Adventures in Jewelry and other Crazy things

2012-02-08T10:13:00.003-06:00

I have moved by blog over to the Mithril Dreams website. It is located at http://www.mithrildreams.com. Hope to see you there soon!

The best part of being a jeweler

2012-01-20T20:00:00.004-06:00

I was getting ready today for an awards ceremony at my twins school. Their school has a reading program that corresponds with the Texas Bluebonnet Master Reading list. The kids have to read five books off the list and if they all do it the librarian goes blue for the ceremony.

My daughter asked me to wear blue for the ceremony so I picked out my outfit the night before. I totally forgot about jewelry to go with it. So, in the morning I whipped up a pair of earrings that totally matched my shirt. This is my favorite part of being a jeweler.

Should you rush your makeup? Watch and decide!

2012-01-10T22:25:00.001-06:00

Most days I don't take the time to put on makeup. I always told myself that as I go into my forties I would take the time. The reality is, that I can barely get the kids decently dressed and groomed out of the house on time. On the days where I have to stay at school or I have an appointment, we are always late. So, most of the time they look good and I look as good as I can with the time I have (i.e. frumpy). This is why I find this video so amusing. My husband has complained about waiting for me to put on makeup. I thought because I didn't do it all the time that I was slower than most. After watching this video, I think not. I'll just keep taking my time or not wearing it at all. She is a brave woman for sure!

Hearts, Butterflies, and Octopus

2012-01-10T00:07:00.000-06:00

I've been working on wire working a special gift. I started off with a double heart idea with her initial and her kids birthstones. I was almost done when I realized that it just wasn't her and she wouldn't wear it. So, I tore it apart and started over again.

I started out with a simple wirewrapped heart and put a flower in the middle. I wired swarovski crystals on the inside of the flower with the birthstones. The end result is pretty and not to fru fru (Is that even a word?). I still may do a little more but I am going to sleep on it before deciding.

I used the bits from my first set and I'm going to turn it into a butterfly pendant. This is my mock up and it is not even close to completed.

The octopus pendant was done awhile ago. I'll be adding it into my Etsy shop tomorrow. First I think it needs some swarovski crystal eyes. I'll most likely go with clear to give it a little sparkle. This is one of the smaller pendants. I handpainted it with unique mixture of blues and then highlighted it with a light rust color. This isn't the picture but I'll add more in tomorrow.

The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree

2012-01-04T22:13:00.000-06:00

My daughter recently learned how to crochet. She was on a 2 hour school bus trip and learned how to crochet during that time. I had tried to teach her when she was smaller but she didn't have the hand eye coordination at that point.

I was thrilled that she learned and eager to teach her more about it. After a couple of weeks of chain stitch I showed her a double crochet and she quickly decided to make a scarf. I helped her a bit but for the most part she did it and finished in 3 days.

She visited with her grandmother and learned how to crochet in the round. She taught herself how to increase and decrease to make different things (pot holders, coasters, ball, hats).

Tonight she decided to make a Squinkie necklace. She crocheted the chain and put the Squinkie in the chain. It looks so adorable.

Here is her proud smile. I'm paranoid about weirdos so I covered most of her face. She asked if she could sell them in my Etsy shop and I told her she could. We changed the way the Squinkie hung from the crochet chain so she is wear it to school tomorrow in hopes she might sell one. I just can't be more proud of her!

Living with Rhuematoid Arthritis

2012-01-03T23:58:00.000-06:00

I was diagnosed with RA a couple of years ago. Until recently my symptoms were nowhere near under control. I hate that the diagnosis includes the word arthritis because people immediately think it is the same thing as regular arthritis. In reality it is nothing like arthritis and it makes it harder to explain why I can't do certain things or run myself down.

