Claudia's Burning Ink

Each time I look at someones Etsy shop, I am always curious about the artist. Truly believing that I am not the only one, I decided that I wanted to feature artists in my blog. How could I possibly not introduce Oklahoma artist.



I am fascinated with Claudia's Burning Ink! I love things that are out of the ordinary and Claudia's purses certainly fits into the unique category.



I asked Claudia to tell us a little about herself.......

I'm Claudia, I'm a daughter, an artist, a wife, a jewelry maker, a daughter-in-law, a painter, a sister-in-law, a fun loving person, an aunt, an animal lover, a brat, and I'm spoiled. One thing I'm not is a sister, I'm an only child, hence the spoiled part.


I was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA. I've moved away a few times, Florida, Morro Bay CA, Santa Monica CA, and now Oklahoma. Yukon, OK.


I've been making crafts and artwork since I could hold something in my hand. My mother is a crafter of many materials. I don't think I hardly owned any store bought clothes till I was in third grade. My mother taught me my love for all things handmade and photography. My first piece that was in a "show" was when I was 3 years old. It was where you put paint on cookie cutters and put them on paper to make images. Mine was very abstract. I love all kinds of art and love trying new projects. I really admire people that can blow glass and throw clay. I've tried both, my glove nearly caught on fire with the glass blowing. I don't do art that hurts. I'm left handed (that's why I'm so cool) and my teacher for my pottery class couldn't figure out how to teach me.


I enjoy looking at old art as well as new. I love that I live near OKC and can go to the Museum of Art whenever I want. I love that art is in our everyday life, whether it be by nature, or by man, it is all beautiful.


I'm really glad I found Etsy. Moving here has been ruff on making new friends, but this site has given me a door to people with interest like mine.

Keeping My Heart Safe

I love this purse! The first thing that I noticed about Claudia's designs was the similarity to tattoos. This is Claudia's personal purse modeled after one of her closest friends tattoo. I like tattoos...on other people. Since I am a BIG Chicken and totally opposed to pain, Claudia's purses will give me an opportunity to carry around my tattoo.







Love, Live, Laugh

How sweet!!! I think we all need to be reminded sometimes to love, live and laugh. What better way than to carry our treasures.

Claudia's creations are so special. Through my life I have owned a few purses and trust me when I tell you that, with the exception of the one I am carrying now, I can't remember what they even looked like. I know that this would not be the case with Claudia's purses. Art that touches us can not be forgotten. Take a look at Claudia's Shop. You will find some wonderful purses. They will make great holiday gifts.

Made In OKLAHOMA!

Have you noticed that I have added a list of links to other Oklahomans who have Etsy Shops? I had to share my secret...Oklahoma has some the most talented artists living in it. I have lived in the great state of Oklahoma all of my life and as much as I love to travel, I am always happy to get back to my home.



Maybe you didn't know....

• Oklahoma's state capitol is the only one in the world with an oil well drilled beneath it.


• Oklahoma is the 3rd largest gas producing state in the nation.


• Pawhuska, OK had the first Boy Scout troop in America (1909).


• Sylvan Goldman of OK created the first rolling supermarket cart.


• The first parking meter was created in OK and installed in OK City in 1935.


• OK is the winter quarters for more circuses than any other state.

You would be amazed at the talent that has come from the state of Oklahoma. To name just a few....

• Garth Brooks - Musician


• Reba McEntire - Musician


• James Garner - Actor


• Brad Pitt - Actor


• S.E. Hinton - Author


• Toby Keith - Musician


• Carrie Underwood - American Idol Winner


• Ron Howard - Actor/Director


• Chuck Norris - Martial Artist/Actor


• Will Rogers - Humorist

The list of famous Oklahomans could go on and on, but for every Oklahoman you have heard about, there are many more that we haven't had the opportunity to see their beautiful work. The Oklahomans on Etsy are a perfect example. So...take a look at their shops. You will see why we are so proud to say that something is Made in Oklahoma.

Etsy Halloween Costume Contest

Chloe is a little caterpillar.
She is the perfect model.

Chloe always has to look at the camera.

Have you ever noticed that the things that we think that won't take very long to do, always end up taking the longest to finish? That is the case with my Halloween Costume Contest entry. After hours and hours of making green and white pom poms, I am finally finished with the costume and it has been listed.



