This Week's Blog Post

Custom Order
My customer requested pink crystal jewelry and here is the result!

Custom orders typically get me out of my box and this was no exception. I am an earthy stones kind of gal but I do get giddy when working with Swarovski crystals. There is something about a woman and sparkly things!!!

Monkey Moments & Giveaway!!!
My Mother’s Day and Father’s Day shopping brought me to Monkey Moments on Etsy! Sock monkeys are put into human poses to create funny pictures.

Here is mom’s (she always prefers a bath over a shower):

Here is dad’s (with the remote watching PBS or History or Science channel):

The story behind these creations is one sister starting these photos to make her sister laugh. It was too fun for them to not pursue a business in this!

There are a variety of occasions in the card selection like this one for a teacher!

Or this card for love!

Now for a Monkey Moments giveaway! The lucky winner will receive this very fun Wizard of Oz magnet (I could not take the picture without a little glare on it)! It is a large 4” x 5.5”!!!  It is sure to bring a lot of laughs! I have one on my fridge which has me smiling each day!

To enter simply leave a comment on this post that you are a Wizard of Oz fan! If you have an Oz memory, share it.

I was always horrified by those flying monkeys, much more so than the wicked witch! The film still amazes me today how far ahead of its time the production was. My friend and I had toured the studio where this was filmed and apparently the Yellow Brick Road is still there under the current flooring. So I guess we sort of walked on the Yellow Brick Road!

The drawing will occur Sunday July 1 by Jim pulling the lucky winner out of a hat. I will announce the winner on that Saturday July 7 post!!!  Good luck!

The Beach

Jim and I took a ride up the coast to the beach (Atlantic Ocean). It was perfect.

We saw everything you expect to see on the beach like seaweed.

Driftwood.

Seagulls.

A piece of blue lobster.

Kites. See the cat one?

I just love how the water glistens from the sun! I can not believe I am showing my feet! Inheritance brought me painful bunions so my feet are a little deformed!

It feels like you can see forever looking out at the ocean!

I hope you all have a wonderful summer week ahead! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

Magnolia Inspired Necklace Giveaway
Blogging friend Lisa asked for a magnolia inspired necklace for a giveaway on her blog. I love how it came out! Gorgeous!

Custom orders are so fun since they usually have me working with something I have never worked with before. In this case it was purple pearls!

If you would like the opportunity to win this piece, stop by Lisa’s blog here.  The drawing will be Monday night April 23. Lisa's blog shows her stunning photographs which I am sure you will enjoy!!!

Birthday Bouquet

Jim gave me this beautiful bouquet for my birthday.

Bucket List Item 2

So I crossed off another item! Let me preface this by stating that I am in no way a violent person. I do not even think it is smart to own a gun for protection! However I have always been curious about what it feels like to shoot a gun!

So some friends and I went to the Manchester Firing Range in NH for some shooting fun. Here I am shooting an uzi machine gun!  Luckily there were no injuries and everyone had a good time!

This was a romantic moment between Jim and I. He is showing me how to use a 9 mm. There is a particular thumb placement that felt really strange to me.

Luckily there were 3 men in our group, all with experience! Otherwise this may have been a bit challenging for us ladies as far as loading, proper usage of the weapons, etc. We were showed how to use the guns in the lobby but we did not have a professional with our group when we were playing.

Here I am with an MP5 machine gun. When we were being showed how to use the machine guns I was a bit horrified. Surprisingly they were easier to handle than the handguns!

I am happy to check another thing off my list. Just like jumping out of a plane, this is something I do not care to do again!!!!

New End Studio

I received a wonderful surprise in the mail from blogging friend Gloria of New End Studio! This handmade pin reads “bravo” which I love since I adore theater!!!

Gloria is a mixed media artist who creates ACEOS. I love the humor here. This would be fun to put in guestroom.

This wishes theme ACEO is so sweet!

Stop by Gloria’s shop for more unique pieces or her blog here.

I wish eveyone a great, fulfilling week! Thank you for stopping by! ~Val

Weekend Getaway!

