Reporting some good news, K is 85% recovered. She is still sluggish, but manages some cute smiles over the computer laptop screen here at the table. I am not letting her wander far from me, just in case of the 'creepy germs' coming back, as she would say.

I am wrapping up some orders late tonight and will attempt to bring you all something new... possibly Ms. K's (from Florida) 'Illusion' bracelet she ordered a couple of weeks ago... That is under-construction as we speak, started it a few days ago, but haven't finished it yet.

See ya'll after a bit!

Did you say a prayer today?

Yep, she's sick. REALLY REALLY SICK! KayLee has NEVER been sick like this before, poor little thing! She is such a trooper, though, she hasn't whined once (believe it or not!). If she is feeling 'yucky' she does her thing and lays back down. Then waits patiently for it to happen again! So, IF you aren't feeling sick right now, say a little prayer of thanks! We always pray when bad things happen, but never seem to remember to say thanks (even for the little things!!!) when all is well!

Eli's teacher called earlier about another thing, but she mentioned that she was on her way home to take care of her little sick Sydney, who happens to be in KayLee's preschool class! SO, it really must be going around! Take some vitamin C and wash your hands! HA HA! Back later....

Ah, it's Monday... Yeah, right!

Good Morning to you! I hope you all had a constructive weekend and got tons done OR at least got tons of rest!

My little KayLee is sick, the yuck yuck type of sick. So, I am taking it easy with her in the living room. We are biding our time till Chicken Little comes on in a bit on the Disney Channel. It is one of our favorites! Her fever is up to 101.6, so she is feeling real bad! POOR THING!

On a happier note, my brother-in-law ran his first marathon over the weekend in Virginia. He beat his own goal by 20 minutes! He's a maniac! He ran it in 4 hours and 10 minutes!

Congrats, JIM!

Freebie for April!

A lovely sterling silver and Swarovski Crystal bracelet is up for grabs! I decided NOT to do a lampwork bracelet, because not everyone likes that style of jewelry. HOWEVER, almost everyone LOVES silver and sparkle! SO, here is the freebie for April! I changed the date to encompass the entire month because its' value is so high and I just can't afford to give more away this month. In an earlier post this month I mentioned keeping the giveaways around $50.00; and since I already donated over $200.00 in jewelry during March for four fundraisers, THIS IS IT! I hope you all understand the reasoning and aren't too upset with me! Enough said!

Keep those votes coming and this beautiful bracelet just may end up on YOUR wrist... OR it could be a wonderful present for MOM for Mother's Day... hmm... NAH! I would keep it, too! HA HA HA! The above picture isn't very big, so I thought I would post it here, too! CLICK to ENLARGE for the beautiful details of the Aquamarine Aurora Borealis Cube Crystals and Light Aquamarine and Aquamarine Satin Bicone crystals. I hope you love it! Its' value is over $50.00 and that doesn't include my time! It took me over an hour to wrap up these dangles!! NOW do you want to give me a vote? HA HA HA HA!

ENJOY and GOOD LUCK!

Just a note: Please notice the detail of each dangle. Each one is wrapped at top for strength and durability. Some jewelry designers just bend or curve the wire into a loop at top and then attach it to the sterling link bracelet. Doing so does not guarantee the dangle to hold while under stress. I felt I should explain this, as most people don't know what to look for when purchasing QUALITY artisan jewelry. If you ever have a question concerning the 'construction' of my jewelry, please holler!

Waiting for the SUN!

Good Morning! I am waiting for the sun to come up to take some pictures... Till then, I realized that I am still #2... WHAT??? I read the website wrong; they aren't resetting the counter till the end of APRIL, not March! WOO HOO! I get to be #2 for a little while longer, depending on votes, so that is SUPAH exciting!

Gonna go take an Advil and try to cope, if you know what I mean... I can't wait till they perfect that endometrial ablation.... I may get that done after I hear someone speaking GOOD things about it. My friend had it done and pretty much said she wouldn't want her worst enemy to have to go through that! WOW! Must not have been a good experience, eh?

Later, Gators!

Uh, no freebie yet....

