February Giveaway- Matching Chainmaille Bracelet and Earring Set

I am a little later then I like to do my monthly giveaway but here it is as promised A Chainmaille giveaway! 
The set is hand made one ring at a time with purple colored copper rings and round white quartz beads. This chainmaille is Full Persian also known as Foxtail. The bracelet is just over 7 1/2 inches long. The earrings hang about 1 1/2 inches from the base of the silver plated earwire.

 

How to enter.  You can get up to 4 entries. Each entry had to be in a separate comment below. To enter you must do at least one of the following 4 things. If you do #2, #3 or #4 you will need to leave a comment for each separately here on this blog post for them to count. If you are already a follower of my blog and/or Facebook just leave a comment stating that.

1. Comment below on this blog post with what your favorite type of jewelry

2. Follow my blog with Google Connect which is on the left side bar menu.

3. Follow my Facebook page. 
4. Sign up for my monthly newsletter using the sign up box on the left side bar menu.

This giveaway will end on Wednesday February 27th at midnight and the winner will be announced on Thursday February 28th. You must be 18 to enter.  

Keep an eye out for next months giveaway of a bar of my handmade Olive Oil & Shea Butter soap with rosemary and lavender essential oils.

More ornaments!

I just finished a new set of nightmare before christmas ornaments. I will be listing them tomorrow. They go quick if you want some before christmas comes contacts me I make you a custom set.

In the works- Christmas Ornaments

Fresh from the oven clay ornaments and a coffin. Hopefully I find time to get them listed. My girls also have some great clay creations as well:)

In the works- Nightmare before Christmas Jack Ornaments

I have been working on these glass ornaments this after noon. They will be added to my shop this week.

Ornaments

I started making my Christmas ornaments over this past week. Here is the first of the beaded ball ornaments and some glass "icicles".

From My Favorites- It Is All In The Box

Antique Wood Steamer Trunk / Free Delivery NYC From Wednesdays Pick Up

This wood trunk has a slight camel back hump to the lid. It has beautiful metal hardware. I'm not sure the exact age of this trunk but it appears to be really old. I replaced the old leather handles that were broken and dried out with reclaimed leather from an old belt. The bottom of the trunk has small metal wheels. Over all its a great looking antique trunk

Wood Burned/Hand Painted Art Nouveau Goddess Jewelry Trinket Boxes From Kraft Witch

Beautifully wood burned and handpainted trinket box. A romantic Art Nouveau rendering of an elegant Goddess. This delicate box can be used for a trinket box, jewelry box or offering box.

Dimensions: 4.5in.x2.5in.x1.5in

Original Hand Painted Trinket Box - Lady with Monkey and Vivid Designs - Whimsical From Renaissance Days

5" x 5" x 2.75" Wooden Trinket Box - Original Hand Painting of Lady with Her Pet Monkey and Designs

Store your little goodies in this whimsical trinket box. Painted in gold yellow, bright blue and red.

Painting is protected with a mat varnish

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1950s Vintage Metal Dresser Rococo Vignettes Cigarette Box From Flirty Sanchez Project

Hinged metal box made in Japan, possibly occupied, it features 3 different figural colonial vignettes with elaborate rococo. The box has very dark (and untouched) patina but shows a silver metal underneath, is footed, and is stamped on the bottom with Made in Japan as well as with a Rising Sun symbol. A few scratches on the exterior and the inside is raw. Still, a gorgeous little treasure for your dresser, table or desktop for trinkets, jewelry or whatever you might need to stash

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Mondays Maddness

Like always the weekend flew by and now I left with the chaos of a new week. Since this week I am doing collages with my girls for art (homeschool) I thought it would be nice to share a few of my collages in this post. Here is a brief definition of collage from Wikipedia- A collage (From the French: coller, to glue, French pronunciation: [kɔ.laːʒ]) is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

A collage may sometimes include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, portions of other artwork or texts, photographs and other found objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.

So here they are two that I have made in the past.

This one was done in one of my journals and I wrote one of my favorite poems
down Loves Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Like most of my person art
it holds great meaning to me and I do not normally share it publicly but it is my
blog after all, lol. It was made using acrylic paints, glitter modpog gel pens, drawings
 and image cut outs.

I think most woman can relate to this one! It is the build of emotion and
stress that happens from just living life. While some of it is leaning
towards my own issues with bipolar it also has a common theme many
of us go through at any stage of life. This one was done on canvas, I used a cool
blue because it seems to feel more emotional distant and fleeting to me, I used
water colors, magazine cut outs, rubber stamps, pen and staples.

Item spotlight from my shop

Quoth the raven "nevermore" trinket boxPre-made wood box painted black and hand stamped with a Quote from The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe and a rave on a branch. Box is finished with an acrylic sealer. The box measures 4 3/4" x 2 3/4" x 1 1/2" Great for any crow/raven or Poe fan to keep their small treasures in.

