Winning, A Good Thing

I actually won a contest on one of my favorite blogs; Purple Pink and Orange last week. Yes, me. The one who never wins, so never enters anything. But I did and I did. Go figure. So what did I win? So fitting that because I’m trying to eliminate wastefulness in my life, that I believe it was destiny to win three re-usable ripstop nylon Kootsac bulk food bags. And just as it happens, they just opened one of my favorite markets this past weekend that carries many bulk food items so I’ll try them out today.

Inventory Clearance Sale, It's BIG!

We've been having some website problems on my regular website, so to ease the frustration and to make way for FALL, we're having a HUGE inventory clearance sale on my other site.
I have to let you know that much of my jewelry and accessories are now on clearance and moved over to my Etsy site at http://shopbonnin.etsy.com . Many items are marked way way down. And shipping is FREE to the US. So please hurry over because it's going fast.

Am I Acting Like My Mom?

I was trying to think of how to blog regularly when I really didn’t have anything exciting going on in my life and very little motivation to do anything on a daily basis. So a fleeting thought came to me when my son told me “you act just like grandma”. I act like my mom? God forbid. But why does he think that? (And how can I change that?) What are the things my mom and I have in common. Well stretching it a bit, she always has a BETTER way of doing things (every thing) than I have decided to do them and tells me so, often, well always. I on the other hand am happy to share the ways I have found to make my life easier, and the products and techniques for getting there. I personally don’t care if you choose to do them/use them, but I have found them helpful and we aren’t inventing the wheel here. I think that was a rather insightful admission, though some may think I am rationalizing a bit. I hope those of you that know me, know that I’m not.

So here goes tip number one. I have really been trying to do my part with recycling and repurposing to help save the planet. I am starting slowly but I am proud of myself for it. I started keeping the paper Trader Joe’s bags in my trunk so that when I go to Trader Joe’s I can re-use them. That resulted in getting to the checkout line each and every time realizing I left the damn bags in the trunk. Every time! Could not remember. I thought “ok, forgot this time, but next time I won’t.” Boy was that a wrong thought. But it was my intention. So if you are good at remembering bags in trunk, do that.

I then was reading Daily Buss newsletter and they had featured Neela Bags. OMG they are so cute and for only $5 each these lightweight, reusable market bags are portable but nice and roomy. I got several in a cute giraffe print. They fold up and Velcro pocket size and so I can fit several in my purse which I load up prior to my trip to the store. I have got compliments on these bags each and every time I use them, by people wanting to know where to get them. They should do well. I should do well with carrying out my intention and I hope I’m not acting like my mom here. If you use any bags, or no bags at all, that’s your business, I’m not being pushy.

So I hope you like tip number one. That was easy enough.

Finally!

Finally!, originally uploaded by bonnindesigns.

It's been a long time that I've blogged. I often feel that I have nothing to write that anyone would want to read. I think I'll start again in little, short entries. That may make it a bit easier for all of us.
Let's start, ok? I have had this bracelet that I made, but not completed, just sitting in a drawer for about 2 years. Once I made the bracelet, I couldn't decide on how to make the closure. These beads are triangle, so I could't have made a button from them very easily. A few weeks ago, I visited my local notions store and there it was, the perfect button. Now that was a few weeks ago that I brought it home. There was one thing missing: motivation. Ah, but yesterday I found that too and now you see the long awaited bracelet/cuff made from triangular metallic toho beads, Swarovski crystals, and a metal button. Just for me. I feel accomplished. Finally!

Published - Wow, Twice in One Year

Finally, and it appears true, 1000 Jewelry Inspirations, but I shouldn't get my hopes up until I see the inside of the book. As I've been failed before. But then again, why would the publisher email me to tell me that the book is coming out soon if I didn't get my work in it. Originally I was asked to submit 5 pieces, so we'll see how many made it into the pages. So, published, twice in one year. First it was my six words for my six-word memoir which is pretty hilarious since I am so far from being a writer, but now it's my jewelry, it's what I do. So it's pretty exciting. So that's 2 books with my jewelry in it. I've had my jewelry published in a book in 2006 for DIY's "Jewelry Making" . I guess I may be official now.

Vacation Dress Rehearsal

The kids are growing up so fast, I realized, it’s been years since we went on a real family vacation. Next year my daughter will probably have a full time summer job, so this has got to be the year for that next vacation. I put together a trip to Maui for a week in the summer and we’ll stay in a condo. That will be a first for me. But damn it’s so expensive to eat out for every single meal, especially in Hawaii.

Sneakily I thought we’d do a mini-vacation run-thru dress rehearsal this past weekend. I wanted to see how they act together and with parents. Typically they fight, I get a headache, and life goes on. It’s rare to tell the kids to “get in the car, we’re going to do something as a family”. Usually they are hanging out doing things with their friends on weekends and don’t want to be seen with ‘parents’. So off we went on a day trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was a really nice day. Great weather, only a few spats, we did and saw it all. I think we’ll survive our vacation for 8 days.
The only thing was when I got back and downloaded my photos from one of the cameras I brought (I had 2, more on that in a minute), I noticed we had a problem. The camera was not working right and the memory card was damaged. The photos that were in the distance were all pixelated. Great. (None are on this blog entry). This was one of the first digital Olympus cameras made. The other camera I brought was my little KonicaMinolta Dimage. It’s great for closeups, but doesn’t take photos in dim light unless there’s a flash, and distance shots are pretty lame. I typically use it for my close ups of my jewelry.

Good thing I went to test out the camera situation. By Sunday, I purchased my necessary and new camera for our trip and all of the time. It’s a Canon DR XT and I got an amazing deal from Adorama. Adorama is an electronics store that specializes in cameras in NYC and has been around since 1975. They pump out the cameras so you can get a great deal.. I actually called and spoke with Frank. He was fantastic. My camera was at least $100 lower than anywhere I’d priced it and even $200 cheaper than Walmart where I saw it there today.