Zentangle Fun

Have you heard of zentangles? If you love doodles and doodling then you'll love the zentangle art form as well. In my search to learn more about it I came across this fabulous site TanglePatterns.com. It was there that I found Sandy Steen Bartholomew's books on Zentangles. I started with her first book Totally Tangled and was hooked! When her second book Yoga for Your Brain came out, I just had to have it. Well, Sandy has written another book, Zentangle for Kids and with it's release, she is having a contest! The grand prize is an Official Zentangle Kit and a copy of  her Zentangle for Kids book, both of which are on my wish list. I just had to enter. For Sandy's contest, she is in need of minions, minions made to look like her daughter Lilah's little Lilah Beans. Super cute and really fun and I set out to make some. I made a necklace for Sandy and Lilah and you can see my entry here and everyone's entries here. You can also vote for the entry you like best on the poll on the left hand side of the blog. Let me tell you, it's a tough choice, all of the entries are great and I'm excited to be a part of this contest!

Sandy sells all of her books along with zentangle supplies and kits in her Etsy shop and don't forget to check out her BEEZ in the Belfry blog as well as her Zentangle for Kids blog!

The picture above is my first zentangle inspired artwork :)

Back in the swing of things...

I can't believe it's been since November since I last updated my blog. My temp job has ended and I'm finally getting my creative mojo back! I still need to get out to the studio and make more lampwork beads and I have ideas but it's been so cold out there! So lately I've decided to focus on my hand stamped metal jewelry and have added a few new Blythe necklaces to the shop.

My most popular design to date is the Blythe personalized name necklaces. So I thought I would add more designs to the shop. I now offer a similar necklace without personalization, just a simple stamped image on a slightly smaller blank, you can choose from any of my design stamps. The above picture shows the newest designs available and I also have a bunny, cat, and shamrock I recently picked up.

I also have a new line called Mood Swings for Blythe. Each necklace has 3 different charms each stamped in "text talk" conveying a particular mood. The themes currently available are Everyday, Sweet and Naughty. Just flip the charm to pick the message your girl would like to convey that day. Pretty fun! I have tons of ideas for these necklaces and would love to hear yours as well.

In the near future I will be adding more metal stamped necklaces in human size too so stay tuned!

What I've been up to lately

I bet you all thought I fell off the face of the earth! I'm alive and well and have been working really hard lately. Not on crafty stuff which of course is my passion but I recently started working as a lab tech at a local wine making facility. I live on the Central Coast of California where vineyards and wineries abound and I have always wanted to learn more about the industry. I got my wish! Right now is harvest season and I'm up to my elbows (literally) in grapes! Local vineyards bring in their grapes for us to test the sugar levels to see if their vines are ready to harvest. We hand crush those samples for them, and whenever I do, I'm reminded of that I Love Lucy episode where Lucy works in the wine vat and gets in a grape fight. Too funny! Here is the link on youTube for a good laugh! I'm really enjoying my job, however I have been working seven days a week lately and it doesn't leave much extra time for glass or dolls. 

Speaking of dolls, I came across this really cool blown glass miniature chemistry set made by glass artist Kiva Ford that I would love to have! I use all of these things in my job and think it would be fun to set up a shot of one of the girls working in the lab just like I do. Glass, dolls and lab techy stuff, how could I go wrong?!

Just had to share....

 

For all my doll friends and miniature lovers... isn't this camera the cutest? It's a 1/6 scale replica of a real life DSLR camera. Perfect size for Blythe! I actually have been wishing for a real life sized working model for myself but that's another story on my very long wish list that keeps growing and growing.... does it ever end? Anyhow, let's not get off topic.... You can find this fun little find at the Photojojo website. They have the coolest photography gadgets and their newsletter is filled with tips and tricks and is a lot of fun to read, I highly recommend it!

Yipeee!!!!

Pepper and I threw caution to the wind and braved the crowds at the California Mid State Fair for our submission to the Blythe Photo Challenge and we won!!! Peppers dress was made by the talented Kyle Ruth of Button Arcade and her cute lollipop plushie was created by Becky of Scrumptious Delight. Thank you ladies, your creations were just perfect for this picture!

It definitely pays off to not wait until after the deadline to submit your picture :) (Though I will admit that it was close!) I have been struggling with this since the challenge started. There are always really great, creative submissions and I feel honored that my picture was chosen.

I really love being challenged to be more creative with my pictures and I have a lot of fun participating. I appreciate Jennifer and Wendy for doing this every month, and want to say thank you! I will also be donating a personalized metal stamped Blythe necklace every month to the goody bag show my appreciation. So if you haven't yet joined the group, it's open to everyone and you can participate at any time. Please join us!

And on a final note.... Please vote for Beads of Courage in the Pepsi Refresh Project. They didn't make it to the top 10 last month so they decided to try again in August. You can vote daily, in many different ways. I promise they will not spam you. For more information on Beads of Courage please see my last post. I am adding a voting widget to my blog to make voting easy. Thank you so much!

Beads of Courage needs your help!

Many beadmakers donate beads to Beads of Courage. It's a program that provides children coping with life threatening conditions colorful beads which symbolize the many treatments and procedures they overcome. Their Beads of Courage collection serves as a tangible, visible symbol of their accomplishments during a challenging treatment journey.

The Beads of Courage program is entered in the Pepsi Refresh Project to win a $25,000 dollar grant. If they win they will have the money to provide the program to 10 additional hospitals and support 10,000 children coping with cancer and other life threatening illnesses.

If you can, please take a moment and click the link below to vote, you can vote once each day through July 31st. They are currently in 13th place and need to reach the top 10 to receive funding. Your vote is very much appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

For more information about Beads of Courage please visit their website http://www.beadsofcourage.org/ and to keep current with what they are up to please visit their blog http://beadsofcourage.org/blog/

Pepper Wants You...

Pepper Wants You..., originally uploaded by EmbellishYourself.

to have a Happy 4th of July!!! I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!