Geez Louise

Talk about blog hiatus. I had a feeling this might happen as the new school year started and I got used to the transition from block scheduling to an 8 period day.

Plus, I think I was in some serious denial about the end of Summer. I have a really, REALLY hard time going back to teaching after a nice, long, sometimes relaxing Summer.

I've got a couple of craft sales on the horizon and have been busily producing my best sellers in duplicate. I've also been spending WAY more at firemountaingems than I've needed.

I've gotten back into making wine charms as well - you probably won't see them on my etsy site, but they always seem to do well at craft shows. If you are interested in seeing some, shoot me an email!


Here is one of my new appetizer pick sets - I love how fun these beads are!

Bead Disappointment

Just like in all other aspects of life, I've found out that I need to be flexible with beading. I searched and searched, but the one bead that I need for my best selling seasonal picks is discontinued. GONE. NEVER TO BE FOUND AGAIN.

But luckily, I did find it. I found a seller on etsy that was destashing 45 of them. Still, even with those ordered, I'm going to have to find a similar bead for my next projects. I will have to start naming my best selling set as *Limited Edition*....which actually may not be a bad idea!


I also had a relatively large order this past week. It was very pleasant! However, this means that I needed some more supplies - which at away at all of my profit from the sale and plus some. And then I found some other cool beads that would be great on picks....and THEN I found some beads that were a really cool shape and would work well in jewelry. THEN.......I think beaders know what I'm talking about.

A very smart person on twitter corrected me, hilariously, I might add, when I mentioned that I had an addiction to beads. She says that she prefers to call it a "constructive addiction." I just may have to steal her term.

Orange You Glad There's Pink? Treasury

Here is my latest treasury that I snagged - I'm loving the brightness of it!

Keep Bugging Me! Treasury

Bug Themed Treasury from Etsy :D



http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=66680

Getting Ready for the Holidays!

I can't believe it, but I got a bit holidayish today. ;) Some of my best selling (at craft shows, not etsy) have been holiday themed.

These are so cute - My mom tracked these beads down for me:



And these are my BEST seller of ALL TIME: Simple Red and Green with white dots:


*I have yet to post these to etsy, but they'll be there soon!

I'm also going to renew these for my favorite holiday of all time: HALLOWEEN :D
Cute little candy corn picks would be perfect for a Halloween or Autumn party:

My last few days, at a glance...

Most of this post will probably be non-beading, but I've made an executive decision that I'm okay with this blog not being devoted 100% to beads.

My husband worked and worked...and worked and is started to do wonders to our yard.
When we bought our house a year ago, this was filled with rocks and nothing else I can't wait to see this once the tiny little plants start to really grow:


And he also doubled the size of our garden - stuff is coming up wonderfully now! This picture is a bit old, as you can see, it's only dirt and we've now got a lovely green garden with a spiffy fence:


We drove back into some deep woods to gather wood for our outdoor wood stove - you should SEE how much we've got now - I'm impressed, but hubby says it won't last all winter yet.


Hubby bought me a pretty hanging plant:


And he also spent hours on this freaking ridiculously strong stump:


And this stump as well:


And I finally got some time to create a few new things:

YART Sale

That's right, I jumped on the YART SALE bandwagon.

From today until the 14th, there is free shipping on all items in my store (http://rozzytoz.etsy.com).

As always, appetizer pick sets are buy 2 get 1 free. They make really awesome gifts, especially for a hostess or a house-warming gift. Give them some picks and a chunk of some good cheese and you're good to go! :)

In addition to my Yart Sale, check out all of the other great deals on etsy right now! Sales are on through Sunday.

Productive?

So, I was stoked for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because these were the first three days that I would be able to bead and create some really awesome stuff....

Fast forward to Wednesday. Still haven't gotten anything substantial done as far as beading goes. Housework - now that's another story. I got a ton of that done! Today, for real, I am going to make it a priority to get my craft on. :)

Today I will leave you with a picture of a necklace I made quite some time ago but never got a chance to list. It's a vintage-inspired necklace made with two-tone czech glass and antique brass findings.

