I'm born a city girl but my heart belongs to the country. My aunt and uncle had a dairy farm in upstate New York and my mom, being a single parent and working, brought me to spend the summers at my aunt's farm. I am 67 years old and those summers are my fondest memories.
My uncle didn't treat me any different than his kids. I got up early mornings and helped milk the cows, it was this or help make breakfast. I take cows over kitchen work any day! I would 'grain' the cows, carry milk and even go out in the fields to get the cows. Now my aunt and uncle had 12 kids so I just got shuffled along. When haying was to be done, I was in the field with everyone else. When I was older, my uncle let me drive the old truck in the hay field. The first time my mom let me drive the car , I said I knew how cause I drove the old farm truck. Well I hit the brakes and the groceries went all over the floor because the brakes were 'different' than that of the old farm truck.
My uncle had 3 horses. A beautiful, young, black horse called Prince, a brown one called Sandy and an old freckled white nag called Foxy. You guessed it--I always got stuck with Foxy. As I got older I rode Sandy and sometimes Prince.
To this day, I am still partial to cows. As I drive by a farm, I roll the windows down to enjoy the 'aroma', while everyone yells "SHUT THE WINDOW"
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
What's in a name?
For a year while we readied the house to sell, we talked about adopting an orange kitten for our new home. So for a year we planned it , even his name-Jax.
After we settled in our new place, we started looking for an orange kitten to adopt. I have wanted one for years, even before we took the black one which I wrote in my blog 'A little what?'. I found a cat rescue online from my city and was looking at photos of kittens and there he was! Just what I wanted, a long haired, male orange kitten. He is the one I want- I could tell from the photo-even though it was of the top of his sleeping head -I just knew.
I knew I was going to get him at the adoption at the pet store on Saturday, didn't matter that I didn't have the $ 125.00 adoption fee. I showed my son the online photo and he handed me 3 fifties and said Happy Birthday! On Saturday I hurried to the store and saw the kitten and held him only for a minute because I wanted to fill out the application right away. The whole time I was filling out the form, an older couple was petting and holding him and three others came in asking for Theo, the name the rescue group gave him. I was changing that soon to Jax. I finally gave my application, laid down my money and Theo,I mean Jax, was mine.
When we got him home we tried calling him Jax but we kept calling him Theo. We took a pool on facebook and the name Theo won. Thats it, we called him Theo. He is a Theo ,through and through. And I new I made the right choice in kittens when he licked my nose and cheek. He is such a loving and smart kitten. He was finally accepted by the cats and dog except for Little Bear- he still bats him on the head. Theo has big feet and if he grows into them, Little Bear better watch out!
After we settled in our new place, we started looking for an orange kitten to adopt. I have wanted one for years, even before we took the black one which I wrote in my blog 'A little what?'. I found a cat rescue online from my city and was looking at photos of kittens and there he was! Just what I wanted, a long haired, male orange kitten. He is the one I want- I could tell from the photo-even though it was of the top of his sleeping head -I just knew.
I knew I was going to get him at the adoption at the pet store on Saturday, didn't matter that I didn't have the $ 125.00 adoption fee. I showed my son the online photo and he handed me 3 fifties and said Happy Birthday! On Saturday I hurried to the store and saw the kitten and held him only for a minute because I wanted to fill out the application right away. The whole time I was filling out the form, an older couple was petting and holding him and three others came in asking for Theo, the name the rescue group gave him. I was changing that soon to Jax. I finally gave my application, laid down my money and Theo,I mean Jax, was mine.
When we got him home we tried calling him Jax but we kept calling him Theo. We took a pool on facebook and the name Theo won. Thats it, we called him Theo. He is a Theo ,through and through. And I new I made the right choice in kittens when he licked my nose and cheek. He is such a loving and smart kitten. He was finally accepted by the cats and dog except for Little Bear- he still bats him on the head. Theo has big feet and if he grows into them, Little Bear better watch out!
Foot stomping and hand stamping!!
This past Christmas I got my daughter a hand stamp set of letters and a hammer. There has been no stopping her since; she even opened her own etsy shop of all kinds of hand stamped products.
