In a nutshell

Kirk setting up the Tree!

Hi!!! So I've been sick this last weekend so not much has been happening except fluids and sleep, thus there have been no updates jewelry wise until today! Feeling much better not only because I'm not running a fever, but because we got a our little faux Christmas tree up the other night! I love Christmas. It was all of $25 and I think it looks great in our low ceiling little house! 

Batch of Customs ready to be delivered

Here's a quick rundown of what else I've been up to this last week and a half: 

I've been busy finishing up custom orders, had a wonderful Thanksgiving,  went shopping on Black Friday, refinanced our house, caught a nasty cold,  got some Christmas shopping done, gearing up for my final show at Dulaney High School. PHEW. The end. Hope you all had a great Holiday weekend and are getting excited for the Christmas season!

Updates!

Hello! Sorry for the short hiatus from the blog! I've been super busy this last week. Did another show this weekend to benefit my church. It was an unusually short show that went for only 3 hours. Pleasant, warm, and left me time to clean the house.  My goal this week is to finish all of my custom orders before Thanksgiving! We will see. Then I have one more show at Dulaney High School's Holiday Bazaar on the 5th of Dec. before I call it a year! I'm looking forward to the little break between shows to focus on my metalsmithing and holiday baking! So excited! 

One of the layer cakes I'm going to make on my break!

did you know that in Japan, Christmas is celebrated with Strawberry shortcake and KFC Chicken? 

Show Recap

So yesterdays Show turned out to be wonderful! It was well organized, clean, and had a great turn out! One of the things I enjoy the most is when I get to actually talk with my customers and get to know them better. I had a lot of opportunities to do so at Ridgely. I'm also very pleased that my winter collection of earth tones was very well received! I'm always excited when the pieces I love to make the most find new homes :)  

Also, I'm so happy to announce that we were able to donate $165 to Compassion International from yesterdays show! A HUGE Thank you to everyone who came out to see me and make this possible! 

As a side note, This is my second to last large public show of the year. I'll be out at Dulaney's Holiday Bazaar on the 5th of December for one last show to end 2009!

-Amy

Warm Up This Winter!

I've almost finished a collection I'm debuting for the winter! It's filled with lustrous pearls, warm brass, and this awesome cream colored chain that I'm absolutely loving! It really  complements the browns and earth tones that are so popular this winter season. These pieces along with a whole lot more will be present at the show this saturday! 

Ridgley Middle Winter Craft Fair

Saturday Nov 14th

10 am - 3pm

Mixed Metals

Hi! Wanted to share a quick photo of the new piece I finished. It mixes silver, gold, and oxidized brass and matched the hoop earrings I made a while back!  Remember to come out and visit me at the Ridgley Show this Saturday starting at 10am! I'll have this lovely item along with some fun new pieces that will make your holiday sparkle!

feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about the show!

 Appusdesign@yahoo.com

Compassion International

Hi Everyone! Sorry for the little hiatus, I promised myself I would try and post almost everyday but things got a bit busy! Just wanted to stop in and announce that for the upcoming 

Show at Ridgely Middle on the 14th I am giving 15% of all my proceeds to Compassion International again. 

I know I've said this before, but Kirk and I have sponsored a little girl named Rubi from India since 2004.  It has been one of the best things we've ever done!  If anyone has any interest in helping other children just like her receive food, medical care, and education, please visit their website:

http://www.compassion.com

Even though money is sometimes tight in these hard economic times, we still have so much to be thankful for. That is why I am so happy to be giving once again to this wonderful cause!

Have a great Monday!

-Amy

Fan Page?

Hope everyone had a great Halloween and a smooth transition into Daylight Savings! I used my extra hour to list a bunch of new beads in the Gem Shop! What did you do?  I don't have much time today but I just wanted to see what people thought about this idea: 

Would creating a Facebook fan page for Appus Design be useful to people? I'd use it to list my upcoming events, some photos of my work, and communicate with people faster. What do you all think? 

I'll be in the Studio!

-Amy