Saturday Squee: The Cutest Snail You'll Ever See

Lovestruck Snail by ColtPixy

Seriously, have you ever seen a snail you wanted to cuddle with more??

Monday Mix: Random Acts of Kindness Week

My First Polymer Clay Sculptures - Not Perfect, but I'm Happy :)

 Good Monday morning on this, the first day of Random Acts of Kindness Week! I've got a great week in store for you all, so I hope you've buckled your seat belts. With this week being Random Acts of Kindness Week, I will aim to do one random nice thing each day. Today: Maybe we can send our special someone a couple of nice, short emails along the lines of:

You are awesome! 

I love waking up next to you :) 

You look great today!

Keeping them short and sweet makes sure they aren't bogged down reading lengthy emails when they should be working, but allows them to take 2 minutes to stop and smile :)

Before I get to this week's events, I'd like to share a milestone: yesterday, the Facebook page for Little Studio Jewellery by Meghann Lynch, reached 100 followers! The followers on that page have been given a little treat, so, if you want in on a pretty sweet deal, visit & LIKE the Facebook page and start saving. It's a limited time offer, so hurry on over and get yours today. The link is down and to the right on this blog --->

Tuesdays I like to unveil new pieces of jewelry, or show you pieces that I've rephotographed or redesigned. Tomorrow will be a grand unveiling of a totally new necklace inspired by Cleopatra's later life. Make sure you check back tomorrow for that! It is rich and luxurious, perfect for work or a night out.

Because, Really, Everyone Loves Seeing a Wiener Dog From the Side

This Wednesday, Arwen the Wonder Dog wants to show you her napping spots. She's been getting me to take her photo in her most favorite places, so get ready for some cuteness there :)

Thursdays are Treasury days, and though I haven't made that one yet, be prepared for a collection of beautiful handmade items from my fellow Etsy sellers. Any ideas on a theme? Let me know in the comments below and I'll do what I can...

This Friday will feature another great artist, Badgereels. You must stop by on Friday to see her work, it is really pretty (or manly, depending on the item) and functional, guaranteed to add a little whimsy to your workday :)

Finally, regarding the photos on the blog today: I've finally started playing with the polymer clay I bought almost 5 years ago. Amazingly, it's still very soft, so that was a relief (at $5 a small brick, I would have been seriously miffed to find it all dried)! While I'm sure I need another hobby like I need a hole in the head, I really loved making little sculptures throughout my childhood (though, thankfully, none have survived), and thought that this would be a bit of fun on my Sunday afternoons, when I try very hard not to do any business or work of any sort. The last few weeks I've white knuckled it. While normally reading or video games would help, it has been really hard to get away from the laptop, and so I knew I needed a stronger, totally absorbing distraction. Enter polymer clay, or "smooshing" as the experts call it (I am NOT an expert, but I like the sound of that word, so I might have to purloin it).

Inspired by My Own Playful Puppy, This Was My Second Ever Polymer Clay Sculpture

I have to say, I had an absolute blast! No pressure to make things to sell, no pressure to be perfect the first time (well, okay, I did have a bit of self imposed pressure, to be honest), and no pressure to be on a deadline. I spent a marvelous 2 hours conditioning, playing, pinching, sculpting and baking my first 3 little sculptures. I learned quite a bit; 1. blue clay under your nails is very hard to get out if it dries even the tiniest bit, and looks like you have cyanide poisoning; 2. I need armature to make the dogs' legs sturdier; 3. my cheapo, $20 toaster oven bought especially for baking clay is bang-on temperature wise (thank you, Black-&-Decker!), 4. I don't need to worry that polymer clay will spontaneously self-combust (I watched the oven like a hawk, biting my nails and occasionally throwing looks at the fire extinguisher "just in case"); 5. I LOVE POLYMER CLAY! I've already started adding polymer clay how-to books to my Amazon wish list (now 661 items strong - gotta love Amazon!), and woke up at 3AM this morning thinking of other things to make next week. I strongly recommend trying polymer clay "smooshing" if you haven't already. It is tons of fun!

