We spent a lot of Saturday packing stuff. You know, you really have no idea how much stuff you got till you have to move it all. I cleaned and organized my rock and gemstone collections, and realized just how many rocks I have picked up off the ground over the years. ITS A LOT. So many that I'm going to have a few boxes of just rocks. lol 

I have slowly but surely tried to donate many of the items I don't use, or don't need any more. Nick nacks, clothes, software, posters, linens, and even all of my old toys and stuffed animals that I think I'm a little too old for. lol We have already taken like 2 big bags and 3 big boxes of stuff to Goodwill this weekend, and I have YET to clean out my closet and dresser drawers. 

We packed up many of the little decor items sitting around upstairs, some of which is my collection of little hand carved boxes. I have no idea where I'll put them in the new apartment, since we will be using the curio cabinets to house all of the movies and such. Since I am forcing Aaron to put the tv and dvd player on an actual stand in the bedroom, maybe I'll have my long dresser to put decor on. Its pretty, with a large antique mirror on the back of it. I think it'll be perfect. 

It's still over a month till we move and I seriously cannot wait to get in the new place. My mother called yesterday and said she wanted to buy us a new couch for a housewarming gift, and since she is in Florida and can't come down till a few weeks after we move in, I get to go buy a couch myself! Big Lots here I come!!! I thought it was really nice of her to do that for us. I love my mom.

Guess what? It's picture time!!!

I made this out of cord, two buttons, 

two beads and recycled beer tabs!

Teh internets are teaching me so much!

This one I made for myself actually, last night.

Ceramic button ring made with 

non-tarnish solver wire wrapping

This was a refurbish piece I made for my boss, Gail.

She broke an old bracelet she had for years, 

so I turned it into a pretty necklace for her.

The clasp is from a broken vintage necklace 

I got at an estate sale.

I think it goes well with this piece.

<3

I just wanted to jump in

and show you some of the things

I have made over the last few days.

This first one is a pretty glass mix that I got

from my mother when I was in Florida.

It wraps around the wrist twice,

and closes with a lobster clasp.

This one is just like the red, white and black one

 I made in the last post.

I used some old thread that was too frayed and thin

to use for sewing purposes.

I braided it, and then added a cute button for a clasp.

This next one is made from a nice watch

that I took apart a while back.

It totally glows in the dark too!

This one I made from a piece of plastic I got from a water bottle,

and some torn scraps of fabric.

I took the plastic, and cut it into a long strip 

that fit my wrist loosely. 

I punched holes down the middle, 

and braided the fabric around and through the holes. 

I used glue to attach the ends, added a magnetic clasp, 

and VOILA!

This last one is made from electronic parts.

I got these from Damon at work.

I also used the soldering gun on these

so the connections are very strong,

and will last a really long time.

Well, what do you think?

I'm having a hard time letting any of them go! lol

<3

I have been watching an older anime the last few nights called Nana.

I love it.

The style, the drama, the cuteness, and THE ROCK.

Also I made 2 new things tonight.

This one is a tiny glass cube mix made into a bracelet wrap.

This I made from cross stitch thread and a button also made into a bracelet wrap.

<3

look what I made!

(did I post this recently? OH WELL I freaking love this song!)


So I found a neat little page online called Pinterest, and I am already addicted! There are thousands of crafting ideas there, and I've already put a pin in about 50 of them that I want to try. Last night I did actually try one of them where you make your own little accordion book. I made this little friendship book for Haley!

Isn't it cute? You can find it here. GO and TRY ONE. Its so easy!!! This one is the next one I want to try. They are TOO CUTE!!!

We think we have finally found an apartment. Here is a floor plan for it, and its 1100 square feet. Its not huge, but its roomy enough for me, Aaron, and Yaya... and the fish... and all of my plants lol. I go to put the deposit down for it in the morning. So hopefully in the next few weeks we will be in our own place!!!! I'm so freaking excited!!! Aaron  and I even sat down tonight with a floor planning program to decide what furniture will and won't fit where, so that we don't move a bunch of stuff over there we can't use. I'm SO ready for this!

I have to go shower. Come join me on Pinterest.com so we can exchange ideas!!!

<3

coolest floor treatment ever

I SO want to do this in my home

funyun breaded porkchops

(One of my new fav songs right now)

I tried a made-up recipe tonight that I think you'll love. 

