“Faces in the Crowd” Part II

If any of you remember the July/August 2003 cover of Expression Magazine then these might look a little familiar. Although I was not the talented artist behind the article pieces, they were made from my art glass pieces I call ClinkIts!. The artist in the magazine is Lea Everse and she is a hugely talented artist. My pieces still lack my final embellishment, but I wanted to share with you what I’ve been doing. The original cover is below and back issues are still available if you visit the magazines’s website at: www.expressionartmagazine.com.

I take the ClinkIt (glass piece) rubber stamp and emboss it. Once it’s cooled down from the embossing gun I add a face I’ve made with polymer clay. Lea herself sent me the molds for this and I think I have used them more than any other thing in my craft stash! I should drop her a note to say hi. I haven’t talked to her in such a long time! To turn the piece into a pendant I will glue a coil hanger on the back.

When they are done I plan on putting them up on etsy and probably giving some away to friends. All and all they are not that hard to do. Perhaps I will post the entire project on a ‘Tutorial Tuesday.’ If you need ClinkIts, you can get them at AliciaG.

My home based business, The Craft Cart, is coming along. We are lining up our first few consultants. I am disappointed that my husband has not done much work on the new site as I had hoped, but he does work all day at his computer and I guess it’s a bit unfair of me to nag him to do more work after he gets home. Because of this I’m starting to do my own site. It’s about 75% done and if you want to see the work in progress, you can here. That’s about it for today. I’m going to snag a nap before one of my kids wakes. Have a wonderful afternoon.

Tutorial Tuesday!

Knotted Pearl Necklace.

This is a traditional style necklace. Knotted white freshwater pearls on silk beading cord. Of course you can use whatever beads you like! This is also great for reusing beads from a broken necklace or reconstruction some of the treasures found in your grandmother’s jewelry box (hoping she doesn’t mind, of course!). You can find the tutorial here at my tutorial blog.

The festival my friend and I did on the 16th went ok. We handed out a lot of brochures and got our name out but we did not sell many kits. Admittedly I over bought for the festival, but I figured if we didn’t sell them we could use them as stock. I’m a little frustrated over things not getting done on time, but the website is coming along and we’re refining our kits. I just ordered a bunch of new books to get inspiration for new kits. I am somewhat disappointed at the quality of the kit supplies we have gotten so far, so I am going to work on new sources.

While I was at the festival a few weeks ago I got a chance to pop into Super Suppers. What a fantastic idea. Basically you go in and assemble the meal. They have done all of the shopping and chopping and have recipes all ready to go. You can go home and cook the food or freeze the stuff for a later date. I think this would be a fantastic idea for someone who has just had a baby or got out of the hospital! They even have meals you can walk in and grab. Easy Peasy!

A tutorial for you!

 

I’ve posted a tutorial for a Ribbon, Wire and Bead Necklace for you on my tutorial blog that I just started.  I’m going to try and post a new tutorial a week from the ones I wrote back in 2001 and 2002 for an on-line Rubber Stamping community and mall called Cyberstampers.

Not much else to post, just getting ready for the festival this weekend.  I hope you all enjoy the tutorial.

Knit One, Curse Too!

My mothers group has a crafting club (Creative MAMAs) that I am in charge of. We try to have a project each month that anybody in the club can come and do. I’ve taught a few beaded jewelry ones. My friend does the stamping projects and is going to do a fall wreath project for next month. This month my other friend taught us how to get started knitting. We learned to cast on, knit and cast off. I did WAY better than I thought I would. I actually am going to pick up a pair of needles and maybe try making a scarf for myself. Actually I figured I could at least make a pot holder. I aim low, what can I say. I do have a problem with making my stitches way too tight though. I’m sure that will work itself out when I get more comfortable with holding the needles.

Some other news… My daughter (now 14 months) has been taking more steps on her own. She did 12 steps across the living room the other night, unassisted! She also starts moms morning out next week at the same place I take my son. She has been there for drop off a few times and always seems to enjoy it. The teachers there are real sweet. If you are in the Marietta, GA area and need a good preschool, please check Creative Montessori School Out. They are in the process of redoing all of their playgrounds with new equipment. I am trying to help them raise funds for that through Stuck On You Labels.

I am an independent Agent for Stuck on You. They manufacture fun and colorful labels for kids clothes and other belongings. Dishwasher and Dryer safe. You can view all of their items by visiting here. If you order and mention me (Alicia G.) or Creative Montessori School in the ‘how did you hear about us section,’ I will donate half my commission to the school’s playground fund. I also can run fundraisers for other schools and organizations, so if you know of a place that might be interested, please email me and I’ll send out some brochures.

Hectic week

My mother in law came for a visit this week.  So I was busy cleaning and making the house presentable.  While she was here my husband and I went on a day trip to Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, AL.  It took us about 2.5 hours to get there.  I have to say after hearing about it in the press and reading their website I was a bit disappointed.  I thought some of their prices were high for used stuff.  I saw the same DVD player I have at home and it was cheaper when I bought it new, and at retail price!  I did not have a chance to go through clothing, so I’m not sure how the prices were on that.  I certainly didn’t feel as if they were great bargains.  We did manage to come home with 4 Elmo DVD’s for the kids, which we will save for our road trip to Texas in October.  It was nice to get out for the day without the kids.

I haven’t had much time to do anything crafty this week, although I did pick up some great things at the craft store.  A new soldering iron, some chunky yarns and some beads.

Still have a lot to do to get ready for the Festival my business partner and I are launching our business at mid September.  We will use the opportunity to recruit consultants for our home based business “The Craft Cart”.   Still have to work on that website!  So many things, so little time!