New Jewelry!!! Pins/Brooches

I have finally completed a few pieces ~ these are pins/brooches. Take a look here:

I'll have them posted on Esty shortly.

The Lake and T.S. Fay

We have so been looking forward to getting a tropical storm this year. I don't wish this on the people in south Florida, but we desperately need the rain.

Last year, restoration on our "lake" began (it's a long, long story but I guess it needed to be done). I say "lake" because it's not really a lake ~ more like a small pond. Anyway, it was drained and scraped and dirt was moved around and a little dirt was actually hauled away. This is what we were left with:

Of course, with the small amount of rain we've gotten this summer, it was just enough to allow renegade vegetation to grow. Very sad looking.

So, now you know why we are looking forward to T.S. Fay. I hope she leaves us with a lot of rain, at least enough to cover up the dirt mound left in the middle of the lake so at least it looks like a lake and not a marsh.

The Owl

It seems we are having a bumper crop of frogs this year and apparently it is great fodder for the owls. For a few nights I noticed two owls hanging around and they appeared to be agitated with each other. I assume they are a little territorial and wanted to establish their own "hunting grounds". One won out and has been doing some great hunting and eating for the past week. I was sitting on the back porch on the phone with my son one evening and The Owl did a very, very close fly by. I'm not sure he realized I was sitting there, but it flew so close in front of me that I was startled. It could not have been more than 8-10 feet from me!

So, I decided that I needed to get this great predator on film. I took quite a few shots and was very surprised that he/she allowed me to get as close as I did. Here's his/hers great pose for me:

Show Mode and China Dust

Well, it's that time of year! Time to get into "show mode"! That's what Mr. China calls it when I am frantically working my poor little fingers to the bone getting all my stock ready for the fall shows around here. The garage has a thin layer of china dust everywhere! The living room is converted to the "solder station" (yes, I put it away each night, but drag it out the next day to work, work, work.) Also, the "office" is in shambles because I have my makeshift photo cube set up and jewelry all over the place. But, Mr. China is very patient and forgiving and knows this is something I must do to keep sane.


About the china dust, it gets everywhere! I need to come up with some type of barrier to try to keep it contained. This is what I cut two weekends ago:




Not very pretty at the moment, but after I smooth out the edges (yes, a little more china dust was flying through the air), clean it up and foil the edges, this is what I have:



Now the little china pieces have to go to the "solder station". Stay tuned so that you can get a first glimpse at the finished products.

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Oops - a little interruption ~~ Although I'm in "show mode", when I get that call from my son asking if I can keep my grandson on Saturday ~~ screeeeeech ~~all work comes to a grinding halt! There's nothing more important than seeing that cute little two year old and it's unbelievable how much he changes in just two weeks! His newest trick ~ opening a door, grabbing each doorknob, picking up his feet and ....wheeee...."look Grammy, I'm swingin'!" He is just hilarious! Can't wait to see what his next "trick" will be!

What happened to the Beatrix Potter Jewelry????

I'm so sorry to have teased you with my last post about the Beatrix Potter jewelry. It certainly was not intentional. If any of you have ever spent any time in the forums at Etsy.com, you know there is a lot of discussion about copyright infringement and how wrong it is. I agree. That being said, I have removed my Beatrix Potter jewelry. I have written the company to ask permission to continue selling these items and if I get the permission (granted I don't have to pay dearly for royalties), I will have them back.

If you are interested in this line of jewelry, please leave me a message and I will be sure to contact you when (and if) I have the permission to sell.

Thank you for your understanding.

~~ Tanya