Breast Cancer Awareness Jewelry Designs

This is one of my favorite cell phone charms that I've made. I used cat's eye hearts, milk glass white hearts, czech glass tulip flowers, swarovski glass pearls and czech glass crystal bicones. All of them are hand wrapped with sterling silver wire onto a beautiful sterling heart chain. Then I added the cell phone strap and tiny little sterling silver awareness ribbon. It's so feminine and fancy. What woman wouldn't love it!!

This one has a lovely large rose quartz gemstone and cat's eye hearts in two sizes. I've added some pretty pink glass pearls all handwrapped onto a silver plated chain. I attached the cell phone strap and a nice enamel flip flop charm that has rhinestones and a tiny pink awareness ribbon. Very chic!!

Here's a gorgeous breast cancer awareness charm bracelet that I just finished last night. Lovely cat's eye hearts, 8mm rounds with swarovski crystals embedded into the beads, rose quartz tube beads, pink 6mm glass pearls, freshwater pearls, swarovski pearls, glass square cube beads, czech glass flower beads, frosted flower bead and tiny seed beads all handwrapped onto a beautiful sterling silver chain, connected with a lovely sterling box clasp with a design. I have attached a small sterling silver awareness ribbon. The colors are much more vibrant than the pictures. It's got lots of sparkle and shine to it. Wouldn't this make a lovely gift for that special woman?

Jewelry Gallery Designs

My meeting today went really well. The owners of the gallery were really impressed with my designs and work. They have agreed to put my jewelry in their gallery starting right away. I am now at: Dancing Bird Art Studio and Gallery in Cumberland, WI. Soon my jewelry designs will be on their website as well at: http://www.dancingbirdartstudio.com/ . I am so excited about this, finally my work will be recognized and appreciated and this also raises the value of my designs. It's definitely a step in the right direction as far as an artist is concerned. I always feel so much more confidant when other artists value my work. Why is that I wonder. Do all artists feel that way, do you suppose?

Grandma's Pride and Joy!!

This is the latest picture of my grandson, Horatio. He will be 9 months old on the 5th of July. If you've been reading my blogs, you know that Horatio has been living with us off and on again all of his life. In May, we decided it was time for him to go back to his mom's fulltime so that he would be sure to bond with her. He's continued to have persistent ear infections ever since his bout of pneumonia in February so the doctors finally decided to put tubes in his ears this past Wednesday. So far, so good, he's doing fine.

We are so proud of this little guy....he's crawling, and doing everything he's supposed to be doing for his age, including pulling himself up on furniture and walking around furniture. This is our weekend coming up and we are looking forward to seeing what new things he's learned and achieved. I love the time we have with him because it gives me such joy to teach him things, and to read to him, sing funny little nursery rhymes to him. We are trying to get him to say dada or mama, but I really push for nana...I kind of test out the grandma or nanny or nana....curious as to what he'll finally choose to call me....whatever it ends up to be....I'm sure I'll be great with it!

Here he is with his grandpa Ted, who he absolutely adores. They are best buddies and he will sit for hours with his grandpa and watch any sports with him. It's so cute to watch them together cuz Horatio knows he's got grandpa wrapped around his finger. They will walk and walk and walk if that's what Horatio wants to do. When it comes time to take his bottle before bed, guess who has to give it to him....yep, grandpa!! And grandpa just laughs cuz he thinks Horatio is just the cutest baby in the world...Horatio keeps him in stitches laughing by just making funny faces at him. It's so cute!!!

I've been very busy the past couple of weeks or so....getting ready to put my jewelry designs in a Gallery for local artists in Cumberland, WI. It's a lovely gallery and shop. My husband and I found it one day, when we were trying to find a location of one of my new doctor specialist that I'm seeing. We decided to stop for lunch and saw this place so we went inside and asked the owner and he asked me to bring some of my pieces in for him to see. I'm really nervous about this. I really would like to be featured in this place. I think it would be good for business and also generate some sales for me. I've designed some really beautiful pieces this year and

I've been trying some new stones and styles of necklaces that I think are in style with today's women. I love this piece here, it's light and summery. The focal lampwork bead is so beautiful and it's one of a kind along with one of the charm beads. The sterling silver charm reminds me of a pyramid so it feels kind of mystical. Four of the round beads are genuine turquoise in a beautiful robin's egg blue color giving it that summer feel. These kinds of bracelets are fun and easy to wear.

