Lampwork Bracelets from byLGD

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

2012-01-13T23:43:00.000-05:00

i love pinterest. do you pin? i've found some wonderful ideas and fabulous recipes. you'll have to sign up! you have to be invited, so email me and i'll send you an invitation. if you want to follow me, click the red pinterest button on the right of my blog.

in the meantime, i wanted to share a recipe i found from a fellow pinner that i follow. we made these enchiladas tonight and i cannot tell you how amazing they were. the kids ALL loved them, and for my kids to ALL love something--it has to be good. they didn't have anything left on their plates, so you can bet we'll be making these on a regular basis.

the recipe is easy to follow. a word of advice, definitely roll them tightly so you can get ten in the 9x13. we didn't roll ours tightly enough and had to re-roll to stuff all ten in the dish. these are excellent!

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

*These are seriously so so good*

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

if you try them, let me know what you think. i can't wait to have them again. :)

our favorite banana bread!

2012-01-11T20:53:00.000-05:00

Bisquick Banana Bread

1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large mashed bananas
1/2 tsp vanilla (i use real vanilla)
3 eggs
2 and 1/3 cups PLUS 2 heaping tbls of bisquick
1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 tbls fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup nuts (i use pecans), chopped

heat oven to 350 degrees.

grease bottom of a loaf pan. beat all ingredients with spoon until thoroughly mixed. pour into pan.

bake until knife comes out clean, roughly 55 minutes, depending on your oven. remove and brush with melted butter (will make the top moist). cool 5 minutes.

tip: i cut pieces of parchment paper and line the bottom and sides of my loaf pans. it makes it very moist and comes out easily, not getting stuck inside. :)

my kids LOVE LOVE this bread, and it's the very best i've ever tasted. promise. :)

hello new things!

2012-01-09T11:39:00.002-05:00

i'm so excited to introduce my new things. it's been a long time in the making and more difficult than i originally anticipated, but aren't all good things, really? when i had the desire to work in PMC {precious metal clay} i thought it would be super easy. here, almost eight months later, i'm feeling a little more secure in my work, having spent countless hours on drawings, revisions and yet more revisions...making microscopic changes that anyone might think as unnecessary... but each small change mattered. i am thrilled with the outcome and hope you will be too.

each charm is drawn and a relief is made, digitizing it in Adobe Photoshop. it's tedious but rewarding work. the digitized image is sent off and a prototype is sent back to me, and this is where i have to revise the image over and over and over again... well, until it's perfect. once i'm satisfied i make a clay impression into PMC (99% fine silver). various steps happen after i make the stamp, but it's finally fired, tumbled, oxidized, tumbled some more and polished to a high shine. each charm has its own personality which i love the most.

the love tree was something i wanted desperately to turn out the first time, but alas, it took almost six times for it to work out as i'd seen in my head. just a simple tree, sure, but the heart was either too big, too small, too fat or simply didn't look like a heart at all. i am so pleased with the its shape and more importantly the heart. <3

it really began with cupcake joy. i think she turned out as cute as a well, cupcake, especially with her heart on top. and again, it took roughly eight times to perfect. for some reason i was having a tough time with the look of the wrapper. one line would be off just slightly and make the entire thing look like it would grow legs and walk away. not the look i was going after. ha! in the end, it turned out as darling as can be and i absolutely LOVE her. :)

this was my most difficult. the coffee mug. i began drawing this in the summer. cracks me up to think how many times i sat down to sketch it out, only to get frustrated and toss the paper in the trash. i'd walk away and come back a few days later, hoping to have a clear mind. it wasn't until mid-december that it came together. the body of the mug was lengthened and i added more steam. originally, there was just one waft of steam coming from the top but it needed more. it took four times to perfect the width and length of the steam... sending it off to the stamp company and each returning incorrect... ::sigh:: i knew coffee would give a headache but this was ridiculous.

the final result is darling. this charm was made for my BF because she brings me coffee most days of the week. i love my java mornings with her.

this is how i wear my charms, in a cluster and i cannot tell you how many times i'm stopped and asked, "where did you get those?" and now i'm happy to say, "I Do!"

most necklaces run $69 which includes one charm, one pearl drop and sturdy sterling ball chain. you can also purchase charms separately, they're each $34. more charms are in the works... so be sure to get on my mailing list to be notified of new styles.

if you'd like to see my entire spring collection, click here.

picture project {month 1}

2012-01-07T12:57:00.000-05:00

i complain all the time to friends or anyone who'll listen, that i love taking photos {i have a great camera that i've had a couple years and it needs to be used more} and yet i rarely pull it out. so enough is enough. i want to capture moments with my family {all together}. this is such a cool idea.

while catching up with favorite blogs, i've decided to do a monthly-family-portrait. i am SO excited! here's on of the blogs i read regularly and where i have stolen this idea.

Fourteen Thousand Days {blog}

i've chosen a photo from november to use as my first... i realize it wasn't taken by me but i love love love this photo. for two years i begged Moon to find me weeds so we could take our picture in it... so this is the first.

happy saturday everyone. i have been making some new things, oh and i'll have tiny charms up later today. :) finally!

sweetest letter. {necklace}

2012-01-06T16:07:00.000-05:00

several years ago (like eight), a friend introduced me to PMC (aka: art clay silver, aka: precious metal clay) and i bought a small 25 dollar packet of it. sadly, i didn't know what to do with it and eventually it dried out. little did i know that i could revive it but i ended up throwing it away.

every now and then i'd think of the PMC and wanted to jump right into really working with precious metal clay. last october i got the chance, buying a new kiln and all the supplies to start moving in a new direction with my jewelry. i can't tell you how excited i was to really get clay on my hands. :)

i suppose one could say i'm late to the game, but with four kids i am late to a lot of things, and last year was a rough year for me and my family. we are all looking forward to twenty-twelve!

so here's the first in several new designs...

i'm excited to introduce the sweetest letter {necklace}. it's a thick piece of solid sterling with your initial in the center. if you'd like to find out more on how i create these, check out the listing on my website... link below.

go here

excuse the photo quality. my purse was stolen a few weeks ago and with the christmas rush i didn't have time to get a new one before this was taken. i absolutely love it! hope you do too! it's on sale right now until supplies run out. :)

hello 2012! {so glad you're here!}

2012-01-03T19:27:00.000-05:00

hello! it's been a while since i've written so i thought i'd post my christmas family newsletter that i sent to our family and friends.

dear family & friends,

what a long year it has been. normally i say it was so fast, that i didn't see it slip by, but not this year. although...since last year is over, maybe it did slide by pretty quickly. eh? :)

most of the year was a blur until summer when a few things happened at once. in june, jeff suffered a series of heart attacks, was hospitalized and had a stint put in a blocked artery. what a stressful time. with a lot of prayers, he's doing great now.

in july the four kids enrolled in theater camp at the theater house and had the best time performing in Once On This Island, Jr. Later in the month, my niece gave birth to a darling little boy. she and her husband are having the time of their lives with their new, happy bundle. he is so caaauuute! we all had a lot of fun with him at christmas.

august rolled around and can you believe we have two in middle school and two in elementary? however, this fall all that will change but the biggest change will be nathaniel's heading to high school. lord help me! :) crazy. they grow up too fast.

november came and i turned thirty. i mean forty. wait. what? what just happened there? ten years? where did those years go? well. poo. yeah. so i'm forty. :)

our december was eventful. nathaniel landed a role in our town's theater production of Scrooge, the Musical. he was peter cratchet and young ebenezer. we all saw it several times--the entire show was like being in New York. it was fantastic! i wish you all could have been there to see it. all the kids seem to have the acting bug and it's been a joy to see them perform.

my purse was also stolen last month. so sad. so much loss. it's unfortunate that people choose a life of crime that causes so much heartache to others. it just makes you stop and realize how we all need the lord in our hearts.

twenty-twelve came in with a bang, and we couldn't be more thrilled! jeff will walk the line in may from asbury university and begin student-teaching in the fall. currently he's teaching kindergarten and of course those little kids love him. he's always been my hero, but seeing him work so hard for our family makes me so proud. i adore him so.

we hope you are all doing well and keeping safe. may your year bring you happiness and cheer and in the words of Buddy the Elf, "take time to snuggle." hopefully we'll see you soon, but if not please know that we think of your often and love you all so much.

hugs,
jeff & laurie
nathaniel, natalie, nicole & nadine

new things {in the shoppe}

2011-12-13T14:58:00.000-05:00

{taken november 2011 by my bf moon}

happy holidays friends!

this has been a wild month for us, both bad and good. here's the scoop.

a few months ago my hands began shaking, almost like temors and i didn't want to go and have it checked out. however, after a few months of this driving me bonkers, i had no choice but to see someone about it. long story short my thyroid hasn't been working and my blood pressure is through the roof. ::sigh:: so they put me on some meds and thankfully i'm feeling worlds better! :)

nathaniel has been in our towns production of Scrooge, doing an amazing job, the entire cast has been fantastic. i can't even begin to tell you. this is the last weekend, and we're going to see it again on Saturday night. cannot wait! it's just like any wonderful broadway play in new york. love it.

so the last not-so-great thing that happened is that my purse was stolen out of my car a little over a week ago. just devastated. not only did i have cash in there, but i had put some loose diamonds inside the zip pocket. they were my grandmother's diamonds {remember me telling you we removed them from their old settings and sold the gold? that's how i got my new kiln...} anyway, we'd planned to have the diamonds set into something nice for christmas. ::sigh:: i think that was the biggest heartbreak of the entire year. not only did my favorite little coach bag get stolen, but my grandmother's diamonds are now long gone... so sad. i sobbed for two days. my daughter, nicole, put a letter in my room, telling me that i could have all of her birthday money {which was inside} so i could buy myself another new purse. i just sat and cried. bless her heart. i had told her that i just couldn't go out and buy a new purse like that... so she was trying to help. so sweet.

it's been an interesting month for sure, but even with these ups and downs i'm still so excited for christmas even if there's nothing for me under our tree. i can't wait to see the kids faces and how excited they are. we have some real surprises in the works. cannot wait!!!!

so lastly... my shoppe is filled with new goodies. be sure to check them out. go HERE. :)

have a great week, be safe out there!

what a great long weekend!

2011-11-09T15:32:00.001-05:00

hello friends!

lots to share... i'm trying to be a better blogger. :)

earlier in the school year our son, Nathaniel, tried out for Kentucky's Honor's Choir. he was so excited when we got news that he'd been asked to participate. while i didn't get to tape the entire two hour production, i was able to video one of my favorite songs of the performance. first, let me tell you that i cannot get over the voice-change, new height and the fact he'll be fourteen in a few months. ::sigh:: where have the years gone?

singing, i shan't be gone long. they did such a great job.

{sorry for my shaking hands, it was difficult to keep my phone steady}

yesterday we had a photo shoot with Moon, it's been two years, if you can believe it or not. i'm not liking this trend of time passing so quickly. however, we had a wonderful day {despite a bit of wind}, and as soon as she edits all the photos, i'll post more, but for now here you go:

nicole...

the girls...nicole (10), nadine (9) and natalie (11)

the family....growing up so fast

...in my entryway of my home, i have this quote framed on the wall. :)

we had a fun time doing some more "sexy" photos, if you can call these sexy, but there was a lot of giggling going on by me. lol and jeff kept trying to lick my face. lol i'm so glad moon made us do these.

and last but not least...thank you for all the emails and facebook comments, wishing me a happy birthday. forty only comes around once. lol i had a GREAT week! i went out to eat more times than i'd like to share, but it was worth it. my folks came to town the weekend before and took me out for lunch, friends missy and lisa took me out for lunch on wednesday, jeff and the family took me out for dinner wednesday night, then thursday i recovered from all the eating...my mother-in-law came for the weekend and she took me out too! lol but moon surprised me with our gang of girlfriends at PF Changs. they made me wear a "40" crown. lol it really wasn't so bad turning forty. :)

our waiter was wonderful too... and smelled very nice. lol ::wink wink::

i hope you are all having a great November {can you believe it!?} -- remember my Online Holiday Open House is coming up soon. :) later tonight i'll be reducing the prices of the items remaining in my shoppe. be sure to check them out.

happy wednesday!

Happy Birthday to Laurie - a post from a hacker

2011-11-02T00:17:00.000-04:00

Today is Laurie's 40th birthday, a day she has fretted about for months now. To honor this special occasion I have decided to hack her blog to wish her a happy birthday.

Dearest Laurie,
I think I have known you for nearly half of your life now. I want you to know that I love you now more than ever. Looking back I cannot even begin to imagine my life without you and all that you have added to my life over the years. Thank you for putting up with me because I know I got the better end of the deal. Im sorry that I can't throw you a big party and give you extravagant gifts (which you deserve).

I don't care that you are getting old, the gray hair, failing eyesight, and creaking joints haven't bothered me yet :) Actually I think you are getting sexier everyday. I was watching you sleep this morning and was reminded of just how lucky I am.

