Getting Ready for Etsy Showcase!

Okay, so I bought two showcase spots for tomorrow on Etsy. Both are in Main Showcase, and one spot is for Hampton Beads, and one is for Hampton Jewels. So I need to get crackin'! I have several things I'd like to make for the showcase, and I have been planning on adding more jewelry to my jewelry shop. And, I need to oxidize a few new pieces as well. Everyone here is feeling less than 100% today, so it's going to be a challenge.

My bead sale has been pretty successful; yesterday (Saturday) was a busy sales day and I hope today will be, too. I'm heading to a bead show next weekend, so my goal is to clear out some inventory before adding more. If you're reading this and you love gemstone beads, definitely visit my Etsy shop. Scroll allllllllll the way down and check out Etsy Mini on the bottom of this blog for a preview of sparkly little treasures. :)

Stormy Weather

This weekend has essentially been a washout here. The highlight, though, was my little nephew James Lorenzo's visit on Friday afternoon. My sister and her husband had a friend's wedding to attend on the Island, so after Emily transformed herself from new mom into glamorous party-goer, Joe and I babysat their 5-wk-old Peanut. Let it be known that he was the easiest child of all three. Thomas was easygoing too -- my Pip was the true handful. Here she is in a quieter moment. I know she was just excited to see her nephew, but the pandemonium was a little over-the-top. Something had to be done. Super Dad to the rescue!! Joe saved the day and took Julianne and Thomas to Gino's, our beloved pizzeria, for dinner. A stop at Blockbuster afterwards for Toy Story 2 made them very happy and afforded me a little more quiet time with James before the kids returned. james was a bit fussy after his second meal here, so I put him on the floor and he loved it!

He was sleeping when they came back, and I put him in Julianne's beautiful and cozy Amy Coe Moses basket. I should tell Karen how much that basket has come in handy. James looked like a little sleeping angel in it. Too bad they don't make adult-size ones! :)

Anyway, James, you're a lovely little man and you're welcome here any time!! Although I have to admit: any scattered thoughts I'd been having lately of trying for Baby No. 3 were quickly put away for another time. I don't think I could handle a third child right now -- this was a fun experiment, but I'm happy it was just that. For now, my two-ring circus is juuuuuust fine. :)

Whirlwind Day

Today was delightful. We had Julianne's classmate Emma over to play. When you're 3, this means you roll with an entourage, so it was Emma, her mom, and little baby sister. The weather was beautiful. After grilled cheese sandwiches and Pillsbury pumpkin cookies (of which I ate too many--before baking!!!), the kids played in the basement (with Thomas in tow, of course), and then we all headed outside for sunshine. Soon 3 pm was upon us and the natives were really getting exhausted, so we called it a day. But the kids really enjoyed themselves and I had a great time having an adult conversation with someone whom I quickly discovered I have a lot in common with.

My house has been very messy lately (okay so it's usually always messy). I LOVE hosting playdates and dinner parties because it forces me to clean. In the 2 hrs before our guests came over, I took out all the trash, did 2 loads of laundry, hauled clean laundry up to my bed, straightened up the kids' bedrooms & made beds, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the downstairs bathroom, vacuumed the den and kitchen, went grocery shopping, went to the post office, did the preschool pickups, unloaded groceries, swept up and threw away the dead pile of weeds on our front steps, and put on some makeup. In that order. Someday maybe I'll manage the makeup first. For now, I'll just continue to scare the other moms at preschool. Hey, you can't have everything.

What else is new...Cherie and I picked up a trunk show appointment for November. This is a result of doing the West Islip Country Fair. I spoke to two ladies who were each very interested. November's going to be a mad-crazy month! But, I'm not complaining. After all, my goal is to get to the Tucson Gem Show in February. Maybe a pipe dream, maybe not. Gotta keep chugging along and one day, I just might get there with my faithful assistant Joe. :) Speaking of craft shows, here's a picture of the kids from an August show in Bridgehampton. End-of-the-world rains pretty much ruined the show, but not before I snapped this great little shot.

And, last but not least, I'm finally getting around to listing some starfish necklaces on Etsy. I sold 6 of them on Sunday, they were a popular item. This is after Joe had been telling me forever to make more items with starfish. Okay, so he was right. I was big enough to tell him so, and he looked very proud of himself. When he's right, he's right! Here's a peek at them:

Stuck on You

This particular post is dedicated to my wee man, Thomas. It seems like just yesterday, we were right about here:

He gave me his heart from Day One and I carry it carefully around with my every day. He gives me unconditional love and never stops smiling and laughing. Such a happy-go-lucky little fellow. Those warm, chubby little cheeks are just irresistable, and I can't help but kiss them a million times a day. Unfortunately for Thomas, I take a look at his stubby little toes and plump feet and know exactly who he inherited them from -- me -- but he's too little to know, much less care. They don't keep him from running helter-skelter around the house, missing corners of tables by thiiiiiiiiis much, and avoiding doorways by a hair. The most daunting is when he runs with his head thrown back, leaving me to wonder how the heck he knows where he's going. Thump, thump, thump go his flat little feet.


Since he's not so "wee" anymore, and is a strapping 30 lbs., we've taken to calling him Little Man. Which he is: the spitting image (almost) of Joe. Next-door-Joe calls him Mini Me. He really is a Mini Me to his proud daddy. So, so cute.

