What's going on?

Malta in the garden, and my climbing rose, Celine Forestier, blooming.

It is spring, but in typical North Texas style we have been getting some crazy weather. Arts Goggle on Friday night was more quiet than in the past due to bitterly cold (for here) weather. I do have to thank all my friends and great supporters who came out and said hello to me. Also, a big thanks to Craig at Park Place Pharmacy for being such a generous host!

I started this pendant last week with a picture in my head. Of course it came out a bit different than I had originally intended. I just finished it Sunday and still need to get "proper" photos. This will be on display at Fiesta next month.

New Etsy Metal Members

I should have posted this a few weeks ago, but better late than never, right?
I wanted to welcome Etsy Metal's new batch of members, all of whom we are excited to have!

It's Raining Slider Ring by new EtsyMetal member mujoyas

Our biggest news this week is that we have 19 new EtsyMetal members!! Please help us welcome them! And be sure to visit their shops and spread the EtsyMetal love around.

AgJewelryDesign
amityjewelry
andescruz
ArtizenMetal
bijougirldesigns
blazerarts
BongeraFiligrana
CosmosMoon
creativedexterity
jemmetals
kerinrose
kiraferrer
laurelhill
lrjewelry
MetalRiot
mujoyas
novadesigns
QuercusSilver
simplymega

Crazy Week!

I took these pictures one night last week. We were in the middle of watching our favorite show, The Wire, when the electricity went out. Needless to say we were bummed. Electricity came back on, found our spot on the dvd, and out it goes again! That happened a couple of times until the electricity stayed off for a while. It was kind of nice after all as it forced us to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.

This week has been crazy. I started a temp job with the Fort Worth ISD art department. We are setting up and organizing the high school art show. I haven't been on my feet this much, or had to be at work early in over a year, and boy am I exhausted! I don't know how I'm going to pull off working and getting ready for Fiesta, but I will. I have been working on jewelry in the evenings, and plan to devote all weekend to preparations as well. So, I won't be around too much over the next few weeks. I'll try to upload pictures of new finished pieces of jewelry, and keep you updated on any news.

Don't forget to come see me this evening at Fort Worth Arts Goggle!

Fort Worth Arts Goggle!

Please come see me tomorrow evening from 5pm to 10pm at Park Place Pharmacy. I am participating in Fort Worth's Spring Arts Goggle. This is a really fun event in which lots of venues open their doors and allow artists to set up. Many venues are within walking distance of each other and it has a great community feel with lots of people out and about!

Yay!

I made it to 400 sales this morning! I had been sitting at 398 for two weeks, so I was really happy to get those last two sales. I am still running my sale, 20% off purchases of $50 or more. See my shop for more info.

Congratulations and Love

This picture has been on my bulletin board over my workbench for years. It was taken probably in 1998 during college in Denton. I love this picture and I love these three people. The two on the right are married now and are the parents to a new baby girl born this morning. The baby girl who my first baby blanket went to. I hope they don't mind my announcing this to the world. But congratulations to my wonderful friends!

Clasp Experiments

I have been struggling with what type of clasps to use on this necklace. Emily Watson recommended a Sister Clasp, which I had never heard of. She showed me a picture and I made a couple to try them out. It looks like they are going to show a bit more than I though they would on this necklace. That makes me think I need to remake them and make them a bit more refined. So, I guess these were just samples that I made today. I think they will work quite well for this piece though, they really look like the other oval links that I am using. Thanks Emily!

Etsy Metal New Release Thursday

It's Thursday again! I missed listing something new last week, but am back this week and have just listed my Stacked Pebble Pendant. Free shipping on new designs as usual.

Homemade Pizza

And it was so easy! Not to mention yummy. I saw this pizza dough recipe on Martha a couple of weeks ago. This is the second time we have made it, but the first time we had some mishaps. It is a nice chewy but pretty thin crust. Super easy to make, and I even made two extra balls of dough to freeze for later.

Custom Heart Pendant

I did another custom piece for The Heart Girl. This one is a little pendant that she will wear on a cord. Check out that shiny finish I got on the back. I have to thank Delias Thompson for introducing me to Zam! I used to be totally averse to a shiny finish, but have come around a bit. I think it works well in some cases. Even if I am not going for a shiny finish, Zam is still quite helpful. It takes out all those surface scratches from sanding and refines the surface of the metal. I can then go back with either steel wool or scotchbrite to give the metal a matte finish.

