Welcome to the internet

The funniest thing has happened to me this week. I am still learning alot with this computer. I have come along way in the last few years but still learning every day. Awhile ago I signed up on face book. But it was one of those things I really couldn't figure out. I have had a myspace forever and whenever I want to make changes or update pictures I have to have my daughter do it for me. Any way, before my illness I worked with a group of people I got very very close to. We were all good friends which is sometimes the only way you can work under some circumstances. Any way we all drifted our own way's one friend went to Florida, another is still working at the store, more found other employment in town, any way, one by one we have found each other on facebook. Yeah! even if we can't see each other in person we can catch up and stay in touch through this mighty little machine. Staying in contact with people you become close to can be such a rare thing so I am so very blessed to have this happen. Just wanted to share that little moment of excitment.

Happy Saturday Night

I am trying to talk myself into being sleepy so I can go to bed. Work tomorrow morning. Do you know how long it has been since I had a Bed-time? HeHe.

Any way I actually managed to accomplish alot of things over my two day's off, got alot of Avon books out of the house, went up to the tattoo shop with my daughter to pull files that I need at home and got these two pieces of jewelry finished and listed in my shops. Of course the one worry I have had is once I started the new job was would I be biting off more than I could chew? I don't know yet , it is way to early in the game but I am hoping not. To be so productive and do so many things even if it is just listing a new item a week and getting 1 new Avon customer a week will make me so happy. I have needed to feel like I had something to contribute and it is finally happening. Please don't wake me up:)

More Saratoga Park Tour

Well it is still raining out so can't follow through on today's plans once again so I thought I would you show you another part of the Congress Park. This is close to my heart. My dad is a past-commander of the American Legion and our whole family was involved in the legion and auxillary. In the Park is a beautiful war memorial built right on a little duck pond. The sidewalk leading up to the memorial is built of bricks, each with the name of a passed veteran of all the military branches. These pictures below are just enough to show you what a beautiful spot this is and at the end of our Flag day parade each year a service is conducted at this memorial. Thanks for looking at another part of my life that means so much to me.

The Memorial Pavillion

The Brick Path

Looking towards tomorrow.

Hey everyone. Today was my third day at my new job. Tomorrow I have the day off and my oh my do I need it. I forgot what it was like to get up and go to work everyday even if it is only 4 hours. Any way, I really like my job. There is alot to learn, very fast paced and so many different kinds of sandwhiches and salads to learn. What is cool though, we have the entire menu up over the deli area where I make the food and each item has it's name then the entire list of ingrediants so I just find the right name, follow along with the different items and check the slip if they want something left out or different. So it is just a matter of getting calm and focused one item at a time until they start to stay in my head. The routine is pretty easy to learn. During the lunch time it is really fast paced one order after another but once it slows down you know automatically to start refilling all the bowls before the supper rush starts. Lots of little things to learn as far as the different foods on some of these sandwhiches, I have never touched an Avocado in my life, I have learned how to slice and dice and put it into a salad. Learned how to put hummus in a wrap, another food I have no experiance with. Just so many little things. But it is just a matter of time, right now it is tough because it seems like so much to learn but I don't think it will take long and once it becomes familiar I will get quicker.
Of course I have had to take 2 tylenol before work and 2 more as soon as I get home but that is to be expected. My legs and feet are killing me and here again it just will take time until my body is used to it again. But very happy to have tomorrow and Saturday off to rest, work on my jewelry, list some things in my shops and get Avon books out. On Sunday back in with a little more confidence.
All in all I really think I like it and have a good time with it.

Share your opinion please

I have a wonderful, lovely repeat customer who has been very loyal to me for several years. I have just recently received a request from her looking for a little gift that she gives to about 20 some people each year that she works with. I thought about bookmarks but she thinks she has already done that. Bracelets are hard because do you have a 6", 7" or an 8" wrist? Necklaces? everyone's taste is so individual and different. I told her I was just starting to experiment with keychains and she liked the basic idea. Last night I made these 4 different ones. Let me tell you a bit about each.
#1. I would love these but with alot more dangles. this was just to thin with the six strands but I can see it being quite presentable with 10 to 12.

#2. I like this just the way it is. I love fringe, I love mixing different shades of a color.

#3. I think this one would be very adaptable for either a woman or man depending on the color choices and stone choices around the cab.

#4. This was the only thing I could come up with strictly masculine. I can picture it in say Black with silver stripes running through it. Maybe a bit wider.

So what I need is opinions. Which one draws your eye? What do you think would be saleable? Truly looking for a number of opinions and that will give me an average of which one is best liked. Thank you!!

