The Clay Geek's Blog

Finally Time

2012-11-09T10:27:00.000-05:00

I finally have some time to post something here. Last weekend I was at the Santa's Stocking Craft Bazaar, and I had a lot of fun! I felt like the show met my expectations as far as sales, and I still have a lot left over, so I may do another craft show in December.

Here are some pictures of my booth set up:

Nothing super special, but I think that I had everything laid out so it was easy to look at.
I was right next to a great vegan baked goods company, so I had to buy a few things, which were "delicious" according to my daughter (who turned two on Oct. 28th!!).

Close up shots of some of my earrings, I got a lot of compliments about the antler earrings!

Now that the show is over with, I've had some more time to get online, look at Etsy, and I just saw this great treasury on the front page:

'Hello Fun Gifts! - Christmas Beach Vibes' by pebblecreekcandles

Seashore Love - Key Hol... GiftsandStars $114.00	Aqua Blue Fun Stamped G... MyCardCupboard $2.50	Fox Christmas ornaments... oneeyeddog $25.00	Screen Printed Organic ... ohlittlerabbit $8.00
Embroidery Hoop Wall Ar... AthenaandEugen... $20.00	Adorable Vintage POLKA ... BabyshkasAttic $12.00	Crochet sculpture - blo... ulani $40.00	Turquoise Ombre Charm B... SeashoreLove $36.00
NOEL, Christmas decorat... seasawsign $79.00	CARDHOLDER 01 / caramel... BlackbirdAndTh... $15.00	thanksgiving favor boxe... greenbugmarket... $12.00	BEACH, OOAK license pla... UniquePl8z $30.00
Cute cerulean blue whal... misala $24.90	Found Feathers Archival... amberalexander $20.00	Nautical Christmas Bea... MeetMeByeTheSe... $42.95	Blue Chalcedony Earring... karinagracejew... $44.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

This treasury reminds me of some of my favorite things: my city, and favorite holiday! I hope you have a great weekend!

Dora Mania at My House!

2012-09-23T10:24:00.002-04:00

Lately my daughter has been all about watching Dora the Explorer when we let her watch T.V.
She has a "baby Dora" doll, some Dora themed shirts, and she picked out Dora as her birthday party theme.
So, yesterday we took her to Walmart for a Dora event. She got a ribbon twirler, and Walmart had a larger Dora poster that you could take your children's picture with.

This ribbon twirler (not sure if that is the correct term), is my daughter's new favorite toy. And it was free!
I found out about this event from a friend on Facebook, and there are other events coming up that aren't kid themed. Check them out here!

When I have a few minutes away from working on all of this jewelry for the craft fair, I have been trying to find some easy DIY activities to make for the birthday party next month. My daughter will be two! Do you have any ideas that you could share?

Still Working

2012-09-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to make a quick post to say that I am still around and still getting ready for a craft show in November! I hope to have everything finished up by the end of this week, and here are some
(not so great) pictures of earrings, pendants, and bobby pins:

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Busy, Busy Time!

2012-08-06T09:22:00.003-04:00

I've been trying to find the time to get some jewelry and other things created, for applying to the art show I plan to attend in November.

Between my little girl starting to teeth again and not want to sleep, and getting our house fixed up some, I haven't had much time to make anything, or post anything here.

This weekend, however, I was finally able to make some things! The show is a "Santa's Stocking" bazaar, so I thought I would also take a picture of some ornaments I made last year for the holiday season:

This year I made some holiday themed drawings and turned them into gift tags (not finished yet), and greeting cards (not pictured):

I finished the necklaces I have been working on:

And the rings that match some of them:

And then this weekend I made some stud earrings, some of which go with the rings/necklaces:

I also finished up some cane earrings to match the cuff I made:

I still have a ton to do but it has been great getting back into the swing of creating every day. I've set a goal to have everything finished up by the end of September so I can relax and enjoy October and my little girl's second birthday right before the show.

