I was featured in the Etsy Blog by Mary and Kate from Reverie Magazine

I was featured, well my goldfish in the Hoarders Closet were featured, along with other Etsy sellers and their products, in a blog by Mary and Kate from Reverie magazine.

Thank you, Mary and Kate, so much!!

You can read Reverie Magazine here: http://reveriemag.com/

Every thing for the bride, photographed with style, written with love, and all the latest for your Wedding Reverie.

And here is the blog post, where I and many lucky others, were featured on The Etsy Blog.

Handmade Weddings: Inspired by a City

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/handmade-weddings-inspired-by-a-city/ 

Reverie Magazine is a quarterly online wedding magazine created in London, England. Mary and Kate hope to spread their love of wedding design and ideas to brides on both sides of the pond. The next issue of Reverie Magazine will go live on April 12; you can also find daily wedding inspiration on the Reverie Blog.

I learned about my fish and weddings too, from Kate.

The tables would be decorated with wild flowers in mismatched glass bottles, and each guest’s place setting would have spiky air plants and napkins tied with gold fish charms (said by the ancient Greeks to enhance good luck in marriage and relationships).

Thank you again Mary and Kate! and thank you Etsy for having them blog!!

Pennant Necklace- diy part 1

I see pennants all over Etsy now days. I thought it would be fun to make jewelry using that theme.

I also used the vintage chain I have been selling in the Hoarders Closet. It is sweet, small, strong, and great to work with.

I documented this one to share with you, because it is so much fun to make and wear.

I made both kids sizes and adult.

You will need:

1 color of Cernit (I used Turquoise and Light Green) You could even make each flag a different color, just have fun ;-D

Clay machine

double ended knitting needle

22 gauge artistic wire in Non-tarnish silver

Triangle cutter in 5/8″ size

Round cutter in 5/16″ size

Alphabet stamps (I got mine at Michael’s)

Flush cutters

Rosary pliers or needle nose pliers

Flat nose pliers

Tiny Chain

1. condition clay and make soft and pliable, roll out in the clay machine on the 2nd thickest setting.

2. I am making the name “Sarah”

Cut out 10 of the triangle shapes.

3. Cut 5, 3 1/2″ to 4″ pieces of 22 gauge wire with the flush cutters.

4. Place the middle of the wire over one side of the triangle cutter and bend the ends over the edges.

5. Place the bent wire on one of the sides of the triangle. Put the wire down from the top about 1/16″.

6. Place one of the triangles over the wire and on top of the triangle on the bottom. Line the two triangles up and press together.

7.  Press the triangles together and focus on the top of the triangles where the wire is.

I like to pick these up and make sure all the edges are pressed together well and the wire is centered and press well at the wire.

8 Do the same thing to the other 4 sets of triangles and wires.

9. Stamp pennants with letters.

10. Press in deeply and firmly for a clear print of the letter.

11.  Check the edges and make the pennants are flat after stamping.

12. Using the 5/16″ round cutter, I cut out 10 circles from the sheet of clay rolled out on the 2nd thickest setting. Roll these into balls.

13. Use the knitting needle to poke the hole in the beads.

Turn the bead over and poke the knitting needle back through the hole you just made to even the holes out on both sides.

14. Poke through.

15. Bake on a piece of corrugated box cardboard in a preheated 275 degree oven for 30 minutes, shut off the oven and let cool in there until you can touch the beads.

Continued in part 2…

Something of interest- Etsy’s best

I don’t usually do Etsy showcases, but in one day I was sent some interesting stores.

The first one is someone who I featured in one of my blogs Halloween weekend. She is the Day of the Dead Catrina I took a picture of at the Day of the Dead Festival.

She saw my blog and contacted me, how cool is that?

Here is the blog post

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/11/wonderful-halloween-weekend.html

She also sent me some much better pictures to share with you.

This Catrina’s name is Nathaly

She has two Etsy Shops too.

One is for shoe accessories and hair baubles, Lola Lolita
http://www.etsy.com/shop/girlwithredshoes

And the other shop is a vintage finds shop with things from all over the world. La Femme Moderne

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LaFemmeModerne

Take a look at Nathaly’s shops, she has incredible things in them.

I love this blog! I am so excited to meet and know more about Nathaly and to have better pictures of her too. At the DOD Festival I wondered about her and who she was. I did not get to talk to her there at all, she was surrounded by people most of the time.

What an incredible costume.

How can it get better than this?

The second wonderful shop is from a fellow guild member and friend, Beth. She thought I would appreciate this shop. The shop was featured in her paper on Sunday. She knows I love Day of the dead and art, so she sent me the shop only a few minutes after Nathlay wrote me. I thought this must be a blog post or something.

This my friends is Raw Bone Studio

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RawBoneStudio

Cute, right??

These beauties come from the mind of Robin Romain.

I love these tin can skulls, It is a skull and tin can, how can it not be more perfect? Sardine cans?? Can it be my next palette? I seriously doubt it, I can not stand sardines. I will leave that to Robin  and her friend and artist Joe William Crabtree.

Holiday update and aftermath

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday in the US.

This time of year is starting to be a very interesting time and I feel that with a pair of fresh eyes (Madi, 2 years old), I am starting to see things in a new way again.

She sees things in such a lovely way, everything is brighter, everything is new, and we “ring around the rosy” everyday.

Last night we went and looked at a wondrous sight. Christmas on Knob Hill. Wow, it is so much better to look at something like this with the eyes of a two-year old.

Thank you dear Madi for bringing a fresh outlook to my life, you rock, baby!!

Sorry not to be around lately, I have been feeling a little out of sorts the last couple of days and now I have a bad kink in my neck.

I have listed some new things in the Hoarders Closet.

Diamond shaped clip back earrings.

There are 14 pieces, 7 pairs, you can see them here

Necklace Chains with the clasp, split ring, jump rings, and extension chain.

Everything you need, except your art, to make a necklace.You can see them here

Oval Pendant Drops or earring drops

Great pieces for adding polymer clay or for working with resin,you can see them here

As always, thank you so much for looking.

On Sunday I am going to be, with my friend Tina, at small craft fair in the area.

It is at Poway High School.

Come on by and say HI!

Finally Friday- whew

I have been trying to get ready for our guilds yearly retreat, Sandy Camp.

It is challenging with a bouncing 2 1/2 year old that has no idea why I am ignoring her. Like I would. She has finally lain down for a nap, thus my frivolous time writing a little blog. ;-D

That is why I haven’t been posting in the morning, I usually schedule posts the night before. I finally get to work after dinner and that is what I am doing when I should be writing my blog.

I always get a slew of ideas when I am writing a how-to, preparing for a show, getting ready for a class, packing for a trip, or anytime I am trying to focus on the impending job at hand that I am running out of time for.

So what I wanted to show you is a piece that came out of that time.

I have a few sculpts that I did years ago and I was making molds from them to sell in the Sandy Camp store. This one has always been a favorite of mine.

A happily content Green Man in the Cernit Nature color Basalt (502 in our Clay Factory store) smiles happily.

This was taken from an architectural influence and  replicates a piece of a building for you to wear.

The piece is medium size.

It is stained or antiqued with black Ne-opaque acrylic paint.

And then it is blushed with Super Bronze Lumiere. I have made a few in different stone and metal colors.

This one is in my Etsy store now

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82858271/greenman-brooch-1

A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit. Commonly used as a decorative architectural ornament, Green Men are frequently found on carvings in churches and other buildings.

The Green Man motif has many variations. Found in many cultures around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities springing up in different cultures throughout the ages. Primarily it is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, or “renaissance,” representing the cycle of growth each spring. From Wikipedia.com 

 

I didn’t get the whole blog written either had to put it away and start again later.

So friday is almost over now.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Look at this! DissyB’s Bazaar

 

I won another thing just recently.

