I'm Back

This is just a sort of preamble post to say that yes, I am back. This has been a challenging and life-changing year and I hope to use this blog to document what's been going on and what I hope to do. Stay tuned.

Pink vs Black - An Etsy Treasury

Click here to visit this lovely treasury, or click the image to enlarge!

Oneofakindbbeth116 created this beautifully inspired treasury, featuring one of my necklaces, Black Diamond Fancy, in the top left corner.

Blog Feature

I found an incredible source of inspiration, which I will blog about soon. As a result I have been coming up with more designs than I can sketch. The frustrating part is waiting for supplies to come in so I can make these pieces. I have a pile of jewelry waiting to be photographed, written about, and put up for sale, but I can't seem to find the time to do it. I am back to doing desktop publishing part-time, but I don't get the same satisfaction from it anymore.

Anyway, the point of today's post is that I am featured in Rose Reye's lovely fashion blog, Unik Apparel. She wrote a lovely blurb about my shop and included some beautiful jewelry shots. Go check it out!

I'm in an Etsy treasury!

Zadyball created this lovely Etsy treasury filled with beautiful shades of blue, featuring my "Midnight Blue" necklace on the bottom row. Enjoy!

My Vacation

I don't know if this whole blogging thing is for me. I admire people who can come on here on a regular basis to speak so eloquently about just about anything. I, on the other hand, struggle to string together a few coherent sentences. Perhaps I need practice.

So my life continues to move along, although not in any particular direction I enjoy. I have been feeling the effects of being a caregiver for years without taking any vacation time. The last time I had any time away from home was in 2005, if you can believe it. As I mentioned before, I have been without a regular job since the end of 2009 after the fourth volume of This Old House was published. My Etsy shop sales were reasonably well in February and early March, although not regular by any means. My foray into E-Bay has had fairly satisfying results, and has provided some pocket money. However, without an actual "career"-type job, I was beginning to feel I've lost my way.

I've lived in Victoria for over 20 years now. Victoria is a history lover's dream. It's relatively small with an old'ish downtown core and outlying suburbs. I've always felt that there isn't a whole lot to do here, especially once you get past the typical tourist stuff. One of my big pet peeves about this city is that everything is so far apart, and our transit system is not the best. Victoria has been known as the city "for the newly wed and the nearly dead"- so it's a good place if you're just starting out, or else just about to depart from this world. This is very much a government and tourist town. Meaningful employment is difficult to find, and people tend to hold on to any good jobs here forever.

I often sigh wistfully at various television shows and movies featuring New York, and think to myself:

So, a few weeks ago I took the plunge and went to Vancouver for 3 nights. I haven't felt such freedom before in my life. No schedules, no responsibilities to anyone but myself. It was G-R-E-A-T. I took Pacific Coach Lines and stayed at the Le Soleil Hotel (Hotel Le Soleil) on Hornby St. I splurged and got the corner suite with a queen bed and deep soaker tub. It was reasonable at $160 a night. The TWO huge LCD TV"s were a nice bonus.

The last time I was in Vancouver was 2005 and I thought the city looked rather dark and dank. I guess the Olympics changed the city, because the Vancouver I went to was bright, beautiful and so alive. My first day I hopped on the bus up to Stanley Park to see the Aquarium. Stanley Park is such a gem of a place. I could have spent the whole day there. I went back into town and made my way to the Vancouver Lookout, which is a viewing deck that gives you 360 degree views of the city. The second day I stayed closer to town and went to the Vancouver Art Gallery. It was slightly disappointing mostly because I'm not into modern/realist art so much. I also explored the area near Canada Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre. Simply breathtaking views greeted me wherever I turned.

Downtown Victoria seems like such a ghetto compared to downtown Vancouver. While I realize that Vancouver has its undesirable elements, I purposefully avoided as many of these as possible in Vancouver. Afterall, it was my little escape from everyday life. It wasn't New York, but it was still memorable!

There's something about....

Black Diamond Fancy. This is a necklace I have for sale in my shop, and it has been my top seller by far, in comparison to my other jewelry. I've sold SEVEN of these so far, and number eight is for sale now.

It's a simple piece, made with Swarovski crystals in 4mm and 6mm sizes, accented with 3mm round silver finish beads. The highlights of this necklace are the antiqued silver spacers. I think they're just adorable actually.

Any thoughts out there of why this is so popular? Is it the name? Color combination? Overall look? Price?

Now if only my other necklaces were this popular!

Wow, it has been awhile...

I apologize for being away for so long. I was basically swamped with getting This Old House, volume 4 ready for publication. I put in 90 hours in November, which may seem quite average to most of you, but considering that I usually work about 10 hours a week, then you'll see why the project left my head spinning. I spent most of that time doing photo-editing, desktop publishing, proofing and indexing. The book hit local stores in early December, and has been selling quite well from what I hear. Volume 4 was the last in the series, so right now I find myself unemployed. There is a chance volume 1 will be re-done to match the other three volumes, but that depends on City funding. Keep your fingers crossed!

So I took a break in December, and now that January is here (and almost gone - gasp!), I find myself worrying about money. I have been focusing on my Etsy shop, and thanks to a recent creative binge, I've been adding new items almost daily. I have been pondering over selling some of my dust-collecting belongings on E-Bay, but I will see what the near-future brings first. In the mean time, I am trying to ignore my bank account, and am relying on my shop earnings to buy supplies and other necessities.

More soon!