Sandi Who?

Why the T-shirt lady of course! And this month's featured EtsyBlogger.

She's got a shop full of just about everything... Handmade by Sandi has crochet, sewn items, jewelry, felted, painted, etc, etc - a very multi-talented lady. And I just love this little doggie placemat of hers:

And with her stash of fabric, she must be a woman after my own heart!

I just drool over colorful collections like this one:

The path to organization...

begins in a car ride to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Or at least that is how I am finally attacking this year's goal of getting my jewelry-making stuff organized.Last Sunday, a friend and I drove to Charlotte to visit Ikea and have my new office all decked out. Not everything fit in the car, so the rest is being delivered on the 18th, but here's what made it home with me. See all of those glass jars? They are spice containers... I bought 28 packages of spice containers along with the stuff to hang them on the wall. I figure that will keep the beads within sight, but oranized, too.

I ruined a masterpiece!

I was working on a pendant for me... wanted to call it my new masterpiece and I have managed to break a piece of sea glass. I love purple, so the rarity of finding a lavender shade of sea glass was just amazing, and while wrapping it in sterling wire, I managed to break off a corner (there was a "fault line" running where it broke when I started wrapping it). I guess I will use supper glue and some more wrapping to hide the fix when I wear it around.

Mail

Monday night, I stayed up late putting in a huge order of supplies... getting ready for a marathon of making during the summer to get ready for fall shows. I've been so excited wondering exaclty how big the box I've ordered will be when it comes in the mail, I feel like I can barely sleep (now this order is approx 5.5 times larger than any other bulk order I've done, so I guess it is alright to pretend I am 5 waiting for my on special present).

Anyway, today the box wasn't here (it isn't supposed to be delivered until Saturday, so not sure why I was getting worked up on the "just in case").

But something else good came in the mail - the first issue of my new subsription to Real Simple. I believe I have a magazine addiction - way too many subscriptions. I'm starting to wonder if that's partly why I have no time to read books anymore?

More Shells!

I love visiting beaches... especially when I walk alway with lots of shells. I made my husband take me to Topsail Island recently and walked away with all kids of loot. I even got a few good pieces of sea glass that day - I so rarely find sea glass in North Carolina it is always a treat

Apex Peakfest

Another weekend festival has passed for me and boy has it gotten me beat. I had one of those days where it was so hot, I was uncomfortable the entire day and every kid that had popsicle or lollipop mess dripping off their hands picked up jewelry. I'm so glad my last show of the spring is indoors!

Porn

Dear makers of pornographic websites that continually post comments on my blog,

I don't want or need your sites and am getting tired of rejecting all of your comments. Is there really a need to waste the world's time with your disgusting choices? Please find someone who actually wants your spam and not me.

Thank you and best regards,
Vicky

(Now we wonder if they will ever listen?)

Neglect

So, I've been neglecting all online portions of my business lately. This blog, my shops on etsy, 1000Markets, and Artfire...

I was aghast last week when I openned up my etsy shop and it said 4 items! What? Everything had expired? Had it really been that long? I had to finally admit to myself that I was neglecting it (and stop doing the "I don't see it - so it's not really there" routine. This miniscule picture shows how it looks today and it only says "6" items because immediately after seeing "4" last week, I renewed one and yesterday I was able to add another.

but I promise the world, I was not spending my days staring into space and doing nothing!

I've been making stuff like my new sea shell flower necklace idea:

and I've tried a more "random" wire wrapping method to make these sea glass earrings.

Now I just need to write some descriptions so I can get them in my shop soon :)

This weekend's present to myself!

What weekend isn’t great if you start with a present for yourself?

And this isn’t my normal type of beautiful stone/fossil/or shell to add to my jewelry-making-supplies collection… This was just something I have wanted for a couple of years and I finally broke down and bought:

The only problem with it was the directions for putting it together... I could write for hours about how bad they were, but since I finally did get it together, I am happy. My brother and I were able to make a few passes on it

and now I've got some new shelves to show off as soon as I get the camera outside :)

My first ever treasury

So I finally got around to reading all of my e-mails and created my first ever treasury - which was pretty easy with the new always open/always on concept. I centered it on the NCTriangle Etsy Team. Blue Row: AzureChina, IndigoArts, BrooksBoutique, KirksSilver
Green Row: KarensSoaps, ShamsandCoverups, ChristieTriplett, FlyTrap
Yellow/Orange Row: OrangeCatArt, SarahHolsapple, MegRNC, EllesBeads
Red Row: PurpleFuzzyFeet, JennGee, LindaSFabricStash, Smutopia

Now, to be getting on to other stuff I should be doing... like sleep!

