Back again

I am back from a wonderful time in Cape Cod. I'm happy to be home, but I sure miss the nice weather. It's SO hot here! But we are on the downside of summer, so that's good.

Many changes happening, all good. My partner and I tied the knot in Massachusetts while she visited for two overlapping weeks while I was there. We got married in my parent's back yard. It was a beautiful ceremony, and so special. Just family, very small and low key.

Then about two weeks ago, right after I returned, a little stray kitten showed up in our yard. He's all black, absolutely adorable and sweet (his name is Henry) and I have not been getting a lot done since he arrived! He's too active for me to get a photo, but I will try and capture one soon. My honey isn't sure we need 4 cats (crazy cat lady starter kit, anyone?), but I think if we can get the other cats acclimated he will be a great edition to our household.

I have also been hard at work on my fall line of jewelry. I have a couple of new shops, so am getting some pieces together for them, and I need to get some new pieces in my etsy shop too. I want to hit the shops hard before the holidays and reach my goal of 40 shops by the end of the year. I'm up to 27 shops now, so we will see where I end up.

Here's a little peek at the fall line:

another rainy day

I have been hanging out with my Grandma watching the raindrops pour down today while my parents enjoy a quick little getaway in upstate NY. It was a great day to work and I got an order completed and put up a couple of new necklaces on etsy:

waiting for Andrew

We're settled in ready to watch for Hurricane Andrew which is scheduled to reach Cape Cod by tonight around 9pm. It has been downgraded to a tropical storm, and we are not going to get much in the way of wind, just some rain. It was a good day to make jewelry:

jewelry making

New pieces I've made over the past few days...

Prepping

After a wonderful week long visit to Portland, I am prepping to head out again on Saturday. There is always so much to do before a trip! I did have time to create some jewelry this week, here are a couple of photos. I am really into an industrial, patinaed look right now. Raw, full of texture, a little old, a little new...

Lots of contacts

I've spent the past three days researching and calling boutiques and gift shops all over the country. My little fingers are ready for a break from all the emails I've been sending! Hopefully some good connections will come from it.

No new pieces over the past few days, but a few I haven't shared yet:

These are already gone to their respective shop locations. Hoping to put some new pieces in the etsy store in the next couple of days.

New pieces

are heading out to ATown in Austin, TX. So excited to be in a new city! Here's a sample:

More beady goodness

Got some great beads and such at 1/2 price Goodwill day today, am so excited to start playing with them! Half price Goodwill day is one of my favorite things in the world. I love the thrill of the hunt, and scoring that perfect item without paying an arm and a leg.

Here's what I got:

I also am listing a purse I embellished with some doily goodness. It's going up on ebay. I will be selling a few more purses I have. Here it is:

Super cute, no?

And finally a new bracelet got listed in my etsy shop:

Have a great weekend!

New item in the shop

Today has been busy with research and contacting new shops in different markets. I managed to have a little time to post a new listing to the etsy shop. Here it is:

Lots of manufacturing going on!

Today I dropped off a boatload of bracelets to Grow-Op here in Phoenix. Then came home and worked on two orders going out to Sweet Jayne and Mapel Boutique in Portland. Had a little time to put together a piece for my etsy shop. Here it is...

more pretties

Just posted a new necklace in the shop...take a look!

A new batch

I have been focused on beaded bracelets for two of my new shops this past little bit. Some will also be going into my etsy shop. Here's a peek...

The sea glass bracelets will be heading off to the Cape, and I am thinking of making more to put up in the shop. Have a great Wednesday!

A fun project

I finally finished a bracelet I was working on that was made using a wire knitting tool from Softflex company. I love it! I can't wait to make more! Here it is:

The next one will be in shades of turquoise in honor of the upcoming summer (which has apparently arrived in Phoenix; it will be 97 degrees today, ugh!)...

new pieces on their way

Today was all about getting product out. I stopped by two of my shops in downtown Phoenix to drop off necklaces, then finished putting together an order for one of the new Los Angeles shops called Atelier Femme. Here are some samples:

I've really been enjoying making the simpler pieces like these; it's so satisfying and I love the result!

More shops

More shop business! I am now working with Soto Boutique in Los Angeles and will soon be in Atelier Femme in Pasadena. Also picked up another one in downtown Phoenix called Grow-Op. It's a hip, relaxed boutique with carefully curated items. Love it! Here are some new goods going out...

Sunday afternoon

 Some new pieces...

The final phase

Today I dropped off my new Mac to get all set up and ready to use. I'm thrilled, but I know there will be a little adjustment period. The sooner I get started the better! In the meantime, I've had my old computer and have been diligently working on orders for a few of my shops. Here's a little taste of what I have been doing:

I also met with my friend, Dawn Sokol the other day for a coffee and chat. We talked about art journaling and painting, neither of which I have had time for. I really miss it! I purchased a Smashbook over the Christmas holidays and haven't even opened it yet! I'm hoping that in the next couple of weeks I will have a chance to paint and journal again.

In the meantime, I dropped off a bunch of beaded anklets to my new shop, Here on the Corner, right across the street from ASU. Now I am working on getting together orders for Bunky Boutique and Cleo and Clementine in Phoenix. Then it's back to making and selling!

In between

Step one of the computer switchover process is over. Step two will be happening either over the weekend or early next week. In the meantime, I was able to get some work done today, yay! Here's a couple of photos of the new goodies in my etsy shop:

Have a great rest of your Thursday!

Transitions

Last week I purchased a MacBook Air. It's something I have been thinking about for several months. Since I'm kind of living in two places, it will be great to have a computer that travels easily with me. It will allow me to get more work done when I am away, and that is a good thing!

But with joy also comes heartache. I will be computer-less for the next several days while my PC is getting cleaned up and the IT folks at Best Buy switch all the data over to the Mac.

Since I can't upload any photos from my IPad, I will take a small break from the blog, hopefully less than a week. Once I have everything up and running I will be back...till then have a great week and see you soon!

I can't get enough!

I can't get enough of these awesome beaded bracelets! I am addicted, all I want to do is string colorful strands all day long!

Of course I have other work to do too. Here is a little taste:

These pieces will be on their way to Sweet Jayne in Portland, OR in the next couple of days. Back to work for me!