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.