It was Christmas Eve in the Workshop.....

and absolutely nothing was stirring, not even a pair of pliers. That's because I'm sitting here, at my computer, doing a blog post to wish anybody who actually reads this a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I've been on Facebook and said Merry Christmas. I've even ventured over to Google Plus and managed to get into an argument before I could utter "Season's Greetings". That happens a lot!

I've been back to the UK and had my Grandchildren fix.

Thomas and Alex - Aren't they cute?

We are going out for our Christmas Dinner tomorrow, so I don't have to do very much. Suits me fine!

I am going to be doing a lot of thinking over the holidays. Bluetina had a crappy year, sales wise. Both the website and the Etsy shop. I am considering a change of direction, maybe....possibly....

In the meantime, remember this?

I was going to list it as is but I thought it needed a bit of tarting up. I started fiddling around with some silver wire and this is as far as I've got:

That little loop is waiting for a drop of some kind but the jury's still out on exactly which one. Watch this space!

Again, Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year! Let's hope it turns out better than the last one!

Catching up....

This blog and I have not been getting along. I have been ignoring it, mainly because I haven't the foggiest idea what to blog about.

I was advised to start blogging by the people at Artfire.  It's supposed to increase traffic in one's shop by way of back links raising one's standing with Google. I think I understand that. What they want, though, is content and lots of it. Said content is supposed to be relevant. Relevant to my jewellery making, I suppose. Well, relevant is relative. I can't post anything about jewellery making yet because I haven't had the time to make any!

Also, since very few, if any, people actually read this blog, I have decided to post something here every day and treat it like a diary of sorts.  I'm talking to myself and there is nothing inherently wrong with that if it helps to sort my mind out.

I see the last post I did was about the Pisa weekend. Since then I have been to the UK for three weeks, come back with a really nasty cold and caught up with the bookkeeping for Shabby Sheep Boutique. That's my future daughter-in-law's shop in Brightlingsea, Essex.  Between them, Sheryl and my son, Ben, have four children.  Their life is hectic, to say the least.

This is Faye

This is Ethan

This is Thomas

And this is Alex

Opening a gift shop like Shabby Sheep in the middle of a recession is a very brave thing to do but it does seem to be going very well.  Sheryl is very quick to spot an opportunity and move the way her customers would like her to go.  Fish pedicures seem to be all the rage at the moment and she now has two tanks that would appear to be full of feet all week! Getting all the paperwork sorted was a Herculean task what with them being in England and me being in Spain but we got there in the end. Thank God for the internet, skype, scanners, drop boxes and the like. You really can do things at a distance now!

Now that Shabby Sheep is up to date, I can concentrate on Bluetina and Bluetinatoo.  I have more jewellery to make. I have more blogging to do. I have Facebook to keep up with.  I am trying not to think about Twitter but I'm probably going to do it. I have to do something about my descriptions - Google keep moving the goalposts on SEO so I'm not being found so often. I must remember to upload all my photos to Flickr. I must keep up with my obligations to Jewelry Creators Unite in Numbers, the Guild I belong to on Artfire. I have a list about three feet long of all the things I have to do. 

Well, I'm not going back to the UK until October so I have two whole months! Let us see what I can accomplish in that time. As it is very nearly the end of July, the next thing is a blog post for JCUIN. 

See you later!

Leading a double life...

I'm sitting here, at my Mum's dining table, with the TV going in one corner, the tumble dryer going in the kitchen behind me, trying to concentrate enough to write this blog post.

It's not easy – my brain doesn't quite know where it is yet, even though I've been here in the UK for five days. I'm typing on an unfamiliar laptop with a deadline because Mum's hairdresser will be arriving soon and they'll need the table.

Later, much, MUCH later.....

I started this blog post nearly three weeks ago. I am now at home, in Spain, typing away contentedly on my own computer. The only noises are the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard, the buzzing of early bees outside the window and the odd “clang” from Bryn's workshop.

It is a beautiful day – lots of sunshine and a temperature of 25 degrees C. Not bad for February! Back in the UK it was bloody freezing until the day I flew home!

I go backwards and forwards between Spain and the UK quite a lot. Three weeks there, six or seven weeks here, three weeks there, four or five weeks here, three weeks there and so on and so on.....

It does play havoc with one's life. Mum bought me a laptop so I could stay in the loop. Each time I visit I have every good intention of writing blog posts, rewriting the jewellery descriptions in my Bluetina studio, keeping up with my Facebook page, etc. but this almost never happens. I even take some tools, wire and beads with me so I can make something. This time, I took the boxes out of my suitcase, put them in the cupboard under the stairs and they were still there, untouched, when I packed again last Thursday.

I did see quite a bit of the grandchildren - I even went to stay with them for one weekend! That was great - I got to read the bedtime story and have lots of cuddles! The rest of the three weeks was spent organising things for my Mum and finding all the things on Bryn's UK shopping list. I swear it gets longer every time! I didn't see half the people I wanted to catch up with and, as you may have noticed, I certainly didn't manage any blogging!

Now I'm home, I have about six weeks to calm down, find out where my head is, stop trying to turn taps on the wrong way and get back into the “making zone”. I know just what will happen. I will have built up a good head of steam and have loads of ideas bubbling up when it will be time to put it all away, pack my bags and do the whole thing over again. Sigh.....

As I didn't manage to make anything, I have no new photos to post here and a blog post does not seem quite complete without a picture or two. You can look at my grandchildren instead!

Thomas and Alex playing the Wii (no batteries for Alex!)