My rhuematologist put me on methotrexate shots once a week and after a few adjustments I am not bone crushing tired, and the pain is manageable. I still have to be careful not to over exert myself or I will flare. However, I feel like my life is more normal since the medication started working. The two most common symptoms of RA are pain and fatigue. I can get eight hours of sleep and not need a nap. For the most part, I keep up with my appearance and my interests are becoming important too me again. Best of all I got my house so clean I was able to have our family Christmas party this year. I did end up spending the next day in bed but it was worth it.

Last year I was depressed and dreaded getting out of bed everything morning. I start this year filled with hope of things to come.

Not jewelry for once

2012-01-03T23:42:00.000-06:00

I like going to the nail salon but since my daughter started it going with me it got expensive. I also don't like how they destroy your nails when you get solar nails. So, I've been looking at the do it yourself kits but they seemed kind of complicated.

I found an at home gel nail polish with tips by Broadway Nails at ULTA. I tried it and and completely loved it.

You start by putting on the tips and then you fill with the gel and activator no UV light needed. It was a bit stinky but tolerable. When I was done, It was a perfect french manicure. I didn't think to take a picture. I like a bit of color so I finished it off with the Nutranail Gel Perfect Nail Polish. I got mine at Walgreens with a coupon for $12.00. It looks amazing and it does not chip or fade. Best of all it dries to a hard finish in less than five minutes. I hate it when I ruin a polish I spent time on.

Nutranail Gel Perfect - Red

This picture was taken after a few days of wear, shower, washing dishes, and laundry. Well worth the money spent!

Earrings of the Month

2012-01-02T23:01:00.000-06:00

I tried a new concept at our school auction this year. I made the rose petal earrings that are shown in the post below. Then offered eleven more pairs of earrings as sort of an earring of the month. It was actually a success so I may try to offer this as a gift in my Etsy shop and see if there is any response. In addition to the rose petal earrings I made two more and shipped them out.

December:

Cloisonne royal blue with pink flowers in beautiful flower bead caps.


Mother of Pearl flowers with red glass accents.

Not sure what I will do next month but I'm pretty sure it will be flower themed.

Auction and such

2011-12-12T22:31:00.000-06:00

I honestly haven't had much time to make anything with the exception of our school auction. These aren't my best pictures since I had to take them with my phone.

I made this one with hand formed sterling rings, sterling silver chain, and sliced crazy lace agate.

This was a fun necklace with imitation turquoise, red glass beads and black net.

Rose petal earrings. I absolutely love these earrings. I only have a few of the petals left so I must make one for myself and one to sell.

I've been working on having Amazon accept me as a jewelry seller. I'd like to sell my hand painted octopus necklaces. I haven't heard back yet but I have my fingers crossed :)

Jewelry 2011

2011-09-03T23:16:00.000-05:00

I started making jewelry again since I started putting in time to bead. It shouldn't be hard but I had not been able to sit down and bead for months. I started crocheting bracelets and made a couple of earrings for me to enjoy :)

My first bracelet in forever. I love the new clasps that are coming out so I am sure I will be doing more of this type of bracelet.

I love these Mother of Pearl Flowers and bought a ton of them this summer. I made myself a pair almost like this set.

The second bracelet which has a different clasp.

I have three more made and I am waiting to post them on etsy/artfire before showing them here :)

Change..

2011-04-28T01:44:00.000-05:00

This has been a strange month to say the least. My favorite saying is "Be the change you want to see in the world". The first time I heard it I thought this is my motto. I practice through my everyday actions and through my children. I have twins and starting with being boy/girl twins they are polar opposites. One has dark hair and dark eyes the other has blond hair and blue eyes. One is quiet and the other has severe ADHD. One is kind the other not so much.

My son is the one with ADHD and he is just the sweetest thing in the world. He has a huge heart and helps everyone that he can. He has been this way as long I can remember. His sister on the other hand can be very selfish and demanding. Teaching her to be kind has been a long hard road with pitfalls mostly at her brothers expense. Before having her, I thought kids were born being kind and helpful. Much to my surprise that isn't always the case. I teach her and I know one day it will be worth all the effort because she will be better off in the long run.

