Getting ready for a New Year.

Whew!  What a busy week we just finished up.  Christmas was the end to week long festivities here.  My house started with a cookie decorating party last Wednesday.  It began Tuesday night rolling out cookie dough.  There was peanut butter, gingerbread and of course sugar cookies to bake up and get ready for decorating the next day.  Lots of family members came in for the fun.  My sister, her younger daughter and my great nephew, my Mom & Dad, both my girls and grandsons and my husband came home from work early.  So let the cookie decorating begin.

Fun was had by all.  The little helpers were all treated to a Santa hat with their name liquid embroidered on it.

On to Christmas Eve.  Although this was an unexpected celebration it brought surprises and smiles.  Families now are created with extended family members.  As is ours.  My oldest daughter has a step son but he is special to us and is one of our grandsons as well.  He could not be with us on Christmas day so we put together a Christmas Eve celebration and opened a few presents.

Now for the big Christmas day.  For our family the most excitement comes from the feast.  I must admit that I have been blessed to always have a wonderful Christmas meal.  The last few years I have hosted the meal in our home.  Mainly because we have a Great room.  Meaning one large room that encompasses the living room, dining room and kitchen.  This allows everyone to be together in one area.  Last year due to illness I missed this.  I was sick in bed the entire day.  The good part about that was it gave my husband a new appreciation to the work that goes into coordinating all the foods so they are ready at the same time.  He was lucky that we had  purchased Bob Evans holiday feast.  He had all the instructions wrote out in front of him. Our guests were lucky in the fact they did not have to endure what might have happened if he had cooked the turkey.
This year I prepared the feast and my sister pitched in extra mash potatoes and my dad brought sweet potatoes and more dressing.  Food, food every where.
We also made sure everyone had a gift to open.  Even if it was a small one.  The real fun came when we broke out the foam disc guns.  Even the adults went back to being kids.

We are still finding those little discs all over the house.  That is okay with me because these are so much fun.
It was wonderful to celebrate with family.  I have taken the last few days to put my house back together and to reflect on this past year.
Every year has it's ups and downs.  This year has been different in the fact I finally feel I have a direction to go.  I feel like I have been standing at a cross road for too long.  After leaving a career in the medical field I felt lost in what to do with myself.  I am not a stay at home watch tv all day type.  I was bored and restless when by chance I picked up jewelry making supplies.  The creative process sparked something in me and now I look forward to trying new ideas.
In the new year I will be taking this another step by trying to create my own handmade polymer clay beads.  I am looking forward to trying to create truly one of a kind items for you.
My New Years wish for all of you is that you find things that make you happy and move you to create a better life for you and those around you.

Holiday Season

Busy!  Busy!!  A normal week is busy enough for most of us with the daily activities of our lives.  As we head into this Holiday season I hope you all will take a moment and find peace and enjoy time with your loved ones and friends.

I am a Christian and celebrate the birth of Christ.  What every holiday you are entering may you be blessed.  

This year has brought me many blessings and I am trying to slow down and remember the good things.  It is so easy to get wrapped up in the holiday madness.  There is a big difference in what this holiday should be and what the retailers want you to think this holiday is.  A couple of years ago I told my girls (who are grown) that I would love to have a handmade Christmas.  One where we would all make things for one another.  I thought it would be wonderful.  Back then there was more money and we could afford to get those gifts merchants told us we needed to have a happy Christmas.  We are by no means broke but we sure won't be shopping the way we were use to.  It saddens me that I cannot afford to spoil my kids and grandsons the way we have in the past but it saddens me more how I have bought into the whole concept that the merchants have fed us about Christmas..  There will be gifts, toys and food.  The best presents won't be bought.  It will be the family I have around me and the laughter and hugs.  

I am grateful for the many full Christmases we have had and I am grateful that God has given me the talents to to create the many gifts I will be giving this year.  The blessing I am getting is that God is giving me the lesson I had asked for .  The lesson of what is most important about the Holidays and what should be important every day, family & friends.

God revealed to me this year a talent I did not know I had.  The ability to create jewelry pieces that others enjoy.  I have been blessed that this little talent bloomed into a small business that is growing.  I appreciate each person who has encouraged me and to the many who have purchased from me in my on line store and at the many craft fairs and festivals I have attended.

Thank you to each of you.  May you be blessed this Holiday Season.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wanted to take this time to Thank all of you who have gave me encouragement and have been with me through this journey of learning to make jewelry, blogging and all the other things that have gone along with it.  For me the last two years have been thinking about all I have lost and the changes my life has gone through.  It has been a rough road indeed.
Thanks to all of you I am seeing there is much more to my life.  Things are changing but it doesn't have to be bad.  I am slowly learning to move forward instead of staying stuck where I had been.  Jewelry making has been a great outlet and your encouragement has meant a great deal to me.  I may not know you in person but that does not mean our relationship is any less important.  Thank you all.  May your Thanksgiving festivities be full of love and laughter.

Things you learn.

The craft show was very fun and the sales weren't bad either.  I want to thank St. John's Church of Dover, Indiana.  They were very friendly and made the experience so pleasant.  I have never been at a craft show where they bring you a lunch menu and if you would like to order they deliver it to you.  Wonderful group around us and great customers.

We were inside but it was beautiful weather.  Sunny and very warm for this time of the year in Indiana.  It made it hard to think of snow and Christmas.  So the holiday items I had worked on did not sell very well.  I have not been doing the craft shows for very long but I have learned that you never really know what will be selling that day.  With Halloween over I almost did not to take my spider creations but at the last minute I chose to grab them.  I am so glad I did.  I sold several different spider creations but it was a conversation with a nice lady that taught me something I wanted to share with you.

The lady pointed at one of the spiders and said, "oh look a Christmas spider."  She told me she wasn't sure how the story went but that spiders are really the reason we put tinsel on Christmas trees.  That made me very curious so when I got home I did a search and here is what I found.

                                            

The Christmas Spiders

Once upon a time a long time ago.   A mother was busy cleaning her home for the most wonderful day of the year.  The day they decorated for the celebration of the Christ child.  Not a speck of dust was left.  Even the spider webs were wiped out of their cozy corners sending the spiders fleeing for the attic.

