Friday, December 11, 2009

Polymer clay and seed beads





I think polymer clay and seed beads are a match made in heaven. They play so nicely together.

I love good gemstone cabochons but they are so expensive and really drive up the price of the pieces I make. The cabochons in the hair pins are gemstones and were expensive so I will have to sell them at a higher price point then I would like. Had I made them with polymer clay I could knock about $10 off the retail price.

Another advantage of using polymer clay is I can create some awesome stone like cabochons with awesome colors and detail for a lot less then I would pay for a natural gemstone. Using my handmade cabochons allows me to spend more money on the high quality crystals and seed beads to give my customer a higher quality product at a reasonable affordable price point.

The necklace in this post is a beautiful example. The cabochon is one that I made with polymer clay,ink,mica and gold leaf; it's full of detail and pretty colors. because the cost to make it wasn't high I was able to use a generous amount of expensive high quality Swarovski crystals and delica seed beads. By making my own cabochon I am able to offer my customer a OOAK necklace at a very reasonable price. It's a win-win situation for both of us.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Here are some new pieces.....







It has been awhile since my last post as usual it's been busy at the Casa de Gonzalez....Some good things and some bad things.....
Let's get the bad news out before I get on to the good...
My beloved Father in law Jose Gonzalez Sr. lost his battle with cancer last month. He was a strong loving man who along with his wife of 56 years raised 5 awesome children one of whom is my dear Husband Jose Jr. He was a strong courageous man who over the last year dealt with learning of his illness,loosing the love of his life in February and the progression of his illness leading to his death. He was an example of grace and dignity, strength and hope. I loved and admired him very much and will miss him.

This year has been very hard for our family we have lost so much, both of my husband's parents and my Mom. But we have also gained through our losses. I have learned that above all else the people I love are the most important thing and that the love in my heart didn't die with them perhaps it has grown even stronger. I have learned that every second on this earth is a gift that I will never again take for granted.


Ok so now for the happier news......
My little Granddaughter Lexipoo turned 1 she is growing way to fast and has her Grandpa Jose enchanted.....
and...........
One day while Jose was out in the woods he found a little Chihuahua who had been abandoned deep in the woods he was 1/2 starved and lost a lot of his hair from a flea infestation. The poor little guy begged Jose to help him and he couldn't resist bringing him home.

We took him to the Vet the next day to see what he needed to get healthy and see if they could help us find out who he belongs to. The Vet said it was a good thing for him that we found him because he wouldn't have made it long the way he was. He needed food and de- flea-ed and he had ear mites. The worst thing is the vet said he had been abused and mistreated and that the people hadn't had him neutered and allowed his testicles to grow up into his belly. The Vet said we could have them removed in the future and that would help him a lot.

Well we never found his old owners and we have had him about a month now. We named him Chuy; he is happy has gained almost 2 lb's and his hair is growing in nicely, the fleas and ear mites are gone. He has a new dog house and plush bed in the garage that he like so well he spends a lot of time snuggled up in snoozing. He is such a sweet lovable little creature he likes cats and kids. I can't imagine why someone would have been so mean to him but he will never have to worry about that again.

The next hurdle for Chuy is the operation on his boy parts. After he has that the vet feels like he'll be fine. Right now one of the testicles is pushing on his bladder so he sometimes can't control his peeing so after it's done I will work on housebreaking him so he can come in the house. I have never had a dog before so this has been an experience for us.

also......
My 10 day craft show in October went really, really well so I have been working hard to replenish my inventory. I posted a few of my new pieces here on my blog.

also.....
I am having a sale in my ArtFire studio http://Gingerbells.artfire.com
10% off all items +
FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $20.00
this sale will run for the next week.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Victorian Poinsettia Brooches





I have always liked Victorian styled things around the holidays. I think these 2 brooches have a Victorian look to them.

When I started making them the other day I had intended for them to be pendants on necklaces. By the time I finished the beading and making the ruffles edges they were way to big for pendants. So.....brooches they became. In the end I think it worked out for the best. I'll take the beads I made for the necklaces and turn them into a bracelet and earrings.

The soft diamond one is my favorite. I like how the champagne beads and black opal seed bead ruffle frame the bezel.

on work table......earrings, earrings and more earrings......