I'll add more tomorrow as it's getting late and I need to get to bed. Busy day tomorrow.

This is a beautiful lime green turquoise and black onyx necklace, bracelet and earrings set. I just finished this piece a few weeks ago. I love the texture and feel of these pieces. So smooth, yet so rugged and earthy. It's rather heavy but not so much that it's uncomfortable to wear. I really enjoyed working on these pieces.

I haven't had much time to be creative these past few months since my grandson was born in October, 2007. He's been living with us off and on for about 6 months. When he's here, it's a full-time job and I don't have much time for anything else. So I apologize for not having more designs posted here. Horatio is back with his mother fulltime now so I will be working on my designs more now. I will post them here as I complete them. I hope you enjoy browsing through my website and possibly visiting my etsy shop.

This necklace and bracelet set is made of picture jasper and small freshwater pearls with a lovely teardrop shaped pendant of picture jasper. Finished off with sterling silver clasps. I love the rich colors in the picture jasper; very rugged yet the stones are very smooth to the touch. It reminds me of the desert or the sandy shores at the ocean. I've spent alot of time walking sandy beaches in Florida and these stones are a reminder to me of the beauty that they are.

When my grandson, Horatio was here with us all the time, I did alot of photography. He is such a good subject and quite the little ham when he sees a camera. Of course, the camera loves him as well. He's very photogenic as you will see from the pictures I will be posting here shortly. I won't apologize for showing him off to you. I'm just so proud of the little guy and how much he has overcome already in his short time that he's been here. He's a tough little guy and he's such a pleasure to be around. I hope you enjoy the pictures I've taken of him. If you'd like to see more of him, go to: www.yuwie.com/naturallycharming . Check out his photo album.

This weekend we are taking him to Chicago to visit my husband's granddaughter, Madison. She was born 5 days before Horatio and we've only seen her a few times. This will be Horatio's first time meeting her. We can't wait to get the two of them together for pictures. They are almost 7 months old and they are both learning new things every day. It will be fun seeing them interact with each other. Madison is a little red head and she is so cute. We don't get very many pictures of her so this will be my chance to take alot of her for our album.

This is little Madison. She was born Sept. 30, 2007, a month earlier than expected. Isn't she just the cutest little thing with her bright red hair and that little smile. I can't wait to get her in my arms this weekend. We also found out that we have another grandchild on the way and will be here in November of 2008. It's amazing to my husband and I because for years we didn't think we were ever going to get any grandchildren. Then all of a sudden we have two in one week and another on it's way. We are truly blessed. We are having the time of our lives with our grandchildren. Well, I'm going to end this now since it's getting to be pretty long but I will add one more picture of Horatio just to show you how lucky we really are. Enjoy!

Whoo Hoo!!!

Horatio's Hospital Adventure

> This is my grandson Horatio who is 4 months old. He just recently was released from St Paul Children's Hospital in Minnesota. On February 1, 2008 Horatio was dropped off at my place in Wisconsin around 11:00 AM. When he arrived, he was lethargic, eyes were glassed over, he felt like he was running a temperature and he was trying to cry but all he could do was wimper and squeak. His breathing was terribly labored and he had no tears although he was obviously trying to cry. I asked his mother and her step dad what was up with this and they responded with, "He's getting over a cold but he's better now." They left and I immediately took his temperature rectally and it was over 101 degrees F. I thought he was probably feeling a little dehydrated so Grandpa gave him a couple of ounces of water but he really was having a difficult time with it. I gave him some generic tylenol and he slept for a while. By 5:30 PM it was apparent that he was getting worse. I took his temperature which was over 102.8 degrees F. I called the medical clinic here in Amery. They called me back about 10 minutes later. I described his symptoms and she asked if his chest was caving in when he inhaled. I checked and they were. She told me to get him to the emergency room right away, if I couldn't drive him...call 911. He was in Respiratory Distress. We live two blocks from the Amery Hospital so I drove him over to the emergency room right away. They were waiting at the front lobby for us and they rushed him back to the emergency room while I checked in. By the time I got down there, they had him hooked up to a respirator, heart monitor and were putting in an IV to give him fluids. The doctor said he had pneumonia, both ears were inflamed and he was severely dehydrated. He was in fact, a very sick little boy. They airlifted him by helicopter to St Paul Children's Hospital in Minnesota. They felt he was in to critical condition to take a chance by transporting him by ambulance. My husband and I drove down immediately to St Paul, after calling my son to let him know what was going on and to have him call Horatio's mother. My son, met us down there. At Children's they confirmed the diagnosis that was made in Amery Hospital and said that it was a viral pneumonia called RSV. A very dangerous virus that attacks young infants and adults. Being viral, antibiotics don't help for the pneumonia but they did continue administering it for the ear infections. As you can see by the above photo, they were doing everything possible to make him well again and comfortable. He had an IV in his head keeping his fluids up, he was on oxygen through his nose and on his foot he had a monitor keeping track of his heart beats per minute and also the amount of oxygen he was taking in.

