These are a few of my favorite things...

I absolutely love thrift stores, and when I found a box of vintage wooden dominoes for sale at a little shop in a nearby town, I snatched them up. Dominoes can be used in so many creative ways, but after participating in an altered domino swap recently where my contribution was a necklace, that's where I decided to start.

I began by sanding the edges of the dominoes to add to their vintage and rustic appeal. The above domino features embossed foil tape that I colored with alcohol ink. Foil tape seems to be my new favorite thing as far as creative endeavors go.

I am often drawn to this pen nib stamp; it's definitely a favorite. This is actually a section cut out from the stamped image. I think this calls to the writer in me, as well as the lover of nearly all things vintage. The color on this piece was provided via watercolor pencils, specifically Inktense pencils. They're amazing! I wish they'd let me be their spokesperson. Once you brush them with water, they become as vibrant as ink. So much fun, and the best watercolor pencils ever, in my humble opinion. I finished this necklace with a coat of dimensional glaze (also on my list of favorite things) to give a glossy, glass-like appearance.

I believe the above necklace may be my favorite of the three. I liked it so much, I actually made another pendant just like it to keep for myself. This one was colored with Distress Inks (yep, you guessed it, favorite stamping ink) and also finished with dimensional glaze.

All three of these necklaces are available for sale in my Etsy shop right now. In the works is a bracelet made from some of the dominoes and also featuring the pen nib stamp. I haven't decided yet whether to part with it or keep it for myself...

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you all an artful and glorious day filled with some of your favorite things.

Sale in my Etsy shop.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

As I'm busy creating new items for my Etsy shop, I'm also trying to clear some old stock. I currently have a sale going, so if you see something you like, grab it now while the price is right!

Blue Monkey Market Just use the coupon code SPRINGCLEANING to receive 25% off of anything in my store. Out with the old, in with the new!

Hope everyone has a beautiful day!

My Etsy!

Well, I finally did it. I'm very late in posting about this, but back in the summer I finally opened my own Etsy shop. It's a humble little spot on the web I've named Blue Monkey Market. Currently, there are cards listed and some polymer clay ornaments, all made by yours truly, of course. In the future, I hope to offer more, like hand carved rubber stamps, possibly some crocheted items, paper craft kits, other polymer clay doo-dads and what-nots, and more.

I'm running a sale right now. Just enter the coupon code BLUEWINTER to get 15% off your order. I provide fast shipping, too! Many thanks to those that have already placed an order.

Here's a few of the things up for sale right now:

Handmade polymer clay Christmas ornaments.

Handmade cards.

Celebrate snail mail!

Wow, almost a month since my last post. Didn't i mention something a few posts ago about wanting to update this more often? Yeah. And the main reason i've been MIA? Swap-bot. 

i used to swap a couple of years ago on other forums, but my artistic journey led me towards discovering new mediums and finding my own voice, and making art mostly for me. But, i missed swapping, for so many reasons - the anticipation of getting something fun in the mail, meeting other artists and crafters, finding inspiration and having a goal to work towards. i almost always work better with a goal, and that creativity spills into other artwork, and i am inspired more than i am not. i hate feeling blocked, almost as much as i hate boredom. On a side note, i've not felt bored in years. i remember as a teenager not liking to feel bored and seeing it as a waste of what precious little time we have on this planet. For as long as i can remember, my problem hasn't been having nothing to do, it's been not having enough time in a single day to act on all the things i want to do. Anyone who knows me fairly well, knows i always have an art project (or 10) in the works. Add to that a love of cooking and baking, reading, gardening, writing and the daily demands of housework and who has time to be bored? i don't accept boredom; life's too short.

So, i've been swapping, and having a lot of fun. And i'm thinking more about an etsy shop. The only thing stopping me from opening right now is not having a name. i want a name that's me, that's interesting and reflects the fact that i will be selling everything from handmade greeting cards to polymer clay jewelry to handmade blank journals. Oh, and it should be easy to spell and pronounce - that's important! Some people recommend finding a focus for your shop, but i don't see how i could limit myself to one or two items. There's so much i enjoy doing. See? Boredom can't live here. It wouldn't have breathing space.