Footage...

There, I admitted it. I simply do not understand the obsession some women seem to have with shoes.

Admittedly, I have too many pairs, but that tends to stem from two things -

1. I am a pack-rat, and keep old, scuffed, sole-broken shoes loooong past when I should; and

2. I have a tendency to buy cheap shoes when I need them for something (usually work) and they are too uncomfortable/wear out too quickly, but, bringing us back to 1., I can’t bring myself to part with them.

That, and I pretty much refuse to wear heels. Oh, I own a nice pair of black heels, and a sexy red pair of shiny stilettos (which, in my defence, were bought after a traumatic breakup in an attempt to be a new, crazy woman). I also have one pair of boots with heels, which I will wear on occasion to work, as well as a pair I bought years ago because I was my best friend’s maid of honour. But that’s it. And do you know how many days a year I would wear those, altogether?

Less than my number of fingers, that’s for sure. Though, it was only in preparing that list that I realised how many pairs of heels I have, for a person who hates wearing them…

When I was a teenager, I was completely oblivious to any kind of fashion cares whatsoever. I absolutely lived in sneakers. I’m still fond of my sneakers, but I spend most of my time in plain black flat shoes for work - and as I am up and walking around for hours, comfort is my first priority! I have also become a convert to my rip-off pink crocs that I bought for $5 at a cheapie shop. They are just so darn comfy!

So - are you a shoe fashionista? Are your shoes - as a colleague of mine once said - your babies? Or are you like me and just have no idea what the big deal is?

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As the big ‘09′ is just around the corner, I thought I should write a post about New Years Resolutions.

But everybody’s already written about the resolutions you should make - you know, like eating healthily or exercising… getting more organised…

So, I decided to take a slightly different perspective. Here’s a list of 10 New Years Resolutions that you absolutely shouldn’t keep… but, chances are, you will…

1. Get Terribly, Hideously Drunk

This is so, at 8am the next morning, when you are vomiting, you will be reminded as to why you should never get terribly, hideously drunk again. Should you?

2. Don’t dare attempt to take up that hobby you’ve been dreaming of for years

What’s the point? You’ll just spend lots of money to find out that you hate rock-climbing/fly fishing/glass-blowing/kite-flying/(insert hobby here). Oh, and you’ll meet new and interesting people and add to your life experience *shudder*. Just stay at home, nice and safe, and keep watching TV, my friend.

3. Ignore your dearest friends - and while you’re at it, your partner and kids, too!

They love you anyways, right? Why bother putting any effort into maintaining the relationship at all. If they’re really your friend they’ll be there to lend you $5000 when your uninsured car blows up and you need a new one right now!

Your wife? Eh - all the hard work is done! Just sit back and grow that beer gut, buddy! No-one needs to put any effort into keeping the other half happy once you’ve got them!

Don’t even mention the kids… they have the Internet to tell them what to do…

4. Eat whatever takes your fancy - and do it now!!

Mmmm… chocolate (please read beer if you are male). As much as you can eat. For ever. Doesn’t that sound like heaven? Of course that little piece (drink) won’t do you any harm… Diabetes happens to other people!

5. Make sure your job stresses you out!

You are so damn important that the cup of coffee you made wrong/sale you didn’t make/typo you missed will snowball and mean an end to humankind!!! The planet’s oceans will boil away! No-one will ever love/hire/smile at you again because you’re the harbinger of doom!!

Of course your mistake will still matter this time next year!!! Won’t it?

6. Watch too much TV

TV is your warm, fuzzy friend. It loves you! Never leave its side, or you might miss the Australian/American/Pop Idol finale! Or be the last to know what country Brad and Angelina get their next kid from! Shock-horror!

Of course the fact that you sit inert for hours each day, your eyes and attention mesmerised by a glowing lightbox, is healthy! This one really helps you stick to resolutions 2, 3, 4 and 8, as well, so it’s extra-important to keep!

7. Make promises you don’t keep

This goes for promises to others, and promises to yourself, as well. Let’s be frank - whenever you say “I promise”, everyone knows you don’t really mean it! And then they go and act all hurt and surprised when you don’t keep your promise! I mean, how dare they!

8. For heaven’s sake - don’t exercise!

Really,  there’s no solid evidence that it does you any good, right?

9. Buy whatever you want, whenever you want, and damn the credit card bill!

Recession? What recession? I’ll just keep spending… they money will come from somewhere! I can afford to pay my new $2000 TV off over 12 months - I only have to pay 18% interest. Oh yeah, and the $500 worth of clothes… and the new computer… um…

10. Keep making To-Do lists… and never finish them

Organisation is totally overrated. So what if you’re mobile phone is cancelled because when you got the bill you put it in the pile of already un-opened mail and forgot about it?

