Etsy Treasuries

We had a busy weekend here and on Etsy too. The Earring Lady had items featured in two Etsy Treasuries.

On Thursday WhoaItsMe put up her Earth and Sea Treasury and featured Jane's Turquoise Crystal and Pearl Earrings:



On Friday JNpottery put up her Payback is Fun Treasury and featured Jane's Copper Disk Earrings. Her treasury featured sellers who had featured her pieces in their treasuries.



Both of these ladies are members of the Wild, Wise, Witty Grandmothers team. We thank both WhoaItsMe and JNpottery as well as the rest of the team for their continued support.

Click on the Treasury Photos to see the full size treasury and the comments.

Little Italy Farmer's Market

Today was our first day at the Farmer's Market in Little Italy (in Wilmington, Delaware). We weren't quite sure what to expect or if people shopping at a Farmer's Market would be interested in jewelry at all. BUT... we were pleasantly surprised.

We had a good day - sold some nice pieces - and even got an invitation to a art/craft show in September. Getting the invitation was kind of an affirming moment. Why, you say? Well! Let me tell you!

We had two tables set up and the lady from the craft show (which we didn't know at the time. She didn't have on a "craft show lady" sign) started at at the beginning of the tables.

"Pretty jewelry" she said, smiling. "I'm running a craft show at Carousel Farms in September and I'd ask you to come, but I already have 9 people selling jewelry."

We chatted as she continued down the tables. She picked up several pieces along the way and commented favorably on each one. By the time she got to the end of the tables, we had an invitation. :)

"I just LOVE your stuff", she said. "You have to come to Carousel Farms."

Pretty cool, eh? We were definitely excited!

In addition to selling some jewelry and getting an invitation to a craft show, we met some really nice people - both vendors and customers.

And a nice dog - a huge golden retriever named Luke, who is apparently almost a mascot and who spent most of the day lieing on my foot. Luke is a "toucher". He's happiest when he's touching you in some way.

We were situated between a man (Bill) who sharpens anything that can be sharpened, and on the other side, a representative from a local bakery. Luke (the dog - but don't call him a dog - it hurts his feelings) belongs to Bill.

Luke was tethered to Bill's truck, but he was able to roam quite a distance and he seemed to have adopted us for the day. It was a little awkward for people looking at jewelry to have this huge hulk of a dog in front of the table - or I should say the front end of a huge hulk of a dog. Luke spent most of the day lieing on his side, half of him under the table lieing on my foot, the other half stretched out in front of the table, watching the people. Anyone stopping at our tables just stepped over him, though, as if that was how they always looked at jewelry.

We had a couple of scares when other people with dogs passed by and Luke decided to go and be the official greeter. Twice, I thought he was going to take the table with him, but Bill came to the rescue both times.

All in all, we had a great day! I can hardly wait to go back next week! If you're anywhere near Wilmington, Delaware - come see us!

Lesson learned

So! Off to Sparkles this afternoon to take the wire class that was cancelled last week. I learned a BUNCH of stuff, but haven't mastered any of it yet. I promised I'd post my first effort here. Be kind!
I bought some German wire to practice. It's not as soft as silver, so when I switch to silver (or copper) it should be easier. But for now, I'll practice with the German wire (which is soooo pretty). When I get a little better, I'll put something up here again. The next one will be more colorful - I promise!

Speaking of sparkles...

Oh! Do these SPARKLE!!! (Note... that was a statement, not a question!)

Kind of a dreary day the other day so I decided I'd go for a little "bling"! I bought these crystals at the last bead show we went to in King of Prussia. I'd looked at them off and on all day, but hesitated because I was really looking for gemstones.

BUT... I didn't find what I wanted in gemstones, so these beauties found their way to our house. Earrings to match of course. I just love working with crystals. They can brighten up the darkest day.

The only thing better than working with crystals is wearing them. Bad day? Wear some crystals. Rainy day? Wear some crystals. Tough time at work? Wear some crystals. Watch them catch the light - and then watch them lighten your mood. Try it! It works!

Have a "crystal" kind of day!

When is a bead shop more than a bead shop?

Well... when it's Sparkles, of course!



And then it becomes a great place to spend time with friends, work on projects, "hang out", and share tips and techniques. Oh right! AND a great place to buy beads!

