January's Charity of the Month and Laptop Issues

(Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com)

It all started so innocently. I had planned to start blogging, if not daily, then nearly daily. I had planned posts in my new daily planner. I had taken, or planned to take, photographs. Life, as they say, is what happens when you are busy making plans. I had made many plans, all involving my lifeline, aka, my laptop.
Then my hard drive decided to start making funny noises, the day before New Year's Eve.
Many loud, funny noises that a laptop, or any computing device should not make, the day before New Year's Eve.
Then I started getting notifications from Windows saying that my hard drive was dying. That was the worst part of all - by the time Windows starts sending you notifications, you know your hard drive is pretty much pooped. I tell, you, the whole world is against me! Okay, not really, but it felt like it.
So enter Brennan, who has spent nearly all of the last two weeks, not only helping me move my workshop around (which was supposed to be posts January 2-4), but also fixing my laptop by replacing my hard drive, recovering all of my documents, etc., so that I could get back to my online life, which is pretty much my whole life (which I love, and am pretty addicted to. When I don't have internet access...well, it isn't pretty).
By the way, have I said how lucky I am to have Brennan lately? No? I am VERY lucky to have him!
Now I can get back to my regularly scheduled posts.
And go through the 120+ emails I received in the past week. "Delete all", anyone? No? Okay, I'll get through them all... eventually.

In other news, the first post for January was supposed to be to tell you all about the charity that I will be donating a portion of my sales to this month.
This month I will be donating 10% of the total sales in my Etsy shop (before taxes and shipping) to Polar Bears International. They are a fantastic, registered charity, that is devoted to saving our white giants of the north. Polar bear populations are declining rapidly and Polar Bears International are doing everything they can to educate us as to how important they are, and how we can do even the tiniest things to help them. Not just donating money, but small things, such as turning off lights when we are leaving a room, turning down our thermostats, etc., all in the name of saving these wonderful, enigmatic creatures.
I encourage you to visit their website, and see for yourself the wonderful work they are doing, in addition to the great photography that they have on their site (including totally AWWW worthy photos of a baby polar bear, TOO CUTE!), and some great tips on how you can easily help polar bears with small changes to your routine, and information on how to donate if you are able to.
I have symbolically adopted 2 polar bears so far, and I hope to adopt at least one more this year, if I get the sales to allow me to (again, 10% of all of January's sales, before taxes and shipping, go toward Polar Bears International).
Please visit my shop (at http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlestudiojewels/ ) to purchase some beautiful pieces of jewelry, and help polar bears at the same time.
Have a great day, see you on the flip side (yo! LOL),

Happy New Year!

A very Happy New Year to all of you! I hope it has started off well for you! It has started off here with a ton of house cleaning and organizing, simplifying and, of course, jewelry making! First, I want to tell you about our simple, wonderful Christmas. My parents came over, they brought a turkey as I don't eat meat, and we roasted it, made some brown rice, broccoli and carrots and I made myself a vegan nut loaf with stuffing for me.
While that was all cooking, we opened presents while watching our old favorite Christmas movies and then had dinner. It was delicious, and afterwards we decorated our gingerbread house. Yes, I actually made a gluten free, vegan gingerbread house and WOW! was it good! I also found a store online that sells organic (so no artificial colors to make Brennan sick), gluten free and vegan candy. Oh my gosh, I nearly died and went to heaven. It is ridiculously expensive, but honestly, it tastes so good, now I know why people snack on candy. I haven't had candy in about 6 years, so this was a huge treat for me. It was especially nice as we got to decorate the house together and then eat it. I also made 4 layer raspberry bars, so we were a full family after that! Of course, "the guys" decided to get a little x-rated with the candy placement on some of the gingerbread people, so never mind that in the photo of the ginger bread house *blushes*. Just don't look too closely HA! You can see the large main house, the dog house, the candy cane lane, the meringue stepping stones, the cotton candy snow, and all of the candy. The main house was a little over a foot high, I even made a little ginger bread dog, though you can't see it in this photo. As I am allergic to corn, I couldn't use most icing sugars to make icing, so I used a mix from Namaste foods, but the store I got it at only had chocolate, thus the brown every where, ha!
As I also mentioned, I have been making some new jewelry. I have a silver smith friend who is teaching me silversmithing so that I can make some new kinds of jewelry. I also made the necklace shown at the top of this post, a Swarovski crystal pearl birthday necklace. It has January's birthstone color in it (garnet red), but I'll be making one for every month, never you fear. If you would like to see your birthstone color, let me know here in the comments or though contacting me at my Etsy store and I'll do my best to get one up here for you. You can see more about this necklace and the matching earrings on my Etsy store here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/65385872/january-swarovski-pearl-birth-month

