Preview of my Newest Listings

I should be able to get these listed this week.  There are a couple of small issues that I need to fix before I list them for sale.  However, here is your sneak peak:

This necklace is made with green jasper, serpentine and prehenite.  The metal is copper.  This piece will list for $115.00.

These earring were made to coordinate with the necklace above.  Again made from green jasper and prehenite.  The earwires and bead caps are copper.  These will list for $15.00.

I really love these earrings but they are one of the issues I need to fix before I list them.  You can't really tell with this picture but the mother of pearl on the right side is much yellower than the one on the left.  I'm going to replace it with one that is colored more like the one on the left and remake the earrings.  The other stone is coprolite.  In case you don't know, coprolite is fossilized dinosaur dung!  It is absolutely amazing how something so gross, left alone for thousands of years, can morph into something so beautiful.  The metal here is sterling silver.  These earrings will list for $25.00.  Of course, there is a necklace that coordinates with these earrings.

This necklace is one of my favorites!  The beads are coprolite and mother of pearl.  All metal in the necklace is sterling silver including the back and sides of the pendant.  The pendant is a wonderful drusy that matches the coprolite perfectly.  This is one that I would like to keep for myself.  It will list for $227.00.

I have a few more new listings to show you but they'll have to wait for another day.

My First Show

I turned in my vendor application for my first handmade show today.  I'm excited to try this but also pretty scared.  Having never done it before, I'm unsure what I need to bring and how to set up my booth to attract the most buyers.  Also, having never done anything like this, I don't have display props either.  I'm reluctant to spend a bunch of money on props when I don't even know if I'll ever be doing this again.  In fact, I don't even know if I'm going to get into this show yet.

I've been looking online at the booths of others but it is so hard to tell what really works.  I'm going to sign up for propay so that I can take credit cards at the show.  I'll have to get a table cover and some lights and a mirror, of course.  I don't think I want to buy just ready made props so if you have any ideas for clever ways to display necklaces or earrings, I'd love to hear it.

I think if I get in, I'll set up my booth first at home so that I know exactly how it will look and where everything goes.  I'm also planning to make a bunch of new stuff, particularly earrings, to debut at the show.  I have a pretty good mix on prices on my stuff so I think I'm ok there.  I suppose I should also make a few more bracelets.  Oh, I'll need a banner or sign of some kind too.  Someway to hold and display my business cards...Obviously, I need to make a list.  A very, very long list.

So many decisions and I only have about 3 weeks to make them all and gather everything together.  Above all else, I think it will be fun and I'm looking forward to it.  Maybe, if you live in or near Baltimore, I'll see you there?

Show will take place Saturday, Dec. 10th from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Maryland
    State Boychoir Center for the Arts, 3400 Norman Ave, Baltimore, MD 21213

Product Photographer

Everyone I speak to says that the most important thing in an online store are your product photos.  My wonderful husband does my pictures for me and I think he does a pretty good job.  However, we have an unpleasant dance we do each time I ask him to photograph my new pieces.  I tell him that I have some new items that need to be photographed.  He says "OK."  Then the next day, I tell him again that I need some photos taken.  He says "OK."  In a few days, I ask him when he is going to take my photos.  He says "I'll take them this afternoon."  Somewhere around dinner time, I'll ask if he is going to take the photos today.  He says "I can take them now or I can cook dinner, which do you prefer."  I say "we can take them after dinner."  He says "OK."  After dinner around 8:00 or so, I say "are you ready to take the photos?" He says "OK" and does take them, usually getting started around 10:30 or 11:00.  When I get up the next morning, I find my flash drive with my photos on it sitting next to my computer.

I admit that this system works but it seems a bit inefficient to me.  So, I've started thinking about hiring a professional photographer to take my product pictures.  The problem is, I don't know any professional photographers and even if I did, I doubt they would be product specialists.  There are 2 other problems as well.  First, I live in Reisterstown, MD, a lovely small town with a limited population.  It is close to Baltimore, MD but I doubt Baltimore is a hotbed of professional product photographers either.  The second problem is money.  I don't have an endless supply and my business isn't currently generating enough to cover this expense.  In reality, I don't even know how much of an expense it would be.

