Over the Hills & Through the Woods to Gina's House

The 12 Days of Christmas package was mailed earlier this week & on their way to Gina's. Some days I feel like I'm limping to the finish line. I'm really happy about my finished decoration. My husband saw it & said his mom would probably like one too. I just completed 12 of them. He doesn't really get the swap thing.

It's been crazy preparing for my FIRST open house this week. Then I have another one in a week & a half. It's been a good crazy. I ALWAYS have ideas floating in my head & things in my journal. I've been having so much fun making new jewelry & working on the display for my jewelry.

Here are a few more pictures of new work. I'm on a green kick & on a roll... I am SLOWLY adding more of my new work to my etsy shop. Go over & take a peek. I'm having brain farts against writing copy & titles.

Here's the New Stuff

So inspired, yet so little time. The wheels are going into overdrive & I can't keep up. I'll have these at the open houses & up on my Etsy today. I must add merchandise. This necklace is one of my favorites. I'm big into mixing elements & I love how this turned out. It has fire polished crystals, Swarovski crystals, Czech glass beads, & an ornate crystal & enamel slider. The second picture shows the asymmetrical design.These earrings have pink coral rounds, copper colored filigree cones, Black Czech fire polished beads & some silver wire swirl accents. I love all the elements in these Uptown earrings.
The Under the Sea Chunky bracelet is another beauty. It has slabs of turquoise, Czech fire polish beads, Swarovski crystals, coral, mother of pearl shell, a star charm & sterling silver clasp & extender chain.

Gettin' Ready

Why does everything start coming together last minute? I'm doing my first shows this Friday & next Monday. I was inspired Saturday night as I was laying in bed making jewelry for these upcoming home shows.

I'm on this kick about what separates me from other artists, what makes me tick & why I love my stuff so much more than what's made on a machine. I've really come into my own in the last few months. There was a time where everyone who made jewelry was seen as "competition". At the time, I probably wouldn't have taught classes for fear of having someone steal my designs. What's changed? I'm sooo comfortable with my work. My catch phrase about my work is "eclectic". I have such a varied & extensive list of techniques that I mix & match. My style is mine & mine alone. I have so many ideas floating up there in my head that I can't keep up with them. If someone is gonna "steal" a design, good luck. I'm also comfortable with the fact that my work is not for everyone. I can't please them all, but there will be people out there who get me. My, I've put on some big girl pants this year :)

I wrote the "artists statement" above. Then I got the idea to frame it, glitter the title & put it up on an easel for display on my table. I've been looking for unusual things to display my jewelry on & I'm excited about how it will look. Again, it's going to be eclectic. I can't wait to take some pictures.

Look out for my first feature on another blog. I'll be interviewed by the super talented Bonnie. In addition to her original blog, she also blogs on Snap & Scrap . She has stared interviewing some other artists, so go take a look. The blog is great. The shop is full of digital scrapbook products, of which I have no expreience, but the blog has all sorts of ideas & covers different types of crafts. I've found some great inspiration from there. I'm due on the blog on Dec 26. I'll have my interivew & a tutorial on some earrings. I'm really excited to do this & can't wait.

Cool Marketing Ploy

Aren't these the cutest? I found Zazzle via my flickr account. I showed my husband what I did with my jewelry pictures & he thought it looked pretty cool. He also asked if I really use stamps. I said "Think of the holidays. I can use them to send out our Christmas cards & newsletter." He told me to go ahead & buy them if I want. Goodie!!! Right now all the stamps are on sale for $10.99/sheet of 20 & free shipping if you buy 3 sheets. It's so much fun to design them. Lots of colors & fonts to play with. (I am a closet graphic artist.) Go over & play.

Thankful

I am so fortunate & blessed to be living the life I live. I know I don't acknowledge this enough. Today is the perfect day to do this. Here's my list. (You know I love lists. Please comment & share your Thanksgiving list if you're doing one on your blog.)

1. Rick: He is my rock, my best friend, my husband. I am so lucky to have him here. I think about what the 2 of us have gone through the last 2 years & I can't imagine anyone else I want to be with. He is an amazing father to the boys & they love him back dearly. I love you!
2. Brandon: What a kid! He's caring, intelligent, & artistic. He looks out for his little brother & teaches him the ropes. Brandon is Silly, with a capital S. He is truthful & sometimes it hurts & sometimes I bust a gut. I love you mini-man.
3. Joshua: The smile that melts my heart. He is just coming into his own. He dances, sings, & laughs with me. He's so polite & makes sure you are also. He's a little guy, but watch out, he'll bowl you over. Josh, I smile as I write this about you :)
4. I am lucky to have my health, the ability & opportunity to make art, dear friends old & new. I have a lot of things people don't & I need to remember just how lucky I am to live the life I do.
   

