THUNDER CAKE & WIRE FORGED HEART PINS!

As many of you who follow my blog already know, I am a home schooling mom. My 5-year old, Jordan chose the book THUNDER CAKE by Patricia Polacco to read for our reading circle. The book was really cute and involved a little girl's fear of thunder storms and a wise grandmother's idea of curing her grand daughter of this fear. The Thunder Cake must reach the oven before the storm arrives. The list of ingredients is long...and the storm is coming closer all the time! The fearful child has to over come other fears while gathering the ingredients. Collecting eggs from Nellie peck hen and milk from old kick cow are just steps in over coming her fears. The book was a lot of fun and really captivated my children's attention. The enjoyed the book so much that we decided to use the provided recipe in the back and give it a try for ourselves. You might be surprised by some of the ingredients but the outcome was more than a pleasing and delicious cake! The children and me enjoyed a beautiful story, ate delicious cake, and created a new memory I hope they will cherish for all time! Here is the recipe for Thunder Cake if you should so desire to make one for your self!

THUNDER CAKE

Cream together, one at a time:
1 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, separated (Blend yolks in. Beat whites until they are stiff, then fold in.)
1 cup cold water
1/3 cup pureed tomatoes

Sift together
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup dry cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Mix dry mixture into creamy mixture.
Bake in two greased and floured 8 1/2-inch round pans at 350Degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
Frost with chocolate butter frosting when cool. Top with strawberries.

While enjoying a second piece of Thunder Cake and while the girls were napping, I decided to flip through my latest Art Jewelry Magazine March 2009 issue. There is a beautiful wire forged heart brooch pin on the cover and the instructions on how to make it on the inside.




My dear Aunt Carol from Omaha, Nebraska has recently found out that she has breast cancer and has been going through a gauntlet of chemo therapy and medications. I've been wanting to send her something special that was different than flowers and something unique. This was perfect! I had all the supplies anyway, so I gathered them up, set it all out, and got to work. The end product is superb! I can't wait to send this little piece of love her way!

Identifying Sea Glass Marbles at the American Toy Marble Museum!

What fun it was to get together with Michael Cohill of the American Toy Marble Museum this past weekend! A man with a passion for marbles meets up with a woman with a passion for Sea Glass marbles!



In the years that I have been collecting sea glass it is always most pleasurable to find out the history of a piece. The mystery that exists when finding a piece of sea glass leads to the excitement of a possible journey. I have many sea glass marbles that I have collected through out the years and was just waiting for the chance to meet someone who would be able to help me identify them.



So, I found Michael Cohill! I can't really give the experiance justice by retelling it. It is something you would have to experiance yourself. But, Michael helped me identify a yellow Akro Agate Co. marble with a cork screw shape inside,
what is called a "Girl Scout" marble due to its green and yellow color, several opaque pieces which he believes were "game piece" marbles, and a highly desireable "chalky"!

Picking this fella's brain was a lot of fun and I am truly hoping that he will be a guest speaker at the next North American Sea Glass Festival that will be held in Erie, Pa. October 17th-18th 2009. He would have an excellant display of marbles, would contribute much knowledge on the area's marble history, and may even have a kids interactive area where they could learn how to shoot marbles! To learn more about the museum, please visit their site here!

Thank you, Michael, for all your help and I look forward to my next visit with you soon!
Jodie~LEbg
Lake Erie Beach Glass

HAPPY ANNIVERSAY 50's Pin Up LEbg Style!

Finding the perfect anniversary gift for my husband always seems to be such a challenge! Most items he ever mentions liking, he ends up purchasing for himself. When you ask him what he would like, or course he will say "Hon, you don't have to get me anything at all!" . So, I've been watching him closely and we both like art deco, the era of the 40's and 50's, and particularly those pin up ads right around WWII. So, I decided that I would get some pictures done of me with a 50's pin up look. That was a lot easier to think of than it was to orchestrate the whole ordeal. Geesh!

So, I called on my good friend Kathy Paton, better known as SMASHING on Etsy. Kathy is a fellow metalsmith artist and photographer. We set up a day and time and I got busy looking for vintage clothing appropriate to the era. I found some AWESOME finds at a local second hand store called The Sassy Peacock. I spent under $80.00 and came home with several beautiful outfits that I know I will wear again. Then, I came across some "kickin" high heeled saddle shoes at a thrift store for only $3.00. I can't believe they fit! All I needed where a few accessories including some beautiful fascinator combs from BORING SYDNEY off of Etsy, and schedule my hair and makeup appointment.

I found a fun and friendly hair stylist at the JC Penny hair salon in Erie by the name of Amanda. We did a mock up hair style and scheduled the "real deal" look for Saturday morning the 10th of January. My friend Nicki, HANDMADE, helped me secure a MAC makeup artist at the Crocker Park Mall in Cleveland.



In the mean time, I was also invited to attend the local Pittsburgh Belly Dancing performance the very same evening as a vendor. Now the day was REALLY jammed pack!

