Bringing the Beach House to Elko on April 28

By admin  |  2012/01/30 16:51 Posted in Personal, Uncategorized  |  Comments (0)

I recentl(in)RLy became interested in the (in)courage website/blog that provides inspirational Christian posts and support for a female audience. (in)courage has a large worldwide online presence and is connected to the DaySpring line of inspirational greeting cards and products owned by Hallmark.

So many women have connected online via (in)courage that it was suggested that they be given an opportunity to meet at an annual conference. The inspired people at (in)courage decided that instead of hosting an annual conference in a single location, they would encourage women to gather locally at (in)Courage-sponsored  (in) Real Life ((in)RL) events–think mini beach house parties–on April 28, 2012. At “the beach house,” these women will share thoughts and ideas, form friendships, share Jesus, and view together webcasts provided by (in)courage. The whole thing is managed online using MeetUp.com, where participants may RSVP and register to attend their local (in)RL gathering. Already there are (in)RL meetups scheduled on that date in over 225 cities.

(in)courage meetups are real life get togethers organized by the (in)courage blog community to connect women beyond the blog post. Details are here: http://inrl.us

I’ve bravely decided to host the first (In)RL gathering in the Elko, Spring Creek, Lamoille, NV, area at 1 p.m. Sat. April 28, 2012. When I know how many women plan to attend, I’ll decide on the exact location and notify the participants. Please contact me if you are interested in helping me host/organize this event.

Goals: Women gathered to watch live webcasts of (in)courage contributors and community, connect with one another, share Jesus, and discover new friendships right around the corner!

You may register for the event here http://inrl.eventbrite.com. There also will be a 90-minute preparatory webcast available to registrants on Friday evening, April 27, via the internet. The registration fee is $11.54, and includes an (in)RL t-shirt as well as a Simply Marvelous card pack. Sounds like a sweet deal to me!

Wherever you live, I hope you will familiarize yourself with (in)courage and attend an (in)RL event near you on April 28. There is so much dark and distressing news these days, we could all use some uplifting support and maybe make some new Christian women friends! I look forward to reading your thoughts on this project.

New Jewelry Galore

By admin  |  2012/01/21 11:34 Posted in Creations, Jewelry  |  Comments (0)

Rainbow Tooth Necklace

I’ve been on a beading spree lately, creating 7 new necklaces and 5 new pair of earrings. These have all been posted for sale on my website, though I’m loathe to part with some of them, they are so lovely.

Two of the necklaces I made using Wonderstone (Rhyolite) that I found in the Elko, NV, area. Instead of polishing the stone faces that feature Wonderstone’s concentric circles, which requires special equipment, I chose to coat them with clear resin. This gives the stones’ focal points a shiny surface that enhances the design, yet allows it to contrast with the stone’s natural surfaces.

Wonderstone Slab Necklace

Wonderstone Slab Necklace

I also created my first three-strand necklace, featuring antiqued chain segments and iridescent butterflies.

Triple Butterfly Necklace

Triple Butterfly Necklace

I’ve also experimented with new components in my newly created earrings.  These include using transparent glass macaroni noodles, glass-fringed filigreed heart components, and beaded baubles. Two of the new sets of earrings match the new necklaces I made.

Aqua Fringed Heart Earrings

Aqua Fringed Heart Earrings

You can see all these new creations in the Jewelry Gallery on my website where they are available for purchase. If you’re a local customer, I’ll be happy to reimburse you for my website’s shipping charges if you arrange for pickup of your purchases at my studio in Lamoille, NV, by contacting me.

I’d be pleased if you’d post a comment as to how you like these new pieces and/or what types of jewelry you’d like me to make more of.

7 New Pillboxes and More

By admin  |  2011/12/29 12:19 Posted in Creations, Customer Stories, Pillboxes  |  Comments (0)

7 New Pillboxes

I recently created a batch of seven new pillboxes, pictured above. Several have dichroic glass and/or UTEEite embellishments. These pillboxes were listed today on my website for purchase.

A customer recently ordered five custom 1-dose pillboxes for use as solid perfume containers. I prepared nine 1-dose boxes, unglued, for her to choose from, as shown in the picture below.

Custom Pillbox Options

She chose the brown, purple, red, light blue, and yellow boxes. I reconfigured the remaining boxes (except for the dark blue one) with different embellishments and posted them on my website as pictured in the first picture in this post.

This is the typical way I prepare custom pillbox orders, providing a variety of designs for the customer to choose from before gluing things together. Please keep me in mind for custom pillboxes, as these can be completed in just a few days.

