Time Flies When You're Having Fun?

Has it really been three months since I last posted on my blog?  Where has the time gone?  Summer is now just a memory...but great memories were made with family and friends.  My North Carolina daughter and her family came for an extended visit, my parents came up from Florida for a month, and my cousins came up from Philadelphia...cousins I haven't seen in many, many years.  It was awesome!

Of course, I designed and created jewelry whenever I had a quiet moment.  I will admit, there were times when I didn't have any inspiration whatsoever, so my jewelry tools sat on the work table feeling quite neglected.  I was actually ready to give it all up...feeling as though my jewelry was pretty lackluster at best.  Needless to say, I did a lot of soul-searching...asking myself questions like, "Who would ever want to buy this stuff?" and, "What do you really want to do when you grow up?" And then...out of the blue...there were some sales.

As I started to make my way back to my workstation, and my hands gripped the lonely pliers, I felt confident that I could continue on my creative journey again.  As I began to think about how to market my collection, I decided to search for some craft shows for the Fall.  While this is a real stretch for me, I have been really determined that I need to take a deep breath, take a huge risk, and just go for it!

I am happy to report (I think) that I will be a vendor at three Maine Made Craft Shows - the weekend of October 29 and 30, November 12 and 13, and November 19 and 20.  Depending on how things go, there's a possibility I may do one more on Thanksgiving weekend.  In addition, I may also be having some home parties. Wow...and now another season will fly by!

You better believe my hands just can't keep up with my brain and all of the fabulous designs that I want to make before the end of the month!  I have been spending a lot of time with my jewelry tools lately!  If you're a friend of C J Collection on Facebook, you've seen some of my newest designs.  Here's one that I just finished yesterday, and I absolutely love it!

This Kumihimo necklace has so much bling, you need to wear sunglasses to look at it!  It's one of the most elegant necklaces so far.  Braided with black, silver, and charcoal AB crystals, it has a multi-rhinestone focal bead in the center. This necklace measures 18 inches with a 1.5 inch chain extender, and a sterling silver shepherd's hook clasp.

It's so good to be back at it again...doing what I really love to do.  Now to finish all of the items on my very long "To Do List!"

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Carole