Birds and Bees

I am thrilled to be in this beautiful Etsy Treasury curated by Honey From the Bee! It features members of the Etsy Twitter Team.

That's my "Home Sweet Home" Domino Pendant in the second row, second from the left. That design is made from a larger image I created specifically for my domino pendants.

The original artwork is about 6" by 3" - roughly the dimensions of a domino just bigger. I collaged the house and stitched around the edges of it with red thread. Then I adhered the bird and nest to it. I scanned this larger work into my computer and shrunk it down to domino size. I printed "home sweet home" in a really tiny letters and backed the words with red cardstock to add more dimension.

This domino pendant is one of my favorite designs! I have a thing for birds and houses lately.

- Vickie

A Handmade Giveaway!

I want to thank everyone who has commented and/or emailed me about the piece Kathleen Landers did about me in The Examiner on Monday. So much crafty love coming my way! I’m delighted!

Now I get to spread the love to you! The Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST) is holding a giveaway on their blog for one of my new domino pendants! How cool is that?!

About the prize:

This altered domino pendant is part of a new line I have launched. I created several pieces of artwork in the same proportions as a domino but on a larger scale – about 6 inches tall. Then I do some pixel pushing magic and print the art very tiny to be put on a domino. An eclectic mixture of color and texture makes this particular domino pendant stylish, classy, and chic.

The wood domino measures 1 3/4 inches (4.4 cm) tall, 7/8 inch (2.2 cm) wide, and 5/16 inch (8 mm) thick.

The necklace:
• YOUR CHOICE of length of black cotton cord (i.e. 16” or 18” or any length you want!)
• Domino hangs on a silver-plated bail
• Necklace closes with a silver-plated lobster clasp

You can see a close up shot of the original artwork on my flickr site.

I love this process as it gives me the ability to create very meticulous work that keeps its detail when scaled down. You can even read the words from the text I used for the larger collage in the smaller print!

So head on over to the RNEST blog and make your comments for entries!

How the contest works:

ENTRY #1: Go to In My Head Studios’ Etsy shop, heart the shop, and then leave a comment on the RNEST blog telling Michelle your favorite item.

ENTRY #2: Become a follower of the RNEST blog and leave a comment there letting Michelle know - or if you follow already, leave a comment saying you're a loyal follower.

In addition, there are at least 6 other chances for extra entries such as answering a trivia question about me, becoming a follower on my blog, Twitter, and Facebook page.

The winner will be chosen using the random number generator on Tuesday, June 22nd and will be announced in the next “Wednesday Wellspring” post on the RNEST blog.


Many thanks go out to Michelle of The Quilted House for organizing the RNEST giveaway and blog post! I love our local Etsy Street Team! So much support and information gets shared in this group. The RNEST Team, in my opinion, is an indispensable resource for Rochester, NY Etsy sellers. If you are from the greater Rochester area please feel free to contact our leader Linda at her Etsy shop for more information on joining.

Happy Giveaway! Can't wait to see who wins!

Still Time to Ship for Christmas!

This Paris Postage Altered Domino Pendant is one of my very favorite designs. At the home jewelry show I did at my sister’s house it sold right off my neck. So I knew I had a winner! I made two more this past week. One sold out of my shop in less than four hours. Have not had that happen before! I went to go check on the views on it and it was gone! I still do the Happy Dance of Joy when I make a sale!

The comment the buyer wrote humbled me: “This is a gift for my mother -- she loves Paris and spent hours playing dominoes with my grandmother, who died last year at the holidays. So this is a perfect gift. Really need to have in time for Christmas! Thank you!”

The "perfect gift"! I love hearing things like that! (Do not worry! You will have it in time! I shipped it yesterday!)


There is still one in stock so if you want it, don't delay! The domino is very vintage. The dots on the back are nice and big and have a rich patina on the off-white color.

