Work in progress...finally

Just wanted to share the second stage of my leaves with you. I'm a bit inpatient. Though I'm trying to teach my son properly. Ha.
 They have dried in Silica. Today it was time to seal them in acrylic. Hopefully by this weekend they will be ready to dip....

I think i may have dried them too long. We shall see. Its all trial and error at this point. I have another batch in the silica as we speak. I'm thinking maybe 2-3 days this time.

In regards to my other Jewelry making adventures. I'm excited to start my Co-op showcase on Sunday. Which means I will be pulling pretty much all my stuff off Etsy to physically sell. Which is okay being so I seem to do better with my traditional jewelry in person anyways. People like to see feel touch and try on. I'm hopeful this endeavor will do well. I will be leaving my photography up on Etsy and hope to be adding my Woodland collection soon. As long as all goes well with my acorns and leaves. Heres hoping...

Toucan Tribe shout out

I am a happy member of the Toucan Tribe which is part of the SITS Girls. Today I just wanted to give a quick shout out to one of our girls. Her blog in general is just inspiring. The post I will link below is one of the coolest challenges that I personally have come across. Whats the reward you might ask? Self reflection for one. Looking inward at yourself and evaluating how you can become a better person. Who can't benefit from that. Those of us, especially us moms that seem to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders at times take care of many. Well it is in my opinion that in order to take care of anyone we must first take care of ourselves. Someday I might even listen to myself. So please take a moment to check out this post. Just check out her site in general. My tribe of girls is a wonderful group. I'm glad to be a part of!

http://wordsofmeproject.blogspot.com/p/52-words-challenge.html

If you look in my Right column you will also see her button. I apologize as my link doesnt seem to be working right. Newbies. Geesh

My resplendent weekend

For months upon months I have been busy beyond belief. Every weekend is just Go Go Go. Now don't get me wrong. There is indeed a big part of me that loves being involved in activities, going places and having fun. There comes a time however where I just want to be home. I have so much i need to get accomplished around the house. I have so much i just want to get done. My biggest thing is that I just want to be around the homestead to enjoy my house, my Fiance and my child.

 Well 2 out of three isn't bad. My son was gone for the weekend. So of course I missed him like crazy. I still managed to have some fun. As I had posted last week we went to a corn maze on Friday night. It was so much fun. It didn't take but a half an hour to get there from my house. That being said after my perpetually late friend arrived we made it to Andover around 8:30 Pm. I apologize as I don't have pictures being so It was already very dark.  I did get a little chuckle as the cute elderly lady at the ticket booth asked my vertically challenged friend if she was an adult. She is 30. She is beautiful and still looks very young. Lucky duck. I guess her lack of height confuses some people. I hope she will appreciate this as she ages.

Getting back to the maze. My father had once told me as a child that you can make it out of any maze by placing your right hand on the wall. You must not deviate from the right hand wall at any time. So you ask does this theory work? Why yes yes it does indeed. We made it out in about thirty minutes. The problem was and one of our reasons for returning into the maze. There was a game to play while inside. You had to find all ten stations. We quickly learned that you had to in fact get lost to find them all. So second time around and very much lost it took us approximately one and a half hours to get through. I recommend this trip to anyone. It was a blast. I think I will return this weekend with my son in tow. During the day perhaps.

 Saturday was a perfect home bound day with my sweetheart. The only tedious task being grocery shopping which I detest in oh so many ways. We spent the morning straightening the house together then ventured outside for a beautiful day. I did some much overdue yard work. I cut the grass as all this rain as created a jungle. I was eternally grateful for a few dry days so that this could be done. I also tried my hand at our electric trimmer. Wow not as easy as one would think. I have two blue cypress topiary's in my front yard that are spherical shaped on top with many little balls around it. I will just say I did my best to keep them well lets just go with roundish. Haha. They look better than when I started that's all that matters. Jim worked on my car that is forever needing repair. That's what I get for driving over sixty miles one way to work everyday. Jim cooked us dinner Sausage biscuits and gravy. Oh love some comfort food. I swear he is such a great cook. Then we spent the evening talking and being silly. We played name that tune on the Internet quizzing each other on who sang this song. Yes we are geeks at times. Its fun hey don't judge me. He he. We then snuggled up on the couch watched a movie and passed out. It might not sound like much to you but it was a welcome change of pace for us. It was nice to get things done around the house and just be together.