Just keep living on the fly, and you can look forward to endless messyness, disorganisation and frustration! Won’t that be nice

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This list, was, of course, written with tongue in cheek - but it also carries a message - especially to myself ! Some of these things I am notorious for, (number 10 in particular - ahem), and some I am lucky enough to have overcome.

So, do share! What’s the New Years Resolution that you shouldn’t keep?

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Last night I was in a quandary. I wanted to take photos of my newest creations for my Etsy shop, but - obviously - it was night-time, and so I had no natural light.

I had heard people  mention lightboxes around the web and forums - some people, in fact, say they use nothing but! I have always tried to take my photos in good, natural light, but I decided to try and make myself a lightbox and see how it worked.

After a quick look around, I came up with this:

Impro-Lightbox!

I grabbed a small, opaque white storage box (I usually keep my completed jewellery in this one), a few sheets of white paper, and a white piece of cloth I have lying around.

I then grabbed my old lamp, (I have had this lamp since I was a kid - it’s the type that you can clip onto a bed-head to read by, though that part is broken now), and that was it!

If you do this - please note - don’t leave the lamp on too long! Mine runs very hot, and though I only had it on for a few minutes, it still warped the plastic a bit!

So - the verdict? Well, here are some of the photos I took - what do you think?

Delicious - Heart of Ice Necklace

Delicious - Summer Berries Necklace

Delicious - Mint Julep Necklace

Normally, I would fiddle with the light levels in my photos a bit before posting them - but I haven’t altered these in any way at all.

I did find you had to be careful with your angle - some of the pictures I took came out too dark because I shot them at a bad angle.

So there you have it! A bit of imagination and improvisation (and I know you’re all good at that!) and you have a lightbox-to-go!

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Hello, my name is Jessica, and I’m a chronic midnight snacker.

Many are the nights I will be sitting at the computer, making some jewellery, or reading… and the hunger pangs kick in. Now, I do lead a night-owl existence, usually staying up until 12:30 at the least. Since I usually have dinner at around 8, it’s not surprising that I start to get a little peckish around the 12 o’clock mark.

I have to admit though, I try to avoid eating late if I can - I fear the expanding waistline like the rest of you! But there are times when I just can’t do it… and so off to the kitchen I go.

This is one of my favourite snacks - and I make myself feel better by convincing myself it is healthy… it is, truly!

Mmmm.. midnight snack...

I grab a couple of rice crackers (which I always have in the cupboard), put a dollop of low-fat Tzatziki dip on them, and top that with a slice of cheese and a slice of cucumber. Yummy!

One important part about this snack is that I actually prepare it… then put the bits away… then sit down to eat it. Overweight lurks in the shadows for me if I just sit down and snack randomly…

This makes a nice little finite meal that staves off the hunger pangs, and lets me get on with the important stuff - like writing this blog!

So, who else is willing to ‘come out of the closet’ - and what do you snack on when the midnight munchies hit?

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I’m very excited about these! I’ve been working away on a new line of necklaces, and today I’m going to give you all a look at the first few in the line.

As do many of my new ideas (and, I’m sure, yours too) the design of these necklaces just popped into my head when I was reading a novel. All of a sudden, I thought “now, if I just do that…” and viola! ‘Delicious’ were born!

They are a line of wire-formed pendants, incorporating many different styles of bead. The first two I’m going to show you are quite similar - in that they both use copper wire and blue/brown hues of beads.

Cleopatra

Cinnamon Sky

I’ve made a whole bunch of these, and I’m going to gradually list them in my Etsy shop over the next few weeks. These two are up there right now

Let me know what you think, and keep an eye on the blog (you could always subscribe so you don’t miss a post!) - I’ll post pictures of more ‘Delicious’ necklaces soon!

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Here are my picks for five fabulous products from Etsy this week!

If you would like to be considered for next week’s Superb Sunday, please leave a comment on this post letting me know which of the following products was your favourite, and also leave your Etsy shop link in your comment!

1. First Date Earrings by jewelledblossoms

2. Danny the Gigantic Dung Beetle by Weird Bug Lady

3. Ruby Clutch by Austin Nicole

4. Driftwood Picture Frame by Black Eyed Susan

5. Delicate Heart Soap by Soap Wish

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I’ve done it.

I’ve made a how-to video! I pulled out some of my sea glass collection, and I’ve gone through what to look for when collecting and choosing sea glass for jewellery. It was fun to make, and I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you think

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Just for a bit of fun, each Saturday I’m planning to post - among other things - a pic of my kitteh - Gobbolino. I hope you are amused…

Also - I challenge you, each week, to write a LOLcat caption for this picture in the comments. The best one from each week will become the caption on the picture!!! For those of you who don’t know what I’m on about - please visit Icanhazcheezburger.com

And now, on to the main event.. the Sat Cat for this week…

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This is a question that I have long considered, especially as I’ve gotten older.

