Just Added To My Etsy Shop: Vintage Jewelry

Because I lack imagination today I am showing you what I just added to my etsy shop. I have lots more to list! It seems my financial situation is suddenly critical so there is no better motivator for me than to try and fill up my PayPal account ASAP!

No...really...my husband has been laid off and on since before Christmas and it's catching up to us. I have been slacking for months on the jewelry thing so it looks like I will be keeping myself very busy for the foreseeable future! It will be good for me...really. I knew this day would come.

At least we have something to fall back on. I don't make a lot but it's enough for groceries and a bill or two! And it beats working graveyard which nearly killed me...literally! Looks like I will be going back to eBay too...albeit very reluctantly.

It's not all gloom and doom here. I hope it doesn't sound that way. The way I look at it: Even life's most difficult circumstances can lead to new options and opportunities. If worst comes to worst, we will make a life change and move on. In a way, I welcome it. It's just the road to getting there that is hardest. I hope everyone else is surviving well in these difficult times.

On a much happier note: The silver and coral bead earrings already sold so that is great! Thanks for visiting today!

Blue "Rose Parade" Hall Pitcher from AntiqueCellar

I think this is the prettiest pitcher I've seen in awhile! I love the extra floral detail on the handle. It's one of the things being featured tomorrow on my blog vintage shop of the day. It's from AntiqueCellar on etsy---click on the photo to see more about it. I should buy it while it's still available but I just treated myself to a new camera lens that I shouldn't have. Pssst....don't tell my husband!

P.S. Check out AntiqueCellar---lots of great stuff there!

Picnik Photo Editing Fun!

I took this photo last summer about the same time I discovered the photo editing site Picnik. You can upload your photos and do all kinds of fun and creative things with them. The photo above is one I took in my back yard. I uploaded it to Picnik and decided to experiment with different text, etc. You can make your photos look like a sepia tone, black and white, holga style, ortinish and a lot more including many different frames and a large variety of collage styles. You can blur around the edges of your photos too for that "fuzzy" look that is so popular.

You can also edit, fix, crop and rotate your photos. You can add text, effects and embellishments. I love the collage feature, especially the fancy collages that you can use in scrapbooks and cards. You can even change eye color in your photos for fun!

It also links up to Picasa, Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Photobucket and more.

It's free for most of the features or you can pay $24.95 for Premium Picnik to have unlimited use of all the features for a year. I'm paying for it because I wanted to be able to use everything. You can really do a lot for free! I have enjoyed it and it's helped when I've made some banners and avatars for my etsy shop (none that I am using right now) but I did use it to add the text to the banner on my other blog here. This sounds like an advertisement for Picnik! I swear I'm not getting paid! Just wanted to share. See it here: http://picnik.com

The Grandsons: Evan and Ezra

Evan just turned 3 years old the other day! It seems like he was born yesterday. He obviously didn't want his photo taken but I took it anyway. That's just what Grandma's do.

Ezra is a drooling machine. He soaks everything! Hoping those first teeth will come in soon. Guess he's a late bloomer. But still a little cutie! He smiles all the time!

Emma is missing from this post! I don't have any new photos of her. I need to work on that.....

Retro Kitchen In the Summer Time

I love this kitchen! It looks so fresh and inviting! Clean and crisp! Makes me long for Spring (I'd rather skip forward to Summer, if you don't mind). It's raining here in Oregon today.....so dark and dreary. I miss my trusty, well loved hammock.....

I will pretend that this is my kitchen and it's a beautiful sunny kind of day! The warm breeze is gently billowing through the curtains. I can hear a single engine plane buzzing outside (something about this always reminds me of Summer). The birds are chirping and a dog barks in the distance.

I can imagine baking a fresh apple pie in that red oven. I put it on the windowsill to cool while I sit at the table, leisurely drinking a very tall, cold glass of strawberry lemonade. Ahhh.....I feel better already! How about you?

Oregon Coast Getaway

I've been wanting to go to the beach for a few months now and I finally made my getaway yesterday! Of course it was sunny when we left home and raining when we arrived. It stopped raining long enough for me to take some photos.

It was just me and my daughter, Chantel. We had a good visit and enjoyed the view!

Vintage Coro Ads From The 1950's

I love vintage jewelry! I wish I had all of these pieces in my collection....since I don't....having these ads is the next best thing! Enjoy!

Fun Project: Make Your Own Pinhole Camera

I found this website using StumbleUpon the other day! Make these for World Pinhole Camera Day! Here is the link to the PDF patterns for making each of these colorful and unique cameras: http://www.corbis.readymech.com/en

I passed this on to my daughter, Kristina because she loves photography and I thought she'd enjoy making some of these. Even if you never use these for their intended purpose.....what a fun project to display! Each camera has printable patterns and directions.

I don't know much about pinhole cameras but thought this was a fun family project and it's a cheap one too! Give it a try!

I've been tagged: Five Random Things About Me

I've been tagged by Judith B Designs! Now I have to tell you 5 random things about myself...

1. I love the smell of hay on the farm
2. I love to garden
3. I like trashy celebrity magazines
4. I collect miniature perfume bottles
5. I like walking on the beach

Rules of tagging:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post these Rules in your Blog
3. Write 5 Random things about yourself
4. Tag random people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each Person know they've been tagged

You've been tagged by Kitty at emmasgemsvintage!

