New Shop Things!

There are a few more items over at the Etsy shop today! I have been working hard in my spare time to get things made! I love making these glass creations so much! I get so giddy when they are done. I show Jake {my 2yr. old} my things when I finish them, and ask him what he thinks. He always says "Oh mommy, that is so, so beautiful!" He's my biggest fan! Man, I have him trained well for his future wife, lucky girl... Here's a quick peek of some things just added~

And here's a couple close pics~

This picture of the dragonfly shows what it looks like on a window with the light shining through, you can see the decorative wires inside, I think it adds to the uniqueness of it.

I like doing things that are different from everyone else, so when I get an idea, I will search the Internet for something similar just to be sure there isn't anything like it. So, I also decided after searching Flickr & Google for awhile the other day that there is a niche for me in the Magic Wand department!

I am loving how these turned out! They are so pretty in the sunlight, just love them.

Lastly, after I learned how to do stained glass and realized that although making windows is fun, there was nothing different and unique about it. I like the idea of 3D glass art with as many different mediums I can use. I started making these Flower Pots which I sold at craft shows. They evolved quite a bit from when I started making them {thank goodness!} and I have decided that I am going to sell the flowers themselves in the shop as well. It would be too hard to ship the whole flower pot, so just the flowers will be sold individually so that you can make your own flower pot, or put them in a vase, or whatever!! They would look SO pretty in a vase in the window reflecting sunlight!

This one is my favorite, like I said, they evolved a little bit! These hibiscus type flowers are what I am making for the shop. Here's a close-up, too.

I still have a bunch of things cut & ready to assemble, lots of pink wands, more mermaids, more dragonflies, some flowers... just waiting for that 'free time' to pop up again! Here's a look at my desk right now. All these things are waiting to get beautified and placed into the Etsy shop.

I know I often say that I like how my creations turn out, but the truth is, if I don't like it- it's still sitting in my studio somewhere to be fixed, and no one has ever seen them! Thank you for every one's awesome comments on Flickr and on my blog, it makes it worth posting!

Have a fantastic Monday :) ~Lisa

All Hail, Queen of the Moon and the Stars

I just know that I must be the last person in Creative Blogland to own this, but my copy of 'Crowns & Tiaras' just came today {thank you, Scott}! What an amazing book. So much inspiration packed into every page! These women who contributed their crowns and tiaras are such amazing artists. Such a great book to look at over and over again. So, I guess I will embarrass myself and show the crowns that I have here in my studio.

My friend Andrea and I decided that we both needed to make a crown for ourselves a few years ago. It's just something every girl should have. Her's ended up being a part of her published article in Portals Zine {July 2005; Issue 5}. It turned out beautiful, over the top! Check hers out here!

Then, for Halloween last year, I was Glenda the Good Witch. My friend Abby came over and helped me make this crown. I think for bad Internet pictures as our source, we represented Glenda's crown glory pretty well! The glitter tarnished nicely just since October, I think.

Well, back to work for now! I have real work and Etsy work to get done! Tah-Tah~

This is Funny Stuff...

Over the Easter holiday we spent the weekend in Maryland with my husbands family. We had a great time and the kids all enjoyed playing together, it was a very nice holiday. So, while we were there, they showed us this SNL skit that I thought was so funny (SNL is way past my bedtime now-a-days!). I don't religiously watch Project Runway, but I have seen a bunch of episodes in between Nick Jr. and the Disney Channel line-up. You have to admit that Christian Siriano is very entertaining! I don't know why I keep cracking up over and over at this, really it's funny, but it's not as funny as I think it is! So, while I unpack & clean the house and try to get back to 'normal'- enjoy this hot tranny mess!



I just laughed again...

Happy Easter Weekend!

I love trying different things when it comes to arts and crafts, I have tried just about everything I can think of at least once and have all the supplies to prove it! Oh, except a kiln- I am not allowed to have one for Scott's fear of me burning the house down. It's ok. There's no room for it anyway. So, pottery I have tried, I just didn't run out and buy all the supplies to do it at home. I'm getting better at doing that, buying more craft stuff. Really, I am.

UNTIL... I wanted to make my own necklace! There are so many unbelievable jewelry artists out there, that I just had to try it for myself. Having most of the basics, I only ran out and bought chain. Luckily, I already had Liver of Sulfur from a project 'gone wrong' that Andrea and I tried a few years back. So, I take my shiny new silver plated chain {that was only $1.99 for 6 feet, honey, I swear} and I oxidize it to this pretty black-ish color and then mess and mess and mess til I came up with this. I like it. It turned out ok for my first try. I think I'll wear it for Easter!

Happy Easter Weekend everyone!

