Winter in New England, eSMArts Team update and new earrings for Christmas

Ok, I am a life long New Englander..born and raised in Rhode Island. Snow should be no big deal...right? I'm already sick of it.... This pic was taken on Friday afternoon. The storm started out about 2pm and quickly progressed. We really didn't have the howling winds that are usually associated with these storms but none the less it packed a punch. It snowed all day Saturday...tapered of Saturday night and right back at it come Sunday.

Are you cold yet just looking at these... yes, it does look lovely....yes even Christmassy

Try shoveling!

Moving on.... given the seasonal rush is subsiding our attention turns to Valentines Day. Yes... already. We are all working on our creations to get our Etsy stores stocked with those special "I love you" gifts. Keep a look out for them coming soon. During this time as the new year fast approaches, we are also in the midst of reorganizing our team. New minimum requirements are being established... all good stuff that will make us more effective with our Marketing initiatives both on line and off. I'm looking forward to seeing us progress this year and become stronger as a team. I want to extend a sincere congratulations to Jamie Elliot of Creations by JAE who is our new Marketing Manager and Membership Coordinator and Helene Turnbull of Glass0Beads who will be serving as our Editor-in-Chief and our Website Manager. Good luck to you both in your new roles with eSMArts!

What to give a special friend (and hair stylist) yes.... very important person!! Johna is a great friend and I wanted to do something a little different for her. Her birthday is in February so incorporated some lovely amethyst faceted rounds at the center and crocheted from sterling silver the outside of these earrings. I'll have to make a few more for the store! I hope she likes them.

One more pic for you:

Brrrr....

eSMArts Team: Getting ready for the holidays and New to my Etsy store...November birthstone-Citrine earrings

Christmas tree ornament or suncatcher from MyGemStoneBox by Diane available at our eSMArts Team store. This makes a great gift for teachers, friends and family. Made with silver wire and Cathedral crystal and gold beads, amber crackle, amber AB beads and gold bugle beads. Finishing touches are pearls to complete the look. Beads are 4mm, 6mm & 8mm. Approx. size of each snowflake is 5" x 5".

I have others soon to be added! Also, listing at my Etsy shop done in red and crystal!
I am offering free wrapping on all items purchased from now until Christmas! One less gift you have to wrap! Good deal and FREE!

Here is another I have just completed it is all pastel pink and green crackle beads with gold bugle beads and Cathedral crystal beads and a few Czech square beads. I have not listed it yet! Enjoy the preview. If you are interested please feel free to contact MyGemStoneBox by Diane!

Lemon drop slide earrings

These lovely faceted citrine brioletts are suspended using sterling silver wire to sterling silver slide earring chains. Earrings measure approx 3 1/2" long but when inserted into the ear you can choose the length of the dangle. The citrine stones measure 12 x 9 mm each.Citrine is a yellow-to-golden member of the quartz mineral group. A deep golden variety from Madeira Spain can resemble the costly imperial topaz gem stone, which is one reason that citrine is a popular birthstone alternative to those born in November.

Putnam Ct. Art Festival and other happenings....

The Putnam Ct. Fall and French Canadian Festival took place October 25, 2008. There were over 70 Artisans displaying their hand crafted items. This was the first time I took part in this celebration filled with wonderful music and food. French pork pie and pea soup were the highlight of the day~ the line was incredible! I had an opportunity to visit most of the booths and make contact with many new potential clients. Funny, most had never heard of Etsy~~ imagine that!! I had steady traffic most of the day...we only stayed until 2:30, that was all we could bear.... take a look:

Isn't that attractive, quite the hairdo eh??? Most of the day was spent fighting the more than 30 mph wind gusts... I did not put up a tent, and I was glad that I didn't. We spent part of the day chasing items that had been blown right off tables from neighboring vendors and then the tents started to fly! Enough for me...we packed it in early. I will go back again next year. If the weather was better it would have been a great show. Rotary Park is along the river and the evening was to be filled with "water fire" but the weather did not cooperate. All in all, I made more than enough sales to cover the table and had numerous inquiries for where I would be doing Christmas shows. It was a great networking experience. Just wish Mother Nature was more cooperative. During the lulls, I was able to put this together... the first of three commissioned Rosaries that will be traveling to my new friend, Lisa, in the UK.

Lisa wanted something special for her boyfriend who celebrates a December birthday. I used Swarovski crystals in the deep blue and added Turquoise with silver findings. She loved the pictures....hope she loves it even more once she receives it!

Since my last post I have one heck of a week...as an aside, I spent the day at the hospital with DH who was experiencing horrible pain in his abdomen....lucky it was a nasty virus and nothing more. Add to that our "entertaining" the fire department Friday at 2:00 am for a "small" chimney fire.... lucky....no damage! Just scared us to death!! And finally my son is home sick today...fighting the same stomach virus....My life is never boring!!!

Blessings~

D