Workin' It Wednesday 8/21/12

This week I have two very talented artists doing two very different crafts. 

First up is Cindy (Durnell) Friend and her shop Handmade by Cosmo. She and I had a little conversation when she first joined Etsy, because I thought we might be related. Her maiden name is the same as my grandmother's and she lives in the same state my grandmother was born in. I didn't recognize any names she gave me, but I'm holding out for a score! Genealogy through Etsy, who woulda thunk!!

Anywho, she makes adorable stuffed critters in three different sizes, all hand stitched, and is very reasonably priced! Who wouldn't love to get one of these cuddlies as a special surprise? She also loves custom orders, so convo her up!

When Pigs Fly $10

Party Elephant $10

Dolphin $10

Next up is Cristina Jaco, a very talented painter from Brazil. Her shop is found HERE. Here is what she says about her work -- 

"Contemporary Brazilian Art - Original oil paintings and watercolors of people, animals, landscapes and still lifes. My number one goal is to evoke an emotional response in the viewers of my work. I paint with vivid, intense colors and love to capture expression and detail."

Her work is bright and beautiful, and there are many pieces that would look fabulous in MY house, on MY wall.

Red Tulips II Still Life $50

Rainbow Bridge Landscape $75

Red Macaws $75

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My husband has done quite a bit of cuttlebone cast jewelry in his shop. I really love the texture of this material, it's so versatile and very unique. It's like a fingerprint -- the cuttlebone gets burnt up in the casting process, so no two pieces will ever be the same.

What is a cuttlebone? Cuttlebone is a hard, brittle internal structure found in all members of the cuttlefish.  Cuttlefish are marine animals of the same class which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Today, cuttlebones are commonly used as calcium-rich dietary supplements for caged birds, chinchillas, hermit crabs, and reptiles. Because cuttlebone is able to withstand high temperatures and is easily carved, it serves as mold-making material for small metal casting for the creation of jewelry and small sculptural objects.

Here are a couple of my husband's lovely creations cast in cuttlebone.

Cuttlebone Cast Ring $60

Brazilian Agate & Zircon $154

Diamond Engagement Ring $215

Numbers 6:24-26 "The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." 

It's HOT HOT HOT!

Oh my gosh, I remember the days when we used to hitchhike down to Hermosa beach and stay and fry all day long! Although it wasn't good for my skin we did it anyway, with baby oil and iodine to boot! The picture you are looking at used to be a dead end street, the pier and ocean are beyond, and we used to park here. When we got a parking ticket, which used to be just $5, we would tear them up because they didn't go to warrant back then!

Hermosa Beach Pier Ave. Plaza

But now that I am a functioning member of society (LOL!!!), I don't live too close to the beach, which is fine for me. I would prefer a lake or river. But my husband LOVES it, so I have given our Etsy shop a beachy theme this summer. The one thing I do miss about the beach however is the cooler temps down there most of the time. I don't know what is up, but the heat has really got me going this summer. We have had hotter temps this year than last, and our swamp cooler doesn't work as efficiently because of the remodel we're doing -- more open walls and no doors to close off areas. So my favorite new friend has been a frozen bottle of water!

Red Magatama Shaggy Loops Bracelet $34

So in going with the theme of this blog, here is a HOT HOT HOT bracelet that would go really well with those hot summer night parties....












...and a couple of sea-inspired sterling silver creations from my talented husband to cool you off on those same HOT summer nights!

Hei-Matau or Maori fish hook $166

Sterling Shell $74

Stop on by our Etsy shop, and see what other lovely pieces we have for you. September is sapphire month and we have several natural sapphire rings (click HERE) that would be lovely for a birthstone gift! And remember, we do all kinds of jewelry repairs -- sizing, soldering, ring re-tipping, replacing stones -- pretty much whatever you need. Please convo us through our shop.

www.cutterstone.etsy.com

Quality Handmade Quilts & More

Today on Wednesday Promotion (Ha,ha, it's Thursday, am I a little late?) I am featuring Jayne's shop, TwiggyandOpal. Jayne makes wonderfully different quilts, lap quilts, baby blanket/quilts, and other fabric accessories. Her style is not traditional - her wording is "My design ideas are unique. I love color, texture and BOLD! Whether it’s modern or traditional, I always try to include an unexpected twist!"

