Chinook Jewelry Blog

Ups and Downs...

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:50:00 +0000

It was a week of having hopes dashed but a few beady silver linings did appear.

All signs seemed to point to this beautiful boy joining our family...

Unfortunately it wasn't until a third email exchange and a week's time that we learned that were were in fact the second applicants for him, not the first. My fingers remain crossed (and the pupper's paws are crossed as she would LOVE a little brother) that the first applicants decide that he's just too much of a love bug to take home so that he can come live with us instead!

There also was a little thing this week with a dream home that isn't to be, but on the upside, the speech therapy app I've been working on for months went live in the app store this weekend.

Beads help make things better too! I was so lucky to receive a spectacular assortment of lampwork in a giveaway held by the lovely Lesley of Thea Jewellery. All of the beads in the collage (plus a bunch more) with the exception of the set in the bottom left corner were from Lesley's stash. She sent some awesome focals as well as some really lovely coordinating sets. The set at the bottom with the sweet little bird and nest are also a giveaway winning, that one from Marianna of Star Girl Jewelry and Lampwork Glass. They're super cute!

Of course, as is my way, I'll just hoard these babies for a little while...keep them out on my coffee table in a little bowl and admire them!

Don't forget to join up on Tuesday with your virtual design plans for this little petal pink imprinted heart!

Hope your weekend was wonderful :)

Blog Partners?

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:33:00 +0000

Yoo Hoo...anyone out there? I heard from Patty so I have one of my three blog partners confirmed. After drawing three more times with random.org and landing on three more blog partners without the blog button up, I decided I'd remove those names as I came across them, so if you no longer see your name there that's the reason. If your name is still listed and you do want to continue to participate, please double check that you have the blog button on your sidebar!

So... Cilla Watkins and Linda Landig are you up to join Patty for the blog partner challenge this month? I'd like to send out the goodies on Saturday at the latest so hopefully you're keeping up with your blog reading this week!

What Would You Do? Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

I don't know how this week has already gotten away from me! Tuesday evening I realized that a) it's almost Wednesday and b) it's the first of the month! So that means first it's time to find out if you had any inspiration from the chunky buttons I posted last week....

I don't use a lot of buttons in my jewelry designs so I really hope to see some creative inspiration with these.

Link up here with your ideas:

I think I'd like to see a necklace using one button in an asymmetrical front loop closure. Maybe with a pop of color from some recycled sari ribbon? These lovlies are offered by designtalentedone on Etsy.

Wouldn't it be nice to see some little floral accents with a bit of shine like a Green Girl Studios flower?

I might need a little bit more shimmer but I'm stumped for what else to include. Any ideas?

There are so many wonderful blog challenges, hops, parties and soups going on that I think my weekly virtual design challenge is a little much for most people's overloaded plates so I'll scale back to once a month in the hope that it will be more accessible for participation. Hmmm, how about this little heart with a Valentine's Day reveal date?

Took a couple of tries to draw eligible blog partners for my blog partner renewal! The lovely Erin Prais-Hintz contacted me after my last post and said if her name was selected to give someone else a chance. Of course, given the way the universe works, the first name selected was Erin's!

So I re-drew and selected: Wendy Blum... who I don't have a blog link for! Wendy, if you see this in the next 48 hours please contact me!

I then drew another name but they didn't have my blog partner button up so I had to try again...

Yay for Cindy Cima who was all set with her blog button!

...and then there was another name without a blog button... and one more... before Patty Gasparino saved me from a sure fate of throwing in the towel for the evening!

So, Wendy, Cindy and Patty...send me an email and let me know if you can commit to having your piece ready for reveal on the last Monday of the month.

I'll keep the names that I drew who didn't qualify on the list for one more drawing then I'll clean out the list and remove any names where the blog button isn't visible.

Thanks for participating!

Blog Partner Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:30:00 +0000

I completely forgot to post a quick note about the blog partner program! I know I've been on hiatus for a couple of months, but I've reworked things and I'm ready to give it a go again for a 3 month trial.

