Monday Mix: Random Acts of Kindness Week

My First Polymer Clay Sculptures - Not Perfect, but I'm Happy :)

 Good Monday morning on this, the first day of Random Acts of Kindness Week! I've got a great week in store for you all, so I hope you've buckled your seat belts. With this week being Random Acts of Kindness Week, I will aim to do one random nice thing each day. Today: Maybe we can send our special someone a couple of nice, short emails along the lines of:

You are awesome! 

I love waking up next to you :) 

You look great today!

Keeping them short and sweet makes sure they aren't bogged down reading lengthy emails when they should be working, but allows them to take 2 minutes to stop and smile :)

Before I get to this week's events, I'd like to share a milestone: yesterday, the Facebook page for Little Studio Jewellery by Meghann Lynch, reached 100 followers! The followers on that page have been given a little treat, so, if you want in on a pretty sweet deal, visit & LIKE the Facebook page and start saving. It's a limited time offer, so hurry on over and get yours today. The link is down and to the right on this blog --->

Tuesdays I like to unveil new pieces of jewelry, or show you pieces that I've rephotographed or redesigned. Tomorrow will be a grand unveiling of a totally new necklace inspired by Cleopatra's later life. Make sure you check back tomorrow for that! It is rich and luxurious, perfect for work or a night out.

Because, Really, Everyone Loves Seeing a Wiener Dog From the Side

This Wednesday, Arwen the Wonder Dog wants to show you her napping spots. She's been getting me to take her photo in her most favorite places, so get ready for some cuteness there :)

Thursdays are Treasury days, and though I haven't made that one yet, be prepared for a collection of beautiful handmade items from my fellow Etsy sellers. Any ideas on a theme? Let me know in the comments below and I'll do what I can...

This Friday will feature another great artist, Badgereels. You must stop by on Friday to see her work, it is really pretty (or manly, depending on the item) and functional, guaranteed to add a little whimsy to your workday :)

Finally, regarding the photos on the blog today: I've finally started playing with the polymer clay I bought almost 5 years ago. Amazingly, it's still very soft, so that was a relief (at $5 a small brick, I would have been seriously miffed to find it all dried)! While I'm sure I need another hobby like I need a hole in the head, I really loved making little sculptures throughout my childhood (though, thankfully, none have survived), and thought that this would be a bit of fun on my Sunday afternoons, when I try very hard not to do any business or work of any sort. The last few weeks I've white knuckled it. While normally reading or video games would help, it has been really hard to get away from the laptop, and so I knew I needed a stronger, totally absorbing distraction. Enter polymer clay, or "smooshing" as the experts call it (I am NOT an expert, but I like the sound of that word, so I might have to purloin it).

Inspired by My Own Playful Puppy, This Was My Second Ever Polymer Clay Sculpture

I have to say, I had an absolute blast! No pressure to make things to sell, no pressure to be perfect the first time (well, okay, I did have a bit of self imposed pressure, to be honest), and no pressure to be on a deadline. I spent a marvelous 2 hours conditioning, playing, pinching, sculpting and baking my first 3 little sculptures. I learned quite a bit; 1. blue clay under your nails is very hard to get out if it dries even the tiniest bit, and looks like you have cyanide poisoning; 2. I need armature to make the dogs' legs sturdier; 3. my cheapo, $20 toaster oven bought especially for baking clay is bang-on temperature wise (thank you, Black-&-Decker!), 4. I don't need to worry that polymer clay will spontaneously self-combust (I watched the oven like a hawk, biting my nails and occasionally throwing looks at the fire extinguisher "just in case"); 5. I LOVE POLYMER CLAY! I've already started adding polymer clay how-to books to my Amazon wish list (now 661 items strong - gotta love Amazon!), and woke up at 3AM this morning thinking of other things to make next week. I strongly recommend trying polymer clay "smooshing" if you haven't already. It is tons of fun!

Keep checking the blog this week to discover everything that's going on, and check back next Monday to see what else I was able to make with my new polymer clay hobby :)

A Walk With Arwen

Hello! It's me, Arwen the Wonder Dog, here to take you with me on one of my walks. Mommy has nicely agreed to be my puparazzi and photograph me and my neighborhood to show you some of the things I see. I'm not sure about this pose though...I was in a rush to go for a walk and mommy didn't get a good shot of my adorable ears...

Mommy, hurry up! No one wants to see photos of maple leaves in our driveway, they want to see me! She doesn't always listen though...

*sigh* ok mommy, here's the deal, you can take photos of the "pretty sun in the trees" but now you will have to take photos of only me for the rest of the walk!

Here is the organic vegetable garden up the road from us. I don't know if I like this shot either...Does this angle make my snout look big? Anyway, the garden is good for more than just yummy foods, the owner has a little dog named Bailey and we do obedience together a few times a month. I still don't know how to play, but it is nice to be around other dogs (even if she is tiny!)

 Oooh! Here's the next stretch of road, mommy! What's around the corner? Hurry up, I want to see!! Mommy says she loves our country roads. She loves the old cedar and stone fences, and she says she loves how they always wind just enough to block your view of what is coming up, making you want to walk around the next corner, and then the next, and the next, just to see what is around it, even if we've already walked there before.

 Here's another cool part; we get to cross a little bridge and I can (sort of) see over the concrete ledge. I have to stick my nose in between the metal barriers, but we saw a heron here, though mommy was too slow to get a photo of it. I ruffed a bit at it, but it didn't hear me or it would have come and said hello to my beautiful self :)

Here we are after our walk, in the yard where I can smell all of the racoons, porcupines, skunks, birdies and various other wildlife in our yard. We had a bear here a while back, and I still don't like the smell of it, it makes me put my tail between my legs and run into the house!
Still, our walks ARE fun, and i hope you enjoyed this one too!
Until next time,

and Arwen the Wonder Dog

Arwednesdays With Arwen the Wonder Dog: Arwen Has an Outie!

Hey, it's me, Arwen the Wonder Dog, and today I'm showing you one of my unique features: my "outie" belly button! You can see it in the photo above, it is the little pink circle the arrow points to.

When I was a puppy, my mommy was a bit concerned by the little bump my "outie" makes, as this can mean that my doggy mommy had pulled away from me during the birth and pulling my umbilical cord, which can cause internal problems. My mommy wanted to make sure I was okay and took me to the vet. After the vet looked, she said it was fine, and that I would just have an "outie" and that I would be even more unique. I say, well of course I'm unique! I'm a wonder dog!

Mommy likes to tickle my belly button when she scratches my belly. I don't really care, as long as I'm getting attention and belly rubs!

Have a great Wednesday!

and Arwen