Cheers to the New Year!

My sister-in-law asked if I could make some handpainted wine glasses for her family Christmas swap this year. I said, "Sure!" even though I'd never done it before... Ha! It turned out to be so easy and fun. I used a different glass painting technique than I've used in the past (for ornaments, etc.)... I bought some enamel paints that you can let air dry for a number of days, or you can make them permanent just by firing the finished work in your oven! (No, your glasses will not crack or explode if you follow the directions.) :)

Here are the final pieces:

The glasses for the swap.

 

The paint is not food-safe, so leave it away from anywhere your food will touch.

<> 

I decided to make her a set as a gift too :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!



Forever Handprint Ornaments

While searching through the Christmas Tree Shop, for something completely unimportant but something I'm sure I NEEDED to have (haha), I came across some ornament kits in a clearance bin. They were only $1.99 - sweet deal!! Handprint ornament kits....

I'd never worked with plaster before, but these seemed like the perfect special gift to give to my son's grandparents! The kits came with plastic molds and little bags of plaster that you mix with water. I added too much water by accident, so I had to let the molds set for much longer than the instructions recommended before my son could stick his hand in... (It was a soppy plastery mess! Ewww!)

Eventually the molds did start to harden, and my son had a blast while I pressed each of his fingers into the plaster. He seemed very excited when he lifted his hand out, and the impression of his hand was still there :)

After the molds were dry (I left them out overnight), I carefully popped them out of the plastic. The plaster was super smooth and bright white! I gave my son some red and green acrylic paint, and let him paint in the hands. He was very meticulous, and made sure to get inside each finger!

When he was done, I went around the edges with contrasting color paint just to give them an extra boost. I made sure to leave his markings intact! When the paint was dry (which was only a few minutes), I had him write his name on the back of each one with a permanent black marker. I added his age and the date. If I had more time in my holiday rush, I would have loved to seal them with an acrylic sealer... But they turned out just fine anyway.

The molds allowed for a hole in the top, and I strung them with ribbon. The grandparents loved them!! When my mother opened hers, she took my son into my old bedroom and showed him a plaque on the wall... It was an ink handprint I had made in kindergarten, same age as my son is now. It was very special.  Perfect memories - worth much more than that $2.00! :)

Back to work!

I'm back from vacation, and catching up on a bunch of custom orders... I'm also getting ready for some craft shows coming up... So much to do!! In the meantime, here are some custom orders that will hopefully make you smile ;)

Waiting for Spring...

Valentine Cutie

Yummy!

I just entered the "Lollishops and Gingerbread" challenge put on by Lollishops.com Those who entered were asked to create a gingerbread house using any medium... There will be voting and a winner too! I think I was too late on my entry, but there might be a second round *keeping fingers crossed*



SEE THE OTHER FABULOUS ENTRIES HERE!!! (On Flickr)

I also just opened my NEW STORE ON LOLLISHOPS this week! I haven't had a chance to see how all the details work, but I have a few new items listed there. I actually created a whole new line of cards for my lollishop... Very detailed with patterns and layers of colors... and of course.. Cuteness! ;)

conversation birds and clam chowdah...

I will be a vendor at the Essex Clamfest (Essex, MA), this Saturday Oct. 25! The craft area will be behind the town hall from 11am-4pm. Hope to see you there! ;D
Chowdah......... Mmmmmmm.....

Custom Paintings - Final!

The custom paintings I've been working on are finally finished... Yipee!!!
Here are some close-ups. This was also my first attempt at "leopard print." ;)

Bye Bye...

My goodies bags are finally ready to go.. and, in keeping in line with my usual self, I've run out of packing tape! (I'll buy some on the way to the post office.. these ARE going out today!!!) ;)

Goodies...

I'm frantically getting my promo bags ready to send in to Sadie Lou Who of Lollishops. She is attending the Silver Bella 2008 event to promote the opening of Lollishops. Read more about the event, and Sadie Lou on HER BLOG!

The theme is to put your items in "treat bags". I, of course, bought the wrong size (I couldn't tie them with the items inside! Cards take up more room than I thought!)... so I still have to go out and get the bigger ones. D'oh!

I've created ten new card designs which will be sold only in my Lollishop store. Also, some really sweet handpainted magnets! Here's a peek at what I'm including...