I don't want to be a Negative Nelly about the program but it seemed that on the first go around I received minimal traffic as a result, so I'm going to give it one more shot before I abandon the idea. I really want it to be mutually beneficial...bring my partners some blog visits as well as introduce my work to people who may not have seen it just via my blog. So if I could pretty please ask that the participants who are newer to blogging or have a lower number of blog followers do what they can to spread the word...Facebook, Twitter...whatever!

There are a couple of changes I wanted to just update everyone with...the people who contacted me about participating in the past are listed on the blog partner page and everyone listed is eligible for a random drawing for something to create with. I'll choose three participants each month and announce the names on the 1st of the month. Those whose names are drawn have 48 hours to get back to me to confirm that they will be able to have a creation ready to blog on the last Monday of the month and send me their mailing address.

If I draw a name and they don't have my blog button up on their blog or don't respond within 48 hours, I'll select a replacement randomly from the list.

Please check my Blog Partner tab at the top of the page to make sure your name is listed if you had asked to participate and that the link to your blog works.

Any questions? Email me or leave a comment!

What Would You Do?

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:30:00 +0000

So last week I showed you a little pair of coral zinnia charms to come up with design ideas...did they spark your creativity?

So link on up and show off what you created in your mind's eye!

Here is what I came up with! I think I'd use the charms to make earrings, it seems to be my default whenever I have pairs of things...

I'd start with these ear wires from Ornamentea to echo the little round stamen in the charms:

and add a little sparkle with some Czech Glass in Garnet from Beadsandbotanicals on Etsy:

some more brass with this Vintaj filigree:

...and from the bottom I'd dangle the zinnia charms!

Now how about buttons for next week? Anyone out there with non-jewelry ideas as well?

These buttons are a good chunky size, about 1 3/8 by 1 inch. Use one or use both in your imagined creation, it's up to you!

Did I Show You?

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

This most lovely little silver winged heart pendant that I picked up on my trip to Dallas?

It was part of my birthday shopping spree gift from M and K...I picked it up, put it back, picked it up and so on as I debated whether I should choose it but finally I gave in and decided that it would be layered with a special pendant that I'll make just to go with it. The only problem is that I haven't quite decided on what that special pendant should be! I'll take suggestions if anyone has ideas...

I did a rush firing this week and as a result ended up with one major FAIL.

Unfortunately I think it would have been one of my all time favorites if it would have worked. The good news is that I should be able to make it again more carefully so it doesn't separate during firing. I have several others that I only bisqued so I'm debating whether or not to bother with the glaze firing in case they suffer the same fate.

Luckily the other items in the kiln behaved appropriately! I'm digging that big chunky cuff focal!

Of course with Valentine's Day not that far off, I've started bumping up my heart production.

On a technical note, I'm not thrilled with my photos above but they were taken indoors under lousy artificial light at night...but...I did have my camera set on full manual mode so I'm just happy you can tell they're pendants and not abstract art! One of my goals this year is to learn to operate my camera properly, not just mostly but really know what the settings do. I found this great blog with steps for 31 days to shooting in manual mode and I'm working my way through. Even thought they're starting off mediocre at best, I suppose by putting the photos on here as I go along will let me show progress, right?

Just try not to laugh too hard :)

Have you seen this yet?

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

A cute PDF 2012 owl calendar!

Even better, you can choose from a bunch of different illustrations from a variety different artists or just go with their ready to go line up!

What Would You Do? Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

What a week! Hubster and I were knocked out by a major case of the flu and ended up out of commission for the entire week. I don't remember the last time I've been so sick and although the bug has passed, I'm still really drained. Regardless, the show must go on and I finally have the kiln firing today.

Anyway, that brings us to the piece I previewed last week for What Would You Do? Link up and share what you'd pair with this Pond glazed Architectural Bracelet Bar!

Here's what I came up with for this one!

These little lampwork spacers from The Spacer Shop on Etsy to bring out the khaki shades...

Maybe some pretty Kyanite beads to bring out the blues? I found these round beads from eightjewelry on Etsy...

I like the idea of making the bracelet a triple strand so this pretty silver clasp from SpinellaDesigns on Etsy would be the perfect finish...

Thanks for joining in on the blog hop! Do you have any other suggestions for good color combinations with this piece?

For next week, how about charms?