In order to find out and replace my guesses with actual numbers, I contacted a few product professionals by email asking them for information, including pricing.  It has been a week and a half and I haven't heard a peep out of any of them.  Maybe taking pictures of jewelry for a small producer isn't a money making deal for photographers but you'd think they could at least tell me that they don't do it or that they have some huge minimum.

The last round of photos we took (last Sunday night around midnight) need to be retaken because the colors didn't come out right.  We are in the middle of the dance.  I'll probably ask him soon, "when are you going to take the pictures" and he'll tell me that he'll take them this afternoon.  Then, tonight while you're getting ready for bed, you can think of Marty in our dining room photo studio, taking pictures of my newest jewelry pieces for me.

I am very grateful that he is willing to take these pictures for me but he'll tell you this himself...I am a terrible dancer.

Saving a Squirrel

On Monday, October 17, 2011 I saved the life of a squirrel.  I did this purposefully and with good intentions.  However, I also knocked down a utility pole, hit a tree head-on and totaled my car.  I was driving home from work and had just turned onto the little country road that leads to my house.  I was about a block from home.  Which, I guess, makes the squirrel one of my neighbors and helps to explain why I was so intent on saving his little life.  On this little country road, the utility poles are right up next to the road.  I assume this is because it is easier to put them there than to venture into the woods and find a spot for them.  I can probably guess what is coming...

I saw the squirrel run into the road right in front of me.  I swerved to the right to avoid the little bugger.  Now this part if complete conjecture because I can't really remember exactly what happened.  I hit the utility pole right where the right front panel meets the right headlight.  I'm assuming this slowed me down quite a bit and after tearing through the underbrush, I hit a tree head-on.  I think I was only going 15 or 20 miles per hour when I hit the tree.  I can't imagine what would happen if you were going faster.

I was wearing my seatbelt (thank God) and my air bags deployed.  I was not seriously hurt.  Now, one week later, my body is a kaleidoscope of colors when I undress.  My left leg got the worst of it.  If you recall, I'm recovering from a medial collateral ligament sprain in my right knee.  I got a huge contusion on my left leg.  So now, basically, both of my legs are out of service.  What a nightmare.

Here are some lovely pictures of my left leg a few days after the wreck:

It looks ickier now but I'll spare you the pictures.  I also found out yesterday that they have totaled my car.  I loved my car.  It was a 2009 Lexus RX 350 with 17,000 miles on it.  10,000 of those miles were put on it in a trip to and from Arizona.  This is how my car looks now:

You'll notice that I haven't posted any pictures of the squirrel.  He survived unscathed but the little bastard didn't stick around to see if I was ok.

I Bet You Forgot I Even Had a Blog, Right?

It has been so long since I've posted anything that I actually had to think about how to post to my blog.  I'm feeling a bit guilty since I made a commitment to myself that I would post at least once a week when I started this process.  Obviously, I've failed miserably.  At any rate, it is time to get back on track and to bring you all up to date with my life, such as it is.

My last post was on September 8th, just after my kids and grandkids returned home.  That always leads to a few days of loneliness and depression.  Oh how I wish I lived in the same town that they live in.  Someday.  I spent the next few weeks dealing with my sprained MCL and the bone bruise I got just before they arrived.  A lot of time spent sitting on the couch, playing computer games and watching tv.  What a boring few weeks.  Normally, I don't turn the tv on at all during the day but I was getting desperate for something to do.  With the exception of going to the doctor, I don't think I left the house for 2 weeks.  No jewelry was made during this period either.  I just wasn't able to overcome the pain or the pain pill stupor enough to get to my studio and be creative.  Mostly I sat on the couch with my leg propped up.  That doesn't give me much to write about does it?

After a couple weeks of nothingness, I began to feel better and was able to cut way down on the pain medication.  My normal attitude and energy began to return.  I knew I needed to do some shopping because (brace yourself...there is actually good news in my life!) I received a job offer that would allow me to stay in Baltimore and live at home.  If you didn't know, I've been commuting from either Boston or Baltimore to Phoenix, AZ to work for the last 4 years.  Getting a chance to work in the same city in which we live, was definitely great news.  I started at Johns Hopkins University as their Director of Intellectual Property on September 21.

In preparation for this, I spent a few days shopping for some new clothes.  My job in Phoenix at ASU required very casual attire.  JHU is much more business attire.  They say they are business casual but the men wear ties.  My boss told me when I asked about the dress code that I could wear anything I wanted as long as I looked "managerial."  While not really sure what that meant, I bought a couple of new suits and dress slacks and blouses.  So far so good.