The first couple of days we were in the Short Stay area of the Emergency Ward. Then we were finally moved into a room with a couch. After a couple of days, Horatio started to look and feel better, his temperature was finally staying down, he was rehydrated and started to fuss and complain a little. He was such a good boy but he kept trying to get to all of the tubes and stuff coming out of him so a nurse brought in a pair of "no no's" which are made of styrofoam and velcro. They go over the arms so that they can't bend at the elbow and reach the head and face where his IV and his oxygen tubes were. I was so surprised that he didn't fuss more about being confined. They were actually better than swaddling his arms at his side with a blanket like we had been doing before the "no no's".

I forgot to mention that his mother showed up at 3:00 AM Saturday morning and stayed for a total of one hour. Then her and her step dad left, but not before her step dad had to order her to go over and touch her son and give him some comforting. She didn't come back again until Sunday afternoon and again she only stayed for an hour. I practically had to force her to give her son a bottle while she was there.

We found out later that she had known that Horatio was really sick and needed to see a doctor because on Thursday, the day care lady told her that he was very sick and needed to go to the doctor. Mom decided to ignore this and didn't tell anyone including her step dad because she had a big weekend planned and didn't want to have to cancel if I wouldn't take him sick. We are now meeting Friday with Social Services again to determine what to do about this situation. Obviously staying at her step dad's isn't working because his wife is now working nights and isn't able to supervise Mom and Horatio like originally planned. Instead, they have allowed Mom to care for Horatio alone without much supervision at all. My husband, my son and myself want him out of there immediately. He is now with us recuperating from his illnesses and will remain here until the end of February. It looks like we are going to have to file a petition to take him away from Mom and stay with us until my son can get on his feet again and get a place of his own to raise Horatio in.

This is my son, Will. He spent alot of time at the hospital with his son. He has just started a new job yet he took the time off when he could to come and help out with his son and to give him the love and care that he needed. I spent 24/7 with Horatio at the hospital, only going down to the cafeteria for meals. I slept right by his side all night and took care of his everyday basic needs of changing diapers, feeding him his bottle every two hours, holding his hand or hands to keep him from pulling on the IV"S or the oxygen tubes, and just basically entertaining him and making him feel safe. We finally got to take him home Tuesday evening even though, by now he was vomiting and had diarrhea. They thought he'd be safer at home with us so he didn't pick up anymore problems in the hospital. It's been tough here at home for the past few days. He was on pedialite and formula at first but now he's finally back on his full strength formula. Still needs tylenol sometimes at night because he's pulling on his ears still but I really think he's on the mend finally. He's still has a runny nose and coughs some but they said he would do that for a while.

And this is me and my beautiful grandson, Horatio. I have to say that I was very impressed with the Amery Hospital and St Paul Children's Hospital. Everyone was so helpful and kind. I also want to thank the helicopter people who airlifted him from Amery to St Paul. They did an excellent job transporting him safely and quickly. Something like this could have been avoided if the people who were supposed to be taking care of this child would have done their job and seen that he was taken to the doctor before it got this bad and this critical. Unfortunately the district attorney of Washington County doesn't think this is negligent or serious enough to warrant removing the child from the mother or this home. I, for the life of me, don't know how bad it has to get in order for them to realise that this woman is irresponsible and incapable of caring properly for this child.

Just Call Me "Nana" !

I just love being a grandma. We are having so much fun with our new grandson, Horatio Caine. He's now 3 months old and getting so big and so much personality. I love watching the changes that take place. He changes so quickly between visits. He's now smiling and getting more vocal and talkative. He's also drooling alot which means he's teething which should continue for quite a while now.

The End of 2007...