The chain and handcrafted clasp are sterling silver, and the pearls, being Swarovski crystal pearls, are vegan and just SO incredibly pretty. You really have a hard time telling that they aren't the "real thing" (as in, real freshwater pearls). I actually like these better, as they are more consistent in size and color, and can actually be more affordable.

My 50% off sale is still going strong in my Etsy store also, make sure you check that out, as there are still quite a few really nice items at incredible prices. See the sale section here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleStudioJewels?section_id=6286884

Well, I guess that is all for now, Arwen says a great big hello (actually, it was A-roo-roo-roo-ruh, but you get the picture), I'll try to have some new jewelry and Arwen photos for you soon.

Have a great day!

and Arwen

January Contest Winner!

I can't believe that it is February 7 already! Not just that, but I forgot to announce the contest winner for January - eek!
Without further ado........The winner of the January Contest is........

Annette F. Tait!!
Congratulations!

Please contact me with your mailing address and I will mail you your beautiful prize....a 5x7 of my Backlit Bleeding Hearts print. I hope you like it!

Sweet Saturday: a Beautiful, Sugary Bracelet

~Sugar and Ice, This Bracelet is So Nice!~

I made this bracelet yesterday after having the inspiration come from absolutely nowhere. Well, actually, I was watching "Marie Antoinette" with Kirsten Dunst and thought that I needed to make something girly, fun, and gorgeous!
I used rosaline pink Swarovski pearls and sterling silver beads and strung them on memory wire to get this layered effect without a lot of weight. Even better, there is no clasp to fiddle with - you just wind it on your wrist to fit you, and unwind it to take it off. It will fit almost any size due to it's Slinky-similarity and is light as a feather, yet looks like you have layered some beautiful bangles together. I think I just might need to order some more memory wire and Swarovski pearls to make a few more!
This will be for sale shortly on my Etsy store, please visit :)
My SUPER 50% OFF SALE is still on, maybe you can get you and your Valentine something sweet and affordable - or get a smart head-start on next year's Christmas shopping?
Meghann

Fabulous Friday - I'm in a Treasury!!!

What a fabulous way to wake up: I got an email from RioRita all the way over in Israel telling me that she had featured my Backlit Bleeding Hearts Photograph in her treasury! I have to say I am on cloud nine as I have been trying and trying to get another treasury since the last one expired almost 2 weeks ago, and have consistently failed to get one. I think it is amazing that people from all over the world are able to get together and promote one another's works - simply fabulous!! Please click on the treasury above to go and see all the wonderful artists featured in this beautiful treasury :)
Meghann
P.S. - time's running out to enter the monthly blog contest - don't miss out, it is free and you could win a great prize!

Wordless Wednesday (Mostly)

New Prints!

Meghann
P.S. Check out my Etsy store and see the great items and fantastic sales! Also don't forget to enter the monthly blog contest :)

Change of Plans for January's Charity of the Month...

After receiving some rather unwelcome news about the World Wildlife Fund (it seems that, although they don't directly condone animal testing, they don't think it should be banned completely either, which is unacceptable to me), I am switching the Charity of the Month to the National Wildlife Federation. They produce magazines such a Ranger Rick for children (I had subscriptions throughout my childhood), and National Wildlife for big kids :)
I will be donating 10% of the total sales before taxes and shipping to this charity, in hopes of aiding the endangered polar bear.
My SUPER 50% off sale is still on, and I am adding new items to my Etsy Store daily, so please be sure to stop by and help support a great cause in the process.
Meghann
P.S. time is running out to enter my free monthly blog contest, so be sure to check out the post from January 3 for details and how to enter.

Thankful Thursday: Baby It's FREEZING Outside!