Blessings

Hi folks. It's late Sunday night, babysitting but grandson is quietly playing video games. I broke my neck all week getting ready for my sidewalk sale, every time I turned around my daughter had something come up and didn't accomplish what she should have, I advertised it in the paper for 3 days, spent the night before setting a bunch of stuff up in my living room because I knew there was a good chance of rain. Saturday morning no one is here but me, trying to get set up, daughter gets here to late to accomplish anything. I advertised that the sale started at 12:00 , at 11:00 I had one car after another stopping and asking to look even though they were early, I let them and continued to try setting up , every time I tried to do anything outside it started to sprinkle so I gave up and kept everything on the porch or my living room with the door open. Well after the drove of people who came and went before noon while I was trying to get stuff out .....I sat here all alone all dayyyyyy long. So total of this sale just about covered what the newspaper cost me. First and Last yard sale for me.

On a brighter note, I am super excited tonight. I actually got a job today. I had an interview this afternoon and was hired right there. I start Wednesday. You have no idea what a relief this is, I am so tired of worrying about what I am going to do. Any way I am working in a deli called Legends Cafe. Really neat.
You walk in, very casual, very deli like, the walls have posters such as from the movie ScarFace with Al Pacino. Everything on the menu is named after a sports star or movie star Like these:
The Mickey: Chicken parm sandwich
The Earnhardt: Turkey melt
The Deniro: Tuna salad wrap
The Hepburn: Grilled chicken wrap.
And on and on, even the salads are named after Tv shows. I think it is going to be great fun and I am so looking forward to it. So I feel blessed to end this weekend on a Happy note. Goodnight all.

Sadness

Well I guess I wasn't kidding a few months ago when I told you this was my diary open to the public. I am sitting here with such overwhelming sadness I don't know what to do. Last night there was a deadly motorcycle accident in town. Then found out it was someone I have known since he was in diapers. I know his mom, his sisters were in my Brownie troop and my kids grew up with them. It shakes me. My son is shaken, my daughters half brother was his best friend. How hard it is to lose what we consider to be "our children" in such a senseless way. I have always understood my son's love of his motorcycle because as a much younger woman, I rode and loved it. But I also know when my son has his girlfriend on the back seat his very responsible but if he rides alone he gets a bit bold and crazy. I have to bite my tongue because I want to ask him to be more careful. Sorry, too many thoughts running through my head. Basically
I want to say how sorry I am to his mom, sisters, wife and 2 babies.
R.I.P. Jason Hensleigh

Hot Summer Day's

I haven't posted for a few day's. Haven't had much to talk about. Or maybe I have been the horrible humidity has made me feel like I am working under water. I alway's said I wanted to move somewhere where it was warm all year as compared to where I am where we get two months summer and 10 months winter, forget spring and fall they are almost non existent. Unfortunately I have found that since I got sick, I do not deal well with the hot weather. More specifically the humidity we are having this summer. I just do not want to leave the house. After I have been out for 10 minutes I feel sick to my stomach, on the edge of just fainting. I can't stand the sweat running down my face, so Ladylike!
Any way, my daughter is home all week and we have been pulling stuff together for a one day sidewalk sale this weekend, time to unload the excess stuff we always seem to have. We will work through till Friday night then hope for traffic Saturday. I had another job interview today at another deli/restaurant, will wait a few day's to hear something. Had a horrible fight with my next door neighbor a few day's ago and still feeling sick over it. But I shouldn't , wont' go into the long and boring story but she is one of those people who will use every agency possible, every person around her possible and suck up every bit of free help she can get while she and her husband sit on their fat **** letting every one support them instead of working. She has taken advantage of me and mine many times over the years and I have never said a word, did what I could and tried to stay a pleasant decent person. This week she did some things to my family that crossed the line and I let it all out. I don't think I will have to deal with her any more. Any way with all this stuff going on I haven't accomplished much beadwork and and probably won't until we get this sidewalk sale thing out of the way. I can't say yard sale cause we don't have a yard:) I will let you know how it goes. Hope you all are having a great week, I am going to go lay down in front of the AC.

Holy Shop Closing!!

Today I had just a little touch of good luck and can buy a small amount of seedbeads. I have been marking favorites in Etsy suppliers because one thing I had decided awhile ago was any time I could buy my supplies from an Etsy shop I would. So I decided to go through my lists of favorites tonight. I had a good amount of shops marked. Going down my list I found several on vacation but imagine my surprise when I got 10 shops that no longer have an open shop on Etsy. What a shock. I know that sales have been down. I know there has been alot of negative stuff going on in the forums but this makes me feel bad. I don't know why, I just feel bad that these shops are gone!