I hope your birthday is a very happy one. Because of the kind of person you are I know you will have about 7000 people emailing, calling, and stopping by to wish you a happy 40th. Everyone wants to be around you, and I am lucky because I get to live with you. Have a great day today, I will see you tonight and remember to save Friday for you and I to celebrate.

I love you baby!
Jeff

love {& loss}

2011-11-01T19:53:00.002-04:00

hi. i know. it's been a long time. for ~~weeks~~ months i've had a difficult time blogging. not sure why. i have a lot going on and i'm hoping that things will slow down and that my desire to chat will come back {because let's face it. i'm chatty.}

something happened to very close friends of ours. you know my friend. i've blogged about her many times. remember these faces on one of their visits? five of those faces are my friend carie's. we have been friends forever. it's one of the things i am most proud of, that i have this person out there that i have known so long and i know that if i really, truly need something she will be there for me. with open arms. crying with me. no matter what. in good times and in sad. that's the way lifelong friends are, after all. there is no greater love.

{that's a lot of hair i had, and look how preppy carie is with her izod and wooden handled purse.}

{this was taken about seven years ago, thankfully i have lost some weight but carie still looks fabulous.}

on october 7th my dear friend delivered a full-term little boy, but he was born still. my heart is so heavy for their family, whom we love so so much. both jeff and i walked around for days with this weighing us down and feeling their pain, it was simply the worst thing that could have ever happened. it was a freak accident. so random. the cord was wrapped around his leg five times, cutting off circulation to his body and heart. i am just so sad...i cannot even begin to imagine what they are feeling.

i wanted to do something. didn't know what. many people ask me to create 'memory' pieces for them and i am always happy to do it, but carie is a busy mom of five and doesn't need something banging into the washing machine or earrings that might get stuck in her sweater as she's taking it off. i needed something easy, something that i would wear...

and i thought of what i love the most... little charms. since i'd been working on PMC {precious metal clay} i decided to make something. with the help of my friend Beth from Hint, i made a relief drawing of the tiny lion that was on little baby's outfit, the last outfit he would wear. i then sent my drawing off to have made into a stamp, finally pressing it into PMC and then firing it.

i have debated sharing this story. not sure how to tell it, and being so personal...but then i thought of how many people who might be hurting and needing something just to keep with them, next to their skin.... that's special. personal. endearing. something tangible.

here's the little lion and baby's initial along with a freshwater pearl.

he is not perfect. this is one of the first pieces i have created. truthfully i love his imperfections. he is so sweet, this sweet little angel lion. i hope she can feel a bit of peace in her heart as she wears it. i love her so. <3

hello! {happy tuesday}

2011-10-18T11:10:00.000-04:00

hello! happy tuesday!

last friday i added some new items and let all my email subscribers know, and a lot was sold but there's still some left if you'd like to take a look. :)

i love this one and it's still here. the focal is beautiful. reminds me of a sunny beach with floating clouds.

this year my online annual holiday open house (!!!) will be earlier than usual. our son is in our town's production of Scrooge at the theater house. so exciting! he doesn't have a huge part as this is an adult play, but he does have some speaking lines and will be in the musical dance numbers. i can't wait!

so i'll be busy during the entire month of december. the online open house will be wednesday, december 7th at 7:30p. hopefully you'll be online to check everything out. :) it's always a huge hit and i always have huge discounts for holiday gifts.

ok, i'm going to get moving. so many things to do today. oh and hey, have you seen the new Whitney sitcom on Thursday nights? omg. too funny.

i'm outie. have a good one!
hugs,

something is wrong...

2011-10-17T13:44:00.002-04:00

something is wrong with my site... we're checking it out. i hate problems! lol all my photos are missing. ugh. hopefully i'll have it corrected soon!

i do not like spiders.

2011-09-13T11:02:00.000-04:00

i posted this to my facebook wall this morning and thought i'd share it with you all too. lol

for as long as i can remember, i have never liked spiders. they move too quickly, have too many legs and are always trying to sneak up on you. yuck! anyway, enjoy the video!

new changes in the works...

2011-09-06T11:04:00.000-04:00

why hello! how are you? it's been a while since i made a post, and that's mainly because school has started, orders are coming in and i find little time to sit down and chat. boo. however, i'm getting back into the swing of things so you'll be hearing from me a little more often i hope.

so. let's talk.

about six years ago one of my bloggy-beady friends introduced me to something called PMC. ie: precious metal clay. it looks and acts like clay but when it's fired it turns into sterling silver. amazing stuff. well, for the longest time i've wanted to get my hands on it, and while i did order a tiny package of it moons ago, i never tried it nor did i even open it up. ::sigh:: i quickly found out that you needed a lot more than just a stove burner to make this stuff come to life... no you needed an expensive kiln, tools, books... well, you get the idea. and i had none of that and with my life being busy i just never seemed to get control of time-management and get started with it.

until now.

last week i sold some gold and silver scrap and got enough money to buy another kiln, tools, pmc... well.... lol all of it. my chilipepper kiln only works for beads. (by the way, gold is on the rise, so sell off your junk stuff from the 80's and make some money--you might make enough to take a cruise! i have a friend who made 4K on old junky stuff from her teenage years). anyway, i'm ready to go with the pmc.

i cannot wait to show you. :) but until then... (i'm hoping next week) it's a secret.

here's what i can tell you... all throughout the week i'm going to be having close-out prices on a lot of my things. i'm not saying that i'll give up glass, but i will be cutting back on it drastically. i need a change.... and a change is on the way.

i'll see you tomorrow with some new goodies. :)

Petite Threla {coupon code}

2011-08-17T10:54:00.000-04:00

it's not often that i review products i love, but i'm thinking i should start. there are so many times when people ask me where i got this or that and i'm glad to share. so my latest find is Petite Threla on Etsy.

Threla has a main website, but as much as i loved browsing through each page and viewing all the products, i loved how the owner, TH, put together the sampler packs on etsy. so i tend to purchase there. everything is all-natural and is made with the best ingredients. you can read their entire story HERE.

i recently stumbled upon Petite Threla via Very Jane (sign up, great stuff!) and when my package arrived i was just giddy with excitement. the products are fabulous, top-notch and reasonably priced. i am in love!

so here are a few of my favorites...

lemongrass soap. ohmyword. it's a nice chunky bar and filled with goodness. this is a must. if it's not in stock, inbox TH {the owner} and she'll add it for you. it's really fabulous.

lip glaces. i wear them constantly. these are in a sense, chapsticks, but not. they are creamy and smooth, not waxy like traditional chapstick and they're lightly scented {not obnoxious, i can't stand obnoxious smells} and they are all tinted. they almost seem like lipstick but they're not as bulky or heavy. i adore them.

my TOP favorite is Toasted Coconut. however, i also love jasmin, sangria, plum, guava passionfruit, honey pear, apple and burnt caramel... and my NEW favorite is maraschino cherry.

i love their packaging too.

it has a soft red tint and perfect for a night out. love it.

i also purchased a couple lip balms too, and my girls love them. i bought irish cream and earl grey. for $8 dollars you can pick three. awesome stuff. :)

right now TH is on vacation but is still shipping, plus she's offering a coupon code for 10% off your total order. i think i might need a few more glaces... just sayin'.

remember to use code 10AWAY when you check-out. i hope you love these products as much as i do... and i bet you will. they're really wonderful! enjoy!

where did the summer go?

2011-08-06T10:36:00.000-04:00

last night we had our open house at the kids' school. tell me, where did the summer go? i've slacked on blogging and when i look on my last entry date i notice that it's from late june. wha? how'd that happen?

after jeff's heart attack (june 4th), i guess i just took a break from it, not meaning to, but mentally stepping back from blogging.

we didn't do too much this summer. mainly taking it easy i guess. jeff is in cardio rehab a few days a week and he seems to actually enjoy it. :) the kids have been swimming a lot at the pool and i've been able to go too. that's been a lot of fun.they have been to ohio so many times, i can't even keep count. we call it "Grandma Camp" lol. so even though we haven't really done anything exciting, we've still been here as a family spending time together.

this week i started taking some photos of each child, starting with nicole. i'm trying to be better at photographing them. i haven't edited this photo yet but i thought she looked sweet. :)

i added some new things to the SHOPPE so check them out. for today only, if you spend $99 you'll get $10 off your order by using the coupon code AUGUSTFUN when you check-out.

if you're not on my mailing list, you might want to sign up. i have a big back-to-school sale coming up and it's going to be a secret. :)

happy saturday!

it’s all good.

2011-06-26T11:38:00.001-04:00

hi everyone :)

how has your summer been going? around here it’s been pretty fabulous. {no. seriously!}

first, my younger two are with my folks in cincinnati while the other two experienced drama camp this past week {they loved it!}. today, we are headed back to OH to drop off natalie and grab the other two girls from one grandma’s house and transport them to another grandma’s house. lol jeff and the girls will stay with his mom while nathaniel heads to camp and i stay home alone {you have no idea how excited i am about this!}.

so, i’ll be back with some photos of all the things i’ve been up to…

moving my studio room to my dining room {i’m loving it!}

painting the buffet i got for my birthday from craig’s list last year

finally finish THIS project

and lots more!

later peeps!

oh, and my earrings sale is next week. it’s going to be fab! so be on the lookout!

laurie

be a smart pig with smartypig :)

2011-06-14T09:50:00.000-04:00

{hello!}

i started this business in the fall of 2002. it seems like a lifetime ago. when i think about all those years i ask myself if this is where i thought i'd be? honestly, the answer is no. not that i thought i'd be some shining star in the world of jewelry, no, but i thought things would be easier on us, that's for sure. i never thought i would have to worry about tomorrow like i do, or wake up early because of stress and miss hours of sleep because i can't let my mind rest with all that's going on around us. ::sigh::

who knew the economy would take a serious turn for the worse and i never thought my husband would have a heart attack at the age of 42. sticks i never thought would hit my spokes. those are the breaks, right? i look around me and i see friends on trips, building new homes and living life without a care in the world. i think is the grass greener over there? maybe a little? ya think?

there are moments when i think that i can't go another day and hanging on for dear life, but most days i try to get through it with cheerfulness. someone asked me this sunday, "how are you doing it?" the answer is i'm not sure. lol i pray a lot? is that an answer? the truth of the matter is, and you've heard me say it before, that life is kinda the luck of the draw. some hit the jackpot and some didn't, that's life.

this morning i was watching the news and they mentioned SMARTYPIG. it's an online savings account but it has great benefits. i thought i'd check it out and honestly, it looked great so i signed up. i figured it couldn't hurt. we don't make much so there's not much to put in the account, but i figure something is better than nothing. if you'd like a referral code, email me and i'll get it to you. maybe in a year or two we can take a family vacation with this money. :) that's my plan anyway.

in the hopes of bringing in some more business, i'm going to have a home show next WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22nd. if you're an intowner, i hope you'll stop by and if you're an onliner -- i'll have new things hit the shoppe this week and next.

thank you for your patronage these many years. doing so much of it with just my own two hands has presented problems here and there, but you are always so kind to me. thank you for understanding and being patient. right now i've filled almost every single order, so my pipeline {for the first time in years} is completely empty. i just felt that taking on new work with so much happening around my house would be unwise, and hopefully those who wanted custom pieces can request them now.

if you are looking for custom jewelry, contact me during the month of june for 20% off your order.

remember, to check out smartypig. i'm excited to get started. :)

happy tuesday everyone,

new {boro} earrings in the shoppe!

2011-06-11T13:33:00.001-04:00

i’ve added some new boro earrings to the shoppe! they’re fab! go check them out!

View Full Album

i’ll be adding more things later. :)

have a great saturday everyone! stay cool.

laurie

life has moments...

2011-06-10T17:17:00.000-04:00

that really take you by surprise.

last weekend my husband had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. we found out that he had one blocked artery and one that was closing or "narrowed", so they did two heart caths {extremely painful} and did a balloon procedure and put in a stint. ::sigh::

in some ways you could say it was good timing, if you can have good timing for something like this. jeff's last day for his school job was on thursday and his last final exam for Asbury was also on thursday. he had his heart attack 24 hours later. crazy. what bothers me is that his doctors from his hospital visit last month (for Afib) said that his heart looked "really great!" so um... i'm not sure what that was about. thankfully we did not have those doctors this time. ugh.

we're struggling a little bit right now. when i don't work i don't get paid, you know how it is when you're self employed. i'm excited to get back into my workshop and create fun things, fun things like the jellybeans series i created today.

enter code JELLYBEANS and get 15% off orders of $100 or more. :)

there's a lot of great summery styles, so check them out if you get a chance. :)

thank you for all the amazingly kind emails i received this week, it was wonderful. i hope he continues to heal and get back to his normal self. i don't know what i would do without him.

have a great weekend!

the end of school days…

2011-05-24T10:26:00.001-04:00

every year i find myself swamped with projects, awards ceremonies and field trips when the end of the year comes ‘round. this year was different, added to the list were chicken pox and a trip to washington, DC with my soon-to-be middle schooler, natalie. it has been a wild two weeks.

i just wanted to pop in and say hello, but i do have a great post filled with photos coming. :) right now however, i have to go meet with my a/c man because our air conditioner died three weeks ago. (insert sad face here)

today will be a great day! the a/c will be fixed! yay!

talk to you soon… in the meantime, here’s a photo of the Simmons 5th graders in front of the White House. (natalie is the one in the orange hoodie, far right corner)

laurie

are you wondering?