2007 has been an interesting and busy year for us. Major changes and moves, new home, new business ventures, the arrival of two very welcomed grandchildren and a new outlet for my jewelry designs. Just when you think it can't get any better than that, you discover something else to be grateful and excited about. Little did we know when we moved from Florida to Wisconsin that our lives would change so dramatically.

Okay, granted we knew that with two new grandchildren, we would be making some changes in our lifestyle a bit. I didn't really understand that having fibromyalgia and COPD would effect how I interact with my grandkids. I'm finding out that it's not as easy as I thought it would be. #1 being that I don't have the lung capacity nor the strength to lift a baby over 12 lbs. I'm finding new ways to accommodate these problems.

The picture above is of the Apple River which runs a few yards out our back door. Isn't it beautiful? We love our new place here in Wisconsin. Our back yard is filled with wild animals; dozens of different species of birds, deer, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, pheasant, turkey....you name it...we got it! We spend alot of time gazing out our back patio door window at all the activity that takes place. We are also going broke keeping them in bird seed, corn and bread. That's the price you pay to have all these critters entertain you. We think it's well worth the price!

My jewelry is taking off finally. I've just recently started selling to a local merchant here in Amery and she is expanding her business with my One of a Kind Designs. I am so excited with this new venture and am looking forward to doing some really spectacular designs in the near future. So far she's had really good response to my designs.

My other little venture is the new Yuwie.com site. It's alot like blogspot and myspace but the difference is they pay you for every page click you make and other's make in your site. There's a real potential for some substantial money here and I'd like to invite you to try it out.

Click here to learn more!So anyway, please check out this great money maker and see for yourself how remarkable it is.I am looking forward to the new year 2008. I'm sure it's going to be an exciting year. Lots of new things to learn, new jewelry designs to create and sell, meeting new people on blogspot, myspace, etsy and yuwie. I never thought I'd be much of a blogger but this past year has taught me alot. I'll be spending more time with my two grandchildren and hopefully be taking a few trips along the way. I hope that I will be hearing from all of you in the near future and becoming friends. Thanks for visiting my blog and for all the support you've offered.

Make $$$ Networking...

This is the greatest thing I've found yet...they pay you to socialize and network.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Years!!

Merry Christmas everyone...How many people actually celebrate Christmas Eve? We have big plans for Christmas Eve and will have family with us for dinner and the opening of gifts. Then on Christmas Day we have another dinner with other members of the family that couldn't make it Christmas Eve. My grandson will be with us Christmas Day for his first Christmas.

I wanted to mention here that I had a wonderful opportunity to sell alot of my jewelry designs to a lady here in town who has a beautiful gift shop. I sold several pieces to her and I will be doing some custom work for her as well. I will be working exclusively with her gift shop. No longer will I sell wholesale to others. In the process of doing business with her, I manage to sell the coral pendant necklace and several other pieces.

I will be offline for a few days but will check in from time to time. Stop by and say Hey!

Coral Slide Pendant Necklace

I designed this necklace specifically for a party I was doing back in October. I wanted to designs something that younger women might be interested in. It has chunky pieces of genuine coral, some really spectacular sterling beads and a beautiful sterling silver oval chain with a lobster clasp. Being that it is a One of a Kind piece and so beautiful and unique, I thought it would sell quickly. I was extremely sad when it didn't sell at all. Now I'm not so sure about it or why it didn't sell. Maybe someone reading this can tell me. Any feedback is welcomed.

My husband and I are enjoying our new grandchildren. They are so much fun and are so cute. My grandson, Horatio has been living with us for the past month due to his parents having some problems with drugs and coping with being parents. We decided to remove the baby from that environment and get social services involved in order to get the parents some help with the drug problem.

Getting up in the middle of the night for feedings, round the clock diaper changing, feeding and looking after a newborn is really stressful at my age and with my disabilities. Due to the late night feedings, I decided to go off the Trazodone medicine that I took for sleeping (Fibromyalgia causes loss of REM sleep) because I was afraid I wouldn't here my grandson in the middle of the night. Since I've been losing REM sleep for the past month or so, my Fibromyalgia has flared up and is causing numbness and pain in both legs.

Things are going to be changing soon and my grandson will be reunited with his mother under supervised conditions. I'll be able to get back on my medication and also get back to the business of designing jewelry again. I miss the thrill of the design and watching it come alive. Business has been slow but I'm hoping with some promotional help, things will pick up soon. I'm in the process of setting up a myspace to help promote my etsy shop.

