JewelryByMignon

New Earring Cards

2012-01-10T21:37:00.007-06:00

It's truly not something you shall see until you buy a pair of earrings or some of the daintier necklaces, but I have a new earring/necklace card created just for me by a fellow artisan on Etsy. She actually made them for me a summer or so ago, but I've only now decided to print them. They are absolutely scrumptious and I like them so much more than I do the gray flocked cards that I've been ordering from one of my wholesalers. The designer really created a design that speaks of my love of the ocean and of my personality. They are much more an attention-getter and they remind the shoppers in stores where my jewelry is sold that each piece is handmade by an artisan aka yours truly. :) Come by the online shop and stay a spell. ;) Support Handmade. :)

Mignon ;)

Olive Martini and Tequila Sunrise and More

2012-01-09T20:46:00.005-06:00

Lots going on over at the Etsy shop. :)

Have you been by lately? Come on over and see what's new. ;) It's truly fun to just create for just the love of creating and not having a care in the world over whether someone, or anyone, loves, likes, or otherwise a piece I design. We create because something in us says we must create and that is enough in and of itself. Just enjoy the process of whatever you do.

Ciao Bella :)

Raku Cherry Necklace

2011-12-31T13:08:00.003-06:00

I just posted a new piece in the shop. Yea me, finally. :) It's a darling necklace with a raku pottery pendant. Perhaps one day I will make pottery pieces, but in the meantime I can satisfy my pottery love by buying gorgeous pendants like this one from pottery artists. ;) The moment I first saw this lovely pendant, I knew just the necklace I wanted to create for this scrumptious cherry pendant. The sterling silver chain and sterling silver findings are oxidized. ;)

Mig

What If.....

2011-08-06T13:49:00.002-05:00

..........if the house was clean as I wanted it.

..........if the debt was paid off.

..........if the wee one had already mastered multiplication.

..........if the injury hadn't happened.

..........if I were a self sufficient artisan.

It doesn't matter the what if, these are my what ifs, my what ifs aren't your what ifs, but you have your own, it's what we choose to do with our what ifs that matters, do we live wondering what if, or do we go out and live our life turning the what ifs that are possible into reality. I can't wish my home as clean as I want it nor will it ever be as clean as I want it, but I can make it cleaner. I can't pay off all the debt today, but I can chip away at it until it is obselete. I can't learn the multiplication for him, but I can drill the facts with him until he gets them. Not a thing I can do about having had the injury, but I can choose to live life rather than dwelling on what I cannot change. I can dream about being an artist full time, dreams are good, and there is potential to turn that from a what if dream into reality.

Just thinking today.

What if.......

Optimist :)

Thank You to My Repeat Customers

2011-08-03T14:27:00.005-05:00

Just a thank you to and for my repeat customers, on and off Etsy ~ thanks for the encouragement, believing in me, and coming back. :)

Jewelry By Mignon

Mignon :O)

All Painting is Not the Same

2011-08-03T13:01:00.010-05:00

Guess where our bed is..........nope, not in the bedroom ~ why on earth would it be there? Seriously, do you think we are normal? Ha, we are painting the bedroom after 12 long years of having a mint green on the walls (newly put there by the last owner 12 years ago). I know, I know, you can do all sorts of pinks and creams and mints with mint, but I've just found it stifling all these years, so I've not bought anything but new pillows and sheets in these 12 years ~ I could find NOTHING I wanted that would remotely match when it comes to bedding.
Considering we've dug up coal on the grounds, its likely that this old fireplace was a coalburner that has long since been closed up - the chimney doesn't even scale the roofline any longer - our metal roof covers it over as does a couple layers of roofing beneath the newest roof. If you go far enough down in layers on the roof, then you actually find a cedar shingle roof - isn't that interesting, put in with square nails no less.
Hubs had to fix the ceiling in one of the closets - there was actual horse hair in the plaster that had fell!! That's old plaster.
Don't even try removing antique wallpaper from antique plaster - trust me, just paint over it, or you shall run the risk of having to plaster and fill in wherever the antique plasterstuff crumbles to dust.
This door, with an old window beside it actually was a window, the rope rollers are still in the windowframe errrr, now a doorframe.

That's 12 feet to get up to that ceiling. Glad it's hubs going up and not me.
Starting to tape off the window panes, even though we have a bit more sanding to do.
;)

There's beautiful wood under all that paint on the window moulding. I shall be tiling the center board that covers the old fireplace opening and I shall be looking for wood trim accents to add to the simplicity of the fireplace mantle. This is a work of love I tell you. This house is 150 years old as best we can tell, it predates the civil war, so there is no simple painting here, not to mention the seller put water-based paint over oil-based paint aka the paint on the window sills has bubbled over the last decade.

Stay tuned for the happy color choice that simply fits me and the family to a T. We've since painted the ceiling and hubs has painted the moulding around the ceiling and did a a couple inch buffer with the wall paint way up there so we don't bump the moulding with our rollers. After my injury, hubs is taking no chances with me on a ladder, so he is doing all the high stuff, short of the ceiling which I could paint with an extended roller standing firmly on the floor. ;)

Cheers,

Mig

Heart Earring All Grown Up :)

2011-07-31T01:26:00.004-05:00

When I first saw these lampworked glass hearts. I knew I had the perfect design for them. They were such a great color, understated, not too girlie, a great set that a grown gal could wear. The hearts are burnt orange, gold, and pale blue on one side and on the other a gorgeous teal. I hammered and shaped the loops they hang from and gave the loops a brushed polish with a textured finish. How can you sell them some may ask?? Oh, I've got myself all figured out and so when I come across something that's simply eye-catching such as these lampwork glass hearts ~ well I bought two pairs of the hearts, just in case I had that usual happy problem of wanting to keep what I create.

Its been a busy little day - I completed a scarf with the prettiest purple yarn called amethyst (I can't wait to start on the hat - I'm mixing two purples in the hat design and I'm just anxious to see how it turns out) and I worked on a new amethyst earring design. Luckily I have more amethyst because I'm thinking I'll be wanting to create a set of earrings and pendant in the new design for me too. Worthless I tell you (the hubs just shakes his head). :)

New Jewelry Designs

2011-07-29T23:41:00.003-05:00

Check your blood pressure, I'm writing two blog posts in one week. Check my temperature, I know. :)

I have an awesome opportunity of being allowed to display some jewelry pieces in a local salon in Clinton, Mississippi ~ Southern Salon. So, should you be local and be driving through on your way to say, my beloved gulf, then do stop by and tell them I sent you. :) If you have a request for a particular piece to be put in the shop, then let me know, as I can do that when I drive through for one reason or another. ;) They have a great little boutique of varying gifts there and you never know what may be on display for sale next. Great gifts to be found, to be sure. ;)

Do tell them I sent you. :)

M.

BTW, if you know any reason why I can't comment on my own post, then do tell, as I wanted to thank Sweet Limes for commenting on the post below and it just wouldn't go through!

Crochet ~ 31 Years in the Making

2011-07-26T14:32:00.006-05:00

I shall be adding crocheted pieces to the shop. ;) Crocheting is something I've wanted to learn since I was a little girl when I was given a doll blanket as a gift. I still have that doll blanket put away. Now, I'll have to go plundering in the attic room and see where I've safely stored it. ;) I've actually been crocheting all summer, but once the family realized I was crocheting, well, the requests for birthday and Christmas presents started pouring in. ;) Funny the things that continue to seem to happen because of my 2007 injury ~ I'm very doubtful I shall ever go back to buying much mass-produced items for gifts and whenever feasible, I have a good notion that family and friend gifts shall be handmade, hammered, and/or painted and when not handmade by yours truly, then I happen to know of great web site called Etsy where my dollars go straight to a family rather than a large conglomerate that won't remember me.

Newly Listed Earrings in the Shop

2011-07-18T18:25:00.002-05:00

I just hammered these new earrings on the anvil today. :) I uploaded them to the shop a few minutes ago.

Enjoy.

Have a great Monday.

New Moukaite Jasper Designs

2011-07-08T00:15:00.003-05:00

I had a request to design some earrings to match this one-of-a-kind necklace I had designed last autumn. Moukaite is a unique stone - very pretty and very unpredictable in color when I order it from my wholesaler, aka I never know what I'm going to get. So, I waited wondering how the small rounds would look and I still wasn't sure until I put them into an earring design and discovered that each pair go grandly with the necklace and its all a matter of whether you want the calmer more lavendar pair (currently on french hooks in the photos) or the brassy bold pair that pulls from the darker brick red to burgundy hues in Moukaite (pair currently on clip-ons).

Btw, Clip-on earrings are a new offering in the online shop. I settled on a silverplated pair that I like and that's the only thing silverplated in the shop, but it simply made the clip-ons more affordable for the masses to go with silverplate at this time. Sterling silver clip-ons are available per custom request.

Alls well that ends well - I have a new earring design that I truly like and I love Moukaite Jasper more than ever - particularly for its unpredictability.

Ciao,
Mignon

Happy Sunny Day in June

2011-06-30T20:31:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time on a overly warm day (make that extremely unbearably hot and humid unless you are truly a southerner and then it's simply overly warm) in June, the hubs was off on a Thursday, my son was restless, and I had a friend who had never been to a country girl's swimming hole, but she bravely accepted an invitation for her wee 3 offspring to come have a picnic and play in the murky waters of the Strong River (brave indeed I tell you - good thing she didn't see the five foot Cottonmouth of last summer, hmmm). We seven had a delish picnic on a set of those infamous concrete benches that parks are known for and we roamed all over that river, even sat in the 'jacuzzi' which was genuinely perfectly chilly - exactly what any southerner country gal would want to ward off the overly warm day feeling one gets down here, and we saw no snakes today. ;) I'm thinking the same time next week might just be in order.

New Earrings Going in the Shop :)

2011-06-29T18:12:00.005-05:00

The smaller daintier coiled pair is per a request by the customer who purchased the original pair. ;) However, I can certainly make them for you as well.

The first pair is a lovely leaf design that can be made to a required length. This pair is 2 and 3/4 inches long from french hook to leaf tip. I've been wanting a new pair of earrings that would go with nearly everything I wear and these surely fit that description as do the dainty pair. ;)

You may find both pairs in the shop or if they are sold, then I can certainly re-create them for you.

Ciao,

Mig

Hiking Trail

2011-06-20T16:10:00.003-05:00

A hiking trail in the middle of sand dunes? Really? That sounds hot and forboding. Quite the contrary. The dunes at Grayton Beach State Park in Florida are quite impressive. What is even more surprising is the narrow foot trail that meanders through them where you are allowed to step (stay on the trail so as not to hurt the dunes, but trail there is). You take a short hike on a thick sand foot trail up a sandy hill. Your reward for the little trek is the most secret little grove beneath some of the loveliest Oaks. They've even set a wooden bench there for you. My first thought, well right after thinking of the peace I could have there sitting quietly, is what a perfect spot for a small intimate wedding with the Oaks standing as guests. You get the loveliest view of the sunset when looking west toward the trail opening. We meandered further than the quiet grove beneath the trees, but only on the marked path. It was as though we had been whispered a secret by stopping there beneath the trees. You can just hear the grove in the rustling grass gently reminding one to stay off the dunes that protect the beauty you see from the hurricane winds that inevitably come.

Bringing Home a Bit of the Ocean

2011-06-18T15:48:00.003-05:00

Seashells, suntans, sandy toes, new T-shirts, and lots and lots of photos - that's what we bring home for certain each time we go on one of our beach trips. As a matter of a fact, I just bought 3 new pretty jars to fill with seashells and such. And, I'm sitting here today creating hubs' requested Daddy's Day gift - he likes his cards to be created rather than bought - he says they say more and whether I paint them or create them by hand or on the computer, he simply prefers them more. So, I used our beach photos to create his Daddy's day card and made a photo collage to frame before tomorrow for his gift.

Bringing home a bit of the ocean is nothing new for our family, but this year....well, this year, hubs surprised me by insisting we get me a new bicycle at the beach no less for he wasn't convinced we could get precisely that bike once we got home even with the ISBN num. She's a comfy beauty. She's considered a cruiser as I can sit up rather than lean on my wrists so much, unlike my 21-speed, and she's still a 7-speed and I can pack a picnic on the back. It was most curious finding room for her in the van, but where there is a will, there is a way, and let me tell you, hubs had the will on this one.

I brought home a bit of the ocean this year and she's blue like the sky, aqua like the water, and white like the creamy sands of the Panhandle. Hubs predicts I shall have her a long long time and that one day we shall have to repaint her to maintain that lovely look she has.... did you notice her whitewall tires. ;)

Greetings from Mignon

2011-05-20T15:28:00.005-05:00

Gosh, has it been this long since I blogged??? I've missed everyone. I went back to teaching in the fall of 2010 and was a bit overwhelmed making sure I did everything right. I work with severe profound students and I must say it is equally rewarding as demanding.

There's D. who has learned to sit in a chair this year. J2 and M. are more receptive to participating in class, which is phenomenal. Then, of course, there's the higher functioning kiddos who are learning to write their numbers and recite easy readers orally. It really has been one miracle after another in our classroom.

