Beautiful Beads - Hand Made Jewelry

It's been one week since I last posted and it's been 11 days that my online store has been open. I am currently in the process of designing new business cards to help in the advertising department. I'll put my order in on Friday. Then eventually, I'll advertise in a couple news papers in the Twin Cities.

I've sold a few items thus far, and I am even more excited to share with others and see where this little business leads. I'm also taking a trip to Garden of Beads this weekend. Garden of Beads is located downtown Anoka, MN. Anoka is right on the river so it's a pretty old town.  Before my cold took a toll on my energy bank, I designed some pretty jewelry. All items posted are for sale, minus two; however, I will take orders to recreate the piece - or take suggestions for changes in design. :)

This badge lanyard can be ordered.

Pearls and Shells chandelier earrings.

This piece is available here.

This piece is available.

"Under the Sea" badge lanyard is made with coral and purple freshwater pearls.

This badge lanyard can be custom ordered.

Elegant Pearl and Glass Bead dangles.

This piece is made with faceted crystals and cat's eye glass.

I know this next item isn't beaded, but I mentioned in a post or two back that I had another crocheted item to post, so here it is! This is a Primrose Daisy washcloth or potholder. :) Country blue isn't readily available in too many stores nowadays, so I am going to stitch up a few of these.

I am working on the Flying Geese table runner - after my cold, I plan on getting back to that project. ...I had a vision of a a thick-walled tote that was embellished with beads. It might be a great idea that never forms into reality, but then again, it might be the inspiration I need to create something really special! :) Time will tell.

Until next Tuesday....

WizardGir1 Opens Online Store

Welcome back!

So if you haven't already guessed what the “big idea” that I've been working on for the past 4 four months, the “Shop” graphic at the top must tell you that I've started my very own online business! Yup, and I'm very excited to take this plunge. No longer am I the “closet artist”! No longer am I uncertain of how adorable my art and crafts have become. :) Of course I like them; I created them. I'm like God that way. Yes I have the guts to say that I am LIKE GOD. ;-) (A lot of self-help books tell me that! LOL)

In the past, people have questioned whether I sell my stuff or not. I've been encouraged by this. I was hired once, in my twenties, to make a quilt for a gal's son's wedding – I haven't sold my products otherwise, just gifted them. There's a first time for everything!

It's been a really neat learning experience – all the way down to the programming languages needed to get WizardGir1.com/shop or "WizardGir1" to look just the way I want. Each time I tell myself I have “one more step” another one follows that needs to get done. I love this! I invite you to browse my store and please remember that there is “one more step” that I need to do before it's completely completed. :) ...well, I don't imagine that will ever happen. LOL

I've been a little more busy than usual, as I'm picking up sub jobs at work, but I keep pushing forward with my crafting. I have some beaded, sewn and crochet work that I'll be adding to my store next week.

Thank you to my online friends, local friends and family for reading my updates, and encouraging and supporting me to take the plunge. A special thank you to my Sweetie for sacrificing “togetherness” time so I could focus intensely and reach my goal. Love you! (Yes, he reads my blog. LOL)

More next week – unless I can squeak in some time this weekend...

My Favorite Christian Holiday Has Passed

Can you believe it, Christmas is over?! It came and went so quickly - aside from stores setting up for the holiday. They start that in July. :| I'm okay with the holiday passing by because goodies come around less and less. However, I will mention that I am going to begin baking again! I've asked my Ma over to bake - you know, these are activities that we enjoy doing together. Is it all that insane? :D

All right, I'll move on. Ed liked the beret that I crocheted up for him. it was part of his Christmas gift. I would show the hat with a photo of him instead of my model, but he is burned out from me taking his photo so much. I doubt I'll ever get a decent one of him again! LOL When he has the beret on, he looks like a fella in the military. It looks nice and he claims it's comfortable. Whew! 

As some of you know, I try to crochet after dinner to keep me from eating. Well, I eventually put down the hook and took up the fork and spoon. I've been eating so much ice cream that it's crazy. I thought I would try switching up my hobby to keep my interest and my body out of the kitchen! So, beads it was. I made this beautiful bracelet with glass bugle beads, seed beads and semi-precious amethyst stones.