My son is another story. I have to teach him to protect himself from being hurt or taken advantage of. I am hoping that where they go with their life that they will in turn "Be the change that THEY want to see in the world."

This has been the week of disasters

2011-03-12T23:48:00.000-06:00

Not jewelry disasters but natural disasters. Japan is playing on my mind as they try and control the nuclear plant on top of the horrid tsunami. I've looked at some pictures but I can't wrap my head around what they are going through. Also, my sister in law was just diagnosed with breast cancer. She started her battle on Friday with chemo.

It all makes me take pause and give thanks that right now things are pretty good. I've been through some rough patches myself. It;s nothing compared to what is going on all around me. I feel like the eye in the storm and I'll enjoy it even if it doesn't last

To honor and support my sister in law I will be making one piece of jewely a week in pink. It is to raise awareness for breast cancer and also I will be donating all of the sale to Susan G. Koman Fund or directly to my sister in law to help with expenses.

New Stuff - Handpainting Octopus Pendants once again

2011-03-08T23:27:00.000-06:00

I had an order placed last week for one of my hand painted octopus pendants. Since I was already painting one I decided to go ahead and paint a couple more.

I had forgotten how fun it is to paint the pendants. So much thought goes in to make each one unique. Much to my daughter's delight I even name them.

Here are a couple I have finished and listed on Etsy..

I call this one Zardoz. He is handpainted sea green and has kelp green highlights. I used a crystal for his eyes. Not swarovski since I need to order some soon.

My next one is a hand painted scissor pendant. I painted one many moons ago and it sold really fast. I've gotten several requests since then to make more.

Then I've added Miranda and Tandar.

I have to add that Miranda is my favorite so far.

I have a couple more that I have yet to post. As you can tell I've been busy :)

Love is in the air!

2011-02-14T13:21:00.000-06:00

My husband asked me this weekend what I would like for Valentines Day. I told him I'd love some chocolate strawberries but I didn't need anything else. While I was reading facebook this morning one of my friends said that she usually does the same thing. Her reason being that everyday is like Valentines Day with her husband. I thought about that this morning and realized that I feel like that too.

I feel so lucky to have found the love of my life when I had given up all hope. He in turn gave me two awesome kiddos that bring more joy that I ever could have imagined. We had a Valentines Day party yesterday courtesy of my daughter. As we sat around and played the games she came up with I thought that I just couldn't be any happier.

I did make some jewelry but never got a chance to get it listed. So here are some of my Mithril Dreams Jewelry shop on Etsy. Shop from here and save 20% by using the code valentine.

Something old something new... Nursing Necklaces

2011-02-07T14:34:00.000-06:00

I just posted up this new nursing necklace I call Flowers In Bloom. I loved the center bead and built the entire necklace around it. When working with red and green, I have to be careful not to get to Christmas themed. I think the black beads accented the colors perfectly.

Now for the something old. It isn't really old but it is an older design that I never really promoted much. It is made with mood beads which I think are seriously nifty. The beads change color with body temperature and when your baby plays with it the colors will shift. The beads that run up and down the sides are rainbow moonstone. I may make a verison with just the mood beads since the moonstone drives the price up a bit.

More to come later as I post more jewelry.

Baby it's cold outside...

2011-02-02T16:56:00.000-06:00

We got up this morning to really cold temps. I, of course, came down with a cold on Monday night. Lucky for me the cold weather encourages me to sleep and get better. I drove my kidlets to school this morning explaining to them about weather. We talked about what a wind chill factor means and why pipes breaks when the water freezes in them.

After I dropped them off, I listened to the radio a bit about the effects of the cold temps. There have been rolling brownouts all over the city. I called home and asked DH to turn off everything that we had left on in our mad rush for the door. I came home and promptly went back to bed. Lucky for us we are on a hospital grid so we didn't experience any outages.

DH went and picked up the kids this afternoon and I am making Chicken and Dumplings for dinner with garlic Texas toast. The weather is going to get worse over the next few days but we are ready.

I'm also done telling the kids that it doesn't snow in Texas. Since I have told them that it has snowed EVERY single year. Whats up with that???

I'm sure I'll make some jewelry tonight but right now I am just happy snuggling under my blanket. The kids are wrapped up in their snuggies and playing games by the fire. Bliss....

Trying to find my niche..

2011-01-26T21:27:00.000-06:00

I have been beading for over six years. I thought that I would gravitate towards a specialty over time. In December I decided to make a choice in what direction I wanted to specialize in. It makes things easier when I market if my jewelry is targeted to a certain group.

So, I choose making jewelry for mom's, daughters, and grandmothers as my primary audience. The type of jewelry I will make the most is nursing necklaces as those have been some of my favorite types of necklaces to make. Plus it helps both breastfeeding and bottle feeding moms which is win win.

Happy Customer with a Teether Nursing Necklace

The nursing necklace is designed to distract a nursing baby from pulling hair, scratching, or just looking wildly around the room. It is a focal point for the baby but is still really pretty for mom to wear everyday. I also sell a wood ring nursing necklace that has been extremely popular! When my twins were babies anything that made me look better made me feel better too.

I also am working on wirewrapping for a more difficult challenge since I don't see how how could ever become bored with it. I still plan on making other things I just needed focus.

Nursing Necklace listed this week

Click on Necklace to see listing

Sterling Silver and Amethyst Hoop Earrings


Click Picture for Listing Info

I am currently working on a valentines day bracelet. It is wirewrapped so I've worked on it over a couple of day now. I have a few more necklaces to list yet and hopefully by then the bracelet will be done :)

Golden Globes Fashion

2011-01-17T21:39:00.000-06:00

I've been checking around the web for the pictures from last nights awards. I love the necklaces that were mesh and delicate.

I've always been a fan of small jewelry because any of the big beads just looks wrong on me. I'm 4'11" so I have to be careful what I wear.

The earrings they had were really nice. I especially liked the larger stones and the geodes that Kelly Osborne wore. Really nice and different from the ever present chandelier style

It did seem kind of a low key night jewelry wise but there was enough to make me happy. Also, the cover for Jennifer Lopez's dress was to die for. I loved it!

My daughter Squidly...

2011-01-11T21:50:00.000-06:00

My daughter has been bugging me for a week to make this hat from Instructables.com. I've put it off and put it off because sewing isn't exactly my favorite thing. This morning she made me double pinky promise to have it done tonight. Apparently breaking a double pinky promise is much more serious then breaking a regular pinky promise.

This will just add to her huge squid obsession that has been plaguing me lately. She informed me before Christmas that she was changing her name to squidly. She asked Santa for a squid and thankfully he came though. Now, I can call her by her given name and Squidly is her new squid friend (Plush Giant Squid 20"). She told me today he smells like Santa's workshop and is allergic to water. Oh and he inked Christmas lights in December now he is inking hearts because it is close to valentines day. If only I were making this up :)

How did my little sweet eight year old because such an admirer of squid?? I honestly have no idea. She's never been terribly interested in all things girl but sheesh...squid? Really? I now know way more about squid then I ever wanted to. We search google images to learn about different kinds a couple times a week. Anyways this is me procrastinating so off I go. I'll post pictures but for now here is a little preview.

Audio Books and Marketing

2011-01-07T00:04:00.000-06:00

I just recently started listening to audiobooks because they get me through the boring chores, and driving back and forth to school. The last one I've been listening too is In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms CD. It has been enlightening to say the least. Some of it I believe and other parts just aren't for me.

The other audio book is called Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs (New Rules Social Media Series)) about marketing your brand on the web. I have never been very good with the marketing side of things. I have worked on my photography, verbiage, and even my technical skills so this is the last thing that I really need to work on (besides a website). However, the bane of the small business is that I have to learn to do everything. It takes away from my creative time but if I can't sell what I make then my business won't grow. I can only make so many necklaces, bracelets, and earrings for myself and family.

