Jamie Noel

I'll Be Back

2009-05-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

No, it isn't Terminator Arnold with the sunglasses saying "I'll be back" as it should be, but how could I resist this Terminator pic with a robotic looking arm that I could have soldered?!

Plus, this pic allows me to add this:

"If you like it then you should have put a ring on it!"

Speaking of rings and jewelry...

After these last few months of craziness, I am finally getting back on my feet with my Etsy shop. Thanks to all for prayers and good wishes while I hermited in my home and took care of family and health and families health.

We have had among other things...severe anemia (me), corneal transplant and newly discovered diabetes (my husband), and a diagnosis which I will keep private out of respect for my 17 year old daughter (which you know is killing me!!!) except to say that while there is no cure for her condition she is now on medication and the road to better health and I diagnosed her symptoms myself! (I love web MD!)

I also did extensive research through google scholar on latest medications and treatments and found cutting edge medication that has shown very good results for adolescent girls with her condition. Our Doc agreed and started her on this med and even asked to keep my little printed out pages of research. My daughter told him "You shouldn't have done that, she's never going to stop bragging about this..." What does she know?! And who needs doctors anyway? Just give me a computer and a prescription pad and I've got it under control! (Note: Not to worry-her condition is not terminal/life threatening and symptoms can be much improved with medication and lifestyle changes.)

Well the point of this ramble is to say that I've missed you all and soon will be back to my old self blogging away at very sporadic and unpredictable intervals and adding new designs to my shop which will of course be previewed here first with giveaways!

So stay tuned...

I Love the City, Part 1

2008-11-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

My husband had a presentation on some waste water sludge pump filter...the largest one in the world...or the United States, maybe it was California...it lifts cakes of dried waste, or maybe it drops them? I know the cake part is correct. I definately remember hearing the word 'cake' and getting very excited until I learned it was a cake of dried waste, which I really don't think should be named after a baked good of any kind. That's just wrong. It's wrong and cruel and decietful and disturbing on so many levels. Oh, I just remembered another phrase about his project: screw conveyor. So if that means anything to any of you, there it is. The largest one in our county, at least. Anyway, as I am sure you have all percieved it really is the most fascinating stuff, the life of an engineer who works in waste water treatment. Well, I'm just as proud as can be about his screw conveyor cake lifter... or dropper. (remember, not 'cake' as in delicous baked treat. Cake as in 'are you seriously telling me that this cake you've been rattling on about for the last 20 minutes is a lump of dried poop and not a treat you picked up for me on your way home tonight from an upscale bakery which comes in one of those adorable 'old school' pink bakery boxes tied with white string and cleverly kept hidden in your car to pull out and surpise me at this very moment?! Are you serious? You do know I'm PMSing don't you? I know you didn't just talk for 20 min. to a PMSing woman about a 'cake' that is- What? What's that? We're going to Chicago?! Honey, you're the best! ) That kind of cake.

So here it is...our lovely trip to Chicago.

My daughter's loved when we walked around with the Chicago tour books in plain sight so much that they had to document it on film. (Yes, this is posed, I was not that bad!!!) They would rather wander for hours and be lost than suffer the shame and humiliation of (gasp) looking at a guide book made for just this purpose. I don't know what I was thinking. (Maybe about cake.)

Drinking Chocolate Peanut Butter milkshakes that came with a fortune cookie on top. How adorable and witty is that?!

Yes, my children have marketable skills for the future.

Spending half of my life savings getting my niece a gift at "American Girl Place."

Laur (who didn't pay) found it quite enchanting.

Stepford Dolls!!!

Attending the Midnight showing of High School Musical 3.

Drinking oreo milkshakes at Potbelly Deli. They came with tiny cookies on the straw. How adorable and witty is that?!

Visiting University of Chicago. There's the beloved tour books again!

Taylor getting some free counseling from Bob Newhart.

Giving Bob a piece of my mind after he blamed all Tay's issues on me. (It's always the mother...)

We found some local children to frolic in the park with.

Until one little boy started crying...

And Taylor mocked him.
Back to Bob's counseling couch for her.

Well, trust me, there was much more, but I must get back 'in studio' and solder like the wind. (Ooh, a wind reference in a post all about the 'windy city'! Sometimes I even surprise myself with my clever wit.)

A Birthday For Frances

2008-10-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Taylor, was just invited to a birthday sleepover for a new girl in her class named....Frances! How adorable is that?! And why didn't I think of that name?

Do you remember the children's books about the little badger named Frances who always made up funny songs?

They were my favorite books when I was little and I have proof!

Okay, now pick yourself up off the floor and stop laughing. (You guys are so rude!) Yes, I was a card carrying, bonefied, Grade A, Number One Nerd as a child. (Thank goodness I outgrew it...)

