Tuesday's Treasures - Mazel Tov

I've know Cindy Lavin thru various online groups so am thrilled to have had an opportunity to reconnect with her recently. She's an incredible jewelry artist and blogger.

Let's get to know Cyndi a bit better....

1. If there's one thing that defines you, what is it?
What defines me, especially as an artist is that I believe we're all
designed to be creative beings. I believe that all of us create because
our Creator made us in His own image, and He is creative. Some people
don't think that they are creative, but I believe that's because they
haven't found the right medium yet, or the right way of looking at
creativity. Creativity is a lot broader than some of us realize.

2. Where do you live and what is it like?
I live and play in central Massachusetts, where the long winters are
conducive to curling up and doing picky picky beadwork. The brief springs
and summers are time for refueling, and the glorious autumns are inspiring
beyond belief!

3. Where did you learn to craft or. are you self taught?
Although I've taken some short classes here and there, especially when I
can study with an artist I respect, for the most part I'm self-taught. I
am very grateful to all the fabulous folks who have written books
detailing the techniques that I use most: different beadwork stitches,
wirework, Photoshop basics, acrylic paint techniques, and the like. Once
you know how to do the basics, I think it's important to develop your own
style in putting them together.

There are some things that I think are best learned in a classroom. I'm
glad that I took a weekend class in lampworking, for example. Yes, I
could have figured it out eventually from the books that are available,
but I was able to avoid a lot of potentially dangerous mistakes by
investing in a class.

4. What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists?
Find what you do best, what makes your heart burn within you, and perfect
it. Then move on and add more things into the mix. Don't ever stop
exploring and expanding your artwork.

Here are some links to where you can find Cyndi's work and her fantastic blogs:


MazelTovJewelry
WildestDreamDesigns
BeadingArts
MixedMediaArtist
WhyNotArt
RealFoodFast

ArtFire Artisan Spotlight!

I'm thrilled to be the AF Featured Artisan for the next few days! Check it out & leave a comment if you wish.

ArtFire

Color Purple From Team ESST!

Enjoy this little slide presentation by one of our members of purple offerings from our team members!

This free photo slideshow made with Smilebox

Tuesday's Treasures - Shes Batty

Just to clear things up, Shes Batty is a shop name, not a reflection on today's guest artisan. ;-)

Jamie Sabot is the artist behind Shes Batty. Jamie actually has 2 shops on etsy, ShesBattyDesigns, where she sells eco-friendly, unique handmade greeting cards and adorable accessories and BattysBath for handmade bath and body products.

Let's get to know Jamie a little bit....

1) What role does your family play in your art?
My family is very supportive of my passion for creativity. They support me by being my cheerleaders, my sales reps, and my "word of mouth marketing team".. all without me asking them to! They just do it because they know how much it means to me to be a thriving non-starving artist!

2) Where do you live and what is it like?
I live in London, Ontario, Canada but am originally from a small town about 45 minutes away from London. London is big enough to have everything you need without being too big that you feel like you can't easily escape to the country. I love that there are a lot of things within walking distance from where we live and the city has two off leash dog parks that we take our 3 dogs to when we can. Ultimately I would like to live in the country but I think I would miss the convenience of being in town.

3) Where did you learn to craft or are you self taught?
Most of my skills are self taught. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my creative expression so I've spend hours upon hours in each medium I practice regularly (soap making, paper, sculpture, photography). I've also studied Fine Arts at college and university.

4) Where do you receive your inspiration, in general?
A lot of my inspiration for my bath and body products comes from my love of food! All the sweet scents that I make are usually concocted when I'm hungry lol! Inspiration for my other mediums, particularly paper, comes from just about anywhere!

5)What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists?
Do what you love and don't fight with a medium that you just can't seem to "find yourself in". Also, plan ahead for the holiday season so you don't get burnt out! I made that mistake last year and plan to start building up stock in July and August this year

6) If you won a thousand dollar craft shopping spree, what would you spend it on?
After stocking up on all the cardstock I'll need for the holiday season (for my Christmas card designs), I'd go crazy ordering every fragrance oil and flavor oil known to man! I'd also stock up on packaging (jars and bottles) and labels.

Here are links to where you can find some of Jamie's products:

ShesBattyDesigns on Etsy
BattysBath on Etsy
Facebook
Twitter

Need Some More Inspiration???

