fun actually.  I think one of my inspirational artists when it come to the vintage designs is Cindy Cima Edwards. If you have not seen her work, take a peek at her facebook page. She has some amazing pieces and I just love her work.

 THANKS FOR THE INSPIRATION CINDY! XO

So why stop at one necklace right, I ended up making 2.  Also 3 sets of earrings and 1 fun bracelet out of memory wire..yes, I love that memory wire!

Check out the magazine... Creative Spark Fall 2014  you can find my creations on page 96.

Finally, we were all asked about what we liked about Winter the most.  I wrote a blurp in the magazine, but I also made a little poem on a photo I took... Hubby and I were heading back home from the West Coast on a little outing for my birthday in December.  This photo is enhanced, but only to show the amazing view of it.  It really did look this way to the eye.  We had a storm during those 3 days we were on the coast and driving back home, everything was wet, green, foggy, cloudy and just some beautiful scenery.

I hope you enjoy the magazine and all the beautiful creations.  I do have a few more designs made, but i'm considering submitting them into a magazine.  I need to do more of that.  But if they do not get accepted, I will share them here later on.

ENJOY!!!

Happy February!

Dang, this year is already flying away!  To start the year off, I made a fun trip to my nephew's wedding...it was beautiful!  The perfect day, no wind, not very cold, and nice and sunny at a vineyard where the bride works.  On my way there...300 miles drive...all by myself..which is what I have done for many moons...  I guess I messed up my back. It has stayed with me now for over a month.  Not much fun I admit.  I had to take a day off work here and there...and icepack it frequently.  Today finally I got my MRI.  I hope its an easy fix because I want it to be done now!!!  But with all the aches and pains, I still managed to hold down my day job, work my extra hours and create some really pretty jewelry out of the beads I received from ZNETSHOWS.  The online magazine comes out very soon, just a matter of days in fact.  I will post more pictures of the jewelry I made that I was not able to get in the magazine.  Its mainly because I ran out of time and wasn't able to get the write up for it.

But here is a teaser of what I made...more about this very soon..