Nicoleleeartistry’s Weblog

So, I’ve been telling of our adventures in fixing up our house before we put it on the market.  We have been work, work, working on updating, painting and a list of other tasks.  We certainly do not live in Hollywood, but it is a cozy little house that we have enjoyed for more than a year now.  As you may or may not already know, Anthony and I are moving to Pennsylvania, so we are selling.  The listing for the house was completed this past weekend and fortunately for us (I hope!) we’ve had two calls and some people stop out front to write information down!  Turns out, they also called our agent, and they will be at our open house this coming Sunday.  :)  Hopefully they won’t be the only ones!  :)  With all of the hub bub, I thought I’d share the listing with you, let you see where I live, and see what you think.  Any suggestions for no-cost improvements are welcome if you think it will help us sell!  Click here to see the house pics. Note:  In the upper left hand corner, click on the camera with a number 25 next to it to see all pics.

On another note, Anthony and I were in Pa. this past weekend for Father’s Day.  Of course it can never just be a simple visit.  We went to job interviews, visited with family and looked at houses.  We’ve decided to also consider buying, before we finalize plans to build.  That way, we will be able to make a very confident, fully informed decision.  We found some very nice homes and now it’s a matter of waiting to get some more answers and monetary figures back from builders.  Once we have that information, we will be able to make some REAL concrete decisions regarding what direction we prefer to go.  

Building and Buying both have their pros and cons…anyone want to chime in with their two cents?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!  If we build, our options are a “stick-built” home, or to build a “modular” home.  We are liking the modular homes because they have not only come a long way in quality since their inception, but they can be built much more quickly than an “on-site” built house.  When I say “more quickly” I mean about 4 months from start of the paperwork to finished/turn-key house!  That is definitely appealing!  Buying a house would likely take less time than that.  So many things to think about!  And now that we are considering buying, as an option too, there’s even more.  Yoi!

To add to all that is going on, I mentioned we are looking for jobs.  I have decided to go back to work.  I can still do my artwork and Etsy store, but I definitely like working and bringing home some bacon.  I’ve been selective and have applied for some great positions in Pa., but of all of them, I had my interview for the one I really want YESTERDAY, so I have my fingers crossed.  I don’t want to count any ”chickens before they hatch,” but the lady who interviewed me instilled great confidence and optimism about a future with their company.  I’d tell you what the job is and the company name, but I don’t want to jinx myself.  :)  So, I’ll just give you a little picture hint…see if you can formulate any guesses:

  Well, after much toil, teamwork and (at times) strife, our house is finally FOR SALE! Nancy (our Realtor) came by last night to finalize the paperwork and discuss the plan. Today I am taking pictures of the house and sending them to her, and hopefully by tonight, we will have a full, complete listing in the multi-listing directory! Yippee!!! Now with it all said and just about done, in reflection, the thoughts that come to mind… “Anthony and I are a Great Team!” “OH, does my body ache and my eyelids are BEGGING to close!”

Alas, I cannot indulge in my desires for a rest just yet because we are going to Pa. this weekend and will be leaving when Anthony gets home from work and we get the car packed. So, in addition to the photographs I have to take of the house, I have packing to do. And this trip is going to be a first…we are taking ALL THREE DOGS with us!  And not only that, this will be the first LONG road trip for Bam and Bella.  Normally, we take Bam and Bella to Anthony’s mom’s house, and we take little Sadie Magoo with us, but being that Anthony and I have plans to move in with my parents for a while, while our new house gets built (after the sale of the one we are in), my mom suggested we bring everyone to test the waters.  Soooo, we are all excited, and very curious to see how Bam and Bella get along with my mom and dad’s dog, Chelsea, and can’t wait to relax!  Did I mention I’m pooped?

     Once the online listing is available, I’ll share it on my blog.  Hopefully we will be fortunate ad it will have a quick sale.  :)  In the meantime, I am going to catch up on some reading while everything is packed away and my plan is to take it easy…at least as easy as I can.  There are still things to be done, but I SOOOO need a rest.  In fact, I may just go back to bed because I’m about to fall onto my laptop…and I would much rather fall onto my pillow. 

Oh!  Before I go…I was so excited to find that I was featured in Etsy’s Storque again!  Vadjutka did an article on photographing jewelry and included mention of my adorable Cherry Drop Earrings!  Yay!

Click Here to See them in My Etsy Store!

