gigi

Spring Earrings

New earrings to share! They're OOAK (one-of-a-kind) thanks to the artisan-made lampwork beads that are the focals for these pretties. The dangles are Swarovski bicone crystals; all the silver is sterling. They're available in my etsy shop; shipping is free when you mention you read it here!

An End; A Beginning

There's a song, neither the name of which, its band nor the exact words I can remember (CRS!), that has a phrase that goes something like this: one person's end is another person's beginning. Oh man, I butchered that. Maybe someone can enlighten me on the exact wording?!

It's the End that has occurred, for me.

In 1997 I started the now-international campaign for childhood cancer awareness, the Gold Ribbon, inspired by the life of my sweet little girl Kelsey who died of cancer at age seven. I built the campaign into goldribbons.com, busy online retail site, and as of Friday, February 23 it has changed owners to my good friend Erin and her husband, Nick.

I am relieved and happy and nostalgic all at once!

Getting to Know... lil ol' me

There's a really cool website, Create a Connection (for creative people who blog), and today is "Get to Know You Day."

Here are my answers...

1. What is your favorite word?

Joy. Tranquility. Dignity. Serenity. Oops, I can't count!

2. What is your least favorite word?

Ugly.

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

Colors, beads, ribbons (creatively), the music of The Madeleine Choir School choristers (spiritually and emotionally).

4. What turns you off?

Negative, mean, inconsiderate, lying people.

5. What is your favorite curse word?

Carp.

6. What sound or noise do you love?

The morning dove: hel-lo kit-ty, it says. Oooh, and rain!

7. What sound or noise do you hate?

Doorbell and telephone.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Making lampwork beads.

9. What profession would you not like to do?

Anything to do with money. I suck at money.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

"Yes, Kelsey, you may greet your mom first."  (I'm crying now, as I write this. I cannot imagine a more joyful moment than seeing my little girl again.)

OK, on that note... I've been doing something VERY exciting this week with another business of mine. Will share in the next day or sooner. ~gigi

Adventure with Singer

I did something fun this week: followed a wild hair (one of several hundred that periodically stand up and wave for attention). This hair was aiming for me to make hot beverage sleeves out of fabric.

Went to the coolest (quilting) fabric shop (Whimsy Cottage -- no website, sorry!) and purchased a few "fat quarters."

Got out my 20-year-old, never-been-used, Singer sewing machine. Yep, dusty as all get-out.

Cut out a pattern and decided to use the two fabric remnants from Whimsy Cottage, plus black fleece for the inside.

Did I mention this machine has not only never been used, but that I haven't touched a sewing machine in, oh, 25 years? I know, I'm nuts.

The end results are not so bad! By the time I got to the third one, my zigzags were rather straight!

Here are the products of my wild hair, in order of creation. You'll notice (hopefully!) that each one is better than the last :)

This first one features two different fabrics! Really adventurous for a first-timer, don't you think?!

This next one is just the green geometric fabric with "Maxi Piping" in black:

And finally, number three. My wild fun and funky fringe bling tendency is already revealing itself. I just *had* to add dingleberries! And discovered I also need to widen the cut so there's enough room to hold the beverage AND have fringe.

That's it for today. Hope you enjoyed my little Adventure with Singer. Maybe next time I'll get back to basics: jewelry!

Valentine's Day

If only my daughters would wear jewelry, they could have such nice Valentine's Day gifts from me. Sigh. But no. A Target goodie will do the trick.