Another Tiger's Eye Wrap Bracelet

I have finished another Tiger's Eye leather wrap bracelet! 

This one is going to be a gift  - a big thank you to my customer who commissioned it! It has a wonderful swirly brown button at the closure that I think goes really well with the colors in the beads. It is a double wrap with 6mm Tiger's Eye beads so it has a nice heft to it.

I hope that the recipient enjoys it!

Tiles, Trivets and Boxes - Oh My!

Zazzle has recently made some wonderful new products available in the marketplace. We can now create tiles, trivets, and beautiful gift boxes!

I am so excited at the possibilities since I have always thought tiles (and products featuring those, like trivets and boxes...) would really suit my artwork quite well. 

 

I have been plugging away at creating the tiles first since you can choose to frame the tile as as trivet or put it into a gift box once you click 'customize'. Take a peek at some of my new products below and stay closely tuned as I continue to add more!

Daffodil Tile with Green Stripe

Garlic Scapes Tile

Add a trivet frame for a useful and decorative kitchen gift!

Japanese Crane Gift Box

Find all of the tiles I have created so far here: Tiles

Find all of the gift boxes I have created so far here: Gift Boxes
Note: you will see tiles here, too, since you can create a gift box from any tile. Simply click the 'customize' button when viewing a tile.

Any of these new products would make fantastic gifts for family and friends!

75% off of 75+ Holiday Greeting Cards at Zazzle!

Zazzle is having a fantastic sale on holiday greeting cards:

75% off of orders of 75+ cards! 

Use Code: JOY2THEWORLD at checkout.

 

That may sound like a lot, but I know we send out over 80 cards to family and friends each year, so it's really a pretty great deal!

Remember, you can choose different designs - they don't all have to be the same. You might like some of my offerings below and then find more of another designer on Zazzle. All of them can add up to you 75+ for the 75% off!

Maybe you'd like one design for your co-workers or employees, and a different one for friends and family? My current cards are below. All of these can be customized with your greetings, name, and more:

 

  

The offer is valid through October, 31 2011 11:59pm PT. Happy shopping!

More Spoonflower Proofs! Organic cotton sateen is so smooth...

Here is the latest batch of proofs from my Spoonflower fabrics. All of these are now available for purchase.  

• Maple Buds on Light Green
• Raspberry Plant on Green
• Crema Stripe
• African Daisies - Blue Stripe
• Small Bird Feathers on Blue

I chose to order all of these in the organic cotton sateen, which has a lovely glossy finish and smoothness. It would make for terrific pillows, place mats, or clothing items. Of course, all of the other fabric styles are available for these, including quilting weight, organic cotton knit, upholstery weight twill, linen cotton canvas, silk crepe de chine, cotton voile, cotton silk. NOTE: They included a small swatch of the new cotton silk and it looks dreamy! I can't wait to order some.

 

All of these are swatch size except for the maple tree buds in green (far left) which is a fat quarter. I think they all turned out rather well, and I was particularly impressed with the 'Crema' stripe (center) which was an entirely digital design. It printed up beautifully! Oooo - what a luxurious book cloth it would make!

Stay tuned next week for a few more swatches that I ordered, including a sample of my Spring Rain Daffodils and more Maple Tree Bud variations.

Colorful Edibles! A new coloring book by the ASBA.

Hot off the Press! The American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) has published a wonderful new coloring book, Colorful Edibles. It features 28 pages of delicious line drawings by 26 ASBA members selected from nearly 80 submissions. I am excited to say that two of my drawings have been included! 

You can find my garlic scapes on p. 14 and my raspberry plant on p. 22.

Contributing artists are: Bobbi Angell, Mary Bauschelt, Beverly Behrens, Irene Blecher, Doreen Bolnick, Silvia Bota, Carol Creech, Carrie DiCostanzo, Jan Denton, Beverly Duncan, Joel Floyd, Keiko Fujita, Gretchen Halpert, Carol Hamilton, Wendy Hollender, Lois Jackson, Jeanne Kunze, Marjorie Leggitt, Derek Norman, Suellen Perold, Kelly Leahy Radding, Maryann Roper, Nancy Savage, Pauline Savage, Judith Scillia and Kelly Sverduk.

Informative and attractive, the coloring book makes a great gift for children of all ages. Proceeds from sales benefit ASBA's educational programs. The book will be for sale at this month at the ASBA conference in Boston, and if you are interested in ordering, please contact the ASBA for details:  

Phone: 212-691-9080 or Toll free tel (USA only): 1-866-691-9080

Email: asbamembservice@aol.com

Double Wrap Bracelet in Blue!

Here's my latest bracelet! I mixed it up in the color department this time, going with 2mm black leather cord, 8lb smoke grey Fireline thread and 6mm sapphire blue round shell beads.

Yet another button from Gram's tin. This is a very nice, faceted black button which gives the closure a subtle bit of flair, I think.

I included an "in-progress" photo in case you were curious about how this looks as it's being done. It's easiest to keep straight if you clip one end to a piece of cardboard or other flat surface. I really need to invest in a simple clip board as I have seen others use. For now, I am getting by with this, but it's a little too short for this double wrap length. I also bought a bracelet beading tray from the craft store which is great for lining up beads, sorting out ones that are too small or damaged, and generally keeping the project in one place. It also has a handy lid that I can pop on top to keep it closed off from kids and cat. :)

I had a little birthday money to spend last week, so I made a nice trip to the local bead shop the other day with my girls. Bless the bead shop - they had a kid drawer with crayons and coloring books, so I actually was able to shop uninterrupted! I bought some beautiful 4mm Rainforest Agate and 1.5mm warm grey leather cording. I hope to make a nice double wrap (at least) out of that, so stay tuned! 

I do find that at this point, at least, it's easier for me to stop and start work on a small sewing project like these bracelets than do much drawing. I hope to get back to some pencils and paper soon, but for now, I am happy to keep some creativity going with the beads!

50% Off Cards at Zazzle! Check it out!

Zazzle is offerring 50% off card styles - see my full selection of postcards, greeting and note cards. Invitations are also included. Save big on your holiday mailings, thank you notes or invitations!

Use Code: ALLCARDSSALE

  

"Savor the Season" Holiday Card

 

Invitations are completely customizable with your event information. You can also choose paper style and color.

 Take a look today!