The Magpie's Treasure

How I Keep on the Sunny Side of Life

There's that old song that reminds us to "Keep on the sunny side of life" especially when life is challenging or difficult. And that's what I try to do--with varying degrees of success--but I'm usually able to find a silver lining.

One thing I like to do to keep myself positive, is to post uplifting quotes around the house--in my work area, on the side of the fridge, next to my mirror in the bathroom, on my night stand--just about everywhere that I spend a lot of time. (During one particularly difficult time in life, I even had notes taped to the dash board of my car!)

I guess this is why I often incorporate quotes like these in my jewelry.

I just recently noticed how many of these little notes I have hanging around. I finally realized this when I began participating in a wonderful art business class lead by Alyson Stanfield (the Art Biz Coach & author of "I'd Rather Be in the Studio"). We've been working on setting goals, getting organized, and dreaming BIG. One of the things we've all done is come up with a vision and put together affirmations to help us see that vision as a reality. I struggled with this, until I looked around and saw that my notes are a lot like the affirmations I was trying to conjure up.

I thought I'd share some of these with you... Let me know if you find a gem that you'll be posting on your bathroom mirror. Or better yet, let me know if you've got a great quote that I should add to my own collection!

Here goes:

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work. ~Oprah

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. ~Greg Anderson

If they can do it, you KNOW you can, too. ~quote I found on a Dove chocolate wrapper

The person born with a talent they use will find their greatest happiness in using it. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without the work. ~Emile Zola

Big results require big ambitions. ~James Champy

If you can’t excel with talent, triumph with effort. ~Dave Weinbaum

You get in life what you have the courage to ask for. ~Oprah

Opportunity never arrives. It’s here.

God doesn’t give people talents that he doesn’t want them to use. ~Iron Eagle

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you desire. ~Henry David Thoreau

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. ~Goethe

Don’t let success go to your head or failure go to your heart.

High expectations are the key to everything. ~Sam Walton

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. ~James 4:8

Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength.

It's true, I have no class...

...and neither do any of the kids in this county, because it SNOWED!

It was a light and fluffy snow--so easy to shovel. The flakes made soft tapping sounds as they hit the ground around me.

And I was surprised to see that the tiny snowflakes were not crumbling when they landed but creating lacy bundles on the leaves. So beautiful!

And For My Next Act -- The Three Hip Chicks Jewelry Show

This was just delivered... a postcard announcing the jewelry show I'll be doing with two of my really good friends. I hope I can live up to the "Hip Chick" billing!

Ellen McBride tracks down vintage ephemera, from old postcards to love letters, finding paper, feathers, flowers and authentic wording she can incorporate into lovely collage pendants.

And Kimberly Jae Nelson plays with fire to melt, shape and manipulate glass into beautiful beads and fanciful pendants.

These two women put the "hip" in the Three Hip Chicks. They are amazingly, fantastically, uber creative and spend lots of their free time scouring antique markets for old treasures that can be given new lives. On a recent adventure, they discovered a scrapbook with CIA photos of people in foreign lands. When they asked the shop owner for the price--a phone call was made and suddenly the collection was priced far above what they could afford ... Doh!

Our opening reception at the Heron's Way Gallery is set to take place during Leonardtown's First Friday Gallery Crawl. This sounds like it'll be a fun night. The next day, the Three Hip Chicks will be at the Gallery, again, but this time we'll let the customers have some fun--selecting from an assortment of charms that we've made--to make their own unique bracelets or necklaces. [My charms are in production right now. I'm making mini square glass pendants and glass droplet charms. These are super cute! Think I might add some of these to my line of necklaces.]

 

A Room Of One's Own

So come on in and let me show you around my studio! I've completely revamped my work area in the last 2 weeks and am eager to show it off.

As you can see I've taken over half of my humongous basement--designating different tables for different tasks that need to get done. (For some strange reason, doing my bills and making jewelry all on one table was not working for me...)

This Christmas, Santa brought me not one, but TWO workbenches! So the old plastic folding tables got pushed aside for these beauties. (The wood still smells fresh!) And the Swedish gods at IKEA delivered the bookshelves--to organize my supplies and all of my art books.

This is my metalsmithing workbench--where I can saw, hammer, file, solder, sand, and burnish to my heart's content.

The  bulletin board is new, too, and I'm loving the inspiration I get from photos I hang there. The yellow toolbox is a wonderful storage solution that allows me to keep my tools in a carrier that I can take to my silversmithing classes. (No more packing and unpacking!)

And then there's my beading bench. This is where I can string pearls and mix colorful glass beads and crystals.

In the center of my space there is a soft hand-me-down couch, a small coffee table, and area rug. It's not much to look at, but it's the perfect place to have a cup of coffee and oogle jewelry designs in magazines.

 

And finally, I've created a separate space for all business and Web related activities. I have drawers and a filing cabinet to organize paperwork and office supplies.

Up until now, all of this work was done in the corner where the bookshelves now stand, and I worked on my two plastic folding tables. It was a very chaotic, and it was getting harder and harder to come to work. Now this studio is one of my favorite places to be!

Thanks for visiting!!

Let's start at the very beginning...

Welcome! The new year is off to a great start and lots of exciting new things are brewing in my studio. The first new item is this blog. I want to use it to show you what goes on behind the scenes at my workbench and where some of my inspiration comes from.

Bare with me, as I get up to speed using Typepad. We'll be up and running before you know it. I look forward to chatting with you!