Blue Necklace

Yes, that's a boring name, right? I always title my creations before I put them on Etsy to sell, but I'm having trouble with this one. I just finished this three-strand necklace and I'm at a loss as to what to name it. Do you have any suggestions?

I've used a bead soup mixture of blues and purples. Pearls and glass beads accent the strands, every inch or so.



I've joined the three strands within a silver Bali cap bead to hide the ends. The toggle clasp is sterling silver as well.



Any ideas for a clever name? Here are some of my favorite names: Susie wants Silver; Dangling Participle; Madame's Finest; Sultry Blue Moves. Post some of your suggestions here.

Happy Zine Day -- Heather Simpson-Bluhn

Heather Simpson-Bluhn created a colorful zine she calls Journal Play. She color-copied bright collages for most pages, and machine-stitched the binding and cover.


She describes how to do a gesso resist with rubberstamps, inserting an example as a half-page in the zine. Abruptly, she gives a journal prompt on page 3 of the zine. This little prompt is attached with fancy tape to a piece of textured paper.


I'm getting that Heather is a lover of paper. Her collages use magazine bits, insides of envelopes, origami paper, and book pages. She's created an envelope from plastic by stitching the edge and binding it into the zine. This packet contains paper scraps we could use in our own collage.


For all of us who also have a scrap collection, Heather has included a how-to article for turning your scraps into paper flowers, which she calls "tattered blooms."


Heather extolls the virtues of listmaking, and urges us to list words as our own journal prompts. I find myself wanting to write in my journal, yet I don't want to stop reading her zine. She's also listed some mixed media tutorial sources on YouTube. When I'm done with a journal page, I'll be sure to hop on the internet to check out some of these videos.


If you'd like to see more of Heather's art, you can see her blog here.

You can check out the zine that I made for this swap here. I'll be posting more reviews of all the zines I received from the swap in future blog posts.

A Little Heart Bling

I've always been a jewelry girl. I've been wearing necklaces and rings regularly since I was about 11. I just can't understand women who don't finish their outfit with a pretty necklace. If I go out without one on, I feel naked. I have quite a collection of necklaces, and a lot of charms. I thought I'd show you some of my heart charms on this nice Valentine's Day. This is by no means all, but it gives you a nice selection.

This first one is probably my oldest. My mom gave me this when I was about 11. It's smooth stone, and I wear it on a simple gold chain.


These two are also very old. I wore these all through high school.


A couple years ago, I participated in a Valentine's charm swap with 49 other women. Yes, I know, that means we each had to make 50 charms. It was so exciting when we received our packets in the mail. I loved them all, but this one especially because it was not red. I thought it was such a clever idea to do one in blue and yellow.


This is a polymer clay heart, handmade by Laurel Steven. She is an amazing polymer artist and you can see her work here.


Here's another old one. It is carved mother of pearl. Do you remember when mother of pearl was popular? Don't answer that, people will be able to guess your age.


These are two lovely green hearts, but unfortunately I don't wear green at all. Maybe for St. Patrick's Day I'll wear a heart for my spot of green.


And lastly, for some real bling, here's a gorgeous crystal heart from Baccarat. My dad got me this one. It's beautiful.


I hope you're all enjoying your Valentine's Day. Did you receive any heart bling from your sweetheart?

Sending You Some Warm Weather

I know a lot of you up north have had your fill of winter and snow at this point, and the season is young. I'll send you some of my Florida photos, and maybe you can feel that yes, it may get warm again. I took these when I was visiting my dad in Cocoa Beach last week.


The lifeguards were on duty, but no one was swimming. The only people on the beach were walkers, like me.


Some little animal came by here earlier.


You can see here where many storms have pushed the sand up onto the boardwalk. While some beaches lose their sand, this beach has an abundance.



Keep warm! I hear another storm is heading for the northeast later this week.

Happy Zine Day -- Barb Nelis

As I go through each of the 10 zines I received in a recent swap, I'm struck by how different one is from the last. We all received the same guidelines for the swap -- handmade, at least 20 pages, include a how-to article, and some goodies for the recipient. Beyond that, they can be any size, reflect any medium, and have any construction.

Barb Nelis's zine, Left-Brain Heart, is a colorful feast for the eyes.


I think most of the pages are construction or scrapbook paper, each one a different color. The size is 5 1/2" x 8", with a stitched binding, but it is so chock full of inserts and examples, that the side is about 2 1/2" thick!


I don't think Barb has a blog where I can see her art, but she's included many collages in her zine. She's obviously a lover of words and quotes, colorful scraps, and stamps.

Most pages have some kind of a pocket or attachment for scraps and goodies. She's included how-to's for a folder pocket, a bookmark card, and of course colorful examples of each.


She's generous with her enclosures, including a large scrap of fabric that may inspire you for a future project, a couple of crocheted pieces, and a mini paper pad.


She's included one article about de-cluttering your life. As I read it, I couldn't help but wonder: is she talking about physical clutter, or mental clutter? She's proved she is also a very good writer.



To see more reviews of mixed media zines, check out my blog again. I have five more to go!

To see the zine I made for this swap, check out my blog post here. You also may buy one online at my etsy shop here.

Soldering is Not So Scary

Many of you know that for the last four years I've traveled to Portland, Oregon in October to take art classes at Art & Soul Retreat. I'm changing it up a bit this year, and will be attending their New Orleans retreat in July. I'm excited to be traveling with two friends who are new to the retreat scene. We've chosen one class that we'll take together, then we'll take three others. My friend will be taking a soldering class with Sally Jean Alexander. I took one from her my first year, and totally loved it. She's a thorough instructor, and teaches a project-based class. I recently came across the project I did, which I had given to my mom as a gift.


We collaged papers, using color copies, paint, pencils, and sandwiched them between thick beveled glass. I went with an Oregon theme, using postcards, stamps, a photos, and other items from my mom's Oregon relatives. We soldered down the sides to keep the glass sandwich together. All in all, a good first experience with soldering, which is not that hard after all.

Happy Zine Day -- Lori Garver

We now enter the world of recycling with the next zine, Brown Paper Bag Art, by Lori Garver. The cover of her 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" zine is made out of a brown paper bag. She has stitched the binding, as well as the title, which is rubber-stamped letters on frayed fabric. The cover also has some pretty colored flowers, which I discover later she has described how to make.


Lorie starts with a nice introduction about her love for brown paper bags. She points out that they are plentiful, usually free, and can take many mediums well. That's beautiful music to the ears of many mixed media artists, especially in this economy.

Her how-to for making paper bag flowers didn't disappoint. She gave a few techniques from different artists and included a few samples.


Lori has discovered an artist who hosts a brown paper bag art swap each year, and she's included an interview with her. She's also researched links to other artists who use brown paper bags. This is a fun inclusion in a zine. I haven't gone through all the links yet, but it will be a fun thing to do on a rainy day.


Lori seems to like to try new things, and that's all the good for us. She shows you how to make waxed paper bag dolls, textured paper, paper beads, and just for that time when you're relaxing and reading your favorite zine, some brown sugar cookies. (Yum -- I have to try these!)


I love how a handmade zine can open you up to an artist's world. I can see that Lorie likes to sew and work with fabric; re-use materials; play with rubber stamps; and she has an attention to detail. I am enjoying "meeting" other artists through the swaps that I do. You can meet the next artist when I review Barb Nelis's zine on February 3rd.

Check out the zine I made for this swap here. If you'd like to "meet" me, you can buy my zine online at my Etsy shop here.