Right now through December 20th I’m offering free worldwide shipping! Deadline for orders to be shipped in the US in time for Christmas is December 20th so I can get it in the mail to you by the Post Office’s cut off of December 21st. It’s currently too late for on time delivery outside the US but a late gift is better than no gift! ☺

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade inmyheadstudios.etsy.com

Last Show of the Season

This week has been busily spent getting ready for the next craft show today at the Irondequoit High School. This is going to be a good show. I can feel it. I’m pretty much all packed up and ready to go. I have three pendants that were sprayed with sealer yesterday to finish.

These are domino pendants I finished this past week. I am unable to pick a favorite from this bunch! They’re all really nice!

Stop down to the show if you're local. It's our last show of the season!!

Irondequoit High School Arts & Crafts Show
Saturday, November 28th
260 Cooper Road
Irondequoit, NY 14617
10 AM to 4 PM

I'm offering free worldwide shipping on everything in my shop at inmyheadstudios.etsy.com. It's good until Monday! And for reading my blog I'm also offering an additional 10% off through Monday if you type "Blog10%" in the Message to Seller upon checkout! I'll refund your discount promptly through PayPal.

Etsy Buy Handmade inmyheadstudios

I'm In A Treasury

SumikoShop.etsy.com created this lovely Treasury on Etsy that is filled with Etsy Twitter Team members. She featured one of my Scrabble tile pendants! Comment and be sure to click on each item before it expires on April 26th! Thanks!!

Also seen at Etsy Twitter Team: Team Treasuries

Textured Dominos – New Work

Much of my day is spent staring down a pile of dominos trying to figure out what to make them into. About a week ago I came up with one of my best ideas ever. Yes. Ever. And I would love to share the details of what I came up with, but I don’t want anyone to copy my idea. So I’ll share the pictures of my new work instead, and you can try to guess at how I did it. :)

These domino pendants still need the final glossy coat, a bail, and to be strung on a cord and beaded. I’d love to know what you think about them.

New Product in My Etsy Shop

I’m rolling out the new line of Scrabble Tile Pendants today!! I’ve already listed two and four more will be coming throughout the day! Check them out! They’re cute as can be. And affordable!!




On the wood tiles, I glue paper to the back and then seal it with this really nice raised glossy layer. They’re hung on silver bails on ribbon necklaces. I have different colored necklace ribbons to choose from: white, off-white, black, brown, pink, lavender, light blue, and gold. The necklaces are adjustable from 16.5” to 19.5”. The tiles measure 3/4” square.

Collect a bunch or give them to your friends! Teens absolutely love these as they can change out the ribbons for completely different looks. Not recommended for small children.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade inmyheadstudios.etsy.com

New Dominos

I’ve been really busy in the studio this week cranking out work for consignments and an upcoming show. Here are some sneak peeks to what I’ll be posting in my Etsy shop soon!

This one was made with a lot of little paper scraps I save from making other things. I hate throwing out good paper. There are quite a few containers of little paper scraps in my studio. I think this one is my favorite out of these five.

The one was created with a vintage air mail stamp and some collaged paper. The postal cancellation is a rubber stamped image.

Hopefully I'll get these posted to my Etsy shop soon! Call dibs now if you want something you see here!

Shameless Plug:

I will be at the
First & Last Arts & Crafts Show
May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
5 – 10 PM
Spot Coffee
200 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14604

Home Show Success

Altered Vintage Domino Pendants

Altered Vintage Checker Pendants

My twin sister, Valerie, had a home show party last night at her house. She invited me to bring my jewelry to sell. So I have been working my butt off getting more domino pendants ready for the show. And it was a good thing too because we did really well. Might have been our second best show total ever, mind you we’ve only done a handful of shows. The domino pendants and Scrabble tile pendants were big hits. I also sold three microscope slide glass collage pendants, which surprised me. Almost everyone who came bought something from me. Two people came back for more! A custom order might come from this as well.

The girl who was selling purses bought two domino pendants. She showed them to the shop owner she works for. The owner loved them and called me this morning to ask if I would like to sell in her shop! I meet with her tomorrow! Now I have to figure out how to transport these things without getting all the necklaces tangled up.

