Adventures with Clay

What do you think of my clay rosettes? I had SO much fun making them. These were my FIRST attempt! I love the color too. Clay rosettes aren't very available on Etsy since my favorite artist closed up due to a medical situation before Thanksgiving. So I thought, what the heck, why not try to make my own?


I also played with the cane technique to produce color inside of color. I did all the rolling by hand and got some "wonky" shapes and thicknesses. Uniformity did not happen. So on the next batch I'll be using my little pasta machine to get closer to perfection.

My intended round beads turned into a slightly triangular shape so I just went with that and squeezed them a little more to define the triangle and I like them. I DID end up with a few rounds though. Man, even cutting these must require a specific technique so I'll be checking out books for sure.

So, I got really brave and opened a clay bead shop on Etsy called.......ClayBeads....heehee. It was tough coming up with a username that HADN'T been taken. So I thought, okay, what do I want to do with this shop? Answer: sell clay beads. I typed "claybeads" out of curiosity and it was available, so there you have it!

I hope you come and visit me. Just click HERE!

The Chocolate Kingdom

Ahhh, my son and I finally decorated our Christmas tree last night. Since the three of us live in a small condo, tree space is a premium! Last year we got clever and got a 6 footer and placed it atop a 2 foot chest, giving us an 8 foot tree. We did it again this time around. My son starts the decoration with draping 6 strands of lights around the tree, 3 clear and 3 colored while I pick the Christmas music cd. He really gets into the tree so that is illuminated fully from trunk to tip. He IS the light master!

We both wanted to keep the decorations simple but I must have my icicles so we just used those plus purple, blue & silver round balls...that's it, and we really liked it. My one concession was a big, ballerina glass ornament, but she is long and slender...like an icicle...get it? She has a little pink tutu.




So here are daytime and nighttime shots for you although it probably doesn't mean much unless you are here to see it. Fun, though.

As for jewelry, I assembled the last 10 little amazing choco-caramel glass cupcakes I have from Payton Jett into a bracelet with a heart lock clasp with a dangling key. I call it the Key to the Chocolate Cupcake Kingdom bracelet.

I mean, don't they look edible to you? They sure do to me!
Sales have been strange this season with what's happening in our economy so I was very happy that a few people bought cupcake jewelry and some stickers this week. I happily mailed those packages.




I also cleaned up my Etsy jewelry shop a little to remove pieces that didn't fit the cupcake theme as it seems that is what most viewers and buyers want to see. It looks much better. Much of the jewelry has free worldwide shipping, by the way.

I'd love to see some of your holiday decorations if you care to share.

Shopalicious

That's a word, right?

I know it's DEFinitely an experience. I've been shopping like crazy for my new Etsy shop, MomsArt.etsy.com. It's a tribute to my mother's artistic talents. She drew and softly colored cards for our entire family on birthdays and anniversaries.

My plan is to reproduce and then color them as cards for you. In the mean time, I'm buying paper goods like crazy to also provide shoppers with hand punched confetti (party hats and birdies are the latest), beautiful ribbons, and even handmade stickers (think sealed with a kiss).

So, come on over and visit my pretties for a whole new twist on my talents. Don't worry, RockerJewlz is alive and kicking as well. My spring line arrived last week at Midoma salon & gallery in New York City and I am working with my friend Lezlie on an amazing line of black & white lampwork beads that will enhance Sumie Tachibana's fashions at the aforementioned salon.

I'll let you know how it goes.