Feeling lost and celebrating a find!

This is one of the saddest days of the year for me.  I used to adore Valentine's Day and celebrating love and romance.  These days, not so much.  I would rather stay at home and eat a peanut butter sandwich for dinner than go out and see all the couples gaga about each other (or at least putting on a good show).

Yes, I love my family and friends, but I have nobody to call my own.  Simply telling it like it is.

OK, enough about my intense dread of this day.

The find is thanks to my sister-in-law Jan.  She noticed a pair of plates advertised by one of the local antique shops in my home town.  She thought she recognized them and posted them to my facebook page.  Sure enough, they were plates that, along with Laurie - another sister-in-law (and probably others as well), I helped produce in 1990 while working for my father-in-law.  My contribution was the decorating.

Long story short - they now belong to me and safely made the trip via USPS.

Has it really been THAT long???

I guess I have been sucked into the easiness that is facebook and not taken the time to come over here and blog...  that is not good.

In the year and a half that I have been absent from here, I have been still creating my pottery, the most recent addition has been the Crimson Velvet Porcelain.

Crimson Velvet Sake Bottle $85.00

This extraordinary color is quite expensive and I will only do small pieces.  The Sake Bottle pictured here has just a clear glaze inside and on the top portion of the bottle, ending just below the shoulder.

I am still teaching a variety of classes at our store along with my sister and a few talented friends.

We painted the inside of the store this summer...

As well as re-arranging the floor plan a bit.  We are quite pleased with the results, it gives us a more open space and more flexibility.

My ex-husband passed away unexpectedly this past summer and I made a quick trip to Alfred, NY for the funeral and to visit with the Higgins side of my family.  Yes, a divorce severs legal relationships, but it cannot sever the feelings of family.  I wish I could afford the time and money to visit them more often.  I just do not want it to be for such a solemn occasion and I definitely do not want the flight headaches I endured on this trip.  (Another story for another time... maybe.)

Dad retired from the store this past Spring, leaving Terri & I both working 6 days a week.  I am glad he has the time to do the things he wants to do.  It does, however, make it a little harder to get work done on projects that require longer amounts of time than an early morning or an evening.  Our friend Phyllis was so kind to come in and work on Mondays through the Christmas & Holiday shopping season so Terri & I could alternate Mondays off and get some things done.  We are ever so grateful!

Speaking of friends helping out.  We have the most wonderful group of customer/friends who come to our aid when one of us is sick (Terri got hit hard with a stomach bug during the holidays) or needs to be someplace (for me, one of the 2 shows I do each year, or this weekend, Terri was at a retreat.)  Our friends who are like family step in to help man the store.  We can only say that we are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.  And to all of you, thank you for all you do!

I designed some beaded pieces for classes...

Abstract Narcissus Square Stitch Pendant

Ornament Cover 2013

All in all, It has been a busy year and a half.

I am not going to make any promises about blogging more often.  Let me just say that I will try.

May 2014 be off to a positive start for you and may it continue to the end.

Where oh where has Cindy been? She hasn't blogged in AGES!

I haven't been very good about blogging... my apologies.
I haven't even spent the time browsing other bloggers writings... shame on me!
I am busy with work, my sister is just now able to be at the store more hours.  The radiation treatments took a lot of energy away.  The one thing we are the most grateful for is that it was NOT cancer.  If it weren't for Dad and the wonderful friends we have, I would have run myself into the ground!  I am thankful for that every moment of every day.
It is the time of year that we start stocking the shelves with wonderful gift ideas.  Terri had the window of opportunity, after recuperating from the surgery and starting radiation, and went to the Atlanta Gift Market in July with our friend Phyllis.  (I went to Chicago with Mary for the Craft & Hobby Association show)
We also are gearing up for Christmas and the other end-of-the-year holidays with card and gift making classes.  That is where it gets tough for me.  I want to offer everyone lots of classes, but in the evenings, I am the only one who can teach for the time being.  If I were to offer classes every Tuesday & Thursday evening, and throughout the days Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, I would not have a milligram of energy for life.
Next week, Mary & I are headed off to Orlando for a trade show.  The rep group deals with paper arts (rubber stamping, scrapbooking...) and Mary & I will be taking several classes between us to learn new ideas and techniques.  We have a lot of talented & creative people in our lives, it is nice that Mary can be a part of our staff and share her talents with those interested, and share a big smile while she is at it.  And, since Terri is still physically unable to handle a trip like this, I am glad to have Mary as a travelling partner as well as someone whose opinion I can get while shopping for creative goodies for the store.
What do I do in my spare time these day, you ask... and do I even have any spare time?!?!?  Well, I still do occasional house & pet sitting and enjoy these little get-aways so the pet's humans can get away.  I am at my nephew's house this weekend, enjoying the dogs and the peacefulness here at the lake.
When I am at home, I am working on my pottery.  I have my Fall show coming up in November at the Anderson County Museum;  Mistletoe Market.  It is my 6th or 7th year (I lose track of time...).  That is the first weekend of November.
I would post photos, but I am not on my own computer...
I hope to not be such a stranger 'round these parts...

Sun & Sea Creative Bead Chat Challenge 2012

I have been part of a group on facebook called Creative Bead Chat.  Bead lovers from all over share their creations and tips and all sorts of things.  They are a wonderful support group, personally as well as creatively.
I was chosen by Random.com to be one of the recipients of the beads for the Sun & Sea challenge.

Here is what I started with.  I pulled together some things I thought would go well with the ceramic, polymer, shell, copper & glass I was provided with.

My own textured & patina'd copper sheet & wire with the challenge goodies.

 The first item I made is this double strand copper necklace & earring set.
I took 1/3 of the sheet of copper & made it into charms.  The bail of the donut is embellished peyote stitch.  The copper ear wires are hand made by me.  The beautiful copper clasp provided is on the back of this piece.

Ocean Breezes

Ocean Breezes Earrings

 This bangle was next.

Shell We Dance

 Adding some pearls, aquamarine & sponge coral helped set-off the beautiful components provided.

On The Boardwalk

 The glass beads were beautiful enough that I wanted to spotlight them on these hoops.

Sunrise

I had so much fun creating with the items supplied by some very talented bead artisans.

My pottery is still my first love, but beads and creating things with them come in a fairly close second.

Thank you to all who organized this challenge!  And thank you to all of the others who have participated.

Feel free to comment below, I won't know what you think (good, ambivalent or bad) unless you do.  And, I don't bite!

Please visit the other blogs that have participated in the challenge.

Most of all, have fun!

http://www.yayjewelry.blogspot.com/

http://cswdesignsbyhehe.blogspot.com/

http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com/

http://blog.aimeesjewelrytreasures.com/

August Giveaway

As family and friends have urged, I will host a giveaway.

The item to be the 'prize' will be a custom made necklace with Viking Braid and a wire-wrapped stone.

I do not have a photo of the finished piece, because it will be custom made, but here are some examples of the wrapping and the braid...

Viking Braid Bracelet in Non-Tarnish Copper

Custom wrapped stone in Non-tarnish Silver and Non-Tarnish Copper

Custom Wrapped stone in Non-Tarnish Silver

The Giveaway starts tonight (August 1st, 2010) and runs until Midnight Eastern Time on August 15th, 2010 and is open to residents of the US only.

To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post with a way to get in touch with you to verify and confirm your entry.
2. Share this post with others on Facebook and leave me a comment letting me know you did.
3. Become a follower of the blog and let me know you have signed up.

This gives you up to 3 ways to enter.

The winner will be chosen in a random drawing.  After that, we can discuss stone colors and wire preferences.  (I am drawing by names... since I don't have the patience to check the time stamp on each entry to see when it was submitted...)

Inspiration has returned!!!!!

This past week I entered 2 'pieces' of artwork in a small first-time show to benefit people who have little or no insurance to cover chemotherapy at the AnMed Health Cancer Center Infusion Center in Anderson, SC.

One of the 'pieces' I entered was the Victorian Vineyard vase and the other was an ebony porcelain coffee set similar to the one in this photo. The one I entered had 2 mugs, a sugar/creamer set and a coffee pot. The lid of the pot and the rim of the mugs were glazed in a mottled chocolate brown.

Last night was the opening reception for the show. I attended; and when I arrived, my friend Melanie was eager to show me that my Coffee set had won a blue ribbon, AND it had sold! The woman who purchased it works at the hospital.

I went back today to bring a riser to place the vase on top of and the Coffee set was gone. The gal in there told me that the woman who purchased it wanted it so badly she took it already!

I happened to be there when Mom & Terri were looking over the show as well (after Mom's chemo treatment) and they asked if I could bring in another set for the remainder of the show (it is a 2 week show), she said yes. So, I hope to send one over there on Monday morning.

Terri also entered a mixed media assemblage in a shadowbox with the quote "Leave room in your garden for angels to dance". It was exceptionally well received by all! Her garden was 3-dimensional and the angel was only about 3/4" tall - - all cut out of paper! If I could figure out how to copy her photo from Facebook to here, I would, but that is a little beyond my capabilities...

When I posted the news and photo on my Facebook page, I got a lot of positive feedback, even some purchase inquiries!

Then, today, in the mail, was the official acceptance letter for the Celebrate Clayton festival in Clayton, GA at the end of April. It will be the 4th year for me to do that show.

Needless to say, with all of the positive vibes these last 24 hours, motivation and inspiration are back!

Sand Fibers Give Away

Thanks to my friend Jo of Dogmaw Glass, I heard about this fabulous give away over at Sand Fibers. I just discovered her blog, but love it already! She has beautiful bead work and sells on Etsy. I look forward to following her and seeing her work. From what I see, she works primarily in Peyote stitch, one of my all-time favorite stitches! Even if I don't win her give-away, I am just glad that Jo led me to her work! (Jo posted it to Facebook - yes, I have fallen into the abyss of facebook as well... )

I'm here!

I have not posted lately because of a lot of things happening. No, nothing serious in nature, just a lot going on... I have not forgotten about posting, I just have not always had the time or energy.
Good news is, we now have DSL here at the house. This should make blogging MUCH easier! (Just uploading the photo of my late kitty Max took WAY less time!)

Now, I just need to get some more photos scanned or taken to be able to post them.
And, I guess I have gotten bitten by the FaceBook bug... it has been nice to re-connect with some old friends from my youth. One even apologized for how he treated me back in Junior High... something I had moved beyond a long time ago. Yet it was still nice that he thought to apologize after all this time. Thanks Scott! Hey, we were teenagers, no apologies necessary, but thanks anyway...
I can keep up with my family and people I don't get to see often enough. Not to mention the oodles of photos I can look at in my friends' profiles! Awesome waves in RI from Hurricane Bill, adorable children, beautiful artwork (painting, quilting, jewelry design...), lots of people, pets and flowers...
But I do need to get back to my blogging. Now that my desktop is able to go online again, I have access (more easily) to a number of photo files I already had. I had problems when my dial-up modem was zapped by lightning... with DSL, I don't have to worry about that anymore! (AND, I have put ALL cords, including the phone line, through the new surge protector!)
I will get more posted soon. (I hope to be able to post some photos of my nephew DragonBen's latest artwork... and he's only 9 1/2!!!)
Thanks for being patient with me.