Featured Member on IndiePublic!

Today I am the featured member of the day on Indipublic! This is a great community for all things handmade. Many of the members have shops on Etsy, and all have wonderful handmade goods.

Many thanks to Angie (and everyone else) for the nomination! Please check out Angie (cuteandsweet) on IndiePublic. She has a link to her Etsy store where she sells adorable hair accessories for the younger crowd.

Swarovski Crystal Beveled Glass Ornaments

Just in time for the holidays is my new 2"x2" Beveled Glass Ornament with Swarovski Crystals. Personalized with your photo and up to 3 lines of text, this makes for a truly beautiful keepsake for the holidays.

Your choice of color theme for the Swarovski bicone crystals allows you to create an ornament that will enhance your holiday color theme. Each ornament order includes a color coordinating ribbon so it's ready to hang on your tree.



Also available just in time for the holidays is the smaller 1.5"x1" Beveled Glass Ornament which is also embellished with a Swarovski Crystal. This size may also be created in portrait format. Due to limited supplies, the smaller ornament is available only in the Annie Howes Etsy Store. Hurry, while supplies last!

These are two very good reasons to buy handmade this year!

Etsy Treasury West

Mary Hanks has created this beautiful Etsy treasury in which she kindly included my "Faith" Kanji Japanese paper magnet. I really enjoy viewing these treasuries because I find all kinds of interesting shops with gorgeous handmade items. I particularly enjoy Mary's Flirty Wire Dress Sculpture and if I ever had a treasury, this item would be in it!

Farewell Our Furry Friend

It's with a heavy heart that I pass the news that in the early hours of the morning, Mr. Pigglesworth lost his battle with a respiratory infection. After a week of suffering, he is now resting under the pine trees next to our house. We are all deeply saddened by the loss of our little furry friend. Gentle and kind and a great source of comfort, we are all aching with his absence. We did all we could, but it still wasn't enough.

Sleep on, Mr. Piggs, we love you and miss you.

The Colors of Autumn

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to take this photograph before the onslaught of winds and drenching rains came our way. No doubt after the past two days scarcely a tree will be left with much foliage intact. Certainly not in these rich colors. I'm delighted to have captured this perfectly rich Autumn moment.

All the Pretty Ponies

"We'll send your heart racing" boasts the website of Keeneland Thoroughbred Racing & Sales. They're not kidding. On Sunday we headed out to Lexington for a day at the races and had a wonderful time betting on the horses, mostly fillies & mares, and maidens (young low earners, to the best of my limited racing knowledge). There really isn't much else I've experienced as thrilling as the final stretch of a horse race.

Etsy Treasury

I'm very excited to announce another treasury! Thanks to HempLady4U, my Native American Wedding Prayer pendant has made this gorgeous treasury on Etsy! This piece is offered for sale both on my Annie Howes Keepsakes webstore and in my Etsy webstore! Please take a moment to look at the beautiful items available in this treasury.

Subject: Praying Mantis

In the odd event anyone reading this is a bug aficionado, then please indulge yourselves on these lovely images of a praying mantis. Not taken by yours truly, but taken by my 8 year old daughter who clearly can work the macro feature on the camera better than I. I'm repeatedly delighted by the images she captures. Enjoy!

Moth & Dandelion

Sometimes you just have to hand your camera over to a child. This beautiful photograph was taken by my 8 year old who loves to explore nature all things related to nature. "Mama, I just have to have the camera. You won't believe this!" My child who has a pet praying mantis, who collects moths, captures newts, and is afraid of spiders captured this beauty earlier today. The perspective of a child is endlessly inspiring!

Another Treasury

Obviously, this has been a very exciting week for me on Etsy! Imagine, 2 treasuries in one week. I'm very excited about this treasury specifically because this is the launch of my polymer clay pendants which feature images. These lightweight colorful pendants are completely customizable and can be created in a variety of attractive colors. Thank you Lil922 for including me in your beautiful treasury!

The Etsy Treasury

Etsy is so much fun in so many ways, but nothing beats being in the Treasury. OK, hearing back from a satisfied customer is THE most rewarding thing, but being featured in a Treasury is, well, a nice surprise. Thank you, HelloCrafty, for including me in your treasury!

The FAITH Kanji magnet with Japanese Yuzen papers is a beautiful addition to any decor. Elegant and graceful, who can resist such a beautiful expression?

