A Random Jenn Moment

Just a few different things.

First, HAPPY VETERANS DAY! Thanks to all those who have risked their life for our country!!!

Secondly, who is SO excited about GLEE tonight?! I'm sad because I don't have cable so I have to wait until tomorrow to watch it on Hulu, but it's so worth the wait. However I officially hate baseball! This show is SO addicting once you give it a try! Even my 34-year old South Park-loving husband liked it. Haha! And I have gotten my favorite co-worker/craft buddy into it. Ok maybe not ME, but I definitely helped.

And lastly, I was checking on GA to see my traffic sources. Last week I got a sale a day for nearly 8 days straight! It was so exciting, considering I usually get about 2 a month. I know I have been renewing a lot, and GA says most of my hits are direct (which are from renewing or they go through categories)

Well some other popular sources were craftopolis & craftcult (which is weird because I don't have ads on there), google images (probably from my flickr photos) and then some from other crafters blogs. Here is the most recent:

Suzanne from Scrap Bitz said: Another fabulous Etsy Site for ya today is Jennifer Magnesi Designs! She makes the cutest flower rings and jewelry! I ordered a couple rings for myself and some for my daughter to give to her friends this holiday season (very affordable at $6-7 each, and customizable colors)! The flower ring & earrings are so IN this season & this is a great way to get in on the trend w/o breaking the bank! Go HERE to check her designs out!!

It totally made my day!

If Chaos were a picture

This is what it would look like:

My poor craft desk. It used to be so organized and tidy!One project leads into another and then another, and then all of a sudden my bead board is just a hurricane of random beads and findings:

If only I had the inclination to clean it. I think instead I will make more jewelry and see how high I can pile this mess before it all comes tumbling down :)

Cherice's Wedding Reception

My older sister took pictures of my younger sister's wedding reception. With me so far?

Here are a few of the ones I liked..

 Cherice and her daughter Stacey cutting the cake:

Stacey showing us her talents:

My mom and brother Mark:

The Bride and Groom:

A better picture of the albums we made:

Book Review: Drowning Ruth

Drowning Ruth is another book I picked up from Goodwill. I just kind of pick books at random, whether I like the title or the cover or the author. Sometimes I just close my eyes and grab something. This was during a visit when I picked up about 10 books with varied genres and authors I had never read anything from before.

Drowning Ruth is about a familys secrets, and the mystery behind a woman's body being found under a frozen lake. You are taken back and forth in time, and in the eyes of several of the main characters. You learn about Mathilda, the woman who drowned in the lake. Her daughter Ruth, her husband Carl, her sister Amanda and all of the mystery that surrounds this one incident.

What I liked the most was that even though you felt like you were picking up on her little hints and thought you knew the secret, it is still a surprise. She tells you just enough to keep you reading more and more. I'm not usually a fan of thrillers because I will read the end first to see what happens, but if you read the last page of this book first you will be thoroughly confused until you go back and read the entire thing. So don't bother!

She has the perfect balance of characters you love, and characters you hate, and characters you love to hate :) I highly recommend it!

Golden

A few weeks ago I ordered gold-tone sparrows and gold-plated calla lilies. This morning I FINALLY decided to do something with them. Earrings were the obvious choice. I think they both turned out really cute! Because of the ear wires I had issues photographing them, but I did my best! You can't really tell in these pictures, but they are on elongated 14k gold plated fishhooks.

Anyway, here they are!

Golden Lilies.

Golden Sparrows.

Wedding Favors!

My sister got married a couple months ago, and this past Sunday was her reception party. Well our Mom got this wonderful idea to make these foam photo albums for party favors, instead of something the guests would no doubt throw away when they got home. Cherice chose a Luau theme since my Mom still had a bunch of decorations for a party she never got around to having, plus they got married in the summer.

I didn't get a lot of great pictures, most of them turned out blurry. But I got a few :)

Here is the Bride hard at work:

My niece Stacey wanted to help too:

Here are the little foam decorations we used for the front of the albums:

And the letters we used on the back, which said Cherice Tate and Stacey: 

And the only good picture I got of the finished product! 

My older sister took pictures of the reception, so those should be coming soon!

September 28th - Ask a Stupid Question Day

Origin of Ask a Stupid Question Day:

The roots of this special day goes back to the 1980's. At the time, there was a movement by teachers to try to get kids to ask more questions in the classroom. Kids sometimes hold back, fearing their question is stupid, and asking it will result in ridicule.Teachers created this day on September 28, If it fell on a weekend, they would celebrate it on the last day of the month.

- source (holidayinsights.com)

Go ask someone a stupid question, and see if you get a stupid answer :)