Inspiration came on a Tuesday

Last month, I took a jewelry course at the Society for Contemporary Craft that has gotten me addicted! I can't wait to have a little more time to put towards soldering, riveting and constructing out of metal. My favorite piece I finished is a sterling silver thumb ring inspired by the skyscrapers outside. Here are some pictures of the ring and the skyscrapers and me interacting.

New Xmittens and Xmittens coupon offer!

Let your voice be heard AND save on Xmittens! Go to this Xmittens survey, fill it out and receive a coupon of your choice!

You could save on any style of Xmittens fingerless gloves (including the new Utili-Xmittens shown in the picture) or other Xmittens accessory.

This will really help me in my endeavor to finish writing my business plan, so thanks ahead of time!

In the meantime, be well!

Xmittens get a new look, plus my new addiction

Xmittens have a new look! Check out my new logo banner (designed by the lovely Heather Mallak of DYHM design)!


In honor of my new logo and all of the crazy amount of planning I have been doing, I have revamped my pricing structure in my Xmittens shop on etsy. Most items have LOWER prices! Check out the new look and new prices at www.xmittens.etsy.com! Mention code TWOFER in the message to seller to get $3 off when you purchase 2 or more items thru Sept. 1, 2009!

Like the cool font she used? www.dafont.com has all sorts of great fonts to use for your crafts, documents, websites, wherever for free and as an open source. You can even preview a word or phrase to see how it looks: check out my preview of "Horror" fonts here. This site will help me create better looking wholesale catalogs for Xmittens and amtextiles , plus all the other promo materials I have been working on.

Have fun font hunting!

Photo Shoot Outtakes

My lovely friend and model Jenn is awesome! We work very well together at photo shoots. We shoot the breeze, catch up with each other and take some amazing photographs of both her loveliness and my amtextiles and Xmittens fashions.

Well, I also make her laugh. You know, like blow milk out your nose laugh. And, I get to catch it on film! So, here are some of the latest creations from my studio and Jenn being her funny self, plus a little one of me showing off my soon-to-be-unveiled Utili-Xmittens. Enjoy!

Business Planning for Artists- the Daily Worth

Last year, as we were looking into buying a house, I researched how to clean up my credit. It took a little bit of time, but so very worth it! Had I known about the Daily Worth I would have started working on this even earlier.

If you are a crafter, artisan, self-employed, a nine-to fiver, or just have some questions about personal finance, this is a great blog and email series to read! If you sign up for the Daily Worth emails you will receive short and sweet email messages about various financial topics like: Budgeting, cutting your credit card debt and being efficient and making more money this blog has something that everyone can learn. As their website says:

" DailyWorth is a
free daily personal finance
email for women. We deliver
practical tips, empowering ideas
and the occasional kick in the pants."

This is geared towards the ladies, though everyone can learn invaluable advice. I highly recommend it!

Inspiration Wednesday- New Jewelry Class!

As a birthday present from my mom (thanks mom!!) I am attending a great beginning jewelry making class this July. I love that I get to saw metal, solder silver, rivet rings and all sorts if crazy cool things that I have always wanted to do!

Here are some pictures of what I made during the first class. A copper pendant that I sawed, filed, sanded and drilled. I used a newly blossomed tiger lily from my garden as inspiration for the lines of the piece. I plan on doing a little bit more with it during the next class. Maybe round the "petals" a bit more? We'll see....

As I left class, I saw a beautiful sunset with the downtown skyline as a backdrop. Here's the pendant "squishing" one of the skyscrapers in downtown Pittsburgh...


What's your inspiration this Wednesday? Leave a comment about it!

Recycling Fabric- Ribbon

Recycling fabric is something I do every day in my studio. Some people may call it upcycling. Whatever the official name is, I make sure to not throw away anything that can be used again. As a new and regular blog subject I will be posting about recycling fabric ideas every week or so.

Today, Recycled Ribbon! I use a serger sewing machine most days. The cool thing about the serger is that it can be really interesting three dimensional ridges that I use to design on fabric frequently. The downside to this is that as it cuts the fabric to make the thread details, it leaves behind a thin piece of material. Since I use it a lot, this means I have a lot of very thin strips of fabric that are not use-able for many things.

Then, I got smart. I started to tie these thin strips together. This make beautiful ribbon! I use the recycled silk ribbon as gift wrap for my amtextiles line of art-to-wear and for gifts for friends and family.


Any kind of fabric will work. Or, tie scraps of ribbon together to make multi-colored ribbon. Just make sure to knot the fabric strips together at least twice so it is strong enough. Hang it around the house for easy decoration, wrap it around a vase, your wrist or neck...you decide! If you don't have leftover fabric, check out my etsy supply shop for some already made recycled ribbon.