Horatio Caine and Madison Kay - Newborns

This week has been a whirlwind of activities since Sept 30, when the call came in from my husband's daughter, Katie...going for a C section one month early that afternoon. Madison Kay came into the world weighing 5 lb 15 oz, 18 3/4 inches long and 13" head. Gorgeous long strawberry blonde curly hair, lots of it! Due to the early birth, mom had to go home without the baby for a few days. Today they are both home and doing well. Grandpa was so excited he decided to drive to Chicago to see his new and first grandchild. He had a wonderful time holding Madison and visiting with the proud parents while he was there. Grandpa took lots of pictures for grandma to see when he got home.

I was unable to travel with at the time because my son's baby was about to be born as well. Little Horatio took his time and finally had to be induced Oct 5 at 11:05 PM. Horatio Caine came into the world weighing a strapping 7 lb 10 oz, 21 inches long and 14" head. Beautiful long light brown curly hair, not quite as much as his cousin, Madison...but a respectable amount. Definitely more than his dad came into the world with as he was totally bald until he was a year old. Fortunately, he takes after his mom who has a gorgeous head of curly hair.

I had the priviledge of being in the birthing room with mother and father during the whole precedure and was able to film the birth. This was the first delivery I had experienced outside of my own two deliveries of my son and daughter. I was surprised and truly amazed at the advanced technology and better health care. The birthing rooms were a great change from the old labor rooms where you might be sharing your experience with strangers in the same room with only a curtain to separate you from total embarrassment. Comfortable recliners, rocking chairs, etc for the family members who want to share in this beautiful event. And last but not least of all, the birth itself was the crowning moment. Everyone should see at least one birth of a child, in their lifetime if possible. It was such a beautiful, spiritual moment that I will never forget and gives me a special bond with my new grandson as I got to hold him soon after he was born and he heard my voice welcoming him into this wonderful world we live in. My son cut the embellical cord and shared in the delivery also.

Ted and I are so grateful that both deliveries went well, even though there were some complications. Both grandchildren are healthy and doing well. Thank God for the miracle of birth and the gift of grandchildren. We've waited a long time for grandchildren and now we have two in one week.

My New Workbench and Workspace!

Since moving to Wisconsin, it's taken a while to get my workspace set up. I finally have it somewhat fixed up and I'm able to get back to designing jewelry. My workbench is now just a long white folding table from Walmart but it has a clean white surface and it's very sturdy and durable. I've lined up all my gray boxes with drawers up against the back wall, easy to get to when I need certain components that I use frequently. My husband built me several shelves to the right of the photo so I would have more easy access space for my bead storage. I also still have my tall drawers that sit directly under one of the shelves. We found an old dresser at a garage sale for $5.00 and painted white. All my bead books and magazines sit on top for easy access. It's still a work in progress but it's coming along nicely. I'm back designing jewelry and I've just listed several new earring designs. Feel free to check them out at my Etsy Store.

"Rest In Peace, Smokey"

My family and I are very sad. Our beloved pet, Smokey died Friday, Sept 7, 2007 from a disease called Feline Infectious Peritonitis, a terminal disease that scientist have no cure for or treatment. Because we couldn't bear to have him suffer any longer, we decided to have him put to sleep.

We recently moved to Amery, Wisconsin from Palm Bay, Florida. Smokey made the move with my husband in a U Haul truck. He appeared to be taking the move in stride, riding quietly in the truck and spending nights in motel rooms with my husband, Ted. When they arrived here in Amery, he enjoyed exploring the woods outside our patio doors. The first day out hunting, he brought back a chipmunk alive and tried to let it loose in the house, which is usually what he did with any critters he brought home. He just liked playing with them and chasing them around.

After a couple of days, he became kind of lethargic and started picking at his food. Within a few more days, he quit drinking water or eating. It all happened so quickly that we thought that he might have gotten sick from something he had caught in the woods. One morning there was a bat on our doorstep and we thought maybe he'd been bit by it. We took him to the vet and they drew blood. Hi white count was through the roof but no temperature.. It took two more days to get the official results of the labs and they came back 95% sure that it was FIP.

Death was inevitable but could be slow and painful. Neither of us wanted that for Smokey. In the few days that he was sick, he had become such a docile animal...not his normal character. We were able to spend hours petting him, brushing him, holding him in our arms...these were things that he never allowed for more than a few minutes...tops! We think that he somehow knew that we needed the stroking, petting and hugging so we would be able to let him go when it was time.

