Little Rocki

Yep. This is me - little Rocki in my favorite get-up, as so I'm told. I was a little tomboy through and through. Okay I still am, but I don't dress like that anymore - I don't wear diapers (no Depends jokes Laura! ;)

Before I go on, I planned on blogging yesterday, but due to a major cut in the Cox Cable fiber optic line, we had no Internet service for a very loooooong time. Needless to say when it came back up, many hours later, I was pretty busy elsewhere. Funny how much we depend on Internet now days (again Laura, try to control yourself ;)

So, today I thought I would just share some pictures of me a 'few' years ago. I love looking at the old picture albums - so many emotions from happy to sad are in those books. The black and white photos are so classic, they crack me up sometimes.



As you can tell I've never been much into fashion - I sort of make my own statement. Actually, I sort of look like Boy George here. Hmm, I do remember wearing a dress at this occasion. (Laura -*shakes finger*)

Awe there, see? I clean up nice now don't I? I truly remember the day of this picture. I wasn't much for dresses, but back then all little girls wore dresses, especially in school. In fact, I remember when we were FINally allowed to wear pants to school - I was SO happy. However, no jeans - they had to be a matching pant suit. Anyway, this dress was terribly itchy and I could hardly wait to take it off!

My dad! My buddy ol pal! Handsome little devil isn't he! This was taken at my grandmas house - I loved that front porch! Mom used to tell me that if I kept my hands inside that furry little thing that I would find a surprise inside. I never found anything. I wonder if that was her way of keeping me busy?

Wow - I SO remember this day! We moved from California to Arizona in July (we had lost our home in the big Sylmar quake the previous year, 1971, so guess it was time to move). Yes, we moved in the middle of 110 + degree weather, in 2 big U-Hall trucks pulling our other vehicles & no a/c. My brothers, David and Chris (doesn't he look happy?) rode with dad and we followed with little Laura (yep, that would be my little sis in mom's arms) screaming practically the entire way. Fun times. We lived in the motel for about 2 months before dad found a little house for us - the one on Seldon Lane, Laura.

Well that's it. Just a few memories to share with all my buddies. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Rocki

Mark's Alter

Mark, like most guys, has been wanting a "TV the size of a wall", but it was only a dream (still is at this point). Well, his wish sort of came true and it's pretty much Laura's fault. Okay, not entirely, but she's my baby sister so who else to blame, right?

See, it all started when we had a fabulous dinner at her house a few weeks ago and played Wii Fitness, golf, bowling, etc. on their big screen TV. Besides Mark's wall TV, we have been wanting a new entertainment center as ours was an old put together piece, but it served it's purpose and we didn't feel the need to spend money on a new one. So the story goes.

I'll cut to the chase here because the story goes on and on of how we were looking for the entertainment center FIRST to fit a 42" TV, but ended up with 46" TV because "it fits the entertainment center better." Hmm, I smell a swindle here, but he still denies it ;)

Oh and the top/middle lighted shelf section will be delivered tomorrow - that is when I will be filling the shelves with all my little goodies and rearranging the room.

I must admit, the TV is pretty cool and bigger than life. Playing Wii golf, bowling, etc. is a lot different on a bigger TV. Okay honey, you were right, now hand me the remote.

All hail the wall TV,
Rocki

Elfin Earwires Go Hollywood!

I don't usually blog twice in a row about my creations, but this is BIG time news for me!

My Elfin Earwires hit the big time! Okay, they are not ACTually going Hollywood, but close enough in my eyes! Although I can't disclose too much at this time, I am able to announce that my Elfin Earwires will be in a well known jewelry magazine!

That's right! In a MAGAZINE! I'm still tickled pink about it and have to slap my face a couple times a day just to keep it real.

So HOW did this happen, you ask? Well, again without going into too much detail (for now at least), one of my faithful customers and a very talented fellow Etsian submitted one of her fabulous creations using my Elfin Earwires to the magazine. She let me know that she submitted them and then when they were accepted to be featured! Not only will my earwires be holding the gorgeous creation made by Sue, but my shop name/link will be included in the feature!

Who is this AWEsome person, you ask? Sue Beads - creator of her Handmade Lampwork Beads! Oh and this isn't the first time Sue has had her creations in a magazine. Her Chinese Lantern Earrings that she designed was featured in the July 2008 Bead Style magazine.

