The Greens of Nature

Moss, sage, emerald, spinach, and olive are all colors of green found produced by nature. If you have visited my online shop, you will notice that green is a favorite color of mine. I have more green jewelry there than any other color. I think this is because I spend a lot of time out of doors admiring the work of Mother Nature. This weekend, I captured this photo of a heron resting along the Rehoboth Canal in the Cape Henlopen State Park. The greens in this photo show all of the glorious shades of green provided by Mother Nature. Along the edge of the canal bank you can see the dark moss green of the large jasper beads and same pop of emerald green found in the seed beads of this necklace. In looking for colors to wear this necklace with you might select the khaki and browns of the reeds.

Summer Harvest Inspiration

Turquoise chips in greens, yellows, oranges, browns, and camels combine to make this multi-strand bracelet look like the colors of the Farmer's Market in late summer. The harvested fruits and vegetables of the local farmer's market are the inspiration for this bracelet. Who doesn't love a visit to there to admire the fresh produce that is so healthy for us and supports the local community? The farmer's market is also a great place to see friends that perhaps you haven't seen in awhile and catch up with what has been happening to members of your family. I love the local festivals that celebrate the summer bounty. Just this past weekend, Lewes had a tomato festival which showcased heirloom varieties of tomatoes and delicious recipes. One of my favorite ways to use tomatoes is in a grilled cheese sandwich. Just add it to the sandwich and use some peppery cheese and you have something really special.

If you looking for something special to spice up many of the colors that make the staple of your fall wardrobe like camel, brown, black or beige outfit, this is the bracelet. It is perfect for someone who wears a size 7 bracelet.

My First International Sale Takes Me on a Virtual Trip to Newfoundland

My virtual trip to Newfoundland, Canada, began this morning when I checked my email and discovered that I sold my newly listed snowmen earrings to a woman there in the town of Glovertown. Perhaps, it has started snowing there already and she is celebrating the occasion with this purchase. She may also be doing her holiday shopping early. I would like to think that she just couldn't live without these darling earrings. I noticed I only charged $1 for shipping. I was wondering exactly what I thought when I did that. Much to my relief the actual charge was $1.23 and I had to fill out a tariff form. I found that pretty exciting that not only was a purchasing internationally this summer, I was now selling internationally .Glovertown is a town in[Image] northeastern Newfoundland,Newfoundland and Labrador,Canada. Originally, Glovertown was called Bloody Bay. The name dated back to the eighteenth century it is thought to refer to a massacre of a family of 11 by Indians that were living in the area at the time. The town was renamed Alexander Bay in 1894. A few years later the town was renamed to Glovertown, its current name, after Sir John Hawley Glover who served as the Governor of Newfoundland from 1876 to 1881 and from 1883 to 1885. It has a population of 2,100 people as of 2001 Canadian census which means that it is smaller than my hometown of Lewes, Delaware. Like Lewes, it is know for the natural beauty of the area. The official website for the town has a nice collection of photos which show the natural beauty of the area.

My Italian Discoveries

Even though I haven't left Lewes, Delaware, physically this summer, Italy has been an important part of my summer. I love traveling virtually with Google Earth. I was able to use this free download to zoom in on Milan, Italy. My friend Diane went there for two weeks this summer as part of an Italian teacher exchange program. She kept all her friends up to date on her learning adventure through this blog located at http://delawareitalyblog.edublogs.org/ . I really enjoyed reading her description of her opera experience. I was able to follow her adventures and see what Milan looks like by using Google Earth.

In June I started to correspond with an online store called Expresso Italiano which is located at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ExpressoItaliano. I had some custom polymer clay beads made by one of the owners of the shop. I sent a photo of a bead that I was interested in his making and I expressed interest in buying some beads that first brought my attention to this shop. He made the beads exactly the way I wanted and I used them in my children's line of jewelry that is for sale in the Postcards from Delaware Shop in the new I95 travel center. Before doing business with him, I had never heard of his town Crotone. It is an ancient city and I was amazed when I looked at it on Google Earth. The houses are adorable and much closer together than I imagined. I learned that it isn't any more expensive to have his beads sent to me from Italy that it is to have beads shipped from the west coast. I also discovered that the Italians have a very prompt postal system.

Sicily entered my life when I was on the Internet looking for a lasagna recipe. I read a recipe in our local newspaper the Cape Gazette that used zucchini in a lasagna recipe. I then went on the Internet to look at recipes and found a wonderful food blog with the perfect recipe. The author of the blog included a photo of her mother who is the author of the recipe. She mentioned that her mother learned this recipe while growing up in Sicily, Italy. I had the opportunity to travel there virtually on Google Earth. I have bookmarked the blog which is located at http://theitaliandishblog.com/imported-20090913150324/2009/2/11/my-moms-zucchini-lasagna.html. If you like Italian food you will want to follow this cooking blog.

As you can see I had a great tour of some interesting spots in Italy. This also helps explain how I can spend several hours a day on my computer almost every day. It is a wonder I have any time to actually bead.

How to Make Wire Wrapped Loops for Jewelry Making

This is a wonderful video that I found on Magpie Gemstones Blog . There are many great tips for artisan jewelry makers found on this website located at http://www.magpiegemstones.com/jewelrymakersblog.html. Some of these tips cover photography, promoting your online store, etc.