Now, as far this summer, I do have some lofty goals and the way I see it, I will reach for the stars and if I get halfway there, then I've reached the moon (cheese, anyone?) :0).......from painting the wee one's room, painting our room, I'd really love to paint the kitchen orange this summer, plus I have this itch to learn to make soap, and I need to get back to figuring out crocheting, and there are all these paintings in my head wanting to be painted on canvas, and then there's the jewelry I've made and not shot for uploading to the jewelry shop. Plus, I may not be perfectly well, but gosh, I'm so much better, FINALLY!!, and I'm ready to take the wee one on day trips - I have museums, water parks, and all sorts of places picked out. It's truly fantastic to have discovered the new me. I miss you all so much and school is nearly out for summer, be ready for me blogging again. :)

Gypsy Earrings Take One - Jewelry By Mignon

2010-06-20T02:31:00.007-05:00

A dear friend asked me if I could design and create her some gypsy earrings. My mind raced to a single pair of copper chandeliers I have been holding onto and to a purchase of Czech glass that I had been saving for a special occasion. The copper chandelier pieces are not a style I think I can obtain again and the Czech beads - well look at the ones on the earrings and you get the idea - they're just lovely all together. This is a Take-One because I have to get a notion about what the dear friend has in mind. Now that I've designed such a scrumptious pair, I just may have to design some more, but I don't foresee any being precisely the same as these.

This pair really is quite sassy and I can just imagine the lovely gypsy who would wear these traveling the world seeing the sun set and rise over all the oceans and exploring lands far and near.

New Design at Jewelry By Mignon

2010-06-19T11:50:00.003-05:00

A New Design is posted in the Jewelry By Mignon shop. ;)

Being a outdoors kind of person in the first place is only more focused when our beloved Gulf of Mexico is fighting a battle right now. When I came across these fantastic Mother-of-Pearl handcut square stones dyed seafoam no less, then a beach-inspired design was sure to follow. The lovely Mother-of-Pearl earrings are completed with links of sterling silver chain and the best part is the earrings can easily be shortened to your preference by removing links.

These earrings won't get lost in long tresses of hair and will look beautiful with short hair as well. The color just makes me want to pack a bag and head south until I reach the seashore. I can see the clear aqua blue water and just imagine I hear the waves hit the shore when I look at these exquisite earrings.

:) Mignon

Jewelry By Mignon

2010-06-11T15:01:00.003-05:00

I've taken a bit of a hiatus from writing. I've not taken a hiatus from life however. ;) It's been quite a busy spring in the JBM household. :) I've flown to Denver, drove all over the central north and west part of Mississippi, camped with the scouts, and we drove down to Gulf Shores so our family could enjoy the gulf one last time before unknown disasters from the oil happened. We're still praying on that one.

I'm starting my endeavor into vending at various markets in Mississippi, so if you are at a market in Mississippi, do look for me, you never know, I just may be there. ;)

I've been at several of the Farmer's Markets on Saturdays in Jackson now. The vendors are such a delight to get to know.

On Saturday, June 12, 2010, I will vend at the Clinton Olde Town Market in Clinton, MS. Our hours are 9 to 1. I look forward to seeing you there and/or at some of the other markets I will be vending at as the year proceeds. ;)

What If....

2010-03-21T00:01:00.002-05:00

So, God knows the deepest most secret desires of your heart. Wishes and dreams so special that you don't even utter them for fear they would blow away like dandelion seeds in a spring wind. He can create a life for you that includes the deepest hidden dreams and create a life for you that is beyond your comprehension. This happened to Job, I believe from my readings and understanding, after he suffered loss after loss and disappointment afer disappointment in those who were supposed to be his family and friends.

What if....

Belhaven Market 2010, Handmade Spark, and Jewelry By Mignon

2010-03-20T17:38:00.003-05:00

It's been a wee bit quiet on the Jewelry By Mignon homefront as of late, but things are certainly heating up this month. I've just been hired to be a freelance writer for Examiner.com and if you are interested in applying with Examiner, then I have referral information I can share with you.

If you also love all things arts and crafts related, then please do click the 'email list' button on my Examiner page, it says email subscription, but there's no fee for getting on the email list to receive my articles.

Here is my Examiner homepage http://www.examiner.com/x-40171-Jackson-Arts-and-Crafts-Examiner and I've just published two new articles late last night and this afternoon. My writing topic is Arts and Crafts for the Jackson, MS area. This includes artisan interviews, interviews with promoters of craft festivals and markets, spotlighting brick and mortar locations that promote artisans and their art, promoting arts and crafts events and so forth. I've wanted to do this very thing for well over a year now and to have a freelance writing job doing just that is absolutely perfect. I'm already meeting many wonderful people.

Also, I've just been hired to be a freelance writer for Handmade Spark which as I understand is the brainchild of Timothy Adams - one of Etsy's extremely talented artisans. I'll give you a headsup when my first article is up and going on Spark. On Spark, I won't be limited to just writing about Mississippi arts and crafts happenings, so for those of you who are outside of Mississippi and across the world, then I now have a location to write articles about you and your online shops.

As far as Jewelry By Mignon goes, I got to vend one time so far at the merged Belhaven and Mississippi Farmers' Market on High Street in Jackson, MS and then the flu set in, but I'll be back there again in upcoming weeks and I fully anticipate being a regular there as time and cub scout obligations permit.

So, if you are a Mississippi artisan, I have an interview form for you when you are ready.

If you are outside of Mississippi, I can now say I have an interview form for you as well. ;) This is exciting news.

I'm so ready to get back to designing new jewelry designs now that I'm getting back to myself.

Wishing everyone well and I'm glad to be getting well!

Mignon

A Charming Giveaway Over at Sweetlimes

2010-03-16T15:59:00.002-05:00

Sweetlimes is hosting a sweet little giveaway for a darling clutch. Do go check it out. All you have to do to enter is to leave a comment on her blog beneath the posting on the giveaway. Easy peasy.

Mignon

Mississippi Arts and Crafts Freelance Writing

2010-03-03T18:20:00.005-06:00

(photos are courtesy of Kay Olliver)
Probably a year ago, I applied with Examiner.com to become a freelance writer. My angle was to write on Arts and Crafts for the local Jackson and Mississippi area. I got the job. My very own Examiner webpage is up and live. My first article on the Belhaven and Farmer's Market has been posted.

This is very exciting news. I am in a position to fully promote our local Mississippi Arts and Crafts festivals as well as interview Mississippi's own artisans and crafters. Just think, what better way for someone who is so rooted in supporting artisans and their families to be able to do just that in such a public venue.

There is a subscribe option on the Examiner page so that you can get the Arts and Crafts articles delivered right to your inbox. Please do support me while I promote and spotlight local artisans and festivals.

The Arts and Crafts page can be found at Examiner

Work in Progress - Jewelry By Mignon

2010-02-18T17:09:00.003-06:00

This is first draft, so to speak, of a cherry pendant request using lovely smooth round red glass with green Czech glass leaves. The metal is sterling silver with oxidizing. The stems are Japanese metalic glass beads.

After the Sale - Jewelry By Mignon

2010-02-16T23:21:00.005-06:00

Do you smoke? Do you smoke in the same house as where you store supplies you sell or store the supplies you use to make your art piece? Can you smell the smoke on the items you are shipping? Not likely if you are the one doing the smoking. Is it ethical to sell your product, whether supplies or artisan piece, and not disclose to the buyer that the item is stored and worked with in a smoking environment?

What's the harm, right.

Well, to the average person, there probably isn't any 'harm', they may not buy from you again if the smell repulses them, but probably not any harm. However, what about the asthmatic person who just so happens to be allergic to the mere smell of cigarette smoke? That person can have an asthma attack due to your lack of ethics in disclosing the smoke-filled environment. What's an asthma attack? It's just a little wheezing breathing thing where the person just takes a couple puffs of their inhaler and are right as rain, right. Seriously, what's the harm.

Asthma can kill. It is literally the equivalence of drowning because even though the air is right there, you cannot breath because your lung muscles have swollen shut due to the attack.

So, if you sell, create, produce anything in smoke-filled environment, please disclose this to the buyer on your shop's front page. The actual bubblewrap mailer from which supplies I ordered came in had the strongest smell of smoke. One would have thought it was the equivalence of having been in a closet with the smoker while they were smoking. I literally couldn't get the product out of the mailer quick enough and then had to fling the mailer, tissue, and mini ziplock bags across the room to pick up later as an attack was coming on.

And, while I'm on the soap box of many cigarette smokers not having a clue of the potential harm and dangerous risk they cause, and understand that I realize that most smokers 'do not realize'...... they risk the lives of asthmatics when they light up just outside the exit of a building or lighting up for that last puff while standing in line at the movie theater - I mean really people, your rights versus another's life. Seriously. Step FAR away from the building, step FAR away from the exit and DOWN-WIND, and disclose the smoking environment of your product to your buyer.

Jewelry By Mignon is in a BNR Treasury ;)

2010-02-01T16:55:00.002-06:00

Jewelry By Mignon is in a treasury.
Want in??
Buy from any shop on the treasury and you take their place on the treasury. It does not have to be the item from the shop that's in the treasury. It simply has to be an item from a shop on the treasury. :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=110297

Wicked is Having a Giveaway :)

2010-02-01T11:47:00.002-06:00

Do go see Wicked's lovely soap shop with much more than just handmade artisan created soaps.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/wickedsoaps

and the darling host of this giveaway is

http://auntiedis.blogspot.com

Auntie Dis is also on Etsy with lovely SOY candles and charming earrings.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/auntiedis

Custom Valentine Request - Jewelry By Mignon

2010-01-31T23:44:00.003-06:00

Becoming a jewelry artisan who shares her work with other people has enriched my life so very much. I had originally started on this journey for only making and designing pieces for myself. However, the fates aligned such that sharing my designs with others was inevitable. Sharing has led me to being able to be a part of so many lives for fleeting moments. There's the little girl who wears a sweet little pair of earrings I designed and her mom wrote me to tell me she can hardly get her out of her earrings to go to bed. Then there's the wedding where the flower girls all wore lovely pale lime green pearl and copper bracelets which showed up beautifully against their pale blue dresses. There are friends who smile a little bigger because they know I made them a piece with love. I have lots of sweet stories that touch my heart even from people who don't buy but are so moved by the jewelry that they touch my heart.

This time another sweet person has touched my heart with her story and we are currently chatting back and forth trying to align what's in her head and what comes out of mine. This bracelet is a culmination of this ongoing discussion.

The cord is a colorfast cotton cord that lasts longer than leather. The sweet faceted beads are uniquely enough acrylic beads I had bought to make gifts for nieces and other little girls who are in my life via the wee one's class at school, but they just may foot the bill for this order. The findings are copper. The heart is created by hand by me. I used a length of round copper wire, shaped, hammered, soldered, and antiqued. The heart has a nice varied pantina that will only become more beautiful with age.

I love this happy bracelet for all ages. Don't you?

Jewelry By Mignon - Mommy's Fairy Dust

2010-01-26T12:53:00.004-06:00

Mommy will become Mom or Momma one day soon, but not tonight. For now, I still get to be Mommy for a little while longer. Our precious miracle son went to sleep tonight with a Benadryl and a stuffy nose. By 1 A.M., he was awake, in tears, the Benadryl having worn off, and his little nose completely stopped up. Earlier in the night he had a boo-boo on his foot and he was in pain from where the kitten accidentally scratched him. I pulled out my magic band-aids and they made the pain go away a bit. Upon the wee one waking at 1 A.M., I set the kettle on the stove to bring the water to below a boil for the wee one a cup of Jasmine Green Tea with honey. Hubs administered Benadryl, Aleve, and Robitussin. Of course none of the meds have any magic. Mommy's honey by the tablespoon has a nice sprinkling of magic while we wait for the water to warm. The scrumptious cup of jasmine tea has all the magic of any fairy's wand. So, we sat on the antique sofa in the art room across from the kitchen, drank Jasmine tea with extra honey, and watched a smattering of Antiques Road Show in the middle of the night. It is wonderful to be Mommy, more wonderful to have smatterings of Mommy magic, and most wonderful of all to have the trust of one's own child who knows when hurts or sickness come that Mommy will be right there with hugs, kisses, magic band-aids, tea, and honey all in the cupboard - all coverd in fairy dust.

De-caf Jasmine Green Tea and other enticing flavors can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/teaman

Jewelry By Mignon - New Shop Banner

2010-01-25T17:23:00.004-06:00

I created a new banner with sterling silver hearts I created from a coil of sterling silver wire. I cut the wire, shaped it, hammered it, soldered it, polished it and created a new design for Jewelry By Mignon. I've had the heart design in my head since before Christmas, it just takes awhile to get the designs out of my head to the work bench sometimes.

http://www.jewelrybymignon.etsy.com

Let me know what you think of the new banner and the new pieces found in the banner. :)

M.

http://www.artsycraftsy2.etsy.com Valentine Giveaway

2010-01-25T00:46:00.002-06:00

Artsy Craftsy 2 is having a Valentine giveaway. ;)

Click the title to go straight to her blog for the giveaway.

Click the link below to go straight to her lovely shop.

ArtsyCraftsy2

M. ;)

Giveway Information for Dawn Correspondence on Etsy

2010-01-22T23:55:00.003-06:00

Dawn Correspondence is having a giveaway for some of her classy and lovely correspondence. Dawn is a fellow Etsian and I just love her shop.

Click the title and you'll go straight to Rik Rak's blog - she is hosting the giveaway.

You may find Dawn's lovely shop by clicking the link below.

Dawn Correspondence

M.

Valentine Ideas :)

2010-01-17T16:52:00.005-06:00

Do you have Valentine's on the brain yet?? We artists have to start planning the next occasion well in advance of the big day so that we have awesome ideas to get those cogs turning about what you might would like for the big day. I'm already planning next Valentine's jewelry presentation and this one hasn't gotten here yet. That's how we do it. So enjoy the first pieces in my Valentine Ideas thinking box. ;)

M.