Finished work today

One more bag finished today. I have decided to not worry if I have no sales for the summer. Just going to look at it as having a good amount of stock in both shops when the Holiday season roles around. I like this bag, the seedbeads are interesting with random beads having a black lining and being able to use a very simple basic glass bead as an accent once in a while can be a good thing. I did realize I need to start doing more with my feather charms. I bought a large amount of them about 5 years ago and they are supposed to be silver color. I have had them in my supplies for so long they are being patina'd with gold and brass coloring. I tried soaking them in jewelry cleaner for a while then buffing with a silver cloth but it didn't change them so I quess I will just have to admit they are old and growing new colors. I posted this bag in my Zibbett shop, I am noticing just like on Etsy, my views come in when I post something new so have to get something up at least once a week. Off to start something new.

Contemplation

No pictures today just some thoughts and a bit of good news. First, out of desperation to pay an overdue bill a few day's ago I posted 4 auctions up on Ebay. Every one was sold, Whew! what relief. This weekend I was a busy weaver and posted a new item in each Etsy and Zibbet. Need to be able to post something new at least once a week if not more often. Today, I was notified that my new cuff that I posted in Etsy was picked for the blog page of today's finds on this website-
www.foundhandmade.com
That always gives you such a great feeling, the pick me up that I needed.

Now the contemplation. I go back and forth constantly with whatever my life circumstances are at the time. As I explained when I first started this blog, my illness and subsequent surgeries permanently disabled me. That being said I have worked hard and come along way since 2004. When my health is not cooperating, I concentrate and work and strive to get my beadwork out there, be a presence wherever I can with the different sites to promote and join in and pray the day comes that this blessing in disguise will help support me. I call it a blessing in disquise because all the years I worked, I worked hard and long hours just to keep a roof over my kids heads and my only sorrow was not having the time to turn my love of beadweaving into a business to see if I could make a career out of it. Being disabled in the way that I have I have the ability to create with my beads as many hours of the day that I want. Somewhere in my heart I beleive that if I stick with it, continue to create, continue to interact, find the right places to market that I can reach the goal that I set for myself which is really not outrageous. Then, the bills start coming in, cutoff notices start circulating through my mail box and I get scared and spend my day's looking through all the job adds, searching for things that my health will allow me to do and there are plenty of things I can do again just maybe not 14 hours a day like I used to. So I email cover letters and resumes. I go on interviews , then I wait and nothing. I get so upset I cry, I have many years of experiance in many fields, I have always been a hard worker, dependable worker, self motivated and strong. Why can't these prospective employers see this? I ask myself over and over why and all the time I am asking, I know the answer. They want to know why I haven't had a job since 2004 and the minute they find out I have had major brain surgery they are frightened of me. I know this, I have to accept this and just stay positive until the day comes that someone can get passed that and see what a asset I could be.

Then- then I get a day like today where my beads have brought me in just enough money to handle the latest crisis and I start another conversation with myself. I start telling myself again to just stick with it. Eventually I am going to start getting the sales I need. Sooner or later the right buyers are going to find me, be patient, keep getting my name out there, keep showing what I make as I get it done, do not get discouraged because someday all the sudden it is going to start working. Yup, the pep talk.
But I believe this pep talk, just have a problem with being patient while I am going through all this mundane fact of life stuff. Does this make sense? Do you go through this stuff? Am I wrong or am I on the right track if I just listen to me? Sure wish an Angel would whisper the answers in my ear cause I get really tired of reassuring me. If you have been where I am please share with me , advice is always a good thing.

Saturday Motivation Part 2

Well I am definately wondering what got into me today. Last night I put 4 items up on Ebay and this morning woke up with a bid on each item. That started my day out well because it was the last thing I expected. Then I decided to get some work done and finished the two items below. The cuff got listed in my Etsy shop and the keyring was sent to my Zibbet shop. Now I have 2 different amulet bags on my table that are in progress and if I finish one of them tonight (or this morning since it is after midnight) I will go to bed amazed with myself. Course I may want to stay in bed half the day to make up for working this hard but it has been a while since I have accomplished so much at one time so it feels good. I feel like I have been in blog for a while and actually I have, when I decide to post I spend quite a while reading other people's updates before I move on to my own post. Something I wanted to point out....... several times I have gone into this person or that persons blog to comment, write my comment and when you try to type the word verification, the screen won't let you scroll down to it so you post can't be finished. I wonder if it is just me or the persons blog? It's just a bit frustrating because if I really enjoy what I just read I would like to let the blogger know. Any way, time to think about bed so have a great evening and a wonderful Sunday.

