Prince The Toad

Meet Prince the Toad!

He wants to be your Prince Charming. Get him here!

My mom and I went to the bead show on Sunday and I found so many beads! I could have easily gone completely crazy buying up the entire place. It's bead heaven. There were a lot of people there too, even though we arrived late.

I made this satin cord and lamp work glass bead necklace (starring the toad - Prince) on Monday and couldn't wait to get his picture taken so I could list him in my shop. You can see my dog Darcy in the background, I think she wanted to eat him because she's licking her chops!

Gathering Moss.

While a rolling stone may gather no moss, these earrings reflect just the opposite using the natural beauty of moss jasper. Moss jasper is also known as serpentine stone because of the cork-like or reptilian variations within the stone. Yesterday I was bitten by the earring fairy and conjured up 5 pairs of earrings.

The Gathering Moss Earrings are available now in my Etsy shop: Biologie - Inspired By Sunshine & Science.

Within the next 5 days I'll be uploading and listing four more pair of unique earrings, all handmade by yours truly.

Cheers!

:: Favorite Things ::

The amount of talent found at Esty.com is boundless.

There are just too many wonderful artists out there! I can't even scratch the surface but I wanted to shine my little bitty blog spotlight on just a few of my personal favorites, all found on Etsy.

Check it out!

Etsy Buy Handmade Biologie

:: Dreamflower Purple. A Delicate Bracelet ::

Dreamflower Purple

A delicate treasure trove of amethyst, shell, glass, silvers and Swarovski crystals. This one of a kind bracelet is designed and handmade by yours truly! The asymmetrical design breaks away from the norm in a subtle and glorious way. It's sure to please and makes a sweet stocking stuffer.

I fell in love with the look and feel of the little flower beads on this bracelet. It took me a month to find the right design and complimentary colors to go with the flowers until I came across the pretty purple glass beads and Swarovski crystal spacers.

Lovely!

Get It Here: etsy

Ooo, one more thing, don't forget my holiday special as mentioned here - free shipping and free gift-wrapping now through January 4th; anytime...anywhere!

Cherry Blossoms

Yes indeed.

The design I was telling you all about in a previous blog post is now complete!

In high school my photography teacher told us to take black and white photos. He handed me some film and off I went! I took a lot of pictures with my parents camera. There's something mysterious and magical about taking your own photos: blindly loading your film onto a reel in complete darkness, heading into the darkroom to develop the film, making a contact sheet, and finally, perfecting the enlargements. I didn't know at the time how special the subject of my photos would be until later.

One of the pictures I took for my assignment happened to be of the blossoms on a tree near my house. They were cherry blossoms. When I developed my film in the photo lab and presented my work to my instructor I didn't include my blossom photos. There was not enough contrast between the black and white (just shades of gray) for that particular photo. Even so, it was my favorite picture out of the whole roll.

Now I have a new way to show my love and appreciation for these beautiful flowers:

Please view my Handcrafted Cherry Blossom necklaces on sale at an introductory price to celebrate the launch of my new line at www.biologie.etsy.com.

Hurray for Crochet

...and Embroidery too!

I graduated from college with a bachelors of science degree in clinical laboratory science. Many people are curious to know exactly what the job entails. Here are just a few of the responsibilities:

• Identifying abnormal blood cells
• Identifying toxic agents, such as anthrax
• Detecting a cancerous tumor with DNA techniques
• Performing cultures and identifying bacteria and viruses
• Assuring safe transfusion of blood products
• Correlating test results with patient condition
• Selecting and evaluating laboratory equipment and new test methodologies
• Monitoring the quality of testing
• Supervising support staff
• Managing laboratory operations

In a nutshell, Clinical Laboratory Scientists juggle a lot of body fluids, bacteria, DNA, microscopes, paperwork, phone calls, data-entry, machines, hospital staff, and more!

If the mitochondria is the power-house of the cell then the CLS is the power-house of the hospital.

So the body fluid part, what is that all about? Well, it sounds unpleasant and really is occasionally stinky but also very important to analyze for our health. It includes urine, feces, amniotic fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, serous fluids, and seminal fluids.

Yep, sounds pretty crazy but, not to worry, the tests are done in a sterile, professional environment requiring an extremely small amount of fluid.

SO...when I saw Tillie Ellie's Giveaway for a crocheted sperm cell (defined as the haploid cell that is the male gamete) and matching embroidery, it didn't phase me at all. As a matter of fact, I wanted to win! I signed up right away. I thought to myself, "Heck! Maybe if I win it will be a sign that we will conceive a baby!"

While I know it isn't up to me, or "luck", I was hoping and praying to be the grand prize winner. As soon as the giveaway ended I received notice from Tillie that I won!

By the way, you will all be the first to know (after my family) if we happen to conceive a bambino sometime soon.

In the meantime, here's my little Tillie-made, crocheted haploid cell (sperm) nestled in the pages of my "Fundamentals of Urine and Body Fluid Analysis" text book [author: Nancy A. Brunzel], cute as a tadpole with a little smile on his face.

Tillie also offers great crochet patterns as well as "mature" embroidery and adorable Jelly Babies. My favorite is the Cherry Jelly Baby, you can see it here.

A Cheerful Candle: Green Tea Goodness

It was a dreary rainy day until I went to check my mail. I recently placed my very first Etsy order for a soy candle handmade by Buzzabee. The package arrived today!

Buzzabee is a fellow Etsian and blogger who makes yummy soy candles and awesome bookmarks.

This is my "Thank You" photo for Buzzabee. The 7.5 ounce candle with the cute little bee is called Green Tea Goodness. I don't know her formula but, to my nose, the candle smells warm and comforting; green and down to earth. My husband says it smells fresh, like a "day in the hammock" or "a cool breeze". Interesting! We don't even own a hammock but the scent brought the vision of relaxing in one to his mind. It just goes to show how good it smells! Also pictured is my blue tea light votive holding a "freebee" and my celadon glazed teacup and teapot. My mom and dad gave me the teapot and set of cups for my birthday last year.

I've heard a lot of good things about the benefits of choosing soy over traditional paraffin wax candles. I'm no expert on the matter but apparently there is a lot of debate over which type of candle is best for your home. If you were to walk into my house today you would sniff out a number of different types of candles. In the past I never gave a second thought to what kind of candle I was buying, however, I've decided I prefer soy or beeswax candles for no other reason than because I like them!

I love getting packages in the mail, even if I know they are coming because I ordered them! I especially enjoyed this package because the seller sent me a note right away to let me know when to expect it to ship. The shipment came via USPS Priority Mail and the candle comes in it's own cute little box, wrapped securely. As you open the box the scent of the candle greets you. I was delighted to find the "freebee" too: a Sweet Summer Melon tea light candle from Buzzabee. What a nice surprise!

Now I'm eyeballing the Rejuvenating Mint Julep! ^-^

These are a few of my...

Favorite things on Etsy!

The amount of talent found at Esty.com is boundless. There are just too many wonderful artists out there! I can't even scratch the surface but I wanted to shine my little bitty blog spotlight on just a few of the favorites I've found on Etsy. Check it out!

Biologie.etsy.com: Mini-Grand Opening!

Come one, come all!

I'm pleased to announce the mini-Grand Opening of my new Etsy shop, featuring my creative adventures in handmade jewelry at biologie.etsy.com.

I love all things handmade.

My current collections are:

Clusters Series
Fishers Of Men Series
Mother Earth Series
Blossoms

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Biologie.etsy.com

What is Esty? It's an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade. As stated on the site:

Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice: Buy, Sell and Live Handmade.