If you’re interested in learning more about photographing jewelry, CLICK HERE to read the one in the Storque.  It’s in their How-To section and is titled, “How-to Photograph Jewelry: Get the Basics with Vadjutka.” It’s a good article - easy to read and understand for the average every-day photographer. 

Well, I’m off to bed - to take a delayed snooze… As usual, I got up to make Anthony’s lunch and generally I stay awake, but today… I’m going back to bed.  :) 

Wish us luck and say a prayer that our house sells quickly!  Have a wonderful day!

So, as you know, I love flowers and plants.  I find that putting flowers and plants around me that I enjoy really makes me happy.  Anthony and I were at the Home Depot yesterday and I found the cutest little plant…A “Pincushion Plant.”  It’s simply adorable!  It is tiny (no bigger than a fist) and the mounded little plant is covered in teensie little orange berries that resemble tiny ripening tomatoes.  The plant makes me think of a fun tree out of a story book.  See…  

The berries are not poisonous, but are not edible, and according to the label, it is supposed to be kept in a shallow dish with water provided at all times.  I did some research on the web though, and it sounds as though many people have trouble growing these little plants.  I’m hoping I don’t have the same fate, because it’s just rediculously adorable and totally makes me smile every time I look at it!  Does anyone know anything or have experiences with the pincushion?  I’d love to hear more!

Also, I recently added my first anklet to my Etsy store.  Summer is just upon us, so I want to start adding some summery items and anklets are one that I love for the summer.  This one is made with soothing, yet fun colored beads in a variety of materials.  There are pearls, czech fire-polished faceted glass, clear glass rondelles with foiled centers and others, with sterling silver findings and a spring lock closure to compliment.  Check out my first anklet!  You can click here to buy it!  Happy Summer!

I just love summer!  On the east coast, we have all of our seasons, but for me…Summer is best!  I love the warmth, the sunshine, playing in the water, picnics, outdoor activities like hiking and canoeing and camping, and I LOVE THE FLOWERS!!!  Back home (which is where Anthony and I will be moving to), there are many beautiful wildflowers.  I love taking liesurely walks and picking a fresh bunch for the table.  It brings me a lot of joy to see and smell their sweetness!  Here, I have what we plant, and for now, I’m loving the brightness of all that is blooming and I thought I’d share…

I think that’s how I would describe how I feel today….  Just BLAHHHHH.

And so, I have spent time thinking of things that are not so blahhhh and are more like, “ahhhhh!”

I’m thinking I NEED A VACATION. 

  Well, that image is a little much…I don’t LOVE techno, but today I do!  I was rummaging through old boxes the other day and found a CD with some old but really good mixed music on it.  There’s lots of different styles - techno, house, rap, easy listening, metal, pop and rock and it’s all mixed together with a great beat!  I’m talking… Prince’s,”When Doves Cry” mixed up with a techno version of the theme song from Inspector Gadget, mixed with some “Sexual Healing,” a little twisting of the shirt around your head like a helicopter that also eventually leads up to some Creed!  It’s nuts, but really invigorating!  I popped it in this morning and am feeling totally pumped for my day!  Don’t you just love when you find old music that pumps you up?  I do!  Especially when there’s so much to get done in a day!  :) 

  Update on house progress: All new windows got installed yesterday!!!  They look awesome!  I painted the oil tank - looks brand new, added some colorful annual flowers to the landscape, painted the hallway a fresh new white, Anthony cut new trim for some of the windows where it was needed, I epoxy painted the front porch in a beautiful tan tone with flecks of neutral colors - gorgeous compared to the torn up rusted red paint color that was there previously!  I cleaned out the whole garage and am done going through my old boxes and a gigantic trash heap that I created is getting hauled away today at 1:30.  Yay!  Tonight we are pressure washing the garage and will start painting the trim around the windows and doors inside.  Every day I pack a little more and that is all coming along nicely.  :)  We heard back from one builder and are still waiting to hear back from another.  We really wanted to solidify a plan for our house by the end of May…hope they pull through soon!

  Soldering Supplies Update:  To add to my list…

Ring Mandrel with grooves and measures
Ring Mandrel without grooves, but with measures
Jeweler’s Saw
Saw Blades - a selection of various sizes 144 blades
Copper Tongs
Cross-Locking Fiber Grip Tweezers - one pair of straight and one pair with a bent nose
Third Hand
Bench Vise
File Set
Window Fan for ventilation
Torch with Hose and small tips- right now, I’m going to use what we used in class - MAPP gas
dowel rod for making jump rings
ball pien hammers
planishing/grooving hammer
rubber mallet

I’m looking forward to when we are done with all of this business of home improvements…I’ll be able to focus on my Etsy stuff again - which is getting ignored lately.  Yoi! 

