Monday, October 29, 2012

Leather & Steel

I wanted to share a few new bracelets I made today with leather and stainless steel - they are adjustable and the double wrap has made it's way into one of the top spots of my most favorite jewelry!







Monday, October 8, 2012

Fall Giveaway!!!!

for you mobile users that can't access the facebook page Rafflecopter Widget!
Log your entries here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

It's almost Apple Festival time in Unicoi County!

      I have been working on so many new items that will officially make their debut for sale at my hometown festival on Oct. 5th & 6th. The 35th annual Unicoi County Apple Festival will take over the streets of Downtown Erwin. The festival is near and dear to my heart, we share they same "birth year" ... I turned 35 years old on Sept. 24th and the festival is always held the 1st Friday and Saturday in October. I love fall - from the crisp cool mornings, to the perfect day time temps, to the colors, to the smells, to football - I love love love it! Fall in East Tennessee/Western NC is amazing. Ok, Well enough about that! Here are a few of the new items that will be making their debut next weekend. 

First up is something I have had in the back of my mind for a little while, I have made several spoon bracelets in the past that I continue to make that are very popular - but I decided to break things up a bit, literally and give the spoon bracelet a new twist ...  


One of my other most favorite things in the world - are skeleton keys. I collect them and even have matching tattoos of keys on my wrist and my fiancee's wrist! These are my skeleton key wrap bracelets.





Then there is the Love Heals necklace, I think I have worn this one out - but I am in the process of making more for the festivals. 



And lastly I came across some old piano keys ... some whole, some broken - but I think I love these and I am calling them "Forgotten Fragments"






I hope to see you at the Apple Festival ... I will be on Main Street, in front of the Sheriff's Dept! Friday and Saturday 8am-8pm!


Sunday, August 26, 2012

Banging up Vintage Flatware ...


I make alot of jewelry with vintage Flatware, I normally try to use as much of it as possible. I use handles for bracelets, the bowls of spoons for bracelets and pendants for necklaces. When I do have scrap left over I keep it - as I know that one day I will have a purpose for it. I named this little creation "Love's Embrace" as it reminds me of two hands clasped together, and it is in the shape of a heart. I love it - I think it will be a good seller at my upcoming fall shows. Here are a few more pics of it - as I got snap happy on it this evening. 

 


Lastly - I had some tines, I shape forks at times into heart patterns for bracelets - and thought earrings would be super cute - so I call these "Love takes Tine" ... 


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

A new DIY addition to my fall booths ...


So I have been on a roll with these little Pinterest projects with pallets, spools, etc ... I have to admit I came up with this one on my own. I had a vision in my head about this very table, it came out alot better than I even imagined. I still have a few things to do to it. But I could not resist taking a few snaps of it today and posting it for you. I still need to make 2 more fabric ruffle panels (BIG SIGH) and add my braces for the legs and interior shelf to hold my inventory and such! 

The main thing that had me thinking about this table is I wanted to bring my jewelry up higher so people wouldn't have to stoop over so much to look at it, I hope to make another one, but for now I will raise some of the products up on this one. I wanted it to be counter top height - Frankie helped me frame it up and then I was on my own with my creativity and imagination. The top is made of old pallet wood. Pallets are a pain to take apart - but I love the wood. I sanded each piece then stained it. After the stain dried I applied some of my Valspar Creme Brulee Paint from Lowes that I have used in all of my other little projects lately. I love it. The legs and base of the table was new wood - 2x4's and 2x3's - I also stained and painted them to look worn and aged. To get the dark wood to show through the best - I rub a little paraffin wax on the corners and edges, then after the top coat of paint is dry - it peels right off with a light grit sandpaper.



The Ruffled edge is a whole other BEAST! I bought a ruffler attachment for my sewing machine and it would save soooooooo much time - if it worked properly - well I broke the 1st one, then ordered another one - it works OK - but It acted like it was going to break my machine. So I took it off and ruffled it the old fashioned way - with long stitches and pulled the ruffles together by hand. I need to make 2 more of these panels to cover the bottom but like I said - I was dying to show off my work! 


I just love the vintage look of this! I can't wait to get it in my booth to complete my vintage theme.
I will attach a few more pics for you to see how I attached the skirt to the table ... I basically added large eyelets and shower curtain hooks, I tacked up the hooks with nails, but I plan to add those little eye screws to attach the hooks to. I am also adding a shelf to the inside and the 2 panels to complete the bottom.

