Imagine...

I purchased a handmade purse from my friend Karen Grant today. You can check out her work at SimplyJune.com. Imagine this purse with black and white clay beads added to the strap. I think I just discovered my next project!

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New Packaging Slips

The wine glass markers and a few snowflake ear ring orders are ready to ship. I want the end recipients to know that these items are handcrafted - and not Walmart jewelry! My sister helped me with a new packaging slip design. The slip explains the clay cane process and includes my logo and contact info.

I gathered a few ideas at a stamping party today. I think I may try to get the logo made into a stamp or attempt to make my own using a block-style eraser. I love new ideas....

More Wine Please!

Here's a shot of the wine glass markers that I've completed so far. I still have a bunch of colors to make.

Bring on the Wine

I spent the day designing wine glass charms. It's the classy alternative to using plastic cups and Sharpie markers. Here's a shot of my first one as well as the work in progress.
The trick here is to make each one unique. So, I went a little crazy creating different colors. I'm planning on varying the designs as well. This project took a little longer than expected because I made way too many! I have an order for a set of 10 and will hopefully be able to gift or sell the rest. Watch this space for a finished shot tomorrow.

Signature Stamp #4 in the Lead!

With only 2 days left to vote, design #4 is in the lead. Can you guess which one I picked? Hint, hint, check the blog header. :) Keep the voting going. This is soooo high tech - no hanging chads; just simple little radio buttons. The voting bar is on the right and the designs are in my Oct 7th post.

Inspirations on the Vineyard

I just returned from a 4-day weekend on Martha's Vineyard. About 5 min after we got off the ferry we were at Beadniks - a really cool , but expensive bead supply story on the island. I fell in love with their copper accessories and plan to use them with my new rustic colored clay beads. Check out the sweet clasp in this photo!

We had a blast cycling around the island and managed to peddle about 90 miles in total. I achieved my season goal of 20 miles @ 20 mph....OK...OK...I had a little help from my friends! Drafting is such a beautiful sport. :)

Out of the saddle, I was able to design a necklace as well as a bracelet and ear ring set for Marylee. I even managed to persuade a few onlookers to join the fun by making gifts for loved ones. Here's a shot of the table we took over and Steve making a birthday gift for his wife. We advised him that perhaps the wine glass marker would go nicely alongside a purchased gift.

Christmas Ideas

I'm starting to plan Christmas jewelry ideas for friends and family. Last year, I did my best to design pieces that fit the recipent's favorite colors and styles. Attached are 2 of my top picks from last Christmas.

Building Inventory

My inventory is growing!

Talented Sister Designs New Signature Stamps

My talented sister designed a few new signature stamp options for me this weekend! She's so much better with Photoshop that I am. She emailed me 7 options - woo hoo - which I've included below. The top row features the logo design; the bottom row shows you what the imprint will look like on a clay piece. Try my new voting feature (on right) to let me know which one is your favorite.

Have you seen my table?

I can't believe it's 10:30 PM on Sunday night .. the weekend of blogging, beading, biking and friends is at an end. Boo hoo.

Just realized that I haven't posted a blog update all week - yikes! I keep starting new projects without finishing any. Here's a few shots of my weekend work in progress. If only you could see my kitchen table...no really...if only you could see space on the kitchen table. It's just piles of beads, clay, tools and my latest shipment from Fire Mountain Gems. I think I may need to latch onto this studio thing that other artists rave about. Imagine a real place to keep all my "stuff" without junking up the house.

Translucent Clay Creates 3D Effect

Here's a few shots of a teal necklace I finished. I used translucent clay around the flowers for a cool 3d effect.