An Even Dozen

Troy & I celebrated our 12 year anniversary on Friday.

We ate dinner at Stack Steakhouse & then we to see the Cirque du Soleil show Love.



It was a perfect night, as have been the last 12 years. On the day we got married we had only known each other 6 months & 9 days, not knowing what the future would hold, we jumped in with both feet. It took us a while to get things figured out, but neither of us drowned. Looking back I don't think that I would change a thing, there have been really high ups & some really low downs in our lives as a couple as well as individuals, but I wouldn't be who I am today with out all of them & especially without Troy being such a huge part of my life.

Some things I've learned the last 12 years.
I've learned to admit when I am wrong, only say I'm sorry if I really mean it, don't say "you never" or "you always", that the little things are huge, that in 12 years from now I won't remember a clean house, but I will remember that time we laid in bed all day watching movies, that being mad hurts me more than anyone else, that making someone else happy is one of the best feelings in the world, to give more than I think I can and expect nothing in return, that I really am strong & can handle more than I ever imagined, that I'm not as strong as I think and sometimes I need a shoulder to lean on, that I will always have a best friend, not to say "I will never" or "I won't" because when it comes down it I will probably do the opposite, to live in the moment, that I can laugh at things instead of getting mad or being sad, not to hold grudges, to try things I wouldn't normally do, true forgiveness, to show appreciation, to frequently tell him that I love him, that true love really is unconditional, and when it's true love it really can be
Forever & Always!

Mike's Hard Lemonade

Who would have thought that Mike's Hard Lemonade would have a quote on one of their bottles that I would deem worthy of posting on my blog. Okay so maybe quite a few of you....but that's beside the point. In the last couple months I have been involved in conversations about jewelry designs being "copied". Last night at dinner it came up again.

Throughout the discussions & conversations my thoughts have been that anyone & everyone can copy your designs. If you put your work out there to sell, to be showcased, or even just wear, your design can and probably will be copied; and you can almost guarantee your work to be copied if you teach or get published.

There is a wide range of how & why you are copied. There are those that can just look at your design and go home and make a copy. There are those who may copy your design simply because they can make it themselves or who don't want to pay what you are asking for your piece. There are those who will copy your design just to make one for themselves & those who will sell them or even teach a class. There are those who even though they copy your design they give you credit for the original, and then those who will copy your design and take credit for the original too. All the same things can be said about techniques too.

With all that said, when asked, I struggled with the answer to the question. How would I feel if someone copied one of my designs?

I would be okay if someone copied one of my original designs, would I want credit for it, before my answer would have been a firm yes, and that is where Mike's Hard Lemonade comes in....Troy & I were eating dinner and I looked over at the bottle and there it was staring me in the face:

It's funny how such a simple little thing can change your way of thinking. I tore the label off the bottle and now have it posted right above my work space. Now I think I'd be okay even if I didn't get credit, would I still like credit, probably, but after all being an "artist" isn't about getting credit, it's about making the world a little bit more beautiful.

Thanks Mike!

Circus Skunk

I told some of you about my pink hair disaster, but you keep bugging me to see some pics. So here they are, they are really bad cause I only took self portraits with my cell phone. When I would pull it up in a pony tail, I said I looked like a "Circus Skunk"; I had a big blond streak down the center flanked by two hot pink stripes.




I got it fixed about 36 hours later & I'm back to my regular hair for the most part, there are still a little traces of pink, but I can live with it.

Take this advise...

NEVER, EVER, NEVER let someone dye your hair HOT PINK!!!

.....I guess I need to add that these photos DO NOT show how bright or how much pink there was in my hair, these photos make it look like there were just little highlights of pink. That was not the case, I had a 4" wide x 1/2" thick chunk of pink on each side of my head.

It really was as bad as I described, you just can't tell in these photos!

If I Could Design My Own Converse...

Okay, so I don't know how I got there, but somehow I ended up on the Converse website designing my own pair of shoes!

You can choose everything, inside & outside color, heel stripe, tongue, lining, rubber, racing stripe, lace & even stitching colors!

I call these BlingGirl Goes Converse.



This is just way too much fun not to share! Design your own here and post them on your blog or email me a picture!
Enjoy!

I Can Hardly Wait!

Before heading to the AU Shopping Extravaganza Amanda & I quickly scanned the vendor list & looked at their sites & blogs. I had decided that Beth Quinn's booth was one of the first ones I wanted to visit. I really wanted one of these rings, but 30 minutes after the doors opened and I finally made my way to her table she was sold out...BUT she said she could make one for me! I checked my email this morning & what a great surprise, my ring is finished, in the mail & on it's way!

I CAN HARDLY WAIT!

Since I ordered mine I was able to choose what my ring would say, can you guess what I picked???

All the glitter, the bling, the crowns, if these don't scream "BlingGirl" I don't know what does!

I was able to come home with a few of her pieces & I love them. What a great concept and design & you couldn't meet a nicer person, she is so sweet.

As soon as I get my ring I will post a picture!

I CAN HARDLY WAIT!

Oh ya, did I tell you...I CAN HARDLY WAIT!

Eye Candy

I don't have much time today

so I'm just going to post a little
Eye Candy!

Things I've made at or since

I got home from ArtUnraveled.

Resin Charms

Instructor ~ Sherri Haab

Carved Rubber Stamps

Instructor ~ Traci Bunkers

Wire Crochet

Instructor ~ Susan Lenart Kazmer

Sterling & Copper Ring
Made from Sheet Metal & Wire

Instructor ~ Susan Lenart Kazmer

Rock & Etched Copper....Ring or Pendant...Not Finished

Instructor ~ Susan Lenart Kazmer

Woven Sterling Wire Bracelet

Instructor ~ Susan Lenart Kazmer



Things I bought at ArtUnraveled.