Thinking About a New Giveaway

2010-01-16T16:28:00.002-06:00

Why do giveaways??

Giveaways are fun for those who enter and those who do them. It's a great way to advertise, but have fun while doing so. I can pay for advertisement, which I do here and there, or I can do a giveaway. Which would you rather do? Pay for advertisement which doesn't really make anyone smile or do a giveaway which makes both the shop owner and the entrants smile. It's fun, it's quirky, and at the end of the day - giving someone an unexpected gift is very rewarding and leaves a warm spot in your heart. I did a giveaway in December on Facebook and I can't wait to hear from the recipient about her necklace. What's really fun is the people who tell me they've never won anything in their whole lives, yet they win a piece of jewelry from me. It's rather a pay-it-forward endeavor. So, look for the next giveaway to be coming soon, but this one will be on the blog. ;)

Hope are you having a fabulous New Year so far! ;)

M.

What can a smile do?

2009-12-20T22:54:00.002-06:00

There are these two teachers who stand at the door to the entrance I use to enter my wee one's school each afternoon this year when I pick him up from school. These two teachers give me a smile about 9 out of any given 10 days I enter and exit those doors. So, for Christmas, I decided that after half a school year of truly looking forward to their smiles each afternoon that I would give them a little Christmas happy in the form of necklaces for each of them.........along with the following note.

Merry Christmas to two sweet teachers who give me a smile nearly every afternoon when I walk through the gym doors to pick up my little guy from first grade….I’ve enjoyed your smiles very much the first half of this school year. So, I simply had to give the two of you a little simple happy.

About 18 years ago I was a waitress while I was pursuing my first degree. I had this customer I waited on every single afternoon after she picked her daughter up from the elementary school. This lady never smiled, more or less had this grimace, and hardly said a word to me as I waited on her each and every afternoon at nearly 3:00 P.M. on the dot. You could set your watch by her arrival. She always ordered a medium coke and a small coke. She never tipped, I don’t even recall a thank you really, just that grimace every afternoon that I still remember to this day. After I waited on this charmer for a year, she had already come through for her daily two sodas and left, she asked for me – I had no idea she knew my name. I couldn’t imagine how two cokes could be messed up. I went out to see what was the matter as I could only assume from her usual grimace that something must be the matter. I found out that day her name was Victoria. Victoria didn’t have a complaint. She had an envelope. She told me that she had been coming to the restaurant everyday for the last year because everyday I smiled at her and that smile was what got her through the day, because she knew when she left her house to go pick up her daughter, it meant she was getting her daily smile……from me. About a year before I began to wait on Victoria, she and her daughter and her son had been in a car crash. They had been hit by a drunk driver. Her son didn’t survive. Her grimace was all she could muster each day. I unknowingly gave this stranger a reason to get out of bed each day. What was in that envelope you ask? Well, Victoria proceeded to tell me that she knew I had been ill the last few weeks and that she hadn’t been seeing my smile, so to my great surprise, the lady who had never tipped me, gave me a $100. She said that I had given her so many smiles to make her smile that she wanted to do something for me to make me smile.

So, do keep smiling, you never know when you may come across another Victoria who may just need that smile of yours more than you may ever know.

Merry Christmas Ladies!

Wee One's Mom – Mignon 

We truly never know what a smile may mean to a stranger. I had no idea that a smile - my smile - could mean so much to another person, but it did. The next time you come across someone with a grimace, instead of thinking that they must be miserable, give them a smile and plant a seed that may help them get through another day. You never know what your smile may mean and it's free to give them away.

M.

Free Shipping for December 2009 ;)

2009-12-03T17:35:00.003-06:00

Hey guys! I've gotten some Christmas spirit and I'm sending some from our home to yours. Any purchase totaling over $20 this month equals free shipping for the month of December. So, whether you are Christmas shopping or spending your Christmas gift money after Christmas, then come right on over to the online shop and know you are getting a great deal with free shipping. :)

Just click that title to go right to the shop.

Peace!

Mignon

When a Coconut Cake Isn't a Coconut Cake

2009-11-25T23:18:00.005-06:00

About 10 years ago I began a search for the ultimate coconut cake to make for the father-in-law. The FIL had always talked about his momma's coconut cake and how he missed it. So, I'd never actually met a coconut cake I liked, but I figured I could find an awesome recipe to make for the FIL and he could have some connection to his momma's cake - not to ever substitute for a memory for you know you can't ever top a memory. I found two coconut cake recipes before I was done. One was a good 100 years old or better as the lady I acquired that recipe from was hitting near 50 and she had gotten the recipe from her grandma which puts the recipe at bare minimum of 100 years in age. The second I found in one of my gourmet Christmas books. Both of the recipes have become a Mignon's family tradition. The cake far exceeded my expectations and far exceeds whether the FIl likes or loves the cake or not. I must say that the look on my husband's face when I make either of these two mouth watering moist coconut cakes is comparable to a child on Christmas morning. By the time I put all the ingredients in for a scratch batter, divide out the batter into three sections, bake and cool the 3 layers, make, cook, and cool the filling, and make the icing, and get everything put together and the cake put in the icebox to chill for the night so that it is glistening by morning ready for its big presentation for afternoon desserts after our Thanksgiving meal and all the oohhs and awws of this delightful confection, it is certainly a labor of love.

Uniquely enough I feel the closest to my late grandmother when I'm cooking, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. It is through Grandma Mignon that I learned to cook and to love baking and cooking and I discovered that you can reach a person through their stomach. My sister was my first food taster when I started cooking at age 10 and my family still never knows what may come out of the kitchen. I just came up with another new recipe to try in the near future.

I made one of these scrumptious coconut cake delights today and just put it in the fridge for it's Thanksgiving Eve chill. I realized this evening when reading the expiration date on the corn syrup that it had expired the autumn of 2007 which meant I hadn't made one of these dreamy cakes since the Thanksgiving or as late as the Christmas of 2006. The arduous amount of work and time required to bake one of these cakes that dance through the hub's dreams rather than sugar plums was not something I was physically capable of doing for the last two years. I had a silent moment of sheer delight when I realized through a cake that I am continuing to get better and to improve from my injury. It isn't a trophy or blue ribbon moment nor will my name be called to receive a degree from this special moment and only you may know what a cake and an expired bottle of sticky corn syrup mean to me, but I know. Just an expired ole bottle of corn syrup gave me hope and I could feel God's hug and could almost hear Grandma's chuckle and know that all will be ok even if the life I had thought was perfectly packaged is now not perfectly packaged and I don't know what happens next.

Sometimes a coconut cake isn't a coconut cake....sometimes it's an arduous labor of love for one's spouse and family........sometimes it's a way for a granddaughter to reach out to heaven and find her grandmother.........and sometimes it's a way for God and Grandma to reach down to me and give me a little faith that everything is going to be alright.

Happy Thanksgiving my friends.

Mignon

Autumn Morning Stroll

2009-10-30T17:23:00.005-05:00

{All photo copyrights of all photos on this blog are reserved by the owner.}
I went out to do a photo shoot this morning using the morning sunlight to shoot some pictures for uploading to an online shop. The surprise sun and even more surprising 80 degree morning led me to amble through the property shooting photos of my witness to the changing autumn colors. It was a delight to be able to actually walk around our property for a spell by myself without help and take in the colors, trees, flowers, and wildlife. Not an hour later a strong wind blew through and it rained for less than 20 minutes and the temperature dropped 20 degrees. It was just a little gift to enjoy the morning before the storm came.

Happy Autumn

2009-10-30T10:29:00.003-05:00

Happy Autumn. :)

We took the wee one to pick out a pumpkin and a hay bale yesterday. We actually don't carve our pumpkins each year. A friend taught me years ago to buy a can of clear coat, spray it, and then you have an autumn decoration through the fall. Plus, it's a fantastic spot for Christmas photos with the Leland Christmas tree as backdrop each year. I love having Lelands planted throughout the yard.

Our winter garden is starting to grow. The hubs planted green onions, broccoli, spinach, garlic, and the three varieties of regular onions - red, yellow, and white.

I took a nice autumn walk around the property this morning. I went to sleep in fleece and woke up searching for shorts. That's Mississippi weather for you - you just never know what you may get. One day may be 40 degrees and the next day may be 80. I'll be sharing some of the photos from my walk (thankful I can walk a wee bit now).

Have a great autumn day.

Mignon

Pink Necklaces....Which Do You Like Best?

2009-10-27T12:26:00.005-05:00

One of these is going in the Etsy shop and one is going in the Artfire shop......or maybe 1000markets' shop. It's funny what minute little differences can do to a necklace. One I kept tighter and gave little slack to the beaded section - so it lies a a little straighter. The other, I did give slack and and it has a more angled presentation. One has Bali beads and the other has Swarovski AB crystals. Oddly enough with the obvious variance in the color of the two necklaces, the beads all came from one strand of Rhodonite beads - great example of variation in a given gemstone even when the quality is the same. One strand is clearly pink while the other strand lends itself to almost a pink lilac with obvious lavender hues.

Do you have a favorite of the two?

M.

Too Cute Not to Share

2009-10-27T12:13:00.005-05:00

When this little guy was 7 weeks old, we brought him in from the porch after we had found homes for his brothers. 3 went to the in-laws and this little one was claimed by our wee one. I have to be honest, this was not the kitten I wanted to keep if we were keeping one. This little adorable thing went on to become a bull in a china cabinet and we had to put him outside. When he was 7 weeks old and as he grew before he went outside, he slept in my purse A LOT. He hasn't been inside in probably two months and then it got cold and has rained a lot the last 9 weeks or so, so he got to come back in recently. He reclaimed this purse as his bed. I have elected to choose my battles and as long as he's using to sleep in and not a bathroom, then I'll let him have this one. He's gone on to win my heart over and follows the family around outside like a dog. Too fun. He's the sweetest most loyal little thing and at the same time just a ball of energy that cannot stay in the house. He's the reason there are rubberbands on the cabinets to keep them shut. He'd go in there and push all the food out on the floor. I think the last draw was when I found him lying on a stack of plates in the top cabinet above the counter. So, little sweet kitty comes in to visit and then goes back outside to run off that energy. He's just wormed his way right into my heart - the little rascal.

Plum Crazy Purple Necklace

2009-10-07T13:12:00.008-05:00

There was this antique muscle car that would come through the restaurant where I was a waitress in high school at a local drive-in restaurant and this car, besides being absolutely gorgeously restored, was painted plum crazy purple with a clear coat on top and that paint coat of purple just shined like it was on fire. I'm not sure my love of purple isn't grounded in the day that the car first showed up at the restaurant. For many years I wanted an antique Volkswagon bug painted in that glorious purple color, but with the metal specks and of course the clear coat on top, and to have topped it all off I wanted a yellow smiley face on the back trunk and maybe some smaller ones about the size of a silver dollar placed just right on the doors close to the mirrors....

So, my love of purple began.... :) I've been wanting to design this necklace for probably 5 months or more, but I had to find the right beads and I found them in the Czech glass beads I used for this first OOAK design. There will be more designs to follow, but no two will be precisely alike.

I did shoot the necklace inbetween cloud bursts as it has been raining nearly every day for the last month, so the placement of the front of the necklace isn't just so in the pictures; however, the 3 darker 'amethyst' colored beads that are together almost at the front are actually the front of the necklace.

Giveaway Winner (s) Announcement

2009-10-06T11:48:00.005-05:00

Nope, didn't forget; I however, am on permanent island time....Flip flops, straw hats, fishing, and sand between my toes.

I have decided to do two winners. The first winner will the winner who wins the $20 shopping spree for any of my jewelry and/or art shops on Etsy and Artfire. The first winner was selected by those who commented on the giveway, tweeted, etc.

The second winner was selected by the blog's followers at large with the commenters and their tweets added in again for the second giveaway. The second winner will have a choice of having a $10 spree in either the Artfire shop or the Etsy jewelry shop.

******So, without further ado - the $20 shopping spree goes to.............Dirt of http://www.dirtroadsouth.etsy.com

*****The $10 spree goes to Michelle of http://www.michelleperkett.com

If you've not ever visited Dirt's shop - she does mosaics and the cutest jewelry that reminds one to smile. I just saw a bacon necklace she did the other day. Just made me smile. She and I both love knowing our work makes people smile, so check her shop out.

One of my favorite artists on Etsy is Michelle. I found her shop and blog last December or so. I even have some of her fairy cards. Her work has such a positive aura about it that I find it soothing. Do check her lovely shop out as well.

Congrats to both! :)

Ebay Listings - Mainly Toddler Boys Clothes 12 Months, 3T, and 4T

2009-10-06T10:40:00.005-05:00

I have a few Ebay listings up with no bids. I'll be adding new listings directly. In the meantime, these listings go off in less than two days. My philosophy is why pay retail, especially for children's clothes when they grow up so quickly. The wee one had a growth spurt where he outgrew his new shoes and boots in 3 months - of course shoes is an area that I prefer to buy new, but still you do get the picture.

Hubs Threw Duct Taped Tent Out

2009-09-29T01:54:00.003-05:00

Remember the old tent a few postings down........ That one didn't make it past the dumpster when we left the campgrounds for the last camping trip. One would think that sane people would like to camp less after Chinese water torture invaded our tent via the gully washer thunderstorms. What did we do?? We came home, researched tents, and found one on serious sale within days of the last camping trip - apparently most folks don't buy tents this time of year. We've been sitting on this tent for a month or so and found out that we will be putting it to use immediately. Wee one's cub scout's troop has monthly camping trips. There's one in December called the Polar Bear or something. R u kidding, they get badges for camping out in December.

