Is it Christmas Yet?

Because we have some new things to put in the shops... Above, a tiny antler tip on red leather cord. It's cute, and didn't hurt Rudolph at all, since these are naturally shed antlers found on the forest floor.
These earrings are my favorite stones- Carnelelian and turquoise. I made these with the powers of the stones in mind- carnelian invokes passion and energy; turquoise is a lucky stone which aids in relieving anger. What could be better than that? And the copper finding aid in transferring thoughts into action.
This is a mystery stone. It must be some kind of agate; it takes a wonderful polish! And there's a tiny tube along the side which has the black of the stone inside. There's a crystalline hole in the middle and some opalescent bubbles on the side- altogether a wonderful accent piece for any outfirt
Here's another agate with a crystalline inclusion. Perhaps it is a piece of geode. It holds a super polish and has both mystery and excitement in it.
This piece started out as a bead, but broke in half. Such an outstanding natural bright blue color! It's set in a cast sterling silver backless setting, and hangs on a sterling silver figaro chain. We just love the beautiful blue color of natural Kingman turquoise.

These and other outstanding pieces will be posted on our various sites over the next few days.. Hope you like them!

Changed my profile pic...

... cuz I'm just not that angry anymore. Now, I just have my popcorn ready and wait to watch the next train wreck.

Whether it's Kanye West, Serena, or Joe Wilson, - or just a typical Etsy Etc thread - I'm ready.
Cheers!

Mr Foxaz's Super Studio

Betty like a good place to rub... like my feet...
Pretty turquoise...

Here it is- insulated, air-conditioned, clean, with nice anti-fatigue floor mats...

What's more fun than Insulation?

Putting up 4'x8' sheets of ceiling panels, that's what!!

Mr Foxaz gets it in his mind to do a project, and it's a one-way highway towards his goal.

He has his epidural pain shot this coming Tuesday, so it was important to get most of the rough stuff done before that. He's supposed to take it easy after the shot, and he usually does. So a week ago we got the bundles of insulation and paneling, and rassled it all into the workshop last Friday. Started on Friday night and got to the paneling at the end of the weekend.

Yikes! What a job! At one point, we had ropes and pulleys hooked up to lift the panels into place. Talk about Two Stooges! Mr Foxaz is quite particular about how things should be perfect. Me, I'm just standing there, holding the ropes and the pushing stick, saying "put the screws in, put the screws in already!!" I'm type A and get frustrated easily. He is so much more calm than I am- just moves forward in a careful, calculated way.

He's one of the only people I know who can measure, cut, and have the piece fit perfectly.
I just try my hardest to keep my mouth shut - but it's not my nature to stay quiet. I try though.

Back from the 300 miles drive

We're back from our all-day drive. Mr Foxaz's eye is no worse. The ciliary body mass is the same size, no larger. The doctor excised a chelazion, we got a script and went on our way. Ordered Quiznos subs from our hotel room- yum!

We drive down the day before (takes all day) then the appt is the next day, then drive back the following day. I missed my exit on the way back though, and wound up in Peoria for awhile. But thankfully, no horrible wrecks on the highway, no road closures in the heat.

It's good to be home. It's too darn hot out there to be driving all day. 54 mpg isn't too bad though. Yay for the Prius!

The Wolf is at the Door

I'm taking my felt pins in a slightly different direction. This is the first of what should be an iteresting series of animals, birds and insects. Minimalist, yes, and hopefully different in a good way.

I love making things. My Bucket List is mostly things I want to make, projects I haven't finished, promises I've made about one thing or another. As I get older, the weeks just seem to fly by, and what with my fixation on keeping updated on blogs, current affairs, Etsy, Artfire, Artistry Arts, etc- I'll often spend hours reading on the net.

My photo project is HUGE! Every time I open a box or bag I find more pictures to document. And Mr Foxaz has been making a lot of new pieces, which I need to photograph, edit and list. As you can see up above, there are lots of new things in our Etsy shop, which I've decided to focus on his work with antler and turquoise. I think he'll be doing some Cherry wood and turquoise pieces for the vegans in the audience, too. So stay tuned! (an Etsy turn of phrase)

I know I'm a critic of Etsy in the forums, like so many others these days, but I have no intention of closing shop there. Not willingly, at least. I have too many business cards with my Etsy address! And the forums are addictive. So hopefully my big mouth won't get me kicked out.

Artistry Arts is a new selling site. They just moved to an all-new site, here:
http://www.artistryarts.com/index.php?/
and they are definitely worth a look. If you had stuff listed before the move, you'll have to re-list it all (bummer) but it's fairly easy to do, and they have a "list similar"function if you sell a lot of similar items. It costs $5 a month, with no selling or listing fees.. Check it out!

Here's a wonderful picture of a couple of the old folks at home:

Facebook

I'm on facebook, here: http://www.facebook.com/susan.d.fox?v=feed&viewas=1096466571

I don't use it much, because it seems to generate spam, and such. Over the course of time, perhaps I'll get into it more. Maybe when I don't have so many things to do in real life.

Etsy now has a cute little button where I can uoload my items to facebook. It seems like spam to do that, since the info would go to my friends, who already know about my shop.

It's a lot of work keeping up with all the blogs and shops and reading others blogs and flickr and facebook. People who manage it, and do it well, have my utmost respect.