Smiley Face Potatoes.

Mom asked me to make a necklace for her

so we wandered out to grab some needed supplies.

And afterwards we grabbed lunch at BJ's.

If you have one near you, try it.

And have a pazookie for dessert. yum.

McKenzie 'colored', but mostly

put the crayons in the box & took them out again...

and repeated this more times than I could count.

And she had this for lunch.

Cute:

She got a kick out of the smiley face potatoes.

So did I.

Coming soon...

I have also just recently bought my domain

and started work on my own site through Big cartel....

www.stellajade.com

I'm working slowly on adding pieces to my site,

as well as keeping my etsy shop up to date.

I'm super busy, but having the BEST time.

Meet Chloe

...a new addition to the shop:

    My "Happy Birthday America" Sale 

is still running & going through July 8th.

   Free shipping to the US & Canada

   & 15% off everything in the shop :)

Brand Spankin' New!

After vacation, it seems that it just always

takes a bit of time to get back in the groove of things.

But, I'm finally back in stride and am adding

2 new lovely additions to the shop today!

A beautiful vintage style buckle bracelet:

& a Necklace of beautiful vintage charms.

Busy Busy Busy

I've been slacking on my blogging

mostly cause I was so busy 

preparing for my first show

... and since then I've been busy 

trying to photograph all my new items.

My first art and craft show went well.

I had hoped for a little better,

but it was a rainy day...

I had 2 great friends who came out 

and took turns helping me.

And wonderful family and friends

who came out to see and support me :)

Here's my table...

and here it is with 'Shelly' in a different spot

to make her better seen to those walking in the door...

I learned a lot,

like for the next show I will 

put money towards a nice black table cloth.

I had spent so much money on so many other things 

I just didn't want to spend a ton of money on a table cloth

this time around...

I was next to two wonderful ladies

and all the other vendors at the show

were super sweet.

We had lots of fun chatting it up and 

walking around to see each other's items.

Plus it was free to have a spot...

I'll definitely go back in December :)

My little family

My hubby lost his job a little over a month ago.

But God provided an opportunity 

that same day that he lost his job, for

a short 4 week contract job, the only catch...

the contract job was in Panama City Beach.

I didn't know how I'd make it 4 weeks without him.

But, he took the job, and we made it through the 4 weeks.

And we're so thankful that during his contract,

He got offered a full time position. (here in dallas)!!!

He ended up getting called out of town again for 2 days.

So I'm alone again.

And I'm matron of honor in a wedding tomorrow.

But he'll be back in the morning and will be able 

to dance with me at the wedding. So all is ok.

So this week, we spent some time at the zoo one day, 

and got McKenzie's picture taken with the easter bunny another day.

We had a FANTASTIC time at the zoo.

And McKenzie called me Mama.  Pointed at me and said, " Mama".

One of the greatest days ever :)

Flamingos

Same spot 10 months ago:

First Carousel Ride:

She loved the little petting zoo area!

And feeding the birds.  

This was so fun with her.

I got some great video, but 

missed a moment I'm still kicking myself for.  

She actually got a bird to sit on her stick 

and she lifted up carefully enough

that he stayed for a bit....  not long enough for me

to catch on camera, though. So sad.

I loved seeing her love the animals.

And watching her learn and enjoy things.

It's so amazing and exciting.

I'm just in awe of all the little moments with her.

So thankful and so blessed to be her Mama.

A List of Firsts

On February 22nd, McKenzie started walking 

And since her first birthday in January there's

been a plethora of firsts... My baby changes every day.

I haven't shared all I've wanted to about her recently

because of Cora's passing.  It felt wrong somehow...

She can point out her

eyes

ears

hair (what little she has)

teeth

tummy

belly button

and feet

She says

go go

keys

no

eye

daddy (which is also meant as "what's that")

mama (but she doesn't really call me mama, she just says it)

uh oh

woof woof  (when asked what a dog says, or when she sees or hears a dog)

She also says ooohhhoo at things she finds to be pretty 

or exciting.

Opa being the nature lover that he is has taught her to sniff flowers

So now whenever she sees a flower... real  or not.  She sniffs.

I bought her some chunky crayons this month 

and she's actually done some scribbling

though she prefers to take the crayons out of the box 

and put them back in, more than actually putting crayon to paper.

Taking things out of something and putting them back in, 

or putting lids on things is a constant source of fun.

She also kisses with a puckered closed mouth now.

Which is sorta sad, cause I miss her slobbery kisses.

But it's so much cleaner now.

She can drink from a straw now ,

and loves her juice boxes.

(Do they still make those juice box holders? 

We need one..BAD)

And she loves to bring me books to read.

Though it's a little sad seeing my baby grow and change so fast.

It's exciting, fun, and such a great adventure.

Babys/Kids are so interesting...

the way they learn, what they can accomplish.

Life is such a precious miracle.

After pulling my new scarves out of the bag

I showed her how to wear it, which

received many "ooohhooo" s as she 

'pranced' around the room.

Spring/Summer Line

New pieces to my spring/summer line are being added almost daily.