This photo is me at the library after they ran an essay contest called "Libraries Are..." The winning essay was printed on to t shirts and they were sold to raise money for the library.

I practically lived at the library so they naturally used me for a photo advertising the t shirts. (Who can we use for this stupid ad for the library shirts? Hey, there's that little blond girl who doesn't seem to have a home, grab her!)

They had me put on a library t shirt and told me to hold my favorite books. You can't actually tell in the photo, but I am holding all the Frances books!

A brief note about the authenticity of my nerdom:

I actually was not naturally as nerdy as I appear in the photo. I had to ad artificial nerd enhancements. I had forgotten about this little detail until my husband saw this photo yesterday and asked "Why are you wearing glasses in that picture? You don't wear glasses."

He,of course, was not surprised in the least when I explained that I wanted glasses so badly in the third grade (no idea why) that I faked a bad eye test to get them. Direct Husband Quote: "So you were already using your 'I Love Lucy' style plots and tactics at eight years old?" (No comment.)

This childhood among books led to my career as a children's librarian for the last six years. (Before I started my jewelry business.)

Okay, I forgave the first round of laughing at the library photo, but this is just too much. Can you people please try to restrain yourselves for the sake of my fragile self esteem?!

Ahem. As I was saying...Yes, I was a librarian. ( I'm warning you, don't even snicker or this post is over!) Granted I was messy, loud, disorganized, scatterbrained, constantly laughing, never stern, and pretty much hopeless, but I was a librarian none the less. My kids did not learn much about the Dewey Decimal System, but through invented games, ridiculous skits, super involved and complex crafts, rambunctious scavenger hunts, fun prizes, delicious snacks, ...oh yes, and reading,... I did instill in them a passion for books.

I do miss the kids and my co workers, but I'm not so sure they were sorry to see me go. At least I don't think they miss my heaped trash pile of a desk and loud laugh echoing throughout the hallways at the most inappropriate times.

(How was I supposed to know there was an anti drug rally with moving testimonial going on in the gym? What? Well, no one told me the principal had a suspended student and his family meeting with him in his office! Come on now, if you can't whisper a racy joke to a fellow staff member to lighten tension during a long boring board meeting then really, what is the point of even being here?)

Yes, jewelry design was a wise career choice for me. And speaking of jewelry design...

I just had to make a Frances necklace for Frances. I think it turned out pretty cute. Not my usual themes or colors but still very much in my style.

And also very much in my 'style' is the fact that I have no clue if Frances, the girl, even knows who Frances, the adorable children's book badger, is.

I mean, seriously, is this birthday and necklace even really about her?

Dang paparazzi! I told them no more photos of me and my svelte body in my fishnets... I look like a seventeen year old again!

(Hope the above 'model' is at least 18, don't want to be pressed with charges for exploiting a minor!)

The winners! (and the loser...)

2008-10-07T17:36:00.001-07:00

Okay, first off, I'm the loser because of my ridiculously poor computer skills. (Using the word 'skills' very loosely...)

So, needless to say no adorable movie of winners being drawn from 'contest beret'.

Too bad too, because in the movie I look extremely skinny and well put together.

My hair is done, nails freshly manicured, and although you can't actually 'see' it, I smell really good too.

Trust me.

Really good.

Oh well...

But now let's celebrate!!!

The winners are:

Second place.....Suzie S.

Hooray Suzy! Carnival Ring and all it's prestige are on their way to you! I'll inform the J.N.V.C.R.C. of their new member. (A word of warning, don't get too friendly...they love to text message. You'll live to regret it. My advice, remain a bit aloof and stand offish.)

Look Suzy, at the fun activities you are in for! Playing 'Hungry, Hungry, Hippo...Wearing matching clothes...

(Are the rest of you feeling a little better about not winning?)

And now...

First place....

Don't you love the suspense?!

Lana R.!!!!!

3 cheers for Lana!

She had the correct answer!

My newest design is my 'Lady Sawed in Half Earrings' !

See them in this photo?

And this one?

The front side is both halves of the lady. The back is 2 parts of this awesome Thurston the Magician poster.

The earrings go together like puzzle pieces, completing a part of the poster.

I am reading this great Houdini book, so I foresee many more magic designs in my future...

For those who didn't win, never fear! I am going to be releasing many designs over the next few weeks and I am going to do more giveaways.

Here's a hint for my next design:

"Be sure to drink your Ovaltine!"

Any guesses?

(This isn't the contest, just for fun.)

Technical Difficulties! ($%#@&*^%)

2008-10-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Having computer and camera issues...

