Yay I Won!

Okay as some of you may know I am a total hand made soap addict. The difference in my skin since I switched to hand made is incredible and the range of colors and smells is mind boggling. So anyway, Soapsmith over on Artfire is doing a a give away once a week for six weeks of this awesome sampler pack. Actually its down to four weeks now but anyway, lots of goodies in this and she is even shipping it for free. At the moment its only open to for US shipping, no international. So I have been watching like a hawk for this to come around again in the forums so I would have a chance to win. And I did! LOL I am so excited! If you want to try for the next batch check in on this forum thread regularly and you may get a chance. You should check her shop out anyway, she has some really uniques soaps, many of them mimic gemstones and rocks which is really cool!

<------ This is what I won! How exciting, I can't wait to get it!

The Geisha Silken Therapy Lotion-Blackberry Sage
Shea Souffle - Lavender
Shea Butter - Sandalwood
Glycerin Sweetheart Soap - assorted scents
Mini Gemstone Soap - assorted
By the Sea Glycerin Soap
Oatmeal Honey Cold Process Artisan Soap
The Tempest Cold Process Artisan Soap
Vestal Castile Organic Olive Oil Cold Process Soap, no fragrance no color
Pure Monoi Oil
Bath Fizzy - Tropical Delight

Mother's Day Sale!

!!MOTHER"S DAY SALE!!

I am currently having a Mother's Day sale in my Artfire shop. Please come by and check it out I have almost 200 items listed and will continue to add more items as I go. The entire shop has been marked down so no re doing invoices or anything. Also if you check out the rapid cart feature on the side you can purchase directly from here without having to go to my shop at all lol!
Pretty cool feature, thanks Artfire!

Ajdjss Guild Contest and Promotion!

Don't forget to get your entry in! There are a lot of really beautiful prizes and you will have a blast checking out all of the shops! Go HERE for the info.

Why I Like to Play With Fire

Actually there are a lot of reasons why I like to play with fire. I have always had a fascination with flames (feel free to insert pyro here lol), I was the kid who was always adding more sticks to the fire, can I help you light it Daddy, etc.! The play of colors in the fire pit, the way the flames dance and change color are fascinating to me to this day. And I still am the person who tends the fire when we gather around the fire pit in the summer. It also brings people together, we all gather round the fire, watch the flames and socialize, grateful for the warmth as the sun starts to go down.

You can imagine my excitement when I found out about metal work! Wow I can play with fire inside the house (mind you, my husband made it abundantly clear that this was going to take place downstairs with the appropriate safety measured etc. and NOT by the living room curtains!) and I can actually use it to MAKE something beautiful and wearable (instead of a small pile of ashes at the end of a night around the fire pit).

Once I started learning (and you REALLY don't want to know how many pieces I have melted lol) and playing and trying things I only became more fascinated. The fire not only melts things, but it attaches pieces of metal together, and it makes the most beautiful color changes occur when applied to said metal correctly (see the part about melting lol). With the flame I can meld my love of lapidary (rocks) and my love of metal and flame and begin to create a piece from scratch with no purchased components. I am looking forward to many more years of playing with fire and hope that my skill and imagination will continue to grow and make many more beautiful and wearable pieces.

Ajdjss Guild Contest and Promotion!

Here is another fabulous opportunity to win some great jewelry and find a whole bunch of great jewelry designers that you may not have known about. Many thanks to our guild master BeadLady5 for all the time and effort you have put into making this happen! Also many thanks to the people who have donated items for prizes and re arranged things in their shop to make it fun for everyone. Here is the scoop so go check it out and find some really great artisans to put on your list of people to buy from!Ajdjss Guild "Spring Cleaning & Treasure Hunt" Event

The Ajdjss Guild "Spring Cleaning and Treasure Hunt" Event starts on April 17th and runs through May 1st.
To visit the guild's shops you need to search in the handmade section for "ajdjss guild" and in the supplies section for "ajdjss guild". When you do this all our studios will come up for you to visit.
When you visit our studios you will find that each one has a special section called "Spring Cleaning"--check out this section for fabulous sales and specials on beautifully handcrafted jewelry and wonderful jewelry supplies. Deals you will find hard to resist.
But that's not all--We are having a "Treasure Hunt"--with the chance for you to win fabulous handcrafted jewelry from our talented jewelry artisans!

Here is the info about our special "Treasure Hunt":
1.Visit our studios and check out the "Spring Cleaning" Section.

2.Find the item with the special "treasure phrase" in the last sentence of it's decription.

3.There are 2 phrases--"This is a piece of jewelry to treasure for a lifetime" or
"This can be used to create a piece of jewelry to treasure for a lifetime."

4. Find 10 studios with the hidden phrases and you will be entered in a drawing for a pair of lovely handcrafted earrings.

Find 15 studios with the hidden phrases and you will be entered in a drawing for a beautiful handcrafted bracelet.

Find 20 studios with the hidden phrases and you will be entered in a drawing for a fabulous handrafted necklace.

5. There will be 4 winners in each category.

6. Contact Beadlady5 with the names of the studios that you find, your name, and your email address. Beadlady5 can be contacted by clicking on the guild's avatar at the top right of the guild page.

Awesome Sale!

