And the winner is...

The winning name for my necklace is "Tuscany" given to me by Sew Bettie at Craft Yourself Rich. I think it's perfect since the stones in the necklace have that rustic, countryside look. I loved all of the names - some of them made me want to go for walks at night or in the woods and I really enjoyed reading all of them.

I think it was fun to do a call out for names and hope to do another one soon, so check back for your next chance to win an Idyll Hands creation.

Stuff

One should never have this many shoes...Or this many clothes (these are the ones in "storage" - not the ones I wear on a usual basis).
I spent the bulk of this afternoon cleaning out my clothes and shoes in my closet and in my dresser. Just the hope of moving in a month has me ready to purge what I do not need. I certainly had a lot of stuff and hope that now I just have a medium amount of stuff. The house the Sweet Boy and I are crossing our fingers will be our next one has less closet space. That's not a problem as long as I can clean out my life. I just have stuff here, stuff there, stuff tucked in there. We came from the worlds smallest apartment, so we've acquired this junk since moving here 2.5 years ago. The only problem with a house that has a lot of storage is you will fill it up, whether you need to or not.

I did reward myself with some barely used Gap jeans ($15) and some brand new, but still at the used shop, purple shoes ($6). Seeing as how I got rid of about 8 pairs of jeans and just as many shoes, it's ok to get one of each to put back in the mess.Today was not entire spent on cleaning. I did get lots done for my shop exposure for July. My sister had these great shutters that make the perfect display stand for my necklaces and earrings. I think I'll just display my bracelets on a table, they don't get to hang.

A Call for Help

Help! I cannot come up with a name for the necklaces you see above. They are a deep red and a light, mojito green on an antiqued brass chain and I just can't come up with something appropriate. Here's where I need your help. I'll be giving away one of these necklaces to whoever can help me name them. I need to name them by Monday night, June 30 - so you have 2 days. Things to keep in mind when getting creative:

I like to stick to names inspired by nature when it comes to my stone necklaces
Leave me a way to contact you

If you can stick to those two rules and you recommend the name that strikes me as perfect for these little gems, I'll send one over to you (your choice which one).

Get busy, put on your thinking caps and leave suggestions in the comments.

Below is the result of a marathon jewelry making/organizing session. I've got 2 days until setting up in my first brick and mortar shop and one of those days is a 12 hour day at work. Guess who's going to be busy tomorrow? (I do love how flashy those bracelets look piled in a box)

SALE

This weekend I'm having a big sale on many of my bracelets at Idyll Hands. Don't miss out on the chance to get a bracelet for a discounted price! I'm cleaning out my inventory to get ready for some late summer/fall items so come take advantage of my lower prices.

One Upon a Time...

Once upon a time there was a hidden street. Upon that hidden street were a few of the cutest, best kept bungalows in Fayetteville. One of those houses just happened to be up for rent when a young, beautiful crafter laid her eyes upon it in a Craigslist ad. This is a story of her journey to get that house - which will surely provide her with the perfect space for crafting and the perfect backdrop for all of her inspiration.

To bring this tale to modern day, I'm trying trying trying to wait patiently to hear from the owner. The Sweet Boy and I have turned in our applications and there's nothing left to do but wait. So yeah - the beautiful, young crafter (yes, beautiful) is me and I found a house on Craigslist and it really was on a hidden street. A little block of a street smack, dab in the middle of town, hiding away from traffic, bad landlords, and cars that can't seem to turn the corner onto my street and instead end up upside down in the ditch (yes, that happened in front of my house tonight). The Sweet Boy and are ready to move somewhere else and I'll even dig up my garden and move it if I have to, but I want this house.

So, everyone take a moment's break from crafting and cross your fingers for me, I need all of the fingers crossed that I can get.

To Do List

parsley found in my garden last week - it blooms!

I sat down tonight to package up some bracelets to ship out and started to work on some earrings. That's when it happened, I sat there for about 3 minutes just starting at my crafting table. I didn't want to make anything tonight - not a single thing. I decided to walk away and come browse the internet for the next great thing. I'm sure I'll regret that decision this weekend when I find myself face to face with the following "to do" list (you'd think that's all I do on the weekends, finish lists):

1. Print necklace cards
2. Print earring cards (perhaps design and then print, but I have high hopes of designing them tomorrow)
3. Make a few more bracelets in silver tones - I have a plethora of copper ones ready to go
4. Make a few more necklaces
5. Put hinges on the shutters for my jewelry display at the shop
6. Cook in my mom's newly remodeled kitchen
7. Sleep in
8. Go look at knobs for my mom's newly remodeled kitchen
9. Read the rest of Craft Inc.
10. Oh, make some earrings.

It might sound like a lot but I think I can do a lot of that on Friday night and have the rest of the weekend for some free time (like the cooking and sleeping bit).

Tomorrow I'm heading to an American Red Cross luncheon because I seem to think I have a lot of free time that needs to be filled with volunteering. Huh, I wonder where I got that idea?

Tiny Jumping Goats

Recently, Argyle Whale, one of my favorite bloggers and Etsy artists, posted a call out for things on the internet to make someone happy. The request reminded me of the video you see above. I cannot get through it without smiling so big that I start to laugh.

Watch it and brighten your day.