T’was Christmas Eve at last!  The tree was decorated and waiting for the Christ child to visit and bless the home.  The poor spiders in the attic were frantic because they would not be present for the Christ child’s visit.  The oldest spider suggested they creep back down and peek through a crack.  Suddenly the door opened a wee bit and the spiders scurried into the room.  Their eyes weren’t accustomed to the brightness of the room so they crept closer to the tree for a better look.  It was so beautiful they began to climb over and around every branch of the tree until they had seen every pretty thing the mother had so carefully hung.

But every where the spiders had crawled left a web.  The Christ child entered to bless the home.  He looked at the tree and smiled.  He loved the little spiders for they were God’s creatures too.  He thought of the mother who had so carefully cleaned and decorated the tree for her children and He knew she would not be happy, so He touched the tree and the webs all turned to sparkling silver and gold!

Ever since we have hung tinsel on our Christmas trees, and according to the legend it is considered good luck to include a spider among the decorations on the tree.

(This is a folk legend from Germany and Ukraine)

 Sometimes it is chance and brief meetings of strangers that can bring a blessing into your life.  I do not know this woman's name but I want to thank her for sharing this with me.  It has brought me smile and I will not look at a Christmas tree or tinsel in the same way again.  I am sure it will not make some of you like spiders any better but it is a reminder that God loves all creatures.

Ringing in the Holidays

Preparing for two more up coming craft shows.  I am very excited about these.  They are a great way to grow.  I am also very blessed that I have a husband who supports me on my endeavors.  His first way of support is to buy me books to expand my knowledge on what ever I am taking on.  He also understands you need tools to work with.  I never start with top of the line tools or materials.  You need to learn and develop your craft and as you mature so can your tools and materials.  I learned that with my dog grooming business.  You can by the most expensive scissors but unless you understand how to properly use them then they are worthless.

The newest challenge I wanted to take on was rings.  I developed an adjustable ring.  This has it's advantages.  It is much easier for someone to order and be sure they are able to wear it.  The flaw with this design is the wires used to make the rings will become brittle and break after repeated bending.  The adjustable rings I started with were the spiders created for Halloween.

If the rings are adjusted to size and remain in that position they will will last a very long time but I wanted a design that was not only more sturdy but more pleasant to look at.

There are many wonderful pages, teachers and books one can turn to when learning this craft.  I chose the book "wirework" an illustrated guide to the art of wire wrapping by Dale "Cougar" Armstrong.  This book gave several variations and included a dvd.  Amazon prove to be a good place to find a mandrel for sizing the rings.

I was so excited once I got all the pieces and parts.  My first attempt was a five wire design.  I felt like I was wearing mittens and trying to type.  It was a crazy juggling act.  Trying to hold the wires and wrap and fold.  Not a pretty sight.  RETREAT!!! Back up and regroup. haha  After studying the book again I chose another design.  This one went much better and I learned the benefits of the ring mandrel.  I used the cheaper crafting wire like you buy at Walmart to learn the procedures.  When I felt I had a grasp on the steps I used silver plated wire and glass beads and swarovski beads and a few seed beads.  I let my wire whimsy go where it wanted and here is what I came up with.

After a few days of practice I did go back and attempt the five wire version again.  Here is what I came up with.

I am excited with these results.  I have much to learn and I am looking forward to experimenting more with the new found creations.
This Saturday and Sunday (November 5th & 6th) I will be at a craft show in Dover, Indiana and I am looking forward to the feed back on these rings.
Challenge yourself to learn new things about your craft.  This helps us to grow not only in our craft and creativity but also as a person.

More new things with Harmoniously Tangled

There is something about getting your own Logo that makes your business seem more real.  Often when you work from home people do not see you as a business owner.  This can include your spouse.  You know the person who barges in your work room when you are concentrating on something and then gets mad when you give them one of those looks.

My journey to creating the logo you see at the top was sort of a fluke.  I had been thinking it would be nice to have something that people could identify with.  When networking on facebook a page that I added as a friend posted a logo she had created for another business.  I decided to ask about the cost and how you go about it.

That is how my logo started.  It was a fun and easy journey thanks to Frogjunkiee's Creative Creations.  When creating your logo you want your business to come to mind.  There are different ways to accomplish this.  You show your name in words or pictures or your logo may imply what you are shooting for.  Your vision, your friends comments and the person designing the logo all have thoughts and ideas that play into what is created.  It will be a meeting of theses ideas that will bring forth a creations that express your business the way you want it to.  Here is the key.  Your idea of how you want your business displayed to your customers is the most important aspect of the creation.

Although I am not a florist I chose to use vines to represent  harmoniously tangled.  I felt it was a great representation of turning and twisting for the best out come.  My business is jewelry but not so long ago I was trying to start an aromatherapy business under another name.  I live in rural Indiana and it was a hard sale.  Even though I know the great results you can achieve I gave up.  I had spent a good chunk of change getting signs, cards etc. to promote that business.  I also had chosen a name that could not expand or grow in a different direction if I needed it to.  My name this time makes sure I have more flexibility and I wanted to make sure my logo could do the same.  My saying is "Creating treasures for you."  When I gave all this information to Shannon she came back with an idea.  We bounced ideas off one another until we had a logo I felt represented what I was trying to achieve.   Shannon made it fun and was very open to hearing what I was interested in achieving.  Below is the logo I mostly use but she has given me other options, like the black one, for my use.

 

I enjoy adding it to my cards and pages.  I show it when ever I get a chance.  I want people to become accustom to seeing it and think of a friend and a great place to buy for themselves and for gifts.

Another new thing that has come along for Harmoniously Tangled is a helper, of sorts.  This little helper is being featured in many of the photographs taken for my store and online presentations.  Meet Harmoni...

Harmoni is a little gnome created for me by Gniffer's Gnomes.  You will be seeing more of her in the future.  She has a wonderful story.  To read more about her visit my facebook page and look through her photo album.  There is a very sweet story there about her.  Be sure to visit Gniffer's Gnomes and see the other wonderful gnomes she creates specially for each person.  Harmoni has already been spread all over facebook but here is her debut in one of my store pictures.  She has brought magic to my store by helping create new hand painted charms for Harmoniously Tangled's Attitude line.

