Monday, December 29, 2014

Happy Holidays!!!!!!










Just a little bit of our holiday celebration.  Thought I would post before it got to be too late.  Happy Holidays everybody!!!!

Monday, December 8, 2014

Biege



My newest three just in time for the holidays in my Etsy shop now!
I am so blessed to have had such a variety of great colors of leather and suede to use this year.  As usual, toward the end of the year I run low on everything.  Now that I am sewing for two different places, I am using up even more leather and suede than ever!  I love it, but I am finding myself running into trouble with designing new appliques and putting colors together.  It is a challenge even with a rainbow of colors in front of me and now that I am limited a bit, it's even more of a challenge to find things that work together and look good.  I like to have a few pieces with more neutral colors on hand just because not everyone wants a bright yellow or purple wallet.  The tricky part is that I use up all of the neutral colors pretty fast and only have teeny tiny scraps to work with for the face of each wallet.  I think I may need to rethink my appliques a bit so my leathery goodness can stretch a bit farther.  2015 should be fun and full of new ideas!

Friday, December 5, 2014

I Found These Lurking Around.......

Mixed Metal Necklace with copper, brass, and garnet drops available now at my Etsy shop

Mixed Metal Necklace with Turquoise and Carnelian available now at my Etsy shop
Just found these two while organizing my all my various creations, now they are ready for their new homes:)

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Wallets, Wallets, and More Wallets


I'm trying my darndest to get lots of stuff sewn up this week for the coming holidays and so far, it's going pretty well.  I have decided not to stress too much and just enjoy!  I am coming up with some crazy color schemes and designs.  The billfolds above are two of my favorite color combinations for the moment,  Last year I had a thing for red, grey, and black, and purple, grey, and black.  Now it's these!  They are both looking for new homes and are available with FREE SHIPPING from my Etsy shop

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Panic Time!



I just realized that the holiday season is upon us.  Time to PANIC!  I guess that will happen when crazy stuff comes up within your family, and that is all you get to concentrate on for a few days.  Now that it is all past, I get to concentrate on making some stuff!.............in a hurry!   I got three wallets done and listed in my Etsy shop yesterday, and today is all about a HUGE stack of billfolds that will be going to Funk Shui in Eureka.  I decided to not do any craft fairs this year just so I could concentrate on filling up my Etsy shop and keeping it that way.  I'm crossing my fingers that I can keep this energy going!  It feels good to be productive!  I wish my poor sewing machine agreed:)

Along with sewing, the kids and I have been making things for the holidays, mostly from what we collect outside.  Lots of leaf collages, stars out of sticks and twigs, etc.  It has been so nice to deliberately go out for walks in hopes of finding treasures to work with.  I hope to have some pics of our creations soon, I just realized how badly I have neglected putting up photos from the last few months.  We have been busy little happy bees and plan to stay that way. 

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

New in Red


I finished these two up this weekend and now they are waiting in my Etsy shop to go to new homes!  Can you tell that I really like how red, black, and grey look together:)  After a very busy week, I am back to cutting and sewing and gearing up for the holidays.  I have one more great big red pouch to sew up and then I'm on to some purple things and billfolds.  Wheeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Purple, Blue, Black, and Yellow


Many moons ago, my dear friend Kathy, who sends me lots of leather and suede in the most glorious colors and textures ever, sent me a HUGE school bus yellow leather trench coat.  I have made a few things with the leather but hadn't really found a good match for it in my designs.  Now I think I finally have!  These two are now available in my Etsy shop. I am hoping to add what I can to this years collection of goodies.  Thanks for looking!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Necklaces!!!!!

New upcycled necklace in copper and brass with amethyst and moonstone drops

Peridot and Iolite are the accents on this one, which happens to be one of my favorite combos of the moment:)
 Happy November to you all!  I'm still sewing and hammering and all that so my posts are pretty infrequent as of late.  I hope to share some pics of my show at Funk Shui and some birthday an Halloween pics too!  Be back soon!

Saturday, October 11, 2014

New Stuff and Stuff


I am finishing up wallets left and right here and thought I would go ahead and list one today!  So here we go!  This one in red, rust, purple, and brown is now all set for it's new home in my Etsy shop.  It has been really busy the last few days but fun and busy which is my favorite.  A little bit of sewing, a visit to the pumpkin patch, helping in Ed's classroom, the school carnival, and getting ready for the very many birthdays that October brings us, not to mention Halloween!  Luckily, the kids both have their costumes already.  Just a little bit of fussing and fixing and all will be done for the big day!  I for see many fun times ahead. Happy October!

