AmongTheRuins Steampunk Jewelry

New Steampunk Necklaces

2011-09-15T12:51:00.002-05:00

I've been busy making some new steampunk jewelry. Here are the latest additions to my shop!

New Earrings!

2011-09-07T16:40:00.006-05:00

Here are a few of my new earrings, just listed in my shop. I'm having such fun with my wire and a little hardware!

Fall Is Coming!!!

2011-09-06T09:50:00.004-05:00

It is a beautiful September morning here in the Midwest. The air is fresh and cool, and the sky is that cerulean blue that we get in the fall. It's time to start thinking about the things of Fall, one of my favorite times of the year! School has started and we're slowly changing our wardrobes to the warmer clothes.
This necklace is the perfect accessory for all you vampire hunters out there! It has a vintage Holy Water bottle and silver cross. I put them on one of my handmade steel chains and added some blue beads.
You'll find many items in my shop to get you in the mood for fall!

The Sound Of Near Silence

2011-03-18T09:56:00.003-05:00

When I was preparing for my orchestra's concert earlier this month, one of the pieces we played reminded me very much of the music in the movie The Miracle Worker. So I looked up the movie, watched it on YouTube, and ended up reading some things about Helen Keller. I thought I would enjoy reading her autobiography because it would be interesting to see how she experienced life as a deaf/mute/blind person. I wanted to know what was it like from the inside. Two days later I began to get very bad earaches. Two days before my orchestra concert, my ears filled up to the point where I could hardly hear anything at all.

I've had a double ear infection for two weeks now. I've had earaches before, usually at the tail end of colds. This came at the tail end of a cold too, but this one really knocked me for a loop. I did alright for the concert. I can hear my violin when I play alone, which is good since I had a couple of solo parts to play! But I can't hear people talking very well and when the whole orchestra was playing, I couldn't hear myself. I went to the doctor and I'm on antibiotics and my hearing is slowly getting better. I can hear my baby birds again, which is really nice.

I stopped reading Helen Keller's autobiography when I first got sick. To tell the truth, it scared me! But my doctor assured me there will be no permanent hearing loss from this, so I am not scared anymore.

It certainly has been an interesting experience, being nearly deaf. Last weekend my sister and her family were visiting. We had a wonderful time, but I had a very hard time conversing. I found myself feeling a little embarrassed at how many times I had to say, "Sorry, I can't hear you. What did you say?". I could only hear if they got right up close and spoke quite loudly. When we watched a movie together, I had to have the closed captioning on. That was a real nice option, because I couldn't hear the dialog at all. At the worst point, I had to have the volume turned all the way up on the stereo just to hear the words of a TV show. My poor family couldn't tolerate that so I've only watched/listened to things with the headphones. Now it is much better. We watched American Idol last night with the volume at just a little louder than normal and with the headphones I could hear it pretty well.

It has not been an all negative experience, being nearly deaf. I find myself slowed down a bit inside my head. I am a super-sensitive type and normally every little sound is ultra clear and at times it can be quite distracting. I have been feeling much calmer in the quietude. I hear my heart beat and the hiss in my ears, and the sound of the air going into my lungs and out again. In the summer when I swim, I like to float around the pool on my back, with my ears just under the water. I can hear the sound of my breathing and all the outside sounds are very muted. I find it very relaxing. Well, this ear infection has had the same effect. I hear my breathing and my heartbeat, and all the outside noise is either muted or inaudible.

I am very glad to be hearing more again. It was an interesting experience, but I much prefer being able to hear. I do have a much greater appreciation for those who are permanently hard of hearing. It can be a very lonely place not being able to hear. I very much appreciated the people who made the extra effort to speak loudly enough for me to hear them. Maybe I'll read that autobiography now. I wonder if there is an audio version. :)

A Little Snow Anyone?

2011-02-03T07:03:00.011-06:00

I love cold weather. I love snow. I love wind. It's a good thing because we just got a good hit of all three!
You know how when the weather people predict "huge winter storm coming" and most people hope they are exaggerating? Well, I'm one of those people that hope they aren't exaggerating! I wasn't disappointed this time!
Here's my yardstick in the snow. There are drifts that are much deeper, but this is the general depth of 2 feet of snow that we got!

This is the view out one of my windows during the blizzard. There is a piece of siding that blew off the upstairs, laying to the right side there. The winds were gusting over 50 mph.

Here you can still see traces of the lounge chair on the deck.

No more lounge chair!!

This was taken on Wednesday morning, while the snow was still coming down at a rate of 2 inches per hour. We live near enough to Lake Michigan to get the 'lake effect' snow.

That poor old rocker is all filled up now. In fact, it's buried!

There's Alfie, stuck on the deck, with nowhere to run.

The cars getting buried.

The cars getting unburied.

Thinking Outside The Box

2011-01-20T09:09:00.010-06:00

Good morning!! We are heading into one of the coldest days of the year so far, with predicted wind chills of 20° to 25° below zero!! That's mighty cold, so what better time to spend on rearranging the house a bit!

I am still on my neverending journey to the decluttered life. Sometimes I get a little distracted along the way. That's not always a bad thing. Sometimes great ideas come out of those distractions!

I have a smallish house. The kitchen is only 9x10 and when you add cabinets and appliances, that only leaves about 5x5 of actual floor space. But that's ok since we are only three and I'm the one who does 99% of the cooking. A one woman kitchen it is. The dining room is also only 9x10. When you put a dining table in that room it's downright cramped. But it is a dining room. You have to have the dining table in there, right? Right. Well I've believed that for as long as I have lived in this house, about 34 years.

The table I've had in there recently is slightly wobbly and it's been driving us all a little nuts. I have another table in the family room for my 'crafts'. That table is very solid and has no wobble. I have my sewing machine on it, which I use about twice a year, and many other things, mostly clutter. So ding ding ding the bells went off and I decided to take the solid table for the dining table. So we removed the wobbly table to the garage and left the dining room empty until we have a chance to move the other table. I have to clear it off and clean the room first, so the dining has been empty for two days.

The funny thing is, we have never liked eating in the dining room. It's just an uncomfortable place to be. I don't know if it's because it's cramped, or because the layout is all wrong, or both. Three sides are open to other rooms, and the fourth is large windows with a window seat. The seat is too high to use as seating for dining, and the room is too small anyway.

We all liked being able to walk straight through the room so much that I started to toy with the idea of not putting the table in the dining room at all! I mean, I can break a rule can't I? I've always loved having a table in the family room. It's all windows in the back, overlooking the big wild yard. So at last I am going to do what I want instead of following the 'rules'!!!

Here's our cozy new dining spot. Wolfie likes it!!

I plan to make use of the dining room by putting a couple of free-standing cabinets in there to hold extra dishes and equipment that I have no room for in the kitchen.

So look for ways to think outside the box and break some rules this week. You never know what you'll come up with!

2011-01-12T15:53:00.001-06:00

Wow, it's been ages since I've updated the ol' blog! I got a nice comment from a friend of mine today and I decided it's high time I got back to it here! So now I can say, "it's January 2011 already????" LOL

I'm having a big 25% off sale in my shop. I would love to clear out some of the items that have been there the longest, make room for some new style!! Here are a few of the items that are now on sale:

It's October Already??!!??

2010-10-11T11:52:00.003-05:00

Happy October to everyone!! I've been very very bad about my blog and I miss it!! So I'm here today, to share a little bit of this and that with you all.
I'm a bit slow to get my Halloween pictures up. I got this awesome mummy hand at the craft store. I'll be taking many more pictures of my more haunted pieces of jewelry this afternoon. Doesn't it look creepy?

I've been making these little bracelets. They are so fun!! I have so many seed beads and I haven't used them very much for a very long time. So I decided to have some fun and make up a bunch of these bracelets. They are super fun to wear by the dozen!!

I made this little necklace with an adorable coin purse I've had to ages. I always knew it would be on a necklace and this week it finally happened! The key is a super cool Master key with the lion. The bead is from a vintage rosary. I have not listed this necklace for sale yet because I'm not sure I'm ready to part with it! I have my quarter in it, for the grocery stores that take a quarter for a cart. When you return the cart you get your quarter back. This is a handy and cute way to keep it within reach!

My husband and daughter took this last week off for some vacation time at home. It was a beautiful week and we are enjoying a bit of Indian Summer the last few days. Yesterday we went for a drive in the country and to one of our favorite antique stores. I found these three globes for only $5! They are the size of softballs. So cute!! I don't know what I'll be doing with them, but I just had to have them!!

Some New Pieces!

2010-09-08T16:30:00.003-05:00

Wow, it's been a full month since I last made an entry here! I've just been busy and quite honestly, having a little trouble getting my head in gear. With the Fall weather making it's first appearance, I'm feeling a bit more energized. So here are my newest creations, fresh out of the studio!

IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-06T11:46:00.002-05:00

So I was going to throw out the failed sourdough that I still had in the fridge, right? I took it out and opened the lid and what do you know - it was GROWING!!!!!! And it smelled like YEAST!!! EUREKA! So I mixed up my bread dough with it and it rose!!!! I have it in the bread pan rising now and I am keeping my fingers crossed until it rises for baking....wish me luck!!

Onward

2010-08-05T09:23:00.005-05:00

I did not have success with my sourdough attempts. I will come back to that another time, maybe next week. I think I was not feeding it frequently enough and it was consuming itself and dying in its own alcohol. What a way to go huh?

I made some chili yesterday and had two 15 oz. cans from the tomatoes and beans that I thought would be useful to hold my tools and pencils and what-nots on my desk. So I washed them and decided to decorate them. I have tons of printed pictures and designs from my altered books and bottles so I got out those file folders and found some things to use.

It's very simple to do this and so fun. I first painted a layer of Gesso onto the cans as a primer to help the paint and glue adhere to the shiny surface. Then I painted my color all over. Then I glued on my pictures using Mod Podge. I finished them off with a final coat of Mod Podge and voila!

I was so happy with my first two cans and I wanted to do more. We don't eat a lot of canned foods so I had nothing in the recycle bin, so I had to open a can of peas to get one more can.

My continuing theme - freedom!

And here's a little necklace I made last week. Took me forever to figure this one out. I had a picture in my head of criss-crossed wire sticks. Seemed simple enough. Turned out to be quite complicated and I used up a lot of wire getting this right!! I think it was worth the effort. I'll be listing this in the shop.

Well I guess that's about it for my daily rambling - as if I blogged daily! I am always amazed by all you bloggers out there who do blog daily. I just don't have the mental fortitude to keep up with it like you all do. I'm far too scattered!

I wish you all a terrific day!!

Good Bread

2010-07-30T07:59:00.002-05:00

After all the failure this week in the sourdough department, I felt I needed to just make a good loaf, the way I know how - with store-bought yeast. This loaf is the best I have ever made. It's a cranberry walnut whole wheat bread. We have had cranberry walnut bread from the Whole Foods bakery several times. I decided to make it myself instead of paying the $6 for theirs. It came out so good! It's just a simple wheat bread to which I added 1/2 cup of honey, and dried cranberries and walnuts.

I have my sourdough starter in a plastic bowl this time. I am waiting to see it grow. Then I will try again for my first sourdough loaf!

Sourdough: Stage Three - Epic Fail

2010-07-29T10:47:00.009-05:00

Well, here are the results of the first sourdough experiment. I just couldn't throw it away without giving it one last chance to rise in the oven. So here it is in all its, um, glory?

Gee, it almost looks like bread in this shot!

You can see there are no air holes. That's because there was no living yeast left by the time I got through with it. I am sorry.

You could leave it whole and use it as a discus. It is quite heavy.

Of course it would make the perfect classic bookend. I think these babies could hold up Webster's and Roget's.

Or make it a pair of bookends. It looks kind of "kool kitsch", don't you think?

I could throw them in the pool to use for diving toys.

I could put them in the suet feeder and watch it drive the squirrels mad.

They would make good chocks for a trailer or an old car you have sitting around.

There are SO many things you can do with these, so you see it wasn't a complete waste of time and flour. The only thing you can't do is eat it. And I have learned something...how to kill yeast. I put the starter in a metal bowl - a big NO-NO! The only other way I know to kill yeast is to heat it over 100°. I've started my next starter in a plastic bowl. Hopefully the next pictures I have will be of edible bread.

The very first "starter" I experienced was back when I made a bust out of papier mache last winter. I put the flour and water solution that was leftover in a container on the counter and forgot about it. I was saving it in case I would need to touch up my project. Within a couple days it was bursting out of the container. It was not usable of course since it had newsprint and all kinds of other 'ickies' in it. But I didn't even know that was sourdough!

For those of you who are feeling adventurous and want to try making sourdough, it's really very simple. Just mix up 1-1/2 cups of warm water with 1-1/2 cups of flour. You don't even have to measure it exactly. Put a piece of cheesecloth over the top so that it can breath. Set it someplace warm for it to grow. Yeast is everywhere. It will take a couple of days before you start to see it foaming and the bubbles forming. If you've ever proofed yeast, you'll know it's growing both by the look and the aroma. Once it's ready, you make your bread using the sponge method. If you don't know how, just 'google' it. Be sure to save some starter for the next round. Sourdough starter can last for centuries. Maybe I can get one to last long enough to get a loaf of bread out of it!