 These charms are only one inch and hand painted.  They fit inside the interchangeable bottle cap necklaces that are unique to Harmoniously Tangled.  Click on my store link above and go to the Attitude Collection to learn more.
Whew!!  So much going on here at Harmoniously Tangled.  The best part is that it all means growth!  This is a very fun journey and I am glad to have you along.  If ever possible I would love to meet you in person.  This coming weekend (November 5 & 6) I will once again be teaming up with my sister Lisa over at Creative Kitty Crochet and we will be at St. John's 21st Annual Craft Show in Dover, Indiana.  Stop by and see us if you are in the area.

Polymer Clay Lessons

Never satisfied me went looking for another project to tackle.  I decided to try my hand at polymer clay items.  There is an ulterior motive for this project.  Sometime in the future I would like to make my own beads.  There are hundreds if not thousands of places to buy beads through the mail.  My problem with this type of shopping is the time it takes to locate what I have in mind and then waiting for it to arrive.  This is becoming a real problem when it comes to holiday style beads.  My local craft stores never seem to carry beads for holidays.  I like offering special holiday items for my customers.  I also like having them done up ahead of time so I am not scrambling to get the items out at the last minute.
I have had my clay, tools and a toaster oven for a while now.  They have been sitting here laughing at me or that is the way it seemed to me.  For some reason I was intimidated by those little packages of color.  I wanted to take them and make a treasure out of them but I was afraid I couldn't get the results I wanted and even more afraid to waste the clay.  Things have been tight for us since I left my job and I try to not be wasteful.
So those bright packages have sat there until today.  I went to bed last night telling myself that in the morning I was going to get up and conquer my procrastination on this project.  First thing I learned was how grateful I was that I had spent the money on a machine to roll out the clay.  It was so nice to have sheets of colors rolled out in seconds.  Now cutting out the different shapes was a snap.  I twisted, rolled poked and sliced to get the effect I was looking for.  They were adorable!  I was so excited.
I placed those creations in the oven and waited to see what would happen.  There are difference in opinions on whether or not the fumes that come from the baking clay are toxic.  To play it safe I took my oven to the garage and set a timer.  I knew immediately when I walked in the garage the outcome would not be what I was hoping for.  Here is what I found.

The first thing I have to do is kick my self.  I have baked enough in my life time to know that not all ovens heat the same.  I should have done tests to figure out the best temperature and time for this particular project.  Second I should have only done one maybe two so to not waste so many.  I was so excited at how cute they looked before the oven I was over confident.
I spent the next hour or so placing small pieces of clay rolled out to the thickness that I used in the oven for different times and adjusting the temperature.  When I felt I was closer I placed another in the oven.  This time the result was this.

This is still a touched scorched but much better than the first time.  Whew!! What a day.  I am still unsure about how this type of clay should look and feel once it is cured.  I would love to hear from any of you who use polymer clay.  For today I am done with trial and error.  I will go and  spend more time reading what I can find on the subject.  I will go back at it tomorrow.  Today I conquered a silly fear of failing at this project.  Learning is always a good thing and it is not a waste of materials if it teaches you.
Is there something you are wanting to do or learn?  Go for it.  It may not come out like you are hoping but the learning experience will strengthen you in many ways.
Happy Crafting ALL.

Picking Myself Up and Dusting Myself Off

It is time to pick myself up and stop dwelling on the last festival.  My sister and I set up at Levi Coffin Days in Fountain City.  There were no big mishaps for us and Murphy's Law was not hanging over us like our last festival.  The problem was there were few people buying.  The weather was beautiful and there were many people walking about but they were not interested in what we were trying to sell.  Although we were not selling a neighboring booth was doing very well.  He was selling cutting boards.  Yes you read that right.  Cutting boards.  I am happy for him.  I am glad someone was doing well.  He was a nice gentleman and I enjoyed talking with him.  He explained he was laid off sometime ago.  He use to put in kitchen counter tops.  He had a friend still in the business.  That is where he got the pieces he cut and rounded the corners and made into cutting boards. He was selling them for $15 each or 2 for $25.  For me $15 for a cutting board is high but people out that day was grabbing them up like they were the next BIG THING.  It was amusing to watch the discussion that went on over what color to buy.  This was a big lesson that you just never know what is going to sell.

I have been spending a big portion of my time lately working on a new set up for my next craft show.  With our businesses being new my sister and I are trying to keep our costs down.  For our next show we decided to share a 6ft table.  She does crochet so her items are larger and bulky and I have smaller things but much more of it.  Like I said before I do not want to go out and buy a bunch of things to use for display so I am trying to be creative with what I have.  The best way to use the space is to build up.  So I have taken a display board covered it in green.  When I first started covering this I tried using paper.  It was tearing and would not lay the way I wanted it to.  My next trip to the store I went to the fabric department and found this fabric on sale for $1.50 a yard.  It was cheaper than the paper I had first tried to use and worked so much better.  I glued it to the board using Mod Podge.  I made the two side panels into earring displays and added hooks to the center panel.  I already had the crates you see holding the necklaces so I decided to use them instead of placing hooks all the way down.  This is still a work in progress.

Another thing I am using is a table arm that I have for my dog grooming table. I knew I could add this to any table and it would give me a place to hang some extra items.  I decided to cover a couple of pieces of cardboard and make another display area.  I am unsure if I will add hooks to the boards or cut holes in them.  I may even choose to go with one large board instead of the two I am showing here. Closer to the date of the show I will cover the arm with Christmas paper or with fabric to make it look better.  I need to groom my dogs before then so I can't do it now.lol

The craft show is the first weekend in November so I still have some time.  Along with finishing this I am happy to say I will be trying to create new things with clay.  I now have my own little oven and the other things to start creating the things I want to work with.  I decided to do this because I often cannot find the things I want to work with in my area.  I will post once I have completed my first projects with the clay.

