What I've been up to lately

I bet you all thought I fell off the face of the earth! I'm alive and well and have been working really hard lately. Not on crafty stuff which of course is my passion but I recently started working as a lab tech at a local wine making facility. I live on the Central Coast of California where vineyards and wineries abound and I have always wanted to learn more about the industry. I got my wish! Right now is harvest season and I'm up to my elbows (literally) in grapes! Local vineyards bring in their grapes for us to test the sugar levels to see if their vines are ready to harvest. We hand crush those samples for them, and whenever I do, I'm reminded of that I Love Lucy episode where Lucy works in the wine vat and gets in a grape fight. Too funny! Here is the link on youTube for a good laugh! I'm really enjoying my job, however I have been working seven days a week lately and it doesn't leave much extra time for glass or dolls. 

Speaking of dolls, I came across this really cool blown glass miniature chemistry set made by glass artist Kiva Ford that I would love to have! I use all of these things in my job and think it would be fun to set up a shot of one of the girls working in the lab just like I do. Glass, dolls and lab techy stuff, how could I go wrong?!

Just had to share....

 

For all my doll friends and miniature lovers... isn't this camera the cutest? It's a 1/6 scale replica of a real life DSLR camera. Perfect size for Blythe! I actually have been wishing for a real life sized working model for myself but that's another story on my very long wish list that keeps growing and growing.... does it ever end? Anyhow, let's not get off topic.... You can find this fun little find at the Photojojo website. They have the coolest photography gadgets and their newsletter is filled with tips and tricks and is a lot of fun to read, I highly recommend it!

Yipeee!!!!

Pepper and I threw caution to the wind and braved the crowds at the California Mid State Fair for our submission to the Blythe Photo Challenge and we won!!! Peppers dress was made by the talented Kyle Ruth of Button Arcade and her cute lollipop plushie was created by Becky of Scrumptious Delight. Thank you ladies, your creations were just perfect for this picture!

It definitely pays off to not wait until after the deadline to submit your picture :) (Though I will admit that it was close!) I have been struggling with this since the challenge started. There are always really great, creative submissions and I feel honored that my picture was chosen.

I really love being challenged to be more creative with my pictures and I have a lot of fun participating. I appreciate Jennifer and Wendy for doing this every month, and want to say thank you! I will also be donating a personalized metal stamped Blythe necklace every month to the goody bag show my appreciation. So if you haven't yet joined the group, it's open to everyone and you can participate at any time. Please join us!

And on a final note.... Please vote for Beads of Courage in the Pepsi Refresh Project. They didn't make it to the top 10 last month so they decided to try again in August. You can vote daily, in many different ways. I promise they will not spam you. For more information on Beads of Courage please see my last post. I am adding a voting widget to my blog to make voting easy. Thank you so much!

Beads of Courage needs your help!

Many beadmakers donate beads to Beads of Courage. It's a program that provides children coping with life threatening conditions colorful beads which symbolize the many treatments and procedures they overcome. Their Beads of Courage collection serves as a tangible, visible symbol of their accomplishments during a challenging treatment journey.

The Beads of Courage program is entered in the Pepsi Refresh Project to win a $25,000 dollar grant. If they win they will have the money to provide the program to 10 additional hospitals and support 10,000 children coping with cancer and other life threatening illnesses.

If you can, please take a moment and click the link below to vote, you can vote once each day through July 31st. They are currently in 13th place and need to reach the top 10 to receive funding. Your vote is very much appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

For more information about Beads of Courage please visit their website http://www.beadsofcourage.org/ and to keep current with what they are up to please visit their blog http://beadsofcourage.org/blog/

Pepper Wants You...

Pepper Wants You..., originally uploaded by EmbellishYourself.

to have a Happy 4th of July!!! I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!