CCTEXAN3

Well here is the opportunity of a lifetime. A friend of mine over on Artfire is having a really good sale. And yes she is my direct competition lol! Believe it or not many of us are good friends and we don't really see it as competition, we share lots of ideas, advice and we all share one very important thing which is a love of making jewelry in whatever medium our particular passions are in. Any way CC is having an awesome BUY ONE GET ONE FREE Sale. She has two pages of stuff on sale to choose from and she has an incredible eye for color so if you are looking for something for Mother's Day or just want to surprise someone special in your life this is the place to look first.

Fund Raiser

Please check this out. I don't push charities much, I think they are intensely personal but I wanted to get the word out on this one. Amy is a fellow artisan and anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis knows I like to help out my fellow artisans lol! I also think that Downes Syndrome kids have a huge amount of love to give and so much to teach us about loving each other. So go check out Amy's shop and buy something. And wish Dean a happy birthday!

I Dreamed

by

Amy Cavaness

I dreamed he'd be born beautiful and healthy.

He was.

I dreamed he'd tell me that he loves me.

He tells me every day.

I dreamed he'd be bright and funny.

He is - his humor is wonderful.

I dreamed he'd ride a bike, catch a ball and wrestle with his big brother.

He does and his brother loves it.

I dreamed he'd have big birthday parties with lots of friends and cake and presents.

He's had six.

I dreamed he'd one day get on a bus and go to kindergarten.

He did it yesterday - my heart full of love and my eyes full of tears.

I dreamed he'd make us proud.

He has, and he's inspired us.


Dean has Down Syndrome.

I never dreamed that.

**********************************************************************

It's been 15 years since I wrote this poem. Dean turns 21 on April 7, 2009 and I couldn't have dreamed what kind of man he'd become. He's still funny, he's very bright, and he still loves cake. He continues to make us proud. I continue to be grateful for his presence in our lives. And I love him dearly.

In honor of Dean's 21^st birthday on Tuesday, April 7, I will donate 100% of my sales to the National Association for Down Syndrome. This organization offers wonderful support to parents and their kids, and we were so glad we found them when Dean was born.

Spring Cleaning and Treasure Hunt!

Check it out! I am a proud member of this guild and we have some really nice things to give away. Remember that you can't enter until April 17th but you could probably start gathering info now. Not all of us will have everything up until then but hey it's a great excuse to look at a lot of nice jewelry lol! And if you stop in my shop and decide to purchase something I will give 10% off if you put *Ajdjss guild* into the notes to seller.

Ajdjss Guild "Spring Cleaning & Treasure Hunt" Event

The Ajdjss Guild "Spring Cleaning and Treasure Hunt" Event starts on April 17th and runs through May 1st.
To visit the guild's shops you need to search in the handmade section for "ajdjss guild" and in the supplies section for "ajdjss guild". When you do this all our studios will come up for you to visit.
When you visit our studios you will find that each one has a special section called "Spring Cleaning"--check out this section for fabulous sales and specials on beautifully handcrafted jewelry and wonderful jewelry supplies. Deals you will find hard to resist.
But that's not all--We are having a "Treasure Hunt"--with the chance for you to win fabulous handcrafted jewelry from our talented jewelry artisans!

Here is the info about our special "Treasure Hunt":
1.Visit our studios and check out the "Spring Cleaning" Section.

2.Find the item with the special "treasure phrase" in the last sentence of it's decription.

3.There are 2 phrases--"This is a piece of jewelry to treasure for a lifetime" or
"This can be used to create a piece of jewelry to treasure for a lifetime."

4. Find 10 studios with the hidden phrases and you will be entered in a drawing for a pair of lovely handcrafted earrings.

Find 15 studios with the hidden phrases and you will be entered in a drawing for a beautiful handcrafted bracelet.

Find 20 studios with the hidden phrases and you will be entered in a drawing for a fabulous handrafted necklace.

5. There will be 3 winners in each category.

6. Contact Beadlady5 with the names of the studios, your name, and your email address. Beadlady5 can be contacted by clicking on the guild's avatar at the top right of this page.

Artfire Artisan Spot Light

I am going to (hopefully) be doing a lot more posting so check back often. I will be doing a lot of spotlighting for some fellow artisans and just general overall stuff. Here is today's spot light and if you like what you see here, go check out her shop for some more goodies.

Pirate Pixie Crew

Here is the scoop on Lynn and why she does what she does. And I have to say I really like the grey beret, I find it to be very subtly yet elegant. And the turquoise fingerless gloves are awesome.


Welcome to the Pirate Pixie crew store!

I'm Lynne. I live with my partner Jon in South Wales, in the UK, with mountains behind our house, mountains in front and the sea within a 30 minute drive. It's a beautiful place to be.

All my life I've loved to make and create things. I like nothing better than to see a raw material be turned into something useful or beautiful.

At the moment I'm obsessed with creating things from wool. Hats, clothes, rugs... I also have a love for making hula hoops. They have a magical power that makes people smile.

I feel that imagination and fun is very important in all our lives whether we be young or old, so when you purchase a hat from it me means you become a Pirate Pixie Crew member. You will receive a membership card with your hat. See how Captain Skulduggery Dug came to have a Pirate Pixie Crew below. If my goods spark even small feelings of adventure and fun in the owners I am happy.

Go look, shop and enjoy! More artisan spotlights and other goodies coming soon!