Steel Ivy Bracelets

I like to wear these sorts of bracelets pushed up on my arm, near the elbow or shoulder, depending on size.

Candy Colored Cake Hats

It's a good day to be snowed in.

This is the hat I finished about a week ago. It and the other are off to their transitional owner, a proud grandmother with a rich life. I love selling to people in person, when I can hear their stories.

The next hat in progress, close to completion

The view out on our deck, a downy woodpecker at the suet feeder during a snowstorm.

off to work metal now. I've got a lot of leafy bracelets done again, mostly larger to push up high on a big man's thick arm. I'll post pictures later.

The Shopping Blog- Artists with great products

Some of my favorite Etsy Sellers.... Support your fellow Artists!

	moxieandoliver
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custom leather bags, belts, and wallets. My husband loves the wallet I got him for Xmas, from this seller.

	juliepersons
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Wonderful needle felted breastfeeding mothers- what a great gift for a new or expectant Mother.

	artgoodies
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the best hand printed tea towels ever. I'm a repeat buyer. I buy groups of these towels and give them as gifts.

	lovelycandy
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very sweet and ridiculously inexpensive felt play food

	formerprincess
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Cool Aprons! She made some great ones for my kids for this past Christmas, a custom order.

Dreamwoven
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Joyful, spontaneous, knitted clothing and accessories. I got an outfit from her way back when she was on Ebay selling out of her hippie prototypes.

an older blacksmith picture with baby

This is a picture of me from oh about 4 years ago, working with daughter in tow. The earphones thing was all doctor & audiologist approved. I did the same thing with my son. He was a bit more cooperative. I did not do this very often with my daughter as she usually pulled off her earphones and then started yanking the hair out of my head.

With both kids, once they could walk they wouldn't tolerate being cooped up like that in the backpack when there were so many sharp and hot things to explore. They can still come out to the forge (or workshop) but they have to follow clear and fairly strict safety guidelines.

buncha stuff, and 4H cloverbud art project

First me, me, me, me

I dislike bandana hats, but it keeps the ear muffs from ripping out my hair.

I'm shaping up the stem on a leaf in this picture.

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Yet another hat in progress. This will eventually fit a 2 yr old. It is being modeled by Vicky, one of Karenskids. I like her dolls. They are soft, snuggly, durable, adorable, and reasonably priced for a large handcrafted doll. I keep waiting for a caucasian boy doll, but they always get snatched up before I see them.

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Ok, here is the project I did with the 4H Cloverbuds.

This is a project from Science Arts: Discovering Science Through Art Experiences (Bright Ideas for Learning) By MaryAnn F. Kohl, Jean Potter
You mix up 2 sets of tempera paints - one set with oil and one set with water. I put them in squirt bottles. First you put some drops of the oil based paint on the paper and move the paper so it oozes all over. Then you add the water based paint and do the same. It looks like some crazy lava lamp action while it's happening and the kids love it.
Now, I didn't do it quite right. I didn't have powdered tempera, so I used liquid tempera. I put the paint blends in squirt bottles. An eyedropper would have been much better.... I mixed in way too much oil. The parents had to leave with drippy oily paintings (hee hee) resting on paper towels. We used cheap white paper. If you were doing it at home with just a few of your own kids, I'd recommend using a thicker absorbent watercolor art paper.
Even though I didn't do it right, I think the pictures turned out beautiful and were a great experience for the kids. Like I said, they loved watching that oil and water blobby action, with the colors to make it really show up.

I photographed a few samples with white paper underneath them. The oil makes the thin white paper much more translucent, like wax paper. I just loved this project and would do it again, using less oil, eyedroppers, and maybe even with the powdered tempera (instead of the liquid.)

another sweet silly hat done

Another cutie hat completed

This one will go to a vibrant woman's beautiful granddaughter.

More Inspiring Books

How to Win Friends & Influence People
By Dale Carnegie

I should have read this book ten years ago. It's amazing, a life changer. You read it and think "of course, that's obvious, why haven't I been doing it all this time?" The principles apply to everyday life just as well as they do to business. I can't recommend it enough. If you're one of these people, including myself, who have bemoaned our lack of community and friendship in real life, get it from the library (or buy it) and read it.

Heartfelt: 24 Projects for Stitched and Felted Accessories By Teresa Searle Hurrah, you don't have to knit in order to felt! If you enjoy crafting with recycled wool knitted items, you'll love this new book. The projects are simple and inspiring, colorful and joyful. It transcends ages, inspiring me at 38 and my son at 7. This would be an inexpensive hobby with some reasonable profit potential. Start-up costs are low to none. You need scissors, needle, threads, thimble and ratty old wool sweaters to recycle into wool felt (by washer.) Gilded Room: Decorating with Metallic Effects, from Metal Leaf to Powders, Pastes and Paints by Kerry Skinner This is a great book, oriented more toward the skilled artisan. There are definitely projects suitable to all crafting levels, but you need to be a detail oriented focused worker to get through them. You also need specialized equipment, so the costs to start would be higher. I love the book and processes. The projects themselves are actually a bit too unrefined for me, but the processes are so well explained that I should be able to apply them to my own ideas.

Ooooh- I almost forgot, this book explains how to gild or give a glowing metal effect to a whole wall or parts of a wall. Yum.

steps in making a drawer pull

Have the leaves cut according to the silhouette I provide.

Texture on the anvil with one of those 2 hammers, while the metal is hot.

Form over this stake

after forming

after welding on threaded spacers, burnishing, and sealing