New Sterling Silver Earrings!

I used to be the girl that didn't work with sterling (very often). My hobby wasn't always so serious and I wanted to be able to afford a lot of findings/beads/etc. I've realized, though, that you can find way cooler sterling pieces than plated. I got a new order from FireMountain on Friday and I'm already whipping up some fantastic earrings, which can be found on my etsy page. (Or which will be able to be found there after I finish listing them all)

The other great thing about sterling is that while you can make some awesome, unique designs, they're always neutral and can be worn with just about anything.

LOVE these sterling spiral earrings.


The texture on these sterling puffed diamonds makes me want to keep them for myself :)


These remind me of the upcoming prom season


I'll admit that I'm cheating a bit with these - the drop is pewter, but the earwire is sterling, and I really like these, so I'm going t post them anyway :)


Last but not least, a little pop of color. These fluted glass beads are awesome and I love integrating them into pieces.

It's a...................

BOY! Yeah - we couldn't wait to find out the gender of the baby. I never though I'd want to find out, but it turns out that I couldn't imagine going another 1/2 of a pregnancy without knowing. So now the fun of picking stuff out begins. Overwhelming!

I suck.

Seriously? Last updated in September? What can I say? I've been busy. Some of the things I've been occupied with are teaching, craft shows, and.....being pregnant! That's right - due in June. The pregnancy has zapped my every ounce of energy and I usually come home from teaching and crash. It's been a bit ridiculous...but I'm hopeful to be back to normal soon. It's sad wanting to craft but yet not feeling up to it.

Here I am at 19 weeks:




When I do have motivation, I've been cranking out new appetizer pick sets left and right. I am in LOVE with these new berry beads:



Check out the other sets on http://rozzytoz.etsy.com

I've also been working big time on destashing some of my beads. I'm sure that if you're a fellow beader then you share in my over-indulgence of supplies. I need to organize my beading room like none other. I've been buying up more storage containers in the hopes of getting more organized...but I found that I'm lacking motivation in that department.

Beaders - what types of organization work for you? Any tips? :D

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!