Monday, December 6, 2010

Can I wake up now?

I've been away and feel like I'm in a nightmare that won't end. Life has thrown some serious curve balls this way and well I don't know anymore...I don't know which way is up, down, left, right...all I can say is thank the Goddess for auto-pilot mode.

As for the curve balls...well my dad was feeling really sick, problems breathing so my mom took him to the doctors. Next thing I know the physician is calling me asking me if I can come down and convince my dad to go to the hospital. After rushing down there he reluctantly agreed to go. He was in the emergency room for an hour when they told him they'd have to transfer him to another hospital. They said he had pneumonia, but they also believed that he had a heart attack and he needed to see a specialist. So I packed up my mom and rushed to meet my dad at the other hospital. They of course did a series of tests and indeed he had had a heart attack -- but they saw something else so they needed to do a CT scan. They found a mass in his lung and after having a PET scan they've determined that the mass is a malignant tumor - lung cancer.

During all of this my Aunt (my dad's sister) is having a battery of tests done as well because she's been in a lot of pain and she doesn't know why. Her results came back after dads and she has stage 4 liver cancer, they've given her 6 months. Dad keeps asking me what "stage 4" means. It saddens me because each time I answer I can see it sink in a little bit more. so sad.

Needless to say our families have been turned upside down. My mom isn't sleeping because every time my dad moves she's wide awake with fear that he's going to suddenly die. I'm just trying to be strong for them. I don't know what else to do. I don't even feel like I'm attached here...it's like I'm floating...just going with the motions of day to day life. I don't show my emotions to my family...I can't. I have to be the strong one.

Will someone wake me up please?

Friday, October 1, 2010

The Night's Sky


Wow...tonight's sunset was like having my own personal light show in the sky -- love the colors!


Thursday, September 23, 2010

Finding My Creativity

It's been awhile since I've updated my blog...sorry! I've been re-adjusting to my kids being out of the house and trying to come up with new creative designs. 

One of the things I want to get back to are making pieces that come from the heart, pieces that represent something important in my life. So here's a picture of the Triple Moon pendant that I recently made and will be listing in my shop soon. This one is made using a lab grown Alexandrite set in fine silver.

 

Also, I'm so excited to announce that I successfully taught myself how to solder fine metals...woot woot!! Up until now all of my previous attempts ended in some messy glob, so I'm happy to show off these new rings that I made for myself out of scrap sterling, one is a London Blue Topaz, and the other is a Signity CZ.

I swear after that first successful solder I couldn't stop myself. Before I knew it, it was 2am and my focus was blurry but dangit I made 8 rings and all of them turned out great! Actually that's a fib -- the next day when I looked at the rings again one of the wide band rings was not to my liking because the solder and flowed into part of the pattern...so it's scrap now and I don't care cuz the rest of the rings turned out fab!! :D

Hopefully after I practice a bit more I'll start getting some of these listed in my Etsy shop so keep an eye out!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

What I've been up to...

I've been away for awhile working on custom orders, spending time with my kids, working and getting ready for the FaerieWorlds Festival!! My best friend will be arriving in town this weekend and I'm seeing a lot of fun to be had here shortly.

I've been busy working on my outfits for the fest, revamping, repurposing clothing, making jewelry for each day as well as feather facinators. I've included some pics of the facinators:

This is for Friday's outfit, I'll be in mostly black with silk rainbow colored wings and other bright colored accessories.

I made 2 of the rose facinators for Saturday which I'll be in more of a steampunk victorian style outfit
I'll post the earrings I made for these 2 days later...I'm still working on my Sunday's outfit and all the accessories...I'm just having a blast and feeling the creative juices flow knowing there's no limitations!!

With everything that's going on -- here are the dates that I will be closing my Etsy shop:

~~**Shop Closure Dates**~~

July 23rd - Aug 4th (FaerieWorlds Festival, Eugene, OR)
Aug. 20th - 22nd (Kids College Move-In)
Aug. 27th - 29th (Kids College Move-In)

Dates are subject to change due to the amount of custom orders that I have...but I'll keep you posted!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Another Treasury :)

Yay, I'm excited to be included in another treasury! Love the soft honey colors in this one!




