Resin Pendant Kit Makes Debut on Etsy. Finally!

After over a year of launching my first kit, and after many requests from loyal customers, I finally have the Resin Pendant Kit listed in my shop on Etsy. The resin kit contains enough materials to make 8 pendants, and more if you have extra bezels or wood tiles, such as Scrabble, Bamboo, Mah Jong, and such.

If you love the look of resin coated jewelry, and have been intimidated by the process, then this is the kit for you. Jam packed (and I mean JAM packed), this tin contains 6 wood tiles, 6 genuine silver plated Aanraku bails, 2 bezel pendant settings with attached bails, 2-part resin mix, a sample size of my exclusive Glamour Glue, and a professional tutorial with photos for each step of the process. If you have ever seen my tutorials, you know I don't bloat them with fluff. I get right to the point in a clear and concise manner. If you're like me, you want the facts and you want them now. You can't go wrong with this kit, it has everything you need in one small package.

Personalize Your Cuff Links, Man! Finally a Gift for the Guy in Your LIfe!!

Oh, yeah! These are finally in! I'm so pleased with the quality of these gorgeous cuff links! They're so easy to customize with your very own image. Simply unscrew the cap, place your trimmed image (15mm) and screw the cap back on! A protective plastic disc is included to protect the image from scuffs.

Who wears cuff links today? Any man who wears a suit! Interviews, weddings, funerals, work, and a hot date!


Ways to personalize these cuff links are endless:
- initials
- photos of children
- photos of pets
- photos of those remembered (great for weddings)
- monograms
- decorative paper
- a splash of color
- reflective material
- fabric
...and the list can go on forever!

These are solid cufflinks built to last. You'll like the feel of them, and the look can't be beat.

They'll soon be available on www.anniehowes.com, but for the moment they're in my shop on Etsy in the BAILS / RINGS / BEZELS / CUFF LINKS / KEY FOBS / DOG TAGS section.

Create a Triptych. 3 Gorgeous Birch Wood Blocks.

It's been a long, crazy summer with lots of fun and lots of work mixed together. It seems that I haven't been as diligent about sharing all the new goodness here on blogland. Perhaps you haven't noticed because instead of being indoors reading blogs, you've been happily crafting or enjoying the great outdoors.

One of my favorite new products are these gorgeous solid wood blocks made from Birch. These measure 2.5" on the face and the sides are 1.25" thick with a pre-drilled hole on the back. They're ready to decorate and hang on a single nail. Each set contains 3 blocks. Not sure how to decorate these? It's simple: print your favorite photos, brush on Glamour Glue, press the block onto the glued surface and smooth with a burnisher for a bubble-free seal. Apply a weight to the top, like a stack of books or a clean jar of coins. Wait 15 minutes, turn upside down, trim along the edge to remove excess paper, and hang on your wall. So easy, and these blocks are only $8 for a set of 3!

The photos of the horses on these blocks were taken by my then 9 year old daughter.

Totally New Papers Are In! Archival Quality Great for Pendants and Scrapbooking Projects!

Lots more on hand than I have photographed and listed, but a few new paper packs are already available in my shop on Etsy. I love this new pattern on an Indian paper. It's called "Twinkle Flowers" and is available in 2 paper collections "Twinkle Flowers I" and "Twinkle Flowers II"


Twinkle Flowers I


Twinkle Flowers II


Also available are 3 new colors of the Classic Italian Florentine paper, in pink, blue and green. This collection would be perfectly at home on a custom decorated tin set.


Perhaps the most exciting additions are the Katazome-shi papers. I love the rustic images, less controlled than the Chiyogami patterns, that I've paired with some of the other Japanese papers. You'll love them, too!

A Tragic Interruption to the Day. And Cute Bunnies.

It was simply awful and heart wrenching. It was tragic. We had the first mowing on our property today. We don't own a mower. To mow 5+ acres would require a 4-figure mower that turns on a dime. We have a guy who mows for us. He sometimes dresses up like a pirate, but that's taking me off topic.

