Amie King Fine Art Jewelry

New Blog

2009-10-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Check out my new blog called louloupink.

Puppy Love, err.. obsession.

2008-12-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

As a matter of fact, it is not an obsession. I actually can hardly stand having those cute little peeing fur balls in my house. I do prefer the older, potty trained, don't wake me up in the middle of the night or early in the morning type fosters. My life has become a little obsessed with the rescue side of things. I have taken the administrator position for Gateway Pet Guardians, the rescue I have fostered for the past couple of years. It's fun. I love the marketing side of it. We are working toward raising enough money to purchase a facility for Gateway. You can read more about our adventure here. Don't worry, I will still be posting here on my blog, about the jewelry and other life's adventures, but I am spreading myself a little thin here lately.

Oh Sherman, You Devil

2008-11-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

So, you think that just because you put this sweater on me I am going to be cute, sweet and good? You are so wrong, lady. I am still going to chew on the brand new door stop in your brand new kitchen. And I am still going to pee on everything, including this new cute sweater, that is if I don't chew it off first. Cute I might be, but never good!

Driving me Batty

2008-10-31T06:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween all! I have a confession to make. I have trouble writing these entries without the pretty pictures to go along with them. Wouldn't you know it, that we broke another camera. When I say broke, I mean that my cute husband who likes to take things apart and put them back together did just that to the camera. Except this time, it has tape holding it together. There was a little spot under the lens that I would just photoshop out of my pictures, but drove Steve batty. So he decided to to try to get that whatever it was out of the camera. I think he got the fuzz out, but the camera is in a couple of pieces still. That is two cameras in six months, if you remember the honeymoon incident. Hence the lack of posts. Lack of inspiration.

It has been a crazy month. Dogs biting neighbors, dogs getting adopted, puppies being rescued, more dogs, kitchen under construction, dogs, dogs, dogs! I have about lost my mind. Alas, the kitchen is finished, the half bath is completed and now we will be starting on the bathroom upstairs. I will post before and afters of the kitchen as soon as I get a new camera. I love! love! LOVE! our new kitchen. I can cook again. I can take photos of what I cook! That is as soon as I get a camera.

Uhm, this weekend I will be in Memphis for the RiverArts Festival. It's only a 4 hour drive from St. Louis. I mean really, it could be a memorable road trip for your Halloween weekend. If I weren't doing an art show in Memphis on Halloween weekend, I would be driving to Memphis to go visit me at the art show. What? Ok, I am supposed to be leaving here in about negative 2 hours. My load in is in an hour and a half and I still haven't showered, loaded remaining things that need to be loaded, collected the random jewelry I have stashed around the house, gotten my directions together, gotten the puppy ready for his day with his mom away...you get the picture. I am late, and here I am talking to you. But, I haven't talked with you in quite a while, so I am sure RiverArts fest will understand. I hear they are pretty cool.

I leave you with a picture of one vicious, neighbor-biting dog, and one not so vicious, not neighbor-biting dog. Do you know which one is which?

Happy Endings!

2008-09-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Do you remember this pup? There were two of them, Uno, now Lulu & Dos, now Daisy. Lulu was adopted to a family who was also in the process of adopting a baby. I was not aware that they were adopting the baby, and it turned out that adopting a puppy and a baby at the same time proved to be a little much for one family. So, Uno found herself back in our home on Monday. She had spent a good portion of the last 10 months in a kennel, because the family did not have time for her. This neglect turned Lulu from a cute puppy with a lot of potential to a one year old dog who is scared of strangers. She is still cute though. Don't worry. The story gets better. I decided to email the woman who adopted Lulu's sister, just to see what her sister's temperament is like. Turns out that the family who adopted Lulu's sister, wanted to adopt Lulu too. I love happy endings. Isn't that just so sweet. Now the two sisters are together again, the Sullivan family has a new addition to it. Lulu already loosened up with all of the attention and wonderful neighborhood kiddos running around. It just makes me so happy.

Here is another one of the pieces I made last week...dedicated to the Sullivan family because they are saints! Flowers for them!

Welcome Fall!

2008-09-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

Finally! Finally! I love the fall. I look forward to it all year. It puts me in such a good mood. It is not very good for my pocket book, however. I always want to buy things for my house during the fall. Does anyone else have that urge? I don't know. I want to decorate and make things smell good around the house. I think it might have something to do with the fact that I know winter is just around the corner, and I will be spending a lot more time in this house, whether I want to or not. Therefore, I feel like I need to make the most of it.

I found the camera charger! I lost some tins that someone had ordered for a necklace, and in my frantic search for the tins, I found the camera charger. I never found the tins. See, that is what happens when your house is under construction. Don't worry though, I was able to come up with something for this customer that I think she was as happy with.

I have been busy these last couple of days that I have been without a camera and ignoring you. I will post all of the pieces that I have made soon. The one below is part of the new fall line. It kind of goes with the whole fall nesting theme. Preparing the house to be closed in for months during the winter. I call this necklace Nest Building.

Kitchen Crazy

2008-09-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Due to the insanity in my dining room, I am unable to find the battery charger for the camera, therefore unable to take any pretty pictures for you. I was however, able to catch a glimpse, for you, of how we are living before the camera died. I am pretty ready to have our new pretty kitchen, and to not live like this anymore. Our only source of water is upstairs. We have been doing our dishes in the bathtub now for 2 1/2 weeks. I am so not complaining because I know when it is all said and done it will be totally worth it. I can't wait!

I will be busy in the basement preparing for the Shaw show coming up at the beginning of October. I have some brand spanking new ideas for a new line. That is what I am going to work on this week. I have a few more custom orders to fill before I can start the creativity though.

It feels like fall is in full force here in St. Louis. It came a lot earlier than normal this year, and I could not be happier. I am thrilled about having our new kitchen, using our new fireplace and cozying up with some hot drinks. Maybe some hot chocolate or an Irish Tea. I can't wait! Steve is out of town for the next week working. It is just me and the dogs in our little bitty space we have left to live.

Have you ever heard of this company? I have recently become obsessed with them. The lighting in their photography, and the style of the sets they photograph on, not to mention the super fabulous clothes and home goods they sell. I am a woman obsessed. This is what I do. I find something I love, and I want to change everything in my house and wardrobe to look like that. Yes, this would be quite expensive if I actually followed through. But it is fun to dream about having those worn wooden floors, and woven cozy throws for my non existent beautifully upholstered early 1900's couch. So dreamy.

Oh! and Red is doing his home visit on Friday to his potential new and fabulous home. The young lady who is interested in Red is soooo sweet and will make a fabulous home for him. Red is still such a puppy and really needed someone young and ready to put the energy into that he will need. She adopting him depends on whether he is a good buddy to her brother's dog. Let's all hope, because I can just feel that this is the perfect home for Red. I was thinking about taking a break after Red, but I think I am going to foster all the way in to December and then take a break. My very patient husband says that is ok. We do need a little down time though. It is such a hard thing to stop, once you start fostering. I hope everyone had a great week, and if you are in St. Louis or any of the other towns that received terrible weather recently, you are recovering and getting things back together. There was a lot of flooding here in St. Louis, in places that do not normally flood. There were people floating in boats in the middle of Manchester (which is a major road in St. Louis). I cannot imagine losing everything. My thoughts are with those who have experienced this devastation.

Pretty Weather

2008-09-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

There were these three cardinals outside the front window this morning making such a ruckus and having so much fun that I had to go out and see what was going on. I was out just long enough to grab a photo of one of them before the dogs figured out how to open the front door and scared them off their perch.

I just wanted to drop in and tell you about the show this weekend. It was the BEST show I have ever done in many ways. People were buying and they were so friendly and wonderful and interesting. One of the women who bought this piece just returned from the Serengeti. She was there working with rescued elephants! What a dream. Really! It was great to talk with her.
There were so many great people at the show. Saturday was a 12 hour day plus setup and breakdown. I was delirious by the end of the day. A little on edge. But was able to come home and rest and be ready for the four hour day on Sunday. We could not have had better weather. It feels like fall here. Fall puts me in the best mood. It makes me feel like exciting things are about to happen. I don't know why. I think it stems from my youth. My birthday is in October, and my favorite holiday when I was young was Halloween. Not to mention the raking of the leaves. Like so many other children, I loved to jump in the leaves. Thinking about that now makes me itch. Ha ha, I think that means I am old. I used to put my cat Dixie in the leaves too. She would get all sassy and playful. I actually think she liked it.

I have a ton of custom orders to fill today. I am a little behind on orders. If you are one of those people I am getting back on track today and tomorrow. I have to admit that it is hard to get to work the day after a show is over. I am going to discipline myself and get down in that dungeon very soon.

My next show is the Shaw Art Fair at the end of this month. I have never done Shaw before, but I have shopped it plenty of times. I think it is the prettiest setting for an Art Fair that I have been to. I am really looking forward to being a part of it. The Shaw art fair is where I purchased my favorite bird bath ever by a woman named Jennifer Pass of Rock Candy Mosaics. I just love her birdhouse that she sells on etsy.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I could not help but think about all of the fun things I would be doing if I were not working. I decided my hypothetical weekend would consist of taking the dogs hiking somewhere around an animal friendly winery, stopping for a glass of wine and then heading home. Did you do anything fun in this fabulous weather?

Sneak Peek for the show this weekend!

2008-09-04T17:26:00.001-07:00

And the Doyd perched in his window like a cat. He has trouble getting down once he gets up there, so he stays there for long periods of time. He also poses for the camera. Love that dog.

Raindrops keep...

2008-09-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

It's raining buckets here. I love, love love the rain, but the dogs do not. I cannot get them to go outside on their own when it is even just sprinkling. So, I have to take the little princes and princess out one by one with an umbrella that sort of protects them. If they were smarter they would stay right next to me until they decide on their potty spot. Red will not stay still for the camera. He is the hardest dog I have ever tried to photograph. I will get a good one of him one of these days.

Oh! Oh! Clarence is in his new home. He has to be the luckiest dog ever! He went to PJ's sister and her husband. PJ is the woman who feeds the dogs in East St. Louis every single day since 2001. I drove Clarence to her sister's house on Monday (labor day). As we pulled into the private driveway, I gave Clarence a little talking to. It went something like this..."Now, Clarence, this is your chance to have the best home ever. This is your true life rags to riches story, and if you don't get it together within the next 5 seconds, you are going to blow it. Take a few deep breaths and get it together. You hear me! Clarence, stop looking at me like that. You are no longer a gangster, you are a prince that is going to have tons of land to run on, and horses to play with and a wonderful woman who will love you and make briscuit and slow roasted chicken for only five people and YOU, my friend will get the left overs." I did not really know about the briscuit before we pulled up, but Clarence got a little piece before any of the humans even ate. He was not on his best behavior as we had discussed, but apparently she is a patient woman. She was not bothered by his growling at her pups, nor his marking on her Ralph Lauren chair. It sounds like they are really going to keep him. I would love to say that I am happy to see him go, but I would be lying. I am happy for him, don't get me wrong, but I dreamt about him last night. I have never had a dream about a foster dog. Floyd's in trouble too. We figured out at the vet that his going to the bathroom in the house was not in fact thyroid issues, but because he missed Clarence while Clarence was in board training. Floyd and I are going to be a couple of blubbering sad dummies looking for Clarence in our dreams.

I am working on a design for a baby blanket that I am going to make. It is going to be of the softest organic cotton ever. The girl's blanket will have pink stitching squares and this design will be in the center. Steve and I created this little girl on paper. We are a really good team. I have an idea, tell Steve and draw it. He redraws it, and then I take that drawing and tweak what I think should be tweaked. Sometimes he will come back in and tweak some more. And this goes on until we think it is perfect. Next I drew her in Illustrator on my laptop, without a mouse. It hurt. So, I ordered a Wacom tablet in order to complete the other half of the drawing which will be a cold giraffe in need of that little girl's blanket. I am going to call it the Birthday Blanket. It is still a work in progress, but I thought I would give you a sneak peak! There will be a boy version too. But, back to that Wacom tablet. I am so excited about it, and so is Steve. It is like digital painting. Can't wait to see what we can create with it. We got the 9 x 12 tablet. I will let you know how it works for us. I am thinking it is going to be one of the best purchases ever. Alrighty, I should be making jewelry. The procrastination gene has kicked in. Schlafly Art Outside is tomorrow. It is supposed to be a beautiful weekend. I am really looking forward to this show. I hope to see you there!

Floyd the Doyd and his new pair of shoes.

2008-08-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your dog will not leave the porch because he does not like the way the grass or dirt feels on his feet?Put pink booties on him, of course.Ok, so if that does not work, take him to the vet to get his thyroid tested. Apparently this strange behavior is indicative of other issues. Maybe. Either that or Floyd is just neurotic.

Last night we went to my mom's house for her birthday. She has this little swing set clubhouse that she just bought for my niece Elena. Elena loves it and insisted on wearing her bicycle gloves while riding her glider. I will most likely be pretty absent over the next week or so. I have a show coming up and quite a few custom orders to fill. Unless the procrastination gene kicks in, which it probably will, I will be in my basement for a while. We are also rehabbing our kitchen. We just got all new windows in our house, and we start demolition on the kitchen on Tuesday! I am so excited. We are knocking down a wall, putting up a wall, getting all new cabinets and flooring and we are getting all new appliances. We are also turning the pantry into a bathroom. Weird huh? But we don't have a bathroom on the first floor of our house. I will post before and afters when it is all said and done. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Just Breathe

2008-08-21T06:51:00.000-07:00

I went to the chiropractor on Tuesday, and she popped, popped, popped me. It scared me. I think I am going to go to a doctor first and then I will go to a chiropractor if the doc says I should. Apparently my back bones are growing sideways. Not like scoliosis, but like when you adjust your vent to blow a different direction. All of my bones are blowing in a different direction. Probably due to pitching softball when I was younger. I used to pitch double headers straight through. Probably not such a good idea looking back. Back problems scare me and so does the adjustment process for fixing back pain. This sort of makes me stuck, because I hurt, but I don't want anyone to pop me. I do not know if you can hear the stress in my words, but I have been freaking out about this all week. So I made this necklace and stamped breathe on the back of it. Really I need to just settle down and breathe. But, making the necklace made my back hurt. Rahr!
Favorite house across the street. Old man Fletcher lives there, and he works outside all of the time with a ciggy hanging out his mouth. I like him. One time he kicked Steve's door in (before I moved in), because someone in the band was parked wrong in the street.

I like today because it is an over casty kind of sky and a little rainy. It reminds me of fall. I could live year round in this kind of weather.
my flowers.

my neighbors mushroom

The post dispatch (the St. Louis newspaper) called the other day asking me to pose for a photo shoot of up and coming art people in the St. Louis area. I was honored and thrilled. And then they told me that I will have to go to Neiman Marcus to pick up my ball gown and show up at 9am to meet with the stylist. Hee hee! Stylist? Ball gown? I mean am I going to be on America's next top model? I love that show! I am such a nerd. I know, all respect gone, right? It's artsy though. They dress up in all kinds of cool costumes and wear all kinds of cool heroine chic makeup. I love it. Anyway, look for me in the post. I'll let ya'll know when it comes out. The shoot is next Thursday.

The Irony

2008-08-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

I love these crocheted buttons. I can't remember if I told you about them in another post, so I will tell you again. I went to this estate sale about a year ago. It was advertised that it had LOTS of buttons. When I walked in the house, it was like a maze through all of the other stuff. There were about 20 signs on the wall with arrows that said "buttons". I followed the arrows to a closet FULL of jars of crocheted buttons. At the time I was thinking, that they would look pretty in one of the collages that I sometimes make as gifts for people.
I have so much stuff like that. Just sitting around, taking up space. I can't throw anything away, because it might be usable for art. Artists. Can you be an artist and not be a clutter bug? Tell me how if you know. Anyway, back to the buttons. So I stared in amazement at this closet, from floor to ceiling, from front to back filled with jars and jars of crocheted buttons. They were so pretty. And overwhelming. So I picked out two jars, looked very closely at them, put one back, and walked away, satisfied, a little overwhelmed, and a little sad that I wasn't buying them all. But, I couldn't say at the time what I would do with these buttons, so I was not allowed to buy more than one jar. Right? Anyway, this is one of the last good ones in the jar, and they make the most fabulous necklace pieces. I am so mad at myself because I should have bought all of the buttons. Had I known that I would make jewelry out of them I would have. I cannot find any more crocheted buttons anywhere.
I find this necklace kind of ironic, because I think these buttons are so pretty and delicate and sweet, and handmade by someone. They make me feel like I am in a Victorian home with all kinds of white linens. I don't know why. They just do. And all of the jewelry I have made with them make me feel that way too. Except for this one. Although I stamped just lovely on the back of it (this happens before the necklace is finished), I think it is rather chaotic. Don't get me wrong, it wears very nicely, but I just don't know if it is "just lovely". It is kind of sarcastic I suppose. The necklace is almost just lovely.

