Janet of All Trades

Zen I often thought Zen was the act of doing the same thing over and over.  Until I actually looked up the meaning. Having a  Zen attitude  means finding mindful awareness of the present moment. This will help you release yourself from stress, anxiety, frustration and anger. Instead, focus on positive thoughts and actions that will help you relax and respond in a more balanced way to your everyday life. I think I need to start working apply Zen to my life. Now that it is February and a time to re-set goals from January. I set so many goals for myself in January, one that I did not follow thru on was being more positive. For most of January, I sulked..  The Holiday's were over along with my 2 week Vacation and I was back at my unfulfilling job. It took so long to get out of that sulking mode. It started to wear off in the last few days of January and not sure how or why. Now I am going to start doing some mediation to keep it from returning. It was qui...

This past weekend I participated in my third craft show and premiered my new Dominoes and Key pendants. There were over 200 Craft booths and a huge basket raffle to benefit the Ben Franklin Elementary PTA. And the best seller was my Necktie Cuffs with Key and Button embellishments. I took them at the last minute thinking they would be a good addition to my wares. It was a good show and I discovered this talented young man, creating items out of old paper,maps and frames. He is Joshua Fraass and had the most interesting items and his display. Well I can't even describe it since the photo can only do that.  He only creates items from things he can recycle and they are amazing. And his display was utter eye candy perfection. Paper and vintage together. and a little bit of burlap. I was in recycled heaven. He also sells at a two local stores, so if you are in the Western New York area, Check his creations out at Patricia's Back Barn,...

I  made a huge decision to try and sell my pendants at a craft show and have been busy working on pendants and displays. I found these Artist figures at Ikea this past weekend and they are perfect for displaying my pendants.  I have been working on some lovely new key designs and I hope I sell just a few. If not I have some great ways to display my own jewelry I will sure to update on the out come of the show as well as my full table display! Enjoy!

Sometimes you buy something at an Estate Sale and you don't know what you have until you get it home and look thru it. That is what happen to me a few weeks ago when I purchase a coffee can full of vintage wooden and bamboo beads.  Surprise! the beads are fun and remind me of summer camp, so I knew I needed to create a piece of jewelry with them.  I started with some Stretch Magic Cord in black and clear in 1mm thickness. I had never used Stretch Magic before and was happy to read that it is made in the USA and is very easy to work with. I first cut a piece about 12 inches long since I had decided to make a 7" bracelet and would need a little more on each end to knot. Now you will need to Pre-Stretch the cord as per the directions, which means stretching it about 2 or 3 times with one end in both hands. Then I started stringing my beads which is super easy and if you have a bead stopper it helps to keep the beads organized. After a few trial and errors with I figu...