Sourdough: The Continuing Saga

2010-07-28T10:59:00.007-05:00

It's the sun! It's an alien moon! No wait - it's my failed sourdough! Heehee - just had to have a little fun with some photo editing on this one!

Here it is, after the entire night. It is a teeny bit bigger than it was last night. But you can see my fingerprints there. It didn't spring back.

I poked it again, just to be sure. I'm sure. I think what happened is when my starter outgrew it's container, and crawled out of the cabinet, I lost a good portion of it so it's just not strong enough, or numerous enough with the little critters.

I hate to waste. So I'm cheating. I am proofing some store-bought yeast and will mix up a dough, and then incorporate this dough with it. That's several cups of flour in there! And it does have a very lovely scent. Could turn out to be a great loaf of bread! Or several loaves!

I've already started the starter again. This time I put it in a larger container. And I placed the container inside a large bowl so if it does go wild, at least I can save it!!

It's SO simple - and if it works this will be great! It's just one cup of flour and one cup of warm water. Put it in a warm spot and wait - but watch!!! Haha!

Wish me luck today!! I'll be back with more results later!

Addendum: I was just reminded by a friend NOT to use a metal bowl for sourdough!! This could be my problem in it's not rising! I knew not to use metal, but then when it came time to do the next rising, the china bowl was dirty, and it was so late, and I was so tired, and I got lazy and just grabbed the clean metal bowl!!!!

Now it's in china again. We shall see!!!

Adventures in the Kitchen

2010-07-27T14:29:00.002-05:00

Today I am making sourdough bread. I made my starter and it's ready!! I've been wanting to do this for many years and it's just been one of those things that I hadn't gotten to yet. I will let you know how it comes out!

I was making dinner a couple days ago and I noticed something had spilled on the dish drainer in one sink. So I rinsed it off. I continued about my work and then I noticed the spill again, this time it even looked bigger. I wondered how I missed it, and rinsed it off again. I went back to my dinner preparations once more. Then I saw the same piece of globby stuff on the drainer again! I thought now what the heck IS this??? I looked up, wondering if something horrible was seeping through the ceiling and as my eye passed the cabinet door on the way to looking at the ceiling I remembered that I had put my sourdough starter to ferment in the cabinet above the sink! It had overgrown its jar and was filling the cabinet and dripping down into the sink!!! At least I knew it was alive and ready!!

I think it's amazing that there is yeast already in the flour, and in the air, and in the right conditions you can grow it to make bread with it! This is the way it's been done for thousands of years. Talk about retro! I love every opportunity I can find to make it myself instead of buying it off the shelf at the grocery store. Don't get me wrong - I do appreciate the grocery store! But there is something in doing it yourself that is so satisfying. Usually it's better quality than the grocery store version too!

More later when my bread is bread!!

Taking Back My Kitchen!

2010-07-08T15:39:00.004-05:00

I have a wonderful book called The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider. It teaches you all you need to know to be able to cook meals of your own making, without recipes ultimately. It has been on my bookshelf for over a year. I have read many chapters but I had forgotten about it, being that I live a swiss-cheese life style - with holes in everything and incontinuity reigns. Now I have it out again and I am going to take another crack at it.

I'm taking back my kitchen and my cooking. I had given it away for a low carbohydrate diet that I heard about 8 years ago. I tried it and felt so good on it, I've been trying to do it ever since. I can't do it for more than a few days at a stretch because quite honestly I don't like meat and cheese that much. So I never had the success it was supposed to bring. When I realized that all these years of trying have gained me nothing but an extra 60 pounds, I knew I had to dump this idea, once and for all.

I know, you're thinking good grief, why did it take me so long to realize? I don't know. I do have a serious problem with continuity in my life and this has been one of the many casualties. What's done is done and now it's time to move OUT of this phase and onto something more productive!!

That means I get to do what I know how to do, which is cook. I love to cook. I am a good cook when I allow myself to use the ingredients I know so well, which is absolutely going to include carbohydrates. Good healthy energy-giving carbohydrates in the form of fruits and grains and seed and nuts and great homemade breads.

Today I've been reclaiming my kitchen. I retrieved my favorite vintage canisters from storage and put them out again. There's a whole world of cooking that goes bye-bye if you eliminate all carbohydrates. There's all my bread baking equipment and tools. I don't use a machine. I make it the old fashioned way. So I have a huge rolling pin and special board only for bread dough, things like that. I'm putting it all back into service. At last I will recognize my kitchen again and I will know what to do to make a meal. I've been so lost for so long. Sheesh. What else can I say but sheesh!?

Still In Pursuit Of Inner Freedom

2010-07-02T10:04:00.005-05:00

Good morning dear readers. I have not written on my blog here in way too long. It's not that I haven't wanted to. I come here everyday wanting to write something wonderful and interesting, but for many weeks I have had nothing wonderful or interesting to share with you all. I do tend to do things in spurts. That is a fact of my life. But I miss writing to you all!

I started this blog because everything I read said that this is the thing you do when you have an Etsy shop and it will help increase your exposure and your sales. I don't know if it has helped my sales. The true is, I don't really care if my blog has affected my sales. This is just a wonderful place to connect with fellow artists and I love that connection! What started out as a part of my business has become a part of my life, and a part that I don't want to let go for anything!

I guess I am breaking a lot of old "rules" these days. It is sometimes very difficult to do but in the end, always freeing. It frees up things you may not expect, like your creativity. I'm in my fifties so a lot of the ideas in my head are very well set and hardened. That's one reason it's so hard to break them. Another is that they are very well hidden and disguised as "the right thing to do". They are not all worth breaking of course. But the ones that bind and blind you, those are worth the effort.

How do you know where these rules are hiding? It's a matter of listening. Just get by yourself and get quiet. They will come to you. They always do. It takes time. You can't rush it. You have to be polite enough to let them speak. Do you have a place in your life that is constantly frustrated? That's a good place to go listen. Remember, these hard and fast rules are just doing what they have been taught to do. They don't live in the present. They don't know that you are all grownup now and that you get to decide for yourself what is best. Treat them gently. Let them tell you their story. Try not to judge them harshly. Let them become your friend. Then you can start teaching them about freedom. Then you can set each other free.

Wild Creature In The Willow Tree!

2010-06-07T14:27:00.003-05:00

If you look at the crotch of the tree you will see my dog Alfie! He climbed up there to get closer to the birdies!

Porcu-Cat?

2010-06-06T16:42:00.002-05:00

Late For Lunch

2010-06-04T14:47:00.005-05:00

I was mowing today and discovered a brand new flower blooming at the old picnic table.

Bath Time For Birdy!

2010-06-03T13:07:00.003-05:00

I just missed getting a shot of this Robin taking a bath in the rain water from last night. I took this picture through the screen so it's not so sharp. At least I caught him on the wheelbarrow! He looked to cute taking his bath! He looks cute anyway.

In Search Of Inner Freedom And Peace

2010-05-31T13:36:00.004-05:00

First I want to say a huge heartfelt THANK YOU to all of our incredible service men and women who defend this great country of ours and who willingly put their lives on the line for us to live in freedom. God bless you and your families!!

Here is a shot of the lovely mammatus clouds that passed over us earlier today, at the tail end of the thunder and rain. Aren't they cool looking?

I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like to lately. I've been studying SEO and making changes to my shop. With over 200 items it is quite time-consuming and I am really hoping that these changes will help my sales start to climb. I feel like I've done as much as I can handle for awhile, having spent the past month on this, almost exclusively.

For a little change of pace I am looking at re-organizing my work area. For those of you who read my blog, you know this is an ongoing project for me. I am still in search of that ever-elusive perfect arrangement! This time I'm trying to apply some of the techniques I have learned for other areas of the house, like putting items nearest to their 'point of use'. I have certain drawers and places that are easier access than others. For those places that are prime real estate, I want to only keep things that I use most frequently. Things I use less frequently will go in the harder to reach and farther away spots. That seems simple enough until you start to apply it and there is limited space and it can get rather complicated.

Being a person who recycles old jewelry and bits and pieces of almost anything, makes it even more of a challenge to maintain order. I keep things that many people would deem "trash". Of course it also makes it hard to ever get rid of anything! I do have to be a bit brutal here and let go of some of these things. I just dread the thought that I will finally get rid of a piece and the next day the inspiration for that piece will hit me, and I just threw it out! It almost seems inevitable. But I have to thin things out a bit so I will have to bite the bullet! I can at least place those questionable items in a farther away place from the work area.

One thing I find most challenging is how to store my tools. I use them constantly, so I don't want them in a drawer. But I don't like them strewn about either. For now I have them in a re-purposed oatmeal box. I cut the box to the right height, then removed the inner cardboard circle from the lid and replaced that plastic rim onto my cut down box for added strength. I keep all my tools in there and it's worked very nicely. It's not the most attractive piece. I could finish it with duct tape, which would make it even stronger, or I could paper over it. I don't mine the Oats label enough to bother.

I'm a huge fan of "bouquets" - those open round containers like this one, for keeping tools, or kitchen utensils or pencils in one easy to reach spot. It's so much easier to grab something out of a bouquet than to open a drawer and go fishing around. I have a stainless steel one in the kitchen for all my wooden spoons and cooking utensils. I found it at the thrift store of course. That's where about 75% of my belongings come from. I especially love finding the kitchen throw-aways from restaurants, which are very high quality stainless steel pans and utensils. Maybe they have a dent or ding but they are perfectly usable for me and I could never afford this stuff new!

Another project on my mind is to set my house to "cottage mode" for the summer. I like to lighten the load in whatever areas I can so that I have to spend less time washing dishes and doing laundry, and can spend more time doing fun things like yard work and swimming, and making jewelry.

One way to lighten the load in the kitchen is by reducing the number of dishes we use. There are only three people in my little family, so why do we need 8 dinner plates? Whatever number of dishes I have, that is how many will be used. It's a law of housewifery. It doesn't matter how many people there are, or even how often I wash the dishes. At some point, every plate in the house will be dirty, and this will happen often. I don't own a dishwasher so even with only three people, dish washing is a constant chore. I will give each person one plate, cup, bowl, and silverware set. Then the most I will ever have to wash is 3 of each item! Sounds good to me. I'll keep the rest in an upper cabinet for when we have company.

I have done the same with bed linens and towels. Cut down the number of items available and it automatically cuts down laundry time. We've actually managed to cut our laundry time to half of what it used to be. We have one set of sheets that are washed, dried, and replaced on the bed in one session. No more washing several sets of sheets and pillow cases. We used to use, wash and dry a dozen towels every week. That's two loads even in the big front loader. We cut that in half by simply putting half the towels into storage, along with the extra bedding. When the ones we're using wear out, we'll pull out the next set.

If you are feeling really brave, you can cut down laundry time even further by taking an honest look at your wardrobe. Here's where the old 80/20 rule comes into play. It says that we typically use only 20% of the clothes we own. The other 80% sits there either waiting for "when I lose this weight" or "that special occasion", or whatever the case is that you have made for keeping it. The advantage to never culling your wardrobe of course, is that someday you will have a closet full of awesome vintage items! You can amaze your grandchildren. If you have plenty of space and that's your thing, go for it! If you want to live a little lighter, definitely give this a go. You will be amazed at how freeing it is to get rid of those pieces that you only hold onto because you spent "good money" on it - even though it's ugly or doesn't fit you anymore. It's a purifying and exhilarating experience to unload those pieces and in the process, unhooking yourself from all the bad feelings associated with them! Just imagine opening your closet in the morning and seeing only clothes that fit you today, only clothes that are flattering and pretty, and only pieces that you really like to wear! Talk about lifting your spirits!!

I take this philosophy to every room in the house. You can apply it to the bathroom shelves, the kitchen drawers, those storage units in the garage, everywhere you keep things that you own.
It is an ongoing process for me. I have purged the entire house a few times, and the result was a profound experience of new inner freedom and peace. Our material possessions do cost us beyond their purchase price. We need to periodically weigh those costs and benefits to be sure our possessions aren't possessing us and squelching us.

Here's to finding more freedom in our lives!

I Think I'm In Love!

2010-05-21T09:32:00.005-05:00

Good morning folks!! Happy Friday to all!

Ok, I admit it...I had never heard of "rhodochrosite" before this week. I obtained some in my 'grab bag' of goodies from the antique store. Well I think I'm in love!! I do love pink - very very much. Copper is so beautiful with pinks and purples so I did a wire wrap of this little beauty. I'm very please with how it turned out. I will definitely be using this rock again! Plus I have several more pieces in my stash!!

Ooh Pretty!