Art Biz Blog Podcasts

Alyson Stanfield's blog has a wealth of resources and marketing ideas for artists. One of the great resources are her weekly podcasts. You can listen on the blog or subscribe. Sometimes stopping what I'm doing and listening to something works better for me than reading it. Here is one that is particular interest to me about Pitching Your Story to Magazines.
The beautiful weather we are having has been drawing me outside a bit. However, as you know I have been hard at work on my yet unnamed Crazy Necklace. It feels good to be productive, even if the finished product takes time! I will definitely share proper pictures of this necklace when it is done.

Progress!

progress shot
Originally uploaded by ashleyjewelry

Once again, the photo is poor, but I had to share my progress on this necklace. I can't believe how smoothly it has been going (knock on wood, fingers crossed, etc). I got the woven chain parts done, the drops connected and am well on my way!

A Lovely Day!

I spent a lovely day at my parents' house yesterday. The sun came out, warming us a bit but still with a cool breeze. The birds were busy, I saw and heard woodpecker, cardinals and many more. Cousins visited and we had a good time all around. Mom was burning some brush on Saturday and it reminded us of PawPaw who was so happy around a fire. He would have been 94 a week ago yesterday and Granny would have been 84 last week. We probably would have been celebrating with family and friends yesterday, so the day felt appropriate. The image above is of a quilt that mom is working on. It is about her and her father (PawPaw) and inspired by a poem about Galveston bay. I really like the imagery that she chose and can't wait to see the final result.

chARiTy elise

I have been a fan of Charity Elise's ceramic work for a while now. You probably know that I am drawn to bright colors. Lately I have also been drawn to bright colors with a dose of white mixed in. This is new to me (there isn't a white wall in my house!). I love Charity's whimsical colors and fun patterns, and just want to feel the tactile quality of these pieces so badly! Don't these pieces just bring a smile to your face? They do mine.

Here is a little info about Charity in her own words:

i am an artist and stay at home mother of two delightful small people. i have a degree in fine arts with a focus in ceramics and have been working "professionally" as an artist for the last 10 years. I have had a love affair with clay for about 15 years now, and though my work is always changing and developing, i consistently find myself creating pieces with a lot of detail and texture. One could say i am obsessed with pattern and texture.... and they wouldn't be wrong! i love to carve stamps and make molds from vintage pieces and everyday objects and interject the resulting textures into my work. I have been amassing this collection for so long now, that i have begun selling stamps and texture sheets to others to assist in their projects!
Aside from being with my sweet family, what i love doing best is making art of all kinds. i especially love making things that people can use and enjoy in their everyday life!

Playing with color

I don't draw too often, other than sketching ideas for jewelry designs. I've been sort of missing it, and also drawing inspiration from watercolor artist Geninne. I thought drawing out a color chart for the baby babette would help me to decide what colors to add to the mix. Plus, when the blanket is gifted I'll have my sketch as a keepsake. Oh yeah, and I finished a couple more squares!

I got a treasury!

I snagged a treasury yesterday! It is gray and rainy here, but spring is on the way. My garden is budding and starting to bloom and that is the inspiration for my selections. Check out all these talented artists please.

Crazy Necklace Progress

Sorry these pictures aren't great, but I wanted to share my progress on this necklace. I have come up with some new components that I am excited about. The chains and connections are still to be decided. I'm really happy with the outcome so far.

Babette Beginnings

I have put my kool-aid dyed yarn to use! Here are the beginnings of a baby blanket. I wrote a while back about wanting to make a Babette Blanket for myself. Well, I haven't done that yet, but am using the pattern for a baby blanket. I think I am going to keep it to one size of the squares, probably the 4 round size. I love these colors and can't wait to dye more to add to the mix! I kind of jumped the gun and added pink in hopes that one of the pregnant ladies I know will have a girl. I'll let you know how that works out.

Feeling Springy

Yesterday was the most beautiful day here in Fort Worth. It was sunny and warm with a cool breeze. My kind of day! The flowers above are from my yard, spring is definitely on its way. I also took a walk around my neighborhood with my camera. Oddly enough, I had never done that before. Usually I have the dogs with me. It was nice to wander and take photos, and I saw things that I had never noticed before. The flowering trees below are from around the neighborhood.