It's sort of like my life now. The chaos. It is insane here. Clarence, the D.O.G. Gangster is home from his thousand dollar board training. It really helped, as much as one can help a four year old feral gangster dog. And then Red, the chained E. St. Louis junk yard dog is here too. Oooh! they do not like each other. It is a constant battle to keep them from eating one another. But, then again, if they really want to eat one another, they would have already. So I kind of think they are just messing with me. And to top it all off, Red is going through heart worm treatment, which means that he is not supposed to move much. It stresses me out, because I struggle with having to kennel him, and then letting him out of his kennel if he would just lay nicely. But then the growling and paws up in the air starts and he has to be put in his cage again. We have another 4.5 weeks of this.

AND to top it all off, I being the old lady that I am have a hurt hip. I have had a hurt hip for some time now. It's for no reason, which is even more old lady like. Just suddenly 3 years ago, my hip started hurting. A chiropractor popped it back in place a while back, and voila!, all better for 3 years. And yesterday, out of nowhere it was like my bones were rubbing together. After seeing the chiropractor and getting x-rays, I shall have the results today. I know what their going to say. They are going to say, "your old". Get used to it. Off to the chiropractor to be told I'm old.

I want a Pony.

2008-08-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

I really do want a pony. I want lots of ponies. The beginnings of the rescue are consuming me...in a good way. I feel like I am back in school, learning so much about nonprofits and how to fund a project like this. The best part about it is that I will be offering metalsmithing classes once we get our facility up and running. I cannot wait to start rescuing animals and to start teaching. I cannot imagine any three things I would love to be more involved with on a daily basis; kids, animals and art. What more can you ask for. I have really found my calling. Now we just need to get it up and running. We are accepting donations finally at the Creative Rescue blog. Ain't too proud to plead, baby. We will get this up and running within the next year. Stay posted!

I leave you with the cuteness.

Etsy Front Page! Yay!

2008-08-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

Thank you leavesofglass

Michaela's Debut

2008-08-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, besides that beautiful piece of art she made me a while back. I suppose that was her real debut. Michaela won a contest I put on a couple months back. I just got around to making the piece. I think Michaela will be happy to know that 100% of the proceeds from her necklace will go to Creative Animal Rescue & Art Education Center. Thanks Michaela!

Where it all begins:

2008-08-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

These drawings are for a custom order from a great customer. It took me some long, thoughtful nights of thinking about what I was going to do for him. He wanted earrings, a ring, and a necklace; all that would kind of go together. He was very specific about his request. We met and talked a number of times about his wife and what he wanted for her. It is their anniversary, and he wanted to do something very special. I could tell by the way he spoke about her how much he adores and appreciates her. I thought it would be fun to show how I start a project like this, and then to show and explain the end results.
The ring was the first design I came up with in my head. It fit perfectly with what Colin wanted for his wife. The oxidation and patina will change over time revealing new areas of metal. I thought this would represent the changes that Colin's wife Kim has been through over the years with her changing career and her drive to achieve what she loves. The ring has five rivets that represent their five children. The swirls represent the craziness that life can sometimes be, but beauty can still be found within that craziness. The lone sapphire represents Kim and how much she does to support her family.

Colin picked out the tin in the center of the necklace, that says EVENTUALLY. He picked this to represent Kim's journey. Colin knows that through her hard work and dedication, she will "eventually" reach her goals. The swirls around the tin represent the trials and tribulations of getting to that point, and the singular blue sapphire represents the beginning and the end to her journey.

The oxidized silver swirls represent Kim's & Colin's strong bond. The three circles that are on the necklace and the earrings represent their family unit. The single hanging pearl on each earring represent the fact that Colin and Kim are still themselves and have been able to hold onto that throughout their relationship and still love one another.

Happy anniversary you two!
The funniest part about this whole thing is that about a month after I initially spoke with Colin about creating these pieces for Kim, Kim called me to commission this piece for Colin's birthday. I had to bite my tongue every time I spoke with her. I had to not reveal all of the things that I already knew about her. I only called Colin "your husband" to assure that I was not presuming that she had told me his name. Uhg! It was hard, because I am the biggest blabber mouth in the world. I am so glad that I did not spill the beans.

Pretty Front Page!

2008-08-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks Jennreese7!

Where did spring go?

2008-08-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

It is a smothering 90 degrees here in St. Louis, but it feels like 100. I melt when I go outside. I found this photo in my camera from the spring. How I miss spring, and look forward to fall. So much for living in the moment. It is hard to do in St. Louis. I always wonder why anyone lives here. It is a great town, but the weather is horrendous. Cold, cold winters, and brutally hot summers. We usually get about 6 weeks of nice weather (if we are lucky) all year round. I wish I could transplant all of the people I love, and the people they love to Seattle, or Portland, Oregon.

All of the ideas for jewelry that I have as of late, are animal related. Animal on the brain. I call this necklace Heart Guard. All of the proceeds go to Creative Animal Rescue. You can purchase it on my etsy account. This handsome, silly boy is Red. Red was chained his whole life. Before he was rescued he was wrapping himself up so bad around a fence that he was choking himself. His owner did not care. He said that if the dog was dumb enough to wrap himself up, he deserved it. They finally talked him into letting us take Red. He has been in board training for 3 weeks and just came to us on Wednesday. He is the most trained dog we have in the house. Clarence is now in board training. He is going to be a completely different dog. I miss him a lot. He is going to find the best home when he is all done with training. I do love that dog. When I say "most trained", that is not really saying much. These pictures were really hard to get. That stare above is at a treat. He would sit there for maybe 3 seconds and then go after the treat. He is very food motivated. He has heartworm, so he is way under weight. I am not sure how much he was fed by his previous person either. We're going to get him all back in shape and ready for his new home. He is going to be a fabulous dog, and now has another chance at life. Yay Red!

Here I am!

2008-07-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

Steve watched the animals while I was gone. In order of the drawing: Frankie, Xena, Herman, Clarence and Floyd. Steve is a saint.
I think toward the end, he was running out of patience. This card was waiting for me when I got home. Notice Clarence jumping the fence in the background, and the puddle on the floor from the puppy. I laughed for about an hour looking at this card. Funniest husband ever.
The weekend in Orland Park was not quite so funny. We arrived on Friday night and set up our tents. Apparently there was a storm the next morning that I slept straight through. When we got there on Saturday morning my tent was all discombobulated . I walked inside to find nothing but my plastic tables and glass on the ground. The joints on my Showoff tent had been duct taped together where they had snapped from it falling. I held back my tears to find a volunteer, thinking that I was just going to pack up and go hang out with my friend Amy who lives in Chicago. This could not have happened at a better show! The volunteers saved everything except one cabinet and my tent. They loaned me a tent. All and all it was a fun show to do and the folks of Orland Park are a great people. Plus, I still got to hang out with my wonderful friend Amy. I also got to meet her lovely son Jonah. He is so cute!

Oh, but the weekend is not over. After the show on Sunday we packed up to drive home, got on the road around 6 p.m. and headed for home. About an hour into the trip the van quit working in a town called Gardner, IL. Never heard of it? Me neither. That's because there is a gas station there. That's it. No motel, no cab service, no tow company. It took us 2.5 hours to finally track down a tow truck that could come get us and bring us to the nearest civilization about 15 miles away. Turned out that the transmission broke in the van. Pretty much not worth repairing. I won't go into the gory details of that situation, but let's just say that poor Heather and Ben left their van to live in Dwight, IL. Ben drove the 4 hours to come retrieve us from Dwight. We sat in the same and only restaurant in Dwight for 5 hours. Ate breakfast and lunch there. Stared at each other. Laughed at the situation. There may have been a few tears too. It was quite the fiasco. It was so nice to be home on Monday, only to leave for Sheboygan on Friday.

These are pictures of all of our stuff that barely fit in the truck that Ben drove up. I don't think we could have fit another dime in there.

Heather hating on her van. no longer her van at this point.

Me stuffed in the extended cab, ready for my four hour trip home!
I don't want to talk about Sheboygan. Let's just say that I am considering not traveling out of state for shows anymore. The good news is that we figured out a way for my tent and all of my supplies to fit in my car. Steve does not have to sell blue thunder, and I get to keep my 40 mpg Yaris. Yippee!

Herman found a home! He was adopted by the sweetest couple near St. Louis. I hope he does silly things like this for them. He is going to be so happy there. He just jumped right in their car, ready for his new perma-home.
The new blog for our rescue has begun. It will document our journey in starting our own rescue and art education center. Click the link below to read more about us.

Jeez!

2008-07-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

I am so embarrassed to say that I am pining after these shoes from Walmart. I don't shop at Walmart, so I will not own those $14.88 pair of shoes. But, oh how I love those shoes from Walmart. The reason I do not shop at Walmart is because they are closing down, or let me rephrase, have closed down all small businesses and eliminated competition among anyone and everyone. They do not treat their employees well (as they lie about) and there are about a gazillion other reasons to boycott Walmart. They are ridiculous. Boycott Walmart! Even if they have the cutest shoes I have ever seen. Rahr!

Eating Habits

2008-07-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

After reading about the Humane Society's recent investigations of Dairy cow treatment, I have decided to stop eating dairy and eggs. Until there is legislation that holds these companies accountable for their treatment of the cows, I will be holding the dairy. I always thought that a vegan diet was a boring diet. That is until Oprah got on the vegan train. She has some of the best chefs making sure that she still enjoys her diet, regardless of what that diet might be. Tonight I made the Artichoke and Oyster Mushroom Rockefeller. I did not have rock salt (I used margarita salt) or the spirts, but it was still absolutely delicious. I HIGHLY recommend this recipe. It even got Steve's stamp of approval.

We had a fun 5th of July. We went to our friend's Jesse & Carroll's house for a little celebration. At the end of the night, they decided they wanted to meet Clarence. We went and got him, he stayed the night, is back home now and they are thinking about whether they are ready for a dog. Clarence would be perfect for them, and I hope! hope! hope! that they decide to adopt him so that I can know him for the rest of his life. Send good adoption vibes, please.

This weekend I will be in Illinois at the Village of Orland Park Art Fair. Steve is outside making my weights for the tent so I don't blow away in Illinois. Thank goodness for Steve. I do love that boy.

Old Mr. Herman is moving on.

2008-07-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

I call this necklace 'Sling Your Hook'. It is what pirates used to say when they were ready to pull the anchor and move on. It also has a British meaning of let's go , or move on. So, there ya go, let's all sling our hook, move on from whatever is holding us back.
This is Herman. He is moving on from that yucky Jefferson County Pound. He is 10 years old, skin and bones. I think once we kick the cold and get him on something for his hind legs, he will be a little spunkier. We had to shave him because he was so matted. He looks a bit like a gremlin now, but will have really pretty curly hair, once he grows it out. I miss having an old dog around. They are so much sweeter than the young spunky ones.

Isn't he handsome?

I hope everyone has a great wonderful and relaxing holiday weekend.

NO MORE PUPPY MILLS.

2008-06-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

If any one reading this knows someone looking for a specific breed of dog at any age, please educate them on how to find their perfect dog. The videos below show a raid of one mill in TN. These horrific puppy mills are all over our country. There are rescues all over the United States that will have THE breed of puppy or dog that you want. There is NO need to go out and buy one from a store, or a breeder. It is such a small thing and YOU can make the difference for these dogs. If no one purchases dogs from the puppy mills, then they will no longer have a reason to do what they do. Please spread the word. Watch these short videos to find out what you are supporting by purchasing a dog from a store or puppy mill breeder. Please rescue your dogs! And if you are having trouble locating the specific breed at the age that you are looking for, please contact me. I will be more than happy to help. Click on the videos below to see the puppy mill rescue in TN.

AND I pulled that German Wiredhaired Pointer from Jefferson County Pound today, now known as Herman. I officially have too many dogs. He is the sweetest guy. I will post pictures when he feels like letting me take them. His bones hurt and he wants to lay in his kennel because the Clarence monster scares the bejeezus out of him. He is skin and bones, a senior dog at 10 years old with some hind leg issues. And he has a cataract. I have not had an elderly dog in my house since Bailey. I have a great affection for the old guys. Thank you to German Wiredhaired Pointer Rescue of Kansas for funding the rescue of Herman!

Rescue Me

2008-06-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

I call these earrings rescue me. It is stamped on the back. I think it is fitting.
This is Steve's car. He picked me up on our first date in what we now affectionately have coined 'Blue Thunder'. He was lucky I liked him so much, because when he pulled up, I had to bite my tongue to not say, "What possessed you to buy this car?" I didn't and so he asked me out on another date. Now that we are married, I need a mini van for my art shows. We had the option to either sell my brand new Yaris that gets 40 mpg, or Steve's turbo blue thunder that gets, not a bad, 25 mpg. That's no 40. I was ok with either I swear. Steve chose to sell blue thunder all on his own, I swear. Ahh, married life, trading the sports cars in for mini vans already. So, I don't know who is sending out the S.O.S; me from the get go of having to ride around in the sporty, ground affects, huge spoiler car we call blue thunder, or Steve who after only 1 month of marriage has to sell his blue baby. I think it might be Steve. I dedicate these earrings to you, honey. Soon, you will have your motorcycle, and you will feel rescued. I promise.

Front Page, so pretty.

2008-06-25T16:38:00.001-07:00

Thanks jennreese7!

Pointless Picture

2008-06-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

This is the chair I was supposed to be sitting in to take a picture of myself wearing the necklace below.
I call this necklace Teach & Grow. You can put your own meaning behind it.

I am getting ready to go out to the Jefferson County Animal Control to take photos of a cute 8 year old German Wired Haired Pointer. Trying to get a specific rescue to take the poor guy. He just looks so miserable. I will post pictures of him when I get home. He is probably going to be euthanized tomorrow if someone does not rescue. It is the same for all of the animals there. Always in danger of being put down. It is so sad. And people put their animals in this position. There are so many owner surrenders to this place where they know their dog or cat will be killed. I just don't get it. I will show you this cutie when I get home.

Fling, Flang, Flung

2008-06-24T07:53:00.001-07:00

Flang is not a conjugation of fling.
I just flung toothpaste in my eye. There was no one else to tell about it besides the dogs, and it burns really bad. I flushed with water, so I think I will be ok. I used to wear contacts, and had to use eye drops all of the time. One time in high school before the Switch dance (is that what it was called?...girl invites boy), I accidentally put ear drops in one eye. Only one eye, trust me. It hurt so bad. My ma wanted to take me to the emergency room, but I just HAD to go to my dance. My aunt Colleen had made this cute, sparkly, gold dress, and I could not pass up the chance to wear it. So, I flushed and danced the night away. What all this has to do with that cute lady bug up there, I have no idea. I was just in my garden and there she was. I thought she was pretty, so I ran in and got the camera. I set the camera on the patio table after I was finished and then turned the sprinkler on. Almost lost another camera. If you remember, Steve jumped in the ocean with our camera on our honeymoon.

You're scaring me a little bit, little puppy, please don't kill me.

Oh, wait, I'm bigger than you.

Actually that was Frankie yawning. But, she is a little scared of the puppy. As are all of the big dogs. They don't get it. I try to tell them that they were all once little pups, but they don't believe me.

