Still "torching..."

I'm experimenting with my torch fired enamels, and I tried some copper wire shapes today.  The copper heated up okay, but the enamel is peeling off after the copper has cooled off.  Picture shows where the copper shines through.  I also have white enamel powder, but it comes out pinkish even after three layers of firing.  Can't figure that one out.  So, the pink bead in the picture is supposed to be opaque white, but hey, I'm not complaining. :)  I like the pink.  I guess you never quite know what the end result is as you fire away.  This is sooo much fun!

How I used my new torch-fired enamel beads...

I really wanted to use copper chain for this charm bracelet, but since I didn't have any and couldn't get to a store, I took my good ole oxidized chain, some steel wire, some charms, and my blue/green/mauve/lavender enameled beads and created this bracelet:  Mermaid's Gift!

Torch fired enamel...

My first foray into torch-fired enamels. Yeah!  How much fun I had, and how much more fun I will have when I find more types of copper blanks and beads, and more enamel colors!  I especially love the cobalt blue.  It had a tendency to overpower the gentler colors.  I was a bit nervous about using a torch, but I had a clamp that securely attached the cannister to the table, and all I had to do was to turn on the gas and "whoosh" off we went on the enameling adventure. I can think of many ways to use the beads.  The long beads are refrigerator copper tubing that I cut with a pipe cutter and smoothed with a rasp.  I spent an hour and a half at the hardware store and now I know how men feel when they meander around a women's clothing store looking for something in particular, or any other store for that matter--EXCEPT for the hardware store.  They might not have any qualms about lawnmower or gun stores either... 
Anyway, there were lots of cute guys in there... ;) 
Thanks to Barbara Lewis at Jewelry of Distinction I got more than enough instruction to get myself going.  Thanks Barbara!  Check it out, you might get addicted! :-D

Oh Christmas Tree...oh Christmas Tree...

Steampunk, from the dusty forgotten corners of my studio...

Rooted through some stash of the "wild and wonderfully dusty stuff" in the corners of my studio today with the aim of making something different. I went with the grungy look, steampunk, though steampunk isn't necessarily grungy. I have some watch movements lying around in a bead tray (don't ask me about my stash sorting system,) and I dusted some off and applied some E6000 to the back of some and affixed them to others. Interesting sequence of events... I had no idea how the parts would all come together. Grabbed a few charms, some Swarovski crystals, my handy pliers to bend that rough steel wire, some semi-precious stones (have lots of those,) and went at it. In a flurry of inspiration, I made two bracelets, truly OOAK. Posted in my etsy shop, but here are some pictures. If you want to read the story line, please check my etsy entry.

Well, if that's not enough, I went and bought myself a Christmas present. Yes, yes, I know it's early, but hey, there was only one of each of these two items left...
I'm getting into enameling on copper next! I saw an article about Barbara Lewis and her fabulous jewelry in the latest issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry (what a great publication!) and promply visited her blog, and then her etsy shop where all these goodies were avaiable. Torch, work station, lots of friendly advice... I'm fired up!
Check out her blog here.I felt like I'd hit the jackpot in blogland as well. You know those peoople you instantly connect with... Well, my PayPal account is empty but I'm going to haunt the post office box for the wherewithals to fuel my addiction to ART! Yay!!!! :)

It's hard to knit with a cat in your lap...

I spend some time every day in my favorite, super comfortable easy chair (in other words, my super ugly brown recliner) and knit. It's something I learned from my mother and other brave women in the generation before me. I didn't have the best of patience... This time I'm making a wool plus purse. It'll be felted, but the added fancy yarns will look the same since only wool yarn felts. I've made some of these purses in the past and I thought some friend might get this one for Christmas. I love the muted blues and purples.
My cat Bailey loves that chair as much as I do... So, there is this cat with lots of paws and claws and constantly moving yarn. You can imagine the action, or longing for action that goes through this (rather lazy) cat. He knows the word "NO" but that doesn't always work.
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of him in my lap crowding out the balls of yarn, but he did let me take a picture on the porch this morning of my knitting efforts. The finished product will be posted at a later day.

