Friday, December 11, 2009

Weekend Special!

How about $15 hoops? Now through Sunday you can choose from several different styles of my Not So Basic Hoops: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jNicDesigns?section_id=6633021
They make great stocking stuffers, a perfect little token of appreciation for your child's teacher, your hair stylist.. anyone really! Or just keep them for yourself! I'm sure you deserve a little treat right about now! PLUS buy 2 or more items and you get FREE shipping!
Happy Holidays! =)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Tweet Tweet Tweet

Would love to have you come follow me on twitter now... =)
http://twitter.com/jnicdesigns

Thursday, December 3, 2009

December Specials!


Stay tuned as I will be offering periodic specials throughout the month of December starting tonight at midnight with FREE SHIPPING worldwide in my jewelry shop! Hurry free shipping ends Sunday!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sneak Peek! Cyber Monday Sale!

It's that time of year again! Time for my once a year 3 day sale and you get a special sneak peek at what's coming! Sale starts tonight at midnight EST and runs through midnight on Wednesday. Below is my new Kalediscope Necklace ($38) which is available in several different gems and birthstones including Peridot, Citrine, Smoky Quartz, Spectrolite, Crystal Quartz, Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, Moonstone, Aquamarine and Ruby!
And here's the exciting SALE part - My coordinating NEW Kalediscope earrings shown below will be offered at 50% off ($12 - they go back up to $24 Thursday!) PLUS take $10 off any purchase of $50 or more (excluding shipping fees)! You can get both pieces for $40 for 3 days only - a great gift for someone special or give one away and keep one for you! I'm sure you deserve a treat =).
Don't miss out! More specials will be available too... check my shop tonight at midnight to see what pops out!
Happy shopping! =)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Fresh Start

Blue skies ahead! It has been pretty apparent that I have been on hiatus the past several months but I have found my creative motivation again. And it's all thanks to words of encouragement from someone that recently entered my life. It's just amazing what impact a few choice words can have on your outlook and I am thankful for their inspiration.
As some of you know and many don't, I am in the process of finalizing a divorce. And if you've been through this situation (which honestly I hope you haven't) you know it takes alot out of you physically, mentally and emotionally. It was as if the life were drained right out of me. But as the seasons change and the trees shed their leaves preparing to start fresh again in the spring, I too am shedding the old and looking forward to the fresh start that lies ahead!
And I thank you all very much for your support whether it was a kind word you sent, a thought or maybe a purchase from one of my shops - it was, and is, very much appreciated!

Sunday, May 31, 2009

A trip to John C. Campbell Folk School..

If you've visited either of my shops this past week then you know I was on a little artistic retreat taking a metalsmithing workshop at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. If you ever get the chance to go I highly recommend it! I'm already in the process of planning my next visit =). Now the question is which class to take next?!
This was literally the view from my bedroom on Monday - the first morning I woke up there.. just beautiful!
And this is where we (me and my friend Nicole) stayed for the week. It is appropiately named the "Orchard House" as it has a lovely little orchard with a variety of fruit trees right in the front yard.
And here is a little friend I made along the way. Every morning and evening on my walk to and from the dining hall this little guy would be poking his head out of his little bird house greeting everyone that came by. We had quite a few conversations - mostly consisting of me telling him how darn adorable he is. =)

And here's a few more feathered friends that were staying in a bird hotel in the yard of our Orchard House. Wonder if they were on a retreat too...

And this is me (the one w/ the lobster on her head) and my friend Nicole (whom I haven't seen since college nearly 10 years ago) being silly with a box full of funny hats we found. We had a reunion of sorts as we lost touch years ago and recently found each other via FaceBook. We were roommates and good friends but once we graduated we lost touch as she went into the Peace Corps and eventually ended up right outside of Boulder, Colorado. So we planned this little get together as we discovered we both have a passion for metalsmithing and she even has chickens too! It didn't take us long to fall right back into our friendship (or being silly together)! I have a very similar picture of the two of us back in college studying for a chemisty exam with models of cyclo-hexane on our heads. Yes we're dorks ;).
And this is the Blacksmithing studio. Everyone in that class always showed up to dinner and lunch filthy but they all seemed like they were having one of the best times too. This class is definitely on my list of things I would love to take in the future!

And this is the Woodturning studio that was right across the way from our Jewerly studio...
And these are some lovely flowers in front of the Woodturning studio... after seeing this studio and the beautiful pieces that came out of it I thought that class might interest me too...
Until I saw this! The saw mill out back. I do enough damage to myself with my little jeweler's saw. I can only imagine what I would do to myself with that thing!