Now lets get back to the holiday at hand.  Halloween!!!!!  Since we moved into our home outside the town I have missed not decorating the house for all the little trick-or-treat ghosts and goblins.  It has been a treat for me this year to create Halloween items for my on line store at Storenvy.  You will find Halloween sets, skulls, ghosts and spiders, lots of spiders.  Meet Ice Princess.  She is one of the adjustable spider rings you will find waiting for you in my store.  You can get to my store by clicking the Harmoniously Tangled Storenvy button at the top right of this page.

Stop on by my store and see if we have that special item to make your Halloween costume fantastic this year. Need something in a different color?  Special orders are always welcome.

Am I Ready?

After the last festival experience I have to wonder what will go on the next time.  It is unsettling to say the least but I am I going to let that stop me?  NO!  Like I said before things will go go wrong.  I am just going to go with the flow and enjoy what ever experience it brings me.
This time we, meaning my sister Lisa over at Creative Kitty Crochet and myself, will be setting up a booth at the Levi Coffin Days in Fountain City, Indiana.  Come by and visit us if you are in the area.
I have been busy creating new items.  Spiders have been a focal point.  I have done earrings and even managed to do a smaller version than those I showed you earlier.  I also now have adjustable rings.

The ring above is an adult ring but I also have child size available in my store.  Thank you to my daughter Symantha for modeling for me.

Stop by my store and see the Halloween Fun Collection I have there.  You will also see some fun I have been having with skulls.  Click the Storenvy button on the top right of this page to visit my store.

Wish me luck as I continue to prepare for the up coming festival and please stop by and see us if you are in Fountain City, Indiana at the Levi Coffin Days on September 17 or 18,

Festival Follies

Anyone who takes their creations to festivals knows it is a huge learning experience.  One of the best parts about taking your creations to a festival is the feed back you receive from those who stop by your booth.  Positive or negative reactions let's you know if you are on the track for taking your business where you want it to go.

Getting to the festival is a learning experience in it's self.  From the vehicle to arrive in, to the packing of your creations and the displays you plan to use. Some items pack better than others.  Recently my sister Lisa of Creative Kitty Crochet and I attended a festival.  When packing up for the day I envied the ease her crocheted items packed.  Her displays were much simpler and required less space.  Displays are important to show your creations.  The smaller the item you must display the more important it is to make the item seen.  With all this in mind there is one thing I forgot to take in account.  How many trips will I have to make to the car to get everything  to my booth.  This also became a big issue when a problem came into play when getting home after our first day at the festival.  Sit back, enjoy and I hope you learn from this experience.  I should say here that I am a glitch queen.  Murphy's Law seems to follow me.  So be prepared to laugh but more important learn.  I am happy to share this with you in the hopes I save someone else from the same fate.

Day one.  The weather was perfect.  This is probably the one saving grace and allowed us to roll with the punches.  My sister arrives at my house and we begin packing my Durango, the only vehicle we have that can hold all of our items,  the six foot table and allow us both to ride in the same vehicle.  We also take a cooler so to stay away from having to buy fair foods.  We arrive and find our check in point.  They do not have us on the list she has in her hand.  I had called prior in the week to verify because I had not received any confirmation from them, although I had checked with the bank to make sure the check had been cashed.  A minor over sight,  our number had been skipped over when typing the list.  I want to say that the Lions Club in Hagerstown did a fantastic job with this festival and was always available to handle situations that came along during the entire festival.  We were led to our spot.  GREAT spot. under a nice shade tree.  Across from us the buildings were spaced so we had a nice breeze.  We began to open the hatch to start unload and something hit the ground and a bunch of little faces began to roll in different directions. My Attitude charms were on the loose!  We gathered them up.  At least they weren't breakable.  Note to self, get a locking box for the roaming Attitude charms.  Next we start to set up the canopy and I cut my finger.  Luckily I had paper towel but not bandaids.  Note two, bring a first aid kit!   Set up finished we are sitting there enjoying the weather when the neighboring concessions booth arrives and begins trying to park.  A husband & wife team who worked wonderfully well together.  We asked if they would like us to move.  "No we are okay."  We watched them struggle but they still didn't want us to move.  We got up & moved a few feet for them & they got it first try.  We had a wonderful time with them.  It is good to be nice to your neighbors.  If you ever come across an Emergency Concessions at a festival ask them if they have been to Hagerstown, Indiana Jubilee days.  If they have let them know you have heard about how great they are.

It was a nice day.  Now we began the pack up.  Good grief, four trips later we are finally gathering the last things.  Tired and hungry we stopped to get something to eat.  We pulled out of the parking lot and was heading home on our last 20 minutes of our journey.  That is when I get hit with Murphy's Law big time.  Keep in mind that I had said this was the only vehicle we have that will hold all the things we have with us.  Suddenly Lisa asks if my car is on fire?  As "I don't think so" left my mouth smoke begins to roll from under the car on the drivers side by the front tire.  Quickly I pull over and jump out of the car.  It is popping and hissing.  I am waiting for the thing to burst into flames.  I pull out my cell phone and call my husband who says he will come get us.  His vehicle is a Yaris!  I am thinking what are we going to do with all this stuff we are  suppose to set up again the next day at the festival.  I tell him to go get my Dad's van.  Thank God for dads.  So I call dad and let him know what is going on and that my husband will be coming to get his van.  So my sister and I wait and listen to the popping and hissing.  I kept imagining the thing going up in flames with all of our hard work in the back.  Finally the van comes rolling up.  I am expecting my husband but I wasn't expecting to see my dad too.  Lisa & I just look at each other.  OHHH fun  What the heck are we going to do with all this stuff and still fit the four of us in for the ride back?  The guys begin pulling stuff out and TOSSING it into the van.  At this point I have come to a HUGE understanding how important it is to keep your packing to a minimum and still protect your creations.  We arrive back at my Dad's house and leave the van parked there.  We pulled out the cooler & put it in my husbands car and head home.  Dad's van uses more gas and we needed to go by his house to get to the festival any way.  Also I would be able to bring him my car to use while I had the van.  Sleep!  I need sleep.

