To Blog; or not to Blog

I've been a bad bad bad blogger -- I keep promising I'll blog at least 1-2 times a week, then it's a month or more before I get 1 lousy stinking blog posted.

Real life gets in the way, way too often.  I've waxed eloquent for years on how I don't really have enough time to get anything done, let alone blog.  

  I question why I make the effort, I mean does anyone really read blogs anymore? wasn't that so 2005-2015 or so? 

So in my on going effort to give myself a freakin' break, I'm no longer going to guilt trip myself on blogging.

I don't know if this will be my last blog, or if I'll post from time to time or what.  I'll instead try to keep facebook updated weekly - at least once a week.  

For those few, probably related to me folks who do keep updated on my blogs,  I think you.  

Please follow me on facebook.

I hope everyone is doing well, and staying safe 

Farmers Market tomorrow!!!!

I'm sooo excited! 

My spot has changed, i'm actually closer to the Hy-Vee store ! If you want to count it, i'm 15 booths down the street on 4th south from Court Ave.  Check out the nifty map! 

All these pictures are things I've made in the last few weeks, frantically getting ready for my big opening day.

So if you don't want to come out for the fab jewelry - and I know you do! - then come out for the Opening market day, the food, the fun, and the sunshine!  Right now the weather is looking to be perfect, so I hope to see you bright and early at 7-12pm! 

 

pictures of us

Jerry, getting Kitten Kisses from Maggie May, our newest kitty.  She's almost a year old now, but maybe 6mo in this picture? 

 This is me, modeling my stylin' hairband made by my sister for Christmas.  My shirt reads" Meow or Never" 

words to live by.

Come see us this Sat at the first Farmer's Market right by the hy-vee parking lot!! 

My Adventure at Pickers is drawing to a close

With Farmer Market's starting in 2 weeks I've made the decision to remove my stock at The Picker Knows for the summer.

It's gone pretty well, actually, so well we will probably set up a case somewhere again in the fall.

It's just going to be too hard to maintain a decent selection there and do shows during the summer.

My stuff goes away effective May 14th or 15th.  While I have 3 weeks left there, I've put EVERYTHING on sale for 25% off! 

So definitely worth checking it out! My case is #810.

Meanwhile, we are working on repairing and refreshing over half of my displays -- here is a sneak peak of display redo's in progress.

 

I'm getting excited! Farmer's Market is only 3 weeks away!

This year we have 12 slots for Farmer's Market : 

                 May 7th
                 May 14th
                 May 28th
                 June 4th
                 June 18th
                 July 2nd
                 July 16th
                 August 13th
                 August 27th
                 September 3rd
                 September 17th
                October 1st (8-12pm)

I'm sooo excited! right now we are only doing Farmer's Market for shows, but check my schedule on my website, you never know, I might pick up something - course I'll usually tell you here as well.

These picks show some jewelry I've made in the last month or so, getting ready for FM! 

Our spot, baring changes, is close to where we have been the last few years.  4th street, by the Hy-vee parking lot.  

this bracelet is reusing jewelry bits - the clasp is probably from the 60's and had a crappy plastic thingie in it.. I put a lovely vintage watch movement in it, and added pearls from another broken necklace.   I love this! 

 

The meaning of Keys

So my daughter got hit by a truck - a drunk driver - last summer.  That's why 2021 will live in my mind as the absolutely worse year of my life -- and the absolutely best year, cause she's survived.

It was so close.  

I was working at the time on a series of necklaces recycling cute parts of a bracelet with words on them.  I stop working on them of course -- except for one, that simply said "breathe" .  That one I finished and I started wearing, and I wore it almost every day for the 2 months I was off work, helping my daughter as she learned to walk again.

It got me through.  It reminded me that as long as she is here, we could get through this.  One breath at a time.  It's one of my most treasured necklaces now, and everytime I wear it I feel more balanced, stronger.

I finally got back to making jewelry, and I finished the necklaces.  I've already sold some of them at pickers, but I'll have have the rest ready to go for Farmer's Market.

I use to think wearing "power words" was stupid.  They are not.  Sometimes you really need to see it everyday, to remind you.  Sometimes you are so numb you can only handle one or 2 words at a time.

So, if you are down, then maybe you need something to remind you to "be Happy" .  Maybe you are going through something hellish, maybe you need to remember to be "strong" and "stay positive" .

Just remember, one breath at a time.

More work from last year -

catching up on photos from last year, still!   The top piece I love, I took a used piece of costume jewelry - popped out the icky, scratched up plastic cab that was in the middle, drilled a hole and filled it with steampunky goodness.  I doubt the jewelry piece was very old, but the cog I used is 75-100 years old, from a old clock.  

Another recycled jewelry bit - this time a earring, which again I drilled a hole and added fun stuff.

