My Next Victims

I came downstairs to start my day and saw these two bottles sitting on the dining room floor. My daughter went out the night before and brought them home. Merry Christmas to me! I'm going to have a good time breaking these. Sometimes the simplest things can make your day.

Baltimore Craftesians: Interview with Baltimore Artist Angela African San...

This is an interview that was conducted last week and it should give you a little more insight into the story behind the art. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all Mothers and those working in the role of Mothers. Enjoy your day!

Happy New Year!

We've made it through another one. I'm working on lots of new and exciting projects for this year. For me, January is such a long month, so I usually put all of my creative ideas on paper so I know my direction. Also, its the month for making my working schedule to keep me focused, otherwise I'm all over the web.

Pocket Mirrors are my first project for this year. They can be customized in any color you desire and come with a matching pouch.

To see their descriptions, please go to my Etsy shop.

I would like to thank everyone who visits and stayed in contact with me throughout the year. I appreciate it.

Have a Healthy, Safe and Prosperous New Year!

15% Off 72 Hour Sale

I'm having a sale on every item in my Etsy shop. The sale ends on Sunday morning, so get your handmade and unique gifts before it's over.

I have also added a clearance section to my shop. When I going out vending at craft shows and farmer's markets, I accumulated a lot of inventory. Now its time to get rid of it so I can make some space. Go to the Clearance section to see what's offered. I'm going to always add items so keep checking back. You never know what you might find.

Commissioned Work

This group of business card holders was commissioned by a Law Firm in Nevada. I just started making vertical business card holders this year. This new design adds the stability needed so it won't topple over or need to be held when taking a card.
After the holiday is over, there is still some tweeking I want to do to it and then I'll be satisfied.




These President Obama ornaments were made for one of my previous customers. I had made the Obama earrings and pendants, which sold very well during his campaign. I love it when someone can take an idea beyond my thinking. She loved them so much that she ordered four more. I can't wait to see how they look on her tree.

Fantasian Blog Post

Fantasian, who makes some really unique wire-wrapped jewelry, featured some of my items to showcase on her blog.
She also has a list of other artists that were previously showcased.
The holiday season is fast approaching and her Etsy shop would be the perfect place to find that special gift.

In A New Collection

ALL THINGS GRAY

Curated By: sandeeknits

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Photography

This collection is called All Things Gray, curated by sandeeknits at Artfire. She has lots of scarves so take some time and visit her shop. Its almost that time of year that we will wish we had something warm to wear outside. Her scarves also make great gifts.

Voted Best In Show At Cafe Handmade

I joined Cafe Handmade's Virtual Craft Show in August because I felt like it was a another venue to showcase my work. Their ad rates are better than most, so why not give it a try.

In my fifth week, my virtual booth was voted Best in Show, which is an honor, being in the company of such amazing crafters. I know I would have voted for a few.

Take some time to visit the Virtual Craft Show, browse around and vote for your favorites. And for all of you who have shops, check out their advertising. Their rates are some of the best that I've seen in a while.

My Latest Commissioned Panel Is Finally Home

Its been a couple of weeks since I mailed and found out that this panel had arrived with a crack. It really seemed longer since I needed it to be where I sent it and not in a shop to be fixed.

My client notified me that the panel was finally home. It was repaired in a local stained glass shop. They did a great job. Now I can relax, knowing that all is well.

Broken Glass

Broken glass is how I make my living. I actually love the sound of it breaking and having it around me. But there are certain times when its not so good.

This is not a picture you want to see after you have carefully packed and shipped a commissioned piece. First, there's anger. Not at anyone in particular but because it happened. Second, you mentally go through every step of the packing process to see where a mistake could have been made. Just because I don't see where a mistake was made doesn't mean it didn't happen. And last, you come to realize that everything happens for a reason and this is no different.

I don't know the reason but I do know that in the future, my first reaction will not be one that takes me off focus by being angry. Its life. I will continue to do my very best work with every project that I take on as I always have. Today is my new beginning.

Judith Jamison Stained Glass Panel

This Judith Jamison panel has been in the making for about three years. I was inspired to make it after seeing a segment on PBS on Alvin Ailey. From there, I went to the library, and while looking through several books on dance, this image spoke to me. I copied the page, brought it home and studied it for a few days.

