Have you ever had one of "those" weeks?
This week hasn't been one. This has been one of those "other" weeks. You know the kind. You're cruising along at top speed, everything is falling into place, running smoothly, going great!
But what you don't see is that HUGE patch of black ice in the middle of the road. In fact,you don't even expect it, because it's sunny and 80F.
Okay. Enough with the imagery already. It's only Wednesday of this week, and up until yesterday, I was cruising at top speed, business wise.
For the past year, I have been consolidating all of my business records into one piece of database software, and I was FINALLY starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. For all intents and purposes, I was going to be able to finish it this week. After a year of data consolidation from three (yes, THREE) databases in to one, seeing an end in sight was nothing short of a miracle. But, I digress.
Yesterday morning, I got up, turned on my desktop (an old behemoth of a machine), and turned on my laptop (only slightly less old, but it has seen me through many papers in college). I opened the software that I was transferring data from on my desktop, and slowly but surely, it opened. I clicked on the icon to open the software on my laptop, where I've been transferring data to. And I waited. And I waited. It finally decided to open. Sort of. Basically, it was a blank screen where once (just Monday night, in fact) hundreds of pieces of data danced. (Gasp!)
Okay, trying to keep the panic down, I closed out the program and reopened it. Same thing. Rebooted the computer. Opened the program. Same thing. (Panic is now coming on full blown, and sweat is breaking out on my forehead) I try some other programs. Pretty much the same thing is going on. I try a system restore. Okay, that took care of some of the problems, but not, of course, the database problems. One last option. I go back onto the website for the software, download the latest update and and reinstall it. I restart my computer, and bingo. It's all there, back again, safe and sound.
I wiped the sweat from my brow, but realized that yes, while a new desktop would be nice, I'm going to need a new portable computer much sooner. My laptop just isn't longed for this world. I guess the white cheddar flavored rice cake crumbs that one of Da Boys dropped into the keyboard kind of ticked the computer off and was the last straw.
What is the point of this long-winded blog? After weighing all the options I have (the most extreme included closing my business altogether, and totally giving up) I finally decided that the least extreme is to have a sale in my ArtFire shop.
So, here's the deal: I'm having a sale in my ArtFire shop This sale is 20% off everything in the shop, with free shipping, domestic and international. ;-) And I'm going to keep the sale going until I raise enough to buy myself a new netbook.
Since US Mother's Day is right around the corner, here's an opportunity to get a great deal on a present for your favorite mom. Shop soon. Shop often. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.

Until my next update, remember
Sand Is Always Blue!!!!

If I Could Be....

If I could be a month I’d be May
If I could be a day I’d be Monday
If I could be a time of day I’d be sunrise.
If I could be a planet I’d be Venus

If I could be a sea animal I’d be a sea otter
If I could be a direction I’d be north east
If I could be a piece of furniture I’d be a big comfy bed
If I could be a liquid I’d be hot cocoa

If I could be a gem stone I’d be Emerald
If I could be a tree I’d be an oak

If I could be a tool I’d be a hammer
If I could be a flower I’d be a rose

If I could be an element of weather I’d be sunshine
If I could be a musical instrument I’d be a dulcimer
If I could be a color I'd be forest green

If I could be an emotion I’d be comfort

If I could be a fruit I’d be an apple
If I could be a sound I’d be waves crashing on the shore
If I could be an element I'd be earth

If I could be a car I’d be a station wagon

If I could be a food I’d be clam cakes
If I could be a place I’d be the beach
If I could be a material I'd be cotton

If I could be a taste I’d be sweet

If I could be a scent I’d be rose

If I could be a body part I’d be hands
If I could be a facial expression I'd be contented
If I could be a song I’d be a great 1980's dance tune

If I could be a bird I'd be a seagull.

If I could be a gift I'd be handcrafted by a child
If I could be a street I'd be a street along the shore

If I could be a city I'd be Boston.
If I could be a door I'd be unlocked, ready to open.

If I could be a pair of shoes I’d be a kickin' pair of bright red patent leather stilettos.


And what would you be? How do you see your inner self? Thank you Ruth for the inspiration. You can read Ruth's blog here.

Trying to simplify and other random thoughts

I can honestly say that these have been the roughest two months of my life so far. It's a very slow road back to "normal", whatever that means in my seeming chaotic life. And because life has been so very difficult, I've decided that I'm going to try to simplify my life and my businesses as much as possible, and so far, I've been taking baby steps to accomplish that.

