No Time to Think

Just when I thought that the holidays were over and we could let out a sigh of relief I found myself getting motivated to paint, make more jewelry and gem trees.  The paintings you can see in my previous post and the jewelry I have yet to photograph. I also have more cookies to make for my nephew and his wife before they head back to Oklahoma on Wednesday.....humm I guess that will be a tomorrow job.

I received a special order in December for 6 opal gem trees that have to be mailed by Jan. 15th, so I got busy today and started making my branches. One tree is completely put together and the others are on pieces on my dining room table in various stages of completion. See messy photo. The trees have either 3 little pearls, blue topaz or peridot at the tip and then I glue opal cabs on as leaves. Makes a stunning litle tree. I have a feeling that they will all get finished this week and be ready to mail next week.....woo hoo. Then I can concentrate on some of my other activities.

Speaking of other activities, January 16th I'll be teaching a fine silver fusing class for my gem and mineral club. I still have yet to order the wire, I guess that will have to be this week also to ensure that I get it in on time.

I hope everybody is having a great week so far and have a safe New Year's Eve.

New Paintings

I've been wanting to learn how to use acrylic paints for quite a while. I figure if I can paint watercolor then acrylic should be a breeze right? Well it is easier to learn, but it is not a breeze. Not sure if any of these are marketable yet, but my newest painting (sunflowers) is much better. All of these except for the sunflowers are ACEO's which are Art Cards, Editions or Originals in a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch size, so they are quite small. The sunflowers is a 5 x 7. I really wanted to start painting some ACEO's and thought this would be a good opportunity. I probably should have started out with a larger size to get a better feel of the canvas and paints, but it is what it is.

So, what do you think?

Happy Holidays.

Holiday Treats

Well the past several days I have been baking. Yes I did cheat a bit...okay a whole lot but you would never know it if I threw away the Betty Crocker cookie box on my counter.  My hubby decided that this would be a great way to make my baking life easier and yes it is and the cookies do taste good. I made the Russian Tea Cakes and the Frosted Thumbprint cookies from this box and no one knew...that is the best part. I still have lots more to do but I still have several days left of baking.

This is my messy counter in all it's sweet glory.

So my treats this year consist of Chocolate covered prezels with Heath Toffee bits and mixed nuts, Russian Tea Cakes, Gingersnaps, Frosted Thumbprint cookies and Peppermint bark. I still have some mint brownies to do and maybe more Gingersnaps as that is all that is left from taking a pile to my mothers tonight for dinner. You got to love Betty Crocker.

Hopefully everyone had a great weekend. Cheers and look forward to some photos of my paintings tomorrow.   Dana

And the Winner is...

I just picked the winner and notified her via e-mail from Random.org and it is Ann On and On. Congratulations and thanks for all who entered and followed me during this giveaway.

Moonstone Necklace and Holiday Fun

My final giveaway for the year is ending tonight at 6:00 pm PST, so if you haven't entered do so quick. It is a beautiful set and could be used as a gift or as a gift to yourself. I do want to thank The Give-Away Diva for all her help in generating interest in this giveaway and for her review. Also, thanks to all who have entered and now are following this blog or my Facebook Fan page. My next giveaway will be in January and will be an autographed copy of my book "Gem Tree Sculptures". This book would be perfect for a man or woman who likes to work with their hands or is crafty.

On to the holiday, today is cookie making day. I decided to do a limited amout of cookies as all of us don't need the extra poundage but we love the sweets. I have my butter out so that it can warm up to room temp and then I'll make my Russian Tea Cakes and Thumbprint cookies. They use the same recipe so that makes it easy. One is just rolled in powdered sugar and the other is filled with frosting....yummy. I'll post pictures tomorrow along with the recipe.

So are you doing any holiday crafting or baking? My craftyness now is learning how to use acrylic paints to paint ACEO's. ACEO's are art cards, editions or original works of art in a very small size of 2 1/2 by 3 1/2. I found some canvases and bought some paints and have been painting little works of art. Okay, I'm not sure they can be considered works of art yet (see picture), but I'm getting better. I probably should have started with a bigger canvas for learning to use acrylic paint but I really wanted to start making these little paintings.  My favorite is the tropical scene with all it's bright little colors.

Cheers and have a great day.

Featured Artist - Vintage Soap Shoppe

I love soap as much as the next person but these soaps look wonderful. Face it we all need soap and why not try some of Angela's. She has soaps, candles and bath products in her Etsy and ArtFire shops.

Here is a little more about Angela:

She is a professional pastry chef and has been making hand made soap for years. She started a soap business 3 years ago due to the urging of friends and family. She started out doing retail and have expanded into the wholesale market. Her vendors are supportive of her creativity and request her soap cakes. She loves doing them as they are a lot of fun. She incorporates her love for the pastry arts and soap making in one.

Her biggest reward is when she hears such wonderful comments about her soap. Her specialty is her heavy cream and goatsmilk soaps. She uses local sustainable products in her soap business and loves researching for the best and most purest essential oils, herbs, bontanicals, roots and spices.

Using the purest, freshest ingredients is very important to Angela as you have to start with the best ingredients to get the best product.