Keep checking the blog this week to discover everything that's going on, and check back next Monday to see what else I was able to make with my new polymer clay hobby :)

Saturday Squee: I Love Pugs

Black Pug Puppy from here: http://www.dipity.com/tickr/Flickr_pug/

I love pugs!! They're so cute and snorty and fuzzy and tiny! I love their bulgy eyes and scrunchy noses and curly tails.

"Pugkin" pug Pumpkin Hat from JessicaLynneArt

So cute they're SQUEE! Have a happy Saturday :)

Saturday Squee: I'm a Fool for Puppies

Ada the Labrador Retriever, Found on Dailypuppy.com

I love puppies. I freely admit that when I see one, I go from quiet, reserved me, into full-blown squeaking, cooing, baby-talking messiness. And I'm okay with it. Love is a beautiful thing. Puppy love? Well, let's just say I can't get enough of them...
Those watery eyes, so innocent and full of life.
Those giant paws and ears, too big for them now, but will be quickly grown into.
The little squawk that becomes the bellowing bark.
The fuzz that turns into sleek fur that gets into every little nook and cranny.
The puppy antics that are annoying, but so funny you have to walk away quickly so they don't see you laughing so hard you want to pee your pants (evidence: Arwen as a puppy deciding to "play" with the 11 foot logs that line my gardens. At all of 25 pounds she was determined to drag one around the yard, snarling the whole time, and even tried to get one up the back stairs. She saw me laughing at that one - I fell over after the log tripped me and was laughing so hard I couldn't stand up for a good 5 minutes).
The initial dependency on you that turns into deep, unequivocal love on both sides of the equation. As Audrey Hepburn once said, "Who thinks you're as fantastic as your dog?".
What is wonderful is that as they get older, the love gets even deeper. Arwen is now 8-1/2 and other than my close family members, I don't think I've ever loved anyone or anything as much as her. She is my best friend, my buddy, by crack-head. She's my grown up puppy and will always be super-cute to me :)

Tuesday's Treasures: My Healing Quilt is Here!!

~Working in My Office With the Healing Quilt~

Back in the spring, my mom and I went to her Quilter's Guild's Quilt Show in Ottawa, Ontario. We had a great time, I was amazed by all of the art (my mom's included), and saw some really neat vendors. I found my mom's birthday presents of a really neat book on quilting landscapes and some special fabric paper she needed, and she found my birthday present of an 'Easy' quilt kit. I liked the fabrics, plus, I figured that as it said 'easy', it would be easier for my mom to fit it into her already busy quilting schedule. We were only about 6 months early for our birthdays, but it was great! Fast forward through the summer, and my mom found the quilt kit's instructions to be fairly backward, it didn't include the borders or backing, and despite the fact that my mom is an advanced quilter, it was making her life tough (sorry Monna!!).

~Cuddling on the Couch With the Healing Quilt~

However, it is now finished, and I LOVE it!! It was made with so much love and kindness and is sooo comfy and warm. It has come just at the right time as well - the heat is now on full time in our house, and we just got less than 1/2 tank of furnace oil....for $324!! Needless to say, with prices like that the heat will be a little lower in our house this winter, and I will be curled up under my healing quilt, nice and cozy, and happy that I am surrounded (quite literally) in love. I have now discovered that I need to bring it with me everywhere in the house, as nearly the second I put it down....

~Usurped! Arwen Takes the Quilt~

...Arwen or Brennan takes it!! Here I got up to get a glass of water, and, sure enough, Arwen (with the seal if you notice) has usurped the quilt. At least it is easy to get it away from her - when Brennan takes it, he can hold on to it!! Not that I blame them...something made with this much love is hard to ignore (my dad even helped draw the hearts that my mom quilted)!

Thank you Monna and Daddoo, I LOVE my healing quilt!

I hope you all have a great day, see you tomorrow!

