Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas. I closed up my store just in time. Yesterday evening I completed and packed up my last order for 2008. I am so thankful to all my wonderful customers. I really appreciate you and I am really looking forward to a wonderful new year. I am taking this week to enjoy time with my family in Disney. We are so excited. I will return refreshed and to an empty order list so that always gives me time to come up with some new designs. I would really looking forward to taking some time to finish my ebook. I have a few different ebooks in the works. Oh about Disney we are so blessed to able to go and visit with family. We are meeting them in Disney and staying through Christmas. It will be our first time in Disney on Christmas Day. We know it will be busy but we are not stressed about seeing everything. We have our favorite rides, shows, and parades so we will do them. We love eating at the different restaurants and since we already have reservation that is guaranteed fun. I am going to try take photos throughtout the vacation so I can blog about how wonderful Disney is especially during the holidays. I am not the best at taking out the camera, but I will try. I will not have access to the internet during our time away, but as soon as I get home I will return any emails.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May God be with each of you during this holiday season.

Santa came to my town early

There it is all shiny and new and WAY better than my last over the stove microwave. My dear sweet mom and her wonderful microwave carrier Ray stopped over my house to deliver an early Christmas present to me and my family. Why so early you ask I suppose a two week storage and a new delivery day was not as easy as giving it to me now. I am so THANKFUL. It is wonderful so many buttons, a shelf, cooked my oatmeal perfectly this morning, and even has a brand name. We had another microwave ever so long ago from Home Depot with a corny name Ewave. Which means I am going to break 3 days after the in store year warranty. And that is exactly what it did. It would only heat for 2 minutes at a time so that is what we have been doing for over a year I think. No popcorn, no mutliple heatings of food. I know we were so deprived, but not anymore. Thank you MOM and RAY. We love it!

A side note: You can see my lovely tree in the microwave's reflection. That tree was up two weeks before Thanksgiving. Chris and Rachel put the tree up early. They were so excited they went out at 9:30 at night to get lights. I use to have a tree with red balls, crystal ornaments, and white lights. Well not anymore my husband has been trying to get multi colored lights on it for years. Well they won this year and it is a hodge podge tree with child made decorations. It is beautiful but not a show room tree like my other one. LOL!( That attitude came from years of helping my mom. She professionally decorated tons of trees with a million lights and perfectly selected ornaments for a garden center) Maybe I will take a photo of the front of my house with another hodge podge of lights inspired from Chris and Rachel watching HGTV. They are two peas in a pod. Me and Christina were warm and grinchy inside. LOL!

Thanksgiving is just a Memory

But not a memory forgotten. Thanks to my wonderful and talented 13 year old daughter Christina. Okay this is not a photo of out dinner and no we did not eat outside. I did not take a photo. I know I am a terrible mom. Well my daughter loves to cook and be in charge. LOL! So she wanted to do it ALL by herself. Really I asked if she wanted help. It was just our family for dinner, but we had plenty for more. She baked fresh peanut butter and Hershey kiss cookies the night before. She was planning ahead knowing the oven would have a turkey in it. So I woke up in the morning and was drinking coffee and preparing to fill some custom orders before dinner at 4pm. Well the next thing I see is 2 pots full of peeled and cut potatoes. Wow, she doesn't mess around. Well it came time to put the turkey on and I started working in my area off the family room. I warned her that she had to clean out the turkey before cooking it. At first she was like no way, but I took too long to come and she had that turkey seasoned and in the oven all by herself. Well I will take you right to the dinner table. My husband helped a little cleaning some pots so she could reuse them. So this was the line up Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Corn, Cranberry Sauce, and Croissants all on the table HOT! I can't even do that. I told her most women cook their first turkey dinner after marriage and kids. So HOORAY Christina she is an excellent cook. Food Network has made a star.

