ETSY TREASURY - EYES and a pic of the day

My Eye earrings were placed in my first ETSY Treasury ever. A Treasury is an Etsy thing where art of a particular theme is grouped together. I have no idea what it really does for you - I'm not very familiar with the ins and outs of Etsy - but I think it is to help promote you and give you more traffic to your store. Anyway, I am very grateful!
Click here to see!
Lance pulled this little fellow out of Sookies MOUTH! gasp, gasp, gasp. We think he was learning to fly and Sookie interfered.

I put him on the ground, and his parents were flying around us and squabbling. He walked a bit. Then the parents flew off. He was almost as big as his parents, only he was fluffy and they were sleek. They are a brilliant green, and about 3-4 inches in size. BEAUTIFUL BIRDS! I tossed him up a few feet and he flapped his wings and flew a few feet. I did this several times. Then I threw him up high a few time. On my 3rd try, he flew high and landed in a palm tree, where his parents then flew to and joined him with lots of chatter.
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this photo shows you his size....
So hopefully he has now learned to fly and will be ok.

PIC(S) OF THE DAY...

We finally finished cutting down 40 areca palms today. We had been waiting for some baby birds that were nesting in the trees to finally grow up and fly away!The trees drop nuts and huge fronds and were approaching 30 feet tall and were very messy and driving us crazy! Besides, we needed to clean up the whole area, replace the tarps and finish an enclosure for the new boat that's coming. The boat won't be here until next Monday - it was delayed leaving the port in San Diego because of an impending hurricane off the coast of Mexico - but it is on its way now!
So, this is the before picture: (That's my workshop on the right)

well sort of before - we'd already taken down 20 trees!
We attached a strap to the winch on the jeep and wrapped it around each tree trunk, and we pulled them down! Then lance cut them up with his chainsaw. It was my job to haul them away!
Here's the after picture: (....kind of naked looking...)

Now don't worry- it will actually all grow back in and be ready to be cut down again in no time! Things grow FAST around here!
...and here are close-ups of treasures we found while we were working. Lance said that we had cut down a fairies hideaway paradise, and that they were probably very angry with us for destroying their unique habitat. Such a cute, but unLance thing for him to say!...but he was right - the thick intertwining roots from the trees and all the nooks and crannies and debris really do look like a fairy wonderland!


POOR FAIRIES! they'll have to rebuild...

Pic of the Day...and more!

Well here is a willy-nilly whenever i see it Pic of the Day. I just can't do it EVERY day. I tried....but I just didn't have the motivation to make it happen.....but here is something i spotted and thought I'd show you.
This is a Hawaiian garden snail. I'm sure they are not native...we don't have the regular brown garden variety in my yard...only this type and a much smaller long coned one.
This guy is about 3 inches!...and it's not even a big one!
...and then, a few new pieces for the shop..... a Bone Owl Necklace. The carved bone owl is sitting on a preserved chicken bone with a rusty moon rising from behind. The chain is handmade from pounded rebar wire....turquoise emperor stone, turquoise beads and cobra spines for accent.

...and a simple pair of red lampwork heart earrings accented with swarovski crystals on fine silver. The earwires are sterling silver.


...and check out this news link.....
"Kauai unfazed by missile threat"
..since were the most likely target....Polihale by the way is the beach where lance and i went camping ages ago...and encountered THOUSANDS of paper roaches that we thought were flying moths.......yuck-o!

OUR BOAT!

Our boat is on its way! It is being trucked from Indiana to San Diego and then will be put on a barge for an ocean crossing to our island! It should be here by the 29th or so........
The boat is a Zodiac Pro Open 650 RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) - which is a civilian derivative of a Navy Seal ocean boat. It is 4 years old and came with everything imaginable - including GPS, life jackets, fish finders, rod holders, etc etc.
...now keep in mind I am a TERRIBLE sailor.
I guess i will learn.... Dramamine will be my best friend.... I will not FEAR deep water.

...and a new pair of earrings: Tears of Joy Earrings...using one of Amber Dawn's rusty bezels, pewter eye, resin, copper and a carnelian tear. Check out the full description in my Etsy shop!

YARD PHOTOS, NEW ART

coffee beans, drying on the tree...

wild fungus under a wood railing....

new youth....

glorious mid life....

...the fat lady sang....

..a stray bullet hole......


drawings to be resized and used in resin bezel earrings.....i also made them into art cards to mount jewelry on......
I made a pair of pink rose quartz calla lily earrings today.

..and here they are on an art card.....

I've added these earrings to my Esty shop, as well as a "Fighting Tooth and Nail" necklace, with 3 vintage antique square nails and 5 fake teeth. It is on a figure eight iron wire neck chain and is a much larger more complicated version of the single nail ones I like to give away to those who are in a health battle.......other than that, we have been very busy with the yard. Thursday was mow day, and we have also been trimming heliconias and gingers as well as finally picking up all of the hundreds of palm fronds that have fallen because of the heat. Gorgeous weather - but it makes for a lot of yardwork!
...and
WE BOUGHT A BOAT! I''ll post pics tomorrow......

WOOHOO! I AM A FEATURED ARTIST FOR ANIMA DESIGNS' NEWSLETTER!

I am so excited!
Anima Designs is my FAVORITE source ( it really is - I've said this before) to buy unusual
and cool jewelry design elements.....I have recommended them many times before.........so imagine my surprise, when from out of the blue, they contacted me and asked permission to feature ME in their newsletter!

Greetings! June Customer Spotlight: Concetta Williams As a new monthly feature of our newsletter, we plan to focus on customers who are making great art and jewelry with Anima Designs purchases. We hope to help drive more customers to the featured artist's blog, etsy store or website. Today, our focus is on Concetta Williams, a mixed media artist with "a passion for the unusual and bizarre" who lives and works in beautiful Kauai, Hawaii. She has an etsy store: http://concettawilliams.etsy.com and a blog: http://cettacheese.blogspot.com/ Connie has made the most fabulous jewelry using her Anima Designs purchases. Take a look: Be sure to see all of her handcrafted jewelry and artwork on her blog and in her etsy store! (all photos used with permission). I personally have my eye on a pair of earrings that I would love to add to my collection! Please visit Connie today! If you would like to be featured in an upcoming issue of our periodic newsletter, please send us an email at animadesigns@animadesigns.com Please provide your full name and a link to your website, etsy store or blog with pictures of your creations using Anima Designs products. We will select one customer per month. The benefits that you will receive will include a featured spotlight in our newsletter with links to your etsy shop, blog or website, a link on our links page at animadesigns-shop.com and a $10.00 gift certificate usable in our store. (You are, of course, under no obligation to use the gift certificate. It's just our way of saying thank you!) We can display up to three photos of your work, with your permission, of course! SHOPPING CART TUTORIAL: ACTIVE CARTS In each newsletter, we will focus on explaining in depth key features of our new shopping cart system so that you will better understand how to use it. While our new system does not technically allow you to save your shopping cart, if you have either logged in, or entered your contact information, but have not checked out, your shopping cart remains active. What this means is that we are able to see the cart and to send you an email which contains a link to your cart, enabling you to complete or modify your order. If you have not completed the contact information, we can still see the cart but are not able to identify it with you. So if you've browsed our shop and placed some items in your shopping cart but want to complete your order later, please be sure to either login to your account, if you have one, or to enter your contact information, including an email address. We will be happy to send you a follow-up email that allows you to complete your order. Please note that until an order is completed, all items in the cart are subject to pre-sale so there may not be the same quantity available on an item as when it was first placed in your shopping cart.

New Items, New Mahjong Tile Category & More To see the new products that we've added, please click on the following link: http://www.animadesigns-shop.com/NEW-PRODUCTS_c_262.html We've added a pewter breast milagro and new pewter Guadalupe and Frida pendants. We have new bone mahjong tile beads (many suitable for bracelet-making) and have listed them in their own category. To see these, please click on the following link: http://www.animadesigns-shop.com/Mahjong-Beads_c_266.html We are having a clearance sale on bracelet blanks. We have limited inventory of these left and would like to make room for new items. They are at or below cost . . . New items have been added to our penny bonus category. These are items that you can purchase for a penny with any order. They are limited to the quantity on hand and there is a limit of one per customer per order. We are offering special, introductory pricing on our limited edition decorative paper packs. Assorted papers have been culled from a variety of sources and put together in packs that we're offering for $2.75. While quantities last. Some Benefits of Account Registration Product reviews Only registered customers can submit product reviews. You must be logged in. Just click on the "review this item" link under each product photo. You will have to login to your account before proceeding. We will send you a free product for each review that you submit (our choice but we look at what you have ordered in the past for the selection of your free product!) Account management Registered customers have the ability to login to their account to check on the order status, see tracking numbers, shipment date, wishlists, customer inquiry ticket status, and more. Thanks for your continued support! All the best, Kim Nickens www.animadesigns-shop.com www.animadesigns.com

...NEW FINISHED PROJECTS (whew!)

garnet and sterling silver earrings for a wedding...I made 7 pairs!

...an amethyst and gold pendant (she has matching earrings) for the bride's mother...
Garden Bunny Earrings
gorgeous orange aventurine, carnelian, copper leaves and a bone bunny. Earwires are copper.

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...green aventurine calla lilies, with fine silver and glass beads.
Round bead is jade, Earwires are sterling silver.

...a simple pendant ..."Hands of Honey"
the rusty bezel is a trade from Amber Dawn. It is filled with a wooden hand, balled copper and resin. The copper bee is vintage (look at the detailed photo below) and the drop is a carnelian.
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...i love the detail on the wings!
Hands of Honey Pendant, Garden Bunny Earrings and Green Calla Lily Earrings are all available on myEtsy, as well as 2 different Vintage German Bisque Dolls (in parts!)