What's New

I have some wonderful new cold process soaps and some new Christmas tree ornaments listed in my shop

All Natural The Happy Hippie Goddess Patchouli & Hemp Soap

All Natural Unscented 100% Olive Oil Soap

Copper, Green & Red Beaded Wire Christmas Tree Ornaments set of 4

What's New

I have done it one of things I have always complain about... I started putting Christmas stuff in my shop before Halloween, lol. Here are a few sets of Christmas ornaments I made and posted in my shop over the last week.

Red & Green Glass Beaded Icicle Ornaments Set Of 12

Blue & Clear Glass Beaded Icilce Ornaments Set Of 6

More ornament will be coming I am just getting started :)  This is the first year I am selling bead  ornaments but every year in the past I have made and sold paper mache stars. I will be making them this year as well.  

Making your own simple and easy carpet powder

I have allergies to many fragrances and the often stronge over
powering scents of the commerical carpet powders are no exception.
There are a few that do not bother me much but they are not scents I
care for. So decided to make my own. I first tried just baking soda
and it did the same as commercial powders do. Helped absorbed odors
and even helped loosen pet hair off the carpet. Next time I wanted it
to freshen up the house a little more so I added several drops of
essential oil and shook it without mercy:) My scent of choice
pathioli, aromatharpy for the house! My next try I made a powder mix
using 2 cups baking soda and a tablespoon of corn scarch and an
essential oil(this time using a blend of mints and citris). It worked
wonderfully and it is the one I am sticking with until I find
something else to experiment with. To find the best price on baking
soda check the cleaning section where you shop first. I found a large
box at walmart for $2.10, more the twice the size of a box of carpet
powder for around the same price. There is many uses for your powder
trash cans, pet bed, cars, I also like to just sprinkle small amounts
under the sofa cushions. So there you have it easy and inexpensive 1,2
and 3 ingredient carpet powder costum fragrance and easy on the
allergies! Posted from my cell so please excuse any typos:-P

A few finds and few collections

I just wanted to share with you some cool jewelry finds and a few collection I have put together.
Here is a shop that makes beautiful earrings Pretty Gonzo. I love earrings, they are one of the pieces of jewelry I always where. Looking through this shop is fun and the wonderful prices and great designs makes me want, want, want! Here is one of my favorites from Pretty Gonzo

Cloisonne Earrings with Green Crystals

Another love of mine is macramé and hemp jewelry. It has been years since I played around with knots to make way cool jewelry.  So when I found this shop with great hemp jewelry it brought back all kinds of  knotting desires. Lynx Dawn Designs my only wish is that she had more in her shop because I like it so much.

Tiger Lily Necklace

Here is a collection I put together featuring fellow members of  Bloggers Unite Guild on Artfire

These are a few o...

  Curated By: kindredimages

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

Here is a collection I put together featuring fellow members of Jewelry Creators Unite in Numbers Guild on Artfire

Warm Orange and F...

  Curated By: kindredimages

ArtFire.com

Craft Tutorials

What to do with your favorite images..... Decoupage!

de·cou·page also dé·cou·page  (dk-päzh)

n.

1. The technique of decorating a surface with cutouts, as of paper.

2. A creation produced by this technique.

Because I apparently will never have enough hobbies or ways to show my favorite photos and other art images I have started  painting and decoupaging  my photography images on trinket boxes. Decoupage is so simple and gives you wonderful and quick results. I have done 3 boxes so far. One as a custom order for a friend, one for myself with a Nightmare before Christmas image(not drawn by me but used with permission for personal use, never steal other peoples art and photography!) and the one I will show you today has one of my photos on it that has been manipulated with coral paint shop pro my editing software of choice. Decoupage is as easy as finding images you like and applying them to wood, glass, metal and other surfaces. Most likely you have everything you need in your home to do it. I like Mod Podge for the adhesive and sealer(it is what I use for collage and altered art), but I just picked up some Fast Finish Decoupage by Beacon which is suppose to dry faster and not be tacky so I will see how it works. On the Trinket box in the photo I used a photo safe acrylic sealer and not Mod Podge(Mod Podge is photo safe too) because I wanted a glossier finish and I only had matte Mod Podge in the house.

If you want to try Decoupage find some images you like. They can be from your own photos or images, cut outs from magazines, postcard or card, images from online. Always follow copyrights laws. As far as I know you can use most images for personal use as long as you do not take credit for the photo or artwork. But do not quote me on it as I am not copyright expert. 

Find and item to Decoupage there is no limit here. It could be a plate, box, terra cotta, paper mache frames, vase, wood, metal, desk, table anything. The only thing to keep in mind is not all adhesives are good for all surfaces and materials. 

I suggest pre arranging your cut out/s how you want them first then apply with your Fast Finish , Mod Podge or another adhesive, even white school glue should give good results. After all your cut outs are bonded in place allow to dry completely and apply sealer(Mod Podge, Fast Finish or one of your choice) according to the direction on the bottle. I prefer to do multiple coats of sealer allowing it dry completely between coats.

This is a simple Trinket Box using only one image. This one will be for sale in my shops soon, along with others featuring my photography and images.