We're Off to See Martha!

My partner in crime, Daniele, surprised me by getting tickets to see Martha this week. How nice is she?! A while ago we had talked about whether we should take a trip this week but that plan fizzled and we left it alone... or so I thought!

We're leaving tomorrow to shop at the outlets in Tannersville. Hopefully I can finish up a lot of Christmas shopping. We'll stay overnight in Secaucus and then zoom through the Lincoln Tunnel to get to Martha's studio for the taping of the live Thursday show! The show is about holiday parties so we were instructed to wear either a cocktail dress (sorry, don't go to many soirees) or some black pants and a solid color dressy top. Needless to say, since I stay at home, I don't have many nice clothes and therefore had to purchase some. Hopefully the outfit will pass inspection. I was excited to find out that one of the guests on the show will be Emeril Lagasse!

Hopefully we'll have some time after the show to see some of the sites of NYC at Christmas. I'd at least like to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. I'll post some pictures later in the week if I get any worth showing. One thing is for sure, we're lucky to have husbands who look after the kids and animals while we go on these short excursions every once in a while. (The last one was October 2008?)

2009 Holiday Open House

My friend, Daniele of Thistle Farm, and I had an open house at my home this past Thursday evening and Saturday. In addition to my jewelry and Daniele's pottery, we both made cookies for cookie platters: linzer cookies, kolachki, snickerdoodles, pecan tassies, chocolate dipped shortbread, snowballs, and three kinds of biscotti - amaretto, almond chocolate chip and cappuccino. (There were more but my mind's a little fuzzy tonight.) Daniele also made her infamous cinnamon rolls.

Thank you to our friends who were able to stop in. We appreciate you doing some of your Christmas shopping with us!! We enjoyed chatting and having some wine/coffee/eggnog with you and catching up. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Now Showcasing...

I bought a "showcase" spot on Etsy for today so I was busy all day yesterday adding items to my store. I remembered why I am really bad about putting stuff on-line. It takes so long! Maybe it's just me, I don't know. It didn't help that my computer was acting like an old lady. I also have some gripes about Etsy's user interface for all of this but I guess that's my past career butting in.

Anyway... long story short. I've got new things in my store!! Yeah! I hope to be adding more this week so stay tuned and thank you for checking in. (I promise, my next blog won't be so whiny!)

Pheasant Under Grass

This site is a new one in our neighborhood. A few weeks ago my husband and I saw this guy right at the side of the road and we stopped and gawked at him while he ignored us and pecked at the ground. Unfortunately, I had no camera that day. I had never seen one before and was astounded at the many vibrant colors he had. I don't think I've ever seen white that bright.

On Friday, I had to go to my son's school for a recognition ceremony and on the way down the hill I saw him again peeking out from some tall grass. This time I had my camera! I backed up the car and snapped a few quick pictures. They don't do him justice however.

Sweet Bead Studio Giveaway!

Help Cindy celebrate being published in the latest edition of Easy Wire magazine by visiting her blog and entering her generous giveaway!

Endicott Teachers' Association Fall Craft Show

Just a note to let you all know that I'll be at the U-E craft show this November 7th from 9AM - 3PM. I will be located in the gym at the LWW (Linnaeus W. West) school. In the spot behind me will be my cohort in crime, Daniele Vick of Thistle Farm.

It will be the first time I have showed at this event. I hope it will be a good show and there will be plenty of shoppers trying to get jump on their holiday purchases!

Save the date and I hope to see you there!

It's Fall Y'all!

I wrote a poem a few years ago after seeing two leaves swirling in my yard as I was driving up the street. I don't know why this image struck me so. Perhaps it was because there were leaves all over the place yet only the two leaves were in this updraft. Anyway, I finally figured out a way to incorporate this poem in with a quilted mixed media wall hanging. It's my first project of this kind and I was happy with how it turned out!

Greene Arts & Crafts Show

This was my booth setup for the Greene show this past Saturday. Overall I think the show was a success. I received many compliments on my jewelry and that was really nice to hear. Sometimes you wonder if you're headed in the right direction...

Now I have to get busy making more of the fall decorations I sold and replenish my jewelry supply. I have a lot of ideas swimming in my head. Which one will get realized first, I wonder.

(I have to give credit for the copper necklace display to Lorelei. I saw her jewelry setup in her blog and thought it was such a great idea, I asked my husband if he could whip one of them up. So, thank you Lorelei and I hope you don't mind... :) )

Where's Waldo?

This is a partial map (click on the map to see a larger view) of the layout for the Greene Arts & Craft Show being held Saturday, July 25th, in Greene, NY. I will be located at booth (tent) 206 which is on the right-hand side of the library. My friend, Daniele, of Thistle Farms Arts will be right next door at booth 207. Make sure to stop by, browse, purchase(?) and say hello!

Bugs!

After finding a huge, gross, scary, and juicy spider (a moment of silence for the spider please) in my laundry room the other day I was happy to take a look at this leaf (?) bug. My son, Ethan, held it while I snapped a few pictures. In the middle picture, he seems to be saying, "What are you looking at?!" Anyone know what kind of bug this is?

Generous Giveaway from Cindy Wimmer!!

Cindy Wimmer is offering 3 different giveaways (items pictured above) on her blog! For anyone who designs or likes jewelry, check it out! (Sweet Bead Studio Blog Giveaway)

Why Are Baby Animals So Cute?!