This is the second inspiration post for the Fire Divas Quarterly Jewelry Challenge! You can learn more about the challenge here. Now sit back and enjoy!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lajewelrydesigns

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lutrick

http://www.etsy.com/shop/anklebiterbeads

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HollysFollyGlass

http://www.artfire.com/users/babsbeadsanddesign

http://www.etsy.com/shop/magikalglassworks

That's just a few of the beautiful things the Divas do with their own beads...but we want to see what you can do with them! Come join our Flickr group and submit your creations today!
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Tuesday's Treasures - Exquisite Studios

I'm a little late with my post this week, but hey....it's still Tuesday SOMEWHERE! ;)

This week's featured artisan is someone who I have come to know pretty well the past few months, someone who started out as a customer, who I now consider a friend. Emily Schmitz-Zieman of Exquisite Studios on ArtFire. Em is an incredible jewelry artist with a wonderful eye for composition! Let's get to know her a little bit.

1. If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it? The one thing that defines me is my spirit.

2. What role does your family play in your art? My daughters are both very gifted in their creativity and imagination. my oldest is an artist with every brush,pencil,piece of clay she touches. My youngest loves to design along side me. My husband is by support-system for confidence in my work. Without all of us together, nothing would be possible.

3. Where do you live and what is it like? I live in Kasson, MN with a population of just around 5600. MN is crazy-cold in winter but a beautiful state to live in and raise a family, laying down roots as you go.

4. Where did you learn to craft or are you self taught? I am self-taught in every facet of jewelry designing and many other design work I create. I read books, tutorials, but I have found the best designs for things come from ones heart and soul.

5. How long have you been working at your craft? I've been doing artsy-stuff ever since I was little.

6. Where do you receive your inspiration, in general? In general, I gather inspiration from being very spiritual, from people, and from the natural beauty in things.

7. What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists? My best advice for anyone in this world is to imagine!

8. If you won a thousand dollar craft shopping spree, what would you spend it on? $1000 Craft Shopping-Spree you say? WOW! Wire, Lampwork, and whatever that moves me the very moment I see it--trust me, there would be nothing left!

Here are links to where you can find Em's beautiful creations:

ArtFire
Facebook

A Little Inspiration!

The Fire Divas Quarterly Jewelry Challenge is underway! The theme is Spring and there are lots of fabulous prizes to win, all shown in this thread. We're excited, and we know you are too. To tide you over, we thought we would give you a little "eye candy" to help inspire beautiful creations for the challenge! These are all pieces made by our very own Fire Divas, using their own breathtaking lampwork. Enjoy!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/anklebiterbeads

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lajewelrydesigns

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lutrick

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JanelDudleyBeads

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dorsethillbeads

http://www.teasebeads.artfire.com

http://www.artfire.com/users/babsbeadsanddesign

The best part is...we have more to come! Look for another inspirational blog post next week featuring more incredible work from our lovely and talented Fire Divas!

Tuesday's Treasures - La Bella Luna

I had the pleasure of interviewing Evelyn of La Bella Luna for this week's artisan spotlight. Evelyn is a very talented jewelry artisan who specializes in all things silver....silversmithing, PMC, etc. Let's get to know Evelyn better!

1. If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it? Me?- as a person?- I would have to say the word would be earnest. I'm very honest and really care about my work. I try VERY hard. It's my personality. Sometimes it's a bit of a curse, but it's how I've always been.
My work?- that's a hard one. All I can tell you that I design every piece that I make with my own personal sensibilities. By that I mean I absolutely have to like it myself. I follow my instincts and if something doesn't please me I take it apart and re-work it till it feels right. Hard to explain...
I asked some friends what they thought. One said "vintage meets modern", one said "clean" and also "arts and crafts or craftsmen" (as in the design movement- think Stickley). I agree with all of that, too.


2. What role does your family play in your art? I was always encouraged by all of my family. My father and my grandfather (paternal) were mechanics. They also had very clever creative streaks. I must have been influenced by that. I love tools, fabrication, figuring things out, and of course design. My husband is a photographer and so he is a wonderful source of inspiration and support (he bought me my kiln as a surprise gift!) Not to mention he helps me with the great photos of my work!


3. Where do you live and what is it like? I live in Windsor, Connecticut, my hometown. The neighborhood I live in now was built in the 1920's. We still have a few neighbors who are originals around here! There are lots of artists and creative people. It's a lovely community. There are sidewalks and a lot of people walking all the time. The town center is a few blocks away. We really like it here.