  I have purchased two of her baby blankets/quilts - one for a friend's baby girl, and another for my own grandson. These blankets/quilts are heirloom quality and can be passed on to the next generation. She also takes custom orders, so check out her shop for a different kind of baby or bridal shower gift!

 

"Bugs" baby blanket/quilt $42

Business Card Holder $7


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September is Sapphire Month! Although most people think of blue when thinking of sapphires, they actually come in many fancy colors. They are the hardest gemstone next to diamonds.We have several natural sapphires in our shop. If you don't see the color you like, ask us! Chances are we can make a similar ring for you in the color and  shape you prefer. Click HERE to see the ring selection in our shop, Cutterstone. 

The Olympics are Over! What Did You Like Best?

This year I watched more of the Olympics than I ever had before. My husband has always watched them, and because I would rather watch them than "Swamp People" or "Storage Wars" for the bajillionth time, we watched quite a lot of the games. I found that I really enjoyed them. It's is really amazing to see such skilled and strong athletes and their commitment to their sport. I marveled at some of the swimming and running events, when someone would pull out front to win in the last few seconds. And the United States did so well this year. Congratulations to all the United States Olympic athletes, whether you medalled or not, you were at the top of your sport to even be there!

That being said, I read quite a sad interview about a Chinese athlete, Wu Minxia, who won her third gold medal in diving. Wu's parents decided to withhold news of both the death of her grandparents and of her mother's long battle with breast cancer until after she won the 3-meter springboard in London so as to not interfere with her diving career. This is a quote from her father, which is what I found too sad for words. "We accepted a long time ago that she doesn't belong entirely to us," Wu Yuming told the Shanghai Morning Post. "I don't even dare to think about things like enjoying family happiness." 

 What a sad thing to say! I can't even imagine giving up my child for the "good of the country". And I doubt that the children get too much out of it but their 15 minutes of fame. Let's just hope and pray the U.S. never gets to this point. The government gets larger and larger, and more people are living on government assistance, and have government jobs. We have already given them too much control over our parental rights. I get so emotional over some of these issues. Most of us think, "That should be illegal" or "there should be a law against that". But...by making so many regulations and laws we are giving the government more control over us. Something to think about....

Wednesday Promotion Time

Happy Wednesday everyone - I hope you are all having a great week. This was a nice week for us. After having almost a month of no sales, we managed to get 4 so far this month. Hopefully that is good news for the months to come!
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Up for promotion today is Kristan (Krissy) Bendixen from the lovely Pacific Northwest where I would love to live. She has two amazing and different shops -- visit TrueTreatsPetBakery for "Dog Treats, Cat Treats, Horse Treats, Bunny Treats and Rat & Guinea Pig Treats too! All-Natural Pet Biscuits made with Pure, Whole, Fresh Ingredients. I offer something for every pet: Whole Grain, No-Grain, No-Gluten, No-Wheat, and/or Vegan options. Vegetarian menu." What else could your beloved pet ask for?

These look good enough for me to eat! Yummy!

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Krissy's second shop is BendixenArt. These tiny little pieces of art would fit perfectly into that tiny little space you wanted to fill on your wall. These would be great for a nursery or child's room, or anywhere in your house to add a splash of color!

Gorgeous golds! Would brighten up any room!

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Our next shop up is Debby Chatterton's Closet35. Her shop is filled with lovely "Handmade upcycled earrings.Some new beads, some recycled. Am now branching out and making necklaces, and bracelets." Upcycling sure is the way to go!

