Dr. Who?

Even though it is about 6,000 degrees outside, I had a Halloweenie feeling (I know, how sick is that?)

Working with Tumble Fish Studio's new kit called Male Persuasion I came up with this little collage.  The background is from Studio Tangie and the frame is from Christina Renee.

"Dr. Charles Who was not amused with the younger owls antics.....after all this was owl obedience school not owl clown school!  Hey, stay cool and know that cooler weather is coming.

Flying to Paris

Tumble Fish Studio has created a new digital kit called "Oooo-La-La" and it can be found over at Deviant Scrap.  As part of the TFS Creative Team I'm fortunate enough to get to play with all of the wonderful images.

I'd like to thank all of the people who came to Artie Gras last night especially my returning customers! Here a shout out to Beth, "Happy Birthday".....one of my best customers!

This little gem made out of a vintage domino is over at Honey Girl Studio Jewelry.  Have a great Friday!

Skeleton Key Bracelets......

I love old skeleton keys......big ones, small ones, flat ones....it doesn't matter, I like them all!  I use them in my jewelry in a sort of melding together of the new and the old.  I've used them in necklace designs now for a few years and always wanted to make them into bracelets.  Finally I got the chance! There are many steps to bending and polishing one of these babies! My wonderful husband torched, bent and drilled them for me.  I polished and beaded them.  

 Here are the steps:

 Step 1:  Gather your materials...a Nap Gas torch, a piece of metal pipe about the size of your wrist, a bucket of water, a Dremel Tool,  fine steel wool and a flat head hammer, drill with small bit, and two sets of long nose pliers.

 Step 2:  Hold one end of the key with the long nose pliers and heat the middle of the key until it turns RED then quickly place it over the metal pipe and tap one end of the key to make it slightly bend.

 Step 3:  Switch pliers to the other side of the key and heat the middle to the end until it glows RED then quickly place it over the pipe and tap it with the hammer until it slightly bends at the other end.  I don't need to tell you to not to touch the key as it is super hot....."don't touch the key"!

 Step 4:  Repeat Steps 2 & 3 if you need more of a bend.  If you are happy with the bend in the key then drop it into a bucket of water to quench it.  Leave it in there for about 5 minutes then take it out and dry it off.  At this point you will notice that the torching has left a grey scale all over it.

 Step 5:  Take your Dremel Tool with a grinding nub and sand/grind off the grey scale until it is shiny. I left some areas dark in the creases of the metal to give it a patina.  Next buff with fine steel wool.

Step 6:  Drill a small hole in the end of the key where the little hickey sticks out (the part that goes into the key hole).

Step 6.5:  Bead as you see fit!
These babies are over at Honey Girl Studio Jewelry if you'd like to call one your very own!

What Goes with Everything?...black & tan

My crafting BFF, Tracy (over at Glitterbug Studios) and I have been on a Black & Cream or in my case Black and Tan kick.  Those color combos go with just about everything no matter what your color palate is.  Tracey has been creating the most amazing assemblages out of vintage cheese boxes.....imagine getting your Velveeta in a wooden box but that was the case awhile back.

This assemblage is in a woodbox (not a cheese box) that measures 8 inches tall by 4 inches wide.  I Photoshopped the shelves with all kinds of goodies on them in the background but they really look 3-D due to the way the shadows fall on the objects.  The little boy is from the Vacay kit from Tumble Fish Studio.   

I've named him Charles and he's backed on chipboard and popped out about 1/2 inch from the background using foamcore board.  He's the curator for the "Combs Conservatory".  They conserve and preserve all of your favorite ephemera and he takes his job very seriously as you can see from the look on his face!

Tracey gave me this dress form and it was extraordinarily ugly.  It was painted white with a light purple apron.....uggghhhcchhh!  Enter the black paint, light tan paint book text, velvet ribbon, lace, glue and ta-da.....something new and improved!

The roses are made out of tan suede which I upcycled from a jacket.

Firefly

Depending upon what part of the country you grew up in you either referred to them as fireflies or lightening bugs.  Those magical little creatures still make me smile when I see the last rays of sun slip below the horizon and the darkness slip in.  Remember chasing them barefoot through the dewy grass, collecting them in glass Mason jars as a kid?  This digital collage was inspired by lightening bugs!

The Firefly Fairy

This collage was created with the "That's the Ticket" digital elements kit and the background from the "Dark Glow Papers" kit from Tumble Fish Studio.  The fairy is from my personal collection.

Makes you want to go out and catch some lightening bugs tonight, doesn't it?  ;-)

Down the Hole!

Happy 4th!  Last night there was a barrage of fireworks and firecrackers and I'm anticipating even more tonight in the neighborhood.   I once had a beagle that would totally freak out over the loud sounds that this time of year produced....the poor thing, he would get so worked up!  I bet he wished he could have escaped down a rabbit hole!