These were so kewl in person! lot's of movment.  Vintage clock and watch parts.  I would sooo make more of these, but I don't have anymore of the architectural black parts!! 

 Old light bulbs, got at a flea market, again drill a hole and I'll make anything into jewelry!   I think I actually made these in Jan of 2022 but I've made them before.

I added words, crystals and chain.  I would love to make necklaces with old light bulbs, but they can be so fragile I mostly haven't.  Making the older, thicker glass ones into earrings is pretty safe, they aren't as likely to be abused.

 

Talented sister!

Going through picture files, getting ready for a new season and ran across these... both lovely and wonderful examples of my sister's talented sewing needle and made sewing machine skills.

The top picture is a mixer cover she customer made for me, featuring - of course! - NBC or Nightmare Before Christmas fabric.  

 Also customer made for me, a printer cover! 

Now I just need to get her to make me a Kiln cover! (and a press cover and a ....)

If you would like one of a kind fabric pieces be sure to check out my Sister's Stuff on Etsy! 

Anyone watching Bridgerton? and 2-hole bead projects

I've been in a 2-hole bead mood the last few weeks.  I find weaving with them incredibly meditative and if I'm sticking to earrings or bracelets, a quick pay off as well.  I don't mean in money, but in satisfaction.  It's like laying little bricks to build a little house, using seed beads and 2-hole beads to build up a bracelet from scratch! 

In the top pick you see a necklace.  I won't make many because the time involved gets to be too much both for my low patience and for my bottom line.  

I think since i'm enjoying them so much, I will definitely keep making them and maybe set up a shelve in my booth this summer featuring my woven items, instead of just a few here and there.

That means I need to get cracking and more more! oh dear! hehehehe - live can be very very good.

I'm almost done watching Season 2 of the Bridgertons.  

I greatly enjoyed Season 1.  I think the casting is quite good.. Eloise is almost perfect and fits the Eloise in my head from reading the novels.

And the guy playing Simon! OH MY.  What a handsome man, and that voice!   I am missing him in season 2 very much.

I think it's very interesting and wonderful how they are sprinkling in other skin tones than just white.  Some of the costumes are not quite right   Actually the jewelry isn't - it isn't that so much that it's wrong but that it's wrong and the wrong people are wearing them - In regency times young unmarried misses might wear a locket or a simple string of pearls, not some of the huge costume pieces they are showing.  Having said that, the pieces are wonderful eye candy and get one's Jewelry Muse going. 

The story in season 1 got modified for the screen from the books, which is expected, and none of the changes were too strange.

I can't say the same for season 2.  Lots of changes, stuff I am not liking.  I hate to spoil stuff so I won't go into detail, but I have to say some of my favorite characters from the books are just not as likable in the series.

Like most adaptations, I take it with a grain of salt and sort of look at the TV version as  a alternative universe from the books.

I think one of the biggest things that bug me in the adaptation is gift giving.  Men giving women expensive and elaborate gifts - it happens over and over.  At that time, a unmarried man giving a unmarried woman something of great value would be a major social blunder.  Something small would be ok, but jewelry, horses, etc - that just wouldn't happen in good society.   

That really brings me out of the story when it happens, which is funny.  With all the incorrect history bits going on in this, why does that break my willing participation in the fantasy? I don't know.  Maybe it offends my own sense of propriety in the here and now as well as my historical sense.

I mean if you got a diamond necklace on a first date, what would you be thinking?? Would you accept it? 

Or would you run away? 

I have a couple of episodes to finish for season 2, and I guess it's ok to watch but disappointing after how much fun season 1 was.  If nothing else, I'm enjoying the costumes and jewelry.

 
 

Feeling Lazy

 I know,  I haven't been posting again.  I'll do a real blog soon,  Meanwhile, enjoy this example of my current mood - Parker.

floors part 2 - the living room!

imagine, cheap, dirty carpet in a boring beige.  That was our livingroom prior to the the new floor

Looks soooooo go now! 

 

More to be thankful for new floors

So in November, we started working on the floors .  As you can see it was needed - though I admit the hole in the kitchen floor was hidden underneath the tiling - we are lucky our fridge never fell through the floor! 

This shot shows the kitchen mostly done, without the trim up .

the gaint hole were the fridge lives

fixing the hole - laying a new board on it!

that looks much better doesn't it?? 

Purple trim seems appropriate since the decor is NBC!  (Nightmare Before Christmas ) 

More to come!  
 

More Nightmare in my house

For those care, more NBC or Nightmare Before Christmas artwork in my kitchen and dining room! 

This quilt was made by my very talented Sister as a Christmas present some 4 ? years ago.  It now proudly hangs in my diningroom.  

This wonderful print is my my Niece Ame Barron, another talented artist in my family.

 This is an original painting Ame did for me featuring my favorite character Sally.

I'm so grateful I have the space to display the wonderful artwork from my family!