Acceptance into The Artisan Group

This has been an unusually busy Spring and Summer for me.  It has involved a lot of changes, travel, creating and testing new designs and visiting family.  You know, generally the busy life that we all lead.  One of the most exciting occurrences has been Kath's Elegant Accessories, LLC acceptance into The Artisan Group.  I am sure if you have watched any Red Carpet event, you have seen clips of the Stars collecting goodie or swag bags featuring a variety of different products.  The Artisan Group is an exclusive juried organization whose members gift their art/products to celebrities at major celebrity events.

My first event through this talented group of artisans is The 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Gift Lounge taking place in Hollywood in September.  My business cards will be included in the swag bags for this event.  I'll be providing updates on experience through my ArtFire Blog and KathsElegantAccessories Blog. 

Pancreatic Cancer – not much progress in 40 years.

On June 14, 2011, I participated in the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Advocacy Day in Washington, DC.  This was my second year as an advocate.  Our message to members of Congress, co-sponsor the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act (S. 362/H.R. 733) and ensure that NCI has sufficient funding in the FY2012 budget. 

In May 2006, my Mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  She was 80 years old when she was diagnosed; she was 80 years old when she died.  This unfortunately, wasn’t my only exposure to this horrible disease.  My youngest Brother was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in February 2009 on the second anniversary of our Mother’s death.  He was 48 years old when he was diagnosed; he was 48 years old when he died.  Their deaths were devastating.    

The statistics are sobering.  There is a 75% chance you will not survive a year, as was the case for my family members.  The five year survival rate is only 6%!  This statistic basically hasn’t changed since the enactment of the National Cancer Act (1971).  With predictions of a 55% increase in the number of new cases of pancreatic cancer by 2030, we can’t afford to wait.  We have to speak for those voices silenced by pancreatic cancer.  Visit www.pancan.org to find out more information.   We can’t wait another 40 years.   

Orange Jasper Jewelry Set - Orange Crush

Finished this order and sent it off today!

Have the Terrible Twos become the Techno Twos?

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with family and was astounded at the technology capabilities of my two year old grand niece, Lily.  If you have little ones in your life, you know what I am talking about.  We were playing outside and she said, “I want to take a picture” – so I handed her my BlackBerry.  Immediately, she started trying to use my BlackBerry like an I phone.  She kept pressing the screen (instead of the tracker ball) to take a picture.  She even turned the BlackBerry, trying to get the picture to go from portrait to landscape.  It really gave me pause.

It makes me think of all the things that my Dad has seen.  He just celebrated his 86^th birthday and still tells me stories of the oxen draw wagons that took the timber of South Alabama to the railroad cars and on to market.  There was a time, when the railroad tracks ran through his front yard!  He has seen so much in his life time.  He saw us move from oxen to horse and buggy, tractors, cars, trucks, airplanes and the space shuttle.  I just wonder, what stories my grand niece will tell when she is his age?  What will she observe during her lifetime?  I don’t see any evidence of the terrible twos, I only see a technologically advanced two year old and for her, that is the norm.

Life Sometimes Gets in the Way!

My plans for posting new items on my website have taken a slight detour.  I guess you could say that life got in the way, again.  I have been experimenting with so many new interests.  As always, there is a lot happening on the home front and I realized that My To Do List was way too long! 

When finally getting around to checking in on Facebook, I saw a post by Tina of tinadeandesigns.com about some exciting news - she is participating in the swag bags at the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Gift Lounge through The Artisan Group!  I was so excited for her (I love her eco-friendly tote bags) and wanted to find out more information. 

I am super excited to say, that I applied for membership in The Artisan Group and was accepted to become a part of this talented group.  It has been a warm and welcoming experience and just what I need to get focused.  Oh, and did I mention that my business cards are going to be included in the swag bags at this event??? 

Like I said, sometimes life gets in the way.  This time, it is in a really good way. 

Earrings

I bought the Czech glass daggers quite a while ago. I loved the copper, blue and gold colors. This past week, I was experimenting with a few new designs. Here is one that I will be loading on my ArtFire studio this next week.

Garden

Today, I started the seedlings for my 2011 container garden.  Last year, for the first time, I planted a container garden from seeds that I had saved.  I planted peppers in a variety of colors, butternut squash and spaghetti squash.  It was a great experience, but I started the seedlings a little late and I didn't follow the rules (didn't thin out the plants).  So while my harvest was good (25 peppers) and two squash, I had a lot of really tall plants, but they were too crowded.  I wanted to try starting seedlings from seed packs this year to compare how much of difference there is between planting from seeds you save and planting from seed packs.   

I just finished up planting:  sweet peppers, long sweet peppers, okra, winter squash, cantaloupe, burpless cucumbers, lemon cucumbers, eggplants, lettuce and onions.  Oh, and some cilantro.  I want to try one of those topsy turvy tomato planters too.  Initially, I wanted just a salad garden, but this weekend we bought a garden box, so we could add more options to our container garden.

I'll post photos of the progress as my garden grows!