Earring Giveaway

I'm soooo excited! Donna, of DH Designs is hosting an earring giveaway from TheEarringLady shop on Etsy!

For details, visit Donna's blog at http://dh-designs.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-first-giveaway.html

Donna is a WONDERFUL designer with an artist's eye for color, lots of great ideas and some truly outstanding photos!

I'm a follower! Are you?

"The Secret"

The "Book" area of our blog is way behind. I don't think I can catch up, so I guess I'll start again and go from here, but with a little different format - a posting for each book (hoping for comments and feedback). 

I'm re-reading "The Secret" by Rhonda  Byrne at the moment.  Have you read it?  What are your thoughts about it?  I've read it, but I have to say I'm struggling with it a little bit.  I think I need to read it again - maybe slower this time.

It seems to me that there is some validity to the whole "law of attraction" thing but it also seems to me that the book really over reaches.  What do you think?

An Acoustic Evening with Leo Kottke

Someone told us that there are only 3 people in the world who can make a 12-string guitar REALLY sing... and all 3 of those people are Leo Kottke. 

There are apparently a lot of people who agree.  The Keswick Theatre was sold out last night for a concert with Leo Kottke and Los Lobos.  Almost every seat was full before the "opening act".  A rarity!

We were in the first row - right hand side - close enough to watch Mr. Kottke's hands.  There were no finger picks - no thumb pick - just the glorious sound of that beautiful Taylor 12-string that seemed to produce itself magically and with almost no effort at all.

In the 1980's, Mr. Kottke (no... we aren't on a first name basis yet.  Besides he's 3 years older than I am.  It's a "respect" thing.) suffered from tendonitis and nerve damage cause by his aggressive picking style, so... he changed it.  He changed the position of his right hand and began using the flesh of his fingers and his fingernails instead of the finger picks. 

I was able to take my eyes off the stage twice (and that took great discipline) to look around at the crowd.  The audience was mesmerized! 

I'm not sure how long Mr. Kottke played - maybe an hour.  I only know it wasn't long enough.  I could have listened and watched all night. 

We took a couple of pictures, but we didn't even think about the camera until he put down his 12-string for a 6-string. 

AND... he was funny, which surprised me for some reason.  He told an anecdote about being chosen to be "the cover" for a magazine, so when he showed up for the photo shoot, he saw Doc Watson and Chet Atkins.  They had been told the same thing.  I don't know if they ever got around to pictures, but we heard about what a great time the three of them had playing together.  And then he played something that sounded SO much like Doc Watson - except on a 12-string.  Just amazing!  Oh!  And we all got a chuckle when he told us that the magazine was "In Flight". 

At the end of the evening, I felt privileged to be there - to see Leo Kottke in person - to experience the wonder of his music - to watch his genius.

There truly are only 3 people in the world who can REALLY make a 12-string guitar sing - and they are ALL Leo Kottke.

The Same Acoustic Evening with Los Lobos

After hearing the amazing Leo Kottke open, we could hardly wait for Los Lobos.  Everyone I talked to told me that we would be blown away by the band.

We weren't.

At least not at first.  Don't get me wrong.  Individually, the members of Los Lobos are all jaw-droppers.  I mean... who wouldn't love David Hidalgo???  Really!  Guitar? Voice?  I'm a fan - for life!

Cesar Rosas was missing due to a family emergency.  Although I've never seen them before in concert, I'm sure that Cesar was greatly missed!  The audience shouted several requests for songs that Los Lobos couldn't play because Cesar was the lead singer on those songs. 

And Steve Rubin???  The man of many instruments.  We were close enough to FEEL the vibration from that baritone sax!  Fantastic! 

Maybe it was because the set was acoustic (which is usually my favorite) - maybe it was because Cesar Rosas wasn't there - maybe I was just "off" - but I was not blown away most of the evening. 

I looked behind me and saw 2 women in one row nodding their heads to the music and smiling - no one else in that row was moving.  Behind those women, a man appeared to be sleeping.  And yes, I know the difference between "feeling" the music with your eyes closed - and sleeping.  Usually "feeling the music" is not done with your head back and your mouth open.  (Just my opinion.)

There was some chair dancing in the crowd, but not much.  At one point David promised to play some songs so that people could dance.  A couple in the row opposite me got up and headed toward the wall to dance.  (You know about wall dancers, right?  The people who just can't sit still and get chased over by the wall so that they don't get in anyone's way.)  I LOVE the wall dancers - as long as they are wall dancers and not "stand-in-front-of-me" dancers!  If I could be one... I would!

