MikiCat Designs

I know I promised to write at least once a week but with my Dad in the hospital, he's gotten worse, I just haven't given much thought to it. Today, however, I'm home and can't visit Dad because I have a killer cough and they won't let me into ICU. He just had a stent put in and tomorrow goes in for triple bypass surgery so we take no chances with even the slightest possibility of his catching something from me. While I'm sitting here, twiddling my thumbs and toes and coughing, I thought I'd tell you about a few things.

New friends can be found in the strangest places. While standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for your coffee at Starbucks, getting your nails done or bringing in some shirts to the Cleaners. Well, there I am, sitting in the Surgical/ICU waiting room earlier this week, with one of my best friends, Deb, waiting for Pops to come back from a "procedure" so I can brush his hair and get it into a comfortable pony tail. Yup, my old man's a hippie from way back when and his hair is past his shoulders. LOL But that's another story.

Anyway, while sitting around, naturally we start talking to each other and to the other people in the waiting room. It turns out that one of the women sitting there is a fellow beader and jewelry maker. But wait, she also lives in the condo complex right next to my development! Talk about your small world. What's more, she has an Etsy shop, ElegantNFunky, and is a member of the Florida Etsy Street Team. So how come I have to go to a hospital waiting room to meet someone I should have met awhile ago? Well, it really is a big, small world, and we make it larger by not reaching out when we get the chance.

I've been making jewelry for 3 years now, been a member of FEST for almost as long and should have known that some of my fellow FEST members may just live nearby. So, I urge you to go check out who's really in your local guild, whether you make jewelry, sew clothes, crochet, knit, craft, paint or sculpt, really look around at the members and see who just might be your neighbor.

As I said, friends can be found in the strangest places, but only if you really look.

Okay, I promised last week that I'd try to write something on the blog at least once a week. Problem is, I just don't really have a lot to say. Alright, that's not strictly true. Just ask any one of my friends and they'll tell you sometimes the problem is that I don't shut up. But writing is a completely different animal. Especially when you know it has the potential to be read by the World! That's world with a Capital W meaning, anyone, everyone, anywhere.

Well, let's see what happened this week. Some of my jewelry got listed on two, yes two, collections over at Artfire this week. One named Beautiful Byzantine and one called Beautiful Turquoise Handmade Jewelry. It's hard to say which piece of mine chosen I like better. The bracelet in the Byzantine collection I wear often. I've also made and sold a couple so it's certainly one of my favorites. On the other hand, The bracelet included in the Turquoise collection I've designated as my signature piece since I first started making jewelry. I've sold it in it's original Turquoise color, and also in Picture Jasper with Swarovski light amber crystals and 14K gold filled jump rings and with Carnelian, a beautiful red stone with Swarovski copper colored crystals and copper jump rings. It's just such a fun bracelet to make and looks fabulous when you wear it.

Another thing that happened this week was that Saturday my Dad had a mini-stroke and lost the hearing in his right ear. So now he's in the hospital and, at 86, has to decide if he's willing to go through an operation to clear his arteries or whatever it is they do. Yeah, I'm a bit worried, so I may not have much to report next week. Except, hopefully, good news. He's still a man in great humor and the only thing he really wishes is that he had a computer to use at the hospital. My old man is a techy at heart which proves you can teach an old dog new tricks. :) Prayers and well wishes accepted.

Lastly, another pair of my earrings was featured in another Etsy treasury, not your grandmother's pearls....... LOL, hey, I didn't come up with the Treasury name so don't blame me. But it's true though, these are NOT your grandmother's pearls. I just gotta say that my fellow artists and artisans at the Florida Etsy Street Team ROCK!!

I'm off to the hospital tomorrow to see Dad so I'll log off for now. At least I kept my promise and wrote something even if it's something about nothing.

They say it's lonely at the top, but you know, it's just as lonely at the bottom. Maybe more so. I've been on the bottom for awhile now and it's one of the reasons I haven't posted here on the blog. So, I'm going to climb the ladder and try something new. Once a week I'm going to talk about jewelry or crafting or art or, well, anything inspirational that comes to mind.

