Chocoholics Anonymous, Here I Come!

    I have a thing about chocolate, as you no doubt remember by THIS POST, where my header picture is from, and this button that I won! ↓

     It's just a good thing that I don't eat as much of it as I talk about, or as much as I like looking at and drooling over it! :-) In fact, the chocolate brown yarn that I use regularly inspires my chocolate creations all the time...Like this Chocolate Brown Spotted Leopard Button Flower Necklace.

     Well, apparently, I'm not the only one with a thing for chocolate! Look at this gorgeous "Chocoholics Anonymous" Treasury that Denise of niecynotes curated!

      Every single item is amazing! And some of them are no doubt delicious too! I mean a Triple Chocolate Diva Cupcake and Belgian Dark Chocolate Butter Caramels?! YUM!! They look...as we would say in the South...'Smack yo Mama' good!! ^_^
    But this treasury is so good that even the things that are not eatable, LOOK good enough to eat! Look at this Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae Pendant or these Hostee Cupcake Painted Bottle Cap Dangle Earrings!!...{My hubby will get a kick out of seeing those!} As I said, everything is fabulous in this treasury. You can follow the link and check them out for yourselves!
   Since I couldn't really focus too closely on anything yesterday, because of my headache...which is gone this morning, by the way...I just sat around and looked at all of the pretty pictures of things online to make myself feel better. I really got in a good and calm mood when I saw this high quality satin paper page of Mariann's new calendar....of the Jaguar!!

    Isn't he just beautiful!! Oh! A napper...like me!! ^_^ And he was beautiful to me all day....even when I didn't know what he was! I kept saying he was a cheetah! ^_^ So....I don''t know my animals that well! Don't judge me!! ^_^ I DO know art when I see it! And this calendar needs to be, not just on your laundry room wall where you can scratch off which day you have to do the sheets or pick Johnny up from soccer practice, but in your studio, or in a corner wall of your living room, where when guests come over it can be an artistic conversation starter!Head on over to her Facebook page and take a look at it, and pre-order one if you like too!
     For the next week or so, until November 1st, you can get it at a lower price, just $20.00! That may sound like a lot for a calendar, but for what you'll be getting, and the information that your kids will learn and be able to use in school, it's a real bargain!
    Speaking of bargains, I've been running into some real bargains on some of the blogs I follow...FREE stuff!! I've been telling you about them, not because the bloggers and etsians are telling me to, but because I really think they're great and I wanted to share with you, so you could get in on them too!
    Some of them have been things you could download, like Mariann's desk-top calendar that she gives us every month or Denise's printable To-Do Lists in different colors. But some of them have been some amazing Giveaways! And I just got wind of some more!!
   Could you use one of these amazing quilted coaster sets?! Well, go to art life's blog and follow the link, or go directly over to lillyella's blog, where she's being interviewed...and where she's offering this fabulous Giveaway!...This is the set I like!

    One more...and it really is fabulous! Sara, over at her blog called Twillypop's place, is having a Giveaway celebrating her brand new blog! You have a choice of what you will win! You can win her Genevieve 3-pack of necklaces for layering or gifting in the colors of your choice...

     or you can have a brand new ribbon and chain like this one designed just for you!

          And you choose the colors!...There's all kinds of ways to get extra entries too, if you want. Just check out the link to her blog above....I think this is a magnificent Giveaway. Her necklaces are so unique! I've been ogling her Etsy shop for a long time now. If you go there you'll see why!
     And guess what?! In her etsy shop she even has a Chocolate Brown Genevieve Ribbon and Pearl Necklace!

    Do you believe it?!! ^_^ Oh Yeah! I could really go for some chocolate right about now!! :-) ... And since I'm all about doing something to make yourself feel better when things aren't just as you would like them, and i don't have any chocolate in the house,...and it's raining....I need to think good sunny thoughts. This poem might help!...Have a nice day everybody, and be careful those of you dealing with the really bad weather across the country!

Sun

You make water cycles flow.
You give green to leaves and doe.
You add shine to a new rainbow,
and you make the flowers grow.

Without you, we could not sow,
there'd be nothing there to hoe.
There'd be no grass for us to mow.
And our mood would be real low.

Because of you, we go, go, go,
and all our 'ducks are in a row'.
We so appreciate your glow.
Our sunny smile is how you know. 

Boo To The Rescue Too!!

