I heart JB

So many young girls are just crazy about the Jonas Brothers. They really are a very talented trio of brothers, ok I discovered they really are brothers. Here are some facts I know about the Jonas Brothers. Please let me know if I pass the cool test:

• Their names are Kevin, Joe and Nick
• Their latest album is A Little Bit Longer
• They have a show in Disney called Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream
• They were in a movie called Camp Rock, a made for Disney Movie (I admit I think I saw part of this)
• The brothers have all been home schooled by their mother
• All three boys wear purity rings on their left hand ring finger and have vowed not to have premarital sex

I couldn't resist creating the "I heart JB" necklace. I think every fan should be able to display their love for these talented brothers. Visit my shop if you would like details to purchase the "I Heart JB".

Would you like to read a Acrocstic poem about the Jonas Brothers then visit Two Crazy Girls blog.

Please also let me know if I passed the cool test and if you have any factoids to add about the Jonas Brothers.

Wordless Wednesday

Let me introduce you to Miss Molly

Molly is my parents dog. We had Molly for a week while my parents were on vacation. We really enjoyed having her and she got me thinking about how she became a part of the family. Around 6 years ago hubby and I were walking Kane down a fairly busy street and this man in a pick up truck drove buy, pulled in a alley and threw her out of the truck. Molly was just a puppy, probably only 6 months old. She came running to us and we just knew we had to find the poor girl a home. We would have kept her but had just rescued Kane and felt two dogs was too much. My mom always seems to find pets a home so we immediately took her to my parents. We spent a few weeks looking for a home and actually found a few but in the end my Mom fell in love with her. Molly is the kind of dog that follows you around the house and when you aren't home she waits by the door. When you wake up in the morning she gets so excited her entire body shakes. I can never understand how some people can treat animals so poorly but I know we are very glad to have Miss Molly be a part of the family.

I really try to encourage others to rescue a pet if they can. Rescues very often make the best pets and they are so grateful for their homes. Take a peek at my hand stamped "Rescue" necklace. I designed this necklace some time ago for a pet lover and just realized I never listed it in my shop.



Do you have a rescue? If so please share how you came to rescue it.

To see my complete collection of my hand stamped jewelry please visit my shop.

The lazy days of summer

Can you believe Will didn't want to eat this ice cream cone? We were at the local farm market and they were giving away these yummy ice cream cones, but Will didn't want anything to do with it, I guess because it didn't have any chocolate on it.

I can't believe summer is coming to an end and it got me thinking of some things I want to do before it is over.

• Eat lunch and dinner on our deck, as often as possible
• Go for more family walks after dinner
• Have my morning cup of coffee on the deck
• Take Will to the park more often
• Go for more bike rides, next year Will will be too big for his bike seat on the back of my bike
• BBQ as much as possible and try some new recipes

What do you want to do before summer is over?

Which Brady are you most like?

Gosh I just loved this show as a kid, I so wanted to be a Brady! Did you watch it as a kid?

You Are Marcia Brady

Confident yet kind. Popular yet down to earth. You're a total dream girl. You've got the total package - no wonder everyone's a little jealous of you.

What Brady Are You?

Does your tween heart Hannah Montana?

I have to admit I have watched Hannah Montana a few times and see her everywhere. I mean everywhere you turn you see Hannah Montana merchandise. A few weeks ago I was at Michael's craft store and a dad was purchasing every Hannah Montana poster they had, he admitted to me that he really enjoys the show also. It wasn't until I received a custom order for the above necklace that I realized how popular she is. My customer purchased several of these for her daughter and her daughter's friends. I don't have a tween so I don't quite understand what makes her so popular with the little girls. Does your daughter just love her?

When I was a tween the craze was Michael Jackson, I had so many of his buttons!

The "Heart HM" hand stamped necklace is of course available in my shop Kristen's Custom Creations.

Will-isms

I remember the time I worried about if Will was talking enough. I even made a list of all of the words he said so I could see if he was talking enough. Looking back I feel a bit silly. I think as any new mom we worry that our kid isn't doing the things they "should" be. You see it was triggered by one of those moms in a play group that was saying her 1 year had the largest vocabulary on the planet. I really wish moms didn't have to compare their kids so much, as I have realized each kid for the most part develops at their own pace.

Now Will doesn't stop talking and says some of the funniest things. I thought I would share a few, keep in mind he is just over 2.5 years old.

