healing a friend

Dear blog friends - how wonderful to know that I have friends stopping by to see what is happening in my life; however, most of what happens in my life revolves around my family and my friends. Well, right now, I have a friend who needs me. You see, my friend Teresa has recently found out she has kidney cancer. Her left kidney will be removed in the morning. Now, this is one tough cookie - she battled (and won!) breast cancer 14 years ago. I told you she was TOUGH!! Let me also mention that she is my youngest son's Sunday school teacher. She has no choice but to be a strong woman! He crawled into her hospital bed on Saturday with a picture of the two of them holding hands. So, my family loves Teresa. Please keep her (and I know for some of you that she is a total stranger) in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow.

Also, as Mother's Day approaches, other blog friends of hers will be having a blog raffle on a blog they've set up - what cool friends you can make in the world of blogging!

(http://healingmaggiegrace.blogspot.com/)

I plan to donate a piece of jewelry or gift certificate to the raffle in order to defray the expenses that insurance simply will not cover. So, if you're crafty...please consider donating. And, if you're not crafty, why don't you consider making a purchase of something really cool. Many thanks!

Hold a true friend with both your hands. -- Nigerian Proverb

Natalie, over at Natalie's Sentiments, is having one INCREDIBLE (or shall I say monumental?) mother's day giveaway! Whatever you choose to call it, it is HUGE and all about celebrating the special women in your life. I am honored to be included in Natalie's giveaway this year (thanks so much, Natalie!) and am offering a $40 gift certificate to be used for any custom piece that I make. If jewelry is not your thing, there are so many other wonderful items included. So, why in the world are you waiting?! Go now and throw your name in the hat for the chance to win some wonderful things!

http://shane-natalie.blogspot.com/2010/04/monumental-mothers-day-giveaway-three.html

Planning for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is May 9th. If you've not secured the perfect gift for the perfect woman in your life (or if you'd like to drop a hint to your husband and children,) why don't you celebrate your family tree in sterling silver. I mean it...it's the perfect gift! It is so perfect that it could be my new favorite, and I plan to make one for myself when I find the time.

(Family Tree Necklace - 1.5" sterling disc with 1" disc soldered on top; $62)

Contact me right away (lannaejohnson@windstream.net) to have one of these or one of my other wonderful and unique pieces made to remember this special day - happy shopping!

conversation hearts

I've never been that fond of them really, at least the taste of those familiar little Valentine candies. I do, however, find myself quite intrigued with the sayings they come up with from year to year. Who really comes up with those phrases anyway? Well, I have an entirely different take on those pastel hearts - in the form of jewelry, of course!

For the gal who has everything and realizes that flowers will not last forever, I introduce to you my conversation heart necklace...
What a cutie, huh? Now, I went with "be mine", as that is one of my all-time favorite conversation heart phrases; however, you could even consider a name or a date of importance. The necklace consists of a heart soldered to a 1/2" disc, a red coral rondelle dangle and a tag that is stamped and slightly hammered around the edges ($45 on either a 16" or 18" chain.) Ladies...put that bug in your Valentine's ear, as the big day is just around the corner!

a new design!

I have to say I'm loving this bracelet! I love it because it is perfectly classic. Who doesn't love a sterling beaded bracelet? Okay, maybe you don't; however, I'm not really expecting you to answer that rhetorical question. The nice thing about this bracelet, really one of many nice things, is that you can basically add any charm to it you'd like. I've shown it here with the original monogram (yet another classic element); however, we can add discs with children's or grandchildren's names, too! The bracelet is made completely by me with sterling beading chain, 6mm sterling seamless beads and a hefty lobster clasp. It is truly fantastic! Now, I know those of you that already have the monogram earrings or the monogram necklace are really itching to get one of these. And those of you that don't...what is the hold up? The bracelets will be made at the time of order and offered in both 7" and 8" lengths. Contact me to make yours today!!