For some strange reason, I have all of my jewelry stock and supplies spread between three separate databases. Yes, I know. That is NOT the simple way to do things. It took my life falling apart on a minor scale for me to realize that. So, right now I'm in the process of combining about 10 years worth of records and data, scattered between 3 separate pieces of pricing software into one piece of software. And let me tell you, it's ROUGH! I have found a few shortcuts, which is helping a little bit, but it still is VERY time consuming. I'm hoping that I can be done with this long, drawn out process in a few months.

I'm also pretty excited because I have some new pieces of jewelry in the works. Or at least floating around in my head as ideas. I'm just looking for the time to make them real. I'm excited because these are going to be outside my "box" or comfort zone. I've managed to acquire some pretty new beads and pendants, and SOOOO want to create with them. But first, I must clear up this database garbage, so this is giving me incentive to do so. I have to get the work done, before I can play. ;-) I can't wait for play time.

This winter has been a hard one. Power outages, feet of snow, cold temperatures, snowfall after snowfall after snowfall. I am so VERY sick of white stuff it isn't even funny. I want signs of summer. I really just want to skip spring all together since it can still snow in the spring. Bleh. I want the lovely hot days of summer to be here.

Okay, I also want summer to be here so I can start selling at the Fluvanna Farmers Market this year. It might sound crazy that I'm going to start selling at another venue, when I'm trying to simplify, but in the end, it will be good for me. It will get me out of the house, and talking to adults on a regular basis. It will get my name out there more. It will be a fun time! Hot, muggy, Virginia summer fun! (And yes, please keep reminding me I said this when I'm complaining about how terrible it is here in the summertime.)

That's all for now. I'm trying to come up with new ideas for blog posts, so I don't keep rehashing anything. I'll let you know how that's working for me.

Remember: Sand is always blue!

A Letter to Nick and Joe

Many of you already know that sadness struck our family a week ago tonight. My darling, loving, talented father passed away very suddenly from an aortic aneurysm.

Tomorrow is this wonderful man's funeral, and I'm to give the first eulogy. Since many of you won't be able to come to funeral mass itself, I thought that I would share what I'm going to say.

Dearest Nikolaus and Joseph,

Let me first say that I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry that you only had 3 short years with your loving Grampsy Marlin, even if those years were filled with love, joy, and laughter.

In years to come, I'm sure you will come to wonder who your Grampsy was. You hear many of the same words used over and over that described him: gentle, kind, giving, and loving. These are all true, but if you really want to know who your Grampsy Marlin was, all you have to do is look inside yourselves and at each other. Everything that your Grampsy was runs strong in each of you, and we all can see so much of him in you.

Joseph, in you can see your Grampsy Marlin's love of building. When you very precisely build your Lego pyramids, or block towers, that is your Grampsy's love of building coming through. All corners are square, and everything always needs to be “just so”. As I leaf through your coloring books, I always know who colored what. If a picture is colored precisely in the lines and is done in one color, I know that my dear Joe colored it, making his Grampsy proud, by always coloring in the lines. The concern you show for the neighborhood children when one of them falls down and gets a “boo boo” is also something that your Grampsy would have done. Reaching out a hand, to lift someone up.

Nikolaus, your sense of humor is so much like your Grampsy Marlin's, I find it startling at times. Like your grandfather, you walk through life with a mischievous twinkle in your blue eyes, and a smile on your lips that radiates to the entire world, welcoming them in, and wanting to be friends with everyone. The houses and rooms you design with your Lincoln Logs made him so very proud, and he loved playing with you. Nothing would make him happier, also, than having you crawl into his lap with a book and ask him to read it to you. He, too, loved to read, and loved books.

But the similarities aren't divided between the two of you. Some things you both share equally.

The small things, like your love of wearing hats, your love of singing and music, and of always wanting to have clean hands you share with your Grampsy. But there are bigger things, too. The empathy that you share so readily with everyone—when those around you are happy, you're happy. When those around you are sad or upset, you want to cheer them up, or console them. Grampsy hated seeing anyone sad.

Your deep and abiding love of family and the human race in general reminds me everyday of the legacy your grandfather has left us.

Nothing made Grampsy Marlin happier than when he was fixing something at our house, or Grammy Rose's, and he had his two little helpers. Like the day the three of you replaced the faucet in our kitchen. And then it “magically” turned into a fountain, soaking everything and everyone. He taught you that day that it's important to make sure a job was done well, and completed.