Summer Vacation!

Lately, all that's been on my mind has been beading! Unfortunately, it's the end of the school year and end of the track season, which means that my time to bead has been nonexistant.

Yesterday I got home from the state track meet....

Thursday was the last day of school....

Time to bead!

Look forward to more regular posting now that I've got some time to breathe.

:D

Just listed on http://rozzytoz.etsy.com:

Pretty in Pink Appetizer Picks

Upcycling!

I had this nasty-ass looking jewelry display stand - it was kind of a brownish metal color, and none of my jewelry looked great on it. My mom picked it up for me at a store closing many moons ago and now I'm grateful for it!

I spray painted it silver one day (Sorry to the husband about spray painting the front yard silver!) after I realized that it was a PERFECT fit for my appetizer picks.

I snapped a quick picture - I just threw on the picks haphazardly.

Craft Show Disappointment

So, I had a great idea. There was the huge Memorial Day Craft show across the street from my house, so I set up my booth in my yard - I was going to make so much money!

Turns out, I was wrong. Here's what I did wrong:

1. I decided at the last minute. I didn't have time to do any advertising for my off-site booth.

2. The entrance was at the opposite end of the field - the end far away from my house.

3. People parked down my street, but many didn't stop - they were either waiting to get into the show before they started buying, or they were coming back and they were sick of shopping.

4. It was just me. I was my lone little crafter. It would be sweet if I could get some more people next year since I have a pretty big yard.

Things that I was excited about:

1. A lady in charge of another show stopped and wanted me to go to her show later this summer because of my appetizer picks.

2. I got to hang out with my mom and grandma and little sister.

3. I got some sun.

4. I did sell some stuff...and I had no booth fee to worry about.

5. Some of my students stopped by, so we got to visit outside of school.

Primitive Earth

Time to pimp someone's shop!

I chose Primitive Earth Soap Co. to feature. The shop is filled with GREAT sounding soaps, and, as a consumer of them myself, I can boast about how great they smell and work.

How good does this Mocha Java Exfoliating Soap look? Good enough to eat, in my opinion!


And who knew that drinking tea could make you feel naughty? Try this Hedonist at Heart red ginger tea:


And last but not least, this special shaving soap would make a great, unique gift - for yourself or someone else! :)


Find this great crafter on http://primitiveearth.etsy.com OR http://primitivesoaps.com

Lazy Weekend

I spent the entire weekend (aside from a ball-bustin hour raking the backyard) beading and organizing my craft room.

Well, the organization didn't really clean up my cluttered room, but I did get some pictures taken for my destash site. (http://rozsgaragesale.etsy.com)

I got some awesome labels from http://www.vistaprint.com for my appetizer picks, which would have been perfect if I proofread them correctly...so...instead of http://rozzytoz.etsy.com, I included a www. in front of the name. Still gets you to the right place, but it bugs me because it's not "correct".



I also made a crapton of appetizer picks - I just haven't listed them all yet - here's a sneak preview, though.









I even got my tests corrected that I needed to! I counted down the days earlier today, and I've only got 18 school days (plus, I'll miss 1.5 for state track) left until summer...and summer means tons of crafting time!

Fiddling with Earrings

I've been on an earring making bender for the past couple weeks.

I wore a pair similar to this the other day, and a student thought that I was wearing teeth (for real) I snorted at him.



I'm hoping to crank out some more appetizer picks today, but I'm having to much fun playing on the computer after a long week of coaching and teaching. By the way, my boys' team is still undefeated for the season (even when we left our "studs" behind so they could get some more training in). I'm trying to teach my jumpers the penultimate step, but they're thinking too hard about it - it's wearing me out watching them try.

Cutest Picks Evah!

So, I got a crapton of new beads from firemountaingems.com the other day and it didn't take me long to delve into them.



I just had to use these cute little corn on the cob glass beads to make some darling appetizer picks...wouldn't they be great for a small summer BBQ?