Me, loving all things jewelry, was curious how this hand stamping worked. So I borrowed one of her many sets of letters and I like how the pieces looked and how you can customize things for you customers.
I didn't want to step on my daughter's toes so I thought about what I could hand stamp that she doesn't make and that there are not already a million on etsy. Why, earrings of course! So now my earring shop has custom hand stamped earrings.
Thinking on it somemore, I still wanted to branch out with pieces that others don't have. Uh-ha ! Beaded hand stamped bracelets. So I created a line of custom hand stamped bracelets that have beads strung on stretch cord. That is something few have. It will be interesting to see if these catch on. If they do you know I will be blogging about it!
Me, loving all things jewelry, was curious how this hand stamping worked. So I borrowed one of her many sets of letters and I like how the pieces looked and how you can customize things for you customers.
I didn't want to step on my daughter's toes so I thought about what I could hand stamp that she doesn't make and that there are not already a million on etsy. Why, earrings of course! So now my earring shop has custom hand stamped earrings.
Thinking on it somemore, I still wanted to branch out with pieces that others don't have. Uh-ha ! Beaded hand stamped bracelets. So I created a line of custom hand stamped bracelets that have beads strung on stretch cord. That is something few have. It will be interesting to see if these catch on. If they do you know I will be blogging about it!
Another Etsy shop
I have had my shop on Etsy for 4 years now and love creating necklaces and bracelets to fill it. And earrings. Earrings? LOVE earrings especially dangle earrings. I found a new passion and created so many earrings that it was too much for my shop.
So with a little planning, I opened my other shop The Earring Express . It is exclusively earrings, dangle earrings. I love working with the different metals in combination with the charm and bead color. My favorite combination is the use of copper wires, caps and charms with certain color beads. The look is rich. Having my earring shop, gives me the creative freedom I was looking for.
So with a little planning, I opened my other shop The Earring Express . It is exclusively earrings, dangle earrings. I love working with the different metals in combination with the charm and bead color. My favorite combination is the use of copper wires, caps and charms with certain color beads. The look is rich. Having my earring shop, gives me the creative freedom I was looking for.
New little home
As I mentioned in my last blog, my daughter and I moved to a cute little home. There are NO TREES! This is the first fall in 35 years that I don't have to rake leaves.! We moved from a 5 room house with a cellar and an attic to a small 4 room mobile home- no attic or cellar. We had a tag sale and a give away party. It took months to clean out the attic and cellar of 35 years of stuff that won't fit in our new place.
We love our little home, which has a walk in closet in one bedroom and a huge closet in the dining room. Both are full. But getting older, I couldn't do stairs anymore especially with my back problem. In my old home the bathroom was on the second floor and the laundry was in the basement. Lots of stairs. In our new place everything is on one floor and the stackable washer/dryer is in the large bathroom. It is nice to wash clothes any time my heart desires.
We are extremely happy in our new home.
We love our little home, which has a walk in closet in one bedroom and a huge closet in the dining room. Both are full. But getting older, I couldn't do stairs anymore especially with my back problem. In my old home the bathroom was on the second floor and the laundry was in the basement. Lots of stairs. In our new place everything is on one floor and the stackable washer/dryer is in the large bathroom. It is nice to wash clothes any time my heart desires.
We are extremely happy in our new home.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Spring cleaning we throw out the old....?
Winter is over and I was excited to see that my three baby fish survived as you read in my summer pond blog. What I didn't tell you was the sad mishap that we had.
I have a large fenced in yard with all the neighbor's trees leaning over the fence. Every year I have around 33 of those brown lawn and leaf bags full when I am done raking. So in the spring there is still a lot of leaves especially IN the pond. So part of spring cleaning the pond is to clean out the leaves. This can be tricky when you have
three baby fish no larger than 3 inches each.
My daughter and I carefully used nets to pull out the leaves from the pond and with each scoop we watched for movement cause every so often, we'd snag a fish. The big ones are easy to see in the net cause they flip flop really hard. We were so careful. When we were done with the pond and the yard we had another 10 bags full.
