I am currently advertising in Stringing magazine for the first time and I would like to keep track of how many people find me from my ad. If you visit my site because of Stringing magazine please send an email through my "Contact Me" link so I can make sure the ad is working for me. Thank you!
Tuesday, July 27Th
"Kickoff Time!"
As most of you know I live in Ohio.....home of the football Hall-of-Fame. This weekend the town is packed with football fans excited to see the Hall-of-Fame game, fireworks, hot air balloons, and much more. As you also know I am not a huge football fan, so you can thank my wonderful husband for the sports section on my site. Each year he lets me know when I should start making football beads and what teams I should design my sets after. I decided that this year I will make as many teams as I can and I would love to take special requests from all of you as well. To kickoff the football season I made a new set......
"Florida (Miami) Football"
You can view all of my sports sets in the "Sports Team" section of my site....just click on the link below.
I hope all of you are having a wonderful week and as always thank you for supporting my site!
Friday, July 23rd
"Mr. Fish"
So, Anderson calls every one by their first name and adds "fish" to it. He calls my mom Naya fish, my dad Papa fish, my friends are "first name" + fish. It all came about when that fillet of fish commercial came out and he has been saying it ever since. Sooooo, I found it hilarious that he decided to wear his fishy lunchbox as a hat the other night. Here he is.....Mr. Fish!
Isn't he adorable!!!!!
Oh yeah, for some reason Josh is still "Daddy Dinosaur"...haha
I do have a new set for you tonight. I have been playing with new color combinations that are kinda out of the box for me. I actually saw a really pretty one on some ladies swimsuit at the pool today that I am going to try later this week:) This new set is called.....
"Hint of Lime"
I hope you like this set; it has already received tons of complements at the bead shop before it was even pictured online.
That's all for tonight, I'm headed upstairs to relax and get ready for work tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
Sunday, July 18th
"Summer Time"
Finally, a chance to sit down at the computer and share some of my Summer with all of you. We have been busy, busy, busy, and I have been trying to make this a great Summer for Anderson with lots of fun things to do. Now that the weddings are finally over I have a little more time to just relax and enjoy my little guy. I have to admit....even though the weddings were tons of work I did feel a little let down when they were over. It was fun spending time with the girls and helping them make their wedding day as perfect as it could be. Here is a picture with each beautiful bride.
This is Lindsey, her wedding was May 28th and was held at the same place I had my wedding....same room, same gazebo, even same DJ! It was really neat to be in her wedding in the same place I had mine....ahhh, the memories!
This is Sara, her wedding was July 2nd. The wedding was in a church and and then we took a limo to a golf course where the reception was held. Sara was also in my wedding five years ago:)
After Sara's wedding we headed up to my parents lake house for the weekend to relax and enjoy the 4th. Anderson wasn't so sure about sparklers but it looks like he is planning a sneak attack on this one:)
My sister brought her bike up to the lake so my dad could fix it...just what he wanted to do on vacation...haha. I brought Anderson's tools up with us so he could help papa with the weekend to-do list. By the end of the bike fixing he was covered in grease.
Later that day we went fishing. Anderson loves the idea of fishing but isn't sure about a fish actually being on the end of his pole. Actually his pole is so small and crappy that it won't even wheel in a fish! We put his up for the weekend until we can get a new one and used mine to catch this little guy.
We headed home on Monday and planned to stay at home that night. Then I heard that our towns fireworks were Monday night so we called our friends to see if they wanted to join us at my parents since you can see them from their house. They said yes so we called my parents (who were still on their way home from the lake) and told them that we were having a party at their house...haha. Kids never leave do they? This is Anderson and his friend Cooper before the fireworks. I say before because Anderson wanted to go home once they started. He said they were loud and scary so we walked back to the house and waited for everyone else to come back.
We have had so much fun this summer and we still have August to do some more fun things! I just checked the weather and it is calling for rain for the next week:( I think we might head out to do some outdoor activities today just in case the weather guys are right. Have a great week and I'll be back soon with some new beads.
Tuesday, July 6Th
"New Beads"
I have two new "Limited Edition" sets for you tonight and one new section that I just finished updating. Here they are....
"Purple Fizz"
Limited Edition
Made with a hand mixed eggplant purple.
"Something Blue"
Limited Edition
Made with a hand mixed corn flower blue.
and
the new "Twisties" section.
Just a quick product update for you tonight since it's so late but I'll have more coming soon.
I hope you had a great 4Th of July and enjoy your week!
