MikiCat Designs

Okay, I'm blocked for blogging. While I love to write and think I do it well, I don't always know what to write about. After a wonderful chat with the Florida Etsy Street Team tonight, I was complaining about not having any sales. I've been with Etsy for many months now and only made one online sale... to my cousin in Atlanta. I've been waiting and waiting for another sale. Well, we had a fun FEST chat. Talked about Florida sales tax laws, Facebook business pages and how to get fans, some of the wonderful work that others do, blogging and tips on selling, and more. Joining this team makes me feel a part of a community. We're all handmade artisans and whether we work in fiber, clay, ceramics, photography, painting, jewelry or any other type of art or craft, we're a community brought together with one common goal. To help each other learn from our mistakes. To guide others over the pitfalls we fell into. To learn from each other the things we need to learn to make a success of what we love to do and to never give up hope.

Like I said, it was a great chat tonight. A bit fast and it went quick, but I loved it. But the point I'm trying to make is that good karma comes to those who do good. Something happened before I even got to the chat. Something I didn't know about because I hadn't checked my email or my store before logging on to chit chat with everyone. When the chat was over, the first thing I did is what I usually do before going to bed... I checked my Etsy site and, just for the heck of it, clicked on Sold Orders. WOW, color me floored when I found that someone had bought a pair of earrings.

This is my second sale online since I opened the store back in April. I'm so glad that I can make a few more of these as they happen to be one of my best sellers at craft fairs but they are limited edition. Once I run out of the components I won't be buying more and will go on to new designs and ideas. So I am thrilled that someone finally found me, who wasn't a relative, and liked them enough to purchase.

This is so exciting. I'd like to feel it more often. But I don't want to use this blog to blatantly advertise just myself. So next week, look forward to a blog about tomorrow night's Florida Gold Coast Gem & Mineral Society Meeting where, I hear, one of our new members will attempt to teach some of the old lapidarists or is that lapidaryists (lapidaryers?) how to do wire wrapping. This I have GOT to see. LOL

Miki

I've been spending so much time online, trying to get the web store loaded up with my designs, promoting my fingers off to get more Facebook fans so I can reach 100 and lock in our name, Tweeting, photographing, describing, typing, etc... that I haven't had a lot of time to work on actually doing what I love to do, designing and making jewelry.

I'm lucky enough to have a new sister-in-law who just started her residency in Radiology on Monday. Amma and my brother, Noel, came down to Florida for a visit for this 4th of July weekend. They live up in Boston and I'm lucky if I get to see them once a year if that much. I wanted to give her something special so I created a design inspired by their love. I've always liked the different "Tree of Life" pendants out there and decided to try my hand at making a pair of earrings. I call them Tree Heart because I used beautiful green and pink Tourmaline, the colors of the heart chakra.

Tourmalines are gems with an incomparable variety of colors. The reason, according to an old Egyptian legend, is that the tourmaline, on its long journey up from the center of the Earth, passed over a rainbow. In doing so, it assumed all of it's colors and that is why it is still referred to as the 'gemstone of the rainbow' today. It is available in a wide variety of colors from black to bluish-black, dark brown, yellow, medium brown, blue to neon blue, lime to dark forest green, red and reddish purple, yellow, pink, and colorless.

Bi-colored and multicoloured tourmalines may be green at one end and pink at the other, watermelon tourmalines are green on the outside and pink on the inside. Some stones are dichroic meaning they appear to change color when viewed from different angles.

Tourmaline is believed to strengthen the body and spirit, especially the nervous system, blood, and lymphs, and enhance flexibility, happiness, objectivity, compassion, serenity, balance, positive transformation, healing, strength, tolerance, love, spirituality, joy, peace, and understanding. It is also thought to inspire creativity and was used extensively as a talisman by artists and writers.

The Heart Chakra is the center from which feelings of love emanate. It is also associated with other virtuous emotions, such as joy, happiness, honesty, respect, compassion, understanding, and generosity, and with loving oneself in a sincere, non-egotistic way. This is also the chakra through which we connect with others whom we love or have affection towards. Once forged, these links are very hard to break, which is why people suffer so much through the break-up of a relationship or the loss of a loved one.

The colors of the heart chakra are green (Emerald), red (Rose Quartz) and white (Silver). The red corresponds to the rose light of love, while the green signifies the lower or gross emotional body functioning of the heart center, which is focused on self, security, and accumulation of and attachment to and pride in physical and emotional possessions. The white or silver of course signifies spiritual purity.

I used a 20mm sterling silver square wire ring and tiny tourmaline chips. These aren't the most perfect earrings I've ever made but I love 'em. Wish I were a better photographer. I'll just have to make another pair and maybe I can get a better photo. Please, tell me what you think.

Miki