Mini Paper Charms

I made some quick paper charms last night - super simple.

I used these jewelry clasps - normally meant to hold ribbon for making necklaces and bracelets. Cut small images glued to scrap paper and then just insert into clasp and squeeze clasp with pliers and you're done. The clasps have a small loop on top that you can insert a jump ring or string through. These will be cute to add to altered necklaces and projects. You can find these clasps in the jewelry findings section at Michael's or Joann's. They usually come in a package of about 25 for just a few dollars.

Thanks Connie Stuart for the idea.

Tic-Tock - Making Clocks

Today we had a wonderful 4th of July party at my niece's house in Novato. My niece, knowing how us girls love to craft, had a great project for us - making clocks! I love how each one looks so different.

It was so much fun and something we've never done before. We just used 10" cake boards for the round piece and she provided the mechanics for the clock to poke in the center - so clever.

 Here's us with our finished projects.

Unfortunately, 2 of the other sisters left before we worked on the project - so they're missing from our group photo. But we did get one photo op of the 6 sisters together...

My niece has a beautiful house on the water and we got to go out on her boat and cruise around.

 Here's my husband and son on the peddle kayak.

Here's a pic of the dessert I brought. My husband suggested the strawberry dessert again - but this time I added some blue berries for the red, white and blue aspect. My husband also preferred the truffle style, so that's my new format for this strawberry cream dessert.

And as a last note, I did make it to the Alameda Point flea market this weekend. Here are my finds...my fav is the mini lamp shade for $4 - gotta embellish that one with some mini millinery flowers.

 I wanted to show the inside of some of the items, because there are some great pages.

Luckily, we got there early and left early and boy was I glad. When we left at 10:30m the line to get in was crazy long, not to mention crazy HOT too.

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

7 Gypsies Portfolio Project Finished

I finished the 7 Gypsies Portfolio project that I started last night. I decided to use envelopes for the center portion and just embellish them.  Hope you like it.

Okay, that wasn't a great video, here's some still shots of the inside of my portfolio. The left side is a pocket with just assorted tags tucked in.  Some have Catherine Moore images adhered to the top.

 The center portion is a collection of envelops that I taped together and embellished with paper and stamps.

7 Gypsies Portfolio Project

A few weeks ago I purchased these 7 Gypsies portfolio brochures. It was the same one we used for the Portfolio class I took with Deb and Paula from 7Gypsies last month, but a smaller version. Here's how I covered the front...

 This is how it looked before I started. The size is 7" x 9".

I'm going to work on the inside this weekend, stay tuned and I'll show you when it's finished.

I also wanted to share my latest foodie fine: PURPLE CAULIFLOWER. After watching one of Dr. Oz's shows, I wanted to try purple cauliflower because it's full of antioxidants.  Look how beautiful it looks in my salad too!

 

Most nights I eat a large salad and a small portion of protein (chicken or fish). Now, I love to add purple cauliflower to my salad for the looks and the taste. Season it with salt, pepper and olive oil. Then roast the cauliflower in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes - and yum, you'll love it! The only problem, it's hard to find. I've only found it in one store, Berkeley Bowl. So every week, we make a trip there and buy 3 heads of purple cauliflower. It tastes the same as white cauliflower - just looks better and it's better for you.

Metal Etching

In the recent issues of Belle Armoire Jewelry, there have been a of couple articles on copper etching and I couldn't wait to try it.

The photo on the left was in the Summer issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry, article by Lynn Stevens. The item on the right is my attempt at this project.  I bought the brass and metal sheets (26 gauge from Otto Frei). You also need ferric chloride, which I found at an electronic store in Berkeley. Here are some of my steps.

Stamp with StazOn ink. The sheet on the left is brass, the sheet on the right is copper.

Keep the ferric chloride in the garage with the other household chemicals. Suspend your metal in a plastic tray in the ferric chloride. 3 hours later you wash with baking soda and water and it's done.

Below is another project I did - a mini book inspired by Janet Loomis in the Spring issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry.

I found it's not easy to stamp on metal, it's very slippery. They have this product called StazOn remover that easily removes your image, which I must have done about 6 times before I got a clean image. And working with the ferric chloride is kinda scary - something that can eat away at metal is strong stuff, but it works! I like working with small pieces the best.

My Daughter Published In "Create With Me"

Stampington & Co. just released a new publication called, "Create With Me".

My daughter is so creative, I really wanted her to submit some of her work.  We were happily surprised when we found out she was going to be in the premier issue. I love how they did the layout with the milk and cookies surrounding her work. I'm so proud of her and hope she continues to create for a very long time.

 Here's some more of her latest creations, sweet treats...definitely looks good enough to eat!

Published in Somerset Life

It's on the newstands, the July issue of Somerset Life and I have a 4-page article!

It's a bracelet I made for my sister Maryl's birthday this past January. I actually made her two bracelets and let her pick one.  Unfortunately, she picked the other bracelet, that didn't get published...too bad sis.

I stopped by Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley today and needless to say, picked up some new items...stamps, embellishments, jewelry findings, embossing plates etc.

I'm really interested in metal etching after reading some articles in Belle Armoire Jewelry. Today I found a local jewelry supply warehouse within 10 minutes of my house and it's open to the public. The store is called Otto Frei; here's their web site: http://www.ottofrei.com/store/home.php. I was looking for copper and brass sheeting and this is what I bought.

Stay tuned for some metal etching this weekend.

I also wanted to share what my daughter did these past few days.  In my previous post, I mentioned how we bought these wooden frames from Michael's.  Here's how my daughter decorated her frames.

It's a Japanese craft called deco-den.  You take some hardware store silicone and add embellishments usually called cabochons.  My daughter made all the embellishments on these items. Any flat surface around our house is now subject to being deco-denned!