Dominoes For Pins and Pendants

Autumn is an exciting time!   I love the changing colors on the trees and getting my comfy sweaters and sweatshirts out of the back of my closet.  November always reminds me that the holidays are nearing and “Craft Season” is in full swing!

Every year I vow to myself that I will have all of my gifts completed by Thanksgiving.  The times I’ve succeeded have been some of the most enjoyable and memorable holidays.  When I’ve achieved my Thanksgiving goal I’ve had more time to spend with friends and family.  I’ve felt relaxed, ready and open to more Christmas magic and spontaneity.  That in itself should be enough motivation but my “wonder woman” mentality still gets the best of me every couple of years and I procrastinate until the last minute.

This year, I need a plan.  Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away and I better get busy!  I’m thinking about making jewelry for the women on my gift list.  I have several (okay, quite a lot!) of the brad pendants ready to go and I would also like to do some domino pendants.  Below are some created by Evelyn Spikes.  Evelyn’s art is great inspiration!

Dominoes are an excellent stamping surface.  No bleaching is necessary when using Staz On or alcohol based inks or even the Adirondak markers from Ranger.  If you prefer to use colored pencils or Twinkling H2Os an overnight soak in bleach will insure success.  Rinse thoroughly with water and they are ready to go.

Here’s a pendant that I made several years ago.  (When my photography was way worse than it is now!)

I stamped the image (from Stampin Up!) with black Staz On ink and used the pad to color the sides and the back black.  The image was painted with Twinkling H2Os.  I used a clear sealer over the top to protect it from scratching.  Black micro beads were added around the edges with 1/4”  O’So Sticky Tape.

Pennywise Arts has gorgeous pre-drilled dominoes for handmade pins, pendants and ornaments.  The predrilled hole goes clear through and makes for a more secure and easy to assemble pendant or hanger for ornaments.  If the hole isn’t needed it can be quickly filled with spackle or white toothpaste or covered with micro beads or ribbon.

Our drilled dominoes are brand new, standard full size dominoes. They measure 1" wide, 2" tall and 3/8" thick.  The hole is 1/8" in diameter.  They can be purchased on our website.  If you prefer to pay by credit card or money order just shoot me an email with your phone number and I’ll fix you up!

Tomorrow I will be posting Christmas ornaments made from dominos in our art swap on the Pennywise Yahoo Group!

Hugs, Suzanne

Passing On The Queen’s Cape

Just for fun (and because I'm really not using it any more) I have listed my "queen's cape" on eBay.  I think it would be great as a Renaissance or Christmas Pageant costume! 

I just happened to wear it on national television (she says in casual passing). Ü 

It was in January of 2005 when HTGV came to my home to film me “Beading The World” for their show “Crafters Coast To Coast”.  It was an incredible and terrifying experience!  It took 8 hours to create the three projects I had submitted.  An African themed shaker card, a matching beaded pen and my favorite  an African themed treasure/jewelry box.

When the show aired, it just worked out that it was on a Monday following our annual PWA spring retreat, so lots of my beadie buddies stayed over an extra night and we all went to watch my national debut on the big screen at The Lucky 7 Saloon in Kirkland, WA.

This is Marianne, Kelly and Susan

This is Lynn and Juliet.  Lynn passed away in 2007, so I really treasure this photo and the memories of her friendship and support.

Here’s a familiar face!  Michelle Mc (from our design team) and Sharon.  I randomly drew a name from inside the Africa box and Sharon’s sister was the winner!  (I think Sharon wrestled it from her though.)

Well that was a fun little stroll down memory lane, and all just to say, if you are interested you can view the robe on eBay  by pasting in the item #120805898276

And if it's your turn to be Queen then bid on it!  Ü

(If a beadie buddy wins the auction I have extra “queenly” goodies that I’ll tuck in for free! 

Hugs,
Suzanne

In The Beginning

In the beginning there were pens.  Sparkly, captivating and unique beaded pens.  I was in love and that is how Pennywise came to be.  True story!

I could never really count how many pens I’ve made over the years.  I tried.  It went like this:  An O’So Sticky Mega roll of tape (currently out of stock but hoping to make a come back!) made 240 pens.  Wow!  I’m sure that I went through at least 12 rolls if not more. Zowie!  240 x 12 = 2,880 beaded pens!  WHOA!   I think I am in awe of myself now!  Ü

I know there are a lot of artists making beaded pens for gifts and many even to sell in craft boutiques and on the internet.  Most of them get their micro beads from us because we have the best price and customer service there is!  (Toot-toot!)