I'm a confusing mixture of tomboy and girly girl; however, primitive camping is something new to me. We camp where I have running water at a camp site, camp very near the bathroom, and have numerous cords running to and fro for airing up the air mattress, running the fan, giving energy to the toaster oven (this is a must on nonprimitive trips - nothing like brownies baking at the campsite), and of course there's a cord for the camping lights to light up tree roots, critters, and whatever else that may need lit up. We leave the camp lights on all night so we can watch the racoon open up closed rubbermaid containers and steal our entire loaf of bread that was to be the morning toast kind of thing.

Speaking of bathrooms and primitive camping and finding out there was a hole in the ground for such needs.......I quickly told the hubs to return my new battery operated air mattress pump and buy me my own personal ummm, well, portable potty thingamajig err thing - there is such a thing at Walmart for those of you who don't go to the camping section - think 5 gallon bucket with a cushioned seat. The scout leader did let us know that there was an actual bathroom and not a hole in the ground farther away than where the scouts typically camp - guess who is camping out by the REAL bathroom. That's the girly girl with requirements. I get to keep my battery powered air mattress pump for the mattress AND get a real bathroom. I'm a happy camper.

Asked Hubs to please pack my open-cast reel - that's the tomboy side ready to bring in some catfish. I'll keep you posted on what fish I bring home the next trip. Then, I love fishing so much that a no-keeper/no-catch day is still a good day. They call it fishing, not catching.

Mignon

Lovely Stationery Giveaway

2009-09-28T10:44:00.002-05:00

http://dawncorrespondence.blogspot.com/2009/09/booth-6-womens-fall-business-expo.html?showComment=1254152627763#c6396303598324463683

This charming artisan is having a giveaway on her blog. I just found her blog and started following, added her to the fanpages I follow, added her on Twitter, checked out her shop (obviously), and love her shop and blog.

Spectacular Talent On the Rise

2009-09-20T01:55:00.005-05:00

I have the distinct pleasure of introducing you to a charming shop and its charming owner from http://www.sweetlimes.etsy.com

I will refer to her as S.L., aka Sweet Limes. I met S.L. back in probably the winter of 2009 - we clicked so quickly that we had no choice, but to become friends. I get to claim some of her pieces just before she went public with her etsy shop this month. I have the most beautiful purse, cuff bracelet, and business card holder all sewn by S.L. Somewhere in there we crossed the mutual giveways we had followed and won on each other's blogs and made each other what we would make our friends. Her sewing skills are spectacular and what really amazes me is how she can look at something and work it out in her mind and into a pattern on her roll of paper. From her paper drawing, she turns a creation into her own and what comes off of her sewing machine is nothing short of magical. It would be impossible to look at her work or in my lucky case - hold three pieces of her work in your hands and not smile - absolutely impossible.
What you see pictured are the amazing things she can do with scraps - she turned scraps into cloth cards and inserted cardstock inside for writing your special note. How creative can you get?? I cannot wait to buy my own set - having to play it close the vest right now or I would have already bought the gorgeous blue set. I'd suggest hurrying up if you plan on getting them before I do.
Also in the photographs is one of her cuffs. This particular one I predict to go off with fireworks with the recycle, reuse, folks as this cuff is a recycled piece of fabric - very creative indeed. So, add her to your favorites. I wait in wonder like a kid at Christmas wondering what she will put in her shop next. I've seen an outfit she's sewn for a wee one and the creativity just flows from every seam.

Mignon :)

Autumn's Alluring Secrets Earrings

2009-09-17T17:43:00.003-05:00

Autumn's Alluring Secrets Earrings

I don't know what it is about wood, it's just something that connects me to nature - reminding me of camping trips I've been on where the fun, peace, and pleasure obtained could not be contained... reminding me of hikes on nature trails and trips to the beach where drift wood rolls onto shore from the waves. One has to find silence to hear God speak the clearest and on my lone walks down the beach or while sitting outside a rented cabin or our tent, I can find the silence that lets me listen the most intently. My favorite church is the one I go to alone when I have a moment to be alone with nature and 'be still' and listen.

May you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed designing them.

Mignon

Autumn Earth Element Wood Necklace

2009-09-17T01:17:00.001-05:00

I've had some requests to do some jewelry designs in wood. Tell me what you think?? :)

These round rings aren't perfectly round anymore as I sanded each where the copper wire wraps - see how they fit just too perfectly? Hah, they didn't start out that way - this necklace was my first in this design so it was totally trial and error to get everything to work out as simple as it now appears. Funny how simple isn't always simple.

The cotton cording I use is colorfast and once I knotted the ends closest to the rings and used end caps at the clasp end, I also sealed them with jeweler's epoxy - no half jobs done at my design table - that's a promise.

The copper wire and the fabulous copper toggle will aquire that beautiful, although infamous, rust-brown copper penny color.

Do a search for shirts on Etsy and you are sure to find the perfect shirt to go with this superb earth necklace.

Mignon :>)

Camping and Duct Tape

2009-09-14T00:01:00.005-05:00

So, we packed Ole Bessie with all our camping gear and fishing gear. We all had a great time.

However, have you ever heard of water torture???? Lol. Well, apparently our old tent of 6 years finally had enough withstanding the elements of extremes as we've camped when it was really hot and we've camped when the weatherman was really wrong and April had a last drop in temps down to the 40's and there's been quite a few storms while the tent was put up here and there. So, the old burgundy tent took her last stand this Labor Day. Hubs got sprinkle splashes on his side of the air mattress, while I was under the water torture corner. Splot splot splot all night long. Strangely enough my beach blanket is water resistent so I spent the night fully under my beach blanket. Some time in the middle of the night in the midst of thunder boomers, our wee one pushed up against me and I held the cover over both our heads with my hand over his ear blocking the thunder. We awoke to the only dry section of my pillow being precisely where my head lay.

A mixture of 99 cent table cloths I had from the Dollar Store and a roll of Duct tape was our saving grace. However, hubs elected to chunk the old tent at the dumpster on the drive out of the park. I must say that as we drove through the park that there were many others with all sorts of plastic concoctions covering their tents and canvas ends on pop-up campers. We weren't the only ones. We'll be sure to spray the water proof spray on the new tent, but really, 6 years for a $50 tent is pretty good and we're ready for our next tent.

Winner's Choice Jewelry Giveaway

2009-09-11T23:52:00.002-05:00

Read the post below for details. This is a blogger's thank you giveaway! :)

The winner gets their pick of any jewelry listing in the shop.

Winner may choose from my Jewelry By Mignon Art Fire Shop, Jewely By Mignon Etsy Shop, or the DragonSlayer72 Bonanzle shop. Winner's pick. :)

Mignon

Special Giveaway Just for Jewelry By Mignon Blog Followers

2009-09-10T17:47:00.005-05:00

This giveaway is just for followers of this blog. It is your thank you for following, reading, leaving comments on the blog, sometimes leaving suggestions for improvement, leaving caring words and more.

If you aren't following and would like to, then do so, I will take down a list of all followers, including new followers, at the end of the giveaway, use the random.org box at the bottom of the blog to generate a winning number and the winner gets to pick any ONE pair aka one posting of earrings in the shop.

Rules and rundown of requirements.

1. Follow this blog and comment.

2. No purchase necessary.

3. Just covering whatever legal (ness) there needs to be. No one under 18 may enter the drawing.

4. The giveaway will end September 18, 2009.

5. The winner will be announced in the days that follow. If the winner does not contact me in return within 7 days, then a new winner will be selected using random.org 's box at the bottom of my blog.

6. Leave a comment about your favorite posting or what you like about the shop etc. gets you an additional number in the giveaway.

7. Post the giveaway on Twitter with an @JewelryByMignon so I get it too, then you get another entry.

8. Blogging it on your blog gets you another entry when you come back here and leave a comment with the link so I can count it.

9. The photos included in this posting are simply samples of earrings in the shop. The winner gets to choose from the listings that are available in the shop, at the price of $20 or less, at the time of the winner being announced and the winner choosing.

Note: I reserve the right to go back to using the old hat and numbers on paper method should the number of entries go over 100.

That about does it, so get following, commenting, tweeting, and blogging and make sure I know it so I can count it. Remember the winner gets to pick their choice of any ONE jewelry posting that is $20 or under.

Mignon :) Happy Blogging.

First Facebook Winner :)

2009-09-10T17:34:00.003-05:00

So, how does one choose a winner when one knows and is attached to those who entered the drawing???????? Hmmmmm. Well, there is a box at the bottom of my blog where I can enter the minimum and maximum numbers and the program chooses a number for me and this is just what I did. It's fair and I don't have to think about it.

The winner is #2. Now, I have to go into Facebook to find out who is number 2. :)

Congrats to you!!!

I will be doing more Facebook giveaways in the future and you guys who entered this one will be included in the next one. :)

The numbers generated by this widget come from RANDOM.ORG's true random number generator.

Mignon

New Props

2009-09-10T13:11:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to come up with my own unique backdrop that was more than changes in cloth etc. I've seen what various other shop owners do, but I had to find my own unique quirky thing to do. Copying others is not exactly what I had in mind, so when I came up with using the driftwood I had brought home from the coast, then I knew I had found something I could claim as my own. Even though I already like using my seashell collection from time to time as a prop too.

I think it really adds life through texture and contrast to the photography and we'll just have to see how this changes or improves my photo shoots.

Labor Day Sale

2009-09-04T09:16:00.003-05:00

My first Labor Day Sale started last night! :>)

Over 20 jewelry pieces are on sale throughout the shop. "Labor Day Sale" has been added to the title to each listing that is on sale and the price is marked accordingly. There are earrings on sale starting at $5 and there are pendants and necklaces that have never been on sale before. It's a perfect opportunity to grab a great sale on some handmade artisan-created jewelry pieces. Many are OOAK.

If you aren't following the blog yet, you may want to do so now. A giveaway just for blog followers will happen soon. An exclusive first ever facebook giveway is ending this week. :)

Mignon

Free World Wide Shipping Today Only

2009-08-30T10:20:00.001-05:00

Free World Wide Shipping purchases over $25 thru 8/30/09 Mention N Checkout I'll refund.... #etsy #jewelry #handmade

Click the title and it will take you straight to my shop. :)

Or here's the url: http://www.jewelrybymignon.etsy.com

Rejuvenate Aqua Sterling Silver Earrings

2009-08-26T23:38:00.002-05:00

I love Amazonite, probably directly due to it reminding me of the ocean, the skyline, the waves hitting the shore, and then I'm off daydreaming about sailboats going by (remember my painting)and my mind has me listening to seagulls overhead, my son digging a huge hole while hubs scoops water to make the sand castle.

This pair of earrings is part of the Rejuvenate Aqua line, but are being sold separate of the necklace for those wishing to just buy the earrings. They are lovely all by themselves. I enjoy them so much that I may have to make me a pair even though I already have a pair of Amazonite earrings..........

Clicking the title takes you right to their page in the shop. :)

Get Out of Doghouse Jewelry Set

2009-08-26T01:19:00.005-05:00

JewelryByMignon
http://www.jewelrybymignon.etsy.com

Artsy Swirls in Sterling aka Get Out of the Doghouse Jewelry Set

If your hubs or boyfriend or significant other has never been in the doghouse, then move right along as you don't need to read the post, so just skip the posting and click the title to go right to the shop. :)

It's getting harder and harder for hubs to use jewelry as a 'get out of the doghouse free card'. Why??? I can pretty well make and design most of the jewelry I like, want, or wear.

Nearly 7 years ago when I was drawing jewelry and hubs was making most of it, he would make me pendant or pair of earring when he got in the doghouse, but as the years went on, my designing has flat turned to my also creating jewelry too, so oops on his part, lol. I like flowers, but not in mass quantities of store-bought flowers that go in a vase. They just don't last, but so long, you know. So, what can hubs buy me now when he gets in the doghouse???? Suggestions??? New jewelry tools? Nah, not smart to give a woman tools when she's mad.

Have a peaceful day tomorrow. :)

Mignon

Custom Request :>)

2009-08-22T18:14:00.002-05:00

I do love custom requests. :) Getting a request means they like my design style and want me to create something just for them. Love it. These earrings are per a request. Aren't they great, and if one is into current colors and shades, then yellow has been in since the spring and it is one of the colors to look for this fall. Of course, I'm a browns, golds, ambers, caramels, silvers, and grays kind of gal anyway - so there's more in my closet that these would go with than not. :)

They just look like spheres of sunshine...

Mignon :)

Artsy Swirls - Earrings in Copper and Steel

2009-08-20T02:57:00.007-05:00

One of my first designs, if not my first design 6 years ago was a swirl drawing I did 6 years ago for a pair of earrings. I never get too far from my swirls.

These artsy swirls are shaped by hand (by me of course)and then hammered to complete their shaping. No two will be exactly alike and each set will be different from the next set.

Of course now I see swirls everywhere, lol. Walter Anderson even used swirls in his art. Imagine that.

http://www.jewelrybymignon.etsy.com

Mignon :)

Sweet and Simple Hoop Dangle Earrings

2009-08-20T02:04:00.003-05:00

I was in the middle of designing something complicated and looked down and saw a loose hoop and a french hook lying near it and decided I had to make a pair. I love the over simplicity of them - that is what makes them.

Copper and surgical steel. Simple, easy, and goes with everything. Imagine that.

