How much do I love this necklace? Let me just count the ways.

1. Vintage black beads from the 1960’s.

2. Yellow and black color combo (a hot trend right now)

3. New fresh, design

4. It sparkles and shines

5. It has a lovely Swarovski crystal in the middle of the rose.

6.It makes any outfit look SPECTACULAR!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s on sale at my Etsy store right now with Free Shipping!!! It’s perfect for Mother’s Day so don’t delay!

Today we went to the Austin Art Alliance Fine Art Fair in beautiful downtown Austin. It was such a lovely day, not too hot, a little windy and no rain! Mia and Josie and my husband came, making it a fun family outing. Thom even got involved in the crafting fun!

 

 

I went exploring while the “kids” played!

This place was colorful!

 

 

I met many wonderful artists at the show, including jewelry artists, fine artists, and pottery makers. My absolute favorite fine artist was Mary Alayne Thomas. She does these wonderful mixed media pieces in which she uses a technique called encaustic. (It is certainly a great deal of work- click on the word to see a slideshow of how to do it!) I also saw a great deal of art nouveau influence in her work which I am drawn to also.

 

click on pic to go to her web site

My favorite jewelry artist was a man who worked with polymer clay in his designs. I do not usually like clay jewelry but his pieces were incredibly unique and beautiful! His prices were very reasonable for the amount of work that looked like went into each piece. I especially liked his “lantern” drop necklaces. It is on my Mother’s Day gift wish list!   His name is pretty crazy, but he really is an amazing artist-Wiwat Kamolpornwijit Oh, No! It’s looks like he does not have an on-line shop. If I want that necklace, I better go back tomorrow!     YIKES!                                       

 

Some other artists I enjoyed:

www.fineartoncanvas.com   Tanya Doskova

www.rachaeladamiak.com    jewelry design, Austin, Tx

www.fourfootedart.com      Yvonne Miller: fine art with an animal twist

www.SilvieGoldmark.com     beautiful & unique salt and pepper shakers

www.avanzare.com              Kristian Rangel:  amazing dream-like etchings

 

 

Here are more pictures of our outing to explore!

 

One of the most important books in my life right now is the "Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. It has showed me how to unblock myself to creative inspiration and nurture my inner artist. It is such an inspirational and life-changing book. I am so glad I discovered it.
(finally, it's been out forever!)

Antelope Horn

(blooms look like little stars when closed)

Just a few rules for you Facebook fans! See the whole article here. Enjoy!

O.K. so I am having an issue with selling my jewelry on Etsy- I'm not getting any sales! So, I thought I should diversify, think of other products I can make and sale on Etsy and at craft shows. (craft shows are being inundated with jewelry designers also, and it's hard to get into a show right now!)



My darn psychologist- it's all her fault. She thought it would be such a great idea for me to sale my own jewelry so I would get out of my deep, dark funk I was in for say... 10 years. It has helped but now I'm just dealing with rejection and that is as depressing as ever. Thanks bone-head pychologist- she will remain nameless at this point. I love her though, really.



Anyway, to get to the point, I thought I should start making new and "fresh" products to sale on-line and at shows. Would they let me in if I were to sale..... tampon holders? I thought that would be a great idea. How many women in the world use tampons? How many tampons have been wasted because of the tampons falling out of their wrapper into a purse and getting gum stuck to the string? I found this on Etsy and thought this was the Roll's Royce of tampon holders:

click on the pic to go to listing

Wow! How can I top that? I don't even sew. So screw it. I think I'll make some "Tampon Rockets" with my kids instead.

I just saw this crazy necklace on Etsy. It is featured on the front page because it definitely desires to be noticed! How much do you think it weighs? OUCH!

I finished a necklace and a pair of earrings that I happen to love. I used some romantic- style bead caps on the drop earrings that I had never used before. I pay a little extra for the quality of the chain (it is gold-filled) but it really makes the earrings shine! I hate gold-plated chain-it just looks cheap to me!

My husband was helping me take pictures of my jewelry yesterday and when he was taking a picture of this one which I call' "Among the Wildflowers" , he said "I don't like this one".

At first, I was a little upset and offended, but then I thought; with my husbands taste, that's actually a good sign!

They will be up for sale at my Etsy shop tomorrow-perfect for Mother's Day!