Blog Hop!

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to my first What Would you Do? Blog hop! Here's the pendant I challenged you to come up with pairings for...

My Aurora Borealis stamped pendant

Check out what everyone came up with!

I really like these sterling pinch bails from Art Beads...a nice quick way to attach a pendant to a strung design.

Keeping the floral theme I thought a nice multistrand clasp (also from ArtBeads.com) would do the trick as well.

I found these faceted Fancy Jasper ovals on Etsy from BirdDesigns. My biggest challenge in jewelry design is always breaking out of the monochromatic mode so I like the natural variation of Fancy Jasper to do it for me!

Of course I can't stray too far from my matchy-matchy tendencies so throwing some Picasso Czech glass in green brings me back to my comfort zone!

I hope you enjoyed everyone's creative combinations. Thanks to those who joined in for the inaugural week!

Here's the preview for next week so you can start the process...

A Pond glazed bracelet bar. So start digging through your bead stashes and favorite online shops for inspiration!

What Would You Do?

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:11:00 +0000

So I thought it might be fun if each week I post a pendant or some beads and ask for you all to jump in and show off what you would pair with them! So here's the pendant for the week that I submit to you for fun and games...

One of my wooden fabric stamp pendants in Aurora Borealis.

Here's how it will work...on Wednesday morning I'll have a "What would you do Wednesday" post where I'll share links to anyone who is participating. If you're interested in joining in, just email me a link to your post by Tuesday night and I'll link you up!

Join in and show off the beads, findings, cords or ribbons that you'd use with this pendant! I can't wait to see what everyone else would do.

Pendant of the Week...

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:52:00 +0000

Thought I'd start taking a moment to highlight a pendant that I have in stock along with some ideas of what it might pair nicely with for color inspiration!

Blue Charcoal Architectural pendant...

find it here

Blue Sponge Coral rounds:

find it here

Some pretty lampwork by SueBeads:

find it here

and maybe a touch of silver:

find it here

or blue leather cord:

find it here

or a nice silk cord assortment?

find it here

Do you have any other ideas on what to mix the pendant with?

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:28:00 +0000

What a beautiful day here in Southern California! Not at all what I would expect for the middle of winter, it's sunny and somewhere in the mid 70's at our place. So it was worthy of getting pupper leashed up and heading up the hill for a little hike.

We have a low key New Year's Eve planned with neighbors, wine and cheese. Sounds like I should be able to get some Mexican Train Dominoes played too which will make up for the lack of board game playing on my birthday this year!

2011 was certainly not without it's ups and downs. We were still recovering (does one ever "recover"?) from the loss of hubster's father when his mother passed away as well. That made for several particularly tough stretches including right now with Christmas and the start of a new year.

On the positive side, we were so incredibly fortunate to visit Peru this summer which was an experience we're not likely to forget...aided by the over 3000 photos I took while there!

I was humbled to find out that two of our fellow travelers had the photo I took of Machu Pichhu blown up (to huge), framed and now have it hung prominently in their homes.

Now we're just trying to make the decision on whether we'll join up with some of the group this summer for a trip to Turkey. I'm not sure I can do without a trip to the spice market there so it's certainly a strong possibility.

We were able to take summer and a fall road trips to Napa/Sonoma with our dear friend, J, and pupper was even able to join us for the Thanksgiving trip thanks to space in my new (to me) SUV. Really what came out of both of those trips (and our recent trip to Dallas), was waaaay too much good food!

I traded out my big daddy kiln for a new one that fired to the correct temperature (so much more functional now!) and in the process was given a vintage but working motorized potter's wheel...no progress to report there, I'm still horrible at throwing! Ahhh, I feel a resolution coming on...

Speaking of resolutions...perhaps I need to actually start sewing the handbag I showed you back in February? Oh, the duvet cover isn't done either in case you were wondering... I did make the apron though!

My new camera has been fantastic...another resolution alert...but I'm still horrible at shooting in anything other than automatic or priority modes. Kelley continues to be my inspiration in making manual happen! That said, at least I still couldn't be happier with my choice of camera bag.

It's been a perfect airplane carry on bag for me and did a great job the whole time we were in Peru.