So anyway... Great!  But the next 3 songs were undanceable (yes, that's a new word), so the couple went back to their seats. 

About the time I was wondering when it would be over, Los Lobos broke out the electric guitars and the place started to rock.  You could feel the crowd come alive for the last 3 songs.  It was at that point that I totally understood why people love Los Lobos and why the Keswick was sold out!

And why... the next time Los Lobos is in town, I'll be there!

Set List...

5 Reasons to Re-Organize Your Shop

1. You can't find anything
2. Although it seemed like a good idea at the time, the organization of the shop just doesn't seem to be working
3. No one else can find anything
4. There aren't enough sections for all the "stuff"
5. You just don't like the way it feels

Or... all of the above.

We're in the process of rearranging TheEarringLady shop on Etsy.  At the moment, I think we have almost 90 pairs of earrings there.  I did have them organized by color - kind of.  Because there weren't enough sections for all the colors, we had one big section named "Earthtones".  That covered browns, greens, rusts, beiges, and on and on and on.  Not good.

Then it occurred to me that when I used to go looking for earrings, most of the time, I wasn't looking for a specific color, I was just looking for earrings that I liked - or I was looking for a "feel" - like "light" or "Boho" or "dressy".

But... we can't organize the shop by "feel" because what we think is dressy, you might not and so on. 

SO... at the moment, we've tried to organize it for the most part by materials - like Gemstones, where I'd find Boho) or Crystals, where I might look for dressy earrings - Glass, for all the pretty or unusual glass that doesn't fit into any other category - that kind of thing.

I also realized that we had some sterling silver earwires and some silver plated earwires.  That means people really have to read to know what they're getting.  I didn't like that either, so.... no more silver plated earwires on anything but the $4 pearl earrings and I think we'll change those too, even if it means we have to raise the price a $1 or $1.50.  We'd like to be able to state in the Shop Announcement (Welcome area) that all earwires are either sterling silver, copper, or gold-filled - makes it so much easier for everyone.

We are also changing the look of the shop somewhat.  It feels just too scattered to us now.  We're thinking of being more consistent with the backgrounds - lose the bright colored backgrounds - maybe take more close-up pictures, etc. 

I love the pictures that Michael took with the flowers.  But I also like the ones on the stones. Maybe we could do both - or combine them.

OH!  And we changed the shipping policy.  There was a slight extra charge to ship a 2nd pair of earrings. Now the 2nd (and 3rd and 4th and... ) pair ships free. 

ANYWAY... we'd love your help - your opinions - what you like - what you don't like. 

Thanks in advance!
 jane 

I do...

... or... I did.

I made 5 pairs of earrings for a wedding. I mean really... how much fun was THAT???

The picture really doesn't do them justice, but they were sooooo pretty - faceted crystal briolettes, wrapped in silver and topped with a white pearl.  Bridesmaid perfect!

One of our favorite customers has titled me the "Dangle Diva" and I LOVE it!  We've been selling quite a few dangles - lots of different gemstones - mostly wrapped in silver - a couple wrapped in copper. 

 

I love making the way they look - love the gemstones - love making them. 

They could be used to make earrings and a matching pendant - charms for a bracelet - or whatever you can imagine they could be. 

jane

Stop by and take a look!  They are definitely fun!

200 Sales!

We're SO excited!  We made our 200th sale this weekend (with 100% positive feedback) at our supply shop:(http://www.ThunderMoonSupplies.etsy.com/)

Thank you to all of you who helped us reach this goal!

The thing we seem to sell the most is wire - copper, silver, brass, and German wire.  Michael is looking into adding some red brass for those who prefer their brass with more copper in it.  The only difference between yellow brass and red brass is the amount of copper vs nickel in it, which changes the color. Some people seem to like the yellow brass because of the lovely gold color.  Others like the red brass because the copper in it brings a reddish hue to the wire.

Personally, I'm in love with copper at the moment.  I love the richness of the color and how easy it is to work with.  I'm hoping to make some copper earwires this week to put up in the shop.

Bundles of different types of wire seem to sell well in the shop.  The bundle below is copper, brass, and German wire:

This particular bundle is for 16 gauge wire, but we offer several gauges and we're always willing to make a custom bundle specifically for you.

In addition to wire, we also sell findings, connectors, dangles - all kinds of fun things!

Stop by the shop and let us know what you like and/or what you'd like to see!

jane

What is it?????

Okay... I'm looking for help with this one.  Below is a picture of a... hmmm... thing that I bought at an antique shop nine or ten years ago.  I use it to hold business cards, but I have NO idea what it is.  Do you?  I'd appreciate any and all help on this one!!