Contest winners will be announced today, hopefully in a cute little film of my youngest (and most animated) daughter drawing the names out of the 'contest beret'.

Thank you for your continued patience.

My First Contest!!!

2008-10-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here it is folks...

The first Jamie Noel Contest Giveaway Extravaganza ever!!!

(This tiny photo is supposed to be the grand parade celebrating my contest.) Impressive, I know...

The prizes are: One million dollars!

No, Dr. Evil, it is not one million dollars!(What a jerk, he is always crashing my blog...)

It is even better! (not really, but let's pretend.)

First Prize is: My new jewelry design!

Yes, it's true.

And Second Prize is:

This adorable vintage carnival prize ring!

It is circa 1950's and is marked "Japan".(It's adjustable.)I found a small lot of them and bought them all!

And as I have only given this ring to 4 other people, my two girls and my two nieces, you will become a member of the very elite Jamie Noel Vintage Carnival Prize Ring Club.

Just take a look at your fellow J.N.V.P.R.C. members:

Yes, instant cool status will be yours indeed.

So how can you win one of these awesome prizes?

And wait, what is my new design?

Ha, ha, my friend, you have fallen right into my trap.

That is the contest.

("What ?! I don't get it?!")

Calm down , let me explain.

Somewhere in my last post ("Prizes! Prizes!") is my new jewelry design. You will have to look at the photos to find it. You may also have to peek at my shop to see what my current designs are. (Hee,Hee..sneaky me!)

When you have the answer then post it in a comment. (If I have done this correctly, the comments on this post will be hidden.) (That's a big 'if'.)

Update: Change of plans. E mail your answer to me at:

jamienoel@live.com

Correct entries will be put into the 'contest berret' and two will be randomly drawn. I will film and post the drawing to verify authenticity and to create a sense of drama and unbearable suspense.

Contest will be open until Sunday night at midnight.

Winners will be announced Monday morning.

(Be sure to check back Monday because if it's you, then I will need contact info. )

Okay, on your mark, get set, ................GO!

Prizes! Prizes!

2008-10-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Head’s up:
I am going to have a contest on my next post (Friday, Oct. 3) where you can win one of two fabulous prizes! Go tell your friends and neighbors! (Prizes are not those pictured, that is just a festive prizish looking corner of my studio.)

Stop!!!
Don’t go yet…

Don’t you want to read today’s post?
I promise, it’ll be fun.

Let’s start by playing a game.

See if you can fill in the blank on the following sentence:

Once again, my home is a house of ____________.

Go ahead, try to guess the answer by filling in the blank.

I'm waiting...

Come on! Didn’t you people ever watch The Match Game?

This is where you guess answers like: ‘ill repute’ or ‘cards’
Or anything else that would go with “house of____” . (funky seventies music playing)
If you work ‘whoopie’ into your answer give yourself 5 bonus points! (Charles Nelson Riley's laughter can be heard in the background)

Okay, here’s the answer: sickos

No, ‘house of sickos’ is not the most popular catch phrase, but it’s what we are.

My girls are both sick with bad colds. Everyone is miserable except the dogs.

As you can see, Chewy the Very Rude Dachshund is just happy as a clam to have an all day sleeping buddy. (We love him, but he really is quite rude.)

The good news is that without driving 4 hours each day back and forth to school I have been quite productive.

I am going to now blow your socks off with what I have done.
Warning: Shocking photos below! No, those aren’t the shocking pictures!

These are:

Did you faint? Scream? Think that H-E- Double Hockey Sticks just froze over?! (It may have.)

Yes, I have been organizing my ‘studio’.

What brought on this flurry of organization you ask? Did my husband begging while down on bended knee finally do the trick?

No, this was prompted by one of my trademarked impulsive inspirations. You see, I found this adorable old store rack in an antique store for only $40! In the shop it was black and wire and dirty, but all I could see were neat organized shelves and vintage candy wrappers... (harp music begins to play)
So, I’m very proud of my messy little self and plan to continue this organizing through the rest of my ‘studio’ and home. Let’s just hope this world has enough adorable antique storage containers to keep me engaged until completion.

And with my supplies organized I have been able to work much more efficiently and not spend 2 hours each day looking for things. (Who took my bone folder?!!)

As evidenced by these photos...

Works in progress:

Completed orders, boxed and ready to pack:

And finally, packaged orders ready to ship:

So I hope you are all inspired by my herculean effort at (gulp)… cleaning. I’m getting a little more comfortable saying the “c’ word.

Ooops, 'c-word' could be taken in a different way...

But only if you have a dirty mind so shame on you!

(I see I’ll just have to make my next stop there on my cleaning pilgrimage!)

Remember: Contest on Friday! Real live prizes!

