Rocky Mountaineer Railway

here are just a few pix from our amazing 2 days on the train!

Vangroovy

just returned from a wonderful holiday to vangroovy (aka. vancouver)! spent 2 days on the rocky mountaineer railroad and 4 days in van. it was a fabulous trip! will post some pix tomorrow after i've had a chance to download them all! have a great long weekend!

Ceramics

a couple of these made it to etsy today and the other will be there tomorrow.

thanks for looking and have a great day!

Anodized Aluminum - Oh the Colors!

will be listing some of these fun pendants, one by one, on etsy.

Apatite - One of My New Faves

let me tell you that i despise teal, but i love this stone! it's a faceted apatite bead dangling from a melted and riveted silver disk. i also threaded the darkened chain with waxed cotton. really happy with the overall product - even thinking of making myself one!

Turquoise - is that how you spell it?

new turquoise with silver on leather necklace, also on etsy

Illustration Friday - Captain

a new oxidized piece available on etsy.

Return to Oxidizing

i've been on a shiny kick for a while and decided to dig out my liver of sulphur and make some darkened pieces. forgot how fun it is and what a great effect it gives the silver. this one is currently for sale in my etsy store. cheers!

It's Done....

and it is STELLAR!!!

Thank you again, Adrienne!

Finishing Touches

Almost Done!

Illustration Friday - Emergency

this is a medic alert bracelet i designed a couple of years ago. the store bought are usually so ugly! why shouldn't emergency gear be pretty?

View Through the Studio

it is looking so amazing. we started to go up the stairs last night and the view of the mural through the studio windows was fantastic. the photo didn't do it justice but i'll post it anyway.

well here are a few more pix of the developing mural....

Mural

my good friend adrienne came for a visit and is painting this amazing mural in the window well outside my studio. check back over the next few days to see the progression. here are wips from yesterday, its already looking amazing!

We Will Miss You

Glen Bradley Schroeder

1970-2007

My Greatest Creations

well.....maybe not the horse.

Tears

i am overwhelmed with sadness this morning. found out that a dear friend, my sister's brother-in-law, died suddenly last night in a farming accident. he was my age, and the loss is profound. i wish i could scoop up his wife and 3 children and make the hurt go away. the pain is so raw, i cannot even begin to imagine what they are going through.

Keep a green tree in your heart and a singing bird will come. -Chinese proverb

Illustration Friday - Moon

finally got this clear coated and drilled and attached to a chain.

posted onto etsy tonight. cheers!

New On Etsy

just listed these earrings on etsy. have been experimenting with some steel bits i came across...think they are involved in plumbing somehow? not sure, but they are fun. made a bracelet and necklace to go with them, so check back!

Old, Made New Again

i found these in my portfolio from I don't know how many years ago! but they were fun and I may revisit the colored inks. these will eventually make it to my etsy store. cheers!

Live Long and Prosper

okay, how geeky are we? on a recent trip to the town of Vulcan, here in sunny Alberta, we just couldn't resist a photo op with the Enterprise :) that's me and my 7 year old trying to hold up the vulcan greeting!

More New Work

these bracelets are a take off of my original recycled credit card bracelets. slightly different shape to the gift card charms and added swarovski crystals for a bit of bling.

Dabblings

the kids were painting birdhouses for the yard the other day and i decided to jump in and dabble a bit. these are some wood pendants that i finished that night. they haven't been drilled or clear-coated yet. its not even a decent photo since i just scanned them, but here they are.

Illustration Friday - Discovery

Canadian Heatwave

when i mention that i live in canada, people usually comment on the frozen north, extreme cold, snow etc. no one thinks that it really gets hot here...wrong! today is 26C and tomorrow will be 30 and saturday will be 34. which translates to about 80F, 86, and 93! this may not seem all that hot to some of you, but think 93 and no air conditioning!!! or rather, canadian air conditioning which is actually a crappy little ocsillating fan that doesn't ocsillate anymore. we are melting! here's hoping for milder weather soon!

As Usual

well as usual, i start off with the best of intentions to keep up with my blog and then promptly forget about it. business is booming and life is incredibly busy. and sadly my blog keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the long list of things to do. since moving into our lovely new home, it has been a steady stream of visitors and we are having a great time! currently, it is time for the calgary stampede here and we are loving watching the fireworks every night from our rooftop deck. had my spring show in june and it was my best show ever! blew the fall show out of the water, which was gratifying, especially since it was without holiday sales. here are a few of the new pieces that showcased there and will hopefully migrate (miraculously) to the website! once again, signing off and hoping to get here more regularly. cheers!

Moving Day

well moving day was february 15th! yeah! finally we're in our new house :) and after 6 weeks of frantic unpacking and organizing we are settled. gee, that didn't take long! we even sold the old house and the new owners took possession on march 1st. we still have the occassional subcontractor roommate, but all is going well and we are really enjoying the new place.i was lucky enough to participate in the triangle gallery's artist home and studio tour this weekend. the tour was a great success with over 330 people coming through and sold tons of jewelry! now i have to get started on the spring show :) it never ends, does it? will post some pictures of new designs soon. happy spring everyone!

Happy 2007!

happy new year everyone! didn't get back to it nearly as much as i had hoped. lots of visitors over the last couple of weeks! my sister, brother-in-law and their 3 kids came to visit which was loads of fun, but incredibly busy. think 5 kids all under the age of 7 and 4 adults, plus 2 large dogs in a house designed for about half that :) definately kept the holidays hopping!

the house completion has been changed...again! we're now looking at january 31st. so in the meantime the studio and about half the house have been packed in anticipation of the 10th (the most recent previous move date). i can't tell you how many times i've said, where is such and such? oh crap, its packed! oh well, there are worse things to endure i suppose.

hope everyone's holidays were wonderful and cheers to a fabulous 2007!

Finally Back

oh man, has it really been over 2 months since i wrote anything?! where did the time go? we have been building our dream home for over a year and are nearing the end. but of course the closer you get to the end, the more decisions there seem to be. our move in date has changed about 4 times. the last one was december 18th, but that has changed to january 10th now and hopefully this one will be final! its a bit frustrating of course, but will mean less frantic-ness over the holidays...well at least no more than usual!

have also been working alot the last couple of months. exclusively on jewelry, lots of holiday orders. and very soon the studio will be packed up, leaving more time for relaxing with the kids, reading and visiting friends. hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and see you with some new work in the new year! cheers, stacey

Match Game

this card was originally in black and white for illustration friday's subject "match". i gave it a bit of technicolor and here ya go. the new and improved "match game". currently available on ebay. cheers!

E is for....

here is letter E! that makes A-F done. keep an eye for new letters over the next few weeks. this one is available on ebay at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&item=170027834723&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

have a great day!

Illustration Friday - Farm

i couldn't decide which one to post so here are two. these are aceos from last year actually. sorry they're not current, working on a deadline at the moment! cheers everyone!

Illustration Friday - Safe

Are we ever really safe?