I took Xena: Warrior Princess to the vet to investigate a few problems. The sores on her foot and tail are from her sitting in her own feces for an unthinkable amount of time. Who leaves a puppy sitting in her own feces long enough for it to eat through her skin? This is a prime example of why I need to start the animal rescue people education camp I spoke about in this blog entry. Not only do a ton of animals need saving, but a TON of people need some teaching as well. I thought I would document the process of beginning the rescue camp in this blog. Eventually I will start an entire new blog devoted to the camp, but for now, events should be far enough in between that I will talk about it here. Currently, I am reading this very exciting book. It would be quite the snore if I was not so excited about doing this. As soon as I get through this, we will begin writing our articles, file to incorporate, and then file as a 501(C)(3), tax exempt charity. Woo! I think I got all that right. I am still learning. I have been looking for land too. LOTS of land. We are going to have to raise the money to purchase the land, so it may be a little bit of time, but I know we have our first donors. I am looking at 150 acres in Marthasville. I would prefer to do it somewhere a little more touristy, like Ste. Genevieve, but land is quite a bit more out there. If you have any suggestions where I can find 150 or more acres, near St. Louis, please let me know.

Xena: Warrior Princess

2008-06-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

Look how vicious she is. She is a 5 week old Akita mix (we think). She terrorizes my 80 lb dogs and has no fear of any two legged creatures in the house, including my 6'6" husband. Our cries of pain from her little sharp puppy teeth do not seem to bother her either. I pulled her from the Ladue pound. She has horrific sores on her tail and leg. They have healed quite a bit, but I am surprised they did not amputate her tail, with the looks of it now, "healed". I also think she might be blind in one eye. She has a cloudy spot where it looks like she was poked. I have been trying to test her, but she doesn't really pay much attention to me anyway, so it's hard to tell. Who ever had her partly shaved her too. Weird. Why would anyone shave a puppy? This is her being cute. Which is how she normally looks. Luckily she is young enough to still be turned into a lovable dog.

I am in love all over again

2008-06-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

Just now I was reading one of my favorite blogs, and came across her mention of the band She & Him Volume One with M. Ward & Zooey Deschanel. You know, that hot chica from Elf. I immediately went to iTunes and downloaded the entire album. The song that Alicia had on her site is what made me decide to download the entire thing without listening. I am listening as we speak, and I think it might be my favorite album since I first heard The Cowboy Junkies The Trinity Sessions. And that is HUGE! Holy Cow! This is huge.

Why not start a rescue?

2008-06-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever stepped back and taken a look at what you are doing and said, "humm, what else?" It is something I probably do too often. Not always in a philanthropic way, for me, but sometimes. This is one of those times. Unfortunately, the Chesterfield show this weekend was quite a drag. There was not even anyone to ignore my cute booth. I at least would prefer for some potential ignorers. So, I sat for a long time thinking about what to do. This is not a reflection on how I feel about the jewelry I am currently making, nor on art in general, but more like I had too much time on my hands to think. It always gets me stirring, and gets me onto other things. I am not sure how many of you know that I started, and did not finish, a masters degree in Social Work at Wash U, here in St. Louis, two years ago. So, there, I tied it all together, that is what I am about to tell you. You know I foster, you know I love art, and now you know that I have a strong desire to work in some sort of social bettering element. So, the story goes that I was sitting alone with my free glass of white wine (the only thing that compensated for the deadness of the show), and all I could think about was opening a wildlife, farm and domestic animal sanctuary. It will be a camp for children, to teach compassion for all living things, a rehabilitation center for the animals. I think a week of animals might not be enough diverse curriculum for an entire week, so it will offer art classes, music classes, yoga, and maybe even an organic gardening lesson or two. I believe that what a lot of our schools are lacking and cannot afford to offer children are most likely some of the most important things that we can give. So, if you were wondering where the "saving the world, one necklace at a time", came in I think I finally nailed it. It is a multi-multi million dollar daunting undertaking, but I am reading a "how to start a non-profit" book, and I am pretty sure that by page 230, I will be an expert, and will have 30 mill sitting on my door step. I will keep you posted. The Doyd has already donated a dollar.

Chesterfield Art in the Parking Lot This Weekend!

2008-06-14T05:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it started last night. Again, my tent almost blew away. I guess I didn't tell you about last weekend. There were crazy rainy winds that came through Art & Air. For some reason I stayed in my tent. I think it was because it was raining too hard to run the two feet to the car. I am glad I stayed because I caught my tent mid air. I had weights, but they are not good enough. Apparently, I did not learn my lesson, because I did not bother to get new weights. Out of site, out of mind. So, yesterday, I was caught in the same position of holding down my tent with all of my might. By the next show I WILL have stabilizing bars and better weights. I am going to lose my tent one of these times if I do not figure it out. It is all such a matter of trial and error. I see artists that have been doing this for 40 years, and they really have it down pat. I hope to catch on faster than 40 years from now. Speaking of artists who have been doing this for 40 years, I met the most wonderful couple at Art & Air this past weekend. Richard Gruchalla & Carrin Rosetti make the most beautiful pottery. And, to top it off they are the sweetest couple who travels doing their art all year. They adopted Winnie, the most wonderful small dog ever. So hard to give her up, but it is reassuring to know what a loving family they are and how much love and attention she is going to get in her lifetime now.

I have more stories about last weekend to share, and I am sure that there will be plenty more from this weekend. It is always an adventure. But, now I have to get ready to go. I hope to see you all at the Chesterfield Art in the Parking Lot!

Oh, and above is a close up of my new booth. I have it set up differently this weekend, so I will take a good over all photo today. The material you see is by Anna Maria Horner. Check out her website. She makes the best material, kitchen towels, aprons, paintings and her house is an inspiration. I have never been, but I sneak peaks of it on her blog. Have a great weekend and a wonderful Father's Day!

Art & Air this weekend!

2008-06-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

I hope to see you at Art & Air this weekend. I am so excited to have my first show of the season. It has been a little delayed because of the wedding/honeymoon. This show always has a great array of artist. There is some real talent that comes from all over the country. It is my favorite show that I have done.

The art shows are not the only projects that were delayed because of the wedding. If you remember, last year we had to put straw down in the backyard, because The Bobs tore up the grass with all of their huge playfulness. Steve tilled up the entire back yard and we laid seed. I made my food garden. It is huge! I will take proud pictures when all of the seeds begin to sprout. Right now, it just looks like a bunch of labeled piles of mud. As far as you know, I could have just put those cute little signs out there and planted nothing. The following weekend I bought all kinds of native plants, and made my little native garden. A native garden can be a good choice for less maintenance. They are a little easier on the environment since they don't require as much water as those plants that do not naturally grow here in Missouri. Those blooms are Poppy Mallow. I think they are so pretty. It is the first flower that bloomed for me in the combined Simmons' household.

So, I really shouldn't be sitting on the couch, procrastinating, talking to you. I should be getting ready for the big show. Talking to you is so much more fun than getting ready. I hope you have a great weekend, and if you can, I would love to chat it up at Art & Air.

Amie who?

2008-06-02T20:31:00.001-07:00

Oh my. It has been so long. I have missed you pretty bad. Please let me explain. First, I got married, and then we went on our honeymoon. And then, that guy I married jumped into the ocean with the digital camera in his pocket. And then, I lost the little attachment screw on thingy that holds my camera on my tripod. And now, I have my first show of the season this weekend, and not that it is a very good excuse to take such a long hiatus from you, but there they are; weak, but true.

I have all kinds of jewelry to show you that I still have not photographed, so I will get on that soon. That is, unless I sell it first and am too busy or lazy to photograph. But, I have all of my gear back in place. Check, check. The dining room table is ready for my little photograph tent and such. It gets quite neglected as a food table because of all of my art stuffs that takes over. I am a piles person. It drives me crazy. My piles are insane. Piles here, piles there. I get so mad because I think that I am a neater person than Steve. I look at the piles, and say to myself, "Ahrg, I wish he would clean up his piles." And then, upon further inspection, lo and behold, it is all of my crap. Touch it once, isn't that the rule?

The wedding was wonderful. Everything was yellow and gorgeous. If you would like to see a quick slide show, click here. Will Jackson was our photographer, and I don't think we could have found a photographer who suited our idea of how the pictures should look better than him. Oh, how I love those pictures. There are a total of 450. If you really want to see them all, just email me. I have only looked at them in their entirety, about five or six times. Oh, maybe more.

Our honey moon was supers fabulous. The place was ridiculous. I felt silly being waited on like that, but now would like to have it back.

And then the dogs. I caught the tail end of that repeat Oprah show on my first day back. You know the one about the puppy mills. I cried my eyes out, and then immediately got on the petfinder site of the most heart breaking animal control shelter that I know of in MO. Found a couple of dogs I thought I could find homes for and went to work. My wonderful friend Sarah Kalish took one of the Jack Russells that was going to get put down. She already adopted it out to her neighbors. They sound fabulous. I would really like to go back for this Beagle too. Any takers?

In the mean time, someone dumped Winnie, this adorable Terrier in my vet's backyard. He thought his dogs had a rabbit when he looked out the window, but it was this little girl. He asked me if I would foster her, and I couldn't refuse. She is so cute, and Dr. Diesel has done so much for our rescue. I think he is the best vet around. Anyway, Winnie is all healed, and I think I have found a home for her. She is a sweet little lap dog with very little baggage for what she has been through.

I promise I will be back soon with jewelry. Jewelry blog, right?

I got nothin'.

2008-05-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

It is killing me because all I have been working on is wedding stuff. Most of the projects are gifts for people, so all of my creations cannot be shared until after the honeymoon. Sorry, I got nothin'. Except, I woke up and was on the front page of etsy! Thank you Kelly Baldwin Design!

Breakfast in bed!

2008-04-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

That's why he's my future husband. Thanks honey!

The BEST advertising ever...

2008-04-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

Etsy front page. It really does not get any better. Thank you Storque!

Wedding Geek

2008-04-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

The big day is approaching. I did not think I would nerd out about the wedding, but I have gotten pretty into the crafty. I do love the crafty. As mentioned in an earlier blog, our colors are yellow and brown. I have become quite obsessed with the theme. Above is the cake topper that I made. I totally snagged the idea from PatchNYC. I would have purchased it from them, but our budget has gotten a little tight. In the end, I did not spend quite as much on it as they charge, but with the time, thought and effort put into finding everything to go on it, not to mention painting those faces, the ones they sell are totally worth every penny.

Steve and I did the invitations together. He, of course drew the cute little people and did most of the design. Ok, I will stop geeking out about our wedding. This is a jewelry blog, right?

Speaking of jewelry, after I sent the charms out to the contest winners, I received a lovely surprise from two of the sweet people who won. Michaela sent me this beautiful drawing. It actually looks like my dog Frankie. She won with the word "Dogs Rule". And now she knows they rule because it is stamped on a necklace. She is eight. Don't you think she is going to be a famous artist one day?
And, Lynn Kaiser sent me this beautiful purse charm. She sells these in her etsy shop. It just so happened that one of my bridesmaids gave me this vintage purse for one of my showers to use at the wedding. I think they look so nice together.
Thank you ladies!

Strong Deer

2008-04-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

I have so much to talk about, but so little time. I will post more in a little bit, like tomorrow, but here is a new piece I made. Another one of the set of deer that I cast in my class, decorated with 14kg filled wire, fresh water pearls, and the prettiest turquoise I have ever seen in my life. I like this one because it's another doe, but the gold reminds me of the buck's antlers. Almost like she is carrying the weight of both mother and father. I think she is so sweet and graceful.Have I ever told you about that time, when I was in college and my dog Bailey was attacked by a deer? I was at my parent's house getting ready to leave the country and they were watching Bailey for me. The house I grew up in backed to some not-so-serious woods, yet we always had deer in our back yard. I was making breakfast, and all of the sudden I heard, Bailey howling in pain, crying like I had never heard him cry before. I ran out to the deck only to see a buck lifting Bailey (a 75lb English Setter mix, mind you), and Bailey rolling while being trampled by the deer. I watched this happen three times before I could get down the steps to very wimpily clap my hands. It was enough for the deer to pause and let Bailey loose. The deer stared me down, until I yelled, "Get out of here." And he did. Bailey was ok. I am now late getting ready for my first dance lesson. I'll let you know how it goes. yikes!

Juicy

2008-04-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

I just read my cousin and fellow artist, Heather Haymart's, latest blog entry. She has a fabulous idea about an awards ceremony for artists. Kind of like the Emmy's or the Grammy's, or the Tony Awards and such. Wouldn't that be great, to at the very least, be able to watch on tv, attend or win an award! I think it is such a great idea. Maybe we can get something started by just blogging about it. Pass on the blog until someone picks up the idea with some connections. The arts could definitely use more recognition and funding in schools than what they get, and maybe this would be a way to get that initiated.

It's Friday! I hope everyone has a super weekend. I am starting it off right by going to Chaumette winery with my friend Sarah to get massages and drink wine and eat delicious food. Chaumette is where Steve and I are getting hitched. I think I am more nervous about this massage than getting married. I have never had a professional massage before, and it kind of creeps me out to think about. But, Sarah insists that it is the best thing ever, and I trust her, so here we go.

Circus Weekend

2008-04-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

I made this necklace yesterday. The center piece is an old dime that my Aunt had cut out and made into cuff links for my late Grandpa King. I cut the back off of the cuff link and then made a surround for the dime out of silver. The green button sits in a 14kg bezel. It was my Grandma's button. She gave me a bunch of pretty buttons a while ago. The back has the word 'Love' stamped on it. It is not for sale because it is a little near and dear to my heart.

Yesterday I had my first wedding shower. I am not used to that kind of attention. It makes me paranoid. But, I had so much fun and my cousin Heather did such a beautiful job putting it all together. I wish I would have brought my camera because she made this fabulous Tiramisu style cake. And there was this oh so delicious fruit salsa. I need the recipe for all of it.

Kind of a circus weekend here at the King/Simmons household. I have two wedding showers, a trivia night/silent auction for my rescue, and an artist friend is coming to stay in town with us! I love circus weekend. I also have a friend coming in town for one of the showers, from Indiana, who I wish I had more time to spend with.

Speaking of the trivia night, I would just like to thank all of the folks who donated to our rescue. Peg Fetter, a brilliant jewelry artist here in St. Louis gave a gorgeous necklace and a beautiful bracelet. If you have not yet checked out Peg's jewelry, please do! She made both my engagement and wedding ring. Cindy Neal of Neal framing donated gift certificates to her fabulous frame shop. She does not have a website, but can be found in a phone book. Remember those? Also, Purina foods donated a years supply of dog and cat food. It is amazing how generous people are.

I hope everyone is well, and you have a relaxing weekend. I think I will be able to relax again after May 10th. Well, definitely on our honeymoon.

Howdy Doody

2008-04-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Steve and I were talking tonight at dinner about what a strange thing the food chain is. And what strange creatures we are that chew, swallow and digest food. Anyway, I used to think about it a lot when I was young and thought it was even stranger then, than I do now. My brother and I used to have this ventriloquist Howdy Doody doll that seemed, to be at the time, life sized. (kind of looked like the one in the picture above, except I remember it having a gray suit.) I used to feed it potato chips. Read, didn't understand the digestive system at the time. Suffice to say, my Ma threw the darn thing away. I was so upset. Apparently, it had a pretty foul smell. Now that I think about it, I don't know where those chips would have landed. I guess his stuffing. I do not remember the smell. I just remember Howdy Doody, who really liked ruffled potato chips.Today I finished this piece that I thought of in the middle of the night a couple of days ago. The deer was done in my lost wax casting class. The copper is hand cut and then I use a patina on it to give it that blue effect. A pearl is set in a 14k gold bezel. I call it 'Guardian'. The deer seems so maternal to me, sitting on her beautiful egg with all of that insanity going on around her. Just like a mama.

Handsome Fella

2008-03-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

I found this little handsome fella at Roots, one of my favorite antique stores here in St. Louis. They were fostering him until he found his perma home. I think he is the best. He likes my jewelry too. The piece that he is playing with in the photo was a test run. It is the first time I have ever made a hinge (tricky) and clasp. Keum Boo is the process I used for the gold treatment. I have not perfected this yet either, but love the look. It doesn't show up all that well in this photo. I will post a photo of the next piece I use the process on close up.

I have been day dreaming about having a new shiny studio. Steve and I have been talking about knocking down the current crappy garage and building a 2 story garage with the second floor being my studio. It will have sliding patio doors on floor 2 that lead to a flower infested deck that overlooks the yard. That way, I can yell at the dogs with out having to go downstairs. "Stop barking!" Essentially, I just join the barking festivities when they bark because it sounds to them like I am barking. Really, I don't yell that much. Really.