Up early for day two we packed the cooler and headed to Dad's to pick up the van.  We ran in got the keys and spoke briefly to our parents.  We were in a rush because we knew the town we were going to would be closing down some roads for the parade that day.  We jump in the van and take off.  About 15 minutes down the road we realize the cooler is still in the back of my car.  Oh well!  Quick trip through a drive thru and the "oh darn we will just have to eat festival food" we rolled with the punch and headed on to the festival.

Enjoying the weather we were chatting away when we realized we were unsure where we were.  "UGH! I missed the turn!"  After back tracking for like 15 minutes we finally made it to the town and met up with road blocks.  There is two real problems with this.  First I do not know this town and the even bigger problem is that I have LITTLE sense of direction.  At one point I had NO idea which direction our booth set up was.  My sister talked me through it and we lucked into a parking place not too far from our booth.  Good thing because again it takes 4 trips to and fro to get all the stuff to the destination.  One trip to the car resulted in the car alarm going off and several tries to disengage it.  I finally had to get in and start the stupid thing to get it to shut up.  I finally get started on my set up.  Remember what I said about packing your creations to protect them?  The Toss fest my husband and Dad had  the night before when transferring things from the sizzling Durango to the van meant I got to untangling about 80 pairs of earrings so I could hang them for display.  I kept telling myself to be grateful I still had them and that they didn't burst into flames. lol  If anyone has a great easy travel earring display I would love to hear about it.

The weather was beautiful and the people fun.  The rest of the day was very pleasant.

If I have any words of wisdom it is no matter how well you plan something is bound to go wrong.  When things go wrong ABANDON SHIP! LOL  No only abandon ship if it is about to catch on fire!  Try to find a way to laugh at the bad and enjoy the experience the good and the bad.

I will be attending another festival soon and I am reworking my packing to protect my creation and try and reduce the amount I need to take along.  My loving husband has also helped by buying a cart to help transport things.

Please feel free to jump in and give advice on craft shows and festivals.  It would be greatly appreciated.

Hagerstown Jubilee Days

Harmoniously Tangled was basically born April 5 of this year when I launched an internet store over at Storenvy.  My first debut in a public setting was the fourth of July weekend in Liberty, Indiana.  I am excited to say I will be setting up for my second festival this Friday in Hagerstown, Indiana as they celebrate Jubilee days.  I will have the good company of my sister Lisa with her crochet items from Creative Kitty Crochet.

One of the things I noticed from my first festival was the poor little boys who had to endure their moms or sisters stopping to look at my handmade jewelry.  My Attitude charms helped entertain them for a bit but I knew I needed to find something little boys might find more interesting.  While networking my business I came across a wonderful page, Dandelion Ivy.  Here I found little creepy, crawlers that might catch a boys attention.  Be sure to go into the photo albums and click on the Spiders.

After seeing these wonderful little crawlies I needed to know how one might create them. (wink; I had a pretty good idea but it never hurts to look for directions.)  It didn't take long to come across this helpful page, Create a Wire and Bead Spider.  So I spread my bead boxes on the table, grabbed my wire and got down to business trying to create these little wonders.  Here are a few that I finished.

Not as wonderful as the ones over at Dandelion Ivy but I think they will work and it helped to reduce my bead population as well. LOL  I did get a bit carried away and created these.

They are on the large size but if they don't sell I can always take them off the ear hooks and sell them.  This was a fun project.  You may want to keep these guys in mind for a rainy day project or for a birthday party.

Now with that project out of the way it is time for me to rest.  If you happen to be in the area of Hagerstown, Indiana on August 19 & 20 come look us up.  We would love to meet you.
Happy Crafting Everyone.

Getting back to what I had in mind.

When I started this blog my idea was to share the journey of jewelry making.  To allow you to come along as I learned to make different pieces of jewelry and let you know how I over come the problems I faced.  I should have known that I would probably not be able to follow that plan.  Mainly because I am the type of person who finds a solution and moves on.  I am now thinking that posting these small triumphs may be a way for me to see the progress that I am making.  This will also show I am not in the time warp I sometimes feel I am in.

First I want to say when I decided to start making jewelry it was a need to remake myself.  I left a very stressful job as a surgical technologist and my youngest daughter had graduated high school, married and left home. So faced with an empty nest and no career I needed to find something to do with my time.  I picked up a few odds and ends for jewelry making one day.  After creating my first piece I was hooked.  Not because it was so incredibly great but because it gave me a feeling of accomplishment and I enjoyed the creative process.

Naturally I started searching the internet for information on jewelry making.  I came across wire working.  I was amazed at the weaves and circles.  I watched videos showing people holding their wires as they created different patterns.  I gathered my supplies and jumped in.  I am not a strong or rough person but the first problem I came up against  when weaving was I would bend my support wires.  I was using 20 gauge.  Which is still the gauge I enjoy using.  I did what I always do when I come up against a problem.  I called my Dad. LOL  My Dad is 70 and I am so blessed to still have him in my life and close by.  He is someone who can come up with simple low cost answers.  I explained I would like to have a frame that could help hold the wires while I was weaving but I wasn't sure what kind of clamps to use.  His answer "How about a clip board?  Then you can cut the middle out."

Here is the outcome of that conversation.

 
I chose to use two clip boards so i could vary the length.  I cut out the middle and placed holes in the sides and used screws and wing nuts to hold it together.  The length can be varied by using the different holes.  The ends of the wires are slid under the clips which hold the wires straight and allow me to weave easily from front to back with out bending the support wires.  Note; I used mini clip boards.

This is one of the projects I have completed using my home made wire loom.

This is a journey of learning.  Sometimes self teaching is a slow painful method of learning.  Sometimes you surprise yourself and find you are more capable than you ever imagined.
Happy Creating to Everyone.

YOUR FIRED!!

