My Thoughts on Not Not Making Jewelry

I have a few bracelets in my Etsy Store, but not many

I do a lot of not making jewelry

I write. I play games. I walk. I read. I teach jewelry making. Walking helps keep me young. Writing and teaching jewelry techniques helps pay the bills, so I have a lot of excuses for everything... except for the video games.....

Should I give up online video games to make more jewelry?
Well I get nothing whatsoever when I finish the Michael Jackson Stadium in Nice People Village in Cityville. I've earned millions in illicit fake cash in Mafia Wars, but it won't buy anything but illicit fake weapons. Bejeweled Blitz.... nothing. I admit video games are a waste of time, but so much fun.

I'm not going to stop, but I will cut back. Forgive me if I don't respond to your war request right away. I'll be making jewelry.

Reading is a good thing right?

I love to read, but I can't hold pliers and a book at the same time. If I'm going to make more jewelry, I'll have to let the books go.

No problem. I just found out I can download audio books free from my local library. They have great downloadable literature: Dickens and Tolstoy; but of course "Twilight" was my first choice. I'm halfway through it. All that dark teen romance is somehow jewelry-making-motivational

I'm going to do better ... Really!
For over a year now I've been doing a lot of not making jewelry, so I'm determined to do better.
-I'm going to break down and buy a sheet of sterling silver.... even if it cleans out my Paypal account.  
-I'm going to cut metal with my jeweler's saw until I've broken every blade... Then I'll buy a gross more.
-I'm going to whip out my blow torch and solder something.
-I'm going to bend and twist and coil wire until my fingers hurt.
-I'm going to fill my Etsy store... no excuses.

Next Year
Of course, some of this may be done in the name of New Year's Resolutions. Yes, once again I'll be putting my jewelry making off... until next year. You can keep me motivated, though.

Just email me at TheNiceLady@Love.com and tell me not to not make jewelry. I promise I'll stop... or start... whichever.

Lots of Jewelry Making Love
Carol, The Nice Lady

Busy, but still behind

Okay... it's been a while. You probably figured out already that I wasn't going to make it through the A to Z Blogging Challenge. As a matter of fact I stopped at D. That's not bad for a jewelry maker who can't manage to get any jewelry made.

I have been teaching jewelry classes, though. I signed up for a Groupon Class deal and have been sharing my techniques with some wonderful ladies each Saturday afternoon for nearly a year.

I've also done a few private lessons. I'd never done one-on-one teaching before, but I love it.

I'm still writing. Check out my Yahoo! Contributor Network articles on Yahoo!TV.

And.... I make jewelry. Never as much as I intend to make, but you can see what I've done on Etsy.com
If you buy something, use coupon code 122010 for a 20% discount.

That's it for now. .....

Oh, I almost forgot.... the picture. That's my new little 3 month old grandson, E'mile. That's 2 grand-boys now. The other is 3 & 1/ year old Daniel. 

E'mile was my little model for a recent craft project article: 

Make a Quick and Easy Baby Neck Support With a Sock

Isn't he sweet?

Anyway... bye. Gotta go make something.

Carol

A to Z Blogging Challenge: Dance

She Loves to Dance

Everyone loves her,
The  way that girl dances
They’re crazy with envy
Just look how she prances
She flings both her arms
Wild and high in the air
Then she shimmies
And she moves
Like she just doesn’t care
Her dancing is freedom
There’s joy in her prance
And everyone loves her
That girl,
She can dance

Written by a Nice Lady

A to Z Blogging Challenge: Crystal

 
I'm doing the A to Z Blogging challenge. I missed yesterday so this is my second entry for today.

C is for Crystals. I love the sparkle, the facets, the shimmer when I add them to a bracelet or dangle them form a pair of earrings.

Swarovski is my favorite crystal. I don't know what they do to crystals in Austria, but the facets seem crisper and more intricate. the Shimmer of reflected light is so beautiful.

Diamonds may be a girl's best friends. They may cost more and be more desirable, but crystals are magnificent too.

so much for C

A to Z Blogging Challenge: Behind

Yes I am. I'm behind already
Of course I'm behind in my jewelry making. That's old news. Now I'm behind in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. I was really busy yesterday, but that is no excuse. I will make it up today and since I am behind already, I will write on the black board 100 times. "I will not get behind in the A to Z challenge."
"I will not get behind in the A to Z challenge."
"I will not get behind in the A to Z challenge."
"I will not get behind in the A to Z challenge."......

Behind in Life
Okay, so what happens when you get behind in life? Things gradually fall apart. You get stressed. Your entire life dances on the edge. When  you get behind in sleep, for instance, you never get caught up no matter how hard you try. You get behind in your bills and that interest rate makes your balance explode.

Behind in Tivo
My daughter is behind in viewing "Ugly Betty" reruns on tivo, not to mention "The Young and the Restless,"  and all those other shows. She has so many episodes on tivo she will never, ever get caught up.

She and her husband are expecting their first child really soon. I bet she thinks she's going to get caught up on all those "Ugly Betty" reruns after the baby is born.... Do you hear me laughing? She might as well kiss America Ferrero goodbye. She'll neve get caught up on those reruns.

Behind in Writing
I do a series of freelance articles for Yahoo! TV. I get 12 articles assigned on the very first day of each month. "Kalinda Rocks" is one of my favorites. Check it out.

I have the whole month to do my TV articles. If I don't start them during the first week, I get behind and spend the last day of the month thinking up clever things to say about programs I forgot about because I saw them three weeks ago.


The moral of this story. Don't get behind!

A to Z Blogging Challenge: April

I can't believe I agreed to do the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Furthermore, I can't believe it's April already. That means I will blog every day for 30 days ... except Sundays. I suppose I should be grateful that there are only 30 days in the month because I will certainly be crazy by the end..

Each day I will concentrate on a different letter of the alphabet.If you reach my blog and find I'm spouting gibberish, please just punch the next button and come back the next day. I don't want anyone to see me that way.
I know I'm taking the easy way out, but I'm going with April for my first word.

April is one of my favorite months. When I did art and craft shows on a regular basis, April was my high productivity jewelry making month. I stayed in and concentrated on making jewelry so I'd have enough to sell when it was time to begin my endless schedule of  shows and events.

April is wonderful also because both my children were married during the month. My son and his wife have birthdays in April, as does my mother.

That's all I've got for A.... Thanks for stopping by.


The Nice Lady

Times Have Changed: Custom Graduation Cards by Etsy Artisans (The only old school color choice was black & white)

Times have changed

You know, I never thought about it until just this minute, but pretty much everything was black and white when I was young: socks, underwear, television, sheets...everything. (That sounds like something an old person would say, doesn't it?)

Now even graduates have choices. Thanks to the card artisans (cardisans) like Itsy Bitsy Paper and Gwen Marie Designs at Etsy.com, your graduate can have an invitation or announcement that's closer to something we people of a certain age would have chosen if we'd had the option. They can even add pictures, two or three pictures if they want.

What a newfangled indeed!

Now a grad can choose any color they desire. Any color!! If we'd had the option of a custom design graduation announcements, which we didn't, it would have cost hundreds. Now you can get a custom look for a very nice price.

Check out this article on Etsy Card Artists  I went through a bunch of Etsy shops. I was impressed with all of them and had a difficult time narrowing it down to those I believed were most different and unique.

It was a bit depressing really. I kept thinking how my old invitations were ...... black and white.

Come to think of it, our gowns were black and white too. The girls got white. The boys got black.

My, my, my.... times have changed.

Carol