Fire!

2008-03-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Steve, my ma, her friend and I are going to see the Cowboy Junkies. I am so excited! It has been quite a few years since I have seen them live. I own a ridiculous number of their cds, I think like 16, but they are all so good. If you have not gotten into the Cowboy Junkies yet, go download their album now!

I set myself on fire today. I always wear a mask when I am working, or at least try to. I felt something hot near my face and looked out of the corner of my eye, and I saw that I had set the elastic band on my mask on fire. Not just little simmers, an all out flame. I put it out with my hand. I was afraid that if I waited till I could take the mask off I would set my hair on fire (luckily I don't wear hairspray). I only burned my hand a little. No more than I normally burn myself while making a piece. It was all worth it, because I really like the new ring, right?

The Dungeon, yikes!

2008-03-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Here is my insane studio. As mentioned in a prior blog entry, I cannot get organized. I don't even know if you can call it organized disorganization. Can you? Isn't that really just an excuse for people who can't get organized? The studio, as you can probably tell, is in the basement. I struggle to go down there everyday. I call it the dungeon. I am fine once I get started, but getting there is a struggle. I really think it is getting in the way of my productivity. Now you have a before. I will show you the after when I get it how I really want it. And then you can help me stay organized. Hold me to it, please!

Contest Winners!

2008-03-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Oops, I had to pick 6 because they were all so good! It was so hard to choose. I did not realize how difficult this would be. Thank you so much to everyone for your great ideas and entries. I wish I could pick them all, but alas, I had to decide. FYI, I put them all nameless in a different file and picked my favorites without knowing who wrote it, to be fair. I am getting ready to run out, but I wanted to get this posted today. To the ladies who were picked: Please email me with your address and what you would like your custom necklace to say. Thanks again to all of you for the great response. I was way excited to see everyone's ideas. They were all really wonderful!

Lynn Kaiser--Illuminate
Michaela Kaiser--Dogs Rule

Sandy Snead--Cupcake
Bernie Berlin--Jovial
Laura Masters--Evolve
Emma O'brien--Carpe Diem

Congratulations and have a great weekend!

Happy Spring!

2008-03-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Why is it that when I have the most to do, when I am in the middle of creating a new line, when I have a gazillion pieces to make for upcoming shows, when I am planning a wedding, I seem to have a burning insane desire to clean. Is that a procrastination thing? Does anyone else do that? Maybe it is a spring thing. I am not much of a house keeper. I would love to say differently, but I am not. No really, I wish I were, but it clumps together in that same category as bad calender keeper. I can't seem to get it together. But, in the midst of everything that is going on, I am compelled to clean and organize my studio? Not that it doesn't need it, but it has needed it for a couple of months. Why now? I get so envious when I see other bloggers' studios that are so pretty and colorful and shiny and organized. I want that. But, it does not seem to matter if I reach that level of organization (not that I ever have), it will not last. I move so fast, that putting something away after I use it would be to lose time, or an idea. I know, this sounds bogus, and maybe I am just lazy. I move so fast all of the time that I run into things a lot. I fall up steps, never down. Ok, rarely down, mostly up though. Have you ever ran into a light switch? I have on several occasions. I always think it's funny. And now I have developed this dizziness when I move too fast that makes me fall over. I think it might be vertigo. I need to go to the doc, but who has time for that. Maybe, if I am dizzy when I move too fast, I will slow down. Now we're on to something.
In other news, I made it on the front page of etsy! Holy surprise this morning. Can you pick my piece out? I was so excited. I called the few people that would care, and immediately began photographing the new pieces I made yesterday. That way, while all of the peeps were checking out my one piece on the front page, they could see my new stuff. The second I got everything uploaded into the computer, the front page changed. Figures. That's okay though. I am still reveling in the post manic happiness of being on the front page.

Did I tell you about Clarence. Clarence is the cutest. He is a very special dog who is only going to a special home. I want to keep him, but will not. Steve wants to keep him too. Right now he is going through heart worm treatment, but will be all better in about 6 weeks. I love Clarence.
What are you doing, crazy lady? Would you please leave me alone?Why are you following me? I just want to sit in my chair in peace and be the cutey patootey that I am. You bore me crazy lady.

Whoops! Contest extended.

2008-03-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks again for the great responses to the contest! I have chosen two winners so far.

Congratulations to Lynn Kaiser and her daughter for these two entries:
1. Illuminate
2. Dogs Rule

Many of you responded with great jewelry ideas, and I realized that I may not have explained what I was looking for in the contest very well. (Duh, Amie), so here it is without you having to read my mind:

If you wish to enter, please respond with a word or phrase no more than 9 characters long (as pictured above). For instance, I have a lot of words on my necklaces such as dream, love, hope, foster, think, read, etc. What I am looking for is witty, funny, creative, sweet or smart sayings. The winners will receive a charm necklace with a word or phrase of their choice on it.

Thanks for bearing with my airheadedness, you are all awesome! The final, final announcement of the winners will be on March 22, that's next Saturday. So, remember, enter as many times as you would like, and thank you for your participation!

Uh, Yello?

2008-03-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

That's how my dad used to answer the phone. I think I may do that sometimes too.

I am in the process of updating the look of my booth in my head. This is what it currently looks like. Most of the jewelry is kept in the cases, requiring the customer to ask to see a piece, and me to be available to give it to them. Not that I am that knock down, drag out busy at the shows, but I have been told at times that my booth was too busy to get to. That's a good thing right? Well I have been thinking that maybe it is not necessarily that I am too busy, but that my setup is inconvenient. My new idea is to eliminate the cases and display everything in open air for people to feel free to touch, try on and fall in love with. Basically, what this comes down to is that I have an idea in my head for some fabric that I want to make a T-shaped table cloth out of. That is all it is, an idea. I do not even know if I have ever seen this fabric before besides in my own head. As I picture it, it is yellow knit, or woven cotton, rather thick and textury, with a raised design of victorian type swirls and flowers and prettiness. Got it? Any one understand what I am talking about? Can anyone tell me where I can get something like this? It is one of those things, that I have in my head, and if I have to settle for something less, my booth will not be what I have pictured in all of its glory. I don't know, I think I might be obsessed with yellow as of late. What do you think?

Those are not the real mantel decorations.

Yellow is the accent color in our wedding. Yellow and brown. I told Steve those were the colors I dreamt up, and he promptly replied, "oh good, poop and pee." I think I pooped and peed my pants laughing. He is funny like that at least once a day. All of those yellow vases are for our center pieces. And that little hippo, I actually own, but he may be lucky enough to attend the wedding. And what do you ask are those cute little paintings above the vases?

Those are paintings Steve and I collaborated on. If we ever get it together, we are going to do a series with those two as our characters, involving our experiences with rescuing dogs and life in general. Alrighty, off to bed. Sweet dreams!

Glutton for Punishment

2008-03-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Since we are planning a wedding, art show season is approaching, and I am busier than ever with the animals, I thought we should go ahead and start to rehab the kitchen, upstairs bathroom, install a new half bath in the pantry, get new windows, etc. I am glutton for punishment. But, I am super excited about having the house be new and clean and wonderful. We are knocking out the wall between the dining room and the kitchen and putting a sit up breakfast bar there. When I say we, I mean my Uncle Keith. But, we are going to tile the breakfast bar with Talavera Mexican tiles. Above you will find the two I have narrowed it down to. I have been photoshopping tiles together for the last couple of hours in smaller scale to see what it will really look like. What do you think? Should I keep searching? Are these too bright? I love the look, but I am a little worried that when we go to sell the house, it will be too much. We are doing a Tuscan themed kitchen. I know, you are saying, then why are you putting Mexican tiles? My answer is, "I saw it on HGTV." Aren't they pretty.

I have been taking a lost wax casting class for the past 6 weeks. I signed up for one, forgot about it and still had to pay for it. Then I signed up for another one and loved it so much that I am now taking my actual second, technically third lost wax casting class. Above are a few of the pieces I have made so far. And, Amy, if you can find me a plastic donkey, by all means, I will make a donkey necklace too.

And the Best dog goes to...

2008-03-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's Ironhead. I do not have any photos of Ironhead yet, but he is a beautiful black lab and so incredibly calm. He is already adopted, so I have not felt the need to do a photo session with him. We picked him up in East St. Louis one incredibly cold morning. He came out of his abandoned building shivering and wining. PJ (the lady I ride with sometimes to feed the dogs) fed him. Meanwhile, I called Steve to see if I could bring him home. Steve said yes. Again. I can't believe it. Really, we don't even know Ironhead is here. Except when he had his surgery and his gonads swelled to the size of a softball and he started dripping blood and we had to rush him to the emergency room. All is well now. The swelling has gone down, and Ironhead is looking forward to his new home. It is actually a pretty ironic, story. On Ironhead's description I talk about his big blocky head and his old school Labrador demeanor. The folks who were searching for a dog really wanted a lab with a blocky head. Who knew that would be the description that got them. On top of that, the husband is an Iron worker. And on TOP of that, the husbands avatar on the computer is Ironhead. Oh, the irony head. After meeting Ironhead they decided they couldn't live without him. He's a neat dog.
And then there is Heidi. This picture kind of epitomizes her personality. I wrote about Heidi before. Approximately two weeks after we brought her into our house, I noticed a lump on her vulva area. We had it removed, sent it to be biopsied and it turned out to be cancerous. The vet seems to think that it is an isolated incident, and she will be healthy for the rest of her life. She is a nutty dog. She plays, and plays and plays. She counter surfs and the other day came running into the living with a knife in her mouth, sharp side sticking out. Crazy Rottweiler. She busted out the bottom left window in our french door, and now uses it as her own personal doggie door. Oh, and after her surgery, she chewed her staples out. Oh my! So I took her to the vet and they stapled again, put one of those cones on her head, and she got out of the cone and chewed her staples out again. So then they put one of those elongated collars on her and she chewed her staples out completely. All while still at the vet. Final solution was leave the staples out and tranquilize her with the elongated collar for a couple of days. Although she still got out of the collar again (and ate it), she was so good for those days. And then when she came out of her tranquilized state, she was double crazy. Or, I forgot how crazy she was. Now you are up to date on the dizzies. But, really Heidi is going to be a very rewarding dog for someone. She is so sweet, and I wish I had more one on one time with her. There is another one in East St. Louis who seems to be injured every time we see him named Clarence. He is beautiful and will be easy to adopt. Not as easy to catch though. We're gonna get him and make him a happy x-street dog. I will try to get a picture of him on the streets next time I go out.

Please accept these flowers

2008-03-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

Actually, Steve made this card for me for Valentine's Day, but that is how long it has been since I have posted. We decided to keep it a low key V-day. I made fondue, and he made a card. It is always my favorite when I get something handmade from Steve.

It has been a crazy month. First and foremost I would like to thank Mary Beth Shaw from The Common Denominator for naming me as one of her favorite blogs to read. It made my day, and now I must pay it forward. I have way too many blogs that are my favorite to read and look at. I will name a few though. Oddly enough, I have been reading Mary Beth's blog for longer than I have really known her. The first time I saw her work was at the Schlafly show three years ago. I loved it so much that I bought two pieces.
I bet she doesn't even know I own these. Since then, I have found out that she is good friends with my cousin Heather Haymart, who by chance is another one of my favorite blogs to read. She always has such great insight into life and art. And she has become rather prolific with her blogging. I also own two of Heather's pieces. Here is one that is hanging in my living room.
Another favorite that I love to read is Anna Maria Horner. She is a fabric designer. I have no idea how I found her, but she is this adorable mom of five, who holds it together like a pro and looks like she's 20. Her stuff is fabulous, her photos are bright and cheery and I love her little stories about her kiddos. I actually bought myself one of her fat stacks for Christmas. I have no idea what I am going to do with it, but it inspires me when I look at it everyday. It is just pretty sitting in its own little stacked colorful self.

And one more favorites is Bernie Berlin's, A Place to Bark. Bernie is the real deal. She is a one woman show who makes beautiful collages and saves dogs. She rescues hundreds of dogs a year and hand delivers them to their homes across the country. I love her stories and her insights.

There are so many more that I enjoy reading. Most of them have links to the right. I like easy access to my favorites. I am now running late for an adoption event, so I have to go, but I have so many things to tell you. To be continued later on today. I hope...

Charming Contest!!!

2008-02-13T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Would you like to win a custom charm of your own? Go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. In the newsletter, tell me your charming, witty, smart ideas. The top five will be picked and will win a custom charm with wording of their choice. Please feel free to pass this on to your friends too! Winners will be announced here on March 15th.

Heidi Ho!

2008-02-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

Last night was the first night, either Steve or I did not have to sleep on the couch to keep Heidi from running around in a frantic mess barking for someone to come keep her company. It was awesome! She slept through the night, no accidents!!! Here are some photos of this sweetie. If you are interested in adopting her, please visit Gateway Pet Guardians. She is such a docile, sweet little girl. I am falling in love with her already, even though she put me through hell for the first couple of days.

Floyd has been feeling a little neglected with all of the other dogs getting so much attention. He pulled one of those, I'll just put my front paws on you so you can pet me better and slide my hind legs on up there and you will never notice that all 85 lbs. of myself are on top of you. He is such a baby, mama's boy.

Jewelry Schmulery

2008-02-02T15:52:00.001-08:00

I have been sick since Sunday. It started on Sunday and I thought, I will just lay around on Monday and be better on Tuesday. And then Tuesday came, and I thought, if I just lay around one more day, then I will be better for the rest of the week. I better not exert myself too much. That went on for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, I went to East St. Louis with a lady named P.J. who has gone to East St. Louis every single day since 2001 to feed and care for the stray doggies out there. It was quite an experience. I could not resist taking a dog off of the cold streets. She jumped in the car, I took her home. She is a tiny Rottweiler mix. At a year and a half old, she is only about 50 lbs. She is not used to the home life as she has lived on the streets for most of her days. Except maybe those few days where she lived with someone who forgot to feed her, cut her tail off, and abused her with inanimate objects. She is scared to death of Steve and anything he is carrying. But, she will still come to him. I will get some pics of her soon. She is a little scraggly right now. I am going to make her a sweater to help her in the cold. She does not have a lot of hair because of malnutrition. I know she sounds like a mess, and well she is. And, I am a mess because I have been sick all week, dealing with a pacing, itchy, attachment disordered dog who can't sleep alone. And the puppies, whom we now call Uno & Dos, are doing great, although a lot of work, they are growing like mad. All of the things that come along with their growth is growing too. Like their messes, and their food intake. The only thing that hasn't grown is their nap time. It is shrinking.

It snowed like mad yesterday. My photo does not really do it justice, but cut me some slack, I was almost passed out on cold medicine when I took this picture from our back door window. Are you jealous of our rotten garage paneling. It's on the list of to dos for the spring. Can't wait for spring. Can't wait to make the back yard pretty.

Instead of making jewelry this week, I painted. It is a little less exertion than jewelry. I cannot lie though. I have been working on this painting for a while. It was going to be Steve's birthday gift, but then I thought it was weird to give someone a painting of themselves. I took this photo in New York a couple of days before we got engaged. We went to this little breakfast nook down the street from our hotel. All the waitresses were really skinny, had big hair and wore a lot of makeup. It was awesome. I loved the photo so much that I painted it. Obviously.

I promise some new pieces of jewelry next week. I have a ton of ideas floating around in my head, and I cannot wait to execute.

Puppy anyone?

2008-01-29T11:13:00.000-08:00

These pups were taken from someone who had a lady chihuahua. After 3 weeks of nursing, apparently the family got sick of the pups and called a local animal hospital saying that if they did not come get them he was going to shoot them. A nice girl at the hospital nursed them with bottles until yesterday when I came and got them to foster until they are adopted. They are now 5 weeks old. Itty bitty little ladies. A tad bigger than my hand. They are super sweet and are just getting their bearings with the ground. It tricks them sometimes and turns them upside down.