2011-05-10T10:10:00.001-04:00

where i have been? yeah. me too.

it seems that life has gotten in the way of things and new designs took a back seat. however, all my custom orders are now complete and either shipping out or have already shipped out, which is nice. some are waiting on back-ordered charms to arrive—which is annoying when i’m impatient {and i also know you are excited to receive your goods!}.

so what’s new? lots of things! so much on the way! please check back as lots of new things will hit the shoppe in the next couple of days. also, if you get on my mailing list you’ll receive an extra discount code to use too. :) {click newsletter link above}

jeff is feeling GREAT, thank you SO much for all your thoughts and prayers during this time, it is greatly appreciated. the kids are BUSY! omg! i can’t believe the school year is over and summer is on the way!

these darling pearl drop earrings remind me of summer. i can’t wait!

i hope you have a wonderful day! talk to you soon!

laurie

testing testing…

2011-04-28T13:53:00.001-04:00

anyone out there? :) i’m setting up my desktop auto-publishing for my blog and just testing it out. :)

just the beginning...

2011-04-21T16:53:00.000-04:00

i'll put up the new things later this evening. for now, here's a few that i just love!

these are just the beginning... so many more to come. i'm just trying to get all the custom pieces finished and in between get photos edited and loaded. they're all on the way! hope you love them!

happy thursday to you!

back in full swing...

2011-04-20T14:10:00.000-04:00

hi and happy wednesday :)

i'm really in shock over how fast easter has arrived. are you? i'm sure if you go through posts from years past that you'll find where i say it every year. yeah. pretty sure.

it's almost may! crayzee.

last week this time i was in an ICU room waiting to hear about jeff's heart condition. today we spent a good portion of our day at the Gill Heart Institute at UK, talking to his cardiologist on how to proceed from here. thankfully he's doing great and feeling like his old self again, ready to take on the world. while his doc said it was rare for someone so young to have this condition, it wasn't uncommon. from here on out, should he begin to feel strange, he can email his cardio doc and then they'll figure out what to do. i'm really amazed at the care we've received. have i mentioned i'll never leave kentucky? i love it here. it's almost been twelve years. this is home.

thank you again for all the wonderful emails. i had close to two hundred (194 to be exact). you have no idea how appreciative i am of your kindnesses to us.

so i'm back in full swing! tomorrow (possibly tonight) depending on the weather, i'll have the things i intended to put up for last weeks easter sale in the shoppe. they're so darling. lots of bracelets with peppy colors, fun, bright earrings and necklace sets. love love!

sorry for the triple no-pictures-posts. ::sigh:: it's been one of those months i guess. :)

love you all.

what a week.

2011-04-16T22:24:00.001-04:00

so. it's been a week. probably the most stressful i've ever had. ever.

sometime early last week (sunday?) jeff says he really feels funny and 'not right'. he continues to work and do his regular things, even going to class on monday night. looking back, i can't believe he was driving.

i went walking with moon on wednesday morning {it's getting easier, btw} and we went to lunch afterwards. jeff calls and says he's going to see his doctor just to get checked out because he still doesn't feel right and now he says he's dizzy too. ::sigh::

he gets to his doctor and wasn't there but a few minutes before they want to send him to the ER at UK. jeff calls me and tells me the situation and that i don't need to come in but that he'll call me later. i think ok, this must not be too bad. right? great. good. really glad about that.

the next call i get is from jeff's ICU nurse at UK Good Sam. she starts with, "hello, mrs. eller? this is lena. i'm your husbands nurse and he's being sent to the ICU. when you get here i will take you to him and explain what's going on." {she does mention that he's doing okay but gives me no information at that point}

when i got that call i was standing in the middle of the street talking with my neighbors, talking about grass and how we hate yard work. benign conversation in comparison. definitely.

after the call i can't tell you how i felt. it was this internal emotional pull going on. i was jumpy and wanted to shout out why is this happening and pray and cry at the same time. i have to tell you that in light of my past situations {that have never been anything like this} i think i did okay. so i'm getting better, right? i hope anyway.

i digress.

so i get the kids settled, my neighbor came to my rescue and got them dinner. i was really appreciative of all her help. {thank you rhonda! -- makes you think of that song, right? help help me rhonda? lol} and i headed to the hospital. didn't call anyone other than my bff because i didn't know how this was going to go and she has a way of making things very calm. {her best attribute, btw}

i get to the hospital and lena takes me to the ICU floor where i find my 42 year old, never-been-in-a-hospital husband hooked up to all sorts of monitors and getting ready to get IV #2. {totally freaked me out} i got the chance to talk to his cardiologist {who introduces himself to me as "david" --which made me love him right off. i mean what chief of cardio do you know who gives you his first name as a call sign? yeah. none. but it gave me that feeling that we were friends and we would get through this}. he tells me that jeff's heart is out of rhythm and needs medication but if that doesn't work we'll "shock" it back into good sinus. {my mind was reeling. i can't imagine how jeff was feeling right now.}they would monitor him through the night, giving him this medication {cardezim} and if that didn't work he would bring in another cardiologist to do several procedures on his heart. he also talked about the reasons for the irregularity was due to low potassium and a high level of stress. ::sigh:: by the way, we had such amazing care at UK, that i really don't think we'd go anywhere else from here on out. it was truly fantastic.

i won't go into all of the horrible things that went on while they were trying to get his second IV going, but let's just say that his arms are literally purple, black, blue and yellow. ::sigh:: more than 14 tries and 4 nurses all with no luck. what a mess. bless his heart.

jeff's mom and aunt rushed in late wednesday night to be with him on thursday. we were both glad they came. that night our close friends, the jones' kept the girls and our other friends, the cissell's took nathaniel. we have such precious friends. they all came to our rescue at our time of need. so so blessed. {i'd also like to mention that both of these families have a lot of kids! one has four -- with a 3 mos old --and the other has three, so to take on our kids was just supernatural stuff. love you all!}

early on thursday morning we prepared for the internal ultrasound of his heart and then they would find out if there were any clots and if everything was clear then they'd go on with the plan to get his heart back in rhythm. during this time i was in the waiting room and they began to sedate him. i think this was the scariest time for me. i had every emotion going on and the thought of not having him in my life, even though this was a remote possibility, still made me so scared. sure, it's all in God's will. yeah i get that, but i'm pretty selfish and i certainly don't think that God needs him as people will often say when people die. i'm not one of those who thinks that way. i'm more like sally fields from steel magnolias where she says that we need him here. remember that scene? powerful to say the least. anyway, that's the way i feel. so just the idea that my husband of nearly seventeen years might not be around just wasn't on the table.

it makes me realize how important he is to me. i've always known this. he's my best friend and honestly, i knew from the moment we had that first date back on december 26th of 92' that he was the one. i was lucky. not everyone is as lucky as i have been and although we have struggles like every other couple we know that in the end we're in this together. that's really all that counts.

everything turned out just fine and his cardio doctors did a fabulous job. it was difficult to come into his ICU room and see him but i was so relieved that he would be okay. when his doctor asked him how he was feeling {he was still sedated but coming out of it}, jeff replies with, "that was so much fun. let's do that again." lol i'm not sure if he'll remember that but it made everyone laugh. then he asked if he could get "the shirt" lol cracked me up!

i know my post is somewhat of a ramble and there's much more to the story, but i've been writing it over a series of days so i hope that it makes sense {a little}. really the bottom line is that we should never take a day in this life for granted. it can be gone in an instant. as i sit here on my bed writing this i listen to jeff's quiet breathing and think how grateful i am to have him in my life. his doctors did say that there's a good chance this could happen again so jeff's going to begin taking things a bit easier on himself. :) i love him so.

jeff was able to come home late thursday and he's been resting ever since. he's very weak but will be back to his normal self soon. for me, i'll be getting back to work on monday so i'm about a week behind. if you're waiting on something, it will be shipped out soon. my goal is to have everything off my table by next friday. it's been a crazy time around here and i am so thankful to all of you who've sent me emails. i was overwhelmed with your kindness and it touched my heart more than you'll ever know. :) thank you so much.

another big thing happened today. our first born turned thirteen. may he have a wonderful year in this the first of many teenage years! :) we are so blessed to have such a wonderful family. i might complain now and then {okay all the time lol} but really i think they're each so precious and they make me laugh every single day.
hugs to you all. :)

tuesday's table

2011-04-12T16:21:00.000-04:00

i'm desperately trying to get ready for the easter sale and get custom orders out the door, plus i need to finish all the cupcake bracelets...so as soon as i can get the tuesday's table post edited (photos), i'll put it up. :) i'm sorry! it's getting pretty busy around here! if you're waiting on a custom order, the majority will ship this week and the others (double-strands) will ship on monday. i'm still waiting on silver. ::sigh:: (isn't that always the case!?)

if you have any questions, drop me an email.

have a great evening!

i know. i know. i've been MIA.

2011-04-11T11:08:00.000-04:00

i know what you're thinking. where have i been? right? yeah. i know.

last week was spring break and i packed our four kids up and drove them to grandma and papaw's house. grandma was the entertainment coordinator and took them to so many places i can't even tell you how many, but the big event of the week was great wolf lodge. the kids had a blast! they went out to eat every single day and had places to go and things to do. they had a great week!

what did jeff and i do?

we worked.

every. single. day.

it's fine. you can feel sorry for us. lol but i had a good time, no matter what you think! :) i've always been the crafty sort (no! you're joking! yes. yes. it's true.) and this was my week to tackle some unfinished projects (no i have still not finished my chair...soon people. soon!)

first came nathaniel's bedroom. he's turning thirteen this week (what!? when did that happen?) and we wanted to do something pretty big. so we redesigned his room. honestly, it wasn't all that difficult since the room consisted of a mattress on the floor surrounded by hundreds of candy wrappers. i'm not joking. however, before the mattress landed its way to the floor, he had a really nice maple loft bed but he didn't like having to climb into bed anymore. so we sold it. i don't have any before photos, because like i said, it was a mattress and a lot of candy wrappers so just imagine what that looked like will you? lol

here are some afters (they're a little blurry. took these with my tiny point and shoot... i'll take some better pics after i paint the closet doors, or remove them, i haven't decided yet).

i scored the bamboo blind from Lowes. it was 90% off and cost us less than $5 bucks. i know right!?

the only things we had before the room makeover were the two posters which had yet to be removed from their wrappers...so everything was brand new (oh and the tv isn't new). when he opened the door, this was what he saw... and he was SO surprised!

still need to paint (or remove) the doors... not sure what i want to do yet.

we found everything for his room at Ikea and Target. you know how i love ikea! it's the best place if you want to keep to a budget, it's really amazing what they have to offer. the room "idea" came from a show room floor design they had in their actual store... pic below:

i really liked how they had the best behind the wall unit, it acts as a privacy... so cool.

we still have a few things to finish but you get the idea. :)

more to come! stay tuned! (how have you been?)

april fool's and my son

2011-04-01T10:47:00.001-04:00

the news man said we were a quarter through the year. what? when did that happen? he's right though. we are. kinda scary really if you stop and think about it. it's A P R I L.

this year brings two big birthdays. nathaniel will be turning 13. a teenager. ::sigh:: i'm not sure i'm ready for this. i never saw any of my kids past the age of ten in my mind, and we're way past that now. lol way.

so when he came running into my room last night, yelling about the cut on his arm and did i have anything for it or should we go to the hospital, i about had heart failure.

{snapped with my iphone}

so then when i begin to freak, he stops me and says "early april fools mom!" lol

he made this fake blood with a prank kit he got for christmas that he's finally putting to use. it also comes with itching powder. i sure hope i don't get that on me today. lol

what a boob. this tells me i'm in for a lot of craziness with his teen years. :)

thankfully he's a good fella and won't try and torture me too badly...i hope. lol

the other big birthday is me. i turn forty this year. {moon will be forty before me though. just sayin.shh. don't tell her i told you. she turns the big 4.0 in august. i'm november. see? i told you. she's way before me! lol} not sure what we're gonna do yet to celebrate it. something big and fun. :)

i'm not into april fool's jokes {aren't you glad!?} but i do have a fun april sale for ya.

this bracelet is in the shoppe for order only while supplies last...

Spring Cupcake

it is so cute! grab one while you can. they'll be gone soon because all good things have to end sometime {or when i'm so overwhelmed that i can't take on any more. lol}

go here to check it out.

