Winter Makes Me Feel Crafty

And not in the "crafty" way of being clever either...just in the way that I like to sit on a cold, gray day by the fire with a bunch of old buttons, glue, jewelry findings and falling apart children's books...ooh, how romantic.

I know there are probably people who would rather be skiing (actually, that does sound good), or snuggled up with their honeys with a cup of hot cocoa (oh, that sounds good too), but I love to spend a nice winter's afternoon, like yesterday, with scissors and pliers - don't ask, had a brain storm about using old electronic boards to make steam punk jewelry, still working the bugs out on that idea -- and made a few rings, necklaces and a brooch.

Here are a few of my creations...

Oh, I hope its a long winter, I've got a lot of ideas!

Wandering with Will

My youngest son Will asked to come out yard sale-ing with me Saturday morning, so we woke up at 6:45 on a Saturday which is no small feat for him -- see pictures of him on the blog about the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure morning, can you say zombie?

This summer both my sons came out yard sale-ing with me several times and if they find and buy something with their own money, I put it in the etsy.com shop for them and give them the money if it sells. They have both done pretty well and Will still holds the record for fastest thing we've ever sold on-line...silver owl-shaped salt and pepper shakers, sold in 5-hours.

Here is Will with his haul for the day.
Now that my kids are both teenagers, I really do cherish time that I get to spend with them one-on-one, especially when he asks me. We have fun together poking through things, enjoying the beautiful fall morning in some of the most rural parts of York County and meeting some interesting people...in short, sharing experiences together. I am all too aware, as I watch his eyes getting closer and closer to my own - seemingly overnight -- that his childhood is wizzing by at a dizzying rate, so if junking together is something we can share, than its another reason I'm happy to do it.
My favorite find for the day is a stool made from the wood of an antique milking stool and then altered sometime in the 60's with three metal legs.

Will's favorite was this toy tin top. Now its a race to see which one sells first!

My Style Article

I'm so psyched, My Style.com (In Style magazine's webazine) did an article on using brooches to brighten up your wardrobe and talked about my etsy shop and quoted me. If you click on my name in the article it is linked to my etsy shop.

Here's the link (to cut and paste in browser)...

http://www.mystyle.com/mystyle/b6014_ask_style_how_make_brooch_modern.html

Or click on link to the right...