As long as I have been playing with polymer clay, I decided to make some faux antique jewelry. I have a wonderful book in my collection called “Creating Your Own Antique Jewelry” by cRis Dupouy that I used for inspiration. Infact, I took photos of the pendant and brooch with the pages from the book as backdrop. They were fun to make:
I finally got the Lazertran transfer paper. Like any new technique, it’s a matter of practice practice practice – I smeared a few before I was satisfied. I have always wanted to incorporate vintage family photos into my art. So, I made my daughter necklaces from found objects and photos of her great-grandmother Kiyono from the Asian side, and her great-grandmother Frederica from the European side. Her reaction? uhhh… it’s gaudy and nice! I think she likes them 🙂
Well, winter break + snow in the local mountains = snowboarding!
Here is a picture taken today of the mountains from our backyard. And the other is of my older son and his friend after a night of snowboarding last season. As you can see, that season came to an abrupt end. At least they were able to drive themselves to the ER :-). I’m hoping for a more safe and uneventful snowboarding season this break – two more weeks to go…
I love to bake, but after having children (many moons ago), that went by the wayside except for during the holidays. Cookies are a must during the Christmas season, and I usually have three staple cookie recipes plus a few new ones I try out. This year, I stuck with my usual three that I have made since I was a teenager! – Russian Tea Cookies, Peanut Blossoms, and Lucy’s Lemon Squares. These are really standard cookies, but I’ve listed a couple of the recipes here: You can click on them to enlarge.
I just love the vintage style cup and saucer set I got from Starbucks a few years back:
This is such a busy time of the year. I haven’t been able to get on the torch, or be creative for that matter. I did purchase some neat gallery templates from Corina Nielsen. I am a bit Photoshop Elements challenged, so I bought a book, and am planning on teaching myself Elements. Meanwhile, my friend Evelyn of PhotoArtbyMarie gave me some pointers, and I was able to use my latest templates. I uploaded some photos of beads I have made in the past. Pretty cool huh? 🙂
Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the season, I was able to sit down long enough to make a pair of earrings to replace the ones that sold at the RAA:
The teenagers have been having fun making a gingerbread house – out of a kit of course! Maybe out of scratch some day 🙂
I don’t do much scrapbooking, but my daughter and I had a project. She wanted to make a sports scrapbook for a senior friend that also plays volleyball. It was fun & opened my eyes to the world of scrapbooking. I think I will pursue digital scrapbooking … I even purchased some kits from Shabby Princess already.
And … when I was trying to take pictures of the earrings this morning, I stepped outside to check the light, and I saw tree trimmers in my neighbors trees. I thought they looked neat, and took this:
I planted three satsuma trees in the spring. And although they are very small, they have fruit on them. My neighbor is selling hers in her stand, so I took a look in the back, and sure enough, they were ripe. Winter in Southern California is not so very cold, but my gardening has slowed. I picked an avocado to see if it would ripen off the tree. The passion fruit vine is making a comeback after being choked by the banana trees. Oh, the banana trees… my gardener recommends removing them all, as they are wreaking havoc in the area, but they are so pretty, and hides my garage… we will have to think on this one.
I have been in a mad rush to decorate the house before my boys come home for winter break. Even at their age, I think they enjoy coming home to a festive holiday environment – my daughter still at home likes it too :-). It took me two days of on again off again decorating, but I got it done! Here are some photos:
The last time I made anything with polymer clay was almost 20 years ago. I made dolls from a pattern I found in an old McCall’s Needlework & Crafts magazine, circa 1976 – I still have the magazine! Well, I have been wanting to make something using old family photos and polymer clay. I have had a difficult time finding a medium to make transfers from. I initially tried liquid sculpy, then T-shirt transfer paper. I finally caved and ordered Lazertran Silk transfer paper. In the meanwhile, I experimented with ready made transfers. Here is a pair of angel earrings I made out of polymer clay, transfer, silver, copper, and amber. Not bad for a first go. And below is a doll who now resides at my sister’s home, and the vintage magazine I mentioned:
Found Object – noun a natural or manufactured object that is perceived as being aesthetically satisfying and exhibited as such.
I was looking through my collection, and came up with some vintage beads and findings to make earrings for the christmas tree ornaments at the Art Association. My father’s sister was an avid crafter, and I inherited some of her treasures. I just love the cute vintage angels – aren’t they adorable!
Yesterday, my daughter and I had a fun-filled day of activities. We started off by visiting our local Y Alliance Annual Holiday Crafts Boutique and Pantry. I do, do my own baking for the holidays, but couldn’t resist buying a plate of yummy cookies from the pantry. I also visited two booths that I particularly like; “Isabel’s Creations”, and “SewDaisy”. Isabel does wonderful needlework/sewing (I got several x-mas gifts), and the ladies of SewDaisy make the cutest things out of fabric. I picked this apron up – I love love aprons!
Then it was off to my daughter’s guitar lesson. Her instructor is Jaime Valdovino of Valdovino Guitar Studios:
After that, we headed down to the beach cities. On our way, we stopped by the Winterfest show at the home of artist Joanna Mersereau where her beautiful art was featured. My friend Liz Coviello of Bizzi Lizzi Creations was also there with her wonderful button jewelry and quilts:
We finally made it to the beach cities. First, we met my sister and had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. I don’t recall ever having Vietnamese food, but it was delicious! We had a noodle salad called Bun:
Then we were off to the Piecemakers Christmas Fair. There were many booths, but one in particular caught my attention; Kyoto Studios Lampwork Glass Beads. Six years ago, when I first discovered lampwork beads, I came across Chiharu Richardson of Kyoto Studios. Before I learned to make my own beads, I was busy amassing a small collection of beads that I took a fancy to. My husband would ask me if the hobby was collecting or creating? – it was both :-). Chiharu still makes beautiful beads:
We also stopped by the Holy Honey Company. We all left with a purchase of a Dreamsicle All Natural Lotion Bar – really dreamy! And finished the fair off with funnel cake – yummy! (by the way, calories don’t count in December :-))
We did a couple more errands, and picked up my beverage of choice to fortify me for the drive home:
On our way home, we stopped by to pick up the newly released “Eclipse”
Ummm… If I had to choose, I guess I am Team Jacob – my daughter is definitely Team Edward 🙂
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