Although I haven't been blogging much, it has been nice to read all of the other blogs for some art inspiration at the end of each day! I also found a great article with pictures of some cool attic transformations, linked from mental_floss. You should check out both mental_floss magazine's blog and this article on the Amazing Attic Transformations.

P.S. - I've also been watching the Olympics, and recording some of it for my little girl to watch. She loved the gymnastics, especially Gabby Douglas, who is originally from our city. I loved hearing her scream "Whoa!" while watching.

Etsy Finds Thursday - Mold Making Update - and More

2012-07-19T07:30:00.000-04:00

Today I took two quick pictures of using the mold's that I made last weekend. I don't have my good camera right now, so they aren't the best pictures. Making molds with polymer clay does work better with more defined lines, but I think they will work for me for now. I have made molds by hand carving rubber in the past also.

First, though, I found some "flying" themed Etsy listings to share. My daughter has been fascinated with birds (or "birdy") lately, which got me searching yesterday during her nap for some "flying" inspiration. Going Clockwise:

1. Fly me to the moon and back quote poster by NeueGraphic
2. Nursery Mobile - Hot Air Balloon by ShopLittles
3. Silver kite necklace with Czech beaded bows by GeometricSkies
4. T16 Brass Flying Bird Ring by LaChicadelosAnillos
5. notebook - lined - flying fish by ARMINHO
6. Flying pig brooch with two pearly cloud brooches by OtherWorlds

And here are the two pictures of how using the polymer clay molds worked out:

Before: The molds worked well, of course the back is unfinished/blank, and I had to cut around the edges.

Painted quickly, this picture is before they were baked. I had to add the eye on the bird.

I also worked on a necklace last night using polymer clay, a shell from the beach that my daughter found, and a piece of sea glass that I have had for a while. I will try to get some pictures for tomorrow once I finish it. Have a nice Thursday, and a great weekend, but check back tomorrow for another post!

Wordless Wednesday - Paint and Canes

2012-07-18T07:30:00.000-04:00

Have a wonderful Wednesday! I added a Facebook comment section to my posts, if you prefer Facebook to make comments. (You can still use the blogger comment section too)

From the Weekend - Behind the Scenes

2012-07-09T07:30:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend I had a little time to try and make some molds with polymer clay. I will hopefully test them out later this week! In the meantime, today I am going back to the zoo with my daughter, since it has finally cooled down some around here.

And thanks to my father, My in-laws and family went to the Virginia Living Museum over the weekend also. Here's a picture of my little girl looking at some fish and her favorite, a sea turtle (not in the picture).

I also had time to paint my nails to go along with my outfit and one of the new rings I have made!

Check back later this week when hopefully I will have more interesting/artsy things to post!

Friday Fun - What can you do with Fishing Line?

2012-07-06T07:30:00.000-04:00

I know that many people use fishing line to hang all sorts of things. Mobiles, Ornaments, and Garland are just a few of them. I got a hold of some fishing line almost two years ago to hang a small mobile for my daughter, and then used it more recently in our home to make a line on our walls for me to clip and hang pictures/crafts from.

Now, I have been using it to paint with for the past few weeks! Here is some of what I have been working on:

I am not sure when I will be putting all of this on Etsy, I want to take my time getting better pictures and some more things made first. Is there anything other than fishing that you have used fishing line with? Let me know with a comment, and have a wonderful weekend!

Fishing - Line - Treasury Thursday

2012-07-05T07:30:00.000-04:00

It's Thursday, and I know some bloggers post about something that they are thankful for on this day. I am thankful for everything I have! Most of all my husband and daughter.

Today I am also thankful for one thing in particular: Fishing Line!

