Devine Designs Jewelry

Learning new techniques is always fun, and sometimes challenging; especially if you're teaching yourself! Last week I encountered an issue using my micro torch. It stopped working. So I had to troubleshoot the problem. I had fuel, I had a spark, so I guess it got clogged. BTW: there is a great troubleshooting video from Beaducation- you can view it here . So I cleaned the tip and still no luck. Come to find out that "premium" fuel is not the same as "triple refined fuel", which is recommended to use in these types of micro torches. I must add, that the folks at Beaducation were very helpful! So, being on the production schedule that I have set for myself, I tried to use my bigger propane torch to do the job. Well, I almost incinerated my ear wires! Two times! Finally, getting the feel of the propane torch, I managed to finish the earrings and am happy with the results. Success! The propane torch is much more difficult to handle for fine detail wor...

The Uncommon Thread by R. Scott Anderson M.D. I won this book on a blog giveaway; part of a "mystery" package of books. The book contains short stories/essays written by the author for a column in a medical journal. The stories vary from cute family occurances, to sad stories of cancer, to some of hunting in Africa, which may be disturbing to some readers. The author, is a radiation oncologist, who wrote features for a medical journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association for 3 years, so one would expect to read many essays that pertain to the medical field. There are 43 short stories in this book. Most are easy enough to read. But a few I did skip over, such as, the hunting stories. A couple of my favorites are, the "Squirrel Story" and the "Anderson Family Driving School". So if you're looking for an easy read, one that you can pick up for a bit or put down, this can be a pleasant distraction, but if you are sensitive to animal s...

I haven't posted one in a while, but I was fortunate to be included in this cool, "Year of the Snake" treasury. Created by LaPerLaA shop, on Etsy. I'm really liking her listings for sea glass from Italy. Which is where she is BTW. http://www.etsy.com/listing/44110013/18pcs-italian-genuine-green-sea-glass http://www.etsy.com/listing/58933152/20pcs-italian-genuine-large-frosty-brown Enjoy!

"Love knots" "Southwest style" "Red fish" Smokey quartz and hearts All in preparation for my next show in Lakewood Ranch,Florida ; coming in March.

Christian music artist and worship leader, Jeremy Camp shares his story of faith, love, lost, and healing. As a young man, in his 20’s he has been through many trials in life. He was raised as a Christian, from a highly spiritually home of a pastor’s son. As a youth, he participated in missions and church outreaches. After losing his young wife to cancer, he shares his struggles with faith, and God in this full testimony of his life. Now married again, he has grown much beyond his years, starting a family, continuing to share his testimony and minister and worship through his music. My thoughts on this book: Overall, this was too preachy and religious for my particular tastes. Camp does have a testimony to share, and has been used by God in order to share and help others. But I found the reading a bit repetitive, and at times a bit boring. It became a long read of 212 pages, and could have been better titled, “I Still Believe, a testimony in full detail”. I received this bo...

This is another follow up post to the business topics I have previously written about. To view the last one, click here . Etsy, is one of the biggest and well known on-line shopping sites, and growing more in numbers, and members constantly. If you ask most folks in they have heard of Etsy, they will probably say yes. Ask an independent craft or artisan if they have a shop on-line, and many will answer, yes, on Etsy. I have had a shop on Etsy myself for nearly 5 years now. I have followed all the “rules” and “recommendations” for good business. I have tried all the techniques great sellers have used to grow their business. I belong to Etsy teams, I participate. I do the whole “social networking thing”. What can I say has come of all this time and work on-line? About one sale every couple of months. Not enough to call it a profitable business, or one that I could quit my day job from. The jewelry category is just too oversaturated. Sorry, but this is the truth. I don’...

These are some of my favorite sayings. ~Live and let live~ *Stick with the winners* ~Never give up~ *Keep on keeping on* ~Keep the faith~ *Just believe* ~Where there's a will, there's a way.~ Have a great Friday and a fabulous weekend!