Wednesday, June 30Th
"Summer Fun"
Wow! We have been doing so much this summer that I can't even keep my days straight. We have been swimming a lot on my days off and Anderson has quickly become a little fish. Last year he liked the water but when I put him in swimming lessons this winter he just about lost it....and so did I. The first few times we went to the pool this summer he wouldn't even get in and then I remembered I had water wings for him. Usually he wears a life vest but it's really bulky and hard for him to move around in. Once I put the wings on him and showed him that they would keep him above the water he was good to go. We went to a friends pool the other day and he spent almost three hours in the pool with a few breaks to eat....he is so adorable when his little legs are kicking around the pool like a frog:)
This week the weather has turned colder and it has rained a lot so we have spent more time inside. Monday I took him to paint pottery with a gift certificate that my brother had purchased for my birthday. We were only going to paint a vase for "Mommy's flowers" but Anderson grabbed a ceramic car before I could say no so we ended up painting that too. He did really well for the first 45 minutes but then he was over it and I had to stick him in his stroller until I was done. Just look at the concentration!
Here are our pieces before they were fired....I'll get the finished pieces back this week.
Friday is that second (and the last) wedding that I am in this summer. I have had so much fun helping the girls but it has been expensive!!!!!! I definitely won't be in another wedding until my brother or sister get married and that will be a while. We have the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night and then the wedding festivities Friday. Friday morning we have hair at 10am, then off to get ready at her in laws, pictures, lunch, and then to the church....it's going to be a busy day. Originally we were going to take Anderson but then my sister and her boyfriend were kind enough to offer to watch him for us...all we have to do is buy them a pizza.
Enough about my life. I have one new set for you tonight; it's not a "Limited Edition" set but I promise I will have more of those headed your way in the next few weeks. Here it is....
"Lavender Loops"
I hope you enjoy the new sets and the fun summer pictures. I will be taking a beading break this weekend for the wedding and the fourth of July. I will still be taking orders and answering emails but won't be making any beads. Therefore any orders placed after today will go out next Friday. Thanks so much and have a great weekend!
Tuesday, June 22nd
"Sold Out!"
Thank you so much for all of your "Summer Melon" orders! My glass is now gone and I just finished up mixing a fresh batch of handmade color that I'm calling citrus. Citrus is a bright lemon-lime color that is perfect for summer and matches all of the fluorescent yellow clothing that is out right now. This color has been a favorite of mine for years and I usually wear it with grey, but I decided that an opal blue would be better for the hot months ahead. Here is the new limited edition set....
"Lemon Ice (Limited Edition)"
The last batch of handmade color made five sets so that's what I put in the "In Stock" number....It could be more and it could be less so snatch a set up for yourself if you want one:) Have a great week and as always thank you for supporting my site!
Saturday, June 19th
"Something special"
Tonight I have something new and exciting for all of you. I have decided to start making "Limited Edition" bead sets that will only be offered until the glass I use to make them is gone. I say until it is gone because I am hand mixing different colors to give my beads a different type of uniqueness. The first set is called "Summer Melon (Limited Edition)" and is made with a hand mixed cantaloupe and a hand mixed raspberry sherbet color. Here it is......
Isn't it just yummy!
I have always said "why don't they come out with new colors"....now I don't have to wait:)
The next set isn't limited edition but it is a new favorite of mine.
"Hydrangea Tiles"
I love anything with Hydrangeas so of course I love these.
I hope you enjoy the new sets and like the "Limited Edition" idea.
Have a fabulous Sunday and I wish all of the daddy's a happy Father's Day!!!!
Sunday, June 13Th
"New beads"
Good afternoon! I managed to sneak into work a little earlier than normal yesterday morning so I could make a few new sets in between orders. We open at 10am so I got up at 6:30am to head in and have some ME time; I know it probably sounds funny that my me time is at work but that's where my studio is right now. Josh and I have talked about eventually getting me set up in the basement again so I can work on beads at home and I work but that wont be anytime soon. I actually don't need that much for home because I already have a lot but the few things I do need wont be cheap. I actually found a super cute torch from Wale apparatus which is where I get all of my glass from. They had a torch created just for their company and it comes in different colors....I have my eyes on the pink one; hopefully they are still carrying it when I need to complete my second setup. On the plus side it's a little cheaper than the one I currently use. Anyways, back to the new sets. I was able to make three sets before it was time for me to start working on orders....here they are!
"Doodles" (my favorite)
"Doodles" (my favorite)
"Summer Meadow"
and
"Vanilla Custard"
I guess I was feeling a little neutral yesterday but sometimes those colors are a little more versatile when designing jewelry. I am in love with the "Doodles" set! Which one is your favorite?