Buy a thing of porchops.
(what ever kind you like, bones, no bones, etc)

Take a bag of Funyuns, or a generic equivalent

 a package of some kind of garden crackers

thyme

garlic power

italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste
(you dont need much salt, there is salt already in the funyuns
and on the crackers Im sure)

(use the measurements you like, I dont measure
I just stick it all in there and see what I come up with!)

Mash them up into a fine coating mix
(I used my food processor to get them as fine as I could)

then take another bowl and melt some butter, and add 2 eggs

beat until mixed well

coat the pork chops in the egg mixture
then coat with the breading mix

place on a shallow baking pan
(I coated my pan with Pam, but you can use
butter, shortning, etc.)

cook at 400 for 30 mins, then flip over and cook for another 30
(If you have big porkchops like I did,
cook for about 45 mins the second time)

They are SO GOOD!!!
Really juicy, and the funyuns give it a great flavor!

I made this with corn and herb roasted potatoes on the side.

<3

nail art

Here lately I have been paying more attention to fashion. Especially to nail fashion. I see all of these cool styles, and abstract designs, and I just want to do them on my nails. So Ive tried a few myself, to see if I could pull them off, and it's alot easier than it seems.

What do you think? I like them all. The black, blue and silver are all done with sticker decals. The pink and yellow was done with that new crackle paint polish. And the last one, the pink polka dots, was all my own design. I did that one tonight actually, so I'm wearing it now. Haley has also done a few designs on my nails. In fact she painted the yellow and pink in the middle, and I added the crackle when I got home. We are SO in style!

Anyways Im off to bed, I gotta work in the morning.

<3

Florida rox my sox

(sweet relaxing music for a sweet relaxing post)

I am sorry that I have been away for so long this time. I spent a lot of time in the last month making jewelry. I've been working on a consignment job for the Memphis Metal Museum. They have 38 of my hand made wrapped wire rings for sale in their gift shop. Some are made with glass beads, and some with designer buttons. I think they are really cute. What do you think?

 

It's a big deal for me. MY FIRST CONSIGNMENT JOB!!! I am SO excited about it!!! My items are only available in person in the gift shop and not available for sale online, but you can the museum's website HERE.

I have also made some other things in the mean time. The one on the right here is my buddy Phil's necklace that I made for his custom order.

The necklace on the right and the one in the middle are both made from puka shell beads. Take a look at the green crackle bead bracelet I made too.

This is made from cracked glass beads with black wooden and silver square spacer beads. It really shines in the light!

From August 20th to the 27th, I was in Florida visiting my mom and brother. It was on Navarre Beach, on this little strip of an island off the coast of Pensacola.

My grandparents, and my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Bill went too.

 

We had rented a small condo for the week, and my mother and I slept in the living room each night, to awaken to the beautiful beach right outside the window every morning.

It was AWESOME! Well I thought so, but not everyone was as into it as I was. My grandparents are getting too old to move around much, and my aunt and uncle aren't really keen on the beach. Despite the lack of sleep from sleeping in the floor on the blow up mattress, I spent almost every day, sun up till sun down, out on the white sandy beaches, soaking up all that beautiful sun, and chasing around little soft shelled crabs.

It was SO relaxing. Especially with a bottle of vodka. HAHA It was also just really nice to sit on the beach with my mom and talk. REALLY talk. For the first time in a long time, in person. Where I can see how she feels and how much she misses and loves me. It made it so much harder to come home to TN. Here's my mom walking down the beach in the mid-morning sun.

She and my step father made this trip so much fun.

My mom even played Skip-Bo with some of my family.

Look at my grandfather's poker face!!!

He seemed so relaxed through most of this trip.

I want to go back real soon. It was a great experience.

(I think this is my longest post ever!)

<3

PS: I am ashamed to admit that I like this song!!!

I have many things to share today

I started working at Gregory-Salisbury Power Products Inc. with Aaron and Richard. Its an office job, so I do paper work and answer the phones, and do work orders, and P/O and S/O, and shipping and receiving, and bank deposits, and payroll attendance or time cards, and whatever Gail hands me to do. lol I like it, its a good job until I get myself situated in a pharmacy job. And its more hours and more pay
than what I got at McAlister's.
YAY!

I never made it to the bathroom with the camera that day,
I couldn't leave the phones unattended.
It had absolutely NOTHING to do with being afraid
to go down that creepy hallway!!!
So I stayed and worked on purchase orders
till it was time to clock out.

OH and great news.... I got a new soldering pen!!! 