More stuff...got really busy all of a sudden...

Gotta deliver some boxes and mirrors to a shop locally where they sell pretty well. Also got a project done for one of the chapter prompts from Taking Flight, Kelly Rae Roberts' book on collage and mixed media. I belong to a group of creative souls on a ning network: On The Wing and we work the projects in the book. Great fun and also challenging! Everyone's style is so different even if we're "sparking" off the same project.
This latest mirror states that "all we need is love," --to take a line from The Beatles. I made a rather large picture frame as well "sisters" "friends." We are all sisters, and hopefully friends as well. :)

Busy with my mosaics...

Maybe you're expecting pictures of Santa and the elves, which would not be farfetched at this time of year. However, I'm still deep into my mosaic tiles, and some of them will land on gifts this year, but I'm still behind with my creations. My latest efforts... I've been into the blues and greens lately, and aren't they a fresh combination, with some red thrown in. I like to add some "startling" elements. Red is for Christmas!! :)
xo
Maria

Slipping...

I've been slipping lately, very much so, with posting here. Should I blame it on Twitter or Facebook, or etsy, or Artfire, or any other venue that takes sooo much of my time? Nah. I went to Sweden to see my mom who is 91 years old. Went for two weeks and it was really good to see her! She still lives alone, but it's a worry for me. Thank God I have a brother who lives locally, or I don't know know how I would cope with the situation.
I just got back home to FL, made some more mosaic tiles and now I'm trying to catch up on the Christmas opportunies for sales in my various online shops. I have to tell you I sent out some big waves of gratitude for the warm and delicious weather we're having 'cause I can't cope with the slush, the grayness, or the fog that I experienced over in Sweden. It gets dark at 3:30 this time of year, and it's one of the reasons I always looked for a sunny place to "perch."
I'm behind on my Christmas things, but it'll all come together and there will be pictures to follow!

xoxo
Maria

I'm definitely having a handmade Christmas! :)

MariaGreene





Unique Gifts

This Christmas will be unique and wholly handmade. Fun, fun, fun!

They are back!

I can't believe it's already fall again! It seems just yesterday that I went out to walk the back yard and saw some morning glories in all their glory! Well, it's happening again. They are back, and this time I found some that were accessible to my camera. I went back inside, charged the camera and took some great pictures. I just LOVE the blue color of the morning glory. It's like Heavenly blue with a core of pure light. Aren't they just fantastic?
I've also been busy here in blogland and in my studio. Here's another winged box, and I'm really happy with the outcome of this puppy! You never know, but that's what makes art interesting. Every project is an unchartered path even though the path is familiar.

Something new in my shop for your prayers or trinkets!

I like to write down intentions and put them somewhere. I have my own little box, well, it's not so small, and I keep all my wishes in it. I date the pieces of paper, and later on when I go through my wishes/prayers/intentions, I find that most of them have been answered. Of course there's a Big Ear in the sky that hears everything, and not clamped to a cell phone either! My prayers might not be answered in the way I envisioned, but they are always answered. I'm very grateful that someone wants to listen to me! This box can be purchased at Artfire here and it's quite reasonably priced, and of course made with love. :)

Art journal from old book covers...

I belong to On The Wing creative network, and we make projects to get ourselves to experiment creatively. This week we made an art journal that is inspired by Kelly Rae Robert's book Taking Flight. I have never made an altered book, but here's my addition to that online "challenge."

More mirrors...

Got myself into some more polymer clay tiles; it's addictive you know. These I like because they came out very colorful. You never know; it all depends on the mood you're in. I have some old tiles that are ugly and I always wonder what I was thinking when I made those... They don't make themselves into any of my creations, and I always say I'm going to repaint them, but there they are, slightly dog-eared and scuffed...

Here are PEACE and FOLLOW YOUR DREAM! I like those messages a lot. For those who pop in here know that... :)

Got me some journal pages to share...

