Just dropping in to say "Hi"! Life has been rather busy here with Christmas parties, basketball, more Christmas parties and finally tomorrow....the last day of school before Winter Break. I've been rushing around like a crazy person trying to get it all finished before I can't.

I'm almost finished with all the Christmas shopping, just a few things to pick up for Hallie and my parents, they are the hardest to buy for but I have a couple of ideas. I will be at school all day tomorrow helping out with the kids Christmas parties so it will have to wait until the weekend. Jesse also has a basketball game tonight that I can't miss!

I wanted to share a couple of things from this past week. My girlfriend hosted a Wrapping Party on Monday and I had one for the neighborhood ladies. I have to tell you it's the most productive party ever! You bring all of your presents, a couple rolls of wrapping paper and hang out with the girls chatting and catching up. It's the best time, and when your finished you help someone that isn't! All of my wrapping is finished....that's a miracle! I'm usually wrapping on Christmas Eve lol!

I have a friend Kelly, from Color by Kelly, that made up my mantle this year! Who has the time right? It's not that I don't like doing that kind of stuff, I do, but I was up to my elbows in orders and just didn't have the time. That is stressful enough without worrying about getting your house decorated. I took a couple of pictures to share with you all, it's much prettier in person though! She incorporated some of the things I already had and shopped for the rest. That tall red vase was Ed's Great Aunt Clarabelle's and is special to both of us. I'm going to do my staircase next year!

I do have one last group of beads to share with you for 2009! I've just been short on time the last week, but I'll be listing them soon. I will send out an email when they are up!

Have to run...another busy day here! I hope you are all finished with your Christmas shopping!

Hugs,
Shannon

Success!

I did it, I made it through a very hectic week and filled up my display at the Art Gallery- Studio 14. Ed said it looks like a bomb went off in my studio! I pulled in a card table and spread all of my Bali silver, crystals and beads everywhere. I'm sharing a couple of pieces with you today, I started out big and "blingie", then my mood changed and I finished out "simply".
The first necklace I made used my Dicro beads and vintage lucite and crystals, funky vintage mirror ball crystals. Very cool and retro looking I think. I made a Button
version of the Black and White flower tile beads and used vintage lucite, pearls, Bali silver and crystals to fill in the spaces between the beads. I also made a very pretty pendant to match the bracelet. I love the Mocha Java bracelet that uses a style of my Serenity beads in Aqua and Chocolate Brown! I'm thinking it's the
perfect everyday bracelet.....I'm working on a Denim version this week. I didn't get to make anything with my New Moon sets but I will later this week. I'll share them when I'm finished. I also made bracelets with my "Wedding Cake" beads and Red & Amber Tropical Jungle beads. I took a couple of pictures of Hallie in front of my display and under a painting of black eyed susans. Of course she wanted me to buy that picture and put it in her room

We had basketball all weekend too, Jesse's team lost his Saturday game by 6 and won his Sunday game by 20! Mr. Jesse is the "rebound kid", he's so tall he just barely has to throw his arms up to get it. He had a great game! Hallie and I had a "mommy daughter" day yesterday. We went to Tim Horton's for Hot Chocolate with Peppermints sticks & whipped cream on top, then on to an illusion show at Victoria Theater.
!

She loved it! We walked down to look at the Christmas windows and find the "hidden" item in each window, when you found the common object you had to write down what it said and enter your name in a contest. Apparently this is an age old tradition that's been going for years. Hallie was on a mission, it took us 45 minutes to find the "common" object. It was TYPEWRITER KEYS in the most obscure places! They spelled out something that you had to write down on your contest entry. It was crazy with people, kids and adults, looking for "the item", listening to other peoples conversations for a clue...it was so funny. Hallie was giving nothing up!

Does anyone else out there have a town tradition like that? It was fun, I wish Jesse had been with us too.