in your own words

Well gang, I've reached 300 fans on facebook. This seems like a great reason to celebrate to me! It is funny, I still blame my old boss for getting me involved in this facebook thing; however, I find myself needing to thank him now. I've reconnected with so many old friends, stay connected with new ones and expand my little business at the very same time. How cool is that?! So, I'm thanking him (not that he'll want this necklace) and all of my facebook friends who support me by giving away a 1" sterling washer necklace stamped with a phrase of the winner's choice. What a great little gem hanging in the center, huh? So, if you're on facebook....get on over there and enter! Comments will be accepted until 5:00p.m. Tuesday with a winner announced shortly thereafter. Just think of all of those inspirational phrases for the new year that could be stamped and worn around your neck. You're tempted, aren't you? Oh, and you must stay in touch with me and my not-so-regularly-updated blog. I've got new pieces and techniques to share in the coming weeks! Have a great weekend.

a new year

(And yes, we all made it until midnight!)


Wishing you all the blessings this
new year has to offer!

Christmas 2009 (in a not so small nutshell)

I am sure many of you will be bored with the photos and details that follow; however, this is more for me, Burke and the boys as I document our Christmas this year. So, bear with me as long as you'd like!

Silent night holy night

All is calm

all is bright

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

(at least until I wake you up with my musical reindeer antlers, as I do every year!)

It was a Christmas filled with

fun,

joy ,

and most of all, love.

Wishing you a happy and healthy new year!

From our family to yours....

We wish you joy!

All the best this Christmas and in the coming year!

Sample Sale - Week 6!

I will be offering the following designs for 25% off to the FIRST person who responds wanting these pieces made especially for them. Yes, you heard me correctly! I am quickly running out of time and need to get all of my samples ready in less than two weeks! So, you will benefit from my time crunch. The catch to the discount is that I will hold the pieces until my upcoming shows are over and will ship them out to you after November 16. This is a wonderful way for me to have great samples for my shows and for you to have a FANTASTIC discount. If you are the "plan ahead" type, you could get amazing savings on one of a kind Christmas presents! I will make this offer available on facebook, through email as well as through my personal and business blogs, so you must act quickly!! I must tell you that my facebook fans are quick to the draw - so consider becoming a fan of my page today to get the leg up on these exciting offers!! I will announce individually when the offers have been accepted and are closed.

The pieces that will be offered today are:

Seeing Stars
(picture below)


Regularly $54 - Discounted price $40.50!

Seeing Stars has been accepted, and the offer is now closed - other two still available!


Ten Tiny Toes - oval
(picture below)


Regularly $40 - Discounted price $30!



AND...an all new design!


One Word
(So, what's your word...joy, faith, hope, love - even a single name? I can stamp your word or name under a heart soldered to a 3/4" disc - so simple and sweet!)

Regularly $48 - Discounted price - $36!

Surely one of these pieces will work for you or would be great wrapped under the Christmas tree for someone very special!! Contact me at lannaejohnson@windstream.net if you are interested in these special offers!

Sample Sale - Week 5!

I will be offering the following design for 25% off to the FIRST person who responds wanting this piece made especially for them. The catch to the discount is that I will hold the piece until my upcoming shows are over and will ship them out to you after November 16. This is a wonderful way for me to have great samples for my shows and for you to have a FANTASTIC discount. If you are the "plan ahead" type, you could get amazing savings on one of a kind Christmas presents! A new piece will be offered each week. I will make this offer available on facebook, through email as well as through my personal and business blogs, so you must act quickly!! I must tell you that my facebook fans are quick to the draw - so consider becoming a fan of my page today to get the leg up on these exciting offers!! I will announce when the offer has been accepted and is closed.

The piece that will be offered today is:

A Full Heart

(picture below)

This piece is one I wear every single day! This necklace is normally $45, but will be offered to the first person who contacts me at the special price of $33.75! This is such a great piece, and what an incredible deal!! Contact me at lannaejohnson@windstream.net if you are interested in this special offer!

This offer has been accepted and is now closed. Please check back next Monday for another design to be offered!

Sample Sale - Week 4!