2010-05-20T08:18:00.005-05:00

I went to my favorite antique shop last weekend. They have had a bowl of $1 items for many months sitting on the counter. I have found some interesting pieces in there from time to time. This time they consolidated all the items in the bowl into one bag for $6. I went for it! Here are some of the treasures I got.
There were several bags of semiprecious stones, most of them in a rough state. A few are polished. Not sure what I'll do with them, but they are beautiful!

There were also many chandelier crystals. I love these gorgeous pieces for jewelry. They're big beautiful chunks of shine!!

I wire wrapped one of the rhodochrosite pieces, and made a pendant from one of the extra large crystals.

Take Better Photos In Three Easy Steps

2010-05-04T07:25:00.022-05:00

Go from this:

To this:

I've been reading every article I can find about improving my Etsy shop. Things have been very slow in the shop so I have plenty of time on my hands for expanding my horizons. In general I'm stuffing my head with every bit of information I can about this whole business of selling jewelry online that I can!

I've been making lots of treasuries in the brand new Treasury East on Etsy. What a wonderful toy...er...tool! I think it is a fabulous way of finding great artists on Etsy and getting to meet them. It's a wonderful creative outlet being a curator of these beautiful collections.

In all my searches for brilliant items for my treasuries I have found my eye being trained to what kind of photo really "pops" off the pages of Etsy. That has led me to re-read my camera's manual. I've been experimenting with different techniques, lighting, settings, and re-shooting many of my items, while doing some editing of others. I thought I'd share some of what I have been learning.

I have found myself often frustrated in my treasury searches because I will find a piece of jewelry that is absolutely beautiful that I would love to include, but the photo is so dark and small that I can't use it. Here's what one may look like:

You can see this Aquamarine Teardrops In Steel Necklace is a lovely piece, but this picture doesn't do it justice. It needs to be brightened up and cropped. I use Windows Photo Gallery for all of my editing. It has everything I need. There are plenty of free online photo editors available like Picasa and Picnik. These are easy to use and have everything you need.

The first and most important part of taking pictures is to get a clear and crisp photo that is not blurry. For this you will have to familiarize yourself with your camera's macro setting. The macro setting is for closeups and is indicated by a yellow flower. If you don't have your camera's manual, you can use Google to find it online. Just setting the camera to macro is not enough for a clear picture. Here are three essentials for getting a crystal clear shot:

1. Plenty of light, either natural light or full spectrum bulbs.

I use Reveal 100 watt bulbs in a clamp-type lamp. I have two of these lamps and I can move them around for different effects and shadows. If I want more shadow I use just one lamp. I personally don't like to use natural light because it is impossible to manipulate. You have to go where it is and that is less than convenient. I have plenty of windows but not in positions that give me good angles. Direct sunlight is too bright and will wash out the pictures. Besides, the weather is never reliable! So I stick with my little clamp lamps. That way I never have to wait for a sunny day to get great shots.

2. Use a tripod.

I always use a tripod. You can get a tripod for as cheap as $1. I had one from the dollar store and granted, it did break after about 3 months, but that was more than my dollar's worth!! This tripod in the picture is one that my dear sister gave me. I don't know exactly where she got it, but you can get a desktop tripod for around $15-20. If you can't shell out for a tripod, then at least put your camera on a pile of books or a box - something solid that you can line up with your subject so that you are not holding the camera in your hands. It is virtually impossible to get a sharp picture when you are holding the camera in your hands!

3. Find the correct distance from the camera to your subject.

This is crucial. If your picture is blurry, there is nothing you can do to improve upon it in any editor.

You can get an idea from your camera's manual of what distances it can handle on the macro setting. But then you will have to experiment to find just where it works best. I read my manual fully, but when I went to apply it all, it seemed nothing was going the way I expected. So I just started snapping pictures and experimenting to see what would give me the sharpest shot.

I see lots of pictures on Etsy that are blurred simply because the subject was too close to the lens. Sometimes you have to take a picture further away and then crop it later in the editor. Don't worry about getting in close to the subject when you take the picture. Just make sure the picture is in focus and you can crop it later, which will make it fill the frame.

That brings me to filling the frame. The picture below is better as far as the brightness, but the necklace is too far away. You really want to see the central part of the item and nothing else. Too much empty space around the item is no good. Don't worry about showing the entire piece in your first picture slot. Just zoom in on the very best part of the piece for the first picture - that picture will be in all the searches where people are shopping! You really want to fill the entire frame with the best part of the subject.

So in the picture below, I need to crop out the extra space and hone in on that centerpiece of twisted wire and aquamarine. I also want to brighten it further.

Here is the final picture:

That really pulls your eye in nicely.

Next I'll show you a good first slot picture, and a better first slot picture.
The first picture of the Get It In Gear Earrings is fine. It's sharp and bright, easy to see. Not a lot of empty space around the subject. It's a very respectable photo. But I really wanted to add some drama and I wanted to play up the industrial feel of these earrings.

So I switched out my lace background for an etched glass tile and zoomed in very close to the earrings. I used just one lamp which made beautiful deep shadows which highlight the piece brilliantly.

Here you can see the difference between one picture taken of Etched Brass Steampunk Earrings in natural daylight (top picture) and one taken at night with only incandescent lighting (bottom picture). The daylight picture has a clarity that the other does not have. But it also has a kind of flatness about it.

I like the mood in the second picture better for this piece. I wanted it to have that "ruins" feeling to it.

Well, I hope this little article has been enlightening for you (pun intended). Have a wonderful photo session!!

A Wonderful Birthday Present!

2010-04-28T19:14:00.002-05:00

I just got a package in the mail from my sister Marcy. In it were these two beautiful antique photographs. They are so lovely!! It is really hard to find these old pictures wherein the subjects are smiling and these are both smiling so beautifully!! I just had to share!!
Thanks Marcy!!

Happy Birthday To Me

2010-04-28T12:56:00.003-05:00

This was my wonderful surprise yesterday!! I was at my friend's for a day of music. We meet every week to play string quartets. This week is my birthday so they made me a very special cake. I am eating low-carb so they made it out of hamburger!!!!! It looked just like chocolate!! LOL It was delicious and so sweet of them!!
Thanks to Claudia and Pie, and Janet and Heide for a super cool birthday!!

The Joy Of Making Treasuries

2010-04-26T23:30:00.005-05:00

I have finally started making treasuries and I think I'm hooked! There is such a rich and deep pool of artists on Etsy, it is mind-blowing. Gathering collections of these amazing artists is just sheer joy to me. Now that the new Treasury East has opened up, I am taking advantage of the fact that we don't have to wait for the number to go below something. It's open all the time and is unlimited. You can make as many treasuries as you want.

Here are some screen shots of a few I've made so far. You can click on the pictures below to go directly to the treasuries. Enjoy!

Sweet, Spicy, Smoky Chicken

2010-04-21T11:40:00.005-05:00

I'm having my lunch of leftover chicken from last night and this is so good I thought it would be nice to share the recipe. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures. You'll have to trust me when I say it looked as good as it tasted.

I call it a recipe but I didn't actually measure things for it, so just use your own taste judgment as to the amounts of the flavorings. Go easy on the Cinnamon - it is easily overpowering.

I used chicken thighs but you can use this on any part of the chicken you like.
Sprinkle the chicken liberally with:

Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
Smoked Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
Thyme
Cinnamon

You can season the chicken in advance and put it back in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. The flavors permeate the meat even more that way.
Put the chicken pieces on a wire rack over a foil covered pan. Lots easier to cleanup later and it lets the grease drip off. I cut up some yellow and orange bell peppers into wedges, sprinkle them with olive oil, and a little sea salt and bake them right alongside the chicken.
Bake at 375° until the juices run clear and the chicken skin is crispy.

Bon appetit!

Hittin' The Books

2010-04-16T09:03:00.003-05:00

How does having no sales in three weeks affect you? It motivates me to dig deeper, to find out if there is something I can do to improve my chances of getting my stuff noticed out here on the world wide web , then I am determined to find it and do it!

This week I have been reading and studying every bit of information I can about SEO - that wonderful term we all know and *love* - Search Engine Optimization. [Insert scary music here].
Reading and studying is one thing. Understanding and implementing is another!

I have been on Etsy just over a year now and I have attempted to read and understand SEO from the very beginning. I confess, it has taken me this long to just begin to get a slight handle on it. Often I find an article that looks promising and as soon as I get 2-3 paragraphs into it, I realize I haven't heard a word I've read and instead I'm thinking about the dishes I need to wash or the garden I need to weed.

Here's what I've learned so far about SEO, in a tiny nutshell. When you give an item in your Etsy shop a title, make sure that title contains the most important keywords for Google to find. For example: I make lots of necklaces with skeleton keys so the most important search keyword would be "skeleton key". I need to be sure to include that in my title. Then I also need to be sure the first part of my description repeats the same keywords, and also I need to repeat them in my materials and in my tags. I can't explain why, but I know repeating those keywords is important - it makes them stronger. Stronger is good. It means chances of your item being found in Google searches is better.

So I will be spending the next however long it takes, working on all my listings.
Here's to hard work paying off in sales!!

Just a Few of my Latest Pieces

2010-04-14T11:21:00.003-05:00

I do have a thing for keys! They are so beautiful. They are intriguing. Where have they been? What have they locked? What have they unlocked? What secrets do they hold? What kind of lives did they exist within? I let my imagination run wild with the keys. I hope you will too!

Darkheart

Seeing Eye

Dolce

Bejeweled

Bates Motel

Oooh Treasures From The Ruins!!

2010-04-08T18:51:00.008-05:00

Hi one and all! I hope the month of April is bringing nicer weather to some of you at least. We had temps in the 80's last week and now we're back down in the 30's. Very typical northern Illinois in April.
Well, I was very fortunate to be able to go antiquing with hubby a couple of weeks ago. I found some very nice little treasures at one of my favorite antique shops in Wisconsin. I try to get there every few weeks. They always have something tiny and wonderful for me! This visit was especially rewarding. Here's a couple of pictures of what I got.

The pink box is a doll's trunk. I just HAD to have that!! The little gold box with the designs is a slide-open box just the right size for pills in my purse. That large key is a motel key to room 416 - two of my favorite numbers 4 and 16!!

I put the other treasures inside the doll's trunk. There's three antique watchworks, a couple of wonderful skeleton keys, a green glass charm, a gold octagon locket, a very nice bug that is already on a necklace in the shop, a sterling silver chain with beautiful deep purple gem in a heart shape, and last but not least, a sterling silver rhinestone studded moth pin!

I think my best find of all of these is this snapshot. I could say something about it, but I think it doesn't need any help from me. Enjoy!

My Empty Head

2010-03-31T09:43:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted in awhile. Oh I've managed to put up some pictures here and there. I always like pictures when I read so I try to include pictures here.

I haven't written lately because I have not had anything interesting to say. Do you ever have times like that? I think we all do. I want to keep up my blog so I feel bad when I just don't have anything to write about. I don't think my rambling would be of interest so I usually just don't write anything at all.

I've thought about writing some tips on picture-taking. Like there aren't already enough tips out there. I wouldn't be writing anything new. It would just be the knowledge that I have accumulated in my own head. But maybe it would be of use to someone.

I could write about the weather.

It's spring.

Well that was short.

I could write about sales being slow. But I really can't stand whining.

I have a lovely picture on my desktop of a very old abandoned house. It is a very old picture of a very old house. That is something that thrills me. I would love to go inside that house. But fear would keep me out. I'd be afraid of the floors collapsing under my feet, or the roof caving in on top of me. I'd also be afraid of trespassing. But I would love to just see what it's like inside. Thankfully there are others who are not afraid to go inside of these places. They actually take their cameras inside abandoned houses, hospitals, asylums and prisons. There are websites full of their incredible pictures. So I do get to go inside, through their pictures. I have them listed under my Very Cool Sites list, here on the blog.

I've tried to figure out what is behind the fascination of these abandoned places. Is it the beauty of the architecture when everything was made by hand? That is certainly part of it. If you look at things that were made a hundred years ago, even the tools were ornate. Everything was made with beauty in mind. That was before the giant factories and the assembly lines. Those things were made to last, so we are fortunate that we have an abundance of antiques still with us.

The beauty of these places is what draws me in. But then I want to know their stories. What were the lives that were lived in these places? Sometimes we know their history. There are also websites that have some of those stories. I have one in particular that is very fascinating, called Willard Suitcase Exhibit. You can find it on my list of Some Very Cool Sites. They found an attic in an abandoned asylum, full of suitcases with some of the personal belongings of the former inhabitants. It is the most fascinating site I have ever seen. It is haunting and sad but their stories are finally being told. I highly recommend it, especially if you are looking for a dose of darkness.

Well I guess that's about it for today. If I get inspired later I will write more. Time to get to my domestic duties. I wish you all a wonderful day!!

Pals

2010-03-21T15:50:00.003-05:00

Alfie (dog) and Wolfie (cat) sunbathing together.

First Day Of Spring?

2010-03-20T14:08:00.002-05:00

Yep. It really is the first day of spring. It's 30° Fahrenheit and it's been snowing since last night and all day today and is still coming down. I took this picture this morning. It's ok with me. It covers up all the yard work we will need to do once true spring arrives, sometime in April or May.

Learning New Skills

2010-03-17T14:33:00.009-05:00

Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers!!

I've been learning a new skill, making chainmaille jewelry. Oh boy, it is challenging! But the rewards are so nice and somehow almost addictively satisfying. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe the puzzle-solving that is involved in order to figure out how to put these things together. Maybe just that the results are so beautiful. Whatever it is, I feel myself being drawn in a little more with each piece I complete!

Of course my 'maille' is not going to look quite like the pieces that other people make. I love the beautifully polished and perfect pieces out there. The chainmaillers I've met do incredible work!

But my pieces are something you would dig out of an ancient ruins, so I use dark annealed steel in a heavy gauge. This is rugged stuff. It's hard on the hands because it is thick and stiff. It polishes to a nice pewter color, with a nice dull sheen. The ends of the links are never going to be perfectly smooth and perfectly seamed together just because of the nature of this wire. I like that rugged look so it suits me perfectly.

Here are the pieces I've made so far. I'd love to hear feedback! Always feel free to leave comments!!

A bit of European 4-1 in this necklace

Spiral Bracelet

A 'unit' of Scherzo in the first pair of earrings.

The second pair is just links, my way.

My variation of Helm.

Wolfie

2010-03-12T10:03:00.008-06:00

This is Wolfie.

She is my assistant.

She helps me make the jewelry.

She is always there to lend a helping paw.

She appreciates the fact that I put a nice warm lamp here, just for her to nap under.

Is It Spring Yet?

2010-03-08T09:15:00.003-06:00

Good Monday morning!! I have been hibernating for most of this winter and have not written much here for awhile. I'm digging my way out of my cave and hope to have something interesting to share soon!

I had the great pleasure to play a concert with Waukegan Symphony yesterday. We have more violins now than we have had in years and it is such a joy to have that many! The sound is awesome and the feeling of playing in unison with so many is even better! We had a wonderful piano soloist to play Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue. It was a tiring but wonderful weekend!

I cleared off my desk and rearranged the drawers - yes, again. I'm still looking for that perfect set-up. You know, the one where everything I need is at my fingertips and everything is neat and orderly all the time? Has anyone succeeded in achieving that goal? If so, please, please leave a comment explaining it!!!

I'm so happy that I finally get to see the Olympics on the NBC website. We have no reliable TV reception since the digital change so we were unable to see it live. But now that they are over all the events are available online! And I don't have to listen to the yammering commentators. I get to see the events as they happened without the criticisms!!

The weather is definitely becoming more spring-like. The snow is slowly melting and the ice cycles are almost gone from the roof. I can't see any grass yet but if these above freezing temps keep up, it won't be long.

I've been making some new jewelry pieces. I'm trying to push myself to create and list more often. My one year anniversary on Etsy is tomorrow!! I am so glad I have my little shop. It's such a joy to wake up everyday to making jewelry!

Here's a little preview of some pieces I'll be listing later today:

So, that's it for my random thoughts posting for today! Happy Monday to all!!

Keyrings from Among The Ruins!

2010-03-04T11:54:00.004-06:00

I found a great use for all those beads that didn't seem to belong anywhere!

New Jewelry!

2010-02-28T13:16:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone! I feel like I've been in hibernation for awhile and I'm just starting to come out of it and I'm making jewelry again!
Here are a few of my latest creations. I hope you like them!!

His Royal Silliness, Alfie

2010-02-25T13:25:00.000-06:00

My dog Alfie

A Snow Tiara!

2010-02-22T10:13:00.000-06:00

It's a little snow tiara! If snow were not so cold on bare feet I would go out and get a closer shot of this. Maybe later.

Purses From Among The Ruins

2010-02-16T13:09:00.000-06:00

For many months now I have wanted to make purses. I finally found the time and the space to do it! Here are my first two attempts.
I have no patterns. I am just putting them together by trial and error - lots of error! Thank goodness for my trusty seam ripper!
My aim with the style of the brown purse is for a sort of "Steampunk Lite". By that I mean I want to make a style that has definite steampunk elements, but is not so over the top, so that a woman like me will feel comfortable wearing it. I am a middle aged woman and I love the steampunk style, but I would look silly in some of the fashion items out there. I'm aiming for a little more toned down version for people like me to wear.

This little green purse is not steampunk style. It's just kind of Victorian. I need to make a drawstring for it. My green ribbon is not dark enough or thick enough. So this one is not finished yet.

I'd love to hear what you think!! Please feel free to comment!

The Doldrums

2010-02-12T10:08:00.000-06:00

We all know the word and it's usual definition of a dull, listless, depressed mood; low spirits. There's another part of its definition:

doldrums (dōl'drəmz')
A region of the globe found over the oceans near the equator in the intertropical convergence zone and having weather characterized variously by calm air, light winds, or squalls and thunderstorms. Hurricanes originate in this region.

I found that very interesting. Could apply it to me.

Pink Twist Necklace

2010-02-03T22:59:00.000-06:00

Pink Twist Necklace

Tiny Heart Key Necklace

2010-02-03T22:58:00.000-06:00

Tiny Heart Key Necklace

Love Is Pure Heart Choker

2010-02-03T22:54:00.000-06:00

Love Is Pure Heart Choker

In The Thick Of It

2010-01-29T15:31:00.000-06:00

Aaaah, here I am in the middle of chaos once again! There is not a flat surface in my house that is not full of STUFF!

Does it ever end? I know the answer to that. I just want to have complete control. Is that too much to ask? I don't even want to control the whole world. Not even the whole town I live in.

I just want to control my own little house. That's really all I ask. Is that so unreasonable?

So I ask myself, what price order? If I were as organized and in control as I imagine that I want to be, what exactly would that mean? What would my life look like if I were in "perfect order"? I mean, I have to find some way to justify the mess!! Right?
Do I want perfect order and no mess and a boring life? Or would I rather have SO many things to create, to rearrange, to fiddle with, to sell, and have the mess that comes with all this creativity?
Maybe I don't need perfection. Maybe perfection and the idea that I have to attain it is working against me. Maybe I need to make friends with chaos. Maybe chaos is an integral part of my process. Not total choas, but the chaos that comes out of creativity.
What if I embrace my chaos? Don't fight it, but dive into it. Enjoy it....
The more I think about this, the better it feels. I can learn to relax in my chaos. Let it feed me ideas and inspiration. Let go a little, and let the messes happen and be okay with them. Stop making judgments that messes and chaos are always a bad thing that needs to be cleaned up and put away.
I have found that I usually create more when my desk is a mess. There can be a turning loose, a setting free in allowing chaos to exist. Hmm...maybe that's one reason why I named my studio AmongTheRuins.

Valentine's Sale!

2010-01-22T14:51:00.000-06:00

Hi all! I hope you have had a good week and will have a restful and restorative weekend! I am putting some things on sale for Valentine's Day in my shop. I decided to pick out only pieces with pink and red in them, in celebration of sweethearts!!
This is the first sale I have put on so I hope I got all the details right. Here are just a few of the pieces that will be 10% off through February 14th.

My Brand New Shop!!

2010-01-19T11:17:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! As those of you who read my blog know, I have been going through the process of decluttering my home. I know that makes it sound as if there is an end point to this. I have not experienced the end point yet, so I'm not sure there is one!

I decided since I have so many nice things, and I don't really want to give all of them away, I would open a vintage shop on Etsy. If they don't sell then I can always give them to Salvation Army. I will still have plenty of things for Salvation Army. I am only going to sell relatively small items so I won't have any shipping nightmares!
So I hope you will stop by my new shop, Among The Ruins Vintage and have a look-see! I will be adding many more items as time permits.

The man in the banner in my vintage shop is none other than Jack Benny. I was very fortunate to have met him back in 1973. I was a freshman in high school when he came to his home town of Waukegan to play for the inaugural concert of the newly formed Waukegan Symphony Orchestra, where I played violin. He was amazingly talented and extremely funny. He never cracked a smile the entire time we were with him! But we sure did!
I took some years off when I had my daughter, but I am currently playing in Waukegan Symphony. If you look very carefully on the left side of the picture, that tiny head with the dark hair is me! Just a bit of my personal "vintage" for you to enjoy.

Here's a bigger picture:

Monday Morning as Mini New Year

2010-01-18T12:21:00.000-06:00

Hello fellow bloggers, readers, artists, geeks and computer addicts! I hope the beginning of this new year has been kind to you! Monday mornings are like mini New Years to me. I like to start fresh and Mondays give me that opportunity every week!

I have been enjoying a few new things. There is a brand new website called IndieJunction.
It is "a place where indie artisans across all genres form a synergy that helps each individual achieve their goals within the handmade industry." It is a wonderful place to meet other artisans, show your work, network, support and learn from each other. It is very easy to use and there are plenty of friendly and helpful people there that are more than willing to share what they know. I highly recommend it!

We finally got the house clean. There's nothing like having company over to get the house clean! Well as soon as I had some clear and clean spaces in the house, I found some space in my brain to actually dig in to some of the old clutter that I've been needing to deal with for a very long time. We hauled out many boxes full from "the back room", which in our house is that no-man's-land where everything that doesn't have a place yet, ends up! If you want to see the back room, it's somewhere in the archived blog articles.

I did struggle a bit with some of the things in those boxes. For one thing, what about those items that I could sell and make some money? My friend who was here for dinner and I talked about that one. Yes, I could have a garage sale. I had a garage sale once. I made some decent money. I hated every minute of it! I didn't like strangers wandering around my place. I didn't like it when some of them stole items that were priced at 10 cents. I hated being stuck in a chair all day long. So for me, it is not worth the couple hundred dollars I might make to go through that again. Besides, Salvation Army really does need our generosity. I give all of my stuff to them. I also buy from them. Sometimes I buy something from them, use it for a few months, grow tired of it and then give it back to them. It's great for everyone - I get my stuff very inexpensively, they benefit from my purchase, and from my re-donations. So I don't have to sell the stuff in a garage sale! YAY!

Next comes the hard-to-part-with-it-even-though-I-haven't-used-it-in-years items. This is where I have to be brutal. My daughter is a huge help (and a little scary) with this one. She'll really push me on all those critical questions - How long since you used it? How many do you have? How many do you need? It's ugly! You really think you're going to go back to using paper organizers someday, in place of the computer???
Ok, so she really got me there. BUT how can I just give away these gorgeous leather - I'm talking REAL LEATHER organizers that I paid good money for??? This is where the "decompression box" comes in. This is the place where I put the things that I know I don't need, shouldn't keep, but can't quite get rid of yet. Just put them in there and close it up until the next time I am dejunking. I'll get there eventually. And if those few things remain with me until the bitter end, it's not the end of the world. At least they are not taking up prime real estate in the house any longer.

I'm so proud of myself. Last night I actually put out 3+ boxes full!!! I found some long-lost items in the process! Today I will go through some more. I'll just take a little at a time, so as not to overwhelm myself!

I also plan on making new jewelry this week!! I've taken a long break and I'm feeling the creativity in there getting ready to erupt!

Happy Monday to all!!

What Is Freezing Fog?

2010-01-17T17:45:00.000-06:00

Last night I was at my computer and I noticed a weather advisory for "freezing fog". I don't believe I have ever heard of freezing fog before. I asked the people I was chatting with and they had never heard of it either. We imagined it could be a solid block of ice, trapping everything inside of it until it cleared, or melted, or whatever freezing fog does when it's finished. Of course we had a good laugh over that.
Well this morning I woke up to freezing fog and it is quite beautiful!! Here are the pictures:

It's A Winter Wonderland!!

2010-01-08T17:10:00.000-06:00

Well, we finally got our big snow! Last time they predicted this, it skipped over us and I was sorely disappointed. This time we hit the jackpot!! I went out and took a few pictures this morning. I only stepped onto the porch. It's cold out there!!

It's pretty deep!

We get very long icicles.

Aren't they amazing?

I had some fun trying to capture the tiny drops of water that were sliding down the icicles!

In this last shot you can actually see the crystal pattern around the edge of the ice, where the ice meets the water. It looks like a knitting pattern or feathers!

I've been working on the house all week (still). I am trying to get it to the point where it will be easy to maintain an acceptable level of cleanliness without that much effort. I know this is possible because I have done it before. I am very very close to having it there!! Then I will finally get to what I really want to be doing, making jewelry!!!

I've also been feeling the itch to get back into some fun with mixed media and altered bottles. I'll put a few pictures here of some bottles I made last year. I don't know if I'll put any in the shop, because the shipping would be much more complicated and pricey. I may in the future. But for now, I just want to make them.

Jewelry Stands Now For Sale!

2010-01-04T12:55:00.000-06:00

Well, here they are for the brand new year, my twisted tree wire earring stands. I'm liking these a lot. They are very stable and secure. They can hold a lot of earrings in a very small space while keeping them at easy reach. They look like little weeping willow trees when thy are loaded up.

A Place For Everything And Everything In Its Place...