Ok, now to empty and clean the pond. We counted heads- 4 big ones yup, then one,two...one,two uh oh - only 2 babies. One got thrown out with the leaves. My daughter and I all sweaty and dirty, looked at those 10 full bags- looked at each other and said a prayer for the baby fish.
The surviving 2 went on to survive another winter in our new little home- with NO TREES!!
jewelry and more by kat
I have a large fenced in yard with all the neighbor's trees leaning over the fence. Every year I have around 33 of those brown lawn and leaf bags full when I am done raking. So in the spring there is still a lot of leaves especially IN the pond. So part of spring cleaning the pond is to clean out the leaves. This can be tricky when you have
My daughter and I carefully used nets to pull out the leaves from the pond and with each scoop we watched for movement cause every so often, we'd snag a fish. The big ones are easy to see in the net cause they flip flop really hard. We were so careful. When we were done with the pond and the yard we had another 10 bags full.
Ok, now to empty and clean the pond. We counted heads- 4 big ones yup, then one,two...one,two uh oh - only 2 babies. One got thrown out with the leaves. My daughter and I all sweaty and dirty, looked at those 10 full bags- looked at each other and said a prayer for the baby fish.
The surviving 2 went on to survive another winter in our new little home- with NO TREES!!
jewelry and more by kat
Little Bear's journey
One autumn day, I was at my computer which is next to the downstairs window. The blind was closed. I am busy but I kept hearing a thumping against the window. I finally investigated by pulling up the blind. And there is my neighbor's cat jumping frantically at my window.
I yell, what are you doing- go home, all to no avail because she kept jumping. I HAD to do something because she is so frantic that she will either knock herself out or break the window. I opened the window and yelled for her to go home- stop it!
Then I stared really hard at the cat. Hmm, this cat is too big to be my neighbors. I call my daughter downstairs and sent her looking for Little Bear, my black cat who has never been outside his whole life. My daughter can't find him and last time she saw him, he was in her room, which is upstairs over this room. I asked her if her window is wide open and she said yes.
So I started calling the cat Little Bear- is that you? The frantic cries started! I think it's Little Bear. Both the neighbor's cat and Little Bear are identical except my cat is bigger. Now I start calling Little Bear to jump up and he jumps so high he lands on the screen and as I try to pull the screen in- it SLOWLY falls backwards with a panic stricken cat whose big eyes were saying HELP!
Finally, one last jump and he's in the window and I grab him and start crying. What an awful ordeal He evidently fell out the second floor open window and was lucky he didn't break his neck! We live on a very busy street and so the cats are indoor cats.
I can laugh now thinking how funny it must have looked but at the time all I could see was a frantic cat hanging on a falling screen with fear in his eyes. I wonder what he thinks now, when he sits on a window sill.
I yell, what are you doing- go home, all to no avail because she kept jumping. I HAD to do something because she is so frantic that she will either knock herself out or break the window. I opened the window and yelled for her to go home- stop it!
Then I stared really hard at the cat. Hmm, this cat is too big to be my neighbors. I call my daughter downstairs and sent her looking for Little Bear, my black cat who has never been outside his whole life. My daughter can't find him and last time she saw him, he was in her room, which is upstairs over this room. I asked her if her window is wide open and she said yes.
So I started calling the cat Little Bear- is that you? The frantic cries started! I think it's Little Bear. Both the neighbor's cat and Little Bear are identical except my cat is bigger. Now I start calling Little Bear to jump up and he jumps so high he lands on the screen and as I try to pull the screen in- it SLOWLY falls backwards with a panic stricken cat whose big eyes were saying HELP!
Finally, one last jump and he's in the window and I grab him and start crying. What an awful ordeal He evidently fell out the second floor open window and was lucky he didn't break his neck! We live on a very busy street and so the cats are indoor cats.
I can laugh now thinking how funny it must have looked but at the time all I could see was a frantic cat hanging on a falling screen with fear in his eyes. I wonder what he thinks now, when he sits on a window sill.
A little what?
One summer, as my husband and daughter and I were outside at the patio table, we heard tiny far away sounding meows. I started investigating as to where the noise was coming from. Ah ha! Behind the shed I found three baby kittens maybe three weeks old. Two were fluffy gray and one was pure black. We all held one. It was our neighbor's cats babies. I had been wanting an orange kitten for quite some time and even though they weren't orange, I was smitten. We all agreed that we would keep one and raise it. But which one? We played musical kittens, taking turns holding, inspecting and cooing to these babies. We all agreed on the black one. We returned the other two for mommy cat.