Mail Art - Found Fishing Lines and Hooks

So I created a treasury on Etsy after thinking about fishing line, fishing, and the sea. More about why I am thankful for Fishing Line will be up here tomorrow, so for now here is the treasury:

'Fishing from Line to Catch' by claygeekrachel

Beachcombing series No.... QuercusDesign $40.00	Hard Candy Sea Glass 3 ... andiespecialty... $12.50	Sailors Coffee Spoon Th... BlueSailStudio... $19.00	Sea Stars and Pearls mo... FactoryOfIdeas $52.00
Big Green Sea Glass Nec... recombobulated $39.00	Untitled (Fishing Pole) benquinnarts $15.00	Fishing Net Float Keych... SaltySail $12.00	Six Lure Collection myfishybusines... $40.00
Fish Wire Sculpture WiredbyBud $35.00	Deluxe Perfume Oil Samp... scentbythesea $12.00	Medium Blue Crab Vinyl ... WilsonGraphics $14.00	Fish Hook Bracelet - Br... vertini $20.00
Star fish, sea stars EvesLittleEart... $16.00	Fishing Pier, Folly Bea... sofielove $12.00	The Mermaid Bracelet - ... dreamsbythesea $40.00	Sebastian - Little Sa... wassupbrothers $40.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Check Back tomorrow for a preview of what I have been working on lately! Have a great Thursday.

My 50th Post! And a Happy 4th of July!

2012-07-04T15:47:00.000-04:00

I hope that everyone is having a great day today. What are your plans for the rest of the day? I am going to be cooking out with my husband and just spending time at home. We took our daughter to see fireworks for the first time last night, and took her to see her first movie at the theater today! Here are a few photos showing what I have been doing while not blogging:

Over the past two months, I have been working on some display options for my jewelry, taking care of my plants in the backyard, taking my daughter all over the place (beach, living museum, aquarium, petting farm), indulging in some cupcakes, and finally getting my daughter to sleep through the night in her bed.

I've also been working on some new art/jewelry finally. I felt like there was a hole in my life when I hadn't made anything in about a month.

My mother-in-law and some other family are coming in town soon, so I plan on working on some blog posts for next week over the weekend! Have a great holiday.

It has been a long two weeks!

2012-05-29T09:48:00.000-04:00

The past two weeks have been super busy around our house! Helping out family, a Doctor Appointment for my daughter, and trying to work on some new art, are just a few things that I have been doing. I will be (hopefully) able to post some new pictures of my work(s) in progress later this week. In the meantime here is an update on the plants in my backyard over the past two weeks:

Last Tuesday I got a picture of one of our cats outside by the plants. We don't usually let our cats outside but our fence is secure enough that they can't get out of it.

And today here are some pictures of the plants:
The petunias and geranium are all blooming well, we have our first roma tomato growing, and a bunch of strawberries are starting to grow too!

Over the holiday weekend, I had a chance to take our daughter to a pool also, she had fun once she got used to the water:

I hope that everyone has been having a great few weeks! What did you do over the weekend?

Etsy, Mother's Day Weekend, and Pinterest!

2012-05-14T06:30:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend I had some time catch up on blog posts by others. I attempted my first wire wrapped bangle bracelet, and got a package of findings, beads, and clay thanks to my husband! Mother's Day was one of the best day's I have had, and my little girl went to sleep without a big fuss.

I found an interesting blog post from Mental_Floss about the Founder of Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis. If you haven't read this blog before, you should take a look at it! I love their magazine too, which I got as a gift subscription a few years ago.

Source: mostbeautifulflower.com via Julie on Pinterest

After tonight, I will be putting my Etsy Shop on Vacation for a while (month at least). In that time, I plan on making some new jewelry, greeting cards, and taking better pictures. I am also thinking about applying to be in my first craft fair as a solo artist. It should be interesting! Have any of you sold your wonderful art in a fair/show before?

I've also been working on pinning all sorts of things on Pinterest the past few weeks. I can't always keep up with it, but over the weekend I thought I would search through Pinterest to find some of my inspiration for art right now. And here it is:

Colors

Source: pantone.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

Magritte - "Golconda"

Source: google.com via Jesse on Pinterest

Bow Ties

Source: melaniemauer.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Glasses

Source: njdqvhetxeulakpizqcjtokrx.plz.re via Lacee on Pinterest

Bangle Bracelets

Source: sammoon.com via Wendy Lafont on Pinterest

Happy Friday! Getting Ready For Mother's Day!

