I have so much going on right now with orders and getting ready for my last show of the year that I have decided to close my Etsy Shop until after the first of the year. I am hoping to open again in mid January. I plan on making changes and adding some of my better pieces of jewelry and charms along with more patchwork clay designs. I will be working on the background for my pictures, as well, so that the shop is more consistent and appealing.

I will still try to maintain my blog and post pictures of new pieces. I am in the middle of making some now and will post the pictures once they are made.

My new Dream box.

I think I will keep this. I could use a dream box.

OK, I will end the suspense from my earlier post. In case you couldn't figure it out and you are actually interested, the little keepsake jars started out as napkin rings. I added a bottom with polymer clay, covered the sides in PC and made the lid and feet from PC. I had so much fun making these. I hope to have several made up for my next show.




Usually my grateful lists consist of what I am grateful for on a particular day. Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, today I am listing what I am grateful for over all in my life: my husband, my kids, my sister and her family, my church, my badger dog, the peaceful days I get to spend creating, beauty, music, books, art, and the life I get to live each day.

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Bet you can't guess what these cuties were made from?

Scroll down to my previous post for a hint.

I will reveal the answer tonight with my thankful list.

These are some of my recent finds at the local second hand store in our tiny town. I have plans for each and everyone of these items, especially the napkin rings. One will not be able to tell that my creation started with a napkin ring when I am done. That is, if it works out. I will be covering the tins and bowls in clay, because I cover everything I can in clay. Anyway, I want to thank Donna, who owns the shop, for helping with the great finds.




Today I am grateful for: my new carrot cake scented candle, new ideas, my husbands sense of style, and .....

I took all of these new pieces to my last show and sold everyone except the red cross. I barely got a chance to take pictures of them. I really sold a lot of jewelry and a lot of Patchwork Clay Crosses, so it is long hours in the studio for me. I have less than 4 weeks to get ready for the next show.





I long for a studio of my own. A room with a door, a place of peace and quiet – free from the TV and arguing kids and barking dogs. I long for this, yet I feel so lucky that I can spend my days at home creating. My studio is in what should be the dining room of an open floor plan. The only way I can tune out the chaos of evenings in our house is to put my headphones on, but I can still see everything going on. Maybe I should put my table against the back wall. I am just one of the people that get very uncomfortable with my back to the room.

Right now my studio area is in complete disorder. I have so much work to do to get ready for my last show this year, but it is so hard to work in the mess. I keep telling myself just do it and get through the next four weeks. Then I will have time to reorganize and maybe rearrange. I love to rearrange. My husband hates it when I get in the rearranging mood. I usually start on my own when no one is home. Then, I get to the point that I can’t move the heavy furniture, so when my husband gets home the room or rooms I am rearranging are a complete disaster. Then the boys get home and everyone knows that we will get pizza and spend the evening moving furniture.

I’m currently working on a special order of two 12” Patchwork Clay Crosses. When I am finished with this order, I am going to play for a couple days on some new ideas that have been forming in my dreams. I am going to focus more on different kinds of patchwork clay designs and keepsake boxes and less on jewelry. There are a couple of shows I want to get into this next year that I can’t get into with jewelry. There is always so much jewelry at the shows. Even though what I create is very unique and different from anything else there, it is still jewelry. I will always have some jewelry at the shows that let me in with it and I will continue to put jewelry in my Etsy shop, but I am going to limit it to one table at the shows.

I am so craving a coke right now, but I am trying to give them up. Life is all about choices. I am making the choice to live healthy instead of drinking soda and developing all kinds of health problems. Instead I drink tea, lots and lots of tea. I am out right now though and I am feeling too lazy to make more. A north wind has come in and the temperatures have dropped. Maybe I should make myself some hot chocolate. Not exactly healthy, I know, but it is better than a carbonated drink.

Today I am grateful for: people willing to help, The Dollar Tree, a well insulated house, and a clean freshly bathed badger dog.

My show this weekend at Howe High School went great. I was pleasantly surprised. I did not expect the turnout of customers or the quality of crafts from the other vendors. I had as much fun shopping as I did selling. The show was very well organized and the organizers even had a radio station come out for the morning. I have already secured my space for next year.

Anyway this is my sad little setup. I am surprised I did so well with this booth display.

A close-up of the back table.

This is the view that most customers had of my booth. The traffic flowed from the left and as they came around the corner this is what they saw.

A close-up of my homemade jewelry display.

I really need to work on my display. It needs something more, I'm just not sure what.

I didn't have very many items to begin with, a lot less than what I usually take to a show. I sold more than half of what I took. Now, I am really gonna have to get my butt in gear for my next show. I only have 4 weeks to get ready for Tyler which is always a big show for me.

Today I am grateful for: Honey-nut Cheerios, sleeping with the window open, morning rain, and a good weekend.

I finished these charms a couple of days ago, but I wanted to keep them to myself for just a little while. I am not sure what I set out to create when I started on these. I had gotten tired of the assembly line process of getting jewelry ready for my show and needed to create something new and different. I probably threw out three times more than I completed, but it was so much fun. I am so proud of these charms. I'm not sure if I will take them to my next show or not. I think I might want to just hold on to them for a little while.




It is really cool to pick them up, because they are so much lighter than they look. I used the Ultra Light Sculpy for the center. I am not sure if that is a good thing when it comes to selling the charms. People tend to pay more for heavier items. I can make them heavier if necessary. I like the fact that they are light weight. Jewelry can get on my nerves if it is too heavy and bulky.

I'm not sure what kind of necklace I will put these on. I'll play with that this afternoon.

It is really early in the morning for a grateful list, but maybe I can come up with one or two. Here goes: spending the morning in my pj's, my husband getting the kids up and letting me sleep in, oh and last night's dinner. It was so good.

The badger dog has been a pill today! He has been determined to drive me crazy all day. I was so mad at him this evening that I would not let him sit in my lap while watching Dancing with the Stars.

Then I read a ladies blog about her dog dying and was very sad. Losing my badger dog would break my heart. So, he is now sitting beside me in my chair with his sweet little head between me and my lap top. Occasionally he will look up and lick my hand. It is just his way of saying he forgives me for being mad at him all day.

I just hope he wakes up in a different mood tomorrow.

Today I am grateful for: a spontaneous trip to eat lunch, forgiveness(giving and receiving), and cooking out on the grill.

My sister has started a blog. It is all about her and her husband's company, Tomken,and their jeeping adventures in Colorado.

I am so excited that she decided to do this. She can read my blog and keep up with what I am doing. Now, I can read her blog and keep up with what she is doing.

We talk on the phone all the time, but when you live three states away, it just doesn't seem to be enough. Now this is just another way for us to connect.

I added her link to my list on the side of my blog. Check it out and see the amazing photos from their outings.