* * *

after school today we're taking the kids to my folks' house for a week to spend spring break with them.

my mom is a big entertainer and my dad goes along for the ride. lol cracks me up! so while they're

having a grand time living it up, jeff and i will be working on our master bathroom. i'm going to take

photos so you can see. :) we're gutting it to the studs. ack!

i might do some painting too. you just never know. i'm pretty sure i'll be doing something with paint. lol

have a great weekend! happy april everyone! summer is so close! yay!!!

tuesday's table a day late {silver}

2011-03-30T22:12:00.000-04:00

hi. i know. i'm a day late on the tuesday's table. really sorry. i have a new computer and the photo editing software i had was just giving me a fit {making me nuts is more like it} but i'm all okay now and ready to go. i'm still not sure if my computer is calibrated properly so if these photos look wonkified to you, let me know. lol

so let's get started.

today's tuesday's table is about silver.

as i've mentioned a gazillion times before, silver has been on the rise for several years but in the last year it's really gone up. for we jewelry makers it has presented a huge problem simply because we don't want to raise our prices but we're feeling pushed against the wall with the increase in our silver costs.

we want to take care of the silver we do have and one way to do that is to store it properly. about three weeks ago while planning for this post i did a simple experiment with some of my silver wire. originally it was shiny and beautiful so i wrapped the shiny and new wire in a bounty paper towel. see above.

when i removed the once beautiful wire, it was nearly brown. yuck. it can really destroy silver. sure, you can clean it but if it's been sitting about or inside a paper towel, it will be extremely difficult to get it back to its sparkling newness.

so what are the best ways for storing silver?

there is only one true way {in my opinion} and that's with plastic zippie bags. you must keep it away from air and the acid that's naturally in the air. it will speed up the tarnishing process.

{i actually have many of these, but the brand i like are where the bead sides are sloped so you can grab beads easily--this one is just an example}

there's another way too, but i recommend it ONLY if your silver is constantly on the move. what do you mean by that? well, for me i use a LOT of 3mm seamless rounds and i keep them in a plastic bead storage container (you know, the kind with the snappy tops that you can buy at hobby lobby?). these are constantly on the move. in. out. in. out. constantly being used so there's little time for them to get tarnished. i use them for tiny things like crimps, crimp covers, my byLGD tags, tiny rounds and jump rings. these things are my everyday use items so there's no need to put them into zippie bags since i'm always working with them.

look closely. ::sigh:: my pandora bracelet which has been kept in a simple zippie for at least two years is sunshine bright in comparison to the silver wire that was shiny but after being wrapped in a paper towel for three weeks is now all brown. ugh.

what happens if my silver beads are tarnished?

about six or seven years ago i purchased a rock tumbler and bought shot from connie fox. it is the best thing you can do for yourself if this is more than a hobby for you. actually, if it is a hobby you might want to invest in one too because honestly they're not terribly expensive in the scheme of things. you can purchase a tumbler from harbour freight for roughly 30 bucks. you just need to get stainless steel shot and connie can supply that to you, i think it's about 30 or 40 dollars. she also carries single and double tumblers but they're a little more expensive than the ones at HF and work the same.

one thing you should NEVER do is clean your silver with liquid silver cleaner.

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE LIQUID CLEANER.

in my earlier years i did that and within a few seconds my slightly tarnished silver went to dull and ruined silver. ::sigh:: the best method is to buy a polishing cloth and many online companies have them. all your typicals (artbeads, fusion, etc) have the cloths and you can keep several on hand. i use mine all the time but my main method of cleaning is tumbling silver.

so. in short. let's review:

1. keep your silver in any sort of air-tight packaging. ie: zippie bags

2. never wrap silver in paper towels, silk or any other fabric that might contain chemicals
or cleaning agents

3. to clean silver, use a rock tumbler (along with shot) or use a polishing cloth

4. absolutely never use a liquid cleaner to clean sterling silver {that's used for jewelry}

* * *

i have a big spring break sale coming up, however this little darling will be on the site tomorrow. i actually have to already made and available. :) see them below? aren't they just so sweet?!

again, i'm really sorry for being so late and thank you for your patience. it's always tough to get all your programs onto a new computer. i'm up and running now. :)

have a great day tomorrow!

reduced items {in the shoppe}

2011-03-28T23:26:00.000-04:00

hello friends :)

this is just a quickie post with no pictures. boo.

i'll have a new tuesday's table tomorrow. so check back.

the sale section of my shoppe has newly reduced items.

also, lots of new things coming your way and my spring break sale next week.

so much is going on inside my brain, that it's spinning with ideas.

i hope your day was as nice as mine. :)

getting ahead of the game {tuesday's table}

2011-03-23T16:37:00.000-04:00

hi all.

it's pouring cats and guinea pigs outside. seriously. so obnoxious.

in between waiting for the kids to come inside and ask what we're having for dinner and me cleaning the clay out of my newly baked beads, i thought i'd put an apb out there and ask a question.

what would you like me to write about for tuesday's table sessions?

i had a few emails on how i store my things, what my take is on using brass and copper over silver and my favorite... where do you get all the stuff you buy? lol this one cracks me up because years ago i thought i shouldn't just hand over all the goods to those who don't bother to even LOOK for it online. however, now i'm a bit more secure about it all and don't really care one way or the other. oh, and i'm asked a LOT about website stuff... which i don't really mind sharing but it just takes too long so i doubt that will come up anytime soon. my husband builds wordpress blogs so if you ever want one, he's super good. (his most recent: http://www.luciescleaning.com/ - i did the photography, he did everything else)

so what do you want? make a comment and you'll get a discount code for the shoppe. how's that for bribery?

back to the cleaning and dinner...

tuesday's table {crystal}

2011-03-22T12:51:00.000-04:00

There are various companies who create crystal beads, but I prefer Swarovski. I have never tried anything other than this brand simply because I consider it to be the best. Why settle for less?

I'm often asked where I get my crystals, and for the hobbyist the best company is ART BEADS. They have a wide variety and you don't have to buy in multiple packs, you can buy one of every color if you'd like. When I was just starting out I used them constantly. Not only are they fantastic for their fast shipping, but they really have a massive selection of shapes, styles and colors.

Should I use crystal that has a finish on it?

Typically my answer to this is no. Why? Because in my opinion you'll notice that the finish will fade and scratch over time, even with the best of care. I know this from my own experience. Yes, there are times where I feel like using a finish (say, Satin or Aurora Borealis -known as AB- for example) will just make the piece I'm designing, but it's rare.The finish is applied to the crystal by a steam method. One of my only pieces where I use a crystal finish is my Edward's Lullaby bracelet. It's one of my most popular sets.

In this set I'm using both a Satin and AB finish. The small crystal rounds are AB and the Satin beads are the large 10mm rounds next to the focal bead. They're Smoky Topaz in Satin. It's truly one of the ONLY times I've used finishes but it warrants it. If you're not familiar with the Twilight Series, then you might not understand the need for 'sparkle'. ::winks to those who're in the know:: :)

So when you're deciding on what crystal to choose with your design, always ask the question, "how much will this piece be worn?" You always want your work to be top notch and sometimes that means going with something that might not have as much flair to it but that will have a long and lasting life. Sure, the finish-type beads cost more, but are they worth it if your customer will end up having a piece that looks dingy and old after one season of wear? Yeah. Not so good.

I also felt that most likely due to the cost and the love of all things Twilight, that this set would be well taken care of and worrying about the finish wasn't as necessary. It's not going to be an 'every day' set. It will be put away and only worn for those wonderful events in which you want to shine {or sparkle}. So it wasn't a huge worry when I decided to use them. It makes this set and I love it.

Another wonderful supplier for crystal {with a massive selection} is FUSION BEADS. What I love about their site is its fantastic color chart of crystals. It's the best I've seen that has a true-to-color chart. Have you ever purchased crystals that weren't exactly what you thought? Yeah. I've been there too. When that happens, just set those beads aside and use them for your random sets...sometimes those turn out the best anyway. I did an entire series of Jamboree bracelets and used all sorts of random colors, they turned out beautifully and were a big hit. Who knew!? Really. The trick is not to be afraid.

But I digress, back to buying the wrong color...

What happens if the color I pick looks different online than it does in person?

Ok, so when that happens do what I do. Buy ONE of every single color and have them on hand. Put each small bead in a tiny zippie (remember, you can find these for 50% off at Hobby Lobby) and then make a board to tag them to, or just keep them in a box for easy reference. That way you'll never be wrong again. This really happens to the best of us and honestly, Swarovski is constantly coming out with new colors so it's always good to order at least one small pack of whatever the newest thing is... and it's a fun surprise too!

I tend to be a creature of habit.

This is {one of} my worst traits. I love to use a small handful of colors over and over. Indicolite, Light Colorado Topaz, Tanzanite, Rose, Topaz... just to name a few. lol But sometimes I really need to break from my mold. How can you do this? Buy a few packs of the color you're not using very often and force yourself to find a new color to enjoy for a little while. It's worth a shot!

While gemstones are constantly on the rise with popularity, crystals will never lose their sparkle because they just look so clean with their sleek edges and beautiful cut. Sometimes you need a specific look to complete your piece and gemstones might just not have what you're after. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for a great strand of gems (!!!) but I have about ten or twelve trays of crystals that make me giddy every single day. lol

What is your favorite shape and sizes?

I have two. Rounds and Rondelles. I love rounds because they give a lot of wow to a piece, but I love rondelles because they throw a good punch. You can pack several colors in with rondelles where you couldn't with rounds simply due to their size.

Take these Caramel Swirls earrings... I used large, 10mm rounds and they just look fantastic. Had I used rondelles, they would have looked smashed and no where near as delicious. The large rounds pack a huge wow, especially when the sun hit them. So sometimes 10mm is the best choice! I'm always using them in bracelets, but don't be afraid to use them in earrings...just be careful that your beads aren't too large or they'll be annoying to wear all day long.

In these Sedona Sky earrings, I used rondelles. If I'd used an 8mm round they would have looked top-heavy and lost their charm. I wanted the topaz rondelles to make you think of the Sun, but I certainly didn't want them taking over. That's the nice thing about the rondelle size, you can add sparkle and fun to a pair of earrings without making them look too obnoxious.

When it comes to size I tend to think the bigger the better. lol My rounds are typically 8 and 10mm, and rondelles are always 8 and 12mm. It really depends on the look I'm going for, but usually it's the 10mm round and 8mm rondelle. Years ago I thought it was "proper" to use 8mm but once I ordered a 10, I was completely hooked. lol :)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you liked today's lesson. :) Have a great day! I'm still working on custom pieces. I've had an issue with purple glass (shocky shocky!) and am torching again today to get it right. Wish me luck! Also, I have new things on the way and a huge, crazy, wild, massive sale is coming next week.

Happy Tuesday!

hello {weekend}

2011-03-11T14:16:00.000-05:00

just a quick hello hello...

i'm sorry i wasn't around much this week. i have quite a few custom orders i'm working on and it's taking up all my spare moments. one of them was a real challenge but i love how it's turning out! more on that later next week.

the weather here is gorgeous. i am so happy that it's friday.... have a great weekend! i'll talk to you soon!

tuesday's table {wire}

2011-03-08T00:09:00.001-05:00

for today's tuesday's table {say that three times fast! lol} we're going to begin with the basics. beading wire.

so what kind of wire is best? {i think you can figure out my fave lol}

when i first began this journey of designing jewelry {way back in 2002} everyone was using .019 soft flex wire. it never even occurred to me that there was another choice. i knew about .014, which is great for stringing delicate things like pearls of tiny gemstones, but it is not good for anything with meaty weight. even .019 isn't your best choice for stones 8mm and larger.

when you use a thin wire, despite its having 49 strands inside its plastic coating, with things that are heavy you end up with too much stretching. heck, it will even break fairly quickly. there's only so much wire can take, after all.

thankfully i rarely have anyone return items for things breaking. in all these years i can say it has happened less than ten times. however, things can and do stretch with constant wear. it's a bummer because no one wants to see holes and who wants to see the string itself? i sure don't. sometimes i'm so surprised by other jewelry designers when they leave so much slack in their creations, that one can see the hole along with the wire. certainly, i don't want it to be so tight that it will snap on you, but naturally jewelry will stretch and it will begin to have its own slack so you don't need to leave so much that it will be noticeable to the person buying it. it's a sign of poor craftsmanship.

so rule of thumb: if you see a bracelet whereby you can see the inside of the beads hole and/or the wire it's strung on, move along. do not buy that item. it tells you it's made by someone who doesn't have good knowledge of how something should be made.

what kind of wire do you use and why?

i use soft flex .024. it is the best there is. here's what i purchase... click HERE. you might not need the 1000 feet but if you are in this business for the long haul, this is the BEST choice. it's the best for your money. if this is your hobby, go with the 100 or even 30 foot.

the .024 wire is in the 'heavy' category for that very reason: you can use heavier beads. i've been using it for the last six years and has proven itself golden {although i buy the silver kind, ha}. it's fairly costly yes, but you have to weigh your options. would you rather purchase the lesser expensive wire and then have customers returning their things to you because they're breaking? no. that would close your doors rather quickly i'd imagine. i think it's one of the main reasons why i've been here so long, because i know that my work is GOOD work. i take pride in it. i don't worry about things breaking. (unless you put your bracelet on the roof of your car and drive off... lol this has happened before)

how do you cut your wire?