Another Celebration! A Giveaway at Pigwidget Chronicles

Beka at Pigwidget Chronicles is celebrating her 100th blog post and 2nd blog'iversary. She is giving away a Blythe Pirate costume along with some other goodies. She's thought of everything, from the clever costume and props for your doll to a cute scrabble tile pendant with an X on the back, a treasure for you! I love all of the details, she hasn't left anything out. So head on over to her blog to see all the goodies and enter the giveaway ends on Sunday June 13th.

Congratulations Beka!

With all of these celebrations and milestones lately, it's got me thinking, I'm coming up on my 100th blog post as well (this is post #96). Shall I do a giveaway as well? What would you like win?

Let's Celebrate With Honeythorpe Studios

Purple roses, originally uploaded by honeythorpe.

My friend Melissa of Honeythorpe Studio is celebrating her 100th Etsy sale this week with a giveaway. Head on over to her blog to enter. She makes really cute, quality doll clothes for Blythe and tiny BJD's, you don't want to miss out!

Congratulations Melissa!!!

Woot!! Woot!! I am a lucky winner!!!

Look at what I won!!! Lori & Kim make such wonderful glass murrini for glass artists to use in their beads and other creations. They are celebrating their 1st anniversary with a huge give away. They are giving away a pack of their murrini every day this month to lucky artists who have purchased from them since January. It's not too late to enter either, for every order placed this month they will enter your name into the drawing and if you have purchased from them on Etsy or just want to play, you can email them and they will enter you. How awesome is that? So head over to their site and have a look, you won't be disappointed!

I ordered some murrini from them a few weeks back and to tell you the truth, I have been hoarding it. I love just looking at it but want to make sure I don't waste it. I have ideas brewing, I just need to execute them.  So stay tuned, I'll be sure to post what I make with them and it will be soon!

What are murrini? "Murrini cane is made by building a picture or pattern in glass and pulling it down into a much smaller picture or pattern, much like Christmas candy is made.  These canes are snipped into little pieces and can be used to melt onto a glass bead, fused onto a sheet of glass or even suspended in resin to create jewelry, decorative items and whatever else your imagination tells you to do with them.  If you've ever heard the term "millifiore" well, that's when a lot of these little pieces of glass are put into one design." From Lori & Kim's website.

The Sweet Stuff....or not...

The Sweet Stuff....or not..., originally uploaded by EmbellishYourself.

This is our entry for the Blythe Photo Challenge for May. The theme was "The Sweet Stuff". Pepper of course couldn't let it all be sugary goodness, she had to show her spicy side with the "bite me" lollipop. We had a lot of fun with this one!

This month I procrastinated again and came in a few hours after the deadline so we aren't in the running to win but for myself personally, I have a goal to participate every month. It's really fun to find out the theme and then try to come up with something fun. It gets me thinking creatively and helps me get motivated to take more pictures. After all that's most of the fun of having Blythe dolls for me. Let's hope I don't wait till the last minute again next month, I was really disappointed that I missed the deadline.

I did however donate a Blythe doll necklace as a prize for this month and sent that in weeks ago. I hope whoever wins enjoys it!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a really great Mother's Day. I had a wonderful weekend celebrating. Saturday we took a drive to see my Mom and Dad. We had lunch, played family games and visited. It was a beautiful day with a lot of love and laughter. 

Today, I woke up to 3 wonderful handmade cards from my kids. My husband made breakfast and gave me some flowers to plant in the yard and a hammer! LOL! A hammer you say? Well just ask any tool junkie and they will agree, that tools are wonderful gifts! I have been struggling with getting good impressions when making my metal stamped necklaces and this is one hefty hammer! I should have no problems now. We finished up the day with dinner and more games with my Mom-in-law. It was great.

The picture above is me modeling the apron I made for my Mom-in-law for Mother's Day. It's the first major project I have made with my new sewing machine and it came out great. I got the kit on Etsy from Mary Kay of Geneva Designs. Let me tell you, she makes the cutest aprons and also sells kits to make your own. Everything is pre-cut so you can get right to the fun stuff. I really enjoyed making it and Mary Kay is wonderful to work with.