 Sunday was another beautiful day outside. We had so much more work to do but we decided to skip it. We know that this weather will not last. So Jim suggested one of my favorite activities. A nice long hike in the park. The woods as I may have mentioned before is one of my favorite places. I have a certain park which is by my work about 45 minutes from my house. This park is my Utopia. I was surprised though that the leaves had not changed as much here. By my house they are already in there glory. I guess I don't pay that much attention on my drive in as I am focused on getting through boundless amounts of traffic. So the boys ( Jim and Charlie) and I walked for a few hours. It was wonderful and relaxing. It was then time to pick up my little guy from his fun filled weekend. The ride back home was nice. We talked with Xzavior until all grew quiet. This was the view from the back seat. Two very tired boys. I couldn't ask for a better weekend!

A light shines through..

I am happy to report a reprieve from the doom and gloom outside. For the past few days it has been sunny dry and warm once again. Now I know this is only temporary, but hey I'll take it. Currently it is a nice 70degrees outside. The beautiful warming sun is pouring through my office window. Ah soak up that Vitamin D. It really does  do a body good! He he.
So I was able to get to the park for a wonderful 7 mile hike with my Great friend Erica. We walked and talked and of course picked up a generous amount of foliage as we went. All in all it was a wonderful night. I have much to experiment and work with now. Also got in some relaxation time. There is nothing I enjoy more than a good long hike. It doesn't matter if I'm alone or with Jimmy or friends. The woods are my playground. My happy place. I'm so excited that my son is getting old enough to go with me now. I have always taken him but for small amounts of time. The last time we ventured into the woods we were in search of faeries and Trolls. Such an imagination. At least I know where he gets it.
So tonight I continue the fun side as we Journey to PA for a flashlight corn maze. This should be interesting. I was told it will take us about 2-3 hours to get through. I can't wait.
Meanwhile On the work front. The leaves and acorns have been set up to properly dry. I'm hoping by Sunday they will be ready to coat. From there with a little practice and a lot of luck the possibilities of creating something beautiful are endless. Chow for the weekend my friends. May you all have beautiful fall weather!!

Oh I love this season!

Rain Rain Go Away.....

I will be the first to tell you that I usually enjoy nice rainy gloomy day. You know the kind of day you can enjoy at home with a nice cup of tea and a great book or movie. I even love to watch a big thunderstorm role in. I do not however enjoy rain that lasts for well over a week. I have been waiting patiently for the leaves to change into gloriously bright colors of red, yellow, and orange. The time has finally arrived. Fall a beautiful season.


It has inspired me with so many new ideas and yet I am hindered in my creativity by the rain. You see the problem is I don't just want to admire the leaves. I actually need them for my jewelry. I intend to add them as I do love to use natural elements. The problem with natural elements is timing.

So I have waited and waited.Now I find my self well waiting not so patiently..

I have so many great ideas just sitting in my head screaming to get out and be used. Crafted and created for all to see. But nope still waiting..

Now a little rain and cold I can handle but for the past oh I would say 8 days or so it has been pouring on and off all day long. I hear that the weather in Northeastern Ohio is supposed to improve starting tomorrow.

I am hopeful and anxious. I will trudge through the mud if I have to. Just give me 2 good days.  As they say this weather is for the....


So it is known this is not my personal photograph. Though it would be nice if it were. I found this on the web...

A close call. Is this parental karma?

So I will have to start this post by saying that I had originally intended this blog to be about my hobby. My Etsy shop and the Jewelry and crafts I make.A way to get my self out there.

  Well I must apologize as this topic will not be about my work my shop or anything like that. Last night upon returning home from work I found my son sitting at the dinning room table looking very solemn. My mother who is kind enough to come to my house and get him off the bus as I work until 4:30 also sat at the table a grave look on her face as well. Now normally when I come in the door I am greeted with hugs from my beautiful little boy Xzavior, slobbery kisses from my loving dog Charlie and my 2 fur ball cats. So as you can imagine the scene that I walked into caused some alarm. I immediately asked what was wrong. My son looked at me with tears in his eyes and said " mommy I was very bad". My mother then preceded to tell me that my little 5 year old son attempted to get off the bus about 5 miles from my home at another stop. Thankfully it was his normal bus driver so she did indeed recognize him instructing him to stay on the bus. She then alerted my mother to his attempt when she got him off the bus. Had this been a substitute driver that had not known my son he probably would have easily gotten off without a thought from the driver.

 Now as I already mentioned we are talking a good five miles from home. To give you a little background. The street he wanted to get off at is a 50MPH street. Also it is in a very rural area.
  I felt like the wind got knocked out of me. My mind raced with fear. The possibilities of what could have happened to my small child played out over and over again. It might not seem like much to some as he did make it home okay. I couldn't stop thinking what if. I spoke a moment with my mother before she left to return to her job about what to do. Do I punish him do I not?
 
