the perils of outdoor photography, or down the rabbit hole *smile*

well, i finally figured out how to take great photos of my jewelry. when i first started i was taking them at the campsite, which was awesome, cuz there's all kinds of trees and stuff available. i'm not so lucky at home, but i've managed to make do and still take some great shots. while my mom was visiting this past week, i made some really great jewelry that i was really anxious to take photos of tonite before i lost the light, but unfortunately the branches i use extend over the ivy in our back yard. i guess there's a lot of small animals that live in the ivy, cuz one of my earrings fell in and down someone's hole. i hope they enjoy it! *smile*


one of the great things about having my mom here is that she really forced me out of my box, so to speak.

she was kinda like my creative advisor and really helped me create some fabulous earrings using color combinations i wouldn't have thought of myself.

she really helped me see things in a different way that i think really worked.

now i've got to get my kids to bed (another reason the chipmunks will be enjoying some jewelry *smile*) so that i can get them posted to etsy. my sister (thequiltedhouse.etsy.com) says that you should post something every day. i'm lucky if i get a couple of things every couple of weeks *smile*

my quilt

sorry it took me so long to post this, but i finally had a chance to take pictures of my quilt on my bed. we're gearing up for company this week, so we're doing some cleaning, so it was a good opportunity for photos *smile*

so here it is:
it's hard to take a picture of the entire thing on the bed cuz it's so big *smile*

i was particularly proud of the center blocks.

i am just really proud of myself. it turned out so nicely. it's not as warm as i'd like, but come winter i'll put our old quilt inside and voila! instant warmth *smile*. the next quilt i make, though, i'll have to research batting a little better. i was suprised how un-warm it is. it was really warm when i was making it *smile*

surgery

it seems that today was the day for surgery. my favorite aunt, aunt rainy, had a lump removed from her breast today, and i performed my first bottom-repair surgery on my son's teddy bear, teddy. both went well and both patients are recovering in stable condition *smile*.

my aunt's surgery made me realize that we have a history of breast cancer in our family. hunh? why did it take her lumpectomy for me to find out that she's not the first of my mother's sisters to have this problem? wow. it's very sobering, cuz i thought we were fine. my next-door neighbor is a breast cancer survivor. she's awesome. but i didn't think i knew anyone else. now, i don't think any of my aunts actually have or had breast cancer, but there's a definite history of female problems in our family. most of my female cousins have had hysterectomies because of fibroids and other "female complaints". my sister and i are the youngest of our generation, but thankfully now they have more advanced treatments. at least for some things. but for some reason none of this is talked about or discussed. of course, my mom's one of 10 and most of her siblings were very prolific, so my siblings and i have 40+ cousins in our generation, plus all of the 2nd cousins and their children *smile*. obviously it's hard to keep all this information current. but you would think that something important like a possible cancer diagnosis would be important enough to be passed down.

thankfully, though, aunt rainy is recovering peacefully and the procedure went well. we can all be grateful and thank God for that *smile*

the good and the bad

well, i guess i am a true artist becuz instead of rejoicing at having made a sale, i'm sad cuz i sold my favorite pair of earrings and now i have to make myself another pair *smile*

i mean, i can't really be sad cuz i'm sure she's enjoy them, and i can always make another pair, but they were truly my favorites. and they went with everything from jeans to dresses and everything in between. but now i have to really get on the stick and add some new items to my shop cuz my listings are dwindling down. *smile* but all in all, i guess it's a good problem to have.

wow have i been busy

wow. i hadn't realized how long it's been since i've blogged, but i've been really busy lately. we went on a fabulous vacation through beautiful, scenic ohio, and then up to our campsite, which is where i learned to take good pics of my jewelry. since then i've been busy re-creating my etsy shop (heavenlycreationspgh.etsy.com) and ordering new business cards and working with michelle and her etsy shop (thequiltedhouse.etsy.com) to create cross marketing opportunities.

the pics that i'd taken of my stuff before was really kinda crappy. i had totally convinced myself that i needed at least a nikon 400 dslr in order to correct this problem. but i discovered that my little nikon, that christopher rescued from the allegheny river, can take some pretty awesome shots with a little know-how *smile*. here's one of my favorites:
it's amazing what natural lighting can do *smile*

so after the campsite, i experimented at home. i hadn't realized all the features my camera has that i'd never even thought about! of course it also didn't help that the only instruction manual i could find is in spanish. *smile* but here are some more of my favorite pieces, some of which aren't even listed on my etsy site yet:

these are some of my favorite earrings, cuz they're so simple. they go with practically everything *smile* they're peach shell, with white shell donuts and red aventurine.