LBC Cheerleading FIRST PLACE

We are having a great season of cheerleading. My 8 year old competed yesterday 11/23 and won first place. My oldest is on the unlimited squad and they did great. They have a fabulous routine this year and they look so good. They won second and only lost by 2 points to a great team. I will get a video of them next competition. We have most of it but a whole group of girls walked in front of my husband as he taped. All the coaches, board members and team moms are volunteer. It is wonderful to be a part of an organization that competes so well and everyone does a great job of giving their time for the sport. I am proud of my youngest in this video she has been working on her round off back hand spring for awhile. She did it very well for this performance so I am happy for her. She finally has the confidence to do it without any hesitation. Thank you Courtney. She is her tumbling instructor who has been practicing with her each week.

I said I would do it!

My sister was hosting a baby shower for a friend. She asked me to make her something for the soon to be mommy. I have been very busy with holiday orders and cheerleading. I take all names from orders and copy and paste them on to my order list to prevent any typos. I promised my sister I would do it and now it was Saturday night and I still had not made her anything. I had my nieces over, a friend, and I was rolling my youngest hair in curlers for the big competition on Sunday morning. Okay and the theme of the baby shower was butterflies and rainbows. Soon to be mommy likes butterflies and my sister's joke with her was life is not rainbows and butterflies. The time was 11:59 pm Saturday evening and still no gift has been created. I could not think of what to make. This is no time for a designer's block. I thought a butterlfy cutout or a butterfly soldered on with the baby's name. Well I came up with a butterfly shaped pendant. Right before I stamped I thought was it Lily instead of Lilly??? Well I looked at what I typed when I was on the phone with my sister no Lilly is what it said. I called my sister at 1:20 am right before I stamped it. Can you believe she did NOT answer? Well there I went and stamped it oh so proudly with Lilly Grace. I loved how it turned out. Ok I think you know where I am going with this. I called my sister in the morning and it was Lily. UGH! can you believe it. Thankfully, I can fix it, but darn it. LOL!

Crazy Cheer Season

I do not why I agreed to make all the bows for each team this year, but I did. LOL! How many bows are you wondering, it is 160 bows. I had some help and thank you to those that helped. I ordered the wrong size ribbon so that set me back a little. Well more than a little like 3 weeks. So I was freaking out a little as the deadline approached. It has been hard to fit into my schedule, but I am almost done. I have them all made for our first competition (11/9) except for trimming some ends and attaching ponytails, but for the most they are done. I have 24 more to do next week, but I do not need them until 11/16. YEAH! So here is a yucky photo I just snapped of some of the bows. I have 4 full bags of them 134 in all. My daughter is wearing one of the bows with the original thinner ribbon, but I sent that back to get the wider ribbon. So back to making some new jewelry designs instead of bows.

HSM3 High School Musical 3 is coming out soon!

Okay is this what happens when you get older? You just get goofier by the year. I am so excited for HSM3 to come out on October 24th. Okay if you do not about the movie. It is a musical from Disney about school kids. The first one aired on the Disney channel which I do not have, so I did not see that one until it was out on DVD. The second one was just okay and it came out on DVD. The third one senior year is coming out on the big screen (10-24-08) so it has to be the best by far. Disney will go all out for this one I just know it. Anyway back to me being too excited for this movie to come out.(Yes more than my kids) I received an email from Disney about the release and that I could buy tickets before to secure a spot on opening night. Well that is exactly what I did. We are all scheduled to go Friday October 24th to see HSM3 on the big screen. (Even my husband agreed to go with us girls LOL!) I just had to make some jewelry to sell online on Ebay for this joyous event. The boutique group I belong to the Lil Peas on Ebay is having a HaPea Holidays launch this Tuesday and this is what I will be auctioning off. I am going to have a reserve because I will just keep it if it does not get some decent bids. It will be a great personalized gift. Bracelet features a custom name charm and the necklace features a whole other side to have custom stamped with your choice text. Okay back to me being goofy, maybe I just like musicals plus it is good wholesome show so hard to find nowadays.

Getting ready for the holidays

New sterling photo charm just listed in my Etsy store and soon on my website. It is great holiday gift. It will soon be available in a bracelet too! My personal favorite. It is nice heavy photo charm originally created by me and will hold a photo to treasure and even better it is totally waterproof.


Another new item for the holidays a four side sterling bar that you can have custom stamped with text or names. Something simple to wear everyday. I really like how this one turned out and so will you for yourself and to give as a gift.

I am still planning on finishing me ebook soon. I already had some holiday orders come in, but what is really holding me up is I have been working 3 days a week. It is only temporary while someone is out with an injury. I usually only work 1 day a week, so with my added cheerleading schedule with the kids it does not leave me with extra time for my ebook. It also has to be just the right time of day for photos and my schedule has to be cleared. If everything works out I might just say forget about everything for one day just to get some good photos taken. After that it will be out in no time.

Soon I will be posting the hairbows I will be making for the cheerleading squads. I have no idea how I will finish them. I had a mix up with the ribbon size so I will not have the right ribbon until next week and the first competition is the second Saturday of November. Okay as I typed that I started to panic. We have 160 girls all together on all the squads. I think I will be showing them how to do it. They are already going to help cut the ribbons, glue them together, angle and burn the ends so they do not fray. Next assemble them and glue the middle ribbon over the rubber band. Oh my goodness!

Some favorite photos.

Okay this is classic photo. The Disney photo guy was kind enough to take a photo with our camera as well.



This was at MGM's 50's Prime Time Cafe. Our waitress was so great. She told us no elbows on the table and to eat our vegtables, but she was kind to us as only a mother would be. You would have fun at this neat restaurant.



Rachel is on right in orange and my neice Ashley is on the left. This was at MGM's new Toystory interactive parade. I loved it! It was fun but different than the other parades that I love. They completely stopped in a few locations for a long time. It was kind of like a dance and sing a long parade and I had a great time too! They get all the kids involved in the parade.



Okay who does not like a picture with a princess. We did not see many up close, but we waited to see Snow White. All the girls love those princesses even my oldest had fun.



Okay my youngest neice is almost three. She was not afraid of the characters, but when a girl like Mary Poppins or Alice came around, she was like Mommy they are so pretty. LOL! She cracked me up.

Oh my goodness! It has been so long.

Check us out in our cool shirts from TheTieDyeGirl. Wow! It has been forever since I posted. I am so sorry. I came home from vacation and I was searching the Internet for information on Christmas day at Disney. (By the way if you have any advice I would love to hear about it.) Well, I got spyware on my main computer. It has been such a pain. I do not get why mean people create such ugly viruses. I do not know what satisfaction they can possibly get from ruining my computer. Thankfully I have a laptop, so I have been able to communicate and receive orders, but I did not have access to my photos, camera, photo editing software, and lots of other stuff that you don't realize you use everyday. Well, I am back up and running. It was a fun time being away, but I missed making jewelry. I look forward to creating some new pieces. It was nice to come home and have time to get some new things done, but than I could not take photos of it. LOL! Also when we came home our van stopped working. So we had only one vehicle and with two girls in cheerleading going different places at different time. Needless to say we needed to get a vehicle quick. We did not want a car payment, so my husband searched and searched for used vehicle. Ugh! There was nothing to be found except for yucky cars for way too much money. We thankfully finally found a decent Jeep Cherokee for a decent price and great condition considering the age. So hopefully we will get a few years out it. So anyway I am back on my blog and hopefully will be showcasing some new designs here for holidays orders.

Look what I made for myself! Also a tale about the cranky crafter!

I made a Mickey and Minnie charm bracelet. I cut out two mickey heads and a heart by hand from sterling silver. I hand cut a bow for Minnie and soldered it on. I was so excited to actually make myself something. I never do that. I decided to oxidize the whole bracelet. I did not want any beads on it but I might add some more charms in the future. I guess that is how you get started with a few charms to having a bunch of special charms. I might also just leave it only for Mickey and Minnie. It makes me smile.

Okay the next subject at hand is the cranky crafter. I asked my sister if she wanted to help make autograph books special for the girls. She was more than happy to help. I knew only I could actually do anything on it and help pick out the goodies since I was paying for it. But no kids allowed. You can watch but please do not ask to touch. He He! Well my daughter was fine just watching, but boy she was singing alot last night and that was messing with my sister's creativity. She kept telling her to stop singing the same song.(you know how you just get that song stuck in your head) I told my sister she was the cranky crafter and she swears she is just intense. A little bit of perfectionist is in all of us. We get that from our mom. Well I loved the way they turned out. A trip to the craft store to get some sketch pads, ribbon, glue, paper and stickers and you will be on your way to a beautiful autograph/photo book too! (On hand supplies were Swarovski flatback crystals and glitter glue) They look so much better in person with their sparkly crystals and 3-d stickers. I might have to get some better photos. Thanks for letting me share, especially my bracelet. Which book is your favorite???

Vacation notice and new photos

I will be closing my website and my Etsy store late Tuesday August 26th. So that is the last day to place any orders. I thought about leaving my Etsy store open during my absence, because I have seen other sellers doing this. But I think it would drive me crazy. I usually have my orders mailed out within 7-10 days of receiving payment and any details or photos. The thought of extending that time to 3 weeks because of my vacation would make me feel tense for sure. So I will reopen my stores on Tuesday September 9th. I am only leaving for a week, but I have to give myself time to get my current orders complete and get ready. I have a list here to do already. I am excited to be off for a week, but I do not like closing my store. I love what I do and I love creating all the custom pieces for each person. I will miss being a part of all even if it is only for just a little bit. I have lots to list when I come back from vacation. All around I have a full plate when I return. I want to finish my ebook. I have my only craft show of the year on September 20th. (I am not ready yet!) The kids go back to school. They also have started cheerleading so that is four nights a week between the two of them. Okay I am making myself have a panic attack. LOL! Let me just get through next week and go have fun for a week.

I made this for a friend to represent her daughter's cheerleading team. It is hand cut from sterling and stamped with the letters MOM.

I made this special for a customer and will be offering it in my Etsy store when I come back. Stamped with names and birth dates.

I hand cut this from sterling silver. I had ready made hearts but they are too thin. I will get some custom sterling shapes made when I come back from thick sterling.

I made this for fun. I had made a bird house before so I why not a dog house.

I will get time one of these days.

I made this ring for a friend of mine. Actually she makes jewelry too! Can you believe it and we are still friends. LOL! I joke because so many people copy each other and compete instead of being happy for one another for being sucessful. Well she is great person and I had been wanting to make her one for awhile. I finally got some time a few weeks back and I made it. She took these photos for me and sent them my way. Thanks Erin! Check out her blog on the right The Vintage Pearl. She is a wonderful photographer and has so many fun photos of her family. I took pictures as I was making it for my new riveting ebook that I have been trying to finish for awhile. Life is so busy anymore and I feel like I run out of time every week. The day I made this I ran out of sunlight so I was unable to get all the photos for this project from start to finish. I guess I will have to make myself a ring. Hopefully soon!

Look at my new t-shirts

Okay can you tell I love Disney! Well I had been looking for a neat shirt idea for a group to wear to Disney. I always found cute stuff for kids, but I never found anything that guys could wear also. Well I found these on Etsy and she made them all for me at the last minute. She was so easy to work with and I should be getting them on my doorstep anyday this upcoming week. I can't wait to post a photo of everyone wearing them. Check out her store THE TIE DYE GIRL.

I was on TV!!!

Well kind of. I am excited nonetheless. I sell my ebooks on youcanmakethis It has been an unbelievable inspiration for me to share with others. Everyone at YCMT.com has been so encouraging and supportive. Well a few weeks ago, Kim from YCMT.com called me and left a message on my answering machine. Well I could not believe I had missed it. She was like a celebrity to me. Anyway she did not leave her number and I just had to talk to her. So I used my handy *69 for the last incoming call, because yes I have no caller ID. I spoke with her and she asked me if I would consider making a hand stamped necklace for an upcoming TV promo. I was like YES! Well it aired today and I saw my necklace on TV so that counts right? They did not point out my necklace, but I am totally honored and grateful she chose me to participate. YCMT.com is promoting my ebook from her frontpage. You can also see the youcanmakethis.com video clip HERE from the TV program Good Things Utah. (Just wait for the 12 second ad to play) It was a fun little show spot for all the awesome Ebooks you can get on that website. You can see my necklace on the model around minute 2:50. Mallory is wearing it on the right. I took a quick photo of her necklace before I mailed it off. I have a custom on sale in my Etsy store. I call it my Hot Pink Lady. They asked for hot pink and that is what they received. I guess to match her shirt and skirt. Thank you Good things Utah! Youcanmakethis.com is an awesome place to buy ebooks on a variety of subjects. Kim, it was great talking with you and thanks for choosing me. And a super big thanks to all the people who buy my ebooks. Coming Soon Sawing and Riveting ebook.

