Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.



Happy New Year and Cheers to 2010!

There was good...there was bad...and some of it was certainly ugly.

As the number of days in 2009 dwindle into oblivion, I can't say I've ever been happier to see a year end. I hate that I am currently feeling that 2009 was such a bummer because there were a few really good things that happened along side of the bad:

1. We turned our first house into a home.
2. We celebrated our first year of marriage.
3. We realized how strong we are as individuals and as a couple.
4. We found new friends in hard times that are now good friends in better times.

I say we because it has been a year in which I felt a little lost and would not have made it without my wonderful husband by my side. Thanks Schmoopy.

As for the other love of my life...EWD is ending the year on a high note and for that I cannot be more grateful. Sales and requests continue to trickle in despite the dreaded after holiday spending regret. In the past month, my shop was visited by 2,966 visitors from 54 countries/territories, which is (needless to say) pretty damn cool.

So...while there was good, bad, and certainly ugly in 2009, I will do my best to focus on the positive as I look ahead to 2010. After all...it's a new decade.

A wonderfully busy holiday...

Yep...that's what it was...a wonderfully busy holiday! I feel I need to give thanks to the "Etsy Gods" for smiling down upon me and my little pieces of silver this holiday shopping season. I finally counted this morning...and I had more than 80 online holiday orders! Add to that three open house shows in Nov/Dec and it was in fact a very, very busy couple of months. So...thank you, thank you "Etsy Gods" and thank you, thank you wonderful EWD customers!

A few other holiday highlights:



Our "kids" opening presents.


Beautiful holiday cards...this one was my favorite!


Cozy new Uggers from my hubby!



A truly beautiful new bowl...also from my hubby! Bowl was hand thrown by Etsyian Mary Dorsch Pottery...check her out here...http://www.etsy.com/shop/maryeverett.


Very old bottles of wine finally opened...thanks Dad...and consumed along with homemade Blake Family ravioli sauce! Yum.

Of course there was also wonderful time spent with family, friends and loved ones...but we tend to be a little camera shy!

Front Page!

I was excited to wake up today and see that one of my items had made the front page on Etsy. It's a first!

NOVEMBER!

October was a busy month which flew by with reckless abandon. On top of designing new items and prepping for several upcoming open house shows, my husband and I finally decided to paint the kitchen cabinets. It took a year for us to muster the courage to tackle such a large project and it was so much work that I still hurt. In the end though, it was worth it...

The Etsy Community...

I just wanted to take a moment to say how grateful I am to the Etsy community. I am constantly amazed at how friendly and supportive most sellers are. I would not say that I have found great success selling on Etsy quite yet and I've yet to gain much exposure on the site. It's reassuring beyond measure, however, to receive e-mail from random strangers complimenting my work. It gives me hope that more exposure is possible and that (hopefully) successful selling will not be far behind!

I've always tried to work from the perspective that you get back in life what you put out to others so...check out these wonderfully kind Etsyians...they have really beautiful work!

1000beautifulthings

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6006267

CountryDreaming

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6687790

Little Miss Ruby

Our wee little munchkin has many roles in our house. She is (in no particular order) an alarm clock, a stink bomb, a punching bag (for our big munchkin), a chipmunk stalker, a food beggar, a mighty fly hunter, a tongue-sticker-outer, and a contortionist sleeper. Plus...she's awfully cute!

Obsessed...

Whenever I have something new I'm working on I tend to become obsessed...I don't sleep because my brain won't shut off...I don't remember to eat...I have to remind myself that it is important to shower everyday...yes I know, that last one is likely followed by you saying EEEWWWWW.

Despite going to bed late and not being able to sleep, I was awake early and am willing the sun to come out so that I can finish shooting pieces and updating my etsy shop. If only I could come up with a way to do twelve things at once...

Here's a preview of new items for your viewing pleasure:

Autumn Leaves

I often work out new designs and ideas in copper before I work in silver. I've found in the past that it can save me from destroying sheets of sterling with experimentation. I've never listed any of these copper creations before, mainly because my preference is to wear and work with silver. However, what came out of yesterday's copper experiment was so very lovely that I made it friends:

End of Summer SALE!

I have an end of summer sale going on in my Etsy shop now through the end of the month. You can check it out here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6258277§ion_id=5991231

Just of few of the items that are looking for happy homes:

My tree...

I've been trying to find something to hang on the massive wall in our living room for almost a year now...can't believe that we've been here a year already. Anyway...I couldn't find artwork that I liked AND could afford and my plan to buy bookshelves went out the window when we bought new furniture and I realized they would not fit.

I came up with the idea of the tree a couple of months ago...it was a random idea that I sketched on the back of a paper placemat one night at dinner. Overall, it came out like I had imagined. As is always the case with the first of something, I made a few mistakes that had to be corrected and to do it again would be a lot easier and faster with the lessons learned. I'm not sure it will remain on our living room wall forever but for now it fills the large expanse of taupe wall with something I enjoy looking at and my husband can tolerate.

