I AM IN TOTAL AWE!!!

I am in total awe of blogland! Why didn't I do this bloggin' stuff before? This is how it started. Someone told me about Dawn's blog The Feathered Nest. What is a blog, afterall? I had never heard of it except in passing. Where had I been all my life? Well, I loved it! I was really hooked. I went back and read every single one of the blog posts I could find on the Feathered Nest. I sent her a love gift and she called me to thank me and encouraged me to start my own blog. I did so. But with no hits except family. Then I met a gal (Lynn Cliburn) at Hobby Lobby, we were instant friends.I told her about Dawn's blog. She read my blog, then she was on a roll now her pages look better then mine! Anyways, she asked if she could feature my blog on her blog (Lynnlovelies.blogspot.com) . I was thrilled to be even considered. A couple days later she said that Kimberly from Serendip-Us.blogspot.com was going to be contact me. Sure enough, Kimberly emailed me a couple of times then today we talked for at least an hour on the phone. Now I have two new friends and encouragement enough to fill up my heart with those warm fuzzies we often get when someone likes our creations.


When I was growing up we had a party line. Ours was 1227 R1, which meant we were the first on the party line but when anyone got a call it would ring into all six party lines to let you know someone was getting a call. Well, the neighbors knew IF you were a good girl, who was sick, etc. This blogland is a lot like that. Except that, so far, no one is just snooping, or are they... Come to think of it, I sure hope so. I thought that no one "out there" knew I was even alive except for my wonderful family and that I was using my blog as a "diary" of sorts for my own reference. I sell a lot of my jewelry and I love to know where all of my work has gone. I become so emotionally attached to each piece that I want it to have a good home. (By the way, just so you will know, I pray for each person who will ever wear my jewelry. That God will bless their lives and draw them to the Lord.) That is a lot of prayers when you have over 100 pieces in stock. I have sold several creations therefore it is very difficult to remember back on what something looked like. I like to re-create patterns that I love doing. So the blog was a good reference for me of colors and add ons, etc. Somehow, in a very short time, I have made my diary, sold some things but most importantly, I am making wonderful friends in the process! That is a bonus I never thought about.
Now for the "stuff":

My Mother loved pretty things and in one of the boxes that I got, on her passing, was this precious spoon. Now, what does one do with a spoon? Yep, stick it in a drawer and use it once a year, if you are lucky. Well, this little spoon just cried out to me to "do something special". I had to add jewels and...what would happen if I cut it up and was sorry? I could not put it back together again. So I held back but it kept saying "pleeeze". So one day I got out my permanent marker and marked where it should be cut and where the holes should be drilled. Finally, with a lot of concern, I took it to my hubby and he got out the big guns and cut it in two places and drilled all the holes. (I could have cried, but didn't.) I think I heard my Momma say it will be okay. I added some of her crystals and hung it on a rope. I just love it! Isn't it great when something you have doubts about comes out so sweet and precious? I will be glad to make you one from your Mother, Grandmother or from someone special. Just email me and we can "talk".

Just recently, someone asked me if I did wiring. My statement then was "NO, I am not going to do wiring because I had enough projects to start with." I forgot all about that statement when my daughter and I went to a garage sale and found 300 feet of copper wire for only $6.00!!!! In the bead stores, etc. it is practically sold by the inch and now we have 300 FEET! That led to this necklace and five or six pairs of ear rings. But when I finally finished the necklace it was toooo shiny for me (remember I like old things) so I did go to the store and purchased a tub of "liver of sulfur". (That will be $12.00, please) That is the most awful smelling stuff I have ever smelled!!!! I mixed up the proper amounts and dropped a pair of my new ear rings into it. Instantly...all of my beautiful time consuming work turned to a horrid black. My heart stopped. (Boy, was I glad I hadn't stuck in the necklace first.) I got out my 00000 steel wool and polished for an hour. My thought process was: "why was I messing with wire anyway?" So I got a butter container of hot water and added about four tablespoons of my original mixture and walla, success! The next pair of earrings were the right shade of old. So I dumped the necklace into the mixture and then had to polish it just a little to bring out the solid copper highlights. I really like the way it turned out and I am at peace with the chemical world.

I think I will add pictures of things I have made up ahead of time so you can see the variety of things that are in stock. The antique button embroidery is surrounded with sweet seed pearls and the belt loop is so pretty with the flat delica strap. Bead embroidery is where I go to relax and unwind from a pattern.

Tomorrow I have to drive Don the the doctor for his pre-op visit. He goes into hospital next Wednesday for his new outlook on life. (I will be so glad when he gets the cataracts removed so that he can see all of the junk accumulated in the back yard. ha ha)

Thank you for stopping by my blog! Your encouragement is such a blessing to me. Please leave a comment!

Have a blessed day! Once again, thank you to Lynn for her love plus the referral and to Kimberly for her kind words.