New goodies.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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?

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

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.

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

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.