Saturday came and there were snow warnings all over Pa. and Ohio! I had to go, so I set out for my hair appt. first. Amanda did a wonderful job and I traded some jewelry work as part of my tip. Take a look at her beautiful bracelet! :0)




Off to Cleveland for makeup and a photo shoot! The roads were terrible and it took me nearly 3 hours to get to the appt. Now I was late! We finished makeup and I headed over to the photo shoot. By the time we were finished and reviewed some of the pictures it was already 5:30pm. The Belly Dancing Performance was to start at 6:00! Thank you Andrew and Jennifer (husband and sister-in-law) for taking my wares to the show, for setting up, and for manning the table until I got there! I took me 2 1/2 hours to get back home and to the show. What a day! But, it was all worth it because in the end, my pictures turned out really fun and cool and my husband was ecstatic! :0)
I owe a BIG THANK YOU to all of the people who where involved in helping put this together! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Jodie

PASTOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES is at it again!

I am so proud of my husband, Andrew! He has his own business, PASTOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, and does trim and paint finishing for newly constructed homes and remodels. He has worked with several contractors and always seems to be in high demand for projects all over the Erie area. Andrew,my son Jason, and Grandpa Pastor all shared in this doll house bed and play center for my youngest girls. They created this piece of functional art with in a week's time while still working for the contractors. The time they shared building it will be memories they will share. It was such a nice project and the girls absolutely adore it! Thank you Grandpa, Andrew, and Jason for all the hard work you put into this amazing piece!

"FISHMAN" How to Ink Art by Jane/ katat0nik eBay

I was recently cleaning out my favorites section on the computer when I came across several HOW TO's and WIP's including this one! katat0nik is an excellent artist who sells on eBay. This how to tutorial was posted in the ATC & ACEO Enthusiasts group and I thought I would share it here as well. I encourage you to check out all the fine artists both on eBay and Etsy by using key word search ACEO!

"Fishman" - by Jane/katat0nik
Medium: Red BIC ball-point pen (aka biro)
Paper: Acid free 100lb Smooth Bristol scrap

I did not use any pencil on this...
TIP: stick a Post-It on your desk and use it to wipe the tip of your pen on...this will keep ink from building up on the tip & you won't get ink globs on your work.

1. Simple sketch

2. Fishman comes to life

3. Two faces appear as his body developes

4. Finished Fishman

This one sold, of course! :0)

Lake Erie Beach Glass presnte~LOVE AT TWILIGHT

Pink sea glass is so very delicate and pretty looking! Much of this color of sea glass comes from old depression glass. Some are pale while others are brighter and may even take on a peachier color. When I found this piece I really started thinking about the depression era, our economy now, and that movie, TWILIGHT! This piece is a mixture of those thoughts.

I cut a piece of sterling silver, shaped it, sanded it, and stamped it with the words love several different times. I added a swirl bail on the back and antiqued it. I strung it on 18" of sterling chain that I antiqued to match and gave it a handmade clasp. Thus, old meets new! I love how it turned out and I think I'll be making some more of these in the near future!

You can find this piece for sale in my etsy store here. :0)

Meet the Artist~LAKE ERIE BEACH GLASS

HI! I am Jodie Pastor, a wife, a mom, a homeschooler, a business owner, and artist all wrapped up in one.

Lake Erie Beach Glass is where I freely express my artistic side and my love for nature. The jewelry and art I create range from traditional and classical styles to one of a kind, unique, and sometimes "way out there" pieces of art.

My family has dubbed me the "moody maker" because my jewelry and art often reflect a mood or feeling that I am having. One day I sat down and decided to make romantic looking swirls for earwires while on another day I slow fired copper to give it a rose patina, work hardened it, and hammered it for a rougher look!

I grew up in the small town of Spencerville, Ohio and often spent summers on Lake Erie swimming, boating, and of course beachcombing. The draw to the water was always very strong for me and I’ve always found myself with my head down wandering the beaches looking for interesting finds.

It wasn’t until I met my husband Andrew that I started seriously collecting sea glass among other beach found materials. Andrew grew up in the town of Erie, Pennsylvania where we reside now. My family and I enjoy weekly visits to our local beaches where we collect sea glass, melted aluminum, drift wood pieces, stones, and what we like to call, "flotsem and jetsem". Flotsem and Jetsem is the trash that gets left behind carelessly that can hurt our beaches and water. We try to collect as much as possible when we are beachcombing to give a little back to that from which we take.

Together, my family and I make up Lake Erie Beach Glass. We have found everything from Native American trading beads to antique black marbles and fragments of vintage shipwreck lanterns. Part of the intrigue of a sea glass hunt is trying to figure out what the pieces were and where they came from! I enjoy searching through antique dealers looking for example patterns and maker's marks from which a piece could be. I also spend much time researching online and in various libraries and historical societies to further enhance my knowledge of glass history.

I have been collecting glass for over 8 years now widening my area from the western part of Ohio, Pennsylvania and now to the shores of New York state. We have traveled as a family of six to the shores of the Pacific, the Chesapeake, and to the shores of the Atlantic. I’d love to make it to Puerto Rico some day!

My educational history is varied as I have studied fine arts classes at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio along with continued metalsmithing courses in Erie, Pa and in Cleveland Oh. I am currently embarking on a quest to catalogue the unique colors and rarities of glass found within the confines of the shores of Great Lake Erie.

Lake Erie Beach Glass jewelry is displayed at Glass Grower’s Gallery and KADA Gallery in Erie, Pennsylvania and at Pure Art Gallery in the Cayman Islands. I am an active member of The North American Sea Glass Association. I also have jewelry and art listed on eBay and Etsy under lakeeriebeachglass.