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Pretty Poinsettia set



These are my first holiday themed projects of 2009. I am very happy with how these turned out. This set is the ball point pen and the pill box key chain. Instead of offering them individually I will be selling these as as set.

The designs on each piece are not painted it is made with polymer clay. The poinsettia cane I used wasn't one of mine; this time I used a cane made by Cat Therin. I have been enjoying experimenting with other peoples canes.

I liked these so much I made a set for myself, I just love pretty useful things.


on my worktable.......poinsettia beads

Friday, September 11, 2009

Fun with accesories



I really like making things that are functional as well as pretty.

I have some craft shows coming up so I have been making things to sell that are moderately priced and that will make great gifts for the upcoming holiday season. I have several nice gift sets made for my bath shop so yesterday I made some sets for my gift shop.

I am trying to decide weather or not to group coordinating pieces together and sell them as a set or offer them as individual items. There are pros and cons for doing it either way. Myself I would like to by the set if I could but I know not everyone feels the same way.

I like the set in the photo the colorful designs on the pieces are made with polymer clay the set includes 1 twist ball point pen,1 pill box key chain and 1 dual mirrored compact.

on my worktable........more pens and pill box key-chains also whipped olive oil soap

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Healing a broken heart


e


h
When your heart is broken what do you do to make the healing begin?

Some people eat comfort food, some exercise,some seek comfort in the company of others while others hibernate and cry. Everyone seems to have a method that works best for them.

For me when things don't make sense or I am very sad I find comfort in forcing myself to create something. I think it makes things better because I am forced to think outside of the painful box I am in and put that energy to use in a positive way. For me making things is how I cope. It is a big part of who I am few things make me as happy as designing and making something pretty.

My Mom was the same way before she started getting Alzheimers. She was my crafting mentor as far back as I can remember. She taught me to crochet,cross stitch,sew,Native American beading and leather work,latch hook and plastic canvas sculpture. I taught her about knitting,soap and candle making and beadweaving as well as other crafts. This has made for many great memories, I am so glad we shared this part of ourselves with each other.

Mom was always proud of my crafting skills and was excited that people were willing to give me money for the things I make and that she got them for free..

Over the last year or so Mom had been downsizing and getting rid of a lot of her stuff to simplify her life. She said it was just stuff she didn't need and she was only keeping things she needed. I was so very touched last week when my Brother and I were packing up her apartment to find that she had kept almost all the things I had made for her over the years;she felt they were some of the things she needed to keep.

So all of the things I had to do to put Mom's affairs to rest are done and everyone has went home. This last week I have had way to much time on my hands to think and be sad so instead of continuing down that path I started channeling my energy into making things again.

I have had a productive couple of days and it had helped some. Above are a few of the things I have made I'll be posting photos of some other things soon.

In my mind I can hear Mom saying "it's time for you to get off your ass and get something done" LoL I hear ya Ma.........




Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Beautiful Northern Michigan






When Mom passed Jose and I were on vacation in the upper penninsula of Michigan. We went to some of the most beautiful places I have been in a long time. In the 4 days of our planned 8 day vacation we spent our time in a place called Paridise and White Fish Point they are very small towns on the shores of Lake Superior.

One of the photos is of a waterfall that Jose hiked to see. No I didn't join him in the hike, no hiking for me until I get my knee replaced.

2 of the photos are from the 3 hour twilight cruise we went on at the Painted Rocks National Shore in Musining Michigan. Stunning rock formations.

The other 2 photos are of the beautiful beach we spent a lot of time at, it was quiet and relaxing. We spent time BBQ'ing and relaxing often we had the beach to ourselves.

The weather is beautiful and cool there and the pace is relaxing and the air is clean and hardly a cornfield in sight. I could for sure live happily there, I think Jose could too. We have talked about finding a small house there to spend our summers and then come back to Indiana for the winters.

Our vacation was beautiful while it lasted but it ended horribly sad. Jose says we need to plan to finish our holiday before to long because it would be good for us; we'll see but right now my heart just isn't into it.


Sunday, August 16, 2009

A tale of two Moms


http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingerbell/237014485/in/set-72157594273852754/


The two lovely women in the photo are my Mother Bea and my Mother in law Modesta. This photo was taken of them on the day they met at a housewarming party when we moved into our house 3 years ago. Jose and I have been together for over 20 years but because they lived in different states had never met.