I'm freakin' out

2008-01-25T07:02:00.000-08:00

and I don't want to freak everyone else out, but really this is the best outlet I have for venting and maybe getting a few people who relate. I just heard a story here in St. Louis about two dogs who were thrown 30 feet from a bridge by a person. There is a reward to find the person who did it. One of the dogs ran off and has yet to be found, and the other's injuries were so bad that it had to be put to sleep. I haven't stopped crying since I heard the story. And it's not necessarily about those dogs, I mean it is, but I just do not understand the horror that exists. How can someone, a human being with the same biological makeup as myself and you be so cruel. What makes anyone want to hurt something or someone else, for fun? Do they enjoy seeing others suffer. I am reading this book A Peoples history of the United States. It is not like I did not realize that most of what we learn in our history classes is a big fat lie, but I just did not realize the extent of the lie. And how cruel our heroes were. Our foundation was built on murder, slavery and criminals. I have never said this before, and I don't really mean it, but I am starting to think that people are innately bad. I mean, I live in my happy little bubble with my sweet dogs and my wonderful fiance and there is so much going on that is out of our control, that we are not required to think about on a daily basis. It just really hit me in the face this time. Thanks for listening and I promise I will not have these sad posts very often.

The show circuit

2008-01-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

This was my fancy annoying dinner for last week. I burned my hand, broke a bunch of stuff, I think I hit my head on something, and I burned the pecans for the Butternut Squash Polenta Cake topping. There were three different Polenta cakes: Mango salsa and shrimp, Bruschetta, and as mentioned above Butternut squash. They were recipes I made up that are probably too in depth to try and write for you. But, if you really want to make one or all of them, feel free to email me. They were fun to eat and really delicious if I might say so. Totally worth the trouble...maybe. They would actually be pretty easy if you only made one. I love the extravagance though.

I have been so busy applying to shows, mailing packages, and trying to make jewelry that I am not sure which way is up. When I do not have any of those things to do, I don't know what to do with myself. I stare blankley at my computer waiting for it to tell me to do something. The most difficult part of being an artist is getting into the shows. They are all juried, cost to apply to and hardly accept anyone. Typically there is about a 9 to 13 percent chance of getting into the good ones. For the not as popular ones the odds go up to 30%. I can hang (sometimes) with the 30%, but have yet to be lucky enough to get into any of the more competitive ones. Hopefully this will be my year. It is disheartening when the rejection letters start rolling in. The couple of acceptances, somehow are enough to keep me motivated and financially ok throughout the year. This is my first full year of doing the art/jewelry thing, so we will see how it goes. Wish me luck. If any of you reading have any experience with making art for a living, I would love to hear your stories, if you do not mind sharing.

I Heart A Place to Bark

2008-01-20T09:11:00.000-08:00

To the right on your screen, you will see a donation badge for an animal rescue called A Place to Bark. The rescue is run by a woman named Bernie Berlin. I have been reading her blog for about a year now, and what she does is absolutely amazing. She has entered a contest to win a fair amount of money for her rescue. This money will allow her to build an indoor facility for the animals that she takes in. It is not about how much money she raises, but about how many donations she gets. The minimum amount to donate is $10. So, if you plan to donate more than that, do multiple $10, so that she can win and get a facility for the rescued animals. For more details, click on her sight, but if you can spare $10, please do so. She really deserves it!

My Hood

2008-01-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

I live in a neighborhood called Clifton Heights. A very small neighborhood, well known for the beautiful pond up the street and the gorgeous Victorian houses perched on the hill surrounding the pond. When we tell people we live in Clifton Heights, we get one of two reactions. Huh?, or oohhhh! Our reaction to the latter is, "Oh no, we live down the street from the nice houses." See, there are three different parts to Clifton Heights. The nice part, the middle part and the crappy. For such a tiny little municipality it is quite diverse. I love it! Our house is falling apart, and needs a lot of TLC, including new ceilings, which have been water damaged. But, I have become quite attached to our neighbors and the area. I get to walk to the fancy area with the pond and that's good enough for me. The only thing that our neighborhood is lacking is the coffee shop, market, deli, etc., that make a neighborhood cozy. Part of this has been taken care of as of January 2nd. A place called Off The Vine opened. It is a winery bistro. Steve and I went there for dinner last night. While we were enjoying our wine and small plates, I relished the fact that I was most likely surrounded by people who live in my hood. I love that sense of community. Steve and I then woke up this morning and took another trip to Off the Vine. We walked the dogs for a treacherous trip home with coffee and pastries and dogs tugging and trying to dump the breakfast out of our hands. But we made it, oh sweet delicious blueberry muffin, we made it.
Last weekend I went to Indiana with my sis' in law Sarah and my niece Elena. We visited our friend Nicole who has two little ones. Here is a picture of my niece and Nicole's son playing in the sink. I love their little pajama diaper butts.
And last but not least, I was featured on this blog. The community of bloggers is such an amazing thing. It is an honor to be recognized. It really does mean a lot. I would like to thank Liana from Mixed Plate for featuring my work. Her blog is really great. You should definitely check it out.

I leave you with my latest commissioned piece, which is similar to something I have made in the past. It is a photo that I hang in my booth at shows, and every once in a while I get someone who needs it. I really like how this one turned out. Thanks Anne Marie for the commission!

I must now go clean the blueberries off of my hands.

Make Lemonade

2008-01-10T08:02:00.001-08:00

I got to make a piece of jewelry for fun and for creativity yesterday! I have not been able to do that since before the Chicago show. I have a lot of new ideas, so stay posted. Unless I happen to get all kinds of custom orders, I will be cranking out some new stuff. I have also been busy turning the spare bedroom into a dressing room for myself. I figured out my motivation for getting in shape: a full length mirror. Yikes! I need to fit into that beautiful dress I bought off of ebay for my wedding. I saw a picture of a dress online...of course it was one of those high end designery dresses. I could not afford it. So, I checked ebay every day for six months straight. And there it was one day. A used Lazaro in the exact style, very close to my size. In short, I never tried on a dress for my wedding. I got the dress I wanted for a third of the price and it fit like a glove! A very tight glove. I must do weekly checks before the wedding to be certain that I can still slide into it. Hence the full length mirror. It is my motivation.

It's gonna be a fun year!

2008-01-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

Floyd's resolution for 2008 is to have fun. He told us in the morning and boy did he mean it. All day, January 1, 2008, Floyd played ball, harassed the other dogs, played outside and just in general had fun. And if we were not partaking in his fun (we were playing scrabble and not paying attention to Floyd), he would make those cute gremlin noises that I keep meaning to record for ya'll. I think I am going to copy Floyd's resolution. Fun it is for 2008.

Steve and I relaxed quite a bit. I had all of these things I wanted to get done, but instead we watched Out of Africa, which took over two and a half hours. If you have not seen it, I would highly recommend it. If for nothing else, just to watch in amazement the beauty of Meryl Streep. She is just so captivating. It made me set my 20th goal of the year, being to try to take better care of myself. I eat fairly healthy, but I have not exercised in a long time. You know, and maybe try to style my hair once a month, instead of throwing it up in a knotted mass on the back of my head.

After the movie, I was going to paint a picture, clean out the spare bedroom in order to make it my dressing room, because we do not have even near enough closet space anywhere in this house. It is a 3 bedroom house with 3 tinsy tiny closets. Steve's t-shirts would take up the 3 closets alone.
Instead of doing all of that, Steve and I went to the Schnuck, got some foodstuffs and made this bread which is from one of my favorite bloggers to read, and this soup. For the bread, I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I think I undercooked it. Or, the olive oil is just too dense for bread. I always try to replace veggie oil with olive oil when recipes call for it, just to see if it works, and because it is healthier. The only thing I changed on the soup, was I added some spices and used shredded cheddar instead of processed cheese. It was delicious! Both are fabulous recipes. The link is not working for the soup, but it is from allrecipes.com and here are the instructions:

INGREDIENTS

* 2 tablespoons margarine
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
* 3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
* 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn
* 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
* 1 (2.5 ounce) package country style gravy mix
* 2 cups milk
* 1 cup shredded Mexican-style processed cheese food

DIRECTIONS

1. In large saucepan, melt margarine over medium high heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add chicken broth; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in corn and chiles; return to boiling. Dissolve gravy mix in milk; stir into boiling mixture. Add cheese; cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted.

So, yes it is a new year, and I love the new year. For whatever reason I get inspired to be better, to do better, to do more, to enjoy what I am doing. I wish you and your loved ones a great new year and hope that all of your hopes, visions and dreams come true.

New Year's Eve was a little crazy. We went to a place called the White Flag Gallery. It was interesting to say the very least. It was a Communist themed party. They had an electric bull, which I did ride. They had beards and mustaches on the walls for the party people to wear, they roasted a pig, and had a Gorbachev birthmark tattoo booth. I am more of a quiet type of new years person, but Steve loves to go out. I am hoping that next year he will be ready to have friends over for a nice dinner and to play board game. Fat chance, but a girl can dream.

An Inspirational Day

2007-12-30T21:08:00.000-08:00

First, this sunset from our front porch. Technically we do not own that tree. But, I do tend to call it my tree. Except, in the presence of our awesome neighbors, Anne & Darren, I correct myself, "I mean your tree". It is on their side. But I can see it from my window. I suppose there are a lot of things I can see from my window that I do not own.

And then this fabulous movie. If you have not seen it, I highly suggest going out and renting it. Steve and I were just talking about where we are going to go for our honeymoon. And, I think if we can afford it we are going to go to Ireland. Stay in an old castle or something. That sounds like more our speed than a sunny, beachy vacation.

I hope everyone has a superb new year's eve and new year's day. I am off to download the soundtrack to that movie!

Oh! And my website shop is finally up. If you have signed up for my newsletter, I will be sending the first one out shortly to notify the launch.

And relax

2007-12-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, Christmas is over. It is such a relief for me every year. Although this year was less stressful than last year, I still would like to simplify the holiday. I talked one of my family members into donating to a charity for me as opposed to giving a present. I wish everyone would do that for me. My ma, will never do that. She loves to give gifts. She could not sleep the night before because she was so excited to give us our present. It was a Wii. We opened it, and Steve's jaw dropped, while I stared blankly, "what is it?" Oh, a Wii. "What's a Wii?" It is a lot of fun though. Steve woke up at 8:00 a.m. on Christmas morning, passed up his ritual coffee routine and went straight to hook up that Wii. We played all morning. I was sore the next day from boxing Steve's lights out. And then, of course, if anyone is going to get hurt, it will be Floyd. Steve and I were playing Wii bowling, and all of the sudden, WACK! Floyd is running and crying. I run after him to check out the damage. He was ok, no blood, no missing teeth, but now he will not come in the living room if we are even thinking about playing the Wii. In fact he hides downstairs. And he knows where we keep the remote. If we go near that drawer, he puts his head down and runs out of the room. At least he thinks it was the remote's fault, and not his sick to her stomach mama. Poor doggy.

I did bake for Christmas, but forgot, in the rush of everything to take photos, I only got this one measly photo of the cooking cranberries. I made Cranberry tarts, little star cakey, marshmallowy, icingy, carmelly, deliciousnesses, and some almond cookie bars, that really weren't almond, but vanilla instead because I thought I had almond extract, but did not. All of my delicacies turned out to be just a little off this year. No tart tins, no almond extract, and under cooked chocolate cake stars that turned out to be a little mushy. It's the effort that counts though, right? I did manage to put together a pretty nice plate for Steve's family, from the few desserts that were salvageable. Forgot to take a picture to prove it though. Whoops!

Steve on the eliptical, playing his guitar. That's his idea of working out. Funny guy. Notice hilarious Frankie posing at the bottom of the photo. I love that photo.

And now my favorite chair has turned into a dog chair. I'll see if I can get a photo of all of the dogs in it, not at once. Floyd has a lot of love in his belly and he tends to get stuck, and I think Big Bob just knows that he will not fit. I will see what I can do. Isn't Frankie deceivingly sweet looking. She is the most rotten little princess dog ever. She prances around like she owns the place. She scares all of the other dogs away from their food, even if she is done eating and in the other room. If she hears them she prances in the kitchen and lets out the bitchiest little growl. She's totally harmless though. I think. I don't really trust any dogs ever since my old dog Bailey barged the front screen door, when to his surprise, (and the poor man on the other side,) it opened. Next thing the guy knew, he was on the ground with an 80 lb. lab/english setter on top of him, biting his arm. Bailey had never bitten anyone before. I didn't think he had it in him. I was devastated, thought I was going to have to put him to sleep. The nice man did not do anything about it though. I wanted to pay for him to go to the doctor, but he refused. I just secured that screen door and was more careful with the old bailey monster for the last year of his life. So, yah, I don't trust any dog, really.

Oh! that's right! I got bit the other day. Bad Bob had figured out how to escape the back yard. He did it twice in one day. The second time I trekked down the street at high speed for about a half mile, until finally a nice girl stopped him. I did not have time to grab a leash this time, so I asked her if she had one I could borrow. I told her that Bad Bob was a foster and she said,"really, I have been looking for a dog. Do you think he would get along with my german shepherd mix." Not thinking, I said yes because Bad Bob gets along with all dogs. Not that Shepherd mix though. He attacked Bad Bob, and I got in the middle of it, like the dummy I am. No blood, and thankfully the nice girl did not notice that I had been bit. Bad Bob is fine too. Still bad. Steve replaced the fence the next day while I laid straw down to cover up the muddy disgustingness, that we dare call a backyard. The neighbor kiddos came over and helped. It was fun. Like a fall day in December. That's St. Louis for you. I am only showing this picture so you can see the progress come spring.

Bad Bob

2007-12-21T12:12:00.001-08:00

Bad foster dog! Lying on the sofa chair that you just ate the cushion to a week ago. Bad!

Obssestica with Ornaments-ica

2007-12-19T07:45:00.000-08:00

I am obsessed with this little Strawberry Shortcake dish set too. I bought it for my niece for Christmas this year, but she is not even two and I have decided to wait until next year to give it to her. She is just such a genious, I forget that she is so young. No, really she's a genius, and I'm not just saying that because I am her doting aunt. She is also adorbale.

Floyd is obsessed with it too. He wants to keep it and drink his water out of the head bowl, and eat his food off of the feet plate.
Steve and I have started a new tradition for Christmas. I stole the idea from my friend Carroll. We are going to purchase or make (preferably make) a special ornament that represents our year together. This year I bought this ornament from Anthropologie, which I have been trying to stay out of lately, because I go way too crazy. It is a house because, duh, we moved in together this year. Notice the creepy cello player to the left. It cracks me up. But, next year we will make the ornament. I am sure that Steve is thrilled.

These are a few of my other favorite onrnaments on the tree.

I got this scary snowman from my grandma. I noticed that it's nose is falling off while I was taking the picture, so I will glue that back on before the season is over.

This beauty is from my Grandma too. I bet she made it.
Last year, my friend Autumn Foster who lives in Portland sent Steve and I this ornament. Isn't it sweet?

If you have a tradition, or something that makes this time of year special for you, please post in the comment box. I love hearing that kind of stuff, so I can borrow fun ideas.

It snowed this weekend, a bunch! We sat in the house all day on Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately Steve left the camera at work, so I didn't get any pictures. He can do that because it is his camera. The dogs were cute with their snow covered coats and beards when they would come in from outside. Sorry, no pics, but here is a picture of Bad Bob today. He is a trip, reminds me a lot, character wise, of my old dog Bailey, whom I miss. Fortunately I have been able to compensate for my loss of Bailey two years ago with way too many dogs. That's how wonderful Bailey was. It will take a katrillion dogs to fill his personality. Now he is sitting on a shelf in a vintage brass urn watching over us. Yes, I am crazy, and you all know it for real now.

Oh, and the jewelry. This is a jewelry blog right? I have been busy filling orders and making Christmas presents. It has been fun. There is something gratifying about making something that you know is going to be a gift. Yesterday, I was supposed to make two necklaces for people for Christmas, but there is something more gratifying about working on pieces and ideas that have nothing to do with what I'm supposed to be accomplishing. And, I couldn't get this bicycle out of my head.
So, I cut it out of metal. I don't know if I am going to put it up for sale quite yet.

I leave you with bread pudding. Oh, and look, there's that cute ornament again.

