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.

I'm here!

I've been busy working with my sister and our friend Phyllis to prepare for a big card making class we are putting on this Friday evening in conjunction with the Heirloom Anderson Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival being held at the Anderson Civic Center this weekend.  We have 20 people signed up!  It should be LOTS of fun.  We are having it at New York Pizza (can't seem to add another link - grrrr) on Civic Center Blvd..  The students get pizza & salad with their class as well!
I WILL post photos! (Both here and on the store's blog TheMercantileStore.blogspot.com)
Today, my favorite traveling bead wholesaler comes to town for me to pick beads for our next trunk show!  MMMMMMMMMMM - BEADS!  It should be an all day event.  Then our local rubber stamp club (The Crafty Crew) has it's monthly gathering at the store.  It will be a LONG day, but a VERY enjoyable one!

This is not one of the cards we are making, just one I made in a class last week

Happy Birthday to the Queen Bee!

Thursday is my little sister's birthday. This photo is from a few years ago on a sunny Spring day back in Alfred, NY, where we grew up. It was taken in our side yard.
Regina has a few photos of herself in the family archives where she is smelling flowers. I especially like this one because the vivid blue stripes in her shirt go so well with the sky.
She calls herself the Queen Bee because her name - Regina means Queen in Latin. And these days, she describes herself as buzzing from one project to another.
Regina is the youngest of our family and currently lives in western NY state with her hubby and her munchkin (who turns 5 this month!). Among her creative endeavors are quilting, rubber stamping, bead work, gardening and whatever seems to intrigue her at the time. All while working a full time job, being a wife and a mom and working on renovations to their house.
All of our family is prone to filling their days with things to do. I spent the day yesterday working (teaching 3 classes) from 9 AM til 9:30 PM with an hour for dinner myself. Terri and I often have days like that. Sue is Quilting, teaching quilting, working on Relay for Life and a bevy of other interests (her hubby Jim does most of the gardening and her 2 'kids' are married). Bill enjoys bicycle riding (serious riding!), camping and cooking as well as woodworking to fill some of the spare time he has, often sharing with his wife and 2 boys. Terri has her bead work, her illustrations and her Assemblages along with teaching a pre-school art class to help fill the little time she has to spare (her DragonBen turned 10 last month!). Rick had woodworking and Blacksmithing along with hiking, kayaking and all sorts of outdoorsy things to fill the time sharing most of the outdoorsy things with his wife Alice and their compilation of 3 teenagers.
We have each been known to hold more than one job at a time, even if one of the jobs is a full time one! But a good work ethic was taught to us as we grew up.
So, Happy Birthday Regina! I know I posted this a day early, but I wanted to be sure you saw it before your special day begins! LOVE YOU!

phew!

What a busy few days it has been...

Sunday, I was working on my porcelain production area and we had the monthly meeting of the Hole in the Bead Gang Bead Club.

Monday I had a big bead order to process.

All day Tuesday we prepared for a short show at the Anderson YMCA for National Women's Health Day. I was folding brochures and pulling together all of the display paraphanalia. Terri made several sets of greeting cards and Mom helped gather assorted other merchandise for the show.

We hurridly set up for the show yesterday morning and had a wonderful time there. We met a lot of fantastic people and had a delicious lunch donated by Chick-fil-A. Then it was back to the store to unpack.

We also had the Crafty Crew Rubber Stamp Club monthly gathering at the store last night. Our customer/friend BP had a wonderful project (photo to come...) for us all to make and M & CD brought delicious goodies for us to munch on afterward. Those brownies were so delectable! We had the company of a group of fun and creative people. This month we had 4 guests joining us and we hope they will come back again.

This morning we have a class for 12 through Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through Clemson University.

I have had so much going on, I have not had the energy at the end of the day to finish pulling together a disc of photos for sister Regina (for the store's web page) or the cards won by Ruth.

I WILL get both of those things out in the mail the first part of next week! And I WILL get some new photos for here and a new post for the store's blog.

Keep those creative juices flowing!

More on my creative family

Another entry to the creative family is my sister Terri. Pictured is one of her necklace designs. This was designed for a bride to give to her attendants and went on to be a class. It contains two sizes of freshwater pearls as well as Swarovski crystals and sterling accents.

Terri is an extremely talented illustrator and designer. At one time she owned her own decorative rubber stamp company while living in the UK. She designed and manufactured the stamps herself.

If you are ever in Anderson, SC and have a craving for delicious pizza, go into NY Pizza just off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.. Hanging on the wall to the left as you go in are a series of mixed media collages which Terri created in less than 2 weeks when the owner was redecorating. Each features a region in Italy. One of them even features the doors of the church in Sicily where our great grandparents were married. And while you are there, enjoy some wonderful food! Mom & Dad have even gotten take-out to bring to Churchville, NY when visiting Regina! We usually go every Wednesday & Saturday for dinner.

Terri can be found at our family store creating with beads or paper and rubber stamps. She also has taught bookbinding both at the store and at the Clemson Arts Center ( www.ExploreArts.org ). And this year she has volunteered at her son's school and helped the students in his class create fun things for different holidays. Not to mention the several Open Studios she has had at Hospice of the Upstate for staff and patients family members.

No headache this morning. YAY!!!