I won on the Mary’s Graces blog here

http://marysgraces.blogspot.com/

And Mary’s Graces is having another giveaway and it is over today at noon PST. You still have time if you go there now!

 

I won this from Diane also know as DissyB.

I got it in the mail today!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Diane!

 

This is called a Tart Tin Mary.

 

It is little and oh so cute!

I also won the gorgeous bandana in the background. How can it get any better than that ;-D

 

 

Thank you Miss DissyB. I love them. I glued a magnet on the back of Tart Tin Mary she is going to be my “Mary of the calling Fridge”.

 

May she guide me to the healthy food, the water, and the things that nourish this temple of mine.

 

I just found out that Mary glows in the dark too. Yay!! Perfect for night-time raids too.

 

You can find Diane at Etsy in her DissyB’s Bizarre Assemblage Bazaar

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DissyB

 

And you can see this talented woman at her blog here

http://www.dissybsbazaar.blogspot.com

You will love her blog it is very informative and interesting.

Finished on the 15th- the Fave Crafts Blog Hop

Welcome all you Fave Craft Blog hoppers. My name is Marie Segal and I am a craftaholic, no no I am a polymerholic, no, I am just a holic.

I love working with my hands and this is my brain is on crafts and arts. I can not help my self, I must play with Clay, beads, wire, paper, paint, pearl-ex, air dry clay, clay, clay, and clay, card stock, gel mediums (all of them), glass, recycled goods, found objects, cameras, computers, punches, stamps, gold leaf, foils, eyelets and brads, scissors, paper cutters, words, gardening, food, cakes, fondant, book making, scrap books, albums, canvas, score pads… I think you are probably starting to get the idea.

Nothing is off-limits and everything is fair game and fodder for my mind, my heart and hands.

I have been doing this craziness for 45+ years now as much as I can and as long as I can and with as many products as I can.

I do love clay though and it is probably the thing I do most often and the longest. You will find much of that and all of the above and even the stuff I forgot in this space, with little tales from my life, opinions, and pictures, with circles and arrows ;-D.

So get your self some refreshments, and stay for a spell while I incite a riot in your mind. After all I need some company in this journey. ;-P

We will laugh and cry, but mostly laugh. I mean it couldn’t hurt, right? It is just about the only thing I trust in this day and age and it does help me stay out of trouble… mostly.

This thing I do has brought me through so many trying times and it has also helped me find solutions in life and friends along the way. It keeps me sane when I am stressed (well.. it keeps me out of trouble, mostly).

I am on a life long process of building skills.

You can click on the blog hop button above and go back to Fave Crafts blog to see other artists and their things that they have finished this month.

Here are some of the things I have finished from the last 15 to this 15th.

Last 15th I did a tutorial on making Millefiori canes influenced by Atomic age designs.

Here is the last one

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/08/fave-crafts-blog-hop-black-and-white.html

I finished this with all of those canes I made.

The tutorial for it is here

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/08/atomic-age-influence-votive-holder.html

I made a book.

Here is another book

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-coptic-bound-book.html

And here is the one above

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/08/ok-it-is-official.html

I made this tiny book

You can find it here

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/09/hi-immmmmmmmmmmmm-back.html

I made this book with clay covers.

I made this skeleton key. It is in my Etsy store

www.mariesegal.etsy.com

I made this Coptic bound photo Album for a wedding.

You can see all of those items above here

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/09/monday-updates-091211.html

And lastly but not leastly.

I made this Tin Can Box from a recycled 4 ounce Ortega green chili can

You can see it here

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/09/tin-can-box.html

Thank you for stopping by and spending some of your precious time with me. I am so honored to have you here.

Come back again.

Be well!

Wednesday updates

I am still not feeling up to snuff, but better. Madi and I lay around a lot. There is just something about having a cold during hot weather, it doesn’t feel right. It is supposed to be cold and rainy so you can drink chicken soup and get better. You know the whole bathrobe wrapped up to your neck, thermometer hanging out of the side of your mouth, droopy eyes, slippers and blankies all over you. 

