Etsy Fort Worth: Raffle Benefiting the Hope Center for Autism

Etsy Fort Worth: Raffle Benefiting the Hope Center for Autism: One of the booths you need to stop by at the Cowtown Indie Bazaar on October 15th is the raffle booth. The raffle benefits Hope Center for A...

Madhouse

I always thought I wanted lots and lots of kids. I had big plans of family fun, big holidays and lots of laughter. Oh sure, I am not completely naive. I knew there would be fights, screaming and tears. However, I think I always imagined that the love and closeness shared would overcome everything else. It would be our family against the world.

Now I see how completely nuts that sounds. I can barely control my two sons. The last week I have added two girls to the brood a few hours a day. That has proved to be a much bigger challenge than I ever imagined. It's not any one child that is the problem. It's the four of them together that seems to be the issue. Xander is absolutely beside himself with jealousy. He is much more clingy and whiny and does not like sharing me with the baby. Plus, he is not really old enough to play with Preston and the older girl so he is just completely left out. Preston is great one minute, but quickly becomes more argumentative and loud to show off.

As if that wasn't enough my grandfather has rapidly gone downhill recently. I am having to spend much more time taking care of him which is just as much work as two or three kids. It's kinda like having a kid with the attitude of a teenager and the needs of toddler. I feel bad about not spending as much time as he wants, but I am only one person.

Some days are great and I love all of them. I just wish there was more of me, less of them or just more time in my day. I know it will be slightly easier once school starts for the older two. Only problem is that then Justin and I will both be back in school and have even less time. I just don't know. Hopefully, somehow, we will all manage to survive this madhouse.

Finished Wedding Order

These pendants turned out so great! I learned that I actually can make many of these pendants in a short time, if I just down and work instead of trying to do laundry, wash dishes, cook and watch the kids at the same time. I am just so happy that the couple loved them as much as I do. The girl bought them as a surprise and when he saw them, she said he squealed like a school girl. He actually called me personally to tell me how absolutely awesome and fantastic they were. He said they were the most amazing pendants he had ever seen. He was just upset that she would not allowed them to wear the pendants until the wedding, lol. It was the first time that an Etsy customer actually took the time to call me on the phone. It was quite flattering. Now, if she would just leave me feedback on Etsy. Looking forward to the next time I get the chance to create an order like this one.

A Wedding Order

I have created and sold a few jewelry pieces for weddings in the past, but none quite like this. I had made a silver and copper Chocobo pendant from the Final Fantasy video game series to sell on Etsy a few weeks ago. Last week I had a woman contact me saying that she knew I made the chocobo pendant to be a one-of-a-kind piece, but wondered if I would be willing and able to make a few more. I told her that I could do that and expected it to be for 2 or maybe 3 of them. She ordered 8 of them. I was shocked since I had never had an order that big for the hand-sawed and soldered pendants. It turns out that she and her fiance met playing Final Fantasy and have decided to have a Final Fantasy themed wedding. The pendants are gifts for the wedding party. I have been working on them for a few days and have almost finished them. Here is a view of what I have been working with.

Road Trip!

Road trip just doesn't seem the same when being accompanied by two small boys as it was in the past. We have only been on two trips since Xander was born. Last year was to Colorado and this weekend we went for a short trip to Austin. We had a great time aside from the lack of sleep and the continuous "Are we there yet?" questioning from Preston. Xander isn't old enough to ask, but his screams from the back of the van were more than enough to get his point across, too. Luckily, Austin is only about a 3-4hour drive from here or I probably would have been in a much worse mood. What amazed me most about the drive was that the whole last hour was spent just getting from Round Rock to our hotel in South Austin. I just hate traffic and Austin is just way too full of it. Also, the fact that our GPS kept telling us to take exit 230A off I-35 to the hotel and that exit does not even exist was really annoying. After we got lost we called the hotel and found out it was supposed to be 229, so I still don't understand what the heck my GPS was trying to tell us.

The hotel was great and the pool was indoors, even better! Preston went swimming 4 times in two days, but if he had his way, he would have just stayed in the pool the whole 2 days, lol. It was really nice, especially since most of the guests seemed to be there on business and the pool was empty almost the whole time. Preston loved the fact that his bed was actually a sofa bed, it's amazing what they find to be cool. Now, he wants one for his room, too. Friday was spent hanging out at the hotel and we had nice time with just the 4 of us. Saturday, we met up with my mom, Lindsey, Brandon, Trent, Rebecca, Gabe and Kaleb. Preston was thrilled to get to meet his cousins and Xander had a great time running around and making messes. We went to lunch and then to the State Capital. Preston was totally bored, except for being able to run up the huge staircases and getting to play out in the front lawn with the kids. He reminded me several times how bored he was as we wandered around inside. However, when we came to the room with the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals he was very interested in the glass etched windows. He asked what one of them said and Lindsey told him it was the Supreme Court. Preston, in true boy fashion responded, "What sport do they play on that court?" Hahaha, kids.

After spending time letting the kids run around outside we went for appetizers and drinks at Freddie's. They had great food, drinks, live music and a play area for the boys. When we left Freddie's Trent and Brandon had to head back home. We went back to the hotel, went swimming and had dinner in the room. Sunday morning we had brunch at The Oasis before heading back to Fort Worth. The Oasis was fabulous and the view was great. The only thing that disturbed me was in the gift shop. They had lots of glass pendants and dishes very similar to the ones I make, but they were about 4 times the cost. I just can't believe that someone would pay that much, but obviously they do or they wouldn't charge that much. Just shows me once again that Fort Worth is just a bad market for me. I really need to be in a tourist area or at least find a few shops in other areas to sell my jewelry. Trying to figure out where to start, but it seems overwhelming. It just gets so frustrating. Oh well, at least we had a great trip and had fun seeing everyone. Can't wait for the next time.

Metal and Glass, Together at last!

A few months ago, Sarah from the Etsy team, suggested I start combining my love of metal and glass. I have been thinking of many various ways to do this and still have a few more in the works. I have completed a few pendants that I am very happy with and hope you will like them too. My pictures fail to capture the beautiful way that dichroic glass changes color, but at least you will get a small sense of what I am working with in these pictures. There are two pendants one is shades of blue with a little green and the other is orange, red and copper. Thanks, Sarah. Enjoy!

Vacation and Craft Show

Still not feeling 100%, but I am getting better. This next weekend we are attempting a short vacation with the boys and taking a road trip to Austin. It will be short and the drive isn't bad, so maybe it won't be a terrible trip. We are going to meet up with some family and my boys will get to meet some of their cousins for the first time, so Preston is very excited. I am looking forward to seeing my brothers and to getting away, if only for a few days.

When we get back it will only be a few more days until my next big show. The North Texas Institute Craft Fair will be July 24 and 25 in Grapevine. I love doing two day shows. It's great to be able to setup and take down on two separate days. Plus it gives people a chance to return on the second day and hopefully bring friends. I have not done this show before, so it could be terrible. I hope it will be a success, not just for me, but for all my Etsy Fort Worth friends that will be there, too.

Join us for The North Texas Institute Craft Fair by Goodwill. 880 Mustang Dr. Grapevine, TX 76051. We will be there July 24 and 25 from 9am-5pm. Please come out to support locals and buy handmade!