This being May, I decided to create a Treasury over at Etsy. It's called Florida Flower Power and it is a selection of some of the prettiest, flower inspired works from my fellow teammates at the Florida Etsy Street Team or Team Fest as we fondly call it.

Some of these people are artists, jewelry designers, beaders, sewers, crafters and much, much more. They are talented, creative people who just happen to live in Florida and have inspired me. None of my own work is in this Treasury. But I hope you'll hop on over there and take a little time to stop and smell the flowers. I have.

What frustrates me most about maintaining a website is my lack of control over the host server. Over the past couple of years, MikiCatdesigns.com was hosted by a server that, well, let's just say it wasn't/isn't the most stable server in town. In fact, I don't think they're even in town which is another reason I'm upset. I prefer to keep my business here in the States including support. Whatever, I finally got fed up enough to switch hosts.

One week later and my website is still down, the old host still hasn't done what they need to transfer my domain and now I can't even get any email! ARGH! So, if you need to reach me for any reason, you'll just have to send a message through my Artfire Studio or Etsy Shop.

The trials and tribulations of website maintenance are ubiquitous so I won't bore you with mine. Suffice to say I'm offering a special, unprecedented 30% OFF every item, except sale items, in both my shops!!! Just convo or write the word WEBWOES in your comments at checkout and I will refund 30% of your purchase!

Happy Holidays everyone. Hope yours is running smoother than mine! LOL

... that you can't or rather shouldn't refuse. If you're an artist, photographer, designer, crafter or anyone who creates handmade/handcrafted items for sale, do yourself a favor and run, don't walk, to become an Artfire Pro member at http://www.artfire.com/groupdeal.

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And when you're done setting up your shop and/or signing in for this offer, even if you're an existing Artfire Pro member, check out our Artfire Studio at http://mikicatdesigns.artfire.com.

"That's not my style."

How many times have you heard that from others or said it yourself? But personal "style", just like our taste buds, change constantly. There was a rule at our dinner table when I was growing up... "You don't have to eat but you must taste." It didn't matter if we'd had that particular food before and decided we didn't like it. My mom insisted that our tastes would change as we grew older. Things we liked, might not have the same appeal when we got older and things we thought absolutely disgusting at 15 would become our favorite foods at 25. She was right. I love raw clams, oysters and broccoli. Three foods that had made me gag every time.

When we're young, we're encouraged to try many different things. To stretch our imaginations, try out different philosophies, foods, and looks. We're told we can be anything we want to be if we just try. My mom also used to say "You may be the greatest piccolo player in the world, but you'll never know unless you try the piccolo." Wise woman. So, I tried. Well, I didn't try the piccolo, but I expanded my horizons by tasting foods I never tried before, trying on a piece of clothing before dismissing it as 'not me' and even revisiting old styles and things I'd never liked because she was right. My tastes changed as I grew and the years went by.

Well, I'm no young woman anymore but does that mean I have to stop trying new things, tasting new and old foods or dismissing a look because I don't think it's me? Nope. The day I stop trying new things will be the day they can plant me 6 feet under. Well, I'd rather be cremated but that's neither here nor there. What I am trying to say is that while almost everything I make is something I love to wear, they're not always "my style". Which is why a lot of my jewelry is on the eclectic side. One day I'll like chainmaille, the other wire wrapping and the next beading. So I play with them all. However, if I ever do find a set style in my art, I'll probably force myself to change it because I don't want to get in a rut.

Most of the jewelry for sale on Artfire, Etsy and my website, are pieces I loved making. But I'm expanding my horizons daily. Right now I'm getting into metalsmithing, though I've nothing finished to show or that I want to sell... yet. I'm still learning and trying new (to me) techniques and tools, having a blast and realizing that my style is every growing, evolving and changing.

There's no law out there that says everyone can have only one "style" for the rest of their lives. We can change our hair, our clothes and even our eye color and beautiful one of a kind jewelry is the greatest way to say "We are unique!" So challenge yourself and think out of the box. Try something new, different and unpredictable. Buy a new perfume, try a new food, wear a different type of shoe... and let your jewelry be as spontaneous and unique as you are!

Miki