I'll be honest, there was a lot of whining that went along with this project. My fingers hurt and after a while, I started questioning that it was a good idea. In the end, I am very pleased with the way the costume turned out.

Hooray!!!!! It's Friday!!

Ever since I was little, I have loved Friday! I can understand how that was exciting way back then; I didn't have to go to school on Saturday and later, when I had a "real job", it was the end of the work week. With that being said, I often wonder why I still get excited about Friday. My little shop is behind the house...I'm home all week...and I work on the weekends.

I think I know why...My husband who does have a "real job" is home over the weekend. Every Friday night, we meet friends for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. There are times during the weekend that I take time to do the things that I want to do. In a nut shell, it's different than the rest of the week. The weekend is designed to break up the monotony.

Today has been a really busy and great day! I got a call from one of my customers and we had a really good visit. When you sell online, its difficult to form the one on one relationships that you may have with a local customer. The phone call made my day. Then I got an order for five of my dresses. Isn't that exciting!! I finished mending some jackets for a groomer that has my clothing in her shop and sent off my package for the Dog MAFiA promotion that is coming up.
I also had a chance to visit with my mail lady for a few minutes. She's the best!

I have also been working very hard to get my entry ready for the Etsy Halloween Costume Contest! I'm not going to give anything away just yet, but I will be showing you a picture next week. I will tell you this.....I have making green and white pom poms all week long. I can't wait until I'm actually getting everything put together. Won't be long now.

Now I'm off to change clothes and get ready for my Mexican food. I'm about to starve.

The Trip To Town

Every Sunday, I sit down and plan out my projects for the week. I call this the unattainable list. I know from experience that I will never be able to get everything done, but I do get a feeling of satisfaction every time I mark something off of the list. Sometimes, you just have to learn to go with the flow.

I work everyday and rarely take an entire day off, even on the weekends. So...after 15 trips to the refrigerator, without finding something to fix for dinner, it's time to make a trip to the store. I live 15 miles from town, so I try to make the trip worth while. I made a trip to the bank, shipped out packages at the post office, and picked up supplies before I started loading up the grocery basket. I sure wish I hadn't been hungry. I was like a kid in a candy store. Everything sounded wonderful and I just had to have it.

I finally made it to the car, got everything loaded and was on my way back home. About half way between the store and my house, I realized my cell phone was not in my pocket. (Visions of searching the store aisles were going through my head.) I had to pull over to find it. Fortunately, my Mom had her phone to call me on my cell phone. No....I didn't answer.....but I found my phone in the back floor board.

On my way again, when I realized that all of these wonderful things that I had purchased were going to have to be unloaded and put away. What was I thinking? Finally, I'm home and everything is out of the car and at this point, I'm just tired.

After a short break, I head out to my shop, checked email, looked over the list, and realized after wandering aimlessly that I'm not getting anything accomplished and the world had not fallen off of its axis. I quit...went back to the house...and enjoyed a somewhat lazy afternoon.
Tomorrow...the list will be twice as long and I'll be kicking myself over and over. I think I'll read this again to remind myself how much I enjoyed a little slow time.

A Pirates Life For Little Verdell

Today I spent all day in my shop. First, I had to clean up, so that I could at least have some order to the chaos. I usually clean everything up, sew like crazy for a couple of days, and then clean up again. You just can't be creative without getting a little messy. Who am I kidding? For me, it's a lot messy.

I'm always amazed by the really organized people in this world. If you aren't amazed by a really organized person, then you probably are one. Trust me when I say, I am truly amazed. Being organized just does not come easy for me. I have to have a list to get things done. It's purpose is to keep me from getting to distracted.

I have a friend who I could walk into her house at any time and ask where something was and she could tell me without having to leave the comfort of her chair to look. Batteries? Back left corner of the third drawer from the right. For me, I would not only have to get up, I'd spend thirty minutes to find the dead batteries that I should have thrown away.

Today was a pretty productive day. My shop is clean, orders are ready to go for tomorrow, and I did an inventory of all my merchandise. After all of that was done, I decided to make something new.

I finally decided to make a pirate costume and who better to try it out than Little Verdell. I know that I make and sell pet apparel, but Little Verdell isn't up to speed on this process. He doesn't like to wear anything that feels too confining. (His legs are so short, it doesn't take much.) He will wear a hat and bandannas so the little pirate costume was just perfect for him.