Having the two of you toddle after him, handing him tools, whether he needed them or not, and perhaps picking up some of his expertise along the way, gave him more joy than you will ever know.

As your mommy, all I can do is hope and pray that all those things continue to live strong in you. A strong and abiding love of family and friends, a respect for authority, a lot of fun and humor, and a strong sense of community. To grow into fine men, with all of these qualities would be the greatest gift you could ever give your Grampsy and yourselves. I love you Nikolaus and Joseph, and know that your Grampsy Marlin is smiling down from Heaven, and helping to guide you everyday of your lives.

All my love,

Mommy

Operation Utilize Supplies (OUS)

I have a confession to make.
I'm a craft hoarder. The reason why my office/craft space is such a terrible mess, and terribly out of order is because I can't seem to stop buying craft supplies of many, many different kinds. I can't seem to settle on one craft. Sigh. And after I buy more supplies, I wind up not using them because I don't want to waste anything. I don't want to screw up, make a mistake, and waste (gasp) the supplies.
I have paints. I have paper. I have old books for altered book projects. I have polymer clay. I have ArtClay Silver. I have tools. I have gold and silver leaf. I have a kit to make resin cabochons, etc. I have beads. I have findings. I have wire. I have fabric. I have yarn. I have embroidery supplies. I have soap supplies. I have old watches that I have taken apart. I have stamps. I have stamp pads, inks, dyes, scissors. Pretty much, it's almost a case of if you need it or want it, I have at least a LITTLE bit of it. Somewhere. I even have old Friendly Plastic pins that I can melt down and reuse. Pens, pencils, chalks, oil pastels. Really the list is quite endless.
Crashing head to desk.
I also have about a million half finished projects. Or a quarter finished projects. Or un-started projects. Okay you're getting the picture.
So what?
Well, I came across a group of friends on Plurk who suffer from the same problem! (Yeah, I know. No big surprise.... Crafters are an odd bunch.) And one person has stepped up and issued a "Rehab" for all of us. A blog has been formed for those of us in Rehab by Mel Smith (thanks!!!) of Kaotic Ekkos Curiosities and now I will be able to show what is going on as I use up supplies, and hopefully have some beautiful new creations to sell! Will it all be jewelry? Heck NO!!!! I'm planning on offering lots and lots of goodies to tempt everyone! Now, onto the crafting!

Keep remembering that sand is ALWAYS blue!!!

The Beaded Branch...Not Just Jewelry Anymore!

Over 10 years ago, when I started The Beaded Branch, I focused mainly on beaded jewelry. If it had beads, and was jewelry, I was willing to try to make it. And I have made some pretty stunning pieces in my life, if I do say so myself.
However, I never gave up my love of doing other kinds of crafts, and continually experimenting. During one of my experimenting phases, I developed a brand new technique for making pendants. I thought they were pretty, and kind of unique, but I didn't know how to finish what I had started, so I set them aside.
A couple of years later, I started experimenting with them again, trying to figure out how to finish them. Once I figured out how to finish them (adding leather onto the back, and ribbon around the edging), I decided to go ahead and make them into pendants. I did, and I started offering them at craft shows. I initially called them "Faux Enameled Filigrees", but that wasn't really very catchy. So, I started talking to Melanie about what we could call these pretty pendants and pins. They had a Victorian air about them, but weren't really Victorian. They were modern looking, but still old-fashioned. We finally settled on the name Present Past Treasures.

At craft shows, they became increasingly popular. People would ooooh and aaaaah over them, and always ask how we made them. After being asked this same question several hundred times (okay, so I'm a little slow...) I decided that maybe, just maybe, writing a tutorial wouldn't be such a bad idea, so I started jotting down ideas on what goes into making Present Past Treasures. I told Melanie that we were going to write a tutorial, and start selling it. She was very excited about the idea.That was two years ago.