lots of designers probably use a pair of nipping or flush cutter tools, but not me. i would never cut the wire with something so expensive {tools are costly, hello}. i bought a pair of $1.99 scissors from Hobby Lobby {you know, the kind with the colorful rubbery handles?}. these puppies are super sharp and last at least a year or so of constant cutting. typically i put out 50 or more items a week, so just imagine how much cutting they get and they are still going strong. when they begin to lose their cutting power, i give them to the kids to cut scraps of paper and then go buy myself another 2 dollar pair. lol seriously, for that price it will take you years to get up to what you would pay for flush cutters. in all these years i think i've gone through four pairs. four. no joke. {mind you, these are sharp scissors, and so you might end up paying a bit more if you cannot find this exact type, but you can purchase these online at hobby lobby by using the link above} by the way, my handles are pink. ::winks::

remember, if you have good bones to your piece, you'll produce something that will last a long time and make your customers happy. isn't that what it's all about anyway? :)

by the way, sorry i missed last week. we've had some Internet problems {all fixed now!}. yay!

have a great day!

new stoneware & gemstone jewelry {new!}

2011-03-03T20:10:00.000-05:00

you know how i talked about breaking out of my lampwork box and getting into some other things? experimenting with unusual and unique finds?

well. this is my first break-free series. stoneware! i simply LOVE each of these pieces!

this is just one of many new designs that i've created this week... with MANY more to come. check the shoppe for more!

go here to see...

learning my {vices}: learning to {exercise}

2011-03-01T13:34:00.000-05:00

learning my {vices}: learning to {exercise}: "treadmill meet people. people meet treadmill. yeah. he's been hidden under all these blankets for about five months. no joke. sometime last ..."

painting {laura ashley apple #5}

2011-02-26T11:28:00.002-05:00

jeff is the Youth Pastor at our church. the youth have the entire 3rd floor to do with as they wish and it's been under construction for roughly a year. however, now it's really moving along and i'm so excited! after about eight "tester" paint colors from lowes, we finally settled on a theme of gray flannel with pops of color. when i say "pops" of color i mean SERIOUS color!

moon had her loft painted in the most beautiful shade of green.

she told me it was laura ashley's apple #5 and so we used that color in our youth room as well. it's so lovely. here's a shot of the wall, mind you the paint is still wet. today i'm going to do some more work so i'll take another picture of it dry so you can see the difference. (i took this with my phone. sorry for the blur.)

we have so much planned for this space. it's actually two large rooms, one side will be eating and the other lounging with a platform for small productions (think improv). the flooring we chose is a deep mocha from sam's club. the faux wood flooring they have nowadays is fantastic. it looks so much like wood.

so that's what i'm up to today. we painted last night until after one in the morning. thankfully i'm not terrrribly pooped so i'm heading back this afternoon to complete the other side of the room. :) more pics to come.

i hope you're enjoying your weekend! on monday i'll be having some more earrings and necklaces. also, my package of ceramic charms arrived. oh. my. word. the joy! i'll share them with you next week!

just a quick note...

2011-02-24T12:16:00.000-05:00

...just a quick note to let you know that all packages will be mailing today and tomorrow. i am feeling so much better (despite my recent coffee headache. boo.) the kids all seem to be over their strep but still on antibiotics. thank you for all the lovely emails. :)

i hope you all love everything! :) i know i do!

all custom work is still on my table. i'll let you know the progress via personal emails. :)

thank you!

new things {coming tonight}

2011-02-23T16:35:00.000-05:00

happy wednesday everyone!

i have new things hitting the shop tonight.

they will load around 8:30p.

be on the look out.

peace out.

tuesday's table {new projects}

2011-02-22T12:37:00.003-05:00

for quite some time i've wanted to share things that are on my work table. basically i'll be showing you current projects or new things i've found that you might enjoy, that sort of thing.

with this being the first 'tuesday' i'm going to share something that was sent to me earlier this month.

i've been creating jewelry since 2002 and in that time i've found that when it comes to tools, you get what you pay for. i started out using those cheapy tools from michaels {and back then they were pretty basic tools} and other hobby places. my first "good" tools were purchased from the wonderful Connie Fox. they were lindstrom flush cutters. i love them. i have several pairs. over the years i've added other tools to my collection but i'm always going back to my favorite three:

1. round nose pliers

2. bent nose pliers

3. flush cutters

{i use crimpers too}

when you find what works for you, stick with it. changing things up in the tool area isn't always the best idea unless the change is for the better. if you purchase a pair of tools on recommendation of another beader, then you're probably okay. experienced beaders know what works and what doesn't. believe me, i have done some really stoooopid things in the past but once i've gone around fools hill, i don't go back. lol

earlier this month i received the nicest letter from mike billings, marketing manager at lindstrom. i had an issue with a pair of flush cutters and they were so gracious to fix it for me. not only did mike have a new pair sent to me, he also sent me this letter along with two new tools that have yet to be introduced to the public.

you should have seen my face when i opened up my box. inside it were two new jewelry tools, made especially for wire-wrappers like me. i was giddy. the girls thought i'd gone bonkers, i'm sure. but it's times like these when you feel like you're apart of the community of people who make what you do so EASY. my work could never be so precise or 'clean' {as i like to call it} without these amazing tools. i feel like i'm in good hands with my lindstrom tools.

the new tools came in a leather-bound zipper case, such a nice touch, too.

since i've had them for several weeks now i thought i'd share my thoughts...

i simply love them.

at first i was worried because the pliers aren't bent nose, but i was shocked to see how quickly i could adapt to this style of tool. my favorite part is the weight of the handles and how they fit beautifully in my hands. it's like a favorite pair of gloves. also, when you go to squeeze a wire into place the weight is distributed evenly and you don't get that funky lop-sided wrap that you see often in work. that's from a poor set of tools. if you have good tools, you get an even weight and the wrap will stand upright and firm.

the handles material is different, i don't know what it is but i like it. i am allergic to latex, plastic and silicone {who knew?} so handles can be a really tricky thing for me, giving me thick scabs that run across my hands. awful. typically i wrap my handles with tape to keep them from touching my skin but it doesn't usually matter, the damage still manages to get to me. yuck. however, these are completely different. i love them. i've noticed no new markings on me when i use them and i'm thrilled to report that you'll soon be able to get your own when they hit the market later this year.

in short, my favorite things about my new tools...

the edges of the blades are all rounded so there's no nicking your metal when you're wrapping.

they have a nice weight to them

fits your hands like a glove

made of a material i am not allergic to

weight is evenly distributed

i can't say enough thanks to mike billings and the folks over at lindstrom. it was such a kind gesture to include me in their testing of these new tools. i'm honored and will cherish my gifts for as long as they have life...which will be a very, very long time. i love my lindstrom tools. :)

* * *

there are so many wonderful tools out there but i tend to be a creature of habit, sticking to what i know and love. it's a good thing but it can also spill out in my other work and limit my imagination, this is something i'm working on. for instance, i have new gemstones and i plan to put them with some gorgeous ceramic pieces i found on etsy. i've had them in my cart for a while but this morning i finally took the plunge and purchased thhem. :) it's about breaking the molds you set for yourself and being free to explore new territories.

after all, i'm looking for a new dance.

i'll be back next tuesday with some more new things on my table.

my dance.

2011-02-21T16:11:00.001-05:00

winter is a time when everyone hunkers down and stays indoors, shutting out the life outside and hibernating until the sun shows his face again. i love winter before christmas but as soon as presents are opened and the new year ball drops i am eagerly awaiting new life and a new dance. the dance of what my come.

when i saw the table of gorgeous sunny yellows i knew they had to be mine. buttery yellows have never been in my closet and i'm not sure why. last month i found a mustard scarf with adorable tassels at the tips and it just makes me so happy. i wear it all the time with my gray sweater moon gave to me {i practically live in that sweater, by the way. it's a serious addiction. but it's so cozy!}.

anyway, when i came home the first thing my fingers landed on were these soft yummy opal yellow gemstones. they are my new dance.

i've added strips of turquoise. with the gold mixed in you can just feel the warmer days coming. i know i can.

earrings come too :)

i hope when you wear it you'll think of all the new dances you're going to have this spring.

to view more photos, go HERE.

happy monday

2011-02-21T13:51:00.000-05:00

how was your weekend? ours was lovely. saturday brought quiet and bonding time. take a looky at this pic that the hubs snapped. funny kids. i'm always saying that the chaise lounge must (!) go because only one person can enjoy it at a time and that's certainly unfair. {by the way, it will be making its exit in the next month...can you hear the excitement in my voice? omg. it is so there.} so anyway, hubs thought he'd prove me wrong by taking a photo of the kids all smooshed together. {yeah. it's still going.}

i do like the fact that the kids aren't fighting... or i don't think they are. lol you never can tell sometimes.

sunday i made a short trip to cincinnati {even though i am sick} because the gem show was in town. omg. it was fantastic {as always} and of course i grabbed a huge bag of goodies. this week i'll be putting up some pieces that i know you'll love. my favorite thing from the lot are these gorgeous strands of buttery pineapple quartz, lemon jasper, and this amazing cracked fire agate that i think i could just eat! {no. seriously. i could.}

i'll show you a few pics later on tonight that i took with my phone {so don't expect great quality people.}

but the real thing will come tomorrow and throughout the week. i'm just giddy with glee and my heart is popping a mile a minute just thinkin' about it! {is yours?}

have a happy monday :)

New beauties in the shoppe :)

2011-02-19T18:11:00.000-05:00

stunning... i just love their warm spring glow on these long sexy wires

an easy favorite...

another easy favorite :)

for all you Twilight fans out there... I finally made a very simple version that you'll love... plus it's on special this weekend! grab one while you can!

go here to view all the new things...

and last... my sweet nicole came outside to see what i was doing {taking photos} so i took a quick snap of her too. :)

have a wonderful weekend everyone! i'll see you on monday!

golden spring {new things!}

2011-02-16T16:20:00.000-05:00

I always love working with gold, it's just so beautiful. These will be in the shoppe later tonight {around 9:30p}. I'm headed out with the girl scouts for a skate night! lol

{this comes on a 30" sterling ball chain, slips right over your head, love it!}

Jenny & AnnMarie {flower beauties}

2011-02-14T18:50:00.001-05:00

oh and this bracelet too! {and it has matching earrings to go with it}

these will be in the shoppe this evening :)

Happy {Valentine's} Monday!

2011-02-14T14:07:00.001-05:00

We're not doing anything crazy-special for Valentine's Day. We rarely celebrate this holiday but usually make time for a dinner out. :)

We had a nice weekend. It was loud. lol We had a girl scouts sleepover on Saturday night and I took a little video of the dancing. This is my good friend Lisa (Moon was there too but she was watching like me lol) teaching the girls some funky line dancing.

We had 12 girls and one tiny girl (see little blondie dancing? that's AnnMarie - the life of the party at just four years old lol). Lisa hosted all the girls and is always soooo gracious. Love her!

So. Guess what?! This weekend is the bead show. I'm just so giddy thinking about it, of course this always happens. lol This time I won't be buying silver...unless it's a good deal that I can pass along. Silver (as I've said before) is on the rise and is just outrageous! Seriously people. ::sigh:: But if I see some fun little silver beadies I'll buy them for earrings. :)

Of course you know what having a bead show to attend means for me here in the shoppe. It means I'll have a clear-out sale. I'll be making necklaces for Spring and they will be available for purchase on Thursday. :) So be sure to get on the mailing list cuz there just might be a coupon code in there!

You all have a loving Valentine's Day! Jeff has to go to school tonight. Boo. He said he'll take me out for dinner later this week! Yay!

ps: if you have not received your order yet (if you ordered before last week, that is) can you let me know? since my computer crashed i'm having difficulty accessing some of my files. hopefully this week we'll be getting the system reloaded and i'll be back up and running. :)

New things...

2011-02-10T17:39:00.000-05:00

It's a snow day here today.
So that means I worked half the day.

We got up this morning and realized we had no groceries.

So, we took the kids to lunch. It's not your ordinary lunch outing. We do the "everyone can pick where they want to go" lunch. lol Natalie wanted McDonald's so we went there first. Nadine asked for Wendy's so that was stop number two. Thankfully the rest of us wanted Subway and we took ALL the food from the other two places and had lunch together at Subway. :) It was fun! (altho i'm sure the other patrons thought we were nuts)

Since we were food-bare at home we knew we had a grocery trip ahead of us. Off to Kroger we went, armed with my folder of coupons. Guess what? I took $104.60 off my bill. There's something amazing about coming home with free butter, chips, rice, soup. All free. Truly AMAZING.

Oh, and there's new things in the shoppe! Go look!

If you'd like to see the rest, click HERE.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. It's so close I can taste it! Yay!

Happy Monday!

2011-02-07T16:25:00.000-05:00

What a fantastic weekend we had. We took the kids to Orange Leaf (a frozen yogurt joint) and had the best time! Everyone is feeling so much better, too. So glad. Today we have an in-service day for the teachers so we didn't have school. The snow has been falling since 11a today. We're finally starting to get some pile-up but I thought you'd enjoy seeing the large snowflakes. lol

More earrings to come. :)
Oh, by the way, if you have been waiting on earrings from the pre-order section or any other earrings, they will ALL ship tomorrow. Thank you!

