New Kitty Pin

Here is a new kitty that's in my Etsy shop.

The teal and lime green were in a Fimo set I bought awhile back with many colors in small 1 oz. packs. So much fun!

Meow

I love cats. I am fascinated with their beautiful faces, how soft their fur feels when I pet it, and all the cute things they do. Yesterday we took our dog Snooky to the vet for her annual check-up and I got to see Stempy. Stempy belongs to the vet and lives in the office (very large place, with plenty of room for him to roam around). He was lying outside on the deck when we were leaving and I got to pet him. He's a tabby and looks very much like my cat Einstein I'd had for about eight years when Mike and I got married. Einstein went to live with Mike's parents next door, because Mike had a dog who didn't like cats, so I still got to see him pretty often. After about a year, he got kidney disease and had to be put to sleep. So Stempy helps me feel better about missing Einstein.

Last week I took all my cat pins to a store for consignment, so I made two new cat pins today to list in my etsy shop .

For the white one, I used a photo from my cat calendar as the model. I love the one blue eye and one green eye! Such purrsonality!



I bought some Fimo in bright colors a few months ago and have been experimenting with making cats in fantasy colors. This hot pink one would look great with a black and white jacket and hot pink shirt.

Tagged

I've been tagged by Rain's End and am supposed to list 7 little known things about myself.

1. i am a vegetarian.
2. i've played the piano since i was 5.
3. i taught myself to play the guitar when i was in my 30's.
3. i've traveled to 38 states, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, and 13 countries in Europe and Great Britain.
4. the scariest thing i ever did was go hang-gliding off a 500-foot cliff!
5. i once won a size 10 bridal gown as a doorprize at a style show, but i was only 15 and a size 14, so my mom sold it. :)
6. i played "God" in a theater production once.
7. all four of my grandparents were from Lithuania.

Off to tag someone else!

Yummy

It's summertime and I love all different kinds of fruit, especially watermelon!
Just for fun, I decided to make a little watermelon pin out of polymer clay. It measures about 2" wide x 1" tall. Doesn't it look good enough to eat?



Watermelon Pin in My Etsy Shop

Featured Artist: Carol Morris

Meet Carol Morris of silverbeadsandclay.etsy.com
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Creating: Jewelry and Pottery
Materials: sterling silver, metal clay (PMC), polymer clay, wire and beads, earth clay

Carol says, "I am now creating original sterling silver pieces by hand. It's so exciting to create a piece of beauty from a plain flat sheet of sterling silver or copper."


Butterflies in the garden necklace

What is your inspiration?
That's an easy one. Nature...and its colors. I love watching the dragonflies and butterflies in my yard. Their wings are so intricate yet delicate. And there are so many beautiful colors in their wings. I don't know what is the best, spring flowers or fall follage. Then there is the ocean. So many of God's creatures at work everywhere you look. I love the colors of the ocean. Turquoise blue is my favorite color, as you can tell from many of my pieces.



Vintage Pinched Pod Bracelet


How did you get started making jewelry?
That's a good question. Seems like it was ages ago but it was actually only about a year and a half ago. I've always had an interest in crafts. I've taken so many classes in the past 25 years...stained glass, photography, darkroom, mat cutting, and many many pottery classes at Sertoma and Pullen Art Centers, not to mention the things I have created on my own. Pottery was my favorite until I discovered metal clay and then learned to metalsmith.

I first learned about metal clay after watching HGTV's "That's Clever" show on TV. I would watch for crafters making interesting pottery. Then I saw all the clever things people were doing with metal clay. It's an incredible material. But don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up pottery. Now I just have to split my time between the two.



Sterling Silver Gingko Leaf Necklace

What new things are you learning? What classes have you taken lately?

Recently, I decided to try my hand at metalsmithing. I took a beginning metals class at Pullen Art Center and completed that class and said that I wasn't going to take the next level class for a while. I received a phone call from the arts center that they had an opening in the continuing metals class and did I want to take it. I ended up taking it two weeks later! So glad that I did. I'm really enjoying working with sterling silver.