Not this cold, not this time.

So no Wednesday Wonders again

I wanted to remind you I have a piece I am giving away on the Mary’s Graces Blog

http://marysgraces.blogspot.com/2011/08/token-of-love-give-away-from-marie.html

The giveaway is over on Friday 08/18/11, you might want to go check it out if your are interested.

Since I had to stay home this weekend and not go play at Jodi’s house, I brought out the paper and started to play.

I have always wanted to learn Coptic book binding, I did.

I did OK too.

My friend Meredith makes wonderful books, Coptic binding is one of her specialties. I have always admired them, it is a neat technique and she does a great job. 

You can see her book and paper art gallery here http://www.mereditharnold.com/MeredithsWebsite/books-port1.htm

She also teaches in the Seattle area and will teach a class for it if you get enough people together.

I will take a picture of my little book and load it up here later.

I went to google and did a search for Coptic bookbinding and up pops,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHAJyzzb4EE

This one is for Coptic bookbinding with hard covers. There are other wonderful videos under the same search for doing different covers, images, and a plethora of info to keep you or me busy for days ;-D

I am going to do this again.

I have also listed tons(OK, lots) of stuff in both of my stores.

www.mariesegal.etsy.com

www.thehoarderscloset.etsy.com

Also I don’t know if you know about this web page and group, but if you are an Etsy seller of handmade or vintage, this might be a wonderful source for you.

It is called Etsy Lush http://etsylush.com

They also have a team on Etsy, you can check it out here.

http://www.etsy.com/teams/8706/etsylush

It is totally run by volunteers, donating what I am sure is massive hours of time, to promote sellers on Etsy

Thank you guys!!

They also started doing individual pages for the people who get their things listed.

Here is my page

http://etsylush.com/author/mariesegal/

It also helps me keep track of what I have submitted already ;-D

That kind of tool always helps me. It is also nice to be able to share it too.

Thank you guys, again.

I hope you have a great day.

Be well and it is almost Friday ;-D

Will you go vote?

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTIwMjE0N3w1NzY0MDgyOTY/handmade-top-10-jewelry-category?index=4

 

 

I was just included in this treasury by cthings, thank you so much cthings.

I really appreciate the acknowledgement. You are the best!

Now you can vote too!

 

“Want to have fun then go vote @ handmade top 10 here is the jewelry category and only 9 days left: http://www.handmadetop10.com/#/Lists/67cmbp8a2

Above are some of the items you can vote on and check out more beautiful items to vote on!”

In case you were wondering, mine is the unzipped heart with the steampunk angel! ;-D

Wednesday Wonder- next time

It is official- teething sucks.

Madi is now sick with a cold from lowered resistance from teething. At least that is what her doctor says.

She also bit her tongue really bad. 

It is even suckier that I can not really do anything for her.

I get it. This is why they say two-year olds are so rotten.

 

She says she wants something to drink and I bring it to her and she tells me no! No she screams at me.

I have no time to leisurely browse the Internet to look for non traditional medium for Wednesday wonders.

I did make this last week though and it is now listed in my shop.

 

I love these hearts of stone. This is probably one of my most favorites and it is now listed in my Etsy store.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/79407297/hearts-of-stone-pendant-4-rock-steady?ref=sc_1

If you go look, thank you so much!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also made these. This is Frida and her friend. They are focal beads.

They are larger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love them.

They are also listed in my store.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/79272110/frida-and-her-friend-skull-beads-1-set

I may have to make more of these, depends on the response though.

 

I still find time to make things and work, even if I have to stay up till midnight.

I take naps when Madi does. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone.

I am so lucky to be able to be with my grand-daughter and I am so lucky to be able to feed my creative soul.

 

But this week and last… I am wondering if work might be a better choice. ;-D

The weekend is almost here. I may have to leave town.

Have a great hump day you all.