Cutest Handmade Zip Pouch

I just wanted to share the cutest zip purse I received yesterday from BreeLeeD.etsy.com. In celebration of her first "Etsyversary", Breanna gave away this gorgeous handmade zip pouch and yours truly was the most fortunate recipient. Breanna's store at Etsy is filled with handmade pouches, headbands and such created from a variety of trendy and tasteful fabrics. It's clear from this fabulous pouch that both quality and creativity are important to Breanna and I couldn't be more tickled to have this pouch!

LOVE & HATE

Now listed for sale in my Etsy store! Love & Hate is so much fun I might make more. Don't want to purchase through my Etsy store? Contact me through my online store Annie Howes Keepsakes.

To Love or Hate

This was a fun project to work on. To love or to hate, or to love to hate, who knows which way this pendant will be worn. Collaged papers encased in glass.

Made with LOVE by me in my studio, and I HATE to sell it, but this item will be listed for sale on my Etsy store in the next day or two. 100% lead free.

Reasons I Love Summer...

It's been such an incredibly upside-down summer this year that I haven't had much time for new projects to share here. Fortunately, nature has stepped in for me and has provided many reasons why I love summer so much.

Our new backyard boasts the flowering bush I cannot identify. It's covered with gorgeous white blooms (pictured above). At first I thought it was a type of gardenia, but it doesn't have a scent. Unfortunately for the bush, the Japanese Beetles love this plant.



Also in my flower collection is one of my beloved plumerias, a Dwarf Pink Singapore. She has 3 inflos and this is the first bloom I've had this plant since rooting it 3 years ago. The scent is strong and very much like citrus, and the colors are surprisingly intense.



Another reason to love summer: the storms. We have the perfect vantage point to take in the drama of a proper summertime thunderstorm.

UPDATE: I've since learned the bush is Althea aka Rose of Sharon. It's just gorgeous!

New Pendant Available

It's been awhile since my last post, but it's been a busy several weeks. I've recently added a new product, which is really the 2-sided photo charm only in a larger size. Called the Photo Pendant, this new item measures 1"x1.5" which is a perfect size for either the bookmark option or as a pendant by itself.

What has been so time consuming has been our relocation. We are now located in Campbellsville, KY, and with this move we anticipate an ever growing product line. What fun!

Hebrew Charm

Now available as a 2-sided charm! The same image as shown in the magnet post (the Leningrad Codex) from April 2007 has been sized to 1"x1". The reverse side includes 3 lines of your personalized text. Elegant and beautiful!

L'chayim!

A satisfying moment is when you've spent long hours working in a special project that turns out beautifully. I absolutely love this Hebrew Chai magnet. I love the rich colors. I love how the beveled glass plays with the underlying image. I love the meaning of it: life. What can be more appropriate for this time of year, for Spring, when life in nature is returning than to introduce this celebratory piece? Many thanks to my dad who helped me through this process.

Signs of Spring

I just wanted to share these images of lambs taken at the Fischer farm in West Tisbury. Those of us with children really wished to see the little lambs when they arrived. Some of the lambs were as young as 2 days old! They were terribly cute as you can see from these pictures. They have a bunch of these little guys with more appearing each week. Simply adorable!

Hanging Vase

The hanging vase project is finally finished! This project started with a thrift shop goblet. I'm fairly pleased with the results but am filled with ideas on different methods. I wish I had better photographs, but these will have to do for now. I think once I have several completed I'll photograph them all together. At the rate I make these it should be a bit warmer outside.



This vase could be filled with all kinds of things. A few cut flowers from the garden, seashells, colorful small objects, even dried flowers would look nice in this vase. How about a bit of sand with a votive candle for a bit of romance?

Family Pets & String Dolls

I'm really not sure what anyone else thinks about these Koonin Pets from Kamibashi, but I think they're wonderful. They're a mix of my 2 favorite things: visual texture and animals. "Those are creepy", my husband said looking at my monitor from over my shoulder, but I think they're adorable. They're so expressive!

Just as wonderful and wacky are the handmade String Doll Gang, also from Kamibashi. With names like "Super Piggy" and "Safety Boy", someone clearly has a sense of humor. It's too difficult to pick a favorite, but each one is supposed to help you in some way. Crazy Eyes helps you find things, Lover Boy attracts passion, inspires loyalty, and serves up the love, and Super Piggy might just save the world yet. They're only 2.5" tall, but they seem to be a whole new breed of super hero.

Getting Closer

Not yet ready but getting close, I couldn't wait to share a peek of how these magnets will look with the gorgeous beveled glass. These magnets are going to be solid and the magnetic material strong. No one wants a cheap magnet that keeps slipping down the refrigerator! I plan to have several customizable designs available by mid-April.