I will be offering the following design for 25% off to the FIRST person who responds wanting this piece made especially for them. The catch to the discount is that I will hold the piece until my upcoming shows are over and will ship them out to you after November 16. This is a wonderful way for me to have great samples for my shows and for you to have a FANTASTIC discount. If you are the "plan ahead" type, you could get amazing savings on one of a kind Christmas presents! A new piece will be offered each week. I will make this offer available on facebook, through email as well as through my personal and business blogs, so you must act quickly!! I must tell you that my facebook fans are quick to the draw - so consider becoming a fan of my page today to get the leg up on these exciting offers!! I will announce when the offer has been accepted and is closed.

The piece that will be offered today is:

The Original Monogram
(picture below)

This piece is perfect for anyone that enjoys a monogram! This necklace is normally $40, but will be offered to the first person who contacts me at the special price of $30! This is such a great staple, and what an incredible deal!! Contact me at lannaejohnson@windstream.net if you are interested in this special offer!

This offer has been accepted and is now closed. Please check back next Monday for another design to be offered!

Sample Sale - Week 3!

I will be offering the following design for 25% off to the FIRST person who responds wanting this piece made especially for them. The catch to the discount is that I will hold the piece until my upcoming shows are over and will ship them out to you after November 16. This is a wonderful way for me to have great samples for my shows and for you to have a FANTASTIC discount. If you are the "plan ahead" type, you could get amazing savings on one of a kind Christmas presents! A new piece will be offered each week. I will make this offer available on facebook, through email as well as through my personal and business blogs, so you must act quickly!! I will announce when the offer has been accepted and is closed.

The piece that will be offered today is:

The Sweetpea Necklace

(picture below)

This piece is perfect for the first initials of children, grandchildren and/or a spouse. This necklace is normally $37 with up to 2 discs (additional discs are $5 each), but will be offered to the first person who contacts me at the special price of $27.75! This is such a "sweet" necklace - and, what a deal!! Contact me at lannaejohnson@windstream.net if you are interested in this special offer!

This offer has been accepted and is now closed. Please check back next Monday for another design to be offered!

Sample Sale - Week 2!

I will be offering the following design for 25% off to the FIRST person who responds wanting this piece made especially for them. The catch to the discount is that I will hold the piece until my upcoming shows are over and will ship them out to you after November 16. This is a wonderful way for me to have great samples for my shows and for you to have a FANTASTIC discount. If you are the "plan ahead" type, you could get amazing savings on one of a kind Christmas presents! A new piece will be offered each week. I will make this offer available on facebook, through email as well as through my personal and business blogs, so you must act quickly!! I will announce when the offer has been accepted and is closed.

The piece that will be offered today is:

1.25" Washer necklace
(picture below)

This piece is perfect for the names of children or even a sentimental saying. It is a 1.25" sterling washer with a freshwater coin pearl hanging in the center and is truly a stunning piece. This necklace is normally $54, but will be offered to the first person who contacts me at the special price of $40.50! Contact me at lannaejohnson@windstream.net if you are interested in this special offer!

This offer has been accepted and is now closed. Please check back next Monday for another design to be offered!

if ever...

my children go missing, I've eaten them....I swear!!

Sample Sale - Week 1!

I am busy preparing for 2 shows in November and need your help! Starting today, I will be offering one of my designs for 25% off to the FIRST person who responds wanting that piece made especially for them. The catch to the discount is that I will hold the piece until the shows are over and will ship them out to you after November 16. This is a wonderful way for me to have great samples for my shows and for you to have a FANTASTIC discount. If you are the "plan ahead" type, you could get amazing savings on one of a kind Christmas presents! A new piece will be offered each week. I will make this offer available on facebook, through email as well as through my personal and business blogs, so you must act quickly!! I will announce when the offer has been accepted and is closed.

The piece that will be offered today is:

Simple & Elegant
(picture below)

This piece is perfect for the names of multiple children - depending on the length of the name, we can look at placing as many as four on your disc! This is a 1.25" sterling disc topped with a brown mother of pearl coin. This piece will be offered to the first person who contacts me at the special price of $33.75!

Contact me at lannaejohnson@windstream.net if you are interested in this special offer!