The "Money Tree"

When I was little I can vaguely remember my grandmother making "Money Tree" gifts, and letting me help. I wanted to re-create my grandma's tree with my own twist. I made one for a friend when she got married a few years back and it turned out nice for a first try. {Side note: do not use hot glue on a money tree and let it sit in the car on a hot July afternoon, bad things happen} I wish I had a picture to show you, but I don't. But, here are a few I made recently.

This is a gift for a friend that had a baby girl. There is money {hence the name} tied all over the glitter filled branches. Cute gift, I think. For the medallions, I used 3" circle mirrors and zip-stripped the back off and then sanded it so that you could see through in the middle but the edges are still mirrored.

This is just a little something that I made for fall last year. It reads "Autumn Greetings".

Man, I wish my picture taking skills were better, because this one is my favorite and it didn't come out great in these pictures. I love decorating for Halloween!


And lastly, this is a gift I made for my future sister-in-law for Christmas. She loves getting lottery tickets and I loved not having to just give her money! I paper-clipped lottery tickets all over the branches & it turned out great. I used poinsettias and glitter and lots of Christmas things that I got on super clearance at Pat Catan's. If you don't have a Pat Catan's craft store near you, find one when you get a chance!! Again, not a great picture, but this pic from a cell phone was all I could get!

I was so excited thinking I could sell these, BUT... how in the world would I ship them?? So, they became gifts or just mine, sitting in my studio. I am thinking I might do a local craft show close to Christmas time, but we'll see...December is a long way away!

~ETSY GRAND OPENING~

Everything is finally listed! Come on over and take a look! Click HERE to get there!


There are still some different things in the making, Dragon Fly's that are similar to the mermaids. Beautiful flowers that look amazing in a vase near sunlight! I'll get those up soon! Have a great St. Patrick's Day!

The Things I Love

The things that I love the most are my family, my friends, coffee and creating. There are a bunch of other things I love as well; our house, our dog, flea markets, yard sales, nap time- but don't get me wrong- These are the things I love the most!

Of course, these two!

...and then there is coffee~ Every morning, I love when I hear the automatic grinder start while I am still laying in bed. That's letting me know, "it's time to get up, there is something great waiting for you downstairs"!
...and without being able to create, I just wouldn't be me. I will be listing all of this on Etsy starting today! I am trying to finish up taking pictures and then I will start listing everything. Please come and take a look. I love everything that I have made and I hope you enjoy looking!

Have a great weekend!

Some Studio Pictures

When we first moved into our home, 3 years ago, we never used this space. It's up on the 3rd floor and although it is a finished space, there was no heat (or A/C for that matter) so it just was always uncomfortable to be up here. Well, when my daughter was born we needed the space I was working in for her bedroom. I got sent upstairs. Last spring my lovely bought me an awesome gas heater on super duper clearance and last fall, he & my dad ran gas lines and installed it. Then my mother in law moved from a house with no A/C to a home with central air, so we hit the jackpot on A/C units! So, here is my warm in the winter (thank you honey and dad) and cool in the summer (thank you ann) studio space! I love being up here, I am usually in this space all day (that is why there is a fridge and coffee maker) and the kids have most of their toys in the family room next to me. There is still a lot of decorating i would love to do and many other things I have roaming around in my head for some rainy day, but take a look~

This is a shelf Scott built me that spreads across the 3 front windows. Love how the light hits the glass jars I have my buttons in.

A Wish banner I made awhile ago.

Just a few of my many ribbons...

Another view of the front windows.

We picked these old Pennsylvania House cabinets up off of Craigslist for $100 for both. My mom & sister helped me paint, then sand then stain them. Love how they turned out.

My workspace! I am here anytime I am not at my computer working.

Hope you liked the glimpse at my studio. Now, back to soldering for me!

~EDIT~

10 minutes later the studio is looking more like it normally does...

I've been busy

I have been so busy trying to get thigs made in order to open up my Etsy shop. I am so excited about what I have done so far, I hope you all like it, too. I would love to try to get the shop opened by next weekend, so we will see how this week goes for me. I have been making some mermaids for the shop, I have everything ready to assemble now I just have to get my soldering iron fired up and get moving. Here's my pile for the 4 I have waiting to get made.

And finally, after the blast of snow that just fell, today and the rest of the week looks like Spring may be trying to break through! Hopefully it won't be too much longer.

Online Inspiration

There is so much inspiration on the Internet nowadays. Everywhere you go you can find something that catches your eye, and most crafty people think "I can make that!" After I received my fairy and mermaid from Bottman Designs the other day, I was very inspired to put my own little twist on the idea. I made this Fairy for one of my closest and sweetest and most creative friend.

And I couldn't help but make this mermaid for myself. I think that I will make some of these for my Etsy store, but probably not a lot, they are time consuming. Hope you enjoyed looking, now go get inspired!