I can't believe June has come and gone already! We've only had a few days of nice weather so it really hasn't felt much like summer. I've got so many things going on right now I think I need to make a list so I can keep track of it all. I have 9 jewelry commissions, sewing clothes for the FaerieWorlds Festival at the end of this month, making hair accessories, painting, replacing carpet, reupholstering furniture, repairing some drywall caused by a rather large piano getting stuck in my stairwell...and it feels like the list goes on and on. Hmm...funny...I didn't feel overwhelmed until I typed all of that down..LOL...well I guess that means I should start working on knocking some things off my list. I'm off off and away :)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Beach Pics

I just realized that I haven't posted any pictures of my Lincoln City beach trip so I thought I'd better get on it.

When we got there the girls at the desk said there was a problem with our room so they bumped us up to the largest suite they had....SWEET!! I swear this is the only hotel I will stay at when I visit Lincoln City...they are right on the beach, best views, the rooms are great, service is even better and the rates are the best bar none!


I used the panoramic feature for the 1st time and kind of got the right side all wonky :)


The view of the rest of our room (behind the closed door was our huge bedroom)


This is a large tree root that almost stood taller than me!

The white caps were awesome

I love watching the ebb and flow of the ocean

Do you see it? A cloud imitating the moon :)

A closer view...they say imitation is the best form of flattery...I was impressed!

Well that's all for now..I took so many pictures that it would take days to upload them all! Okay so that's an exaggeration...let's just say I'm to lazy to upload them all right now :)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Honored

It's always an honor when someone includes me in a treasury on Etsy!!

A big thank you to the curator of this one: shannonbatescreates 



Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Happy Dance!

 
 
Yay...another milestone has been reached...800 sales!! Big thank you to all of my wonderful customers!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Custom Made for Mom

Just wanted to share a picture of the pendant that I made for my mom. My dad purchased a whopping trillian cut Citrine gemstone and asked me to make a pendant with it. She doesn't wear silver and that's pretty much all that I work with -- so to accomodate her love of gold, off to the side of the pendant is a flower and... two leaves which I accented with 24kt gold. It needs a bit of polishing, but I'm pleased with the results!

 This whole piece is made using PMC3, and 24kt Accent Gold.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Another Day in Paradise...

Sipping on a much needed mocha, the sun is shining and life is really good!

It's been awhile since I've posted on Facebook or my blog...it's been a busy few weeks with my best friend visiting, day job, Etsy and preparing for my college kids homecoming for their summer break.

Business has been steady and I've been working on some new designs and perfecting some old ones. So I'll be listing those in the upcoming weeks.

I'm just 3 sales away from reaching a milestone of 800 sales!! Whoohoo! Tonight I will be making a Fine Silver (made of precious metal clay) Necklace for the lucky 800th customer and I'll post pictures of it tomorrow!  ~Have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Busy Having Fun!

Sorry that I've been away! I've also failed at the "Listing-A-Day" Challenge. It started out with a seminar that I had to go to for my day job, then just 2 days after that my best friend arrived!! Needless to say we've been going non-stop...shopping, seeing family, shopping oh and eating...I think I've gained 10 lbs since she's been here, and I thought wine and cheese was good for you! Maybe not in excess huh? Oh well...I'm having an awesome time visiting with her, and this weekend we're off to a girls trip to the beach *yay*

I do however have a new Labradorite piece listed--

 

So I'll be closing up shop for my weekend trip, until then I'll be listing a few more items! I hope everyone is having a great week--I sure am :)

Thursday, April 15, 2010

One short week to go...

then my best friend will be here and...tomorrow is Friday...woot woot! I've got so many things to do around the house in preparation for her arrival...eh...it'll still be waiting for me tomorrow--I'm such a terrible procrastinator. I've made a list of things to buy (comfort food) while she's here....Hummus-check, coconut shrimp with mango chutney-check, lumpia with sweet and spicy sauce-check....and the list goes on an on--so excited!