We adopted Smokey eight years ago had an Animal Shelter up in Brainard, Minnesota. Out of dozens of cats that day, he was the only one that climbed into my lap and curled up and started purring. He was a funny cat because he had lost half his tail somewhere before we found him. He was a great mouser and always kept our yards free of unwanted critters. Smokey loved people and always would greet people at the door when we had company. If he liked you, he would immediately lay down and expose his belly for you to pet him....very trusting!

Our Smokey will be sadly missed . We thank him for the beautiful eight years he gave to us. He truly blessed our family.

Isabelle Anne -8 Weeks Old

It's official - I'm a grandma...to a very very tiny little chocolate long haired chihuahua, only 8 week old. My daughter called me the other night and said that I have a new granddaughter. Well at first I thought she meant my husband's daughter had her baby early because she's having a girl in September. Then I thought that her brother in Minnesota had called her to tell us that the doctor had screwed up and gotten the sex of the child wrong with them because they are expecting a boy in September. No that was not what she meant at all.

They bought a little chihuahua that day and she was named Bella for short. My daughter's cat is named Princess so she said that this was the closet to Princess she could think of. Actually her real name is Isabelle Anne. She is a thoroughbred registered chihuahua, papers and all. Cost $400.00 to boot.

Bella is the tiniest thing and just so adorable and loveable. Beautiful brown eye, chocolate colored long fur, the cutest little ears I've ever seen on a puppy....and did I mention how tiny, tiny, tiny she is....just a little bit of a thing. Check out the photo of her and you'll see what I mean. She is so precious! A welcomed addition to our family. We love pets.

Moving is coming along. We pick up the truck in the morning and we will start loading. All that's left to pack up is the rest of the kitchen and the food in the pantry and refrigerator. I'll be leaving early Tuesday morning to fly up to Wisconsin to get the keys and get the utilitilies turned on and make the apartment ready for the truck to arrive. I'll be out of commission for a while...hopefully I will be up and running again by the 25th of August. See you later.

The 2007 Summertime Jewelry and Gem Show - Melbourne, Florida

OMG...this was the most amazing show I've ever seen. This weekend showing at the Melbourne Auditorium on August 11-12, 2007, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Gorgeous jewelry designs, gemstones, settings, pendants, beads, etc. I don't think I've seen so many real genuine gemstones all in one place before. The most beautiful gemstone beads in all colors, shapes and sizes. Pearls in every imaginable color you could want.

I bought some wonderful cut slabs of agates and druzys, some gemstones and pearls. Next year I will have to make sure I have more money to purchase some of the more rare stones like the chalcedony, labradorite, opals, rhodochrosite ?, etc.

All in all, it was a great day. I would have stayed longer but I'm still packing for our move. Maybe I can find more time tomorrow to run over there again. More later...

Packing Up For the Move!!

Still packing up the house for our move to Wisconsin on Wednesday. My husband has been so helpful, getting boxes from where he used to work and from our future son-in-law's diner. Produce boxes and grocery boxes are the best for packing. They're small enough so that you don't fill them to full so you can't lift them.

I finally got my office and craft room boxed up and ready to go. All that is left is the computer, monitor, tv, dvd player and my camera and printer deck. We have decided to tear my workbench apart and rebuild it when we get to Amery, WI. We were going to sell it but I love my workbench that my husband built. He says it will come apart easily enough.

If you look at my last blog, you'll see my pineapple plant that I've been growing since last year. This year the pineapple was so delicious and sweet. I'm really going to miss that! We've decided not to take the plants. I have a lady who wants them. Most of these plants wouldn't survive the cold winters in Wisc...so they are better off down here.

Tomorrow I am meeting Natasha and we are going to a gemstone and bead show at Melbourne Auditorium. We are so excited to be going. This is my first bead show that I've attended. We won't be displaying our jewelry but I'm looking forward to buying some awesome beads. Hopefully there will be some lampwork bead makers there. I'll write more tomorrow evening on how it was and what I buy.

Moving Sale Today!!!

Today we had our first moving sale, to weed out things for our move to Wisconsin on the 15th. Even though our signs all said we would run from 8:00 - 3:00 pm...of course, they all started coming at 7:00 this morning. Well, running on 3 hours of sleep last night, we were kind of slow getting things out for the sale.