1. VixenVintage
2. StilettoGirl Vintage
3. VintageLove
4. SwellVintage
5. theVintageNest

There are click-able links to each blog. Check them out...they are some of my favorites!

My Etsy Shop: Coming Soon!

Here is the latest batch of jewelry that I need to list in my etsy shop! My jewelry stash keeps on growing so I need to get more things added to my shop. I literally have thousands of pieces of jewelry and I'm always acquiring more! I keep thinking I will list something everyday but it's not happening. Hopefully, I will stay on the ball and get these listed today!

Update! The silver ring and the antique roses pin have sold in my etsy shop! Yay!

If you are interested in anything here please look for it in my etsy shop here.......soon!

Oregon Sunrise

I take my granddaughter, Emma to school every morning and I get to see some spectacular sunrises over the Cascade Mountain Range. I thought I'd show you a few of my recent photos!

This was a frosty, cold morning which makes the photos even prettier!

I've started taking my camera with me when I'm out and about around town "just in case". You never know what you might see! I hope you enjoy them!

Winner Of The Love Story Giveaway is: JOY

Happy Valentine's Day! I've chosen the winner of my blog giveaway. It's Joy! You can read her story below. It was very hard to choose just one winner. There were many sweet and inspiring stories! I thank everyone who participated. It was an honor to hear your personal stories and I thank you for sharing them!


Had my future husband in an American Literature class in community college in 1987. Lots of eye-rolling on my part as I watched him flirt with the girl sitting next to him day after day.

Disagreed vehemently with him (without actually speaking to him) on his opinion of the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin. We argued our points to the professor without addressing each other.

About a year later, I was working at Domino's Farms (the Domino's Pizza headquarters in Ann Arbor) and in to my office walks this contrary but handsome fellow.

After "aren't you?" and "yes"-type queries, we struck up a banter and after a few weeks we went out on a date, to a Tigers game.

6 weeks later, we're engaged.

This June makes 20 years of marriage.

We still can't get over the way we met-but-didn't-meet in that American Lit class. ;o)

Joy has won $15 in free vintage jewelry from my emmasgems shop on etsy including free shipping! Joy also has a wonderful blog here.

Sweet Regret: Vintage Designer Christian Dior Necklace

I just wanted to share one of my favorite vintage jewelry pieces from my past! It is a vintage 1960's Christian Dior necklace. It was so stunning! I love glass and brass necklaces and anything using that special shade of amethyst purple. This is one of the few things in several years of selling vintage jewelry that I really wanted to keep.....

I sold it on eBay a few years ago but I still love to look at the photos! It was a bargain too! I think I paid $11 for a lot of 3 necklaces and this was one of them. Did I get a deal or what?

My New Blog: Vintage Shop Of The Day

I started a new blog this week that features only vintage . I thought it would be fun to search out some great vintage shops to highlight. We could all use the exposure right? My posts are very simple with a few photos and each seller has given me some background info about how long they've been selling vintage, how they got started and why. A few have added more detailed info about themselves. It's been fun so far!

I'm trying to let the photos do the talking for me. I love looking at true vintage clothing, jewelry, accessories, housewares, toys, textiles, etc. so the photos are the most important thing to me! I do find the bio's interesting too! I'm trying to keep it simple.

So far I have made my goal of featuring one vintage shop a day. I'm hoping the blog will gain a following once I get a few months worth of posts. It will be interesting to go back and look at all the featured shops! Please add the blog to your favorites if you are interested. I love vintage blogs but some are heavy with information that most of us already know. I'll leave the research to others....I just want to see the pretty stuff!

I also have a section with links to other selling venues and networking opportunities. I've only added the ones I knew off the top of my head. If you know of any other viable options please e-mail me or leave a comment. I've also added some vintage blogs that I found interesting or informative.

I hope you'll take a look. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Here is the link to Vintage Shop Of The Day. Have fun reading!

Best Love Story Blog Giveaway: Win Free Vintage Jewelry From My Etsy Shop

LOVE STORY BLOG GIVEAWAY

In honor of the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday: The best love story wins! Contest starts today, February 2nd and ends February 14th, 2009. The winner will win their choice of any one item in my Etsy vintage jewelry shop: emmasgems. Any item that is listed at $15 or less, plus I will include free shipping too! What a deal!

All you have to do is post your short love story in the comments for this post below. I will choose a winner on February 14th, 2009. Please let me know how to safely contact you once the contest is over.

MY OWN LOVE STORY

I met my husband Rick in the fourth grade in Mrs. Phelps class at Queen Anne Elementary School. I sat behind him in one of those old one piece desks with the seat attached. He liked me so much he lifted up his whole desk and dropped it on my big toe! But still, somehow I just knew he was the one for me. We dated on and off through elementary(we really did) and high school. But real life intervened, as it so often does and we went our separate ways for several years. Eventually we found each other again. I'm so happy that we did! We just celebrated our 22nd Wedding Anniversary! We have 3 children and 3 grandchildren.

Now tell me YOUR love story!