Purse Mirror ~ Traci Bunkers

Acrylic Pendant ~ Wynn Studios

Glass Blob Pendants ~ Beth Quinn Designs

"Fairy Queen" Tin Box
Sorry, I don't remember the vendor.

Buttons, Ribbons & Fabric ~ SAS Fabrics
You can buy fabric by the pound!!!

Lots of Other Goodies
Mostly from Hannah Grey & Vintage Charmings

Pencil Ring ~ Susan Lenart Kazmer

This is my favorite thing I bought! When signing up for classes I just signed up for the classes that looked interesting to me, I didn't know who any of the teachers were so that wasn't a factor in choosing my classes. But when someone asked, who's teaching your classes, I looked and I had signed up for almost all of my classes with the same instructor, not planning it or even knowing who she was I feel like to really lucked out and got one of the best teachers there!

After my first class I went back to my room and told Amanda about this ring, I loved it! Susan had been wearing this ring all week long & I had been lusting after it all week long, telling Amanda about it over and over again! In my second to last class someone asked her about pricing. She gave this ring as an example, this ring was one of her favorite pieces and although it was not terribly difficult to make or have a lot of precious metals, it was one of her favorite pieces and would be priced in the hundreds of dollars if someone really pressured her to buy it, where as something that's more difficult could cost less....you get the picture.

In our last class Amanda & I along with a few other people were still there after class got out, Susan had taken the ring off during class and it was sitting on the table. Amanda was admiring it and told Susan how great it was and how I had been lusting after it all week. I said "ya, but she won't sell it" and her response was "ya, but I'd sell it to you guys", without hesitation Amanda handed me the ring, remembering what she said about hundreds of dollars, I took a big gulp and said "how much?", her response "for you guys [pausing] $45". I don't think I've ever whipped out my credit card so fast, I wanted to pay for it before she changed her mind!

Some of you are going to look at this ring and say "I can't believe you paid $45 for that ring!" and the rest of you will understand that when you find something that you love the cost is only part of what make you decide to buy it. Now would I have paid hundreds of dollars for the ring? HELL NO, but I fell in the love with the ring on the first day of classes and was already planning on how to make one for my self when I got home. Having taken all my classes from her, learning so much from her & getting a TON of inspiration from her, and lusting after the ring all week long, to me $45 was a steal!

I just have to say, if you EVER get a chance to take a class from her, even if you are not a jewelry artist, TAKE IT!!! She is so inspiring, just being around her lifts you up, she so willing to share her knowledge as a jeweler, she encourages everyone & makes you feel like what ever it is that you create is awesome & beautiful. So far, hands down one of the best teachers I've had since I have started taking jewelry classes.

I really have to run, gotta get ready to go rock out with Joan Jett!

More later.......

A.R.T.

~A.R.T.~
Artist Road Trip
It's finally arrived!!!! I've been planning my trip to attend Art Unraveled since the beginning of February, and finally on Monday the adventure began!

Amanda & I drove from Las Vegas to Phoenix arriving just in time to attend a short "Make & Take" class, which turned out to be anything but short and absolutely incredible! We learned how to use an amazing new product, a UV Resin. It's a one part resin that cures under UV light. We applied the resin to these images let it sit under the UV light for about 5 minutes and we got these wonderful translucent resin images! They were really cool at that point but I had to add some Bling! So we added more resin to the backs of the images and added glitter!!!! Once I shape up the edges it will be about 1" square, the perfect size for a pendant!

In the second photo there is a piece of paper behind the bottom half & I held the top half in the light to show you the translucency.

(The rose is just to cover up my ugly thumb holding the charm.)

A side note: the Instructor for this "Make & Take" is from Las Vegas and Amanda & I both knew her helper! What a small world.....go to a new place, meet new friends & see old ones right from your home town!

My first class was yesterday morning. We started off making resin paper, in the photos below I put a newspaper behind the resin paper to show you how translucent the paper becomes when you add resin to it. On some of the papers I wrote out script others I stamped on, some I added glitter to...again with the glitter! And others I just left plain. These papers can be used for many kinds of art projects.

(The paper is on top of a garbage bag because the resin is still drying, I can pull it right off once it's dry.)

Later in the day we shaped wire and added some resin & paper to create pendants and charms. Once the heart is completely dry I will drill a hole in the resin paper and make it into a pendant.

I have not decided if I am going to turn this into a bracelet or necklace but it's the same concept except I added words to into the different layers of the resin.

The next two photos I took to show you how cool these look when they are not laying on a flat surface, they are translucent. In each photo you can see right through the top piece and see the piece behind it. The heart is only 1.5" from the top to bottom & the round one is about the size of a dime about 3/4" wide. I think these will be really cool as charms!

My class last night was learning how to make stamps & stencils from common objects; she uses everything & anything; the bottoms of flip flops for stamps to empty birth control packets for stencils!!!

That was all exciting & fun but my favorite part was when we learned to carve our own stamps! Both of the stamps in the photo are carved out of cheap rubber erasers. We sketched our image and transferred it to the eraser and used a carving tool to make our own stamps! I thought the eyes were not good enough on the first one and so I tried to fix them & then she turned out bug eyed so I quickly made another one! I am amazed at how easy this is to do!

I have another class tonight and two more on Thursday. Stay tuned I'll be posting more of my creations later in the week!

MWAH!!!