What else happened this year? It seemed to go by so fast! My sister had her 4th kiddo...three boys to follow my niece who visited this summer.

Now to close out the year, I'm now officially an app developer as part of my "real world" job...fingers crossed, my speech therapy app will be in the app store in the next few weeks! I think that the real wold work, like developing an app, kept me from as much bead making as I would have liked this year...I moved my office location too which was more time consuming than expected.

How about a random neat tip to start off the New Year's celebrations? I saw the greatest thing at one of the restaurants on our TX trip, upcycling empty liquor bottles as pretty water pitchers! Conveniently we polished off the last of a bottle of 1800 tequila in margaritas this week and a quick wash to remove the labels left me with this snazzy new way to keep water cold in the fridge. I can never bear to put old tequila bottles out for recyling since they're so pretty, this will be the perfect solution for them!

Do you have any fun entertaining tips to share to start off the New Year?

Wrapping up the Year...

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

with all of the lovely jewelry creations that I've failed to show off from talented jewelry artists!

I have photos to share that have been hibernating on my desktop for weeks and weeks... creations by Lorelei Eurto and Kim Burkhart.

It's so rare that I get to meet people (in person) who have purchased my pendants, so it was such a treat when Kim happened to stop in to the Ruby Tuesday Bead Company while I was there for a trunk show this summer!

Kim's business name is Her Gypsy Soul (website isn't complete yet but there's an email link there if you'd like to contact her).

Then there's a parade of pieces by Lorelei Eurto...where she finds the time to create so prolifically is beyond me!

I hope you found some inspiration in these beautiful pieces!

I wish you a Happy New Year full of creativity!

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:37:00 +0000

My blog hiatus has been due to a fantastic trip to Dallas, Texas to visit dear friends and have a birthday celebration!

The hubster gave me a new 50mm f/1.4 lens as one of my birthday gifts this year so my primary mission during our visit was to take a gazillion photos...thankfully M and K are exceptionally good sports (and a photogenic pair)!

K's birthday is the day before mine so it turned out that we basically got to have a two day birthdaypalooza! Sushi for her birthday then steak for mine (we were in TX after all!).

Note K's most fantastic coat...a total steal from an adorable shop that we did our birthday shopping at. Until shopping there I had no idea that $500 cowboy boots would be something I'd ever dream about owning! (I expect that to just stay a dream though!)

We also found the most fabulous festive jingle rings for only $5 that we proceeded to wear the rest of our visit...poor hubster and M were hearing bells in stereo- especially since K and I are apparently quite the "talk with our hands" types!

Although a chilly, gray day on my birthday, we made the trip over to the Arboretum where there was much to be seen... (K knitted that gorgeous chunky scarf I'm wearing in the pic!)

acorns to be nibbled...

frogs to be kissed...

and birds to be captured on camera!

One evening M also drove us around the neighborhoods with giant homes and even more impressive Christmas light displays! Couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my birthday this year :)

And so I leave you with the Texan holiday wish...Merry Christmas y'all!

The Newsletter has Landed!

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:29:00 +0000

Are you on the list? I just sent out my Fall/Winter/Holiday newsletter early this morning and it appears that everyone is out shopping based on the number of people who have opened it! If you didn't receive it you can check it out here.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! As with last year, we ate (and drank) our way across Napa and Sonoma counties.

Pupper found the grass between the vines to be particularly delicious!

We stopped at a winery that had all sorts of interesting sculpture on the grounds...

The hubster and pupper obliging for a photo op...

How could we not stop for a pasture of fresh wooly little sheepy lambs? They were still all wobbly and bouncy.

More of the pupper and hubster...this time with the statue of St. Francis...

Did I mention the yummy food? The fries at Freemont Diner had fresh garlic, a little green onion and lemon zest...mmmm!

Breakfast deliciousness...herbed goat cheese on baguette (that's hubster's pumpkin waffle in the distance next to our pumpkin spice chai lattes)...

Hope you enjoyed our trip with us! The only thing we're missing is leftovers :)

Bring on the Challenge!