...as much as I can get done and add while my daughter sleeps.

and lucky me, she's napped a ridiculously long time today! 

Zero complaints from me about that, though.  She was CRANKY earlier today.

Good and productive day!

I got much accomplished today.

Which I'm really relieved about.

I finished all the thank you cards to send out to people who brought gifts 

to Lil' Miss's birthday party.

Yes I was behind. 

But i have good excuses, illness and moving. 

Bad combo for getting anything accomplished. 

I finished 5 new pieces for the shop.

Here's 1:

Hope to have them all posted in the shop by the end of the weekend.

And I'm finishing up on shower invites this evening. 

My paper cutter and I are at odds, so it's been rough getting 

those invites precise. But no fear, I'm making it happen.

And a bonus cap off to the day,

my hubby just told me that he won a contest at work, 

and the prize is a flat screen tv.

I'm super excited. We've talked about buying one for ourselves for the past 2 christmases, 

and now we get a pretty and free 40" delivered directly to our door next week.

Oh happy fun day.

So busy...

I've been super busy lately.

Getting new pieces done for the shop.

Last minute invitation crafting.

Party prep.

And of course trying to soak up and enjoy the remaining weeks of my daughter's first year.

I'm a mushy person, and an even sappier mother.

I've been brought to tears by party preparation, thoughts of party day, moments of remembering her birth and those first weeks, and just watching her and the way her 'play' and interaction with us and others has changed.  

She's just growing so fast!

.... Friday Feature will resume next month, and maybe another giveaway too!

A plethora of newness!

Royal Key Necklace:

Tulip Ring:

and one earring of a pair I'm working on. Yes, just one... I'm doing 

so much at one time, that I can't even show you a completed pair... 

My sister in law bought the vintage merlot bracelet, 

and then requested earrings and necklace to match... here are the earrings:

necklace:

I finished the pair of purple earrings, but not in time to have good light to photograph them.

This necklace wasn't finished in time for great light either, but I wanted to share a preview.

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!

...more next year!

Our nativity set & New pieces

I love the Little People's Nativity Set!

I'm pretty sure I would have bought it 

even if I didn't have a little girl as my excuse...

My favorite is this donkey with the mohawk going on.

Kenzie loves it too, mostly to chew on his hair,

but also when Mommy makes the donkey 'talk'..."eeeehaa, eeehaaa"

And new pieces for the shop to be added today...

And tomorrow,

I'll feature a talented mom 

she makes wonderful things for the little ones.

You'll definitely want to see who it is 

so you can buy up her beautiful items for your little one,

or for that special soon to be mommy in your life.

Newness.

Custom order.

Laura came back for more...

a bracelet to match the Charlotte Rose necklace:

and a new piece for the shop...

....Finally.

Hooray!

I've got loads of ideas roaming around.

I just need a few more supplies 

and then I'll put them into action.

But for now, we're off to lunch and pictures with Santa.

Cross our fingers that McKenzie doesn't cry and 

we get some good pictures.

Update: She cried. She did not like Santa at all. 

Needless to say, we will have no picture with Santa this year. sad.

Struggling with..

I'm having a hard time.

I can not decide on how many of each piece of jewelry to continue to sell/giveaway.

I want my pieces to be special and limited.

But how many actually qualifies as 'limited edition' ?

2, 3, 5, 10?

With some pieces it's easy,

I simply cannot find more of the beads, buttons or what have you,

to recreate that item. 

Simple.

But what about those pieces where I have more stock, or

am able to order more.

Then how do I decide how many of them to make?

Sure, if an item does well, It seems like a good idea to make more...

but that brings me back to wanting to make special, limited quantity, one of a kind pieces.

Oh decisions...

So, I know last week was supposed to be the first of the Friday Features.

But, I changed how I was going to do it and decided to be more personal with it...

So check back for my first Friday Feature, 

and see some great talent and beautiful handmade items!

You'll just HAVE TO HAVE what I'm going to show you. Promise.

Dragonfly Dream -The Bracelet

A pretty bracelet 

to accompany Dragonfly Dream

for a customized order on Etsy.

I hope that Laura will love it as much as I do! :) 

Pictures to share and more. Part 1

I have lots of photos to share. 

So I'll split them up and share some tomorrow as well.

First off McKenzie on Thanksgiving Day.

Her cute sparkly furry boots came off as soon as we arrived...figures.

My clock on the way to Kohl's Friday morning.

Yes I took this while driving. But in fairness I was at a stoplight.

And yes that is 3:50 AM. 

I was at Kohl's at 4am, Walmart at 4:30 or so, Target around 5:15, and then went to a few others and was back home at 8:30.

And no I did not arrive at Kohl's early enough. 

There were hundreds in line to get in, in front of me.  

To top it off when I got there it had begun to pour. 

So it was raining, cold and very early.

And I'd do it all over again, in a heartbeat.

In fact. I'll repeat the same madness next year. 

(planning to add in midnight madness at the outlets as well)

And one of McKenzie with her tree. (More tomorrow)

One completed ring.

One unfinished ring to be.

And my changes in 'packaging' for Christmas time 

for those customers who don't request gift wrap.