Wow, what a great weekend so far!  Connie, Brenna and I had a blast at the 4th Annual Ghoultide Gathering in Northville, Michigan.  For those of you who don’t know, Connie is my sister and the publisher of “Celebrate 365″.  Brenna is my daughter, and recently graduated with a Masters Degree from Western Michigan.  It was wonderful to see everyone again, and also see their new creations.  I am in awe of all of the talent here and feel privilegedto be able to “rub elbows” with them…… maybe some of their talent will rub off on me!  Where do all of the ideas come from?! 

Tomorrow we are heading to Birmingham, Michigan for a Patricia Breen Event!

Where has the summer gone?  Actually, the temperatures here are VERY summer like, but the time is flying by!  It’s hard to sit outside and enjoy nature when the heat and humidity so high, even in the evening.  How is your summer going?

Halloween is just around the corner and then Christmas…… I have SOOOOO much to do!  For those of you who are really in to Halloween, make sure you check out the 4th annual Ghoultide Gathering October 2nd in Michigan.  It features a lot of great folk artists of all styles, from traditional, to “way out there” and everything in between!  I was so amazed by the imagination to everyone when I went to my first one last year.  My sister, Connie Porcher, has featured many of these talented artists in Celebrate 365.  Hope to see you there!!

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!