In loving Memory

Yesterday I lost a good friend.  Our beautiful Autumn returned to live with her heavenly father.  We have had her since she was eight weeks old and she developed a brain tumor last year and started to have seizures.  She did well on her medication for the last year until a couple of days ago when she started falling down a lot and having difficulty walking and getting up and down.  She seemed to lose her zest for life and I believe she was suffering.  I could not see her living like this any longer and decided it was time to let her go.  As difficult as this is I know she is no longer in pain or suffering.  She has never liked going to the vet but this time appeared relaxed and just layed on the table.  I think she knew it was her time and was ready to say goodbye.  My children who grew up with Autumn are having a hard time with this as am I.  I am so grateful that she came into our lives and touched out hearts.  Life would not have been the same without you Autumn.  When I came home this morning you were not there to meet me at the door.  When I sit here at my computer you are no longer at my side. You were always there beside me where ever I went.   I just want to say you will always be with me in my heart and I will never forget your love and loyalty.

Jewelry and Classes

The Guardian Angel

My heart is Ticking

Word Necklaces

I have been busy listing a few items in my etsy store. If you want to see

more items that I have for sale go to: reinventedobjects.etsy.com I am hoping

to find the time to list a few more items this week. You can also find the listing

for my upcoming classes on etsy. Let me know which class you want to take because

the Jan class is close to full. I still have about 6 openings in the Feb class.

 

Steampunk Hearts

Added to my etsy shop for the first time are my steampunk hearts.  I made these to send into Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine and they are going to be published in two magazines.  In Jan 2012 the hearts will appear in Belle Amoire, the artistry of clothing and assessories, & in March 2012 the hearts will be in Belle Armoire Jewelry.  I have only made a limited amount of these and have about 10 left including the five that were sent into the magazine.  I spent a lot of time creating and designing these hearts. If you are interested in any of these let me know. Not all of the ones in the picture are available but I have a few more available that are not pictured. Please see my etsy shop for more pictures. reinventedobjects.etsy.com

Paper Mache Snowmen

I just recently attended Terri Brush's paper mache and soldering class.  We made little paper mache pieces, including snowmen, santa, birds, owls, dolls, ect.  The class was three days long and the second night several of the ladies and I went shopping at:" The Bed of Roses" store in Farmington, UT and then went to dinner at the Mandarine resturant.  Unfortunately life got in the way on the third day and I was unable to attend. I was really sorry to have missed the third day and stressed about missing class. I love taking classes and getting to know other people with the same interests as me.  I still feel sad that I could not be there but decided to make the best of things and was able to work on my pieces last evening and am just about finished.  I still need to solder the glass on top of the little boxes and make the glass box to put some of the snowmen in.  I love this medium  and have plans to make some more figurines for the holidays. For those of you that do not know Terri, she is a great instructor and lives in Washington state and teaches lots of workshops.  I hope she comes back next year (hint, hint) A big thanks to Lorraine who hosted the class and cooked up some fantastic food and deserts. She is a wonderful cook and did a great job taking care of us. To see Terri's upcoming classes go to: terribrushdesigns.com/

JoAnna Pierotti Classes

Fairy Dolls

Art Doll Necklace

Paper Clay Birds

I have taken two of JoAnna Pierotti's doll classes and they are absolutely wonderful. I learned so much and was inspired by her amazing talent and creativity.  She is now hosting online classes.  I highly recommend her classes because she is a super talented instructor and artist. If you would like to see more of her art or find her blog the link is at: http://mosshill.blogs.com/ 

Micheal DeMeng's Class

 

I do not know where October went and am finally trying to get caught up on things. I cannot believe it is already November with everything going on.  In Sept (that is how far behind I am) I had the opportunity to go to the art-is-you retreat in Petaluma, CA. I took a class with Micheal DeMeng called pretty vial things.  We transformed bottles into fun and scary works of art. 

 

This is my bottle with the skeleton and I decided to step out side the box a little and do something scary.  I put dolls eyes inside the sockets of the skeleton and painted them red.  On the bottom is a transparency of the man the skeleton belongs too.  I used the hair from the dolls head to fill the inside of the bottle.  Clay and an old stamping was used to do the scrimshaw pattern on  the bottle. It was so much fun and Micheal has a great sense of humor and is a fun instructor.

This is the front of Diana Frey's bottle which I really liked.

Don't you just love the one with the eyeball.  How creepy is that?

The middle bottle is Riki Shumaker's and the fleur de li belongs to Debby Anderson. I loved this class and want to take more classes with Micheal in the future and I hope I get the oppportunity.

JoAnna Pierotti Classes

I had such a wonderful time this past week at the inaugural west coast art-is-you retreat in Petaluma, CA.  I took two workshops from JoAnna Pierotti.  Her work is so impressive that it sells out within a few minutes after it is listed on etsy.  She is very talented and one of the most creative artists I have ever met.  Her work is inspirational and she is so willling to share it with others.  All of the students did amazing work with the help of JoAnna.   You can find JoAnna's work on her blog which is at: http://mosshill.blogs.com/joannas_journal/   She is also the latest member of susanlenartkazmer design team. Congratulations JoAnna!  I know you will be a great addition to their team of inpirational artists.  Our class had so many wonderful artists that mostly work in jewelry design and are also teachers. Some of the students are: Riki Shumacher at:  http://rikijewelry.blogspot.com/,  Diana Frey at: http://www.dianafrey.blogspot.com/ , and Debby Anderson at: http://romancingthebling.blogspot.com/p/press.html  I was surrounded by so much talent all week and cannot wait to attend this event next year.
 