Here's a picture of my sweet little dreamboat. Two important things to know about Little Man. 1. Thomas loves stickers. More to the point, he loves wearing stickers. 2. Thomas loves to sleep. He feigns resistance to naps or bedtime, but within minutes he is happily scooting around in his cozy blankets, asking me to sing Tinkle Tinkle Wittle Stah. This photo incorporates both loves:
So, someday, when Thomas is all grown up and finds a special girl to marry and start a family of his own with, I will give him back his sweet, loving heart. Then, he can give it to his girl to cherish forever. Until then, I carry it safely with me, its Protector. I love you too, Thomas. :)

Blog-bloggity-blog-blog!

Wahoo! Introducing the new look of my blog. Goodbye vanilla, hello color explosion! Many thanks to Renee of thompsondesigns -- visit her Etsy shop if you want professional graphics in a wide variety of styles. http://www.thompsondesigns.etsy.com/. She's just wonderful to work with, I can't say enough great things about her. She helped incorporate a unified look between my Etsy shops and this blog. Renee, if you should happen to read this, THANK YOU!! :)

What else...earring sweatshop today, people. Making about 7-8 pr a day in prep of Sunday's big show. 300 craft vendors. I hope the weather will be gorgeous!

Hmm...what else-else....going into NYC tomorrow!! One of my gem suppliers tells me that a big shipment of beautiful aqua chalcedony briolettes has just arrived. I'm crossing my fingers! I hope there is more of this! (I'm sure my frequent chalcedony customers hope so too.)

and, looking for more of these beautiful London blue topaz rondelles. Truly exceptional in cut, color and clarity.

First Day of School

Although the first day of school was a week or 2 ago, I'm just getting to downloading the pictures now. My husband enjoys this picture of the two peanuts on our front steps,

but I much prefer this one as their "official" picture! :)

I tell ya...they're so cute I just want to eat 'em up sometimes.

Is it Friday yet? Oh wait, it is....

We made it through the first week of school! Yay! As of Thursday, Thomas went a bit longer and I had 2 hours all to myself! Once we're up to full speed, I'll have....let's see...9:15-11:45 all to myself. Wahoo! This is lovely since the remainder of the day is filled with Thomas' screeches when Julianne snatches toys out of his chubby hands. This goes on, and on, and on. Ahhh, life with toddlers.

Wish I could stay and small-talk with the other moms at Julianne's preschool, but Thomas gets dropped off promptly afterwards, so it's a drop-and-run scenario.

I was able to finish a custom order today while the kids were out, the Tea in Monet's Garden pendant, to match the earrings pictured below. And then they were shipped off to Canada to a very lovely customer. Voila!

Must get some new listings on Etsy soon.....'tis the season, and all that. I'm thinking about my upcoming schedule and beads of sweat are forming on my brow as I type!...

Sept 21 - West Islip Country Fair
Nov 7 - Trunk show at private residence, Setauket
Nov 15 - Craft fair, Walt Whitman HS, South Huntington
Nov 18, 19 - Fundraiser at Thomas' school, Northport Village
Nov ? - Trunk show/fundraiser at private residence, East Williston
Dec. 8 - Craft fair, Northport HS, Northport

October is wide open and quiet!! Hooray! I signed up for all these events long before my virtual beadshop was ever in existence, so now I have to juggle several things. But, so far so good. Actually if Cherie and I could pick up a trunk show in October, that would be fun as well. And, I have to continue to stock the shop in Southampton with goodies for Holiday '08.

Getting things in order

Today I woke up and took a look around my house and realized, man, this place is a MESS (dangerously bordering on "dump")! After prepping for the show last Sunday, things in the housekeeping department have fallen by the wayside. I'll be honest--I'm not a very good housekeeper. In fact, I hate it. I guess it's a necessary evil. I let things go until I can't stand to be in my house, and then I do a massive clean-up. Not the most ideal arrangement, but until I can afford a cleaning lady, it'll have to do.

Other things that could use a clean-up (read: makeover) are my personal website and this blog. Etsy has been going so well for me that I'm dropping 99% of the content of my website, and just relying on Etsy for sales. I'll keep upcoming show dates and contact info on my website, but that's pretty much it.

As for this blog, well, I keep reading that blogs are where it's at, so this one is getting a fresh, new look (hopefully). My talented colleague Renee is working on the template right now. I'm so excited to see what she comes up with! Plain vanilla white, which exists now, is just not me. Take my house, for example...every room is a different color. I can't help it! I love color. :)

Hmm....today is the first day the kids are both at school for more than an hour. They're elsewhere for two hours, in fact. I have TWO HOURS OF PEACE AND QUIET! I'd better get working on a custom order for a pair of my Tea in Monet's Garden earrings:



and, I'll need to create a matching necklace too. I love custom orders!

Last (but not least) on the roster of things to do, is to start thinking about the next craft show: Sunday 9/21 I'm doing the West Islip Country Fair. I attended the show as a shopper last year, and Joe and I took the single strollers...and all I can say is, never again! Wayyyyy too packed to maneuver strollers thru crowds. I'm hiring a babysitter for the day again so that Joe can come with me and help manage the booth. It got pretty crazy last weekend, and due to the 1000's who attend the Country Fair, this upcoming event should prove no different! Better get cracking on the one-woman production line! Eek. Well, enough typing....back to work. Laundry's calling. And then the pliers.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood....

This past weekend was the craft show at Argyle Lake in Babylon. It was a lovely day, incredible in fact...especially since Saturday was the scattered effects of Hurricane Hanna. A total washout. But, Sunday was a blue ribbon day. Here's a picture of my booth at the show.

Here's a picture of me!