2010-01-02T16:02:00.000-06:00

Doesn't that sound wonderful? Doesn't that sound divine? Imagine if all that you owned actually had its very own permanent place. You would never again say to yourself, "Now where did I put that tool?", or "Darn it I know it's here somewhere!!".

I have noticed that I am far from alone in my constant quest for order and organization. It is an integral of living in a wealthy country. Even if you are so-called "lower or middle class", believe me, you are wealthy if you have too many things to keep them in order easily.

Sometimes I think I am a procrastinator. But when I stop and analyze what's really happening, it's more a problem of a lack of order in different areas. For example...

This morning I set out a pair of jeans that I need to alter. I just need to take in the side seams a bit to make them fit better. That means I have to use my sewing machine, which is sitting under the table that it will eventually be on top of.

That table is covered with all the items that have been moving westward this week in my decluttering adventures through the kitchen and dining room...

Ain't it purty?

So the first thing I have to do in order to fix my pants, is clear off that table and set up my sewing machine.
I set out to do that...but I'd like some music playing while I do this. I go to my computer (uh-oh) to find something to play. I thought it would be nice to listen to the Bach Double Violin Concerto that I will be playing next spring in a chamber concert. I can't find it in my iTunes. I know I had it in there at some point...maybe that was a couple of computers ago. Hubby, being a computer guy, keeps me in the latest and greatest computers, but that means every couple years I go to a new machine and sometimes things get lost in the process.

Soooo...now I'm searching for the Bach Double, and I realize what a mess my iTunes is. Ooh, I really do need to completely reorganize my iTunes...I somehow manage to steer clear that project for now, and move on to see if the Bach Double is in my daughter's iTunes. I don't see her share on my iTunes, which isn't right. It's always there!

Suddenly I have a flash of inspiration and I simply must sit down and write a blog entry about this disorganization and how the ultimate goal is actually to never have these endless hunts for things I need to get my hands on. So I go to my blog and discover that my internet is down. (So that's why my daughter's shared music doesn't show up.) Oh well, I can write this in Wordpad for now and when hubby comes home and gets the internet back up, I'll post it to the blog.

Ahh...now I'm finally getting something accomplished!

When he comes home, I go to greet him at the door, and as I walk through the family room I see my pants slung over the back of the couch and I remember what I started out trying to accomplish, and then I see the table still covered with everything from the now clear kitchen and dining room, and as I retrace all my steps in the last hour I see what a zig-zag I am on!!

~~~I'm starving! Time to find some food - I'll be back!~~~

Ahh, that was good. Ok, now back to work.

Another common complaint is being constantly sidetracked when we are trying to get things done. Of course what I described above is all about being sidetracked. We usually think of being sidetracked as a bad thing, but I'm looking at that again, wondering if it really is a bad thing. It is bad if it keeps you off-goal. But what about side-tracks that are within that goal?

My ultimate goal is to have a place for everything and have everything in its place. At this stage, I have many many areas that are out of order and it's impossible to work on one area without the others encroaching. Since I have to do them all eventually, what difference does it make if I get sidetracked into another area before the first one is done? It may feel more scattered at the moment, but ultimately I will finish it all. Whether I do it one area at a time until it is done, or a little at each area along the way, I don't think it will matter in the end. So I'm not going to bash myself, or try to re-route myself as much when I get sidetracked, as long as I am still aiming for the same goal!

As my hubby loves to say, "Go with the flow". Some of my most productive days are the most scattered. I am not focused on just one thing, but flitting like a butterfly from one thing to another all day long, wondering if I'm getting anything done. At the end of the day I make a list of all I did get done and it's impressive.
Other days I am zeroed in on one specific task and I keep at it until it is finished. That is also a very productive day. There certainly are more ways than one of getting your goals accomplished!

I think the most important thing is to clarify exactly what the goal is. I do think baby steps are a very helpful tool. If I tell myself to "organize the crafts" - that includes my desk and all its drawers, the extra little drawers beside the desk, the steamer trunk full of stuff, and another chest of 3 deep drawers that is also quite full. Oh, and there are more drawers in the dining room that I forgot about. I'm overwhelmed already, just making that list! Oh, and I forgot those three boxes under the craft table--EEEEEK!

I need to cut this down to size. I ~~~

~~~ just got totally sidetracked, looking up on google about what ever happened to the hanging indent!! Remember in school - if you're over 50 like me - they always taught you to indent the paragraphs 5 spaces. Nowadays you never see that except in books. I just spent the last 15 minutes reading all about it...yikes...I gotta get focused!

Yes, I need to cut this project down to size!
Don't have the whole project in your mind at once when you begin the actual work. You've got to break it down into pieces you can handle. If you have the entire house and every mess in your mind, you will not get very far. It's just too big, so take it down a few notches to just one room, or even just a corner of a room. Don't let yourself stray from that small part until you feel satisfied with it. That doesn't mean you can't move to a different area before you have finished the first corner completely. Just try to stay on task until you reach a good resting point. Then you can decide if you want to stay with this spot or move on to another.

It's far too easy to reach mental overload if you let yourself look at the whole entire household. You don't have to perfect your entire house in one weekend, or a month, or even a year. It will be a life-long pursuit, so relax and enjoy the journey!

Ok. Just imagine if everything did have a place of its own and everything were in its place all the time except when it's being used. My grandmother's house was like that. She knew exactly where everything was, from every kitchen utensil, all the way up to the steamer trunks full of family heirlooms in the attic, and everything in between! Her house was always immaculately clean and orderly. She had set routines, but she never struck me as rigid or overly strict. She was the most "moderate" person I have ever known. She didn't overeat, or over-spend. She had no vices. She took a walk outside almost every day of her life. She never swore. She kept a neat, clean, very warm and welcoming home for a very very long time. She lived to be just a few months shy of 105. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her. She had a huge influence on me and I want to emulate those qualities in my own life. I am so far from it!! But I keep at it and I think someday I will get there.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T12:21:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! My favorite holiday. I have lots of favorite holidays, but New Year is always especially wonderful. For most of my life it was a most depressing holiday. Christmas was over and there was the let-down from that, plus going back to school was depressing to me. It was the middle of winter, which in itself I didn't mind, but it seems that every year of my childhood, I had a very bad cold at New Year, probably from od'ing on sugar at Christmas!

When I got to be in my 30's, I realized just how much I dreaded New Year every year. I decided I had to change that. I decided from that point on, I was going to take New Year as my very own and make it what I want it to be! Every since then it has truly been my MOST favorite holiday!!

I use it as a launching pad from all the frustrations that I have experienced from the previous year, to make those changes that will improve my life. Some people call them resolutions. I don't really have a problem calling them that. I like making firm decisions about what I want to do. I think commitment is a very powerful tool, when it is taken seriously.

So what are some of my goals for this new year? First, and I think most important, is that my "no" will really mean NO from now on. No more being talked out of my NO. People can beg, plead, cajole, jab, complain, whine, manipulate, disbelieve, disregard, or just plain dis my NO, but I will say it just once. After that I will repeat my new mantra, "You have my answer", for however many times they insist that they want to hear it. I will resist the temptation to explain myself - to the best of my ability. I will learn to take my NO seriously and that will translate to others.

Next is a goal that I set almost every new year, and that is to SIMPLIFY!!! It is a never ending challenge to keep my house simple. I tend to grab a lot of things from the thrift stores and I end up with more things than I really have room for. I know I'm not alone in this! But with my hubby who runs a computer business in addition to his full-time job, the computers are now filling the basement, and the "spare" bedroom. Don't you love that word "spare", as if I could live without it!! Plus my daughter has many many deliveries and therefore boxes, that fill the garage...oh me oh my...I really have to keep my stuff down to a minimum if I am to have any semblance of order around here!! I have relinquished ownership of the spare bedroom, the basement, and the garage. Maybe someday I'll get them redeemed. But for now, I just have to maintain the rest of the house.

This sign hangs on the wall behind my computer screen where I can always be reminded.

So I have spent this week doing a lot of decluttering in my studio/desk area, and I've gone through the kitchen and the dining room. Next is the family room. The piles have moved westward all week, room by room and it's just one more room to the garage and then OUT for good!

I cleaned out my jewelry supplies area and ended up with four EMPTY small drawers!!! Empty space is a good thing. You don't have to try to fill it. Trust me, it will fill itself in no time. But while it is empty, try to enjoy the open space. Whenever I clear a new spot, whether it be a counter in the kitchen, or some shelf that was filled and now is only half full, there is a desire to fill that spot with something - anything, just to fill it up! But with a little effort, I can leave those empty spaces here and there and just let them be. It really helps to promote a peaceful feeling and a more restful creativity can come as a result.

See my empty drawers?

As a musician, I am often reminded that the rests, those places of silence between the notes, are just as important as the parts when we are making sounds. It is so true and you can apply that to your physical world as well. There's a reason those empty spaces are called "rests". So now I think of my empty drawers as rests. If you feel a lack of rest in your life try creating some brand new empty spaces.

I also decided I needed to simplify my photography setup. I worked long and hard on the light box, but it was just too big and too complicated and I couldn't use the table it occupied because it took all the space. So I made a very simple display board that stands on its own, and I put my photo lights right at my desk. That way they serve me while I work on my jewelry as well as for the picture taking. I use clamp lights so it's easy to move them around and clamp them onto the shelf or to the pole lamp I have. I can just tuck the display board behind the computer, or put it up on the shelf when it's not in use.

Simplified display

Here's my little "studio" all cozy in the corner.

Monday Morning Ramblings

2009-12-28T12:11:00.000-06:00

Good morning wonderful people!! I have been taking it easy this past week, with hubby having the week off from work. All week long he's been making our coffee every morning and serving it with long conversations...oh how I miss him now that he's back at work! I made my own coffee this morning and it's just not the same.
We used to tell my grandma about her "special touch" with food - it always made her laugh. It didn't matter what she made for us, whether it was oatmeal, or Catherine Clark bread and butter, or Campbell's soup, when she made it, it tasted better! We tried for years to figure out what her secret was. Was it her immaculately clean house? Maybe the wooden bowls she served the bread in? I can still smell her house - always so warm and welcoming. I think it was the love she made the food with that made it taste so good. Just like the coffee my husband makes for me. It tastes better, even though I use the same formula. It's the lovin's!
I wouldn't call myself a great cook, by any stretch. I enjoy cooking sometimes, not all the time. I manage to get dinner on about half the time, the other half we just pick around at what's in the fridge. I have a few good meals that I can make that everyone likes. But no matter what I cook, my husband scarfs it down like it's ambosia! Even when I think it's really not good - he loves it! My daughter and I tease him about not having as many taste buds as a normal person. Maybe that's not it at all. Maybe he's just tasting the lovin's in the food!! Something to think about when you are cooking for your family.

My daughter wants to learn how to use the sewing machine! So today we are going to the thrift stores (YEAH!!!) in search of fabric to make headband/scarves that tie. She has very long hair and is a dog groomer, so she always has it up, and wears a pretty scarf to keep the flying dog hair off! I have not been to the thrift store in awhile. This is going to be FUN!

I spent a load of time cleaning out my studio. I have a bag full of stuff that is leaving and I actually have empty drawers in my "parts department" for jewelry makings! Ooh, that means I have room for new stuff if I find it at the thrift store!! Well, isn't that the real reason any of us spends time "dejunking"?

100 Followers!!! How Should I Celebrate?

2009-12-22T13:14:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to all my wonderful blog followers!!! I just hit 100 followers!!!!! WHooooPEEEEEE!!! I'm trying to think of some way to say "thanks" to you all. I could offer you a special discount in my shop, which I'm happy to do, but I don't only write this blog to get you all to buy my stuff. If you do want to buy something, send me a convo and I'll give you 20% off through the end of January.

So what else could I do? A drawing? Contest? Features? I'd love to know what you all would like to see here. Please comment and leave suggestions!

And THANK YOU to all of you for following me!!! You've made my adventure into the blogosphere so wonderful!!

More Beautiful Crosses

2009-12-18T14:59:00.000-06:00

More Jewelry Stands

2009-12-17T14:13:00.000-06:00

I've been experimenting with these jewelry stands and I'm really liking what's happening here. Please tell me what you think!

Jewelry Stands!

2009-12-14T16:15:00.000-06:00

I have been "puttering" today. That is, doing a little of this, a little of that. Along my way I came across a tweet from StygianChains, showing a very lovely set of earrings on a really cool stand. Their shop is here. I saw that little stand, and the wheels started turning. So I made myself one, then another bigger one. Here they are!

I need to tweak the design a bit on the larger one. I'll probably put three feet on it for more stability. I'm using the smaller one to take pictures for listings. The larger I will use to keep things out of the "dust bowl" - which is what happens if I leave the little bowl with my finished earrings on my desk for more than a day around here!

Thanks to StygianChains for a great idea and inspiration!!

