Happy Autumn!!

Wow! The weather is absolutely gorgeous here!!! We are getting ready to head over to "Gorges State Park" for the afternoon. We went on a hike yesterday in Dupont Forest. Saw two snakes ~ made friends with one ~ avoided the Copperhead & life is good!So thanks to my friend Sandy, I'm totally hooked on my photography again. How do you like my pictures! The one at the top is Wayne & the dogs and I turned them into an oil painting ~ then I used several textures and layers on my little friendly snake ~ thanks to "Topaz" software plug-ins for PhotoShop! I love it!

So congratulations to Anita!!! She won those gorgeous earrings from my last post! Check back tomorrow to see what's up for grabs next Monday!

I'm headed to the forest again! Have a great day!!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." ~ John Muir

Sunshine, Autumn & "Free" Earrings!!!!

Whew ~ after 12 inches of rain in 3 days, we finally saw the sunshine all day today! And, just in time for Autumn! My most favorite time of the year! Some of the leaves are already starting to turn colors and the acorns are all over the ground. Birds are happy, squirrels are happy, deer & bear are happy! Life is good in Transylvania County!
I made these earrings today and listed them in the shop! I named them "Ebony & Ivory" ~ I love them!!! And since I know you'll love them too, they are the "freebies" for this week! All you have to do is comment on this blog post and Lita will pick the lucky winner on Monday {September 28th}. Good Luck!!!I just had to share these! They are so cool!! I just love puppets. Of course, just these kind and most marionettes. But the ones that resemble people, or ones that ventriloquists use ~ those creep me out!!! I'll have nightmares about them. But I love these little shadow puppets ~ please do check out their shop ~ there are lots to choose from. And the perfect little accent for my favorite holiday ~ Halloween!!!

And speaking of cuteness, I got my order in from "ARTChix Studio" and the images are awesome! I can't wait to start using some of them with my little pendants.

So I hope everybody had a great "Equinox"! Happy Autumn!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its leaves are a little yellow, its tone mellower, its colors richer, and it is tinged a little with sorrow. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor of the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and is content." ~ Lin Yutang

"Free Shipping" Weekend & A Winner!!!

Sometimes I just want to go climb a hill and sit on a rock! We've gotten so much rain here lately {thank goodness, because we really needed it} that my yard is nothing more than a big mushy meadow of moss {literally} sprinkled with mushrooms and acorns. So I thought I would go out today {between the showers} and see what was stirring about:this creepy little crab spider looking critter was eating a bee...this little guy blended in quite nicely with the background! Ah...all of my flowers are slowing starting to fade away.....except for the "Morning Glories" that is! They are just now starting to bloom and the vine is full! I can't wait to see what it looks like this time next week!And, of course, I had to have at least one picture of a lady bug {I guess that's what it is} ~ it's cute, regardless :)My new winter coat came today!! I love it!!
Now I'm wishing it would cool off enough for me to wear it ~ I did wear it up to the mailbox {hoping nobody would see and think I was nuts}. It's just so cozy and I love the fact that it's nice and long ~ perfect for fall & winter hikes.

So, this is a new necklace I made today for the shop:it's called "It Stoned Me" ~ I love it!

Now to the matters @ hand ~ Congratulations Joanna! Ozzy picked #1 to win the earrings from Wednesday's blog post! Check back often to see what's up for grabs next! And don't forget, all weekend long there is "Free Shipping" on all purchases in the shop!!
Happy Friday everybody!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above it." ~ Washington Irving

I Officially Have A New Addiction....

...so I've been working on my "style" and trying to come up with new ideas and creations. Seems as though people are fascinated with vintage stuff & animals as of lately. So, this is a new necklace I made for the shop today:I named it "Come Sail Away With Me" ~ I am just in love with that little Swallowtail Sparrow. And the green fluorite is just gorgeous! You can see more pictures of it in the shop.

I've been missing making my little "collage art pendants", so I started looking around to see if I could get some new ideas and found this website ~ isn't it awesome!!! OMG ~ I have a new addiction! It combines my addiction to "digital scrapbooking" with my quirky addiction to old creepy pictures! I'll let you know when my purchases arrive and how much I love them {which I'm afraid will be quite a lot} ~ so between those and my "Websters Pictorial Dictionary"...
...that I just had to have and am totally smitten with ~ thanks to my dear little friend Emily Martin {of whom I'm also addicted and totally smitten with}. And I just love that it's called "A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities" I'll have lots of new, very charming indeed, little pendants rolling out here fairly soon ~ I'll post pictures when I start making them. I hope they receive a warm welcome!

Well, I'm trying to get back to my normal flow of business ~ posting to my blog regularly, making new things daily, updating the shop often, etc. Now that the "Mountain Song Festival" is over and I don't have any new house guests arriving until the first of November, these last weeks of September and the whole month of October should get me back on track. And speaking of the "Mountain Song Festival" ~ it was awesome!!! The music was amazing and the people were all so nice! I just about sold off all of my inventory ~ which was wonderful!! So if you missed it, here's a little video ~ enjoy:

Now ~ back to the business at hand ~ beginning today through Sunday, September 20th, I'm offering "free shipping" on everything. Shipping charges will be refunded through PayPal, after your purchase. Please let me know if you have any questions.
As a reward for reading this long-winded post, these awesome little earrings called "Will It Go Round In Circles" are the freebies for this week's give away! Ozzy will be drawing the lucky winner on Friday. All you have to do to win them is comment on this blog post. Good Luck!!!

