A Whole Lot 'o Nothing

Source, I'm on a birdcage picture streak this week.

 My newest and most short-lived darling little parrot has taken to throwing temper tantrums when he's left to his own devices. He's been screaming for the past ten minutes and I first it was annoying, but now I'm curled up in the chair laughing. Can't say he isn't determined. I can't wait until he goes to a good home. Often I've thought of keeping him but after my father throws a fit because I took him out of the cage and he throws a fit for being back in it, I see that this can not work out.

Source. These pictures really have very little to do with the post content.

I've been reading the Stephanie Plum series, written by Janet Evanovich. In fact, that is mostly all I've been doing. On Thursday I started book one, and by noon today I had just opened book seven. I've heard they've just recently made a movie about the first book, but since I've little interest in the movie, I couldn't tell you much about it.
The main plot throughout the books are fairly straight forward, they are about a woman named Stephanie Plum who lives in New Jersey and, after loosing her job, went to work for her cousin as a bounty hunter. They remind me a bit of the Temperance Brennen series, which I've also been reading on and off, except that Stephanie doesn't get kidnapped in nearly every book. Throughout the books she meets all sorts of characters, and develops a knack for indirectly, and totally accidentally causing her and her friends cars to blow up, get stolen or get crushed. 
As far as the writing goes, I wouldn't put it next to Shakespeare, but I wouldn't set it by Twilight either. It's a bit mouthy and has a few sexual bits here and there; but not enough to keep my mother from recommending it to her teenage daughter. They are all about two hundred pages, so while I won't be reading them for a while, I highly recommend them for a quick book that is funny in an "Interrupt your class because you've discreetly been reading and have now burst out laughing" kind of way. Since I am very big on neutral faced reading at school, you can be sure that these books are absolutely hilarious.
She's written about two a year, there are eighteen and as far as I know she's still writing. The first books are very big on car phones. There are a few mini books here and there, but the main books start with "One for the Money" the second is "Two for the Dough" third "Three to get Deadly." The names go on like such, but they get lamer book four and out.

I won't rate it out of ten, because I get annoyed wasting days reading on end and will now avoid these books like the frosting-covered plague and give it low ratings. Back when I was reading them, I had a very different opinion. What can I say; I'm weird about books, but this was suppose to be a beaming review.  

Source. All well, I gave an effort.

 Other than that I've been looking at what jewelry inventory I have at the moment. I figured if I wanted to start an Etsy store this summer I'd actually need things to sell. But believe it or not, making things has been a long learning process that isn't anywhere near over which means some of my older things are not as lovely as other recent creations. I'm having one more local jewelry sale before I dive into Etsy. The local sale will be where I sell my less than clean-cut items to friends for dirt cheap ($1-$7), along with things I don't particularly want anymore, but don't feel the need to alter. Along with that I've been working on taking apart some jewelry that I'd love to redo with my newer set of skills.
This is along-side my ever waiting supply of parts that I have decided to puzzle together.
But more interesting, at this moment anyway, is that I've also indulged into teddy bears. Exploring the internet I have found that there aren't nearly enough interesting cuddly things for those of us who'd like to decorate their room without having to do the work to decorate the decor. Although I suppose I'm excluded for this group these days since I'd be doing the work for others.

There is only a week and a half or so until my giveaway closes. So make sure to get in on it. Remember, I'm not counting entries unless they are spoken for in a comment at the bottom of the page.

Golden Hearts Giveaway

This morning of tea and blueberry scones has been my best morning since (Surprisingly) last Sunday's blueberry and scones. So it is the perfect day to start my very first giveaway! There will be two winners in this giveaway, both winning one of two equally beautiful chokers from the pair I have dubbed the "Golden Heart Twins."
Prizes:

 First:
 "For the Anachronistic Heart"
 This stunning choker features an upside-down clock face with a small white heart dangling from it. At the top of the heart sits a small "diamond" gem. The center piece sits on a silky white ribbon that shimmers lightly under the right light. 

'The Victorian heart of the twenty-first century, asks not that the clock runs backwards; rather that it runs upside-down. Thus allowing modern times and classical times to run simultaneously in an absolutely beautiful disaster.'  