My husband, Bob, was mowing the yard last night and luckily this little guy hopped out of the way. Knowing how much I love furry animals, Bob came in to let me know of his find. I tried to get as close as I could. I eventually scared him away... Look at those little ears!!

(This was certainly much better than when he had me come outside to see a snake eating a toad! Gross!! I think he now knows to never show me that again.)

Wicked!

We're off to NYC! This is the first time we'll be staying over night for a sight-seeing mini vacation. (Although considering the prices, it doesn't seem like a mini vacation.) I've only been for quick trips in to see a taping of the Martha Stewart show (with Daniele who is Martha without the money). What awaits us besides a Broadway show? Hmmm... Rockefeller Center and observation deck, Toys-R-Us, FAO Schwartz, South Street Seaport, Statue of Liberty, Little Italy (gotta get a cannoli!!). Who knows what we'll end up seeing but one thing's for sure, we'll have a great time!!

Etching Away...

I took an etching class lets see... maybe two or three years ago at the local communiy college. I'd played around a little with it after that class but recently found some more interesting findings to work with. Here are a few samples that I will be lising on etsy soon.

Ooh-la-la! C'est francais! Je ne parle pas le francais. Peut-etre un peu mais tres mal!

(I've decided to take out the chain between the two blue glass beads. I think it will look much better...)

PMC Results

Last week I had posted pictures of some PMC work I had done before it was fired in the kiln. Well, here are some of the results!

I had found this really cute chick button that I made a mold out of and had a great idea to make a pendant for those ultra-confident women out there - or for those people who want to bust on someone they know! I think it's funny... I added a handmade sterling silver tag with "Hot" on it and a little ruby for color.

Here's another PMC pendant I made. The heart shapes were made using a pencil eraser that I had carved a heart shape into. I then drew in the stems and leaves and voila!

I found another cute button that had all these hearts on it and had to make a mold of that too. Great for someone special.

Open House and PMC

This Sunday, my friend, Daniele (Dani to some), of Thistle Farm and I will be hosting an Open House at my home. We have done this in the past although not regularly. People seem to like having this convenient opportunity to shop for Mother's Day (for their mothers or for themselves - hey, who are we to judge?!). Daniele and I also enjoy this laid back event to see our friends, have some coffee and cookies, and catch up on things.

Here is a picture of some of the PMC items I've been working on. This is before they have been fired in the kiln. They need some cleaning up before they'll be loaded in the kiln later today. It's always exciting to see how they turn out! They'll be incorporated into necklaces or bracelets for this Sunday's Open House.

These Hamsters Got Soul!

This is my favorite commercial right now. I happen to love hamsters. When I was in grad school I missed my cat and dog so much I went out and bought "Spike". Do I have hamsters now? No. I have four cats. I don't think those are odds any hamster would like to face. Click here to see the version I like on YouTube.

If you want to see another funny YouTube video check out Sparta ("The Mean Kitty Song").

Woman Plays with Fire!

I took a short soldering class a little while ago and made these hand-formed hoops. I then texturized them and gave them a little patina. I almost left the earrings all silver but in the end I had to add some color. What do you think?

Wordle!

My son, Ethan, came home today and told me about a website that he learned about in Social Studies. It's pretty neat and addicting! It's www.wordle.net. We made this arrangement using pet names and nicknames.

A Little Help From My Friends...

Here is one of my helper's, Taz. (Yes, at times he lives up to his name.) Is he fixing a typo or does he think his grammatical skills are more advanced? How can you toss something this cute off your desk? (Well, it's easy if he decides to start playing with something.) Three of the four cats (yes, I said four) like to visit me at the computer. I guess it's their one-on-one time. And I wonder why I don't get anything accomplished?!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We celebrated a little early this year by having our St. Patrick's Day dinner this past weekend (in the photo). My father and one of my sister's came down for the weekend. It wasn't quite traditional as I served Polish pierogies (from St. Michael's church, yum!) with the corned beef. Hey, one had potatoes and the other had cabbage. Mix it all up and you have some form of colcannon. My sister cooked the brussel sprouts (gag! everyone else liked them). At least there was Guinness for Bob!

How pretty!! This great springy PMC ring is being offered as a giveaway on Chocolate and Steel's blog (chocolateandsteel.blogspot.com). Lots of entries already! Who will win?! (Please, oh please...)

The Birds!

Thought you might like to see the view from my back door today. I feed the birds I think just to see the skittish cardinals. Quiz for the day: can you guess which of these birds is my husband's favorite? (Hint: the answer lies in the bird's name.)

I'm Hep to this Blogging Thing!

A year later...really. That's quite pathetic now isn't it? I guess I'm just not one to put it all out there? It's not necessarily a privacy thing with me. It's more like I'm thinking, "Who the hell cares, Michelle?!".

So a lot has happened in the past year. One thing new is that I decided to create a different etsy site for just my jewelry. I didn't want to distract from my jewelry by having seasonal craft items listed with it. So, are you ready? Here it is...(does anyone hear a drum roll besides me?) MetalsNGems.etsy.com !!

I'm going to try to update this blog more than once a year. (No, really!) I do have to get better at promoting myself and what better place to start? So here goes...