4. Where did you learn to craft or are you self taught? I've always made things, all my life. I now work primarily in precious metal clay- and my first experience with that was at Lis-el Crowley's studio, Art and Soul, which is here in town. Lis-el has been a great teacher and mentor for me. She is an accomplished metal clay artist, and I am fortunate to be associated with her. I have also been certified through the Rio Grande program. That involved a three day intensive workshop to learn more advanced skills. I continue to take classes and workshops whenever I can. I read all the time, too. Always looking to learn new things.


5. How long have you been working at your craft? Well, as I said, it's always been part of my life. I remember making jewelry as a kid. But the real serious stuff started about 4 years ago. And then I started full time with the jewelry business about a year ago.


6. Where do you receive your inspiration, in general? My inspiration is visual. I see things all the time (sounds like that movie... The Sixth Sense!) Seriously, though, I will see something- could be anything- and an idea will pop into my head. I carry a little pad with me and I make sketches. I belong to the Precious Metal Clay Guild, and they have a publication called Fusion. In every issue they have a feature called the "Visual Trigger Challenge". They print an abstract image, and challenge readers to design a piece based on it. I mention this because it's a good analogy for the way I get inspired. It's the Visual Trigger.


7. What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists? Oh, I know. It would definitely be- Do what you think is best! By that I mean follow your own muse. Don't let others steer you around. It's YOUR art!


8. If you won a thousand dollar craft shopping spree, what would you spend it on? Oh man. Wouldn't that be sweet? Let's see- a torch, a jeweler's bench, a flex shaft, a bunch of PMC, sheet silver, tons of wire... have I spent a thousand yet? Stones, gadgets, tools, tools and more tools!

Here are links to where you can find Evelyn's beautiful creations:

http://www.labellaluna.artfire.com
http://www.labellalunajewelry.etsy.com
http://www.facebook.com/labellalunajewelry
http://labellalunajewelry.blogspot.com

Important Fund Raiser to Save a Precious Life!

Over the years there have been many news reports I've come across of young children (and older ones) needing life saving cancer treatments. Somehow they've all touched my heart. I've given when I could, but this little girl is someone that I've grown deeply fond of. She's the niece of a friend of mine. Her name is Leiryn Stanley & she's just 2 years old.

I first heard of Leiryn's story when her aunt, Michelle, bought one of my pink glass lampwork hearts. She said that she knew the perfect person for it, her niece Leiryn, who has a thing for anything pink and what little girl doesn't love hearts?? I was touched to think that one of my hearts could brighten the day of someone undergoing such a struggle!

I was a bit perplexed at why someone would purchase a glass heart for someone so young, but at the time, Leiryn had recently been diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma. An amazing little girl, Leiryn has already undergone several rounds of chemo in the hopes of shrinking the tumor to a manageable size. Against all odds, this tiny little angel has fought a battle with remarkably few perceptible side effects thus far, but her battle is not over. At the conclusion of this last round of chemo, the plan was for her to be able to get a stem cell transplant and radiation to fight her cancer.

Unfortunately, though Leiryn has been fighting a valiant battle, her doctors have agreed that her cancer is not responding even close to how they hoped it would. The transplant and
radiation are not even an option right now. Though she's made huge strides, it is simply not enough.

The plan of action at this point is to do 2 more rounds of chemo. This is chemo that is in trial right now for pediatrics and not covered by insurance. Currently it is being used to treat adult 'solid tumor' cancers, but has been tested in pediatrics for the last 4 years or so. Once completed a decision will be made as to where they stand and how to go forward. There aren't very many options left.

The family had planned a fund raiser for tomorrow, 3/14 some time ago, but considering the cost of this new experimental chemo treatment, the fund raiser is much more urgent now. Please, if you are in the Canton, MI area and can attend, the fund raiser will be held:

Sunday, March 14, 2010
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: 8611 Ronda Drive, Canton, MI 48187 (The Skating Station II)

If you can't make it, and would still like to contribute, there are alternatives. You can go to any branch of 5/3 bank and give to the "Stanley Family Benefit Fund", under the
name "Charles Stanley", or go to PayPal and send money to stanleybenefit@yahoo.com.

If nothing else, please send up a prayer for this beautiful little baby girl. Her aunt Michelle & I have become close friends and I cherish this little girl as though she were my own family. I'm honored to have been named an honorary auntie of this precious little girl. I beg you to do what you can.

