I hit the Farmers Market with 20 bucks!! See what treasures I found:)

I went to our local farmers market this morning since I had to be up SO early (9) hehe to be at the post office.

Iv been wanting to go all year and this is the first morning I have actually gone! I am sooo BAD! So here are the treasures I found with my 20 bucks:)

3 Eggplants to

go with my measly 1 that I grew in my garden. Can you say Eggplant Parmesan?;) The lady said they had trouble with eggplant too this year so that makes me feel better:)

4 garlic heads I am going to break apart and plant in my garden so I can have fresh garlic next year:) I was so excited to see them! Seems I have missed the ideal planting time so there aren't any in the seed stores.

A jar of chow chow (pickled vegetable straight from the garden) mmmm I've been wanting some soooo bad! This one has cabbage, onions and peppers I think. He said its a little spicy:)

Some homemade cereal candy with PECANS!! mmmm Can't wait to dig into that one!!

A HUGE loaf of pumpkin bread made with fresh, from the garden, pumpkin. It smelled so

awesome on the way home I ate a slice for breakfast:) it was deli-sh!!

Pint of Local honey....he didn't have any comb:( But he did have the cutest little bees

wax candles in all different shapes. I loved the little pine cones! I almost got some lip-balm but I ran out of moolah..it was only 2 bucks. Should have got some change from the truck...darn it!!

And last but not least a Viola for the garden:) I planted a whole bunch from seed but none have blooms yet so I got this little guy. He is so cute! Purple and orange!! My fav colors:)

It was really great... I am thinking of bringing my jewelry there one morning in november....maybe sell a few things. Its really small but your guaranteed to have good conversation and way too many REALLY awesome things to eat:)

Artists Spotlight SassyBelleWares

When I ventured into the Etsy waters a friend of mine(well she is practically my cousin:) suggested that I join this Etsy group that she was in. Not wanting to get too involved I hesitated at first. The more I though about it I decided "what the heck" and dove on in. I'm so glad that I did!! I have met such wonderful people who are always willing to lend advice, an ear or a shoulder if need be. One of the great gals I have met is this lady. We have a lot in common. We both love our craft, we both want our craft to sell well:) and we both have outdoors-men for husbands! Ive really enjoyed this cyber friendship and all the others I have met through our awesome group. So with-out further ado I would like to introduce YOU to one of my friends! SassyBelleWares.

Sassy tell us How you got started on Etsy? I read about it in the NY Daily News and loved it the minute I went to the site. I was a champion buyer for about a year and then decided to try as a seller.

What was your inspiration for your shop? Mostly seeing

something I like and thinking "What could I do with th

at to make it wearable?!" My cocktail monkey necklaces are the perfect example of that. I love CM and wanted a way to always have him with me!

Okay now what would your fantasy job be? Being a Broadway star...specifically musicals. And, no, I cannot sing o

r dance!

Do you have a favorite author? When you read, do you use a proper bookmark, bend the page, or grab anything handy to mark your place?

Adriana Trigiani...when you read her books you feel like you are right there with the characters. I use a proper bookmark...they are one of the things I think you can never have enough of!

If money was no object and you can live wherever you want….where

would that be? NYC and upstate NY. I absolutely love NYC and would love to live there. Hubby would love to live on a huge hunk of land. So, if money was not an issue I would love to have both so we could go back and forth. Also, a big hunk of land would allow me to rescue homeless animals and give them a place to live!

What is your best childhood memory? My best childhood memory is growing up surrounded by a huge loving family and true friends. No matter what the occasion, fun, happy, serious, or sad there was always a gazillion people my parents, my brother, and I could count on to be there without having to ask.

And What's your favorite shop item and why? Right now, my flapper rings because I am obsessed with the HBO show Boardwalk Empire!

Now we all just have to know.....what's your favorite

kind of cupcake ;) ? Cupcakes are one of my obsessions and I have NEVER met a cupcake I didn't like. My faves are vanilla vanilla from Billy's bakery in NYC and coconut from Crumbs

And Last but not least list 3 of your favorite Etsy shops. I have so many b

ut one of my faves is Lola FalkDesigns: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LolaFalkDesigns She has fabulous bags and the ones I have given as gifts have always been a hit!

Another fave is a more recent discovery, Bungalow Bath & Body:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BungalowBathBody The whipped sugar scrubs are perfect...moisturizing but not greasy and they smell so delicious I have to keep reminding myself I cannot eat them! The pancake breakfast is a must!

Shixie is another of my faves:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/shixie?ref=seller_info The mini dress necklaces are one of the funnest accessories

I have ever seen!

