1.  SWAP

I’ve been at it again with the latest Charmsters charm swap.  What I love about this group is that you can join in whenever you see a  swap that meets your fancy.  This time around I joined the Chain, Chain, Chain swap.  We were to create 2 chain links for 22 participants for a total of 44 links.  The hope was that we could create a base necklace for future charms.  I used annealed steel wire to create my wire links…they remind me of paperclips.  I’d like to make these again with a thicker gauge copper wire and oxidize them.

And remember the other swap that I completed recently?  The stamped metal charm swap was my very first with this group of artists.  I was SO excited when my envelope full of goodies arrived!  The word is that the packaging is as cool as the charms, and boy was that true!  I poured the content of the envelope out on to the table and the kids gathered around…oooh!  ah!  Everyone wanted to touch them.  We were amazed at the creative packaging and all of the beautiful stamped charms that we found inside.

I signed up for my last swap of the year…the 12 Days of Christmas.  This one filled up immediately…I’m looking forward to this fun holiday theme – and making 12 charms this time will be much easier.

2.  New START

Oh so bittersweet…the school year started for my middle boys.  We are 3 days in to the 2nd grade and Kindergarten around here.   I’m proud of my little guys…they are getting acclimated to their new school and making friends.  Looks like they have wonderful teachers and have the excitement of the new year to look forward to.  We’ve received an invitation to the first birthday party of the year…and I’m figuring my way through the carpool lanes without upsetting too many seasoned parents.  We’re off to a good start.

I’ve enjoyed the rare opportunity to spend some almost-one-on-one time with my oldest son.  We’ve gone out to lunch, baked chocolate chip cookies, and today we went to the WaterMine – a water park.

3. SALE

I’ve put some of my jewelry on SALE!  I’ll be adding new pieces soon…

Have a great day & thanks for stopping by! 🙂