Granny is still on the Highway, just pulled into a rest stop to clean out the car!

Thanks to all of you who have wondered why I haven't posted in a while. I wish I had something wonderful to tell you, well actually I do but it doesn't involve a man.

Most Wonderful Daughter in Law and I were accepted as Artisan Jewelers for the annual Art in the Park show in Boulder City. This is THE premier show in Nevada with over 300 artists and an estimated attendance of 100,000 people. We had originally been denied and told ourselves that we would make it next year. About a week later, we received an e-mail asking us to resubmit photos of our work, our booth layout from a previous show and some shots of our workspace. It was a loooong wait. Late in the afternoon of July 14, the e-mail arrived: WE WERE ACCEPTED!! I don't think I had any sleep for two days. Haven't been that high since ... hummm, let's don't go there.

I had been playing around with some design ideas that I call "Not your granny's pearls" and stashing away very special pearls for some time. Oh what glory and riches spread out across my work table. Coin pearls in white, green and yellow. Petal pearls in vivid Kelly green and an intriguing shade of dark gray with an overtone of gold and pink. Austrian and Chinese crystals in little plastic boxes stacked in a shimmering rainbow of color. Clasps and spacers of silver and gold. For the next four days, I was glued to the work bench with lights blazing, glasses perched on my nose, sometimes dressed in shorts and T shirt or sleep shirts in the middle of the night. I would work until my eyes gave out and then design in my sleep, get up and go back to the bench. Finally, I crashed and slept for an entire day.

We are excitedly planning our booth. The show is October 3 & 4 so our theme will be Fall with autumn leaves and fall flowers combined with many of the design elements that we have been collecting. MWDL plans to have over a 100 earrings for our revolving rack. We have more than enough items containing pearls in various shapes to fill a six foot table and still have stock for the second day. From formal and dressy to funky and fun, we have something for everyone. Another six foot table will display our passion for the colors, shapes and textures of stones: agates, carnelian, lava, jasper, jade, turquoise, coral, citrine, amethyst, tiger eye, ryolite and so many more. Designs using various types of glass, ceramic and metal beads will fill the third table. Well, there is a lot of overlapping in materials so we will place things where they fit best. You have the general idea: a treasure tent of wonderful, unique, one of a kind jewelry for you or someone you love. We don't know the location of our booth yet but not to worry; you will get all the details and maybe some photos before the show!

If you want a sneak peak and maybe an early purchase, check out our web sites:
http://www.outofourminds.etsy.com or http://www.outofourminds.artfire.com.

Friends and family receive 10% off any one item, just send us an e-mail to outofourminds@yahoo.com after you purchase and we will provide an adjusted invoice.

Another post is floating around in my head. Back at you shortly!

Granny B