      I thought that this Hammered antiqued copper heart pendant with rainbow fluorite dangle would be the perfect thing to show you to describe my feelings for the maker of this beautiful necklace! The maker is Boo, of boojewels on Etsy.
     In yesterday's post I mentioned that while Shannon of gifteddesigns did everything she could...and then some...to help me fix my 'picture situation' on Etsy day before yesterday, I actually didn't get the revelation of how to initially fix my pictures from her. The help actually came from Boo! I went to the forum on Etsy and found a chat thread that was talking about the new format layout and expressed my frustration about not knowing how to fix them.
         Then Boo left me this message:
"....I don't have a current version of Picassa to give you accurate detailed instructions (so the details may vary from what I've described), but in my very old version, if you go to crop and select 'manual' it allows me to drag the mouse over the image and choose the area I want to crop from the original. You can move that selected area around to your satisfaction and tweak the shape by dragging the sides of the square with the mouse, then 'apply'. Then if you go to 'Export' the photo, it asks you what size you want it - the original or Resize, so choose Resize and you can select your final size, say 800 pixels, there and save it ready for upload."
      I was like a baby with some candy then!!! I went to Picassa and did exactly what she said....Funny, but while I upload pictures with Picassa all the time, and hit 'Upload', I had never even SEEN the section where it asks you if you want to 'resize' or whatever!!! DUH! I would go through this whole process, hit 'Upload' and then....TOTALLY ignore the sizing thing so that I can MAKE SURE the date on my pictures was correct!!!
    I mean when I focus, I FOCUS baby!! LOL So, anyway, I want to thank Boo from the bottom of my heart for that invaluable information! If there are any of you that never knew this either...I KNOW!...I hope this makes your life as easy as it has made mine!!...I've got a LOT of pictures to fix....gradually....but I've already been at it, a few at a time. Easy, Peasy!!!
    But now I want to show you her shop so you can really get to know why I took her photo advice so seriously! Her shop announcement says that 'she carefully hand crafts her jewellery in Sterling silver and copper, also using semi-precious, crystal and decorative beads. She's in the UK, but loves shipping globally, wrapping for all orders and UK postage being included in her prices, with a modest postage supplement for overseas buyers.'...I'd send WHEREVER to get these! ↓

     They're Honey opal briolette earrings on gunmetal oxidised copper loops...and they're gorgeous!! And if you want to see some gorgeous photos of a product, click on the link and look at the other 4 photos too!!...Oh! One day,...one day, my photos are gonna look like that...all grown up! :-)
      And as if we needed more assurance, she also says in her announcement that 'all her jewellery items are hand made by her - in a smoke and pet free home. And that if you don't see exactly what you want, or would like a slight modification, please feel free to ask.'...I think that's great! But, no worries, I don't think anybody would ask for a modification on this Antiqued copper ring and fossil coral bracelet!

     If you click over there and look at the other photos of the stones, up close, you'll see that it looks like it has little flowers on the stones! And you know how much I love a flower!!! :-)
    So, now you can see why I'm sporting a much calmer, non-ranting spirit on this lovely Sunday morning. Thank you Boo!!!...After my meeting this afternoon I'll be spiritually fed, smiling from ear to ear, and ready to continue the work on my crochet set I've been working on. I showed you the mitten yesterday...

    ...and I asked for your thoughts on whether to add buttons or a flower. Thank you, because I did get a couple of good suggestions, but...I had already finished the mittens by then! ^_^ See if you like what I added. ↓

    I put a green dragonfly button on the cuff of the left hand one!

    With my "Creator's Brain" I decided to put the dragonfly on just one mitten. The left hand one, so that when you go to wear them you don't have to do that thing that people do...putting both gloves on before they figure out whether it's the left hand one or the right! With the dragonfly...you know which one is the left! :-)
    And what did I do with the other matching dragonfly?!

     I put it on a brooch flower that can be worn with the scarf I'm making to complete the set!.... ↓

    I know....it's a lot of blue! But I'm hoping someone will like it, if not LOVE it!...Would you sell the whole thing as a set, or do you think that's too 'matchy, matchy'?! Maybe I should just sell each piece individually. I'd love to know what you think.
    Okay, Tomorrow I'll show you the Fall foliage pictures that hubby took around our neighborhood. I think we're at peak now...or close to it!! It's like a picture post card around here now!
     And while I finish my lovely breakfast hubby just made me, sauteed cube steak, grits, and home fries, {are you drooling yet?! I AM!!! LOL}...I'll leave you a poem. A poem that any parents with teenagers will totally understand! ...Have a great Sunday everyone!!

Its Not What It Seems

Embrace their quirks
(they just seem like jerks!)
Forgive their thoughtlessness,
and their rooms-always a mess!

"Why did they say that?!"
"Do I really look fat?!"
They didn't  mean to let that come out.
And there's no reason for them to pout!

So-they act a little silly;
Did you expect something else-Really?!
Just remember where their heart is,
though their words, like bullets, whiz!

Embrace their quirks.
Look, not at words, but at their works.
Look past the mire, and the muck;
Oh Yeah-and don't  forget to duck!