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Time Sure Flies!



September just flew by!  I spent the majority of the month in the secret lab sewing and hammering and beading and gluing.  I was working on a small inventory for a shop called Funk Shui in Oldtown Eureka.  I now have some consignment items there and hope to add more in the coming months.  I just spent the evening there on Saturday for Arts Alive!  with a bunch of my wares!  It was awesome!  I got to meet so many wonderful people and enjoy the Zombie Walk that was happening that evening.  It was amazing and wonderful and now I am tired!  I am taking a little rest for the next couple of days and then it will be back to the lab for me to make even more leathery and metal goodness for the holiday season!  Smoochies!

Monday, September 1, 2014

New Things to Share!



With the kids both in school now, I am finally getting a few minutes here and there to sew.  I've been down with some crazy sinus troubles since mid August so I am happy to be back to the sewing machine and making stuff.  I finished up these babies and they are all ready to go! 

Both kids are in school now!  Ed is officially in T-K  which is Transitional Kindergarten (for the the kiddos that aren't quite old enough for regular ol' Kindergarten)  She LOVES it!  Ciaran is with the same teacher for 2nd grade and LOVES it too:)  Now, my quest is getting myself making cool stuff on a regular basis as well as hopefully working as a substitute here and there.  It's all an adventure:)



Tuesday, August 5, 2014

The Last One for A Little Bit

Necklace in Copper and Brass with Lapis Lazuli
I finished this piece up this weekend and it will be the last for a couple of weeks until I catch up on my wallets and such.  I have had a blast making all of my various metal piece and I hate to put down the saw, drill, and hammer, but,  I really need to get back to sewing so I can keep my shop stocked full of fun leather stuff too!  So goodbye for now my copper and brass goodness:)

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Finishing Up Some Stuff

Copper and Brass Mixed Metal Necklace with Aqua Aura Quartz Crystal Beads

I finished up a couple more necklaces this weekend while I wait on some supplies for my leather work.  This one is a favorite right now.  I got this one listed in my Etsy shop and will list the next one when I get some decent photos taken of it.  It has been so much fun to play with metal again and I hope to do it more, but for now, I must get back to sewing up a storm.  I have A LOT of things cut out and ready to go, just waiting for a few supplies and I'll be back at the work table again! 

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

More Newness

Copper and Brass necklace with carnelian and turquoise
My second necklace!  This time with carnelian and turquoise beads.  This one is now listed in my Etsy shop  and ready for it's new home.  I have a few more of these cut out and hope to have them all finished and up in my shop within the next week or so.  I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get them all done!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

New Metal!

Copper and Brass Pendant with citrine and green Chalcedony beads
I finished up a couple of these this weekend and have been anxious to get them listed in my Etsy shop.  I got the first one up tonight and I am hoping to get the next one listed tomorrow when I can get some decent pictures of it.  I am pretty happy with how they are turning out and hope to get some different ones made soon. Metal, especially copper and brass, are AWESOME!

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Abandoning Art

Sterling silver necklace with opal and peridot beads

My newest Art Abandonment piece in copper and various gemstone beads
I took a bit of a break from leather work to get a couple of jewelry projects finished.  I wanted to play with some opal beads I had and ended up with a pretty fun necklace with them and some beautiful teeny tiny peridot beads too.  I like it!  So much so that I am keeping this one.  I do plan to make a few more though.  I have some already cut out in copper and will be using a bunch of different gemstone beads as accents with those as well. 

The copper piece is a pendant that I made specifically for the Humboldt Art Abandonment Project here in Humboldt County,  California.  I hadn't made anything in a very long time and really wanted to do something special.  So I found this neat little copper piece that I had cut out many, many years ago and couldn't figure out what to do with.  I added some purty beads and made a necklace out of it(beaded with a copper chain)  So today, on our hike up to Redwood Park, here in Arcata, I will be "abandoning"  this piece for some lovely soul to find and enjoy. 

Other than that, we are plugging along.  There is nothing super exciting going on, just keeping our adventures close to home, and enjoying the outdoors.  I don't get a lot of time to work on anything but I am thankful for the patience of my kids when I need to buckle down and get stuff done.  They've been awesome that way.  So we're off to eat lunch and then off to the park to abandon some art and play!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Pink Owls!





I've been busy with making lots of pink owls over the last couple of weeks.  Lots of pink suede and bright colors with the added fun of owl faces.  It's nice to work out of my usual comfort zone once in a while.  All of these are heading to their new home in Australia soon so now it's back to making pouches and billfolds for the next few weeks.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

The End of First Grade!

