Just Another Girl

Well...

2010-01-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

Our computer is currently down so I am at the library to let you know that I am still alive. We suffered a minor earthquake here last Saturday that just socked us a bit. It was my first earthquake. Gotta run!

~Tonia~

Enchanting...

2009-12-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

Pixie Dust Necklaces have been made for some special little girls who have been enchanted by the Tinkerbell movies. I will be returning to the store in the morning to get more of these tiny little bottles because I am now enchanted with making them.

A Party!

2009-12-10T08:47:00.000-08:00

***In honor of my 33rd birthday on Saturday I am asking all of my friends and anybody who wants to, to join in my party by doing something nice for themselves that day. This is your excuse to eat something special or sing and dance to your favorite song....or whatever your heart desires.

***In other news...I have sold two hats from my Etsy store! Thank you to the two ladies who purchased them!

New hats!

2009-12-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

Baby and kid hats and the last one is my birthday present to myself!

Okay...

2009-12-07T20:57:00.000-08:00

I changed my mind and now that the package has been sent I am going to post the pictures.

Well....

2009-11-24T22:20:00.000-08:00

I was going to post the pics I took of one lucky person's package but I am going to wait until they get it as it is very specific to that person, so I'm sorry but you will just have to wait.

In other news here is the link to my Etsy store
justanothergirlsart.etsy.com

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Finally!

2009-11-19T11:03:00.000-08:00

I finally got the test results and I am cancer free!!! What a blessing and a answer to prayers! Be sure to watch for the brown paper package exchange goodies that I have been making...pics to be posted later today or tomorrow.

November's Birthstone

2009-11-13T08:05:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that November is nearly half way over and I haven't posted, so I though I would start with a birthstone bracelet. This bracelet is full of yummy citrine, hematite, onyx and purple fresh water pearls. There are little silver spacers in between to complete the look.

What else have I been working on? Well Christmas gifts for my family and friends. Hats, ornaments and a few surprises that I cant list due to a lovely mother who reads this blog and I don't want to ruin the surprise.

I have been playing with a lot of glitter and it's reappearing everywhere! I have been making cards with glittered letters and words on them. I love glitter and all things sparkly!

Well, I'm off to bead-land because I dreamt of a bracelet design last night that I just have to make or at least try to make...more pics soon.

Oh! I got the name of the person that I'm sending my brown paper package to and am nearly done making goodies for her box...I will post pictures very very soon but she has no idea who she is.

Have a fantastic weekend!

~Tonia~

Free Form Peyote Stitch Earrings

2009-10-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

In just a few short days these earrings will be headed to Ohio to adorn the ears of a beautiful friend of mine. This beautiful woman crocheted for me a queen sized blanket of many colors. I will of course be sending many more goodies for her and will post pics when her bundle is ready to go out.

Prayer Journal Pages Part 2

2009-10-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

I used pen and ink and watercolors to make these pages. Each page has special meaning and contains many prayers. Prayers of joy, of hop, of hurt, of healing and of growth. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Industrial Spiral

2009-10-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

Industrial Spiral is made entirely from glass seed beads that graduate in color from a dark gray to silver all done in a matte finish and stitched together in a spiral stitch. I just love the spiral stitch...its stitches up fairly quickly and looks lush when finished.

I just opened my very own Etsy shop called Just Another Girls Art and this bracelet is headed there soon.

Have a blessed day!

The Butterfly

2009-10-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

Oh how I wish I had wings and could take flight sometimes. I also know that the butterfly is the symbol of new life...its the symbol of the new life I am trying to cling to.

Here comes another one of those heavy posts...just in case you want to turn away...here's the skinny on the necklace...rose quartz butterfly and chips with crystals, silver and seed beads by the butterfly.

I'm beginning a transformation...I've decided that I can't just sit and wait for the test results...I'm going to do what I need to do to take care of myself and my little "family".

I'm currently working on the inside transformation which is making me want to work on the outside transformation but before I can fly I need to learn to crawl, which is where my faith comes into my picture...my faith in my God...my faith in myself...my faith in others.

I'm excited to see what artwork comes from this time of transformation...please take this journey with me.

Comforts

2009-10-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

Comforting images of well loved faces. Where do you see comfort in your life?