Saturday Motivation

On a roll

I know I seem to fixate on my dog alot but let me tell you I love this little guy more than I ever thought I could love any creature (besides humans) and I don't know what I would do with out him. When I saw this picture I did not know if I wanted to cry or roll on the floor laughing. This is Prince Alex. Alex is almost 4 years old and weighs just 4 lbs. Last week he got flea's. I gave him a flea bath at home and it did not seem to help at all. He scratched and scratched and dug until he had ripped the hair out of his back side so my daughter took him for his first ever professional flea dip and shampoo and since he was there already have his nails done. Apparently he did not enjoy the attention and tried to eat the lady that was working on him. Since he is a sissy and clings to me, actually gets real tears if I leave him to long . when we go walking he "prances" so my daughter told them he deserved a pink muzzle. How dare they he is a very masculine little guy just has the manners of a prince.

Another Wednesday

I do beleive the heat and high humidity is getting to my 4 lb baby. He is in a chair in my studio with the air conditioning on and still has his little tongue hanging out. HeHe, poor baby!

I was up early this morning had another job interview. Of course it went well but that means nothing. So I sit and wait for a phone call while I read all my job bookmarks to see what else I can apply for. Not a whole lot else going on, I still want to get some more pictures downtown but it has just been to humid to walk much. I don't mind the heat but have a lot of problems with humidity. Mean while I am thinking about signing up for a craft show in October, it is far enough away to make a good amount of stuff and what I don't sell would be good to put in my shops for the holiday shopping season sooo either way it will be good to have stock. I think I need to go take a nap now, not used to having to be up at 6 in the morning anymore.

Hat's Off Saratoga

Saratoga Springs, New York. In July and August that means Horse racing, the Saratoga Harness tracks brings huge amounts of people into the city every summer. Our economy is very dependant on this season. During the winter months it is like they rolled up the sidewalks but during the summer season the tens of thousands of people coming to Saratoga springs help keep every business we have thriving the rest of the year. Restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, independant business of every kind under the sun make the years profit during these 2 months. Any way, the week the track opens is celebrated with what is called the Hat's Off festival. Up and down Broadway, the main drag in the City has different types of musicians and music, people roam up and down the street in everything from shorts and tanks to lovely summer dresses and heels. It is free so not only are the tourists celebrating, those of us who live here are too. There is everykind of food under the sun from Ice Cream to Pizza in peoples hands as they wander stopping to listen to this music and that, all the restaurants have rolled out the outdoor seating areas, some of the stores stay open late for window shoppers. I am very lucky that I live right here in walking distance of all of this activity. My mom and my sister joined me this year and a photographer asked to take our picture, I said yes we should because it may be the last time we can do this together. My mom as stubborn as she is has a very hard time walking for any length of time so this may be her last year as far as strolling Broad way. So here we are, mom sitting on the right, sister Donna standing behind and yup the big one sitting on the left is me, your very own Debsparkles. Just a little more summer fun!

Fixing my Dilema

I often find myself sitting in the studio, getting ready to create a new item and thinking , boy I need to go bead shopping sooooo badly. I don't have anything to work with. Well the translation to that thought is, I want a new color. I want some new beads that I haven't used already or a gemstone I haven't played with. The fact is I have been beading for more than 30 years. I always have beads. The problem is they are leftovers from projects I have already done. Might just be a little bit of this and a little bit of that. The fact of the matter is I just loooooove buying beads. The next fact is I can't. I don't have the funds to buy beads. Right now, work is not selling, don't forsee much in sales until summer is done. Well then it is really time to get creative. I just showed you my beaded keyrings the other day. I really like them. Today I am going to put the beads aside and see what I have left in sculpey and make a bunch of cabs in different colors to keep going with the idea. What else can I do? Well as I said, I have jar after jar after jar of leftovers from past projects. I thought about doing some destash sales. I may still do that with a few things but for the most part, I have a problem parting with any bead until it is part of a peice of jewelry. So I started thinking about how I could use them in embroidered items which I enjoy doing but actually do very little of. Well this butterfly is my end product of thinking along these lines and it gives me ideas to move forward. If I can just utilize all the odds and ends I have then I will be able to justify Bead shopping when I have the money with a totally clear , guilt free need.
I love it when I can actually let my mind free to come up with new ideas.