My "New" Chandelier...

I haven't been getting much work done yet...lots and lots of ideas and sketches...but no actual jewelry design/creation. My work space seems to have some bad mojination so I'm hoping I can bribe my hubby to help fix that this weekend.

Anyway...what I have been doing is working on a few projects around the house. The living/dining room are now all the same color (finally) and almost all the baseboards on the first floor are painted. Necessary stuff but boring for the artistic mind (and most people who have been to our home would never ever be able to tell that I spent days doing all of that).

My "new" chandelier on the other hand came out fabulous and very certainly looks different. Of course however, I neglected to take a before picture so you could really see its transformation. The best I can do is to say that when we bought the house it looked something like this:



What I wanted was this $400 piece from Pottery Barn (but was definitely not willing to shell out for it):



What came from that inspiration is this:




Obviously not as detailed as the one I wanted but I think it captures the spirit...and for only $15 in spray paint and crystals...spirit and sore fingers are much, much more affordable!

Trying to end my hiatus...

So...it's been a very long time since I've written anything here. I started this blog by writing about how much I suck at blogging...I wish I could say that is why I haven't posted here since March.

The truth is that life has been a little crazy for the past five months. Around the time of my last post my husband and I were happy to discover that we were pregnant and would be welcoming our first child before Christmas. The next three months were exciting, nauseating, happy, and busy. I was dealing with feeling sick most of the time and trying to prep for my first summer of art shows in Wisconsin.

Everything changed with our first ultrasound when we found out that our baby boy was experiencing a serious complication. As the weeks went by, we painfully waited and watched as he progressively and inexplicably got worse. Two weeks ago at our last ultrasound appointment we saw that his heart had stopped. He was delivered on 7-21-09 and we named him Cooper William Atkinson.

Needless to say, it has been difficult, it continues to be heartbreaking, and it feels like things may never be the same again. We are beyond thankful for our family and friends who have been supportive and there for us when we've needed it most. We appreciate the cards, e-mails, phone calls, and visits more than you will ever know.

For now...I am home and trying to get back to life and back to work in the studio.

Overcast skies...

It may be overcast and a little dreary here but I still managed to shoot some pictures of my new pieces this morning...everything went up onto Etsy earlier today!

I was wrong...

...today's newbie is my new favorite!

My obsession continues...

My obsession with piercing silver not only continues but is perhaps inspiring the most wonderful things I have ever made. While I do miss making beads, I am feeling more and more like taking a new direction with my designs and continuing my bead hiatus for the foreseeable future. Only time will tell if my new pieces find an everlasting place in my collection and if I can live (and sleep) without dreaming about melting glass.

Of all the things I have ever made, this new design from yesterday might be my favorite...

Hooray for Etsy Sales!

I first opened my Etsy shop last fall...September I think. Right after I opened, my husband was transferred back to Wisconsin with his company. While the move was a welcome opportunity and change, it did put a little kibosh on my Etsy launch. My new shop ended up with very little attention from me (as well as potential customers).

Now that we are settled, I've been able to spend more time focusing on polishing up my shop appearance, working on photo layout/consistency, designing new items, and promoting my little treasures. Like many sellers, I struggle to have my work seen and stand out in a sea of other items (some of which are outstanding examples of creative and talented artisans and some of which are, lets just say, less than outstanding.)

While I'm not raking in the sales or new customers quite yet, I do consider it a huge victory to have scored three sales this week from three new customers. It gives me hope that, even in tough economic times, those of us who create beautiful things that come from our hearts and souls will not only survive but also succeed.

Insufferable inability to sleep...

So, it's 1am and this is now my 4th night of not being able to sleep. My enviable husband is snoring the night away all warm and toasty in our large, fluffy bed. As much as I love him, I often want to slug him just a little for being able to do that. Even our furry, four-legged critters are soundly snoozing in their happy little corners of the house.

It is my dream to someday, someday be able to just roll over and sleep...

I hate daylight savings...

I know it's just an hour but for some reason it really messes with me. Something about it just doesn't feel right...I'm oversleeping by an hour and at night it just doesn't feel like the day is done, yet the clock says it's 10 o'clock. Perhaps I will pull a Kramer and just boycott...or did he decide to embrace it and start early...can't remember.

Anyway...at least I've still been able to create this week. I've made a ton of cute little flower earrings that make it feel like spring when you wear them and designed a new leaf necklace yesterday.

Spring Filled Goodness...

The warm weather, sunny skies, and melting snow have inspired me this week. While I know it is all fleeting and that spring is still yet to come, at least it now feels as though it is right around the corner.

My head is filled with spring birds, leaves, and branches and so is my sketch book! A new nature inspired line is in the works for Spring 2009. A few new creations went up onto Etsy today...check it out at www.eclectiwendydesigns.etsy.com!

A few more items are soon to be listed: