Thursday, January 15, 2009


This is our weather map vs Boston's weather




tick tock -- countdown to flight time
mood: busy, nervous, excited


I can't believe it's actually one day before I fly away to Boston.WOO HOO
Finally moved the buttons on my coat last night. What a hassle! You wouldn't think moving three buttons would be so complicated but when you're trying to sew black on black, it can make you go crosseyed. lol
I never could get the stains out of my Boston sweatshirt that my baby sister Mary Ann gave me. Tried everything I could think of and then some but no luck. Oh, well. I'm wearing to work today anyway. The stains are barely visible and besides---it's cold!!

I've got all my hanging plants covered up outside. I wonder if it would be all right to leave them that way while I'm gone? I know D doesn't want to be bothered uncovering them during the day and covering them during the night again. Hmmm. I'll e-mail the gal at the UF Extension office. She'll know.

Are you seeing those temps in Boston?! Snow today with a temperature of *GULP* 15 degrees!!!Holy Mother of Sunshine, Batman! This little ole Florida gal is simply NOT prepared to deal with such frigid temperaturs, people. It makes me shiver just thinking about it!!!I am most definitely layering my clothes tomorrow - nylon camisole, turtleneck, v-neck sweater, pantyhose, socks, warm pants, boots, knee-length wool coat, wool hat, wool scarf.Now I wish I still had my down-filled coat I had years ago...but hey, who needs that stuff in the Sunshine State? haha
Okay well - I'll manage. I bet I don't sleep worth a hoot tonight. I am SO EXCITED to see my half-siblings and to be part of such an amazing birthday surprise for my Mother. ;)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Come On Down!

I'd like to invite you to come on down to the
Etsy eSMArts Team Store.

Here you will find a variety of artisan crafted items for sale, including accessories, candles, paintings, jewelry -- you name it.
The best part about purchasing items from this shop is that all proceeds go toward worthy causes - including helping out etsy artisans!

Be sure to stop by today and browse through this wonderful collection of handcrafted items. You're bound to find something for yourself or to give as a gift.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Full Moon Birthday Bead Disaster


well, I can definitely attest to the fact that it was the full moon last night. I'm sure that was a major contributing factor in the birthday beading disaster.

See, I'm trying to make this garnet necklace for my Mom's 80th birthday, right? Already blogged about the bummer beads I got. That's what I get for buying from a stranger instead of my regular vendor - anyway.

Lack of time decreed that I had to follow my own old saying and "do the best I could with what I had." I was so excited to put it together: the perfect little antiqued gold cross for the center, perfect antiqued gold rondelles for either side of the cross, sweet little "made with love" heart, perfect tiny double strand findings and clasp. I was ready...I sat for an hour before my afternoon's photo shoot (for work) and worked on the necklace and then worked on it for almost two hours last night while D watched Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.

The dreadful tiny garnet chips from my erstwhile strange supplier were so freaking annoying! I'm stringing them on Fireline and on about every third one, the stupid hole was too small to admit the needle. Blast!

But that's not even the worst part. I finally get all the way through the whole thing and hold it up and look...and look...and cannot believe what my eyes are seeing. The necklace is totally uneven and has to be completely redone!

Oh, man. I came so close to just bursting into tears.But I said, "No, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to walk away. Walk away."

And I did. Right over to the fridge. Pulled out that last little Coronita left over from Christmas Day. Cut a slice of lime. Squeezed that puppy into that little bottle, got me some Scoops and the rest of the guacamole dip and climbed into my recliner to watch the last 15 minutes of the movie with D.SIGHOnce the movie was over, he toddled off to bed and I decided to have one last look at the full moon.
for pix of our moonrise adventure to the beach, go http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v622/heatherp8/01-10-09%20moonrise/

Saturday, January 10, 2009

A Bit About Me


After yesterday's tentative first post, it occurred to me that it may be appropriate to write an informational post about me.

LOCATION: I live on the east coast of Florida near Jacksonville with my wonderful husband -my best friend, actually - and my three spoiled feline furkids. We moved here nine years ago from the Atlanta area.

OCCUPATION: When I'm not immersed in beadworld, I have a part-time job in a field I thoroughly enjoy. It helps pay the bills and I get to meet some wonderful people.

DEDICATION: I've always been a creative person. Whether it's making baby quilts, gift baskets or jewelry, there's usually some project or other in progress. It's something I have to do.

The baby quilt scene was way back in the day - late 80s. Gift basket biz began in 2000 and ended when my husband was injured and I had to get a "real" job.

I've been beading for years in one form or another but didn't get "serious" about it until May 2008 when I first opened my etsy store.
You can see my progress as a designer by scrolling through my photobucket album.

Did my first craft fair 4th of July last year. Oh, I was so nervous! After that, I did several others,including one at Beadlemania to raise funds for cancer and the Rock Shrimp Fest in St. Marys, GA where I sold over $200 worth of my handcrafted items.
Last November, I learned a valuable lesson about being choosy which small craft fairs to do and which to leave alone. This fair was held at a local church. Things didn't go very well there but I still had fun. The way I look at it, it was still a learning experience. Each fair is a LOT of work, but every one teaches me something new and I absolutely LOVE doing them!

INFORMATION:

To see more of my designs, stop at my MySpace page. I usually try to post pix there of items I've created that don't make it into the etsy store for one reason or another.

EDUCATION:

I graduated college a bit late in life with an Associates' degree in Office Systems Technology from Pellissippi State Technical Community College in Knoxville, Tenn. That degree helps me pay the bills but my ongoing education in jewelry design is what feeds my soul.

I'm registered at several different online learning centers, including this one which has a great article about blogging, by the way. I'm constantly looking to improve my craft any way I can. So far, I'm mostly self taught through books, online video lessons and good old trial and error.

COMMUNICATION:

I love hearing from folks who read my blog so please do leave comments! Tell it like it is, too, please. I believe we learn from our mistakes - and having a good friend to point them out is one of life's treasures in my book.
Well, I hope I haven't bored you too much. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back soon.


Friday, January 9, 2009

what to say?



I'm so used to posting in LiveJournal that it almost seems--I dunno--like cheating to post somewhere else.


Still, I guess I could get used to having a blog strictly about my jewelry biz.


Right now, I'm hoping all the jewelry I mailed to the Boston, Philly and N.C. will reap results. It's been said that word of mouth is the best advertisement. Let's hope that's true!


I sent jewelry to all three of my half-sisters, my mother, my daughter, my aunts-in-law, my son's girlfriend and my stepdaughter for Christmas. Heck, I even sent my ex-husband's new wife a necklace! haha


Wanna see some of what I sent?


Okay -lemme root around on my hard drive and see if I have any pix - hold on--
Managed to come up with this one, anyway. It's a charm bracelet I gave to my beautiful and talented stepdaughter, Noober. Otherwise known as Abby Starr. She lives Shelby, NC.
It has lots of lovely little beachy charms and glass beads and took forever and a ding dong day to make.

I'll figure out how to use this thing as time goes on and add more pix. Right now my computer has decided to be uncooperative. Besides, computer time is over and it's time to go spend time with the spousal unit.

Later, peeps.