Moved!

Well, I made a change.  I moved this blog and the Crafting English Prof over to Blogger, and combined them.  Makes life much easier.  Go check it out! http://definitivedesignsbyrwilson.blogspot.com/

See you there!

RLW

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There’s a new Facebook page in town!! :)

Yup! Yup, there is! And it’s cool!  Last weekend, I started a Facebook page to help promote Definitive Designs.  I thought long and hard about it, and decided the time was right (see, I’m still a very small business-y thing, so I thought if I started it now, it’d be there when I really needed it!)

You can find it here.  This is just a place to post info about shop happenings and the blog, and to hopefully keep my confusing life a bit more organized!

Thanks!

R. Wilson

Biggish day for lil’ ol’ me!!!

So, last week, as I begged my boss and all the office ladies to vote for my Art with Heart piece (which they did!  So, yay!!!) they also asked to see what else I made.  So, today, or I guess, yesterday now, I took all my work in so they could see.  And guess what!  I sold a pair of earrings, and have orders for five, (yes, FIVE) African Helix bracelets. YAY!!!!!!!

I know it’s not much, but it makes me happy! 🙂  And now, I get to play on Artbeads and buy some new seeds and druks. Whoo-hoo!!!!!

I also ordered the kit for Art with Heart Cycle 3, and I cannot WAIT to get that sucker!  Here’s a link; check out those colours. How gorgeous are those!  And that focal!  I’m tempted to get a few of those just to have on hand. I can feel a fabulous piece in the offing!

Well, that’s it for my quick update.  Look for some new pieces in the shop in a few days, and have a great weekend!

R.Wilson

What’s been happenin’?

Well, I haven’t done much specifically jewelry-related lately, but I have been playing.  I’ve decoupaged a table and a box, my iPhone’s case (twice, actually) and I made a whole bunch of cards.  Plus, you know, there’s that pesky “real job” business that I’ve been trying to take care of.  And, speaking of that, I just got another class!  woot!

So, what’s in store for Definitive Designs?  Well, I have this multi-chain earring idea stuck in my head, and I’m dying to try some steampunk-y stuff… And, I want to try making frames for some of my work, so they can be displayed on the wall. It’s something I’ve been pondering for ages for the pieces I have in my own collection, and Melody, over at Brave Girls Club blogged on it a few days ago. So I’m feeling inspired!

I also joined Creating the Hive, and have been very much enjoying getting to know people over there. And thanks to all of your help, I won the Viewer’s Choice portion of Beads-n-Blessings’ Art with Heart Contest.  So, you know, go me! (and you!!) Cycle 3 of that contest will be starting soon, and I’m very much looking forward to working with that kit, as well.

So, that’s just a quick update for you!  Hope you’re all well!

R.Wilson

VOTE VOTE VOTE! Please?

Art with Heart Cycle 2 is finished, and the pieces are posted!  Mine is a very cool watch (it has a magnetic clasp–awesomeness!!!!) I call it “No time to be Blue” and I love love LOVE the dangly bits!

Here’s some pics:

So here’s the link to vote, and my piece is #12.  I had a great time making the piece, especially because I had to ponder for so long before I got inspiration on this one!

So go vote!  Please? Pretty please? With, like, cherries on top and stuff? LOL!

Thanks!

Rana

Rustic Sunrise

I found a name for it!!!!!  I have to say, next to pricing, naming is one of my biggest problems.

So, a few days ago I blogged about ripping stuff apart, and included some pics of the bracelet I had made from said stuff I had ripped apart… Well, I kept looking at that bracelet and just couldn’t leave well enough alone, so now I have an entire jewelry set made from that old belt.  God, I love my work…. LOL! Anyway, here’s pics:

The complete set--earrings, necklace, and bracelet

The necklace

The bracelet...

The earrings

I love this set.  Not sure what I’m going to do with it.  But I wanted to share. Enjoy!

R.Wilson

Recycled junk mail!!!!

So, you know that annoying junk mail you get every Tuesday? Yeah, I hate that… Most of it I dump directly from my mailbox into the recycle bin.  But every once in a while a piece makes it into the house.  oops…

Anyways, I opened one of these annoying pieces the other day, cuz I thought, “hey, why not?”  It was a visa offer (like I need another credit card…) but you know how you can get those pretty cards now? Yeah, it was one of those.  The pictures were all Zodiac signs… very cool. So I put the insert in my craft-stash to ponder later.  That was two days ago…

Three days ago I made a few poly-clay pendants, thinking that I would Mod Podge some pics of my niece and nephews onto them, for gifts, if they turned out okay. Unfortunately, none of the pics I have printed would work at all well for that, and I’ve run out of ink (boo…). Then yesterday, I remembered the pics from that Visa offer.

So I started pondering, and made this:

Zodiacs

Here’s the back:

Swirlies!

So here’s what I did: After pondering the 12 designs offered up in the mailing, I decided on the Leo, Pisces, and Cancer (right, that’s the crab?) images as the best for this project. And I cut some backgroundy bits from the other pieces to fill in the gaps a bit.   Instead of painting the Mod Podge on each individual piece, like I normally would, I just painted a thinnish layer on the front of the pendant, so that I would have a base to arrange and stick the pieces to. It seemed to work best for this project.  After I had them arranged (actually, I arranged on the dry piece first, then did the Podgey process…) and stuck down to my satisfaction, I painted some Podge overtop.  After that layer dried, I painted another layer, and made sure to seal the edges and back of the pendant as well, so that it’s all nicely shiny… Shiny is good….

This project holds a number of firsts for me.  It’s my first mosaic piece, it’s the first time I’ve mixed polyclay and ANYTHING else, and it’s the first time I’ve used Mod Podge start to finish.  I can honestly say, I was very pleasantly surprised at the workability of the Mod Podge.  See, I usually use Elmers to stick stuff down, and until the tea-tray, I’d not used Mod Podge EVER.  I think I’m in love…

So, what am I going to do with this pendant? No idea.  It doesn’t really match any of the jewelry types I wear, but I’m kinda loving it.  But I’m not sure about the ethics of selling it, either, since I have no idea who the original artist is so I can’t give them credit (and here is the dilemma of being an English teacher and a jewelry designer.  I worry about plagiarism in art… kind of annoying actually!)

Ah, well.  In the meantime, I’m just going to enjoy my craftiness…

R.Wilson