First I would like to mention my blogging friend Claudia. I won these darling pencils!

She wraps pencils with scrapbooking paper for a custom look! They came all wrapped up! This set is called "Office Lady".

The pencil were sewn up in paper! I always love the look of sewn paper!

Check out her shop at Etsy ! Claudia makes all sorts of darling stationary and stickers. Visit her adorable blog here. I enjoy reading about her sweet family! I love these:

Last weekend, Jim and I had our first weekend getaway! We spent 2 nights at this historic charming Inn in Portsmouth, NH.

The Sise Inn was built in the late 19th century right in the downtown area! We did not take too many pictures this time we we took tons on our previous day visit.
This is my favorite since it looks like a postcard! The sky was perfect for taking this photo.

At Prescott Park free plays are performed. They happened to be performing The Wizard of Oz when we were there. These plays are free to the public....just bring chairs or a blanket and enjoy!

We just stopped by and watched a little of the play. The organization did a wonderful job!!!

Here is some street art in part of the street art museum that we missed last time. The cat one reads "He might look scary but he is my best friend". That piece has such a sweet vibe to it.

We came across this neat serpent in a garden created with a rock formation.

Another garden we walked by was so sweet. The plants were labeled by a rock with the name of it handwritten like this one.

This garden had little "critters" in it for children to seek out. Very cute!

The city was in bloom!!!!

A perfect weekend with my man!!!

If you have not entered the giveaway for this silver needle agate necklace click here for the rules of entry!

It was a busy week for sales! Here are some of my newly posted items:

I love the blue lace agate and sea "opal" glass for summer wear!!!
Thank you for stopping by! ~Val

Loving Spring!

I made these pretty rosary beads for a First Communion happening this Sunday!

The lucky girl's birthstone is amethyst, hence the purple Swarovski crystals! I adore this cross. It is such a gorgeous piece of sterling silver. Her mom requested a matching bracelet too. The little crosses are so sweet!

My wegilia has pretty little flowers!

I have 4 of these which I bought through the mail 3 seasons ago and they are flourishing. Still clearly babies though! I originally had 5 but after attempting to move one, it died. :( I am a huge fan of variegated leaves which is why I needed these plants!

Some of my irises have opened!!!

I have a wondeful old neighbor who is quite a gardener. He is overwhelmed with irises and lilies and gave me tons of bulbs last summer which I planted. It is much more special when someone gives you flowers from their garden and then you get to enjoy them.


Remember last week's bouquet? The lilies opened up beautifully and took over!!!

Don't forget to enter the pearl earring giveaway in the post below! The lucky winner will be drawn Sunday 6/5/11. Link here.

New this week is a red agate and carnelian necklace.

I have always loved the look of striped agate! This is available in my shop!

I have to sign off with this picture of my housemates. They are never looking at the camera at the same time!!! Love the scary eyes!!!

Thank you for reading! ~Val

Earring Giveaway!!!!

My blog now has over 200 followers. To celebrate I will be giving away this pair of earrings!

These are made of cultured pearls and accented with sterling silver. The leveback ear wires will ensure that you will not lose these when dancing! The length on these is 1.5".

You may enter up to 6 ways.
1. follow my blog.
2. like my Facebook page.
3. follow me on Twitter.
4. blog about the giveaway.
5. link to the giveaway on your Facebook page.
6. link to the giveaway on your Twitter account.

Please leave a comment on this post on the ways you are entering and leave your e-mail address in case you are the lucky winner! The winner will be drawn on Sunday June 4th the old fashioned way with names in hat. My man will have the honors! Good luck!

New this week is this cool set.

This wood focal piece is of benguet pine. Its grain is really unique! The wood is accented by shiny and antiqued copper. Available at Miss Val's Creations.

Jim was really sweet this weekend. He gave me this beautiful bouquet since there has not been one on my blog in a while! I will have to do a follow up photo when all those fabulous lilies open!!!

These cool purple flowers are really neat. They are dyed of course....but dyed a gorgeous color!



Have a wonderful week!!! ~Val