I started on this kick because I really want to start working with metals. And our little visit to the Memphis Metal Museum only made the desire worse. A museum employee told me that if I had some metal pieces that she would give me a consignment job to sell those items in her gift shop there. She really liked the wire wrapped rings that I have been making, and said if I brought them to her she'd put them up for sale!!! So I make the stuff they sell it for me at a 60/40 split. So I went Home Depot crazy tonight. I got new needle nose pliers, some packing tape to use in my crystal resin bevels, some grips for my soldering pieces, some solder and some flux, new metal files, a metal yard stick, an exact-o knife and some new razor blades, some bits and pieces of metal to solder to stuff, and a new adjustable lamp that totally didn't freaking work. So now I have to go BACK to Home Depot to return it and completely RESIST buying anything else that I wanted, put in the basket, and then put back on the shelf in financial frustration. lol Cause I TOTALLY could have bought more. I need several things from the craft store that I don't yet have. 

I'm sewing again too. I made this a few weeks ago.

I am also looking for ANYTHING that I can use to hang necklaces from. An old wire shelf, a DVD rack, an old coat rack, ANYTHING!!! I am running out of places to put necklaces, and I'm seriously considering moving to a packet system where after the item is created, tagged and uploaded to the site, it gets bagged and placed in a bin numerically. It has just become too much to keep them on display at all times. Even if I found some new racks I got nowhere to put them up in the storage area. I'm completely out of room.

Yesterday Aaron and I redid the fish tank.
The fish seem really happy.
I wish I could move them right next to my crafting station,
the sound of the water running is so relaxing.

I also have been toying with hair accessories lately. My buddy Misty came down to visit, and she told me that she might be able to get me a domain for free so that I can host an actual website for my sales. I'd have to spend a little money to have credit card purchasing for my site, but I think it would be worth it in the end. IF I do that, I'd probably change the name of the site to something that includes all accessories and any sewing items I make, so something similar to "Jenny's Gifts," or "River Rock Designs," etc. I'll have to think about an expanded name idea for my creations. Any suggestions?

(Aaron bought this for me at Spin Street.
Isn't he just the greatest?)

<3

OH how do I love thee?

Tags: GameTrailers.com, FiendNinja - UVERworld - D-tecnoLife, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

(please wait patiently for the ad to be over)

Let me count the ways in which I have been spending my time since I posted last. I'm "done" with school, meaning I'm not going back to that god forsaken place again, and I am waiting to take my state exam after I come back from a nice vacation to Florida with my mother, brother, aunt and uncle, and my grandparents. (We are renting a condo on the beach!!!) I feel like I've deserved it after two straight years of school.

I have uploaded over 225 items for sale on my jewelry page, and have made several nice sales in the last few weeks. There are WAY too many pictures at this point to upload any of them here, you will simply have to go to my page and see them for yourself. If you do not keep up with me on Facebook, then you have been missing out on lots of other pictures and such. You should find me there, I am listed as Jennifer M. Russell. It seems like no one uses blogs in my little circle, so I am there more often than not rather than posting here. However, I am trying to make a concerted effort to keep posting here, despite the convenience of Facebook. I mean, the advertising there is so much easier and since I have focused, in my downtime, on the website sales my blog here has suffered.

Ok so let's see. Dad moved out of MS and moved up to Nashville to be close to my uncle Jim and aunt Wanda. My brother started Radiology school this year and started working at a new prison in FL as a guard. (I worry about him alot) Aaron and I are doing fine as usual, and is Yaya. Aaron's and Richard's boss has offered me a job working in the office doing bookkeeping and answering the phones, which I probably will take, at least until I can get certified and get a job in a pharmacy somewhere. I have also been watching BLEACH. Oh man, that's a great anime. (Hence the video at the beginning. It is the title somg for the second season. LOVE IT!!!) Besides all of that, not much changes around here. Well not right now anyways. As usual I'm up way too late on a day when I have to work. And YES I'm still at McAlister's. God I hate that place. I hope this other job comes through for me. I need a change.

Well, screw it I'm off to bed for now. Just wanted to come in and update a little. G'nite everyone! (noone reads this mess lol)

OH and PS:

YES I know the words to the song!!!
(well most of them anyways)

Ienai itami kanashimi de kizu tsuita kimi yo

Kesenai kako mo seoi atte ikou

ikiro koto wo nage dasanai de

WOOOOOOOOOO

lol  <3