Of course, having just started a new job, still going to physical therapy for my leg, I didn't have much free time to make jewelry.  Once again, no jewelry was being created.    I've been at my new job for a month now and there is really no reason why I haven't been making jewelry, but I haven't.

Do any of you have any suggestions for getting me back in my studio?  I love making jewelry and I make plans to get back to it.  In fact, I have tons of ideas in my head that I need to let out.  I've been designing pieces in my head for weeks.  However, when it comes time to sit down and start actually creating them, I don't seem to be able to take that first step.

Part of the problem is that before the kids visited, I packed everything away so that the boys wouldn't be tempted to eat my beads.  In addition, our basement leaks and the carpet is torn up in my studio with all the furniture pushed into the center of the room so I would have to bring my supplies upstairs to the kitchen table to work.  I know that if I start back making stuff, all those supplies will stay ont he kitchen table until the studio is put back together.  I have no idea when that will be.  I don't like the idea of having my kitchen be a constant mess because of my bead supplies.  I'm not sure what is worse, the mess or the lack of a creative outlet.

Recently it has become more complicated.  I was in a car accident (details in another post) and going up and down the stairs to get my supplies up here is an issue.  However, I can see that the visits to my shop are steadily falling because there is no new merchandise.  Maybe this weekend I'll try to get Marty to bring things up for me but that won't be easy on either of us.

The Visit

We arrived in Baltimore at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday night after stopping at Subway for a leisurely dinner and a bit of time out of the car.  It took us awhile to get everyone settled and off to bed.  Thursday morning, I started off with a visit to the emergency room to get my knee checked out.  I returned with a large brace and crutches.  Not the best outfit for enjoying a visit from your grand kids but we made do.  The rest of Thursday was a lazy day.  We played with toys and generally had a great time enjoying the kids.

Friday after lunch, Kara and I, and the kids headed to Reisterstown Regional Park and the playground.  However, when we tried to start the van, surprise, surprise, it wouldn't start.  Marty gave us a jump and we were off.  The boys swung while Sophie played on the slides, climbing wall and other miscellaneous park structures.  I just tried to keep up with them on my crutches.  The weather was ridiculously hot and humid.  For some reason, Sophie didn't seem to enjoy the park as much as she normally does.  I guess it could have been the dog poop (at least I hope it was dog poop) that was all over one of the play sets.  As attitudes began to take a nose dive, we went back to the car to head for home.  As you might guess, the van wouldn't start so we called Marty to come and give us a jump.  Back home for naps and a lovely evening.  The boys kept to their 7:30 bedtime but Sophie was up until well after 9:00.  We were having a great time!

Saturday we planned to go to the National Zoo but while we were getting ready, Kara pointed out to us that the shower in one of the upstairs bedrooms was not draining.  It turned out that the toilets and tubs in 2 of the upstairs bathrooms were stopped up.  Shortly thereafter, we noticed that water was dripping out of the pot lights in our entry hall.  Hmmm, not good.  Also, not conducive
to a trip to the zoo.  We postponed the zoo trip and called a plumber.  When we hadn't heard back in a couple of hours, we called again.  The dispatcher told us that the plumber had been paged but didn't respond and that they would page him again.  So we waited.  And we waited.  Finally at about 3:30 p.m. we called the plumber back.  The plumber told us that he still was not answering his page and basically said that we should call someone else.  So, we did.  That person told us that he would be here in a couple of hours.  About 15 minutes later he called back and said that he was stuck on a job and he didn't really know when he would be free.  Therefore, we should probably call someone else and he gave us a name and number.  So...we called the third plumber.  He told us that he would be here as soon as he could.  He arrived at about 7:30 just as the kids were going to bed.  He made an ungodly amount of noise and charged us $425.00.  Although he was loud and expensive, he did manage to unstop the tubs and toilets.  The kids went to bed and we discussed going to the Baltimore zoo on Sunday afternoon but decided to decide in the morning.

During the day Saturday while we were waiting for the plumber, we set up the slip n slide for the kids to play in the water.  Sophie was very reluctant in the beginning and made both her mom and dad walk through the water with her.

She eventually got comfortable and had a swell time playing in the water.