Tuesday's Treasures - Emily Claire Creations

This week's handmade artisan spotlight is on Valerie of Emily Claire Creations on ArtFire. Emily is a hugely talented polymer clay and jewelry artist. Let's get to know Valerie better!

1. If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it? I have always done my own thing, I have always been self directed in many areas of my life. Whether it was my formal education or my personal life, I tend to keep my own counsel.

2. What role does your family play in your art? I spend a lot of time with my two daughters, so I get to revisit a lot of my favorite childhood memories, such as walking to the library, visiting the local woods, sharing all my favorite children's books with them. All of this seems to come through in my jewelry designs, in one way or another.

3. Where do you live and what is it like? I live in Northeast Ohio, near the border of Pennsylvania. It is very beautiful here. There used to be a lot of industry here, but it's gone, and now we are considered part of the "Rust Belt". We have a very vibrant artist community here and they are trying to revive our area through the arts.

4. Where did you learn to craft or are you self taught? I did take some jewelry metal working classes in College, but mainly I am self taught.

5. How long have you been working at your craft? My very awesome cousin in NYC got me interested in beading. I started beading in College, but I have become more serious in the past two years.

6. Where do you receive your inspiration, in general? my inspiration mainly comes from nature, mythology, fairy tales, and fantasy.

7. What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists? Follow your bliss.

8. If you won a thousand dollar craft shopping spree, what would you spend it on? Tools, books, and more classes!

You can find more of Valerie's amazing creations here.

Tuesday's Treasures - Haffina Creations

I am starting a new weekly blog feature, called Tuesday's Treasures. I am going to be posting some of my favorite handmade artisans each week so please check back often.

I met Haffina, aka Jennifer on Plurk. She's an extremely talented Polymer Clay and Jewelry Artist. The turquoise is NOT real turquoise BTW. It's polymer clay! Can you believe it??

Let's get to know Haffina better!

1. If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it? I dont think there is any one thing that defines me, I'm pretty much an onion - lots of layers :)

2. What role does your family play in your art? They are one of my sources of inspiration, and part of turning this into a business was to build a future for us all.

3. Where do you live and what is it like?I live in South Australia, in a rapidly growing semi-rural area. It is relatively quiet and my kids can walk to school.

4. Where did you learn to craft or are you self taught? I am pretty much completely self-taught, or family member taught. I read a lot and watch youtube videos and experiment.

5. How long have you been working at your craft? In terms of my jewellery design and creation, about 3 years. Chainmaille wise its about 2 years and Polymer clay is about 18 months. But I have always done something creative, including cross stitch, knitting, crochet, mandalas and painting.

6. Where do you receive your inspiration, in general? Everything is, or can be, an inspiration, depending on my frame of mind or what materials I am using.

7. What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists? Be true to yourself. Create what you want to create, the way you want to create it. Don't allow currently fads or trends to dictate to you. And believe in yourself and your abilities and talents.

8. If you won a thousand dollar craft shopping spree, what would you spend it on? Rings for maille, polymer clay, Czech beads, lampwork, Swarovskis, Gemmies, wire, findings, resin, tools, tumbler.... okay..can I have another thousand dollars LOL!

Here's where you can find Haffina's creations:

Haffinacreations
HandmadeArtistsShop/Haffina
HaffinaCreations on ArtFire
BeadsByHaffina on ArtFire
HaffinaAgain on Zibbet
HaffinaAgain on Etsy

If I Could Be:

If I were a month I’d be July
If I were a day I’d be Saturday
If I were a time of day I’d be the late night
If I were a planet I’d be Pluto

If I were a sea animal I’d be a mermaid
If I were a direction I’d be west
If I were a piece of furniture I’d be a big soft chair
If I were a liquid I’d be cappuccino

If I were a gem stone I’d be labradorite
If I were a tree I’d be a dog wood

If I were a tool I’d be a brass press
If I were a flower I’d be a hibiscus

If I were an element of weather I’d be a sunny day
If I were a musical instrument I’d be a flute
If I were a color I'd be purple

If I were an emotion I’d be content

If I were a fruit I’d be a cherry
If I were a sound I’d be laughter
If I were an element I'd be water

If I were a car I’d be a convertible

If I were a food I’d be chocolate
If I were a place I’d be Oregon
If I were a material I'd be silk
If I were a taste I’d be yummy

If I were a scent I’d be vanilla

If I were a body part I’d be eyes
If I were a facial expression I'd be a smile
If I were a song I’d be something soothing and spiritual
If I were a bird I'd be an eagle

If I were a gift I'd be a book
If I were a street I'd be a street in Venice

If I were a city I'd be Portland
If I were a door I'd always be open

If I were a pair of shoes I’d be flipflops

And what would you be?

(Note: I got this cool little thing from my friend Ruthie - and I was surprised at how many of her answers fit me perfectly!)

Lampwork artists

Lampwork artists

OWOH Winner!!!

I tried so hard to read all the wonderful blogs involved in this great event, but sadly I just couldn't keep up. I will go back & read through them all again after over the next few weeks when I don't feel as rushed.

Anyway......DRUMROLL!!!! I used the random # generator & it selected # 29! After deleting a couple of duplicate posts & my own in which I (stupidly) responded to a comment (will know better next year, please excuse this OWOH newbie), the lucky winner of my star bead necklace is MaryAnn from Maine! I've contacted her & am waiting for her shipping info so I can get this in the mail to her ASAP.

Thanks again for all the great comments! I had a great time visiting with you all & hope we can stay in touch!

Featured Artist on AJDJSS Guild

As some of you may or may not know I have shops on etsy and artfire in addition to my website. I've recently joined a new (to me) guild on artfire, Artfire Jewelry Design and Jewelry Supply Guild (AJDJSS). Coincidentally I knew some of the members from before, but even the new members have all been very friendly and I am enjoying getting to know them all.

Well to my surprise, our guildmaster, Margo, Beadlady5 on artfire, selected me to be the featured studio. How cool is that! Here's the blog post. Check it out & check out all the other incredibly talented jewelry designers and jewelry supply shops listed on the blog!

Now I'm sick! :(

I woke up during the night, night before last FREEZING, with the chills, bad sore throat and my skin hurting even. I put on sweats, got back under the covers, where I was still freezing. I tossed & turned most of the night, so it was no surprise when I got out of bed, I had a low grade fever.

I called the doctor's office & they said I needed to be seen. With hubby sick, I had no choice but to drive myself. They did a cardiogram, chest x-ray, blood work up and a throat culture. The cardiogram and chest x-ray were negative. I should have the results of the blood & throat culture by Tuesday.

And of course we had no food in the house so I had no choice but to go out in this frigid cold with temps in the teens. No more leaving the house for me though until Monday when we head back to the doctor. Time for another nap.

Hubby has pneumonia! :(

Hubby's been home sick for a week now. Fever, chills, coughing, etc. Last week when he went to the doctor, they checked & he didn't have the flu. The doctor put him on a new strong antibiotic just to play it safe, but told him he thought it was viral & sent him on his way.

He's been feeling pretty much the same all week, been in touch with the Dr several times. The doctor finally wanted to see him today so I drove him over there. He almost passed out in the examining room because he's so worn out. The doctor debated sending him to the ER, but finally agreed to give him some IV fluids because he was dehydrated. After 3 9% sodium chloride IV bags (of course I happened to notice ), his color finally came back. They repeated a chest x-ray & cardiogram. The cardiogram was fine, but there was a spot on the x-ray that looked worse than last week. Turns out he has pneumonia. They switched his antibiotics. Gave him 2 new ones & more cough medicine with codeine. He has to rest & we go back to the pulmonologist on Monday. Am praying that this works. Please keep him in your prayers.

One World One Heart 2010 - A Magic Carpet Ride

With all the horrors going on in the world today wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all take a magic carpet ride to other corners of the universe? Experience things like we've never seen before, have others come and see how we live? I think that would be a great way, a beginning at least, to work towards promoting peace in our nations.

Well, that is the theme for this year's One World One Heart. I'll be participating in the giveaway event this year. The idea was launched in 2007 by Lisa Swifka as a way to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. Details on previous years can be had on her blog.

Soooo, in keeping with this year's theme and the photo above, I am offering this lovely piece titled "Starry, Starry Night".



The focal bead is a 5 pointed star created with layers of white, transparent turquoise and green glass. The pendant measures 21mm and was wound on a 3/32" mandrel. Included is a dyed silk cord measuring approximately 24" which can be knotted at whichever length you desire. The bead is an artisan lampwork bead created by me in my NY studio. I have a shop on Etsy as well as ArtFire where I have lots of other beads for sale.

