So I made more stuff. You can see said stuff at j2jewelry.etsy.com. I also took some not-horrible pictures of stuff. I'm beginning to catch up on this whole photographing objects thing. It's a lot more complicated than one would think. Before, my pictures looked like they were taken by a lemur with a limp hopped up on cough medicine. Now they have better lighting.

-quick aside- roasted, salted soynuts are really delicious. Really. 

Thoughts on Upheaval

We are finally in our new apartment. There are still boxes of stuff everywhere, but that's to be expected. It's a lot brighter than the last place and it's got heat (!), but the ceiling seems to be wafer thin and the heat cannot really be controlled by the thermostats. It's a pretty place and, though we only plan on being here for 6 months (wow, that move is going to be fun.), it will suit us well for the time being. 

So much has happened- good and bad- in the past month and a half that I am still reeling. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to making more jewelry now that things seem to have settled a touch. I hope you are all well and that you enjoyed your Valentine's day. I promise not to be so tired the next time I post... Ta!

Shmalentine

My valentines are up. Each is OOAK (one of a kind) and pretty darn cute, iffin' I say so meself. Yeah, I just threw up a little bit, too. I don't trust Valentine's day, but I love making Valentine's day cards. The rest of the year people are lucky if I can drag my carcass to the drugstore to buy them a card, but I usually start making my valentines in the middle of January. This year, however, they have to wait as we are still looking for a place to live. I'll post pics of the cards when I get them done. 

In the meantime, enjoy the new necklii!

Frakkin' cold

It's cold out there and in here. Our space heaters are working overtime, but the dogs are still shivering and casting distrustful glances my way. They both dread and look forward to their walks. I believe they blame me. 

We're looking forward to our impending move, though we're still not certain of *where* we're going. We've seen dozens of places, but only one has meet most of our expectations so far. We're crossing our fingers. It's a bit creepy, though. There are sheds in the backyard- three in a row. Not those pretty, elevated sheds one sees at Home Depot, but the weird, "oh, they made that to keep the bad children in," kind. None of these sheds are in good shape, so if we get the place, I'm going to pretend they don't exist.  

Living in the Fan has prepared me well for this. I am really good at visual and auditory blocking. Instead of seeing the potholes in the street, I see miniature urban tidal pools. Instead of hearing my neighbor's arguments, I hear a noise installation and enjoy the cadences. Instead of seeing the trannies working the corner near the Arby's, I see young entrepreneurs who are eager to serve their community. Life really is what you make it. 

In other news, it's my oldest brother's birthday. Woot! I really hope he doesn't follow my blog- I doubt he'd see the humor in a birthday shout out mixed in with mentions of creepy sheds and trannies. My world is so weird. I need to move. 

I hope you all stay warm and well... 

Rowr!

I have oodles of new items ready to go. I'm posting today and tomorrow, so be sure to check them out. I'll muse when I get the chance, but my momentum is going so peace out for now.

Status: Ready to Rock.

Phew! I feel like the snow in a snow globe. I'm back from a much needed trip to South Carolina and my husband's original home base. Somehow, though, I missed a lot of the Christmas hype this year. I think it's mostly because my customers kept me happy and busy (thanks!). 

So now a new year. There's a lot of change headed our way and I'm getting ready to throw my hands up in the air and crest the hill. The rumble of nervous excitement is building slowly, but steadily. Hopefully 2009 will beat the pants off of 2008- I could use a good year about now. I think we all could. Off to dream up some new shop items- you'll be the first to know...

Woo

I've gotten a lot of views today on this piece and I had no idea why. I checked my Facebook ad, but not too many clicks on that. Checked the Etsy Front Page tracker on Flickr- no new FPs for me! Checked Treasuries-nope- googled my shop- no new blog includes- and was about to give up, when I checked the frontpage gift guides. I've made it to their picks for gifts in the $20-50 range. I'm seriously stoked. You can't see my face, but I'm grinning like a fool right now. Makes me glad that that Magnetic Fields song has been playing in my head for two years now. Rah!