2012-05-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

I would like to post some pictures today of my wonderful daughter. This Sunday will be my Second Mother's Day since having her! I love everything about being a mom, and love that she is old enough now to make art with me. Here are some pictures of her a few weeks after she was born, and early last year: I've been making hair bows for her since then.

Here is part of a typical day with her now in picture form. Early morning fun with pipe cleaners for glasses, cracking up instead of taking a nap, and then showing me "teeth hurt"!

And here is a picture of part of her room/playroom, right after we finished it. I got a few things for her room from sellers on Etsy, including the quilt in the picture!

Now, I have been adding some things to a Pinterest board that would be for her either now or in the future. Here are a few things I have added:

Source: etsy.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Whether you are celebrating Mother's Day this weekend or not, I hope that you have a great weekend and didn't mind a peak into my personal life!

Make sure to check out my Etsy Shop for 30% off of everything! After Monday I will be putting my shop on Vacation for at least a month to get some extra time for creating.

Treasury Thursday! A Rainbow of Treasuries for You to See.

2012-05-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today I thought I would share a few Etsy Treasuries that I found, each one with a color theme.

'Must I paint you a picture?' by jazzberrylipstick

About the way that I feel?

PearlesPaintin... $14.00	FluidColors $38.00	storybookvinta... $14.00	ABitofWhimsyAr... $30.00
VintageLancast... $3.00	chickenandcust... $2.50	oOlives $28.00	Tarawinona $12.00
oneeyeddog $30.00	GingerRootVint... $38.00	LaurelPhotoand... $5.25	onor $69.00
DobleEle $13.70	Luncheonettevi... $114.00	FoxtailCreekSt... $12.00	LBCpaper $4.95

Treasury tool supported by three quick questions

'orange sherbet' by 3ringcircus

weekly VKC challenge

LazerBabyVinta... $12.00	mamamayberrys $10.00	familythreadla $24.00	GlitterDaisySh... $8.00
RefreshMyHeart $8.00	littlereadervi... $8.50	WheatHarvestVi... $35.00	PotatoCakeVint... $8.00
udaskids $15.65	GrownUpKid $4.00	Dentwood $13.50	sugarlovephoto... $20.00
CupcakeSocial $3.25	WonderlandToys $12.00	PrettyTape $4.00	BabyTweeds $50.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio

'Good Morning Sunshine' by Starpompon

gogovintage $46.00	linneaheideart $75.00	Iovelycrochet $12.00	theloveshop $20.00
PhatDog $48.00	bellesandcryst... $160.00	Thebracelettre... $22.00	magalerie $25.00
EnginsShop $25.00	accessoriesbyn... $15.00	Sudrishta $80.00	theflowerdesig... $15.00
asweetreverie $24.00	clacontemporar... $30.00	BestBobs $34.50	OUTLYING $149.00

Treasury tool supported by website usability testing

'Green and green' by ChristieConeCeramics

PinkSerissa $17.00	Techcycled $35.00	smartbirdie $10.00	ruddlecottage $10.50
crownofrue $4.25	StuffByKim $35.00	twicecreations $9.00	WinsomeGreen $3.00
LaAlicia $21.00	buttonsandbadg... $7.75	janejoss $15.00	Ecolovebeauty $3.50
StuffByKim $20.00	TerrariumHouse $98.00	bentbottle $32.00	eGardenStudio $16.00

Treasury tool supported by website usability testing

'Up' by palimpsestic

Raceytay $25.00	SpareBedroomSt... $28.00	pumpkinandbutt... $23.00	1madwoman $70.00
knifeinthewate... $18.00	CreaShines $19.00	Cookstah $8.00	InmostLight $22.00
Gelada $30.00	elisemahanfine... $9.00	lolide $148.00	CastleForAHous... $12.00
erindollar $40.00	missquitecontr... $6.00	gardenmis $20.00	MarysGranddaug... $425.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio

'New day' by AliquidTextileJewels

theYarnKitchen $35.00	wishdaisy $38.00	TerryGraziano $165.00	ArtAkimbo $40.00
nafanyafelt $49.00	BHBKidstyle $6.00	needleandfelt $18.00	lukesmom6 $42.95
beebleboy $25.00	EcoShag $18.50	kagikagi $13.00	ireneagh $8.50
katrinshine $20.00	AhoyAhimsa $25.00	ylleanna $18.00	redtilestudio $36.00

Treasury tool supported by website usability testing

Have a great Thursday!

Sit Back and Smell the Flowers - Wordless Wednesday

2012-05-09T06:30:00.000-04:00

My little girl showing me how to smell the flowers.

Have a great Wednesday! Check out some other Wordless Wednesday Posts.

Also, keep entering the Extreme Cash Giveaway.

And use code 30MAY at checkout for 30% off in my Etsy Shop!

Scrap Paper Mother's Day Card DIY- Mother's Day 2012 - How Tuseday!

2012-05-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

I found some great DIY instructions for beautiful handcrafted Mother's Day cards around the web last night. Here are three of them you should check out:

Quilted Mother's Day Greeting Cards from A Beautiful Mess Blog

Make Your Own Mother's Day Card from Duni's Studio

Make It : Mother's Day Robin Card with Rosa Clifford

Mother's Day is Sunday! So I thought I would also share a quick how-to for making a Mother's Day card with scrap paper. I used some spare scrapbook paper that I had, and a 5x7 (A7) blank greeting card. You can find blank greeting cards at many local big-name stores, and online also. You could also use blank card stock paper if you have it around your home!

Here's what I did, and the supplies I used:

In case you can't read the text on the pictures (the text is smaller than I thought), here are the steps:

Supplies: Blank Greeting Card or Card stock, Glue/Sealant, Paint, Pen, Your favorite quote or Poem, Scrap Paper ( I used Scrapbook paper), Paint Brush.

1. Draw a pattern on the blank card, and add colored paint of your choice (I used acrylic paint).
    Then paint over this with white paint before the colored paint has completely dried.

2. Write a quote or poem of your choice over the paint.
    Then lightly paint over the written text with white paint also.

3. Lay out the scrap paper in whatever pattern that you like.
    Seal it on the greeting card with glue or glaze. I used Inkssentials Glossy Accents.

Have a great Tuesday! If you have found any great how-to's today, or have one of your own, share them in the comments section of this post. I would love to check them out.

In my Purse - Etsy Finds and More!

2012-05-07T06:30:00.000-04:00

This week I am getting ready for Mother's Day! My daughter helped me draw some flowers over the weekend, and then she finger painted them for little gifts. These are for her grandma(s) and great grandma(s). I got an early Mother's day gift from my husband and her, A necklace that says "mom"!

This all got me thinking of some things I would love to get on Etsy once I make some more sales; or as a gift! I found some skincare products a few years ago from Skin Journey on Etsy, and I love one scent that they carry. I hope that they still have it available when I can make another purchase. I also found a nice wallet. So I thought that today I would post some Etsy and non-etsy items that I would (or do) keep in my purse.

