Well, we are in to the Patriotic season.   Thanks in part to my parents, I love Red, White & Blue!  I really need to get working on items for 4th of July, where has the time gone?  I do have a couple of feather trees listed, but need to get some larger ones made.  Some other Patriotic items that I have, but have not listed yet, are paper style ornaments and some jewelry.  Why am I so behind?  It’s not like I can get anything done outside with all of the rain, so what have I been doing?  Hmmmm, I have been trying to get caught up on paper work, but that isn’t going very fast.  I usually end up working on jewelry, or some other craft.  One thing that has been keeping me busy is all of the Belly Dancing Silk Veils that I have been getting orders for.  I love dying them and seeing how the colors and patterns transform as they dry, but this is done with a steam iron.  I have to put the ironing board right in front of the air conditioner.  At least I have air conditioning!!

I hope that everyone’s summer is going well so far.  It has been rainy for the last few weeks and now you can add Hot and Humid.  Yuck!!!  My “plan” is to post update a little more often, but you know the saying about the “best laid plans”…..  Keep cool everyone!

Hello Everyone!  It has been a busy month or so for us, I can’t believe I haven’t been able to find time to work in my gardens.  I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying all the flowers that are in bloom. 

My sister, Connie, and I were recently at the National Halloween Convention.  Since she and I both have stores on-line, we decided to pack up some of our items and put together a booth at the show.  Wow….. we had no clue what we were getting into!  Our first suprise was seeing how much stuff we actually have, we couldn’t get it all in the van!   After sorting through everything and leaving a lot of items behind, we finally got on the road about six hours later, we got to our hotel around 1:00am.  After a few hours of sleep, it was time to head to unload and set up.  Wow again!  Who know it could take so long to unpack and decorate a small booth?  We had feather trees, ornaments, jewelry and some other items.  There was a nice selection of both John Wind and Art by Amy, in addition to some of our own designs.  I could go on, but I think you get the idea.  It was a great experience, and I know we learned a lot about how to make things easier for us for the next time.  It was also great to meet everyone from Spookytime Jingles. 

For those of you who have not experienced “Art by Amy”, I found this video, Amy talks about her jewelry, that will give you a little insight to the artist and her art.  Make sure to check it out!

John Wind Pearl Enhancers

I am currently working on getting the John Wind Signature Collection added to the store.  There are a lot of wonderful pieces, so it’s going to take me some time to get them all listed, so check back often!  I simply LOVE this line, so elegant and vintage.  Some items remind me of jewelry my Grandmothers wore and I always admired.  I’m sure that this collection will bring back fond memories for you, too! 

Besides working on getting this collection listed, I have also been working on making jewelry and feather trees to sell at the National Halloween Convention the end of April.  You know, it’s going to be near where John Wind makes all of his wonderful jewelry!  Along with everything else, I have to find time to work on taxes (yuck)!

For everyone who have been following the adventures of my husband, he has finished his medicine and will be going to the doctor on Wednesday.  Hopefully, the MRI on his head he had last week will be clear.  If it is, then we should be able to put this behind up and he can get back to work.  I will have to work with him until he gets back into shape, but after that, I will be able to get back to my “routine”.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Benita

I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve been a busy little beaver.  I have been working on several projects while watching the Olympics.  In addition to my feather trees for the Halloween Convention, I have been dying and painting silk veils and scarves to sell this weekend at Belly Dance Kalamazoo.  They are holding workshops and selling Belly Dancing items there….. it should be a fun weekend.  My daughter, Brenna, has been Belly Dancing for exercise (and fun) and really enjoys it.  I made her a veil as an early Christmas present several months ago that featured stars on a back ground of purple hues.   In addition to veils and scarves, I will also have an assortment of jewelry to sell.

The count down is on for the arrival of the jewelry from John Wind!  It seems like we’ve been waiting for ever to get it, but it’s just that I’m so anxious to have it.  I’ve never been one to wear a lot of jewelry, usually just my wedding rings, the same old earrings and the necklace my husband got me years ago, but between Art by Amy and John Wind, I am now!  Instead of just throwing some clothes on and heading out the door, I now have to plan my outfit to go along with what jewelry I feel like featuring that day….. kind of a fun change of pace.

As for my husband, he is slowly getting his energy back.  We have going to the mall and walking around to get his exercise.  I’m not sure when he will feel strong enough to go back to work, but each day he’s getting better.  Thanks again to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers for him…. and to my sister, Connie, and Leslie Kirk for keeping up with my website!

That’s it for now….. have a lot of errands to run today (and more walking), and best of all, Brenna will be home for Spring Break today!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Hmmm,

I think it’s a little late for the song “Let it Snow”, but you can’t tell it by looking  outside!  The trees are so beautiful, but I hope they can hold up to the weight of all of that wet snow.  My poor dogs can’t decide if they really want to go out!  I sure am glad that it’s the weekend and we don’t need to venture out (I did that yesterday after it started).

     So, my sister and I were talking the other day about Easter and how we always had an Easter Egg Tree up.  This tree was made by finding a nice branch and painting it white.  It was then secured into a clay pot with easter grass around the base of the “tree”.  We decorated it with eggs that we drained and then decorated.  This was a long, but fun process leaving us with many memories of our childhood.  I’m not sure what happened to that tree or the “ornaments”.  Connie suggested that we could make an updated version by using a white Feather Tree and decorating it with Patricia Breen Chrysalis Egg Ornaments!  You know, my sister has some good ideas sometimes!! 

     With the help of Connie and Leslie Kirk, I now have my new products listed!  I have more items to list from Art by Amy as soon as I get the photos edited.  These are non-Halloween designs, so you will have a nice selection to choose from.  I was hoping to get these items listed this weekend after Connie taught me how do edit a little better…… then the snow hit.  Oh well!