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 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!

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

A Friday Visitor

I was working at the computer yesterday when I heard a very loud noise from the living room. It sounded like someone had thrown something very large at the large window in the living room. I got up and went into the living room to investigate. There were no holes in the window and no sight of any damage.

Every now and then a bird will fly into the window and it sounded like that only much, much louder. I went over to the window to take a peek and there standing on the ground beside the foundation of the house was a hawk.

He was absolutely beautiful. He was standing, looking a bit dazed (or was that my imagination). He must have been about a foot and half tall - a big bird.


I went to grab my camera, although I didn't expect him to be there when I returned, but he was. I was able to snap a couple of pictures before he fly away.


They are not the best photos, but I am glad that I have something to record the event.

So many beads - so little time

Bead Fest, sponsored by Interweave, was in King of Prussia this past weekend. These fantastic bead shows, so close to our house, are something we tend to take for granted. (Michael pointed that out to me. I hadn't thought about it. I guess I was taking it for granted.)

Watching so many people take their baggage upstairs to their hotel room made me realize that while there are tons of people who come from out of town and have to stay for the weekend (like that's a hardship??), Michael and I can just zip up the road - and in 40 minutes... we're there. Very cool!


We DO have our favorite vendors - for silver - for Swarovski crystals - and some for gemstones, although that's a little tougher. It's so hard to know when you're getting the truth. Like when you pick up some beads that are hot HOT pink and the vendor tells you that the beads are natural stone. Yeah... right!

We are finding that sometimes we have to pay a little more in order to know that we're buying from someone reputable. In case, you're looking for reputable vendors, our all time favorite is Atlantic Gems with Rahul and his family.

We went on Sunday and we had a GREAT day! As you can see, we got a few goodies! We are finding that if we're looking for something specific - it's not there. It never fails! I'm looking for some really pretty tourmaline chips and some pretty turquoise nuggets. Those should NOT be hard to find, but... they must be hiding from us. Anyone have any idea where I can find them?????



The new crystals from China are GORGEOUS - such pretty colors and shapes. We found some pretty gemstones, but not as many as I would have liked. I'd love to find a good source (or two) for gemstones. Suggestions, anyone?

I think we have another bead show coming to Philadelphia in October. We'll have to take our camera next time and get permission from some vendors to take pictures. It's amazing!!!

5 Websites to make you smile

Okay... something new. I think I'm going to do away with the links on the side in the sidebar and make a post from time to time (weekly, maybe?) with links that I've found that I enjoy. Then if anyone is interested in past links, they can sort by the label "Links" and... ta da... there they will be!

::::applause applause::::

Sooooo today? Cartoon and comic related websites...

1. Dilbert (of course) ~ Who doesn't love Dilbert?
2. Hongkiat.com ~ 12 Sites to create cartoon characters of yourself. Need an avatar? Check this one out.
3. Out There cartoons ~ Do you suffer from Monday-itis? New cartoons every Monday and Friday.
4. Comics.com ~ Find all your favorite comics here.
5. The New York Times Cartoon Caption Contest ~ My cousin, Tom, sent this to me and I'm hooked. We never win, but we do make ourselves laugh.

So for today... th... th... th... that's all folks!

Storage - Part 2 - A Work in Progress

Okay... I'm not sure how I got started on this. I think it started with a blog about crystals and the joy of storing them. (she said sarcastically)

At the end of that post, I asked (begged is more like it) for storage suggestions and "the creative ones" came up with several great ideas! The next day I posted some of the suggestions that people gave me and some things I dug up at an Etsy forum, one of which was about these great plastic tubes! (Isn't EVERYTHING in an Etsy forum???)

SO anyway... We got the tubes and posted a sample of what we got and how we were going to use them.

Okay... so now we're a little farther down the road, but still not "there" yet! We are a work in progress! (and progress can be painful - very very painful)

Cleaning off my work area was a nightmare. I'm one of those people who grabs some of this and some of that and off I go and before I know it... "this and that" has taken over my work space. Then I have to take a day and clear it all out because it's driving me nuts! Not so, Michael. Michael is a tidy worker. His workspace is always orderly - neat - with just what he wants to use and nothing more. I'm not sure how he does that. I have NO idea what I'm going to use until I'm into it.

ANYWAY... I didn't have time for the usual all-day cleanup. Michael was in motion so I just dumped everything from my work area into a bowl (or 2... or 3). (This picture shows my bowl status after an hour or so of "cleaning out the bowl" and putting things "away".)

That left my work table pretty clean
(hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah clean... riiiiiight!)
Please remember that "clean" is relative.


Michael started putting up the pegboard to hold the tubes. He found great little plastic hooks that only take up the width of one hole. He ordered them one day and they arrived the next. Pretty sweet!


Next, he put up some of the tubes with gemstone and glass beads - and a section for pearls. It looks great but we already see what we'd like to change. We treated each board separately - from top to bottom. Wrong-o!

I think what I'd like to do is just start from the left corner and go across - and then down to the next row when we run out of room. I'd like to see all the reds side by side - all the blues - all the greens, etc.


I think we'll probably still keep all the pearls in one area.

What do you think? Any suggestions?

How about silver? I'm still not sure how to store all of the silver.

And lighting? How do I light this so that there isn't a huge glare????

Part 3 will be coming soon, hopefully! Stay tuned and thanks for your help!

(for all of the posts about storage, click on the "storage" label in the list of labels - or follow this link: http://thunder-moon.blogspot.com/search/label/Storage)

The Kids are Alright

I was seventeen in 1969, which of course means that every guy I knew played guitar. Seriously, they all did. The girls didn't and I don't know why. But among my close friends, the guitar players were, Marty, Dony, Stan, Jack, Rick, and Brian. Oh, and my brother Chuck and my Uncle Richard.

So, to see my daughters friends all gathered in our living room with guitars in hand (and a ukulele and keyboards and even a rhythm egg) is a real pleasure. She wanted to learn to play, so I got her a Fender acoustic guitar for Christmas two years ago. I think she must like it. Since then she has taken up the harmonica, the ukulele and just recently picked up a keyboard and is teaching herself keyboards. (I am some help there but very little. Jane knows more than I do, but neither of us really plays.)

Even though she picked up the keyboard (which is in the living room) she seems to prefer Jane's piano. Her music is spread all over it.

So the other day they were all here, and Jane suggested that I get a couple of pictures to record the event. I thought that was a great idea and here are a couple.


In the picture above is (from left to right) Joanna, my daughter Chelsea, Kelly, and Barak. Joanna is playing Jane's vintage 1976 Gibson MK72. Chelsea is playing her Fender (a really nice guitar for the money). Kelly is playing my Ovation Balladeer, and Barrack got stuck with the least favorite, the small nylon string classical. (the ukulele was resting) The pic above shows the smiles, but we can't see Barak, so here is one where you can.


Jane and I listened to them of course and it was wonderful to have music in the house. They play a lot, but since Joanna is majoring in music at college, she makes them play the "whole" song, which was nice.


The picture above is Kelly looking very studious.

Jane and I were talking about the music they played and even though I don't think we knew any of the songs, and they were all current (perhaps even one of Joanna's originals) they sound just like what we played 40 years ago.

We are not sure they would agree, or like that, but that's the way it sounds to us.

Truly, the kids are alright.

- posted by Michael