2011-02-03T15:14:00.000-05:00

new things to be added to the shop on or after 5p... (plus more to come tomorrow)

two pairs of 'jillian' available

i don't feel so great {tired mainly-got very little sleep last night}. going to lay down for a little while. be back later.

no idea about today...

2011-02-03T10:39:00.000-05:00

i have no idea when i'll have earrings up today. this is certainly not the week i had intended but it's been even worse for my family. natalie won't be going back to school until monday and will have missed this whole week. bless her heart. she's just very weak and sleeps a lot. i plan on taking her to lunch today when she gets up.

so it's caused some sticks in my spokes plus not having my own laptop. i am SO thankful that jeff had one that he wasn't using (he got a mac at the beginning of the school year) and i can use his. it works perfectly fine. mine is in the shop. moon's hubby is the owner of the computer shop here in our town and he said he thinks he can grab all the stuff off my drive. boy i hope so. i have so many photos (of things that would mean nothing to anyone but me) and links to important stuff, that i'd be lost without it. as soon as i get that info, i'll be loading it onto my server so it will be forever available to me. lol

in the meantime, keep checking the blog... i'd say around 5p. :)

thank you so much for all the lovely emails about nat. :)

{hugs to you all}

techology woes...

2011-02-01T14:54:00.000-05:00

a few months back i had this suspicion that my computer would die a fateful death fairly soon. boy, was i right. no. i didn't fall up the steps (like i did last time). no. the boy didn't pop a water balloon on the keyboard (like he did last time). no, it's just age and over-use i suppose.

jeff texts me today and says that he thinks my hard drive is SOL. (that stands for shoot-outa-luck, in case you were wondering) i'm not so attached to the things on my computer, that i'd break down in tears or anything like that, but it would be a lot of trying to find all that stuff again. the great thing for me is that A: i use AOL and most of the important stuff is all inside folders there and B: all my photographs of family, friends and jewelry are hidden on pages up in space somewhere. it's the house photos i'll miss (the things i find on other blogs that i think i would someday like to do and such nonsense). so that stuff is gone foreva if they can't get it off my desktop. boo.

in the meantime i'm working on the kids computer which isn't the worst thing in the world. lol i'll load photos up tomorrow and thursday but it will take me much longer since i'm doing it differently. add to that, everyone has been sick here and i'm really hoping we stop passing it around to each other. enough is enough people!

say a quick prayer for my pink dell, won't you? she's a good girl and deserves another year or two. :)

Vintaj brass jewelry {new!}

2011-01-28T12:57:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I made my first trip to the grocery store carrying my coupons. What a hoot! When we checked out the total was $380 and after handing over my coupons and swiping my Kroger Plus card our total was $211. An amazing savings! Some of our free items... soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, lotion and toothbrushes. Some items that we paid less than $2.00 ... Wisk Detergent (64 loads, $1.50), All Detergent (bought 10, paid $1.50 each), Snuggle ($1.25). It was so addicting! Can't wait till next week! If you'd like to purchase coupons online (cutting service, the coupons come pre-cut to you), the site I use is: http://www.coupondede.com/ . Enjoy!

I have a couple sets today, more to come. I hope you all have a great weekend!

To view more photos or to purchase, go HERE.

a quick note...

2011-01-28T11:12:00.002-05:00

...n e w items coming today. :) check back later.

New things...

2011-01-25T15:16:00.000-05:00

New things in the shoppe today. So many more to come. All my findings have arrived, but I'm still waiting on one more silver order (letter charms, birdies... you know...the good stuff) and then I'll begin working on the Earrings Sale for Valentine's Day (February 3rd).

In the meantime... enjoy!

Go here to view more...CLICK!

Can you believe we had a snow day yesterday and the word on the street is that we might have yet another tomorrow. ::sigh:: It's making my work days very difficult. My kids are fine at home, but it's all the stopping-starting-stopping-starting (ie: can you make me something to eat? mom? can i have some sun chips? do you know where the Nemo video is? Mom! he won't stop bugging me!!!). lol

My mind and body is looking forward to SPRING (and SUMMER)!

Learning my vices...my weight loss blog.

2011-01-22T10:40:00.000-05:00

For the last several months I've been asked about how I've lost weight. So I thought that I would begin a blog so you could follow along, and maybe you too could understand your own vices.

There are only two posts for now that I've written but many, many more to come. Become a follower to get updates on new posts.

To date I have lost 39 pounds. It hasn't been without struggle, but the best thing is I know there's no fear either. I'll never gain it back because I'm understanding my vices and just what makes me tick. :)

GO HERE to view. You'll need to scroll down to the first post or on the right sidebar click the If you're new, start here link. :)

What I learned about Couponing.

2011-01-20T14:28:00.000-05:00

Last night at our church we had a seminar on Couponing {for beginners}. I am definitely a beginner. How do I know? Because I rarely (if ever) use coupons but after seeing a recent TLC show on Extreme Couponing, I knew I needed to get in the game.

Typically we spend on average around 700 to 900 dollars each month, I said EACH. Yeah. It's a lot, I know. ::sigh:: So we're going to really work hard this next month and see how we do. Wish us luck!

Here are some things I took away from last nights meeting. (it was great, btw)

First of all, I don't know it all -- yet. But let me tell you some favorite things I took away from my couponing (for beginners) class tonight.
1. Stop buying things when you "need" them because this might cause you to NOT have a coupon at the time you need the item, but it will also cause you to pay full price--two things you want to avoid. The idea is to buy things that are items you'll ALWAYS need (deodarant, soap, toilet paper, paper towels, tooth paste, toothbrushes, etc). Stock up on these items and learn to get them for free or nearly free. One of the things she talked about tonight was instead of buying the "larger" sized item and having a coupon for 1.00 off, purchase the smaller sized item (that is 2 dollars normally) and when Kroger has it for .99 cents use your 1.00 off coupon and get it for FREE. Use this same method on any of the other items mentioned and stock-pile so that when you "need" them you'll have them and will have paid next-to-nothing for them. Smart.
2. Coupon Stacking. ie: use a manufacturer's coupon when kroger is having it already reduced and make sure you use your Kroger-plus card so that you can get all THREE discounts, giving your items that rock-bottom discount.

3. Use online coupons. (i do this already)
4. Use online coupon-cutting services (very very cheap) so that you don't have to purchase a lot of papers.
5. Recycling plants have lots of coupons. (i am not telling you to dumpster-dive unless that's yer thang)

6. Go often.

7. CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid seem to have the BEST in coupons for daily items.

here's a list of the sites where you can find coupons and learn about upcoming or current deals at your grocery store:

1. http://www.gracefullysaving.com/

2. http://www.couponmom.com/

3. http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/

4. http://www.shopathome.com/ (i get a lot of coupons from here)

5. http://www.savingslifestyle.net/ (this is a Cinci/Dayton, OH gal who is great! i've been following her for a while now--so if you're in that area - lex,ky too - her coupons/deals are more for kroger/meijer/jungle jims etc)

6. http://couponcrazyinky.wordpress.com/ (the gal who did the presentation last night, this is her blog--sign up to receive info!)

COUPON cutting service:
http://www.couponsthingsbydede.com/

last night i purchased 30 dollars worth of coupons from dede's website (and every sunday newspaper insert from november until now) and my shipping was 5 dollars. i can't tell you how many coupons i ordered. at some point i just stopped counting. i know that i purchased about fifty coupons for cereal and most for 5 cents each. :) so it was well worth the hour that i spent going through the MASSIVE database of coupons. can't wait to start!

Hold My Heart Lampwork Bracelet SET

2011-01-19T15:17:00.000-05:00

Love the sky blue and deep purple combo in this piece. Fun flowers included. :) (earrings too! yay!)

Go HERE to view more photos...

In other news...tonight I'm going to couponing class at my church. So excited! Did anyone see that Extreme Couponing show on TLC the other night? Sheesh. Total cray-zee-ness. lol I am secretly hoping I can save that kind of cash! Usually we spend about 800 a month on groceries. I know. Don't get me started. That's ridiculous. Ugh! But all my kids pack their lunches (school lunches are 2.55 per person) and if you add it up per day by four kids you have roughly 205 dollars a month. Um? That's a lot for school lunches (that they wouldn't eat much of because they're not fond of school lunches: thus the packing). lol That's where a lot of our money goes...into the things to make the lunches. I'm not a buy-the-tiny-bags-because-it's-easier type of gal either, I buy the big bags and put them into sandwich bags. So there you go. lol Anyway that I can save will be a good thing!

Wish me lunch, I mean luck! :)

Love from Home Bracelet SET

2011-01-15T17:49:00.002-05:00

Check it out HERE.

Happy weekend everyone!

New specks & new styles!

2011-01-14T16:40:00.001-05:00

it's been a busy day. phew. glad it's nearly over.

let the saturday fun begin!

i snapped a photo of my new glasses. forgive me for the poor quality.

it's not my good camera. :) what do you think? like? i do! they are so

light in weight. ::kiss kiss!::

they're not sitting on my face properly. i was in a hurry. :) also i'm sans make-up. don't judge.

love this color combination. :) it's very similar to my custom pieces. this one has a vermeil charm at the toggle. it's so sweet.

* * *

don't you love these earrings? me too! do you know what the Oz Dust Ballroom is?

you can find more new things by going HERE.

New things coming tomorrow!

2011-01-13T23:55:00.001-05:00

Just an FYI that new things will be hitting the Shoppe tomorrow...look for them in the afternoon. :)

Her Special Day. {a custom piece}

2011-01-12T20:18:00.001-05:00

One of you wrote to me and asked if I would showcase more of my custom pieces. :) Normally I don't photograph everything because it adds to my already growing list of to-do's. So the new thing is, if I have extra time I will put up custom pieces so you can see them. :)

Isn't this precious? What I love is that the colors are so perfect for Valentine's Day. It just sings love and happiness. ::kiss kiss::

Full view. There are three flowers to represent each little daughter. :)

The deep purple bead with sweet flower is what one daughter chose.

Baby pink and Christmas red is what another little daughter wanted (this little girl is just three)...

...and baby blue with a twisted stringer is what yet another daughter picked out. This daughter has a snake and really like the wrap of the glass. (me to)

A husband called me, wanting beads that represented his three little girls with the colors they asked for. It was for their Mom's Special Birthday (which was today).

Happy Birthday Lisa! I hope you love it! I loved being apart of this special memory.

Snow, snow and more snow!

2011-01-12T00:22:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Just a quick note to let you know the last of the packages will be mailed this week.

The kids have been sick since the weekend (including hubby--thankfully i seem to have escaped it--knock on wood) and today we had a snow day and tomorrow we've been told there's no school. Wow. It's always so strange when a snow storm hits and the kids are home. This is how they spent the day--building a snow fort. :) lol

I'll have new things in the shoppe soon, sorry for the delay. I've been working on custom pieces. :)

Oh, and remind me to vent about the crazy rise in silver costs. It's really something. :( Boo.

Special! {coupon code!}

2011-01-07T16:56:00.000-05:00

Happy Weekend to you my friends! :)

I'm giving a special coupon code for all you bloggy readers. Use the code JAN10 to receive $10 dollars off your order of $100. Use it upon check-out and the discount will be given. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Go HERE to view all the available items!

Our weekend is going to be quiet (yay!) and tonight we're going to have family game night. I hope I win! lol

Update on this and that.

2011-01-07T13:58:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! :)

I've been busy this week with orders, packing and gearing up for Valentine's Day. :) If you're waiting on an item, most have been mailed. Thank you for your patience.

All pre-ordered earrings will ship out on the 20th. There's a heavy back-log on those and they are worth waiting for. The beads are stunning! :)

Have you been on my blog and heard the little bit of Jim Dale's reading of the Harry Potter book? hee hee I love those books, do you?

Have a great day and oh, I almost forgot...in about two hours there will be new bracelets in the shoppe. Six or seven.. and new earrings too. Check back if you're looking for something fun for Vday!

A Christmas Present {custom work}

2010-12-31T15:12:00.000-05:00

It's a common thing for me to create custom work, and I love every minute of it...especially a good challenge, like this bracelet.

All the various beads around the bracelet are representative of each grandchild in the family and it was created for the Grandma. A list was given to me with each child's favorite color and I was to "use my own imagination" and create something fun with each bead. At first I was super stressed. lol I kept thinking that I wasn't going to make it exactly as it should. I sat down on various days to torch and I pretended that each bead was it's own little world. I didn't want them to be overly busy but still full of life, and I wanted them to compliment each other. The end result is just darling and I was so pleased with how it turned out.

I hope Grandma likes it too!

Each grandchild's initial is by their "personal" bead.

The oldest grandchild, a girl, got a different type of letter charm. :) There's gotta be something special for being the oldest, right?

At the toggle we put a simple sterling 'love' charm. The nice thing about this particular charm is that the 'love' is printed on both sides.

If you are ever interested in custom work, simply email me and we can begin a dialogue of what you want and what I can achieve for you. It's always so nice to have a personal piece that will be with you forever.

