RING No. 357

My sister picked me up from Britt's early this morning. We went to her house and then to Goodwill to donate some junk....then I helped with the rest of her Christmas shopping.

Tonight's ring is made from some fluffy pink yarn that I found (she is using it to make Braelynn a blanket).

Thanks for reading, goodnight :)

Materials: yarn
Dimensions: 1.75 x .75 x 1.25 inches

RING No. 356

Today Braelynn and I woke up and went to Grandy's. My mom made Blueberry pancakes for all of us! They were delicious! Mom, Braelynn, and I later went to Columbia to meet Brittney and Mrs. Janet for lunch at Atlanta Bread Company. After that, Britt and I went to hang out at her house. We had a nice time catching up. Later on, Britt, her husband Clark, and I went to the Mellow Mushroom! I forgot how awesome their pizza was!.....It was a location that I had never been to before.....(Lexington)...The interior was amazing! Also the outside was super cool....lots of found objects and original artwork!....

Now I'm back at Britt's and we are about to watch a movie. I used some wrapping paper that was on my mom's gift from Mrs. Janet and some ribbon, thread, and a staple from Brittney. Thanks guys!

Thanks to Britt for being the hand model for tonight's ring!

Goodnight!

Materials: Paper, staple, ribbon, and thread
Dimensions: 2.75 x 1.5 x 1 inches

RING No. 355

Tonight we celebrated my sister Sarah Beth's birthday....(was the 18th) I used some of the candles from her birthday cake for tonight's ring. We all got together at Grandy's (Grandy, Mom, Sid, Chris, Sarah, Me, and Braelynn) and had dinner and dessert....Chris and Sarah B brought little Tater, there new puppy with them!....

The string came from Dave (his old yo yo string)...Thanks Dave :) 

I'm sitting here with my niece braelynn, we are about to go to bed.

Thanks for reading, Goodnight

Materials: Birthday candles, old yo yo string

Dimensions: 2.5 x .75 x .75 inch

RING No. 354

Today's ring is made from some old wrinkled Christmas wrapping material.....I think it was a bag or could have been something to wrap around a basket. It makes a lot of noise and is super gaudy. I like it alot. I am pretty tired so I'm going to bed now.

Thanks for reading, Goodnight.

Materials: Old Christmas wrapping material, and plastic
Dimensions: 8.5 x 4.25 x 2.5 inches

RING No. 353

The only thing about flying home for the holidays that can be frustrating is not having my car. I was dropped off at my moms by Sarah Beth and Chris last night and soon found that the wifi (verizon MiFi) was actually at Grandy's with my mom and Sid......It was almost midnight and everyone was going to bed. I had no car to get back there so I had to wait until mom brought it over just now to post.

Yesterday I woke up (against my will) to Braelynn(my niece) wanting to go play. I could have used a few more hours of sleep!!! Sid cooked breakfast for Mom, Braelynn, and I. It was delicious! Thanks Sid!

They soon departed for Charleston (to celebrate their anniversary) and Braelynn and I hung out at the house until Grandy came and got us. We went to his church with him to see a steeple be put on the roof of the church (the people of the church raised almost $3,000 in memory of my Nanu that went towards purchasing it) After we watched that process, my sister Sarah Beth and her husband Chris came to pick Brae and I up. We went out to their house in Norway and spent time with them. It was super fun. I actually got a nap in as well :).....Chris cooked dinner and it was super yummy! I had Pink Chicken for the first time! I got to see all their peacocks (male and female) and their wonderful dogs (Fiona, Penny, Socks, and Tater!) while I was there. Tater is a chinese hairless! Fiona and Penny are great pyranese, and Socks (my fave) is a mix between Great P. and bird dog.....I also got to play a bit of xbox and make a ring out of some items Chris and Sarah gave me.

Thanks guys!

The ring is made of a painted steel chain, some of SB's old body jewelry, and some rubber attachements. I think it looks like little medieval weapons! hahaha

Thanks for reading, I'm going back to bed before Brae wakes up and wants to play!

Materials: painted steel chain, body jewelry(plastic/surgical steel), and rubber
Dimensions: 2.75 x 1.25 x .375 inches

RING No. 352

I forgot to mention the other day that the new Muppet movie is wonderful! I suggest you see it!....Dave and I went the other day and we also watched Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas(DVD), Charlie Brown Christmas(DVD), and Mickey's Christmas Carol(VHS)! It was an awesome end to my time in Ohio before leaving for the holidays!

Thanks again to Dave for taking me to the airport!

I arrived in Charlotte last night safe and sound and was picked up by my sister. My flights were all on time, which was awesome. When I left Ohio, there was snow on the ground! But of course it was not like that in the Carolinas!......My first flight was really awesome because as luck would have it, a nice gentleman gave me his First Class seat (He was no longer flying to Atlanta and suggested that I sit there instead of my coach seat). It was super nice! I had more leg room, a complimentary blanket and pillow, and I was offered and provided extra snacks and drinks. I was super comfy and pretty much slept the whole flight.