~Almost Finished!~

~Front~

~Back~

Having blogged about fibromyalgia and it's inherent all-weather-but especially-cold-weather crappiness before, I'll spare you the repeat on it. As it is Thankful Thursday, I wanted to thank all my e-friends for their support when I am feeling so crappy - your kind words and notes on my blogs make me feel so much better :)
I am also infinitely thankful for my husband, who is very understanding when the laundry is left on the dining room table for a few days when I can't do much, and my dog, who on my bad days won't leave my side.
All that being said, this last cold snap has pretty much stopped my jewellery making as I have been so sore and tired that all I can do is sit on the couch. Enter my new favorite hobby - knitting and crocheting!
Brennan mentioned he wanted a new scarf and was actually going out to buy one when I said, "No honey, why buy one that everyone else has when I, your loving wife and partner, can make you one from scratch that will be yours and be unique!". He was mostly convinced (or I chose to take it that he was convinced, lol) after looking, no doubt, at my shining face, and agreed with hesitation, so long as it was 'cool'.
He had just gotten a new black wool pea coat (and it looks so fabulous on him, and NO that is not just because I am biased!), and wanted a scarf to contrast with it, while not making him look like a clown. Knowing he looks great in burgundy, I suggested that and he agreed. We looked through a couple of books to see if he liked any patterns and he chose one with more enthusiasm than I thought he would be able to muster for a scarf :)
I started this lace knit scarf on Sunday, having never knit lace or a full anything before. After a rough start, ripping out everything too many times to count (hours of hat because, apparently, I can't count properly), I finally got the hang of it, and now, after being confined to the couch for 4 days and hating to be inactive, I have only a few more inches to go! It's not perfect, but I think that is the charm of it (I reversed one line of purls/knits, so there is a raised line halfway on the smooth side, but as it is in what will be the exact middle of the scarf, it will probably look intentional - I LOVE those mistakes!). The stitch is called the faggot lace knit stitch (not telling hubby that for obvious reasons), and I got the pattern from "Knitting for Dummies". While I HATE the title of these books (I am not a 'Dummy', nor do I appreciate being called one), they really do make learning things you perceive to be difficult a lot easier.

Up next will be Amigurumi animals, hopefully to sell to raise money for animal charities. I'll let you know when that is up and running. If this cold snap continues, I'll probably have a small zoo of them by next week :s
Happy Thankful Thursday, and Thank You for Reading!
Meghann
P.S. Don't forget to check out my Etsy store for new items, and items on sale! Also, the January Blog contest is still going strong so please enter if you haven't already :)

Monday Mayhem!

~Just a Few of the New Earrings!~

Mondays are always hectic: I have to catch up on housework that never seems to get done on weekends (cleaning the kitchen, dusting, tidying, floor cleaning, laundry, changing sheets,etc., etc.), ship orders, working out (as always), making new items, planning blog posts, updating the website (that never seems to get done), and anything else the hubby needs done. No wonder Monday posts are late - if they ever get done :)
However, I'm excited about these new earrings so I had to show you! I finally got some good photos of these - just before I shipped the first order out to a client ;-)
These are just a selection of the many that I made - and I have more to come! I also got in a new order of jewellery supplies that have yet to be priced per piece and then put away - only to be used in more creations. Keep checking my Etsy Store for these new creations as I'll list a few more every day!
Don't forget to enter the monthly blog contest - see the post from January 3 for details.
Meghann

P.S. The SUPER 50% off Sale is almost over - get these great items while you can!

Sweet Saturday

~Strawberry Cupcakes from Ottawa Cupcakery~

Sure, we're all on diets this time of year, and sure, I am allergic to 80% of the foods on the planet, but let's face it: if we have to have a deal-breaker, it's go big or go home. I say CUPCAKES! The Ottawa Cupcakery, located in (where else) Ottawa, is one of those sure-fire places that will allow you to ruin your diet for a day or two and not care a single jot (hey, what's an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill anyway - just watch House on TV and it flies by!). In fact, you'll want more, more, more! Honestly, look at them! I picked my favorite, strawberry cupcakes, but they have many, many types to choose from. I suggest a visit to this sweet shop on Etsy to find out more. Be prepared to drool.....
Meghann
P.S. there are new items in my Etsy store, and the SUPER 50% off sale is still going strong!
Don't forget to enter the

Fabulous Friday - New Rings!