Sometimes you just need a reason to smile

This was a request from a dear women from Sweden. Guess what? It is the funniest thing. She was having problems checking out so she she asked if she could send a payment through the mail. I said sure as long as can deposit into my bank. I was not sure if I could deposit a Sweden check or money order. She said she would send something that would work. Anyway, she sent me American cash from Sweden. Isn't that funny? Anyway it is so fun to stamp.




Well that brings me to my next subject. I want to start doing push ups to get my arms looking better. I also just want to get more active in general. I know I am busy through out the day, but it is not the same as being physical. Okay so I really have to do that and take a little more time watching what I eat. I do not really eat bad, but I probably eat more of my share of calories and I usually do not eat my first meal until like 2:30 in the afternoon. I am not sure what I am going to do yet. Maybe walking, gym, or just start eating better first. I would like to do Yoga, but I would want to go and take a class. I was having a hard time finding a local class. I am little worried though about getting fatigued or hurt. I feel like I am thinking like one of those famous people that get insurance on their body parts. I do not want my arms to hurt or ache so much that I can not get my jewelry work done. Isn't that crazy? I hit my hand the other day and I got so nervous that I jammed my fingers. LOL! So any suggestions are welcomed.

I am back from NYC

This is not my photo but an advertisement of the Broadway show I saw in NYC for half price at $61. That means it would have been almost $130 with tax at full price. Okay let me start at that beginning. I got up very early on Saturday to meet up with my friend at 7:15 am that is super early for me. We took the Amtrak train in NYC. We walked really far to the Dylan hotel with our rolling bags, so we could drop them off at least since it was too early to check in. Okay we traveled down to the TKTS ticket center on foot. My friend was good at knowing where to go so I had not a worry and did not even look at a street sign. So Grease had an opening for a 3rd and 4th row single seat one right behind the other. So if you are ever in NYC between 10-2 pm they sell tickets that are left over for half price. So if you do not mind taking a chance you will save lots of money. Oh and we found out Taylor Hicks was playing the teen angel but guess what his understudy was on for this matinee. Oh well. So we walked to get some lunch at an empty Irish pub. I had a lamb burger and it was tasty and it poured the whole time we ate lunch. Once lunch was over the sky was clear again. We walked around a little bit before the show. Oh did I tell you my friend walks like she is being chased. YES she does! I had flip flops on and I was starting to feel pains and blisters. Okay I feel like this is so much information for one blog post. We saw the show and I am not trying to be negative, but had I paid more for this show I would not have been happy. Okay I think it is hard to connect with a new set of characters if you are attached to the old cast in the movie for one. This was my first musical and frankly I was more impressed with the awesome Christmas Carol show I saw in Disney last year. (It was unbelievable by the way!) Here was the other thing it should have been rated PG-13. There was cursing that was so not necessary. Here was the other thing that was embarrassing. My friend totally missed this part. LOL! There was a scene where the whole cast was out on the stage and two of them were singing a song on the bleachers while the rest were doing stuff to be in the background scene. Okay Rizzo and Knicky were laying on the floor making out. I was like what are they doing??? Than I watched all the kids pop up in there seat to lean and look at what these people were doing. They actually switched position to have Rizzo on top. YUCK! I finally blocked my view with the guy's head in front of me. Okay so I did smile alot at the singing but I loved the movie way more. Okay than we walked down to Time Square and it was loud, but an experience. LOTS of people and BIG billboards.


