Recently I finished up a small batch of kitschy cool earrings that I have for sale in my shop. I’m really excited about them.
These are in case you have a shoe fetish.
If you like guitars, there’s this red one, and then of course:
There’s also pink.
Or…..
Maybe you’re more of a cat person.
Pinterest has done it again. Maybe I should make this a weekly thing, eh? The pinterest thing?
Anyway, I saw this tute on Pinterest, and I am so sorry. I left it open to pin it and BAM. My husband Xed out of my windows and it is lost forever. You know, I have a bad habit of leaving pages open on my google chrome, to remind me to do things. What? Oh yeah, I have a planner. And a calender. Yeah. But still. Leaving the page open is much better.
ANYWHO….
I made these. They are easy peasy.
All it is, is sanded down shrink plastic, that is drawn on with a fine tip permanent marker, and then painted with acrylic paint. Shrink it up with your heat gun, and then go over the painted side with Mod Podge. That’s important, so that the paint doesn’t chip. I used Plaid’s folk art paint and that worked nicely on this project.
And that’s it! I have a necklace that I am making to match it, but eh. When you have two kids, things become….a little…bit….slower. You know?
So right.
Do you like it?
Will it?
Either way, I recently made a pair of earrings and a matching necklace just for ME.
Those are the earrings.
And that’s the necklace. I’ve got a yen for wings and birds and things, as you (should) know.
Meanwhile, we have entered the tantrum phase in my four year old. Goodie. I think it’s combination of growing pains, and the new baby taking up mommy’s time. I’ve been offsetting this new phase, by spending time with her doing our favorite things, while baby Dharma is napping. This helps a lot, except for when Dharma decides napping is for suckers. So the other day, I decided that I’d go out alone with my beautiful Dakota. This was splendid! And it was Dharma’s first night alone with Daddy. We were both apprehensive, but it needed to be done. And of course, daddy and baby both survived, with minimal (if any) crying.
I’ve been using my juicer more often, also. I’m trying to eat a bit healthier, and lose the baby weight. But I can’t do it “all of the sudden”. First step is water with lemon each morning, along with fresh pressed veggie/fruit juice. After that, I will ATTEMPT to not eat too many sweets. This of course, is easier said than done, since I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. Oh MAN. I really do. But whatever-one step at a time, right?
Anyway, that’s all for now.
Recently, I decided to get myself in the Christmas spirit. This of course, is a hard thing for me to do, since it’s REALLY hard to be 38 weeks pregnant AND be excited about anything but giving birth. But, after cleaning out my art supply closet (nesting, of course) I found some shrink plastic. If you’ve been a loyal reader, you know that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE shrink plastic so much. It’s SO fun for jewelry making.
Anyway, I made some earrings and things. I made one christmas-ey pair, and a few others just for kicks.
cute, right? I love these! Sock Monkeys, even! The stamp, is from Stampin’ Up. They have a little set of accesories for him too that I also have. I forgot to glitter the little hat, sorry.
Here’s a few more I made:
I know they don’t perfectly match, but that’s the style. I’ve seen ladies walking around the city with ginormously long earrings, and I so love them. I have a pair that my husband bought for me, actually. But these are just fun and funky earrings. Again, the sock monkey makes his apearance. Actually, he is one of my favorite rubber stamps.
And the buddha, of course. This one was made with a fun shrink plastic photo transfer technique that I love. Did I show you how to do that already? If not, then I’ll show you. I promise.
Anyway, that’s that.
Recently, I made a couple more pairs of lovely crocheted earrings.
So, these are for sale in my shop, of course.
Anything else to report?
My husband and I have planned a home birth, so our midwife came over yesterday. Poor thing, she hadn’t slept in days (due to her job, not me).
Anyway, I’m a bit dialated, but since there is no progress, life goes on as usual.
This past weekend was my birthday. Happy birthday to me! I got to celebrate my birthday in excruciating pain. I did have what is the beginings of real labor pains, as the contractions were awful painful.
But, today I shall be catered on by my darling husband who promised me pumpkin cupcakes and dinner. Nice, right?
Recently I agreed to work with Art Institute Glitter. No sooner did I get my shipment of art supplies in the mail, then I was already at work, creating. So I made a pair of earrings.