Normally I do not talk politics or anything to do with it but today thanks to our government I am very stressed.  My husband is a government employee so all this bickering and showdown bull crap going on with our government is really causing me a great deal of stress since we are facing having our major source of income gone.  If any one tried to run a business they would have been fired long ago.  There is no simple answer.  Many of the issues that led us here has gone for too many years.  The welfare has needed a a clean sweep for a long time.  If we would help people instead of penalizing them for trying to work they would be handing out a lot less.  How about helping the small business out there?  How about taxing the goods of big companies who have taken our jobs out of this country?  Also I have never once heard them mention cutting their own paychecks, expense accounts, pensions, health care or how about the security of those after they are out of office?  How about cutting foreign aide until we get back on our feet

My heart goes out to all the military who are facing working without a paycheck and to those who faithfully paid into social security in the belief it would be there when they needed it.  I can only ask that all who reads this pray because we are in a very bad way

Someone once told me "What do you expect.  Break the word politics down and see what you have.  Poly means many and Tic equals a blood sucker."  Okay it is a play on words but it made me laugh.

Thank you for allowing me to rant.  I wish I could say I feel better.  I guess knowing that many of you are also praying makes me feel better.

On a lighter note.  My daughter wore one of my Attitude necklaces out and it was a great success.  It caught peoples attention.  I have a special deal that will be running until 5pm today (July 31. 2011).  Go here to see what I am talking about.
http://nvy.gd/qq0dBy

I wish you all love and peace today.  Enjoy every happy minute you can for they seem so few and far between these days.  I am unsure of what will happen in the future but I am sure that God is here with me and that is all I really need to know.

New Items

Yes it is HOT out but that has not stopped me from thinking about fall creations.  My Fall Collection of items are now available in my on line store.  Please click the link to your right for Harmoniously Tangled's store at Storenvy.  I am excited about these new creations.  It was great fun getting them ready for you.  Here is a quick look at a couple of items you will find.

Moving ON

Today is your last chance to play in Creative Kitty Crochet's  and Harmoniously Tangled's Christmas in July.  Thank you to all who played and I hope you enjoyed the gifts.  We appreciate everyone who follows our blogs and befriended us on facebook and a big thank you  for those who have purchased from our stores.

Now we are moving onward to preparing for festivals.  I just sent in our registration for a neighboring town's festival.  If all goes well we will be at the Hagerstown Jubilee Days.  We are looking forward to taking our handmade creations there.  It will be great fun to get out and meet new people.  I have been working very hard on some new fall creations.  I hope if you are in the Hagerstown, Indiana area on August 19th or 20th you will look us up and say hello.

For all our friends getting ready for festivals in their area we wish you well.  Have a great weekend all!

Disappointed

I understand peoples lives are busy but I have been sad at how few people have been willing to hunt for the Christmas present that Creative Kitty Crochet and I have been hiding.  We hid Christmas presents in either our blogs or our on line stores.  Then asked people to tell us where they found them to be entered in a chance to win.  Here is the full information.  http://creativekittycrochet.blogspot.com/p/its-giveaway.html
Oh well we tried to bring some fun and prizes into your lives.  We are continuing this through Saturday.  Thank you to those who played and we hope you enjoy your gifts.
I have been working very hard on new fall items and I am looking forward to starting my Christmas items.  The big decision is where else to go with these creations.  My experience at my local fourth of July festival was so encouraging I am looking at doing more festivals.  Decisions.... decisions...
I did have a very frustrating experience the other day concerning one of our local craft shows.  This show is normally held in our jr. high school building around late fall.  I called early because I wanted a spot.  I was told that I would not be accepted because they already had too many jewelry vendors.  What happen to competition??  Very frustrating to have lived in a community the biggest part of your life and be shut out!  So if you go to the Liberty, Indiana craft show at the school this year please tell them you are disappointed that Harmoniously Tangled was not allowed a spot in the show.
Buttons continue to be a big inspiration for me.  I love working with button because the possibilities seem endless.  Many of my fall creations have buttons in different forms.  The best part is they do not have to be specialty buttons.  Now that I have my motivation going I guess I need to jump off here and get busy!  Have a great day.  May you be showered in blessings.

Almost Ready

My sister is spending the day with me.  We are getting all the details done for the Christmas in July giveaway.  Boxes are being filled and wrapped.  Presents are being hid for you to find.  Going to be lots of fun.  Make sure you follow both Creative Kitty Crochet Blog and mine.

Head over to http://creativekittycrochet.blogspot.com/p/its-giveaway.html now to read the rules.

The fun starts July 11th.  Head to my facebook page and make sure you hit the like button so you will see my post of "MERRY CHRISTMAS".  That will signal the start of the fun!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harmoniously-Tangled

You also need to like Creative Kitty Crochet's facebook page because she will be the one posting MERRY Christmas on certain days also.  This will signal that a present has been hid and you need to find it to enter.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harmoniously-Tangled/153630134699851?ref=hnav#!/CreativeKittyCrochet

Make sure to join us for this week of Fun!

Are you ready???

I hope you all enjoyed your fourth of July weekend.  I certainly did.

I took my jewelry creations out into the public for the first time.  I set up a booth at our festival.  The festival for our little town is always a big event every year.  I enjoyed seeing people I had not seen in a very long time and I enjoyed meeting other vendors.  It was a wonderful experience and my sales were good for a first outing.

It was great fun watching the reaction to my Attitude creations.  You can jump over to my store and see what I am talking about by clicking on the Storenvy button next to Harmoniously Tangled.  I had wonderful comments on my creativity.  I had one person tell me, "Your work is so refreshing.  I am tired of seeing all the cookie cutter booths that have the same old jewelry."  That really made my day.

Creative Kitty Crochet and Harmoniously Tangled are finalizing plans this week for our Christmas in July Giveaway.  If there is a certain item from my store that you would love to see in the giveaway let me know and I may consider that for one of the boxes.

Creative Kitty Crochet and Harmoniously Tangled are also teaming up in our stores that when you purchase certain items you will be given a free product from the other store.  Keep watching our stores and our facebook pages for information.

Been a fun weekend but time to get back to work!  Went shopping today and picked up my supplies to create things for fall and Christmas.  So excited about getting into the creative mode for these.  My store is a little low right now but new things coming very soon!

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Stay with Us!

