Xmas Gifts

Now that I won't ruin any surprises, I can show some photos of a matching necklace and earrings set I made as a Christmas present:

I really like the way these turned out! The recipient, my future mother-in-law, really liked it as well. The necklace is made with sterling silver wire, chain and findings, labradorite faceted rondelles, pink botswana opal faceted ovals, and a Green Girl Studios pewter pendant. The earrings are sterling and labradorite. I will have to get more supplies so I can make a set for my Etsy shop.

Happy Holidays!!

Wishing all my blog friends a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!!

This is how Cooper feels about Christmas photo shoots....

Busy, busy, busy!

Such is the holidays...I am just about done shopping and got the presents sent out that needed to be mailed. We still have to tackle the Xmas cards...hopefully tomorrow. I've also been trying to restock my Etsy shop. Slowly but surely! Here are a few new things:

Dragonfly Dreams Earrings

Flight of Fancy Earrings in new colors

Content Heart Necklaces

I spent the entire day yesterday making earring cards out of heavy scrapbook paper. I have enough to hopefully last awhile now! I have been trying to come up with a way to transport my jewelry and also be able to display everything nicely. When I am out and about people sometimes want to see my jewelry, so I would like to be able to just grab it all out of the car and show it to them easily. The other problem I have is keeping my sterling jewelry from tarnishing. I found a carrying case with dividers at the craft store, and the dividers are treated with something that keeps sterling silver from tarnishing. I cut the earrings cards so that they would fit in the case, and this is how it looks:

You can't really see the lid, but it is on the left and folds over. Not too bad, huh? At least people can see what the earrings look like hanging, instead of loose in bags.

Cooper is doing really well with his obedience classes (we go once a week), and he can sit, lay, do a puppy push-up (sit, lay, sit), and fetch all on command. We have also been working on his walks, and he now walks beside us instead of constantly pulling or trying to eat every rock and leaf in sight! He also brings us his bowl when he is done eating, and it is the cutest thing ever!

All done Mommy!

Resting on the stairs

Doh! I'm awake! I'm awake!!

More swaps and goodies!

A little while back Andrew Thornton posted 10 artist trading cards that he painted and offered up a trade for them. I have never made an artist trading card, but fortunately he was willing to accept whatever we could think of to trade with him. I thought this was a very cool idea! The whole time I was on Thanksgiving vacation, all I could think about was getting home to open my package! I came home to 3 packages: the Blessings swap, Andrew's trade and a pretty large bead order from Beads and Pieces. It was like Christmas morning! By now, I am sure everyone participating in the trade has received there packages, but if not, this will be a spoiler!

He threw in lots of extra goodies! He include with his beautiful ATC, beads and findings, a couple fancy teas to try, CDs with a compilation of great artists and songs, a translucent butterfly, and a thank you note all packaged together nicely. So my goal this weekend has been to sift through my gobs of belongings and find some goodies worthy of sending as a trade. I had no idea I had so much STUFF until I started snooping through my closets and craft room! Anyways, I am looking forward to sending my package to Andrew soon.

I received some neat engraved shell tab pendants in my order that I am looking forward to turning into necklaces soon. Here is a sneak peak:

Pretty, huh?

And, lastly, I leave you with a few adorable photos of Cooper from yesterday...

He is 10 weeks old already!

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend :)

Long Post...

Hmmm...where to start? I spent Thanksgiving in the Keys with friends and had a great time! Cooper is getting bigger every day. He is a sweetie most of the time, but sometimes he is a handful! His cute little face is worth it though. We start a puppy obedience class this coming Monday. I will be posting lots of photos of him, so stay tuned!

Cooper and I when we first brought him home...he's almost double this size now!

Mark and Cooper - same day

I have been officially released from work, even though I was laid off, I had to report to work until they told me they no longer needed me there. They had to give us 60 days notice because they laid off more than 50 people...around 85, so my actual termination date is January 9th, but I don't have to go in. Even without a job, I'm still busier than ever trying to finish a total of 4 research papers and study for finals! Fortunately I will be done with this semester next Tuesday.

As for jewelry...I spent most of my vacation in the Keys making pieces to replace ones I've sold. My inventory was bare...which was a good thing! I did make 2 new earring designs:

Look for these in my Etsy shop soon!!

I also joined in on a bead/charm/clasp exchange that LLYYNN organized. The theme was "Count your Blessings" and a total of seven jewelry artists participated. Here is a list of the participants with links to their blogs...check out their blogs and keep an eye out for posts about the projects made with these charms!

Lynn Davis

Lorelei Eurto

Gaea Cannaday

Erin Siegel

Mary Harding

Cristi Clother

Heather Powers

This is the crafty pouch handmade by LLYYNN that our findings arrived in

Everyone's contributions!!

Well, I don't want to bore people with too long of a post, but I still have more to share. Check back tomorrow for my post on my art trade with Andrew Thornton!!

Whew! Back to writing papers....