Monday, Monday

2009-12-14T07:59:00.000-06:00

Whew! I survived the weekend - just barely! It was just one of "those" weekends and I'm glad it's over with. Now I can settle into my routine and get back to doing what I love, which is making jewelry, and blogging and tweeting!
I've been making lots and lots of crosses. I just love dressing up these little things! I will be listing these in my Etsy shop all day today. Here's a preview:

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2009-12-09T10:13:00.000-06:00

Ok, so we were supposed to get a foot of snow overnight. I just took this picture, which is 24 hours after the last picture of the yard, in my previous post. In the last picture, all the cold stuff on the pool was white because it was SNOW. Today it is gray because it is SLUSH! Temperatures have stayed above freezing all night long and right now it is still 34°! Now they are still saying it will get very cold and very windy, but without that foot of snow, what fun is that? It is still snowing, so maybe there is still hope for this one.

Our First Big Winter Storm

2009-12-08T14:20:00.000-06:00

Here is the radar for Chicagoland at 1:20 CST today. I am right at the upper right corner of Illinois, where it meets Wisconsin. As you can see, we are in a lull with the snow, but not too long from now, we will be in the thick of it!!
I'm afraid I don't have more pics to update now because not much more snow has fallen since my morning picture. Come morning I'm sure there will be some more!!

♪♪♫♪ Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! ♪♫♪♪

2009-12-08T10:22:00.000-06:00

Here we are at 10:18 AM on December 8, 2009. There's just over an inch on the ground so far. They tell us it will dump a foot by tomorrow!!! I love snow. I love winter. I love hibernating! I love having an excuse not to have to go out. So I am singing today: ♪♪♫♪ Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! ♪♫♪♪
I'll put up pictures of the snow as if piles up throughout the day today. So check back again!

A Little Showcase of Holiday Sparkles

2009-12-04T15:58:00.000-06:00

Blue Crystal Earrings

Water's Edge

Saints Opalite Earrings

Opalite and Cat's Eye

Crystal Amber Vintage Buttons

Christmas Sparkle

Dream Catcher Lock Washer Earrings

Christmas Sparkle

Wire Wrapped Lock Washer Earrings

The Password Dilemma - 5hH#4k9du72klom780cvv2378dr90556djkjgl6d4s3f

2009-12-03T12:50:00.000-06:00

This sign hangs above my desk where I do all my work. How do you simplify passwords?

19 and counting...And I know that I have way fewer passwords than a lot of people! I used to have just one password for everything. "Everything" for me, consisted of one email account, and Facebook, and two or three sheet music websites. That was before I married Etsy. Now I have every networking and social media tool I can handle, and some I can't!
I thought it would be wise to change my password - the same old one (I miss you!) I had used for years and years. I thought it would be prudent to make different passwords for each account. And of course I knew it would be safer to make the passwords longer and "stronger" according to those little meters. So I spent a day doing just that.
I made the longest, strongest passwords you could imagine. Some of them are 14 characters long! There is not going to be any hacking on MY accounts! haha... And I have my trusty little...er...big list in the back of my book.
Trouble is, I am constantly having to consult my list now because they are too long and too complicated for me to handle! My browser, Firefox, will remember them for me, but that doesn't help if you find yourself on someone else's computer, or all those first times when you have to sign in before Firefox will remember for you! Not to mention those times when updates or cache cleanings wipe them all out again. I am in Password Hell!!!
The question is...should I make one for each account that is easily memorable for me, even though they may not be as secure? Or should I use just one password for all of them and make that one long and strong and change it out on everything every month or two?
I would love to hear what you all do with the password dilemma. I'm open for suggestions!!!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-02T15:10:00.000-06:00

I want to wish everyone a very happy holiday season!! We are not decorating the house this year. We haven't done it in a couple years. We're very busy with concerts and work and gatherings at everyone else's houses, so we don't feel a need to do much with the house.
So I decided to fulfill my need to decorate by sprucing up the blog and the shop a little with some Christmas decorations! I don't do graphics frequently enough to remember all those little tricks, like how to do "layers" in a paint program so I make great use of Google. I can always find tutorials and instructions, no matter what I want to do.
So I got the poinsettias up on the banner here. I'm trying to put some holly and ivy on my shop avatar, but I'm still battling that little button. Then I will move onto my Etsy shop and see if I can put up some red ribbons or a wreath there!
I love this online decorating! It doesn't collect dust and when I take it down I won't have to wrestle boxes into the attic!

I Am Featured!

2009-11-28T12:22:00.000-06:00

Hello to all my favorite readers! I am being featured on The Handmade Gift Blog today! It is a very cool place where you can find lots of beautiful hand-picked items from Etsy. I love to just wander through that blog!. A big Thank You to Anne for doing this feature! Be sure to check it out!

Dealing With Difficult People

2009-11-20T14:34:00.000-06:00

Wow, this has been one of those really long weeks that I'm just glad is coming to an end! We all have a few of those "difficult people" in our lives that we have to deal with from time to time. Sometimes they do things that actually merit our removing them from our lives for good. That is what I had to do this week with one such person.

Toxic People

There is a term, that when I apply it to people, I reserve for only the most extreme cases. That term is "toxic". They are not necessarily unpleasant people. In fact some of the most highly toxic people in my experience, have been extremely charming and charismatic.

They are the kind of person that draws you in, not in a compassionate way, but by making you feel like you want to be a part of what is going on around them. Of course at the beginning you don't usually see the turmoil that is happening, you just see some kind of excitement and energy and that is hard to resist.

They convey the impression of great success, even though their successes may have been quite modest when looked at honestly. They assume from the first moment you meet them, that you will look up to them and they proceed as if you do.

They are very good at making you feel like you could never reach the goals you desire without their help. They convince you that they are there to help you reach your goals and that they are the only one who can really help you get there.

They always leave you with a hint of doubt about yourself. They never quite affirm you. They only affirm that with their help you may make it someday.

If you say no to them, in order to get you to say yes, they can really turn on the charm and become overly friendly.

They have a lack of boundaries and tend to mix business with pleasure. They pull you into their personal lives, even though it may not be considered normal or even appropriate to do so. But it makes you feel special, like you are really "in" with this very important person, even though you may feel a definite "unease" about it.
Charm and charisma, excitement and energy, in themselves are not bad traits. In fact many of the most successful and positive people in the world have these traits. But in a toxic person, there is are additional dimensions.

There is almost always, the inability to take "no" for an answer. They most certainly will not take your first "no", and likely you will have to repeat it many times - if you are able to continue and hold firm to your conviction. The Toxic will continue to say that you don't really mean "no", and will keep at you until you change your mind. The trouble is, you didn't change your mind at all. You only changed your answer. So you end up doing things that you did not intend or want to do.

Toxics are highly manipulative and often very intelligent. They can encourage you one minute, and let you down hard, the next. They bait you - they hold out just enough bait to keep you coming back for more. But when push comes to shove, they will never allow you to pass the point where they want you to be.

Toxics can be controversial people. That is, peoples' opinions of them are very extreme. They either love them, practically worhipping the ground they walk on, or they hate them and will no longer have anything to do with them. The only "neutrals" out there are either people who have not dealt with them directly, or people who have avoided the entanglement altogether because they don't have the open doors that some of us have.

The Open Door

How do we get taken in by these people in the first place? We have an open door somewhere in our life, in our beliefs about ourselves. A place where we feel inadequate. A place of self doubt. A place where we are convinced that we cannot make it on our own. That is where the Toxic hones in.

They are tuned in to needy people, to self-doubters. Being needy and self-doubting has nothing to do with your level of accomplishment. I have seen people who are extremely accomplished in their fields, who never believe they are good enough, or even good at all at what they do. Self doubt is not based on accomplishment. It is how we feel the world at large sees us, based on a negative assessment we perhaps heard somewhere along the way, possibly insensitive remarks we heard when we were in a particularly vulnerable or malleable state, that we internalized and adopted to become our own belief. I think many creative people are just naturally hard on themselves, even without external "help". But whatever the cause for our self doubting, that is the open door where the Toxic will try to enter.

What Can I Do To Not Be Taken In?

"Let your yes be yes and your no be no". That is a phrase from the Bible. It is great instruction and great wisdom.

When I look at all the people that ended up being a negative influence in my life, nine times out of ten, they started off right from the beginning not taking my "no" seriously. Now it's not up to them to enforce my "no". It is completely up to me. But the fact that some people won't take "no" for an answer is indicative of their lack of respect for you and their lack of boundaries. It is always up to you to stand by your "no". Become very good friends with your "no". You will never regret it.

I am 52 years old and I am finally making friends with my "no". I was always afraid of what my "no" could do. It could make people mad at me and disappointed in me. It could possibly even turn people against me. It could upset people and make them cry. "No" is powerful. It is almost the smallest word in the English language, and yet it is the most powerful. It is your best tool against being used, manipulated and taken advantage of.

Are you afraid your "no" will hurt the people you love? When I say "no" sometimes they look hurt. They may even say they are hurt by my "no". I believe they do feel pain, but did I actually cause their pain, and is there on honest way that I can take their pain away? They are in pain because I am not going to do what they wanted me to do. And as much as I want to take away their pain, changing my answer is not the way to do it. If I change my answer in order to alleviate the immediate stress I feel of them being in pain, I will end up resenting them and resenting having to do something I didn't want to do in the first place. How is that good? The resentment will become apparent to them, believe me, and then you'll have that piled on top of the rest of it and it will just be a mess. The next time they ask you to do something you don't want to do, they will expect even more that you will of course say yes.
So please make friends with your "no"!
The people around your will survive you saying "no" to them.

The Gift of Gut Instincts

Another tool you need to learn to use is your gut instinct. It's that churning feeling you get sometimes in your stomach, or elsewhere in your body. It's like a bad tickle. In some people it's very mild, almost undetectable, mostly because they have tuned out of their own instincts, and they need to relearn how to listen to them. In others it is quite strong, even overwhelming at times.

I am the latter case. My gut is extremely sensitive to the point where I can barely function when it is screaming at me, until I make things right again. It may seem like a disadvantage, because it can be so overwhelming, but it is actually a great gift. My gut has kept me out of a lot of places where I could have been hurt really badly. I respect my instincts and try to follow them as closely as I can. It would serve any of us well to learn to tune in and listen to that gut instinct.

There is a great book out there called, "The Gift Of Fear", by Gavin De Becker. It's all about listening to that voice inside, that bad feeling, and not pushing it away or talking ourselves out of it. I highly recommend the book.

My New Mantra

If my "no" is not good enough for you, then you are not good enough for me.

Does that sound harsh? It's really not. What's harsh is when someone won't accept your decisions about your life and they want to have the say about what you do.
Does that mean that I am going to kick out every person who didn't take my first "no"? Of course not! It takes a lot more than that to get the boot from me.

The Bullet List

So who gets the boot? I'll make a bullet list. You get to decide how much you are willing to put up with. These are just warning signs to watch out for and be aware of. Each trait by itself is not a reason to take action. Most of us are manipulative at some time or another in our lives. I'm talking about persistent and extreme cases where someone exhibits many of these warning signs together and you are finding that your life is in turmoil because someone in it has too many of these warning signs. That is when you may need to take some action. I leave it to you to decide.

Toxic Traits

They are extremely charming, charismatic, and arrogant
They believe they are the only one who can really help you reach your goals
They think everyone else is inferior to them; always critical of others in their field
You feel like you'll "miss out" if you aren't in on what is going on around them
They expect you to look to them as "the expert", whether they are or not
They always leave you with a hint of doubt about yourself
They are overly friendly at times
They lack a sense of boundaries
They often mix business with pleasure
You have a feeling of unease when you have talked with them or been with them
They have an inability to take "no" as your final answer
Manipulative
They keep you coming back for more
They are controversial people - people love them or hate them, with no in-between

Looking For That "Track" Again......

2009-11-16T17:58:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's been an exhausting few days for me. Just a bunch of personal "stuff" and cleaning up a few messes, setting a few spirits free...exhausting, but all good in the end!
I am very anxious to get back on track with my little jewelry business here!!! My head has been somewhere else for quite awhile it seems. I am feeling a new vigor coming and am now waiting for that creative rush to overtake me once again!!! Bring it on!!!!!!!!!!

Locked Out of Twitter!!!!!

2009-11-15T10:19:00.001-06:00

I am about ready to scream...My Twitter app, Twhirl stopped working and would not accept my password. Now I cannot sign into Twitter at all because it says I had too many failed attempts at signing in!!!!!!! This is turning out to be a really really irritating weekend. Just venting!!!!!!

Mystery Guest!

2009-11-14T20:24:00.000-06:00

This morning I noticed something, or should I say someONE sitting atop the front door in my house. At first I thought it was a mouse. But it was a little bigger than a mouse....Is it a baby rat? I doesn't really look like a rat either. What is this?!?

I got my cat Wolfie, while I still thought it was a mouse, and showed her the animal. When the little guy caught site of Wolfie, he leaped like a kangaroo, 6 feet across the living room and disappeared!!! Wolfie looked for him for awhile and then gave up. Oh dear me!!

Mumble Mumble Mumble...