Welp, I'm off to fix dinner and enjoy the rest of the evening! Hope you all had a great day!
Until we meet again ~ ♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Every human being is intended to have a character of his own; to be what no other is, and to do what no other can do." ~ William Ellery Channing

Happy Wednesday!!

Hey everybody!!! I'm back! Hopefully, my world has slowed down enough for me to start focusing on my blog & my jewelry again. I have an awesome blog post coming up later today, so please do check back this afternoon for a great post, an awesome site for cool stuff, a weekend special and another "freebie" ~ of course, Jen won the little skull earrings from last week! Yay, Jen!! Talk to ya'll later today!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

Super Cute Stuff & A "Freebie"!!!

It is just gorgeous outside today! The birds are so happy, the air is crisp & clean, the sky is bright and blue ~ Life is good. I hope everyone is enjoying their "Labor Day" weekend! I've been busy, busy, busy ~ making new stuff for the shop and for the "Mountain Song Festival" next weekend. I hope the weather is this nice for that! Please do come out if you live close by. I would love to see you! Now I just have to share this! My cousin, Kim is a school teacher, but now that she has a precious little baby {Bella}, she's a stay @ home Mom! So, she started making baby cloths and I talked her into opening a shop on Etsy! This little monkey is appliqued to a baby onesie ~ isn't he the cutest! Plus, she does monogramming for just a little bit extra. She only has a couple of things listed right now, but please do check her shop often and remember her when you want a one of a kind little baby gift. Tell her I sent you ~ she'll be excited :PAnd I'm super excited about this "Pictorial Webster's Stamp Set" that I ordered from Amazon.com ~ I love all those old "kinda creepy" pictures from days gone by. I'll let you know what it's like when it arrives. And, of course, I had to get this to go along with it:It's "Pictorial Webster's Wall Cards: Icons & Curiosities from A to Z" ~ hmmm, I'm seeing a brand new batch of pendants coming out of these little goodies, just in time for Halloween! And speaking of Halloween, I'm giving these awesome little earrings away on Wednesday:They are called "Seasons Don't Fear The Reaper" ~ and they are for sale in my shop, just in case you don't win them, but still have to have them :) Ozzy will be picking the winner and all you have to do is comment on this blog post! Good luck!

Gotta get busy ~ have a great Labor Day!! And don't forget, EVERYTHING in my shop is 20% off until Midnight tomorrow night {Monday, Sept. 7th} ~ It's not to early to start holiday shopping!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular cause for being happy except the fact that they are so --- a good reason, no doubt." ~ William Ralph Inge

Call to all Bead Lovers & A Sale!!

Hey everybody!! I hope you are all enjoying these last few days of Summer! Gosh, it feels like Autumn here already! Cool crisp air, chirping birds ~ beautiful skies!!! Life is good!! Unfortunately, life is not good for everybody. Now, please don't think I'm going and getting all "sappy" on everybody. It's just all that "Karma" stuff and I truly believe in "an eye for an eye" and "no good deed goes unnoticed". Anyway, my dear friend Katie posted this link on Twitter today and it's actually a forum post from Etsy. I'll let you read the post for yourself here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6270554&page=3 ~ now, here is a link to the little girl's website and under the "September 1st" post is the address of where you can send beads & beading supplies. I packed up a big box of stuff this morning to send. What a great way to end the week! It made me feel so good packing up that stuff. I hope you can look through your beads, or even old jewelry you no longer wear, and send something off to this little girl. What a great birthday we could make for her & her friends. So, "thank you" in advance everybody!!These are my new favorite earrings! I named them "Turning Leaves" ~ they are for sale in the shop, along with several other new things. And, I'm having a weekend long "Labor Day" sale! Starting tomorrow morning {09/04} all purchases made through midnight Monday {09/07} will be 20% off ! Just wait for me to send you an updated PayPal invoice. No worries if you accidentally pay though, I'll promptly refund the difference through PayPal. Please let me know if you have any questions. It's not to early to start holiday shopping!!

and I just have to share this photo! We have gotten so much rain the last few weeks that the mushrooms are literally "everywhere" ~ I have this cute little toad in my moss garden and he looks like he's certainly enjoying all the little mushrooms popping up all around him ~ it's just to darned cute!

Well, I'm off to the post office and then coming back home to lock myself in the studio all weekend and make lots and lots of new things!!! I'm getting ready for the "Mountain Song Festival" next weekend that has already sold out!!! Lots of people will be there, milling around, enjoying music and, hopefully, buying jewelry!

Have a wonderful long weekend everybody!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

P.S. Right to the left of this blog post, you'll see a little "Facebook" link to my Artist Page on Facebook. Please do click on it and "become a fan" ~ I'm anxious to see if you can "become a fan", without having to send a "friend request". Please try it for me! Thanks!!!

"Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile." ~ Wilfred T. Greenfell