Sunday for me.

I go through varying phases of ups and downs, high energy and sluggishness, and sometimes mania and depression. I've learned to cope with all the phases mostly but definitely enjoy the times of high energy as opposed to days like today when I just feel like a lump.

I decided to make myself a pair of earrings in a style I'd done last weekend but much smaller since I'm not a huge hoop person. The green beads at the bottom are aventurine. I really like the subtle variations in the stone. I think they turned out rather nicely and Susan (my mother-in-law) asked for a pair so I'll enjoy making those as well. I want to try a super small pair later this week I think with some bright yellow round shell beads I found.

Going to start on a necklace project but I'm not sure how far I'll get tonight. My energy level is definitely low.

Exposure blitz!

So I'm working on getting the Seedlings name out there in a number of different ways including posting new photos on Flickr and giving Twitter a go.

If you'd like to keep up with our Twitter feed it is at http://twitter.com/seedlingstweets and the Flickr photostream is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/seedlingsjewelry.

I do post quite a few photos on Facebook too, to the fan page which all are welcome to join, but I know Facebook doesn't appeal to everyone.

I have been slow to adopt to some of these sites, Twitter especially, but Facebook has been great for being able to stay in touch with people so we'll see with these other tools.

The next couple of weeks I'm going to concentrate on a mixture of getting all my existing pieces updated with the new Moo cards (moo.com mini cards are so neat) and working on some new pieces that have been rumbling around in my head.

Tonight's project: crochet and pearls!

In the latest Bead Style magazine there is a how-to on making a simple necklace with wrapped-loop pearls and lucite flowers but I'm not a huge fan of lucite preferring to stick with natural materials when possible. For some reason my mind jumped to yarn and I asked my friend Katey if she had any yellow yarn I could work with.

She returned a bountiful bag full of wonderful bits I'm going to have much fun with, I can tell already. I decided to work with one of the purplely hued ones partially for the color and somewhat for the texture. It felt like it had a bit of wool in it and Katey confirmed that earlier in the evening.

The fringe is really what sets this necklace apart I think. I've found with a lot of my ideas, the execution is simple but what really draws me in and makes me spend upwards to an hour pulling each tiny skein apart is that simple plus simple multiplied by simple sometimes makes fantastic.

I think that's why I like repeating patterns so much. They aren't usually very complex but when you start layering them you see larger patterns emerge within the structure and you are never quite sure if you are going to see a glimpse into the inner workings of the universe.

The other thing that really appeals to me about this necklace is that it really reminds me of all the cosmos we had in our garden growing up. When I had my first house, I even went out of my way to plant a big row of cosmos against the side of the house one year. It is a simple flower but because it overwhelms with the sheer number that spring up, it becomes fantastic in the simplicity.

This necklace was fairly labor intensive but I love the result. I'm going to experiment with other yarns and textures but meanwhile this one is now on sale in the Etsy shop.

Little sleep but having fun!

So this last week I finished up the last batch of wire swirls for the grand vision of Swirlmaille and I have to say I'm very happy with the result. I do consider this version 1.0 though and have several ideas for improvement in the next round. I am itching to work with actual sterling silver and fine silver among other things and plan on getting that going very shortly.

I'm waiting for a few new supplies to come in from folks I found on Etsy including a chainmaille kit for hubby!

I started a flickr account to help keep my photos organized and to get them out into the world a bit more, http://www.flickr.com/photos/seedlingsjewelry and I also post these photos to the Facebook page but apparently not everybody is on Facebook (haha)!

Mother's Day Gift Sets now available

Please visit our Etsy shop for more details about this incredible offer but here's the rundown:
- available in four styles (The Grapes, Crazy Moon, The Leaves, and Spring Blossom)
- gift set includes earrings and a coordinating pendant with 17-inch silverplated snake chain
- a pair of The Grapes earrings for you!
- FREE shipping in the U.S.
- FREE ribboned gift box

All for US$30...and it's handmade and your mom will love you!

Click here to visit the Etsy shop for more details.

Also, the first monthly e-mail newsletter went out tonight so send us e-mail at seedlingsjewelry@gmail.com if you'd like to be added to the list.

We've got our own Team Heifer!

Heifer International has started a very cool project where teams or individuals can have their own page called Team Heifer. I will be using this to make the donations for when we hit goals through proceeds from the jewelry and accessories that you buy.

With that, I'm super excited to announce that we were able to donate another $60 to Heifer. That makes a total of $120 to date. I'd like to go for the whole cow, so to speak, and also literally for this next goal. That means $500 total but the way things have been going, that's completely doable by the end of the year, if not sooner.

Click here to visit the Seedlings: Jewelry Because Team Heifer page!

Seedlings now on Etsy.com!

If you've never been to Etsy, go now. Stop reading and gooooo. It will lure you in with handmade jollies dancing across the screen.

So of course we had to add Seedlings to this - click here to view Seedlings: Jewelry Because shop on Etsy.

As always, items are available from seedlingsjewelry.com but Etsy gives us a window into the rest of the world and a place to post unique items.