Dog Designs

I love dogs and this little one is no exception. I had a black Chihuahua when I was a kid so when a saw Buster I was drawn to him. He is so friendly and loves people.  I met him at the SLC artist market last week and he was sporting his own handmade jewelry.  I thought this was a neat idea.  His owner decided that Buster needed to have a name necklace and ordered a custom one from me.  I brought it to the market yesterday and had so much fun measuring his neck and fitting him for his own necklace.   Everyone at the booth was admiring little Buster in his new necklace. His owner says he only weights 4.5 pounds. I never thought that I would ever design an order for doggie jewelry but this was so much fun that I want to create doggie designs.  His owner snapped this cute photo of Buster all decked out in his new design and sent it to me.  I have all kinds of ideas and am looking forward to creating more designs for dogs.

Skeleton Key Bracelets

I have been busy making a few extra pieces to take with me to Art-is-You.  These key bracelets were originally in Belle Armoire Jewelry 2010 spring issue.  There is a how to article in the magazine if you want to make one.  I made 4 bracelets this week but still have to solder the jump rings closed.   My studio is a huge mess and there is about 5 inches of working space. It looks like a tornado hit it and I am not kidding.  I seem to create the biggest messes when I am creating things.  I really get  into what I am making and supplies just seems to land everywhere.  Who has time to clean it up? I just close the door and then next time I go in there I make another mess and it piles up.  When I need to find something, then start cleaning it up, but it never really gets very clean.  There are priorities after all and designing and creating jewelry is a lot more important then cleaning the studio.  I like to tell myself that the problem is the space is to small and if it was bigger then it would be organized.  The truth is if it were bigger than I would have a bigger mess and even more supplies.

Jewelry Booth in a Bag

I was planning on driving to Art-is-You in Petaluma, CA but since my daughter is unable to go with me I did not want to drive the 12 hours alone.  I have to improvise because  I have a booth at the retreat I was left wondering how I would set up the booth with minimal display equipment.  The booth needed to fit into one suitcase and not weight too much.  So I bought foam core and polyester stuffing and covered the boards with some left over fabric I had.  I used Tacky glue and a staple gun.  The black velvet jewelry busts (6) were already lightweight but I needed a way to prop them up so I bought shipping boxes and will use to secure the tops of the boxes. The boxes will be draped with fabric.  I already have a table at the retreat and a table cloth, but decided to pack my own anyway just in case the color does not work out.  It all fits nicely into one suitcase and is not even at 50 pounds yet, so I can add some jewelry to the bag.  Anyway, I just wanted to share my booth in a bag idea in hopes it will be useful to others.

Keyhole Necklaces

I recently sent some of these keyholes into Belle Armoire jewelry and found out they will be published in an upcoming issue.  I have been making these for about a year and have given many of them away to friends.  I am getting low and have about 5 left to take to the Art-is-you art retreat in Petaluma, CA. The website is at: http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/ You will be excited to see the lineup of great classes that are going to be taught, I can hardly wait.   I hope I get some more time to make a few more of these before I go on Sept 21st.  The vendors night will be Saturday Sept 25th and I hope to see many of you guys there or in classes. 

Terri Brush Classes

I just found out a few days ago the Terri Brush is coming to Utah to teach classes in November. You really do not want to miss this class, since she will be teaching her holiday papier mache figurines and soldered jewelry. If you are interested you can find the information at: http://www.terribrushdesigns.com/private-event.html

The Salt Lake Artist Market

I am going to to be at the SLC artist market every Saturday 8-1 through the rest of the season, which ends October 22nd.  The market is in downtown SLC at Pioneer Park and you can find me near the southwest corner.   I will have some really fun jewelry for you to select from, including many photos of the jewelry you see here on my blog.  If you want something really special I do custom orders but need about 6 weeks notice.  Stop by my booth to look or just to say hi.  I am trying to arrange some class room space to teach how to make some of the jewelry from my blog, but that will be later in the year.  Probably late October or early November

My Heart is ticking

I am so happy because I just found out recently that my hearts are going to be in an upcoming issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry.  Look for them in the Decemeber 2011 issue or March of 2012.  I had a lot of fun making these hearts and no two are alike.  I will be taking these to Art-is-You in Petaluma, CA.  To find the website just click on this link http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/ and you will be directed there.    I highly recommend going to art retreats because you have the opportunity to make so many new connections with people and make long lasting friendships. You get to meet some really great instructors and learn the latest techniques in all mediums.  I like to paint and do collage and this time I have no jewelry classes.  I am spreading my wings a bit and branching out to try some other mediums.

