Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th everyone! A great day for barbecues, getting together with friends and celebrating what makes the USA great! Remember, we are given the unalienable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Don't let anyone take this from you, especially our elected officials, many of whom have seem to forgotten that they work for us! Make your voice heard to preserve our rights.

Have a great day! Dee

Work Progressing

I've been doodling dragon sketches, working up towards a full piece that I want to create for my sons' room. Here's a diving dragon in it's early state.

My scanner has a real problem on capturing pencil, otherwise I would show some of the others. I worked on an ACEO version of this. Originally the background was sky blue but the dragon was lost. So I repainted it black and added puffs of white 'dragon breath' which changed the dynamic of the painting.

BTW, I had to change the description on this in my listing as google does not allow the word 'smoke' for uploading to google base. The completed ACEO is titled Night Dive - check it out! Happy 4th of July!!!

Self Challenge

So, I bought these shells - they were $2.95 individually, $10.95 for 10 - I bought the strand of 10. I've challenged myself to try and create at least 6 fun pieces of jewelry out of them.

The colors are great, brown, peach, green, even a touch of light blue. They're a Lisway shell in bamboo - I'm not sure if bamboo is a name of the cut or just what they look like. They do look like bamboo - pretty nice of the shell to create itself in this shape.

I have the 1st completed and listed for sale in my Artfire store.

I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest.

So many things to do this summer, so little time!

Going Buggy!

I just love bugs!  Rolly polly's are my favorite, maybe because they are so interactive.  I also love butterflys (who doesn't!) and decided to paint a few inspired by photos I found in an old book.

This black butterfly was a fun model.  The wings are so pretty, but she actually has a very creepy looking face.  It reminded me of the Sponge Bob episode where everyone was running from the butterfly - viewed up close, they can be a bit scary!  

Since the book was missing pages, this butterfly wasn't identified.  I was able to make an educated guess by searching the web that it may be a female eastern swallowtail.  Since she's black, I named the painting simply, "Butterfly Noire" adding the "e" at the end since that's the feminine form of the word.  

I have more fun photo's I've taken in my garden so I think I'll be painting bugs, at least for a little while!

Butterfly Noire can be seen in my Artfire store.

Make Your June Special

Okay, I'll say it out loud, I had no sales in either of my shops in May.  Very sad ):  So to stimulate my own economy, I'm trying an experiment.  Every Monday, I'm choosing 3 items to list at a clearance price of 30% off that will last all month.

If you're reading this blog, you can actually choose your own special.  Check out both my Artfire and/or Etsy store and if you see an item you like, contact me from the link on the item's page.  I will then do a special listing of the item just for you at a 30% price reduction.  I can hold the item at that price for 5 days, so you don't even have to pay immediately.

Sound good?  Here's the link to the pretty creamer set in the photo.  So, make my June a little more special - Thanks! Dee

How to Create Patina on Copper

I've played around for a long time to learn how to create different colored patinas on my copper jewelry.  I've decided to share some of the techniques & tips so that you can do it too!

The blueing chamber is simple, just take any plastic container with a lid.  In this one, I put ammonia on a cotton ball, added the copper and put the lid on tightly.  You leave this in until you get the color you want.  The copper should not touch the ammonia, it's the fumes that do the work.

You can also add the ammonia to sawdust, this allows for additional saturation which leads to the deeper blue color.  If you sprinkle the pieces with salt, those spots will stay copper and make an interesting affect.  

Once you have the color you like, just wash the piece with water and flake off any of the loose patina.  You will have to seal the blued pieces.  I just use a Krylon clear coat in a few light layers.  

Here's a finished piece of jewelry using the blueing technique!

Here Be Dragons

I just love dragons!  I have quite a collection - pewter figurines, stuffed dragons and my favorite, a ceramic dragon flute.  

I also have an extensive collection of novels dealing with dragons.  I'm quite intrigued by the different ways authors refresh this iconic character.  One of my all time favorites is "Tea with the Black Dragon" by R.A. McAvoy.  My latest read is a young adult novel "The Last Dragon" by Silvana De Mari.  My son read it for his 7th grade english class so I read it as well.  There's an interesting political theme that provided me an opportunity open a discussion with him.  He hasn't developed a good grasp on recognizing themes, he's still at the stage where he just enjoys the story.  

Enjoy these great reads for summer and check out my dragon choker/necklace and earrings.