Busy, busy, busy....

The title says it all.... there haven't been any new posts because I have been spending  a lot of time working on new jewelry designs and reworking my promotional materials.  Hopefully I will be able to post some pics in the next couple of days.  It will really depend on the weather, as I still rely on natural light for my pics (I really need to invest in a light box!)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Isn't This the Cutest?

Lately I've been adding to my collection of children's books by my favorite author, Margaret Wise Brown (she wrote Goodnight Moon, among many, many others), and came across this little guy on Amazon.  He's the child from one of my favorite stories, The Little Fur Family. 

I've decided that I absolutely must have him, he is too cute to pass up! 

New Necklaces!

New in the shop today, the Parker necklace:

Here is a sneak peek at the Natalie necklace I'm working on.  I discovered I had run out of clasps, so she is on hold until those come in.  :(

For this necklace, I've used 14kt gold-filled wire, which is kind of rare for me, as I prefer to work with sterling silver. However, these pendants from fellow Etsy seller ellielantern inspired me to try something different.  I may be working with the gold-filled wire more often now, since I'm really liking how this necklace is coming along.

The Cutest Bird Pendants Ever...

I was at Michael's today for an emergency pair of earwires (I almost never buy supplies at stores unless I run out and need something right away), and spotted these adorable pendants.  

I love, love, love the birds-- they are the cutest pendants *ever*, and they're my favorite shade of blue!

I'm not sure how I'll be using any of them yet, but they'll be making an appearance in the shop in the near future!

I Have a Leprechaun on the Bottom of My Shoe...

Wow, two posts in one day... but I had to share...

The title refers to a Robot Chicken skit where a man has an extraordinarily lucky day, then finds out he had stepped on a leprechaun and it stuck to his shoe. My sister said this to me after I told her about my lucky find today: A Tilt-A-Whirl!

For as long as I can remember, the Tilt-A-Whirl has been my favorite carnival ride. In fact, it has become sort of an obsession for me as they seem to have dropped off of the carnival mainstream. Every time I see a carnival, I look for this ride. It has been a long time since I've ridden one.
As I was out and about in Racine today, I spotted the carnival in the mall parking lot. I drove around the outside looking for my favorite ride. It was here! And not just any Tilt-A-Whirl, but the original kind I rode as a kid! 

The very nice lady at the ticket booth told me that this was the last day, since they had been there all week. I promptly bought tickets and made a beeline for the ride.  I had the operator take my picture in the cars, but I accidentally erased it! GRRR!  Oh, well.

It was still as much fun as I remembered.

Happy Mother's Day!

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born.  So one day she asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live being so small and helpless?'

God replied, "Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

 But the child wasn't sure she really wanted to go.  "But tell me, here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and smile, that's enough for me to be happy."

 God smiled.  "Your angel will sing for and will also smile for you every day.  And you will feel your angel's love and be happy."

 "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me," the child continued, "if I don't know the language that men talk?"

 God patted her on the head and said,  "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

 The child was sad.  "And what am I going to do when I want talk to you?'

 But God had an answer for that question too.  "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

 The baby then turned to God and asked, "I've heard that on earth there are bad men, who will protect me?"

 "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life!"

 The child was sad.  "And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

 But God had an answer for that question too.  "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

 "But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore," the child continued warily.

 God smiled on the young one. "Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you."

 At that moment, there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard.  The child knew he had to start on his journey very soon.  She asked God one more question, softly, "Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

 God touched the child on the shoulder just before He departed and answered  "Your angel's name is of no importance.  You will simply call her Mom."

New in the Shop...

Remember her? This is Vivian.  She is now complete and has been listed in my Etsy shop.  This could easily be my favorite necklace to date...I love the combination of colors and shapes...

Also in the shop, Cecilia has decided to try on another color...

And last, but not least, we have these really cute jade and coral earrings (as yet unnamed.)