A Beautiful 3 Weeks

They passed too quickly...

After 6 months apart, my husband and I spent the last three weeks enjoying each other while he was on leave from his job in Afghanistan.

Today he heads back...an almost 3 day journey to Kabul to finish out a year long contract that began in January of this year.

The past three weeks have been filled with laughter, family, travel, friends, art, food and lots of love.

I will count the minutes until we see each other again in August.

Nature's Fireworks

Happy 4th of July!

“May the sun in his course visit no land more free,
more happy, more lovely, than this our own country! ”
~ Daniel Webster

Creative Jewelry Packaging Series - Small Wood Boxes

When you take a lot of time and care to create a very special, hand crafted piece of jewelry it is important to think about how that little creation will be packaged for the recipient.

At most national art and craft stores, in their unfinished wood sections, you can find small, unfinished wood boxes in a wide assortment of shapes and sizes…most prices around $1 or less.

There are so many things that can be done to incorporate these inexpensive boxes into your presentation...

• hand paint them in a color or theme to coordinate with your piece of jewelry

• decoupage them with decorative papers or tissue

• stain them with a wood stain or simply clear varnish

• spray paint them and add your signature or write a personal note or poem

• glue fabric or trims on them

The list goes on and on…

Just think what a special experience the recipient would have receiving one of your creations, wrapped in colorful tissue paper, carefully tucked inside a beautifully decorated box .

It is a complete presentation!

Creative Jewelry Packaging Series - Clear Top Boxes - Part Two

Ok, so you have the right boxes…now what do you do with them?

As I said in Part One of this series…I didn’t care for the cotton usually supplied with jewelry boxes. It would get caught on my jewelry and the little hairs would look messy.

I chose to buy a large piece of felt from a craft store and cut small rectangles to fit my boxes. This was very affordable and I could customize my colors to match the pieces of jewelry or my display.

A tip…to save your sanity when cutting felt, make sure you use sharp, fabric scissors…even if that means you need to pick up a new pair along with your fabric purchase! There is nothing worse than trying to cut felt with dull scissors or scissors that are regularly used for cutting paper.

The other great thing about clear top boxes is that you can see what you have.This is handy for display and for storage. It saves time when you are hunting for something not to have to remove all of the lids to find the item. It also saves time when setting up to do a home show or fair.

While it’s usually best for customers to not have a barrier between them and your jewelry, in a time crunch the tops can be left on and they can still see what you have.

The tops can help with moisture and dust too…for some added protection.

Creative Jewelry Packaging Series - Clear Top Boxes – Part one

When looking for boxes to package my hand crafted jewelry I chose clear top boxes.

While a little more expensive than other choices I thought they would serve two purposes…Storage and display.

For me they have worked great.

I was lucky to find them at a local company that buys surplus items so I got a really good deal. I have also ordered some from popular jewelry supply and packaging catalogs.

The size I found to be the most useful is about 5 x 7 and about .5” deep. The clear top nestles into the box instead of on the outside for a clean look. I found that the cotton commonly found in jewelry boxes got caught on my findings and ended up looking messy so I chose not to order the cotton filling.

Instead I bought a large piece of felt and cut it to fit inside the bottom of the box. I also sometimes use colorful card stock to mount smaller items to so that there is more body and so it’s more rigid.

Look for more ides on how to get the most out of your clear top boxes in my future blog posts!

Playing in my Web

I periodically go through creative bursts of energy where my website is concerned...

I am currently having one such burst.
I am feeling the need to edit, update, add, etc...

Above is the project I was working on today. It is a new banner template to give my web pages (actually separate blogs) a more uniform look. When I originally constructed them several years ago there was so much work to do just compiling content and images that I didn't have much brain energy left over for the details and finesse of the site.

Now I am starting to look at the details.

It has been fun discovering the new applications, upgrades and tools Blogger has added since my last surge of web updating. Some are unfamiliar to me so there will be a bit of a learning curve.

I have let this whole web creation process unfold and move at it's own pace. I believe that I will be given the skills as I need them. Sometimes I feel "behind" everyone as far as technology but then I remember that there are no accidents. I am right where I am supposed to be and that brings me a bit of peace.

My website (like myself) is a work in progress!

A Winter Cycle

Well, I didn't intend for it to be almost two months since my last post...but wow that time went fast.

Between the change of season, the end of 3rd grade for my son, the end of my job (for the summer) at my son's school, my husband being home for leave from Afghanistan, my mother-in-law visiting, my other son turning 18 and graduating from High School and an extended vacation with my family (that I am currently on) my blog and artwork have taken a back seat.

I read something interesting today in the magazine "Artful Blogging" that hit home for me regarding this artistic hiatus.

One of the articles described a period like this as a "Winter Cycle" in the creative process. (http://creativeeveryday.com/)

I get that...it makes sense to me...I feel it...and I agree.

I have been busy taking pictures I want to share and have been stocking up on ideas and thoughts that are beginning to bubble up. There are seeds that are beginning to sprout and break through this dormant period.

I could have fought this lull. Felt bad about it. Worried about it. Tried to "fix" it...but I have found that riding the wave is so much better. I find that quiet period to be rejuvenating and fertile. I trust in my creative rhythm and know that I am right where I am supposed to be.

Something will unfold...not sure what...but I am excited to find out!
Thanks for waiting...