What a Week!

We acted a bit like tourists in our own city this weekend and took a DUKW tour of Cincinnati.  We had taken the Boston one on our trip there and thought it was different.  The hard part was convincing Joey - I think he was a little nervous about the possibility of getting wet in the DUKW boat.  But we stayed dry and got to see the city from a different angle and we saw Janet and Kim on the downtown streets of Cincinnati.   We spent the day in Newport at Gameworks and getting ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery - just a fun day with the kids.  And walked on the Purple People Bridge.  And on Tuesday, we went to the World Choir Games parade downtown and on Wednesday, to the Touch-A-Truck event here.  Daphne likes getting on all the trucks, but this year, Joey was even more open to getting in some of the trucks - a big jump from last year.

 And I still managed to get some jewelry listed on Etsy...

Zerberts

Yesterday, the temperature outside, according to my van was 112F !!!!  Crazy hot.  We went swimming last evening and the water felt like bath water - which is just the way I like it.  Nontheless, we are waiting for the 'cool front' to come in this week and put the temperature back in the 80s, so we can maybe not sweat as soon as we walk outside.

A bracelet for myself, made with white sponge coral, that my dad picked out for me at Christmas.  And my first handmade clasp. 

Brady has learned to give zerberts.  Oh, at such a young age- it's so funny!  It's fun to watch and hear him but he alternates between giving zerberts and biting my leg, so I have to be on my toes.

Overcast

I've been reading a book about starting an Etsy Business and it talks about taking pictures on an overcast day to get some of the best light.  And since then, we have not had any overcast weather, except for the 2 hours in which I took the kids to the pool today... by myself... this afternoon. 
God, don't you know how hard it is to get 3 little kids ready for the pool?  It was sunny when I started getting them ready.
I got them all changed, pottied and lathered up with sunscreen and snacks and drinks ready for this 100 degree day.  I checked the forecast before leaving - only predicted a spotty chance of rain this evening.  As soon as we got out of the van at the Y, I knew it was bad because I heard thunder.  We got in the Y and the outdoor pool was closed but I figured - hey, it will blow over - since that's all it does lately - a little clouds and nothing else- and they will reopen the outdoor pool. But after an hour of swimming in the indoor pool with a zillion other families who thought the same as me and over an hour of constant rain, we headed back home.  I'm glad we did get some swimming in but, man, we can go to the indoor one all year long.  I am grateful that we got the rain, it just could've happened in the middle of the night.
And with this messed up excursion, I also missed some primetime overcast picture taking.  So a lot of pictures continue to be either too dark or too light.  They will have to wait to be improved.
Soon to be listed on Etsy....  Earrings

 Soon to be listed on Etsy... Bracelet

 Soon to be listed on Etsy... Necklace

 And a bracelet for myself - instructions taken from 'Bohemian Inspired Jewelry'

Change

So I'm going to try and change things up a bit here.  In the past, this blog has been all about keeping my family, especially those without facebook, up-to-date with pictures.  But since I am trying to start a business from my hobby, I will now be putting more pictures of jewelry on here, in addition to the cute and fun pictures of the kids.  I have some things on etsy, but I've created way more than I would ever put on etsy - you know, the learning-a- new-technique-bracelets that have become my favorites and others that were one-of-a-kind and I like to much to sell.  So the people out there in the web world can see the kind of designer I am or have been and what I am progressing too and then, maybe mosey on-over to etsy and see what I am doing there.
And, maybe now I feel a little more official, since I had my first sale on Etsy in the last week - YEAH!  
First, I have to say a huge thank you to two other jewelry designers that I have only recently been following (and they are awesome) because I won some beads and a gift certificate to buy beads from their blogs - both in the last month.  I feel like the luckiest person because that just doesn't happens.  I wish some of that luck would rub off at the festivals around here so I can win a basket.
  
Thank you to Lorelei Eurto for the cool flower beads - so pretty.
And thank you to Amy Freeland for the gift certificate to Ornamentea - which has already been used.

And now here's some of jewelry shots - I'm debating whether to sell them.  They are both made extremely well, but the shell one is a choker length and I don't know if that is the length that people would like and is the best for it and the silver one - well, I can't decide if I want to keep it.  Plus, I need some better pictures.  If any jewelry makers follows this - how much jewelry that you make do you keep vs.  sell or giveaway?

And, of course, a cute shot of a kid.  After a day of fun in the sun, sometimes you just get tuckered out.

Daphne's Dance Recital

Daphne had a great time at her Tippitoes Dance Recital and loved performing.  She said she definitely wants to do it again.  Daphne says, "I loved getting flowers and I didn't expect all the flowers I was going to get.  I loved getting ice cream after my recital and I loved it because both of my Grandma's were there and Kim."

Joey's first (only) trip to the ER

Last night he slipped in the bath tub and his chin came straight down on the side of the bathtub.  Luckily, Kevin was right there when it happened and luckily, he was home when the baths were being done so he could take Joey to the Children's Hospital ER.  -- I would have probably sobbed with every stitch.  Before he went, he had a pretty good-sized gash on his chin and now, he has 4 stitches and a promise to get ice cream today.  Kevin said he held up well - the nurses showed him a video of Elmo on an iPad while getting the stitches, and the Kevin and some nurses held his arms down.  Much different from when I get stitches (several times) as a kid - I still remember them putting my arms in a pillowcase and then having me lay on the pillowcase while I got the stitches and I don't think parents were allowed in the room while it was going on.....   Joey got a popsicle and stickers in the ER for his bravery - and Kevin - well, he got an evening in the ER bonding with his son.
Oh well, here's the damage.

Back to business

Ahhh... another 4 month hiatus.  Where does the time go?  Some pictures from Easter. 

And some exciting news.... I finally opened a shop in Etsy.  So all of those ambitious ideas I've had and all the beads I have been buying .... well, here you have it.  The start of a fun business and one that I will truly enjoy every minute of. 
Now, if the boys will just give me a spare minute to make some things! 
Here it is...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Gemsofsummer?ref=ss_profile

(Eeck!  Just caught the boys playing with a toilet bowl brush!) - Gotta go.