You may or may not know much about me, so I am going to share with you something that is on my mind and will be for a little while. Yesterday I went in for a cervical cancer recheck. I'm scared that my cancer is back. Unlike other forms of cancer this kind is from a contagious virus...one that I contracted during an attack of my personal space. This virus, the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV), has no cure and I have one of the two aggressive strains that leads to cancer. The doctors in two states told me that I was lucky that the cancer was caught early, but really who is lucky to have cancer? I had surgery in Sept of 2008 to remove the cancerous spots that they could see and was told to be rechecked every three months for the first year because this cancer pops up unexpectedly sometimes fast and sometimes slow. I was truly lucky to not have to undergo chemo or radiation at the time.

I am not supposed to be the sick one here...I am supposed to be the one who is fixing and comforting everybody else! I am supposed to be leading the normal life of a 32 year old woman, not going in for cancer rechecks every three months! I am supposed to be walking these dogs on the property, not hiding inside! I am the one who is supposed to be making my best friend laugh as we sit together and make jewelry!

I am supposed to be brave until the results come back, which up here in the mountains could mean a two week wait. I am supposed to sit quietly and accept all of this as the facts of my life? Why me? What did I do to deserve this? What about my family?

Comforting images of well loved faces. Where do you see comfort in your life?

Snow Ball Fight

2009-10-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

This spiral bracelet is called "Snow Ball Fight" and it is one of my favorites. I love the lush texture of this bracelet and the weight of it is particularly perfect.

I publish this in hopes of snow. I love a fresh blanket of snow and the sparkly effect the top flakes have on it. I hope to see the sky open up and drop big fluffy flakes.

Don't get me wrong, I love autumn and all of the beautiful colors and I wholeheartedly love sitting in front of the window watching the falling leaves.

The winter also bears my birthday...not that I'm fond of getting older, I love that special day.

Okay, back to the real world and creating...that's right I started creating again. Pictures to come soon. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Continual Line Drawings

2009-10-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

These are pages from my prayer journal which has no writing in, just drawing. These drawings are done in pen and ink on card stock...some have been water colored before or after and others just have pen and ink.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend! I'm planning to try to get some fresh air.

Color

2009-10-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

Maybe I need to start playing with color again to help with this depression...maybe I should pick one color and limit what I create to that one color instead of being overwhelmed by all of my things.

These three bracelets are fun and inspirational (sorry for the fuzzy picture). The first is made of rainbow striped furnace glass. The second is a cha-cha bracelet that I call "Festival". And the third is made with Jodie beads and fresh water pearls.

Any suggestions on what color to start with?

Addiction

2009-10-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

My name is Tonia and I have an addictive personality. I love learning new mediums in my art but then instead of just slowly building a stash I jump in whole hog...hence the thousands of rubber stamps that I own or the skeins and skeins of yarn for crocheting with. I love art and creating it is my passion...I love beads and could easily fill a nice store front with my stash and with the jewelry I have made. I have boxes of fabric just waiting to be sewn together and idea books up the wazoo.

When I moved here to California I had clothes movies and music but then I also had my art supplies...I find myself sitting here in the middle of it all not knowing what to create next...I made two hats yesterday...I got some new beads...I have half finished projects...I have sketches for new things...I have inspiration for loads of things, but I am melancholy as the sky darkens and the clouds threaten to open up and spill forth the buckets of water we are going to get in the next couple of days. The trees are filled with the noise of the wind the gusts that could hit speeds of 50 mph. There are movies to be watched...house cleaning to be done...food to be cooked...dogs to be exercised, but I can only lay here on my belly typing out the thoughts and feelings rattling around in my head.

By the number of comments that I have received on here I'm pretty sure that nobody will read this so I feel confident in sending out into cyberspace that I'm slipping into a sadness or depression that I have no idea how to come out of.

I'm going to go now and start reorganizing my art supplies in hopes that something will snap me back to want to create something of beauty. If there is someone reading do you ever feel this way when surrounded by so many things that can create beauty for yourself or others? How do you get out of your slump and move forward?

Hats!!!