The "blue thing" is 3 1/4" wide, 1 5/8" deep and it stands 2 3/4" high.  It feels like milk glass (although I'm not sure if there is such a thing as blue milk glass).  There were several colors, I think,  but the blue stood out for me.  I'd love to know what it actually is and how it was originally used.

Any ideas, anyone?

MORE snow!

More snow here in the frozen tundra known as Delaware.  I'm looking out my window at HUGE tree limbs, broken from the weight of the snow.  But, like Scarlet, from "Gone With The Wind"... I'll worry about that tomorrow (maybe).

No work today.  Looks like we are still under a State of Emergency.  If I were the Governor, I'd cancel tomorrow, too.  Well, I don't think he has the power to actually cancel tomorrow, but he COULD cancel work for tomorrow.  I think he should.  (I wonder if he'll call for my opinion)

Since I forgot my camera when we were out yesterday, (we took the 3-hour scenic route to Home Depot) I've had to steal snow pictures from my kids. 

Julie should send this somewhere where they are accepting snow pictures.  What a great picture!  And what a wonderful little girl!!

Family snow time!  Richard and Kate taking a snow bath???  Obviously Mom was stuck behind the camera.  (We need more "mother" pictures!) 

If that sled is moving, it must be REALLY icy!!!

This one concerned me. I was worried that if he kept moving his arms, he might keep sinking and cover himself with snow.  (I always said that he was an angel.)

This one was from Greg's last trip to Home Depot yesterday. He and Matthew no sooner made it in the door, and they announced.. 'Home Depot will be closing in 5 minutes." 

I stole this one from Facebook. Greg titled it - "In training".  I think that says it all!  Matthew is definitely a miniature Greg.

Greg took this one on our street yesterday. SO pretty!!!

I think I heard on the news yesterday that our total accumulation for these two storms has been 31.7".  Amazing!

Snowed in!

2 feet of snow in Delaware is enough to close the state - and it did!  We've been under a State of Emergency since Friday evening.  Travel restrictions were lifted last night at 8:00 with requests not to go out, so we were trying to be well behaved and not go out. 

Drifts were 5 feet and higher.  My oldest son said that he couldn't get out his back door because of the drifts and that he couldn't get his snow plow out of the garage. 

Michael is preparing to go shovel as I write this.  We have a WONDERFUL neighbor who plowed our driveway last night.  In the process, he plowed Michael "in".  So.... Michael has to go play in the snow this morning.  He points out, though, that he's grateful for the amount of shoveling he DOESN'T have to do!

We were very fortunate that this was not a heavy, wet, snow that takes down power lines.  Michael and I spent the day yesterday watching the snow - safe and warm. 

Most of the screens were full of snow, making it difficult to even see outside.  Our big front window doesn't have a screen, so Michael was able to take a few pictures from inside. 

My son, Greg and his crew were out in the snow and even made it to Target. 

Greg took this one at Target yesterday and titled it:  "Need a cart, anyone?"  The State of Emergency MIGHT have had something to do with Target being so empty. 

Before Target, though, I think he made a morning trip to Dunkin' Donuts.  And before that, who knows, BUT I promise you there WAS a "before that", knowing Greg.

My oldest son didn't have time to play in the snow. Richard was out shoveling and snow-blowing his driveway and the driveways of three of his neighbors. I'm afraid this experience will turn him against "old people" (of which I am one) for good! Now that it's over and he's safe, I'm so very proud of his care for his neighbors. I'm sure they appreciate his kindness.

Maybe today he can take the top off of the snow in an area big enough for Kate to play. He said the drifts were so high in his yard yesterday that it was over his 3 yr.old daughter's head in many places.

I haven't heard from my youngest son yet. It took 2 ft. of snow to get Scott a Saturday off from work! I'm sure he enjoyed the day with his family.

I know that for many, this would be no big deal, but for Delawareans, this is a biggie!  We don't have the manpower or the equipment to handle this kind of snow. 

Schools could be closed here for a week because the buses can't get through the back streets. Main roads get plowed.  For the most part, secondary roads do not get plowed unless a community hires someone privately to plow their community. 

In Delaware it snows and then it melts - and then it snows - and then it melts.  Nature usually takes care of the roads (more or less).  It looks like the temperatures are going to be right around freezing or a little below this week (according to weather.com) so who knows what this will do to our tiny state. I guess we'll  just have to wait and see. 

Should we blame the groundhog???

Watch This!