2009-11-10T10:59:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I think I should just start another blog called Mumble Mumble Mumble. Heehee. But happily, those days are too few to actually keep a blog to themselves.

So last night I decided to be a good mommie and let the dogs out one more time before I went to bed. That was around 1 a.m. When they came back in, I smelled something very familiar. Something very terrible. It is a mystery substance that Ike the Cocker Spaniel has been getting into for years. Last night was Alfie's first time. They went out together and I'm quite sure that Ike delighted in sharing his special treat with Alfie. They roll in it - whatever it is. And then I have to bathe them because the stench is unbearable! So there I was, all ready for bed, giving BOTH dogs a bath.
You think maybe that's why I woke up with this killer headache today? It is getting better as time goes by and the drugs take effect.

Today is music day. I get to go to my wonderful play date with my girlfriends. That is always a high point in my week. I am so blessed to have found these women. We not only play string quartets, we learn new music and improve our playing...we gossip and laugh and listen to each other, and sometimes we argue and sometimes we cry. We are real friends and I am so grateful to have them in my life!

I usually like to include pictures in my entries. I'm a very picture oriented reader - I love to see what I am reading about. But today I am just too lazy to get up and take any pics that would fit this entry! Plus that headache thing goin on...
I wish you all a terrific day today!!! And thanks for reading!!!

Sunday Evening - er... Monday Morning

2009-11-08T16:05:00.000-06:00

Good Sunday evening to all! This is one of my favorite times of the week. All the busy-ness of the weekend is behind us and I look forward to a quiet evening of TV and computer time. I watch The Amazing Race "with" my sister - we both watch the show from our own houses and during commercial breaks we call each other to rant about what just happened. It's a lot of fun! That show never slows down so it is an interesting hour!
Hubby and I spent the entire weekend out in the yard. It was absolutely gorgeous fall weather. Saturday reached up to the 70 degree mark! Today was a little cooler, but still was in the 60's which I think is the perfect temperature for raking leaves!
In the front yard we have 2 large oak trees and 2 large maple trees, plus many other smaller trees and bushes, so that's a lot of leaves! Our village has a giant vacuum truck that comes around to suck up the leaves so we just have to get them to the curb. We did it in record time this year, in just over 2 hours!! Boy are we tired!

I bought myself a little present. I really need to get more organized and I need a good blank book to help me get there. So hubby and I went out Saturday in search of the perfect blank book. I really love the National Brand books that are hardbound and have numbered pages. They are old fashioned looking, and have a very serious look and feel to them. They are built to last. I have had them in the past and have loved them! They are expensive though, and can be hard to find in my local office supply stores.

Well now it's Monday morning! I lost track of what I was doing last night!
Do you think getting more organized will increase my sales?

It's A Small, Small World!

2009-11-05T15:20:00.000-06:00

I found this super cool video on a website called godamongus
Enjoy!

Happy Full Moon Monday After Halloween, The Official Start Of The HOLIDAY SEASON!!!

2009-11-02T09:46:00.001-06:00

Wow! Here it is November already! This has got to be the fastest Fall on record for me. This is my first holiday season as a seller. I can almost understand why all the retailers always have items for Christmas in their stores even before Halloween! I did say "almost" because I still find it distasteful and I don't see why they can't do the work to prepare, but just don't bring the Christmas decorations out until after Thanksgiving. I'm a stickler for tradition.

I rearranged my shop today. I don't honestly know if that's a good idea or not. I brought things to the front page that are a little more "cheery" and colorful, with the holidays in mind. I am reading everything I can find by people who are successful sellers. It can so easily become information overload! But there is plenty of wisdom out there and I am trying to apply all that I am learning.

So here's my question for you: What are you doing to prepare for the holidays in your shops? Are you rearranging things to showcase different items? Do you have a product that doesn't necessarily have a "holiday" feel to it, like mine, and if so, how are you marketing your things?

Please comment!! I absolutely LOVE to hear from people! I look forward to hearing what you all are doing!!

The Continuing Story

2009-11-01T11:56:00.001-06:00

AAAAAh, I'm done at last! I finally finished the story for my newest necklace. I love to write. But it seems like it takes me forever to do it. I'm not sure why! Most likely the fact that I am so easily distracted, and I do my writing on my computer and that is where the MOST distractions are for me. Oh well.

I decided to continue the story of Miss Mary Stanson, who I wrote about first on a necklace called Key To The Letter Box. So here is the Key to the Letter Box , and The Timepiece, and the entire story...so far!

The Key To The Letter Box

This key belonged to Miss Mary Stanson. She was a spinster, as far as anyone knew. She lived a small life, in a small New England town in the early 1800's. She rented a room in the boarding house on Main Street. She worked in the town's library, filing cards, checking books, keeping them in order on the shelves. She made her weekly trip to the General Store to buy her food and supplies. She rarely spoke a word to anyone, aside from the absolute essentials of making her purchases...usually just a soft "thank you".

Miss Stanson lived well into her 90's. When she died, it fell to the minister's wife, Addy, to go through her belongings, since there was no family that anyone knew of.

Addy began in the closet. She found a locked box, about the size of a sewing basket but much heavier. She searched the little room for the box's key. It was neatly wrapped inside a blue silk handkerchief, tucked away in a tiny drawer in a plain wooden jewelry box on the dresser.

Addy felt a tingle in her fingers as she touched the key. She was so startled that she pulled her hand back and dropped the key. When she picked it up again she felt nothing. She laughed at herself for being so silly and thought with relief, that she had imagined the tingling.

She opened the box. It was filled to the brim with what appeared to be letters. They were packed so tightly that she could hardly pull out the first one. Once she got a few out, then the rest of them started to flutter loose and she could see that they were several layers deep in the box. There must be thousands of them, she thought to herself.

She picked up one of the envelopes and started to open it. It looked very strange somehow, but she wasn't sure why. She pulled out the contents and could scarcely believe her eyes. It appeared to be a painting, but not like any painting she had ever seen in her life. It was a picture of Miss Stanson. There was no doubt about that. But it looked as clear and colorful as if she were standing right in front of Addy at that very moment! It shined as if it was wet, and yet it was paper! She dropped the picture out of sheer fright. It landed face down on the bed. She saw something written on the back and dared to pick it up again to read - "Miss Mary Stanson - Seattle, Washington - July 10, 2004".

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The Timepiece

Addy never recovered from the shock she suffered on the day she found the picture of Mary Stanson, dated nearly 200 years in the future. Miss Mary Stanson, a woman she herself had known. The woman she had seen laid to rest in the tiny cemetery behind the church, only a week prior. Being the minister's wife, it had fallen to her to clean out Miss Stanson's things after she died, since there was no known family. It was in November of 1814, in that tiny room in the boarding house where Miss Stanson had lived for most of her adult life, that Addy experienced something that would alter her life forever.
Not only had she found the box of letters, and the strangely shiny and colorful picture. She had also found a small box, buried deep in the box of letters, beneath the tightly packed layers. The box was very old and worn around the edges. She picked up the little box very gingerly. It seemed like it would fall to pieces in her hands. Perhaps it was her own falling to pieces that she feared. She took in a deep breath, and opened the box.
She lifted out the timepiece and held it in her hand. It captivated her gaze. A warm melting feeling began to overtake her as she felt her muscles letting go of their fearful grip. She started to feel almost dizzy, but it was a much slower spinning than what she had ever felt before. Her mind told her to let go of the timepiece, but her hand would not obey. She could feel all the tingling anxiety leaving her body as the room slowly turned and the light grew dimmer and dimmer...

Learning Not To Fly

2009-10-30T11:49:00.000-05:00

I had dreams of flying last night. Well, I was almost flying. I was getting that light in the feet feeling, jumping higher and higher with each step until I was 10 feet in the air, landing softly and jumping again. But I never actually took flight. At first I thought this was a negative dream because I didn't fly, and at least before the fear set in, the flying was incredible!

I have dreamed this dream from time to time throughout my life and before this I have always taken flight on about the third step. I was always terrified when I took flight, feeling completely out of control and would suddenly find myself falling to a startled awakening just before I hit the ground. But this time I just enjoyed the high steps and didn't take off flying. I remained in control!

So I have decided that this is a most positive dream after all. I was reaching greater heights but not being overtaken by it. That is a perfect picture of my life now, as I am venturing into this brand new direction into the wonderful world of art and design!

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I finished this piece last night. I know it has a story but it has not told it to me yet. I need to get very quiet and alone so I can hear it. I am very excited about this piece and I can't wait to hear its story! I will be listing it on Etsy later today.

I really wore out my hands and fingers on this one! I hammered all those links with the round end of my hammer to give it that beautiful dented look. My fingers are dented too but they are not so beautiful!

A Little Horror, A Little Fantasy

2009-10-29T11:11:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Yes, it is still morning here for a little while yet! I managed to wake up before 9 this morning which is kind of amazing since I was up until 2 AM last night watching the best "B" horror film I've seen in ages.

It is called "Hatchet". I was in an Etsy chat room last night and one of our fellow chatters mentioned that she produced a horror film. My ears perked up along with my friends' ears since we are pretty into horror flicks. We found the movie on instant watch on Netflix and watched it together in the chat room, with the producer in the room! That was SUCH FUN!!

I highly recommend this movie for horror buffs. It was very funny. It's billed as a "comic gore fest" and that it was! I have not had an adrenaline rush like that movie gave me in many years. This is not one for the weak stomach!

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Today I am making a 'Mermaid's Pearls' necklace for my friend. She bought the pink version and now I'm making one for her in green.

I am using 20 gauge annealed steel wire. I wrap it tightly around a very large allen wrench to get the octagonal shape. Since I do not yet have soldering skills, I had to come up with a way to connect the links without having all the ends exposed. When I use heavier gauge wire I can leave the ends of the links exposed and they don't pull apart. But with the lighter gauge, they can pull apart so I came up with this idea of putting a bead over the joint, kind of in place of solder. The effect is quite nice.

Here's the other necklace she bought, along with it's story.

These Mermaid's Pearls were passed down to me from my grandmother, along with this story...

Once in every Mermaid's life, she must leave her home in the sea and go to the land for a time. It is a great test of her strength and character and all must endure it to pass from childhood to become a fully mature Mermaid. She must avoid being seen by humans, for if she is spotted by a human, she will become their slave. If the human is very kind and releases her, then she can return to the sea. But most often she must use her own wiles to free herself. So she will pluck several scales from her body. As soon as she has them in her hand, they turn into magnificent pearls. In this case she was an albino Mermaid and was as white as snow, and when she plucked the scales they turned into lovely pink pearls! She offers the pearls to the human, and it so enthralls and enchants them so much that they don't even see the Mermaid escape back to the sea.

What A Nice Surprise!!

2009-10-28T10:22:00.001-05:00

I woke up (late again) to a very nice surprise in my email. The very beautiful Jewels of Saraswati blog has included my Along Came A Spider necklace in her gift guide for the goth!!

You really must go visit her blog. It's one of those stunningly beautiful places on the web that makes me want to stop all the things I'm supposed to be doing and just sit and read and take in the scenery! She's got wonderful gift guides, a very eclectic mix of items from artisans on Etsy.
Thank you for including me Lauren!!

Today is my play date with the girls. Every Wednesday my violinist and violist friends and I get together to play quartets and trios, just for fun. We don't have a cellist right now so we transcribe the cello parts for the viola to play. Then we have a snack and gossip a bit. It is my one day a week when I get the car and get to go out all by myself!! haha! I love it! So I'm off! Have a great day everyone!

Mumble Mumble Mumble...

2009-10-27T11:59:00.001-05:00

Ach, another late start! I did not arise until almost 11 o'clock. I can't wait for the time change this coming weekend! I have done a few productive things since I got up. I made the bed, put away all the laundry, and the dishes (3 days' worth!) are soaking in the sink at last! I don't remember the last time I actually made something. I believe it was about a week ago.

I did have a concert weekend, which means long rehearsal on Saturday, and long day on Sunday with warmup and concert. I play violin in the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra. It was a very fun and exciting concert! We played Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, Saint Saens' Cello Concerto, an Improvisation for Orchestra, and Beethoven's 5th Symphony. It went quite well and the audience gave us a standing ovation! It was quite the workout and we were all quite worn out when we finished.

I want to, well, I need to keep the house at a higher level of clean, so I am (re)-employing the FlyLady techniques. She is wonderful! She gives you little "routines" to run everyday. They don't take that much time and when you keep up with that little 15 minutes a day, (with the occasional hour of cleaning) the house stays much cleaner overall. It's perfect for me, as I seem to have a very short attention span for cleaning anymore! And to think, I used to clean house for people. I used to love doing it! I guess it appealed to the perfectionist in me. But the short-attention-span-me is crowding out the perfectionist-me of late and I can't say that I mind it at all. Life is more peaceful now, even if it is a bit messier!!