The tiger is my favorite animal for sheer magnificence, and I looked at this beautiful photo and prayed that the tigers won't be gone because they add such beauty to this world. Caption: (from printed matter): One special reason to live green; to keep these cats with us! My little cat lives in the eyes of this magnificent beast. Any time is a good time to visit the land of the Tiger. But there's no time like now. India. (Would like to see that country some day.)

Buddha picture entry: Beloved Inspiration to go within. Always the same through the ages. Going within is the Only Truth! Breathe in stillness, LISTEN with the heart. The still voice is there and speaks MY language, the one I know, the one I used to know always. This is the red thread in all of my lives, and I heed it NOW.

Woman entry: Celebrate the feminine even if it won't take you anywhere that you envision. Celebrate ANYWAY! Girls rule!

Happy woman entry: If you don't live your passion every day, what kind of life do you have? Do you feel excited to get up every morning and face a day filled with passion? If not, what are you waiting for? Permission? Only you can permit yourself to be HAPPY!

I was just thinking...

...is my life really that boring that I don't have anything to write about?? I pretty much work and then do art/craft/jewelry...play with Bailey the Cat. Well, usually he just sleeps a lot, right beside me here on the couch, his paws pushing against my side. I know that if I try to take a picture, he'll move. He's lying on his back, paws stretched out as far as they go, head twisted down the side. I don't know how he does it without getting a crick in his neck! (Actually tried to take a picture, but the battery was dead in the camera.)
Anyway, back to the important stuff. What's new? My computer crashed so I had to buy a new one. Windows Vista is NOT fun. :( Never used it before, and I can't wait to get Windows 7, in hope that it's better. Anyway, it's novelty to have a FAST computer. What with half of my free time spent on various online selling venues, it's great to have a fast computer.
I've been beefing up my Artfire store, and they have some really neat new features. If only I could make some sales...
Also, I've been art journaling some, so there are pictures to follow shortly.
Keep creating, and eat dessert first!

I made some more mosaic boxes . . .

It is boring to post about the same kind of craft that I'm doing, but I wanted to post something since it's been a while. Boxes galore, and my hydrangea under the bird feeder.

Check out the ACEO that was gifted to me...

You meet all kinds of interesting and kind people in blog land. June Crawford is a new friend and fabulous artist. Check out her blog HERE. I belong to at least five networking sites, and I've met her on two of those before. I was a lucky winner on her blog. Check out this beautiful mini painting/collage: "Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments the better."
I totally agree with her (and Emerson's) sentiment in that! That message came at a good time in my life as I'm trying to decide whether to quit a partime job and go "full blast" into the somewhat unknown future. Sometimes we have to take risks to get where we're supposed to be, and that can be very scary!

Tried my hand at some picture frames...

I've never made picture frames before, but I had some requests, so I gave it a go. One is titled "Sisters Forever," and the other "Friend." I don't have any sisters, but all of my girlfriends are like my sisters, so this is for you! :) And you can't have too many pictures of friends either. I have plenty, and usually everyone is smiling. I wonder why... 'cause we're friends, and we're having a good time. As they say: friends are the family you choose.
I used all my fave colors as usual.

Fly Free! As dragonflies do...

My latest polymer clay mosaic mirror. Love those blues and greens, with a touch of purple and pink. All my favorite colors for sure. :) The tiles are pretty labor intensive, but it's fun to see the finished product coming together. Then I had to try and take a picture that didn't have my hands and camera in the mirror.... Done that before. I've been taking the pictures without the mirror glass, but I thought I'd make an effort this time, or it'll look like a picture frame.

I've been spending a lot of time in blog land, reading other artists' blogs, and it can be very addictive. This whole networking online and all the groups and sites that I'm involved with take a lot of time. The hours add up, but I think it's important to have a presence out there so people can discover my art. (Maybe it's just an excuse to feed my addiction...??)
I find that I sell more locally than I do online.
See ya in the ethers.
Keep on creating!
xoxo
Maria