I'm letting you know my family has been blessed with a healthy baby boy! Father and daughter are so thrilled. He's been such a blessing and as expected very demanding of my time. I know I've thanked everyone on Facebook about your patience and understanding of my maternity leave...although I haven't technically left. I'm still not on top of my game with being able to get to my orders made up and out right away to my customers as I'm usually known for...this has been the hardest adjustment for me to have to accept.

I had shut down shop in December for half of the month...as much as I dreaded to I was much relieved. I thought I was going to be making up order through my labor pains...I made myself shut down days prior to giving birth even though I still had many nights of staying up till 3 to get the Christmas orders out for the holiday rush...up to the night before giving birth! It was a bit crazy this year...Great but just all out Crazy to say the least!

I'm slowly getting back into the flow of things. I'd like to say I'm finding it easier with each week but I'm afraid to say I have a demanding little boy who is still feeding about every 1.5 hours. So as you can see it doesn't leave much time for much else to get done. I wanted to let you know I am doing all I can to get to the orders as I can to get them out as soon as possible.

I will say I'm very pleasantly surprised at the jump of orders I'm getting...I thought for sure from what it was last year it would be a dead month...but I see it's very steady! I think this is wonderful but I do have my moments of shear panic and thoughts of how will I get my orders out! I somehow have managed but with great understanding of my amazing customers that I have a baby on board. It has to be said again...I appreciate all of you!

I've been tossing around the idea of closing down shop again for a couple of weeks...but see as long as my customers are on the same page with me I'm hesitant in doing so...unless I pickup even more well then I'll have to reconsider. I'm doing what I can to not have that be the case for now. I love what I do too much to close down that easily. ;)

Amongst the orders, I've been meaning to add so much to this site and fail to get around to it. Being that baby comes first, then customers...website comes to dead last. Just so you know, I've wanted to show sneak peaks of my newest creations, a page featuring all my most popular, revamp my shop on here that has been simply sitting here for almost the past year...I think maintaining my Etsy shop is where I'll stay for now and remain. So my LMK resolutions for 2012...

1. Get all new items up!

2. Reorganize and expand on my customs page.

3. Blog a bit more than what I do.

4. Get Donation Page of Support Our Soldier Details.

5. Get my new shop in working order...details coming soon! Hint...will pertain to Jewelry Supplies!!! Something I've been wanting to do for a long while now. It's going to happen! I purchased the domain name for it tonight actually and cant wait to be sharing the name of it very soon!

There are a TON of new supplies to that I've purchased and haven't gotten to play around with to get my new ideas in my head into my shop! I'm bound and determined to make them happen and I'm promise they will but lets get baby to where he's not feeding every hour or so first. ;)

Here are my newest creations and style of wire wrapped earrings that will be soon available for sale.

As soon as I get some free time to get them up on my Etsy Shop! These are done in simi-precious stone chips...mostly shown in gold but will have silver options as well.

I'll also be excited to share with you a couple of my new crochet pieces. I love being able to change up what I'm creating on any given day! However, today wasn't so much for creating it was my "nesting day". Let me tell you I was all about NESTING today. I couldn't stop organizing, putting things away, cleaning...it was a bit much. To the point I couldn't stop myself even knowing I had a million and one other things to do.

For now a sneak peek at these lovelies will have to do for now.

A collection of my wire wrapped gypsy style earrings with semi-precious stone chips.

Striking Light baby blue so light they look as clear glass with the smokey quartz.

Striking Combination of Garnet and Sea Blue Quartz!

Gold with Glass Pearls - Beautiful and Bold

I love how the freshwater pearls are a perfect match to the citrine semi-precious stones.

These I have to say are my favorite by far. They glimmer and the colors are beautiful together.

These have been a lot of fun putting together and creating. I think I'll love wearing a lot of these pieces myself. I could make a set to match every single one of my outfits and dresses. It might be that I do. I love the natural look of the semi-precious stone chips and that none of them are "perfect" looking. It makes for a very artistic feel and vibe and the colors are fantastic with each other to make them stand out that much more. You'll be seeing these soon on my shop so keep an eye out for them. Also looking forward to showing you as I said before my crochet pieces. They tend to be a bit more work but they turned out fantastic...I can't wait to be mixing up the different mediums with my cotton cording and leathers with the crochet metal wire. More on the way!

Polymer Clay My Most Recent Creative Outlet!

So I've been playing around with Polymer Clay for a while now and have been wanting to share with you some of my latest creations. I'm not sure how these will fit into my shop...but I have to say there has to be a place for them. I'm not sure how much of a seller item they will or would be as of yet.

As you well know I love all sorts of mediums and ways to create jewelry. I like to dabble. I even last night crocheted my first necklace which I will share with you soon. For now here are some creations in which I think I'll be giving away for free. Some to be for the month of October and Halloween! It'll be here before we know it! I'll also be posting a page on all things Halloween!

If you would let me know what you think of these little creations. I really like how versatile polymer clay is and how it brings me back to my kid state and playing with play dough which is one thing my daughter is big into now.

Above are all hand created, stamped and hand painted pieces I did. Multi day project...one day spent making them up and another day baking and painting. I love the hand-painting part the most...I've gotten away from doing canvas paintings so I really miss the use of a brush and paints.

This one reminds me of my grandmother...her favorite flower was the Queens Ann's Lace. I liked keeping this one simple and white with a clear gloss finish.