Mignon :)

My New Bonanzle Shop

2009-08-18T23:55:00.005-05:00

I was finally talked into Bonanzle. :) A contact on Twitter talked me into it - Renegade. It just makes too much sense not to at least try it. It's a mixture of Ebay, Etsy, and Craigslist all in one. Technically, I can post my art, my jewelry, my eclectic vintage mixture, wee one's clothes that don't fit and more all in one location. However, thus far I'm just posting his clothes that don't fit and things of that nature. Please check me out on there. :)

There's no store front fee aka you get your site for free, BUT there is no posting fees at all for anything you post. If you sell something up to $10, then you only pay 50 cents in fees to Bonanzle. If up to $100, then you pay $1. How cool is that?? No calculating, just sweet, simple, cut and dry.

So, you can just click the title, it's linked to my new shop. I am DragonSlayer72 on there. :)

Barn Painting is Done

2009-08-15T16:10:00.003-05:00

One of my dearest friends whom I've known for 24 years come this Autumn when she promptly took a photo of me on a seesaw, 24 years ago, and has held that picture as blackmail for 24 years now. Anyone know of someone with sticky fingers who could swipe the infamous picture for me........she always has it put away when I come over.

Anyway, Robin asked for a country painting, so I painted my first barn, and the photos are a print of the original for a matte high quality greeting card aka her birthday card. I've already printed some for the shop too. The painting has a larger scene, but zooming in on the barn made such a nice shot for a card.

So, let's hope she enjoys her very time-consuming birthday card.

Painting in Progress

2009-08-14T13:23:00.003-05:00

I have to wrap my mind around finishing this painting. There is so much to be done, yet there's always that fear of messing up something that took so long to get this point...........This is my first barn painting and this one was a request. I've shot a lot of barns to paint at some point, but never got around to the point of painting one. This one is per a request. Will I ever get over feeling like sharing my paintings would be like someone else sharing their diary???

First Night of Homework for First Grade

2009-08-11T00:34:00.005-05:00

The first official day for school was last week, but the wee one's first full day was today. Being a teacher, I've read the research, 30 minutes per grade, i.e. 30 minutes a night in first grade, 60 minutes of homework per night in second grade and so forth. So, what gives with the whole 2 hours the first night? Folks, believe me this was an arduous assignment for wee one's first night of homework in first grade. First I have to read him the incomplete sentence. Then wee one has to come up with his answer. I write down his answer and he wants my letters to look just like they should, and then we have to discuss the letter formation. So, then my sweet child has to write his answers on the line. I must admit I wasn't totally into whether all his letters were the correct case by the end. We survived homework night one. I look at hubs and tell him that there are 12 more years of this...........Hubs just smiles, because he knows that the teacher turned mom is on the job. Thanks a lot honey.

This was the afternoon. Pick up my wee one who is growing up on me. Go to bank. Go to gas station. Go to grocery store. Come home. Wait in van until the wee one wakes up from his nap. Unload van. Figure out dinner. Cook dinner. Finish watching the last of Andy Griffith with wee one and then eat when hubs arrives home late. Watch one show of Hogan's Heroes. Start homework while hubs disappears to visit the neighbor. Little one goes to sleep late. I never would have dreamed my little guy would have an assignment that took 2 hours to complete the first night of school. My research-based mind couldn't comprehend homework would take longer.

Just a Peek at What I've Been Doing Lately......

2009-08-09T22:22:00.004-05:00

There's been a bit going on in the shop lately. I'm finally up to 99 jewelry postings. I have yet to break 100, but considering there's 17 or so designs on the drawing board, well #100 will be posted any day now. :>) The turqouise necklace had a nice set of wire wrapped earrings to match. That set sold, but let me know if you like that set, I would do another. I couldn't resist designing Bella's bracelet. I located a sterling silver wolf for Jacob's wolf in this design. I have to say that I'm in love with the free form amethyst point pendant. I wire wrapped it on a short length of sterling silver wire, hammered the loops, and attached sterling silver chain to each loop making a completed necklace. I've already asked my supplier to hold at least one amethyst point back, if she can, as I want one for me. The amethyst stone is the most pricey single gemstone I have used in the shop to date, but look at it, it's gorgeous.

For those of you who know of my health concerns, I'm doing ok. There's pain, but compared to where I was even 6 months ago, I am better. Nerve blocks rock when they work! I may need a second block, but wow, to be in less pain is truly something.

I do ask for continued prayers and I will send up prayers for you guys too. :) We can never have too many prayers. I read Jeremiah 29:11 a lot lately, that and a certain Psalms....

Sending out hugs to my dear friends and handshakes to the rest. :)

Mignon

Being Frugal, Clothes, and Friends

2009-07-29T09:07:00.005-05:00

Recession hit at our house about 2 years ago. I fell at work and it's been a spiral downward ever since. However, I have learned a few things.

One, I'm not alone and I have made friends who are having to be frugal for one reason or another. I can't tell you what having friends who can swap stories with me has done for me through this recession time at our house. I was mistaken with the belief that as a teacher that my job was pretty well recession-proof - didn't take into account that a really serious injury would occur. Oops. So, to all my lady friends out there who have become my friends through my selling on Etsy, getting on Facebook, getting on Twitter, and blogging - well, I love you guys. You brighten my days. So, to those reading, whether it's me or someone else, engage with others through your blog, tweeting, commenting on Facebook, joining Twitter Moms - no matter how you do it, making those connections will enrich your life, believe me.

Two, I've learned a lot more about Ebay and buying the wee ones clothes this way since I fell. It has been a fantastic experience (the buying his clothes - not the fall). I must say that he now wears more designer clothes than ever, but at garage sale to Walmart prices. So, in effect, he dresses better than ever for less money than ever and I don't even have to drive aka I don't have to spend gas.

Also, I'm quite spoiled as there is an Outlet Mall in Vicksburg with some great children's stores from: The Gap, Carters, Gymboree, Children's Place, and Osh Kosh. Plus, there's the Bass store and the Reebok store for buying his shoes. I'm so spoiled rotten and my wee one dresses very well. I already didn't feel the force of having to pay full retail - those who know me best know I don't do full retail. My wedding dress was even on sale at like 75% off, and it was even the one I wanted.

Then, I subscribe to many many stores' emails. So, from the Outlet stores' emails that sometimes have coupons to various retail stores around the country that have online stores, I am set up very well in taking care of my wee one without ever leaving the house, well no farther than walking to the mailbox or an occasional trip to the Outlet Mall. I don't necessarily open every single email, RU kidding?? I get a good 100 emails a day, I scan titles and open emails when it is relevant. Some I don't delete and don't read and then open them before making a trip to Vicksburg. For instance, this past weekend we had to make a vitamin run to the Outlet Mall's natural vitamin store, so I scanned my emails for the Vitamin Store's email checking for coupons. Sure enough, I got $10 off my vitamins and supplements, because I took the time to check my emails. Hubs has to dress nice for work, so guess where we stop when we make a run to the outlet mall?? Van Heusen of course. His dress pants, shirts, and ties are all Van Heusen. Why go to a regular mall and pay full retail for Van Heusen quality when we can go to the Outlet Mall. Hubs picked up a new long sleeve button up for work for $14 while I was getting my vitamins. That $14 price was lower than the regular everyday low price at Van Heusen - they were having a sale. I'll have to share some of my favorite online shops' links another day.

Three, for the time being, while I am at home searching for a job and continuing to get stronger, I am good to go in a pair jeans and a good T.

Four, there's plenty to do that doesn't require a bunch of money. I remember spending many countless hours at my grandparents' homes as a child - making mudpies, riding bikes, and finding cool rocks with fossils in the driveway could keep me amused time after time. So, as much as I would love to have my wee one's world full of museums and such right now, just being at home is ok. We tie dyed shirts on the
4th of July and he had a blast. We changed from staying at a resort for our vacation to pulling out the ole tent and packing some tomatoes for tomato sandwiches. I don't foresee us going back to just staying at the resort once a year. As long as we have an air mattress, electricity to run the fan and camping lights, and plenty of bug spray for spraying the campsite and then plenty of bug repellant to spray us, then I see us camping plenty more over the years, just not when its 100 degrees outside.

We've made some alterations to the way we do things, but even after the recession at our house is over, I'll keep doing these new frugal things that we now do. I even freeze leftovers when there's only enough for one or two people. Freeze leftovers from several meals and you have enough for a whole family's meal. A deep freezer is on the 'get asap' list. We fish and freeze the fish. When we went camping, instead of going out to eat at our typical fancy restaurants, we caught fish from the gulf to bring home. I find it absolutely fantastic to catch fresh fish from the ocean to bring home. Here's the cool part, with a little fishing gear, and a saltwater fish book, then you can have numerous fun family outings while camping for very little money. Our son already has fish stories that he won't ever forget and so do we and it's only the first summer that we've camped at the coast. We have more seashells than we know what to do with - beachcombing, yet another fun family thing to do that is free.

I think there will come a time when I've recovered from my injury, have a job again, and can look back on this time............well, perhaps one day I will be able to look back and smile knowing God taught me how to stretch a dollar to new amazing lengths of stretching. In the meantime, I am asking for prayers for those of you who pray....I need to continue to get better, hurt less, and find a job very soon - whether I get to work online from home or drive somewhere - I'm open to what God's plan may be. I know I would love to work from home, but I'm open to God's plan. I keep praying and doing my best to listen.

Snowy Winter's Evening Set

2009-07-18T16:50:00.003-05:00

This is what I've been up to lately...... ;) The original was a present for the hubs last Christmas. The back of each card has a surprise mini picture of the front along with painting title, artist, copyright, and website. It looks pretty cool - will have to redo the photo shoot for the back shot though. :)

Snowy Winter's Evening Limited Edition Print Signed Greeting Card Set of 4

(5.5 x 8.5 inches)

Snowy Winter's Evening is based upon actual memories and photographs from years that it did snow here. We had hoped it would snow this past winter.....maybe next year. Either way, hubs can count on another painting for Christmas as this one was his present for Christmas 2008.

Each card is a signed limited edition print of Mignon's (that's me) larger original acrylic painting that was painted on heavy grade acrylics paper. The grainy digital photo you are viewing is not the quality of the print you will receive nor will there be a watermark on your print. Please remember different monitors do have color variances.

These cards with a 'matte' surface were printed on heavyweight textured cardstock half-fold cards using high quality HP Vivera Ink.

All copyrights are reserved by the artist.

I'm working on having a variety of print sizes for the numerous paintings I have ready for photo shoots. So, if you like a painting, but want a different size print, then ask. :)

Mignon

Marketing 101

2009-07-18T16:30:00.006-05:00

This is a great little document that may be off assistance when looking into copyrights.

tried linking it, but wouldn't link right now, so click the title and you'll be taken right to the source or cut and paste - you choose.

http://www.copyright.gov

Follow Friday and Why :>)

2009-07-10T01:30:00.008-05:00

If you give my blog a moment to load you will find the list of blogs I follow down on the left - way down. I just added 11 blogs I follow from my dashboard. I always forget to update that. I just changed the view of the folks I follow, so now you can see a snippet of their latest post. I'm playing around with it to see if I like it better this way.

I will make no guarantees, but a follow friday on here would be nice and then tell why. Give the name of the blog that tagged you so to speak aka you are officially tagged when you read this. :) And if you follow one of the blogs I list, then tell 'em Mignon sent you. :)

I randomly chose two blogs to suggest following this week. Why 2? Well, obviously I like the blogs I follow, but being reasonable, giving 2 per week is sufficient.

So, who tagged me?? I tagged myself by starting this. :)

#1

The Mincing Mocking Bird

Why??? He has unusually dry wit that amuses me immensely and to top it all off, besides being a fellow Etsian, he is fantastic artist.

#2

Ginabee's Creations and Musings

Well, we just hit it off right away and one of these days I'm going to get down to her neck of the woods and see her. She has fantastic jewelry and if I didn't design jewelry myself, well, I'd be her best customer. Since, I can't be her best customer, then I'll have to settle for Etsy blogging buddy. :)

The link option wouldn't work for me at 2 A.M., but scroll down the side and you will find a working link to both blogs. They're both fellow Etsians with great blogs.

Happy Friday Folks!

Mignon

Christmas in July Sale :)

2009-07-10T00:33:00.003-05:00

There's a Christmas in July Sale going on over at my Jewelry shop. :)

Click on the 'Christmas in July' icon on the right side of the shop's homepage and the 27 items originally in the sale will appear. I may even add a few more items, I'm random like that. ;)

I put some girl's polymer earrings and sets in the sale. It would be a great way to get a start on Christmas. :)

Aww, I love Christmas. I'm one of those people who wants a tree in every room. I've been wanting to try my figgy pudding recipe for several years. Maybe this year will be the year I undertake such work for what I am guessing to be an amazing treat.

Mignon

Marketing Your Shop 101 Continued

2009-07-09T12:01:00.004-05:00

FOUND IT!!!

YEY!

Click it and you will see why. This blog has definite potential use.

Also, my friend, Ginabee - a great blog I follow - gave the following site for another marketing angle. I'm still trying to figure out the XML error and perhaps I am to save the program instead of run it, will let you know when I get it right.

http://www.bloggodown.com/2009/04/how-to-add-retweet-button-to-blogger.html#comment-form

Of course the cool part about naming all of these in the marketing category is that it makes them easy to find and easy to use and easy for me to remember where on earth they are.

Mignon :)

Marketing Your Online Shop 101

2009-07-09T11:28:00.007-05:00

Class is now in session.

