Bookmarks to sell in Cafe By The Spa on Thorton Rd

Cafe By The Spa in Stockton, Ca is now open! I hope to have some pottery ready to sell by the end of this month. (coffee mugs, tea cups, soup & rice bowls) For now, these bookmarks are it.

I'm happy with this bunch. :) Head over to the cafe if you would like to purchase them! AND enjoy some yummy soup, a sandwich, coffee, or smoothie. (in Thorton Village, right next to Styles Unlimited, near the corner of Davis Rd and Thorton)

Jamie's pendant

this is the front, and the Chinese symbol is for "peace".
The back, with scalloped edges around the glass.

My new purse

I have never made a handbag with a purse frame before, but I LOVE how it turned out. I referred to U-Handbag for resources in designing a bag around a purse frame. (Meowcraft is the only place I will buy purse frames, they are THE best!)

This is a mock-up for the diaper bag I am making for Lindsay. Mine is smaller, but the same shape I am planning for her bag.
The front has a little puff-pouch to hold my phone, and the back has a quick-access pocket to throw keys or something. I love the blue, teal, and brown vintage print fabric.

I put a stiff divider in the center to make it more organized. I use this as a diaper bag for Eddie, as well as my purse. So now I can keep his stuff on one side (you can see the teal sippy cup holders, and his diapers/wipes fit perfect in between, with a pocket for his snacks), and my stuff on the other, (there is a pocket for my makeup, one for notebook/pens, one for my Palm, etc).

I love the way it turned out, and I learned a lot. I just need to tweak the pattern a bit more for Lindsay's bag, and make it larger. She also wants separate pockets for wipes and diapers, but that's simple enough. :)

I did it!

I finally made something for ME. I felt inspired after a girlfriend gave me a spa date, I thought I should continue the wonderfully selfish day I was having, and make some jewelry JUST for me. I have to admit, it was fun to make things I like, knowing I will keep them instead of selling them. But I'm back to business after this. :)

random pendants

some pendants I made for my dentist to cluster on a necklace and give to his wife.

This is the one he ended up buying. His wife lived in France for a few years, so I added the tower charm. I really like how it turned out. *THANK YOU Alyse for your help!

Valentine bookmarks

These are all the Valentine bookmarks so far, a few are listed in my etsy shop. :)

sister(s) inspired

Mica saw some of my recycled glass beads, and said she would love a pair of earrings just that color, but she only wears studs. She and Lindsay both agreed that a ring would be cool too.

So here is my first go at it. I am am going to glue the glass to the sterling silver ring and earring backs, but I will not be able to do it for a few days yet. I was just too excited about this new idea, I had to post a picture of my experiment. :)

*more earring studs and ring tops I made this evening

Recycled glass bracelet

These are bracelets I made with the recycled glass beads. I love how "artsy" and bold they turned out. If you want an original looking, chunky bracelet, this is it. :)

Recycled glass beads

I have been experimenting with shards of throw-away stained glass. Kind of a rough look, but I like them so far. :)

Winter boutique 2008

I finally got around to putting some photos on our computer. They are terrible pictures, but I do not have a photo program to mess around with yet. (new computer, it just has basics on it) I will redo these photos later. For now, this is what I have. :) My blog is undergoing a little makeover, slowly. If any of you have some suggestions for a good photo/image software program, please let me know!

Here are some of the soldered jewelry I have made. Mostly pendants. As you scroll through the photos, if you see anything orange/blue/white, those are for the local high school. Most of the necklaces I made, and a number of the bookmarks, are related to the local high school. (Go Bengals!)
I can made them with any kind of image, paper, lettering, etc. I mix the glass pendants with art glass pieces, wire, and beads. (some are my own lampwork beads)

I started making "mini" bookmarks this year. I sell them for $6 - $7.

The large bookmarks still run between $12 - $16. That depends on the cost of the beads.

The next few pictures are difficult to see. I am still learning how to use my new camera. (also, I really need a good photo editing program)

My little display. It is a bit crowded in this picture. Later, after I left, they found a larger table so my little creations had some room to breath. :)

Since this boutique, I have made more bookmarks, beads, and necklaces. I am doing an order for the highschool cheerleading team, and I will post that as soon as I'm done. That is going to be a fun project, I hope the girls like them. More to come!!!

more fun stuff

I am really having fun with these. I can't wait to get some clear glass and start putting paper, letter, or pictures in them. I think I will start doing "ladies night" making these things. I will get all the charms and beads made up, and then a group of friends can come over and assemble their own necklace. With the clear glass, I can even do kids drawings, and personalized images. It is really a fun craft. Here is just a sample of what I have come up with so far........

Herb Markers

I came up with these like I do with most projects, out of necessity. I found myself with over 20 herbs in my garden, (I didn't mean to do this, it just happened over time), and I needed a way to mark them all. I hate spending money, so I needed something that was cheap.

I found some old wood trim someone was throwing out, and bought some more copper wire at Home Depot. I cut the wood, carved the herb names on them, painted in shades of burnt orange, red, fuchsia, and plum, then "antiqued" them with a pale blue, sealed them with clear spray, and last, dusted them with some copper spray paint.
I took the pictures at night, I was just too excited after I finished, I had to take pictures right away. I am really happy with how they turned out. I can make them in any color, I just thought these colors would look good against the green when the plants get nice and big later this season.