I'm working on custom jewelry orders this week and finishing the last of my holiday orders. I'm hoping to work in some Christmas shopping this week! I have NOTHING bought for ANYONE. That stresses me out!

I will have SPECIALS this week! A few sets and the long awaited OOAK organic bead sets! Keep checking the Blog....I'll give you ladies a heads up before I go "public" :-)

Chat soon!
Shannon

Oh Christmas Tree

Aren't these pretty? Which is your favorite? I've really been into peacock colors the last week and love the peacock theme tree. I splurged this year and bought a tall skinny tree for my foyer.

It's my tree...all mine!! I decorated it with
Chocolate Brown, Wine Red and Lime Green bulbs...I know, the Lime Green sounds a little out there but it's the perfect contrast with everything else. Not traditional Christmas colors at all. One of my girlfriends has an upside down tree in her dinning room similar to this one, I have to tell you, it's pretty cool! The ornaments actually "hang" off of it...perfect for a small space with not a lot of clearance for a full tree. I'm going to work a tree for the kitchen next, maybe something with funky coffe cups hanging off it....hmmm...maybe a little counter top tree with my beads on it?!

I'm taking a collection of jewelry down to Studio 14 for the Open House on Saturday. I've been working on it all day, staying up until 4:ooam each night to get caught up on orders....I'm almost there. I've posted my Christmas Schedule on the website and here below for you.

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE:

Custom Silver orders placed by December 9th will be shipped in time for gift giving!

I can resize the 7 1/2 Cable bracelet to anysize you'd like!

BEAD UPDATE:

I will have one more bead update before the holiday's! They will all be one-of-a-kind organic bead sets that were so popular last month.

Creation Week

BLACK FRIDAY EARRINGS!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend and gobbled lots o' turkey! I still have a few BLACK FRIDAY SPECIALS available until the end of the day! I surprised you all huh? I actually had everything up at Midnight on Thursday...that's a first! Of course it wasn't without drama, I couldn't get my mom and dad's computer to run and nearly had a panic attack lol! The Twilight sets are SOLD OUT! Holy Cow! I had no idea how many of you are Twilight fans!

I had my nephew spend the weekend with us, he and Jesse are just a month apart and totally into their DS and Wi games. They were 2 peas in a pod...it was cute. Hallie spent the weekend at her MeMe's house making crafts and learning cross stitch. She loves using her hands to make things...I love it....I told her one day soon she could be my assistant...this thrills her beyond belief. She immediately went to her sketch book and "designed" new necklaces for me! We shopped for new furniture on Black Friday...I found a beautiful chocolate brown leather sofa and love seat that I fell in love with at Macy's AND a chocolate brown and muted gold zebra print chair with an ottoman that looked so awesome with it. I love the leather, it's contemporary, not overstuffed and very elegant looking. I'm hoping it miraculously shows up in my living room next week lol! The hubby is good at surprising me :-) He's having the carpet cleaned on Tuesday so I'm hoping that's a good indication lol!! In a way it's sad to get rid of the old set, I helped him pick it out for his house when we were first dating, never thinking once that it would be in MY living room for the last 2 years. It was in the basement of our old house for a long while before we finally started using again...it has certainly seen better days with all the rough housing the kids do on it!

Another busy week here, actually it's busy for the next couple of weeks. I have Brownies today after school, we're making stockings from recycled old clothing, I think the girls are going to have a blast putting them together. It's a CREATION WEEK for me.....Studio 14 has it's open Holiday House this weekend! I hope that all of my local "peeps" will show up for it. I have crafted some very cool Ohio State bracelets, earrings and pendants along with a few huge focal necklaces and vintage key/bead pendants. We have our Santa Breakfast at school on Saturday too, then off to our first basketball game of the season. Keep your fingers crossed for Jesse!

Do you love the picture of "recycled" old credit cards? They were made into earrings...how clever! It came with an email from the BEADSHOP.com....one of my favorite online bead stores! You can purchase the directions for making them!