I've come across some great sites that one of the folks I follow on Twitter shared with me, I believe. I filter so much information these days that I lose track of the source sometimes.

So, I haven't had time to pursue them farther than knowing they are useful at this point, but what I will do is share them with you for free. :)

http://www.handmadeology.biz/home/traffic-101 (I also just purchased a creating facebook fan club set of instructions from this person on his Etsy homepage).

http://e-commerceguide.com/solutions/advertising/article.php/3826701

http://ow.ly/fOjJ

You ought to see the website I accidentally 'X'ed off and can't find it in my history bar. ARGH.

Let me know what you think and feel totally free and welcome to share good info. in return. The best way we artisans and crafters can make it is to support each other in our endeavors. Even though we are all over we still have a community within our group.

I'll share when I get something good. :)

Mignon

What a Day!

2009-07-04T13:45:00.002-05:00

Omygoodness..........

On the agenda when I get a job is to finish the fence so our cats will be safe and then some or most can go back outside. The McDaniel homeless shelter is over capacity. Tigger - well he's stuck inside. He's allergic to wasps. He won't give me much of a moments peace when I sit down at the computer. He has decided that is officially get in Momma's lap time and when she's not sitting down there, then he is the self proclaimed seat warmer.

Blizzard, the kitten, the lastest homeless shelter addition likes to ummmmmm, nice word - yeah, anger the other cats on purpose just to make them growl and hiss. He'll give them about 30 seconds and then do it again. Mouse has claimed the top of the fridge. So, the only things that have made it up there to stay are the fire extinguishers as she hasn't figured out how to knock them over. Sapphire. Well heck, she's our football player - linebacker at that. So, having her is like having a bull in china cabinet, but she doesn't knock things off the fridge on purpose.

Sylvester. Well, he needs therapy. Lots of therapy. He's a couple years old or more and he continues to like to climb the backdoor ( a french paned door). He climbs the curtain and hangs from the rod randomly.

Oh did I mention Sapphire will go in the toilet for a drink if the toilet seat is forgotten........

Luckily Wilbur and Jasmine are outside. They have no inclination to be inside and luckily have enough street smarts thus far to be safe from the dogs. Garfield and Patches come in to visit and were coming in every night back when most of the dog pack was still coming around. We're down to a couple dogs in the pack now. So, everybody has a bit better chance of making it.

Did I mention we live in the country and have no redlights on about 3 acres and most folks around here on our street have that or more - lots of woods around here.

More to come.

Happy 4th Everyone!

2 B continued.......

Art By Mignon Grand Opening

2009-07-01T23:37:00.005-05:00

I am officially open over at http://www.artbymignon.etsy.com

:) Many thanks to my stepmom for her encouragement and many many thanks to Knotaway! The dear sweet artist over at http://www.knotaway.etsy.com - Well I couldn't have gotten this off the ground so easily without her to be sure. So, she doesn't know it yet, but when she bought a strand of my temporarily strung amber beads from my 'SundryShopByMignon', I enclosed a 5x7 with the mini print and she officially gets the #1 of the 25 prints that have been professionally printed on that size. :) I thought it only fitting that the person who directed me to where to get acid-free archival clear envelopes and where to turn for professionally printed prints get a #1 of one of these sets of prints. I would still be a fish out of water flopping and flipping on the sand trying to find home if it weren't for her guidance. :)

My Knotaway artist friend also does tatting....Don't ask me what tatting is exactly, but she's planning on using some of those genuine amber beads in her stitches. YOU can go over to her shop and ask her what tatting is. :) She also does these fantastic prints like Walter Anderson did with the cut linoleum. Very awesome! I'm so glad to see the artform is still being used as I was rather worried that it was a lost art form before I met my friend. :)

Jewelry Giveaway is Coming :)

2009-07-01T17:13:00.002-05:00

What you ask might I be choosing to give away???????????????

I dunno. That's why it is coming and isn't already here. I was considering some hammered, hand-forged, torch-fired, machine-polished sterling silver hoops..........rather debating with myself. I'm not sure who's winning, it's an even match between me, myself, and I.

Thinking, Thinking............will think later.

Mignon :)

Going Green, Right?

2009-07-01T16:52:00.002-05:00

Hhhhhhhhhrumphf.

I go through double A batteries for my digital camera like a human needs air. I upgraded to lithium batteries and they do indeed last 'longer'. I thought I was without a single double A in the house this morning, so I meandered my way to the pharmacy to buy more lithiums, seeing no point in regular batteries. Then, I see the rechargeable batteries and think, well that would be frugal in the long run, right?? Luckily, I changed my mind and bought the rechargeable port thing and the two rechargeable batteries that came with it as I had originally thought I would buy just a pack of rechargeables. I was feeling quite good about myself, being frugal and saving the environment all in one swipe of my debit card.

I get home and now I'm all ready to do my photo shoot, got the good lamp going, the easel set up, and I'm ready, right? Snort. Those delightful rechargeable batteries??? Hah, they have to be charged first........................as in charged for anywhere from 8 to 12.5 hours. Didn't read the fine print on that one. I rather figured it would make sense to have your batteries charged up when you buy them, right? So, I plugged in my new frugal gone green for the environment batteries and sometime around 5 A.M. ish or earlier if I'm lucky, then my batteries will be charged. I was rather thinking on sleeping at that time and a sleepyhead doth not good pictures take. I plundered around the house and found one pair of lithiums in my beach bag and they don't need a charge. :) Here's the catcher, by the time my lithiums go out, my chargeable batteries will need recharging as they don't apparently according to the fine print keep their charge for long periods of time without use. What is a long period of time?? I don't know. So, when my lithiums go out and I'm needing more batteries, then I better be ready to wait 8 to 12.5 hours.

So, if I plan on using rechargeable batteries on my next vacation or family outing or anytime I want to shoot some photos, then I will need 2 or 3 sets of rechargeables that have been charged ahead of time for 8 to 12.5 hours each because I won't know ahead of time how long a charge runs particularly.

Seriously folks, I did not know what I was getting into. Sometimes going green feels more like going red from frustration and complication. Oh my stars!

I'm off to use my digital camera with my favorite batteries that don't need to hang on the wall in a charging port til the wee hours.

Seriously, batteries are not supposed to give you headaches unless perhaps you eat one and then you have much more serious problems than a headache.

Sighing and blowing off steam.

Later Gators,

Mignon

Bella's Tears in 14 Karat Gold-Filled

2009-06-30T00:29:00.004-05:00

Yep, you heard right, but don't go getting any ideas. I don't foresee carrying 14 karat gold-filled on a regular basis in the shop. My jeweler hubby gave me this wire that he had bought before he realized it awhile back and I'm not one to waste wire. I thought long and hard of a Twilight design to do with these earrings and believe me, you would have to read the books to have created this design.

I haven't watched the movie yet, but I must admit to my surprise that I find the books intoxicatingly addictive and they are quite good and masterfully written. These books actually go on the bookshelf to read again over the years. Where Romeo and Juliet was merely written by a great author as the storyline wasn't the best. I mean come on, everybody does themselves in. RUKidding me? Then, there's Titanic, the lead guy dies saving the girl. What happily-ever-after knocks off one of the lead characters? That's not happily ever after, that's a wasted movie ticket when I could have stayed home counting the hairs on my head for free. Well as of the middle of the 5th book, this continues to be happily ever after, which leads me to believe that this may end up on the classics list in 40 or 50 years. The Hobbit was thought to be out there in crazyville 40 or 50 years ago and now it's what - a classic - you know it.

Night Folks. :)

Mignon

My Shops

2009-06-26T08:35:00.002-05:00

I have somehow become one of those people. There are two types of those people. The first are the ones who are crazy. The second are the ones who just love various art mediums and Etsy so much that they cannot decide on one artistic medium or having one shop, so they go all out crazy. I haven't decided if I'm crazy or all out crazy yet........ :)

http://www.jewelrybymignon.etsy. com (artisan jewelry as you know)

http://www.sundryshopbymignon.etsy.com (vintage items including an occasional vintage to antique book, etc., and now I have begun adding beading supplies to this shop) Why not, right? I love gemstone beads, so why not buy a few extra along with my own personal shopping and sell some, use some, and keep some. :) I know I regularly want a strand or two of beads instead of placing a full blown order, so surely there are other folks who would like to do the same.

http://www.artbymignon.etsy.com (art and photography by Mignon)
Yep, gone crazy. I seriously shared my art via prints on those Father's Day cards and stepmom told me I should sell prints and such. So, I listened to her and here I go. I have the basics of the shop up, my giclees and ACEO's are on order and should be in any day now - all ready to be shot and uploaded. :) I'll be selling prints in various sizes, ACEO's, and giclees, along with occasional originals. My dear friend from wwww.knotaway.etsy.com sent me a mailer with a sweet drawing on the outside and shared some of her stash of archival acid-free sleeves for prints and art to go in. I'm totally on my way and it shouldn't be more than a few days before my first postings go in the shop. :)

http://jewelrybymignon.artfire.com (definitely selling my jewelry here and may add some ACEO's)

I'm trying my first advertising venture for Artfire tomorrow. We shall see if it is successful. Currently, I am keeping my postings on Artfire to under 10 as you can post up to 10 items for free, then they start charging. If I start getting sales on Artfire, then I'll upgrade to a paid account.

I added Etsy minis and an Artfire mini to my side column in my blog, so you may click one to go right to one of the shops. :)

You know I'm dreaming here, considering I'm still in the early stages of all my shops and such, but wouldn't it be great to be successful enough to work from home..........

Have a great day folks. :)

Mignon

Hypothetical Question

2009-06-25T23:33:00.002-05:00

Simply hypothetical here.............but, what if you heard a bang, crash, thud, crumple sound in the kitchen and knew the nearly empty garbage can was knocked over in the kitchen by the kitten around about oh say nowish.........nearly midnight...........and let's just say hypothetically that you pretend you didn't hear it and pretend you didnt' see it and let's just say hypothetically that you leave it for the hub to worry about in the morning. Does that like make you totally bad??????

Strictly speaking hypothetical of course. The Mignon I know would never do such a thing......um er ok.

Hubby's Gift

2009-06-21T11:26:00.005-05:00

My buddy from http://knotaway.etsy.com has been after me to see one of my paintings for..............oh, near about forever, leastwise as long as I have known her. :)

They're no Rembrandts, Picassos, or Monets.

You know in Shrek, where Shrek says, "That'll do Donkey, that'll do." Well, considering the only folks before today to see my paintings are my family and my hubby very much urges me to paint him his cards over buying them, then, clearly, "That'll do Mignon, that'll do." :)

This painting was painted on a canvas board - 11 x 14. Then - waste not want not - I shot the painting (thank goodness for all the photo shoots I have done for the jewelry) and printed out cards on some very pricey Watercolor 90 lb. acid free paper, which has a nice grain to it for the hub, the f-n-law (Pop), and my own father (Daddy). :) The hub gets the original painting as well. I do hope he likes his card and painting......

So Happy Father's Day folks! :)

Mignon

My Latest Loves

2009-06-20T14:58:00.003-05:00

When it comes to jewelry, I'm quite shallow apparently. I fall in love with the latest design and rather forget about whatever is already stuffed in one of my drawers.

The simple lines ring I've worn for about 6 weeks straight and I'm finally offering it in the store to sell as a custom order. I love being able to adjust it as my fingers swell in our Mississsippi heat. Then, the sassy earrings just sparkle too much AND its the peacock blue pearls that I just love. Yep, totally shallow - tomorrow it will be some other pair of earrings and these will be forgotten......or maybe not. I LIKE these! And, they're longggg and........sparkly.

Hoops, Hoops, and More Hoops

2009-06-19T23:26:00.003-05:00

You know as a child the only connotation I had for an anvil was when Wiley Coyote (who wasn't wiley at all) would attempt to drop an anvil on the Road Runner and now I have anvils and hammers and more pliers than the average guy, lol.

Simply B. suggested I put some hoops in the shop. :) I'm so glad she did. I had been meaning to put more hoops in, but forgot... I've been having a blast hammering out my frustrations. Imagine what fun you could have beating metal with a hammer under the pretense of making jewelry.........nah, kidding, but I am having fun hammering. This is the second night to beat on several inches of 10 gauge or so wire - now that's a gauge to beat out any frustrations on and let me tell you, you will get tired before the wire is completed.....

I have 18 and 20 gauge hoops. I tried the 22 gauge, but the wire seemed just to small to hold it's shape. So, 18 or 20 are your choices, except for a certain someone who wants 14 gauge. :) After I hammer and shape the hoops, then I fire them with my torch, and then put a nice polish on them with the buffing wheel. The torchfiring adds extra strength to the wire. Folks have the choice of a satin finish, the antiqued oxidized look, or just plain shiny.

Thus far, I have done the front-hammered design where the wire is wrapped around a mandrel and hammered on the front of the wire. Then, I did some side-hammered designs where you lay the wire on an anvil and hammer the sides. I've done hook-and-eye designs and the neverending hoops that you just slip on. I really like the ones with dangles added. I have a few more designs waiting to be hammered on the anvil - I'll let you know when they're up. :)

I do believe it is time to do a giveaway on here! Who wants hoops?? Be on the look out as the hoop giveaway is coming to a blog near you!

Mignon :)

Help!!! Twitter Error

2009-06-01T16:43:00.002-05:00

I have not been able to get into my Twitter account for over a week. I cannot even get to the sign-in page. I cannot get to Twitter help to file a problem. I flat cannot get to Twitter. I have tried in the night, in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night and nope - nothing. I cannot get to Twitter at all.

