Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

I can't think of anything better to share with you that the wildlife around my house.  It's the perfect time for deer and birds.  Usually we have rain or snow by now but not this year.  This year it is 60 degrees in the daytime and the wildlife is out enjoying themselves.   Wishing everyone a Happy New Year - a Prosperous 2018~ Red-naped Sapsucker Yellow-rumped Warbler

Happy Holidays to Everyone!  It's been awhile since I posted my adventures and today I want to introduce Tommy the Turtle! If you've been following my FB posts you know I've been making polymer bowls.  I'm finding it habit forming - such a great way to use old canes (tubes of polymer clay).  I've made bowls with various themes - chameleon bowls, poison dart frog bowls and now turtle bowls!  My newest turtle bowl showcases 'Tommy the Turtle' as the center in the bottom of the bowl.  And if you look closely there are different size turtles climbing out of the bowl!  I started making Tommy several weeks ago before I went to Rocky Point Mexico.  While I was there I fell and hurt my knee and the pads of my hands.  I'll recover in time!  The problem was when I returned home and wanted to finish the cane with the turtle.  That required squishing the large turtle cane (about 6" across) with my hands  and that really hurt.  I...

It's a beautiful time of year here in Prescott AZ.  The trees are changing colors and we are having an 'Indian Summer'.  I wonder why my mother called it that.  It's the time when fall should be here but the day temperatures are warm and summer-like.  Morning walks are especially pretty!  The deer were enjoying the walk also! How many deer? In silhouette

Since you've been watching the video's about the Carnival Collection, you deserve to see the pieces.  This collection has been so much fun to make and I hope so much fun for you to wear that I'm showing the individual pieces here.  They are on my etsy shop today! If you want to see more, please visit www.lindabrittdesign.etsy.com I'd love to know your favorites and any comments you would like to leave. The Carnival Collection - Let the Good Times Roll!       

Last week I shared my first attempt at a video with titles and music.  We agreed it was fun but not effective for getting viewers to notice the jewelry.  I tried again.  This time I changed the background to a much simpler white with glitter and faceted jewels for a mardi gras theme. I chose the mardi gras theme because of the colors - green for faith, gold for power and purple for justice.  The handcrafted pieces of jewelry have some shine and gold sparkle.  The pieces could be worn for a party, for day or evening wear or just for fun. I found some New Orleans music and paired it with my video, added titles and thought I'd share the retake with you!  The 'Carnival Collection' will be in my etsy shop October 25.  Don't forget to look for it and YES!  I'll remind you again.   www.lindabrittdesign.etsy.com As usual, I'd love feedback on the video.  Each time I do one, I'll get better and your comments will help me.

Have you noticed that learning curves vary with content and with age?  I've spent hours learning to set up a scene to take a video and then get the lighting correct.  I've learned to use new software 'Wondershare Filmora' (which by the way is really good software for putting text and music to a video).  Since it is new to me, it has taken more hours.  And then when I got the video like I wanted it, I had to get it in a format to put in my blog (Filmora helped with that).  I had to put it on YouTube first.   Lots of learning with a big learning curve.  I think my age may have something to do with all that or it could be I'm just determined!  Why did I make the video?  Good Question!  My new jewelry collection is coming to www.lindabrittdesign.etsy.com on October 25.  I wanted to learn to make a video and this seemed like the perfect time.  A little teaser for everyone to get excited about the jewelry!  This first v...

Perfect time for a fall road trip and going to Southern Utah seemed like a great idea.  Got the map and planned the trip to several places - some we've visited and some new.  At each of the parks. reserves and monuments, my eyes went to the rock formations.  They were very different in each of the places.  And yes, I took lots of pictures and it will take me a while to edit them for viewing.   When we returned home I simply had to let the formations inspire me.  What better medium to use than copper and what better technique than foldforming?  So I'm sharing my rock formations and the copper cuffs I made.  Just enjoy them!

This week I've been seeing many small polymer bowls being made and not to be outdone, I've made my own.  I started to look for a tutorial on making polymer bowls and there are several but I decided to make them my way!  There is a movie at the end of this blog showing both sides of the bowls.    polymer canes I have a small 4" dia porcelain bowl I used for the basic form and selected some of my finished polymer clays.  There are small to large canes in a variety of patterns.  I think this is a great way to use my old canes.  I wanted to see the same pattern on the outside and the outside of the bowls.  And I wanted my frogs that have translucent clay surrounding them to stand out.  When you pick up the bowl and look through it, two of the bowls remind me of stained glass. The difficult part was finding the correct thickness to cut the polymer.  Too thin makes a very flexible bowl.  Each of these three bowls are diffe...

My Photo from My Safari in Tanzania - 2007 I saw the following article on the AFAR (my favorite travel magazine) website and thought how  much fun it would be to compare my 2007 safari packing list to this list from 60 years ago. My Journal entry: July 8 Pre-planning: Our trip starts September 8 2007 and we are concerned about the 35 pound weight limit per person. I bought a piece of luggage that weighs 5 pounds. These 35 pounds includes my backpack which will have my camera and lenses, journal and some basic items we may need if the luggage is lost. My backpack is 17 of the 35 pounds. My list: 1 pair sandals-leather, 1pr flip flops, 1 roll toilet paper, blue windbreaker, nightie, bra, 4 camisoles, 5 pr socks 6 pr undies, 2 pr cargo pants, 3 long sleeve shirts, a fold up pack for dirties. And of course in my backpack: my Art Kit! an envelope book that fits into a vinyl zippered bag. It will have some small cut paper to use for sketching and writing, markers that...

Sometimes it takes a catastrophe to make us realize what really is important.                    Letting my everyday frustrations pile  and allowing my tendency to jump into projects that are at the far edge of my skillset caused some angst.   I made an overlay ring that went fairly well other than getting the silver too hot so the ring band is no longer symmetrical.  The good news is that it fits and if I don't let anyone see it closely it won't show and I like the texture caused by too much heat.   The overlay silver cuff class I took was a huge stretch for me.  I got most of the design sawed out in class but that was all.  'Ok' I said, 'I have everything at home and I can finish this there'.  When I got home I worked for 2 days to get the two pieces of silver to solder. It should have taken 15 minutes maybe.  At the end of the second day,...

Finally I have some new vintage pieces in my vintage etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/537019176/vintage-dotted-swiss-dress-dotted-swiss?ref=shop_home_feat_2 This past week, I've decided that I need to put the vintage clothing on my vintage etsy shop.  www.brittdesign.etsy.com   I've had a plastic tote with some of my favorite vintage items packed away for several years making them even older. sneak preview Years ago, early 2000's, my good friend Jay and I shared a booth in Tucson's Copper Country Antique Mall.  It was a huge building with many spaces and a cafe inside.  A large bull on the roof named 'Fred' kept watch.  My parents had just moved into assisted living and my brother drove a UHaul truck filled with lots of their things.  Between that and the help of some friends, there was plenty to fill our space. My partner, Jay, has amazing talent at merchandising and selling so our space was really special. Copper Country Antique Bo...