~Left: Sterling and Amethyst Ring, Center: Gold and Lapis Lazuli Ring, Right: Gold and Swarovski Pearl and Crystal Ring~

I am so excited about these new rings - they are each a different version of my Lindsay Ring, named after my sister. I actually have a few more of these in different stones and metals, but I thought I'd start with these. Amethyst nuggets, Lapis Lazuli and Swarovski crystals and Swarovski Pearls are used to create beautiful, yet simple lines and accentuate any hand. They are very comfortable and look great on any finger, as their low profile and clean lines suit any shape and size of hand. These will be for sale shortly on my Etsy Store.
Don't forget to enter the January Blog Contest, where you could win a great prize.
Check out my Etsy store for beautiful, affordable items, and the SUPER 50% OFF SALE!
Meghann

New Charity Section in the Etsy Store!

I want to introduce you to something new and very special in my Etsy Store: I now have a Charity Promo Items section devoted to items donating a dollar amount to a specific charity! I will still be donating 10% of the total sales of all other items to the Charity of the Month, but this way I will be able to donate money to different charities at once and be able to give them more than a few cents at a time :)
I have items that will donate money to Fibromyalgia Awareness charities, as well as items donating money to last month's Charity of the Month, Epic Farms in Alabama.
I do hope you'll check out the store and help support these valuable causes. And while you're there, don't forget to check out the SUPER 50% OFF SALE! These items are going fast so hurry!
Also, don't forget to enter the January contest of the month to try and win a beautiful prize - see the post from January 3 for details.
See you tomorrow!
Meghann

Wordless Wednesday

~NEW!! Multi-Strand "Cleo" Bracelet~

~A Custom, Braided Bracelet, Similar to Cleo~

Super 50% off Sale
January Contest

Tuesday's Treasures

Today's Treasure is something I have just discovered I absolutely love: Beadweaving! I got a book a while back and never really did anything with it, as wire work was taking up every waking minute (and some of my dreams, lol), but now that I have discovered its possibilities, I am fascinated! I made this bracelet (sorry for the bad image, but I'll get better ones soon) with silver lined clear seed beads and natural pink seed beads (the pink isn't dyed, how cool is that?!). I used a 'daisy chain' pattern and then used a peyote stitch to make the toggle. It is very shiny and pretty - though small as the daisy chain is a narrow stitch. It will make the perfect dainty little bracelet for someone who likes smaller jewellery, or a great layering piece. I'll probably have this for sale in my Etsy Store soon...I'm trying to convince myself not to keep it ;-)
Who knew that something people have been doing for centuries would still be cool today?? I am super-impressed!
Don't forget to enter the January Blog Contest to try and win a very nice prize - see the post from January 3 for details.
Also, the SUPER 50% off sale is still going, but items are selling fast, so hurry to get some beautiful items at incredible prices!

Woo Another Treasury!

I managed to get another treasury on Etsy! This time I featured items from both the Capital Crafters and Etsy for Animals for a nice variety guaranteed to get rid of that winter chill. I hope you'll check it out, and don't forget to check out my SUPER 50% off Sale in my Etsy Store!
Also check out the January contest of the month and enter to win great prizes.
Meghann

January Contest!

How do you beat the winter blahs? Tell us and you will be entered to win a 5x7 photographic print of my "Backlit Bleeding Hearts" photograph (shown above, without the border). This print is ready for framing in any 5x7 frame or mat. This is also available for sale in various sizes in my Etsy Store. I will randomly choose a winner and announce the winner in early February.
With vibrant color like this, it is guaranteed to get rid of those winter blahs in a hurry!
My Super 50% OFF SALE is still going strong in my Etsy store, so check out the great deals before they are gone forever!
See you soon!
Meghann

Charity of the Month on Fabulous Friday!

I am so proud to announce that this month's Charity of the Month is the World Wildlife Fund in Canada (WWF). They are doing their best to save our planet and increase awareness of animal and global needs due to global warming and other hazardous events. 10% of the total sales this month (before taxes and shipping) from my Etsy Store will go to this wonderful charity. I am particularly interested in the plight of the polar bear. up to 60% of the world's polar bear population resides in Canada's north and they are having a harder and harder time surviving due to warming temperatures and shrinking hunting grounds and habitats. Please join me in helping the WWF in Canada to aid in the rescue of these beautiful creatures. If you would like to donate to them directly, click on the picture above to go to the WWF Canada website. Thank you!
I have lots of new items and SUPER 50% off Sale items to tempt you with, please check out my store here: www.littlestudiojewels.etsy.com
Have a great day!
Meghann