Sorry, guys, I started working on some orders left over from last weekend's show and from a couple weeks back (a friend ordered something for her mom)... long story made short, no freebie to show ya. Even if I had it done I wouldn't want to post it because the picture would totally suck without natural light!!!

So, I will do that first thing in the morn and get some awesome pictures taken and will post it ASAP~ I PROMISE!!!!

There, I said it, I PROMISE!

Update to Darla and Kelly F: I will be emailing you both tomorrow and will be sending pictures for your approval... again, waiting for natural light to take the pictures of your beauties! Oh, what the heck, I will post them for everyone to see, too! EVERYONE should see these knockout bracelets! They are both so totally different in styles and colors, it will be neat to see the two of them next to each other!

Blessings on your evening!

I'M SO EXCITED!

And I just can't hide it, no no no NO! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it, OH YEAH!

Can you hear the music playing in the background??? HA HA HA! I just wanted to make a quick post to apologize for not posting the freebie yet! I have been working on something all morning/afternoon since Scott's Uncle Gary left at 11am! Scott left with the kids to see his cousin Austin play baseball, and I haven't moved my butt from my secret project since then! I should be able to reveal this exciting thing pretty soon, I will try NOT to keep you in suspense for long, I promise!

Thank YOU ALL so much for the votes to get me to #2!

YOU ALL ROCK!!!

I will be back in a while with the freebie, so check back!

Starting Over!

I am just 3 votes away from 2nd place and NOW they are going to reset the counters! The website resets the votes every 90 days for it to be fair for all of the new websites that join up during the inbetween time like I did. So, I guess I just have to start from scratch, which isn't a bad thing... NOW I could possibly get to 1st! HEE HEE!

I have some 'family-company' dropping in this morning for a visit; so after that I will get things rolling again with the freebie-posting and some new items, too! Enjoy your morning!!

EDIT: 2:12pm....

I AM #2!!!

YEAH! WOO HOO!

THANKS, GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!

FIVE AWAY...

...from 2nd place!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!

I will post the freebie tomorrow!!

Enjoy your evening!!

Just had to share...

a picture of KayLee. She was playing in the dirt (with a lot of water already in it) in our wheelbarrow and then backed up or something (according to my hubby) and it tipped over and splashed muddy water all over her! OH GEEZ! How funny is this? HA HA!

GUESS WHAT????

I am ranked

#3 ! ! !

A bracelet it is!

(I will post the next freebie soon!)

Jean Mitchell is the WINNER!

Congratulations, Jean!

I will run your new zipper bling to you later this week!

And, THANKS for voting!!!!!!!!!

The Drawing!

KayLee was a bit upset she wasn't doing the drawing! Eli is home this week from spring break, so I let him do the honors!

FREEBIE DRAWING...

in a little bit! Stay Tuned!

(OH, and I am almost #3!!! Help me get there with your votes and a bracelet will be the next giveaway!!!!!!!!)

What's not to love????

OH GEEZ! This pup can do nothing wrong! At least not for long. It is very easy to forgive a face like this! Shadow is about 3 months old and the newest member of my family, being adopted by my sister, Kris! He is so sweet and has puppy breath that ROCKS! It reminds me of my maltese dog, Shu-Shu, I had growing up. Shadow is a malty-poo (maltese - poodle) and is so smart, sweet and loving! I miss you, Shadow!

Sisters

Kris and I don't like having our pictures taken EVER, but we both sucked it up so we could have a picture taken for memory purposes. I hardly ever see Kris, which is very sad since she is my one and only sibling. I think we will see each other more often as my kids get older and traveling isn't such a traumatic event for us. Love ya, Kris!

Mittens & Tommy

Tommy and Mittens are feeling a little neglected since their new brother, Shadow, arrived! If Mittens didn't have white feet I wouldn't be able to tell them apart! They are the most loving cats. They love to come up and rub on your legs and be patted. My cats, Patches and Persian, don't want anything to do with me!

Shadow & Friends

Shadow doesn't like being alone. Here he is with my niece, Jenna, while doing a history report on Virginia. And Ian, my nephew, had to show his cute little buddy off, too! The trip was taking it's toll on (my) Josh, it looks! He was chillin' with Shadow yesterday morning before taking off for Indiana again.

OH, YEAH......

A HUGE SHOUT OUT

TO

KELLY B!

Kelly saved my children from starving to death while I was gone! She came over and watched them so my hubby could go purchase some food for the bare cupboards after I left. I had planned on going to the store Monday after the art class, but then left to go see dad. I took the van which meant he didn't have a way to take the kids with him to go shopping... SO, Kelly came to our rescue! THANKS, KELLY! LOVE YA!

It's a Blur

The last 48 hours are a blur. It is hard to believe that 46 hours ago I was just walking into my mom's back door over 350 miles away. I have returned safely after battling torrential rains from Louisville to home, which is usually an hour and 10 minutes. Well, this ended up being well over an hour and 45 minutes because of the rain, roads, dim headlights on my van and crazy drivers making me fear for my life.

Dad was getting dressed to go home as I walked out of the hospital to head back to Indiana. I was relieved; so relieved that I broke down in the van and finally cried. I wasn't ready to lose my dad. He is so important to me, even though I am an adult, I still need him to be around to check up on me and make me laugh. He was close to having a heart attack, so he was lucky he went to the hospital when he did. THAT was too close for comfort for me, I have to tell ya.

Back to the grindstone, as they say. I will post the freebie winner tomorrow after I let Eli draw, since he is on Spring Break and is home to do the honors this time. I also have some adorable photos of my new nephew-puppy Shadow. HE IS SO CUTE! I was lucky to squeeze in some family time with my sister and her kids, Jenna and Ian, and was lucky to see the bro-in-law who is in training to run a marathon in Virginia this weekend. Jim came home after a run while I was visiting my sister, Kris.... can anyone say spandex??? HA HA! I wish I looked THAT good in running gear!

Well, gonna go to bed, I will update you with more details tomorrow! Thanks to everyone again!

I am lucky to have such great friends and family!

UPdate on Dad ! ;o)

He's doing very well now. I traveled last night with Josh (my oldest) to TN to see my dad before surgery this morning at 7am. He had 2 arteries 90% blocked which each had a stint put into. One artery was 100% blocked and will be left alone as the heart has already created new passage ways for the blood to flow. He should be coming home tomorrow, unless something else surfaces.

ThAnK YoU to Laura for watching the kids today and tomorrow so Scott didn't have to totally dessert his appointments! HUGS!

THANK YOU to Amy S for covering my art class last night and to Amy L for covering tomorrow's! I will be returning Wed. evening late or Thursday morning noon, I expect, unless Scott tells me to just stay around here and is covered ok at his work. I will be in touch!

Blessings on you all for being there for my dad with your prayers!

I believe that they worked!

Art Projects for the FINAL Week!

This weeks' classes are cuter than ever! I thought I would do something that could be kept as a keepsake for the kids. The top one (preschool) is just a collage using scrapbook magazines. I cut out layouts (scrapbook pages) that were shot for the scrapbook articles. I cut out the other people in the photos and will add KayLee's pictures where there are offwhite boxes! KayLee helped pick out what flowers and items she liked from the magazine; I almost died when I lost the Minnie Mouse!! But, I found it, so all is good! This is so easy to do and fun!

Eli is sporting the 2008 stamped on countertop tiles and with yarn and pipe cleaners just made a fun show-y wall hanging! The final tile at the bottom shows Eli's school picture! He had fun making this with me!

Prayer Request

For my dad. He has been having heart problems today and is in the Critical Care Unit at his hospital in Morristown, TN. He is going to have a heart cath tomorrow morning to search for blockage or other problems. He almost had a heart attack when he was 49 (now he's 68), but since he went to the hospital due to the nausea and other symptoms, the doctors were able to keep it from going to a full blown attack.

Dad's pulse rate was down to 25 beats per minute at one point today and they have not yet been able to stabilize his heart, so there is reason for concern. My mom is being tough, making phone calls for dad and keeping my sister and me informed periodically through the day. Pray for her, too, as this is not easy for her either, I am sure.

Blessings on your Easter Evening!

I will be in touch soon!

The HUNT!

Eli, KayLee and Isaac had a total blast after the Easter Bunny came and lavished them with wayyy to much candy! After they found all the candy spread out all over the basement and in Josh's room, they each got to pick two pieces to enjoy!

