Custom Pet Silhouette Giveaway!

I have 2 dogs.  They're both Golden Retrievers, but they're both completely different.  One is very active, wants to go on walks all the time, and one isn't.  This is the one who isn't.

His name is Stormy, and we named him that because our first dog is named Sunny, and well being creative thinkers, and the fact it was raining when we got him, the name fit.  The reason we bought them, was because I was in extreme pain, grieving the loss of our beloved black lab Toby.  He was with us for 11 years, and was part of our family as our kids were growing up.  I missed him so much, and the best thing I did was quickly get a puppy.  It really did help.  

Pets are such a huge part of our lives, and provide unconditional love, and loads of joy.  Sometimes when I've had a crummy day, I just give my puppy a giant hug, and his softness and warmth makes me feel much better.  He never judges me either, he just wags his tail, and I feel that things will be OK.

So I wanted to create a special keepsake for our furry friends.  

On to the giveaway! It's for a custom soldered silhouette of your pet!  Complete with name and date. Just leave me a comment here about your pet, and what makes him or her so special to you, then I'll put your name in the hat.  Oh, and if you sign up to follow this blog or Facebook, I'll put your name in again.  

 And if you win, all I need is a profile picture of your pet.  I know, easier said than done, but what helps is to offer them a cookie or something and get them to stand still for a split second.  I had my son help me, and also took this with a tripod, because I'm too shaky from all the coffee I drink.

Here's Stormy posing with his ornament.  What a dog!  Just looking at that cute face in this photo makes me want to give him a big kiss!
Have a great week, and I hope you win!
Take care,
Martha

Just Be Yourself

A reminder to just be yourself! Be free to laugh, enjoy life, and don't take things too seriously. :)

Take care,

Martha

Dress Form take 2!

In my last post, I showed you this dress form I made from an old french book. The graphic came from Karen at Graphics Fairy blog.

The burlap I used to hang it wasn't right to me, because it has this shiny nylon mesh behind it that didn't look right. Plus, I know burlap is really popular right now, but if you've ever smelled it, it kind of stinks. :) So I changed the ribbon, and used darker seam binding, and tied it on the top with a vintage button. Usually I like creams and whites, but for this one I like the darker ribbon. And yes, I over think things, but that makes creating fun.Do you have a thing for buttons like I seem to? I used to dump out my mom's jars of buttons as a child, and go through them thinking it was the greatest thing to do.
Th dress form was printed directly over the french text.
Finally I'm happy with it. What do you think?

Take care,

Martha

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette is one of my favorite figures to use in art work. She's such a feminine girl, and seems to drip elegance. I usually use a black patina on the solder to darken it, but left it silver for this one.
While rummaging through one of my drawers, I came across some old chandelier prisms I bought, and decided to solder them onto an ornament.
Th photo I used is a painting of Marie when she was only 13. It was meant to show her future husband what she looked like, because he had never seen her.
I'm happy with how it came out. Maybe I should do more of these blingy ones, what do you think?

Here are a few pieces of trivia I came up with about Marie-

~She was only 14 years old when she got married to the future King of France. She was Austrian, and the marriage was meant to improve relations between Austria and France.

~Marie's last words were "Monsieur , I ask your pardon. I did not do it on purpose." She accidentally stepped on the foot of the executioner while climbing the stairs of the scaffold to the guillotine.

~Marie wore purple mules on the day she was executed

~ She had 4 children

~ Marie was the 15th child of 16

~She often dressed as a peasant to imitate the simple life

~Marie never said "Let them eat cake."

~She was brought to the guillotine on October 16, 1793

Back to work, I hope you enjoyed!

Take care,

Martha

New Glitter *Star*

Hi! Just wanted to share with you what I've been working on. I founds this star shaped beveled glass, and knew I wanted to make a glittery creation out of it.
So I added German Glitter glass to it, and soldered the edges. I love the way it sparkles.
Did you know German glitter glass really is made of shards of glass? It's unlike the plastic glitter found in most stores, because the glass it's made out of has an amazing brilliance to it, and creates a beautiful diamond-like appearance to your piece, especially in low light.
I also love the texture the glitter glass gives to the star.