We ended up doing pretty well our first day, had an excellent turnout and the weather couldn't have been more well behaved...no rain until after 3:00 and everything was under wraps. Tomorrow we will get up and do this all over again, hopefully with even better results than today. We still have a few pieces of furniture, tons of nick nacks, household stuff and yard stuff.

We still have quite a bit of packing up to do. I've decided to fly up to Wisconsin ahead of my husband to ensure that the utilities get turned on and everything hooked up by the time my husband comes in with the U Haul. That way we don't have to keep the truck over the weekend, we can just unload right away and then drop the truck off in town.

Today has been a long day with little sleep so I'm off to bed. I continue the story later as it unfolds.

Clownin' Around Lampwork Bracelet

I just love the colors in this beautiful focal lampwork bead. Focal bead is made by: The Shard Gallery. It measures 21mm x 33mm and the colors are a brilliant orange, red, gold, white and turquoise with a touch of clear glass. The tiny bubbles inside gives it the appearance of the colors floating in fluid. I tried other colored beads with this but the genuine turquoise just set the whole focal bead. Any other color just seemed to take away from it's beauty. Sterling silver bali curved tube beads, a couple of cute sterling bali round beads, some bali spacers, a sterling lobster clasp and extension chain finished off this bracelet nicely. For an added touch I attached a handwrapped sterling silver beadcap and an orange AB czech glass crystal beads with a tiny turquoise bead for a lovely charm.

WOW, doesn't this bracelet and all the colors remind you of the clowns at the circus? This bracelet was just recently featured on: The Shard Gallery Website. If you are interested in purchasing this bracelet, it is for sale at my Etsy Shop: Naturally Charming.

We are definitely making the move to Wisconsin. Our target date for leaving is: August 15, 2007. We will be having a couple of garage sales before we leave hoping to weed out a collection of things that we have accumulated in the five years we've been in Florida. I am somewhat of a packrat and I am totally addicted to garage sales, thrift stores and flea markets so you can imagine all the things that I will be getting rid of. I'm in the process of sorting and organizing all of my pattern magazines that I've collected over the years; ie. quilting, sewing, beading, crocheting...and the list goes on. I have started listing some of the patterns on my other Etsy website: The Foolish Craftsman.

Be sure to check it out for upcoming specials and goodies. I will be adding things on a daily basis so check back frequently.

English Lavender Garden Bracelet

Can't you just smell the lavender in bloom? I love the lampwork beads in this bracelet. I bought these beads from FerrariOriginalBeads at Etsy. http://ferrarioriginalbeads.etsy.com/. They have gorgeous beads so check them out. I'm sure you'll find something you like. I handwrapped these beads in sterling silver wire and added a couple of fancy sterling beads that I had been saving for that something special. This was that time I think. The square beads are a beautiful amethyst crystal glass that I also have had for some time. I finished the whole piece off with more sterling rings, bali spacers and a very lovely floral sterling silver toggle clasp. If you're interested in purchasing this bracelet, please check out my Etsy Shop at: Naturally Charming .

My Etsy Trades for Baby Things

Etsy is such a great place to shop or sell handcrafted items. I have two grandchildren who will be born sometime in September. My son and his fiance are expecting around the 15th of September and my husband's daughter and her fiance are expecting around the same time. It has gotten to be kind of comical because it appears that the race is on between the two families now.

Each week, as the girls go to their doctor appointments, I get a new report of how they are each progressing. Recently, both doctor's have figured they are both further along than realized therefore, the due dates have changed frequently. Unfortunately, since these will be our first grandchildren....it's become a bit of rivalry for being the first. The good news is: my son is having a boy, my stepdaughter is having a girl...so at least, we'll have one of each. Maybe if we're lucky they'll both go into labor at the same time and they'll have the same birthday.

Anyway, I've been doing some shopping for baby items that I want to buy for my new grandchildren and I've been doing it on Etsy. Yesterday, I posted in the forum asking for baby items that I might be able to trade for. I got several responses and I've made a few choice trades. I traded a beautiful rose quartz necklace for a lovely rag quilt and I've also traded two ankle bracelets for two chenille bibs with little fishies on it.

I'm going to leave you with both of their shops on Etsy. The quilt was from:Susan's Treasures and the bibs are from: Our Kid's Boutique . I want to say Thank You to both of you for making this such a wonderful transaction.