Ready for Christmas

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I have been busy..... decorating......inside,

 

                         and outside.......

         I have done some baking.......

           and wrapped my gifts......

            I have a tree upstairs.......

             and a tree downstairs.......

       and there is snow all around!

      I think I am ready for Christmas!!





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Is there such a thing....as too much bling??

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know that I love to add these tiny bits of crystal bling, known as Swarovski crystals to many of my creations. Well here are some other very interesting objects, that have been embellished with the famous Austrian crystals.

 Got an extra $75,000 to spare? If so this toilet can be yours!

Or if that is too expensive for you,how about this one, for only $25,000! Designed by  Lets Crystal It, in West Palm Beach Florida, this toilet is covered with 100,000  Swarovski crystals.

http://www.trendhunter.com

 

Of course you will need some toilet paper to go with that fancy toilet of yours.(Ouch!)

www.trendhunter.com

 This dazzling bathtub, took designer, Lori Gardner, 3 years to create. 44,928 Swarovski crystals were fixed to the antique bathtub by hand. Portions of the sale of this gorgeous tub, were donated to breast cancer research.

http://theluxury.org

 

You may want to sip on some vodka, while relaxing in your bubble bath.

The Embellished by Relish collection of Swarovski-studded bottles, are designed by Absolut Vodka. The bottles are actually  empty and can be filled up with anything you want. Each bottle is decorated with 5,000 Swarovski crystals.  All  six of them can be had for $6,700!

www.luxedb.com

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Midnight Solstice

Here are a few photos of another one of my recent vintage skeleton key necklaces. The key is form my travels in England, this past summer, and I have embellished it with tiny metallic blue Swarovski crystals. I also added some pretty glass beads, a dragonfly charm and a cool vintage brass bead. I call this one Midnight Solstice.

           Happy weekend everyone!






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Birthdays

Today is my birthday. I think that birthdays are great times for reflection, setting goals and dreaming. As I reflect on my life over the past 53 years, there have been several challenges, times of great loss, many wonderful memories of happy celebrations, and moments of great achievements. I am fortunate to have some fabulous friends that are very close to me, many of which I have known for  over 30 years. 

                                        I have four super kids,

and two delightful grandchildren.

                     I have brothers and sisters that I love dearly,

                 and a Dad and Step mom that I admire, love and respect. 

  I also have an amazing husband, who is also my best friend, and we do everything together.

 I have many dreams to still fulfill....most of them involve traveling.....and some personal goals that I am striving for! I am grateful that I am able to work at home doing what I love, creating little pieces of joy that make people happy.

 I dream of one day being permanently  near the ocean on Vancouver Island, with my husband.

 But for now, as I celebrate my fifty third year of life,  I am very fulfilled and happy!  Pin It

Dreaming of a white Christmas?

I don't have to just dream of having a white Christmas anymore! This weekend we received 7 and 1/2 inches of snow, and it is a white winter wonderland here, where I live!

 

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When you wish a upon a star.........

                                       I want one of these! 

Hurry on over to A Little Etsy Love, for a chance at one of winning these gorgeous hand made stained glass stars, from Piggy and Dirt!  

Piggy and Dirt (aka Becky&Kurt), are husband and wife artists that create these beautiful stars.

All the details on how to enter, this giveaway are on A Little Etsy Love.

Good luck! Pin It

Vintage Christmas Inspiration

I just discovered this fabulous blog, called Everyday Beauty  via Pinterest, when I was looking for some vintage Christmas inspiration. 

Andrea Singerella, designs vintage style jewelry and gorgeous book marks, and she made this fabulous vintage style Christmas wreath. So pretty! Her blog is a delight for the eyes!

                 I love the soft pastel colors that she used in her wreath.

               Check out her beautiful handmade book marks ......scrumptious!

 

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All that Glistens is not Gold!

This past weekend, we drove into the city to do a little Christmas shopping....I am almost done as i have shopped on Etsy, and at some local art and craft shows, and have managed to buy most of my gifts handmade this year! However, I still had to pick up a couple of other items, as well I needed to  shop for something to wear to the husbands company Christmas party. I already had a classic little black dress, so I just needed a little something to go with it. I was in the BAY...which is one of our Canadian department stores, and there were sales everywhere!  I am thinking "Great...I will surely find something amongst all the racks of gorgeous clothing, here!". Within minutes, I found this sweet light weight soft gold cardigan, which will go perfectly with my dress at home. Luckily the rack that holds all of the pretty gold sweaters, says 40% OFF Bianca Nygard FALL and HOLIDAY ... perfect!

                                            Just imagine this sweater, above...only in gold.

  I try it on, it fits, and then comes the hard part....standing in line and paying. So there are 3 cashiers on duty, but the line is at a standstill, so I wait, and wait, and finally get to the desk, the cashier rings it up...and wait a sec..."Is the sweater not on sale?"...I ask. " No"...says the clerk. OK...am I going mad, or did I read the sign wrong? So I pay full price for the sweater, and then head back to the rack thinking, I am a little crazy here! I check the rack.. the rack with the exact same sweaters says - 40% OFF Bianca Nygard FALL and HOLIDAY.    OK, I am not losing my mind, and this gold sweater looks pretty darn Holidayish to me! So I head back to another cashier, stand in line again, and explain my situation.  She says she will go and check, which she does and then returns, and tells me that she is not sure, the sign is confusing. She then scans the tag into the system, and explains to me that no, it is not on sale, it is a specially priced item, and items whose price tags end in  .99, are not part of the sale. I am getting pretty mad, now, but I keep my cool, and suggest to her that perhaps the sign should be taken down, or the sweaters removed as it is very misleading for the customer. "Well that is not my department, I have no control over the signing." She tells me. Oh, Brother...REALLY!!! She continues to tell me to go and speak with a manager if I have a concern. So I ask her, where would I find a manager...and she tells me" Go look in the cosmetic department...there is an event on there, and you should find them all hanging about that area. "

OK...this is  good customer service? She could have called a manager for me, but no,  I have to go and look for one! More wasted time...but I am not letting this go because I feel it is wrong. I managed to track down a manager in cosmetics, and repeated the scenario to her. I told her that I would still take this sweater,  and that my concern is that the signage is very confusing for the consumer.  The manager explained that I am not the first customer to make a complaint regarding the signage issue, and that she will pass on my concern.    So I am thinking, "WELL PERHAPS YOUR COMPANY SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!" But I politely thank her and think to myself "OK..I have had enough I'm outa here!"  So not only did this store waste over half an hour of my time, the customer service is deplorable! 
Nuff said.
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Black Friday SALE!

Starting this Friday, Nov. 25 at 8:00am MST (mountain standard time),  as readers of my blog and fans of my Facebook Page,  you will be able to receive 15% off  all items in my Etsy Shop!  Simply enter the coupon code: BLACKFRIDAYBLOG, during the checkout process. The sale will continue until 6:00pm MST (mountain standard time), on Monday Nov. 28th.
Happy Shopping!

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Snowflake and Pearls

This is one of my favorite creations....and its looking for a good home! 

Snowflake and Pearls, is a long assemblage necklace that I designed, using a fabulous  very sparkly, vintage rhinestone brooch, some pearl buttons from days gone by, vintage copper and brass findings and chain, some frosted glass from a chandelier, and a small vintage key from my travels in England.

Now listed in my Etsy shop 
I am getting ready for the Black Friday Etsy Sale. Tomorrow I will post the secret coupon code which will enable you to get 15% off any item in my shop, from Friday, Nov. 25 until Monday Nov. 28!

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