For two years, we struggled. We fought. We argued. We made up and would get back to work. It started out as one page of basic directions on a legal pad. We fleshed them out, sending emails back and forth on a weekly basis, and meeting almost monthly to make Present Past Treasures, taking notes of what we couldn't forget to include, where we wanted pictures, what tools we used, what worked, and what didn't. During this time, Melanie was working full time as a teacher (she still is!), and I was a full time, work from home mommy to the twins (I still am!). Once we had the directions and lists of supplies and tools written up, it came time to take pictures. For this, I enlisted my darling hubby. On his one day off, he took photos of me making a tray of Present Past Treasure pendants. He patiently shot the entire process from beginning to end.
Melanie and I then went through all the photos, found the perfect ones, editted them, and put them into the manuscript. As we were going through the writing process, we kept track of helpful hints, safety hints, and the common problems we ran into. At first, we incorporated them into the directions. We then decided, after reading through it, it was too confusing. So we took the hints out, and put them into a seperate section. Then, after reading through it again, the common problems and how to correct them became their own section.
We were never more proud than the day we designed the cover page, added our names as authors, and finished it. We sent it off to several friends of ours to be read to make sure it made sense. After a few minor grammatical changes, we sighed a huge sigh of relief, and got it ready to be listed on our Etsy and ArtFire sites. We couldn't have done it without a lot of people helping. So, we send a special shout out to the following people:

Andrea Baker of Handmade by Andrea Baker:Thanks so much for your proofreading and your wonderful suggestions!
http://AndreaBaker.etsy.com

Debbi Andersen:Your support and cheerleading has been completely invaluable!
http://theknead2relax.com/

Jennifer “Coach Ferfer” Stoll: Thanks for teaching us to dream big, and your unwavering belief in us. The Dream will come true!!!
http://thestandupcoach.com/default.html

Amanda Day: Your sense of humor, proofreading skills, and believing in us from the first time you heard of this project has been wonderful!!!
http://DawnCorrespondence.etsy.com
http://DawnCorrespondence.artfire.com

Shelley Bossert: Thanks so much for you fabulous advice on copyrighting and being such a lovely lady!
http://NCTeddyBearLady.artfire.com
http://ncteddybearlady.etsy.com

Janine Rowson: Thanks for your proofreading and keeping Theresa from becoming way too comma happy!

The Sassy Sisters in Sales: You ladies ROCK and your support and belief in us is more uplifting than we can possibly explain. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
http://thesassysistersinsales.blogspot.com/

To our Plurk Buddies: Smiles, laughter, tears, heartache, joy, celebrations. We do it all! You folks are FANTASTIC!!!!!!
http://www.Plurk.com

Rose and Marlin Meese: Thanks for making sure everything made sense, watching Da Boys when they needed watching, and for being a wonderful inspiration to me to always reach beyond. I love you Mom and Dad.

To Melanie’s family (especially Carolyn Monger, Pamela Jessee, and Rachel Mays): If it weren’t for you bringing out the crafter in me from an early age, who knows if this ever would have been written! Thank you so much!

Tim Landow: Thanks for saying “What ever you want to do honey, you can do!” And for taking AWESOME pictures whenever I asked. And getting dinner when I was intensely writing, editing, or tired. Thanks so much honey! I couldn’t have done it without you! I love you!

Wayne Ellyson: Thank you so much for your support in everything I do. You are my number one cheerleader and I couldn’t do it without you! Love you! (“Quantum!”)

Nick, Joe, Hunter, Stonewall, Sylvester, and Tiger: to all of our kids, 2 and 4 legged. Thanks for your patience while your moms were working on this!!!! We love you more than anything or anyone!!!!!

Friday Challenge Update and Celebration!

First thing I'm celebrating this week is BEING OVER MY COLD!!! WOOT!!! I hate having a cold worse than anything in the world, so when I recover from one, I'm very happy!
A second thing I'm celebrating is yesterday I got my hair cut. Fairly short. It hasn't been this short in years. But it will help when it comes to time-saving. After I get out of the shower, I can have it dried and styled in about 10 minutes. LOVIN' IT!!!!

Now, onto my big celebration! My "Organization Challenge"! I have a lot to celebrate this week when it comes to that! The great thing about this book (Organize Now!) is that it has checklists. I follow the checklists, and can show you what I have accomplished and how I accomplished them!

Week 1: Organizing the Mind

1. Get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a night.
Wow has this helped me get a better perspective on life in general! I wake up refreshed, instead of already exhausted. I feel like I can take on the day much better. I don't need as much coffee. (Okay, I still drink a lot of coffee, but that's just because I love the stuff!!!) And I feel MUCH healthier all around. Sleep is a good thing. Get your seven hours a night. Your body will love you for it!