You can also find Sue's other Etsy shop at BellaHannahJane and her blog at Sue Beads.

I cannot tell you how very exciting this is for me (and for Sue as well I'm sure). Mark is very happy for me too. In fact, last night he made a comment of how cool it is to be able to connect with people from all over the world, including Internationally, work so close together and end up in a magazine. Thank you Sue! Wow. Truly wow.

So there you have part of the nutshell. The rest will be disclosed as soon as we're able to do so.

Still slapping my face,

Rocki

Patina, Patata, Pinata

So I owe another big thank you to one of my customers. She wanted dark oxidized earwires and asked if I could do that for her. Of course I said yes as I will do anything that I am able to in order to please my customers. I don't just say "I'm happy when my customers are happy" for nothing, I sincerely mean it.

Above are my Medium Hoops in a dark patina, rather like a gunmetal to black. I was quite surprised how cool they turned out. Even Mark commented how great they looked.

These are my Signature Elfin earwires in a random brushed type patina, kind of like an antique look. Again, big approval from Mark who originally thought that oxidizing them wouldn't look very good. Okay, I have to be honest, I kind of thought the same thing, but wow - these are so pretty!

Above are my Baby Elfins in the same finish as the hoops. I just can't get over how awesome they turned out.

I've oxidized before and having been wanting to add some oxidized supplies to my shop, but guess I was waiting for someone to nudge me along. It's actually kind of fun to do, well except the horrific smell of the Liver of Sulfur (LOS). If you don't know what LOS smells like here's a little hint: have you ever smelled rotten eggs? I mean LOTS of rotten eggs? Well, put them all in a zip lock bag, stick your nose in the bag and take a little whiff. There you go. Now you know.

My customer's order has been shipped out and I listed my new additions the other day. Last night I sold 2 of them! Much to my surprise they were sold to one of my sweet friends who I will not name unless she wants to let everyone know (just in case what she is making is a surprise).

I'm off to start my day. Lots of earwires to make and the smell of LOS is calling my name.

Patina, Patata.... anyway you say it, Patina ROCKS!

Smell you all later,

Rocki

Follow me!

What a very cool idea! I found a thread today on the Etsy Forum started by backwoodsophisticate's (she has a very cool shop too!) about a new Blogger Gadget -points to right ----->

It is a new gadget that lets you follow blogs as well as other bloggers are able to follow you with just a click! All you need to do is add the "Follow Me" gadget anywhere on your sidebar. Bada boom, bada bing! Right now I have mine up top to show everyone where it's at. Oh! Plus once you click to follow me, it will place a little picture of your pic from your blog or whatever else you choose to have.

That's it. Just had to share because I think it is totally cool! So go ahead, click on it to follow me and I would love to do the same :)

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Rocki

Short & Sweet

My oh my. The other day I came across this adorable little shop and just had to ask if I could blog about them! So, here I am to share Charlie's Unique & Fun Jewelry with all my friends. You may fall instantly in love as I did.

I know that normally I go into all sorts of details, but this time I'm going to make it short and sweet. Get it? Short... and sweet? (points up at sweet 'little' cake)

In Charlie's shop, you can find handmade earrings, necklaces, pins, etc., made from teeny tiny miniature beads/charms from food to every day items. I checked out the sold items - wow, so many cute things!

This cute cupcake ring is so realistic (as are all the pieces) that I would probably want to take a bite of it while wearing it... or maybe just a lick or two. It was so hard to choose which pictures to put in this blog and I completely forgot to insert a pic of the Ouija Board Pendant Necklace, but you can find it, along with a big variety of other miniature pieces, in Charlie's shop.

That's it. My short and sweet little blog feature has come to a close. Now go and check out this adorable little shop and have fun!

Happy Miniature Monday!

Rocki

The Golden Ticket!

Have you ever seen the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - the original one? I'm sure most of us have seen it at least once, after all, it is a classic.

I remember each time when Charlie bought a chocolate bar and while he was opening it up, I felt as if I were right there with him - waiting to see the Golden Ticket! Each time I felt Charlie's sadness and pain when it was just a piece of chocolate. Okay, it made my eyes wet too.