Art-is-You Petaluma

 

I have been busy getting  ready for the Art-is-You retreat that is in Petaluma, CA.  It starts Sept 22-27 and it is the first one on the west coast.  The hosts are Sallianne and Ellen and although we haven't met they are so great at organizing this event and have all kinds of fun activities planned for the attendees.  I am taking lots of classes with really great instructors such as JoAnna Pierotti who is teaching an art doll class and her blog is at: :http://mosshill.blogs.com/ and Micheal deMeng's Pretty Vial Things, his blog is at: http://michaeldemeng.blogspot.com/  I am hoping to learn lots of new techniques that I may be able to use in my jewelry, but mostly I am just going for fun and to hang out with some really great friends I met at the Art and Soul retreat  in Las Vegas last year.   I will have a booth in Petaluma and some of the pieces I will be selling are pictured above.  If you are interested in attending this creative event the web address is:

http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/

KC Willis

I have been busy collecting the materials to make these fun fabric collages after watching KC Willis Collage Camp.  I friend of mine (Carol) had taken a class from KC and told me all about her great experience and the DVD's.  I did not think I would have time to make these for a while, but a girl just has to take some time out for herself to make art once in a while.  These were so fun and now I am hooked on making them and have some other ideas that I want to do with fabric collage.  I still need to add some hand written text  to the pieces and need some advice.  For the first one I was thinking about using: "He ran like the wind, his spirit was free." The second one: " I'm lookin for a stallion"  and the last one: "The spirit of the west is free in my heart."  I think the hardest part of making these is deciding what words to use on them, so any help or suggestions would be appreciated, just leave a comment below.   If you would like to find out more about KC's art, DVD's, or classes then here is a connection: http://www.kcwillis.blogspot.com/  I hope you enjoy all of her great work as much as I do.

The Three Chicks General Store

The big Chickapalooza Sale is on Friday 7/15 from 11-7 & Saturday 7/16 from 10-5.

I love this fun little store in Layton Utah. It is called: The Three Chicks General Store.  It is full of hand made items such as aprons, purses, and jewelry, ect. There are tons of vintage collectables.  It is on Gentile and Main Street so it is easy to find. I have some of my jewelry at this store and frequently take over items I no longer use. Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy.

Treasures Antique Mall

 Yesterday a went on a little side trip to The Treasures Antique Mall in Springville, Utah.  I met Paula who works at the store and has a great blog called pollyanna-reinvents.blogspot.com  She was selling all kinds of great items to re-purpose into one of a kind jewelry.  Paula had many of her own handmade jewelry designs in the store that were just beautiful. They were made out of vintage jewelry that she had put together in such a beautiful way.  I should have taken pictures.  The store is the biggest antique store in Utah and there are two of them right next door.   I thought I had died and gone to heaven because this is my kind of place. If you decide to go make sure you go on a day were you have lots of time to browse.  I am planning on making a trip once a month since the store is about 1.5 hours from my house.

I bought some vintage jewelry from $1-4 dollars each and lots of little bottles.  The purple and blue bottles came out of an old ghost town in Utah and would be great to make into art projects. For some great ideas on what to do with these bottles,  Michael de Meng has a great workshop at the art-is-you website at http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/demeng-vial.htm  I bought a bunch of the little purple bottles and will be taking some to Art-is-You to sell in my booth in September.

Bee Happy

 

I went to see my grandmother today and she resides in a care center and is 91 years old.  She looked really good and was happy that I had finally come to visit her.  I have not seen her in a while. I know I do not visit often enough probably because  I do not like to see her living there, even though it is one of the nicest facilities I have seen.  She seemed to not have any worries and when asked if she needed anything she said: "I have everything I need here."  I think of how I would be in her situation  and think I would be angry and mad most of the time, but not granny she is happy no matter what.  This is a real eye opener for me that she can keep such a positive attitude, but she has always been like that.  I think I can learn a thing or two from her even though her life is almost over she still is contributing in ways she can't possibly understand.  I took her for Chinese food because that is what she always likes.  We had to load her and the wheelchair up and that took some time but we had a good dinner and conversation so it was well worth it.  She denies having any pain at 91 years old, now how can that be?  What a role model she is.  I love you grandma!

 

This is a picture of my recent booth at the arts festival.  This year I bought curtains and a couple of directors chairs.  After all the director has to have a nice colorful place to sit-just kiddin.  It started out kinda of bad when we were setting up and the rain showed up to try and steal the show, but the rain only lasted a few minutes. It was a mix of cloudy and sunny weather with a cool breeze.  The weather was about 78 degrees and a beautiful perfect day. It was a long day because the festival lasted 10 hours and then I had to go to my real job afterwards for another 8 hours.  I was exhausted for about two days after that.  I am just not a spring chicken anymore, but tell my brain that because it refuses to admit it and is still in denial. Overall the festival was a success and we had a great time.  I am going to miss all the people I have met the last two years in Ogden at the artist market.  If you want to find me I will be at the SLC artist market downtown at Pioneer Park.  It is the biggest market in Utah and has about 200 vendors so there is a lot to do a see.  There is a lot of really great artwork this year and it goes every Saturday from 8-1 through October