These pretty earrings also have the semi-precious amethyst stones as accents. Both of the pieces can be considered "green" since I used the beads from pieces that I took apart. The vintage tear-drop green beads were also from a piece that I took apart. When stones and glass become too heavy to wear around the neck on a string, it's nice to break it up and make smaller pieces from them.

I just love the Swarovski crystals too. I'm a sucker for the aurora borealis finish on ALL beads. I just can't stop looking at them! The blue color of these beads are so cheery for spring or summer jewelry.

I mentioned in my last entry that I was going to work on a "flying geese" table runner. Well, I was finally able to get into my sewing room just yesterday. I frantically started cutting my fabric up and I didn't realize that I was following the wrong instructions. I cut up my fabric in all sorts of strip widths! I had to start the project over with some other fabric I had in my stash. This morning, I cut the new fabric choices into strips and I was extremely careful to follow the correct instructions.

What am I going to do with all of my erroneously cut strips? ...coasters, of course. I love making quick projects. In between making the coasters, I plan on working on this "big idea" I have. My goal is to be finished by December 31st, but it might just be January 1st. That wouldn't be bad. Either way I'll be bringing something new into year 2011. I plan on revealing my "big idea" here, next Tuesday. It's very exciting so please check back!

Have a great New Year's Eve!

Until next Tuesday...

Clay, Clay and More Clay

Ooo... two more days until Christmas break! I'm very excited for this. I have been subbing in the school district recently. Because it's not my routine schedule, I'm a little tired. But I have good news - I was offered a permanent position in the AM! I'm so glad for this, as I have been applying for various part time jobs with no luck. My search stops here!

As busy as I am, I have made time to play in my sewing room. Although, I am not sewing. I made some snow people decorations for the tree from polymer clay. These people were not my idea; I think I saw them on an etsy shop. I'm glad that I made several because I was able to gift one to my Aunt-in-law with her card. I actually gave her this cute snowlady.

Here's the snowman.

I saw a tutorial on youtube to make Hello Kitty. All the kids at work have Hello Kitty all over their jackets and back-packs. When I saw the tutorial, I thought it was too cute to pass up. Yes, it's lumpy and crooked. I need more practice, but she's still adorable! I REALLY need practice painting whiskers. The tutorial showed black wire. I could have used the wire I had and then painted it with black enamel. I plan to do that next time. I suppose I'll be able to use these figures at work with the children I support. I plan to make some googly-eyed type monsters with goofy clothing that the boys might have interest in.

The Christmas holiday is just around the corner. I haven't had too much time for baking and I think it's a good thing this year. I do plan to bake some throughout the winter since I missed the "big bake" this year, however. 

Upcoming projects: Flying Geese table runner. "Flying Geese" is the name of a quilt block. I'm not going to appliqué geese to the runner. :) I'm getting my fabric ready next Monday, just in time for quilting on Saturday, January 1, 2011! I don't know if I will have much to blog about next Tuesday. I'm not sure how much time I will get in my sewing room. We'll see.

Until next time...

Merry Christmas!

More Little Wallets & Four Coasters

Holiday greetings everyone! So the holidays are coming up and I've been subbing more in the school district. What does that mean for my craft life? It's getting squished - but it's not gone! Attending sewing clubs and groups keeps me motivated to get at least one item finished per month. I like to blog each week so that's another motivation.

So this week, I worked on two more wallets. This time I added a trim to the flap. I used white and cream trim and I like them both the same. I still would like to put my "WizardGir1" logo tag inside. I think I'll have to hand sew them in.

And to keep myself away from food after dinner, I've picked up my crochet hook each night. I'm planning to crochet every night for the rest of my life. :) Okay, it's cool and I want to become really good at the craft. So I have to practice. If I am not crocheting, my other option is knitting or the treadmill! :)

These are coasters for my mother in law. I have no idea if she uses them, but I know she likes crocheted stuff. She crochets too, so I don't know if she'll like them that much. I'll find out.