these i gave to my friend kellie for her birthday, but i love them so much i really need to make another pair. *smile* they're olive jade with swarovski crystal. just the perfect length to give a splash of drama without being overwhelming *smile*

i love amber! and i totally thought i'd never be able to work with it cuz it's hard to order online and know what you're getting. but i found some fabulous amber at a local bead shop and made this beautiful bracelet with white shell and silver daisies.

this is my all-time favorite bracelet. i honestly don't know if i can sell it cuz i don't have anymore of the brecciated jasper. there's a matching necklace that i don't really like anymore, so i guess i could make another one, but...i found the jasper on clearance at joann's and bought all they had. *smile* i love the boldness of the stone with the delicacy of the shell donuts and squares.

check out my shop cuz i'll be updating it regularly. i've got a ton more great stuff to add now that i've got awesome pics *smile*

new bootylicious design

well, we just got back from a week-long driving vacation through beautiful, scenic ohio and what do i do? i stayed up late making another pair of cloth "big girl underwear" for isabelle, cuz i had an epiphany about my design flaw. so here it is almost 2am, but i'm so excited cuz i got it done so she can wear them first thing tomorrow, and they have baby elmo on them. *smile*


i'm really excited cuz this fabric does not specifically say that it must be used for non-commercial home use, so i think i can legitimately sell items made from it. and it's really gender non-specific. and hopefully when i see my neighbor tomorrow (really later today *smile*) i'll find that my pul film has come from wazoodle and i can see if that will make my life easier. it was shipped on 7/28, so i don't see how it could possibly not be here, unless they were walking it down from canada *smile*. but i think this will really work. i just need to see how they fit and whether or not i put in enough absorbancy. i'm tempted to get some sham-wow cuz it's amazingly absorbant and i wouldn't have to use a lot, so i'd get the absorbancy that i want without a lot of bulk. we'll see...

knowledge is bliss...

well, i've learned a lot along this journey of cloth training pants creation. i've learned that not all fleece is created equal. apparently fleece is waterproof, but only if you buy the good stuff that's only available online. and microfleece is fabulous--at wicking moisture away from the baby, not keeping it inside. and they don't sell it anymore at joann's. i've also learned that there are a lot of options as far as waterproof barrier fabrics, and i'm excited to start playing with some. i've ordered some polyurithane laminate film which should be here soon that should make my assembly easier. right now i'm taking apart the old wraps that don't fit anymore, but i'm having to piece them together to make them the right size, which is very time consuming and kinda annoying. as much as i love quilting, this is not my idea of fun *smile*. and i realized that the "licensed" flannel that i bought (spongebob, scooby doo, etc) is for "non-commercial home use only." so i guess if i'm gonna be good and don't want to be arrested or sued, i can't sell it. but what if i didn't show pictures of it but just suprised ppl with it? *smile*

i made a pair of scooby doo nighttime underwear for alexander and he loved it. it fit really nicely and the pooch in the front was totally not a problem *smile*. unfortunately i have to figure out how to eliminate that for isabelle's *smile*. and i need to figure out how to make them quicker. my machine doesn't like to sew lots of layers of fabrics, which is unfortunate, cuz once you layer the inner lining, the 6-8 layers of absorbancy, the wicking layer, the waterproof layer, and the outer cover, you've got a pretty thick piece of something to sew in places. and of course i can't convince my husband that spending $1000 on a new sewing machine for another "hobby" is a good idea *smile*. i'll figure it out. my plan is to do it on the side for a while until i perfect my pattern and then put them online and when i've started making money THEN spring the idea on him instead of the way i usually do it--tell him in the beginning and then when it's a lot of fun and i'm spending far more than i'm making have to confess that maybe it wasn't a well thought out plan to begin with *smile*.

it would be nice to have a little extra income that i don't have to leave the house to make, but it's pretty time consuming. each pair takes a while to make--especially when my bobbin thread keeps breaking cuz my sewing machine is cranky. but i keep seeing viking freesias on ebay. if things go well, maybe i'll ask for one for Christmas *smile*

anyway, my final design is really adorable. i'll have to post pics next time, cuz i didn't take any yet, and they have all been worn and peed upon, so they're a little stinky (probably, tmi, but...*smile*)