Off to the store for kitten formula and I wrapped the kitten in a kitchen towel to keep it warm. I figured if he didn't take the bottle, we could give him back to mama cat. All was well. He thrived. Now for a name. Cubby says my husband. Blackie says my daughter. I wanted something different, unusual. As we talked, my husband insisted on Cubby because he looked like a little bear. That's it! Little Bear.
Little Bear has grown into a beautiful black cat with a personality all his own. He has impacted our life so much that he was the logo for my jewelry store for years. My name, his face, fitting!
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Off to the store for kitten formula and I wrapped the kitten in a kitchen towel to keep it warm. I figured if he didn't take the bottle, we could give him back to mama cat. All was well. He thrived. Now for a name. Cubby says my husband. Blackie says my daughter. I wanted something different, unusual. As we talked, my husband insisted on Cubby because he looked like a little bear. That's it! Little Bear.
Little Bear has grown into a beautiful black cat with a personality all his own. He has impacted our life so much that he was the logo for my jewelry store for years. My name, his face, fitting!
A fond memory
A few years ago my neighbor found two baby squirrels; the cat had gotten the mother and the babies had puncture marks. Did I want to raise one? Sure, my nurturing nature kicked in. So I took it right in the middle of yard work. Now what? I went online and found a wonderful article on how to raise and release. The most important thing was NOT to use puppy milk from the pet store. It will kill the baby squirrel. use scalded milk only. That is what I did and she thrived, unlike her brother at the neighbors.
I kept her in an aquarium for the first few weeks, laying on a towel on a heating pad on low. I fed her every 3 or 4 hours and did not have to at night. I used an eye dropper. She finally grew fur and started to look like a squirrel. As she got bigger, I added a branch in the aquarium and started giving her fruit and vegetables.
When she got too big for the aquarium, I built her a screen house so she would be safe from my 3 house cats. I would take her out of her cage and she would crawl all over me and run back to her house. She graduated to a hanging water bottle and nuts!
I called her Tia and she knew her name. I now understand how they climb trees, they have long toes and claws. She would crawl all over me like I was a tree so I had to wear long sleeves and long pants.
When she was 6 months old, it was time to release her so I set her house outside and continued to feed her and play with her. I have a fenced in yard so she was safe. Every day she got braver and walked in the yard a little further each time.
One day she was way across the yard, I called her and she went up the fence, jumped on a tree branch, flicked her tail and was gone.! Not even a good bye or thank you.
That was a few years ago and the memory ALWAYS brings a smile, It was something that I enjoyed so much and it was a satisfying experience and every time my family and I see a squirrel we yell-TIA!
I kept her in an aquarium for the first few weeks, laying on a towel on a heating pad on low. I fed her every 3 or 4 hours and did not have to at night. I used an eye dropper. She finally grew fur and started to look like a squirrel. As she got bigger, I added a branch in the aquarium and started giving her fruit and vegetables.
When she got too big for the aquarium, I built her a screen house so she would be safe from my 3 house cats. I would take her out of her cage and she would crawl all over me and run back to her house. She graduated to a hanging water bottle and nuts!
I called her Tia and she knew her name. I now understand how they climb trees, they have long toes and claws. She would crawl all over me like I was a tree so I had to wear long sleeves and long pants.
When she was 6 months old, it was time to release her so I set her house outside and continued to feed her and play with her. I have a fenced in yard so she was safe. Every day she got braver and walked in the yard a little further each time.
One day she was way across the yard, I called her and she went up the fence, jumped on a tree branch, flicked her tail and was gone.! Not even a good bye or thank you.
That was a few years ago and the memory ALWAYS brings a smile, It was something that I enjoyed so much and it was a satisfying experience and every time my family and I see a squirrel we yell-TIA!
My summer pond
I have had my fish pond for 14 years. During that time the size of the pond got smaller as I got older. Watching the fish is one of my favorite summer activities; it is so relaxing enjoying your coffee in the mornings listening to the waterfall and watching the fish.