 

See Angela's blog at http://www.vintagesoapshoppe.blogspot.com/ and her products at http://www.etsy.com/shop/vintagesoapshoppe and http://vintagesoapshoppe.artfire.com/.

 

Don't forget about my December giveaway. The deadline is tomorrow for that wonderful moonstone necklace and earring set. Here is the link to that blog post. Don't let this one pass you by. http://danasjewelrydesign.blogspot.com/2009/12/december-giveaway-moonstone-necklace.html

 

Have a great day.

Featured Jewelry Artist - Flutter

One of my fellow Creative Bloggers is Phersmay and the name of her shop is Flutter. Nice fanciful name for some cute jewelry designs. You can check out her blog and jewelry HERE.

Here is one of my favorites, simple and sweet.

Phersmay is a stay at home mom to a beautiful little girl. She has several aspirations in life and right now she is living life the way she was meant to. By nature she is nurturing, eccentric, organised, bossy, flighty,dynamic, creative, and is always looking for inspiration in every aspect of life. She enjoys writing, loves to read poetry, and to spend time with the people she loves.

Enjoy and don't forget to enter my December giveaway.

Another picture

I'm not sure if this picture is any better than the one yesterday, but here is another shot of the December giveaway necklace set.

Today is one of those solomn days as it is the memorial and procession for the 4 slain police officers. For those of you that are not here in the States, last week a lone gunman went into a coffee shop and shot 4 police officers. He was found and shot while trying to escape and now they have found several people who helped him that will be going on trial. Obviously, this has been the biggest news in the area for the past week and our hearts and prayers go out to the family members of these officers.

I've put a link to a You Tube video of Wintley Phipps of Amazing Grace. This is one of my favorite songs. Take a listen and give thanks for your family today, I know I did.

December Giveaway - Moonstone necklace set

Here it is, the final giveaway for the year. The Giveaway Diva will also be featuring this giveaway so if you have arrived here from there, please let me know. You only have a short time to enter (Ends December 18th at 6:00 pm PST) as I will be ending this prior to Christmas so that I can get the item shipped. The picture of the necklace and earrings is a dark, but I had a hard time photographing moonstone. What you will receive is a 16" sterling silver chain with faceted moonstone briolettes. The pendant is about 1 1/4". The earrings are also included and are on sterling silver leverback style earrings. The drop features another moonstone briolette. The earring dangle is also about 1 1/4". This is a delicate set, but one that you can wear with most anything from a t-shirt to a fancy little black dress.

To enter you must leave comment(s) here on my blog. These are the rules.

• Visit my 1000 Markets store or my Artfire store and let me know what your favorite item is and whether it would be for you or a gift. - Receive 1 entry per store you visit, this is the first step to getting entered no matter if you do any of the others or not. Links to my stores are below.
• Follow my blog and you will receive 2 entries
• Already a follower, let me know and you will also receive 2 entries
• Fan my Facebook page and you will get 2 entries
• Already a fan, you will get 2 entries, but you have to let me know in your comment
• Follow the Giveaway Diva's blog, or her facebook page and receive 1 entry each
• Blog about this giveaway or tweet about this giveaway and receive 2 entries for each

Any other advertising for me or this giveaway and you will receive additional entries into the giveway. Please feel free to leave me as many comments as you like to get that amount of entries into the giveaway. This set would make a perfect holiday present. This giveaway is open to my International followers also.

Also, please check out the Giveaway Diva's blog for additional giveaway's.

I look forward to your comments.  Cheers and happy holidays.
Here are the links to my shops.
1000 Markets
ArtFire

My Jewelry Review

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, a pair of my earrings were going up for review by the Give-Away Diva. I will be hosting a giveaway soon on her blog, so stay tuned. Details will be out Monday. These are the earrings that she reviewed. They are simple, yet very good quality faceted garnets with 14 kt gold filled ear wires and gold vermeil findings. These earrings normally sell for around $18.00 so very affordable.

If you like this delicate look, then you will love the necklace and earrings that I'll be giving away this month.

Check out the Give-Away Diva's site and all her great giveaway and reviews. You never know what might be available.

Chow and have a great weekend.  Dana

The Giveaway Diva - Fabulous giveaways

If you haven't checked out the Giveaway Diva blog you just have to. She reviews products (yes, she will be reviewing one of mine soon) and then hosts a giveaway. This week the giveaway is for a Guy and Eva Britney Ring. Don't wait too long, this ring would be perfect for those special occassions.

Have fun entering all of her giveaways.

Featured Artist - Prideaux Prints

Okay, we are now officially back from vacation, have picked up the dogs from the sitter and bought groceries. Now to tackle the mounds of laundry from the trip. Sometimes I think there is more work to be done when you get home from a vacation than getting ready for vacation.

Today I will be promoting a friend of mine. She is a photographer and has traveled extensively. Donna just opened a shop on 1000 Markets, one of my favorite handmade sites, and I would like everyone to check out some of her work. She'll be posting more photos later this week, but here is one titled Small Town USA. It's one of my favorites.

Check out her shop Prideaux Prints HERE.

Donna indicates that photography is her passion. Her photos capture the beauty of her lovely home state of Oregon and many of the other states and countries she has visited. She also enjoyed the romance of Italy, particularly Venice; and hopes you enjoy it too.

I hope everyone is having a great week. Enjoy!