This digital collage was created with the following: background and scrap words from Tumble Fish Studios, Journal Papers Kit and Journal Words Kit;
tree and ground from Finecrafted, Innervoices Kit; watch face from Maya, Steampunk Kit; white rabbit from personal collection.

Every summer around the 4th of July, Gary and I go to North East, Pa (about 20 minutes north of Erie) to an orchard to pick sweet Bing cherries!  We've been going there for about 16 years now and something strange happens every time.........no matter what containers we bring with us, we seem to always pick 32 pounds of cherries!  Here's my theory on this, I think that we start picking and around the 30 pound mark we start to get tired and pick a few more pounds and then call it quits because we are getting hungry!  So we hop in the car and motor on over to the Freeport where they have the most crunchy delicious Lake Erie perch sandwiches (I dream about these sandwiches in middle of January!)

Yes, Gary and I blew our fried food allotment for the month on this lunch but it was worth it!

Hey, have a safe and happy 4th, don't eat too much potato salad!

A Cinch by the Inch........

Have you ever heard the saying "life is a chinch by the inch but hard by the yard"?  Well, I took that saying and translated it into jewelry.  Everything except the heart with the mermaid, are made out of a cut up yard stick.  They measure one inch across and 1.2 inches tall.  I cut up one of those old, thick yard sticks so it's very sturdy (they don't make them like they use to!)

The tiny collage was on this one was made digitally using elements from Tumble Fish Studio's "Flower Land Gnome" kit.  

 This pink mermaid is a charm I created using the Inkjet Shrink  Plastic.  Remember the Shrinky Dinks? This is the new updated version of them.  Here are a few suggestions I learned through trial and error....
bump your opacity down to about 67% before printing out the sheet b/c as the piece shrinks, the color intensifies....... also make sure you pieces are 50% BIGGER then what you want them b/c they shrink to half the size....... also after you get the pieces shrunk, spray a clear coat over them because if they get wet, the color will smear.  So with all of that being said, here is a piece with lots of yummy summer colors.  The mermaid was created with the body from Studio Tangie's "Oceans" kit and the face is from Tumble Fish Studio "Diva's" digital kit.

The next two yardstick necklaces are traditional cut and paste collage sealed with resin......

This is a digital collage made with elements from the At The Beach kit  from Tumble Fish Studio.

 Have a great Friday!

The Twilight Club

Twilight is my favorite time of the day when the golden sun starts to dip below the horizon and the sky is streaked with orange sherbet and slate blue with jets of purple then the sun disappears and the fireflies begin to dance about.....ahhhh twilight!

My new digital collage was inspired by this time of the day.  The elements are from Tumble Fish Studio over at Deviant Scrap.  All of the elements except the boy are from Tumble Fish Studio.

Nobody knew what really went on at the exclusive Twilight Club, only that people whet in empty handed and came out with giant toy sailboats and giant glasses.  Hmmmm, kind of makes you wonder doesn't it?

Got Jewelry? I do!

I've been working hard on new pieces!  To check these necklaces out in detail just finger tap dance your way over to Honey Girl Studio Jewelry!

Do you think I'm wearing too many at one time???? Honestly? Lady Gaga could rock this look!

Odd Blue Magic

I was playing with the new digital elements kit by Tumble Fish Studio entitled "Odd Magic" and decided to show 2 different ways of using the elements.  The first is an assemblage that I made using a Flip camera box (I saved the box b/c of the little recess in it).  I covered it with vintage text and Mod Podge.  The gears are made out of leather.  The gear on the heart and the clock is from Studio Tangie.

I really like the leather handle on top! It's a Tim Holtz Sizzix die.

 The second way of using the elements is in a digital collage I made from the "Odd Magic" kit by Tumble Fish Studio.  I recolored her hair, the heart and the rabbits.  You've heard of black magic right?  Well this is odd blue magic (that's what the heart says in French).  See you never know what will happen with odd blue magic!

To check out how my friend Tracey used these images check out this post on her blog!

Busy Week!

This has been a busy week so far!  I've got exciting news.....Marsha at Tumble Fish Studio has invited me to be on her Creative Team!  She creates the most amazing digital elements kits to use in Photoshop and they can be found at Deviant Scrap.  I will be using her digital elements to create altered jewelry like the 2 pendants you see below.  They are created in Photoshop and then printed on InkJet Shrink Plastic.

Super Hero Life Guard 1927 Necklace

The life guard was created with digital elements from Tumble Fish Studio and the green fish is from Studio Tangie.  The heart layered behind it is painted and stamped leather.  She's available over at Honey Girl Studio Jewelry.

