my new toys

I have been wanting to start metal stamping some jewelry, and thanks to a fellow Etsian, and my husband, I now own these!  

A full alphabet set of stamps. Trust me, this is just the beginning of a very deep addiction. There are so many other stamps I want already.

I had to try them out as soon as I got them, so I made this. My cousin's baby boy was born on Saturday, and his initials are M.Q.M. and of course he has a ruby birth stone. This is for his mommy. I know she is going to love it.

More to come soon. That's a warning. Haha.

i pay in jewelry

My husband has worked several days in a row, and we needed a night out. So I sent a text to my FAVORITE 16 year old, to see if she was available for a couple hours. She is the best! She always makes time for us, and she is great with our kids.

I rarely have cash, so I made this for her before she came.

She loves it, and it will last so much longer than a $20 bill.

We are so lucky to have her in our lives. We love you "J".

not jewelry, but still crafty

I recently decided I wanted to make a decorative cork board. So I Googled some ideas, and decided on a burlap covered one. So simple, unless you decide to make it more complicated. :)

You need: a plain cork board, and some burlap (any color you want),

a hot glue gun (crazy, I thought I owned one, but no), and glue sticks,

some of these really cool glass bubbles (they are flat on one side),

some flat on the top thumb tacks, and some ribbon or whatever embellishments you want to use.

Step 1: Cover the cork board with the burlap and hot glue it down on the back. Note: make sure it is pulled tight around the front (I wish I would have had some spray adhesive for the front to keep it tight).

Step 2: Add your ribbon and other decorations to suit yourself.

Step 3: To make tacks, use paper or fabric of your choice, trace around the bubble wherever you want and cut out the circle. Note: you will want to trace each one separate as they are all different sizes and shapes.

Step 4: Put a large dot of hot glue on the bubble and press down onto paper or fabric circle. Let dry.

Step 5: Put dot of glue onto top of thumb tack and press to the back of the bubble on your fabric or paper. Let dry.

That's it! I told you, easy huh? Enjoy!

Other embellishment ideas: paint design on burlap, use buttons, use fabric, use charms, put it in a frame, etc. The possibilities are endless. Have fun with it!

things i had to have

First, this strand of beads I saw a while ago at Raffia and I wanted them then. To my pleasant surprise, they were still there when I went today! YAY!

Last month, I told you about this collection, by Making Memories. Again, they can be found at Raffia, along with tons of other awesome pieces from this collection. I only got these ones today, but there are several others I would love to have.

I am so excited get some creating done this week. It's not that I have been in a creative block, nope. I have been in a "my table is a disaster, my house is a mess, my kids are on wild-high, and it's too nice out to stay inside" block. But now it's back to reality. I have sold several pieces the last two weeks, and I have millions of ideas clogging up my thinking. I need to bring them to life.

My husband is the best. Look what he found! My goal is to use it for my jewelry photos. Not sure how that is going to work out, but I have high hopes. I can't wait to try!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous day.

another satisfied customer

I was given the task of creating a graduation present. My instructions were "she likes green.....yeah, pretty much anything green." I can do green and I do a lot of it, look here. But, creating for a young woman, just graduating high school, and whom I don't know, proved to be quite a test.

Lucky for me, she was very happy with it.

 "I just got a necklace and earrings as a grad present from Tracy and them... I LOVE IT!!!" ~Jessica

Even her mom contacted me.

"Such a great necklace you created for Jess!! It's great!!!" ~Sharilyn

I love hearing that someone is happy with the piece(s) I created for them, especially when it's a surprise for them! Congratulations on your graduation Jessica, and best of luck in the future.

new wire wrap piece

You might remember that my Aunt sent me some things of hers that she wanted made into jewelry (ie:elk teeth). I decided it was time for me to do another wire wrap for her today. I love it when a piece just comes together. Somehow, I happened to have some left over beads that looked awesome with this cab, and the wire just put itself into place almost effortlessly. I could not be happier.

Pass-On Handmade- a notable blog

This is such a great blog, and it's all about promoting Etsy shops. NiftySupplies is always (maybe not always) in the Etsy chat rooms, meeting new sellers, and offering to help promote by featuring them in her blog. Supporting other sellers is an admirable gesture considering she is running two shops of her own! Today I am featured on Pass-On Handmade. So check it out, and remember to buy handmade.

See this set here.

Happy Friday!