Candy EVERYWHERE!

Isaac did a "happy dance" when he saw all of the candy that he and Josh had found together! He was so excited!

Eli announced that he had found 50hundred candies!

Isaac was the first to come up and give me a kiss...

Eli had to copy Isaac...

And KayLee was eager to give me a big kiss, too!

Enjoy your family today!

And Praise Jesus, too!

Sharing our Morning with You!

Happy Easter!!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Easter! We just got back from church so I decided to force the kids into some pictures! They turned out pretty good for 'posed' pictures. Scott and I never let the Easter Bunny come until AFTER lunch, otherwise the kids would never eat anything nutritious all day! So, while he is making pancakes, bacon and eggs, I am sharing a little bit of our Easter outfits with you. I was going to have Josh take a picture of me and Scott but Scott has already changed out of his Sunday best into a t-shirt! OH, WELL! My outfit doesn't look that great anyway!

I am going to work on the art class projects today and will post pictures of our Egg Hunt later! Blessings on your day today! Enjoy those around you and eat lots of chocolate!

Here's some close-ups of KayLee's matching jewelry for her dress!

She was surprised with her bunny pendant I made last night to match her earrings. She just giggled!

KayLee and Isaac are closer than any of the kids.

And they love to show it, too!

( Back of KayLee's dress.)

SEE YA LATER!

After the Show ~ Second Day

HEY ALL! After a MUCH NEEDED nap (YEA!) I have returned to the computer to find myself ranked #4!!!! THANKS to all who voted while I have been vending at the show. I really liked this set up better than the Armory. It was a little more intimate and all of the vendors were able to visit with each other when there was 'down time' with no customers.

I think this is the last 2~day craft show I will do, but I think I said that last fall, too! HA HA! There is so much work involved to pack everything up, leave the kids behind, unpack it all to sell, then pack it back up at the end of the day to do it all again the following day. One day events, I don't mind, but two days is an awful lot of strain on me and my family. But then again, I am a woman and can change my mind at any moment! HEE HEE!

I met a lot of new customers and was able to spread the word about lampwork. OH, how I love it so! I also made some new friends that I plan to call up and meet for brunch sometime soon! I hate to run, but I was so busy making keychains last night that I didn't get to KayLee's earrings for Easter tomorrow. I also haven't prepped or even planned Monday's artclass project yet, so I guess I should get my booty moving!

I will post some pics of the kids tomorrow in their Easter outfits. They are all going to be dressed in blues and yellows, which will make for some really fantastic shots! Until then....

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU!!!!

After the Show ~ First Day

Good Friday, to you all! I had a SUPAH awesome time hangin' with my friends today! I met a couple new gals, as well, that really made the work all worth while!!! Jeana and Vicki were so funny!

I am headed back to the hobby room to make a few things. KayLee needs some earrings to match her Easter dress, it is a beautiful shade of robin egg blue. I am sure I have just the perfect color Swarovski to match it! I am going to try to pump out a few extra things for tomorrow as well.

Don't forget to vote! I am just one vote shy of 4th place!! WOO HOO! If I manage to make it to the TOP 3, I will offer a totally awesome Freebie for April!

Bracelet, anyone???

Still prepping for the Show

Tomorrow and Saturday I will be at the Jasper Inn selling my 'wares'. I hope you all can come out to see me AND my new items. I have been getting ready off and on all day today. My hubby just now walked through the door, so I will be able to get more done now!

I will be bringing along ALL of my lampwork bead sets that haven't been strung-up yet, so you can sort-of design something yourself. You can choose the lampwork set, pick the color(s) of crystals you would like to incorporate, browse through the sterling and let me know your price range. If you are wanting to keep the price down, then I will put more Swarovski in, if you are up for anything, I will add a bit more sterling where I think it would look best. You can also choose to have coordinating earrings made to match.

If you are shopping for Mother's Day you may want to have a keychain made from a small set of lampwork; a keychain is a great gift since that person will always think of you when they look at their keys! You can also have a few other custom items made as well. Come out, let me discuss the options with you and shuffle through the lampwork, I am sure you will find something you will just fall in love with!

I hope to see you there!

Flood under the Bridge ~ BARELY!