I love when customers share photos of what they make with our beads, it’s so amazing to see what other people think of and do with PWA micro beads.  Julien LaBorde of Paisley Pens shared this brilliant photos with me and I quickly begged her to let me share them with you.  Her designs are so vibrant!  

Be sure to check out Julien’s Facebook page and “like” her to see more of her gorgeous pens!

Hugs, Suzanne

Thanksgiving Collage Sheets

Today I give thanks for the opportunity to share our gorgeous Thanksgiving collage sheets!!  Created by Michele Aiello-Zendejas of Swing Shift Designs, our collage sheets can be purchased digitally or as a high quality printed sheet.

Layer these images on cards for beautiful yet quick and easy holiday greetings!  Which one do you like best?  Ü 

This one is my favorite!

Hugs, Suzanne

Are You Selling Beaded Crafts?

    Hey!  Are you one of the many, many customers we love and cherish that make arts and crafts with our products to sell at holiday boutiques, craft fairs, shops, Facebook or other outlets?

If so, let me know!  I’d love to help promote YOU here on our blog, in our electronic newsletters, and Facebook.  We reach a huge audience and if I help you sell more stuff, you’ll buy more beads from me!  Win-Win!  Ü 

Contact me via email or leave a comment below with your email address and let’s talk!

Hugs, Suzanne

The photo is of my door wreath – I didn’t make it so I’m not sure what the beaded vegetables are supposed to be but it’s sparkly and I love it!  Ü

Talking Turkey

My great aunt and uncle were once turkey farmers in Iowa, my dad’s home state.  I never visited their farm but they had a family tradition of sending crystal turkey candy dishes as wedding gifts, so yep I have one!  And whenever I think of turkey, I remember my family, the stories about their farm and of course my crystal turkey.  Oh!  And I also think about the turkey/Thanksgiving collage sheets we have for sale on the website too!  ;0)

Jean Sunderman created these three deeply rich collage tag examples for us to share with you!

Materials:

Chipboard tags, Copper and Ultra fine clear beads, Thanksgiving Collage Sheets 1 & 2, O'So Sticky Tape Sheets and 1/4 tape, Various Fall color paints, Various flowers and ribbons, Rubber Stamps and Copper Embossing powder, Patterned Papers

Directions:

Paint tags in various fall colors. (Jean used brown and pumpkin orange) Cut out various Thanksgiving designs from collage sheets.  Layer to card with patterned papers and flowers.

Orange Turkey Tag: Add patterned paper to tag. Distress with ink. Cut out turkey and cover with O'So Sticky Sheet. Trim and cover with ulta fine clear beads. Attach to tag. Add various flowers.

Orange Lace Tag: Boy with Turkey Collage Sheet was covered with O'So Sticky Sheet and covered with Ulta Fine Clear Beads.  Add Brown Sequined lace with flower made from coffee filter. (love the texture that adds!) Brown Tag: background was stamped with leaf design and embossed with copper embossing powder.  Cut out turkey collage sheet and edge with 1/4 O'So sticky tape. Add copper beads.

Jean, your work is stunning as ever!  I’m so glad that you sought us out “way back when”.  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed you and your artwork!  Ü

Hugs, Suzanne

Beware! Brad Pendants Are Highly Addictive!

When I was growing up my family played a lot of board games. One of my favorites was “Can’t Stop” from Parker Brothers.  It’s a game of risk, chance and mostly… self control.  I lacked much of the latter which is why I think it best that I don’t go to casinos.  Ü

Creating the pendants from altered brads has had the same effect on me as that board game from long ago.  I just Can’t Stop!  I’ve decided that less is more when it comes to the Glossy Accents.  Originally I had envisioned a nice thick bubble of clear dried GA over the top.  But the thicker it gets the less I like the way it looks so I am shifting my vision to something different and it’s working better for me.  This pendant has a beautiful piece of paper from a Papaya card for the background with a thin layer of GA over the top.  Then I laid the gems on top and let it dry overnight.

Walking away and leaving them overnight seems to be what I need to do.  Otherwise I find a way to bump it, mess it up, tip it over or drop something on it.  What a goober!  I didn’t add micro beads to the one above because the background is already pretty busy.

These next two are my new favorites!

Both also have background paper from punched up Papaya greeting cards.  The one on the left has gems and a colorful mixture of micro beads (I made sure that there weren’t any fuchsia ones after the previous problem with color bleeding.)  The one on the right has a charm that I got from Michael’s Craft store.

I’m trying to pace myself since I only have a total of 12 brads to play with until my order gets here!  My table has a lovely assortment of papers and embellishments just waiting!

Until next time, Suzanne