Anderson is still trying to be a big boy on the potty but he is still having trouble. He is so busy that he just doesn't want to take the time to stop and have a potty break....he's very active little guy. Since we have started the big boy underwear he has really started "being" a big boy. He sat in his booster seat at grandma Jane's house, he sleeps in his own bed, and I am actually starting to be able to lay him in his bed for a nap. Those of you who know Anderson know that nap time has never been a relaxing event. It always consisted of a lot of TV watching, car rides, and, snuggling. It is so nice to now be able to tell him it's nap time, lay him down, and have some quiet time for myself. AMAZING!
We'll that's all for now; I'm going to relax while Anderson is napping and Josh is at the grocery store....ahhhhh. Have a great week and enjoy the new beads!
PS: The new issue of Stringing has started shipping out to those who subscribe....I just received mine yesterday. It features my fruit beads in the "Beads we like" section along with other adorable fruit beads; they can all be found in my "Summer Create Your Own" section. It is also the first issue that I have advertised in so I hope it makes a difference for my site! For those of you that don't subscribe, I believe it hits the stands on the 22ND. If you have never purchased this magazine then it's a must.....it's a good one!!!!
Wednesday, June 9th
"Potty Week"
So, since Sunday we have been potty training Anderson; I started on Sunday because I have Monday off work as well. He didn't do very well on Sunday and we had a lot of accidents, Monday was better and we even went to the park and a few other places, Tuesday he was with my mom and had another rough day. I knew this was going to be hard but I didn't know it was going to be THIS hard! I start to think that maybe he isn't ready but he refuses to put on a diaper or pull-up because he says they are for babies. He is actually taking a nap in his undies right now because he had a total melt down when I mentioned a "nap time" pull-up. I'll probably have a mess to clean up but at least there is a plastic cover on his mattress. Does anyone have any tips for me? I have been going to the dollar store to get him "potty presents" since I can get 20 of them for $20. Plus, I let him call someone when he goes so someone other than me can praise him for being a big boy. I feel like I'm doing all of the right things but maybe all of you have some new ideas:)
See the nice sunny pictures below? Those days have been a thing of the past for the last week and a half; all it has done is rain and the weather is very cool. In fact, I am wearing a sweat shirt and jeans right now and it's June! My friends went on their honeymoon this week and said we could use their pool whenever we wanted to. I was super excited to go swimming and we haven't had one nice day to do so.....which reminds me...I need to head over there and clean it from all the rain. Oh well, the hot Summer days will be back soon and we'll all be wishing for cooler weather.
So whats this craze with the silly bandz that all of the kids are wearing? I guess they are like those gummy bracelets that I used to wear but only in little shapes. Josh and I were joking about getting them for the bead shop and I said I doubt we would.....next thing I know my mom is telling me that she just ordered them and they will be in next week! I talked to my babysitting girls and they said that the kids like to trade and collect them.....sounds like they will be a good seller at the shop.
Speaking of the girls, I need to give them a call to see if they can watch Anderson next week so I am going to do that while Anderson is napping and it's nice and quiet. Please send over your potty training advise; I appreciate it!
Oh yeah, I want to create a Q&A section on my website. It can be a question about me, how I began lampworking, what are my policies, etc. Please feel free to send me any questions so I can put my page together. Thank you!
Tuesday, June 1st
"A wonderful weekend"
This weekend was great! We left for my parents lake house on Saturday night and arrived there around 10pm. We went to bed soon after that and woke up to a beautiful Sunny Sunday morning. Of course I did my most favorite thing first; I grabbed a cup of coffee and a seat by the lake and enjoyed the view. It is so beautiful up there that I could do that every morning for the rest of my life and be completely content.....ahhhhhh.
Later that day we went into a local glass/jewelry gallery, the grocery store, and a bait shop to get Anderson some worms for fishing. He was really excited to go fishing until I brought out the slip and slide that I picked up for him while we were out..... Isn't he adorable?
Then after that we went fishing. He has this little pole that is getting pretty crappy; a stick and string would have probably worked better! We finally caught one fish on his pole and then we switched to my pole and caught four or five. I found out that Anderson likes the idea of fishing but once you pull a fish out of the water he wants nothing to do with it. A few times he almost backed off the dock when we pulled one in, I had to hold on to his life vest to make sure he didn't end up in the lake.
Later that day we went to the little park. There was this tree there that looked like it had cotton all over it. Every time the wind blew it looked like it was snowing and in a few spots it completely covered the ground. Anderson found a huge pile of it and had a great time playing in it. I'm not sure what kind of tree it was but I'm sure it would be a nightmare for someone with allergies. I think Anderson is allergy free judging by the picture below:)
Even though we had a great time it always feels good to be back home.....even if we did come home to a broken AC unit:)
Night!
-Jen