Anyways I can't forget about the listing challenge on Etsy so here are my newest listings to my shop:



 

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Day 13

Wow..I don't think it ever ceases to amaze me how fast time fly's...it's already day 13 of the April Challenge! If you want to check out the other sellers who are participating in this challenge you can see their listings in this Etsy forum thread. You may find something you can't live without :)



Monday, April 12, 2010

BFF'S


I think I forgot to mention that my best friend is coming to visit...woot woot! I have missed her terribly!! Since she moved last year life has not been the same. I went from talking to her and seeing her every day to talking to her once maybe twice a week. She isn't just my best friend, she's my sister in every sense of the word. My parents call her daughter and my boys call her mom...she is family. When she left, she took part of my heart with her. I'm not whole without her near, I'm not me without her. It reminds me of a conversation in "Little Women" when Jo comes home and Beth is ill -- an excerpt of what Beth says to Jo:

"I've missed you so. Why does everyone want to go away? I love being home. But I don't like being left behind."

Okay...so you get the point...I miss her! Anyways...she's coming to visit for close to 3 weeks and I can't wait. We'll once again sit up til all hours of the night drinking coffee, talking about everything, anything and nothing at all...just enjoying every minute we have with each other! All will be right in the world again :)

April Challenge

I'm still trying to keep up with the listing challenge for April. I missed yesterday not so much because I feel bad, but more because I was just being lazy :P I am feeling better though...my ears aren't clogged anymore but for some reason my sinus' are burning like I've been swimming and snorted water up my nose...yuck! Other than that life is just grand! So here's my two newest listings:



Saturday, April 10, 2010

It's Saturday....

Not much planned for today...I'm actually feeling crummy *sigh* I didn't feel so hot yesterday either, but I didn't want to get too far behind on the challenge so I worked through the fogginess that's lingering in my head and got two items listed in my shop. I'm determined not to let this cold get the better of me!!



Thursday, April 8, 2010

As this cold continues...

A new listing still found its way to my shop (see below). Both ears are completely plugged now even though I use MediRinse faithfully, then steam and heat treat....but at least I don't feel crummy! How could I when tomorrow is Friday?! *happy dance* I love my weekends, love being able to sleep in if I want, lounge around in my pj's, read, watch a movie or two, snuggle with my furry loved ones, doing whatever makes me happy....I just love weekends!!


Amazed

The other day when I was home sick my son called.

B: "Mom?"

Me: "Yeah?" (groggy)

B: "Hold on a sec k?"

Me: "Sure" (sigh..I really don't feel well)

...this happens often when they call or I call them...I'm forever being put on hold! Next thing I hear are beautiful key notes from a piano. My son learned how to play a new song! He's completely self taught, using my ancient keyboard and YouTube...crazy but true. He's learned Beethoven and so many others. At his University he has access to a piano and it's obvious he's taking advantage of it's availability.

Well this one came as a shock as he's not a huge fan of the basis for this piece...but I think he did it for me :)

It's Bella's Lullaby by Carter Burwell. Yes...I'm a Twilight Saga fan..*ducks for cover*..not of the movies but the books (I don't think I'll ever get over how horrible the portrayal of Bella was in the movie Twilight...but that's just my opinion). Before you feel like hucking a large object at me, at least let me tell you why I like the Twilight Series...it's not because of the Vampires or the Wolves...it's because of the love story that's enfolded in the drama. I am a romantic through and through...I love "Love" on all levels, especially in a written story.  Though the movies are gradually getting better they don't compare to the books...but I haven't really found a lot of movies that can compare to their written counterparts.

