Monday, January 24, 2011

Pretty earrings all in a row


I'm preparing to go into the hospital for gallbladder surgery and trying desperately to distract myself from my nervousness so I'm writing a long overdue post. I finished up this project before Christmas (and before gallbladder attacks started) and just got around to taking pics.


I wanted to create some way to have my jewelry out and visible instead of hidden away in little boxes and bags where I could never quite remember what I had. I also wanted to create something that would coordinate with our bedroom decor and serve as art in itself in a way. Using items I already had was also important.


The frames are the uber cheap IKEA variety that we had leftover from wedding decorations a few years back. The mesh are onion bags stretched out and hot glued in place with thin strips of mat board to keep them in place. The posts for the necklaces and bracelets are teeny tiny spools with more of those red buttons I love glued to the top. All the frames and spools were given a coat of DecoArt black paint prior to gluing everything together with heavy duty adhesive. Now I've got a lovely way to display all of my shiny, happy jewelry and it was made using everything I had already!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

An anxiety-ridden adventure...

No pretty picture, nothing really fun about this except that hopefully soon I'll be experiencing significantly less pain. This is not at all the kind of post that I usually write but it's what has been consuming my life of late. I've been off the radar for quite a while having to deal with medical issues the most urgent one being that I have to undergo gallbladder surgery next week. This problem obviously doesn't just appear overnight but it reared its ugly head dramatically over the holidays to the point where I finally had to figure out what was going on.

I've been having a very hard time with all of this as I've never had any kind of surgery before and am frightened about the whole thing. The worst part of the experience thus far has been meeting with my surgeon. I realize that surgeons are trained very well for what they do and I do not speak about all surgeons as I've only had to deal with one, but the interpersonal skills and bedside manner of my surgeon certainly leave a lot to be desired especially when dealing with a first-time surgery patient who's dealing with a lot of fear and uncertainty. Thankfully, my wonderful primary care physician and the nurses at my clinic more than makes up for that and have been very comforting and reassuring.

Throw into the mix that I'm way cranky due to the liquid diet that I have to be on for four more days and have endured three days of so far. I'm feeling less than human as I can't get motivated to enter the outside world where normal people actually get to eat solid food (besides jello) and buy groceries beyond milk, instant breakfast mix and protein powder. And do you know how many commercials there are during the course of a day for restaurants and food products????

I have had really wonderful supportive friends who've been through the same thing to let me know what to expect and tell me that I'll feel so much better once the surgery is through. I am beyond grateful for these wonderfully supportive people in my life. I'm so thankful to have the wonderful husband who's been amazing with all of this and holds me during all of my crying jags when I'm overcome with fear and uncertainty. Throw into the mix that has also put some of our fertility testing on hold which only adds to my depression about all of this.

What has been most upsetting about all of that particular aspect is that some people who should be the most supportive and understanding during this time are telling me that I shouldn't really be trying to have a child as that comes with all kinds of stress and worries and can't handle that. This kind of "support" is the precise reason that I haven't shared that we've been trying to conceive for over two years because I instinctively knew this was the kind of "support" that I would get from them. My wonderful doctor was also quick to point out that these matters are two very different things and was able to help me believe in and trust my own instincts again, something which has been easy to lose sight of in this whole process.

But on this day when I got all that "support," my husband and I were out getting a tea so I could feel like a normal human being for a while. As I was leaving the restroom, a mother and her adorable brown-haired cutie of a daughter who couldn't have been more than two were waiting and this little angel came up to me and hugged my legs so tight, it nearly brought me to tears of joy. I feel so blessed that this little girl shared her spontaneous gift of love with me when I needed it most.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Super Sale!!!!

I don't know about you, but I have definitely had dreams of having my own successful design business. If you are at all like me and want to get phenomenal information from people who've been there and done that, there is an amazing opportunity to get their advice for an incredibly low price.


There are 11 great tools for artists for $47. These e-resources would normally cost you $282 - isn't that amazing!!!!!!  There are resources on improving your online presence, art licensing, trade shows, design and branding, and self-promotion among others. Head over to zero2illo today and don't miss this amazing opportunity! This offer ends at 9:00 am EST tomorrow, January 12, 2011! Hurry and don't miss out!!!! 5% of the profits from sales will also be going to a charity chosen by the zero2illo community. Help yourself and help others!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Happy New Year!

I'm sorry I've been away so long! The holiday season ended up being busier than anticipated in spite of not traveling anywhere which turned out to be a very good thing as I was under the weather for most of the week between Christmas and New Year's. This month is also filling up with doctor's visits that I hope will get me on the mend!



In the meantime I'm going to busy myself with a fun swap (in addition to all of my regular work and responsibilities). One of the blogs I follow, the Vintage Dragonfly, is hosting a Victorian Paper Heart Swap for a limited number of participants and I made it in. So, I'm gathering up my supplies and getting to work. The participants will each create one handmade victorian paper valentine using fun vintage-y stuff. We'll also create a number of tiny treasure packets for all of the participants. I can't wait to see what everyone creates and sends along in their little packets!