Will: "Mama why are you cleaning, are my friends coming over?" We really do clean often, not sure why he only noticed it this past weekend.

Will: "Mama today I am going to call you Kristen" Hey at least he knows my other name.

Will: "Ah Mama you are sweet like my candy!" I had just given him a piece of candy for being really good at the grocery store.

Will: "Mama you are strong like a monster" I am not sure if this should be taken as a compliment, but it is funny.

Will: "Mama the Mickey store is locked forever and ever!" The local mall closed our Disney Store and for some reason he wanted to tell me that this morning.

Do you have something funny your kiddo has said? Where do they get these things?

Wordless Wednesday

Love you to the moon and back....

One of the things I love about making hand stamped jewelry is that I can stamp just about anything, and a piece can hold special meaning. I created the "Love U 2 The Moon and Back" because one of Will's favorite books is "Guess How Much I Love You" He loves to say, "Love to the moon and back." I created this piece for myself and now finally have it listed in my shop.

I find sometimes it takes me a while to get new pieces listed in my shop Kristen's Custom Creations, since I get busy filling orders and busy chasing after my kiddo. I have a few other new items in my shop also more to come, so be sure to check them out. I am really trying to get caught up this week.

What is your favorite children's book?

Take a peek....

Take a peek Into my garden. In a previous post I talked about one of my favorite summertime memories. As a kid I spent most days at the city pool and on the way home would walk by this house that always had the most gorgeous daisies. I would always pick just a few to give my mom.

The years have passed and I too now have my own daisy garden. I wanted to let the "Daisy Lady" know how much I enjoyed and still enjoy her flowers. Can you believe she still has the most gorgeous daises in the neighborhood and still tends to them.

I decided to drop her a card today and let her know how much I have enjoyed her daisies through out the years. I have been meaning to do this but just hadn't gotten around to it.

I think sometimes people do the smallest things and just don't realize how much they impact you. I hope I make her day, when she receives my card.

The story behind my hand stamped jewelry...

Very often my clients ask me how I got started with making hand stamped jewelry. I thought I would share my story. I spent over 11 years working in the service industry and was very focused on my career, probably too focused. I always thought when I was ready to have a kiddo it would just happen when I wanted it to happen. I never dreamed I would suffer with infertility issues. To make a long story a bit shorter it took us 3 years to have Will. When we finally had Will I was so proud, as any proud mama should be. I decided I wanted a necklace with his name on it. I just couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so hubby said, "You make jewelry (bead jewelry as a hobby) it can't be that hard, why don't you make something" I spent around 8 months researching materials, perfecting my technique and testing the quality of my necklaces. I am a perfectionist and wanted it to be just the right thickness and size. So you see my "Proud Mama" necklace is my first piece and has a story behind it.

I really never thought making my necklace would turn into a business. I started giving my "Mom 2 Be" necklace (my second creation) as baby shower gifts and then made necklaces for friends and family. Soon I started receiving requests from friends of friends so I decided to launch my business on Etsy. I was overwhelmed at how well they were received.

I feel truly blessed to have a creative outlet that allows me to make some extra money and be home with Will. I hope my jewelry holds special meaning for those that wear it. I enjoy my clients as they are some of the kindest folks out there. It makes my day when they take time to email me and tell me how much they like their stamped jewelry.

So you see, sometimes you just never know where a venture will take you. When I look back at my journey I really feel things happen for a reason.

Andrew's Day to shine....

Today is Andrew's day in the spotlight! I felt with the Olympics kicking off and my featured organization for August being The Special Olympics of Michigan, it was only fitting to introduce you to my cousin Andrew. Andrew is the inspiration behind selecting The Special Olympics of Michigan. Andrew as I mentioned before has been a participant for many years and I hope our Olympians have as much heart and soul as Andrew does when he competes.

We adore Andrew and hope he brings you a smile today!

Just a reminder for every hand stamped Shine necklace that is sold in my shop a portion of proceeds will be donated to The Special Olympics of Michigan. Please also visit their site to see how you can support just a great cause.

Do you text message?

One of my customers had me create these special BFF or Best Friends Forever charm necklaces. She wanted something special since the girls have been best friends since they were toddlers.

It got me thinking about all of those abbreviations and what they mean. I do know what BFF stands for and a few others, but if I had a teenager I would need to take a course in these abbreviations just to communicate. So here is a run down, let me know if I missed any.