And this is just a little random, old building behind our jewelry studio. If you've read my blog before you know I have this thing for old wooden buildings and this campus was full of them! Pure heaven!
This was square dancing/ contra dancing night in the Keith Hall... fun stuff!


Little hemlock cones after a rain shower...
Our finished work on our bench after a week of tolling away ;)

And our class =) Starting on the far left is Lisa, Sandie, Trish, Our instructor Molly, Deb (who also has an Etsy shop http://soulwhispers.etsy.com/ so check it out!), Molly's assitant instructor Kim, me and my friend Nicole =)

And what an appropiate way to end the week - a double rainbow! These two little treasures appeared right after a rain shower on our last day and they ended right in the parking lot because I think the Folk School is the pot of gold at the end of rainbow =).

Hope you had a great week!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Time for Peach Cobbler!

There are few things that I enjoy more than the smell of fresh peaches and a hot, fresh peach cobbler right out of the oven (although the smell of a fresh cut hay field comes in a close second!)! My little peach tree went into overtime this year making those delicious smelling little fruits... must've been all that sweet talking I did ;). I've been picking peaches, peeling peaches and freezing peaches all week and now it's time to reap the benefits! We're having peach cobbler and peach daiquiris this weekend before I head off to Brasstown, NC Sunday afternoon to start my week long metal smithing workshop at the John C. Campbell School of Folk Art. (Hopefully I'll have lots of pics and stories to share next week =)
Here's the recipe if you get a hold of some fresh Georgia peaches in your market (or I like to use blackberries too when they're in season, apples work well, cherries or even pears) and it's super easy too!

Peach Cobbler
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Heat oven to 375
Pour melted butter into a 2 quart baking dish (11 x 7 or 8 inch square). In mixing bowl combine 1 cup of sugar, the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to blend. Stir in milk and vanilla until blended. Pour the batter over the melted butter. Toss peaches with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Arrange peach slices over the batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. The top will be browned and the edges will begin to pull away from the pan.
Don't forget to top it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
ENJOY! =)

Monday, April 13, 2009

Free hoops anyone?

Then hop on over to Stacie Vaughan's blog to read a little interview about me and enter the give away! Good luck! And happy Monday! =)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Random Shrapnel

Living on a piece of property that was once a cow pasture and the home to an old farm shed I find some pretty interesting things just walking around our yard where the chickens have been scratching.
Like this warped, beat up old spoon - random.
And this very dangerous rusty old saw blade that I found (by almost stepping on it) nearly completely buried except for the still very sharp edges just poking up out of the soil! Thank goodness for Tetanus shots ;)
Last week I found quite the collection of broken bottles and ceramic pieces. Who knows what will turn up this week.
And speaking of random this guy has taken to flying over our house quite low in his little powered parachute thingy about once a month and scaring the bejeezus out of my critters.
I heard this really loud buzzing airplane/go kart noise and looked out to see my horses and goats running for their lives so I threw on my boots ran out the door and caught him buzzing over the pasture next door. I walked around the yard picking up the random shrapnel as I waited to see if he would come back. He didn't return. I'd like to ask him to please not buzz so close over my barn - my horses are old and they don't need that kind of stress ;).

Until next time... =)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Umm... OUCH!

So apparently I broke my finger last night playing volleyball...ouch! And I'm wearing this nifty little robotic looking splint that Shirley is totally intrigued by so I can keep my poor little aching finger out of more trouble. This is definitely putting a damper on my productivity and my typing abilities =P. We're heading on a little camping trip to Tallulah Gorge in the morning too and I'm almost afraid to leave the house - I seem to be accident prone here lately. Hope your Thursday finds you accident free and healthy! =)

Monday, March 16, 2009

Happy St. Patty's Day Sale!

Hop on over to my Loft shop tomorrow to receive 15% off your entire order if it contains any green stones! Sale starts at midnight tonight and runs through midnight tomorrow night (March 17).
Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! =)

Monday, March 9, 2009

A week later....

It's spring! It's hard to believe just a week ago we had nearly 7 inches of snow on the ground and this weekend it was 79 degrees! We spent the entire weekend working out in our yard clearing away all the branches that had fallen, raking all the little prickly balls from our Sweetgum trees and getting the spot for our little vegetable garden ready and I have the calluses to prove it - ouch!
Preparing our garden site was a family event and here some of the ladies are helping us spread our "organic" matter around and adding a bit more of their own ;). They had a regular little chicken buffet going on here with all the worms and larvae they were finding.
Thelma and Louise were supervising the activities and making sure no one went out the gate that wasn't suppose to while we made trips back and forth to the compost pile.

Mandy had to come poke her nose in to see what was going on =).