Thank you sassy for taking the time to get to let us get to know the

artist behind the art:)

Be sure and check out SassyBellWares and SassyBelleButtons

You are in for a wonderful treat! Also check out the Courage for Kristi shop. Sassy donated some really great pieces for a wonderful cause!!!

You can also find Sassy on Facebook and this is her Blog.

500 FB fan giveaway!

Okay. I am having a giveaway for reaching 500 fans on my Facebook page. All you have to do is comment on this blog post. I'm going to give you all until Sunday to comment and then Sunday evening I will pick a winner using Random.org. You MUST be a follower of my blog to win.(please leave your email or some way of getting in touch with you to let you know you won in your comment)

What will you be winning you ask? I am giving away a 10.00 gift certificate to my artfire shop!! So good luck everyone and spread the word!!

Somewhat Productive Day

My friend over at http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlechampart is keeping me motivated to try and Blog regularly:) She always has the cutest blog and I love hearing about her exploits:) You will love her customized items including name blocks and ornaments! Be sure and check out her store!

I had a somewhat productive day. I did a little cleaning then headed out on the porch to enjoy this great fall weather we are having. While lounging in my wicker chair listening to the wind chimes and watching the kitty pouncing around in the grass:) I looked through and sticky flagged all the items I NEED to buy, WANT to buy, and might just HAVE to buy ;) in my 2010 comprehensive jewelry catalog from Firemountain Gems. All 1218 pages of it!

Once the wonderful fall weather turned into ...okay a little too chilly for me... I headed inside and tackled that darn earring that I fudged up the other day. I ended up having to cut all the beads back out and start over... then it messed up again but I just had to unwind all the connections and re wrap it. Then the darn bow wouldn't go one right!! I swear that earring is cursed!! lol Finally got the pair finished though. They look awesome, I hope you guys like them once I get the pics up.

After that I cut out all the beads of the necklace that I am fixing for a customer. Wiped and dusted the beads really good and then restrung and crocheted them. Then twisted them up and attached the clasp. Gonna get that back to her this week:) Glad the revamp went smoothly! Hopefully no more problems.

Then I finished a bracelet that I started over 2 years ago and never finished. I found it while cleaning out some supplies. It is a cuff crocheted with embroidery floss. I will post pics of it as well although I love it so much I will be keeping it for myself:)

Thats one of the things I love about jewelry making. When you are sitting there making stuff to sell if there is something you have been wanting for yourself... you just make it!! Its wonderful:) Like this evening after I finished the revamp on the necklace I crocheted myself

a thumb ring. I like the way it turned out but I am going to tweak a few things for the sale version.

And last but certainly not least: I made a necklace for this awesome pendant from http://www.etsy.com/shop/FirstLightGlass. She is so very talented... you have to check out her glass:) I'm SO happy with the way the necklace turned out and can't wait to show you guys:)

Tomorrow after work I will hopefully get pictures for you all to see!

Gearing up for my first event this weekend. Its just a small family fun day and its not just handmade sellers so I am going to get some anklets and stuff like that made up. That way I have more affordable options. I'm not expecting much but it will be a good dry run for those to come in November and December.

Okay well I better hit the hay. Goodnight all:)

Oooopps

What to do What to do??

I made this custom pair of earrings for a customer and really loved they way they turned out!:)

So while I was at Hobby Lobby picking up supplies to make a second pair so that I could list them on my Etsy, I also picked up supplies to make a really rockin black and silver pair. The beads were a little bit more expencive than the orange ones but I think these will be really great party earrings.

So I went about making these black and silver ones at the same time I was finishing up the custom orange pair for the order. I put the ear wires on the black/silver pair before the orange pair so if I messed up I could learn from my mistakes and do the orange pair (that needed to be shipped asap) right the first time:) Well did I ever mess up on the black/silver pair!! I cut the wrong wires off and now I don't have a wire to make a loop for the ear wire:( I'm going to see if I can salvage it.... if not I have to cut ALL the beads out of the wire, throw that wire away and start all over from scratch!! I just love crocheting jewelry:) Its like jewelry making on the edge...lol If you don't get it right the first time.... your screwed!!

On another "oops" note: I just received a message from a local lady who bought one of my earliest necklaces. Back when I was still using 30 and 32 gauge wire to crochet with. Her necklace broke and came all unwound:( So I went by there and picked it up. (if you all don't know it I have a Lifetime Warranty on all of my pieces more info here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MegsCrochetJewels/policy) She was very understanding and told me that she loved the necklace and wore it a lot and always got lots of complements:) I'm so happy that she was enjoying it! So I am going to cut all of the beads out and restring them on 28 gauge wire and she should never have anymore problems!!

I'm glad that she came to me about the problem:) Its because of customers like her that my jewelry will just keep getting better and better in quality!