See you all soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving today!

Hope you are all spending time with your loved ones and relaxing.

We are in the Holiday spirit here, the tree's are up and Hallie has been singing Christmas songs ALL day long....rocking out to Alvin & The Chimpmunks lol!

Travel safely everyone....see you on "Black Friday"!

Thanksgiving Day

I have a sick kiddo home toady....stomach flu. It never fails....right before the Holiday! It's been super busy around here too, I've been working on orders like a crazy person, staying up till the wee hours to get them finished. I want to have a "clean plate" before Thanksgiving lol! I'm going to put together a group of beads for a BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL, similar to the Yard Sales I have every 3 or 4 months. I hope you'll all be around on Friday! I will also be at the Bead Store for a little while on Friday then off to do some Christmas and furniture shopping. Not sure what time I'll be there, probably in the morning sometime so stop by and see me for minute if you get a chance!

The New Moon sets have been quite a success! Team Jacob came in first with Bella in a close second and Team Edward just slightly behind her. I watched Stephanie Meyer on the Oprah show last night and loved hearing her story. "Just" a stay at home mom she called herself, with a crazy imagination and a dream that inspired the Bella & Edward story. She said she started writing on chapter 13 and then went back and wrote the rest. She didn't tell her husband as she worried he would think she'd fallen off the deep end writing about vampires ha! What a pay off it turned out to be for her!

Ok, have to run! I'm going to try and get a lot accomplished today even though Hallie is home!

New Moon

I wanted to catch up with you all yesterday and simply ran out of time! We went to see the New Moon movie at 10:50am yesterday, along with a bunch of other crazy Twilight fans! I have to say I loved it! In my opinion its so much better then the first movie. The music, the color, sound...everything was great! The special effects were great too. I made 3 New Moon Sets in honor of the movie. I have to say I am quite proud of how they turned out! Please take second and look at them, even if you're not a New Moon fan you may know someone that will love them!

So far Team Jacob is winning! I went above and beyond for his set, I made a murrini feather cane for his beads, threw in some pixie dust on a few and perfected a "wolf" print! I even made 5 special disk beads that represent the "Wolf Pack" :-)

Bella's set is what I call a "story"set, all the things she did to be reckless so she could see a vision of Edward. There is a meadow bead that has tree's arched to form an entrance to their secret place. I even made a motorcycle bead, it's not the entire motorcycle, just the front, but you definitely know what it is if your a Twilight fan! There is a 2-sided cliff bead, the cliff on one side and turbulent waves twisted on the other side. I used baking soda to intensify the "bubble" effect! The set wouldn't be complete without a night scene bead and a "Sparkle" bead (for Edward!) and of course a clear heart. ALSO, I made a sterling silver charm to go with this set. It was a last minute thought but it compliments this set perfectly.....a compass....the compass that led her back to the fatal meadow!

For Edward's set I made a special red ribbon cane and wrapped it around a clear base. They are truly beautiful in person, it was so hard to capture the detail in them. The red represents his trip to Volterra, St. Marcus Day is being celebrated when Bella arrives to rescue him. The town is full of red banners and streamers flowing off of buildings and everyone is dressed in red robes. I even made a charm for this one..."La Tua Cantante"...the Italian phrase the Ciaus uses to describe Edwards appeal for Bella, meaning "Her blood sings for me". You can chose black or red disks on that set also.

I had a ton of fun making them for you! I hope you love them too!

I am working all weekend here, the Silver Charms have been a big success! Wow! The feedback has been awesome, thank you all for your support as I "branch out" into other areas! You are all the best! I will be making New Moon sets ALL weekend and working on beads for the BEAD STORE, yes, I will be at the Bead Store the day after Thanksgiving to place them on the wall....lots of new things for you gals to "play" with!

Lets see, what else do I have to tell you....oh....I am going to host a "Black Friday" sale next week! I'm thinking you won't want to miss it!

Hugs,
Shannon