We had a ton of snow come over the Twin Cities and the Minneapolis Metro dome caved in and then finally collapsed. We drove down to look at it before it collapsed. No photos of that, but I did see other things that were snapshot worthy! I thought the spare tire of this SUV was too cute to pass up. Click on the image if you can't see it that well.

Getting right into town.. there is this big brick guy on the rooftop. It's on the same block of the Utrecht art supplier that I shop at, so I see him at each visit. Isn't he just cute!?

Look how high the snow is! People were crawling over the mounds of snow all over the place. The snow doesn't seem to slow us down! The Old Spaghetti Factory is the best place to eat with it's fun ambiance. It has old cathedral stained glass windows inside. These are gigantic!

I thought this structure was neat to look at. I first noticed the heart pattern and then it drew my eye down the length of it. Some of the patterns look tribal to me. This is by the dome, btw. 

That's it for me today. It wasn't too elaborate of an article, but I promised myself I would do this once a week. I have had an itch to play with Sculpey polymer clay so that's what I'm going to do. Of coarse I'll take photos to share. The dishes can wait! :)

Art of Amiguruami

Well I can't believe it. Another week flew by! When I looked at my planner this morning, I gasped when I realized it was blog day. I thought "Ah, WHAT AM I GOING TO BLOG ABOUT?!" Then I realized that even though I haven't been sewing this past week, I have been crafting. Yup, I sat down with my mom and we started an amiguruami frog pattern. From the research I did, "amiguruami" is Japanese style of crocheting in the round. Geez, it's a lot of fun! You gotta try it.

This guy is made of 100% acrylic worsted weight yarn - the color is "olive", Vanna's Choice from Lion Brand. His legs are the same brand of yarn, and I think "fern" is the color. He's just an adorably goofy looking froggy. The style of his pupils is my creative edge to give him a Kermit The Frog look about it. I stuffed him with poly fill that the local craft shops carry.

I also finished up my winter hat. When I began, I found extra yarn that I had in my stash - there were no labels on the skeins. After I finished, I realized that it was left over yarn from my felted purse project. It's 100% wool. Do you know what that means? I need to hand wash it unless I want to felt it for a baby! :) The skein is soft to the touch, but it's itchy on the head. Next hat I make will either be a blend or 100% acrylic. (I love acrylic!)

When I went to quilting group on Saturday, I learned that my "Flying Geese" ruler doesn't make 2 ½ X 4 ½ blocks, (it makes 2 ¼ x 4 ½) which is the size I need for my table runner project. Needless to say, I didn't work on my quilt project. I'll have to cut strips manually and piece it together. I also need to work a little more on my art doll. I set her aside after I finished her skirt. Like I've mentioned before, I need to get new lace to be excited for the next step. :)


Until next week, Happy Crafting!

Afghan, and Doll Skirt Finished

Okay, it's been a week and do I have a treat for you! Well, maybe the treat is more for me, but I think you'll like it, maybe not as much. Sooo, I finished my Victorian Ruffled Afghan! Woohoo! And here's a little story.

I didn't want to complete the entire 4" ruffle around the squares because I thought it would take away from the look I wanted. I wanted a smaller ruffle, just an added softness. So here is a photo of that.

Now ON TO SEWING! This blog entry is really about ruffles and gathers. The afghan had them and now my doll's clothes has them - all over the place! All right, let me interject something here...

So, I'm broke. I'm always broke. Even when I have money, I'm broke. I don't like spending money frivolously. This isn't a bad thing - I've come to realize. It really pushes me to be more creative. I wouldn't classify myself as a lazy person; I'm efficient. My point to this interjection is that if I can get a ruffle for my dress without spending the time it takes to run to the store, match up the fabrics, pay the money and then come home again, I will. I creatively made this ruffle for my doll dress!

First, I sewed 3" wide strips of fabric that equalled the length of two yards. I finished the raw edge of the maroon fabric with my serger, but this can be done with the zigzag stitch and look quite decorative. A cording foot could also be used to finish the edge in a cute fashion. I used crochet thread in my lower looper to achieve the look in the following photo. Then I ran the fabric through my ruffler foot.