This particular piece was $264.99.

new things on the way {tonight}

2010-12-30T18:07:00.002-05:00

new things heading to the shoppe in a bit... :)

Hello! {and reduced pieces}

2010-12-28T13:42:00.000-05:00

It was a quick visit with our families in Ohio, but it was so nice. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and then Christmas Day with Jeff's. We always have a great time. Pictures to come. :) And can you believe it but I didn't gain any weight over the holiday. :) I came home, jumped on the scale and was tickled to death to see the number had not moved! 34.5 pounds down, 35 to go.

So many new things coming in 2011, that I can't wait for it to begin! In the meantime, I've reduced some darling pieces in the shoppe.

Go HERE to see!

We're not that far from Bethlehem...

2010-12-22T17:01:00.000-05:00

I've attached a song to this bracelet... it's beautiful.
We're not that far from Bethlehem.

A popular style.

Love these sterling cut-out charms.

Last-minute things hitting the shoppe. :) Check them out if you get a chance. <-- click there.

last minute goodies...

2010-12-22T12:05:00.002-05:00

Hello friends!

I have a few last-minute goodies that will hit the shop this afternoon and will ship out today. Check back. :)

Be back in five.

2010-12-21T10:37:00.000-05:00

A quick update about today's new additions... I'm running out for a bit. The kids need hair cuts. We might catch up with hubby and maybe grab some lunch. I'll be back this afternoon to add the new things... so if you're in need of anything, you might find something you love. :)

It's lovely to see all the new faces on the mailing list. :)

A Girls Getaway {and updates}

2010-12-20T15:07:00.000-05:00

Last week I had a girls getaway with my girlfriends. I had THE best time. We flew out of Lexington on Thursday and headed south to Marco Island and stayed there until Sunday afternoon. We did a lot of relaxing, saw a couple chick flicks (Eat, Pray, Love and Eclipse!), tried some new restaurants (yum!), did some shopping (~~spent too much money~~ bought Christmas gifts), found shells on the beach, walked the beach and pier, had a couple strawberry daquiri's (omg. delicious!) and had wonderful girl conversations (you know, making fun of our husbands, that sort of thing).

We all painted our toes dark purple. :)

We're going back next year (and maybe this March!).

Me. Moon. and our friend Boo.

it was raining this day...so we went shopping, went out for dinner (strawberry daquiri's -- remember?) and came back and watched a movie. We really had a lovely time.

Okay so I'll have the new things up tomorrow. It's raining here and I'm having trouble with photos...we're supposed to have nice weather tomorrow so I'll snap, edit and load. An email-reminder will go out. It will be sometime in the afternoon. I'll post here when I add them.

I hope you're all enjoying this week, I sure am. Tonight Moon and I are off for some late-night shopping. I hope we find everything we need to finish up. :)

Talk to you later!

Back in stock!

2010-12-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

Hello friends!

How have you been? I can't believe Christmas is this coming weekend. How exciting! :) (aren't you excited? I am... I hope I have a couple little things under our tree... last year Jeff bought me a new pillow and wouldn't you know that it's my absolute FAVORITE pillow!? it's the little things... and he knows me so well.)

Some earring styles are back in stock. You can make an order if you'd like. Be sure to check them out.

Go HERE to view the pre-order earrings.

There will also be more things (ready-for-ship) Monday and Tuesday. So check back!

Have a great day!

Holiday Open House 2010!

2010-12-12T20:28:00.000-05:00

go HERE to view all available items!

i have been away. {sorry}

2010-12-10T12:02:00.001-05:00

(christmas is coming! christmas is coming! let's sing and dance!)

i have been home. just busy.

it's that time of year when my world begins to spin.

it's a wonderful time of year.

on sunday i'm having my online open house.

please come.

those on my mailing list know what time it "officially" begins.

if you want to know too, just get on the list.

the list gets first notice because things sell out very quickly

so it's just fair.

today i'm heading to my girls school to see them get awards for excellence in studies.

so proud.

today my folks come to bring gifts to natalie who's celebrating 11 years of life.

so happy.

tomorrow i'll be taking photos, editing photos, listing photos for you.

so excited!

i hope your weekend brings joy!

see you Sunday? {i hope!}

ps: ALL items from my open house that are purchased before WEDNESDAY
will ship out the day after they are bought. if you buy something on monday, it will ship tuesday and so on.
i will be going out of town from thursday to sunday and if you purchase things during that time,
they will ship on monday, december 20th.

REDUCED!!!

2010-11-30T14:06:00.000-05:00

Hello my wintery friends!

How is the weather treating you wherever you are? Around here it's very wet and chilly, and I'm looking forward to snow covering my roof. :) Soon? Soon.

Sunday night I was flipping through the movie channels and landed on The Box with Cameron Diaz. ::sigh:: I do not know HOW I got hooked into that movie. Argh. It was horrendous. Simply horrendous. FYI: do not watch The Box E V E R. It was one of my top ten worst movies and that's saying a lot. Then, last night after the kids had gone to bed I found myself being captivated by the movie Leap Year. Have you seen it? It's simply precious. I have had it on replay all afternoon while working, I love it. Amy Adams is always so darling, isn't she? Moon told me that I remind her of Amy Adams. It was a lovely compliment. ;) Have you seen any good movies lately? I don't get to watch a lot of movies (at home) because it seems like "other people" are always controlling the flipper. (Flipper = Remote Control)

Anyway, I've reduced three bracelet sets and I am pretty sure this will be the last of my online items until after my local Open House on the 7th. My Online Open House will be later but if you want to know the exact day you better get on my mailing list. :) Shhh. it's a secret.

Okay my sweet friends, I'm off to work. I hope you have a great day! You can go HERE to check out the newly reduced sets.

A Thanksgiving mark down!

2010-11-25T20:17:00.000-05:00

Hello friends!

I added a markdown special on my website!

Winter Joys set is now $98.99 for the bracelet and earrings!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Go here!

Winter Joy...

2010-11-24T09:38:00.000-05:00

This morning I awoke to freezing weather. Winter has arrived. There's so much joy to be found in chilly weather and the anticipation of snow. :) I can't wait! Can you? It makes me laugh to think that in just six months we'll be in the thick of Summer heat. Enjoy the Season because it will be gone soon!

Two new things in the Shoppe.

* * *

We are heading to my folks' today to celebrate Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we'll be going to Jeff's Mom's and spending the day with her. Friday I'm hoping to take in a movie and avoid the crazy holiday shoppers of Black Friday's madness. lol We'll be back on Saturday.

I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving and wonderful time with your family and friends.

Safe travels!

New things in the shoppe!

2010-11-23T16:33:00.000-05:00

Hello my peeps!

I have new things in the shoppe, go HERE to check them out!

New things tomorrow :)

2010-11-22T17:54:00.000-05:00

New things will hit the shoppe tomorrow. :)

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do anything for Black Friday. I'll keep you posted, I might rather enjoy doing Cyber Monday, since that would be more appropriate since I am, after all, online. LOL

See you tomorrow!

New things in the Shoppe!

2010-11-19T17:46:00.000-05:00

New things in the Shoppe. Go look!

{here}

* * *

We loved HP7. We got home around 4a and seriously, you gotta go see it! We took the kids out for a great dinner at Malone's, one of Lexington's finest and then took a quick run to Wally's for candy (to smuggle in of course). Got to the theater to find the line COMPLETELY around the building. No joke. lol Thankfully our time was one of the later ones (12:29a) and we got awesome seats! We were in that row right behind the bar, propped our feeties up and relaxed while we waited. We got into the theater at 11p. lol I fell asleep for a bit (we brought a blanket with us, i know, smart!). The movie was just fantastic, one of the best so far. I can't tell you, go! Go! :) Spread the HP love. He's just grown into such a wonderful young man, our Harry. :)

Of course I'm going again. Hello!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - it's here!

2010-11-18T11:26:00.000-05:00

Today is the day. We've been waiting for over a year.

Jeff and I are taking the older two to see the midnight showing. We'll most likely get home around 4 in the morning. : ) We will sleep in tomorrow because they're going to skip out on school. The younger two are spending the night with their BFF's (I am SO thankful for best friends who are always willing to take our children when we need)

I'll let you know how it goes. I really am so excited I can't stand it! ::giggles::

Tomorrow I have some things heading to the shoppe. They're already finished, edited and loaded, they just need to be activated so check back tomorrow. :)

Have a great day! We will!

Touchin' base with my peeps.

2010-11-15T12:52:00.000-05:00

I know you are wondering where in the world I have been, right? Yeah. I know. Well, I've been a tad busy, but guess what? My holiday open house is really just around the corner. Not sure on the exact date just yet but it will be around the second week of December. I'm preparing now. :) Can't CAN'T WAIT! It's always such a crazy time! :) LOVE it!

I'll be back. Have lots to photograph and show you. ::snicker:: I hope you're as excited as I am!

Happy Monday!

new things a'comin...

2010-11-09T17:59:00.000-05:00

lots of lovely things on my work table.

i can't wait to get them photographed.

and edited.

{which is the not-so-fun part, but ya gotta!}

see you soon!

if you're on my mailing list, you'll be the first to know when the new stuff hits the shoppe!

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows... yay!!!

2010-11-09T09:52:00.000-05:00

For over a decade Jeff and I have been huge fans of Harry (and get this, my Dad's name is Harry... hee hee... although he's not a wizard. just sayin'.). We have been to all the movies and have seen five of them on opening night, once Nathaniel even dressed up for the occasion. We have read all the books and then missed them so much, I bought them on audio CD. They were my very first audio books I had ever listened to and boy, did they open up my ears to the world of listening. If you want a totally new experience with HP, then give the narrator, Jim Dale, a try. He's fantastic!

So when last month we made our way to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Studio we got the experience of a lifetime. We enjoyed walking through the snowcapped village of Hogsmeade and even visited Hogwarts, but one of the big highlights was enjoying a nice chilly glass of butterbeer.

(nate in his cool shades. nat in her darling hat. colie sporting both shades and hat. deanie just deanie. and me.)

Even at $10 dollars a mug, it was really worth it...and you keep the cup. So now the kids use their mugs all the time and will always remember this moment of sitting in the Sun and enjoying our butterbeer. Click the link and find the recipe to make your own mug of the good stuff.

Next week Harry comes to the theaters and I can't tell you the excitement that's running through our house. The little girls aren't too interested in seeing it on the big screen, but the older two can't wait. Nicole and Nadine will enjoy watching it but probably from the sofa when it comes out on video. :) lol

* * *

Lately I've been a busy bee, preparing for a new (fun) venture with my BF Moon. A couple weeks ago we decided to do a fundraiser that turned into a small business venture and well, it's actually been a lot of fun! So, if you're a local gal to Versailles, definitely stop by this Saturday at Versailles Pres. and take a look at what we have to offer. :)

* * *

I know my shoppe is empty. ::sigh:: I've been working on so many custom orders and trying to get those out of the door before I take on any more work, plus, my Christmas Holiday Open House is coming.

For all the newbies to my mailing list, WELCOME! You'll be getting all the secret details too. Thanks so much! It's great to have you!

ps: for those of you who've asked, my "diet" is going great. since last week i'm down another three pounds, making it a total of 25 pounds lost. :) i'm thinking of doing a weekly 'here's what i look like' post so i can track the weight-loss in pictures. we'll see.

38 come and gone.

2010-11-04T10:45:00.001-04:00

I turned 39 on Tuesday, saying goodbye to 38. It has been a quick year, I must say and truth be told I'm not so thrilled about this upcoming year but mainly because the big ::cough cough:: 4 - 0 is coming my way. My Dad wanted to let me know that I'm now entering my fourth decade. Gee. Thanks Dad. lol Of course he mentioned also that in a few year's he'd be in his seventh or did he say eighth? Hmmm... I don't remember, either way he's really gettin' up there. lol

The last several months I've been dieting and excersizing not so much. ha. I really have been dieting though, or maybe I shouldn't call it that. It's more like i've been eating differently because the things I've been eating are on no "real" diet. Here's what I've been doing, eating one normal sized meal a day and I'll have two snacks. I still get to have my 136 calorie, 24 ounce coffee from MacDonald's (I can also see the girls there and chit chat at the drive thru--the joys of a small town--remember we only have one Macs here). So I can still have Panera (which is really low-fat, did you know?) and my other favorite places too (JoBeth's, Malone's, Melissa's, MiPubs... well you get the idea). My weight loss is slow but steady. Two pounds a week. So far I'm down 22 pounds. It's not really about the being "thin" that I'm into. I do want to be thinner but I'm really happy the way I am, but I'd like to not walk into things because I forget my hips are in the way, I'd like to wear cute things from Anthropologie, not suffocate when wearing jeans (this is getting better!), and I'd really like to wear high heels...you know, the cute ones with wedge heels? Yeah. those. But it's difficult to support my frame on such such things. lol!

So, for my birthday my little family bought me a bike. It is the cutest thing ever. My plan is to get in shape by next year... actually I'd like to be in shape by April 5th. That's my goal. I'll have lost 65 pounds by then, so please wish me luck. I've never lost more than 25 pounds at a time.

