These Boots are Made for Walkin'

Hey Gang, just finished "repurposing" my old cowboy boots from the 80's!  I purchased these Dan Post boots "back in the day" for $2-$300 bones, very expensive, especially back then-they are/were snakeskin.  Well, the snakeskin on the front was all dried and peeling, so I decided to give them new life! Here's the result, my "Day of the Dead" aka "Dia de Los Muertos" boots! I decoupaged them and added a border if micro peach colored rhinestone chain~Love Them! Now, where did I put those old black boots I scored a few years back? I'm on a roll now!  I'm Lovin' my New Kicks!

New Custom Orders Complete!

This lovely piece is a result of my client's trips to China throughout the years and her collecting bits and pieces of jade, lacquered beads and bone along the way!  I was literally given a Ziplock bag full of these treasures and told to "have at it!" (my favorite thing to hear!) I just finished this piece yesterday and absolutely LOVE how it turned out! Each piece on this necklace is a little work of art in itself; collectively, it's stunning!  I will be delivering these two pieces to my client this weekend~This was a joy to work on!

I'm The Queen of Procrastination~always have been. I do my best work when I'm under pressure to meet a deadline.  I may start-off with loads of time, but I will actually get the work going towards the end of that timeline! I always produce good work and meet the deadline, but you'd think I'd get going sooner. Now don't get me wrong, I'm actually processing my ideas, knowing that my time is fleeting by, but also knowing that I can do it and what my abilities and limitations are.  It all works out in the end!  I realized years ago, that I passed this trait onto my daughter.  While in middle school, she had a huge project due that she waited to the last minute to start. (as kids do) She actually was in the 11th hour working on this thing.  I had told her she was on her own, that she was old enough to manage her time and smart enough to know how to do this. Well, my Brilliant Baby Girl pulled an all-nighter and produced an awesome project that got her an A! So I then learned that she inherited my procrastination gene along with the strong work-ethic and quality-work gene! From then on I never nagged or bugged her about "Getting a jump on her projects" and not "leaving everything to the last minute".  she proved to me that she does perform well under pressure and can be counted on to turn out a quality product, no matter when she starts to work on it! We're both wired this way!

This piece is constructed from a clients worldly travels, mostly in China, as seen by all of the porcelain pieces.  I loved playing with all of these bits~the center pendant was especially challenging, being I totally created it from random pieces I was supplied.  The two silver/red pieces in the earrings and at the sides of the pendant were actually a bracelet that I took apart and reconfigured. It took me a bit of time to design, but I love the results!  My client loves statement pieces and can wear them well~she is a world traveler and collected these and many other pieces along the way.  All of these bits and pieces were just sitting in drawers for years, unworn, until I shared my design and take on Treasure Necklaces.  I originally made myself one with random bits of "crap" and loved it! I've been telling my clients to supply me with meaningful items from their lives to make them their own "Treasures". The result is a one-of-a-kind wearable work of art!

To see more Goodies, check out our website at: http://paradisekittenart.wix.com/debbra-j-designs

Bling-Tastic Fun!

 Happy Monday Gang! Here's what I've been up to this past week! Been rediscovering my soldering iron and Loving It!  I played around with a new technique to me, texturing the solder whilst it's still liquid! It's a tricky process, but the results are well worth it!  I've always loved these Blinged-Up charm style necklaces, and have made a few in the past, so it was cool to revisit this style of jewelry making and have Fun with it! Check-out my results!  (I made two different necklaces, but my pictures got a little mixed-up, so you'll be going back and forth between the two pieces. Don't get dizzy!)

 Second necklace I attempted made ambitious by converting a watch casing into an enclosed frame for a little Sacred Heart graphic. Man, that was a challenge, but I did it!

 This particular "Mary" graphic reminded me of the Renaissance style paintings and the art I saw last year on my visits to the many cathedrals in Germany.  I especially love the feel of old world art and how it transcends time, beautiful.

 Close-Up of the detail on my pendant.  I was able to play with streaming solder across the glass, which is tricky, being the glass is highly sensitive to heat and will crack...I got lucky, and Love the result!

 Close-Up of the converted watch casing I used to encapsulate my image. I just made this up as I went along and it actually turned out Great!  Some of my best results come from happenstance, so I've learned to try to not over think my creative process and just let it happen.

 I had just obtained this patina'd puffy metal heart and got the idea to embellish it.  I always have metal sheets on hand, because you never know, right?  Whipped-out my metal stamps and tin snips and Voila' a cool attachment for my heart! And of course, a little Bling doesn't hurt either! Also, all of the pearl chain in these pieces is hand wire-wrapped by moi~ this is truly a labor of love~somehow it relaxes me to do this process over and over and over again...

 The first piece I completed, my "Blue Mary". I had fun adorning Her with suitable charms that would compliment the whole piece without making it look "junkie"~it's a fine line.  The wings I had also just purchased recently, and I finally had a use for a couple of religious metals I had acquired some time ago.  It all came together perfectly I think!

I also added a bit of gold leaf to further accent Mary in her little glass home adding to the Glitz of the whole piece.  I hope you have enjoyed this brief tour of my latest work, and hope you have found some inspiration to take with you for your own art! Thanks for stopping by!

Lavender Farm and Vintage Stuff!

 The Girlie's~Emily, Debb (me), Kathy, Lisa and Emily! I KNOW, we have Two Awesome Emily's with us, how cool is That?!

 A few pics from our fun visit to The Vintage Market Place in Rainbow! So much lovely goodness and eye candy all around! We had a wonderful time, this was my first visit to the VMP~I bought some metal madness pieces from Dyanna at Broke Jewels, always want more than I can afford! 

 Next Stop, Keys Creek Lavender Farm in Valley Center, or as I like to say: "not far from the Vintage Market Place, past a yellow roadside deli, down a dirt road on the right and you're there!"  Easy-Peasy! What a lovely treasure~thanks Lisa Loria for sharing this great place with us yesterday, so cool!

 Just a few pictures I took whilst at the Farm! It smelled so good in their little gift shop, and they have CLEAN BATHROOMS; this is so important when you're Day Tripping! I never realized there were so many varieties of lavender, so of course, I just had to purchase a little plant to add to my yard! For more info. on the Farm.
 Go to: kclfarm.com

Wishing you All Peace & Love this weekend and Always!