Melodious Monday - I LOVE Plurk!

Okay , okay, when I first heard about Plurk, ANOTHER site to social network, I thought my head would explode. Honestly, aren't I on enough sites already??? (See yesterday's posts for that). But after reading RoseWorksJewelry's blog post on how it is similar yet different to Twitter, I thought I'd give it a try. To me, it seems like a great merger between Twitter, Facebook and MSNChat. You can easily follow conversation threads, or ignore them. You can easily find your current friends, or make new contacts by following other's friends. Want to see people's lives but don't want to chat with them? Instead of becoming theyr "friend", become their "fan". You can't message each other, but you can see what the other is up to. It can automaticall post your updates to Twitter and Facebook as well, to save you posting time ifyou are into that.
Yup, I love Plurk! I've already met some cool people and I've gained 10 new followers to this blog in the past 2 days - welcome to all the new people, thank you for following me here!

Until next time, remember to enter my monthly contest by adding your name and email to my monthly newsletter (You have to sign up there first to be eligible to win!!), see the full contest details here.

Sweet Saturday - A Bracelet Fit for A Queen!

I made this bracelet yesterday after having a bit of a vision. If I had been asleep I would have called it a dream, but I was sitting doing something completely different and it just flashed into my head. I used large, 8mm Swarovski Crystal Pearls in 'natural white' and smaller, 4mm Swarovski Crystal Pearls in 'rosaline pink' and spaced them with sterling silver beads. I attached them with silver plated marquise connectors for a multi strand look, and then made an 'S' clasp with sterling silver wire that I hand formed and lightly hammered. I made a bead link to dangle from the clasp for a little extra luxury - it also makes the clasp look fancy so that the bracelet can be worn with the clasp on top or underneath. This is soft as silk and has a good weight to it - you feel it on, but it isn't too heavy. This will be a prefect gift for Valentine's Day or a special treat for any day - you'll feel like a queen wearing it, whether it's with a fancy dress or a pair of jeans.
This will be for sale shortly on my Etsy site - first come, first served! I only had enough large pearls for one of these, so until I order more, this is it!
Meghann

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 :)

In Loving Memory of a Wonderful, Furry Friend

~Gandalf March 30, 1995 - November 3, 2008~

Well after taking Gandalf to the vet for an exam on Saturday for a problem I had noticed with his hips, they asked us to bring him in today for x-rays of his pelvis and legs - they thought there might be something wrong with his knee as it crunches a bit when he walks. We brought him in this morning and the vet called a few hours later with their prognosis: his knees were OK, but his hips were the worst they had ever seen. He had arthritis and possibly a genetic disorder in both his hips, causing the hips joints to basically disintegrate. He hasn't really shown any sign of it as cats are quite adept at hidingpain and illness until it is too late and they are in absolute agony. Although we could put him on medication, with the possibility of having surgery to remove his hip joints, there would always be problems, even to the extent of destroying his kidneys. In the end, there was really only decision to make.
At 3:40PM today, Gandalf went to Kitty Heaven. He was a wonderful cat, full of love and purrs. Always happy to sit on a lap, sleep on my tummy, and eat any bit of fluff or bug he could find on the floor, he is survived by his canine friend,Arwen, his mom, dad, and Grand-monna and Grand-papa.
He was 13.
He will be greatly missed.
Many tears have been shed, and many more are still to come, but ultimately he is free of pain, free to chase any bird, bug and squirrel and free to visit his first canine companion, Willy. He will always get his girl, and will always be able to sleep in, on and around any and every shoe he wants. He will always have as much food as he can eat, without having to worry about someone saying he is a little on the heavy side.
Goodbye my fuzzy little buddy, my handsome little man. May you give head-butts to other friendly faces, may you impress everyone with your giant thumbs. We love you, miss you, and wish you well on this, your final journey to the litter box.
Thank you for being my bestest furry little guy. Mom will always love and remember you.
My heart is broken, but I know it was for your best happiness.
Meghann