 I can't say that I was mad at him in the slightest. I was not. just scared to death. I spoke with Xzavior at length about how dangerous what he tried to do was. How he could have been taken, hurt killed lost. How we might have lost him forever. I asked him why. He told me he just wanted to walk home. Though he admitted he didn't know the way. I believe I got through to him. he was upset and I think he could feel how scared and upset I was. He is such a great kid. Very sensitive.Very loving. Very trusting. I kept wondering did someone bully him, did someone ask him to come over and play, dare him. He kept saying No mommy I just wanted to walk.There have not been many instances at all where I have had to punish my child. Usually if I do taking away his bedtime story for the night suffices. He loves his reading time with us. I didn't think that would be enough to get through to him this time. So I sucked it up and I grounded him today. No playtime after school. Straight to bed no story after super. He was so upset. So was I.

 Did I do the right thing? I just want him to remember not to do that ever again.

So I sat at work all day today my stomach in knots wondering would he stay on the bus. What if its not his bus driver. I did stick to his grounding today. Again I ask you was it to harsh of me?

I'm sure I will have bigger scares in my life as a parent as he grows.

 I was reminded by my mother of a little girl age 6 that once conspired with her best friend Sarah to ditch the bus. These little girls walked home through the woods for hours playing and picking flowers. Both sets of parents panic stricken scared out of there minds. Cops and neighbors out everywhere searching for them. Nothing bad thankfully happened to these girls. Though so many things could have. Of course a child thinks not of these consequences. Of the fear the pain they cause there parents. I now as an adult understand the hell I must have put my mother through that night. Yes I was that little girl. So is this parental Karma? A little bit of payback? I say that lightly as I know that is not so.A joke to lighten the mood. It did give me a better understanding of the trials of parenting. They have been so easy up to this point. I am thankful to have such a beautiful child. I am thankful it was only a close call!!

 

Buy one get one free sale

Come check out my Buy One Get One Sale.


I've decided to list quite a few items in my shop as BOGO. Which will allow me to clear out some inventory. Which of course in turn allows me to purchase supplies to make new pretties. With Christmas fast approaching jewelry makes the perfect gift. Sounds a little like a Kay commercial doesn't it ha-ha.

Everything in my shop is handmade by none other than Moi..

The materials I use consist of mainly Czech Glass beads, my favorite glass!! Natural stones, Swarovski crystals, sterling silver, and of course art glass.

Stop on by and check it out today. There are so many lovely shops on Etsy. Come check me out. Then if you have a moment stay a while to browse this wonderful website full of Handmade and Vintage goodies. You'll find pretty much anything your little heart desires. If you look to the right of my blog here you will see a list of some of my Fav shops. These are just a few mind you. I have so many I truly adore
 
 
Here is a taste of some of my items currently on sale...


                                                      http://starfireboutique.etsy.com/

      

A Break from the Norm

So this is a Breakdown of my busy weekend. While I can't say I was as productive as I had intended to be with my collection, I did manage to post another picture. I also took a trip to a local craft Co-op in my area. I have decided to try out a showcase to display some of my jewelry. I love being on Etsy it is such a blast, But I also like selling to people face to face. There's something rewarding about it. I love meeting people and chatting it up. It provides such a rich opportunity for a jabber jaw like myself. What can I say I'm a people person. He he.

Saturday my son was kind enough to wake me up before the sun. Isn't he so thoughtful? Now mind you he had not intended to wake his sleeping mother. I just happen to sleep extremely lightly. I'm the type once I'm up I'm up. I was awakened by sound effects courtesy of Xzavior and metal Hot wheels crashing together. This was then followed by the sound of the dog and cats fleeing the oncoming path of destruction. So I got out of bed a little before 7 am. I guess really its still sleeping in for me as I normally get up somewhere between 4:30-5 AM. So I slugged down a gulp of Coffee. God I love my Coffee pot and Timer. It is my BFF in the morning. This bought me about 5 minutes before the onslaught of 5 year old chatter. Which I adore,just let me finish the cup first Kay kid.. NEVER HAPPENS. He like his mother is a talker. well what goes around right? Once caffeinated fully awake and after the boy was fed some breakfast we played. What you ask? CARS CARS CARS. Xzavior loves many things he has the gentlest sole of anyone I know. Loves animals especially Kitties. But he is 100% Boy. His favorite thing on this planet is Trains. Steam engines in particular. Second fav. CARS CARS CARS....Its a good thing Hot Wheels only cost a dollar. I am often thankful I grew up a non prissy Tomboy. As I never mind smashing cars racing and of course digging in the dirt.