There you have it - come out to the festivals and see me - Sept 1st - Bristol Motor Speedway - TriCities Bacon Fest and Oct 5th and 6th - Apple Festival in Erwin, TN.
Visit my website online www.artisticicing.com 



Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Hand stamped Aluminum Rings ....



I have stamped for several years on various types of metal. Recently I came across Aluminum ... I love it! 
It is so lightweight, hypoallergenic, food safe, and does not tarnish or require polishing!
They are completely adjustable, made of a heavy gauge so they hold their shape wonderfully. I have several size ranges and widths available.

Prices are as follows:
SMALL 1/4" width : $20
MEDIUM 1/2" width : $22
LARGE 3/4" width : $24



Shipping is $2 per order and I accept paypal or credit by phone.
Orders taken via email artisticicing@yahoo.com
www.artisticicing.com









Sunday, August 12, 2012

I have a special place in my heart for Ball Mason Jars... my latest DIY project


I have been a DIY fool lately. Today I was in one of my most favorite places to prowl and pick ... Asheville, NC. I found some treasures for my booth decor for the upcoming festivals and a few things for my home, which I am slowly getting decorated to match my rustic, shabby style! Today I came across this little caged round basket, and I immediately thought - THAT WOULD MAKE AN AWESOME lamp to hang over my spool table. The second thought was a BLUE MASON JAR as the globe part! So we made a stop and Lowe's for some hardware - came home and Voila - a new project was completed! Take a look, let me know what you think! I think I am in love! Haha





Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Pallet Project #1 ... my funky junk - re purposed scraps

Today I picked up some pallets to make some projects with, the first one took me all but 20 min. to complete .... it is a wall shelf. I have several more projects up my sleeve ... coming soon ... like maybe tomorrow if I can get my hands on a Skill Saw!!!! 

The Pallet Wall Display


Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Wooden Spool End Table ... my latest DIY idea from Pinterest

I love the trend of re-purpousing cool items into furniture and decor.
I happened across a wooden spool on Pinterest a few months ago - the kind that the Electric Company and Phone Companies use to haul and store wire and cable on. It had been made into a table/bookshelf.
I added it to the list of things I MUST FIND and DO! Kinda like my little DIY Bucket List of sorts.
As you may recall I refinished a card catalog this summer. I love love love that thing! It is a place I can store TONS of my jewelry supplies.
I have a locker unit that I plan on painting, but haven't gotten to that yet.
Next on the to-do-list is a coffee table made from pallets and painted to match my spool.

Well here is the photo progress... 
This entire process took me 2.5 - 3 hours ... it was a quick and fun afternoon project.
One thing about me - when I start a project, I don't quit til I am done!

THE BEFORE ... 

I sanded it all over with Fine Grit Sandpaper ... then I stained it with a color called Kona.


it was a fairly quick drying stain, said it would be ready for polyurethane in an hour (I did not clear coat this)
After the stain, I rubbed around some of the edges with paraffin wax, so that once I painted it - I could scrape off and expose the stain, as I was looking to achieve a weathered/distressed look.


I applied the paint, a Valspar paint from Lowes - color of "Creme Brulee"  I was messy and rough on the paint brush, I also thinned it some when I needed to with a wet rag...
  

I am not quite finished but was excited to bring it into the house - so here she is ... 


I plan to add some color coordinated wooden dowels to hold my books upright - and divided it up ... you may add casters to the bottom but I do not plan on moving it so I opted to left it flat on the bottom. I am in love with it! 



Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Who is up for winning something??? It's super EASY to enter!

Who would like to win something?
I want to update and add to my website's section called "What People are Saying" ... and I quite simply LOVE to hear what you have to say about your purchases. Do they have meaning? Or is it just "YOU" and fit your style.


Let me know by going to the ----> RIGHT side of my Facebook wall wall here and click and write a "recommendation" - I will take all of the people who take time to write one and do a drawing on July 27th,  (right before I go on vacation) ...


It will be a Mini Prize Pack featuring a mix of goodies, all handpicked by me ... there will be a scrabble tile pendant, a poker chip pendant, a domino pendant, and a special "love artistic icing" Stamped Necklace ... as shown below....




It will be a random drawing of all the people that participate! TO QUALIFY - you must write a sentence or paragraph about your jewelry/experience. On my Facebook wall or in the Recommendation box - I will also showcase some of the responses on my website! THANKS and have fun, and good luck!