Ringing in the Weekend

When I was a child, Saturday mornings were dedicated to watching cartoons. Now I sit down with my cup of coffee, open my laptop and browse etsy. Every Saturday morning I will share with you one of my favorite etsy sellers.

I am a ring fanatic. I own more rings than any other type of jewelry. I think the reason I like them so much is that I get to look at them as I wear them! Earrings and necklaces are easy for others to admire, but I don't get to admire them myself. Don't be surprised if many of my Saturday morning posts are about rings...

I am obsessed with Jasmine Scott's resin rings. They are big, bright, and bold...just up my alley. Each ring is made completely by hand. From what I understand, it is an involved, painstaking process. Scott makes her own molds for her vibrant resins and then sculpts, sands and polishes each ring for hours to achieve these beautiful, unique results. I want them all!

Besides her colors, I think her playfullness and juxtaposition of opaque and transparent resin really attracts me to her pieces. It is something I am trying to achieve in my own glass jewelry.

This last ring pictured here is MINE! I received it as a Christmas present. I had been coveting it forever and when it sold, I was devastated. Imagine my joy when it made its way back to me! The name of this ring is Ferrari...probably as close as I'll ever get to owning one!!!

To view and purchase one of Scott's rings for yourself, visit her site at www.jasminescott.etsy.com.

Wrap it up!!

I love wrapping presents and feel a little depressed after the holiday season is over and all of my beautiful wrap-jobs have been torn to shreds. As a cure for my wrapping withdraw and as a thank you to my wonderful customers, I will be offering complimentary Valentine's wrapping through February 14th. Enjoy!

A break from creating to see history in the making!

Today I had the day off from work...the perfect opportunity to get some jewelry made! Living just outside DC, though, I had to take the opportunity to go see the inauguration of our new president, Barack Obama. We woke up at 4 am, layered up and set out to catch the CUE bus (Fairfax City's transit bus). There we waited and waited and waited. Finally, the bus came and dropped us at the metro station. It was then we realized that the line for the metro wrapped all the way around the block and into the parking garage! 40 minutes later (much quicker than we predicted) we borded the metro and even got seats - thank goodness because by 2 stops later standing people were squeezed into all the remaining space and yelling "NOOOOO" whenever anyone else tried to enter.

We arrived at the mall and staked out a spot in front of the WWII. We had a wonderful view of the Capital, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. And 3 Jumbotrons! Aaaaaand then we froze for 3 hours before Obama was sworn in. My toes were numb and every part of my body ached but at that moment, I forgot all of it and witnessed history. It was amazing to be part of a gathering of hope, love, and enthusiasm. After Obama's speech was over, I was hugging people I didn't know! It was a great day...one I'll remember forever.

Enticements Studio - Home Grown

Welcome to Enticements! In my first post I am giving you a sneak peak up-close and personal look at my home studio. When I first started fusing glass in my home, I was living in a one bedroom apartment. My boyfriend, Matt, and I shared his workbench, sometimes he was doing a project with wood and sometimes I worked with glass. Did I mention the bench was right next to my bed?? Ouch!!

Soon we upgraded to a two bedroom apartment and we were in heaven with our new studio space! Matt has one side of the room for his bench and woodworking tools and I set up my glass shop on the other side. I turned a large dresser from Ikea into my workbench, it works great because of the storage. We turned another shelf into my glass shelf, look how pretty and organized it is- ROYGBIV! And finally, my beautiful kiln...I love her! I'll take a picture of the next batch that comes out so you can see the inside.