2009-10-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

Adult hats...mostly mine...some are Debbie's...can you tell that I like making the bumpies? The top one is my favorite one hands down...it is alpaca wool with shells, fresh water pearls and vintage crystals. It doesn't cover my ears or keep me very warm but it makes a cool shimmery noise and it looks cute on me. (That's all that matters, right?)

More Hats!

2009-10-08T20:12:00.000-07:00

How cute are these kids hats that I have been working on?

An Exchange!!!!

2009-10-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

I am going to participate in this exchange! I have participated in these in the past and am super excited to do another one! Please think about also signing up if you have the time. I needed something to get me out of my non creating slump and this is the answer.

2009-10-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

More Jodie beads! This time they are tiny little spacers with crystals and silver tornado tubes. I just love this necklace for spring and summer its light and very colorful. I also made earrings to match.

Fuzzy Bracelets

2009-09-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

I made these fuzzy bracelets using what I call "Jodie beads". She makes the beautiful glass beads in between the fuzzy parts of the bracelets. If you want to see more of her gorgeous and yummy beads you can go here to see her blog: http://www.marshalljodie.blogspot.com/

I just LOVE her new alter ego beads and have to pick some up for myself.

Bird Nests Part 2

2009-09-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Remember those bird nests? Here are two of the necklaces that I made with them...I just love adding the eggs in different colors.

2009-09-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

Just look at this gorgeous slice of blue/green geode! I wired it up with a bit of copper and gave it a two strand necklace to complete the look. It feels very rich on and it hangs just right on me...it's the first piece I've made for myself in a while.

Passing

2009-09-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

Last night my grandpa passed away leaving behind a legacy. Henry Docter was preceded in death by his wife Cornelia and daughter Judy. Survivors are his son Stan (my dad) and his daughter Joyce. Grandpa was an amazing man and truly my hero. Here is a picture of a picture taken with my cell so I apologize for the fuzziness.

Anniversary

2009-09-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

On September 11th I will be celebrating 1 year cancer free! I was lucky to have prayer warriors all over that have helped me through this process. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for me or just listened when I needed to talk. You mean the world to me!

Debbie, the dogs and I will be leaving in a few hours for San Jose to visit with Debbie's family and to go through her storage units, so I am off to bed. Good night!

Sad News

2009-08-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

The good news is that we get the keys tomorrow...the bad news is we have to be out of this house on Monday...the sad news is that we wont have internet service until Sept. 24th.

Most of my art stuff will take one car trip the rest of the house will take 3 or 4 more car trips and one trip of big furniture in a truck...we are excited and nervous and scared.

I'm off for now and may post pictures later.

House Christening Artwork

2009-08-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the very first artwork that will be placed in the house as soon as we get the keys.

The House Is Here!!!

2009-08-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

The house is here! The house is here! And the finishing touches have been added so we will be moving in this week!!!

We are just waiting for the "orientation walk through" and the keys will be OURS!!!

Pictures from the inside will be posted as soon as they let us in. There is skirting, steps and even a pretty silver knocker!

A Tribute

2009-07-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

Here I sit half way through July and realize that I haven't blogged in a bit. I have no new pics and no new stories but am here in a melancholy mood looking at beautiful blogs trying to "snap out of it".

I want to tell the world about a wonderful man that I'm afraid is going to be leaving this earth very soon. Henry Docter is the world's greatest teacher, friend, father and grandfather. All of his life Henry has given to his family, his church and his community everything that he could. Growing up he taught me to believe in God, to value the earth and to respect others.

He taught me to work hard and to take pride in my work and he always believed in me. He also taught me to watch my details and to do my very best. He raised three wonderful children and loved his wife in a way that I wanted to be loved by somebody some day.

Henry celebrated many milestones in his life and faced many tragedies like losing a daughter and his wife, but through it all he stood tall and strong. One of my favorite memories of him was when I asked to walk me down the aisle with my father, his son...he had to leave the room because I made him cry. My favorite picture of him is from my wedding day when he was dressed up in his tuxedo just waiting for his turn.

Grandpa Henry was moved into a private room today and started on hospice care. My grandpa is Super Man and isn't supposed to be sick or leaving. He is supposed to be on his front lawn with a broom picking up leaves and tending to his lamb's ears. He is supposed to be smiling and laughing and joking around with his great grandkids. Instead he is peacefully sleeping away his days and his family is sending up prayers of thanks that he is not in pain.