For those of you who may not know, I took some soldering classes in January of this year and I’ve since wanted to set up my own workshop to solder silver pieces at home. 

After MUCH research, I have now started to purchase my supplies and I’m SOOOO excited! 

With our (hopefully) upcoming move, I have decided to collect my supplies and materials and will wait to set up shop until we’re in Pennsylvania.  That way, I can take my time collecting what I need, not spend my money all at once, and I won’t have to close AND pack up my shop.

What I have so far, isn’t much, but more is on the way in the mail.  :)  I need ALL supplies to work with metal and to solder, so my list is longer than just soldering supplies.  In no particular order, this is what I’ve got thus far:
1. ball peen hammer
2. 4×4 steel bench block
3. silver solder - hard, medium, (easy is in the mail)
4. bench vise
5. bench pin with C-clamp
6. pickling acid
7. a bastard file
8. set of pliers
9. letters/numbers stamping set
10. sand paper in three different grades
11. 12×12 silquar soldering board (but it broke in transit, so it’s getting mailed back)

Even though I’m not setting up shop yet, it’s so fun to gather what I need.  It will be great to know that, when I do set up shop, I will !

We’ve been working so hard lately, that we really needed a break.  So, last night, we got Chinese (yay!  no cooking!  And it had been ages since I ate unhealthy Chinese food - it was really good!) and we got a Redbox movie - National Treasure’s sequel, which we give two ”thumbs up.”  Tonight it’s back to home improvements…we’re painting all of the doors.

Before I close, I’ll share a picture of what we envision for our Pa. home (minus the lamp post - haha)
and a quote for you to ponder…
“You never know what the future will bring - But you can determine what you will bring to the future.”
~Author Unknown

I know I’ve been away - a lot.  Sorry about that, but the house is coming along and we are in the home stretch toward putting it on the market!  In the meantime, something brought me back to my blog…I got tagged - FOR THE FIRST TIME!  There’s a first for everything, so here goes:  I have been tagged by ‘Bee’ of the lovely Etsy shop, BeeDazzles and the blog, Bee’s Buzzings -

The rules of the game are as follows:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. Share six things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your entry.

Six things about me….

1. People are always surprised to hear of the many jobs I’ve held.  I started at a young age and always worked during college and every summer and also sometimes held more than one job at a time.  Since I started working for any kind of money, (in no particular order) I’ve been a baby sitter, a nanny, a cook’s assistant, a Pampered Chef Consultant, a Partylite Candles Consultant, a TCBY frozen yogurt employee and shift manager, a camp counselor, an entreprenurial youth programming assistant, a waitress, a bartender, a neurofeedback technician, a wedding and special event photographer, a special education teacher, a 2nd grade summer school teacher, a Math and Reading Skills teacher, a transportation assistant at Disney World, a drug and alcohol counselor, a Therapeutic Support Staff, a fundraising phone-a-thon participant, Assistant Director of Summer Therapeutic Activities Programming, Director of Therapeutic Activities Programming, Business Developer, and Independent Artist and Crafter…I might have even missed one!  hahah.  I’m a well-rounded individual!  
2. We have a LARGE family!  I am one of 36 grandchildren on my mother’s side (she was one of 11 children)
3. I’d love to be a motivational speaker.
4. I really enjoy flower gardening.
5. My ancestors once owned Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (too bad they didn’t keep it!) 
6. I thank God for everything I am and have, and everything I ever will have or will become.

OK now who shall I tag?  

Jessica at http://jessicasharrah.blogspot.com/
Elisa at http://www.elisaannlindstrom.blogspot.com/
Lily at http://xue-originals.blogspot.com/
Wendren at http://thewren.wordpress.com/
PP at http://ppdesigns-ppdesigns.blogspot.com/
and lastly, I tag Sara at http://colorsnotyetinvented.blogspot.com/

Have fun!!  I look forward to all of your responses!   :)  ~ Nicole

Isn’t it so true?!  Anthony and I have had a plan that was well-laid out and were on our way to accomplishing all that we had planned.  We were planning to put our little house on the market next March, planning to build a home in Pennsylvania thereafter and were planning to relocate and build a family near my roots and relatives.  Well, one day recently, after arranging for replacement windows to be put in the entire house (a total of 17 windows), he suggested we sell sooner than planned and I agreed.