I've been making Christmas ornaments too since I need to get cracking for the Holiday season, and my next show is coming up in a couple of weeks in Carlsbad. I hope you enjoyed the little sneak peek to what I've been up to. We've had loads of rain and even strong thunderstorms here in sunny CA. It makes for a cozy time to create. I hope you're doing well in your neck of the woods.

Take care,

Martha

Recipe for Happiness

Hi! I found this recipe for happiness, and had to share it with you. I took an old recipe card and letter by letter created the text. It took all day yesterday, but I thought this was so cute I had to do it. My kids thought it was soooo corny but I don't care. ;)
It's made under beveled glass so that's why is looks a little distorted here. But when you look at it straight on, it's fine.
I finally figured out how to add silver glitter too. The trick was to use a certain kind of paper, that's the texture of water color paper, and it worked.
I started making Christmas goodies too, and I'll have them on my website soon.
Well, back to soldering! Summer decided to finally make an appearance here in So. Cal, and it's hot today! My dinky fan is just not cutting it, but back to work I go, trying to prepare for Glitterfest this Saturday.

Take care, Martha

Goodies to share with You

Hi and thanks for stopping in! Thanks to everyone who came out to my last craft show in Carlsbad, CA. I got to meet a blog buddy too! Many of you may know Karin over at Creative Chaos, but if you don't hop on over to her blog. She's the sweetest lady you'll ever meet, and I was very fortunate to do so!

I wanted to share with you a design I've been working on. It's the quote from C. S. Lewis "You don't have a soul, you are a soul. You have a body." Since the passing of my mom, it's words have renewed meaning to me. I wanted to create a piece that reflects this quote, so I came up with this beautiful vintage lady and used really muted colors that are faded.
I found a page from Rachel Ashwell's shabby chic book with the same colors and placed the ornament on it. It's embellished with a little bit of clear glitter too. You can check it out here at my website along with some other new designs I've been working on.
And here's the wonderful type face I used in the design. It's called "Handmade" by Eduardo Recife, and you can purchase it here. Oh I've got to share a couple more things with you too. Here's a beautiful tutorial on making dried flower bookmarks.

And finally, I've been watching Molly the barn owl on her own owl cam! She's a barn owl that has just had 4 babies, and I watch while creating. (WARNING: She is eating a rat right now, so you may want to skip watching especially in the morning! ) You can check Molly out here.

You take care, and again, thanks so much for visiting! ~Martha

Display Idea

Hi and welcome! Hope you've been well. I'm slowly recovering from a nasty cold, and am worn out from coughing. Anyway, I wanted to share with you some things I've been working on. Oh and the couch is kinda messed up because my dogs were on it. :)
I love the style of Swedish decor, and noticed they have loads of hooks with knick knacks hanging on them. I thought some of my favorite pieces would look cool that way.
So I bought a coat rack and lightly sanded the edges to give it a worn feel. Then I added these pretties to it: a lovely cone from Rosemary, an ornament made from an image from the Graphics Fairy, a rosemary wreath compliments of the garden, and another ornament of Paris.
I like the fact that you can mix and match, and change things around according to the season. Believe it or not I've already started making some ornaments for Halloween. :)

I added a few rhinestones to the glass of the crown. I girl can't have too much bling! Well, hoping you have a wonderful rest of the week. I won't be at Palm Springs tonight, but plan on going next week.

Take care, and thanks for stopping by,

~Martha

Alice in Wonderland Giveaway

Don't be late for a very important date! Enter my Alice in Wonderland giveaway for a chance to win this fun tea party ornament. It measures 4x6", is soldered, and dusted with a bit of magical glitter.
Here's the back of the ornament, a vintage style wallpaper.
All you have to do is comment on this post, and your name will go into the Mad Hatters Hat. I'll post the winner in a week...hope you win!

Take care,

Martha