Monday, September 28, 2009

And the Winner is........

The Fall Business Womens Expo was a lot of fun! I want to thank Dee of Runako Designs for sponsoring. There were over 30 vendors that participated and we had a lot of fun visiting each other, although I didn't have time to get to everyone. I'm sorry, but I'll certainly check out the other shops and blogs this next week.


Now is the time to announce the winner of the Blue Willow heart pendant.....drum roll, please......

Pearl a/k/a TheBeadingGem is the winner!!! The Blue Willow pendant is on it's way to Canada and I can't wait to see what type of necklace or other embellishment Pearl will add to it.

Check out Pearl and 4 other artists at The Bead Sisterhood and follow her on her blog ~ The Beading Gem's Journal and her trendhunter portfolio.

Thank you to everyone who visited and posted a comment on my blog and, again, congratulations to The Beading Gem.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Fall Business Women Oline Expo - Booth #23


Hello! Welcome to my blog!

I'll start by telling you a little about myself. I'm a legal assistant by day and manic glass and china artist by night (and weekend). I love working with broken china and stained glass creating jewelry, suncatchers, home and desk items and just about anything in glass/china. I've been busy restocking my Etsy shop and will continue to add new items throughout the weekend. I hope you will stop in and enjoy browsing.

In previous posts, I've shared some of my projects and showcased special pieces. I would love for you to become a follower so you can stay updated on future projects and pieces.

I've decided to have a special giveaway for this inaugural expo!

Everyone who leaves a comment on this post by noon (ET) Monday, 9/28, will have a chance to win this Blue Willow heart shaped broken china pendant! The drawing will be held Monday evening (September 28) and the winner will be announced on Tuesday.


Blue Willow is one of my favorite china patterns to work with and I love how it looks in this heart shaped pattern - also my favorite shape! As you will see in my Etsy shop, I have a variety of patterns and shapes and will also work with you if you would like a special order.

Don't forget, for a chance to win the pendant above, leave a comment here before noon on Monday, 9/28.

After leaving your comment, follow the link above to return to the Expo home and visit the other vendors.

Getting Ready for the Expo!!

Remember, after midnight tonight, we will begin our Fall Business Women Expo sponsored by Runaka Designs and it will end on Sunday. I haven't decided what type of special I'll be having (a discount for my Etsy store or a giveaway) but you can be sure it will be a first for me!! I'll be updating my Etsy shop tonight with new, never before seen items.

Be sure to go to the Girls Night Out blog, visit all the vendors participating in the Expo and leave comments on their blogs. Can't wait to see you!!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Fall Business Women Online Expo - Come Join Us Saturday!!


Runako Designs is graciously sponsoring a Fall Business Women Online Expo this weekend, September 26, for a special online girls night out. Please come by and join us for this exciting event and visit all the special women business owners who are showcased in this expo. Just click on the link above and take a virtual tour of the blogs of all these talented and wonderful women.

Remember visit the expo this weekend and visit all the great vendors! See ya then!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Dragonflies

I've been following the very talented ladies over at the Stained Glass & Mosaics forum on GardenWeb. Take a look here to see what it's all about. There are some very creative people here that have loads of ideas and certainly don't mind sharing their secrets!

One of the ladies was making experimental dragonflies using old silverware spoons for the body. They turned out great so I just had to make one! Friday, on my lunch hour, I went to Goodwill to find the spoons. Dadgummit, somebody already grabbed the best spoons. Hmmm, I'll have to improvise a little, so I bought a couple of knives. The handles have great charm and I'm sure I can cut them. (I was so confident, I bought 2!!)


Mr. Man was working late so I knew I could make these before he got home. I rushed home, ignoring my need to workout (hey, it's Friday after all), and started working. I pulled out my hacksaw and started cutting......and cutting.....and cutting. Thank goodness I have a little contraption that could hold the knives steady for me while I cut....and cut.... and cut!
Finally, two handles are cut off and I used a file (probably not one for metal, but it worked) and smoothed down the cut ends a little.



Now, to pick out the glass for the wings, I think this iridized, textured glass scrap will work great!


This is going well and my timing is working out. Now, I have to find my wing patterns........... how frustrating when you are trying to rush to make a project and you can't find what you need.......
Searching, searching, searching.....how in the world did I collect so many patterns and why are there so many duplicate copies......certainly there are some dragonfly wings in one of these books......


No time to look anymore, I'll just draw some wings. Off to the computer to see what real dragonfly wings look like. Wow, what a variety of wings! Ok, just choose one pic and draw it, copy it, be sure to mark left side top, left side bottom, right side top, right side bottom ...... time's drawing near.

I rush back out to my shop and cut out the wings, placing them next to the body to envision the final creation:

Hmmm, not bad. Ok, I've already decided I would wrap the wings with U-came to make the process go faster, then solder the U-came to the body. I'm doing ok on time right now.

Great! The wing's wrapped and I take it to the soldering station to see if the solder will stick to the knife handle..........AARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!

It won't work. Now Mr. Man is home and I'm so frustrated at this point that I just have to put it away. I spend the rest of the evening and all day Saturday trying to come up with some way that I can attach those wings. I've seen it done with wire but I've never used that technique. So, I mull it over in my mind and on Sunday afternoon I finally think I have the patience to work on it again.

Of course, I didn't take anymore pictures of the work in progress due to my previous failure. But, I did work with the wire, was able to finally get the wings attached and soldered a ring on it. All in all, I think the experiment turned out pretty well and I will probably make a few more to see how they sell at my uncoming show the end of October.


Now, I have to get back on track and get those business card holders finished and begin working on more items for the show.

~ til next time!