So!  Something new in the shop - a watch.  This one has turquoise beads and silver spaces on sterling silver - handcrafted from silver wire by - me! 

We've sold several watches, but we've never had one in our Etsy shop - until now!  :-)

I love the graceful look of curved wire - silver, copper, brass.  It seems so peaceful and lovely to me.  And I love working with the wire - one of my favorite ways to relax.

I also made a turquoise and pearl bracelet that looks GREAT with the watch.  I think Michael calls it a "companion piece".  It really is a great companion piece.

There is also a pair of earrings that match the bracelet.  We'll have to see that those get into the shop (TheEarringLady) tomorrow morning.

I was reading about Turquoise this afternoon. I found out that it's one of the oldest stones known - dating as far back as the Egytians.  Turquoise is considered by many to bring inner strength, and to provide protection from harm.  I love reading about the spiritual qualities of different gemstones.

Do you have a favorite gemstone?  Why is it your favorite? I'd love to hear from you!

Connectors and Dangles and Wire! Oh my!

Our ThunderMoonSupplies shop on Etsy is doing well. In addition to all of the wire we carry, we've added some connectors and dangles that are soooo cute!

The Dangles above are great for earrings - as charms - or pendants.  There are a ton of uses - anything your mind can imagine.  They are Aventurine - hand wrapped with sterling silver wire and with sterling silver beadcaps.  So rich and pretty!  And only $4.95 (plus shipping) for all five of them!

Above are yellow Calcite Dangles wrapped with sterling silver and with silver plated bead caps.  And only $2.95 (plus shipping) for three!  I love them!

I love the mottled green of Tree Agate.  The Connectors above are hand wrapped with sterling silver.  They would be great in earrings, necklaces, bracelets, key chains, bookmarks - so many places!  Only $5.95 (plus shipping) for all eight of them. 

We've been busy catching up after Christmas and getting ready for the spring arts and craft shows.  Check our shops often.  We're updating daily!

Happy Monday!  Enjoy your week!
           jane

ThunderMoonSupplies
ThunderMoonCreations
TheEarringLady

Concert at the Keswick ~ Duets

One of the best!  We saw David Bromberg and Jorma Kaukonen (with Barry Mitterhoff) in one of the best concerts I've seen in a long time!

Of course we were almost blinded by all the mother-of-pearl on those two Martin guitars!  Beeeaaaautiful!  I never thought I'd see Jorma play a Martin, though. I'm so used to him with a Gibson.  I mean... if he's not using that Gibson and he'd like to give to me... well... I'd be glad to take it off his hands.  I'm selfless that way.

I love David Bromberg with his Big Band - and I love David Bromberg with the Angel Band - AND I love David Bromberg with Jorma (and Barry), but I love David Bromberg best when it's just David and  his guitar.

Jorma and Barry started the first set and then David came out and joined them. (I think they're taking turns opening each night).  David started the second set solo and it was fantastic!  I don't think I've seen David in concert alone before, but you can bet that I'll be there if it ever happens again!

With Jorma AND David, it was a night of pure guitar picking heaven, but the crowd belonged to David Bromberg.  Every song was an audience sing-along.

There are times when David is playing and singing - and he stops singing for several words.  You can tell that he hears the missing words coming from the guitar. And so could we. 

I think we have a few pictures.  I'll go through them and find a couple to post here.  Maybe Michael will add his two cents' worth also. 

January!

Wow!  Where does the time go???

Christmas is over - craft shows are done - and we're back! 

We're updating our shops daily - adding new things - making changes.

Come visit!  If you don't see what you want, just contact us. If we don't have it, we'll sure try hard to get it!!

Our newest shop, ThunderMoonSupplies is doing well. If you're looking for wire and/or supplies, stop by. 

For earrings, visit TheEarringLady. We have earrings in many different price ranges - all colors - a variety of styles.   All earrings can be converted to posts or clip-ons. 

Looking for a bracelet?  Necklace?  Come see us at ThunderMoonCreations. Discounts are available for matching sets from both jewelry shops.  We'd be happy to combine an order for you.

And be sure to check in with us here.  We love to share our business and our life with you.  See what we're making and what we're doing out "in the world".

And as always, we welcome your comments!

Have a great day!