The ribbons ends are dipped in a small bit of clear urethane glue to insure that they will not fray. It closes with a small gold chain and silver clasp.

Second:
"The Key to Rose's Heart"
This lovely choker features a disconnected center piece of a ornate key and the head of a rose. It sits on the same silky white ribbon that shimmers lightly under the right light as the above choker.

 'My little darling Rose,
Please never swallow keys,
For if your heart unlocks,
A flower will bloom from thee!'

Like the above choker, the ends are dipped in a small bit of clear urethane glue to insure that they will not fray and it closes with a small gold chain and silver clasp.





***Since I create jewelry by re-purposing old materials, the small gold chain used for closing the choker is limited. Thus, for the sake of my material amount, and to make sure the winners don't receive chokers that are to big or to small, I will be asking for the circumference of their neck in centimeters. Please be sure to account for the fact that the choker needs to be tight enough to sit properly yet loose enough to not kill you.

Deadline: Sunday, March 25
Winners will be chosen randomly via Random.org on March 26 so make sure to check back then.

How to Enter:
You can have your name added to the mix up to three times:

1. Follow my blog.
2. Write a blog post about the giveaway that includes a link back to this page.
3. Give 2-3 names I could use for an Etsy shop if I started one this summer.

Note: You must add a comment to this page about what entries you do for them to count. (Tell me you follow my blog and want to be in the giveaway so that I don't add followers who do not, give me the link to your blog post, and post the name ideas in the comment section).

DIY Jewelry

I've been meaning to do this post for a while. As pointed out in a previous post the one thing I can successfully DIY is jewelry. I made a bunch of jewelry to sell so I could get some money to put towards a new electric piano since the one I had growled at me and had a broken key...
The thing I love about jewelry is that it doesn't take much and you can use just about anything. It's also not very expensive and only need minimal sewing/tools/ect. I make things out of what I have so as of now I haven't needed to spend any money. Although I might buy clasps at some point.

I made this choker out of a dress that I never wore. The band comes from a corseted area of the dresses skirt. The cross was at the end of the chain and the chains were used as string to corset a different part of the dress. This was my first piece and I learned as I went along. Its actually fairly shabby work but I have a friend who fell in love with it so I sold it to her. I used thread and superglue to put things together.

This piece was my second attempt at a choker and was just as shabby. I didn't have white thread and had to use brown, which I stitched rather unevenly. But I've grown rather fond of the thing. It wears nicely. Its made from a silky black/silver rose print with spider web lace on top, white ribbon borders and a piece of petrified wood from a ring I had. The print is from an old shirt, the lace is from the previously mentioned dress, the ribbons are from an old flower girl dress. It hasn't been bought yet, and I'm sure I'll have a picture of me wearing it soon.

This is one of my favorite pieces. It was made from part of a broken necklace piece that I got from my aunt. The ring piece was filled in with black nail polish and super glue and the ring back itself was actually what held the petrified wood piece. This took me a long while to make and it was sold to another friend. I had to specially fit it to her hand but its complete with a clasp on the bracelet. Used metal/wire cutter and pliers.

This is another piece I am particularly fond of. It was given to a girl for her birthday. I got the watch from my aunt, who makes vintage jewelry and the ribbon was from the same flower girl dress as previously mentioned. It had a bunch of other half attached strings of pears or jewels that I took off and then cleaned off the glue. The clock didn't actually work but when I was using it I'd set the time of my next class so I could easily check to make sure I wouldn't be late.

This is a very simple yet pretty piece. It was made completely from a belt that a friend gave that broke. The cross was sewed on to the ribbon. It was almost sold but hasn't been yet. I haven't worn it myself much since I don't like to wear crosses.

Another piece made from the belt previously mentioned. Very simple necklace, just required a metal/wire cutter and pliers. Sold it to a friend.

Ditto last post, made from the belt, easy tools. Sold to a friend. The only difference is that this actually got a 'formal' clasp.

Anyway, that is just a few things I've made. I always wear the things at least once just to see how they hold up so I am sure they wont fall apart where ever they end up. So...go forth and don't waste old broken jewelry and clothing and such.