Post show relaxation

2007-12-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

Now that I am finished with the crazy Chicago show, I have decided to spend my free couple of days, before I begin filling custom orders and gifts, beginning some decorative craftiness. Here is the beginnings of the garland that I am starting for our new fireplace. I also went to a couple of the local thrifty stores to find some wool sweaters for felting our first stockings. I am still working on the style of this garland, but, Steve says that I have old lady taste. I think Steve just sort of has different, or interesting taste as exemplified by this:

Tonight we set up our tree, but my tripod is in the car still from the trip to Chicago, and it is way too cold and wet to go get it, so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow. The tree is one of those dwarf trees that can be planted after the holidays.

Tonight was such a fantastic night. I made stew, which I have not made since last winter. It is a recipe that my Ma taught me when I was in college. I never have written it down, but it is really the best thing I make for the winter. It reminds me of my youth. Maybe food tastes better when you are raised on it, but I think it is so good.

The show was decent this weekend. I do not think that I will be doing it again, because it was a little too intense for me. However, I enjoyed the time that I spent with my friends Amy and Kevin. Amy is 9 months pregnant, and I kept having paranoid thoughts of her going into labor every time she left my booth. She would go to the bathroom, and not come back for a half hour. I would have thoughts of her having to be rushed to the delivery room. I really love her and had such a great time. They are one of the funniest couples I know. Amy is such a trooper. She spent all day Friday and Saturday with me, without complaint. I could not believe it. I imagine myself as pregnant and think that I am going to be a total pain. My friend Amy has given me a new perspective. I really cannot thank them enough for letting me stay with them for five days. The show turned out to be just average, so it was a good thing I had free lodging. I do not think that I will be doing it again. There are so many shows in St. Louis that weekend that I think I will give those a shot instead.

Thank you to everyone who came to the show and talked to me. I really appreciate the encouragement. It is so fun meeting new people. I will get a picture of that tree up soon.

The Chi-Town Show

2007-12-07T06:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first day of the One of a kind Show in Chicago. It is a huge show-over 400 artists. I thought the quality of artists would slip with so many, but as far as I have been able to tell, it looks very high quality. Yesterday was slower than I think Saturday and Sunday will be, but I still did really well! It's crazy being locked up in my basement for all of those months, creating, and then the people come to look at, and to buy my stuff, and make comments (good and bad). I feel like a creative monster that has finally come out of her dungeon. A little stiff with my social skills. I think I will have the hang of it by today. I just wanted to stop in and say hi, right quick before I have to leave again this morning. I will check in periodically to let ya'll know how it's going. And if you are in the chicago area, come by and see me!

I bought two things from other artists that I think are worthy of mentioning. This beautiful top that the photo does not do justice, and the pretty purse by Blue Thimble designs. I love her stuff, but cannot find her website right now. Will post later if she has one. They both rock!

Bye, bye pretty things.

2007-12-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

These are all of the things

that would not fit in the house formerly known as Steve's.

I will miss them desperately, and hopefully

they will go to a new, loving home

via my new booth at the Treasure Aisles Antique Mall.

Dogs in a Row

2007-12-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

Last night was my cousins, Heather & Ben's, 10th annual chili cook-off. It is always so much fun. The chili has gotten so good every year that it is nearly impossible to decide the winner. Always a good time and lots of delicious chili. Heather is an artist and she has been my go-to girl since I started even considering doing the art thing full time. I am always inspired by her studio and how close to perfection she has come with her organization and inventiveness.

We got a fireplace!
Now I am going to have to make some stockings and maybe one of those days of December garlands as done by Fiona at Hop Skip Jump. That is the cutest thing I have seen lately.

We finally got some pictures of Bob's brother whom we call "Bad Bob".
Not because he is bad--the first night he was here he had to be quarantined in the dining room. He jumped the fence about ten times before I finally just got out of bed and slept on the couch. He just wanted me around. After that he was fine staying in the dining room. Steve coined the name Bad Bob. For a while it was Bad Bob, and his brother Big Bob, but last night Steve and I were asking Frankie to "shake", you know, like shake paws. Mind you, Big Bob has not responded a lick to his name since we got him, but came running when we asked Frankie to shake. Obviously, we thought Big Bob wanted to shake, so we're like "good Big Bob, wanna shake". No shake. We were confused. And then I realized that his real name might rhyme with shake. Yes, Big Bob's real name is Jake. We figured it out. Now he comes every time we call and wags his tail when we say his name. I've never figured out a foster dogs real name.

Turns out Jake and his brother Bad Bob are the best of friends. They snuggle like Yin & Yang,

take treats together,

and even are nice enough to allow the two perma-dogs to partake in the treatfest.

I would really like to find one home for both of them if at all possible. I know that is a tall order, but I am willing to wait. They neeeeddd each other, I swear.

New goodies.

2007-11-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to come up with specific price ranges for the Chicago show. I realized the other day that I was missing a certain range. This week, I have been trying to bust out some new, fresh, and simpler pieces. You can find them in my etsy shop.

Also, I have Bob's brother. He has yet to be named, but he looks just like Bob. Bob finally ate after five days of barely eating. His brother came home and bob ate an entire bowl of food. They are lovers. I am so glad I got his brother, but there are so many more and they are going to be put down tomorrow. Uhg, Uhg. I know I can't save them all, but I so wish I could. Tomorrow I will take pics of the reunited bro's. The brother had surgery today, so he wasn't up for a photo session.

I create all day long.

2007-11-26T18:22:00.000-08:00

About four years ago I wrote a children's book about a boy and his guitar. I am finally getting on designing it, and I am either going to publish myself, or have it published. I have never done anything like this before, so I am sure it will be a learning experience. As if I don't have enough to do right now. I figure I can make jewelry during the day, along with trips to the vet, going to rescue more dogs, etc. And then at night, I will work on my book. Except tonight I worked on jewelry, but now I am going to work on my book while I watch Heroes. Here is the character I came up with for the book. That is all you get until the book is published, and trust me, it could be years! I am going to paint and collage the whole thing. I am designing it on the computer and then I will paint and collage. I have been trying to do this for so long, but I kept losing the script. duh, duh. My dad always said, "you would lose your head if it wasn't attached" Ain't that the truth.

Tomorrow I will be going to get Bob's brother. I am totally out of my mind, and so is Steve for letting me, but he is going to be put to sleep on Thursday, and I just can't handle it. I am considering banning myself from going to the pound. Have you ever seen that movie Year of the Dog, with Molly Shannon. That's me. Except, I would like to consider myself a little less crazy. Also, I have never rescued more than one dog at a time from the pound, nor have I put anyone's furs in a tub full of water. I do really want to take them all from the pound though. If I had a farm, I would take them all, and accidently start my own rescue. Like, "whoops, honey, looks like we have to have a rescue now. I have all of these dogs. What are we going to do with them?" Hee hee. Steve would never fall for it. He would act like he fell for it, but he knows what this little brain is boiling on almost all of the time. He is very perceptive. Not that it takes perception when I'm like, "Please! Please! can we move to a farm and get horses and start our own rescue? Please!" I revert back to a child when I do that. I used to ask my parents things over and over and over again until they finally yelled, "YES!" And I would walk away sassy and satisfied, with a big old grin on my face. I was such a little snot. Anyway, wish me my sanity with four big dogs in the house.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with their families or whoever you chose to spend the weekend with. I will be posting pictures of jewelry soon, I promise. I have been so busy cranking in my basement that I haven't had time to take pictures. Plus it's cold outside and it is not as appealing to take a break from the jewelry to take pics anymore. But, here is one that I haven't posted I don't think. It has no tie ins to the blog, I just think it's pretty.

Eye Candy

2007-11-22T08:19:00.000-08:00

Here are the earrings that I said I would post. I can make them custom, color and size. Now I must prepare for Thanksgiving. Or take a nap. Hmmmm.

Meet Bob

2007-11-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

A.K.A "Big Head Bob Barker Pants". His name keeps getting longer. And you have to say his name in the fashion of that Petsmart commercial "Mr. Barkey Von Schnauzer". I had said that I was going to take a break from fostering, but I just couldn't resist. I am addicted. Melissa, a friend at the rescue emailed me with the story of the pup who had gotten hit by a car. We drove out to the Jefferson County Slum Jail, I mean Pound, and the lucky guy had already been saved by a rescue. Whoo! But how could I leave without a dog? They were all sitting in water. Caged for days, and all with pending deaths. They put dogs to sleep there every five days. Doesn't really matter much if they're healthy, good dogs. They just put them to sleep because they don't have room to house all of the strays because people do not spay and neuter their pets in the country and they just let them run around. Not everyone in the country, but it is rampant. And sad. I had such a hard time choosing which dog to save. I decided on Mr. Big Head Bob Barker Pants because he is black and a whopping 87lbs. And he is skinny. Black dogs take longer to get adopted, especially if they are big. People just don't pick them. So, Bob probably would have been put to sleep. The sad part about it is that he came in with his brother. We had to leave his brother behind. But he is smaller than Bob and brown. But, you can tell that they are bros. I am desperately trying to find someone to foster Bob's brother, so if you know someone, or if you would like to, by all means, please contact me. I will be happy to tell you about the foster program. Bob has a great tempermant. He is gentle as can be, thank goodness, because he is a monster. He is going to be a fabulous dog for someone. I can just tell.

Yesterday was a hard day at the pound. I had never been there before, and it was so sad. I wish I could have taken them all. Really, even the one with "aggressive" labeled on his cage. He was taken from his owner. Probably tied to a tree somewhere and never given any love or attention. Lost forever. He has mange and just looked uncomfortable overall. Sorry to be so sad and heavy, it was just really difficult. I love those doggies.

I hope everyone has a wonderfully relaxing day.

Absence

2007-11-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

Absent minded, absent from my blog, absent from doing the things that I should be doing, but creating other projects instead. I am finishing up the final pieces for my show in Chicago, which kept me up thinking last night. There are so many details to cover when you go out of town for a show. I have not gone as far as Chicago yet, so this one will call for a list. It is inevitable that I will forget something even with a list, I always do. It is also a different set up in Chicago because it's indoors and they set up those holey walls instead of tents for us. I got to pick my color and they paint it for me. Fancy! But, I am not used to hanging my posters on walls. I'm used to tying them to the bars. And where do I set up my lights? I don't even know if I have electricity. I am so not on the ball. Instead, I am rearranging, organizing, setting up, throwing away all of the crap in our basement. All the while, I should be making more necklaces! I am missing one price range for the show, which I am going to work on next week. I have five more necklaces to make my goal of 50 big pieces. I also have tons of the charms

(maybe not enough), and all kinds of earrings. The custom charms above can be purchased at my Etsy Shop. I will post pics of the earrings as soon as I gain repossession of the camera. Steve takes it to work, because it is his. I guess I am going to have to break down and buy another camera.

I found a great family for Andy. I cried on the way home from dropping him off. I have never done that before. I fell in love with that dog and if he is given back to Gateway, I will keep him forever. But, it made me feel better when I saw that the cutie patutie family already had a framed picture of Andy on their table with the rest of the framed pictures of the family. Ahh, and relief. He will be loved forever.

I thought I was going to take a break from fostering after Andy. After the whole worm incident, which I will still spare you from, I decided it was time for a break. I have fostered over 10 dogs over the last year. It has been crazy and wonderful, but I thought I needed to regain my sanity and focus more on jewelry. Then, I was sent this:

He was just brought into a kill shelter after being hit by a car. We are driving out tomorrow to get him, taking him directly for treatment and then I will foster him. They don't give treatment in the pounds/shelters. They just hold them for 5 days to see if the owners come to get them, and then they put them to sleep. So, this poor little guy has been in the shelter with injuries for a couple of days. I don't think it has been five, but we are going to try to pull some strings to get him some treatment at least. How could I refuse that face?

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, and a relaxing long weekend if you were lucky enough to get one. I will post more soon.

Trays of Organization

2007-11-15T09:19:00.001-08:00

I got my trays and cases today! I love how the pieces look all clumped together in one velvety case. I love compartments. It makes me feel good to have things organized. I have been looking forward to organizing my jewelry since I ordered the trays a few weeks ago. I used to be like that when I was little. Every season I would organize my closet by clothing type, then color, then how often I wore it. If I could only get a little bit of that back. Reach back in the past and pull forward some of that organization. I think it will be my studio that will call me back to the enjoyment of organization. One of these days.

Meanwhile, I have been dying to take a picture of this wreath on my front door that I just painted green. The wreath was made by Sue Lombardo, who owns Recycled Rose. She makes the bests wreaths around. By the way, I also got that baby dress form from her shop. Isn't it great? I pondered on it for 6 months. Everytime I would go into her shop she would have this look of dread on her face, because she really did not want to sell it. That is why she had it priced at what she thought was high enough. I could not resist it though. It is perfect to display one special necklace at my shows. Three things come home with me at night from my shows. 1. my jewelry 2. my monies 3. my baby (dress form that is).

The necklace on this dress form is really special to me. My grandpa gave me this box of costume jewelry pieces, he had won at an auction, thinking I could make something out of them. He passed away a few months later while Steve and I were in Italy. There were some beautiful pieces in the box. I sat on them for over a year. Finally, I had the courage to make something of them. I have the hardest time creating with my favorites. I have decided to keep the piece for myself on the dress form. The one below was made out of one of the pieces from that auction box as well. Turns out they are two of my favorite pieces. It's probably because of their history, but they are calming to me. The necklace below is called "Lucky Lady".

Fritters is a funny word

2007-11-12T18:06:00.001-08:00

Steve and I sometimes go to this little hipster bar, called The Royale, down the street, because they have half price appetizers and a fun atmosphere. We usually order the same thing every time...the crabby cakes (which I don't eat) or the empanadas, hummus, and a goat cheese salad. I look forward to it every time. Since I had some left over shredded zucchini from the muffins, I thought I would make some zucchini fritter cakes, hummus, and goat cheese salad to try and emulate our meal. All of the recipes were decent, but there are some changes I will make next time, like no sugar in the fritters and more hot sauce and salt in the hummus. I will let you know when I figure it out.

Steve likes to make art out of his food. I remember the first breakfast we had together was at Chris' Pancakes, between each of our houses. By the time Steve was finished with his meal, he had concocted a plate that looked exactly like ice cream, out of butter, eggs, left over pancakes, and bacon. Had I not been so full, I would have tried it, thinking it was dessert. I wish I had a camera with me all of the time back then. Tonight he made this:

And now I must watch 'Heroes'.

Bling Bling

2007-11-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

I love rings. I wish I had more fingers so I could wear more rings. Above are some photos of the rings I have made thus far. I am going to begin a new line of rings soon. I have the prototype, which I will keep for myself. When the real deal is done, I will post what they look like. I am still working out the kinks.

My engagement ring was made by a local artist named Peg Fetter. She taught my first metalsmithing class. When Steve started talking about proposals, marriage, oh so long ago, I was adamant that he not buy me a diamond. He protested at first, but after my explanation, he understood. We purchased my ring from Peg. My ring is made of iron. It rusts my finger sometimes, but I just put a little WD40 on it and it's all better. I love it! I have been doing a line of jewelry (as I find the tins) to provide an alternative to Diamonds or other stones that are mined in less than favorable conditions. So, if you'd like a diamond necklace...

And the Muffins

2007-11-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

See I told you I would make muffins. I was dead set on making muffins. These are Zucchini Yogurt Multigrain Muffins and they are delicious. I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil, cut the sugar in half and did about a tablespoon less of the honey. Also, I added an extra tabelspoon of yogurt. They are super moist and delicious. Here is the recipe. I think they will be great for breakfast too.
I'm excited for the new week. I love my weeks. I am starting to get into a routine with working from home. I feel more and more productive every week. More and more creative too. I am so excited about my website. I just wish I could figure out a way to put more hours in the day. Too many projects, too little time.

The best song to knit to, ever.

2007-11-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

Is this. I was like "up down kint, purl, please don't let me hit the ground, tonight i think I'll knit purl, I find myself as I knit purl. Oh you got green eyes, oh you got blue eyes, ohhhh you got grey eyes, purl."

Who doesn't love muffins?

2007-11-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we are going to Steve's parents house. They are such great people. I am so excited to be part of their family. Peggy always says not to bring anything, but I think I am going to make some muffins.

I will take some pictures of the muffins, just to prove that I am not making up that I am going to make muffins just to have a reason to post my muffin necklace. But, I am making muffins, just so I can post my necklace. I am excited about both. The muffin necklace and the muffins. This week I cranked on the jewelry. I will be posting them as they fit into my blog. It's like a puzzle for me trying to think of reasons to post my necklaces. It has to fit, right? This is a blog about jewelry, right?