I have goldfish because they are cheap and hardy. The oldest one is 9 years old and 15 inches long.
Last year I had babies-I mean- the fish had babies! This is a first for me. All summer I fed the fish and one day there were 3 tiny fish. It was fun to watch them grow. They were not full size when winter came. So I am a nervous mother hen, waiting to spring clean the pond and see if they made it.
I have a pre-form pond now. The only maintenance all summer is to clean the land filter once a month and add water.
Well, we just finished spring cleaning the pond and refilling it and there were 3 babies. Bigger now. So all summer I get to watch their antics and watch them grow. Relaxing and fun!
by: jewelry and more by kat
I have goldfish because they are cheap and hardy. The oldest one is 9 years old and 15 inches long.
Last year I had babies-I mean- the fish had babies! This is a first for me. All summer I fed the fish and one day there were 3 tiny fish. It was fun to watch them grow. They were not full size when winter came. So I am a nervous mother hen, waiting to spring clean the pond and see if they made it.
I have a pre-form pond now. The only maintenance all summer is to clean the land filter once a month and add water.
Well, we just finished spring cleaning the pond and refilling it and there were 3 babies. Bigger now. So all summer I get to watch their antics and watch them grow. Relaxing and fun!
What inspires you.....
My inspiration for my lastest line of necklaces comes from Maria's hand forged clasps atSunstones . I would like you to meet her, a fellow artist.
The following is in her words:
I am of Sicilian descent(my family came through Ellis Island). I have always been artistic and creative, even as a child. I attended a two year dedicated program in Sign Painting(Butera School Of Art,Boston,Ma), graduating first in my class and had a very successful sign and vehicle lettering business for a number of years. After moving to Arizona in 2002, I was unable to continue working due to chronic daily migraine. Starting an entirely new career in jewelry design and fabrication was the BEST thing I ever did. I began by beading, which was fun but not completely fulfilling. There was a school not far from me that offered classes in metalsmithing, so I began taking classes and doing studio time. After a year I decided that this was a true calling. Learning the basics at school was necessary, but working on my own is quite rewarding.
My other passion in life is animal advocacy. I have eight companion cats, all rescued from shelters, with focus on special needs. I have three companion parrots, my precious Congo African grey, a wild caught peach faced lovebird and a scarlet macaw. My animal soumate was a sun conure that I rescued from a terrible situation. I gave her an incredible life in my home for five years before losing her in May 2011. I volunteer, support three very special animal rescue/rehab/sanctuary organizations, each providing life giving and life saving opportunities. I have empathy for all animal and insect life and feel that every single life is precious and important.
Inspiration for my work comes from numerous sources. Just holding a sheet of copper is thrilling to me, knowing that there are so many possibilities for this material to be formed and changed into something that people wear. I have also found that my own clientele offering their suggestions can be a driving force of creativity. The beautiful Sonoran desert is a wonderful environment for me to derive inspiration from. Gorgeous blue skies, gigantic spring blossoms from cacti, cactus wrens warbling and the smell of creosote bushes after the rain......this is truly heaven to a girl that comes from boston.
by: jewelry by kat
The following is in her words:
I am of Sicilian descent(my family came through Ellis Island). I have always been artistic and creative, even as a child. I attended a two year dedicated program in Sign Painting(Butera School Of Art,Boston,Ma), graduating first in my class and had a very successful sign and vehicle lettering business for a number of years. After moving to Arizona in 2002, I was unable to continue working due to chronic daily migraine. Starting an entirely new career in jewelry design and fabrication was the BEST thing I ever did. I began by beading, which was fun but not completely fulfilling. There was a school not far from me that offered classes in metalsmithing, so I began taking classes and doing studio time. After a year I decided that this was a true calling. Learning the basics at school was necessary, but working on my own is quite rewarding.
