A bit of Spring... Butterfly Lady Beads!

I couldn't resist making more spring themed beads... This week is all about butterfly ladies. I keep dreaming of warmer days while we continue to get crushed with snow, cold, & wind! I'm trying not to whine here -LOL!



I have been a little behind schedule this week.... trying to play catch-up with listings and custom requests this weekend. Hope you have a great weekend and I'll be sure to share the next batch of new creations when they're ready!

What's on the bench this week....

Just a quick peek at some pieces I've been working on. This has been a mixed week of polymer clay and wire wrapping; definitely more wire than clay. I have been drawn to organic pieces and the color purple. I think the purple orchid I got for Valentine's day drew me to purple and the geodes remind me of little snow globes when they sparkle. And we have plenty of snow!!

This week's menu includes:

• natural geode earrings
• ammonite fossil earrings
• Russian Charoite Earrings
• Quartz Crystal Earrings
• Clay Tree Goddess Pendants
• Covellite, Amethyst, Tiffany Stone, & Lavender Phosphosiderite pendants

Happy Valentine's Day 2010!

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day! Be sure to take some time out of your day to pamper yourself, you deserve it!

Look out! My new Steampunk Face Cabs are addictive!

I am officially addicted to steampunk. I have always been captivated by steampunk and gothy things... so I decided to treat myself to a batch of vintage watch parts a couple weeks ago. Once I started playing with them and setting them in my polymer clay faces I was hooked! (still working on wire wrapped ideas too). I became a junkie; I think I sat at my bench for 16 hours without looking up. Well, not 100% true, bathroom and tea breaks were definitely in there somewhere. I had a ball... the next couple days were spent detailing and finishing my new steampunk faces to bring them to life.

Once you start you can't stop! I'm not kidding. I haven't stopped thinking about more ideas since I made the first batch. My brain is going crazy with new ideas-- I need more hours in the day!!

What's steampunk some of you might be wondering? Hmmm ... imagine a science fiction world meets the Victorian era (or steam power era, hence the name). Like a steam powered computer or TV or a Victorian Doll meets Robot.

While in my creative trance I created a bunch of "gear driven" goddess faces... pretty faces with random gears, cogs, and Swarovski Crystals adorning them. Steam powered, pretty ladies, waiting for some lavish Victorian inspired adornment... perhaps some delicate bead weaving, lace, fleur-de-lis, angel wings, brass scrolls, or surgar, spice, and anything nice! I saved a few for me and can't wait to see what you create with the others!

Two Blizzards in five Days... 36 inches of snow in 5 days.... ahhh... Lancaster, PA

Okay... it was kind of fun getting 20 inches of snow Saturday night. But, to get another foot and a half today, it's gotten ridiculous! Times like these when I think... why did I leave Florida? This is the view out our living room door today... another oasis of blowing Snow! Sallie is bewildered and beside herself now.

We are officially in a state of emergency and everything is closed in the area. Needless to say, that includes the post offices. Packages should go out tomorrow, as long as the post office is open. We're crossing our fingers we keep our power and cable/internet... otherwise we'll go completely crazy!

Hope you're staying warm and cozy. We've given up on shoveling... Ollie can poop on the porch today. Actually, anyone can poop on the porch today if they want to, it's one of those kind of days! We'll shovel it up tomorrow!

Shades of Blue Sun & Moon Cameo

Today's feature is a signed celestial sun & moon cameo I created this past week... If I were going to hand you a piece of my creative soul this would be it. I put my heart into everything I make, which is probably why I am so slow when I'm working on things. But, every now and then a piece is just a little extra special... this is that piece. It's like the planets perfectly and the colors, the finishes, and the parts & pieces just united and came to life perfectly.

I can't see packing her away in a drawer, she needs to become something even more beautiful! If you decide she is the one for you, just promise you will make something beautiful with her... or if nothing else add a pin back or something simple and and wear her as she is. She needs to be enjoyed!

The heart goddess pictured here is another one of my favorites of the week... she is a large Victorian heart goddess. She's gorgeous... Oh gosh, I have to stop falling in love with these!! I will warn you, they are addictive-- to make and collect.

Now you can Find Scultped Windows on Etsy too!!!!

I know I haven't been online much the last few weeks, but I've been hard at work-- creating and learning some new things. The newest being my etsy store!!! I am so excited to start listing on etsy. I'm a little lost, but a fast learner. I remember how overwhelming ebay was in the beginning... etsy isn't over whelming, it's just a bit different.

I've had my etsy store (sculptedwindows) open for almost a week and it has been fun. I have met many nice people, and the etsy community is so kind and supportive it's real neat. I must thank those that have given me a try on etsy, I appreciate your support, as I had zero etsy feedback.

Opening a shop on etsy is something I have considered for over a year and it finally felt right. It's funny, the day after I decided to try etsy, ebay sent an email announcing more increases in their store fees. Eaby has gotten pretty insane. I do NOT plan on leaving ebay, and I'm not going to rant and whine about the changes they are making. I just want to scale my ebay inventory back some. Carrying an inventory of 600-700+ items on ebay is getting tougher and tougher. I figure I could rent an actual shop in downtown Lancaster, PA for the fees ebay is charging. That's pretty nuts!

Aside from the high fees, ebay is not a very friendly place for artists and smaller sized shops. If you're not an "Anchor Store" or an auction style lister they have made it very tough... and they've made it clear they do not care one bit about me (or you). I was getting a little burnt out with ebay. Etsy is a much warmer, straight forward operation that really caters to artists and crafters. It is going to be a nice addition to my life, much healthier for the soul, I can already tell.

I have lots of goodies to list, mostly clay. I'm not sure why, but I have been into my clay for a few weeks. I'm getting the itch for my wire again, I can feel it coming on! There is a gem show this coming weekend in Philly, I know that will get me revved up to start wrapping again. Be sure to stop by Sculpted Windows on etsy and see some of my new designs!! More are on the way over the next few days!

Etsy Buy Handmade sculptedwindows

We Have Snow up to our Ears!

This is Sallie looking out the front door this morning. She was not expecting to see an oasis of snow drifts. The snow was deeper than she is tall-- easily up over her ears!

Wow! Did we have a snow storm last night! We went from green grass to 20+ inches overnight. Pretty intense! The snow was banked right up against the windows and doors. Sallie loves the snow and Ollie... he went back to bed. I don't blame him; if I was his age (14.5) I would go back to bed too.

We dug our way out and the Amish Bobcat Team showed up to move the snow banks when everyone was finished. Lancaster can be such a strange place sometimes. We're standing outside taking it all in after shoveling, and down the road comes 5 bobcat snow movers with Amish drivers. When you think Lancaster Amish Country, you envision the horse and carriage or sleigh... not a team of Bobcats. Oh well, they did a great job, now the horses can go back to work-- and so can we!!