Here's the error message.

A 50x server error was received attempting to serve your request, indicating that either the server is currently unable to handle the request or the request timed out waiting for a response. The error may have been due to a temporary issue and therefore you could try to access the web address again.

I am Jewelry By Mignon on Twitter, but I cannot get on!!!!!!!!!

So, if one of my online buddies could contact Twitter because I can't, then I would be really grateful!!

Thanks!!

Mignon

Wild Olive Tees Giveaway

2009-05-29T12:52:00.001-05:00

http://www.wildolivetees.com

Check out Wild Olive. Go to their home page and read the reqs. for their latest giveaway. :)

I get 5 entries because I blogged about the giveaway and added their button to my sidebar. :)

Thanks for the giveaway Olive Tees. :O-)

Mignon

Somewhere in the Stratosphere

2009-05-29T00:56:00.005-05:00

I like the design so much that I'm ready to make it again and design a necklace to match. I really like the versatility of this bracelet. This is a nice light weight and the links measure 1/4 of an inch across. I can step down a gauge to heavier gauge wire for a guy's bracelet. I'm totally leaning toward making about 10 of these and giving them out as Christmas presents to family this coming Christmas - I really like this one that much.

Now I wonder what band I was listening to when naming this fabulous little piece. :)
Shinedown anyone??

A Friend Is Having a Digital Giveway!!!

2009-05-29T00:15:00.003-05:00

This is the coolest idea I have seen in awhile. You'll have to go to her website to get all the details, but do GO and ENTER!!! If you win, then you can even submit your own photo for her to do some magic with and convert to what looks like Polaroid and then she sends you the PDF file for you to use and reuse at will for your family and friends. As a matter of a fact, you could send the first card to B. for doing the giveaway and then one to me for telling you about it. It's win-win right???

Totally go check her blog out and add her to your follows. She amuses the heck out of me. :) The easiest is to pick your favorite card out and go from there. You know what, just go check it out and you can even see my comment on there if she approves it, lol.

http://simply-b.blogspot.com/2009/05/giveaway-digital-version.html

Mignon :)

New Hammered Earrings and More

2009-05-25T00:24:00.004-05:00

I haven't forgotten about my 50 state tour, things just had to slow down awhile while recooping from the nerve block allergies. I'm finally posting a couple new sets of earrings to the shop. I'm in the process of working on a handmade sterling silver link chain. This will be the first chain I have made strictly from wire and pliers. I'll let you know how it turns out.

My little one completed kindergarten. He's officially in first grade. Yes, that is a tear...........I enjoy each stage of life I get to see him go through and miss each of the stages he has already completed. He's lost his second tooth and this one is a top front tooth, so he is officially Snaggle-Toothed now. ;) Why is it such a simple thing as one front top tooth coming out makes him look like he grew up all of a sudden. Where's my baby??? He told me this week that when he grew up that he was going to be a doctor and live in Florida at the beach no less. I promptly told him he wasn't moving to Florida without taking me with him, especially if he was living at the beach. :)

Kirstie Allie and Oprah and Jessica Simpson

2009-05-15T00:25:00.006-05:00

Kirstie Allie's weight has gone up and gone down and back up again. Oprah's has done the same thing. They stress over it. They feel guilty over it.
Guess what I have learned from them other than society puts to much focus in present day for women to have 36-26-36 measurements and no it isn't to feel guilty that my measurements aren't what the media thinks they should be. It really is insane. Jessica Simpson put on a few pounds, was as beautiful as ever and instead of just saying she made a bad fashion choice by wearing some high waisted jeans, oh no, the media had to have a field day and say she was overweight - it wasn't a weight issue, it was an issue with the wrong pair of pants, period. Then the media asks why we have so many young stars who are anorexic - well gosh lets see how hard it is to figure out this one. If you aren't 36-26-36 then the media drags you and your weight all over magazine covers and gossip shows, so women being women, they starve themselves more afraid of being dragged across a cover as actually having meat on their bones than being on a cover being called too skinny. Being called too skinny in Hollywood is regretably a compliment.

So, what have I learned from Kirstie and Oprah and Jessica???? I have learned through watching Oprah for many years and seeing Kirstie and Jessica in movies and commercials and of course all three on magazines and in magazines..........well, in my close observation of the 3 of them,...no matter their weight, they are all 3 beautiful. They have made me feel currently better about myself, because guess what - I gained weight with the masters degree, the specialist degree, and totally gained weight with my injury. I am not in my weight zone, but you know what, I'm still as pretty as ever and why do I know............because Oprah, Kirstie, and Jessica are all beautiful regardless of their weight too. A woman doesn't lose her beauty because she gains weight. Health concerns heighten at a certain point, but if you are beautiful, then you are always beautiful, and all women are beautiful - tall, short, skinny, plump, curvy, dark, pale, with glasses, without glasses, limping or walking straight, straight as a board, in a wheelchair, one leg shorter than the other or both legs the same length, blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes, blond, brunette, red, black, blue, purple, silver, white, or gray, with chronic pain or without, gifted, talented, normal or above average, average.........it is insignificant because........

Women are beautiful, period, end of discussion. God made each and everyone of us and we are all beautiful, so to those who disagree - well, deal with it.

Mignon

H1N1 Flu Information

2009-05-11T13:34:00.000-05:00

I subscribe to quite a number of email subscriptions. I keep up with sales and special deals for clothing companies across the U.S., along with email subscriptions with various jewelry companies, local and national weather, twitter updates, facebook updates, blog updates, some blogs I actually follow via email subscription, plus a few recipe websites, and a few other various sites of interest send me emails.

I also subscribe to email updates made by .gov and by the CDC. Instead of having to wait for the latest news at one of the prescribed tv news times, I just check my email like I normally would and get an update on the latest with H1N1. For those of you who would like to do the same. Here's a couple .gov sites you can check out.

http://www.pandemicflu.gov (You can even follow them at Twitter. How about that for a move into the current century...pretty neat).

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/pdf/airport_poster_for_print.pdf (great summary of what symptoms to look for and what to do if you suspect having the flu)

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly (this one is a bit on the scientific side, but you can choose which emails to get and when to get them).

Be aware that if you subscribe to get the emails daily, then you will get several a day, as often as there are updates. I was going to change to weekly, but I'll wait until after the flu issue is under control. I'm an asthmatic and I have to keep close tabs on anything related to to lungs and breathing. The main thing I am repeatedly reading is to use anti-microbial soap and wash hands thoroughly with water more often than usual. What people don't think about is gas pumps, doors at stores, grocery carts,etc., not to mention children still learn by touching and they like to touch all sorts of shelving and what not in stores. I already had some form of germ-x in the car for waterless handcleaning, but I'm ready to move up to having two ziplocks in my purse. One for antimicrobial wipes for grocery carts and one for throwing away the wipes when I cannot locate a trashcan. My purse is more like a girl scout's backpack any given day anyway between kid's meal toys, crayons, books, extra kleenex, germ-x bottles, clippers, multi-purpose hand tool that converts from a phillip's head to a flat head screwdriver to a bottle cork and I don't remember what else. So, what's a couple ziplocks and some wipes to help keep us from getting sick.

Happy Mom's Day :)

2009-05-10T23:19:00.005-05:00

Happy Mom/Momma/Mommy's day to my friends and fellow readers from around the planet. I do hope you found peace and happiness today.
Today was a nice relaxing day. We did exactly what I ask.....which was quite nice. We had a picnic at the lake, rode around in the fishing boat (larger than one of those green metal boats but not big enough to put in big water), played with the kittens, watched my son play with his aunt and daddy while they ran around with foam dart shooters. We fished a bit, but with the number of people we had, it was more conducive to just ride around the lake considering it was quite toasty and typical for a Mississippi spring day in May. It was just a nice day. No one had to cook, no expensive meal at Outback this year, just a box of chicken from Popeyes with sides and Pop made a blackberry cobbler for dessert, which we ate at the lake under our reserved pavillion. Apparently, the lake is not a big thing for mother's day, as we were the only family there, and there were only 4 other people we saw the whole time we were at the lake. So, if this is typical of mother's day, then I totally want to plan on another picnic next year. We nearly had the lake to ourselves. Now, it was suppose to storm today, so folks may have made plans accordingly, but God gave us a little gift and held the storm off until late evening well after we had left the lake. I must say that it was one of the best days out of a handful of days that rate in the category of best since September 2007.

I am very thankful to be a Mommy. According to the doctors, it was impossible, but God had other plans and thus I have my golden child. :) I said a pray today and thanked God for blessing me with the best gift He could give me outside of His own son dying on the cross to save me from my sins. I am truly blessed to have this child I get to call my son. He makes the sunny days sunnier, the gray days lighter, and the darkest days are survived because this 45 pound child looks at me, smiles, and calls me Mommy. There are clearly many things wrong right now, but I am so blessed to have so many things to be right.

So, in a paraphrased version of what the wee one calls me.........

Mommy Mignon :)

More of the Flower Tour

2009-05-08T09:53:00.003-05:00

Another one of my 'habits' is shooting shots of my flowers, trees, and bushes. I enjoy chasing sunsets to shoot shots of the sun too. I have one really cool one of the sun going down over the ocean. I'll have to see if I can find that one. It turned out great and was predominantly orange. It's certainly past time for me to buy a roll of black and white film and shoot a roll of my son. Then, of course, you can change color pics into black and whites with your computer nowadays, but there's just something about pulling out my vintage Canon and shooting shots with it.

Mignon :)

I Have an Addiction :)

2009-05-07T21:51:00.007-05:00

I don't know when it started exactly...
I guess in my childhood. Both sets of my loving grandparents had vegetable gardens. There were larger or even multiple gardens when they and I were all younger and as they aged, then the gardens became one and the one became a bit smaller, but still a garden all the same. Then from as long as I can remember and probably before I could walk there were pecans to pick up and we used 5 gallon buckets as far back as when the buckets were still larger than I was. Grandma would sometimes provide me with an empty ice cream bucket for the blackberry picking, but she could have just as well sent me with the 5 gallon bucket for the blackberry expeditions as I ate much more than ever ended up in the bucket. Fresh from the vine blackberries are as much a part of me as running barefoot frome early spring to late fall and through most of the temperate winter inside the house, well until we moved into this old drafty 150 year old house about a decade ago. The drafts rather curtailed my barefooted ways and now of course with my foot injury the doctor is adamant about me wearing shoes all the time. Can you imagine? I mean yeah, I love designer shoes as well as anyone else from around the world, but for a southerner to be told to wear shoes as much as possible, well that's just about like a southerner being told not to fry chicken, and to not fix cornbread and baby lima beans to go with it, and we certainly cannot have fried chicken, cornbread, and baby lima beans without a tall glass of sweeeeeeeet tea with real sugar. Of course the irony is that I don't actually fry anything, which confuses the heck out of my Mississippi friends who have decided I must be an imposter because what true-blood Mississipian doesn't fry???

What is my addiction, you ask?? Well, not only did my grandparents have various flowering trees and such, my maternal grandfather liked to have a few rosebushes and I can still remember him planting the rose bushes some 30 or so years ago and he told me that this one particular rose bush was mine - that he was planting it for me right outside the sunporch. I'm not sure if it was then or much younger when I got to help plant various vegetables by dropping seeds in holes that one grandparent or another had dug a hole for and they must have been really patient with the goal being more of teaching me about growing things more so than speed of planting as you and I both know that getting a two or three year old to meticulously drop seeds in dug holes is about the equivalence of herding cats.

So, for as long as I can remember I have loved plants of all kinds. I love the itchy leaves of tomato plants, love tasting honeysuckle every summer, cannot eat watermelon without remembering my late paternal grandfather who had a bumper crop one year when my sister was too small to rember, but she and I had two watermelons a day that summer. I'm not even biased for or against wildflowers and clovers, as long as they don't take over the yard. The hub. tends to leave me a patch of clover growing in the back of our property. Then there are my roses and the row of crepe myrtle trees among various bulbs, bushes, trees, and such that we slowly keep adding to our little two acres. When I was still in high school, my hubby who was then my boyfriend told me he wanted to create a huge flower garden for me one day. I thought it was nice gesture, but didn't give it much thought. Well, the lilies start at the mailbox and the crepe myrtles line the drive, daffodils cover the front hill through late winter and phlox take over the hill in early spring, the antique climbing rose bush our aunt gave us covers about a 15 to 20 feet section of fencing, another climbing rose bush grows through one of the crepe myrtles, the mock dogwood bush is starting to grow and maybe it will get a good bit of height this year....then, there are the wild sunflowers that get to be about 8 - 10 feet tall every fall in the wildflower bed. They were in beautiful bloom the September we had a wedding for my bestfriend here.

One of my addictions, if you will, is plants from hostas to crepe myrtles to invasive tallow trees and even the three friends as I have named them - there's two old oaks and a box elder in a row that relatively divide the two acres into two sections. We hung tree faces on them a few years ago and even before we gave them the faces, they were already named the three friends. And of course, my addiction includes lots and lots of flowers. I love our Iris garden that blooms from early spring into summer. They're absolutely stunning. So, I thought I'd share some photos of the yard. There's lots of work that needs to be done that hasn't as the husband has been doing most of the maintenance by himself, especially the last few years with me busy first on completing that last degree and then the last 18 months or so have been something else. However, I have complete and utter faith that I willb be back out in my flowerbeds covered in dirt smudges wearing my straw hat and knee pads - it will just take some time.

