Finally...some BoH jewelry

I did some working and reworking on the pendant cluster for the necklace, but I think I really like how it turned out. Of course, these are my favorite materials anyway--turquoise with black and sterling silver.

The idea in these is to create the piece in sterling silver as the rest of my jewelry is, but to have the little bee charm in gold to make it stand out. Of course, a silver version would be available upon request. Turquoise and the bee are signatures for Breath of Hope which is a nonprofit support organization for families facing battles associated with CDH (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia).

I decided to take a pic of the bracelet on this time because I don't think the pics of them just lying there do them justice.

I'd love any feedback on these pieces. As you can see, they follow my usual style, but I know there may be some out there who would like something a bit more traditional. I haven't made it that far in the designing process yet. Any suggestions are certainly welcomed!!

I'm a little sad...

...that a local fabric store is going out of business, although I'm not sad that I've been able to get some great deals. I scooped up all these cute buttons for a great price! That makes me happy. It's been bad, though, because I keep going back for a little here and a little there--some flannel, corduroy, fleece, tulle, fat quarters, embroidery floss. It starts to add up after a while. One of the last times I was in, the check out lady couldn't believe all the stuff I was getting for the price it came up. My stash, however, is beginning to overflow the closet again. That's not good!

I'm sad because I haven't really gotten into buying fabric online yet. It just seems so difficult because you don't get to touch it. Do any of you know of any good sites? Do you know of any that offer swatches or samples?

Be on the lookout...

...for new stuff in my shop. I am finally getting around to photographing some things I've had and finishing up some others. I'm not going to post them all at once to try to get a bit more exposure, so I thought I'd share some of the new things here.







There are a couple of cute felt flowers. At least I think they are cute. My sister thinks they are elementary school. They come with a pin on the back so they can be worn on your lapel, on a bag, or anywhere you'd like to pin them!















I also have some new earrings. One pair is olivine Swarovski crystals and glass beads and the other pair is capri blue Swarovski crystals and turquoise beads. They also hang from posts.




















I have a necklace that was created using a patterned paper and dimensional glaze. I like the little beads along with the pattern.







And, of course, I'll have to add some tiny notecards. These come with white coin envelopes to tuck them inside and are just a little larger than a business card.

Just a few...

...of the pages I was able to get done last weekend... I thought I'd share so you all would know that I am still into the whole scrapping thing. If you could see my closet that I had to completely reorganize (again) because it was spewing stuff, you would know I'm still at least buying scrappy stuff! I think I'm getting comfortable in the whole scrapping just because it's fun and I want to do it and there's no pressure to create a magazine worthy page groove. A list of challenges helps, too. When I have too much time to think about things, I tend to make it waaaay too hard.

So this is where I am, and this is comfortable. I might be a bit more comfortable if I had a scanner so my pics of my pages looked better, but I'm working on that.

So...

...practice, practice, practice. Really the only way for me to learn my way around an unfamiliar program is to jump in and use it. So that's what I've been doing. With digital scrapbooking, it's often the little things that make a difference--like drop shadows. It has been fun learning shortcuts for some things, and also taking things from to tutorials and finally being able to apply them to other things.

I don't think I will ever really get into digi scrapping for real. I'm so slack when it comes to printing things and stuff, and I like having books to flip through. Nevermind the fact that my printer stinks... BUT the same techniques are so useful for other things. I definitely like the possibility of using digital elements on paper layouts by printing them--whether that be sizing a journaling tag or label just for a particular layout or creating a grid of pics before printing them. There are also so many possibilities for creating photo cards and storyboards. I think I'm finally getting over my PSE fear.

BTW everything in this layout except the staples (designer digitals) and the title is from the Echoes of Asia kit by Jessica Sprague. I did also pick up her computer tricks book, and it's great. If you're just getting started in PSE, then this is a great place to begin learning specific things you can use for scrapbooking. It covers photo enhancement, titles, embellishments, and then even some mini album stuff.

AND... I have a newly reorganized scrap storage system. It's not perfected by any means, but everything fit into the closet , and things are pretty much where I can get to them easily. That's a major problem I was having. So... now it will be waiting for me --hopefully along with a box of Scrapsupply goodies--when I get back from my short happy birthday escape, and it will all be just in time for some National Scrapbook Day fun this weekend! What do you have planned?