My Question Today For You

2009-10-26T12:43:00.000-05:00

I like my idea for Question Of The Day, but I don't like the little box I have for it. So I'm getting rid of that and I'm just going to post my question here right into the blog. :D It's much prettier here, even if I do say so myself.
So--Today's question:
What is your best, most successful technique for forming a new habit? Do you have a computer gadget that helps? Maybe you use pencil and paper? Anything that worked? I am really struggling with some old ruts and need to dig some new, more positive ones. I would love to hear your ideas!!
Please use the comment button and share your thoughts!!

My Favorite Treasury So Far!

2009-10-26T11:06:00.000-05:00

I am so honored to be included in this VERY cool treasury!!! I really love bats. They are so fascinating. They are so beautiful and so ugly all at once!! And get a load of that photograph in the bottom row-middle!!! That's the real thing!!!! Looks like Dracula all bundled up for the night!!
Check out this treasury! Leave comments, click on all these wonderful artists and give some hearts!!

Beauty In Asymmetry

2009-10-23T12:46:00.000-05:00

I almost hesitate to start writing. How can I say anything worthy of this kind of beauty? My daughter collects shells, among other things. She is 22 and is passionate about this amazing creation we live in. She showed me her newest additions to her shells this morning and this one in particular grabbed my attention!
To see pictures of it is wonderful. But to actually hold this shell in your hands is absolutely transcendent! Well it was for me this morning. :D I just had to borrow it for the day and take pictures so I could share it with you all!
It is large - ten inches from top to bottom, and has about a 7 inch "wingspan". It is asymmetrical, and so perfectly balanced all at the same time. I am seeking out ideas and inspiration to make asymmetrical designs in my jewelry and what better inspiration could there be than the greatest artworks of all!!
I'm just going to "absorb" all that I can from this wonderful piece of assymetry. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Breaking The Rules

2009-10-22T13:36:00.000-05:00

Here's my latest project. I call these "Arctic Steam". I am breaking the rules. Convention says that a pair of earrings should be two identical pieces. I said N0, I am not going to make two identical pieces this time.
I know this is not new to a lot of you artists out there, but remember I am very new at this and it is new to me! I have always been one to "play by the rules". I try to be a "good girl". I don't like to ruffle feathers, or upset the apple cart. That doesn't mean I don't do it, but I don't LIKE to do it! I like to feel safe. I like to feel secure and solid. I like to know that everything is where it ought to be. When I know the rules and I stay within those boundaries, I feel safe and secure and I am happy.
I am discovering - to my great joy and amazement - that I don't need to feel safe in my creative life! This is the one place where I can go CRAZY and enjoy the consequences!
Of course a lot of the rules have been in our head so long we don't realize they are there until we begin to deconstruct our thought process to see what is really going on in there. Often times these bogus rules are in the mix of a creative block that we are stumbling over. The Creative in us wants to make something brand new and totally "out there", but the Rule Follower says, "You can't do that!" We have to carefully sift through those arguments and deconstruct them piece by piece to find the brilliant ideas that are hiding behind the rules.

Question of the Day!

2009-10-22T11:00:00.001-05:00

Hi all!! I am finally getting back to my blog!!
So here's my question of the day:
Where were you when it all began? The Internet that is!
I found these vintage promotional videos for Q-Link, which later became AOL. Talk about a blast from the past! This ad is from 1986, one year before my daughter was born. How far we have come in just 22 years!!!!

New Habits - Breakfast Anyone?

2009-10-19T09:04:00.000-05:00

I've heard that it takes 16 repeats before something becomes a new habit. I've also heard 21. I don't know what number it really is. All I know is it is a difficult process!! I usually have a very long list of "goals" that I would like to accomplish. Trouble is, I get burned out reading the list before I ever start attacking the actual goals.
So this week I decided to put just one single goal in front of my face. Just one. This week I am going to try to eat breakfast each day. I have not eaten breakfast in many many years. I don't like the feel of food in my mouth in the morning. I just want my warm coffee. I don't start eating until afternoon. Then I am up late at night and having my third meal of the day at midnight! This has got to change. So I am beginning with step one and ONLY step one. I have a huge list of new habits I'd love to own but I have to stick to one at a time.
So my question of the day is this:
If you had to pick just one habit to forge, which one would it be?
Please join in a discussion in the Cbox to the right!! This thing is lots of fun!! I can't wait to hear from you!!

Trying Something New

2009-10-17T10:22:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Well I am thrilled that several people made use of my Chatter Box yesterday and left their thoughts on breaking through creative slumps!! Thank you all SO much for sharing!! I think it helped me get through my slump because last night I started making earrings in a whole new style from anything I've done before!! I hope it was as beneficial to you all as it was for me!
I will be thinking of a new Question of the Day on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Here's my new creation:

FROZEN PRECIPITATION!!!!

2009-10-16T11:42:00.001-05:00

This just came down out of the sky! It's only October! Kind of early for this ice stuff!

I Got A New Toy!

2009-10-16T11:17:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I just put a new toy on my blog - a chatter box! Now you can leave your thoughts here and we can have discussions. I'm going to try to have a Question Of The Day each day. Wish me luck - I'm not the best at keeping things going everyday. But I am trying to form some new habits and I think this will help! So please feel free to join in! I look forward very much to hearing from you all!!
The box is on the right, right over there>>>. Just click and start typing!

Ghost Chains!

2009-10-13T14:13:00.001-05:00

Snatched straight out of the Great Beyond, these ghost chains can serve you well. Wear them as a reminder of what the famous ghost, Jacob Marley said to Ebenezer on that terribly and necessarily frightful night: "I wear the chain I forged in life! I made it link by link and yard by yard!"
Or you can just have some good old Halloween fun with them!

Hand cut and hammered steel links and clasp. 39 inches of clanging chain, with three separate loops, each with its own flat-style skeleton key. The two small keys measure 1-1/4 inch long, the bit key is 2 inches long.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32549043

Three Rings

2009-10-09T12:09:00.001-05:00

There was no record of their births...nor of their deaths. In fact the only reference ever found to their existence at all was in the journal kept by the Matron of the Children's Home, along with the picture...and the rings. Each child wore their ring tightly on their wrist. They never removed them. Somehow everyone knew not to try to remove them.

The three children arrived on the doorstop of the orphanage on a very dark night in late November, 1878. A search was conducted to locate their parents, but it turned up nothing. So the Children's Home took them in as their charges.

The children spoke a strange language that no one understood, but they seemed to understand the English spoken to them, even though they never spoke English themselves. They worked hard and did what they were told. They never played with the other children, but they stood by and always watched with great interest. They were not disliked by anyone, and over the two years that they lived there, many came to feel deep affection for them.

Then on the night of November 29, 1880, they did not come down to dinner. The Matron went up to their room to fetch them but they were not there. Over the next weeks and months, many searches were conducted, but the children were never seen again.

They had arrived with only the clothes on their backs, and the rings on their wrists. The only thing they left behind were the three rings and a great mystery.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32322399

Meet My Birdies

2009-10-07T08:23:00.000-05:00

This is my little Diamond Dove, M'Lady. She is the original M'Lady, after which my handmade bust is named. She is very sweet and gentle. She has a very quiet "coo" and she lives peaceably with my spice finch, Coriander, and my red-eared waxbill, Rouget. She is a bit awkward about flying and prefers to find a comfy spot and stay there. She's a lot like me that way.

Coriander, the spice finch, is quite the opposite, as you can see in the pictures. She hardly ever sits still!

Rouget is the red-eared waxbill. He's pretty active too. He sings the tiniest warbling song everyday just at dusk.

M'Lady lays tiny eggs from time to time. I take them away from her because if I let her, she will sit on them in the little nest forever, and never move again! They are not fertile of course, but she doesn't know that. So I collect them. They are so tiny!

I love to make art bottles. I collected several eggs from M'Lady and put together this little jar. I put Spanish moss in the bottom, several dove eggs, and several feathers from all my birds. I took a rubber stamp of a bird and painted it with acrylic black paint and printed one bird on each side of the glass. Then I glued a print of music of J. S. Bach onto the lid and around the bottom edge. I finished it off with a bit of jute string tied in a bow and some vintage artificial red berries. Unfortunately, Ike, my goofy Cocker Spaniel, got hold of this bottle and ate the berries off! He left most of the paper in place, though it is a bit gnarled.

The Key to the Letter Box

2009-10-06T10:20:00.001-05:00

This key belonged to Miss Mary Stanson. She was a spinster, as far as anyone knew. She lived a small life, in a small New England town in the early 1800's. She rented a room in the boarding house on Main Street. She worked in the town's library, filing cards, checking books, keeping them in order on the shelves. She made her weekly trip to the General Store to buy her food and supplies. She rarely spoke a word to anyone, aside from the absolute essentials of making her purchases...usually just a soft "thank you".

Miss Stanson lived well into her 90's. When she died, it fell to the minister's wife, Addy, to go through her belongings, since there was no family that anyone knew of.

Addy began in the closet. She found a locked box, about the size of a sewing basket but much heavier. She searched the little room for the box's key. It was neatly wrapped inside a blue silk handkerchief, tucked away in a tiny drawer in a plain wooden jewelry box on the dresser.

Addy felt a tingle in her fingers as she touched the key. She was so startled that she pulled her hand back and dropped the key. When she picked it up again she felt nothing. She laughed at herself for being so silly and thought with relief, that she had imagined the tingling.

She opened the box. It was filled to the brim with what appeared to be letters. They were packed so tightly that she could hardly pull out the first one. Once she got a few out, then the rest of them started to flutter loose and she could see that they were several layers deep in the box. There must be thousands of them, she thought to herself.

She picked up one of the envelopes and started to open it. It looked very strange somehow, but she wasn't sure why. She pulled out the contents and could scarcely believe her eyes. It appeared to be a painting, but not like any painting she had ever seen in her life. It was a picture of Miss Stanson. There was no doubt about that. But it looked as clear and colorful as if she were standing right in front of Addy at that very moment! It shined as if it was wet, and yet it was paper! She dropped the picture out of sheer fright. It landed face down on the bed. She saw something written on the back and dared to pick it up again to read - "Miss Mary Stanson - Seattle, Washington - July 10, 2004".

necklace available here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32105497

Unveiling M'Lady

2009-10-04T16:28:00.000-05:00

I worked on M'Lady all week. I reshaped her a bit, making her a little less "defined". I found that with her original shape, the necklaces were just lost in between twin peaks. So I leveled her off so that they are easily seen. I did paint her, even though I will be covering her up for most of the pictures.
Well, here she is, first, with no cover, then all dolled up!

Excuse Her Nakedness - She's A Work In Progress

2009-09-28T10:01:00.000-05:00

For some time now I have been searching for a good display for my necklaces, for my photos in the shop. I have found all the usual suspects. The velvet bib-shaped ones are too generic for my taste. The mannequins are pretty cool, but a bit of a stretch on my budget. I thought for a long time that it would be really cool to make my own. Well I finally did it this weekend!

I found a tutorial here that helped me a lot: http://aboutbyamber.blogspot.com/2009/02/tutorial-making-paper-mache-display.html
This is your basic foam-core papier mache bust. It was wonderfully messy! It was wonderfully cheap. I used all materials that I already had in my possession! Didn't have to buy a thing!

So here she is! I call her M'Lady. That's the name I give to all my critters and creations if they are too shy to tell me their real names. Well, the girls anyway!
Please excuse her nakedness. She's a work in progress!! I am either going to paint her or cover her with some kind of fabric. I haven't decided which yet. And of course after that "undercoating" I will be dressing her in lovely laces and fabrics for all her photo shoots, not to mention the jewelry of course!!

I also constructed a photo studio. I took a good heavy cardboard box, and cut away the flaps and one side, leaving a three-fold "chamber" with a floor. I covered it all with a white sheet, stapling it on. That way I won't have any ugly brown cardboard showing through my lacy backgrounds. I then attached my clamp lights to the sides and voila!!

Indiepublic Slideshow!

2009-09-27T10:54:00.001-05:00

Find more photos like this on Indiepublic

A Little Experiment

2009-09-24T10:34:00.001-05:00

Good morning bloggers! I decided to run a little experiment this morning. I wanted to see which would be better, renewing an item on Etsy, or tweeting the item on Twitter. So I renewed the item first. I counted the views in the next 10 minutes. I got 1 view. I waited awhile to be sure that was all, and it was. Then I tweeted the same item on Twitter. Within 10 minutes I had 20 views and it's still going up!
Now, I know this is not very scientifically sound. But it is interesting nonetheless.

Testing A New Gadget

2009-09-23T17:07:00.001-05:00

I just downloaded this nifty little gadget that gives me a place to write a blog entry on my sidebar. This is a test to see how this thing works!
I've been very distracted this week and have not even come close to making anything new for days and days. But I have a couple of ideas floating around in my head and I am hoping with all my might that I will be able to get to making some of them in the next few days!
In the meantime, I've been working on my rearranging of the family room and my craft area. The furniture is all in place. I just have a little more tweaking to do as far as where all the little things go. I wonder how long this arragement will last. I try out many different arrangements and usually end up changing it around many times before I settle on just one that really works. Well, I'm going to post this and see if this thing really works!! Catch you later!