Shopping My Etsy Store. What's New?

I'm having a sale!

All the items in my
FOR JENNY
section are 25% off from now until the 23rd of December.
Look at these turtle earrings!
They have a cousin who might make a great pendant to go with those sweet little critters!
My shop has gone to the birds!
I have snow birds, a crystal bird, and a holey bird.

This is the holey bird!
Can you imagine the possibilities with the holes?
This bird could have a beautiful tail!

These shards are a new blend in my shop!
I love the way the violet and white react with the silver!
Nummy!

These earrings are great looking.
I held them up to my ears, and they show through the hair!
I love that!


These headpins are called Hearts and Flowers!
I have other headpins in my store, but these are some of my favorites!
This was a quick tour of my store.
Stop by anytime and spend more time there.
You won't be disappointed!

Advent, the Season of Hope

When the sun sets on these cold, winter days, a light begins to shine in the darkness.

Advent, the season of hope, has begun.

I lit the first candle on the Advent Wreath yesterday, and in the darkness a light began to shine. This is the hope of the future. This is the hope of Christmas.

The cantor at Mass, yesterday, sung,
May you be given peace." The light shone even brighter in the darkness.

On December 21, the Winter Solstice, 4 candles will be lit on the Advent Wreath. December 21, the day of the longest darkness, ends in the fires of the Advent Wreath.

This is the true hope of Christmas.

Who would'a thunk?

There's something new here!
Who'd a Thunk?
It's the middle of winter,
Only 26 more shopping days until Christmas.,
and
here,
in our town,
There's a fireworks show!
Who'd a Thunk?
Enjoy the show!
Look for the question at the end of the show!
It's not a test, just a chance to get to know you better!

Now, what's the most unusual thing you've seen or done this close to Christmas!
This is it for me!

Look What I found When I was Cleaning Out my Drawer!!

If the truth be told, I really wasn't cleaning out my drawer.

I was actually looking for something in my old sewing cabinet when I found them!
I didn't remember them being there, but
when I pushed the papers aside,
I saw them.
What did I see--
these beautiful vintage buttons!

They've been hidden in this drawer for years.
When I quit sewing, aka, quilting,
I closed the drawer like a part of my life.
Seldom did I open the drawer, and if I did, it was only to put papers in there.
See them off to the side?
When I pushed aside the wad of papers,
I saw those amazing buttons!
I think you deserve to take a better look at them.

I don't think these photos do them justice. They are more beautiful than this.
Look at the large, beige flower.
It is so beautiful!
I'm beginning to think: Possibilities!

See those little pink flowers with gold trim? I wish you could hold them in your hand.
They are amazing!
See the blue, frosted buttons next to them?
I'm thinking: earrings.

See that set of blue buttons? Their color is closer to denim than periwinkle blue.
See those frosted blue buttons next to the denim buttons?
I want them!

The translucent green buttons are my favorite in this batch of buttons!
There are so many possibilities!
I think I need to start cleaning out drawers.
The feeling is beginning to grow on me.
I wonder what else I'll find?

Three Beautiful Things This Week

Three Beautiful Things This Week was inspired by a wonderful blog that Clare writes called Three Beautiful Things. Everyday, Clare writes about 3 Beautiful Things that happen each day in her life. It's a wonderful blog! I can only hope to imitate her in a very small way.

1) We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration! The families all gathered at our house this year. We had an adult table, a kid table, and a little kid table. Again, we had a crockpot dinner. (There were more crockpots that are not seen in this photo. ) Not only that, the food was great!

2) I bought new shoes this week. They are sparkly, shiny and oh, so comfortable!

3) Best of all, both Jenny and Nick were able to come home! We had a nice visit. I love you, both! (Equally, of course.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY,
MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP.
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS.
MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS!!

REVEAL! A Crush on Copper!

Well,

the day has arrived!
The time has come to
REVEAL
the results
of
A Crush on Copper
You might remember that
Deb Batten (Firebird Flamework)
and
I
decided to begin a program of challenges to each other
to nurture artistic growth.
This is not a contest to see which of us can make something better than the other person. ;)
This is a true attempt to nurture our creative instincts and grow.
Check out Deb's blog for more details.
Anyway,
to make a long story short,
our task was to make a
NON jewelry item
using
only
copper wire and copper shapes,
but to feature,
the
love knot
in our work.
ARE
YOU
READY?
Here is my entry in the competition,
I mean,
the challenge of artistic growth!
The shapes I used were
a rectangle and a circle
I also used the love knot.
And the REVEAL is..................



A

Bookmark

Made of

Etched copper sheeting and wire.

Oh,
please don't tell Jenny.
She's getting this for Xmas!

Now, make sure you go to Deb's blog and check out her Crush on Copper!
This was fun!
I'm not sure what we'll do for December, but
we'll let you know soon!

Now, with the Xmas Rush Underway, Let's take a look at my Etsy store

Black Friday is quickly approaching!
It's so much easier to shop from the comfort of home than it is to go to the Mall,
Fight the Crowds,
Wait to pay,
Glare at the person who took the parking spot you wanted,
Slip on the Ice,
Fight the snow,
Realize, you forgot your checkbook at home,
So,
do you feel your stress levels rising?
I do.
That's why this year, I'm shopping on line as much as I can.
Since you are reading this,
You might want to look at my Etsy store.

I do have jewelry!
This piece was made with repurposed beads.
Fun to do and fun to wear!

Isn't this little turtle sweet?
He needs a new forever home.
He's in my store now,
and he's willing to live with you.
He's quiet as a mouse!

Now these snowbirds are so noisy!
They make so much noise!
They didn't want to migrate with the other snow birds,
so they are in my shop
chirp, chirp, chirping away.
Don't you need a snow bird?

This is the perfect gift.
Have a heart!
It's a beautiful, organic heart for the love of your life!
You can find it here.

See how easy on line shopping is.
Now, tell the truth.
How man of you shopped in your jammies?
I wrote this in my jammies, but don't tell!
Hope to see you soon in my shop!

Studio Marcy - Always a Treat!

Whenever I visit Studio Marcy on Etsy,
I always leave with a big smile on my face.
Marcy is best known for her whimsical, sculptural work!
Take a look at some of the items I found in her store.

Studio Marcy is ready for Christmas!
Santa has already made a visit to Marcy's store on Etsy,
and
Santa is Dancing!
Marcy, in her Christmas letter to Santa,
and she's been good,
asked Santa for the Elves' IPod list.
I wonder if she'll get it?
This pine cone isn't real.
It's made of glass.
Isn't it amazing?
Marcy makes these gorgeous pine cones as a request from
Mother Nature.
Mother Nature understands that Marcy makes these beautiful sculptures from glass!
This is a bead you can wear or use as a sweet reminder of winter.

Marcy is best known for her whimsical sculptures.
Here's another example of her work.
When I look at these sculptures,
I always smile.
This little sculpture is a
Jackolope.
His name is Jackson.
If you don't know what a jackolope is,
be sure to read the description.
Marcy has seen them in her native Wyoming.
How about this bear with a bird on his back.
Oh, don't worry, Bernie and Clarissa are good friends!
Marcy is hoping, though, that they find a new forever home very soon.
Clarissa just tweets and tweets and tells everyone everything!

This was just a quick preview of all the delightful sculptures in Marcy's store.
Be sure to visit soon.
You'll leave with a smile on your face, and,
maybe,
a bird in the hand?

Nick's Bears Jacket

Look at this jacket. Would you believe, it's 21 years old? I remember when we bought this coat for Nick. We had just moved from Chicago to this small little town. It was a very hard move for all of us, especially for Nick who was a die hard Bears' fan. We moved into die hard Vikings' country.

One of the things we were concerned about was finding a sporting goods' store that might even carry Bears' items. We found one. Actually, it was the only sporting goods store in town. Today, that little store has grown into one huge store, but, at that time, it was tiny.

We walked around the store with Nick. All we seemed to see was Vikings, Vikings, and more Vikings. Nick was pretty down, then, as we turned to a very small rack with coats, we saw it! This Chicago Bears' jacket. Nick's frown turned to a smile, and we bought the coat. He was ten at the time. He was pretty small and scrawny at the time, and the coat was big, but it gave Nick a much needed boost and touch with home.

Eventually, Nick outgrew the coat, went away to college, moved back to Chicago, and I inherited the coat. I've used it since then, not as a daily coat, but as a dog walking coat. I walked Oliver in that coat, (our bassett hound). I walked Bailey, our first greyhound. I walked, no, Spike walked me in that coat for 13 years. Now, I walk Pixie in that coat. The coat is 21 years and full of memories. Who would have thunk? It's a part of our family history, and it's still here.

This, That, and The Other

Item #1
Save the date for the next
Bead Soup Blog Party.

Item #2
If you're going to be in the St. Peter, Minnesota, today,
I will be at the St. Peter Holiday Fair,
sponsored by the St. Peter Art Center,
of which I am a proud member.
Be sure to stop by for a visit!
There will lots of great artists there!
You'll be able to finish your Christmas shopping early.