These two women shared many things in life tho they came from two very different backgrounds and didn't speak the same language. They both had a very keen sense of humor, loved to play games and were well loved by their children. They enjoyed baseball,animals,good food and flowers. They both had many Brothers and sisters most of who had passed away before them.

Sadly 6 months ago on February 12th sweet Modesta passed away surrounded by her children and her Husband. Her loss has been heartbreaking and has left us all with great sadness in our hearts but also great joy that she was in our lives and we knew we are all better for being loved by her.

It is with a heavy heart that I write that on the 12th of August My Mom Bea passed away very suddenly while Jose and I were out of town. I would like to say that when she left this world she was surrounded by those who loved her as Modesta was but this is one thing they didn't share. She passed alone and this more then any thing fills me with a sense of sorrow and guilt even tho I know that there was no way I could have prevented her passing. Had I have been with her would it have made it easier for her to go; could I have told her I loved her and held her as she did me on the day I was born; if I begged her not to go would God have heard me, did she wait till I left for vacation so I couldn't beg her to stay with me. I'll never know and because they won't let us see her to say goodbye my brother and I will have to remember her as she was the last time we were with her.

I am so grateful that my brother and his wife were able to travel here from Oregon so we could be together. It was never easy for Mom because she raised us on her own and it was always the 3 of us against the odds and it is right that we should be together to do what has to be done.

Later this week per her request we will be spreading some of her ashes in the Wabash River and My brother will be taking the rest to the pacific ocean that she loved.

I don't make this post to make anyone sad but to share these two special women with others and to say.......Take every opportunity to show your Mother how much she means to you and cherish your times together; in the blink on an eye they can be gone..

Even tho Mom could be a pain in the ass sometimes I would give anything to hear her voice on my answering machine saying "Ginger this is your Mother call me, I love you."

I love you too Mom!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Blog Love





I wanted to give my blog a little love today I have been very neglectful.

I have been very busy getting things ready for the upcoming fall craft show season. It is my favorite time of year. The Mid-west has a great amount of festivals. I like the fall ones best because the air is crisp and fresh and people are starting to get in the holiday spirit.

Every year I do a 10 day show called The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival. It is a county wide celebration of arts, crafts and food. If you would like to check it out Google Parke County Covered Bridge festival.

So getting ready is a lot of preparation which I love. It beats the hell out of working a straight job again.

I am posting some photos of a necklace I made today. I am calling it "Bohemian Beauty" or something like that.
When I found the pendant mounting I fell in love with it, I think it has a cool exotic look to it. I mounted some vintage crystals and a polymer clay cabochon to finish the pendant. I made some beads to go with the cabochon and strung them with hemitite rice beads.
In my stash I had the cool brass bead caps and the perfect clasp. I think they all came together to make a pretty necklace. It measures about 23 inches long. I think it would look beautiful worn with a black moc turtle neck or a peasant blouse , it will make a bold statement for sure.

On work table another cool mounting I found waiting for my to make some beads and a cabochon for it.

I love my job!!!!!

Monday, July 13, 2009

New stuff I made this week end




Now that I am feeling better I am starting to make things again. I really need to get busy my busiest craft show season starts in 2 months.

This weekend I was in a mood to make some palm candles. I made some that are red clove scented and some that are Heather scented.

I took the heather scented ones and made a gift set with some...
This is a a wonderful gift set filled with pampering goodies. Heather is a lovely fresh,herbal,lightly floral spa type blend.

In this set you'll receive:
1 4oz. bar of oatmeal soap
This is a awesome creamy bar of soap that gently polishes the skin.

1 8 oz dead sea salts in a taffeta bag
These salts a a great way to make a relaxing bath or foot soak after a hard day.

2 palm votive candles.
I love palm candles they are clean burning much like a soy candle. One of the characteristics of palm candles are the crystal like pattern on the candle. I think it makes them very pretty. These will give you many hours of scented burning time.

I listed the gift set in my Artfire shop http://Gingerbells.artfire.com . I am thinking I will offer the clove candles in a set of 6.

The clove candles smell so good I made some for my house so I could enjoy them too. One of the best part of making these kinds of things is I get to keep some for my personal use.

On my worktable ............polymer clay beads and cabochons.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wooden purses.