I also frequently take classes at local bead stores and at the bead shows. I recently learned to make a vintage button cuff and a wire wrapped ring. Oh, I can't forget to mention the HGTV shows - That's Clever, Crafters Coast to Coast and DIY's Jewelry Making. They frequently have episodes that inspire me!



Sterling Silver Sea Turtle Pendant
This was Carol's gift to her Mom for Mother's Day.







Happy Birthday to me!

This necklace was my birthday gift from Carol. I love this! It's my favorite combination of silver and turquoise, and so beautifully made. Carol explains that this was "rolled through a press mill with a brass stencil plate." Are you jealous? (psst-if you ask real nice, she might make you a custom piece.)

Click here to visit her Etsy shop and see a wide array of beautiful necklaces, pendants, earrings, bracelets and rings.

Purple Slushie

This bracelet reminds me of ice and grape soda so I've named it "Purple Slushie." It's made of purple, aqua, clear and white glass beads; 12 polymer clay beads; and a sterling silver spiral star charm. The beautiful handmade clay beads with swirls of purple, fuschia, teal, white and brown were made by ArtisticJen.etsy.com.


If you're not familiar with memory wire, it's pretty neat stuff. It wraps around your wrist and is so easy to put on and take off - no clasp to fool with. One size fits most.






(My friend Gina bought this bracelet on June 24!)

Dragonfly Daze

"Dragonfly Daze" is a memory wire bracelet with shades of green, clear and pearl glass beads. The beautiful handmade clay beads with green and white canes were made by ArtisticJen.etsy.com. I've attached a pewter dragonfly charm. More bracelets to come. Purple is next!

(My friend Ginny bought this bracelet on June 24!)

Handcrafted Clay Dog

Someone I met through Flickr is possibly interested in buying several custom clay Shelties for her rescue organization's fundraiser and asked me to make a sample. Here is the website: www.triangleshelties.com and I used this photo of Shelby Lynn as my "model." Isn't she a sweetie? The clay Sheltie is about two inches tall and can be a pin, pendant or magnet. Woof!

Take Time To Smell The Roses

Blue is my favorite color so I love this! The beautiful handmade clay beads have tiny blue roses with green leaves. They are by ArtisticJen.etsy.com. I don't know how to do canes so I bought several sets of her beads. I attached a little star face charm to the end. I will be making more bracelets in upcoming weeks. Green is next!

P. S. Today, June 24, my friend Gina bought this! Visit myetsy shop to see other handmade jewelry for sale.

The craft show went well...

...and I'm glad it's over!

I had to take my son to school, then drive 30 miles to work, hurrying, trying to get there by 8:00 a.m. and of course EVERY light was red all the way to school and back through town to the interstate. I got there with just enough time to unload, go park the car, walk back to the building, and have my table set up by 8:30.

I always find it exhausting to say "Hi, how are you?" hundreds of times, and to sit down when no one's there and stand up each time someone comes by to look at my table. But it was all worth it. I sold quite a bit and was very pleased.

I coordinate these craft shows at work. For about a month before the show, I make sure we have plenty of publicity so all the staff will know about it, and take reservations for tables. The day before, I tell the maintenance men where to set up the tables and chairs. The day of the show, I go around and make sure each vendor has everything they need during the show, and then after the show collect a percent from everyone that's donated to charity. We have two shows a year, one in the spring and one in early December.~*~

Craft Show Comin' Up!

We're having our Spring Craft Show at work tomorrow and I've been busy getting everything ready. There's so much to do! And I bet the people who stop by my table don't even think about all the time it takes to get the display ready.

Over the past few days, I've glued pinbacks on new pins and bails on new pendants. I've printed out gift cards with my logo and name, to put my pins and pendants on. I like to have fresh cards each season because they get worn-looking after several shows, after going in and out of the storage boxes. So now all the older ones and the newer ones are on shiny new cards!

I counted and there are a lot - 120! I also have a few necklaces and bracelets in little white jewelry boxes. That's really WAY more than I need (for what I usually sell at that show), but oh well, there will be a good selection. I've made little signs for my table and started sorting everything into baskets. I'll finish sorting and pricing tonight, and pack the car, ready to go in the morning.