Snowed In

It has finally stopped snowing and I was able to leave the house for the first time since Thursday. I could not believe the devastation this storm caused. 

We still have no power but my In-Laws lent us a generator to power our sump pump so our basement doesn't flood, they came over today so I could go to work at the salon for a few hours. We have the internet and a few lights working but lost everything in our fridge and freezer including all the homemade baby food and some pumped breast milk I send to my in-laws while I am at work. I called the power company and it looks like we may not be turned back on until Monday night!

It is amazing how the baby never even noticed we had no power, she and I played and read books just like always and she is as happy as can be. Friday before we got the generator for heat was cold so I just dressed her warmly and put a hat on her and she was fine to stay like that for hours and play.

I have not been making any jewelry so I will post some pictures I took on Thursday during the storm while I was at work waiting for my husband to pick me up.

Good Night! I hope everyone stays safe and warm.

Growing so fast and a new bracelet

The Girl is 8 months old today! What a milestone. We celebrated by not sleeping at all last night and not taking our naps today. Who needs sleep when there is so much exploring to do?! She is getting so big, I can see she wants to walk so bad and is going to give me a heart attack because she keeps standing up and letting go. I have no idea why they make baby toys, we have hundreds of dollars worth of stuff and my little one wants to play with my makeup, chair legs, water bottles and the poor chihuahua.

I have a passion for new books especially jewelry books and art books. I just bought this one to add to my collection.

Handmade Underground Jewelry - 25 fun projects for all occasions by Shannon LeVart. 

I love the cover that is what drew me in, I thought it was funny that we had the same name, but I had to add it to my collection because I love Shannon's style. I have seen her work in Belle Armoire magazine (another one of my splurges) and on her blog missficklemedia.com.

So how cute is this little ring? I am drawn to all things with wings right now, so this little beauty is what caught my eye in Shannon's book. Can't wait to try one out for myself. So Cute!

This is my new bracelet, lots of wire wrapping which I am finding I love. I decided to try out some Vintaj brass that I bought over a year ago on a whim (not normally my style) and has sat in my room ever since. So here is my Vintaj chain bracelet with Swarovski Crystals, Swarovski Crystal Pearls, Ruby Zoisite stones and glass rondelles, finished with a lobster clap clasp and extender chain. I think it came out nice I know I have outfits it would go with nicely. 

I love how this picture turned out so I just had to share. 

Off to bead, I mean bed, okay maybe beading then bed or beading in bed. Hmmm...there's an idea. I wish I didn't need sleep I would get so much more done.

New Necklace

Like I said I am trying new things this year. I love how this necklace came out. It has sea glass, vintage lucite, sterling silver, clear quartz, glass, pearls, lampwork glass beads and hand made wire embellishments and clasp. 

This is the handmade clasp. I wire wrapped 24g wire so the last bead wouldn't slip off. I think it came out really well.

The Girl is doing great she is teething pretty badly so we should see a tooth soon I would think. I cannot believe how in love with her I am, I took my hair down (I never wear it down) today while we were playing on the floor, the way she looked at me was so precious. In one look I saw love, it was as if she was saying "Mom you are so beautiful" she actually stopped playing for a moment to touch my face and smile. I will treasure this moment in my heart forever.

Here is my little one trying to pull up on the couch. After these pictures were taken she did succeed in pulling herself up. She wanted the chihuahua, who was hiding on the couch. I guess nowhere is safe anymore. I need to watch her all the time now too.

 

We gave her a teething cookie for the first time yesterday. No one ever told me they were messy, she sure did have a great time though.

My beady purchases

The other night I got out of work a couple minutes early so I decided to run into Michael's before going home. I was able to clear my head a bit from work and baby which I think is important to do. I feel more energized and inspired to be more creative and more organized. They were also having a huge sale and I got some neat stuff all reduced to $1.99 each.

Can't wait to get crafty with my new finds.

Out of my box

I am trying to try new things with my jewelry. I am mostly a stringer but I did get a kiln for my birthday a couple of years ago so I have also worked with PMC (precious metal clay). I have not had a chance to use the kiln much because just after we got it I found out I was preggers. Anyway this necklace is taking me out of my comfort zone a little bit because I don't normally play too much with wire, except for wrapping beads of course. I would like to explore this new found aspect of jewelry more so here is my first attempt, a simple chain necklace with Swarovski Crystals.

With one strand of beads

With 1 strand of beads I was able to make a necklace, earrings and a bracelet. I personally wouldn't wear them all together but you could if you are the matchy, matchy type. I used these cool gemstone beads, Swarovski crystals, pearls and Bali silver spacers.

What a great day The Girl and I had today. Last night was awful so I was worried about today. Poor girl is teething so she was up forever during the night. I made several more batches of baby food while Emi took her nap. She actually took 2 naps today - an hour at 1 PM and an hour and a half at 4 PM! She even went down easy for both naps (that never happens) I was so proud. I made a chicken and veggies for dinner and had it ready when hubby got home so we were able to eat dinner as a family.
It has been tough to get into a groove now that we have a baby,  hopefully I can get some sort of schedule going by summer.