Are these not the coolest earrings you’ve ever seen in your life? Oh man, I love them. And I love working with Art Institute Glitter. Not just because I love glitter, mind you. They have some unique supplies, and are a fun and easy company for an artist to work with. It’s nice when that happens.
I made these with their Fantasy Film. Oh my god, why didn’t anyone tell me about this stuff sooner? I LOVE it, so much!
To work with fantasy film, took my brown pigment ink stamp pad, and a rubber stamp with typewriter font. I stamped it, let it dry a bit, then crinkled it up. Then, I took a few pieces of film, and sandwiched it between two layers of parchment paper (parchment paper is a crafter’s best friend-it goes right up there with glue and glue sticks).
And then, I ironed it. I forgot to look at what setting I used. But experiment, I say!
Then, I cut out 1″ holes with a paper punch, and made these lovely earrings. Cute, eh? You can CLICK HERE to PURCHASE. And yes, I will be making more in a few different colors.
My daughter starts school next week. I cannot believe it. Granted, it’s just pre-school. And it’s only for half a day. But still! What does one pack a child for their first day of pre-school?
We are going this weekend, to buy her some new clothing, and shoes and stuff. Being a true girl, she of course got excited about school when I informed her that “back to school” means shopping for new clothing and shoes and a trip to chinatown to get her a new Hello Kitty backpack.
I am excited to have 3 hours a day all to myself, and sad to see that my baby isn’t biologically a baby anymore. To me though, she will always be my sweet little girl. Even when she’s all grown up.
*warning-mild rant ahead*
So I hadn’t blogged in a couple days, because my husband and I live in what was an evacuation zone in Brooklyn, New York. So, I had to (begrudgingly) leave my home, and go to stay with my estranged relatives. I did manage to make something while I was there, though.
This two strand necklace was inspired by a friend of mine, who when performing, wears a shell necklace, which she uses as percussion. It’s two strands, and you can CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE.
Also, about hurricane Irene. It left me bored and listless, to be honest. I should have stayed home. Most of you know that I have a strained relationship with my relatives, who would rather sweep things under a rug, than be honest with the past.
Anyway, I went because as I mentioned, I live in an evacuation zone, and was paranoid. I used to live in Florida, and I’ve seen hurricanes, and know the damage they can bring. And being pregnant, and having a little one, I didn’t want to end up being stuck inside my dark closet for hours. So I fled.
This of course, left me with mixed feelings. Forgiveness is one thing, but facing the people who hurt you, because you have no other choice, is yet another. The only thing that kept me sane, was meditation. That, and Wikipedia. I LOVE wikipedia. I’ve already diagnosed half of my relatives, thanks to it.
On a serious note though, I am happy to be home. I really am learning as I go here, but I do not want to end up a bitter lonely person. Here’s what I believe: I believe in talking about it. I believe in not mincing words. I believe in not being ashamed of having an opinion. So, I talk about it. I talk about what happened to me, because it should be okay for me to talk about it. It should be okay, for me to form an opinion. I am after all, not a news journalist (news journalists, traditionally have to keep their opinions to themselves, as they are “public figures”).
I am an artist, and a person, and quite conflicted at the moment. I honestly want to tell the people who hurt me to go F$%^ off, and leave me alone. But that is the child in me, the one who was hurt. When I GROW UP and realize the past is behind me, and I have my daughter and a child on the way, when I realize life is ahead me, and behind them, I….almost feel bad. Maybe it’s bad that I don’t fully, but at least I almost do.
I guess I have a long way to go. But for now, I’ll work on putting one foot in front of the other. I will never not talk about it. Talking is a good thing. We all should feel free and open to talk about things.
So, I’m writing all this to say that I have no idea what to do next. The Dalai lama stated in this article HERE that forgivness is good for YOU. So I read that article, and am going to some soul searching.
On a lighter note, I made almond cupcakes last night, in celebration of being home with my darling husband whom I missed so much, and could not sleep without (he had to stay, since he is an EMT, and was working A LOT).
It was nice to wake up in my own home, knowing that I, my family, and my art supplies where safe and unharmed.
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