Item #3
I'm having a THANK YOU give away on my Facebook "like me" page.
Check it out here.
All you have to do is leave a comment on my "like me" page!
Go for it!
Well, that's all for now.
Stay tuned!

Three Beautiful Things This Week

Three Beautiful Things This Week was inspired by a wonderful blog that Clare writes called Three Beautiful Things. Everyday, Clare writes about 3 Beautiful Things that happen each day in her life. It's a wonderful blog! I can only hope to imitate her in a very small way.


1) We had a terrible storm this past weekend. We received 10 inches of heavy, wet snow from that storm. It was so nice to know that I didn't have to go out and drive in it. It was also nice to know that when the power went out, there were those women and men who were working out in the storm to restore power to us. We were lucky. Our power was only gone for about 3.5 hours. Others in town were without power for, as long as, 26 hours!

2) I started my online metal smithing class. Wow! This is opening up a whole new world to me! There is so much that can be done when you learn to solder! I am impressed with Stephanie Lee. She's a good teacher and the class is very interesting.

3) Pixie has been so happy with the snow. The day it snowed, she wanted to go outside to the back yard because she wanted to run in the snow. She really had fun that day! It was so wonderful to see her running like the wind.

(Oh, in case you are curious about the photo I used for this blog, it's a teaser for the reveal of "A Crush on Copper" The reveal will be on the 24th. Deb and I will show what we made using love knots and copper for a non-jewelry item.

AGLF on Etsy

This is a store you need to visit!
AGLF
The work and quality of the work in this store is amazing!
Look at these earrings!
You can find them here.
They are absolutely gorgeous!
This store is full of magnificent works of art.
Look at this fish.
You can find this amazing fish here!
It looks real!
See what I mean about impressive!


These discs are also featured in the AGLF store.
They are made with a silver enriched glass called Aurea.
Wow!
Last, and believe me, not least,
there are these mini ornaments!
Wow!
That's all I can say,
and they are very reasonably priced.
Don't hesitate!
Your purchases will be most appreciated!
You will be extremely pleased!
AGLF on Etsy!

Easy Peasy Copper and Headpins BookmarkTutorial

Need a quick gift for that special person?

Want to make it yourself?
You can do this!
It's that easy.
Here are the tools you will need.
You will need round nose and chain nose pliers, wire cutters, a ruler, and a file of some sort.
You will also need: a hammer and a bench block.
You will also need copper wire, a copper jump ring, and 3 head pins.
If you don't have head pins, you can substitute small wire wrapped beads.
Step #1
Cut about 6 inches of wire. (I used 14 gauge copper wire, but you could use 16 gauge.)
File the ends so that they are no longer sharp.
Step #2
Make a loop at each end. Make sure that each loop is closed.
Step #3
Using a hammer (I used a chasing hammer, but you can use another kind.) and a bench block,
(You don't want to ruin your table.), hammer the wire to create texture and work harden the wire.
Parents, if you are doing this with your children, be sure to supervise this step very closely.
Little fingers can really hurt if the hammer misses the mark.
With your file,
smooth the edges of the flattened wire.

Step #4
Take two of the headpins and wire wrap them.
Add a jump ring to the top loop. Before closing the jump ring, add the two headpins that you just wire wrapped.
Close the headpin.
Step #5
Loosely wire wrap the third headpin.
Open the bottom loop enough so that you can slip the third head pin through
the loop, then close the loop.
Your bookmark is finished!!
Remember, teachers love bookmarks!
I used to be a teacher, so I know.
You can find my head pins, here.
Have fun!

Belvedere Beads - Wow!

If you see what Lucinda sees when you look at this photo, you are GOOD!

I see this photo, and I see corn.

Lucinda sees this, and she makes an amazing piece of wearable art. See the next picture.

See what I mean?

Lucinda demonstrates her creativity in her wonderful blog called Belvedere Beads.
She made headpins with crows and roses on the ends.
She really upped the bar on those!
She also makes earrings with the headpins she designs.

Now, these earring are made with some of her fabulous beads!
She also makes her own ear wires!
Lucinda is so talented.
She describes herself this way:
"painter, ragpicker, flame geisha & wayward fusspot who should spend more time painting and less time with the torch."
These beautiful rose headpins can be found on Etsy at the Belvedere.

Lucinda also has another store on Etsy called: Curious Old Things.
I found this vintage brass belt buckle there.
I am an unabashed fan of Lucinda Storms!
I hope you follow her blog
so that you can see her amazing
work!
Don't forget to check out her two Etsy Shops here and here.
You won't be sorry!!
I only wish I could see the way Lucinda sees!
Amazing!