My other passion in life is animal advocacy. I have eight companion cats, all rescued from shelters, with focus on special needs. I have three companion parrots, my precious Congo African grey, a wild caught peach faced lovebird and a scarlet macaw. My animal soumate was a sun conure that I rescued from a terrible situation. I gave her an incredible life in my home for five years before losing her in May 2011. I volunteer, support three very special animal rescue/rehab/sanctuary organizations, each providing life giving and life saving opportunities. I have empathy for all animal and insect life and feel that every single life is precious and important.
Inspiration for my work comes from numerous sources. Just holding a sheet of copper is thrilling to me, knowing that there are so many possibilities for this material to be formed and changed into something that people wear. I have also found that my own clientele offering their suggestions can be a driving force of creativity. The beautiful Sonoran desert is a wonderful environment for me to derive inspiration from. Gorgeous blue skies, gigantic spring blossoms from cacti, cactus wrens warbling and the smell of creosote bushes after the rain......this is truly heaven to a girl that comes from boston.
by: jewelry by kat
7000 Bracelets for hope
After finding the website 7000 bracelets for hope , I only read a little and planned to come back when I wasn't busy. But then I was reading Patti's blog and discovered that this VERY compassionate person contributed over 75 bracelets to this organization, I knew it was time to research this website.
The organization is Global Genes. 7000 represents the 7000 different rare diseases. Part of their goal is to continue to collect unique bracelets made by jewelry designers, artists, crafters, church groups, girl scouts and other volunteers and distribute them to families fighting rare and genetic diseases. The bracelets are filled with hope.
On their website you can read about the struggles and triumphs of families with these rare diseases. You can read how they feel when they receive a bracelet and what it means to them.
After reading through their website, I am inspired to create blue bracelets every month. I mailed the first mother and daughter bracelets today.
The organization is Global Genes. 7000 represents the 7000 different rare diseases. Part of their goal is to continue to collect unique bracelets made by jewelry designers, artists, crafters, church groups, girl scouts and other volunteers and distribute them to families fighting rare and genetic diseases. The bracelets are filled with hope.
On their website you can read about the struggles and triumphs of families with these rare diseases. You can read how they feel when they receive a bracelet and what it means to them.
After reading through their website, I am inspired to create blue bracelets every month. I mailed the first mother and daughter bracelets today.
Introducing my new line of necklaces called 'Earthy Elegance'
The new line of necklaces is called 'earthy elegance. I just started the line and it is doing well. Customers like the rustic look. I love to design my necklaces using turquoise, my favorite. Using two sizes of beads adds to the unique look. When I design with black beads, I use different styles of beads.
One unique thing about this line is the various ways the clasp necklaces can be worn. There are three ways, clasp in the back, front or side. What makes these necklaces earthy are the rustic clasps from Sunstones found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/sunstones. These hand forged clasps are made in copper, sterling silver, brass and german silver. They are made by Maria, using many metalsmithing techniques.
Her rustic clasps and my beading design make necklaces that are dramatic.
One unique thing about this line is the various ways the clasp necklaces can be worn. There are three ways, clasp in the back, front or side. What makes these necklaces earthy are the rustic clasps from Sunstones found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/sunstones. These hand forged clasps are made in copper, sterling silver, brass and german silver. They are made by Maria, using many metalsmithing techniques.
Her rustic clasps and my beading design make necklaces that are dramatic.
"Spirit"
Losing someone you love affects people differently. For me, losing my mom, I expressed myself designing jewelry. So shortly after my mom passed, I created a necklace in her memory. I searched for quite a while for the perfect pendant. I found a hand forged copper heart. I chose this pendant because it was lovingly made by hand and I love copper and the heart represents my love for my mom.
Now, the beads, I chose turquoise because it is my favorite and it seems to make most people happy. While I was thinking of the design and making the necklace, I was thinking of my mom. I call the necklace 'Spirit'. My mom had alzheimers for 12 years but she had a wonderful spirit during that time.
So when you see some pretty handmade jewelry, you never know what inspired it.
Now, the beads, I chose turquoise because it is my favorite and it seems to make most people happy. While I was thinking of the design and making the necklace, I was thinking of my mom. I call the necklace 'Spirit'. My mom had alzheimers for 12 years but she had a wonderful spirit during that time.
So when you see some pretty handmade jewelry, you never know what inspired it.