 Everbest,

   jane and Michael

Quote(s) of the Week ~ 2010

May 23, 2010 - May 29, 2010
Today can be a healthy unusual day for you
and for others
if you take time to give someone a smile
to express a word of kindness
to lend a helping hand to someone in need
to write a note of gratitude
to give a word of encouragement to
someone who is temporarily overcome with problems
to share a portion of your material possessions with others.”
~William Arthur Ward~

May 9, 2010 - May 15, 2010
"For the morning sun in all it's glory
Greets the day with hope and comfort too
You fill my life with laughter
And somehow you make it better
Ease my troubles that's what you do"
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
~Van Morrison ~

May 2, 2010 - May 8, 2010
"It's a brand new day
The sun is shining
It's a brand new day
For the first time
in such a long long time
I know
I'll be okay"

Brand New Day
~Joshua Radin~

"Forgiveness doesn't come with a debt."
~Mary Chapin Carpenter~

 April 18, 2010 - April 26, 2010
Work and live to serve others, to leave the world a little better than you found it and garner for yourself as much peace of mind as you can. This is happiness.  
~David Sarnoff~


"I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs, and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music."
~George Eliot~
 

April 11, 2010 - April 17, 2010
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Live the life you have imagined.
~ Henry David Thoreau~


April 4, 2010 - April 10, 2010
Sounds of laughter,
shades of life
are ringing through
my opened ears,
inciting me, inviting me

Limitless undying love
which shines around me
like a million suns
it calls me on and on
across the universe

~John Lennon~
"Across The Universe"

Websites(s) Of The Week

If you want to find a website that was previously posted on "Website of the Week" - this is the place to find it!

May 16, 2010 - May 22, 2010

Funny Typos - Grammar geeks will delight in Funny Typos, a site devoted to ridiculing the language-challenged among us. Why people cant menage to reed there writhing batter is simpy a misery to me.

Safety Graphic Fun - Do park visitors generally need to be told “Please do not sit on crocodile”? Must employees at a company parking lot be reminded “Do Not Sleep Below the Vehicle”? Silly as these things sound, they’re actual warnings posted on public safety signs. Safety Graphic Fun works to compile the most ridiculous placards, outlandish announcements, and attorney-inspired posterior papering from around the world, some of which are astonishingly absurd. My favorite: “Touching wires causes instant death. $200 fine.”

May 9, 2010 - May 15, 2010
Product Wiki - A Wickipedia-type product review website. All reviews and articles are written and updated by the site's users.

Colour Me Happy - Well, this one is a blog that's a personal favorite of mine. Everything you ever wanted to know about color and your home.

Dilbert - I love this cartoon! From here, you can see other Dilbert comic strips - visit the Dilbert bl0g - and even Mashups where you can help do some comic creation.

May 2, 2010 - May 8, 2010
Hershey - It's another gift-giving time of year. You know - the ol' flowers and candy thing. When I think of candy, I think of chocolate and when I think of chocolate. I think of Hershey's and when I think of Hershey's, I think of my grandmother who LOVED Hershey kisses. I feel a story coming... so I'll leave it at that! :) Enjoy!

SoYouWanna - This is a site to help you buy gifts that people really want. There are quite a few great links on this page. ('m not fussy - almost anything will do, but music always works for me.)

April 18, 2010 - April 24, 2010
WhichBook - A fun way to find something new to read. Slide your cursor along a variety of spectra (happy --> sad --> funny --> serious --> short --> long, etc.). The website does some calculations and spits out a list of title suggestions, complete with descriptions of the plot.

Freecycle - The Freecycle Network is made of of 4,775 groups with 7,090,000 members acroxx the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local groups is moderated by a local volunteer. Membership is free.

April 11, 2010 - April 17, 2010
Toms Shoes- With every pair of shoes you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.

Red Envelope - Red Envelope claims to be "The place for unique and personalized gifts". I'm not sure it's THE place, but it's sure one of them. I love to look at all the great ideas there.

January through March
Draw a House ~ This one is addictive! Beware!

The Subservient Chicken - This site is sponsored by Burger King and it just cracks me up!

Neena's Lighting - Okay, so I read in a magazine that this was THE place to look for lighting - any kind - any price. Any kind, I'm buying, but any price? See what you think.

Remodelista - My house is a disaster, so I'm always looking for ideas. This site is pretty cool.

Retail Me Not - A catalog of online coupons posted and reviewed by users. The coupons vary from sites like Polo to Amazon to Papajohns

SugarCasa - Decorating finds and goodies

Websites of the Week ~ 2010

If you want to find a website that was previously posted on "Website of the Week" - this is the place to find it!

April 4, 2010 - April 10, 2010
Definr - Incredibly fast online dictionary. It takes about 14 milliseconds to look up a word.

WhatShouldIReadNext - This one is pretty cool! It's a book recommendtion service. Simply enter the author and title of your latest book and it will give you a list of recommended readings.