Anyway, I've been busy adding things to my etsy site this weekend (http://rozzytoz.etsy.com). Since it's track season, I haven't had much time to work on beading, but this weekend gave me a ton of time (to procrastinate grading papers) to bead.

:D

It feels real now.

I got confirmation that my brother has made it overseas. I know that it's scary for me, but I can't believe how scary it must be for him....he's just a kid...22 years old, and he's willing to put his life on the line for others. Can't say that I'd readily take his place.

Thank you to all of the brave service men and women out there!

Too Busy :(

Track season is well upon us...which means that beading times are few and far between. I got a ton of new beads in the mail, which means that I'm itching to do some creating. I had three track meets this week, and the weekend couldnt come soon enough. Stay posted for what I create this weekend!

In non-beading news....we decided to save our "studs" (on the track team) during one of the several meets this week. Without our top point scorers, our boys STILL won the meet!

Finally!

It's about time.

I'm back on after what seems like a month long hiatus...even though it was only a week.

I had to go to a conference for school all last week and then to my cousin's out of town wedding....and then...well...then our house got hit by lighting.

Technically, it was a tree next to our house, but it sent pine shrapnel 300 feet in all directions. A bunch of damage to our house and our internet got fried. (As well as our TV....which meant that, of course, we had to upgrade to a 40 inch flatscreen.)






That's a huge tear in our screen, and you can also see the tree that exploded.

SWEET

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

As promised, here is a picture of my Jello dessert - it tasted ::insert Chris Farley voice:: AWESOME. Of course, the picture doesn't look anything like the one on Jello's site...oh, well.



Within a day of offering my new appetizer pick promo, I got a sale!

Since I didn't have to wake up to get ready for school today (woot! Last day for that, though) I had a leisurely morning creating...and I think I created my most favorite piece ever.

Faceted Moukaite and Fossil Gunmetal Necklace!

New Etsy Promotion

BUY TWO SETS OF APPETIZER PICKS AND GET ONE FREE!

Look around at your favorite retail stores - they're having awesome sales right now! I decided to jump on the bandwagon and have a great promotion of my own.

Buy two sets of appetizer picks, and I'll throw one in for free - Three for the price of two! Just let me know at checkout which set you'd like.

Also, don't forget that I love to customize - I'd love to help you create a great set of picks! :D

I've Got the Urge...

The urge to entertain!

With warmer weather and longer days, I always feel like having a party!

Due to my lack of guests today, I decided to create something for summer entertaining instead.

Check out this new appetizer pick set!




Speaking of entertaining, I've got my in-laws coming over tomorrow for Easter lunch...I plan on trying out this new recipe:

Strawberry Creme Bars with StrawberryMallows Flowers


You can find the recipe on http://www.jello.com - I'll let you know how it turns out!

Good Day for Beading Friday

Is that title sacreligious? ;)

Easter break is upon us, which means a day away from the kiddies at school. After a blissful morning of sleeping in (until almost 10!)I went downstairs into my beading "studio" (I use the term loosely) to get my creative juices flowing.

Cluttered as it is, I decided to clean up my work area. That lasted a whole 3 minutes until an idea popped into my mind...now I've got a couple hours of beading in, but no cleaning. Oh well.

Now, as the good Catholic girl that I am, I'm going to go assemble my cold tuna noodle and pea salad for lunch.

Here's a sneak peak at what will soon be posted on my etsy site (http://rozzytoz.etsy.com)

Chyroprase and Bridesmaid Dresses

Chyroprase is a stone that I've never really used before....but I couldn't pass up the beads at my favorite store (The Bead Garden) in Appleton.



I also stopped to pick up a bridesmaid dress for my BFF's wedding this summer...jury's still out. It's much "pinker" in person.

Destash Site Gettin' Some Love

I was really surprised to find out that some of my beads from my *Destash* site were featured in a treasury! Cool! Rozsgaragesale.etsy.com hasn't been featured yet, to my knowledge anyway.

Here are my cute little featured pumpkins: