Wow...it has been a while!

by Patti Vanderbloemen

I have not written a post in this blog space of mine for nearly 2 years. Frankly, I am not sure that many people actually read my posts, as it appears that Social Media has taken over the "communication stratosphere".  But, I wanted to share something that is just too verbose to put on a Face Book post.

For the past 6 months, my little family and I have been toying with the idea of moving to Florida. After several scouting trips South, we narrowed down the location to the Tampa area, as my folks lived there for over 25 years and I quite liked it! We closed on our last (I SWEAR-NOT DOING THIS ANYMORE!!) forever home last month, and we will be heading South for good sometime in February 2019.

The good news is that we will be moving less than 15 minutes away from Mom's "old neighborhood" and I am hoping there will be more interactions for her with some of her old friends!

African Turquoise and Carnelian 

It's has been very stressful, to say the least - and the move has not even begun! We have a few more trips planned (including one this upcoming week) - all related to prepping the house for final move-in.  So, my creative time in the studio these days has been extremely limited.

Hammered Copper and Silver Hoops

I am simply peppering this post with some of my latest designs - all favorites!

Patterned Sterling Silver and Blue Chalcedony

Royston Turquoise and Sterling Silver Ring

The administrative details to moving out of state are overwhelming to me - I won't bore you with the details. I have a bit of organizational OCD though, so, what is easy for some, is not for me!

Hammered Sterling Silver Hoops

In moving over 900 miles from here, I am leaving my immediate family members: sister and brother in law, nieces and their spouses, great nieces and nephews, brother and sister in law, etc. THIS has made the decision so hard. But, my in-laws also live in Florida - albeit the East Coast - and it is important to be less than 3 hours away from them now. This constant flying back and forth is a life only for the birds these days.  Life is a balancing act...

Photo Credit via Pinterest 

When we moved into our current home less than 5 years ago, I was blessed to have the studio of my dreams! I even made sure to have a sink in this space! Prior to that, my space was in my unfinished basement-definitely an upgrade.  In my new home, it will be in the garage. However, the garage is actually quite suited to metalsmithing and I will have a/c so I won't faint from the Florida heat! :) Frankly, the heat in Virginia is not much better!

In preparing to move, The Purge has begun...big time. When it comes to my studio and all my materials, I have been separating items that I just don't use anymore: lots, and lots of beads, findings,  a few tools, etc.  I don't know if I should have some sort of destash event on Face book - or just box up the whole lot and give it away to a charitable organization who may benefit from these treasured goodies.  Anyone have a suggestion? Would anyone be interested in a destash event - or - know of a place where I send these goodies off where they will actually be used?  I would appreciate any and all feed back!

There will obviously be a lag time from when I close down my online shop while I move and set up. I hope I still have customers and followers when that time comes...it scares me a bit! (Honestly, it scares me more than just a bit)

But, in the end, this will be my new view from my kitchen....I am hoping it will all be worth it when the dust finally settles!

My best to all who took the time to read this - thanks for stopping by!

XO

Time sure flies when...

By Patti Vanderbloemen

you are busy!  Since my last post - over 3 weeks ago...sheesh...so much has been going on.  I spent a week in Florida - Captiva Island, to be specific.  Several of my family members rented a very nice, very large house that sat smack dab on the Gulf of Mexico.  If you are not familiar Captiva Island, it's located just west of Ft. Myers in Southern Florida.

Map Source

The house was beautiful, complete with requisite palm tress and grasses.

Front of the house, which had a very long secluded driveway

Back of the house, which faced the Gulf of Mexico.  It had a roof top deck too - way too hot for me!

It truly did not matter the time of day...the views were always spectacular!

Down in Florida - well every "vacation" spot I have been to where homes are rented - the houses have names.  The name of this house was appropriately named Paradise.  

Bird of Paradise - poolside!

As I have mentioned before, my folks lived in Florida - just south of Tampa - for 25 years, so I have been to the beaches before.  I will say this, the sand in St. Petersburg is "softer" and much, much whiter.  The sand in Sanibel/Captiva is actually quite rough.  Perhaps it is the abundance of sea shells!  The area is known for its amazing sea shells!  Amazingly, Gavin did not seem to mind the roughness of the sand!

 I, on the other hand, preferred this water...under the umbrella, of course!

As much as I despise the heat, it was very nice to spend extended time with my family.  I was the only one to return home with pasty white skin! :)

I have managed to make a few pieces of jewelry, and am especially smitten with silver bezel setting lately.  Each one I make gets a little bit easier than the last!

Druzy

Kingman Mine Turquoise

Love this one, too - an agate donut suspended in copper with NO solder! :)

I made this custom necklace for a friend - gorgeous pewter cross from Inviciti - and a hand wrapped, copper chain that took forever ... but it was worth it - I love it!  She must have changed her mind about purchasing, as it is still sitting in my shop.  Hopefully, someone else will claim it and give it some love!

More spinner bangles!  Gosh, these are a blast to make!!

In June of this year, I sent a bunch of jewelry to another horse rescue - B&C Equine.  She has sold quite a few pieces to her supporters right off of her Face Book page - yeah!  A few years ago, B&C Equine assisted Miracle Horse Rescue (MHR) in providing temporary food/shelter/etc. for two special horses acquired by MHR - Bradylynn and Pava.  Brenda took such good care of these ladies until their final transport to MHR.  I will be forever grateful for her efforts!  So this week, I am sending off a few more items with hopes that the proceeds will yield another bale or two of hay.

So - it has been a busy Summer and I am SO LOOKING FORWARD to Fall and Winter - my kinda weather! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today - enjoy your weekend!!

xo

Patti