If you see someone using an ugly multi-day pillbox, take a look at their decor and color preferences. Then order them a same size and configuration readymade pillbox or custom pillbox from my website and give it to them as a gift so they will enjoy seeing their pillbox and can thus keep it handy on their counter top.

Let me know what you think of my new creations!

Teal Wave Hoop Earrings

By admin  |  2011/11/15 15:11 Posted in Creations, Jewelry  |  Comments (0)
Teal Wave Hoop Earrings

Refracting strong sunlight, this is one of three similar pairs of UTEEite earrings available.

I was convinced I could somehow form molten UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) into transparent teal waves inside 1.5″ hoop earrings. Four hours later, I had produced three sets of similar earrings, two for pierced ears, and one with adjustable clip-on attachments. The trial-and-error process wasn’t easy, but I’m delighted with the results.

At first, I thought I could just dip the hoops into molten UTEE in my Melting Pot. No such luck. It only coated the wire. When I tried letting that cool and building up layers of UTEEite by redipping, I ended up with a log-shaped lump of UTEEite on the bottom of the hoop. No wave! I remelted that effort and started over.

I next poured molten UTEEite into the hoops as they were laying flat on a teflon heatproof mat. Excess UTEEite was cut from the outside of the hoop with a scissors. If the “wave” did not look like a wave, its shape was adjusted with the paddle attachment on my hot wax stylist tool. Some waves had to be remelted and reshaped using a hot air gun.

The UTEEite gradually changed color during the 4-hour heating process. Therefore, each pair of earrings is a slightly different color blue, as I worked on one pair at a time.

As you can see in the picture above, the sunlight shining through these earrings produces some lovely patterns, much like the patterns created when sunlight shines through water. Just as no two waves are alike, don’t expect any of these hand created treasures to be identical! 

These would make terrific holiday gifts, so be quick to snap them up on my website. While you’re there, check out my other creations with gift giving in mind. Don’t forget to include yourself on that gift list! ;o}

Would you like me to create more hoop earrings similar to these, perhaps in different colors? If so, what color(s) would you prefer I try next?

Southwest Herd of 3

By admin  |  2011/11/14 15:03 Posted in Artwork, Creations  |  Comments (0)
Southwest Herd of 3

This herd is available as encaustic prints and notecards.

The first of my encaustic stencilled herd creations is now available for sale on my website in large/small print and notecard formats. (The copyright notice in the picture above does not appear on the finished products.) This herd of three different horses charges at you wearing beautiful American Southwest colors of teal, green, brown, orange, and gold.

Creating this work required the following steps.

  • One horse was drawn onto white mat board and simplified into a stencil format.
  • The stencil design was cut out of the mat board with an Exacto knife.
  • The resulting stencil was photographed with a black background to create a black horse image on a white background.
  • The image was transferred to my computer where it was converted into a solid white background with a transarent horse, just like the physical stencil.
  • A colorful encaustic pattern was created on a large sheet of encaustic card stock using my large hot plate, hot air tool, and various encaustic waxes.
  • The pattern was then photographed and transferred to my computer.
  • The digital pattern was placed behind the digital horse stencil on my computer.
  • The white background was made transparent, so only the encaustic pattern appeared where the horse’s body was.
  • This process was repeated using two additional drawings of horses in different poses.
  • The three resultant digital patterned horses were combined in one document, enlarging/reducing and flipping them horizontally as necessary to create my final herd in this Southwest design.

Each horse was lovingly rendered as a separate unit, so the patterns composing each horse’s body would decrease logically in size as the horses were positioned farther away in the herd.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I’ve already created a total of five horse stencils. I have also created several different encaustic patterns to place behind these stencils.  My next task will be to photograph and substitute these new backgrounds behind the five digital horse stencils I’ve created, then combine them on my computer into more herds and/or single horses. I’m greatly looking forward to this process, which should proceed more quickly, now that I’ve learned the most efficient ways to manipulate the images on my computer.

Due to the elaborate process required to create these herds, they can only be created as open edition prints, rather than as encaustic originals. I’m excited by simplicity of the designs and the rich colors the encaustics create in these prints. I hope you will be, too! What do you think of my first herd?