I am in the process of putting together an online shop for my jewelry. Steve is really in the process, because he is my programmer. Isn't he wonderful! We have had such a great day sitting on the couch working on my website. I love jobs where I can sit on the couch. Not to mention the fact that we finally got ALL of my crap out of the top of the house. Boxes and everything. No more piles! Except the piles of artwork that I need to hang. I am starting to love this house. We are getting a fireplace too which I am super duper duper excited about. I fantasize about warm drinks and glasses of wine while the fireplace burns in the winter. Really, it doesn't take a fireplace for me to fantasize about wine though. This house is so cold all of the time that I think a fireplace will help with the gas bill. I hope. I will also be sending out a monthly newsletter after my site is launched. There will be a signup page on the new site.

My dogalicious the Floydy Doydy makes the best noises. One of these days I will post them online for ya'll to hear. He is such a gremlin.

Today a family came to meet Andy This photo was taken by a very talented artist named David Carlyon. He is so nice and volunteers his talents for the rescue. Isn't Andy just precious. It is so hillarious. This is the second time he has pulled the 'I am a boring dog who is totally disinterested in you people' card. He will be all playful and fun before the peeps come, and then he lays in the furthest corner he can and stares at them. I think he wants to stay. One of these days the right person will come along and Andy will have his person.

Wascally Wabbit

2007-11-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

Or dog, but it kind of looked like a rabbit. I have two super powers. 1) I put out street lights while driving, walking and running. It happens so often that there has to be something with my waves that does it. 2) I attract dogs. In addition to the dogs that I'm supposed to rescue, I typically run into a stray, or shall I say, the stray runs into me, every couple of weeks. There was a point, not so long ago that Steve and I had four dogs in our house. Then I was walking the Frankmonster and lo and behold a cutie beagle walks up with no collar. Just walked up to us and then followed us home. Luckily, this little pup had a micro chip and I found his owner that day. The little guy was still there when Steve came home from work, and I pretended like it was our new 5th dog. I'm not a very good jokester though. If it involves a lie, I don't last very long. Especially if it's supposed to be funny. I end up squinting my eyes, then I crack a smile, and if that doesn't tell them that I'm lying, I bust out with the truth. Usually within three or four seconds of the last word of the lie.

Tonight, Steve and I were eating at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in South City located right on Kingshighway called Lily's. As we were finishing our meal, I saw a little wascally dog run down the sidewalk. I yelled, "A dog!" and ran out the door. Steve being the sweetie he is, got up and paid, so he could jump in the dogmobile and help. This little guy was going to run straight into busy Kingshighway, so I persuaded him to go up the alley, instead of straight into his death and my heart attack. I went back to the restaurant and Steve and I drove and found him in the alley. Steve at one point was able to try and pick him up, but almost got bit. At that point, the little guy must have realized that he had best go home. He ran through a tiny alley, up to a door and began barking histerically. Like, "Dad!, Dad! These crazy people are trying to take me! Dad! Dad! Let me in! Daaaaddddddd" I am never very nice to people who let their dogs almost get hit by cars. I'm nice to most people, but not those who don't take care of their pets. I yelled at him and told him that his dog almost died. And finished as I was walking away with, "And get him a collar!" Please keep the dogs on leashes. It is so dangerous not to. And if you can't, don't get a dog.

Magnolias help people breathe.

2007-11-02T13:35:00.001-07:00

And so does doing what you want to for your life.

I have to say that deciding to sell my family glass business and make jewelry for a living is one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself. The last two years have been rather draining. I worked at County Glass for five years, owning it for four. My mind would wonder. Everyday I would come up with a new scheme of how I was going to get out of that business. My brother was supposed to buy it, I was supposed to come in streamline everything on the computer and then move on. Metalsmithing masters at SIUE or something like that. But, Mr. smarty pants brother decided he did not want the business and guess who was next in line. An offer I couldn't refuse. I would have the business for ten years, it would be paid off and I could sell it. It came with all of the employees, except my brother. Most of them had worked there for 20 years. Little old me was in charge of men who worked for this business for 20 years. Isn't that funny. I day dreamed about becoming a metalsmith, but did not think it would make the bills. Some how I settled on a Master's in Social Work. For some reason that was a compromise in my head. I could not quit County Glass to become a metalsmith, but to become a Social Worker was acceptable. I was accepted into the Wash U program. That was it! It was my out. I told my parents who took it pretty hard, offered the guys who worked there for 20 years to buy the business and we were on our way! Or not. I finished my first semester at Wash U. I loved it, but all I could think about was making jewelry. After my first semester the deal still hadn't gone through for the sale of the business and I decided that Wash U was too expensive and I was going to drop everything to make jewerly for a living. This was a year after I had told the guys that it was theirs if they wanted it. There were too many parties involved in the sale. I still owed my ma and dad who had very conveniently divorced right after I bought County Glass. I desperately tried to negotiate the sale, with no luck when finally in April of 2006 the guys said they weren't going to buy it. Uhg! Meanwhile, Steve and I had gotten engaged in New York! That's the Mullberry Street Bar where they used to film the Sopranos. Aren't we a couple of gangsters?

Upon the news that the guys weren't going to buy the business I decided to stay. It was a lucrative business and I figured I should get responsible since I was getting married. The little responsibility voice in my head. Sometimes I think I should ignore that voice. I tried to put my heart into it. I tried hard, but it was so hard because i was so miserable there. It was a very difficult business. Glass breaks and people who buy glass don't care, they just want their glass. I can't remember the timeline anymore, but soon the guys came to me and said they were giving me their two weeks, starting their own business in competition to County Glass. Double Uhg! Without the two of them, the business was nothing. I am perfectly incapable of lifting the huge sheets of glass that it took to install shower doors. I cried and cried and cried. I thought my life was going to end. I don't know why I was so upset, because in the end I talked them into buying the darn thing. One week of heavy negotiations between my rents, Gary and Jeff and the sale went through. One week...that's all it took in the end. I was extremely nervous to drop everything and start on the jewelry, but I wouldn't change it for the world. If you are considering getting out of the rat race, I for one highly recommend it.

Dirty, Dirtiness

2007-11-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today I was outside photographing this necklace. I have had this image of the necklace in my head for a week now. I created most of it and then ran out of material. I thought it was going to be so fabulous that it would be my banner display for my blog. I made it the display because I had my heart set on it, not because I love how it turned out. It definitely wears better than it photographs. Mostly I find the more excited I am about a piece, the less I like it. Anyway, I finished taking the pictures of this necklace. I call it "pretty little things for life". I was in a froo froo mood when I made it. I open the door to go outside and out shoots Andy onto the porch and out the dog gate that I so neglectfully forgot to shut. I have it up there for that very reason. Because I can't seem to keep the dogs in the first door. Apparently I can't keep them behind the second trap door either. As a rule of thumb, I've learned never to chase a dog, they think it's a game. I typically say the word "treat" very rambunctiously, squat at the top of the steps and call them. Voila! He came right up to me. As I swooped him up telling him what a good dog he is, I see this woman walking down the sidewalk about three houses down. She peeked around a tree and said "Amie?, are you Amie King." Or something like that. I can't really remember because I was so concerned with the fact that I hadn't showered for a day and a half (yikes!). See, I work out of my home and it is so easy to wakey wakey, drink the coffee, and go downstairs in the same thing I slept in and make jewelry. The woman, who I think told me her name, but again I can't remember it because I was so concerned that I might have a glob of mascara under my eye said that she was in that antique store Roots which I love so much and also down the street in another great antique store called Eclectica. She said that both of the women mentioned my name and my jewelry and so she was walking and thought that it might be me. Now, I am sure that the woman who owns Eclectica told her that I was building a retaining wall in my front yard and that is how she found me, but I feel horrible that I wasn't nicer and I hope that if she reads this blog at some point I can reintroduce myself. Hopefully I will be cleaner, and without dog in arms. And maybe at that point my house will be suitable to invite people in. I have had such a horrible time keeping this house in guest allowing order. With four dogs and the fact that I still haven't completely unpacked, it is impossible to keep it looking nice. Not that it ever did look nice.

That reminds me that I went to pick up mail from my old house on 59th st. this weekend. A lovely young couple bought it from me. I lived there for 6 years and it was my first house. I put a lot of love into that house and I really miss it. The new owners have completely redone the back yard and it looks fabulous! I got a tear in my eye. I can't wait until I can get this house into living, working, I love my hizzy order. In dedication to getting this house in order I have made a necklace that I call "Rule the Roost" implied, don't let it rule you, which my house is doing right now along with all of the dogs. Especially the one that just jumped on my computer while I was typing. The other day he did that and it broke my c key off. I couldn't copy and paste for a whole two days. Mac replaced it for free.

You Will Not Win Cesar Milan

2007-10-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

I've had enough of your tight leash, your sits and your stays.
No longer will you keep me from chewing the walls and the furniture legs.
Uh Oh! Busted
Till next time Cesar Milan.

Ahhh Fall.

2007-10-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

Fall makes me want to redecorate, paint, get things in order, and start new projects. I get so inspired this time of the year that it is hard to keep up with myself. I barely want to leave the house because there are so many fun crafty things I have in my head that I would like to execute. I also get nostalgic for things that I used to do. Like going to estate sales. I used to have a booth at an antique mall with my friend Nicole, but she has moved twice since then. It's absolutely necessary to have someone else relying on you to get up at 6 a.m. And you have to get there early if not first in order to get the goodies. There is nothing like the feeling of walking into an estate sale and knowing that the person who used to live there had appreciation for beautiful things. Color and anything old makes me want to ravage through the house. The folks who estate sale are serious. No one looks at one another and they literally don't care if you are in their way. It is a totally different culture. And I find myself so engrossed sometimes in the beautiful sheets, material, or handmade quilted dogs like this one that I don't realize I'm rudely blocking someone ability to get through.

I couldn't resist that little dog. It was a little more than what I thought it should have been marked, but it kept staring at me. It must have known that I rescue dogs.

Steve is outside being a workin' man. My niece is one and a half and she calls any man who is outside, no matter what they're doing a workin' man. He's finishing our five tiered retaining wall and patio. He and our friend Pat have been working on it all summer. I bet they wish the trees looked like this all summer. Steve's the cutest. He's such a trooper. He doesn't really enjoy all of the outdoor labor, but keeps pushing on. I love him!

Not to mention the weather. He was out there some weekends when it was a sweltering 100 degrees. I usually was inside watching HGTV on how to build retaining walls. And also how to landscape retaining walls. I am going to try to do mostly native plants out there. I have been researching and cannot wait until next spring when I get to dig into the ground. I look forward to the days when I pull up to the house (we don't have a driveway, because we live in the city) and think, ahhw, what a cute house, that's my hizzy, I'm so proud that that is my hizzy.

Steve's band Strawfoot had a show last night. They all dressed like the freaky circus people. Steve was the insane clown.

He looked pretty insane.

The Chicago show is fast approaching and I have been downstairs in my dungeon soldering, sawing and filing away. I made five pieces this week. My goal is to average 7.5 pieces, but it was a really crazy week with the fosters. I don't want to talk about it though. I have already complained and talked everyone's ear off that I know. And I will spare you.

This is my first try at making something pretty in the kitchen and actually being careful while doing so. So, I took a picture, because usually the only thing that I pay excruciating detail to is my jewelry. It actually tasted good too. It is vegetarian chili, which I am usually not that fond of when I follow a recipe, but changed this one up a little, adding a little more spice and different beans. The little corn cups are to die for. I meant to journal what I changed, but in the tiredness of it all, I forgot, or didn't have the energy. I don't remember. But, I am planning on making for our annual chili cookoff and hope it turns out as good. Half the time I am unable to do the same thing twice. That is why I am going to start journaling when I cook.

Poor little Devil

2007-10-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

I took Andy to the vet today because I had a feeling that he had an ear infection. My intuition was right. And, we're thinking that the big gash in his ear is not from another dog, but from him shaking his poor little head so much that he caught his ear on something and ripped it. uhg! So he threw the biggest fit at the vet. I almost cried, the poor stubborn dog would not sit still for anything and cried like a hyena. If only we could talk to them and they could understand that it's for their own good. Every experience with each dog is different and so interesting. Never a dull moment. In the mean while he ripped is ear open again after all of the nights I have spent sleeping next to him, waking up every time he moves to make sure he's not shaking and scratching. Now look at the poor little devil. Isn't he adorable?

Chunky Monkey

2007-10-08T13:42:00.001-07:00

I have been working on this new idea for a couple of weeks. I wanted to hand cut the top to the encasement, creating my designs on the top piece of silver. The problem is trying to get the tin to stay in its spot. I figured it out! And here is the result. Keep checking back for more designs like this. They are a lot of fun to think up. I especially like the contrast between the delicateness (if that's a word) of the surround contrasted with the words "sweet chunk". The whole time a made this piece, I couldn't help but to think of my dog Floyd, because he is chunky and sweet.

All of the dogs and turtles.

2007-10-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is Andy. He is a sweet terrier mix, new foster. I have never had a small dog before, and I love him. He is my little lovey lap/foot dog. If he doesn't look all that together in the picture, it's because he has a humorngous slice out of his ear that he can't quite figure out, and can't seem to stop attacking his head, right now. He has quite a hole in his neck and head from trying to get rid of the demon on his ear. Dogs aren't really that bright. They tend to attack wounds because they don't understand that nobody is causing the pain, they just want it gone. Andy is going to be a brilliant dog for someone, besides his species unbrilliant attack of his own sores. What are ya gonna do? We're working on it. Sores heal. As you can see by the pics, Andy and I have bonded tremendously, in just a day and a half.

Turner's tentative adoption didn't work out. The woman who was planning on taking her is also having her 90 year old mother moving in with her and was understandably a little overwhelmed. Here are a few words about the Turner monkey.

Turner, a 3 yr. old 56 lb. Greyhound mix was found as a stray in Iowa. She was very timid upon her arrival into our home. After being shown that we were not going to hurt her, she has turned into a loving and loyal dog. She plays very well with our other two dogs in the house, and is a joy to take on walks. She is the best dog I have ever walked on a lead. Turner needs a gentle, loving home that will treat her with the love and affection that she deserves and is able to give in return. She is playful in the yard, but like a lazy kitten in the house. When she runs outside she looks like a deer. She throws her toys in the air and does 360-degree turns to try to catch them. Whoever ends up with Turner will be very lucky. We would keep her if we didn’t already have two of our own.

This is my latest commission necklace called Slow and Steady. It was purchased by Nancy, one of the three lovely women who own and operate ROOTS one of the BEST antique stores in St. Louis, located on Sutton in Maplewood. These ladies really rock, so you should go visit their beatiful antiques. They have great taste. I called this necklace slow and steady, because I try to remind myself to enjoy not only the means to an end, but also the process. I always have to remind myself of that. Slow down, right?

Rahrrrrrrr!

2007-10-02T05:29:00.001-07:00

Animal Abuse!! Ringling Brothers and Carson / Barnes Circus

The Ringling Brother's Circus is coming to St. Louis. If anyone is interested in passing out literature on the abuses of the circus, please contact me. I will be there. I'm also going to be making t-shirts to boycott the circus. They will be available on cafepress. All of the proceeds will be used to print literature. Any leftover proceeds will be donated to PETA's campaign against the circus.

I totally understand if you're not up for chillin' in front of the Circus when they come to town, but at the very least please do not play a part in supporting the abuses that come along with animals in the circus. Ringling Bros. denies any abuses, but even without the electrical prods and bull hooks, these animals spend 11 months of the year traveling. They are left to stand in their own feces. And when they are not traveling they are chained. They lose their minds. Elephants are social family oriented animals when they are in the wild. Obviously they are highly intelligent with all of the tricks they pull off for these money grubbing animal abusers who put on this show. Please pass this on to everyone you know. Especially those who have children.