Dottie DelMar Pendant

 Dottie charm:  face and crown from Tumble Fish Studio and fish body from Studio Tangie.

I was also pouring resin this week.....ICE Resin that is.  I LOVE this stuff!!!! It has always set up for me without any problems and dries crystal clear with no clouding or stickiness.  Whenever I'm at a flea market I always pick up little spoons to fill with goodies and resin to make necklaces.  These are also over at Honey Girl Studio Jewelry.

Yesterday I went to my crafting BFF's house.  We went to a few little shops then came back to the house to work on Shirley.  Meet Shirley...................

Tracey bought Shirley a few months ago.  She is a foam dress form and kind of spongy so Tracey wrapped her in Rigid Wrap to make her harder.  Pretty smart, eh?

Tracey, Shirley and me.....Shirley's smiling too.....kind of hard to tell with no head, but trust me, she's smiling.

So Tracey had this idea to cover Shirley in many layers of tissue paper.  So we decided to put on the first layer.........

Hard at work not hardly working!............Shirley said the brush tickled.

About an hour and a half layer and almost a whole small jar of Mod Podge, this is what Shirley looked like.  She's going to be awesome with the other layer added!  You can check out the progress of Shirley on Tracey's blog, Glitterbug Studios.

Seaflower and Butterfly Necklaces

Many months ago I saw flowers made out of organza-like material and I thought "I could make jewelry that way"!  So I bought some material (100% polyester) and a candle.  Now you are probably wonder "what in the world is the candle for?".  You use the candle to singe the edges of the flower layers so they won't unravel.  I think a pillow with big flowers would look really cool (note to self.....put that on the "to do" list).  You can find this necklace over at Honey Girl Studio Jewelry.

If the world laughs in flowers then surely it must giggle in butterflies!  I watch a few of these delightful creatures dance their way through my perennial garden this afternoon.  This necklace was created from a Scrabble tile.

Hope you all had a great weekend!  Make it a good week as well!

Water and Shade............

Happy Memorial Day!

It is very hot and humid here in Northwestern PA today!  A beautiful sun filled day with 87 degree temps.  Two things would be great right about now....one would be water to take a swim in and the other is a shady spot to cool off in.  Those 2 things inspired my two newest necklaces.  You can find them over at Honey Girl Studio Jewelry.

water.......

shade.........

Ahhhhh.................

Enjoy your day!

The Key to......

Well, here are a few things I made with my flea market keys!  I drilled holes in this one to make room for jump rings to dangle charms.  It helps to have a drill press as it makes drilling the holes a breeze.  It lays really nice on the neck right at the collar bone notch.  The trick is to get it even on both ends so that it will lay correctly.  I have so many other ideas for using keys in necklaces!

Still in deep like with the shrink plastic for the Inkjet printer......that's how I made Talula Blooingdocker on the key below.  Both keys are over at Honey Girl Studio Jewelry.  When I was about 3 years old  I had a doll I named LauraMay Bloomingdocker.....where I got that name from I have no idea!  So, I stole the name from myself to name this necklace......this is LauraMay's sister, Talulu.

Got Beach?

The first public beach in the United States was Revere Beach in Boston, Mass.  It opened on July 12, 1896.  An estimated 45,000 people showed up on opening day.  This new necklace is a tribute to any beach you have ever loved to visit!  It's over at Honey Girl Studio Jewelry.

Here's a little update about Buddy the Wonder Dog.  For those of you who follow my blog, you know he got hit by a car on Easter morning and was in pretty bad shape......broken back leg, punctured front leg, and half of his face just about ripped off!  Well, here he is today.  His face is healed up and  the cast is off his leg (but he's still not putting it down to walk).  Buddy is a tough doggie!

Steamy Summer

Well the weather was beautiful here today in Pennsylvania......80 degrees, blue skies, sunshine and a slight breeze.....wow!   I hope all of you in Blogland had a good weekend.  I've been working with incorporating metal and leather into my jewelry lately and came up with this little Steampunky pendant.  The outside is leather, overstamped Staze-on ink with text.  I cut out the keyhole with the Tim Holtz die. The little guys inside are inventors and are sealed under resin which I poured into the keyhole.  These little guys have invented a lot of things but the thing they are most proud of is the "love machine" they invented!  If you'd care to learn more about this necklace you can hop on over to Honey Girl Studio Jewelry.

So this morning my niece, Andrea and I went to a flea market.  I hit the mother load of keys! There must be over 100 keys on this ring.  I plan on using them in my future creations.

I cleaned these ones with Brasso.  That stuff really cuts thought the crude on keys.  Some of them are actually quite pretty with the scroll-work designs.  Oh yah, I've got plans for these babies!

Have a great Monday!