Life Dreams & Scraps

Custom Citrine Ring3

Custom Citrine Ring3, originally uploaded by CreationsbyCat.

I was recently sent this gorgeous Citrine stone by a customer to set in a ring for her. It gave me a bit of challenge, but after it was done, I totally love the way it looks! So bright, so fun! And completely out of the ordinary!

I've also recently purchased a whole bunch of new stones that I cannot wait to get out in the workship and create settings for! And, pssst... new items are coming to the shop this week~ along with free shipping! So, if you haven't signed up for the e-mail newsletter now's the time. I'll be sending out the newsletter with the code for free shipping sometime this week.

My newsletters, along with the blog, have been greatly neglected of late. i am hoping to correct that problem very soon!

Etsy Video & I created a treasury!

Here's a video all about Etsy: 

It's a very cool place!!

I also was able to snag a treasury today for the very first time!  I can see how it would be addicting! :)  These are some of my favorites in my favorite color!

If you haven't check etsy out yet, you definitely need to!

Update and a SALE!!!

It's been a while.  And it's been a crazy couple of weeks!!  Wow, so many things happening all at once, including sickness (of pretty much everyone in the family), a motorcycle rally, stitches (more on that later), a new pre-schooler, and hitting a milestone in my etsy shop.  I posted a long rant a couple of days ago, that probably shouldn't have been seen by any random passer-by.  So, I was actually a little happy that Typepad decided to eat that post.  I think the picture that I posted was too big and it stalled when I saved.  But anyway, I am just stopping in to give a quick update.

First off~ I hit 100 sales in my etsy shop this week!  YAY!  It's been a great experience so far on etsy, and definitely a learning experience.  The time that it takes to keep an active shop on-line is far more than I expected.  It's something that I am constantly trying to juggle in with everything else.  But, it is becoming more and more successful, and for that I am extremely happy!

So, I am celebrating!  For 10 days (Sept. 10-20) everything in my shop is 10% off, and free shipping.  Yep, free shipping!  And, the first 10 people get a free pair of earrings with their order!

 

See A's hand there?  He decided that while he was staying at my parent's house that it would be a good time to jump on the couch and try to play Superman.  He learned that he is not Superman and cannot fly when he went crashing through the glass top of the coffee table.  A lot of blood, tears, and freaking everyone out~ and he ended up with five stitches in his hand.  And, a bunch of scratches and cuts and bumps and bruises.

H started pre-school last week for the first time.  It's only part-time, but it really has made me realize that NEXT YEAR he will be starting Kindergarten.  Holy Cow!  That's not possible!

All of the other things that were stressing me out the past week or so, don't seem to be that big of a deal in hindsight.  I just was not juggling things as well as I usually do, I guess.  I was able to make a couple of scrapbook pages last week for a review on Scrapfriends of the Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin Collection.  This collection of products is so much fun!

 

 

Ok, so this wasn't a really quick update... But, It's been a while, right?  And, I'll leave you with a picture of a new ring I made.  I love this one so much that I may decide not to part with it! ;)

My first Treasury!

How exciting!  I've been featured in my first treasury.  My rings are at the top right:

It's Corn Time!

Well, we are off to the Olathe Sweet Corn Festival.  We went last year and had a wonderful time.  I am hoping that my booth does well, but more importantly that the boys have a great time again!  As you can see from the picture, at least one of us loves corn! :)  (It's a little blurry, but I still love it)

Over 200 hearts

I know it's not that big of a deal, but I think it's pretty cool:

Other info, I created this ring yesterday

I love it, and being an August girl, I think peridot is pretty nice!  I think this type of ring would look perfect as a mother's ring, just adding more stones for each child... don't you think that would be cool???

The boys went swimming at a nearby Aquatic Center today and had a blast.  My mom took them so that I could go to lunch with a girlfriend and chit-chat, and then I got some work done this afternoon.  So nice!  She is a blessing!  And, the boys had an awesome time~ came back a little red, a lot tired, and totally ecstatic about the time they had!

Caramels, Rings, and more

It's a lazy Sunday here... time to update my neglected blog a bit.

First, I wanted to mention these fantastic caramels that I purchased from this etsy shop: Earmcra

The pictures that she uses for her products are beautiful as well.  I bought these from Etsy because, frankly, I LOVE home made caramels.  And, she offers Pomegranate flavor... yum!  Once I saw Pomegranate Caramels I was hooked!  So I ordered a 1/2 lb. assortment and chose the vanilla and pomegranate.  WOW!  Buy some~ they are GOOD!!

In other news, I've been busy creating rings... lovely rings!  I made a couple for custom orders.  One, the customer supplied her own stone that her father had cut several years ago.  I'm not sure what the stone is, but I suspect some sort of agate.

 

Another one, the customer wanted a Blue Topaz.  I had one Topaz stone in stock, and I was planning to do something special with it.  She requested the large hammered band, and after setting the stone I was especially pleased as well!

Another ring that I just finished a couple of days ago is a spinning ring.  I've wanted to make these for quite some time, but finally got up the courage to try it.  I am so pleased!  I'm planning to get some copper to add copper top rings to a few of these as well.  I'd like them to be gold, but we all know what the price of gold is like lately.  Anyway, I am wearing my ring as I speak, and I am so happy with it!

Other news... we are headed to Fairplay Colorado next weekend for a Festival... It's supposed to draw around 50,000 people.  I've never been to (as a vendor) a festival that large.  We'll see how it goes!

Organized and cleaned bench

I recently got a few new tools and a new torch for my jewelry bench.  I am so excited!!  But, my area was in desperate need of a little TLC.  D and I worked the other day at hanging things, moving things, and me at cleaning and organizing things.  Right now I am very happy with how everything is...

 

See the cool picture up there?  It was made by Allison Strine and it was my first purchase from her etsy shop here when I had my first sale on Etsy.  This little ladybird is so fun!

And one more close up of my soldering block

The wall needs to be painted, BADLY, but I went ahead and set everything up because waiting for the wall to be painted could be a very long wait!  (My jewelry bench is in the garage, btw so it's still a little rough.  But it suits my needs very well!)

In honor of my new tools, my new shop set up, my (almost) 6 month anniversary with etsy, and my recent 5 year anniversary (yay!!), I am having a sale...

20% off of anything in my etsy store.  I'll be uploading more items daily for the next five days as well.  The sale lasts for 5 days

100 hearts

I finally have reached 100 hearts in my etsy shop! YAY!

I keep looking to see who hearts my shop, and this afternoon I was pleasantly surprised!  Maybe this is a turning point for me!

We are off to Moab in the morning for the Moab Arts and Crafts Festival.  Should be lots of fun!

Happy Mother's Day

This is a bit late, of course, but I wanted to wish everyone a belated Happy Mother's Day. 

I am blessed by a wonderful mother who does so much for our family!  She is so great with the boys, she helps out every time we ask, and even when we don't ask!  We are extremely blessed!

I made my mom this ring for Mother's Day.  I am very pleased with the way it turned out, and she loves it as well.  It's the first time I've worked with gold accents.  Cannot wait to do more!