Columbia Festival of the Arts

2007-10-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

Not so much my crowd, I suppose. The first day, Saturday was horrible. People weren't even taking my cards. And they were turning their noses up at $35 for a necklace. I mean, I'm not Walmart. The crowd just wasn't there to buy art. Half the people didn't even look into the booth. And there were so many pregnant women. More than I've ever seen in my life. I started counting at 2:47 and stopped at 4:15 and counted 14 pregnant women. And that was less dense than most of the day. Jam packed with pregos. Don't get me wrong, I love procreation, but those ladies with the babies in their bellies aren't going to drop money on a unique body adornment, when they have a unique body adornment growing inside of themselves. Luckily Sunday was a little better and I made a bit of a profit. People were much more receptive and bought a few things. No more shows until December. It's going to be a fun couple of months in the basement. I do have to say about this show though, that the volunteers and staff were some of the most helpful I have ever encountered. They helped unload and setup. It was wonderful. It's too bad they don't draw a better crowd.

Columbia Show

2007-09-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

I have a show this weekend in Columbia, MO, and I have been crankin' it. Holy Jebus, I am going to have arthritus at an early age. I'm a little concerned about how well I will do at this show, so I have been busy making small necklaces (50 of them) and earrings (75 pairs). My knuckles hurt. But, after this show, I don't have anything until December and I have some great ideas for new stuff. I'm super excited to start doing the creative stuff again. It has been 3 weeks. Luck has it that the creation of my smaller, more methodical pieces fell on the same week as tv premier week. So, I have been sitting on the couch, filing, sitting on the couch sanding, sitting on the couch forming and more filing, on the couch assembling. It worked out nicely, because I got to watch my shows. I was looking forward to the bachelor (i know, I'm a huge nerd), I'm obsessed with America's next top model (now you've lost all respect for me). Lets see, can i gain it back? I'm hugely obsessed with Law and Order, and I'm working on getting obsessed with Heroes. Grey's Anatomy was disappointing, but I'm still going to try to watch it this season and see if it annoys me. Sometimes it annoys me. Sometimes I can't live without it.

More importantly...Turner, now Tippy has been adopted almost officially. She will be taken by her new owner (my next door neighbor's friend), who lives in Kentucky tomorrow or Saturday. She's a lucky dog because she's going to be in a great home. I love that feeling, knowing that the dogs are placed in superb homes. It's the best. It's why I foster. I will be getting a terrier on Monday. I will post pictures when I get him.

For anyone out there who is looking to adopt, if you want to adopt a pure bred, there are pure bred rescues of every kind, all over the place. So please get on the internet and support your local rescues because it's just silly to pay for more dogs to needlessly be put on this earth when there are so many in desperate need of a loving family. Contact me if you need help finding a pure bred pup in a rescue if you aren't having any luck. I will help and it will be so worth it.

Steve's looking at guns again. haha!

These are my cute dogs Frankie Monster is on the left (the Shepherd mix) and Floyd, the doydy is on the right (as far as we can tell he's a lab/giant schnauzer mixed with a lot of love in his belly. I talk so much about all of the other dogs I have in my home, I thought I'd introduce to the perma dogs. They are sweet because they put up with all of the randoms I bring home.

Raw Food

2007-09-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

I tried to go raw last week. Key word tried. I don't know man, all the rave about the diet...and it all makes sense. I think I did it right mixing nuts and fruits and hemp protein and lots of greens. We went to Stone Hill winery on Friday because Steve's band Strawfoot played for the Missouri bike race. Thank goodness wine is on the list of raw foods. However, I think I may have over done it. By Sunday morning, after 6 days on the raw food diet, six days of headaches, severe lethargy, and one day of way too much wine, I broke and had myself my favorite breakfast of hashbrowns topped with over easy eggs and salsa and sour cream. Far from raw, but oh so delicious. My goal was to make it two weeks, but I think 6 days of 100% raw was plenty. For those of you who don't know what a raw diet is, it is when you don't eat anything with preservatives, pasteurized, processed, no chemicals or hormones. It's a vegan diet, so no dairy, or meat. And you don't cook anything. But, there are recipes that are pretty good that can keep it pretty interesting for a while. I'm glad I did it, because I will incorporate some of these recipes into my daily eating repitoire, but definitely not 100%.

I am fostering a full bred Greyhound cutie. Her name is Turner and she is totally neurotic. I'm thinking she was kenneled most of her 3 years of existence and she is super uncoordinated so she probably wasn't raced. I think she was pushed around a lot because anytime I take her collar she freezes. I have spent a good portion of the last week pulling and carrying this 55 lb. beauty. That said, she has a great temperment. We are working on potty training since I don't think she had ever been in a house before. She also had to learn how to maneuver steps. She was pretty afraid at first, but now can go up and down short steps. But, if you have never seen a greyhound run and play it is an amazing sight. She looks like a deer. When she runs she bucks her back legs after she raises her front. Steve wants to keep her because although she is playful outside, when she is indoors she is like a cat. Just lounges around or chews on a bone. I think I've already found a home for her. I knew she would go fast because she is sooo cool.

This is a photo of Steve and I on the way home from Art Outside Schlafly show after a 14 hour day of working and then breaking down the tent and loading furniture and jewelry stuffs in the rain. This is a really good picture to show how we felt.

Vandals

2007-09-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the Art Outside show. Despite the rain and the vandalism that happened to quite a few artists tents it turned out to be a pretty good weekend. For some reason, some buttwad decided to take a knife to the tents. They didn't steal anything from my tent, but did from the nice lady next to me. Fortunate for us, and unfortunate for Tom Schlafly, he is going to pay for all of the damage...from what I hear....which is super nice. I don't have insurance on my stuff (which will change very soon), so it will be greatly appreciated whatever he can do to help out. My first show after quitting County Glass. It's a little different, because my livelyhood depends on sales now. I am in no way, shape or form a good saleswoman. I really enjoy seeing all of the people though and talking to everyone. It is so different than working at a glass shop. I guess people shop for glass because they kind of have to, people shop for art because they want to. So, yes, getting into the swing of things still. I received quite a few custom orders, so those will keep me fairly busy this week, as well as catching up on the rest of my life which I have kind of completely let fall apart. Housekeeping...yikes! it will be a feat to get the house back in what order it was in prior to the constant jewelry making 2 weeks before the show. Not to say it was in very good order, but I'm working on it. I think I should post photos of my dungeon studio. Lots of people asked me at the show where my studio is. I know there will be a day that I look back on the basement and wonder how I functioned working down there. There is no water except for the wash machine. Every once in a while, after I've made a gazillion trips upstairs, I use the laundry machine water. Sometimes there are still clothes in there and they get a little wet and I laugh. At least I am more attentive to the laundry in the wash though. I'm one of those people who washes and forgets....sometimes I even run it and forget to put the clothes in. I haven't done that for quite a while and I realize how not environmentally friendly this is, so I'm paying closer attention. Back to the studio. I think a video would be a better visual, but I would be quite embarrassed of the basement. I just moved into my fiance's house and combining the two of us rugrats was quite difficult. It would be much easier to move into an empty house. One of these days I will have a semi-professional studio...ihopeihope. I kind of feel like I'm paying my dues and when my dreams of a shiny studio come to fruition, it will make me that much more appreciative.

Art Outside

2007-09-06T20:25:00.001-07:00

The Schlafly show is tomorrw. Since I haven't been working at County Glass, I feel much more prepared. Either that or I've become much more lackadaisical before shows. That is no good since I've only done 3 shows so far. I feel like I should be stressed out, but I'm not. Maybe I am since I'm worrying about whether I'm stressed or not. I've had a lot of fun over the past 2 weeks in my basement creating and I hope it shows in my work. Each piece takes quite a bit of time to make...I wish I could go faster, but I don't want to lose the quality of the pieces. It's so hard for me to make the same thing twice. I get so incredibly bored with repetition.

My adorable fiance is sitting next me with his obsesticca looking at gun websites. His gun obsession is as to my ebay/myspace obsession. Yes, if he looks over, I'm either on ebay or myspace (obsessed with myspace) the whole making friends thing...I can't get enough artist friends. It's making me want to be a painter. Anyway, he's always making me look at guns on the internets and I think it's funny and cute. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of guns AT ALL, but Steve and guns is an oxymoron. He is a very wonderfully sweet and all around great guy. And then he has this gun obsession that doesn't fit...but it's cute. He's not into hunting, just guns and their mechanics and how they look.

In other news, I started my Yoga class this week. It was surreal. I've never taken a real yoga class. I love the idea of stretching and being one with myself, and my body and all of that, but we said a prayer, or something at the beginning of class in a different language, and we had to repeat it, and they swore up and down that it was not to a god, but i don't believe them. anyway, i think I'm going to make them tell me what we're saying next class. I'm positive it's a prayer to a god. which is fine, i just don't want to be tricked into saying a prayer.

I'm getting an Italian greyhound to foster at the beginning of next week! I'm so excited. I need my puppy fix.

Hope to see ya'll at the Schlafly fair. Here is a little preview of what will be there.

animal rants

2007-08-28T20:02:00.001-07:00

i think my rescue is going to fold. it's not "my" rescue, but i foster for them and they outed the lovely lady that directs the program in order to bring someone in who is...better??? i don't know that there could be much better than sherrie. i wish that wasn't happenning because I loved working with her. and no one has even contacted me to let me know there is going to be a change.

I found a home for Pauly G.! Well, I didn't, but my friend Linsday did. Super excited about that. A very nice gentleman who she works with is going to give him a lovey home. I love it! Pauly is such a cool kitty.

Today I was at our vet picking up Pauly from his neutering and there was this woman there who rescues mini pinschers from breeders who mistreat. There was this little cutie who was thrown against a wall and his eye was all busted up. Arhg! I don't get it. How could someone do that to an animal.

And then...the woman who rescues these pinschers ran out to get two more. I looked out the window to see if she needed some help and noticed that these two little dogs were running around the parking lot loose. Holy crap! It was right on Watson. Very busy road during rush hour. All of us were out there trying to catch these little ladies who have not had very much human contact because they were caged and makin' babies for the man their entire lives. Again, something wrong with our society.

On a lighter note, this is the second day of the rest of my life! My last day at the County Ass & Beer was Friday. I am super duper happy and psyched to start the new chapter in my life. Since my rescue went kapput(sp?) I'm going to think long and hard about starting one of my own. It's something I've always thought about doing, but it is such a life long devotion that is very difficult to allow for any time for yourself. It may be something I will do later in life. I have a vision though.

Here is a necklace dedicated to the animals. I call it break the chains...dedicated to the anti-circus movement. Please don't support the circus. It is only animal abuse. They use the animals as pawns for their money making and don't treat them well otherwise. Please do not go to the circus anymore.

thanks for listening to my rants.

THAT cat!

2007-08-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I have not been able to find a home for Pauly G. He is going to have to go back to the farm. I don't know, maybe it isn't so unfortunate for him. Maybe we (or just me) anthropomorphise animals and really they are ok chillin' outdoors. Seems like a hard life. But, the guy who lives on the farm feeds the kitties so at least Pauly G won't have to learn how to hunt...it can just be his hobby.

For real! only 2 more days of County Glass. Next Wednesday and Friday. It is a good thing because I have gotten rather testicle with the customers when they are rude. It is such a strange business. The customers are extremely entitled. I suppose glass is one of those things that people want and don't need.

Let's see, what else. I gave the Frankmonster a horrible haircut today. Poor dog crapped herself at the groomers she was so scared and wouldn't come out of her kennel snapping at the workers the whole time. I got the phone call every pet owner dreads. "Ms. King, Uhm, we're sorry, but we are not going to be able to groom Frankie today, uhm she's too mean." Choke, swallow..oh, I understand, I'll be right there...(i swear I don't abuse my dog) she's just totally neurotic. We are going to take her to training classes for shy and fearful dogs. Not that she's shy and fearful toward us, just the rest of earth and probably planet. So, I bought me some clippers today and went at it. She was so good and patient. She looks so bad, but it's so funny, bald spots and all, she is prancing around like she is a new woman. hee hee.

This necklace is dedicated to Pauly G because I want THAT cat to get adopted!

Ain't nothin' but a G thing

2007-08-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

Little Pauly a.k.a. little gangster or just G. has lived a couple of his 9 lives already at the young age of 16 weeks. If you want a kitty with some character, Little Pauly is the one. This little kitty at 8 weeks of age road about an hour and a half on someone's transmission, all the way from Jerseyville to Brentwood. When he jumped out from under the car, needless to say, he was a little frazzled. The guy who's farm he came from was going to take him back and dump him. He would not have survived. He was not in very good shape. Only one burn mark, but his eyes were cloudy and he seemed extremely week. He was malnutritioned, but after vet examination and a little grimey greese removal, the little gangster turned out to be quite the handsome looking fellow.

It has been 8 weeks since he has been with us and although he has not completely kicked his respiratory infection, Pauly is an active and loving and smart kitten. He comes when he is called and purrs more than any kitty I have ever been around. I personally think he knew what he was doing when he hopped on that truck's transmission. He wanted out of the farm life and into the big city where he could be the little gangster he always knew he was.

Unfortunately, one person living in our home is horribly allergic to gangster kitties. So, Pauly has to stay secluded in one room of the house. He gets lots of love and attention from us, but would be much happier in a forever home with someone to love him like a gangster deserves to be loved. Whoever ends up with little G. is going to be very lucky. He is a great kitty cat.

2007-07-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Geez! I can't get that kitten to be better. Her eyes are all snotty and so is her nose. I met a nice girl named Rachel who teaches classes on essential oils (they smell amazing) and she gave me a potion that I apply to the kittens temples to help with the respiratory infection. The vet meds just aren't working, so I thought I would try the oils. I will be a huge believer if they get rid of the infection. I am becoming quite obsessed with the oils myself. Hey if you believe it, it'll work.
I adopted Zoey! to a super nice family. They are wonderful and I know Zoey is going to have a great life.

My studio is all set up in the place formerly know as Steve's house, now we call it "our house". I've kind of taken over. He is so patient, allowing me to move all of my stuff in and most of his stuff out. I love him so bad! And not to mention that I get to have my studio in the basement in place of band practice. I sound like a greedy little jerk don't I. One day we will have a fixed up basement where jewelry and bands can coexist. Ahh...in a perfect world.

I only have 8 days of work left at the County Ass. And then I will be a full time metalsmith! I cannot wait. Oh the productivity that will happen with 5 full days to work on the jewelry. Not to mention the creativity, I hope.

So, we are down to a 3 animal household. My wonderful and beautiful mother took my 11 year old cat Cerveza. She is the bestest cat in the world, and that is why she did not deserve to be locked in a room all day. She will be happy at my ma's and my stomach will not tie in knots everytime Steve sneezes. Well, I have to find a home for one more kitty before the knots go away, but I am on my way. Enough ramblings for today.

being green, earrings and animals

2007-07-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

I started composting a couple of months ago. It definitely helps on cutting down on trash. I bought one of those barrels that spins at Home Eco (on Macklind) in order to aerate the compost. I love the idea of making my own healthy dirt...but, I am not quite sure if I am doing it right. I opened the barrel the other day and it stunk to high heaven. I just keep telling myself how beautiful of a garden this sludge is going to make for me.

We're trying to be a regular old green family here at the King/Simmons household. I try to buy all recycled toilet paper and when we have to use paper towels, we try to use recycled (except when Steve buys them). I don't know if he's all that convinced that he alone can make a difference. I really think it starts with each person individually. If we all start buying products that have less of a carbon footprint, then more companies will begin to offer those products. And yes it will be for a corporate profit, but whatever we can do to make them change their ways will help.

Here is the new addition to the family...well she is a foster addition. It has gotten a little crazy at the new homestead. We have taken in a kitten (Steve is deathly allergic to cats), but I took it in because it rode in a someone'e transmission from Jerseyville and needed some TLC. I desperately need a home for this kitten, so if anyone knows of anyone who is looking for a kitten, PLEASE email me! I also have Zoey, the puppy. Zoey is a great puppy and is going to make someone a fantastic dog. Not that I am complaining at all because Steve is the one that should be complaining, but the whole situation is a little stressful. LOTS of animals to take care of and they all have to be kept in different rooms...puppy just had surgery, the kitten is contageous and can't be around Cerveza and neither of the cats can be anywhere near Steve. I'm like a crazy woman running around the house all day taking care of animals.

Here are a pair of earrings that I just made for a nice lady's daughter. Her daughter is in a band called Leslie and the Badgers. I love her band! The cover of her album is a hummingbird hence the earrings.

Hope everyone is well, will post more soon!

Amie