Getting Grounded into the New Year...Hopefully!

Hatch chiles and me in New Mexico

Merry Ristras!

You know me and my utility covers!

I needed a warning that I might run my ass off during the holidays.

What a whirl it's been.

I got to meet some cool artist types that I admire.

Check out Elizabeth Frank's amazing painted carvings/assemblage pieces with a distinctly southwest flair.

She has an Etsy shop too.

We're looking forward to some play time together one day.

And I got to meet this lovely lady too at her home in Santa Fe.

Yes, chiles were involved as we were treated to a wonderful meal including Bloody Mary's at my request.

You may already know her as Darlicious Rejuvenations  or Darlene of DarliciousHouse on Etsy

I have a heck of a time keeping up with this partner and I'm a little tuckered out with the running and playing we've been doing.

(I've got my son visiting with his new camera and he was trying out some action shots)

I thought this one was wonderfully ridiculous and I'm not jumping very high...notice the hot pack around my neck...kind of lame, literally.

Then we tried some with my camera, that's the most action I could manage but at least I don't look quite so stressed from concentration in this one.

No, this isn't Alaska... this is effin' southern Arizona!

...and it still hasn't totally melted yet.

That there is supposed to be out view of Mexico.

I instagramed it to make it look like someone's nostalgic childhood memory.

Now for the good stuff... I have been utilizing the wonderful Petra's ceramic bits as I have somehow managed to carve out a few hours of time between the visiting and the visitors and too much funnedness of the holidays or else I may go cray-cray.

Those are her elephant skin beads peaking out from under my  torch fired enamel bits.

You prob can't tell but those are some itty bitty headpinny bits of mine. 

lemme know if they are up your alley and I can make some more sets.

So these got me excited... I was actually trying to make them into orbby blobbly lucious fruit-hanging bits  butthe glass started to get away from me and I smashed it down and now they are smashed sideways all button like and I must say I rather like them and they have a multicolored sheen from the Bella Donna frits I've been experimenting with.

Oh, and swoon on this new color for me appropriately called "ghee" with some extra frit sheen

This glass is called peaches and cream and with a little raku frit They serve up quite nicely.

Petra's dangles and coral and acoupla transparent beadcaps.

All they need is some earwires now.

I got the coral in my stocking. See not coal, coRal.

We went to this great hot springs before Christmas because I thought it apropros to have our end of the world celebration in a place called Truth or Consequences. 

what a great soak and stay we had at La Paloma Hot Springs and Spa

I would recommend it highly.

Oh, I kind of wandered there. I saw the coral beads in a little shop in that town and requested them as a stocking stuffer.

These still need some wires as you can see

Dichro sparklies

Bella Donna sheen action

We're staring off shiny this year as you can see.

High-grading my own supplies again. 

NKP beads and some vintage bits

More Petra-iffic components

ScorchedEarthOnEtsy

More NKP beads with my criffles

I finished this one earring, one more to go.

After this we have more visitors (family) and a few days trip to Mexico and then to Maine after that so if I don't get much posted send me calming, peaceful grounded thought and wishes.

My super fun retired life is about to wear me out and I could use a few of those solitary summer days in Alaska again.

I almost forgot to share my new resolution to do more journaling and I collaged 4 pages already.

I think this reflects how busy I've been feeling.

I chose the word "seed" as a journal prompt for the year.

This was a two page spread in silver and gold

Happy New Year to you all!

XOXO, Kim

Glue 'em and Do 'em

It was time for a little playtime and take a break from the torch.

I really had to force myself  and not allow any more business time until I broke out the gluebook and threw together some of my vintage papers. 

Don't look for any hidden meanings in these as I was just warming up my collage brain.

Oh, I do make a mess when I do this.

Still having fun with my vintage Bible Camp craft packages that I got at a thrift store.

I'm kind of a purist using almost 100% vintage images and text.

Let's Celebrate!

( it was my best week on Etsy, it was)

Thanks for that. That circles business is really working for me.

Thanks for keeping that fire lit in my shop.

You guys have really helped me in that respect

I'm sure of it.

If you were fast you might have seen these.

They had wings and flew out of the shop so fast.

The torch fired enamel matchsticks.

I will make more and preview them here next time so you have a chance to see them.

I would like to offer up the chance to have customized colors for you if you wish.

The man has gone and left me for a month to go fishing and so forth back in the midwest.

It's a little isolated here. I only see the postal workers in our little town until I take my weekly trip to  the city to do the farmer's market 100 miles from here.

There is a young man that is living in the Garaj Mahal (my stepson) though I never see him.

Couple of moose out back.

some lawn mowing and gardening and all the time in the world to make things...

but sometimes you just don't feel  like it... especially when it's rainy... or sometimes when it's too nice out  on the other hand.

No Netflix today and the one channel we get, the public TV isn't coming in since the big winds on Sunday.

I talk to you folks, you keep me going.

Thanks.

I mean it.

What I've Been Missing~ Collage and Mail Art

I've been on a very rewarding roll since I returned from our winter India trip.

Lot's of energy and inspiration and a new group of creative designers that I've met through the blogs.

I've kind of missed messing with paper though and since I'm winding up my glass studio in the next week in preparation for the move back north I promised myself some glue time.

I've been saving envelopes for this purpose

I've been hoarding all manner of papers~ saving the best vintage stuff for some real pieces of art  later on down the line.

I would like to extend a sale to all of you wonderful followers and friends that visit my blog.

I'll have an Esty Sale for my new *Criffles* for 20% off till Friday, April 20  

and the first one to order will get them delivered in the envelope above.

Coupon code is   CRIFFMONKEY

NuminosityBeads

Then I'll probably have to take a bit of hiatus in beadmaking until I get settled in up north.

I've got a show within the first week 6 hours from our place down in Anchorage

The Alaska Bead & Gem Show

"Dosnails"

But lately this is what I also have been up to.

They flashed through the shop so fast you may have missed them.

don't worry I'll be making more today

"Studnik"

"Zen Scissor"

hasn't been posted yet.

still attached to it myself.

More Postcards

So I've kind of been on a postcard kick this week. Well, postcards, photographing, blogging and Etsy. Husband has gone to attend to the tiling of our new place so I've had more time to myself to go about my business... which besides studio time means catching up on a marathon of "In Treatment" in the evening and eating foods that he won't touch like eggplant and tempeh and nursing the cold I had.

(For those of you who may be confused...you see we now have a new apartment in Tucson two hours away which was too good of a deal to pass up so now we have a third place besides Alaska and Bisbee. When I say too good a deal to pass up I mean a one bedroom apt with access to a park and downtown and a swimming pool for less than the price of a new Subaru)

Gesso, pastels and scraps

Some more of my intuitive painting paper

 Boy, how I love using vintage diagrams in my collages!

Some more tequila decals. Credit for these stickers goes to artist Dr. Lakra

Time Life books at the thrift store are rife with images

For my own personal use of course... me and my potty mind

Why do group pictures of Chinese and Japanese women keep showing up in my pieces?

I think I need to dig deep into my collective Asian unconscious...err.. I mean subconcious for that answer.

Oh, you know by now how I am about head swapping and vintage lady bodies.

It's a delicious formula, try it sometime!

Uh oh, bad studio practices.. smudging...and not the purification kind.

I am such a hasty worker that everything gets all over everything else.

I know the rest of you artists are orderly and neat in every way...of course you are!