The Jack O'Lantern King!

2008-09-20T02:16:00.000-07:00

Drum roll please...

I am about to show you my newest design, which I am extremely proud of. But before I do I have to give you some of my usual background story ramblings.

Admit it, if I just said, “here is my new design, blah, blah, blah…” and posted the pictures you would all think (with good reason) that I was an impostor and the real me had been abducted by aliens. (Hopefully they’re treating me well… and not ‘probing’ me… what’s up with aliens and all the ‘probing’?)

Never fear, it is me and here is my rambling…

In the retail world Christmas begins in July and Halloween in …May? June? I’m not sure, but it’s long before Fall is in the air. Now that I am a full time retail type girl with my own little on line shop (this would be the perfect place to put a shop link, but I’m too lazy) I must now start thinking far ahead of the upcoming holidays and seasons and plan my designs accordingly.

But here’s the thing.

I don’t work like that.

I cannot find the inspiration within me to design a toy workshop necklace in July or a haunted mansion brooch in June.

In July I want to drink Arnold Palmer’s (50 percent lemonade, 50 percent ice tea, 100 percent delicious) and light sparklers and snakes. (Snakes: Greatest firework of all time. A little black tablet that smokes profusely and unfurls into a long snakey ash. Definition courtesy of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.) (Yes, it is...look it up if you don’t believe me.)

(You didn’t look it up did you? You’re too lazy to look it up and challenge me so by default you will have to take me at my word.)

(Okay, I cannot lie… the guilt is too much. That is my own loose paraphrase of the snake firework definition in Webster’s.)

( I feel so much better! Confession really is good for the soul.)

Once again my ADD mind has taken us off course onto a long winding side street, but lucky for us all I have taken my medication today and can easily find my way back.

But before we do that let’s just go down this little alley… I used the term ‘50 percent’ in my Arnold Palmer definition instead of the word ‘half’, which I would normally say because if I used the word ‘half’ I couldn’t have used that hilarious line ‘one hundred percent delicious.’ Just didn’t want anyone to think I was a weirdo that uses creepy analytical type terms like ‘50 percent’ very much in the manner of a talking robot instead of normal words like ‘half’. (Because I’m sure if any of you had the mistaken idea that I am weird, that was what clued you in, didn’t it.)

Now back to the main highway.

So in order to get myself into a Halloween frame of mind so I could design some Halloween pieces before Oct.31 I looked at some old photos of my girl’s in Halloweens past. Join me on this little trip down memory lane… (Get it? Memory lane fits in with my whole driving/ highway analogy I have going on here.) ( Pretty clever.) Here we have Mother Nature and a Starbucks barista.

A close up of mother nature's hair.

Last year we were apparently all in a board game frame of mind:

Ms. Monopoly!

Yes, we made that up, but isn't she cute? Oh, by the way, she decided this costume,(which I completely hand painted), wasn't comfortable and changed into a store bought witch dress. After much arguing,begging, bribing, and tears (mine) she still wouldn't wear it. I gave up, but did inform her that should I decided to murder her and at my murder trial showed these photos, if there was even one single mom on the jury I would be acquitted on all counts. (She is sadly immune to my threats.)And although I did not commit murder that night apparently Miss Peacock did ...in the conservatory, with my very nice large silver candlestick, which I just realized at this very moment that I have not seen since that night. Aaaaghhh!

I may be a mom that occasionally forgets to pick my girls up from school and to date has never had them finish a complete course of antibiotics, (yes, I know this creates super bugs, I’m sorry!), but they have always had creative homemade Halloween costumes and witty baked treats to take to holiday parties. Let’s hope they remember that when it’s time to put mommy in a home…(the costumes and cupcakes that is, not the neglect and abandonment.)

And now we have arrived at our destination. (Unless you unbuckled your seat belt a while back and flung yourself out of my speeding car onto the side of the freeway thinking this a better option than continuing on as a virtual captive for my own little Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.) (Sorry, no refunds. –The Management)

If you did do that then too bad for you. The rest of us will now enjoy seeing my new design. (But I sincerely hope you didn’t get hurt flinging your body out of my car onto the shoulder of the road…with asphalt… and gravel…and prickly weeds…that really wasn’t the smartest decision.)

So here is my newest design, the Jack O’Lantern King Locket!

I have wanted to make something that had a door that could open for quite a while. I can dream up all sorts of designs, but if they will actually work is always a concern. Almost every design I have has had at least three prototypes before I work all the bugs out.( I will post photos of my ‘scrap heap’ sometime.)