Charlie, who did not have money to spend, found a coin and was able to buy one more bar. The anticipation on his face and the determination in his opening process was far too much for me to bare. I was on the edge of my seat. I tried to hurry him up, but he couldn't hear me. Then there was the long pause... and with one final whoosh of pulling the paper back, there it was! The Golden Ticket! I felt the joy right along side Charlie and cried happy tears.

This is how I felt after creating my new Golden Elfin Earwires! I just love them to pieces and owe many thanks to one of my buyers who asked me about creating in gold filled wire. She will be getting a special surprise when I mail her package tomorrow :)

I posted my Golden Elfin earwires & my Golden Hoops this morning. I have more to create with gold and, just like Charlie, am off to the Chocolate Factory.

Happy Friday everyone!

Rocki

Beam me up Scotty!

When I was a teenager, I had a boyfriend that was a MAJOR trekkie - long before we even used that term. He would come over to the house to pick me up for a date and next thing I knew we were plopped on the couch watching Star Trek - ugh! All he talked about was Star Trek, Captain Kirk, Spock, etc. If I heard "Beam me up Scotty" or "Space, the final frontier" or stats on the Enterprise one more time, they would have put me in a straight jacket long ago.

Oh, wait - we're not talking about THAT kind of Enterprise!

I recently purchased the "In Voice" program from Paul of Enterprise Solutions. To quote from his Etsy Profile, Paul is a "Microsoft Certified Professional and a Senior Software Engineer for a major public safety company. I am also the owner operator of Enterprise Solutions which allow me some additional diversity."

I am far from a computer geek (no offense Paul ;), but this program made me feel like one. What I mean by this is, it is very simple to use and it comes with a user friendly instruction manual. Oh and the program is sent to you via computer, so there is no mailing involved!

"In Voice is a lightweight invoice application which can store, in addition to invoices, clients, vendors, raw goods and materials and items which your company sells. I also provide the ability for some basic reporting." You can also upgrade and have your Etsy Avatar added to the program, which I did and I absolutely love it!

So far, I have used the program for invoicing, which I send in my packages, and am getting ready to use it for inventory for my supply shop. This program has added a more professional look to my business and being able to create reports from it is a plus!

If you are in need of a little more organization, check out Paul's In Voice system, you won't regret it. Plus he is very convo friendly, so any questions, simply ask him and he'll have the answser.

Beam me up Paul!

Rocki

p.s. I trust this new Etsy seller. He is not only a very intelligent guy with an awesome new software program, but he is also my brother-in-law :)

Vacation is over :(

Maeyln, Sasha & Yogi were all so happy to have Jeremy home again. Even though they have their own bed that they sleep in (their own couch that is), while Jeremy was home they slept with him in his bed.

It goes without saying of course, but I love having Jeremy home and am looking forward to his next visit! I'm not going to go into all the mushy details because my eyes will water more than they are and then I won't be able to see to type. I'm his proud mom, so you can only guess how I feel. Oh and while he was home I made him two Sterling Silver band rings and forgot to take pictures of them! Ugh!

Jeremy went back to Portland on Sunday (sniff sniff, boo hoo) and I'm not the only one who misses him. Maelyn continues to sleep in Jeremy's bed on his pillow (I still need to put the futon up, but not yet). Each night at bedtime we always tell our 'kids' good-night and every night so far we find Maelyn all curled up on his pillow. It's the cutest and saddest thing ever!
I finally got the pictures from the lake downloaded and need to send them to Jeremy. They aren't the best quality as I used a disposable camera, but it works. Oh and I love that we can get CD's made when you get your pictures developed!

The lake was a blast, we all took turns in the big water tube and race car tube that Chris has - so much fun!

The family knows that no matter what the occasion, I ALWAYS bring my camera and sometimes I take too many pics, but heck, I love keeping memories on film as well as in my heart. My boys know that my "just one more picture" quote is like saying "in just a minute" and I know it gets old for them, but what can I say - that's just me :)

Above, Laura is showing my boys, Jeremy & Jason, a picture she took of the both of us prior to their arrival at Jeremy's surprise birthday party. She had put tin foil (shivers!) on her teeth to make it look like she had braces (since I now wear them) and we both smiled real big - it was pretty funny. My sister. I think I'll keep her.

Happy Monday, er, I mean Tuesday!

Rocki

Oh and if you're interested in seeing me kick Mark's but in boxing, check out Laura's blog :)