Okay so explanation aside, this really is a lovely piece and after scouring YouTube I found one that wasn't bombarded with scenes of the movie but was just a pianist (not Carter Burwell and it's shorter than the version my son played for me). There seems to be a bit of debate over which is the true "Bella's Lullaby" -- this piece written by Carter Burwell or River Flows In You by Yiruma...both are beautiful but Burwell's rendition is it for me...that could be because my son played it for me when I seemed to need it most -- I love you B it was so worth being placed on hold :D

Monday, April 5, 2010

Day 5

I think I have a sinus infection and it's getting the better of me...my mind can't function enough to come up with a witty title for this post, nor could I concentrate enough to edit photos for a new necklace so I decided to relist a bracelet that I used to carry in my shop for the April Challenge. See you tomorrow...hopefully I'll be feeling a bit better :)


 

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Aside From All The Rain

and having a cold that's all in my sinus', today was another great day. I made a big brunch for my boys before they left, watched The Blindside (great movie by the way), played with my camera (still so much to learn) and listed a 4th item for the April Challenge.




Now I'm off to make lasagna and watch Sherlock Holmes....hate to see the weekend come to an end, but I can't complain, I had a blast with my kids!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Day Three!

My kids are home, the sun is shining (temporarily), and I'm sippin' on a mocha....nummy.... Life is good on all sorts of levels! Here's my newest addition to my shop for the April Challenge:





Friday, April 2, 2010

Thursday, April 1, 2010

New Listing

Here's my first listing for the April Challenge I mentioned previously! With so many pieces made and ready to be listed I really had a tough time figuring out which one I wanted to list first. I also noticed that the majority of my pieces are necklaces...hmmm...I need to make more bracelets and earrings. Heck by the time I'm done I'll probably have enough to list a new item each day for the next 3 months!! 


Packaging Changes

I was finally able to get a picture of my new packaging to correlate the changes that I've made in my Etsy shop...yay for change!!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Majestic Bald Eagles

What a lovely surprise to come home to!!

The first of two majestic Bald Eagles in my backyard

This one was happily perched and somewhat hidden in the tree


Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Spring


With my apple trees in bloom, and Spring being the time of growth, I'm happily embracing the creativity that seems so abundant right now. I've been hard at work in my studio on special requests for customers, friends/family and diligently making new pieces to list for April's Challenge (below). I can't wait to share my new creations with you, just 2 more days...stay tuned!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

April Challenge

While reading the Etsy forums today, I found a post from another seller asking if anyone would like to join her in challenging ourselves to list a new item every day in the month of April. I have to say this couldn't have come at a better time, I've noticed that I've become a bit too complacent with relisting instead of finishing a new piece and listing it. I'm enthusiastically joining the challenge so next month should bring a bunch of new posts with some lovely new baubles! If you're an Etsy seller come join us and let your creative juices flow!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Time for Change

You may or may not have noticed but I've been making changes to the look of my Etsy shop and my packaging. It's been 2 years since my last design change and with the last design...though I was closer to the look I wanted...it still didn't convey it completely. I wanted it to be more me, by incorporating my jewelry and using one of my favorite colors...blue :)

I've recently had the pleasure of working with a wonderful designer, WinchesterLambourne on Etsy. Her shop states she's "Convo Friendly" and that couldn't be more true. She is a dream to work with, she has an eye for elegance and beauty plus an uncanny sense of what you want. You can see the majority of her stunning designs on Flikr.

She has designed my banner and my avatar, you can see them here and most recently designed my business cards (below), which I've just placed an order for at Overnight Prints.


I absolutely love the new look, and it wouldn't have been possible without the artistic eye of WinchesterLambourne ~Thank you Win!! This is definitely one of those times when change feels soooo good!

Friday, March 5, 2010

New Items Coming Soon

The GiveAway was a success in more ways than one. One of the things that I had asked for was "Tell me what you would like to see more of in my shop"....this I have to say was my favorite part...so I've been working on some new designs and revamping some old ones.

:::Revamping::: Petite Earrings Line (not sure why I didn't continue selling them after the last pair sold...but thank you for the suggestions to re-introduce these to my shop)

:::New::: Longer Earrings (Chandeliers) and Bracelets

I should have a few of them posted this weekend and I'll be sure to let you know when they're available!