For my Mom's gift, I got her a book on the Alice in Wonderland movie. It's the visual companion on the making of the movie. She once mentioned that she hoped there would be a book that showed all the artwork from the movie. This book is really awesome, it shows all the characters, their costumes, the sets and more.  My mom makes pictures and caricatures with polymer clay and this book will definitely inspire her creativity. I'm excited to see what she makes!

The Blythe Photo Challenge

I'm excited! I just submitted my entry for the Blythe Photo Challenge. It's a group over on Flickr. Each month a subject is announced, and you have until the end of the month to submit your photo. April's subject was "Up Close and Personal". I, of course waited till the very last minute and almost didn't make it. I made that little butterfly with polymer clay last night and painted it this morning. I always tell myself that I work better under pressure, it sounds much better than "Hi my name is Jenny and I am a procrastinator!" Next month will be different I hope.

There are a lot of photo challenges on Flickr ranging from 365 Days of Blythe , A Doll A Day, 52 Weeks of Blythe and more but this one is monthly and more my speed. This should help me work my way up to the bigger challenges one day.

While the other challenges are personal accomplishments, The Blythe Photo Challenge also has prizes! They are being donated by individual artists that create things for Blythe dolls and next month I will be donating a necklace. I'm waiting to see what the subject is to see if there is a specific necklace I will send or I may even come up with something new.

I believe you can join any time and if you just want follow along you can do so on Flickr and at the Blythe Photo Challenge Blog.

Honeythorpe Studio

My friend Melissa of Honeythorpe Studio makes the cutest dresses for Blythe and BJD dolls. BJD stands for ball jointed dolls and I find I'm falling in love with them too. For me, it's the tiny ones that call to me and especially Melissa's little cutie Aoife. She has so much personality!  God help me! Aoife is a Pukifee made by Fairyland and she's about 6 inches tall, that's half the size of Blythe dolls.

Having recently sewn my first Blythe dress, I have much appreciation for Melissa's sewing skills. Her dresses are beautiful and carefully made, I just love her fabric choices! Right now her best selling dresses are for the tiny BJD's, and I can't imagine sewing something so small. I have two dresses she's made in Blythe size and I love them. The above picture shows Jesse and Pepper modeling them. 

Melissa lives in New Zealand, and we keep in touch regularly. We actually met through Etsy. I had a PIF (Pay It Forward)  necklace in the shop and Melissa was the one who snapped it up.  I think that PIF worked its wonders for the both of us, we have become great friends!

Be sure to check out her Etsy shop and blog, and to follow Aoife's adventures don't miss her on Flickr!

Plays With Fire Ring by MistyMade

 

I got one! I got one!! I have been wanting one of these rings for years, ever since I started making lampworked beads. Isn't it fun?

When Misty first started making these rings she created them as a student in her metalsmithing class. Once she finished her classes, she wasn't able to make more rings because she didn't have equipment of her own to cast them. The rings then became a hot commodity! I would see the rings off and on my favorite lampworking forum LampworkEtc and  yearn for one along with a lot of my fellow glass artists. Last year Misty was able to get the equipment and has been selling them ever since. What I think is really cool is that they are recognizable amongst the flameworking community. If I see someone wearing one, I know they are a flameworker and they share my passion. I think every flameworker should have one!

Misty makes more than these rings, she's a talented beadmaker as well as metalsmith. Please check her website and Etsy shop to see more of her work. She's recently revived her blog which has some really interesting information on how her rings are made and I'm looking forward to more :)

A custom order, a trade and my new dolly closet :)

I recently received  a request from Rebecca (Squirrel Junkie) to make some custom necklaces for two very special Blythe dolls, Bea and Squirrel. These two dolls happen to be "Besties" and I was to make them matching squirrel necklaces. I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it. Squirrels have more detail than most of the beads I make for dolls and because I make them so small (under 10mm), I wasn't sure if it would actually end up looking like a squirrel. I was really happy with how easy it turned out to be and I was able to make two the same size. The stars must have been aligned properly that day, it usually takes me a few tries with  new designs to get them right. 