Here is a collage picture of them all, with links to each item below:

#1. Foldover Clutch in Brown Leather by Jenny N Design
#2. Nerd Herder gadget wallet in Sepia Scene by RockitBot
#3. Moleskine 3 Pack of Kraft Plain Cahier Pocket Notebooks
#4. 10- 4"mini twig pencils by Ink Kit
#5. Circuit board Keychain Yellow by ReComputing
#6. Diaper Diddie(TM) Diaper Clutch with Built-In Changing Pad by The Pat - a - Cake Baby
#7. BIKE Pocket Mirror by boygirlparty
#8. Savannah Georgia- Whipped Body Emulsion by Skin Journey
#9. Cover Girl Exact Eyelights Mascara
#10. 6 Tube Lip Balm Set by Soap ( Bathing in Luxury)
#11. Piggy Paint Refined Nail Polish in color "In the Flesh"
#12. Hand Stamped Custom Stainless Steel Baby Spoon by Cupcake

I love the colors in the purse shown, and the gadget wallet would be great for what I usually carry in a purse! Moleskine journals are nice for jotting down anything, keeping my daughter entertained, and drawing, and the twig pencils would work well with them. I love that circuit board key chain!

The "Diaper Diddie" is for my daughter but would fit well in a purse. The Bike pocket mirror is cute, and would help with the makeup. I usually get Cover Girl mascara just because it is easy to find.

I would Love some more Savannah, Georgia scented anything by Skin Journey, and the Lip Balm looked nice on Etsy! I have a few colors of Piggy Paint nail polish, and can even use it with my daughter. She loves getting her toes painted.

And finally the spoon is because we usually need one at some point of the day for my daughter to eat with.

What do you have in your purse right now, if you use one?

Have a fun Monday! Make sure you keep entering the Extreme Cash Giveaway on the Blog, and I am still having a 30% off Sale on Etsy through next Monday!

Some Mother's Day Finds, and a Sale on Etsy!

2012-05-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here are a few items from teams I am a part of on Etsy that could be used as Mother's Day gifts. Have you purchased something handmade for your mom this year? Or do you plan on making a gift yourself?

Felted Flower Pincushion in Blue Vintage Ceramic Vase

Vintage Teapot Georgian Gibsons Staffordshire England Pink 1950s

Custom Personalized hand stamped Zodiac Family Necklace

Make sure to check out these Etsy shops for other great Mother's Day gift ideas:

N. Fallon Design Studio , Black Willow Soaps , Art Sings 1946 , and Watty's Wall Stuff and Cross Stitchery

This weekend, my mother and sister are taking my little girl to make a cool Mother's Day mini garden for me, while my husband and I go see a movie. Looks like it will be fun for her:

Mini Garden Workshop Hampton Roads

Starting last night, I started a sale at my Etsy store. I have decided to take a break after May 15th from selling on Etsy (putting my shop on vacation), for a few reasons:

1. To spend some time going to the pool/other fun places with my girl.

2. To finish making a few new "products" to post on Etsy later

3. To get some new and some better pictures of my artwork!

So, if you have anything you were thinking of purchasing at my shop, use the code: 30MAY at checkout for a 30% discount!

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I will have a new post up Monday! Make sure to keep entering the Extreme Cash Giveaway too, there is only 10 days left!

Worldess Wednesday: My Art/Gaming Desk, and A Wish!

2012-05-02T08:05:00.002-04:00

For today's Wordless Wednesday, I thought I would post a picture of my desk, and what is on it. I also found this great idea for craft supply storage that I would love to have hanging right above my desk! I was trying to take pictures of me and my little girl holding hands yesterday, and the last picture is the best one I got. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

From the Blog: Holly's Arts and Crafts Corner

May Day, Beaded Things, and Flowers! A great Combination!

2012-05-01T11:37:00.000-04:00

Happy May Day! When I was a kid, in Elementary school, I remember having a May Day festival with the pole and everything. But, by the time my sister, who is 5 and 1/2 years younger than me, got to Elementary school, they didn't celebrate May First in the same way. They still had a "free day" for the kids, but just had them play games outside all day. Do you celebrate May Day at all?