Do share your flowers with me as well. I love them all. I love my clover patch just as much as I love the Italians the hub. bought me for Valentines a few years back. As much as I love roses, I tell him to buy me the whole bush instead of a bouquet of cut roses. So, I tend to get whole plants or trees instead of bought bouquets and then my bouquets tend to come from the yard, which is fine by me. :)

Mignon

How Does One Find My Auctions One Might Ask....

2009-05-06T23:58:00.005-05:00

Here's a link to my home page on Ebay. It shows feedback etc. and you can click the link to see what I am currently selling.

http://myworld.ebay.com/tmkm1994

Mignon :)

More auctions :)

2009-05-06T23:37:00.005-05:00

In this set, you will see a man's casual dress shirt, size large. The hubby's arms are a size medium, but his neck, from doing those football weightlifting neck-strengthening exercises in high school, is a size large. So, this totally brand new shirt with tags didn't fit him and got slipped into a closet somewhere. Bye bye brand new shirt with a retail price of $45. Starting bid is $7.99 and a buy it now price for $20 as some folks like to just buy and be done. I like being able to have a choice.

Two photos are of a junior's size 13 very much in style plaid, sleeveless dress ready for summer. I bought it about the same time as those khaki pants below..... The dress is also NWT and the starting price is $7.99 with a buy it now price of
$20. The retail price of the dress is $30. Very good deal.

One photo is of khaki slacks by Liz Claiborne, NWT. I bought these and then was blessed with getting pregnant for my one and only and never made it back into this size, wah. Oh well, going going gone. These pants retailed for $45 and I paid $15.30 for them on sale. They are the wrinkle-free and stain resistant, size 14. Now that I'm getting rid of them, then watch me be a 14 by the end of summer, that would be funny and totally an excuse to go shopping. :) Starting bid is $7.99.

There's also a auction lot for some ladies/juniors pajama shorts, size large. Starting bid is $2.25. One pair of pajama bottoms is by Joe Boxer with a fantastic smiley face on them. :)

So, feel welcome to pass the word on that Mignon, the jewelry designer, finally feels well enough to do spring cleaning, which will probably take all summer, lol, via selling items on Ebay.

Mignon

Hi! I'm back :)

2009-05-06T22:54:00.004-05:00

It has taken awhile for me to adjust to the nerve block, but it has offered some relief. Doc seems very pleased and he's planning the best course of action to better help me with the pain. It just takes several weeks to get scheduled to see him again....

Now, in the last week or so since I've started feeling better from getting over the allergic reactions, I have decided to start selling on Ebay. What better way to clean up than to get rid of things that I don't use, wear, or need and make a little money in the process. I tried two auctions last week and they both sold. I have about 8 or so auctions going at the moment and I'm going to share some photos here, so if you see something that interest you, then please check it out further. In effect, if you bid, then you will be helping me clean my house and this is a good thing. I bought most of my son's school clothes from Ebay last spring for the currently almost ended school year and I made a serious deal. I paid $91, including shipping for over $1600 worth of EUC (excellent used condition) designer clothes. It was a 3 foot by 3 foot box slam full of clothes for my one and only wee one. It was literally a wardrobe. I hope to do that again this summer for the upcoming school year.

In the photos you will see: a men's suit that doesn't appear to have ever been worn, dry cleaned, given as a gift to my husband, but he already has enough suits, and me being the frugal me and the me who needs to unload things we don't need, use, or wear......well, I'm selling it. The starting price for what I am assuming to be about a $250 to $300 suit as I know what we paid for my husband's other suits........ is $25 plus shipping and insurance is included in the shipping price. I did add a buy it now option for $120 and price between the starting price and the buy it now price is just a great bargain for a fabulous suit.

Then, the denim shortalls is a part of a clothing lot that were my son's, size 3T. Included in the lot is an Osh Kosh T-shirt and a 49er's tank that looks new. Starting price is $5.50

In another picture you will see some great gowns that are a medium and I'm so not a medium right now, especially after the injury!!!!! So, favorites or not, they are so going going gone! Starting bid is $3.99 and one is Victoria's Secret.

There are two photos: one with a navy Osh Kosh t-shirt and the second with a heaping pile of shorts - these two photos are of another lot of clothes that were the wee one's when he was younger. It is an auction lot of 31 items. The starting price is $5.50.

I am such a packrat and it is time to unload many items that have accumulated while I was in grad. school. Who knows I may like selling on Ebay so much that I keep it up even after I have cleaned out the house. :) You never know. Buying clothes for growing children on Ebay just makes too much sense. I am watching an auction right now for something for our son and if I win, then I'll have to share it with you on here as I think it will be a great win!!!! I have to wait 3 more days to see if I win or not! Argh! Yeah, yeah, patience is a virtue. I love a good auction. I have such fun at antique auctions, so this is a lot of fun for me. :) Of course Etsy has just spoiled me forever and I am quite accustomed to shooting photos, cropping, editing, proper lighting, yadda yadda by now. I have the makings for a photo box. Once I get it made, then I'll share that with you too as my fellow Etsians and Ebayers will love it!

Mignon

MIA for Awhile

2009-04-17T23:59:00.003-05:00

Hi guys!! NO I haven't forgotten my blogging. I finally got my first nerve block put in about two weeks ago and have been resting a lot and taking it easy. Either I conveniently got sick at the same time as my nerve block or I had an allergic reaction to the block. I really cannot complain. I am game for anything that works at this point and if a little inconvenience of an allergic reaction is necessary to have a chance of feeling better, then I am all for it.

I have many blogs to read and catch up on and I have much to share on my own blog too. :) I'm still in the middle of Alaska and then will be contacting the next state for shopowners who would appreciate some free advertising via my highlighting. :)

A sweet new friend on Twitter tweeted about my shop last Friday and I honestly believe that she sent me a buyer for two of my postings on Etsy. How neat is that?? Needless to say I had two sales last Friday. So, I turned around and won an auction on Ebay tonight with part of the money earned - have decided that buying my son's wardrobe on Ebay is very beneficial and frugal. I bought the current school year's wardrobe off of Ebay last summer from a mom for $91 including shipping. Everything was designer. There are still pieces he hasn't worn. It was a ton of clothes and I priced them out and they would have cost me $1500 if I had paid retail at a department store.

We almost had a fire this past weekend. Luckily having a randomly overly sensitive sniffer and asthma paid off as I smelled the smoke before my family did. Not a single smoke alarm went off, but I'll save that story for another posting. We're minus a very good Wearever pot, but the kitchen, family, and pets are all ok. It took my lungs a few days to recover from smoke inhalation, but alls well that ends well.

A neighbor offered us deer meat tonight. I am so glad I told the hubby that we weren't turning down deer meat anymore as I wasn't expecting an offer for deer meat before fall. Hopefully we can go fishing this weekend. There are no fish in the freezer. Sitting in a chair on the side of the lake is not a bad way to spend a day.

Keep us in your prayers, I really must be well enough to work asap and find a job. I rather enjoy having electricity and hot water among other things like having a roof over our heads etc. I'm hoping I can be approved for a second nerve block. I've heard that it sometimes takes two blocks to really work and then if they work, then you are good for quite some length of time. You can have two blocks a year. I could deal with that if they work.

Well, I will be posting more soon. :)

Have a great weekend.

Mignon

50 States Tour - Alaska #4: Artisan Soaps and More

2009-04-01T12:22:00.005-05:00

http://www.swanmountainsoaps.etsy.com

Wasilla, Alaska
This gal needs no introduction as clearly she has been found with 888 sales to date in the 13 months since opening her Etsy shop. I'm still dreaming about 20 sales and am in awe over 888. Congrats Swan Mountain!!!! The soap has these great extra touches that make them look like artsy little pieces of marble. From a few unscented bars (for all you allergy folks out there), men's soap (yep men have to bathe too), whipped shea body butter (I totally need that one after the cat shampoo), lotions, and even wedding party favors.

Here's a little excerpt from the home page. :)

Is your skin dry and tired, longing for a little attention? You're in the right place. We specialize in luxurious hand-made artisan soaps and body products, all made completely from scratch in small batches to ensure the highest quality and attention to detail.

Our products contain no detergents, fillers, or lather boosters, no formaldehyde, and no parabens - just naturally-good, skin-loving ingredients like cocoa butter, shea butter and olive oil. Let us pamper your skin with a little taste of luxury!

Combined flat-rate shipping on up to 6 soaps is only $5 within the US, $11 for Canada and Mexico, and $13 for everywhere else ... We will gladly refund shipping overcharges.

So, why does the lotion label look so professional and like it came from Las Vegas?? Here's your answer:

We will customize the labels to say whatever you want - from "Welcome to Paradise!" to "Thank you girlfriend." Or, we can simply put the wedding pair's names or initials. We are happy to match your wedding colors.

That just definitely seals the deal as to why this shop has 888 sales to date!

Wasilla?? Need I say more?? I must say it! My favorite politician and soccer mom lives there!!!! Go Sarah!!! Really..... couldn't resist. :)

If you are one of the few people in the world who hasn't discovered this great shop, then don't you think it's time you did?? Check it out, grab a bar of soap for $5, plus a very reasonable $2.50 in shipping, so for $7.50 you have artsy artisan created soap and you never even got in the car. Tell her Mignon sent you - we'd love to know my highlighting of shops is working. :)

http://www.swanmountainsoaps.etsy.com

Enjoy! ;)
Mignon

....I'd Like to Check You for Ticks by Brad Paisley

2009-03-31T14:58:00.006-05:00

Yes, that's right - the Brad Paisley song that any proud city slicker would write off as backwoods country and a really funny pick-up line......Not!!!! Any country boy worth his salt knows that he is paying the lady the highest compliment, strangely enough, because after walking through wildflowers, you are going to want to check for ticks. Ladies, let me tell you, you don't want the guys who won't check you for ticks. Yes, there is story. So, I fish right?? City slicker gone country shooting shotguns and such, but I'm also allergic to dirt, dust, pollen, trees, countless bugs, mold, cigarette smoke, cats, dogs, and only the Good Lord knows what else, because I don't remember. Apparently a couple ticks got on my shoes and I didn't realize it until they got hungry, left my shoes, and headed north, and decided to eat me. I'm not real into bugs, probably directly related to being allergic to them, so when I scratched my neck at my hairline and pulled something foreign out of my hair while driving in the rain at 70 mph, imagine my surprise when a brown tick the size of a green pea was attempting to bite my finger. Yep, still city slicker enough to scream loud enough to wake folks in the next county. I couldn't let go of him because then he would find me in my van again as I had dropped him the day before, so what's a city slicker to do?? I found a tissue, drove with no hands while swapping the tick to the tissue praying that I didn't wreck while creeped out over this critter between my fingers. I managed to get it into the tissue, but couldn't squash it. I don't know how much strength that takes, but I sure don't have it. I had to hold the tissue and tick between two fingers and one of them is the finger with the latest purple bruise from my hammering sterling silver for a new S clasp and my bruised finger was weakening from squeezing the tick and I knew I only had seconds left before the tick was wondering around in my van looking for me, so I did the only thing I could think of before I dropped it and that was throw it out the window. I'm one of those folks who won't throw a banana peel out the window, which is why my vehicle is usually packing a plastic bag for trash, but today I had to let that kleenex fly out the window.........I feel guilty about that, but it was either me or the tick, so hopefully there is a gray area where in extreme circumstances like having a tick between your fingers that throwing a kleenex out the window is understandable. I've had Lyme Disease or specifically, Southern Tick Disease and the last thing I want is to get it again.

So, you ask what does the photo have to do with the story??? I pulled a tick off yesterday and dropped it and I am hopeful that it found me today and that it isn't a whole flock of them things lying in wait for me. However, from a person who had to diagnose herself and determine the proper antibiotics, dosage, and duration and take those 150+ pages in to the doctor's office so that the same folks who had told me they didn't know what it was could prescribe me the antibiotics I needed as that was the only part of the scenario I couldn't do myself and I paid a couple hundred for them to write me a Rx. after I diagnosed myself; well, that person being me I chose to soak in cat shampoo. I am hopeful I am not radioactive nor glowing green, but we shall see as the label said to wear gloves when applying the medicated shampoo to your cats, but I rather saw wearing gloves as a moot point considering the rest of me was soaking in medicated cat shampoo. We will now have to wash all 6 of the indoor cats in shampoo as my shoes or clothes may have given them ticks - thought that was supposed to be the other way around.........The good news is that I won't get bit by fleas or ticks for 30 days according to the label.

No, I am never bored.

Alaska Shop # 3 - Hello Petersburg :)

2009-03-26T23:37:00.004-05:00

http://www.fivefingerpottery.etsy.com

Sushi anyone??? Sushi dishes, yep, that's added to my want list. The talented artist behind this shop makes sushi dishes among the other fabulous pottery pieces from bowls to plates to beautiful mugs. I love a good mug. It's just comforting to pull down one of my artisan-created mugs from the cabinet late at night to make up a cup of tea or a cappuccino, especially after a stressful day or on a really cold night. Nope, a mug mass-produced from a retailer does not give me the same therapeutic feeling - it must be handmade/handthrown and created by an artist in order for the magic to work. Art calms me and soothes my soul. Definitely add this artist to your favorite shops, go on a tour of the shop, pick up a mug or a fabulous set of sushi dishes for those sushi lovers out there. Sushi is my new pizza. No cook nights equal sushi nights.

Check out Five Finger Pottery and tell her I sent you. :)

Oil lamps, noodle bowls, dragonfly plates, sugar and creamer sets, mug sets...........oh my! :)

Mignon

http://www.fivefingerpottery.etsy.com