The one thing the book got me thinking about is how I don't really specialize in anything. I suspect to get repeat customers I need to pick one unique thing about my business and promote it. This is hard for me since I am sure I have crafting ADD. I have been making jewelry going on nine years and I still move from one project to the next without a central focus.

I have pretty much decided to aim most of my businesses at moms, babies, and children. It encompasses a huge variety of jewelry. Plus I can always work on the other stuff when I get time. It works for me because I still get to work with a variety of materials but the focus will be on family.

That should be easy since my focus right now is my family. So, next I will be making a plan on how to do that. It isn't as fun as making jewelry but the rewards will be great. I wish it came natural but I'm thankful there are easy references. I wonder how everyone else markets their business online?

Earrings

2011-01-03T09:51:00.001-06:00

I finally got around to making those earrings I posted the other night. I wanted to learn the technique and what I learned is that I need more practice. Still it isn't too bad for a first attempt :)

I'll most likely make another one sometime today. I had a rough night sleepwise and I am feeling the pull of a nap!

Hello 2011

2011-01-02T14:03:00.001-06:00

The kids came home today from my mom's. They had a wonderful time but were totally exhausted. So our plan to visit the aquarium got canceled until later. I think we are meeting up with Tabby on Monday to go to the Putt Putt Fun House. The kids will enjoy visiting with Korben.

Kind of sad we didn't get to visit much this holiday. Oh well, at least the strep is gone and we are all healthy.I was going to bead tonight but I got all caught up in programming my remote. We managed to save up and buy a TV and Blue Ray player. Totally cool how they all hook together these days.

I think I am going ton try and make some earrings like these:

bye 2010...its been fun :)

2010-12-31T14:01:00.000-06:00

Last post of the year. I don't really do resolutions but i do make goals. Last year was the year I get my house in order. It isn't perfect but, I did very well. As of yesterday I can have company over again. It's been a long while since I have been able to say that. The kids rooms need to be cleaned up and the carpet shampooed but other than that we are good to go.

So, this year I am going to work on all things financial. I want more budgeting, a bigger emergency fund, and all around making more and spending less. So, this seems like a small goal but it really isn't. I shop when i am stressed about money and other things which is detrimental to financial security. So, I have to learn to manage my feelings instead of hide from them at the store.

I have also named 2011 the year of awesome. Positive thinking!

Now for something a little different

2010-09-20T23:16:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love to do besides jewelry is to shop for deals. I just found really good printable coupons for Campbells soup. They are sponsoring a new contest to try something new at sweepstakeslovers.com. If you want to play the contest or print the coupons go to:

http://www.sweepstakeslovers.com/sweepstakes/?p=TryCampbellSoup.com

Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog :)

Mommie musings

2010-09-09T00:37:00.000-05:00

While driving the kids to school, I asked the what they want to be when they grow up. My daughter piped up with I want to be a jeweler and work with you momma. My son said he wanted to be a salesman, and sell my jewelry. It was so flattering to hear but bittersweet at the same time. I try to be realistic when they say things like that. Mostly because I know how they will change in just a few short years.
My son always wants to sleep in our bed. Last month, I cleaned up his room and got him to sleep in there full time. With the start of school, he started sneaking in our bed at night. I keep encouraging him to sleep in his room but a little part of me misses him. I know it won't be long before my mere presence will embarrass him.

My daughter always tells me that she never wants to grow up so she can stay with me. I tell her that she is welcome to stay with us but she doesn't really have a choice about growing up. My heart breaks a little everytime she makes this statement. I know that not only will she grow up but the last person she will want to be around is me.

Someone posted on facebook that they would love to go back in time and hold their children as babies again. That resonated with me because of our conversations. I've tried to savor it and slow it down but it still feels like these eight years have flown by.