Well, hello!  Yes, it's me.  I'm still here!  It's been quite a while since I've posted anything on my blog....and I was just about to let my blog go when I received an email from someone asking if I was okay and that she missed my posts!  I was shocked and surprised that someone would still be checking my blog for posts, so I figured I'd keep penguinstamper going - even if it's just for my own scrapbooking.  My blog IS my form of scrapbooking.

I have been in the process of cleaning out all of the "stuff" I had as a demonstrator.  It has taken me a good bit of time to do this.  When you have a stamping business, you need multiples, and sometimes triples or more, of things to use in your workshops.  I have pared my supplies down, and now my office is in a good state and I am actually starting to do some stamping again.  THAT MAKES ME HAPPY! 

Another thing that I've become involved in is making jewelry.  Yes, I know, it does sound kind of weird......especially to me because I had no idea that I could fall so completely in love with making jewelry.  It happened quite by accident when my mom asked me to repair two of her necklaces that had broken.  I gave her a blank look like, "How in the world can I fix this?  I don't know the first thing about jewelry."  Her necklaces were beaded, so to fix them, it required a small amount of design to make the beads look pretty.....and that's where it happened.....I was hooked like a charm in lace!  I thought I would take a beginner beading class at Michael's, which I did, and that set me on fire for making jewelry.  I have now ventured into creating vintage-looking jewelry, and I must say I'm one VERY happy gal making jewelry AND stamping.  It reminds me of that saying, "So many crafts, so little time."  That's how I feel.  There aren't enough hours in the day to do all of the things I'd like to do, but since I'm retired now, there's tomorrow, and the day after that, and then the day after that, and so on! 

My daughter talked me into opening up an Etsy Shop for my jewelry, so I'm dabbling in that to see how well it goes.  I'll eventually add some of my hand-stamped items in my shop, as well.  My Etsy Shop address is www.madebyjimmisdaughter.etsy.com, if you'd like to see what I've been making lately.  Here's my latest, an antique brass vintage snowman necklace and earrings.  I've already sold three of them, so I guess I'd have to call him my best-seller so far!  Ha!

Isn't he cute?  I love how all of the components look like snow and ice - even the clasp is a rhinestone snowflake.  I'm in love with him - and he loves me, too.  Here's my "Cotton Candy" necklace and earrings.  The different shades of pink are lovely.  The rhinestone pendant was part of a clasp, which I repurposed into the focal point of this necklace.  I love the antique silveryness of this set!

Here's another one of my favorites:

This necklace has a metal latch that has been repurposed into a focal point pendant.  The aqua-blue chalcedony gemstone looks beautiful with the metal.  I create the chains by forming simple loops with wire and beading whatever elements I want onto the wire, and then simply attach the simple loops together.  I'm in love!

So, there you have it!  All is well.  I'm making jewelry AND stamping, so life is good!  Thanks for inspiring me to keep up my blog!  I appreciate you - and you know who you are, Ms. Frona!