It’s extremely important to me that my designs not only look good, but are functional and sturdy to stand up over time. I don’t want something adorable, but sort of rickety or unstable.( Yes, I am a self admitted slob and I can on occasion be lazy, but when it comes to my jewelry I am so passionate about my work that it seems to override these traits.)

I am really pleased with how this turned out. If you look at this item in my shop you can read the details, including where these great vintage images came from. It seems I’m in an extremely chatty mood and have written for quite a while. If I tried to add all those details here then I will have the longest post in the history of bloggerdom.

I’m in a benevolent mood, (along with my previously mentioned chatty mood), so I will not dethrone whoever currently holds that title.

Perhaps another day...

An Angel, a Saint, and a Priest…

2008-09-09T16:35:00.000-07:00

No this is not the first line of a bar joke! But it is the theme for my post. Oh, and a Miracle too. The miracle is: I’m alive!

No posts for over a month! What’s up with that you ask? Well, that brings us to the first appearance by the Angel.

Our home was visited by the dark Angel of the FLU. Much crueler than his cousin, the Angel of Death, the Angel of FLU doesn’t actually kill you…but you wish it would. That would be a better fate than non stop throwing up. (or at least it seems like it at the time.)

And unlike the Angel of Death who strikes the firstborn, the Flu Angel pays no heed to birth order and even struck me, the lowly neglected middle child. Woo Hoo! Middle kids rule! And now for the Saint:

A moment of reverent silence for Jan Brady, patron saint of middle children across the globe. Amen.

My husband, the baby of his family, lived up to his birthright and was a complete baby when it was his turn. My oldest daughter got it first, which seems fitting. Those trailblazing firstborn!

So what to do when one’s home is ravaged for weeks with the flu? Why watch TV of course! With so much tv time I became hooked on the HBO series, Carnivale. I ordered it through Netflix and impatiently waited by the mailbox each day for the next disc.

Warning: This show is not for the faint of heart. It has a supernatural creepy element to it and one of the freakiest villains ever… Brother Justin!

Did you notice he’s a priest? See, I keep my word!

Carnivale is about a traveling carnival set in the depression era. It is visually stunning for those kindred spirits who like retro clothing and the carnival/circus theme.

And guess what? My niece Josie, who used to take circus classes, met the girls who play the acrobatic Siamese twins. (Look for them in their adorable vintage pink top and brown ruffled shorts in the opening credits.) And guess what else? They knew her name! Josie knows this because one day while at a circus festival in Montreal they walked by and said “Hi Josie”. (The preceding facts have been unverified, but are simply reported as told by Josie.) And in good conscience I cannot get you started on this series without letting you know up front that the show was canceled. It does not end wrapping things up and I about died! Apparently many others felt the same way because there are on line petitions and entire sites dedicated to bringing back Carnivale. It was canceled a while back however, so don’t hold your breath.

So now that my home is back to health, my girls are back in school, and my orders are almost caught up, I pledge to never again go a month without posting to my blog! I swear on Jan Brady. (Amen.)

Musee Mecanique...The Conclusion.

2008-07-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

My last post about this awesome museum. Because I have been so 'relaxed' about posting, it seems to have dragged on a bit. (But I promise this last Musee post is good!)

This goes under the "What the @#$%*&?!" category. (Fill in your favorite curse word or substitution. I personally don't curse so my version says: What the H E double hockey sticks?!)

Apparently executions back in the penny arcade day were considered great fun for all. There were numerous machines where the theme was an execution. The only difference was the country and style of execution. (French Execution=Guillotine, EnglishExecution=Hanging,etc. )

The other unusual , but popular theme was drugs and drinking!

And now to wrap up this riveting expose, the cute film my daughter made!

What's up my sleeve...

2008-07-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break from my Musee Mecanique trilogy to show you what I've been up too. (Okay, you caught me...the real reason is my daughter is asleep and I have no idea how to upload her movie. Damn teenagers and their superior computer skills!)

First what I have not been up to:

Yes, you guessed it: cleaning!

These humiliating photos are of my work table or as I like to call it "Jamie Noel Studios" and my coffee table. My poor husband. This is so distressing to him! I am posting these photos in an attempt to shame myself publicly to the point that I will actually clean this mess up. (I'll keep you updated on the progress.)

The good news is when my house looks like this it means I am in a creative whirlwind. This is when I have a new design idea in my head and I can't do anything else until it is a reality. Correction: I can still do the fun stuff like eat and watch tv, just not the things that will hamper my creative streak. (i.e. clean house, exercise)

I am still having a love affair with these old circus images from my poster collection. I thought these ones looked like they would be plastered on the box cars of a circus train:

So of course I must now create a circus train to plaster them on. (See why I love creating designs?! It's like a little universe I can dictate. I love this...let there be more! I do not like that...you are banished forever! Mwah ha ha!)
So here are the box cars in progress:

The backside is the ad and on the inside I plan to create little scenes of the animals from the ad. (So there is a polar bear car, lion car, etc.) The front side will have bars like a zoo cage and I think they will need wheels. Of course they will need wheels. Wheels that really spin. That would mean little axles... well there goes my whole day!