Here's a video on how to make a ruffle using the ruffler foot. (I know how everyone likes videos and my last one went over quite nicely! Thanks for watching. Hopefully is was entertaining at the very least. I'll also add the Ruffler Foot video to the "videos" tab.) I purchased my foot from the local fabric store - it wasn't a special order and if you have a 40% off coupon, use it!) I feel a tad awkward making a video but I hope you can follow it with ease. I am not a ham. :)



After I made the ruffle, I added some vintage lace. Even though the light blue color doesn't match exactly, I liked the look it gave to the skirt. I strategically pinned the ruffle and the lace to the skirt fabric so I could sew them both on at the same time. Remember, I'm efficient! :D

I carefully sewed the lace onto the skirt. I went as slow as I needed to in order to get a nice straight stitch.

This was a new method for me to gather my doll's skirt waist. I used a very long strand of crochet thread and zigzagged over it using invisible thread/nylon thread.

After I finished with the gathering cord, I firmly held the tails and eased the fabric into the gathers that I wanted. I used a doll making needle to pull the threads to the front of the doll. I plan on adding beads to the stands and tying it in a bow. I think it will look cute!

Some of you know that I've taken a little over a month to go through some rooms in my home to clean out the clutter. Well, today is the day for the Lupus Foundation to pick it up! Here's the first shipment. Among the lot is a nice vintage Christmas tree. I thought it was perfect timing and someone could have a new tree this year. It's quite nice, but I'm downsizing, cleaning out clutter and creating an easy way of life for me and my husband. Last year, I bought a short Christmas tree that sits on a table. Hopefully, I can find a table the right size to set up in front of our living room window.

Back to the doll for a quick second. I'm not too pleased with the lace I have for the doll's apron, but I might make it work. I don't know yet. I'd like to make a pair of pants soon and I might pick up some lace that I like more when I make a trip to the fabric shop. I crocheted a winter cap and I have to make a flower for it yet too. Photos of that will come soon. I wanted to finish it first. My Sweetie liked my cap so much that he requested one for Christmas! That made me feel good!

It's time for me to close. I'm going to begin my day. I've spent more time here than I intended - how efficient is that?? :P

See you next week!

No Bunny!

I know that I have mentioned a couple of times that I want to get a stuffed bunny going, but my heart wasn't into it when I started it this weekend. I folded my cut pattern pieces and put them in a large plastic envelop to store it until I want to begin the bunny again.

So if my heart wasn't into the bunny, what was my heart into? A doll. But not just any doll - a cloth doll. But not just any cloth doll, not like the Sophie doll I started a year ago. The doll project I started this week is an Art Cloth Doll! My goal is to see how elaborate I can make the details. I want fine detail - makeup, jewelry, painted nails and beautiful lace trimmings! Okay, this all a goal - something for me to work towards. I think I've found my niche.

I've wanted to make an art cloth doll for over a year. I used to rent the books from the library often and just drool over the work people have put into making these! They are so cool! I've started storing the littlest scraps of neat and unusual fabrics and beads so I could decorate nicely when the time came. The time is almost here. I'm in the process of constructing the doll body. I don't have a name for her yet, but I will share it when it solidifies. Here she is in pieces.

There is quite a bit of hand sewing. I am learning to enjoy it. More detail work!

To make the elbow, you draw a thread from seam to opposite seam tightly to squish the elbow and then wrap your thread around it a few times. The floral fabric shown here is her bodice.

Her fingers have been stuffed and defined by the stitching between them. I did one of her hands by hand sewing and the other by machine. The machine worked hand turned out better. The stitching was tighter which created a fuller finger form. :) These little fingers will be painted as a finishing touch. :D

I'm using Cloth Doll Artistry to learn how to make my own art doll. If this doll is enjoyable enough for me, I just may become a "doll maker" in my spare time! :) I've asked my ma to set up another sew day with me. She's working on kitchen curtains - country house style. Hopefully I will get to work on the doll a little more this week! If not, I will make time this weekend for sure!

Until next week...