I used the Dragonfly stained glass software program to develop the initial drawings as you can see in the first few frames of the video. If you work in stained glass, this program is one of the best to have. I use it for most of my design work but nothing beats picking up a pencil and sketching. After playing with several color choices, blue seemed the best choice. I guess I was in one of my blue color moods during that period.

So, after out vending for over a year and not having time to do anything else but produce product for shows, here she is, finally finished.

This panel was truly a joy to create and now she is part of the family until she has to go live in someone else's home.

In Four Treasuries This Month

What is a Treasury? It is a collection of items related to a theme, chosen by Etsy members.
So far this month, 4 of my stained glass pieces were chosen to be in Treasuries. For me, this is an honor that my items were chosen from the millions of items on Etsy.

In this beautiful Treasury named Somewhat Transparent, my Business Card Holder was included. This Treasury was made by Peachy Designs.

This colorful Treasury was made by soap and named Full Spectrum. Go. She used my multi-colored Paperweight in this fun Treasury.

The Simple Beauty Of Nature is the name WhimsicalJewels used for this visually festive Treasury. She featured my Trinket Box.

In this last one named Translucent World made by MsPolite, my Earrings and Pendant Set was featured along with other stunning pieces.
Please take the time to visit the shops of the curators of these eye pleasing Treasuries.

My Latest Custom Stained Glass Panel

I loved creating this panel. I have been holding this design in my head for quite some time, to make in stained glass. Years ago when I was into ceramics, I painted a plate that was similar to this panel.

I cannot tell you how happy I was when I got the call and the client described her vision to me. She wanted a 14" circle panel with a woman in profile. She also said that she likes triangles, circles, and diamond shapes, in that order. The woman's face was to be medium amber and the other colors were to be red, orange, yellow, purple, blue and green. Colorful is right up my alley.

When I delivered it to her, She could not stop smiling. She loved it and called me the next day to tell me how the sun was affecting the different textures.

Its really a good feeling when you can bring someone's vision to life and it exceeds their expectations.

Upcycled Jewelry

http://youtu.be/d-sxQHmz9sU

In A Treasury

A Treasury is a collection of someones favorite items that they put together and share with other members of Etsy. This Treasury was made by locustgrovelori, who makes the most interesting pieces using buttons and other objects. My favorites by her are the ones with a steampunk flavor. Take some time to look at her work. I'm sure there will be something that speaks to you.

Inland Wiz Cg Grinder

This is the new toy I'm getting tomorrow. The grinder I have now still works BUT the bit is frozen to the shaft. I've tried everything from WD40 to a hammer and still can't remove it. Its old anyway. This happened when we were going out vending and I was busy making pieces and not paying much attention to losening the grinding head when I wasn't using it.

I'll hang on to it just in case I start teaching a class or some strong man comes along and losens the head for me. Wish me luck.

Car Angels

I created my first car art soon after I finished my stained glass class in 1997. At that time I was making all kinds of items. Originally called car art, that changed when my customers would tell me that they looked like angels, so I changed the name.

One of my customers used hers as Christmas ornaments. They have also been used as sun catchers, a key chain and even a pendant. You never know what someone is going to do with what they get. As long as my pieces go to a good home is all that matters.

I truly believe that everyone should have an angel close to them with all of the activity taking place while driving.

Green Tea And Memories

I usually start my week drinking tea, listening to my ipod and fixing pictures to add to my shops. From Me To You by The Beatles came on, which came out when I was in elementary school. That song took me back to this boy named Willie who had a crush on me. Always staring. Anyway, I guess he finally mustered up the courage to say he was going to the candy store and asked if I wanted a 5 cent ring or a 10 cent ring. I took neither.

Thinking back on it, it was a sweet gesture. That's the kind of sweet innocence we all start out with before we get older and really start living life.

In Two Treasuries

A Treasury is a collection of someones favorite items that they put together and share with other members of Etsy. This Treasury was made by Lindabutterfly. She a really creative lady that I've had the pleasure of collaborating with, making a pendant. I'm looking forward to seeing what she has in store for us this year.

This Treasury was made by expressions123. She included my panel in her treasury, but also notified me that she did. I love the refrigerator magnets she makes, in her very eclectic style. Check out her shop and you'll see what I mean.