I'm not sure if these will be chained together in a necklace or a bracelet? Any thoughts?

Musee Mecanique Part 2:The Fortune Tellers

2008-07-15T01:19:00.000-07:00

As promised here is the second installment of my trip to the Musee Mecanique in San Francisco Ca. Coin operated fortune tellers have always been a popular feature at penny arcades. There is something truly unique about these machines that seems to capture the imagination.

The earliest fortune teller, Verbille, was made by the Mills Novelty Company. Verbille was a gypsy in the back of her wagon and had a phonograph player inside that would speak your fortune.

In the 1930's fortune tellers had motion; breathing, eyes moving, hand waving, head nodding, etc. They also vended a card with your fortune.

An extremely popular theme was a grandmother fortune teller. There were many variations including: Gypsy Grandma, Grandmother Predicts, Ask Grandma, and Horoscope Grandma.

My grandma made great hot chocolate and complained about assorted health problems, (real and imagined). I don't seem to remember her ever stopping mid sentence to go into a psychic trance or having premonitions of any sort, but then again I was probably too busy drinking my hot chocolate to notice. (It's chocolate for crying out loud. Don't even try to tell me that you've never been so caught up in trying to retrieve a piece of Dove dark chocolate, which you ingeniously hid in an air vent for just such a PMS emergency, that you accidentally caught a potholder on fire, set off the smoke alarm, and burned dinner. Yeah, feeling a little humbled now aren't you? I told my husband this happens to all women. I told him! He seemed to be under the illusion that these 'crazy situations' (his words, not mine) are exclusive to me and Lucille Ball. )

And now back to our regularly scheduled program:The Musee Mecanique had fortune tellers that dispensed cards, read your palm, and my daughter Taylor's personal favorite, The Zodi, which was an old fashioned type writer that typed your fortune as you watched, cut the paper, and shot it, (with amazing force!), out the side of the machine.

I have always loved these old fortune teller machines. They are obviously the inspiration for my Zoltar necklace. I suspect I'm not alone in this fascination as Zoltar has consistently been my most popular piece out of all my designs. (A close second is my Your Fortune Teller necklace.)

I wonder if these fortune teller machines could warn me of coming mishaps like potholders catching fire...

Actually, my 'womanly cycle' documented on a calender would probably do the trick.

Coming Next: The final installment of this spell binding trilogy... really weird machines.

And an adorable little film by my daughter, Lauren, of the Musee Mecanique. No kidding, it's really cute. Yes, I know I'm her mom, but I'm telling you it's cute. Not 'cute' as in the "of course you're attractive honey" sense of cute that all moms must abide to. We're talking honest to goodness cute as in 'this is a film made by my daughter' and yes, in a totally unrelated and independent way, 'this film is in fact cute'.

I'm telling you it's cute.

The Musee Mecanique!!!

2008-07-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry for all the obnoxious exclamation marks, but I'm so excited about this post! (last one, I promise.)

I have been wanting to visit The Musee Mecanique for about a year now and I finally went on 4th of July.

The Musee Mecanique is a 'museum' of one of the largest private collections of restored and working penny arcade machines and other 'mechanical wonders' in San Francisco, Ca.

I say 'museum' because it is basically a big arcade you walk into (free-no admission) and can play on all these old machines. I must admit, if they were mine you would have to be screened, drug tested, racially profiled, finger printed, etc. before I would let you near my old machines. Then it would be just to look at them or perhaps a very trustworthy docent would put a coin in and show you how it worked.

Well, lucky for everyone, they are not mine, they are the private collection of the Zelinsky family. Edward Zelinksy started the collection and after his death his son Daniel, who shared his passion, now owns and up keeps the machines.

I took so many great pics and have so much to share that I will cover the Musee Mecanique over a couple of posts.

The most popular character you will find here is "Laffing Sal".

Laffing Sal is a six foot high paper mache automated lady that was made by the Philidelphia Tobggan Co. in the 1930's. She was used to draw crowds outside of fun houses and boardwalks. She laughs a high cackling laugh, shakes her body, and waves her arms.

Some people find her very creepy and others love her. I am quite fond of Sal, but my daughters both find her creepy. In the photo at the top of this post you can see my youngest daughter plugging her ears and closing her eyes as we walk into the entrance painted like Laffing Sal's head.