Michael and I spent the better part of this afternoon and this evening at Sparkles, sitting around the table talking with Connie (owner and friend to all) and the "Friday night bead club".

(I don't know who had to get up and get out of the picture the day this was taken, but I don't think I've ever been to Sparkles when there wasn't a class at that table (see it in the back?) or someone working on a project.)

Around the table tonight were Connie and her son Carl (who wants Michael to teach him some wire-wrapping techniques), Lisa (working on several projects), Kathy (ALMOST working on a project), Michael (the helper) and me (the talker). We had SUCH a good time!!! What a great place to spend a few (or more) hours. (And who could possibly leave Sparkles without some great beads!)

I was supposed to take a class there this evening, but the instructor was ill - class cancelled until next week. But that didn't stop us! We went anyway! :)

We are so fortunate to have Connie and her shop! She has the most beautiful beads, a fanstastic selection, and she makes us all feel welcome and special.

Even if you're not "local", if there's something you need - something you're looking for, call Connie. I'll betcha she can help!

Support your local bead shop!

Okay, we give up

Time to cry, "Uncle." We give up. You can only try to resist these things so long.

What am I talking about? Twitter of course. We are not officially the last ones on Twitter - it just feels like it. We have actually been set up on Twitter for awhile now. I made the accounts, but basically ignored them. Every now and then I would get an email that said we had a new follower and I would feel the guilt from neglecting Twitter, but neglected it anyway.

But, when Jane said that it appeared that many of the grandmothers from the "Wild, Wise, Witty Grandmothers Team" on Etsy were on Twitter, I officially gave in. More accurately, Jane and I both gave in.

So we are now following, being followed, reading tweets and tweeting ourselves.


So now between us we have two blogs, two Etsy accounts, two Facebook accounts, two Facebook Fan pages and even our own website - Oh, and now the two Twitter Accounts. Perhaps you can see why we went reluctantly into the land of Tweets.

And let us not forget that you also need to use TinyURL if you wish to share sites in your tweets.

Anyway, you can also find us at:
http://twitter.com/ThunderMoonEtsy
http://twitter.com/EarringLadyEtsy

So lets all follow and tweet together.

It's Curtains For You!

Oh my! I thought that was SO funny, but it occurs to me that you have to be old to even remember what that means. I can still hear the "baddies" in the gangster movies (does anyone remember gangster movies? *sigh*) pointing their guns and growling - with furrowed brows, feet spread apart, and between gritted teeth - "Ya' shoulda done what the boss said. It's curtains for ya'." *KABOOM* I'm sure you get the idea - it's not a good thing.

ANYWAY... I finished the curtains yesterday and Michael hung the new rod! Life is good!


Okay... so they're not perfect and I still need to add some curtain weights and move the picture that's partly hidden on the side. BUT... they're WAY better than the ones that were there. We have a red Lazy Boy reclining sofa, so the curtains look pretty with the sofa - or maybe the sofa looks better since we changed the curtains. I'm not sure which, but no matter how you look at it, it's better!

Incidentally, the picture(s) that you see beside the curtains are two prints of pen and ink drawings of a mother panda and her baby and a mother giraffe and her baby - "Mothers and Babies" by Louise Brevoort that were given to me as a gift from Ms. Brevoort when I was expecting my youngest son, Scott (who is now 39 *sigh*).

What did I do to deserve a gift from such a wonderful artist? Well... I was the "room mother" for her son, Doug, who was student teaching when the teacher quit in the middle of the year and Doug inherited the class. My oldest son (Richard, now 37) was in that 4th-grade class and it turned out to be one of his most FAVORABLY memorable school years. Mr. Brevoort did an outstanding job under less than outstanding circumstances. I was a staunch support and general "fan" - and or course, helped when I could.

There were LOTS of complaints from parents - a lot of controversy because he didn't have his degree yet, but really, student teaching was the last thing he needed to complete for his degree. He was creative and more than competent.

I knew the teacher who quit in the middle of the year. (On the weekend, I helped her sell baseball cards at card shows) When I asked her why she quit, she answered, "Because I realized that I really don't like children." Well, alrighty then! "Nuff said!

ANYWAY... to make a long story... well... just a little longer, I'll ask Michael to take a picture of the prints to put here. They're just sooo nice.

Oh! I DO ramble! (and ramble... and ramble... and ramble... and... )