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Saturday, July 7, 2012

Lockets, lockets and more lockets!


Awhile back I took a silhouette making class at Paper Source in Thousand Oaks, CA. I loved it. The above is my lovely niece Dylan with her little ballerina bun. After taking the class and since I have always loved the look of vintage silhouettes, I thought it would be fun to make the paper cuts, shrink them down and turn them into wearable art. I know there are others that have had the same idea, I realize that, but I think you should work with what you love. My lockets (which should be ready for purchase at in the Fall of 2012) will be inside antiqued brass round lockets and (if desired) engraved with the wearers initial or initials. Since I didn't want to be a complete tease, I am already offering the engraving services in the shop for the vintage and new bubble lockets.
Let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

San Francisco: A City of Inspiration

The last few days I was in San Francisco for a class. Many people refer to SF as "The City" as if it was the ONLY city in the world. I tend to agree with them. I always feel refreshed and bursting with creativity after a visit; even if it is brief. The food in SF is amazing; I cannot think of a bad meal I have had. The photo is of a plate of olives and anchovies myself and a good friend Jillyn shared. I didn't know I liked anchovies, just the very thought of them made me turn up my nose. And yet, I was in The City and took a chance. I loved their flavor, a touch fishy, a touch salty and (it could of been the olive oil) a touch oily. They are a wonderful snack. I am sold. We stayed at the Argonaut Hotel as we are partial to the Kimpton line. Plus you cannot beat the location; a bit touristy during the day, but quiet at night. Ghiradelli Square is up the hill and has a few cute boutiques. I noticed some shops that were there a few years ago (it has been a few years since my last visit) were closed. (Insert sad face!) But do visit Lola of North Beach I bought a bunch of cute stuff for my nieces and nephews there and a few cute homey things for myself. Like the San Francisco Stamp Set for myself from Yellow Owl Workshop! The last thing I did, a lot, this past week was indulge in libations. The Kimpton hotels offer a very nice FREE wine reception nightly. BUT on our final evening in SF, we dined at Gitane. I highly recommend the bacon bon-bons and the Safra to drink. The Safra, fuzzily pictured right, is a saffron infused gin based drink. I am not a fan of gin, BUT again I tried the Safra on my last trip to SF about six months ago and decided to give gin another try. ***NOTE: All photos were taken on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic App.***

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Simple Book-Bag

I made my first bag a few months ago after taking an awesome beginning sewing class with Christine Haynes at the Urban Craft Center (which recently closed! Sad Face!) and made the bag to the left. Christine teaches and works at Sew LA . Over the next few weeks I started collecting fabric (I am partial to Japanese linen blends) and cotton webbing. The pattern is available on the Pearl Soho Blog, Pearl Bee: . If I can make this bag, anyone can! All you need is a 1/2 yard of fabric, 1 & 1/2 yard of cotton webbing and thread. It was recommend we use a heavier cotton for the project, so the bag holds its shape better. It was my first real experience with sewing. I still cannot sew a button on. The bag above was made for my lovely sister-in-law, Nicole, to hold books and crap for my nephew Miller. I just loved the cute little blue cars.
Now I plan on making one for my Mom, Brenda, out of a lovely Kokka cotten-linen blend with a natural background and cute owls with a matching black webbing handle.
And my mother-in-law Anne who loves horses (owns two!) in this cute girly western Heather Ross for Kokka, with some contrasting yellow-green and brown webbing.
And for my niece, Isabella (AKA Bella) a cute pink mermaid Trefle created by Kokka (anyone notice a trend of the fabric I like? Ha!) cotton-linen blend with a nice matching pink and mint green webbing (the mint in a nice accent color from the fabric.) Of course I just found out yesterday, AFTER I already bought this fabric that she no longer likes pink. Hopefully she will like the bag anyways! (The retro silhouettes in the photo is going to be for me! It is Melody Miller Ruby Star Rising for Kokka.)
And lastly a bag for my cousin, Tami, who has two beautiful daughters and needs a free hand! A super cute linen-cotton Echino fabric with scooters, stripes and dots! I thought the purple & blue webbing really contrast and compliment the fabric. You can find these or similar fabrics online or at the physical shop Super Buzzy or 1794 East Main Street Ventura, CA 93001. I will keep you posted on the progress in the coming weeks (or possibly months!) I think I have too many projects...

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Feet First

I finally decided to jump into the pool: I will be updating my BLOG on a weekly basis. Plus now I have a FB page and I am on Twitter @bluegal75 Please follow me on this journey as I try to brand myself and discover what I am best at!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Day One

Hello!

Thanks for stopping by...

I am a Mixed Media artist and jewelry crafter *NEW* to the blogging world.

Upcoming posts:

Coming Soon!

Round one: Vintage Shank Buttons turned earrings!