Another very popular machine is the wrestling machine which you may recognize from the first Princess Diary movie. Mia and her grandmother play this machine which is actually a scene filmed at the collections old home, in the bottom of the historic Cliff House.

(It was a hard battle, but I won.)

The new home for the Musee Mecanique is at Pier 45 in Fisherman's Wharf. It is definitely a great place to visit.

My next post will feature :

the fortune tellers! (one last exclamation mark is not gonna kill you.)

Pomp and Circumstance

2008-06-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

It's been graduation season around my neck of the woods!

First we had high school graduation for the k-12 school I work at and my older daughter, Laur, attends. (actually it is past tense, 'worked at' as I am now a full time jewelry designer! woo hoo!)

Laur found the greatest dress on line and asked me to design a headband for her to wear with it. It turned out really cute and as a result I now have my first hair accessory in my shop!

Next we had my niece Sadie's high school graduation.

Sadie is now off to Europe to travel so we gave her cold hard cash. It was about $1,000,000,000 if I remember correctly. (She better send a thank you note.)

My nieces LOVE my jewelry so I always give them a piece for gift giving occasions. Okay, they actually have never said they LOVE it or LIKE it ,but they always smile politely and say thank you. (Look, some crazy aunts give underwear or collectible cat figurines, so they should just count their lucky stars!)

So I gave Sadie one of my "Your Fortune Teller" necklaces so she can now plan out her future by seeing what her future husband's occupation will be and how many children she will have.

The girls were having a good time playing with it. At one point my niece, Jo, yelled out "Who has the husband machine?"

Well, that certainly got the wheels in my head turning. My soldering iron is preheating as we speak...

Circus Mix Up Necklace

2008-06-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

Pictured: Fortune Teller Necklace

A common reaction I get when people see my jewelry is :

"You made that? How did you do it?"

Most people are satisfied with : "I soldered it."

However, some really ask a lot of questions about the soldering process, how the pictures get inside, how long does one piece take, etc.

With this in mind I took photos of my latest project from beginning to end. Here is a little 'photo essay' of my latest project, the Circus Mix Up Necklace.

Once I have thought up a new design I make templates out of cardboard and graph paper. I use these patterns to cut out the pieces each time I will make this necklace. I usually make at least three templates before I have a design and size I am happy with. Sometimes I make the entire project three times before I work all the bugs out.

Next I build a frame. For the circus mix up this is a cube divided into four compartments. I need two of these cubes for each necklace.

Next I find the images I want to use. In this case they are images from vintage circus posters. I scan them into my computer, scale them to the size I want, print them out, and then cut them out using an exacto knife. Cutting them is a slow painstaking process!

Next I coat the images with a protective glaze and add foam squares on the back so the images will be raised in the box, not laying flat.

Once all the images are glued into their compartment it's time to cut the glass. For these cubes I need four tiny panes for each cube. Once the glass is cut I have to clean each piece thoroughly and then use tweezers to place them on the cube so I don't get fingerprints on them.

Now it's time for the copper tape. Anywhere I put this tape my silver solder will stick. If i run my soldering iron over the glass and copper tape it will only adhere to the tape, not the glass. For these cubes I have to cut pieces for the top, bottom, and every single edge. 14 pieces for each cube! I use a bone folder to burnish the tape. (That means to press it down and make it smooth so there are no wrinkles or air bubbles.) A bone folder is the off white tool in the upper right corner of the photo. It's great for folding and creasing paper and I love saying the name bone folder. I often yell out "Who took my bone folder?!" to my kids even when it's not missing just so I can say 'bone folder'. Bone folder. Okay, I'll stop now.

Finally time to solder. I brush flux paste onto the copper tape and then solder away. I usually solder a couple pieces during each soldering session because I have long wait periods. When I solder a side it heats the glass and I get condensation inside the cube. I have to wait for it to cool down and the moisture drops on the underside of the glass to dry up before I can do another side.

Next I make a twisted wire hanger or add whatever findings I am using. For this necklace that is a sterling silver headpin and two filigree bead caps.

Not done yet. The final step is to clean the piece. This is a lengthy process and I now know why rich people hire servants to polish their silver. I can literally sit and polish one piece for an hour and still think it needs more. My goal is to grow my business big enough that I can have my own butler to polish my pieces for me. I don't care if all my profit goes to pay his salary. It would be worth it. Of course he would wear a butler suit and have an english accent and name like Nevel.

Okay ready to see the finished product? Click here to see the completed necklace in my shop!

Lions and Tigers and Bears...oh my!

2008-06-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

I have a collection of really old circus images and I am so excited about the great new projects they are inspiring.

I am going to be adding these new pieces to my shop over the next week or so.

