Why I Dig What I Do

Hello readers, and happy Super Bowl day (Who's playing? As a former colleague of mine used to say, "Sorry, I don't follow baseball." Hahahaha). Here's a little post tonight in response to the Etsy Bloggers Street Team's Blog Carnival, the theme of which is "What's Love Got to Do With It?"--meaning, why we love our craft (thanks once again to StormyDesigns for hosting).

To answer said Carnival's question, here's a few of my top reasons:

I love the way it challenges me.

With every new wire wrap, with every new bead, with every new color scheme, and with every new technique I learn, creating jewelry keeps me on my toes. I enjoy working at something until I perfect it, and then moving on to the next challenge. I don't think it will ever bore me, as trends and techniques tend to constantly evolve. As they continue to grow, so will I.

I love making my customers happy.

There is nothing like completing a custom order, handing it over, and having my customers tell me that my creation matched "exactly what they were thinking." As mentioned in a previous post, I get most of my inspiration from my customers, as they usually push my capabilities and force me to explore things I haven't done before.

I love jewelry.

That's the main reason why I started. I love jewelry, but where I live, there's not really many vendors or artisans that sell the particular type of jewelry that I like or that I would wear. So, why not make my own? It keeps me busy, and gives me a means to channel some of my creativity. My day job is great, and I love the career path I've chosen, but creating jewelry definitely helps to "balance out" that work vs. play dynamic.

And there you have it. Until next time, keep on creating dear readers. Whether it be jewelry, or pottery, or sewing, or drawing, or Popsicle sticks--balance yourself out.

...and Thanksgiving is Almost Here!

Good gravy (no pun) readers, it's almost that time. So much stuff to do before then, so little time. Not to mention, I haven't been keeping up with my reading of the Etsy Bloggers boards, and I almost missed this Blog Carnival. Yup, you got it...another one related to the holidays, 'cept this one is related to Thanksgiving.

I have until midnight to finish this post for Stormy Designs, who is hosting this blog, so this is gonna be quick and dirty for sure! To ensure that I get this in on time, I'm going to post my "To Do" list here for my holiday weekend. That way, if I have to add anything later, during the week I'll be back to update the progress I've made.

Here goes:

• Go to liquor store. Much wine is needed for this holiday.
• Prep items for the things I'm responsible for making (dinner is at my parents' house this year): apple dumplings, pumpkin pie, tomato basil dip
• Determine what else to make to go to my friend's house, which is where we hang out at Thanksgiving evening.
• Dig through all of my DVDs to find "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," which is a family tradition where we're all stuffed and feelin' fat and we watch this hilarious movie while drinking that wine I bought at the liquor store.
• Make apple dumplings, pumpkin pie, tomato basil dip
• Try to fight off my husband from eating apple dumplings and pumpkin pie (my honey has a bit of a sweet tooth)
• Did I mention go to the liquor store?
• Begin holiday shopping on Etsy :oD

Well, there you have it. Perhaps I'll put recipes up later this week? They're quite easy and yummy too.

Nighty-night, all.