Ciaran and I collaborated on a "Thank You" present for his teacher.  He drew a beautiful butterfly which I transferred to a piece of red leather.  I burnt in the design and then painted in the colors.  It turned out beautifully!  Ciaran autographed the inside cover and we sent it off today to his teacher for a last day of school present.  We hope she likes it!  Other than that, I have been making owl themed custom orders and have cut out a few more pouches to be sewn when my custom orders are all done.  I am looking forward to a Summer of LOTS of outdoor adventures with the kids, hopefully, they will let me have a few moments here and there to create and sew.  I have a whole pile of leathery goodness that wants to show itself off in completed form.  I hope they get to do that soon.  Happy Summer Vacation!

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Me and My Shadow

Or more like Us and Our Shadows.  We are back from a long episode of hellish gallbladder troubles, sniffles and colds, a couple little hopes and dreams that were squashed and some other stuff.  Now we are back and happily awaiting Summer.  We are having the most awesome warm weather right now so we are all feeling a bit antsy.  It's good!  Hopefully, we'll put that energy into our volcano project, our kite project, and our other adventures that are in the planning stages.  Off I go to sew up some wallets to fund all of this madness!

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

So This is what Happened.......


The crazy colors I was playing with turned in to these!  My newest wallet creations.  I really like this one, it's a bit smaller than the large pouch that I carry as my wallet, but still big enough to throw a whole bunch o' stuff in.  Lots of card pockets, a big slip pocket, and a zipper pocket.  I particularly like the teal one.  I also have one in red and one in purple to sew up once I am done with my latest custom order.   I  am also waiting on some interfacing and trying my hand at dyeing my own cotton for the lining of my wallets.  I happened to inherit a bunch of cotton fabric from my mom and am thrilled to be playing with some dye soon.  Yay!  and Thanks Mom!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Grey, Green, Purple, Blue, Lavender, Brown, and more GREY!


I am working on a new wallet pouch thingy and I came up with some combinations of colors that I really like.  They are weird, but I like them.  I've got some pale green, grey, purple, and bright blue, I think I may have puked with this one a couple of years ago, and the picture doesn't make it look very interesting, but it really is!  (To me anyways)  The second is a sort of dusty teal with more grey, lavender, and dark brown, and I love it!  I made a custom wallet in the same colors for someone just  few weeks ago and was not completely sure if the colors would work, but they did and I really like it now.  So much that I am making a few things for my shop with this same color scheme.  It's fun to play!  I am still loving red, grey and black, and grey, violet, and black too!  So you will probably see a few more of those combos coming up shortly.  I never thought I would like grey suede so much! 

Sunday, March 23, 2014

It's Riveting.............


Playing with rivets is fun!  I'm still getting the hang of making them super neat and pretty, but they work!  So this is my newest piece all ready to go in my Etsy shop, all made by hand by me!  Metal and rivets are fun and make me feel all happy and bubbly on the inside:)

I am off to help Grampy move out of his house and hopefully back to the lab this evening for a little more creative escape.  Happy Sunday Everyone!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

More New!


I finished up this crazy metallic green and black cuff and I think I might be in love with it!  I had such a great time with it!  Now it's hangin' out in my Etsy shop, waiting on it's new home:)

More new things to come this week too!

The newest thing though is my insomnia is back full force thanks to Linus' discovery of Leah and Emily the beta fish.  He is relentless at trying to get to them in the middle of the night.  Poor little fish.  Thank goodness that I wake up so easily!  I have rescued their little fishy booties about three times a night every night for the last week or so.  So now,  I am wide awake all night again.  Dumb, cute cats suck sometimes.
 

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Get those Cuffs Off of My Table!

New Oopsie cuff, this one came out beautifully except for the rivets which are all crazy and crooked.  Looks like I'll be keeping this one:)

Elastic closure with vintage button

My new favorite in brown leather with a little bit of olive green leather and some pumpkin colored suede with a button/loop closure.

How it looks on the wrist

finished up with a vintage brass button and elastic closure
I have a stack of cuffs that are getting done this weekend!  I mean it!  They need to be off my table and their pretty little selves listed and ready to go to their new homes.  I have been a slug this week and put off all of the finishing touches.  Here are the first two.  The next two are a little more appliqued and colorful.  The just need there closures and they are 100% done!  I need my table back!  I am having a ton of fun oxidizing these old buttons.  It is amazing what a little bit of vinegar and salt does!  I like the look they give to the cuffs as well, not super shiny and bright, but a little older and more mysterious if you ask me.  Off I go to finish up the rest!