In the Works

In production and available soon are these beautiful beveled glass magnets. These are only concepts. Photographs of the actual magnets will be available in the next few days.

I plan to have the magnets available at Annie Howes Keepsakes in the next couple of weeks. Each square magnet measures 2" x 2" and is created with beveled glass. Each will be offered as a variation on an existing theme, with new themes being added continuously. There will also be 1.5" x 1.5" round magnets available for the Alphabet themes. I'm very excited about introducing these magnets. Who doesn't keep a magnet on their refrigerator? Why not make one entirely yours with your own image and your own text?

What's Next

The next project I hope to have completed by next weekend is a hanging vase or votive holder made with stemmed glassware. A little photo documentation goes a long way when describing any of these projects and I've helpfully included those below.

First, I've removed the stem of the glass. Then I rasped the raw edge of the break until it's fairly smooth and even. It's nice to have a Dremel tool on hand to really smooth it out and remove any remaining glass burs.

I then wrapped the lip of the glass with copper foil tape and applied the solder.


Next, at the base of the glass, I wrapped the portion I plan to solder with copper foil tape. I then applied the solder and added a small silver jump ring.


This piece is now begging for completion, but sadly I'm still waiting on materials. In the meantime, I have a second piece of stemware I can bring to this point, and a third piece of glass whose intended purpose still puzzles me, but was such a great find and is such an interesting shape I simply couldn't pass on it. More on this project as materials arrive.

What's New

It's been a surprisingly productive weekend around here with the addition of the Native American Wedding Prayer pendant. The product is now available online at www.anniehowes.com.

I completed the first piece today and I think it turned out beautifully. I've added a pewter feather charm to this particular piece along with a bit of turquoise stone and the final product is pictured above. It couldn't be more perfect. The photo with artificial lighting hardly does it justice. Two more photos below.

Native American Wedding Prayer

I'm really excited about this new design (#014 - not yet available) using this fabulous image from Oregon collector, Thomas Robinson. If you haven't been to his site, http://www.historicphotoarchive.com, you must know he has some of the most beautiful historical imagery, particularly of the northwest United States.

The couple photographed are Francis Schlall (Paiute) and Princess Elizabeth Badroads (Umatilla), married in 1929 at the age of 19 in Burns, Harney County, Oregon. I love that this photograph has documentation. There is such a mood about this couple with the soft lighting and the rich detail of their wedding attire. The way Princess Elizabeth Badroads is looking down at her lap just makes me want to know the whole love story.

The back of the piece has one of many Native American Wedding Prayers. This text area will be customizable so any version of the Wedding Prayer (or any other text) can be substituted.

I'd love to hear your comments on this piece.

Bookmarks

New projects are always in the works around here and next up is a bookmark. These work best with the smaller pieces (charms) that measure 1"x1.5" inches. Other shapes and sizes will be available in the future. No two will ever be exactly alike. Some will have beads, others will have charms or other small embellishments. I think what might work nicely is to offer the bookmark as an option for all of the smaller pieces. Currently, the website only has the smaller sizes available with the letter charms.

New Addition to the Store

My goal for the weekend has been fulfilled with the completion of the "Favorite Pets" collage. This particular keepsake was conceptualized for the person who absolutely adores their pet, whether or not the pet is living.

The first design (done in brown) features our pet Boonie Dog, Biscuit, who we lost to congestive heart failure in December 2006. I searched online endlessly for some "thing", some pretty, tasteful object that could soften the cold, brass appearance of her urn but found nothing. This pendant is at least something I could create to place with her where she is on the shelf in our living room. I can't wait to finish making it and string a pretty ribbon through it.

Meet Bob

Bob is my Third Hand, or if you want to be technical about it, my Third and Fourth hands. Handy at holding small objects, such as the sterling silver rings on charms that tend to get extremely hot, Bob keeps my fingers from becoming a part of what I solder. He's also a bit steadier than I am and can hold things for much longer periods of time without complaining that I've dripped solder on him.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS!


It's been a month-long journey of website creation, design generation, and learning all things techno-geek related to running an online store. Finally, I clicked the "Launch Store" button this morning for ANNIE HOWES KEEPSAKES.

The product line is always expanding, just let me get the geek stuff under my belt. Each item is created individually by hand and no two pieces are ever exactly alike. The basic notion of these items is that they are personalized and beautiful objects. Don't see something you like? Return next week to see what's been added. Still don't see what you want? Send me an email from the website and I'll contact you about your request.