Eleven New Pillboxes

By admin  |  2011/10/09 18:35 Posted in Creations, Pillboxes  |  Comments (0)
Eleven New Pillboxes
I just completed a batch of eleven new readymade pillboxes and posted them for sale on my website. A couple of these include my locally found Wonderstone (Rhyolite) stones that I’ve glazed to enhance their unusual concentric rings.
Green Bon Bon Pillbox

Green Bon Bon Pillbox

These include a new “triple set” of large 7-day strip pillboxes that may be used individually for multiple days or as a set for morning, noon, and evening doses. They each have glittery transparent aqua acrylic nuggets on their matching swirled green stained glass tops. I’m excited about this “set” idea, so I may be making more sets in the future. What do you think of the matching pillbox set concept?

Do keep my pillboxes (and other creations) in mind for Christmas gifts. If you don’t see what you need on my website, order a custom pillbox. I can make one in a few days that will be perfect for your giftee. These also make terrific earring/jewelry cases for travel or boudoir. Don’t forget: I make pillboxes for men, too!

I Made the Local News!

By admin  |  2011/09/13 12:51 Posted in Keys Workshops  |  Comments (0)
Kristi in Sorting Hat

Kristi Lyn Glass displays a brochure for her Keys to Happiness workshops wearing the "sorting hat" she uses to sort participants into their personality types.

The Elko Daily Free Press just did a very nice feature article about my Keys to Happiness and Healthy Relationships 12-session workshop for women that was supposed to start last night (9/12/11)! :o

 I hope the article helps generate interest, as I need at least one more participant to sign up by next Monday to be able to hold the workshop this fall. I’ve postponed the start until next Monday, 9/19. If you know anyone in the Elko area who might be interested in attending, please pass this info on to them and have them contact me by next Monday.

Cross Saddle Dangle

By admin  |  2011/08/02 15:24 Posted in Creations, Customer Stories, SteedBeads  |  Comments (0)
Cross Saddle Dangle

SteedBeads Cross Saddle Dangle

 

A great SteedBeads Mane Dangle customer from Missouri was looking for a cross Saddle Dangle for her show saddle. She had seen some advertised made out of leather with crystal rhinestones on them in various colors. I researched those and saw that most sold for around $30.00, which to me seemed exorbitant, given they looked unlikely to hold up under typical horseback riding conditions.

I decided I could make a much prettier cross Saddle Dangle that is more durable saddle bling. I created a Saddle Dangle similar to the one in the picture above, and my customer was thrilled. After sending it off to her, I made the one pictured above and posted it for sale on my website–at half the price of the leather alternative. Construction details are on the product listing. What do you think of it?

I can make similar ones in different colors on a custom basis, using any of the pendants for my SteedBeads product line. If this interests you, please contact me.

Pillboxes for Men

By admin  |  2011/07/25 19:24 Posted in Creations, Pillboxes  |  Comments (1)
Pillboxes

Most of the multi-day pillboxes in this picture have male appeal.

I noticed recently that all of my readymade medium 14-day double pillboxes had sold on my website, so I decided to make up a batch of new ones. While I was at it, I created several that are more masculine in style, to demonstrate that my gorgeous pillboxes may also be designed to appeal to men. They need to take lots of pills and vitamins, too!

I even created a new category on my website called Men’s Pillboxes, where you may view a wide variety of readymade pillboxes  with masculine appeal. Bling may be my thing, but I think I’ve created some distinctive pillboxes that will have a more subtle appeal to the masculine mind. What do you think of them? Do you think any of them are miscategorized?

The new large and small purple pillboxes in the picture above could be considered more feminine in design, so I haven’t included them in the Men’s Pillboxes category, but on second thought, maybe men would like these, too. What do you think?

I hope you will keep these in mind for future gifts for your male friends and family members. If I haven’t yet made the perfect pillbox for your favorite male, I’ll be happy to create a custom pillbox for him in just a few days.

The Wonderment of Wonder Stones

By admin  |  2011/07/25 18:48 Posted in Creations, Personal  |  Comments (0)
Wonder Stones

Most of these Wonder Stones are too big for jewelry or pillbox embellishments, but I couldn't resist bringing them home.

 
I recently took a road trip in the Elko, NV, area and found a huge cache of Wonder Stone, also known as Rhyolite. This type of sandstone-like rock is known for its concentric red and yellow rings.
 
I took my time and sought out smallish pieces with good markings for use in future jewelry and pillbox projects. I glazed some of the best sides of the rocks to give them a wet effect and further highlight the ring patterns.
 
 The rocks below I’ve glazed and carved a bit with my Dremel tool to make them easier to wire wrap securely for jewelry use. Watch for these wondrous stones to be incorporated into many new creations soon!
Wonder Stones

These glazed Wonder Stones will be made into jewelry.