~Many thanks for all of your suggestions!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Sneak Peek

Coming soon.....Solid 10k gold rings to my Etsy shop! The gold rings will be available in both the Love Me Knot and the Fine and Fused (smooth and hammered) styles. I'm excited to have the opportunity to be able to offer another precious metal to my customers. I'll be sure to keep you posted once they're available for purchase! Stay tuned....

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Drumroll Please!!

The Winner is BunnyB!!! (The "2" was just my way of keeping track of how many entries each person had). BunnyB...I'll be contacting you by e-mail to get your shipping information.

Congrats to the winner and many thanks to everyone who entered!

Just Two More Hours...

Until I draw the lucky winners name! Yay...I can't wait!!

Good luck to everyone :)

Friday, February 19, 2010

Just two more days.....

until we find out who the winner is!! I will be drawing the lucky winners name on Sunday the 21st at 3pm Pacific Time. If you haven't entered yet, you can do so here or you can scroll down the page to the giveaway.

Good luck to everyone!!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

New Listing and a New Camera

I'm so excited...I just love seeing the FedEx guy pull up...it always means that there's a package just for moi :D
This morning he delivered a Fuji Finepix S1500...I have to say that I love the Super Macro on this camera. It's so easy to use...it's not as nice as a SLR...but to me it's the next best thing. I took my first photos with it for this listing...I think I'll have to play with the white balance a bit, but all in all it's a lovely camera!


Just Wow!!

I just want to say thank you to all of you who have entered my GiveAway so far! I'm totally blown away...and  absolutely ecstatic! Honestly with this being my first attempt at a giveaway I didn't expect more than 30 entries but I'm excited to say it's day 3 and we've almost doubled that...wow...you all rock!

I love hearing your input about what you'd like to see more of and I look forward to hearing more!

If you haven't entered my GiveAway yet you can do so here or just scroll down to my previous post. 

Thank you again and I can't wait until Sunday :) Good Luck to you all!!!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

GIVEAWAY!!!

It's Valentine's Day and I thought what better time than to start my giveaway today! 

Necklace Details

This labradorite has a stunning deep blue color that dances along the surface...not always visible, but as you can tell when the light hits it just right the color is as if you're looking into the depths of the ocean. I've accented it with a deep vibrant blue Chalcedony and a sterling silver tag that's stamped with the word "Dance" on one side and "As if no one is watching" on the other side.

Metal: Oxidized Sterling Silver
Pendant: 1 7/8" (48mm) in length from the top of the bail
Chain: 18"
Value: $82
***The pendant is very substantial and quite weighty.

GiveAway Details
  
Feb. 14th -21st
The drawing will be held on Sunday the 21st and the winner of the necklace will be announced here on my blog and on my Facebook fanpage. You can enter up to 3 times by doing each of the following:
  1. Go to my Etsy shop and tell me what your favorite piece of jewelry is or tell me what you'd like to see more of.
  2. Blog about my giveaway
  3. Facebook about my giveway
You MUST come back here and post your answers to #1, and if you blog or Facebook about it; you must include the link to be entered. Again, you can have up to 3 entries if you do each of the above!

***Don't forget to include your name and email address so I can contact you if you're the winner!!!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Blog Feature

I currently have the honor of being featured on the Soul Reader blog 

The topic is "New Moon in Aquarius". I really enjoyed reading about the artists that were featured before me--especially how their moon and sun signs impact their lives and/or creativity. Please feel free to read my feature and be sure to check out the other artists too! Thank you so much Kathy, it was a pleasure!

I have to add that Kathy isn't just a blogger, she's also an artist and a soul reader--offering both psychic and astrology readings in her Etsy shop 

I had a soul reading done by Kathy a couple of years ago--very insightful! 

You can find Kathy and her work at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/luludesign 

http://kathycrabbe.com/ 

http://facebook.com/SoulReader 

http://twitter.com/SoulReader 

http://soulreaderblog.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

New Labradorite Pieces

I was finally able to sit down and get a couple of necklaces made so without further ado.....


Mist - Labradorite, Aquamarine and Smoky Quartz




Sea Breeze - Labradorite, Chalcedony and Pearl