We went into the American girl doll store and I bought a wheel chair for my daughter. She has wanted one before, but they were out and shipping is alot because it comes assembled. My friend bought one also and wondered why she did, because of it's size. The AMG place held it for us as we walked around town. My feet were hurting and so were my friend's and it was time to go check in. We rested for a little bit at the hotel. It was a nice room with a beautiful bathroom. My friend was waiting to hear and meet her Australian online friend. The Australian friend came to the room to visit with us. She was super sweet and said she would be back after she and her friend did their Empire State building tour. My friend and I went to eat at a great diner near Times Square and I had a tuna sandwich that was so awesome. It poured again for like 10 minutes and we both forgot to bring our umbrellas. UGH! We went into a store to buy some snacks until it stopped.

Okay please read more later if I am boring you to tears. LOL! The Australian girl came back and they talked about period movies and more until 3:45 in the am. It was great to see my friend talk to her online friend in person. They had a blast. I was so tired when she left I fell right asleep. One of my dumb questions I asked her was "What language do you speak in Australia?" Apparently they speak English. LOL! She thought I was too funny. Well I have all my wonderful customers from Sweden and they speak English as well as their own language. So geography and history were never my strong point.

Okay now I had to get up in 4 hours to shower before our trip on the circle line tour. (me, my friend, Australian girl and her Australian friend) It was a three hour boat tour around NYC. It was informative and on such a beautiful day. So after the tour I went to Starbucks for a frozen coffee. We had lunch in Times Square and I had a slice of pizza. Now it was like 2 pm and the Australian ladies were leaving in an hour so we had to sprint to central park. I almost did not make it. I was getting a cramp, my feet hurt even in my sneakers, and I was totally out of breath. I know you are probably thinking I must really be out of shape which is true. But it was basically running and would you be prepared to run through the busy streets of NYC after eating and the added factors of heat and sweat. LOL! We made it and saw the park and they left to continue their travels to Connecticut. We walked down 5th Avenue, bought a book, picked up our bags at the hotel, went to the train, sat in pain, and arrived safely home around 8pm on Sunday. I had a great time, but I did start missing my husband alot by early afternoon when I officially woke up. Okay I am done my NYC story and I will post photos from my friend's camera as soon as she downloads and emails them to me so stayed tuned.

New York City here I come. LOL!

Okay you might think I am crazy but I am not it is my friend who is crazy. My wonderful friend was going to go to New York city all by herself to meet an Australian women she met online in (ARE you ready?) a Jane Austen forum. It is too funny. Actually I believe it is women and not a man like her daughters says. Kids are too funny at sixteen. I thought it was kind of cool for her to travel into NYC to meet up with someone who is just going to be in the states for three weeks, but only one night in NY. So I leave tomorrow at the crack of dawn to catch a train into the city. We plan on dropping off our bag and maybe going to the ticket line in hopes of getting some matinee tickets for a show. We have no idea what else we will do except plan to meet up with an Australian women and her friend to talk about Jane Austen. I borrowed my friend's movie Pride and Prejudice so I could be somewhat in the conversation. I enjoyed it but I am not as knowledgeable as my jet setting friend. I found out the Australian girl will be visiting Walt Disney World so I will have lots to say on that subject. So I bid you all farewell until I return with hopefully lots of stories of my fun filled weekend. I have such husband withdrawal when I leave him, but I keep telling myself it is only one day.

Here is a photo of a necklace I made for someone from Sweden. It is a thick hand cut sterling washer and it is stamped on the other side with the word Mama and a heart symbol.

My bowl and my contribution.

Okay so I do not want to bore you with my Peters Valley stories. I will just say it was a great experience even though I heard the fine metal department bonds the least. I think we did just fine. Thanks to Lauren and Karen for the ride down to lunch on the days I did not have my Jeep. Well every Sunday after lunch the Peters Valley staff gets an auction together that is open to the public as well as the students. The workshop teachers, helpers, and even students auction off their creations. You can get some wonderful pieces for a great price for even a better cause. The funds are given to Peters Valley to continue their great class offerings from well known designing teachers in all different art fields. Check out my bowl I won that was created by Alison from ceramics signed and dated. Thanks!


Here is my created donation. I am sending these off to be auctioned off during their Sunday fun. I know someone there will heart
Peters Valley like me and gladly give money to wear it with a smile. Thanks.