I sold so much that my Etsy shop looks empty. My mission is to get photographs taken so I can restock my shop. I have to make more domino pendants to do that because I’ll be dropping off about 10 to the shop. So keep your eyes open for new additions to inmyheadstudios.etsy.com.

You should check out what my sister is selling and give her some love!!

New Pendant for Your Valentine: Love & Lace

Incorporating lace into my collage pendants makes me happy. The vintage lace I use came from my grandmother’s garage sale days. It adds such dimension to my miniature collages.

This pendant features a tiny Boston postmark, stamped “XO”s, a red heart, and the word “love”, in addition to the vintage lace.


The back was created with heart and circle shaped paper punches.

Show your special someone you really care with this handmade, one of a kind, beautiful necklace!

Take This Little Witch Home

Halloween is fast approaching. Get this little sweetie in time with a fabulous deal to boot. I am offering free USPS Priority shipping today only plus $5.00 off the purchase price. How cool is that?!

A Little Witchy

Halloween will soon be upon us. Don’t leave your neck out of the fun of holiday decorations! This little witch is so cute she’s almost scary! BOO!

Available for sale in my Etsy shop!

The Crazy Thing I Did Today

This Saturday is the big garage sale event at the Dome Center. I went ahead and signed up for it today to set up my jewelry table. The crazy part is I only have 15 pendants in stock because I filled two consignment orders this week. Yikes. I guess we all know what I will be doing 24 hours a day for the next two days. I might run out of glass!

Working Under Stress

We didn’t get the house we wanted. Oh, well. Wasn’t meant to be. I think we got outbid. We’re looking at three more houses today.

This entire house buying business has put my work motivation into overtime. I need something to do to keep my mind busy. I bought three skeins of yarn to knit my way through this. I am making another felted bowl on circular needles in red and deep purple. In two days I have glassed, taped and soldered 9 pendants, made proofs for a custom order, and painted up some new art designs for pendants. That is getting a lot done for me these days.

Pendants waiting for solder.
I am happy with the pendant art I’ve been doing. Painting and drawing is a different way to make them for me. Now they are more like miniature works of art behind glass! I challenged myself to make five designs very quickly just to see what would happen. They turned out to be my favorites of the bunch! They are mostly just torn paper and some line drawings. Leaves and floral designs are popping through my head all the time now that spring is poking its head up.

Hurry up, Spring! I have missed you!

Sweet Treat Pink & Purple Double Sided Art Collage Pendant

This glass and metal pendant is double sided. One side has juicy pink and purple paper hand stitched together with silvery thread. The pink side has purple handwriting rubber stamped over tissue paper. The purple part is inked and wrinkled wax paper.

The other side has a dark plum background with a lighter shaded piece of paper running down the center. Tiny black paper dots adorn the strip.

In short, this is quite simple and elegant but perfect for everyday wear as well.

Click the image to read more about it at my Etsy shop.

I've noticed that many artists who make soldered collage pendants don't do much finishing work to the solder. They leave it flocked and rough. I sand and polish all my solder by hand so it shines like a mirror. This takes a lot of extra time and it shows in a quality, finished piece of art jewelry. My prices reflect that extra work.

A First!

I got blogged at Vintage Indie today! How cool is that?

They highlighted my Lucky Bingo Glass Collage Pendant along with other great vintage bingo finds.

Vintage Indie is all about just that... vintage and indie. From their website: "A Rockin' Shoppin' Place for the Vintage Indie Addict. Highlighting Vintage Indie Designers & Store Owners, Vintage Inspirations, Vintage Styles, Techniques and old school antiques and collectibles."

I'm flying!

We Tabled It

The open house at Second Saturday went very well. I’m told the crowd turnout was high for the event. Sales were not fantastic, but I had a great time meeting people and seeing the other artists’ studios in the building. And that’s what the day was all about for me anyway. I was just so happy to be there.