Stuff like this is what caused a two-hour school delay today. These pictures were taken WHILE I was driving to pick up the kids at 11am this morning. NOW the river has risen even higher than this and will not crest for two to three days I have been told. SO, when it does I will go and take more pictures of it for you all to see. OK, did anyone realize I said I took these WHILE driving? Yep, pretty scary there are people like me who will shoot a flood all while still trying to drive across a bridge.... hee hee hee! Click to enlarge the pics!

Another Glimpse!

I thought I would post this picture of the freebie so you can get a better idea of the size of it. Isaac (almost 3) was swinging it around, so the picture is a little blurry, but I took it away before he had a chance to drop it on the ceramic tile! I have some new ideas for this cute little sucker, but will share those later. I am still keepin' some things under wraps for the Spring Show this weeekend. If you come see me you will be amongst the first to know about some new lines!

I will be away for a bit working on things for the Spring Show Fri/Sat. But, I will check back with you all later!

WOW!

WOW, upside down is: MOM! Well, it looks as if sending out an invitation to your friends (about my blog) works! Thanks, Mom for spreading the word about my blog! Doing that won you the necklace! {OH, and I was on the phone with a friend during the drawing, who can back me up with Isaac doing the drawing all on his own! HA HA!} Stay tuned for the next Freebie; I will be posting it soon!

Thank YOU to everyone who voted for me to #5 on the first page! Don't forget to keep voting for the next freebie, Voting starts NOW and since it will be a smaller Freebie, Drawing will be next Wednesday at noon (OR SO!!!) again! You can get up to 17 votes ~ one for each day until next Wednesday and 10 more for passing along an email to your friends and family about my blog! Ready? Get SET... GO!!!!!!

Freebie Delay

I just NOW got home. Art class was over at 10:30a, but I had to clean up a little and then get the kids by 11a. THEN I had to take them back to the art room to load up the stuff I didn't have time to put in the van before picking them up. THEN I realized after going down the road to pick up some lunch that I had left my tax paperwork in the room and had to go back and get it so I can get paid! THEN we went to McDonald's headed home and had to turn around because the rain has caused severe flooding and closed the shortcut home to my house. OK? NOW we are eating and I still have to get the drawing ready! MAN, what a morning!

I will post the winner in a bit!

TWO HOUR DELAY!

YES, there is a two - hour delay for Jasper schools due to the flooding from the rain. I don't know what is happening with tomorrow's 9am preschool class. SO, if you are a mom looking here for the answer to that question, I will post it here tomorrow morning when I know something either way!

And, obviously, NO I didn't make it to bed yet.

THAT STUPID AMERICAN IDOL!

It gets me everytime!

IS IT KILLIN' YA?

Oh, ONE MORE! Remember that the freebie drawing is tomorrow at noon! I will let Isaac pick from all of the entries and pull the winner! Get your vote in before noon for it to count!

Have a Blessed Evening!

Off to bed NOWWWW!

I apologize for the lack of posts today and yesterday, but I am feeling the exhaustion! I have officially over-committed myself to the brink of destruction. I am going to go to bed so I can face tomorrow's preschool artclass bright and early.

I hope I am not coming down with something! I have some super new items for this weekend's SHOW, due to the helpful ideas from friends! So, if I end up with an actual illness (since I haven't felt this bad in a long time when I had a bronchial infection) the online store will just have to open earlier than I am currently planning! Because I am SUPAH excited to share my new lines!!

CAN ANYONE SAY BLING?????

THANKS TIFFANY

AND KELLY!!!!!!

PreSchool Project of the Week

Credit for this quick and easy frame goes to my girlfriend AMY! She is a lot more creative than she gives herself credit for! I actually pulled this together in less than 10 minutes by going through my scrap drawers... The gold checkerboard paper was already made. I must have not liked something about it when I was designing it for a card. There just so happened to be a flower already diecut sitting there just itchin' to be picked! I punched out some smaller flowers, glued them on, tied on some scrap ribbon, put on some glitter glue and VOILAA!!! OH, and I attached the screw through the bulldog clip and spun on the nut to give it the 'easel' on back. Isn't this super? I think it is REAALLLY SUPAH!