And this is Golly's big mouth. You can't carry on a conversation anywhere near him otherwise he thinks you're talking to him and he likes to talk back. ALOT. And very loudly too. ;)
And I just had to add this picture of Thelma and Louise because they're so darn cute and they look like little abominable snow chickens.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!




Monday, March 2, 2009

Still coming in like lion!

Welcome to March in Georgia! Saturday it was 64 degrees and the weather stations kept hinting at snow coming in on Sunday but they couldn't quite predict where or how much just that we could see a dusting up to 2 inches. I didn't quite believe them. Boy was I proven wrong! It started here about 11:00 as a very cold rain which turned to very large sleet pellets by 12pm and then the snow started and it didn't stop until a little after 11pm last night! We ended up with close to 7 inches of snow here which is really unheard of in one day (or really several for that matter!). And it was around 34 degrees most of the day so if it had been below freezing we probably would have ended up with around 2 feet of snow!

This is my barn at about 3pm yesterday.. it just kept snowing and snowing and snowing!
And here's the poor little blooms on my confused peach tree!
Golly and Madison seemed to have a blast in the snow.. of course they are wearing goose down ;)

And my Crepe Myrtle tree was getting weighed down by the weight of the heavy, wet snow. Luckily no tree casualities here!

And I couldn't resist building a snow chicken! Now tell me that isn't a piece of art?! ;)

Hope you're staying warm and dry! We're forecast to be back up in the 70's by week's end so looks like I'll be going from snow boots to flip flops in a matter of days!




Thursday, February 26, 2009

Coming in like a lion..

And it's not even March yet! These photos are from the tornado that touched down last Wednesday about 9 miles from my house. There were 10 reported tornadoes that touched down in Georgia and one person died. So I don't mess around when they say "Tornado Warning for Oglethorpe County" - this also has to do with the fact that I lived through a tornado in 1994 in Floyd County (where I grew up). Debbie (my pupper) and I were in the hall closet with our bike helmets on and yes we did look ridiculous ;). Dan was at a convention in Columbus, GA which is about 3 hours away so we were on our own.

I remember growing up and my mom pulling us out of bed and making us get in the hall with a mattress over our heads and sitting in the hallway at school with our heads tucked between our legs. Tornado warnings were a regular occurrence every spring and they always terrified me. It's one of the reasons I am now obsessed with the weather.

It really just broke my heart to see these huge, old trees lying on the ground. The house above had a backyard full of downed, large pecan and oak trees. They also had a glass sun porch that was shattered to bits and were missing quite a few shingles from their roof. I'm certain they feel lucky that their house is still standing. There was also some sort of shed in their backyard that didn't fair nearly as well.
This poor tree was HUGE. If I had to guess I would have said it was well over 200 years old and sadly it didn't make it through a direct hit from an F1 twister. There was also an F5 (the strongest recording on the fujita scale with winds up to 318 mph) tornado that briefly touched down in the next county over and completely demolished a home. Luckily they had a storm shelter under ground so the entire family survived. Scary stuff!
Get your bike helmets on folks and hang on - spring is on the way!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Inside Scoop

I've added a few new yummy stones to the little loft shop today including these absolutely gorgeous Peridot octagons! They are perfectly eye clean and sure to please!
And these smooth, earthy Botswana Agate briolettes! Love these!
I may also add a few other new goodies including some stunning Chrome Diopside briolettes and Tsavorite Garnet smooth briolettes. I also have some rather lovely Peridot marquises too.. I went on a green shopping spree! I haven't quite made up mind though whether I want to share those or just be greedy and keep them all! ;)
You may have also noticed I've been doing a bit of remodeling in my shops. I've been re-working a few photos and cleaning up my shop announcement and sections. Just trying to tidy up a bit for spring!
Hope your Wednesday finds you well! =)

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Just because..


These are the cutest people ever and I could squish them all to bits so I had to share!
This is Dan, Debbie and Squiggs (aka Jackson) basking in the sunlight this past Sunday morning and I caught them in just the right moment when Debbie was laying a big, wet kiss right on Squiggs' face!
Dan is probably going to kill me for posting this on my blog since he has a bit of bed head and is in his snowman jammies but how could I not share this?! They're all so darn cute and I'm a lucky gal to be surrounded by all this adorableness (I think I just made up that word ;)!
Until next time... =)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Edgar says...