I am nearly 1700 miles away and had to say my goodbyes in a handmade card thanking him for all that he has done to make me the woman that I am today. Thank you grandpa Henry...I love you!

2009-06-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

Here are the two cutest helpers a "mom" could ask for...or the "mommy" was holding up a piece of toast.

I finally got a decent picture of half of my booth thanks to Debbie at last night's Farmers Market in Weaverville's Meadow. The other half of the booth included me and as I am camera sensitive I opted to omit that one. This week the temp got up to a steamy 100 degrees but the shade and the breeze were fantastic and we were comfortable. This week they had misting umbrellas for those who got on the warm side which were a hit. Its fun making new friends and returning to see them each week.

This was a busy week with trips out of town each day Monday through Thursday, so tomorrow will be spent in the quiet solitude of my studio. Cleaning, creating and photographing are my objectives so we will see after sleeping in what I actually get done.

My helpers have missed their time with me and with Debbie so we will be staying home this weekend. Have a great one!

*Tonia*

Post Cards

2009-06-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love these old photos? I found the photos in an antique store in Lincoln, NE and had to have them! I then went and color copied them several times and left them sitting for a year and a half until I woke up this morning and decided to make post cards. Each card is 4x6 and so far just inked on the back around the edges. On the fronts I inked, stamped, stickered and glued my way to my new little art pieces...some even have rhinestones.

My two faithful and furry helpers abandoned me in my creating this morning to sleep in with Debbie but they are helping my type as I am munching on peanuts...a favorite of theirs...such beggars.

We leave in the morning for a stop in Weaverville on our way to Redding for some shopping and to stay overnight. The "girls" will of course be coming along as they both love riding in the car. Im adjusting to small town life here in the beautiful mountains of northern California and am loving the slow pace of things just would like a straighter drive through the mountains and a Walmart closer than 2 hours away.

Im off to create more!

*Tonia*

Birdie Nests

2009-06-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you mix wire and pearls and even a fetish bird? Nests of course and cute ones too! I got the birdie on my first trip into Redding, CA when I was released from the hospital and Debbie had accidentally found The Beadman, a fantastic store filed on one side to the brim with beads and the other side with fairies, windchimes and suncatchers. I have 8 done and all have word charms hanging from them. Two of them have made it onto leather cords and the rest are awaiting wired or beaded necklaces and will be split between next weeks Farmer's Market and the bead store in Weaverville when I'm the featured artist next month.

My days are filled with "playing" in my studio with beads and other creations maybe when I get it straightened up a bit I will take some pics.

The Farmer's Market

2009-06-18T19:08:00.000-07:00

Here are our kids in the mix of my studio as I was just moving in and unpacking with my "helpers".

The weather at the Farmer's Market last night was beautiful...I had a shady spot next to a potter and behind me was a couple who made deluxe humming bird houses. You should have seen the bunches of carrots that people were carrying around!

I only sold a pair of earrings but it was a fun time. I picked up some lovely polished rocks to wire wrap and use for table cloth weights and tried a fruit smoothie. The music was fun and the kids had a blast playing in a patch of trees or racing through the meadow while their parents shopped.

I took a picture of my table with my cell phone but havent figured out how to load it onto here.

A sleepy bug seems to have bitten at our house as we have all been napping today...some of us more than usual. Im off to tidy up the studio and maybe make a couple of new pieces.

*Tonia*

Greetings from Podunk

2009-06-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

Just another girl here signing on to my new blog with the whole family here to watch and entertain. My family consists of my very best friend and sometimes partner in crime Debbie and our dogs Jesstyr and Misty and myself.

Im new to extreme northern California after moving here to start over after my successful cancer surgery. Im an artist who is starting anew here and am having a great start...I may need to train the dogs in how to make jewelry to keep up with all that Im doing.

Not wanting to toot my own horn I am the featured artist for July and September in a bead store in Weaverville, CA and have my work in 3 galleries. I have a weekly booth at a farmers market and am going to have a booth at the Big Foot Festival in Willow Creek, CA.

Back to work for Wednesdays Farmers Market! Have a great night!