In order to be eligible to win this lovely necklace, each person must leave a comment below. Since this is a blog event, this giveaway is only open to other bloggers. 1 winner will be picked at random. Your contact information is imperative as that is the only way I have to contact you. If no contact info is left, I will be forced to select another winner. I'd REALLY hate for that to happen. Contest ends February 15, 2010 @ 12:01 AM. My birthday's in February & I love the idea of giving someone else a gift! :) Here are the dreaded (simple) rules:

1) Entrants must include their blog address in their comment.
2) Entrants must include their e-mail address in the comment or have a way for me to find you.

That's all! Good luck!

Looking For Unique Handmade Stationery?

Then look no further. I recently came upon a seller of just that! Her name is Dawn and she sells unique handcrafted notecards out of her etsy and artfire shops.

She's the featured artisan currently on rikrakstudio's blog. They are running a giveaway! Go read all about it & give it a whirl. I know I'd be tickled pink to win anything of hers! Such talent!

My wonderful neice :-)

First let me say that to know Lauren is to love her....and not just cause I'm her aunt mind you. She's as sweet as can be & has a heart of gold. She has been wanting to host a jewelry party for me for some time now. The problem was logistics. She lives in Omaha & I'm in NY.

We finally figured out that this last time when my sister came in for a visit, I would send off my creations with her. My poor sister had to lug home a fairly heavy carry on bag cause I was too afraid for her to check it.

Well, the party was this weekend. I don't have any pics yet, but from what I hear the girls had a blast & she made quite a bit of money for her favorite aunt. ;-) So when are we scheduling the next one??

2010 New Year Goals

I can't believe that not only is this a new year, but a new DECADE! YIKES! I'd better make the most of it. The holidays are behind us and now it's time to give some thought to what sort of goals I'm aiming for in this coming year. I'm not a resolution type person. I feel it sets me up for failure so have decided on goals instead, something relatively new to me as well. ;-) I am hoping that by actually writing them out & having them to refer to down the line I have a better chance of accomplishing most, if not all of the things on my list.

I will check in periodically and post on some of the things on my list to keep me honest. LOL!

Let's make 2010 the best year yet! So, here are my 15 Goals for 2010:

1. List 5 new items a week in my Etsy and/or ArtFire shops.
2. Remain 1 month ahead of the season with my products.
3. Blog at least 3 times a week.
4. Read 1 book for fun every month.
5. Engage in some sort of physical activity 3 times per week. (Note: I'm anticipating this to be my hardest goal as I am not a gym rat, so will be exploring my options).
6. Treat myself once per month. (This could include a pedicure, massage, take myself to the movies, etc.)
7. Contact 1 gallery per month to inquire about carrying my products.
8. Try a new recipe 2 times a month.
9. Spend some time mastering my camera and work on taking better photos.
10. Have a girls night once per month.
11. Replace one glass of diet soda with a glass of water daily.
12. Reach 250 Etsy sales by December 31, 2010.
13. Look for a part time job.
14. Do something to make someone say "thank you" every day.
15. Participate in 2 charitable events.

I reserve the right to add to the list as I come up with new ideas, but for now, these are the things I am passionate about.

What are your big goals for this upcoming year? Feel free to list as many as you'd like - I love getting inspired by other people's ambitions and goals! This blog post came about from reading a friend's very inspiring blog post about her goals.

I wish us all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year! May we all look back next year and realize that we've accomplished all that we had set out to.

Etsy Treasuries

I haven't had much luck myself snagging a treasury lately, but just tonight, when I went to check the treasury clock, I noticed that my work is featured in 4 treasuries! How nice is that!

First is A Touch of Glass by my friend, Barb, of RiversEdgeGlass featuring my fishie in a surrounded by glass creations by fellow Fire Divas.



She makes very cool dread beads including this one in her etsy shop:



Here's You Little Stinker by Heidi of Jamnglass. She selected one of my boro focals.



She sells luscious hand dyed silk cords in her etsy shop like this one:



This next one was a complete surprise since it was created by someone unknown to me, It's a Fine Day. I love when that happens! ;-) It features one of my freeform lampwork focal beads that I'm especially fond of.



The treasury was put together by CreaShines Check out these cool earrings I found in her shop:



Last, but not least is this beautiful purple treasury, Purple Promises put together by my friend Jennifer of HaffinaAgain. It features one of my vintage skeleton keys with an attached boro bead.



I love these beautiful purple earrings of hers that were also in the treasury.