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:56:00 +0000

The ever so creative Michelle Mach has just thrown down the gauntlet on another challenge! This time, with a perfect wintery twist, a Snowflake kit that can be used for anything...jewelry, decor...the sky's the limit!

Here's what she's included:

A handmade porcelain pendant and two snowflake links by moi! I created this pendant pattern and glaze combo especially for this challenge!
A selection of Czech glass beads and button pearls (Rings & Things), and pewter daisy spacers (Antelope Beads).
A silver-plated ring from Ornamentea.
Michelle has packaged everything together in a little kraft jewelry box and tied it with some beautiful ribbon and included an embossed gift card that she created.

Look how pretty!

I hear the kits are zipping off the shelves and she only has 30 to go around so if you're interested you might want to hop to it! Once the kits sell out I will be offering the pendants and links individually on my website if you missed out and still want to participate in Michelle's blog hop.

I can't wait to see what everyone creates...the reveal is on January 15th so you have plenty of time and you could always do double duty and make a gift out of it.

You can pick up your kit here...looks like they're already 1/2 gone and they were just listed today!

Pink Poppy Pretties...

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 03:35:00 +0000

Check out what Janet of Pink Poppy has in her shop!

Lots of pretties to check out and I even spied some of my pendants and charms hiding over there...

Stop by to visit and give her some love!

Catching up...

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +0000

I'm not even going to try to make excuses for my lack of blogging...I've been a terribly neglectful poster lately.

First things first, Marcie of La Bella Joya posted her October Blog Partner creation...you can check it out here. She also showed some great bead combinations to coordinate with a selection of my pendants, a great idea if you could use a little inspiration!

Another peek at some customer work...this one by Erika!

I was so excited to receive a package in the mail this week from Ornamentea. A while back I was the lucky winner of a copy of Heather Power's Jewelry Designs from Nature and some goodies.

Look at all those fun components! Some Elaine Ray beads, fun metal components, a little sparkly round, leather and waxed linen.

I was particularly excited to receive a copy of the book, as my floral pendant and charm are used in one of the necklace projects and another pendant is pictured as well (that's my Sari Rectangle in Blue Charcoal).

The lack of posting doesn't mean that the kiln has been quiet!

Lots of bracelet cuffs have made it to the website and I have a little stack of pendants that need to be scanned to add to the site that have been sitting on my desk for the past two weeks.

With all of my neglectfulness blogging it's carried over to my visits to other blogs as well so I apologize for not stopping to leave comments and chat...I'm still popping in to read posts (although usually 2-3 days after the fact) but I'm way behind at this point. The goal for this week is to get the blog partner stuff all organized again and have pieces to send out so we can get a batch blogged before Christmas hits!

I've missed interacting with you all!

October Blog Partners

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:12:00 +0000

Jean Yates is the first blog partner to reveal her creation for October...

I sent out something a little different to the blog partners this month, a stoneware disk with a three dimensional patterned butterfly taking flight (I also included a porcelain button in one of my tried and true patterns).

Jean is so creative with her jewelry designs and did something I haven't seen with one of my pendants before...check out those little pearly embellishments! What a great idea for blinging out some pendants...I could see swarovskis for an accent working great as well. Thanks so much for sharing Jean!

If you like the style of the raised butterfly I have one more listed in a big circle pendant style on the website

and there are a few smooth disk pendants that would lend themselves well to a little Jean-esque blingy treatment too!

What a loss...

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:34:00 +0000

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs

Bracelet Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 19:41:00 +0000

Whew, what a week! My Thursday announcement for the bracelet winner was preempted by an invitation to a Bunko party with a group of lovely ladies who live in my neighborhood. I had quite a debut in my first attempt at the game...I won the prize for most rounds lost!

Anyway, congratulations are in order for Sharon of Livewire Jewelry, she's the winner of my size small leather wrap bracelet. Sharon, send me a quick email with your mailing address and I'll get it on its way for you!

Giveaway and Public Service Announcements...

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:37:00 +0000

So there is a giveaway to be had here today, but first a couple of business items to get out of the way (of course I can't stop you from just scrolling down to the giveaway and ignoring all of my blathering on if you'd prefer! It's at the end.)