Today I slept late (at my sisters) and later came to Orangeburg with Susanna and Robert for the annual Till Christmas gathering. (Till is my moms maiden name) I had a wonderful time! I got to see Ginger(cousin) and Frankie's sweet little boy, Chandler. He was a delight! There are two great grandchildren, Braelynn and Chandler. (Braelynn is my sister Susanna's daughter) I had not seen little Chandler since my grandmother's memorial service back in June. He was a newborn then!

This is the first christmas since Nanu's passing. I missed her very much at the party, but there was alot of kindness and love present this year. I think that some of us have grown closer and good things have come out of the loss of my grandma. There were alot of people there tonight and tons of good food. My favorite was my aunt Connie's red velvet cupcakes!!!!!

It was so good seeing all my cousins and catching up with them. After the party, my mom, Brae, and I came back to mom's house and hung out for a bit. I got a chance to unpack and talk with mom about the schedule for the next two weeks.

I am excited for Christmas! I have some awesome gifts to give! I cannot wait to see the look on my family members faces when they see the goodies I searched for/made for them. This is literally my favorite part of christmas, is giving special gifts to the special people I care about. With the over commercialization of the holidays, I have grown more and more interested in either handcrafting gifts or searching long and hard for that special something to give, something that they will use/love/cherish for years. I used to LOVE going shopping for people, but anymore I enjoy getting on ebay, etsy, or just getting into my studio to find/create something really unique/special. Something else I have been trying to do more and more is customization....for instance, I purchased a scarf for someone (on clearance) but to make it all the more awesome, I am hand embroidering their initials on it!....I found an awesome yo-yo for Dave and then engraved his nickname on it!.....I urge you to customize things! It can be very easy to embroider, paint, engrave/score, or mark(with sharpie) on a simple object to elevate it to another level of cool!

Ok, enough of my rambling.....Tonight's ring is made from some foam that my mom gave me, some old sequins, markers, and silver thread. I made a crafty Christmas tree ring! The sequins are meant to resemble ornaments and a star. On the back of the ring it reads "Till Christmas 2011". The little silver dots from the sewing of the sequins resemble little lights. I had a wonderful time today and so I needed to commemorate it! I am so thankful for my wonderful family! How lucky am I!

Thanks for reading, Goodnight!

Materials: foam, sequins, marker, and metallic thread
Dimensions: 4 x 2.5 x .125 inches

RING No. 351

I am about ready to fly down south soon! Plane departs at 5:50 (later than I thought). It has been snowing here in Ohio this morning and I hope the flights all take off on time!

Today's ring is made from vintage keys that have been cut and shined, The chain was found and there are brass jump rings. I still have a lot to do before I leave, so it was a quick ring again today.

Thanks for reading! Have a Nice Day! :)

Materials: Old keys, found Chain, and Brass
Dimensions:

RING No. 350

Christmas in the Jungle!

"Oh Christmas Frogs, Oh Christmas Frogs, how lovely are thy webbed feet!"

Here we have a few Merry Christmas Frogs along with some beads and a jingle bell. Thanks to Dr. Havice for the jingle bell and the frogs! (they used to be earrings) and thanks to Sam Di Tamoso for the green beads!

I'm sitting here in my studio with April and we are laughing about silly and serious things. I am so glad she came into town and decided to visit with me a bit!

It has been a long week and a long day....I am pretty tired....tomorrow I fly out of Akron, I am super pumped!

Thanks for reading, Goodnight!

Materials: found plastic, found chain, jingle bell, and sterling silver
Dimensions: 3 x 3 x .5 inches

RING No. 349

A quick ring for a fast paced day.....

Thanks for reading! Goodnight!

Materials: Leather
Dimensions: 2 x 1.25 x .5 inch

RING No. 348

Just finished grading and photographing my students work. I am ready to go to sleep! It has been a long day....I got to school at 10am for our critique and I have been at school ever since except for a short break to go get my laptop from home. I will be so glad when tomorrow is over. My students have their critique tomorrow afternoon. Then I will finally be able to relax! I hope to go dancing this weekend! :)

I call this ring "Burden".

I'm pretty sure my mom gave this balloon to me. It is turned inside-out....the other side reads "Rite Aid"..Thanks mom!

Thanks for reading, Goodnight

Materials: latex balloon, plastic
Dimensions: 4 x 2 x 2 inches

RING No. 347

Tonight's ring is made from a found plastic bead and steel wire.

Thanks for reading! Goodnight!

Materials: Steel wire, found bead
Dimensions: 3.25 x 1.5 x .5 inches

RING No. 346

Today was a wonderful day!

I went to bed early last night and woke up this morning earlier than usual. I came to school and summed up my Co-Op duties from the Jewelry Sale we just wrapped up on Friday. I wrote checks and then went to make a deposit. After that I met quickly with a student and then went home. I had some really cool packages come in the mail today! ....Christmas gifts and such! I spent most of the day working on finishing my paper for Art History. I finally finished! After I was done I came into the studio to make a ring and work on a few other things.

Today's ring is made from found plastic, pearls (from a necklace that was given to me long ago), and sterling silver.

Materials: Sterling silver, pearls, found plastic
Dimensions: 1 x 1 x .625 inch