Here are our rings after a good tumble. Shiny things are so hard to photograph. I can see all kinds of things in that photo even my daughter. Today I poked a hole in a thick piece of paper to take a photograph of a bracelet. I just stuck the lens of the camera through the hole and at least I could not see myself. Although it is definitely not professional or taken in a fancy photo box, but if it sells and the person loves it than it works. Look at the bracelet to see the piece of paper. LOL!

Now doggy tags, what's next?

I am not sure what is next for sure, but I get so much inspiration from my designing customers. I had a similiar charm for sale on Etsy. I had sweet customer contact me to see if we could stamp her dog's name and her number on the back. I thought sure I can do that, I think? I knew I had to start from scratch if I was doing stamping and to fit the name. I had to postpone my creating until I came back from my week away at Peters Valley. So this is what it looked like before I sent it off to it's new owner. It just arrived today and Gidgette's owner was happy and I quote. LOL! "WOW. I absolutely love how the birdhouse pendant turned out." Thank you for letting me create it. I look forward to opportunities to practice my skills.

I am back and I heart Peters Valley

Here are some things I made while I was away. I made some new wedding bands for my husband and I, but I do plan on tumbling them to a shine. I made a faceted stone tube setting ring and some copper heavy gauge earrings. I was away for a 5 day metalsmith workshop. I took my family with me and we stayed in a rented RV at a campground. Our friends also came just for three days with their girls so everyone had fun. I left to go to the workshop each day from 9 to 5. I did have to drive about 45 minutes to get to the workshop location. I would return to the campground just in time for dinner, smores by the fire, and late night talking. My family did go visit the Orange County Choppers shop and forgot to take their video camera, but I got a t-shirt.

Okay so more about my workshop. I did think it was going to be different and at first I thought I would not take another workshop. I later changed my mind. I have learned a lot from books and once you know the basics nothing beats practice. I learned tips and tricks from the teacher and the students. I asked lots of questions. I learned I need more tools. (Do we ever have enough tools? LOL!) I also gained some confidence about making new things. I think most of all I had a great time working with the other students. They were all different and all amazing in their own way. I loved the location of my workshop. It was very rustic to say the least. I had to drive a 1.5 miles up a dirt/rock road to get to Thunder mountain where the fine metals department was located. We had lunch each day at noon located back down that dirt road in house. Each day it's workers made a great meal. Some of the students offered 10 hours of their time to work in different areas for a discounted workshop. A great non profit organization only alive with the support of it's students and others who purchase crafts and attend their yearly two day craft show. I would definitely take another workshop and if the timing is right and I have the money we will go again to a campsite closer to Peters Valley. I plan on supporting Peter's Valley by donating some creations to their weekly auction held every Sunday. They auction off crafts created by students, assistants, and teachers. I was the high bidder on a beautiful blue bowl with pretty flowers created by Alison the ceramics assistant.

Pleasures of meeting new people

This is a new design that I have added to my store. Let me tell you a story about the pleasures of meeting new people. I met a wonderful women named Linda who lives in Sweden. She ordered a special necklace that she designed based on items in my Etsy store.







She came up with this name necklace pictured with 2-5/8 inch charms, a white pearl, and puffed heart charm. I actually call it my Sweden necklace now. I sell it on my website and in my Etsy store.




Well one might wonder why I would call it my Sweden just because one nice women bought one. Linda writes a blog in Sweden that focuses on scrap booking. It is a very popular site that receives a lot of traffic. She took a photo of her necklace that I made for her and posted it on her blog. I have received a lot of orders from other women for the very same necklace which is why I call it my Sweden necklace. I tried to read her blog, but it is another language. I have asked her and others what it said. She said she was happy with her new name necklace.

Maybe I should call my new design my "Thank you" necklace. I recently mailed out a live, laugh, love necklace to Linda. I told her how much I appreciate her recommending me to all her friends. I have had so many opportunities to meet terrific people from another country. Just recently I have been emailing with a women about some customs she ordered for her and her friend. I asked her what it is like where she lives and she shared some neat things with me. Also, all the ladies that order speak and write English very well. I look forward to meeting more people and making them smile with a custom name necklace. Thank you so much Linda. Read her blog with her new posting about her gift. If you scan down you can see a sentence in English.