Thursday, January 31, 2008

Monthly Challenge - "Love"



Holy cow, look at all of 'em! This is the most entries EVER in the monthly challenge of the PCAGOE (Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy). The theme for February is "Love."

For a closer look, go to PCAGOE.com and vote for your favorite! Everyone who votes gets their name put into a drawing for a fabulous prize pack so GO VOTE. Voting is open between noon on Feb. 1 and midnight on Feb. 3.

My entry (#27) is called Valentine Love - Make of Our Hearts One Heart, depicting as you fall in love, that feeling of melting into one another and becoming one. I used shades of lavender, purple and fuchsia clay for the loving couple. It measures about 2" (5 cm) tall and can be finished as a pin or fridge magnet.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Snuggly Hearts for Valentine's Day



Here is a fridge magnet I made last night, with the idea of a woman and her sweetie snuggling up together. I think it would make a darling Valentine's Day gift. (It's about 2" tall.) If you love it, it's in my etsy shop. ***SOLD on Feb. 11 to a co-worker!***

Sunday, January 27, 2008

A Gift for a Friend


I made this fridge magnet yesterday for a friend's birthday. It's not really a giant, but only 1 1/2" tall.

Here he is, hangin' out on our fridge with some buddies.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Food for thought

This was one of those dumb emails where you have six minutes to send it out to as many people as possible, and if you send to 15 or more, you are promised that your life will improve drastically and everything you ever dreamed of will begin to take shape. Yeah, right. But I do like the good advice here.

Mental Fung Shui

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.
FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.
TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Quoted in The Storque!

Simplicity Pendant
Sold!


I'd like to give a shout out to Sara of SarasTextureCrafts. She has written an article called "Creating a Profile Page" in the Etsy Storque (the online Etsy newsletter) and included a quote by moi!

And my Simplicity Pendant is pictured at the bottom of the page!

The article is part of a Shop Makeover Series.

Sara writes a blog called Etsy Profiles where she highlights interesting profiles in various Etsy shops.

Thanks for including me, Sara! Made my day.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Featured Etsy Sellers

I'm a member of the PCAGOE - Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy, (check out our website to learn more) and each week will be featuring some of my fellow members. It's amazing to me that each artist starts with the same medium, yet makes such unique and beautiful creations! Here are three of the members' etsy shops.

Amy and Whalen




Art by Lilin



Beadworx



Sunday, January 13, 2008

Featured Etsy Seller :: Casto Creations

My pick this week is Casto Creations whose Etsy Shop I discovered through the forums.

A maker of elegant handcrafted jewelry, she says, "Playing with metal and fire is my current obsession. I love to fuse - melting metal together to create a strong bond. It's therapeutic and fun!"

Here are a couple of my favorites for sale in her shop.
These earrings: fine silver textured discs which sway gently beneath a single faceted semi precious gemstone. Each disc is hand cut, formed, fused by fire, and then hammered for texture and strength.

And this necklace: Fine Silver Cherry Tree Pendant which is available in different sizes in her shop. The cherry tree design is stamped into fine silver to create a fabulous necklace. It is antiqued to bring out the design and then hand polished for a soft shine. The pendant is made with PMC, which when fired becomes pure silver (99.9%). It hangs from a delicate sterling silver chain and is finished with a sterling silver lobster clasp and a signature tag.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Rest in Peace, Sweet Friend


I am so sad. My grand-dog Margo, who was an 11-year-old Shih Tzu, is no longer with us. My son and his wife made the difficult decision a few days before Christmas to have her put to sleep because she was suffering. She was throwing up a lot and had diarrhea for about two months and the vet suspected stomach cancer. They tried some medication but it didn't help and she lost about 25% of her body weight (which wasn't much to begin with).

The last few days, she got weaker and weaker and could no longer jump up on the bed or couch or make it down the steps from the front door to the yard.

This was the sweetest little dog I have ever known. She loved to be held in anyone's lap and I held her a lot when I would visit. When they got her as a puppy, she used to get into a lot of mischief. When no one was looking, she'd climb up on the kitchen chair, then the counter and then wander around on the counter and stove top, grazing. She always begged and when I was visiting, her mommy and daddy would say don't feed her, but I would sneak popcorn to her.

She was so gentle when the kids were babies. One time when I was visiting, Calvin who was about 6 months old was crawling around, and as he went by Margo who was sleeping on the living room carpet, he grabbed her hair on top of her head, then kept on crawling. He pulled a handful of hair right out of her head but she never made a peep.

Margo is buried behind their house in the woods, under "The Magic Tree."

My grand-dog Sadie (below), a 14-year-old Shih Tzu, and Margo were inseparable. She has a huge tumor growing on her back leg but doesn't seem to be in pain. We know she won't be around much longer either. You can tell she really misses Margo. She sniffs everywhere, looking for her. They will meet on the Rainbow Bridge soon.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Goodbye, Christmas

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday afternoon taking down and packing away our artificial Christmas tree and all our ornaments.

Mike and I married in 2001, so we have many ornaments that were his and his son's, and many that were mine, when we met - all hanging together now on the tree as one family's (which melds together a bit more each year). We added some more this year that were Mike's parents, both deceased now. So this year I marvelled at each one's beauty, uniqueness, history and meaning - as I hung them up and as I took them down. When everything was packed, Mike helped me get the Christmas boxes and some other things that had been accumulating on the closet floor up the pull-down stairs, into the attic.

The corner in the living room has the little chest of drawers, wall shelf and knick knacks back in place, the closet floor looks empty, and my heart feels a little bit the same. I grew up Jewish, always longing to celebrate Christmas like my friends. As the only child of wonderful parents, I certainly never wanted for anything money could buy; I just felt different and left out somehow.

When I was in my 20s, I married a Catholic and converted, so now I get to celebrate Christmas every year and it means so much to me! I feel so sad when the season is over and all the pretty ornaments have to be put away for another year - like the exquisite handmade Santa pictured above, a gift from a friend at work.

But of course - even though the tree and decorations are put away - we can still hold the love of Christmas in our hearts as we greet the new year, 2008. Wonder what adventures this new year will bring?!

Friday, January 04, 2008

Vote in the Challenge!

The Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE) is having a monthly challenge! Visit pcagoe.com and vote for your favorite! Voting ends at midnight (EST) January 6. All voters' names will be entered into a drawing for a fabulous prize pack of handmade clay goodies.

Here is my entry, a pin/brooch titled "Serenity" which represents my New Year's Resolution to seek a quiet time each day to take a walk in the woods and reflect on my blessings.



If you love this pin, it's for sale in my etsy shop.