As you know we (Creative Kitty Crochet & Harmoniously Tangled) are having a giveaway in July.  Lisa over at Creative Kitty Crochet has been thrown a curve ball.  One of their grand babies decided he could wait no longer.  He came into this world just a few moments ago.  Happy Birthday!  Hang in there Grandma Lisa only two more to go this year. haha
Yep if you have read Creative Kitty's blog you know she still has two more grandbabies on the way this year.  She is a busy lady with making the new grandbabies goodies and keeping up with orders.
Have no fear we will be getting together and getting everything together for you!  We appreciate our friends and fans.
Today I took Harmoniously Tangled out into the public at our local festival.  It went very well!!  Even in the 90 degree weather I met many wonderful people.  I had wonderful comments on my creativity and the sells were good.  I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Have a fun and safe weekend.  Please be careful out there.  We had a very bad accident almost in front of our house in which one car was engulfed in flames.  Please don't let this be you.  I want all of you here with me!

Christmas In July!
From Creative Kitty Crochet
and Harmoniously Tangled

www.creativekittycrochet.blogspot.com

My sister Lisa and I are so grateful for all you that have supported our pages, listened to our whining, helped us grow and bought our products, and have now joined us on our blogs, that we are going to do something for YOU!  We will be giving away 6 packages. Each box will contain an item from Creative Kitty Crochet  AND  Harmoniously Tangled and I promise you won’t be disappointed! There will be 2 surprise boxes and we will list the contents of the other four. In order for us to give away six great packages we will unfortunately need to add the shipping fee. Thank you for understanding and I guarantee it will be worth the cost!

During the week of July 11th through the 15th we will be posting at different times and places a Christmas picture. We will let you know this has been done by posting "Merry Christmas!" in a status. When you see one of these posts the hunt is on! It could be on either the Harmoniously Tangled blog or Creative Kitty Crochet blog, or maaaaybe our Storenvy shops. Find it and leave a comment on Creative Kitty Crochet’s It’s a Giveaway page. Tell us what picture you saw, where you saw it. Your comment MUST include the word AGREE so that we know you are aware of the shipping fee. The shipping fee will be listed along with the Christmas picture. We will draw for all the winners on Saturday July 16th. Be sure to check back to see if you are a winner!

That being said...here are some pesky details

1)    Sorry but this is for U.S. residents only as we are not currently shipping anywhere else.

2)    You must LIKE both business pages and follow the blogs.

3)    You must use your name, not your business name, to comment with and type the word AGREE in your comment so that we know you are aware of and are willing to pay the shipping fee. A PayPal invoice will be sent.

4)    All winners will be chosen via Random.org and posted on both blogs.

5)    Winners will have 48 hours to contact either Harmoniously Tangled or Creative Kitty Crochet to claim your prize.

We hope you have as much fun as we have getting these presents together!

Hope you check with me often...you just never know when there will be a giveaway!  Since I like to change things up be sure you check the rules for the current giveaway

Still Learning

As you can see I have been playing with my blog again today.  I am continuing to learn how to adjust colors and add banners and so on.  Funny when I decided to sell my jewelry creations on line I never thought about all of these things.  I am not computer savvy and I have a knack of making things harder than they need to be.  Just ask my sister over at Creative Kitty Crochet.  I also seem to find glitches that make my computer projects even more interesting. LOL
Ah but live and learn and what is life if we do not continue to learn.  Take every day as a gift and use that day to learn something new, help someone else and love someone deeply.
Here is a sample of something new I have created in jewelry and yes it is available in my store now.

Getting Better

I have redesigned my page.  This is an attempt to help me get the hang of changing and redesigning here.  So far so good.  You will see changes again soon as Creative Kitty Crochet and I get ready for our give away.  The packages will be double presents.  One from Creative Kitty and one from Harmoniously Tangled.   We are also planning a couple of mystery boxes.  Should be great fun!  I will warn you it will not be just a sign here and wait to see if you won.  So check back often.  Also head over to www.creativekittycrochet.blogspot.com and follow her blog too as she has some great things going on and she will also post information.
As for me right now I have been a very busy bee getting ready for a festival.  I am excited and a little nervous about this.  It will be my first outing with my jewelry.  It will be very interesting to see which of my creations people like.  If you are in the Liberty, Indiana area on the fourth of July weekend head on up to the courthouse area and look me up.  I will be on the north east side of the court house.  For those of you who have been before I will be near the area where the FFA sales their ice cream.  I look forward to meeting you.

Swinging is harder than I thought

My last post I talked about how I was going to get into the swing of having a blog.  Did you notice the date??  Well like my name of Harmoniously Tangled trying to make all the twists and turns sometimes throws our swing off.  But my dear sister has now come up with something to push me into this a little more.  She says our business should have a combined giveaway.  Yes Creative Kitty Crochet (her store link is on this page, she also has a blog on blog spot) and Harmoniously Tangled will be doing a Christmas in July giveaway.  Keep your eye on our blogs for information!
I have been very busy.  Many new things in my store.  I have now posted my new liquid embroidery items.  There are new necklaces and bracelets.  Just lots of fun.  Head on over and check those out.
I am now pushing myself to learning more and getting my jewelry before more people.  I will be doing my first festival on July 4th weekend.  If you are in the Liberty, Indiana area at that time head on up to the court house lawn and look me up.  I would love to meet you.
Here is one of my new liquid embroidery items.  A Mail Bag!  With so many receiving letters from people in the military I wanted to give everyone a nice place to store those treasures.

Getting into the Swing

Time to get into the Swing of having a business and a blog.  Yes it is time to turn the switch and get things rolling.  Harmoniously Tangled is moving forward and branching out a bit.  Coming new to my store is liquid embroidery items.  I will be offering baby blankets that can be personalized with the babies name and if you want the birth date.
There will also be another surprise item posted today.  A special keepsake item.  So make sure you keep checking back today. 
As I am getting these things started it will be a gentle swing at first to add them.  I want to give you a sneak peak at an liquid embroidery item that I did little over 20 years ago.  My nephew liked dinosaurs but back then you could not find special items like that.  So this aunt set out and made a very special gift.  A hand painted blanket.  After a trip to the library where I searched for pictures of the dinosaurs I then returned home and hand drew and painted the blanket in this picture.  The paints do not wash out or bleed.  Tri-chem is the best liquid embroidery paint I have every used.  I have just purchased another set and I am excited to get back into this hobby once again.

It may take years but do not give up on things you have enjoyed in the past.  You never know when they may come around again.