This cute lil bow was a fun idea that I came up with. It reminds me of a hello kitty bow. I was thinking bow tie as a necklace...I would like to make some other fun ones up such as a formal tie and a mustache which seem to be a popular trend right now.

Ok I've seen these made before and I had to give it a try for myself. I love miniatures and so I had to do one up...not a piece I would probably ever wear myself but it was fun to make anyhow!

Oh yes I had to think up for next month creations and a pumpkin was the first thing to come to mind.

Then came the famous candy corn. Make for cute lil necklaces. I think my daughter will have fun wearing these. I'll be giving these out as giveaways too! SOON!

If you'd like feel free to let me know what ones of the above you'd like as a free give away. I'll be brain storming ideas as to what people will need to do to get them for FREE! Starting with some commenting below! ;) Like I said I'm not sure how these will fit into my shop since they are off the beaten path of what I normally create and I have no idea how well they would do as far as selling, so I'm giving away my first creations as I get it all figured out! ;)

A Day To Never Be Fogotten...

I believe it is so important Remember 911 and to think of the people that lost their lives and the Heroes that dedicated their lives in saving others that day. Here are a few items of artist's work that are dedicated to honoring our heroes and lives lost and forever touched by that day.

For many of us it is a moment in our lives we will never forget...we will remember the moment we saw the towers fall. I remember the exact moment of when I heard on the radio then saw on TV. It will be forever embedded in my mind.

Alphabet Framed Photography - Remember 9/11

DiersDesign Alphabet Photography

Remembering 9/11, Twin Towers 8x10 Fine Art Photography

JenMarieArt - Etsy Shop

911 Memorial NYC 001, 13x19 - Fine Art Photograph

neilmolinaro Neil Molinaro Fine Art Photography
I love the this photographer's style and the emotion you feel from his work!

Authentic Vintage Firefighter's Coat Button Earrings - 911 Remembrance

ajsoftail THE KEY OF A - Authentic Key Jewelry/Access & More
Artist has notified me that she is in the process of making matching cufflinks and an amazing charm bracelet. I will have these posted as soon as they are up so keep a watch for them! I simply love the look of these as well as how original they are!

911 Sterling Silver Necklace Charm & Sterling Silver Forget-Me-Knot

I currently do no have this item up for sale on my Etsy shop but I do have this item available. If you're interested in it simply contact me. I'd be happy to dress it up with colored stones and beads as well.

Special thank you to the Heroes and Sheroes of 911. A day to never be forgotten. Also a special thank you to these artists that have dedicated work in honoring those who lost their own lives for others and for those who lost loved ones on this tragic day.

Related Dedicated 911 Websites

The September 11 Digital Archive - http://911digitalarchive.org

Video dedicated to September 9, 2001 - http://attacked911.tripod.com

The Good News Dedication: http://www.thegoodnews.org/CD/remember_911/remember_911.html

911 YouTube Memorial Videos - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdo7aWfTRXM

These are only a few pieces that caught my eye. I will continue to add to this page as I come across more items and related links. If there are ones you'd like to suggest please feel free to contact me with them.

My Newest Lil Miss Katie's Bracelet Waxed Cotton Cord Designs

I've been waiting a while to get in this order of Wax Cotton Cording. The shipment came in and even though some of the colors I've ordered are on back order...it didn't discourage me from starting in on some new creations. I'm excited to be presenting my newest collection of bracelets.

I've got several more very simple and elegant designs in the making and at very affordable pricing. So far I love the look and feel of the newest pieces. I love the colors and the versatility of this material. It's easy to work with and I find it very durable to use and wear.

There are so many options on how to create the new bracelets I'm all over the place when wanting to create and customize my pieces. I'm not sure how big of a hit they will be but I see a lot of viewers are enjoying them and marking them as a fave so I have a feeling they will be a big hit. I plan on adding my personalized charms to be an added option to any and all of these. Making it easy to have the be custom created to have a specific name and word to these fantastic new jewelry pieces.

I've kept in mind the importance of making each one as unique as possible and to insure doing so is by making sure a custom stamped charm is available with as many items I create and sell. My other idea is to be making best friends - friendship bracelet sets to be versatile to wear as mother daughter sets, bridal sets and sister sets.

This is where I think sets like my "Love You Inside & Out" set will become a great example of how versatile the symbolic representation of the piece is. I will continue to create and design up as many options using this great new discovered material. Although it's been around and not new to the world...My new found love for it has made my creativity time quite enjoyable!

Not to brag but I love hearing from my customers! I love when I hear how they love their purchases. Here are just some of the comments that my customers have shared with me. To view all of them click here.

The Name In Pictures

This site and business was started up by close friends of ours. The Name In Pictures is where you can create a unique and personalized piece of art for yourself or as the perfect gift for someone special.  There are multi ways you can custom create these very unique picture frames. The images are specific photos of objects that relate to a letter of the alphabet to then spell out any word or name you'd like. You can spell a first name, last name, or even an inspirational word.  The possibilities are endless!

I find this a very affordable and very versatile memorable gift. The images are all completely unique. These are fantastic for accessorizing any home! Because of how many people I can check off my Christmas list this year I've got to say this is one of my Faves! There will definitely be someone you can think of that would love to have this hanging in their home. I actually was lucky enough to receive one as a gift from them for my birthday and it's one of my favorite pictures I have displayed in our home! It looks simply amazing!

Please take some time and visit their site:
http://thenameinpictures.com