Galveston

I just got back from a little trip down to Galveston. Not quite the same in beaches as Florida but still nice. There was quite a bit of seaweed on the beaches each day though. It seems it was from the hurricane the week before in Florida. Came across the Gulf to visit.

seagull looking for food

jetty going out into the ocean

from our balcony down the Seawall

Bishops Palace was as beautiful as ever. By the way we did not see much damage at all from Hurricane Ike (Sept. 2008). Everything looked great, especially on the Seawall Blvd.. It seems the city has recovered wonderfully.

ferry ride anyone?

me and The Shark

This shark has been around since the beginning of time it seems. It survived the hurricane but is sporting a new paint job I think. I seem to remember him being a little more on the gray side. Of course it has been 11 or 12 years since I have seen him. My son was probably 8 or 9 years old in the last photo I have of them together, and he will be 19 this month.

seagull on the ferry

Riding the ferry over to Bolivar Peninsula is always fun. We saw dolphins on our way back to Galveston. We watched the 4th of July fireworks shot out over the Gulf and ate some delicious seafood! It was a nice week to get away. Now back to reality!

A Bracelet For Blair

I put this bracelet together for my son Blair last week. I bought the leather band at Michaels and then used a piece of copper I had etched for the base. Then soldered on the peace sign with wings. It was a tie tack pin I also got at Michaels. I cut off the pin part so it would be more flat. He took these photos before he took home the bracelet, I wish he had zoomed in a little closer so you could see the etching better. Anyway he liked the bracelet and I thought it made a great guy gift.

Back from Kansas

enameled beads

 I got back from Mrs. O'Learys in Kansas on Monday morning. It was a fun girls trip! Took classes in some mediums I had not worked with before. My favorite class I think though was "Jane in Chains". A thimble necklace. Very fun and I even bought a shirt to wear it with while I was in town. LOL

 These are my enameled bracelets from class. When Joni was going thru how you do everything I was thinking to myself that it sounded complicated and I might just buy a bracelet instead of making one. But, as it turned out it's not that hard just a little tedious, not much. I did it anyway! The bracelets start out as copper strips. Love the bumpy one! Mark showed us how to do that with a welding torch. Pretty HOT! The enalmed beads in the photo above are on a bracelet but it's to big for me so I am turning it into a necklace later.

enameled bracelets

copper strips before enamel is added

 I took an encaustic class on Thursday and Friday. I have played around with this medium some but not like we did in class. Love using Pan Pastels for color with the wax. I liked using the clear wax more than the colored ones. Go figure!

asplalt drying on encaustic boards

wax melting on hot plate deal

wax melting on hot plate deal

store sample

store sample

store sample

 The samples in the photo below are Beverly from B-Line Designs Rubber Stamps http://blinedesigns.com/ . Love the colors and the stencil used on the bottom left one. It looks like roses or swirls.

student art

student art

student art

 The following four photos are my projects from class.

Vince's masterpiece

student art

 This copper heart is made in a hydraulic press. Pressed out at like 2000 lbs. Very cool!! It is puffed out also even though you can't tell in the photo. Colored with prismacolor pencils and another process done to it so the color will stick. I riveted on the disc cut circles. They were copper also.

 The face below is the one Beverly made. Really neat I love it!

 The necklace below is mine from the "Jane in Chains" class. I wasn't going to take this class but when I got to the store I decided to and was a really glad I did! It was my favorite class! Made with a thimble, wire, chain and Mark hand poured the Jane doll. She in made from Zinc.

 On the way up to Kansas we stopped at Paper Crown in Oklahoma City http://papercrownokc.blogspot.com/ . It's a scrapbooking store and fabulous! Lots of paper I wanted but I don't need anymore! I will never use all I have now!

 The dress form in the photo below is Gertie. She gets dressed up in all kinds of ways throughout the year. FUN FUN FUN

The yellow room in the classroom in the back of the store. Lots of samples for inspiration on the back wall shelf. I love the stars hanging from the ceiling.

 On Saturday morning they have a little Farmers Market in the square in downtown Kansas. Lots of food vendors and a few clothing ones as well as flowers. I bought my dog some peanut butter biscuits from a lady that makes dog treats.

aren't these gorgeous!!

great use of a can for a vase

 The next two pictures are items made from cans. This guy named Bob Burdette creates bowls and mobiles using them. Check out his site www.bobburdetteart.com .

 It was nice to get away for awhile and make some creative stuff! Now back to reality!!! YUK!

Etched Pendants

I made these two pendants this week. I took an online class from Terri Brush http://www.terribrushdesigns.com/ on etching and wanted to use some of the pieces I had created. Love how my etching came out. These two pendants are for some people in Kansas I am going to see tomorrow. Going to Mrs. O'Learys http://wwwmrsolearysart.blogspot.com/ to take some classes. Road trip with some friends! Looking forward to it! I hope to take some photos and load them to the blog when I get back. Have a great week!