Birthdays...

So do you do anything special for birthdays? My side of the family seems to have gotten almost lazy... we have one big birthday for everyone with a "near to the date" birthday. On December 30th this year, we celebrated all birthdays from November through December (which is about 1/2 the family) and was lots of fun because it included presents under a Christmas tree again.

Now, I'm popping up on Memorial Day weekend when we will celebrate the rest of the family's birthdays. I love the idea of an entire get together although sometimes I wish I had more time to pick out that single perfect gift for someone versus doing all at once.

Why is it always trash?

Oh, tell my why do you always choose trash? Over the toys you have all over the house... the toys I trip over, toss for you clean up debris from regularly...

Yet, stealing trash seems to make you the happiest?

My prizes from the Durham Artwalk

Most people know I have a thing for notecards... and some days I think I keep the USPS in business. I got a few from other artists who were in the Carolina Theater with me during the Durham Artwalk.

The first here is a handpainted card from Beth Palmer. This is my favorite note card from Orange Cat Art, a fellow Triangle Area Etsian. (I also got the pink dogwood blossoms... couldn't resist.)

And here is a print of a painting by Charles Dillingham:

Any my final prize - my new sugar monster by Rachel Maready Bowman! Since my counter is covered with beads and glue and all things that don't belong... she'll have a place of honor in the library until I've gotten motivated to clean:

It opens up so cute and has a beautiful color inside:

The Durham Arwalk... the aftermath

The Durham Artwalk over this past weekend was one of the most fun events I have participated in a long time... as an artist, I would definitely recommend DAW to other artists. The staff and volunteers were all enthusiastic (which kind of wore off on all people around them) and the amount of traffic was just perfect for me. Steady all day, but probably a good 10 minute break every hour where you could run to the restroom or eat. If the Junior League of Fayetteville says I can't get into the Holly Day Fair next November (I've already turned that application in) - I'll definitely be back at this one as a vendor next year... Otherwise, I'll be there as a shopper getting all of my holiday gifts! I did my booth set up different than normal... normally I do a U-shape and sit behind the display... this weekend I tried a bit different and brought and extra table to be my workspace. I can't believe how much the 18 inch by 2.5 foot table helped me be organized - for everything from receipts and credit cards to somewhere to hide my lunch... now I'll never set up a booth without my workspace.

Oh, and did I tell you I bought lots of goodies while I was there?

Durham Art Walk

I'm excited about this weekend... been busy trying a new layout for my booth and creating like crazy!




I'll be in the Carolina Theater along with Linda Searcy!

P.S. Yes, I'm Back!

Yes, it's been a few weeks and it always amazes me how many thing change in life in such a short amount of time... but I'm back and have a bag full of stories an pictures to share over the coming weeks :)

Who is Magdalene?

Well, Pamela Baker to be exact.

This month's featured EtsyBlogger and creator of both jewelry and knits!
a shop full of beautiful jewelry that reminds me of spring! Especially this Palace Green Opal Necklace:

and

a shop with great knitted scarves and the, like... but as always my favorite knitted items are for baby:

Meatballs... my go-to party food.

Do you have a food you make for every party? I actually have 3 and sometimes worry if the neighbors are getting tired of the same stuff over and over. So here are my meatballs (yes, I know most of my recipes involve these little cups... I actually serve meals in them to my husband and he's gotten used to it in the last year that he how thinks it is normal).

The meatball recipe that I love... pre-cooked frozen meat balls into crock pot with equal parts barbeque sauce and grape jelly. Cook on high for 1 hour then turn to low for 2-5 hours.

Such an easy, tasty recipe and many of my friends think that I'm spending hours over the stove (even though I tell them I am not).

Yippee the heat pump is fixed!

Just in time for spring, too! (But at least there will be no worries when next winter rolls around.)

The local Sanford Airotemp company was able to help me out... I cannot tell you how nice it was to have a repair/contractor-type person show up to my house when they said they would.

Dear Census Bureau

Please stop wasting my hard-earned tax dollars... So not only do you buy ad space on cable TV (Since I watch about 2 hours of TV a week and have seen your ads, I'm sure most Americans have seen them), you sent me a letter about a week before you sent me my census to say you'd be sending me a census in the next 5-10 days, but now, I, a person who filled out my census and returned it the day you sent it to me, get a post card saying I must send back my census?

I will never understand the government and its practices.