Today to go along with working on the bracelets I have started, and May Day, I thought that it would be fun to post a treasury from Etsy, and a collection from Artfire. Here they are:

'Jewelry Gifts for Mother's Day in Turquoise, Orange, Yellow, Purple' by SweetAndSassyCouture

Bead Necklace,turquoise... audreyjewelry $26.00	Semi precious yellow ma... earjeans $35.00	Purple Bracelet FREE sh... TinkerGirls $20.00	Orange Necklace - Mul... YAFITIK $68.00
Neon Orange Bracelet Be... Jalycme $24.00	Monroe - Chunky 35mm Fa... Tessyla $165.00	Yellow earrings - sunny... MayaHoney $16.00	Sterling Silver Amethys... SavvySilver $175.00
Silver and Purple Neckl... PriscillasJewe... $19.00	Flower jewelry, orange ... WickedRuby $22.00	Turquoise Bracelet - Tu... BeadzNBling $22.00	Yellow Bubble Bib Neckl... ilycouture $49.00
Cushion Cut Yellow Chal... delezhen $62.00	Purple Amethyst Crystal... CameronsJewelr... $20.00	Orange Turquoise Statem... WildflowersAnd... $69.00	Turquoise Earrings, Lar... JulianaWJewelr... $24.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio

Spring Beaded Flowers

Curated By: theclaygeek

ArtFire.com

Craft Tutorials

It's Monday again! I'm on ArtFire now.

2012-04-30T11:32:00.000-04:00

Just got my daughter down for a nap after her play group, so I can make a new post today!
Over the weekend, I decided to make an ArtFire account. So far I really like it, and everyone there has been very nice and helpful. I have the same items there that I do on Etsy right now.
I found out that on ArtFire you don't need an account to make a purchase, so I thought it would be a good option for some customers! I can't wait to see how things go there. There is a link to my artfire site on the right side of this blog.

Also over the weekend, I started working on some bracelets. I hope to finish them today so I can post them throughout the week on both sites.

Now, summer is fast approaching, and that means wearing sunglasses for some people! Here is a great DIY post I found on changing up your sunglasses: DIY: Miu Miu Inspired Sunnies

From http://becauseimaddicted.net

And here are some handmade and vintage listings that are sunglasses themed:

Handcrafted Wood Veneer Sunglasses

Mr. Mustache Ring with Sunglasses

Vintage Orange 1980s Sunglasses

The Cool Tiger in Sunglasses 8x10 Print

I have a few pairs of sunglasses for my daughter, she loves them. Do you wear sunglasses? What style do you like best? I love comments here! Have a great Monday!

Small Backyard Makeover - After and Friday Fun!

2012-04-27T06:30:00.000-04:00

So to end the Backyard Makeover for this week, here are some pictures of working on the plants/pots, and some After pictures. It's still a work in progress, but that just means I will have to post an update in a month or so!

My little girl helped me out by pulling out some of the soil,
and of course getting it all over herself! After this picture,
she ran around after me saying "Hands!"
until I could find something to wipe them off with.

Planting the Seed Paper that was from my Wedding Reception!

View of all the pots and chairs together. I'm not sure where I want to position
them in the yard yet, so they are in the middle for now.

Three of the potted plants with a solar light that says "laugh".

Two Petunia Flower plants, along with a Geranium and the
"Petunias for my Petunia" Polymer Clay garden Marker that I made.

With the leftover soil that my daughter played with,
I planted a small patch of catnip seeds right outside of our back door for our cats.

And today one of our two bunny friends came to visit.
They usually come to our yard every day, and my daughter loves to go see them.

The plants that we ended up with are: Geranium, Petunia, Roma Tomato, Strawberry, Lemon Verbena, Leeks ( maybe for the bunny), Oregano, Catnip, Cilantro, Marigolds, and Mint. I am not sure what will grow from the seed paper yet.

There is another great Easy Plant Markers tutorial on this wonderful blog!

My family spent about 35 dollars to do this quick makeover. All that we had before was the two dark chairs, and the solar light that was given to me!

Stay tuned next week for some more handcrafted fun/finds. Keep entering the $500 cash giveaway on my blog, and take a look back at all of the posts this week in case you missed one. This weekend, I will be working on adding some new "In My World" series houses to Etsy, and possibly a greeting card that goes with them. Have a great weekend!