So the mower guy has been busy and our grass has grown with all the rain of the season, and it was pretty tall in some patches when his brother came by to take care of the lawn business. With his big mower, it wouldn't take much more than an hour. Perfect, I thought, it was a beautiful afternoon, the sun was shining, it was pleasantly warm, and my studio windows were wide open. Twilight was playing and I was highly productive.

And then there was a soft knock on my door and the mower came in holding a very small bunny in his hands.

As sweet and gentle as that little bunny was, the story is just as tragic. Mother bunny and several siblings were lost to the mower today. What to do, what to do! How old was it? Could it eat on it's own? Wow, it was precious!

And then another bunny came to me. A sibling. A pair. Just too sweet and adorable for words. And not a responsibility I was prepared to accept. With a recuperating dog, and a 14 hour work schedule, how was I to work feedings for 2 little bunnies every 2 hours into my schedule?

I took the bunnies to the vet who volunteered to euthanize them. I left, bunnies in tow, to retrieve my daughter from school. I paraded the bunnies in the pick-up line, flaunting their cuteness, to no avail. Everyone loved them. No one wanted them. We then headed to the Tractor Supply Co. resigned to the challenge of trying to save the two bunnies on my own. With the promise of help from my 10 year old daughter, of course, who by that point had named them Daisy and Dandy.

To end this saga abruptly, because I have to go put more glass in the kiln, my plan was to pick up the formula for nursing bunnies, along with the smallest bottle feeder I could find, and with my fingers crossed, and lots of begging to a greater power, the hope of stumbling into path of someone more knowledgeable than your average suburbanite (me) who would scoop the bunnies up and take them home.

Luck was smiling on those bunnies, after all. At the local Tractor Supply Co., I found a rabbit enthusiast who was expecting a nest of rabbits at any moment. She generously offered to take the babies off my hands (about 3 weeks old, I learned), with hopes of convincing her mama rabbit to nurse them along with her own. And I will be able to sleep through the night believing those two little bunnies will have a fighting chance at survival. The happiest of endings for a very tragic afternoon.

Constant Companion. Angus Update.

I've finally brought Angus back to the studio with me to hang out for a few hours. He spends most of the day confined to a cage, which I've tried to make as pleasant as possible by adding all the toys to it. Still, he whines and whimpers to be let out, and when possible he gets quality lap time and plenty of skitches behind his ears.

The update is he's healing nicely and in excellent spirits. He's snarling at appropriate times (with and at his toys and Zeta), he's barking enthusiastically at absolutely nothing once again, and he'd like to rough house with Zeta if given an inch. So tonight he's out in the studio with me on his little green pillow at my feet resting calmly as I print orders. I'm so happy he's doing so well!

Twilight. A Guilty Pleasure?

I've finally caved and have joined the millions of readers in the guilty pleasure of the book Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer. OK, not exactly the book in the paper form, the traditional way of consuming a story, but rather the audiobook. I would much prefer to have the luxury of time to relax in a big comfy chair with a cup of hot tea and read a book, but that's just another luxury I simply can't afford with 14 hour days in the studio.

The truth is, I don't really mind having someone read to me. There's so much talent in audiobooks, and I've listened to my fair share in the past year, many several times over, and all through my iTunes account on my computer. Because I work alone, this helps the time pass and I really become attached to the characters, just as I do with the paper version of books.

So now, with Twilight airing in my studio, I feel compelled to share that it's really an engaging story and the narrator, Ilyana Kadushin, is a likable and convincing storyteller. I'm only in the first chapter and I'm thoroughly engaged and can't wait to finish this blog post so we can get back to the business of meeting this Edward character. I think I'm hooked.

I'd love to learn about the great audiobooks you've read. Twilight won't last forever, and sooner or later I'll be looking for my next satisfying read.