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.