So after playing in the early morning we awoke the beast (Jim) and prepared for the Grape Jamboree. This is a local fair all about you guessed it Grapes. Its to cute. Xzavior loves it. Of course what kid doesn't like rides and way overpriced games that trap us into spending more money letting our kids play to get a 3 dollar toy then just say going to a store and buying a better toy for the same amount you end up dumping by the time they are done. Hmm Run -on-rant. My apologies! At least they have fun. That I suppose is the point. Worth it in the end. We then walked over to the main street time for the Parade. Jims niece is a Twirler. Had to watch for her..


Then came the Birthday party at Jims sisters house. Xzavior's best buddy Ian. What a party. A costume party to be exact. He had a blast and best part is he stayed the night. Do you know what that means? Date night for mom and Dad. Now these details I shall not divulge. Sorry something's just aren't for sharing. I will say I had a wonderful chilly evening with the most amazing man on the planet. Well to me anyway. Hopefully we all have or will have or have had one of those types. As I believe everyone should!



Sunday I was once again up bright and Early. Though I did not mind. I got up and drove to Downtown Cleveland for the Autism speaks Walk. I was so glad to see a great turn out. So many good people!! I had so much fun. After the walk I went to check out the Co-op. In the meantime back on the Homestead Boo Boo Bear was picked up by Jim and taken to the park to play. I was sorry that I missed that but we rendezvous later for family night out. Dinner and a 3D movie.Legends of the Guardians'. Awesome movie a must see if you have children. Also a trip to Home Depot. Hey I needed some supplies and Jim wanted to look around.






All in all such a great weekend. Worked a tiny bit, but played allot. Yeah sure Ill have more to do this week to catch up. Ohwell. Life is short might as well Play hard and enjoy it RIGHT?

The Way Out
on
http://starfireboutique.etsy.com/

My photos

So I have been working on my Woodland collection. Which features natural based elements. So as you can Imagine there is a lengthy process involved in this. . I have had so much fun working on these items I can't wait to share them. Hopefully another few days and they will be done. Not a hard process just time consuming. One that is well worth it.




That being said I have had some time in the in between days to do other things. Which is also wonderful. I decided to start playing around with some of my Digital prints.

Most of you don't know this but I very much adore photography. I love to take pictures of pretty much anything and everything. As long as I'm not in them that is ! I especially love black and white, and sepia tones. However, don't get me wrong I love a good color bomb as well. I digress...



So I have started going through some of my prints and will be listing several on Etsy. You will find a few that I posted last night below. A beautiful Black and white barn and a sepia toned farm house.



I took these pictures at an abandon Century farm somewhere in Jefferson Ohio. We were just driving along one day and there it was in all its dilapidated glory. So we pulled off the side of the road and I went to town.I try to always have my camera with me ready to go.

I absolutely love old buildings, Century homes and Farms, Barns. Anything that has a history. I just found this place so intriguing. Can you just Imagine what life was like there? All the hard work done there? A time and a lifestyle that just doesn't exist anymore.

Forget Me Not

Hard Works Over

Post-it-Note Princess

So this past week has been Go Go Go. Which I suppose really doesn't differ from any other week.



Trying to find that lovely balance between work, and play. Spend time with my little boy, spend time with the big boy.


Of course not to mention my website and my artwork and crafts.


Busy is great I thrive for it.,don't get me wrong. However sometimes I get well distracted from what I want to do.By doing all the stuff I have to do. I will admittedly say that I am the Queen of sticky notes and lists.


Really helps to get me organized. My piece in the chaos. I am constantly making little lists and sticking them in my purse. Cross the To Dos off as I go. Does wonders for keeping me on track. I also use a calendar for events, School events,Due bills etc.










Tell me what it is you do to stay on top of things

Welcome to my blog

Hi. This is my very first blog post, and as a matter of fact this is my very first blog so bare with me here at first. If you have read my about me section you already know a little. I make jewelry which I currently sell on Etsy.com. I also enjoy making other crafts as well. Some of my favorite materials for my jewelry include Czech glass, natural elements such as stone, shells, wood, leaves,flowers etc. I'm a big big fan of Swarovski crystals. You will find them in allot of my pieces. Also a big fan of sterling silver.I started making jewelry when I realized that I could make the jewelry I buy for half the price of what you pay in big department stores. Not to mention when I made my own pieces I got exactly what I was looking for naturally. After that Friends and Coworkers started requesting pieces. The rest is history. I've done a few shows with a great turn out. After that a wonderful person who just happens to make the coolest fuzzy birthday hats and accessories turned me on to etsy.
 I have been an addict ever since. So I figured why not have my own Etsy shop. 


That wonderful person I mentioned above with the birthday hats accessories and girly hair clips is http://sahmdoccrafting.etsy.com 

Please do check her out.







Come see my shop at http://StarFireBoutique.etsy.com

Thanks for visiting!!