Little Wallets

All right! My mom accepted the sew day invite and we stitched to our hearts content! We made Little Wallets by Valori Wells Designs. It was so much fun to put these little cuties together.

The directions on the card said to trace the patterns to make templates, so that's what I did. I used card stock for the template material.

The card stock makes a nice firm edge to trace around. We needed 2 of each pattern template.

My mom chose a beautiful holiday fabric, while I chose a pretty rose patterned fabric.

Here is an image of the layout before we sew it all together. We were instructed to sew the pockets and then turn and press them to get a nice edge in the wallet.

This is the Little Wallet after everything is sewn together!

My mom had decided to use a decorative stitch so I wanted to also. Her stitch mimicked the pine tree bristle really well. I used the same principle in choosing my decorative stitch. I used a rounded leaf.

I'm not quite sure what I will sew up next, but I do have my bunny pattern cut out for a stuffed bunny. Time has been holding me back on that project. I'm still trying to go through stuff in the house to donate it. November 30th will come up quickly now, so I want to focus on getting that done. I'm hoping to make a good dent at the very least. :) Maybe I can make time for a small sewing project. :D

Until next week...

Crochet Ruffled Gingham

Okay! It's been 1 week since I last posted. This planner thing is keeping me going strong. I must be a planner - 'cept when it comes to fitness and food!! LOL

I have been sewing, but not with woven or knitted fabrics. I pulled out my crocheted Afghan squares that took me two winters to complete (150 squares total). Last year I was hung up on the "whip stitch" that I was supposed to use to connect the squares, but this is what I finally decided to do, if you can make it out from the photograph. The blanket is not for a competition, so I did what would work best for me. :)

Here's the Afghan spread out over our sofa, so you can see that it's not too large. It's not completed as you can see - still need to sew the rows together and make the ruffle border. I think the directions said the finished size was 40" X 60". I'm sure the kitty will take it over unless I keep it in our bedroom. I loved the colors of the Afghan in the book, so that's why I went with this pallet, but I don't decorate in these colors. It's just going to be random throw that I love. It's a really soft yarn. :)

I haven't been feeling the best. This is day 3 with a sore throat, but it hasn't gone to my head or chest. It's just lingering. I do plan on drinking herbal tea several times today and hopefully a walk. I have energy for it. YAY! I've invited my ma over for a sew day - we have purchased fabric to make cute little card wallets. We picked up the pattern from Bear Patch Quilting in White Bear Lake, MN. I haven't heard back from her, but I invited her to come over on Friday. That means I'll have another project to post next week! I have a gorgeous rose patterned fabric that I'm so excited to use!

Okay, I better scoot off to get my walk in.

Until next week...

Update of the Previous Post

★★★ Okay, I had to post this! I finished sewing the last two columns on. Now, ON TO THE BORDER!!! Laura suggested I take a shade of brown in. :) I am leaning towards that color myself.

★★★ Toodles.

Quilting the "Winning Hand"

★★★ This past week I've been stitching away at my king size quilt. I am not even half-way done at this point-the point where I've left off. If you remember, I had to sew on these annoying little triangles before I could sew the lattice to the block. Here are the finished blocks with all of their yellow triangles. I wanted to lay out all the blocks so I could see my most crappy sewing and then hide it (by rearranging square layout) as best that I could.

Well after 100 triangles or so, it was time for the lattice strips. At this point, I'm beginning to see how it will come together nicely.

And this last photo is where I've left off. Argh! I have two more columns to sew together before I can begin my border. I'm starting to love it, love it, love it. It looks fancier than I intended.

I watched Sewing With Nancy today and I had an idea to pintuck my first border. To do this, I'll need a piece of border fabric twice as long as the original length. I haven't decided for sure. It's taken me 15 years to get around to this and I might just want to get it done--no more fussing! I have to buy a border fabric and I'm not sure what color to choose. I have a small pallet to choose from: yellow, white, green, and brown. I'm tired of green, but a light shade of brown might look nice. Our carpeting has brown flecks in it. :) I'll have to finish the step I am on before I can make decisions. Any suggestions?

That's all for now.
Until next week...★★★