Blue eyed cuties by yo_heidi_gurl

Now, I work with kids, and I find that quite enjoyable. However, I have always maintained that kids are great… as long as you can give them back.

Being a parent has never been anywhere near the top of my to-do list, even though I am increasingly surrounded by family and friends who are having children of their own. When I tell people that I’m not really interested in having kids, they inevitably tell me that I’ll change my mind when I hit the magic Three-Oh.

But I wonder - will I? And even if I do, will having children make myself or Nick (my fiancé) any happier?

A number of people have written on this issue (The Happiness Project, Amelia Hill, Lorraine Ali) and have come to different conclusions based on their personal beliefs - but the research seems quite clear.

And the answer is no.

As someone with no plans to have children, this is a heartening find - though I can well imagine those of you out there who scoff at this finding, arguing that you love your kids more than anything, and can’t imagine being without them, and that *of course* they make you happier!

To be honest, though - it’s hard to miss something you’ve never had. I’ll use the analogy of siblings. I am an only child, and so have never known what it is like to have a brother or sister. But you know what? The vast majority of people that I have spoken to in my life have confided that I shouldn’t feel that I’ve missed out - because, apparently, having siblings is not all it’s cracked up to be. I take them at their word, but I’ll never know one way or another. It’s a similar thing with children. If I never have any, then all I have to go on is what I see around me, and the research and stories of others.

To be frank, most people I know who have kids (and, keep in mind I work with around 150 families) are constantly tired, frustrated, and worn out trying to run both their lives and their kids lives.

I think the one thing we can all, perhaps, agree on, is that once you have kids, your freedom is severely curtailed. You no longer have the time (or energy) that you used to, and your needs and wants go on the backburner while you take care of your child.

Call me selfish, but I love my life, and I don’t have a desire to sacrifice my current joys to parenthood - at least, not yet! I am the happiest I’ve ever been, I have a full life, and if I never have kids, I don’t think I’ll spend much time regretting it.

So, what is your take on this issue? Do your kids *really* make you happier? Or do you just want to believe they do?

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This week on My Crafty Journey we welcome Rachel, from the US.

If you would like to be a guest blogger on My Crafty Journey, please use the contact form above to get in touch.

Rachel

This is My story..and I’m sticking to it !

I grew up in L.A. , My Dad is an Actor ( Robert Culp) so I guess from the beginning there were a lot of interesting people around and I was ALWAYS very into clothes.
As a teenager I got very into Music and started going to a lot of concerts..I totally fell in love with MUSIC and Musicians and the way they dressed !
I always felt I was born a little too late..I would have loved to have been around in the 60’s..and am very inspired to this day by 60’s and 70’s Rock & Roll style !

I left Home when I was 20 and moved to Chicago to live with Danny O’Connor..who I met while standing in line at a Todd Rundgren Concert in L.A. when I was 15 . He was working and touring with them at the time and it was love at first sight..at least on My end..it took a few more years to convince Him( Men are so dumb sometimes ! )

Glam Rock

I started making Jewelry in Chicago..selling in some stores in Chicago and L.A. and Art Fairs..got bored with that after a while..got pregnant with My first Son,Elliott, in 1987 . While I was pregnant I started making Baby Clothes for Him..and started making stuff for Friends of ours in the Music Business ..and My business just sort of grew by word of mouth.

I mainly do hand embellished Denim..but other things as well.
I LOVE to sew..it’s my creative outlet and just love the process ..Finding fabric I’m inspired by and creating something from My head that wasn’t there before !

I also do a lot of Custom pieces for people who bring Me their old Clothes or fabric pieces that have a lot of personal meaning to them and that they don’t want to part with so I turn it into a Pillow..or a quilt or Jacket and they have it forever.

We moved from S.F. to Michigan a few years ago and when I got here I started selling My Kids stuff on Ebay..it took about a year to get rolling again but once I did it has been non stop every day.
people always tell Me I should hire somebody to do My sewing and I just design everything..but I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that and I LOVE to do it myself.

Astro Girl

I have had the problem lately of people copying My work and a few things that are distinctly My own ..this swirl I use  and some of the stitching..I have to say it is rather frustrating..I still don’t understand why people think that’s O.K.

I just started selling on Etsy a few months ago ..I am really inspired by all the amazing stuff there ..makes Me want to get back to My earlier work ..the wilder the better !

Thanks for letting Me share My story..

Visit Rachel:

Deep Blue “C” : http://www.deep-blue-c.com

Etsy Shop : www.mydeepbluec.etsy.com

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