Just a quick note....

Hi again....

WOW! twice in two days....but this is just a quick note...I thought I would show you a few of the beads I am bringing to the show in Philly on some of my felt....which I think I may have incorrectly labeled as nuno felt....it may be just regular felt with fabric on top. I don't care which it is since I like the look and the fun I have making it. But, I don't want to be saying I am making one thing if I am not, so, there you are....

Anyway, I am hoping you will stop by and see some of my new things...here is a photo of two...see you soon, have fun in your studio...Kelly

Well, what's new????

Hi everyone,

I thought I would show you what I have been up to! I was working on my RAW project and was planning on going into the studio the next day too finish my ring when my kitchen pipes decided they had had enough time working at our house....I got a bit stressed when I saw water all over the kitchen floor! Had to shut off the water main and wait for Ed to come home to fix everything....good thing he knows how to do all that! I got a new sink and faucet...yea!!! I hate stainless steel sinks!!! I now have a bigger sink, nice white cast iron, and shepherd's crook faucet...I am so loving it! I didn't care for the water pouring through the studio ceiling and wrecking my ring mandrel and dapping block and various other tools....replaceable, so live and learn. I couldn't go and work in the studio since there was water in the light fixture and we had to let that drain so we wouldn't have problems with the electrical.....so I decided to get going on some new projects for a show in April that I am doing with my good friend, Darlene.

I am trying to continue to work in PMC even though the cost has gone through the roof! So, I have started thinking about making smaller charms and one-sided centerpieces that I could use with bead embroidery. I had also played at Carol's house with her Babylock Embellisher and had some ideas about combining the felt I made with the PMC charms. I have now made three sheets of nuno felt and love the process...I have two pieces drying as I write! I am planning on cutting some of the sheets into pieces big enough to make cell phone purses that customers can pick and choose their fabric, maybe add a charm or two or a centerpiece and then some fabric for the straps. They can add embroidery stitches and some beads and personalize their phone purses. Since I don't a cell phone, I am using mine for business cards, credit cards and keys.... have I am hoping to make some up before the show....(which is the Philly Wire Fest show at Valley Forge Convention Center), I am also making some polymer cabs for bead embroidery and to use on the purses....as soon as I finish one up, I will post a photo. By the way, I will be in the booth next to Twisted Sistah with Darlene of D7 Studios...hope some of you can stop by and say hello. I will be making more felt for the next couple of weeks but I will get back to the rings after the show.

I have saved the good news for last.....I was asked to be one of the jurors for the PMC Annual!!! I was so happy to be asked....Thanks, Tim!! I am in the company of three other people...Celie Fago, my first teacher, Robert Ebendorf and Lorena Angelo. I am excited to see all the photos...I hope I do a good job.

I hope you are all having fun creating....I am going back to the machine....Kelly

the photos are as follows.....the first one is before it was felted and the second photo has been felted and the third photo is the same piece before felting.....I think they will look a bit lighter when they dry and the silk shows up a little better, but I love how soft the colors look!!

New number 10...

Hi everyone,

Well, I am sitting here with my latest ring on typing this out. It was supposed to be a entirely different ring but.....So, to start with, I will tell you what it was supposed to be and how it changed. Originally, it was to have one of my epoxy cones (with red metal flakes) coming up through the copper faceplate. The copper was supposed to be about 1/16th above the silver band, so you could see that the copper faceplate was what was holding the cone in place.

So, then the problems started...first the sterling ring was too big, so that had to be cut down and then when I tried to rivet the faceplate to the sterling band, the faceplate broke after the first one was set. Then the ring didn't have enough tension to hold the cone in and then another piece broke off....finally, I laid it to one side to think over possibilities. So, a month later, this is the result....

I decided I was going to do something with this ring if it killed me....but it didn't! I put on some old world type music and I think that inspired me....I ditched the cone idea (for now) and really looked at the ring. I liked that there was still this space between the sterling band and copper faceplate, so, I looked through some of the PMC pieces that I have (already fired) and found one that was large enough to fill the hole in the faceplate. I was happy that the faceplate was still going to be the part holding the center of interest in place...just not a cone. The disc had a hand imprinted on it and already had two little holes and I was planning on riveting the whole thing in place, so I got some thread out to hold it all together and decided I liked that look better than the rivets. So, I got some pretty turquoise blue silk thread and tied the whole thing up. I wanted the ring to look like it had been broken several times and fixed on the spot rather than being discarded. It was pretty shiny when I was done so I decided that instead of using LOS, I would use paint for the patina. I went over the whole ring and then wiped it down, thread and all!! I then went back and highlighted the thread with a little colored pencil to brighten it up again. I like that it looks dirty. Even with the thread and different edges inside, it is very comfortable to wear.

I have also been trying to design some classes and have been pretty happy with what I have come up with, so we will see how that works out. Some of them may become step by step projects or kits.....so, keep having fun in your studios...and I will too, Kelly