Soooooo, now the plan is to prepare our home so we can put it on the market THIS JUNE and we plan to relocate and build within the next 6 months (if possible and all goes well).  We’ve been watching our HGTV and DIY channels, made a list of home improvements and a list of supplies.  We went to The Home Depot and purchased all that we would need for our projects, and now we are working our little tails off fixing the place up for sale. 

Our house is a home that Anthony purchased last year, with the intention not to stay long.  He planned on staying a couple of years and then selling it.  It’s an old house, built in 1941, and it has a cute story.  The community in which we live was built when a local airport (Martin State Airport) was booming.  The employees of Martin State Airport were able to purchase the homes at about $5,000.00.  Many of the homes in the area, though some have changed over the years, are very similar in style and you can definitely see the old community bones.  We live just outside of Baltimore and are within a hop, skip, and a jump from most anything we might need.  Our little town is a blue-collar community and there are many families with children.  It was supposedly the first housing community ever built in the U.S. and I find it charming.

Knowing all of that now, if you follow my blog and wonder why I’ve not been posting regularly, that is why.  I thought I’d inform though, and take you on our little journey of fixing up the house.  So far, we have done some landscaping and undertook the task of replacing the lawn in the back yard…from seed.  I hope it takes, because it was in dire need, a lot of work was put into it and if it doesn’t grow, it’s going to be an eyesore!  We still have some minor cosmetic things to do outside, like painting doors and fixing up the front entry, but most of our tasks are inside tasks.  Our house is about 1100 square feet.  We have a Living Room, Kitchen/Dining area, a sun room, a laundry room, three bedrooms and one bath.  I’d tell you our to-do list, but I think I’ll save it for another day. 

In the meantime, we are just about finished with the sunroom.  We painted and put down new flooring.  Now, I just have to clean up the door and after the windows are put in, it’s good to go!  Our next project to focus on is the bathroom.  We are not gutting it, but we are replacing the sink/cabinet, the hardware, lighting, accessories and are painting.  We don’t have much time, so I’m sure you’ll be getting lots of updates as we move along.  Today, I’m cleaning up the sunroom door and I’m starting to remove the bathroom glass door.  I suppose I should share some pics with you…I’ll do so either later today or tomorrow.  Until then, there will be a house for sale SOON…and we’ve got a lot to do until that time!!

April is coming to an end and it begs that I evaluate my April Goals and contemplate new ones for May.  My April goals were to:

1. Get 350 hearts on Etsy (Check!  Accomplished today!)

2. Reach a total of 30 sales…still have 7 to go…anyone want to buy?  Go to my shop now!  (NO MINIMUM PURCHASE…BUY before April ends and get a FREE PAIR OF EARRINGS!)

3. Drive more traffic to my blog…sporadic.  I tried some new things and although I still have traffic, it is up and down.  Some days I have TONS and other days nothing…I suppose most blogs have that though - up and down.  I’m going to keep at it, but am open to any suggestions to keep traffic flowing. 

4. Get something in a new local boutique - one shop has agreed to carry my wine glasses! (check!)

5. Make new items every day and post new items in my shop regularly.  (I consistently made new items, but was not as consistent with listing as I would have liked.)

6. Post in the forums, blog every day and stay active on Etsy, building relationships and getting to know other crafters. (Well, I almost blogged every day and stayed active on Etsy, though not as much in the evenings as I used to.)  

7. Gain as much exposure as I can. (check!)

Special news…
  I had a really nice thing happen yesterday!  If you follow my blog, you may remember Shannon from greenbelts.  Well, yesterday, Shannon had the honor and privilege of being selected as the featured artist in Etsy’s “Etsy Success Stories!” AND she wore my Lemon Drop earrings in the pictures that they used!!! 

 Yippee!!!  She also included my new “Jonquil Delight” earrings as a favorite of hers below the article!  How sweet is she?  Very!  :)  So, it goes to show how important it is to develop relationships!  It’s all about networking!

So, for my May goals…I’m giving them thought, with regard that I will need to embrace the challenges that warm weather will brings.  I’d like to hear your goals!  Let’s help one another take off!  =)