When I go to the craft store I always hit the clearance isle to see what treasures I can find. I found some nice wooden purse blanks a year or so ago at a good price so I bought several.



I use to love to do decoupage and collage projects when I was younger and making decorative boxes was always one of my favorite subjects. These purses are pretty much the same idea. So I spent this weekend painting decoupaging a couple of the blanks.

I really like the "Butterflies in the night sky" themed one best.

The paint finish is my favorite part, the colors are a pretty combination of pearl,teal,turquoise and purple. I used several painting techniques to give the painted surface lots of great texture.

To the surface I decoupaged really pretty water colored butterflies, moths and flowers along with 2 pretty B monograms. There is just the slightest touch of fairy dust on the cut outs to catch the light for a gentle sparkle.


The other purse is "I will always be a dreamer" themed purse. I love hot air balloons and I think the are a good way to symbolize my dreams.

The front side has the sun and it is for day dreams. The back has stars and the moon and it is about night dreams. I blinged it all up with 64 crystals.

These were fun projects that I enjoyed doing. Now what next? I think maybe some cabochons for some broaches I got the other day or maybe some candles; maybe both.


Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Look who's 3





My sweet Grandson Brenden turned 3 on the 6th.

My Son and Daughter in Law hosted a Star Wars themed party. The little guy is obsessed with Star Wars.

He had a really good time and was surrounded with family members and lots of love.

He is my sweetie and I couldn't be more proud to be his Grandma.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

BOGO!!!

Hey Ya'all I just wanted to do a quick post about a great BOGO sale I am having in all of my shops.........BUY 1 ITEM and GET 2nd 1/2 OFF

This is a great way to stretch your dollar and get something nice in return. You can click on any of my shops on the blog sidebar and enjoy browsing my 3 shops. If you find something you like awesome just go through the check out process and I will return the discount on your second item to your pay pal account. I will also combine and adjust shipping costs to further save you money.

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!!!

this sale runs through June 20 2009......

Friday, May 8, 2009

What's up?

So I've been neglecting my blog the last couple of weeks.
Why you may ask?

Well I have been busy with taking care of some unexpected health problems and getting ready for tomorrow's craft show.

I am feeling better and with a few life style changes and some time I will be all good. Turning 50 sucks, lol.

Tomorrow I am doing one of my favorite craft shows it is......
The Wabash Valley Herb Festival
It's a great festival on the banks of the Wabash river in Terre Haute, Indiana. It is filled with vendors selling herbs and flowers and garden related items and hand crafts. It's a jurried show and I like that because there are no buy and sell vendors there. It's a very popular annual event that people look forward to all year.
It has been raining here so much latley I was conserned that it would be raining but it looks like it's going to be a cool clear day....awesome.

Well it's getting late and I have to get up at 4:30 am to go set up, I will say good night!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

And the winner is

Donna [rainbowrave] is the winner of the name the necklace contest with the name...

Twilight Reflection..

Thank you Donna and everyone else that entered.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Yummy These Smell So Good.






Last week end I had a mini soap making marathon. I made 8 beautiful batches of lovely smelling Olive oil and goats milk soap. Today I cut them all and put them on their racks to cure. I have to say the smell coming from the drying room is awesome.

Soap making is a addicting and useful craft. However it is not for the person who requires immediate gratification. Before this soap is ready to use it needs to cure "dry" for another 3 or so weeks. Sometimes I get lucky and they are ready a little sooner and I get to indulge a little early.

I will probably start listing them in my ArtFire and Etsy shop Mid May. These batches are on the small size so it is sometimes a good idea to reserve a few bars before my regulars scoop them all up. I posted a couple of photos so you can see how pretty they are, I really like the rustic look......

olive oil
________
Downy Fresh
Blushing Pink Hyacinth
Tuscan lace
Green Irish Tweed

Goats Milk
__________
Sage & Lemongrass
Black Vetyver Cafe` with cinnomon coffe scrub
Exotic Amazon Teakwood
Dusky Goddess

My Hubby will be out of town for the next three days so I will be enjoying many hours of guild free craft time. I will be teaching myself some new beadweaving stitches and also making some new beads and cabochons. I need to pour some new candles too and make a few pieces of jewelry. I have a craft show coming up on the 9th. We will be on vacation the week before so prep time is short. Housework will be low on my to do list for the next couple of days.