 

 Rebecca has an Etsy shop and makes some very cool things for doll lovers from her bunny nuggets to these adorable little wire hangers. I've had my eye on them and told her I would love to trade the necklaces for some hangers for my doll clothes. Look at the details of the wrappers, they even have a little bar code on them and come with two tiny little clothespins. ADORABLE!

So I picked up this little shelf at Michael's and spent some time painting it. I added a wooden dowel and voila, a dolly closet was born! I love how cute this turned out. I should have picked a bigger shelf though, I have way more clothes than that!

A gift for the girls

Blythe inspires so many people, I love it! We all know the dolls have inspired me in opening my Etsy shop and creating little lampwork necklaces for them but they have recently inspired my friend Amy, a fellow lampworker and knitter to create a truly wonderful gift. She made 4 beautiful hand knit helmets for my dolls and they came as a surprise one day in the mail. I was so surprised and delighted!

I have admired Amy's lampwork beads since before I started learning to make them five or six years ago. I remember having my eye on one of her bead sets on eBay and while I was in my studio struggling with learning to make my own beads, my husband bid on the auction and won them for me! I still have them, they are hanging in my studio. Amy makes really fun beads and uses bright fun colors.  Recently she has been making incredible lampwork glass moons electroformed in copper, her talent is amazing! Below you will see some of my favorites from her flickr. She sells her beads on eBay and through her Etsy shop, please stop by and take a look. You won't be disappointed!

It's Been A while....

Wow I hadn't realized it's been almost a month since I've updated my blog. I apologize! I have been working on some new necklaces for my Etsy shop and the time just got away from me.

I've had these "Dangly Dolly" and "Dancing Bear" necklaces in the works for some time now and I'm so excited about how they came out. I wanted to come up with a creative name for them but I'm stumped! My husband suggested the names I'm currently using but if anyone has any clever suggestions, please share, including any ideas for different styles. I have a lot more ideas but I really love your input and feedback.

I'm also introducing my new metal stamped necklaces for doll lovers and collectors.  They are hand stamped sterling silver discs and are really very cute. I have a lot of fun making these and have few more ideas for these as well. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I'm really looking forward to spring, it really motivates me and inspires my creativity! How about you?

My Blog Has Been Awarded a Sunshine Award!

Last week my blog received a wonderful compliment and Sunshine Award from Vicki, a fellow lampworker and jewelry artist. The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world. I am honored!

The rules for accepting the Sunshine award

~ Put the logo on your blog or within your post

~ Pass the award onto 12 bloggers ~

~ Link the nominees within your post ~

~ Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

~ Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.
 

After much thought, I nominate the following 12 blogs, their blogs and artwork inspire me in so many ways. Please check out each one, you won't be dissappointed!

Coloraddiction

Fuzzington

Jennifer Jangles

Julie Haymaker Thompson

Kitties & Cupcakes

Maybeads

Megan Downing

Ruby's Shoes

Skunkboy Creatures

Studio Marcy

Stuff By Xtine

Thompson Family Life

Get ready for Valentine's Day with the Crafting in Color Team on Etsy!

 

Let me start by saying I love Valentine's Day. I love the mood, the sweet red and pink hearts, flowers and candy you see everywhere. It doesn't have to be a big production, just a day to tell those close to you that you love them. A simple card or sweet treat goes a long way and if you would like to give something more there are wonderful handmade gifts available on Etsy. I have dressed my shop for Valentine's Day as well, with some teddy bear necklaces, cupcakes, winged hearts and more.

You can see my lady bug necklace featured in this adorable treasury created by a fellow CIC Team member. CIC stands for Crafting in Color and I am a proud member! I am a color lover and when I found this team I joined right away. I am excited to be amongst so many talented artists that create stunning colorful, fun handmade items, if you have a moment, please have a look at our team's blog or search on Etsy "cic team" The treasury expires early Friday morning so please click and comment while you can!