Gardening Treasury for Thursday!

2012-04-26T05:30:00.000-04:00

I've been looking around Etsy all week as I could to find some listings for a gardening themed Treasury for the blog. It took a while but I like how it turned out! Let me know what you think:

'A Garden Grows' by claygeekrachel

Planter English Daisy N... PeachesandPebb... $16.00	Naturally Grown Fractal... cubits $3.50	Nursery grow sign made ... OhDierLiving $42.00	Organic Lavender Spring... thesimplequiet $22.00
The chair- fine art pri... VintageChicIma... $15.00	10 DIY Vase Hangers Wid... treasureagain $46.50	Origami Lotus Flower De... fishandlotus $6.50	Daisy Resin Cube Neckla... SpottedDogAshe... $33.00
Three Vintage Garden- G... Surfaced $14.00	String Garden (Asparagu... EdenOnAString $35.00	Three Sets of Mini Chal... SophisticatedP... $27.00	Birdhouse Wallpaper jimmycricket $180.00
Mojito Jelly 4 oz.. kitchenvoodoo $6.00	garden art - Watering c... PhotographyDre... $11.00	New Orleans Salvage Win... RestorationHar... $195.00	white bird with ionanth... SASSYspaces $33.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio

This week I haven been working on some new additions to my "In My World" mini houses. So far I have only been able to get three more houses made, but I also figured out that I can get my daughter to hold still while she is awake long enough for me to get a few things made or painted, if she can play with clay! So I will be getting her some Play-doh/clay that is kid friendly ASAP.

I've also made a few of these little "My World Inhabitants" to go with the houses:
Not sure if I am going to try to add more to them or not yet. And I'm not so sure about the eyes either.

Tomorrow I will be posting a before and after of my backyard! It is still a work in progress but I like what we have so far. Have a great Thursday, and if you aren't, just think: tomorrow is Friday!

Wordless Wednesday - My Backyards

2012-04-25T05:48:00.000-04:00

This Wednesday I am posting three pictures of Backyards that I love! The first is a picture around the city I grew up in, and is similar to the backyard I had. The second is a family friend's backyard. And the third is a sneak peak of mine, after fixing the flower pots.

Personal Note: I don't usually share (super) personal information here, but on Monday two great things happened to people I care for! A family friend had their first baby, and my grandmother-in-law got through very major surgery without complications. Both are miracles to me!

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Update: Thank you Nancy from One Loopy Knitter for featuring my blog and shop on your blog today!
Make sure to check out the post here and also check out Nancy's Etsy shop: N. Fallon Design Studio

I love everything in her shop!

Polymer Clay Garden Markers - How To-sday

2012-04-24T06:30:00.000-04:00

This week to go along with my Backyard theme, I decided to make some garden markers for our plants we just got. I found a great tutorial on making garden markers with old silverware, and thought that I could make my own version with clay.

I also tried making a garden marker with an old spoon we had, using some Vintaj Patina, but stamping a word on it didn't turn out so great. The Patina looks nice though.

Antique Spoon Plant Markers is the tutorial I found, so check it out!

For my garden markers, I got some different colors of polymer clay, some letter stamps, acrylic paint, pearl-ex powder, and basic clay tools.

I rolled out the clay using an acrylic roller instead of clay/pasta machine so that the clay would be thicker. And then I cut the slabs of clay into the shapes I wanted.

Then I used the letter stamps to spell out the names of the plants that I got on Sunday. And started to add acrylic paint with my fingertips.

Finally, I added some Pearl-ex powder, also with my fingertips. (Pretty messy but still fun)

I still have to bake these markers, but here are a few I made last night and finished. I hand drilled holes in some, and added wire to help them stick out of the soil some.

And here they are in the flower pots that we already had in our backyard:

Have a great Tuesday! If you have any tips on making gardent/plant markers, let me know. The rest of the week I will be posting Etsy themed backyard listings, and a before and after of my backyard.