The first one I've just completed are my Lion Tamer Earrings.

I only have one pair of earrings in my collection so far, (my trapeze artist earrings) so I thought it was time to add some more.

The most impressive thing about this entire project is that I took the photo of the earrings in my ear myself! My usual models, my daughter and her friends, are too busy with the last week of school festivities to help me out... Where are their priorities?!

My New Super Hero

2008-06-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

I have always been a huge Wonder Woman fan.

When my sister and I were little we used to cut up sections of a paper towel roll and cover them with tin foil to make our own bullet repelling Wonder Woman bracelets. (Stop laughing! We were poor latchkey kids!)

Last night I went with my husband to see Iron Man and I now have a new super hero in my life. Okay, the movie wasn't that great... but he made his iron man suit using a soldering iron! It looked just like mine!

I kept nudging My husband and saying 'did you see that'?

He was trying to watch the movie and ignoring me till I finally leaned over and whispered, "I think I'll build one of those suits tonight." He started laughing and we both almost had tears coming out of our eyes as we tried to muffle our laughter in the theater.

What made it so funny is we both knew if he walked out one morning and saw me looking a wreck after staying up all night building my own homemade soldered iron man costume, he wouldn't bat an eyelash. He'd probably glance over while pouring his coffee and say, "Can you please make sure this mess is cleaned up before I get home tonight?"

Taking the Plunge!

2008-05-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here it is...my Big Announcement:
(No, I'm not pregnant! Bite your tongue.)

Drumroll please...

Starting June 9 I am going to pursue my jewelry business full time.

Ta da! (I'll now wait for the cheers to die down before I continue.)

Thank you, thank you.

Okay now, please, you're embarrassing me!

Why, you may ask, am I making this decision?

Here are my reasons in an organized little list:

1. Time
Up until now I have been fitting my business in between working part time at an elementary school and going to school to earn my teaching credential. (and a few other things like my children, husband, cooking, laundry, sleep...)
Needless to say it has been stressful and frustrating with late nights and never enough time.

2. Passion
I truly love designing and creating my jewelry. I go to bed thinking about it and wake up excited to begin new projects. I have notebooks filled with designs I want to create. I feel this is my true calling and I believe this really is my talent. (as opposed to housecleaning which is glaringly obviously not my talent...)

3. Income
Let's be honest, as sad as this fact is, even if my business were not to thrive and grow by leaps and bounds, it is still a better source of income than a teachers salary.
Poor underpaid and under appreciated teachers.
(Thank your child's teacher today! Bring them a Starbucks drink! Write them a nice note!)

So there it is. My top 3 reasons.

Wish me luck, tell your friends, and sit back and enjoy the show. You can watch me soar and succeed or crash and burn all from the comfort of your home. It's like a trashy new reality show without the commercials! And Lord knows the world needs yet another new reality show...

It's here!

2008-05-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

I've been checking my mailbox everday for the May/June issue of Mary Englebright's Home Companion magazine because my Etsy ad is in it! It finally came Saturday and my Bathing Beauty Cabana Necklace was right there in the ad on page 5.

I got a great spot, right on top next to the Etsy logo.

The only downside is there is no description and a big part of the appeal of my jewelry is that it can move.

I want it to say:

Pull the sterling silver knob and watch the vintage bathing beauty come out of her beach cabana!

Oh well, hopefully a picture really is worth a thousand words. It's still just very exciting to be in a 'big time' publication.

A Studio for the Imagination

2008-04-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

Castle in the Air is my favorite store in the entire world.

It is located on Fourth St. in Berkeley, Ca. (Fourth St. is an awesome shopping area with a ton of great little unique shops and restaurants.)

It's hard to categorize exactly what they sell, but then that's half the fun. You never know what you will find at Castles.

Some of my past purchase from Castles:

German glass glitter
a hand (yes, a hand!)
dresden paper moons
red and white polka dot mushrooms
a postcard of the 1948 Donut Queen

No, the Donut Queen does not look like she's eaten many donuts in her life. I demand she be dethroned immediately.

How I spend my days. (Besides single handedly running a succesful jewelry empire)

2008-04-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

My two adorable daughters like to keep me busy.

Maybe they believe this is the best way to keep me out of trouble.

My days are spent driving them around the globe, doing endless mountains of laundry, chasing them out of my closet, my dresser, my purse, my bed?!nagging them to put things away, reminding them to feed the dogs, begging them to clean their rooms...

Somehow, through it all, these frustrating, messy, expensive girls manage to keep me in a constant state of laughter.

Life with them is definately a three ring circus, but truth be told, I wouldn't have it any other way.

(although, a man coming through with a push broom after the show wouldn't be such a bad idea...)