Storms & Challenges

Living in Indiana storms are normal this time of year.  Winds blow and sirens sound with warnings.  We have had only minor issues because of these storms.  My heart goes out to the many who have been devastated by flooding, high winds and tornadoes. The loss for many goes far beyond homes and physical belongings.  I pray that you all may find strength in this time of need.

Due to personal challenges I have been on the disabled list this week but as I look around me I know that my challenges are insignificant compared to the challenges so many others are facing at this time.  My home is still standing, my belongings are in place and more important my family is here with in my reach.

As we enter this Memorial Day weekend I will think about the Men & Women who have made it possible for me and my family to be here and have these things.  God Bless the Men & Women who gave their lives for this country.  A huge thank you to the Men & Women serving in our armed forces today.  A big thank you to the families who keep the home fires burning waiting for their loved ones to return.

Hope you all enjoy a safe and happy holiday weekend.  I am offering a special 10% discount this weekend at my Storenvy so pop over and check out the Patriotic things I have available.  The 10% is good on anything in the store.  When checking out use the promotion code MEMORIAL.  Discount code good until Monday afternoon May 30,2011

Trouble with computers.

I am not good with computers.  It is like we speak a totally different language.  I will tell it to do something and it just sits there or even better it will do something totally crazy and mess up everything I have done to that point.  To make things even more fun I seem to have a knack for finding glitches.  I am lucky that I have a couple of people to go to.  My husband who is an IT person and my sister (Creative Kitty Crochet) who also has a blog and runs an on line store at Storenvy.
 Recently I tried placing the Storenvy button on my Facebook page.  The application looked like it took.  I was excited until........ I clicked on the button and I see my business name with the products from my sisters store  Three different people combed through the information and we could not find anything anywhere that should have linked Harmoniously Tangled and Creative Kitty.  Sent emails to Storenvy and Facebook.  Storenvy did keep in contact with me until the issue was resolved but I only received one message from Facebook asking for a screen shot.  Sent the screen shot and heard nothing more from them.
I have talked to other Storenvy users who have had issues with the application.  My answer came late one night or should I say very early one morning when I was sitting there still stewing over the whole process.  I am an old school person and still use Windows Internet Explorer for most of things I do on the internet.  Except on my Storenvy.  I cannot work with my Storenvy on Windows because I cannot see the design bars that makes things so much easier.  Until that point I had tried loading the application using Windows.  I decided to totally remove the application and try loading with Google Chrome.  It worked!!!!  I will add here that my sister had tried using Chrome to load the application for my store too but it didn't work when she tried.
If you are a Storenvy user and you have had issues with the Facebook application check out the Storenvy & Facebook Application tab at the top of this page to see the steps I went through that corrected my issue.  Hopefully it will work for you also.

Getting Ready

The recent military achievements have really cranked up my Patriotism.  Not that it needs a lot of help.  My husband served in the Marine Corp  and we have many other members of our families in various branches of the service so it just comes standard in our family.  This has turned my creative attention to things of red, white and blue.  I have been greatly disappointed by how few beads and things I can find in my area to work with.  The one area I have been able to find something to be creative with is once again BUTTONS.  Keep checking my Storenvy!  New Patriotic things will be showing up soon.
I am sorry that I could not seem to get things together to do special mothers day things.  I am working very hard to try and get myself organized to not only create but also be in tune with the holidays, season changes and style changes.  There is also the promoting.  Trying to get the Harmoniously Tangled name out there so all of you can find me and hopefully find jewelry you would enjoy.
Have ideas or suggestions.  I would love to hear them.  Are you a jewelry maker?  I would love to see your work and hear where you get your ideas from.  I can be found on facebook.  If you have a facebook page hop on over to Harmoniously Tangled and hit the like button.  I will repay you with a visit and help to introduce you to my circle of friends.
LETS HELP EACH OTHER SPREAD THE WORD.

Busy Busy.

Life is busy for everyone.  Seems just trying to keep up takes us in so many directions.  Try to remember to take time for yourself and the things you love,  what ever that may be.

I love to create.  Now my attention is on jewelry but I try to not limit my creativity to just one thing.  I also enjoy writing and picture taking, both allow a different type of freedom of expression.  For me when I give myself some freedom happiness seems to follow.

While creating new jewelry I focus on things that I have enjoyed in the past.  As a child I enjoyed kaleidoscopes.  If fascinated me how turning them slightly could bring a totally different picture.  I came across some beads that brought back that memory.  I created an earring and necklace set that reminded me of the carefree days of sitting with those wonderful toys and exploring.

Although I do not live close the ocean now there was I a time I did.  I enjoyed those days walking on the beach.  The days of exploring the sand and finding sea shells.  With that in mind I created two new bracelets, sea breeze and ocean waves.

To check out my new creations click on the Storenvy button on this page.  While your shopping also check out my sisters crocheting creations at CreativeKitty and my daughters knitting at Garters & Loops.

Take time for you!  Find something you enjoy to do and give yourself permission to enjoy it!  I hope maybe reading this blog is one of the things you enjoy.  I enjoy sharing with you.

Detour Ending

The past few days have taken me unexpected places but the road is finally smoothing out and I am beginning to recognize my surroundings again.  After a brief illness myself I am back on the road to creativity.  I have taken some extra time to see what is trendy and I have many great new ideas.
I have gone back and redesigned my Attitude charm bracelets and they are more in style and supporting removable charms.  I have some new pieces I am hoping to add to my store tomorrow.  I have been inspired by BUTTONS and have created pieces using some adorable buttons.
I am grateful for the support I have received and for the advice.  Keep your thoughts and ideas coming.it helps the ideas to flow.

Miles out of my way.

The detour continues and like most detours it is taking me miles away from the direction I want to go.  So what am I going to do?  Enjoy the scenery!  Which in this case are my grandchildren.  My son-in-law is having surgery so my grandsons are with me.  Means grandma doesn't get to work on her jewelry because little hands would want to help and thousands of beads and other things would not be much fun to pick out of a carpet.  So for a while longer we shall travel down the road to places where I had not planned on going but sometimes those turn out to be the best trips of all.