I know I threw it together fast, but of course, 2-5 year olds will take longer. Perfect for their mom or dad to help them design up into something in the 90 minutes we have. What better way is there to get rid of scraps? I have so much stuff that I decided not to use when designing this or that left in my bins, so it should not be that hard for everyone to come up with something. I also plan on taking my punches (flowers, hearts, stars) and stickles glitter glue, as well. It will be a good time, I am sure!

I dug up this picture out of its' original picture envelope, it had never been on display yet and it looks like I planned the color scheme! How ironic! I hope you like it! I think the flower is a bit high and a bit too big, but for 10 minutes~time, what can I expect? I think KayLee looks cute on this darling little project, too!!

Have a good day!

blogger issues

If all of a sudden you see three of the same posts below of earrings, it is because I tried and tried to upload a picture of some earrings three times and nothing ended up showing up. NOW, my total number of blog posts increased by three, but nothing is there. SO I don't know whether or not to do it again! I guess I will give blogger a few hours to get the kinks out, if something has happened to them. Then, if nothing shows up I will re-post again.... for the 4th time!

Light my Fire!

As promised, here's our next k-5 project for tomorrow night. This is a fantastic project that I found out about through my friend, Tiffany. She told me to use tissue paper, stamp on it, color it in and then heat emboss it onto the outside of a candle. SIMPLE! So, since the kids asked to do something Easter-y last week, I will give them their wish with something pretty, topped off with a "Happy Easter" ribbon. The ribbon can be added to the bottom, top, middle or anywhere in between. Oh, and this is Eli's attempt at winking. He used to be able to do it; I think he forgot now!

Blessings on your evening!

Recovering

I have been slow to get things going today. I finally figured out a great project for the K-5th grade class for tomorrow night and just started working on their sample. It looks cute. I am going to make another and post some pics later.

I have been recovering from the weekend. I had to get all of my stuff ready for the CROP on Friday night, so I was up later than I anticipated. THEN the CROP happened. I did more talking with new customers than anything, I think. And I spoke with a couple that was a vendor at the Crop. They have a store on Main Street in Henderson, KY, called Serendipity. They are so sweet and carry some really cool scrapbook items as well as antiques. Don't look for a website, they don't have one up and running yet, but are hoping to get some things set up in the future so you can see their class offerings and products. Keep them in mind if you are ever in the area. They are really super people who care about their customers! They even tore down a display to put back together in a kit for a friend of mine. They were determined to let her leave happy! Gotta love that!

I have one project down (the above) and another to go for the preschoolers. The one I was planning on doing may be too challenging, for those little guys so I think I might just make theirs a group project this week. I would really love to have them make one big painting to then leave hung up in the Art Studio/class room for future classes to admire. So, once I figure out the supply situation to see if it is doable, I will make it or something else happen!

Check back on some pics of the projects later and don't forget to vote! You only have three more days to get your entries in for the freebie necklace, so make them count!

GOTTA love RIGGS!

GEEZ OH PETE, I just HAD to share this! This is a picture of one of my new 'voter-friends' who was determined to get me in the TOP FIVE!!! (Yeah, I am still there!)

Oh, wait a minute... THE DOG DIDN'T WANT ME IN THE TOP FIVE! The one HOLDING THE DOG! HA HA HA! She sent me this picture because she found the earlier post of KayLee wearing her new sunglasses to be a hoot and had to share this picture of her 'baby', RIGGS, wearing sunglasses to protect his eyes from the sun! I honestly think I woke up Scott when I saw this because I laughed so loud! Thanks, Robyn for the cute picture and the VOTES!

Kiddie Update!

I almost forgot to post a picture of Eli in his wrestling outfit. Isn't he a fine boy? I think that out of all of the kids he will be the one who won't disappoint. He is such a people pleaser, especially his mom and dad. He never likes disappointing us, always willing to please. Look at his nice physique... He would rather play outside and shoot baskets with Daddy than anything... and it shows. He has my eyes. Well, at least one of them. One eye is green, the other hazel-blue. They say that only ONE in a million people have eyes of different colors. THEY must be right, whoever "they" are. Because Eli IS one-in-a-million. OH, and the following picture is of KayLee and Isaac, who apparently aren't camera shy. I just HAD to share!