Summer Heat

Summer has finally arrived here after a late start with plenty of rain.  Things have been so busy we were glad to take some time out to visit with family.  Some of them are so beautiful we couldn't miss the opportunity to photograph them modeling our jewelry.

Leanne ... 

"Yours Forever"

Jody ...

"Bargello"

Juanita ...

"Fly Away"

Kamloops North Shore Art Walk

As a member of the Kamloops Art Council, I am excited to be in the Kamloops North Shore Art Walk this year.  Each participating artist is teamed up with a local business on the north shore where their work is on display (and for sale) from July 29 to September 5.  Our jewelry will be at Heather's Fabric Shelf which is a perfect match for us as they already sell our buttons.

Here is a photo of our display featuring our bargello style pieces which we felt fit in with all the gorgeous and colorful quilting fabric.

This is one of the new sets on display in a Pantone summer color combination of Coral Rose, Beeswax and  Peapod.

Tooled Leather Look Cabinet Knobs

We received a unique custom order request the other day.  This customer had purchased some gorgeous knobs for their kitchen cabinets that were made from a resin-like material but had a tooled leather look.  Unfortunately these knobs kept breaking and they could not purchase any more as they were discontinued.  They really loved the design and if you saw their house, you would understand why as everything was decorated with a real country western flair.  A friend of theirs had seen our work at the Cowboy Festival last March and told them about us.  They sent us a broken knob and asked if we could possibly match them to replace the broken missing ones.

This was a big challenge with several details to work out such as making a good moulded impression of the original piece, mixing the right clay base color as well as the paint for staining.  After several attempts, I finally ended up with a replica that looked almost exactly like the original.  (Can you tell which one it is?)

Here you can see them on their cabinet drawers in their gorgeous country style kitchen --

They said I could share some photos of their beautiful home with you.  Every light fixture is totally unique.

Everything was so tastefully decorated with a country western style right down to the saddle barstools...

One of the most gorgeous pieces in their home was the bathtub!  It is made from copper and was imported from Mexico.  Dave says it is the kind of tub you need a life jacket if you don't know how to swim!

We are happy we had the opportunity to work on such a project for this beautiful home and meet some very beautiful people who live there as well!

Blog Debris - Finding a Name

We were looking for a name for our colorful stacking type buttons for children's clothing and decided on Rainbow Garden.

I wanted each of the colors to be of items you would find in a garden so I discovered if you google the name of a color and type in the words "color _____" and fill in the color (example: color yellow) you will find all sorts of information about that color along with several links to a wide range of possible names.  It was a lot of fun and I discovered some cool colors and inspiration in the process.

Where do you find names for your work?

2011 Western Canada Summer Games - Nightly Arts Festival

This August, Kamloops will be hosting the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games and we are excited to be a part of this great event!  The Kamloops Art Council is heading up a Nightly Arts Festival which will take place at the Heritage House at Riverside Park each evening (August 6-13) from 4:00 to 8:00 pm.

As a member of the Kamloops Art Council, a selection of our jewelry will be for sale at the Heritage House.  Both Dave and I will be there helping out on the Sunday (7th) evening so if you are in the area, please stop in to say hi.  I will be demoing (weather permitting) my millefiori canes and bead making that same evening from 6:00-8:00 pm.

New Rings For Summer

Other than wearing my wedding band, I've never been one to wear fancy type rings until now.  Since I'm the type that everything in my wardrobe has to coordinate I discovered adding a ring as an accent piece can be  more fun.

These rings went out to the Shuswap Festival of the Arts gift shop this week.  We filled an hors d'oeuvre dish with some glittery silver sand and the rings fit nice.

Here are some new designs for the summer.  The top two are made using my sculpted flowers technique.  The bottom two were using left over blends from our Bargello series and have Swarovski crystals embedded in the centers.

Fiesta Buttons

Here are some new fiesta style buttons that match the fiesta shawl pins.  These ones are gigantic size and measure 2" across which will go great on a large quilted bag or jacket.