Fun Gifts under $15!

With the Facebook Pre-Sale going on right now (so become a fan! Do it!!), I thought now would be a good time to show you all some of my favorite gift ideas for under $15. The Thanksgiving Sale opens to everyone on 11/22, so make your list now!

If you are headed to a holiday party this season, the nice thing is to have a hostess gift handy - and what would be better than a Christmas themed set of wine charms?


These earrings are great for the girl in your life - they would make awesome stocking stuffers!

And THESE earrings would be perfect for wearing to your New Year's Eve bash.

Hair accessories are always a great stocking stuffer!

These earrings are a great gift as well, and the matching bracelet is under $15 also!

This ring is also available for less than $15! There are multiple other rings in my shop for under $15, so check it out!All of these earrings are under $15, as well as many other pairs in my shop. These are great for friends and family members, or as gifts for yourself!

Christmas candy makes a great gift, as does a bracelet that LOOKS like Christmas candy!!

This lovely necklace would make a great gift for your favorite teacher or baby-sitter - simple and stylish.There are many other items available for reasonable prices at Patty's Pretty Things on Etsy! The Facebook Fan Pre-sale is going on right now! The first item purchased will be 10% off. If you buy 2 items, you will receive 15% off; 3 things, 20% off; 4 or more, 25% off! The sale opens to the public on 11/22/10, and runs through 11/29/10. Facebook fans will receive a free gift with purchase.

Faux Ceramic Stars tutorial

I've really been enjoying this faux ceramic technique, so I wanted to share my method. It's really easy! Actually, most polymer clay stuff is really simple - all of the tools and different methods can make it seem intimidating, but if it is something you want to try, just get a few blocks of clay and play with it a little bit.

What you'll need:

White Polymer clay (I prefer to use Premo! as it is a bit sturdier after baking)

Liquid Sculpey or Liquid Kato (I used Kato)

Alcohol Ink

Texture sheet

Brayer or acrylic rod

Parchment Paper

You will need to condition about half of a block of clay. After your clay is conditioned, run it through on the widest setting.

Then fold it in half.

Next, create your texture! A really thick texture will make the coloring more interesting.

Next, use your cutters in whatever shapes you want

Poke holes if necessary (I'm using mine for a necklace and earring set, so I needed holes).

Then, bake at whatever setting is recommended for your clay type. For this project, I ended up using a little bit of pearlized white mixed with regular white, and since the pearlized white tends to burn, I baked at a lower temperature. Also, if you are baking on a metal pan, the parchment paper will keep the bottoms from discoloring.

While your stars are baking, you can pour some liquid clay, and mix in a few drops of ink. Let the alcohol evaporate a little bit.

Once your starts are done baking, you can use a blade to scrape off any imperfections (if necessary), and then using a small paint brush or your finger (with a GLOVE), apply the clay-ink mixture to the top of your clay piece. I recommend leaving them on the same baking pan so that the liquid clay doesn't run while you are moving the pieces.

Then bake again for 5 minutes or so, and voila! You have faux ceramic!

A couple of things to note: I almost always wear latex gloves while working with polymer clay. This is for 2 reasons - I don't want to have to sand off finger prints, and I really don't like the way it makes my hands smell. It's just a personal preference, but I highly recommend them for when you are working with the alcohol inks - those can really stain!

I used this same technique for these ornaments:

Have fun!

Ornaments for a cause

Eight and a half years ago, I married my husband, and won the Mother-In-Law jackpot. A little over 2 months ago, that same, amazing woman lost her hard-fought battle with cancer. It was her wish that her friends and loved ones make donations in her memory to causes that were near to her heart, and I am going to do the same. I will honor her memory, by donating portions of the proceeds from the sale of Christmas ornaments in my shop. For each ornament, or ornament set, I will donate $10 to a scholarship fund that has been set up in her honor - the AGEHR Deb Heine Young Ringers Scholarship Fund. The AGEHR is the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, of which Deb was a very active member. The scholarship fund will enable the next generation of ringers to attend national conferences and other meetings.

You may be wondering why I have chosen Ornaments for this particular project... well, if you knew Deb, you would know of her great love for decorating for Christmas, so I felt this was appropriate.

Below are the newest ornaments that have been listed in my shop. They will be sold in sets of 2, and you can choose your pattern and colors.

If you would like more information on the AGEHR or anything else relating to this project, send me an email at pattysprettythings@sbcglobal.net.

And the winner is...

Using Random.org for a random number generator, the winner is comment number FOUR! Congratulations, Julie! I'll send you a message on facebook, and we can design your ornament!

Stay tuned, everyone, for some new ornaments, and a special announcement about them!

100 Fan Giveaway!!

YAY!!! We made it to 100 (actually, 101 at last count)! Thank you all so much for becoming a fan of Patty's Pretty Things.

In honor of this occasion, I will be giving something away, as promised. I will be giving away a personalized holiday ornament, like this one:

I will make this ornament for you in whatever colors you like! If you win, and you aren't an ornament kind of person, then you will receive a $15 dollar credit to my shop.

So here's the deal - it's really easy! Leave me a comment (just one, though!) and tell me your favorite thing about winter, or your favorite holiday tradition. On Monday, November 1, I will choose a comment at random, and announce the winner here and on Facebook. Happy commenting!!

A few of my favorite things...

Since I've been on an extended blogging hiatus, I thought I'd share some of my favorite things that I'd made lately. Of course, I really like EVERYTHING that I make, but these are some of my favorites, and I'll tell you why!

I just LOVE these faux ceramic earrings. This was actually my first attempt at this technique, using polymer clay and alcohol inks, but I have something in the works to utilize this technique again for holiday ornaments! What I like about these, in particular, is the terracotta color, and the depth of the design.
This moss agate bracelet is a more recent creation, but the dark green is just lovely. The variations in colors between the stones, and the translucency of some of them, just makes me happy. Combined with the sterling silver, it is simple enough for every day wear, but will dress up any outfit! I really like the nugget shapes of the stones - they are not uniform, and that makes it just a little edgy.

If you've been following my shop for any period of time, you may have noticed that I have a weakness for pearls. This particular bracelet uses large glass pearls, and the combination of the green and red beads is really fun. I like that these can be worn separately or as a set.

Yep, more pearls. These red pearls are just STUNNING!!! I've been thinking about making something for myself with them, in fact. These earrings have already sold, but I'm planning another pair that is similar. By the way, red is one of my very favorite colors, especially for jewelry.

Silver pearls! Have you ever seen these before?!? I hadn't, but when I saw them, I just HAD to have them! I love them with the tiny garnet beads, too. These are pearl nuggets, which makes them just a little more irregular in shape. They are just great!

My new favorite thing to do with clay... covered glass ornaments! This one was actually my second attempt at it, as the first had burnt in my clay oven (it was too close to the heating element - lesson learned!). It's impossible to see in the photograph, but there is a color change from silver at the top, down towards white at the bottom. This was a lot of fun to make, and actually not quite as hard as I thought it would be. It was time consuming to make, but not too difficult, all things considered. I've made 2 more since this one, but I don't have pictures yet. I'm really enjoying it!

So, there you have it - what I've been up to lately. I'll have a post up tomorrow with pictures of what I will be giving away in honor of reaching 100 fans on facebook. It will be a good one, I promise!!!

I've been a bad blogger!

I've been neglecting this blog in favor of creating things for my shop! My new favorite thing to make has without a doubt been the covered glass holiday ornaments. In fact, I'm working on getting a tutorial up soon.

So, now that I've apologized, I promise to TRY to keep up with this blog a little better, and share what all I've been making, and try to spotlight some other shops that I like. So stay tuned!