New Work Frenzy

This has been a good creative week for me, actually the last few weeks have. My postings have become more regular, as has my artwork. It's wonderful to finally have the energy & passion to create. I've gone a week without my usual marathon afternoon nap. I'm also waking up not feeling like I was beaten up while I was sleeping.I'm almost done with my swap for the 12 days of Christmas. Look at the goodies from the 13 days of Halloween swap. I just have to add the ribbon/yarn to the top for the hangers. I also wanted to make sure the glue/glitter was dried before I posted it off to Gina. I was a glitter freak yesterday. I had it on my forehead all day. By the end of the day it was all over my body, clothes, the carpet, table, chair... What a great sight!
Last night I also completed a new paper dress, black white & pink again. I've been into this color combo for these dresses. The black skirt is made from embossed paper & I rubbed chalk to show off some of the design.
The rest of my new work pictured is jewelry. I've been on a bracelet & earring thing. It's funny because I used to only make necklaces exclusively. I guess after 9 years, my brain wanted to work on some new things.
I made it to a bead show this past weekend also, just barely. I'll post pics of the finds later.

Pink Lemonade

I almost forgot to take a picture of this set. I don't normally make sets, but this one is for the Dover OSC (Officers' Spouses' Club). We're doing "Our Favorite Things" tonight as giveaways & raffles. It should be a fun one. I made quite a few sets & the events chair picked this one out. (She was partial to pink, just like me). I started making some funky crazy ring. I asked my husband his opinion, mistake 1. He looked at it dumbfounded & said it was a little big & to remember who I'm making this for. I said "Okay, it's a little funky, but someone who's eclectic like me could wear it." SILENCE... Hee-hee. He just doesn't get it. I'd sooo wear it. Although, I haven't found anyone to back me up on it. I'll wear it anyways!

New Work ~ New Buys ~ New Hair Cut

Here's my WIP for the 12 Days of Christmas swap on Gina's blog. As always, I love doing swaps & I have some sort of idea as to what I'm going to do, then I end up going in a totally different direction. Even after I knew what direction I was going in, I still changed my mind (Artist's Prerogative). The snowflake above is my base. I painted it with an antique gold background & cool blue swirl stamps. I plan on embellishing with some cute snowflakes & black & white gift cards. I was going to use some of my collage sheet images, but look how cute these photos are. There's also a glitter border around the cards. I'm tying raffia at the top. All these cute finds can be yours from Target.
My other news is my new haircut. I loved Katie Holmes new haircut & I've wanted it ever since. I had a little bit of free time yesterday (whatever that is) & decided it was time to take the plunge. I called a salon that everyone here was telling me they get their haircut at. I didn't even have a picture. I just told her I wanted a bob with the front longer & the back stacked. I LOVE it. Every so often I get the itch & chop all my hair. I'm a little impulsive about it. I think about it for awhile then I just go do it. I told my mom about the hair cut & she said "Oh like Posh?" (Yes my mom knows who Posh Spice is. She's the hippest grandma I know.) No, no, no! It's not that severe. I think I ended up with a mix of Katie, Posh, & Jenny. Oh yeah, & did I mention my hubby is out of town? I love pulling this crap. I probably cut off a good 7 inches. Seriously, I do this all the time.

My "lovely" self portrait. I don't know how everyone does the self portrait challenges?

New Paper Dresses

I ADORE making these. They're so much fun & easy to make. Here are a few more I finished up. It's so good to finally have Internet access again. These scans aren't the best, but I'll take some decent pictures during daylight hours.

I have a bit of a funny story to share about our Internet/cable tv non-installation. It took them 2 weeks to get it installed when we were promised it right when we moved in. (I'm so tempted to link to the "them" I'm referring to, but they don't need free advertising) It's not so much the time it took to get the service, but the lack of communication. We were always promised a call back, yet my husband was always calling for updates. He finally called to tell them to get their butts out here or we were going elsewhere. Our neighbors moved in 8 days after we did & the phone company was there the day they moved in. On the 3rd day, the satellite company was there & that's when I lost it. I completely blew a gasket over seeing the Direct TV van at my neighbors house. My husband called the cable company & said "Look, I like football, but my wife loves it. If you cut her she bleeds her school colors. Get someone out here to finish up the wiring outside so we can get the service installed. My wife won't be able to take another Saturday without football & I don't want to hear it." Hee hee, I can laugh now.

Home is Where My Heart Is

I consider our family vagabons. Never mind the fact my husband is in the military. We've had so much happen in the last 2 years. This is our 4th address change in those 2 years. We've lived in 3 different states during that time. We now live in a beautiful house. You'd never guess it's part of base housing with the word beautiful in the same sentence. There's hardwood floors & a pretty slate floor.

The kitchen is to die for. I love to cook & my last kitchen was a nightmare. Just for lack of sheer space, I used the cabinet under the sink to house my grilling utinsils, salad spinner, paper plates/plastic wear, pots & a few other assorted things. In this house I have my own beautiful pantry, Corian countertops, a corner lazy susan cabinet (this one set me over the edge!), a double drawer dish washer, glass cooktop, stainless appliances... I could go on. I used to work for a kitchen/bath showroom, so I appreciate a well designed kitchen.

I really feel so blessed to have the opportunity to live in such a beautiful house. We have huge walk-in closets, storage galore, a 2 car garage. I have things in this house that we've never had as a family. My husband was nice enough to give me the 3rd bedroom as my craft room. It's just the bookshelves (with only my crap!) & my craft table. I'll post pictures when I get it set up. I can't imagine a place to call all my own. What did I do to deserve all this?

Too Much Fun