A Tassel For Finn

This is a tassel I made for a commission. My friend's cat recently died and she wanted to make a memorial to him in the form of a tassel. She is a belly dancer so I used some vintage middle eastern findings and even took a tassel made of wool that was probably used for decorating a camel and took it apart to make new tendrils. I had her make some postage stamps of her cat so I could use the images and solder them into a charm. Some of the tendrils I felted myself with wool roving.

I CRASHED!

Can you hear me silently screaming!! My hard drive is GONE! Thank goodness for my blog and spare computers in the house. But that dosen't help me with all the lost emails, word documents for classes, pictures......several years of work. I'll have to rise from the Phoenix so to speak and start all over again AND learn how to "back up" my work. I've never had to do that, but my husband can help. If some of you emailed me and didn't get a response now you know why. Please email me after tomarrow, same email. My computer guy installed a new hard drive and I can pick it up tomarrow. Picture the Van Gogh painting "The Scream".........................

I'm Cleaning!!!!

I love my life. My family. My country....okay I'll stop there. I had another grand day at Gilding the Lily in Fullerton this past Saturday and taught my biggest class yet. The women all finished their necklaces AND I even sold some things (unexpectedly). I will have pics for the next post but right now I am diligently cleaning and am on a roll. My daughter is in theatre camp this week and I thought I would use all that extra time to work in my studio...and I am kinda. But my Virgo nature has kicked in and I have been spending at least 2 hours per room (my bedroom and my den) cleaning the last two days.

BTW~ Is anyone in the LA area yearning to make a rosary? I have a request from a friend and she is putting together a class. It will be a great intro into jewelry construction and will probably be on a week night....maybe Aug.10. More to follow.................

See ya!!

Art Dolls & Charlotte Necklace Class

SOLD!!!
SOLD!!!!
Woke up this morning, with a wine glass in my hand, who's wine what wine,where the hell did I dine.....oooopss!!!

Let's start over. Woke up this morning and some one that I don't even know added me to some kind of treasury that Etsy has. How fun is that? I tried pasting the link but it didn't work, but if you have a moment you can go HERE ! to see what she posted. Her etsy link is:
anangelatmytable.etsy.com.

Big thank you for everyone who leaves comments!! I LOVE them!

ANDDDDD......there are only 2 seats left for the charlotte necklace listed above this sat. July 18 at GILDING THE LILY in fullerton. I won't be teaching this class for a while.....the supplies have dwindled, but I have another class for Oct.17 using more of the old
dolls and wire work, again at GTL.

Students work & The Shepherdess

top left to right:Diane,Lisa,Amy,Margie,Pam Nancy
bottom left to right: Kim, Valerie
Kims killer necklace
Amy's amazing necklace~love the hand made head pin hooks
Another pic of Amy's amazing necklace
Valeries vivacious soldered bottle
more vivacious valerie~mini shrine
Margies monumental creation
Margie in purple~ she's a hoot....can you tell? Amy in the background~inspecting her work
Pam's phenomenal collection of patinaed charms~ready to assemble
Amy diligently working away
Amy and Kim~2nd day of class
My sample next to Kim's ready for assembly~ The sample was worn by a couple students during the class
Lisa's lovely work space
Dynamite Diane putting it all together
Valerie
Okay, I'm back from San Diego. What a great group of gals! Cooky (the owner of the Shepherdess) is as sweet a host as they come, professional, organized and very talented herself. In fact all the Shepherdess peeps and students are talented. There were 3 instructors (Amy,Margie and Nancy) in my class who teach at the Shepherdess all talented in their own right and very humble. Their talents have no bounds and range from fiber art, PMC, jewelry design and construction, beading, fusing and metal smithing (I hope I got it all). Amy and Margie were kind enough to show me how to use my creme brule' torch which I had bought several months ago and never used because of my fear of fire! Then there was Valerie, an interior designer, who had an amazing imagination and original ideas for her soldered treasure necklace and whom I had taken a class with the Australian artist Keith Loboe. Kim...always brings treats for everyone and is such a sweetheart! She is on a mission to learn jewelry making and I am honored to be on her list of teachers. Next weekend at Gilding the Lily will be her 3rd class with me (she only started a couple months ago) and then she's off to learn w/Sally Jean. Lisa came all the way from Phoenix to learn with me...it sure is validating to have that kind of commitment. Diane didn't mess around! She won the prize for making the most charms and she had the coolest ephemera! Pam is an aspiring actress and model and had lots of questions which is always good in a class situation.

My goal was to have every student finish their necklace and most did. I hope you enjoy the photos. In the mean time stay tuned for future classes with me at the Shepherdess and their stellar line up of teachers near and far. If you go to their website you can get on the email list.

Here is a link to another student that just finished her treasure necklace: wickerpatio.
She drove down from central california to take a class with me at Gilding the Lily about 2 months ago and is such a sweet heart. She also gave me some tiny vintage velvet flowers that I love using in my art.

If any of the students from this class see this post, I would love to hear your feedback!
xxooxorobin

2 day soldering workshop

Hello everyone. For the first time ever my Treasure necklace and soldered glass charm class will be a two day workshop. Location: The Shepherdess~my home town of San Diego,California in the ultra charming Old Town. When: July 11,12.

Only 3 seats left. Click here for pics and registration:
shepherdessbeads.com

If you have never been to this charming historic part of San Diego you will love it! Not only is the Shepherdess a fantastic place to shop, right next door to it is my most favorite bead store in the world! Did I mention the fabulous Mexican food and margaritas in fish bowl size glasses, reasonable accomodations, unique boutiques, museums and a very cool haunted house and cemetery? AND all of this is within walking distance.

For pics click my class link on the right corner of the blog. I will have pictures of new projects after I come back. Hope to see you!