Happy Valentine's Day!!
Hope everyone has a weekend filled with love with those you care about! =)

Sunday, January 25, 2009

My Neck of the Woods - Strolling around the Lake

There aren't too many days that go by that I don't just sit and admire how beautiful the surroundings are out here in Oglethorpe County. If I could get a decent photo of the night time sky with all it's millions of stars I'd love to be able to share it with you but since I haven't had much luck with those pictures I thought I'd share some of the scenery along the way of the 3 mile loop we do around Lake Oglethorpe. Dan, Debbie and I try to get out and take our walks at least a couple of times a week - weather permitting of course - but I have to admit Dan and Debbie have been more consistent than me here the last couple of months. I'm so cold natured that even though I'm moving I'm still freezing! Now during the spring and summer months we were going nearly every day. And I need to get back at it - all that holiday chocolate is starting to catch up with me! ;)

But here was our first stop on our walk yesterday. This is our neighbor's horse, Doc. At least that's what I think his name is. Although I've been introduced to him before they have several horses and I am TERRIBLE at remembering names and feel bad about asking "Now tell me his name again for the 5th time". So I'm going out on a limb here and saying this is Doc. If it isn't then the tiny little red horse in the background is. ;)
This is Lake Oglethorpe. It's a beautiful 80 acre lake that doesn't allow any boats with motors bigger than 4 horse power so it's always nice and quiet. And it's also where we stop to take a swim during the summer months when we're all equally sweating profusely from the 90 degree plus heat! Even though it was only 60 degrees yesterday Debbie was hot enough that she jumped right in and then got out right in the mud... I think she may be part pig.

You never know what you're going to see but today we ran into a flock of someone's Guineas that were running loose. On almost every trip we run into deer, bunnies and squirrels but we've also encountered beavers, a couple of otters, many turtles including an Alligator snapping turtle, foxes, coyotes, mallard ducks, Canadian geese, turkeys and the occasional groundhog.

And this is just an old abandoned shed on Mr. JB's farm that's at the end of our walk. I don't know what it is but I absolutely love old barns, sheds and houses. I always concoct these stories in my head about who lived there, what they used it for and what kind of animals they had. The older and more run down they are the more I like them. It also warms my heart to see someone restore these old buildings and bring life to them once again. I would love to own a piece of property with a big, old run down barn on it. Maybe one day. I'm pretty fond of my 6 year old barn too =).

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!



Saturday, January 24, 2009

Inside Scoop

New goodies coming to the Loft early next week!

I'll be listing some new Amethyst for all those February babies, Garnet, Prehnite, Scapolite and Smoky Quartz. And possibly some Iolite and Peridot if I don't decide to keep them all to myself ;).

Hope everyone has a great weekend! For us it's all about repairing our smaller chicken coop that was damaged in the wind storm a couple of weeks ago. Even though it's raining today - kind of a light drizzle - that's much easier to work out in than 20 degree weather! It should be nearing 60 degrees here today... guess old man winter is taking a vacation after a hard couple of weeks of work ;).

Sunday, January 18, 2009

The Chick Inn has Arrived!

Even though it's cold and rainy I am a happy girl today and so are my little chick a loos - Their chicken condo (aka a coop but it's just too cute to be called a coop) has arrived! So cute that I see 3 other folks decided they needed one too! I asked where the other 3 were going and 1 is going to Dublin, GA, one somewhere near Savannah and the other is going to Lakeland, FL. I ordered it from a company in Pennsylvania (it's built by the Amish which I think is pretty neat in itself) last Thursday and I wasn't expecting it for another 2-3 weeks but they called yesterday and said they were in South Carolina with it and they would have it here by 10am today. Talk about a fast turn-around time! And it matches our horse barn perfectly down to the green tin roof! Some of my neighbors drove by as they were unloading it and I think one nearly broke his neck trying to turn around to see what in the world we were doing ;). They had this neat little pulley system that just rolled it to the end onto a hydraulic lift and then to the ground. They put little rubber wheels on it and the driver and Dan just pushed it where it needed to go! Pretty nifty!

After we got it situated I had to go get the ladies and introduce them to their new home. They've been tucked away in the barn for the last few days because it was just so bitter cold but now they have their own little warm home to come and go as they please. Laverne is checking out all the new "bedrooms" ;).

And here comes Mona to see what's going on. Nothing entices Laverne quite like food - the others came and went but not her! If there's food involved she's staying put! In fact I'm looking out the window now and I think she's still in there!


Now I've decided the chicken condo needs a name and I've about settled on "The Chick Inn" (a play on check in -I know I'm dorky ;) unless someone else has an idea I like better. And then I'll have someone on Etsy make me a little wooden sign to hang out front. =)
If you ever need a chicken coop or a barn - they deliver full size horse barns too! - I highly recommend Horizon Structures! We found them at the Georgia National Fair in Perry this past fall and I have been dreaming about this cute little coop since I laid eyes on it in October. So Merry late Christmas to me and the chick a loos!
Hope your Sunday is filled with pleasant little surprises! =)