BTW: by the way
G2G: got to go
BRB: be right back
CUL8R: see you later
HT4U: hot for you
W/E: whatever
GMAB: give me a break
OMG: oh my god
QT: cutie
LOL: Laugh out Loud (I had a customer that use to always say LOL and I thought it meant lots of love)
TTYL: talk to you later
TMI: too much information
JK: just kidding

Do you use these abbreviations? I use some, and I have to admit it does make it easier.

The "BFF" hand stamped sterling necklace is available here.

Happy texting!!

Are you a red light runner?

Yesterday I almost received a parking ticket for blocking the city sidewalk at my parents house. I was shocked and angry that you can get a ticket for briefly leaving your car across a sidewalk. I guess I knew you could receive a ticket but didn't think a police officer would actually give you one. Lesson learned. I decided since I was given a "warning" it is my civic duty to raise public awareness, this is kinda like my community service.

Did you know that every year there are around 171,000 crashes caused by running red lights and of those 887 people lost their lives in 2006 due to red light runners. These crashes also cost the public 14 billion dollars a year. You can learn more about how you can help The National Campaign To Stop Red Light Running.

So the next time you are at a traffic light DO NOT RUN IT, it could cost you your life or someone elses. And when you are sitting at a green light wait a few seconds before proceeding, just in case someone decides to run a red light. I always wait a few seconds before I go and get so annoyed when other drivers honk for me to go, you see it wouldn't be them getting hit, it would be me.

So my tip of the day is Drive carefully and remember RED means STOP!

Do you have a safety tip?

Wordless Wednesday

Featured, Featured, Featured

Head on over to Ohana Mama to read my featured interview. The lovely Sarah has one of the coolest blogs, she features cool finds for Ohana Mama's. Lucky Sarah resides in Maui with her family. I heart Maui. Hubby and I spent our honeymoon in Maui, and hope to return again someday.

Check out Sarah's Tagatowel, which is patent pending and soon to be released.

Special thank you to Sarah for featuring my shop!

Mahalo Sarah!!!

Happy Monday!

A special thank you to everyone who wished Will a speedy recovery. Poor Will was so sick for an entire week, but now is on the mend.

How could I deny him a towel for his frozen lemonade pop, (you know so his hands wouldn't get cold)

You always know your kiddo is getting better when they start terrorizing your house again!

So tell me what is the best "Get Well" tip you have when your kids are sick?

I think I am feeling generous this month..

The Secret is in the Sauce is hosting a giveaway for one of my new necklaces. I collaborated with them to create two pieces, "Shine" and "Saucy" The contest is really simple, just leave a comment here as to which one is your favorite and then head on over to their site to leave a comment there also. If you just can't wait, both necklaces are available in my shop and a portion of proceeds for each "Shine" necklace will be donated to the Special Olympics of Michigan.

Also be sure to check out their sister site SITS Girls Recipes for some good eats!

Happy commenting!

Featured Organization for August

The featured organization for August is the Special Olympics of Michigan.

This organization is near and dear to me, my cousin Andrew has been a participant with the Special Olympics of Michigan for many years and has won his share of medals! Andrew is now 21 years old and is a very special young man. You always see a smile on his face (ear to ear) and anyone that knows him, knows that he loves Sponge Bob, and I mean really loves it! We love and adore Andrew!

For each "Shine" necklace sold a portion of proceeds will be donated to the Special Olympics of Michigan. Please also visit their site to learn more about their activities and how you can help this organization continue their fantastic work.

The "Shine" necklace is a 16 mm sterling silver disc with the word "shine" hand stamped. The necklace also includes a puffy sterling silver star charm and a beautiful, freshwater pearl that has been hand wire wrapped by hand. The charms hang on a 18 inch sterling silver ball chain. Artist note: The letters on this disc have been hand stamped one at a time. I do not use machines. The letters will not line up perfectly and are not meant to this is part of the charm that makes your piece one of a kind. No two pieces will ever be exactly the same. The disc has been brushed and the letters have been oxidized/antiqued, to make them stand out it will appear to be aged or slightly tarnished but has been given a good polish.

Friday Funny...

Are you a Seinfeld Fan? I can watch re-runs over and over and never get sick of it! Here are some of my favorite episodes, but I really love them all.

• Soup Nazi
• Spare a Square
• Man Hands
• Smelly Car
• Puffy Pirate Shirt

I know those aren't the exact titles, but they are a few of my favorites. If you are a fan, what are your favorite episodes?