Thank you to Christina Laurel for inviting me to be a guest artist!! Christina is a very talented collage artist whom I met through the Arts Council in Rochester, NY. She has been teaching me a lot about the local arts scene and introducing me to a bunch of great people. At her recent art show at the Williams Gallery, titled “Layers”, I fell in love with one of her pieces of work. To my surprise, she offered a trade for one of my pieces called “Checkered Past”, which is shown above (it’s the big orange collage on the left). So we traded at Second Saturday. I’m thrilled! I’ve never done a trade and it’s great because I can rarely afford artwork I fall in love with.

Getting my table display together proved to be fun work. Mom and I stopped by a thrift shop and found the two candelabras to hang jewelry from. One candelabrum looks like a person wearing a hat. I think the felt bead necklaces look striking displayed this way. We made the tablecloth and the wood display stand on the right in the photograph. Since I have a table display now I plan on applying to a few local craft shows. Yay! More new art adventures!

More photographs at Flickr.

A Little Home

The newest listing in my Esty shop is a lovely little pendant about love and home. The front has a little house with a flower shape punched out. I put a little bit of vintage paper text behind it. A tiny little tree stands next to the house while happy clouds dance in the sky. The back has a handwritten message that reads, “home is where love lives”. A red paper heart accents the wording.

All of these elements are cut from printed scrapbook paper. I ran the edges along my brown ink pad to age them and give more depth. The clouds were printed with white pigment ink using the business end of a retracted ballpoint pen. It’s an easy way to stamp little circles.

This pendant is the first in my 2008 Valentine’s Day series. Watch for more coming this week and next.

Consignment Pendants for Pink Andie Beads

Pink Andie Beads contacted me through etsy.com for 10 pendants on consignment. These are what I shipped off to her last week. It's my fist consignment job!

From left to right top to bottom:
1. Bingo "lucky lady"
2. Little bird (pendant design also available at my etsy shop now)
3. Angel with blue bead
4. Green and brown swirls
5. "Wish on a star" fairy
6. Cherry blossoms (has tiny origami frame on back)
7. "She is going places" woman
8. Brown tree branches
9. Lady in fancy hat
10. "Elegant" fairy woman

They all have different designs on the reverse side.

See something you like? I'll be happy to make one for you. Contact me!

All designs and packaging © In My Head Studios

First Etsy Sales!

I got my first sales yesterday on Etsy! I am so excited! Someone not far from where I live bought two pendants. Sales to someone who lives in my town somehow feel more special. They're my peeps!

The first pendant is called "Beautiful Flowers". The second pendant is called "Handle with Care". (click the photos to go to the Etsy pages and read the descriptions.)

Both are glass collage pendants, which means they are tiny original works of art sandwiched between two pieces of microscope slide glass that I cut down to 1" x 1" and soldered together. They are different on the backside. Two pendants in one!

That was a very nice surprise to find as I returned home from shopping on Black Friday. I posted those pendants within a few days of October 20th. They took about a month to sell. Could it have been my offer of free shipping that lured a buyer in?

I was actually beginning to get worried about my jewelry as people were looking and "heart"ing but not buying. Now my hope is restored! I was waiting for something to sell to justify the costs of listing more items. Four pendants are about 90% ready to go to market. They need to be sanded and polished. Then begins the photographing, which can be a pain to get right. But I have to replenish my store's stock. I'm starting to feel like a real business person! Yay!

By the way, I only went out on Black Friday to get good deals at the craft store, and my mom and I didn't bother to venture out until the mobs had gone home. I try to stock up while the prices on paper are low! I got some great deals! Plus my hunny bought me a sewing machine for my birthday and Christmas! It was marked down from $299 to $179. Couldn't pass that one up. Now I will be sewing paper together and making all sorts of new things. And shortening pants because I'm not even 5 feet tall. :)

Now I am off for a reconnaissance mission at two local craft shows to look at how artwork is displayed and priced. I'm a bit shopped out so no buying today unless I fall deeply in love with something. ♥