First, after some thought I've decided to add everyone who is interested to my blog partner list instead of capping it at 12 people. I'll still only be selecting 3 (or maybe 4 if I've had a really good firing month) people each round but I think it's a good idea to widen the pool a bit. If you're interested in participating, check out the partner tab at the top of my page here, grab the button code and let me know you're in!

I will be re-evaluating whether or not to continue the program at the end of the year. I love to see what people create with what I've sent out but I haven't yet seen it result in any significant return traffic so we'll see how it goes.

On the topic of blog partners, I forgot to share the gorgeous pieces that Sue Kennedy and Lorelei Eurto created for September! Lorelei's is above and Sue's two pieces are below...

Ok, on to the giveaway (but not without one more commentary item...). Nothing is more discouraging to me than being the winner of a giveaway and having the person hosting the giveaway not send out the prize (or in some cases, not even respond to the email/comment where they have been given my contact info). It's happened to me twice now (two different blogs) and I recently had an email conversation with another blogger who had it happen to them, which made me realize that it's probably more widespread than I thought.

I will ALWAYS respond to the winner and send out the prize...if for some reason you should not receive it, please let me know. On the flip side of that, when I win something on a blog giveaway, I try to blog about it to show a picture and provide a link back to the person hosting the giveaway...I think it's just a nice way to acknowledge that you received the item. That's just me, in no way is it a requirement when I hold my own giveaways...although I really do appreciate an email to let me know it arrived safely.

Ok, off my soapbox and on to the prize...
You've probably seen these wrap bracelets all over the place lately...I first came across them on the Ornamentea blog where I followed the link to Honestly WTF where she has an awesome tutorial with step by step photos. After accumulating all the necessary ingredients to whip one up, I realized that I wanted one of my ceramic beads for the closure...which meant a 3 week wait until I fired the kiln! So finally after much delay I made one...and misjudged the length...which has left me with a lovely double wrap bracelet that moderately reduces blood circulation in my hand. So...my lack of planning is your gain! Up for grabs (hopefully to someone with more dainty wrists than I have!) is a chocolate leather, shiny brass and turquoise thread double wrap bracelet with one of my buff stoneware turtle glazed round beads at the closure.

(sorry for the kind of lame photo, took it quickly this super overcast morning)

To enter, leave a comment on this post by Wednesday, September 28th. I'll randomly select a name on Thursday afternoon and announce the winner that evening. You get one entry for your comment and you can leave additional comments for entries if you "like" my page on Facebook (link on the sidebar), blog, FB or tweet about the giveaway.

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Bracelet Cuffs!

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:00:00 +0000

A whole bunch of new pieces just landed in the website! First, a collection of bracelet cuffs and bars made from speckled stoneware clay and featuring imprinted designs from hand carved wooden fabric stamps.

I usually work with porcelain (despite having 25-50 pounds each of chocolate, red, buff and now speckled stoneware hanging out in my garage) but there are certain glazes...like my oil slick glaze below...that are just so much prettier on a colored clay body.

I took some of the little curved wing butterflies that you may have seen used by my blog partners this month and put them on some pendants for a little three dimensional pop...I think I'll keep playing around with this!

Last but not least, a little curved flower charm, also similar to those that my blog partners received this month.

If you see something you like, jump on it! I don't plan on doing another kiln firing for 3 weeks- I think I need to clear my plate for a few days and just take care of other things that have been stacking up. This time of year with the start of the school year tends to increase my feelings of frazzledness! I'll try not to neglect the blog so much though! Check out the sidebar over there, I'm on FaceBook now too...even if there hasn't been a blog post there might be some quick updates happening over there.

September Blog Partner Reveal!

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Patty Gasparino of My Life Under the Bus was one of my blog partners this month! Check out these peeks of her creations then head over to her blog to see the full views of the pieces.

Lorelei Eurto and Sue Kennedy also participated this month...I hope to have photos to share here soon!

A Bunch of Treasuries...

noreply@blogger.com (Mellisa) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:13:00 +0000

I rarely check to see if any of my Etsy items have made their way into a treasury but the great post by Michelle Mach today reminded me that there's an easy way to do it! Go on over to her post to see the details and check out the first treasury below that she created...