Sunday, April 25, 2010

Ipod/Cell Phone Knitted Pouch...

Well...I had a little fun playing again.  I made this really cute Ipod/Cell phone pouch last week and finally put it all together.  I am trying to get back into knitting...  Knitting is relaxing to me but only if I dont make a mistake...which I do frequently...LOL.  My cute little pouch is for sale at ArtFire which is another outlet for my goodies to be sold.  I plan on making more of these as time goes on.  I am working on getting stuff organized now for the Artisan show this weekend.

http://www.mayartisanfair.com/default.html

Check it out if you get a chance....I think this is going to be a nice show...I do hope the weather holds on to the beautiful sun that we have today....maybe a little less wind though....UGH...

Hope you had a great weekend...

Saturday, April 17, 2010

New Bottle Doll!

Well, I finally got her done, I think!  This doll is one of my tallest glass bottle dolls I have made so far.  She is just about 12 inches tall!  I think she is one of my best so far, although I have one I am working on that will be a tutorial in the future...hopefully by summer if I can get my act together!  I don't have a name for her yet but I will be working on that soon too.  We recently acquired 2 new kitties, and one of them is sick.  But she is going to be just fine.  I will post pictures of the girls later. Anyway, they are a handful and I just love em, but they are taking up a little of my play time...well...not really cuz I do play with them...its just a different kind of play time...Hehehehe... So, if you have any suggestions for names for my newest dolly, I am all ears!
Hugs...

Chris

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Steel wire V.S. oxidized Copper

I love black wire, and have been interested in how to make my wire change colors with oxidizing.  For a long time I could only find nasty steel wire, and great copper wire.  But copper wire of coarse is not black.  The bead stores here only carry the real shiny black wire and its not quite the look I have been looking for.

Recently I went to OSH and found this really nice black steel wire in 2 different sizes.  It worked great to do some wire wrapping but it left my hand black...nasty smelling too!  So I used Allergy Jewelry Shield to seal the wire.  I am sure there are other types of sealers I could use but it was handy and it worked.  I like the look of the wire, its not too shiny and the black does not rub off now.

Now, I finally got my Liver of Sulfur and played with it a little today to see what it does.  I have done lots of hunting on line to learn about this product.  I do agree that it stinks but it works...  I tried eggs and I wasnt impressed. I took a picture of both items to show you the difference.  I have not put on any of the Jewelry Sheild yet on the oxidized copper so it is dull.  I like both wires.  Copper is easy to find, and now for me steel is too.  Both are fairly easy to work with, and you really should seal both wires once you get the affect you want.

I still need...notice I used the word NEED...LOL...to explore more with oxidizing copper.

As you can see here, they look quite similar.  I think the oxidized copper is a better look myself, and copper is more user friendly.  You can solder it, where as steel you can not.  So it all depends on what your goal is.  For just doing wire wrapping, it may be cheaper and easier to use the steel wire.  But to be more creative, go with the copper and deal with the stink of the Liver of Sulfur.  I dont think it was all that bad.  Less smelly than resin...hehehehe...I hope you like this comparison and let me know if it helps you any at all....

Sunday, April 04, 2010

Ravelry

Wow...well...HOPPY EASTER!  Its here already, that means I am off for Spring break!  Time has flown so fast, it just amazes me.  I am so happy because soon I will be attending this fun Artisan fair, first one like this in my area.  I have been busting my rump getting fun stuff made up!  Also, as you see by the title of this post, I am now a member of this group.  Ravelry is an online group which is all about YARN, another of my favorite items...I dont know how much yarn I have but I know its a dresser full...all 4 drawers are nothing but yarn!  But I am not a heavy knitter or crocheter...I am more like an altered art artist...so I use yarn for lots of things...mostly doll hair..but hey...I got plans!!!!  So, I make these really fun things I think I had mentioned earlier...markers...beaded up with my style...so, eventually the plan is that I donate sample pieces to Ravelry, the send out boxes to customers, and with some luck they will like their samples and buy them!  I was referred to this website by a wonderful customer, Lampy, who really liked my markers and said that this is the place for me to be.  I am anxious to get the ball rollin but I have to wait til after May.  Then I will submit my samples and I will keep you posted on the progress...  Ok, so now...off to making more goodies for the Artisan fair...

Enjoy your day...