Sunday morning I made my favorite coffee cake for breakfast and we went into town to look at a couple of houses.  Sophie liked both of them and when we left the second one, Sophie insisted that she wanted us to have it.  As we were walking to the car, she said "Gramma is never going to get a house because she keeps leaving them."  I think she thought that if we wanted it, we could just move in right then.  She is a funny girl.

We headed to lunch at Red Robin to discuss whether or not we wanted to go to the Baltimore Zoo.  We had a lovely lunch and decided that since it was wicked hot (95) and humid, we wouldn't subject the twins to being out in the heat.  I wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending the afternoon in the heat either.

We returned to my house and Sophie played in the slip n slide all afternoon.  We also drew on the patio with multicolored chalk.  The boys climbed up and down the outdoor steps and drove Kara and Drew crazy!  It isn't easy corralling those 2 boys.

Sunday night after the boys were in bed (they scream whenever Kara is out of sight), Marty and I babysat so Drew and Kara could have a break from chasing the kids all weekend.  They went to a wonderful little restaurant and enjoyed desert and some peace and quiet.  Sophie and I played for an hour or so and then she headed off to bed.  She was the perfect granddaughter.  She was exhausted and it took her only about 5 minutes to fall asleep.

In spite of the problems we had with my fall, the trip, the plumbing, etc., it turned out to be a wonderful weekend spent with those I love.  I cannot verbalize how much it means to me to have them around and to share their lives.    I have been blessed with great kids who have married wonderful people and produced amazing kids.  Life is good!

Nightmare Road Trip a la Uhl

Last Sunday evening, I flew to Cincinnati.  The trip started off perfectly when my Sunday morning flight was canceled because of hurricane Irene.  Hurricane Irene was a category I when she hit us and really just caused aggravation.  Of course, we lost our electricity.  We lose our electricity when we have clear blue skies and calm winds so we expected that.  Since we have well water, when the electricity goes out, we don't have water or flushing toilets, etc.  The electricity went out Saturday morning at about 2:45.  It didn't return until Tuesday evening around 7:00 p.m.  Thankfully, I was gone much of that time and Marty had to deal with it by himself.


I arrived in Cincinnati on Sunday evening and had a wonderful few days enjoying my grandkids.  Marty arrived in Cincinnati on Tuesday evening, prepared to drive back to Baltimore with me, Kara and the 3 grandkids (1, 1, and 3 years old).  Wow, I've never seen so much laundry!  I think Kara washed every piece of clothing they own.  When we finally went to bed Tuesday night (me much earlier than anyone else), every one was exhausted.

Wednesday morning dawned bright and early.  Today was the day we were driving from Cincinnati to Baltimore.  We began to load the car.  Of course, we had a small wrinkle in the plan to leave first thing in the morning.  First, we couldn't find the pack and play.  We did finally find it but meanwhile James was playing in the kitchen cabinets.  Not usually a problem but he left a wire cooling rack on the floor.  I was walking through the kitchen and you can probably guess the rest.  I didn't see the rack and stepped on it with my left foot.  Next thing I knew, I was on the floor after hearing a loud pop from the area of my right knee.  Wrinkle number 2...Grandma could hardly walk.

We finally got grandma off the kitchen floor and managed to get the van loaded and we all climbed in.  Wrinkle number 3...the van wouldn't start.  We jumped the van and got it going.  The issue was a dead or dying battery so we had to leave the van running every time we stopped.  We stopped for lunch and left the van running in the Wendy's parking lot.  And for dinner, it was Subway with the car running in the parking lot.  We did get a few funny looks but we always get them anyway, Especially when the twins are with us.

Here are the mandatory pictures of all of us in the van:

Sorry that you only get to see James head but his car seat is rear facing and I was taking the pics from the front seat.

The trip, which should have taken us 8 hours, took 11 1/2 hours.  Sophie and Owen were real troopers!  James had a few issues and was fussy for basically the entire trip.  Overall though once we got the car moving, we did fine.

Oh, did I forget to mention that both James and Owen are in a "I ONLY want my momma" phase so every time Kara went into a bathroom or even walked to the other side of the car, we had uncontrollable screaming.   Poor Kara must be exhausted.  And, no one can help her.

Like I said, we finally made it and all is well.  I'll tell you about our visit in my next post.