"Blue cubes and more", beautiful chain dangles in cornflower blue.

Please check out these shops, follow them on Facebook and Twitter, and help get the Handmade word out! Wishing everyone a week full of blessings an good times.

Loving the Family!

A few years ago, I set out to research my Dad's side of the family as a gift for my sister. He was an only child and never really talked about either side of the family. My Mom's side is much larger, but after she died when we were very young, my Dad never really kept in touch with them, and us....well, we were kids. So as I got into this research, I learned to really like and appreciate the search....of finding cousins and maybe the pictures that came with them. Luckily, on my Mom's side, one of my grandmother's brothers had done this genealogy research before the internet (can you imagine?) and actually published a book; Cornelius Roots & Shoots, so I had/have a great base to build on. Recently one of my previously unknown cousins started a Facebook Page - mainly for his line, but also for all the rest of the Cornelius'. I got a couple of great pics from him that I want to share, just because I love old photos.

This is my great grandfather on my mother's side, William S. Cornelius. He looked like quite a character, and lived to be 101. I remember going to that birthday party when I was 3 or 4...many many cousins there and he was on a gurney.

This is his wife and my great grandmother, Cassie Evans Cornelius.

This is the house they moved into in 1918 in Madrid, Nebraska, still standing when this pic was taken in 2002.

These are all pictures I got from my cousin. Really cool! I'm so glad I have met many of the people along the way and grateful for the information I got from them.

The Power of Promotion

When I first proposed to my husband that we start an online Etsy shop, he readily agreed and was excited to start designing and creating his own pieces. Over the years, he had torn out many, many pages of magazines that showed designs he loved. We started off with about 10 items in our shop, but not knowing much about marketing and such, business was practically non-existent. When I finally sat down and looked around at the resources out there on Etsy, I found that there were many teams with common goals, such as promotion and making your shop the best it could be. I joined a team called Handmade Circle, and found many fellow Etsians that I could share my concerns, questions, and elation at sales with. I can't say our shop is where we would like it to be, but we were happy with our sales last year, and I became online friends with many sellers who needed support just like we do! So, in keeping with the Handmade Circle tradition of promoting each other, and as a thank you to all the fellow team members that have supported and promoted us, I plan to promote others on my team at least once a week. Without Handmade Circle and The Foxes Den Team, I don't think we would have had the sales we have had.


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The first shop I want to promote is called TipsyGLOWs. She sells many wine-related goodies; wine bottle lights, hurricane lamps, wine cork jewelry, and wine glass charms, and she does custom work! From Rhonda's shop --

"TipsyGLOWs unique wine bottle lights add a touch of elegance and warmth to your home decor. Perfect as a wedding gift, bridesmaids gift, or party hostess gift. They are also perfect as as house warming gift. They're beautiful when displayed on your kitchen counter, china cabinet, or dining room buffet."

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The next shop is BagsByHags. I have personally bought several items from Marsha, and I love her products! She sells a variety of products, but a bible cover is the next thing I will purchase from her shop. How nice to have a beautiful, hand-made cover for our Lord's Word! From Marsha's shop --

"In our shop you will find unique One Of A Kind Purses and Tote Bags, Aprons, Bible Covers, and Home Accessories. I love recycling denim into everything! All of the items in our shop with the exception of the few items in the vintage and supply/de-stash section are handmade by me in my home. 

Faith is the main inspiration for my business, my Faith is very important to me, without it I would be wandering aimlessly through this world. Faith carries me through all of my days! "

So now I will promote our shop, Cutterstone. Here is one of my husband's current favorite rings that we are offering. We would welcome any questions you might have. We also can do just about any kind of repair work. Do you have a favorite piece that is just sitting in a box because it is broken? We can fix it! We can combine pieces together to make a new piece also. Convo our Etsy shop for more information. God bless you all and I pray that the rest of your week is productive and prosperous!