A Little Bit of Everything

My shop and posting as been on a bit of a lengthy hiatus. My, my, it's been a crazy year and a half - with a new baby, an emergency hospitalization for myself and two surgeries, and then beginning home schooling for my older boys. But I think we've finally got things running smoothly and hopefully there will be no more surprises. No bad surprises anyway...I'm all for the good ones of course!

To be honest, chaotic life aside, I've been in a creative slump. Especially with my jewelry and Etsy shop. My map necklaces have been quite popular, and especially with custom orders it sucked up all my time so that none was left to play with new ideas. It was feeling tedious. Uninspiring. I felt trapped.

It was a relief to just close down for a while. Now I have a renewed energy and am so excited to start doing something creative again! It started with a new-found passion for embroidery.

 

 I made these little softie baby blocks for a friend who's expecting her first child this summer. She loves owls and is also very into more natural type toys, like those made of fabric and wood, so I wanted to give her something unique and special. She's a very accomplished seamstress herself, so I felt a little embarrassed to present her with my amateur work, but she really liked them - whew! (Well of course she would; she's super sweet!)

Anyway, I've always loved the look of embroidery, but didn't know what all was involved and thought it would be much too complicated. Now I'm glad I was seized by the desire to give it a try because it wasn't nearly as hard as I had imagined. And,

I

fell

 

in

 

love.

 

♥

 

The owl and fox above are both compilations of various designs I found online (aka Pinterest). But now I see how its done, my head is swimming with ideas and the sheets of paper filled with doodles are beginning to pile up.

 

Exercising some creating thought sparked other imaginings. Here are some resin cabochons I made ages ago that have been languishing in the arts and crafts closet. I've pulled out some leather, lace, and felt, and am determined to combine these into some unique accessories. There are six made already, so stay tuned!

 Pride and Prejudice resin and copper bookmark

 

I've added a couple of resin and copper bookmarks to the shop, and would like to add more soon.

 

 

 

 

Custom map bracelet resin bangle

 

Maps, glorious maps!

They are still one of my first loves. I'm pleased to have added this new bracelet design, with customizable options. This one is with a silver bangle type bracelet, but I'm going to add leather and cotton corded options in a few days.

 

In the beginning, I mentioned being burned out on making map necklaces, but I have a renewed zest! I've been honored with some very special custom orders lately, including gifts for wedding parties, foreign exchange students, and graduates. I absolutely love it when my customers share their stories; it brightens my whole day knowing I've made something that carries special meaning for another. Its that connection that makes the handmade market so unique and enjoyable.

 

A final note:

In getting my act together, I noticed with some embarrassment that there are several comments that were posted months ago with questions about resin techniques, that due to my circumstances went unanswered. My sincere apologies. Although it comes late, I will try to respond to these questions in the next few days to weeks so that they may help others in the future at any rate. Perhaps a post of just answering questions is in order.

 

Be in touch soon!