This offer has been accepted and is now closed. Please check back next Monday for another design to be offered!

on loosing a tooth

Well, it happened. And if I weren't so slack in posting to my blog, you would have known that the first tooth came out a week ago. Of course, it happened at school. I was the unsuspecting mom in the car rider line when Walker comes up holding a little white plastic container shaped like a tooth and grinning a grin minus something he had in his mouth when I had dropped him off that very morning. He was grinning - I was crying. Apparently, it is "cool" to lose your tooth at school. Nevermind that your mother misses one of the biggest moments in your six years of life! His teacher saw it, his class saw it, and it even scored him a trip to see the school nurse who he adores. She gave him the little plastic tooth to keep it in and promised him a spot on her "tooth wall." He thinks it is great in spite of the fact that he doesn't even know what a tooth wall is. I mean...who wouldn't want to be on a tooth wall?



Kinsley, a precious girl in his class, told him that the tooth fairy will give you $10 for the first tooth. Okay, on the one hand, I feel forever indebted to Kinsley. Walker was thinking that his first tooth might be worth $100 in good condition. Are you kidding me? All of his teeth are in good condition - he's like a mini dentist! Back to my other hand on Kinsley....$10?! This is highway robbery. Well, $10 it was (what a generous fairy - more like a pushover, I should say.) And, as promised, that fairy dipped her wings in the water he left on the bedside table turning it the most magical shade of blue.


Since that time, we've lost another tooth. And yes, you guessed it...Kinsley strikes again! Surely we cannot keep up the pace at the new "after the first tooth" rate of $5. I believe I'm going to have to start sending Kinsley a bill!

Poor William. Can you tell he's been crying? He said it was the "unluckiest" day of his life. He is ready to lose a tooth now. I think the tooth fairy needs to look into getting a loan before his teeth start falling out! Enjoy your weekend!

Walnut Square Mall Arts & Crafts Expo

What a very fun way to spend the weekend if you're in the Dalton, GA area! If you're not close to the area, you may still have a taste of what will be offered. All you have to do is enter Brandy's giveaway here!

Green Swap

I decided recently to participate in my first ever blog swap. This is where you are paired up with another blogger and swap things based on a certain theme. Brandy was hosting the swap and organized all of the swap partners. Boy, did I get the great end of the stick! My swap partner was Liberty. Liberty is quite a talented (and generous, I might add) woman with four children. How she finds the time to be creative is beyond me! Anyway, I was beside myself to find my swap package on my back doorstep. I wanted to give you all a peek into what was inside. Keep in mind that the theme of the swap was "green." Green could be either the color green or save the planet kind of green. Liberty was so creative in incorporating both!

My package consisted of two adorable reusable shopping totes (I'm big on those!), a beautiful box of teas, a handmade bath fizzie, cucumber eye pads, Burts Bees products, a bamboo/silicone spatula and personalized labels printed by Liberty. Also, she's quite the crafty one with a sewing/embroidery machine (which I have shared with you all is just not my thing.) She made the t-shirt you see me modeling above. Is that not adorable?! Here is a close up:

I also love to cook and entertain, so she fixed me up with these wonderful "green" cloth napkins embroidered with my last initial - fantastic!

Liberty has a shop on Etsy, and you can find her on facebook. You really need to take a look at her things - perfect ideas for Christmas! Liberty, thanks so much for an incredible box of goodies! I really lucked out in getting you as my partner. Can't wait to place some gift orders!!

A letter to the tooth fairy

Dear Tooth Fairy,

Oh, how we have waited for the day you would visit our house! Honestly, we thought you'd never come. And while we're not due a visit quite yet, I just know you are right around the corner. Am I ready for a "snaggle tooth" little guy? The thought of it really brings me to tears, as we are rounding yet another corner in life and in growing up. I can tell you that he is ready, though. I begged him not to eat an apple at school today. I want to witness the first lost tooth - not his teacher before his mother! So, while he thinks that his first tooth should be worth $100, I simply don't agree. But please be generous to my little man when his time comes because he has waited ever so patiently. It stinks to be among the last in your class to lose a tooth, you know? We'll send up the flag when "it" happens, so get those wings ready. Oh...and we want your wings dipped in water to change the color and everything, okay?

Sincerely,

Walker's Mommy