You can see that I'm um, still large. So give me time people!

Isn't the bike cute? It's a vintage style bike. I simply love it. :) It was a wonderful birthday. I helped Jeff hang a gutter on the house that had fallen off (but first we painted it and fixed the board behind it-well, he did that part), I touched up some paint on the pillars of our house, went to vote!, made a few bracelets and then my family took me to dinner. It was the best birthday I have had in many years. :)

I know my shoppe is empty, but soon it will be filled with tons and tons of wonderful holiday goodness. :) Get on my mailing list so you'll know when! :)

A fun night for all!

2010-11-01T19:36:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was a great day all the way around. We had church (which is always good) and I had coffee (which is gooder. what? gooders a word. shut up.) and we spent the remainder of the day with friends and watching our kids ring doorbells and beg for treats (which is way goodest!). So, all in all it was an awesome day!

Natalie is a Spider (it was tricky making that thing! but totally doable, hat & sweater leggings came from target, scarf from the dollar store), Nadine is a Wizard -- holding Harry Potter's Hedwig that she bought while we were in Universal (her cape was super easy but I burned my fingers a lot while glueing on those gems), Nathaniel was a "Black Eyed Pea" (and how easy was this outfit!? it cost like thirty cents) and Nicole was a Bling Kitty (skirt borrowed from Moon, gloves from target, leggings & Kitty mask from kroger--i added the bow, and everything else we had on hand) It was so easy to make these this year. :) I started on Saturday afternoon, however I had everything ready to go so there was no running around like a mad-woman, looking for that last thing. So it was all good. :)

(L to R) Maddie (Pirate Wench), Nat, Martha (Tigger), Katey (Princess), Nicole, Charlie (Buzz, look at his face, he's so funny), Gracey (Witch), Nadine, Katie (Ladybug)

The Pirate Wench, Ladybug and Buzz are Moon's kids and the Witch, Pretty Princess and Tigger are Annie's kids... you know who Moon is and Annie was Nathaniel's teacher and now she's Maddie's teacher. :) She is also one of my closest friends... i just love how small towns work, don't you?

yay! candy! yay!!!

check out my lasers!

which one should i eat?

:) she is so sweet. i love this girl.

these last three Moon took...

(notice all the "bling") what a sweetie. she really got into it. lol

she loved her outfit and had such a great time! my deanie.

sometimes i complain about making their outfits, but you know what? i really do love it. when i was growing up we never did this sort of thing, and it's just a matter of making time. ::sigh:: and not everyone has a lot of that, including me, but one of these days they won't want me making their costumes so i'm grateful for the chance. :)

Total Cuteness!

2010-10-30T13:51:00.000-04:00

Last year I bought a little Nissan Cube to stroll around in with my kiddo's. We didn't want a gas hog and this little cutie gets 29 to 32 miles to the gallon. I know! Amazing! It's compact and I can get from the elementary school to the grocery store and pop into the big city with total ease. I love her. :) Like I said, she's pretty tiny but honestly she has a lot of room inside, it's weird. People will stop me and ask to "look inside" so they can see if more than two people can fit. lol Really, five can fit (however three of those people need to be thin). lol

Like my brother before me, my parents bought me a brand new, zero miles car (right off the lot!) when we graduated. This was what I picked out. Spicy huh!? :)

1990 Honda CRX

I'm no stranger to tiny cars. I just like them, always have and always will. And when we were deciding on a car to buy, we kept going back to tiny cars. Jeff's first brand new car was a Dodge Omni... so we both kept going for a smaller vehicle, despite having four kids.

So, when my logos came yesterday for my little cutie car, I was so pleased and could barely contain my excitement. Here she is now, my pink daisy.

I know! It's so cute! I have more flowers on the sides and front too. :)

I just love how she turned out. If you'd like information on the gal who made them for me, go HERE. Jodi is awesome, so drop her a line if you're looking for something unique. :)

Happy Saturday Everyone!

I just reduced the price of the Autumn Stroll Boro bracelet, go check it out!

Happy Halloween!

New things ready!

2010-10-28T12:56:00.000-04:00

It's been a nutty week. Yeah yeah. I say that all the time but seriously, it has. Where this week went I have NO idea. Yesterday was Monday and tomorrow will be Halloween, I am sure. of. it. ::sigh:: So much to finish before the kids go ringing doorbells waiting for candy to hit their buckets. Who thought up this holiday anyway? I wonder if it wouldn't be easier to just buy candy and enjoy a good movie instead. Ha! Don't tell my kids I said that. This year we'll have a Bling Kitty, a Scary Spider, a Wizardly Wizard and a Dark Ninja. lol I might throw on some crazy socks and beg too. You just never know with me. I'm crazy-weird like that.

Anyway... tonight the new things will be available for you. Here are a few pics of what's on the way...

As I was writing this little bloggy post for ya's, I ended up spilling my hot (HOT!) macs coffee all over myself. I'm now sticky and somewhat drenched (I get a large). Yuck.

Can someone go get me another coffee? Thanks! I'll be waiting on the porch.

Smooch!

Tornado watch! Ack!

2010-10-26T15:52:00.000-04:00

I'm doing my best to get good photos but we have had a tornado warning and watch here in Versailles. I've lived here ten years and we've never seen anything quite like this. So, I might need to hold off until tomorrow. We are all inside, keeping safe but thankfully I live in a practically underground house! (splitlevel) The kids had to get in the hallways at school and the whole town was a buzz about the tornado sightings. Crazy!

I'll be back. Pinky Swear.

Back to work!

2010-10-23T11:18:00.000-04:00

You have no idea how excited I am to get back to work next week, but don't get me wrong... the last three weeks have been glorious. Really. In all that time the only thing I did in my studio room was to put away inventory that arrived in the mail. lol That's it. So it will be nice to return on Monday.

So here are a few photos of just some of the things we did this week...

Jeff and I managed to completely redo my Grandmother's buffet. This piece was old and needed a good makeover. Jeff did all the grunt work and I painted it. lol Photos will come on Monday but for now, here's a sneak peek...

Nicole posing for Jeff, trying out my new point-and-shoot camera for jewelry photo taking. More on this later too. I'll try and give you the best way to take photos and what things I use to get crisp, clean pics.
i love my new point-and-shoot. so far i like the pics. do you like nicole's headband? lol she kinda looks like the Statue of Liberty, no? lol

nadine had a mini-concert at school this past week. they're singing a chinese song... they were so cute! she's the one in the turquoise top with the pink and yellow banana socks. :)

and lastly, jeff performed a wedding at the Talon Winery last weekend. had a great time, the weather was perfect! i always enjoy attending these weddings.

so that's what i did... what did you do all week? hopefully it was fun!

see you next week... i'll have daily specials all week long!

Lost.

2010-10-19T22:05:00.000-04:00

So. The customs department from FedEx calls me a few times today. Basically they cannot locate my package so when I contacted my Indonesian fella, he said another box would leave tomorrow. At the latest I should have this new package by Monday.

If you are waiting on items from me, please be patient. I had no idea that this sort of nonsense would happen! It's driving me nuts. lol Today I cleaned my garage. Yesterday I detailed my car. Tomorrow? I don't know, but I'm sure it will involve cleaning. ha.

Talk to you soon!

C'mon Memphis! Send it!

2010-10-14T23:54:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit puzzled. My silver order has yet to arrive. It should have been here days ago. ::sigh:: It's coming from Indonesia and normally it doesn't take this long and I'm getting a little worried. Sorry for the delay... I really thought I'd have the earrings up but without the ear wires... um? I'm kinda at a loss. ha. I'll keep you posted!

Currently, my order is sitting at the sorting station in Memphis, TN but according to the FedEx tracking, it's been there since the 13th... so that's strange if you ask me. Grrr.

Talk to you soon!

tomorrow...

2010-10-13T14:35:00.000-04:00

Nadine had an ear infection all week and my silver order didn't arrive on time so the goodies I planned to put up won't be UP until tomorrow. There's not a lot, just some new (but adorable) things to share. :)

I hope you're enjoying your week. Mine has been lovely. The weather is just fantastic!

The joys of Vacation {in St. Pete}

2010-10-11T11:50:00.000-04:00

Vacation is a lovely thing. Getting away from lifes stressers and finding peace by the sea. We relaxed and had such a wonderful time with friends and alone. We bought fresh meat and shrimp, grilled it and enjoyed it while staring at the beautiful view. The kids ran in the sand. We found creatures galore (and even caught one...or two). It really was a lovely vacation.

Here are a few of our photos... :)

we quickly realized that the birds wanted the chips in deanie's bag. :) i love this shot.

so she ran back to get rid of the bag.

phew. they're leaving me alone! lol

changed the focus. i'm new to this...i enjoyed fiddling with my camera.

looking for lizards...

catching lizards...

love how the sun was shining on her

creatures.

: )

four trips to Uncle Andy's ice cream parlor. They have THE best coconut rum icecream I've ever had.

(in photo...our good friends the Mix's and my crew)

gorgeous sunset. this was our view as we were eating. not bad huh? i could get used to this.

blurry. not much light. love this anyway.

a two-day stop at universal's studio. Hogsmeade was FABULOUS! (if you are not a harry potter fan this won't mean anything to you, but for us... we had the best time ever!)

: )

i won't be back in the studio until the end of the week. we have quite a few house projects to tackle and i can't wait! dining room chairs...here i come!

i hope you had a great week! see you soon!

We are on vacation!

2010-10-03T09:57:00.000-04:00

We are on vacation!

Pictures to come.

In the meantime, please know we are having a wonderful, relaxing and peaceful time. I can't even begin to tell you. No schedule. We just do what we want, when we want and where we wanna go. It's bliss.

See you soon!

Vintaj Blog Feature!

2010-09-26T21:21:00.000-04:00

Rose from Vintaj contacted me yesterday, letting me know that they had featured my work on the company's website blog. ::squeal!::

You know I love Vintaj products! Everything I create seems to be loved too as I have a difficult time keeping it in stock. It's super easy to work with, they don't tarnish and their findings are so unique. If you haven't tried them yet, definitely check out Hobby Lobby if you want to see and touch them before making an online purchase. Sometimes it's tough to make online orders for new products for fear that when it arrives it turns out nothing like you planned or thought. That has happened to me more than once. Grrrr.

It made my day! Thank you Vintaj!

In other news... the Fall Sale continues (and you will find lots of Vintaj creations too) on Tuesday at 7:30p. As I load the products I will put them as out of stock so that everyone can get a good look. If I can repeat the item, I will let you know at the bottom of the listing.

All items that are in-stock will mail out by Thursday, September 30th. We leave for vacation on Friday and anything purchased during the week of October 1 through 12th will be taken care of after I return. We're all so excited because we know the week is going to F L Y by. yeah!!!

Okay, I'll talk to you all later. Have a great Monday!

What a lovely weekend...

2010-09-20T22:41:00.001-04:00

My weekend started out a little crazy. Our church had a fundraiser and Jeff was in charge of childcare. ::sigh:: I can't say that it was the best way to spend an evening (um. yeah. hellllo! i can think of a gazillion other things... lol) but it was for a wonderful cause so we were glad to help out. Our church is putting in water purification systems in small towns in Mexico. Anyway, we were in charge of 25 little kids. Yikes! lol So that's what I did Friday night.

Saturday I was thrilled to attend a wedding that Jeff was officiating. Such a lovely couple. It was one of the nicest weddings I have been to (including my own). They made CD's of all the music played during their evening which I have eagerly added to my playlist. A bit of Led Zeplin too. Shocker, I know. I'm usually a Michael Buble kinda girl but c'mon I need to broaden my horizons!

Stephanie Lyell Photography

Sunday was spent do a lot of little projects around the house ::cough cough I have not finished my chair cough cough:: but as soon as I do I will post those photos! Just a few touches and she'll be done! :)

Today I was busy all day working and glad to be in bed typing this. Thank sweet Jesus for laptops. One of the best inventions. Ever.

A note about the Sale change. After scheduling this I started realizing I had about three things on my calendar that were conflicting with each other, so I moved it to Monday which will be better for most of you anyway. So remember...one week from today...S A L E. See you there!

Okay, I'm going to bed early. Pooped. Out.

...lovely things today

2010-09-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

A few things in the shoppe today... I have a busy day ahead of me but wanted to let you know what's new.

: )

The bicone lampwork beads (photo'd above and below) were created by Anne Ricketts. They are divine.

If you would like to purchase or see more photos, go HERE.

Enjoy your day!

Halloween-themed earrings...

2010-09-14T14:26:00.000-04:00

A couple earring pairs today...

I'm still working on custom orders so the offerings are small. (sorry)

However, Friday Fun is in full force!

Get on the mailing list!

This week there's a special coupon for those on it! ::giggles::

Oh, an update on everyone's Harvest (pre-ordered) bracelets...

They're in production now! I'll have them finished by Monday and

each will ship on Tuesday. A little earlier than planned but I thought

you might want to wear them a little early. :) They're SO cute!

Have a great day!

To purchase...go HERE.