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.