A vender's journey to a craft fair
Ever go to a craft fair and all the venders greet you with smiles and all their products are nicely displayed- like they have been there forever? The atmosphere is layed back and welcoming. Don't let any of that fool you. Join me now for the real happenings.
The typical craft fair day starts at dawn or before- with the loading of the car. I get three folding tables and two chairs out of the shed while watching for morning skunks out of the corner of my eye. After five trips to the car, even though my back hurts and I'm tired, there is the 200 pound suitcase of jewelry trays that need loading into the backseat. Lift, push, groan and it's finally in. Now for the backpack with the bracelets and the earrings and three bags of displays and gift boxes. By now the sun is up and I'm off.
Today I'm lucky; it's only an hour drive. After getting lost two times, I finally arrive. Now- to unload everything I just put in the car. After six trips inside, I set up my tables to look pretty with all my jewelry.
My back says 'never again', I'm tired and need a coffee because 5 am is so early to get up. Now it's time to smile, look rested, relaxed and greet people. After 7 hours of greeting, talking and waiting on customers, it is over and time to pack everything back into the car. Jewelry trays back into the suitcase, bracelets and earrings back into the backpack-Yeah! everything fits! Lug the table and chairs back to the car- 5 trips. Rearrange the trunk because it DID fit on the way here! Push and slam the trunk. NOW, for the 200 pound suitcase.
Back home, unload tables and chairs to the shed- 5 trips. The 200 pound suitcase up the stairs into the house-only it feels like 400. Now that everything is put away, I spend the next 2 hours at the computer, deleting sold jewelry from my online stores. As I head to bed sore and tired, I will get excited about next weekends craft fair- well NOT tonight,maybe tomorrow.........
jewelry and more by kat
The typical craft fair day starts at dawn or before- with the loading of the car. I get three folding tables and two chairs out of the shed while watching for morning skunks out of the corner of my eye. After five trips to the car, even though my back hurts and I'm tired, there is the 200 pound suitcase of jewelry trays that need loading into the backseat. Lift, push, groan and it's finally in. Now for the backpack with the bracelets and the earrings and three bags of displays and gift boxes. By now the sun is up and I'm off.
Today I'm lucky; it's only an hour drive. After getting lost two times, I finally arrive. Now- to unload everything I just put in the car. After six trips inside, I set up my tables to look pretty with all my jewelry.
My back says 'never again', I'm tired and need a coffee because 5 am is so early to get up. Now it's time to smile, look rested, relaxed and greet people. After 7 hours of greeting, talking and waiting on customers, it is over and time to pack everything back into the car. Jewelry trays back into the suitcase, bracelets and earrings back into the backpack-Yeah! everything fits! Lug the table and chairs back to the car- 5 trips. Rearrange the trunk because it DID fit on the way here! Push and slam the trunk. NOW, for the 200 pound suitcase.
Back home, unload tables and chairs to the shed- 5 trips. The 200 pound suitcase up the stairs into the house-only it feels like 400. Now that everything is put away, I spend the next 2 hours at the computer, deleting sold jewelry from my online stores. As I head to bed sore and tired, I will get excited about next weekends craft fair- well NOT tonight,maybe tomorrow.........
jewelry and more by kat
A quiet evening making jewelry-Wrong!
It's quiet in the house and late at night, perfect for creating that cha cha bracelet that I've been thinking about. First order of business-get prepared. I get my cloth and spread it out, I go through my beautiful, colorful beads and choose the aqua ones. I choose the chain, headpins, a few charms, pliers, snippers and I'm ready.
I spread out the beads on the cloth so they don't roll onto the floor. As I begin my cha cha bracelet, I envision the finished piece. As I snip the headpins, the pieces go flying and hit the corner wall of my workroom-PING-PING-PING. I'll clean that corner later.
As I work, my cat wanting to say hi, stands on his back legs and puts his paws on the table. That might have been cute, but his claws pulled the cloth to the floor, with all my loose beads.! After chasing beads all over the floor, I get everything back together and get the bracelet half made when -SNIP-I snipped the chain and broke the bracelet! Oh my. I had to snip off all the beads I had done and start with a new chain.