2. Jotting down a To Do list every morning and
3. Keep a journal
I've always had a journal of some sort, and always wrote out a To Do list first thing in the morning. However, I always made the mistake of having a To Do list with over 30 things on it. Not very realistic, considering I have a house to keep in order, and kids to chase after. So, I have now combined my journal and my To Do list. It really helps to keep things more manageable. I do a "mental" dump every morning of everything that eventually needs to be done into my journal. I then take a look at the big picture, of what big projects are coming up, craft shows, and things like that. I pick out the 5 things from my journal that MUST be accomplished that day. Those 5 things become my To Do list. If I finish early, I can always add something. But if I only accomplish those 5, that's okay, because I have completed a list. And that is something to celebrate!!!!

4. Limit the amount of TV you watch
The TV in our bedroom died recently, so that helps. But the big thing is, I haven't been watching that much TV lately, except for PBS Kids and PBS Sprout. Great shows for kids. Less so for adults. VERY annoying. So, I now schedule TV time for ME! Now, I get to watch one or two shows that I like every afternoon. Which is a good thing, because I think our DVR was about to explode from all the shows that are on there. And it's a wonderful panacea to my frazzled brain. Watching an episode of Ghost Hunters or Dr. Phil or Destination Truth clears my brain of The Little Einsteins, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and The Wiggles.

5. Schedule 2 or 3 two-minute breaks throughout the day and
6. Practice meditating

I have started combining these two. I sit on my screened in porch, and clear my mind for a couple of minutes. I breathe deep and slowly, with my eyes closed, and listen to the sounds of nature around me. I allow myself to relax. This has been so very helpful, and I can get back to my "center". It invigorates me when I return back to whatever task I have next on my list of things to do.

7. Schedule exercise time.
Bad me, I haven't done this yet. But I will. As soon as life calms down a little bit.

8. Schedule "Me Time"
I've always been an advocate of this for everyone. After a day of being on call to what seems like everyone in the world, I need some time away from everyone and everything. Every evening, after dinner, my hubby is now in charge of getting everything ready for bedtime for the boys. He has to prep the nursery, get sippy cups filled with water, and start to pick up toys. I get to go take a long, hot, bubble-filled bath, with a good book or relaxing music. It's always been my favorite time of the day.

9. Eliminate energy drainers--clutter, trash, projects that will never get done due to loss of interest, things like that.
Okay, I'm still working on this. Pretty much, this encapsulates my entire house. But I'm working on it. Slowly.

10. Take better control of your time.
I'm having a little trouble doing this. The boys are very demanding at times, and it really interrupts my work flow. HOWEVER--since I have only 5 things on my To Do list at any given time, I'm getting a little better at this. I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to find a schedule and stick to it!!!!

Now we skip ahead to:

Week 14: Organize you Crafts

This project I'm realizing is going to have to be on going though out this challenge. There is so much STUFF in the craft room/office that sometimes I can't see the forest for the trees. I am trying to cut down some of those trees, however.

Recently, I cleared a small space in the middle of the craft room, and did a slow 360, really seeing things as they are, not just looking around. One thing I saw was a box of soap making supplies that have been through 2 moves, and are now collecting dust. I got online, contacted one of my soap-making friends, asked if she wanted a bunch of old supplies I don't need anymore, and now they are boxed up, ready to go into the mail next week. She called it a "Random Act of Kindness". I call it "Decluttering" and "Moving Stuff to Someone Who Will Actually Use It." But, whatever works! LOL. So, soon I'm hoping to see some more pretty soaps coming from Mary at Satisfy Your Senses. I can guarentee she'll be having some new soaps sometime in the future! (LOL)

So, what's the message there? If you have a bunch of old supplies you don't need or don't want--find someone who does. Find someone who has that interest and pass the stuff on to them. It's a twofold reward: You clear out space, and your friend will aquire new supplies, at no cost. (Yeah, that's the key--GIVE the supplies. Don't SELL them. The karma that comes back will be wonderful! Plus, it gives warm, fuzzy feelings for all involved.)

My jewelry supplies are an ongoing battle. And will for awhile. But small dents are being made, and everytime I bag, label, and put away another set of beads, or piece of jewelry, I'm one step closer to my goal. Baby steps. Not huge strides. But even baby steps can get me somewhere.

Next week: Week 14 (Organize your Crafts) (I did say this is going to be ongoing!!) and Week 2: Organize your Schedule.

Keep your sand blue and have a great week!!!!