Well, about now I need a cup of coffee and as I get up to go make a pot, I snag the cloth and yes, all the beads promptly return to the floor!
Things are going smoothly and the bracelet is half done, again, the dog needs to go out. She stands on her back legs and pats my arm with her front paw, hits the cloth and there go the beads again. Are you kidding me?!!
I finally finish the beads and attach the charms and sit back to admire my work. BEAUTIFUL!
That was easy and didn't take long at all-oh is that the morning sun? (I'm glad that every piece of jewelry I make isn't as much fun as this one)
jewelry and more by kat
I spread out the beads on the cloth so they don't roll onto the floor. As I begin my cha cha bracelet, I envision the finished piece. As I snip the headpins, the pieces go flying and hit the corner wall of my workroom-PING-PING-PING. I'll clean that corner later.
As I work, my cat wanting to say hi, stands on his back legs and puts his paws on the table. That might have been cute, but his claws pulled the cloth to the floor, with all my loose beads.! After chasing beads all over the floor, I get everything back together and get the bracelet half made when -SNIP-I snipped the chain and broke the bracelet! Oh my. I had to snip off all the beads I had done and start with a new chain.
Well, about now I need a cup of coffee and as I get up to go make a pot, I snag the cloth and yes, all the beads promptly return to the floor!
Things are going smoothly and the bracelet is half done, again, the dog needs to go out. She stands on her back legs and pats my arm with her front paw, hits the cloth and there go the beads again. Are you kidding me?!!
I finally finish the beads and attach the charms and sit back to admire my work. BEAUTIFUL!
That was easy and didn't take long at all-oh is that the morning sun? (I'm glad that every piece of jewelry I make isn't as much fun as this one)
jewelry and more by kat
Inside my jewelry making
I use wire when creating my necklaces. It makes the pieces secure. I use wire in making my bracelets, but in two techniques. I string the beads on wire for some of my bracelets.
Then there are my cha cha bracelets. Each bead is hand wired to a chain making a full, noisey and fun bracelet. Like the aqua and dark blue bracelet.
Then there are my mini cha cha bracelets. I combine two techniques. I string the main beads for the body and for a small section, I hand wire a different style of bead to a chain. This technique creates a unique bracelet that I like to say is my signature.
jewelry and more by kat
Then there are my cha cha bracelets. Each bead is hand wired to a chain making a full, noisey and fun bracelet. Like the aqua and dark blue bracelet.
Then there are my mini cha cha bracelets. I combine two techniques. I string the main beads for the body and for a small section, I hand wire a different style of bead to a chain. This technique creates a unique bracelet that I like to say is my signature.
jewelry and more by kat
My journey to beaded jewelry
After my decision to create jewelry, the next step was to figure out what kind of jewelry I was going to make. I liked the looks of wire wrapping and decided to go with that. After practicing wrapping and also stringing beads, I was drawn to the colorful beads and the ways they can be used. I started beading and never looked back!
I love creating different pieces with the beautiful color beads. I like to combine colors that usually do not go together. I also like to use two different styles of beads and sizes to create something unique. The only limits are in my creative mind.
jewelry and more by kat
I love creating different pieces with the beautiful color beads. I like to combine colors that usually do not go together. I also like to use two different styles of beads and sizes to create something unique. The only limits are in my creative mind.
jewelry and more by kat
Why jewelry?
Since retiring, I wanted a small business to keep me busy. I am always creating things; I crochet, make greeting cards and paint ceramics. But instead of these for my store theme, I chose jewelry because I LOVE it! When I was working, I loved wearing jewelry and had many unique pieces. Customers always commented on my jewelry. I was always on the look out for that "something different". But what I liked was usually too expensive.
So that is the basis for my online jewelry store- create something different and make it affordable. My goal is to create one of a kind pieces that are unique and affordable but with good quality work. And to have loyal customers who like my style and work, thus return for more.
I am Kat and I hope you enjoy my store....
jewelry and more by kat
So that is the basis for my online jewelry store- create something different and make it affordable. My goal is to create one of a kind pieces that are unique and affordable but with good quality work. And to have loyal customers who like my style and work, thus return for more.
I am Kat and I hope you enjoy my store....
jewelry and more by kat
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