Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Wishing you all a very happy holiday season. Spending time with family is the best gift you can give someone. I hope you all the best during the holidays! Miss all my friends from Hawaii and an aloha to all my new friends here in Indiana. We are enjoying the white Christmas here. The snow is beautiful.

Moving from Hawaii to Indiana

I've been off the blog for awhile during my packing for our big move. Yes, we are officially moving from Hawaii to Indiana. Some people say we are crazy but what counts most in life is family. My hubby wanted to be closer to his family and I am staying with my brother and sister-in-law here in Indiana.

We flew out of Hawaii on January 20th. Stayed in Oakland, California for a week visiting my only brother-in-law and his wife. Picked up our vehicle we had shipped from Hawaii. We drove to Palm Springs to visit with my side of the family, mom, brothers and cousins.

We stayed an extra couple of days due to a big ice storms we wanted to avoid in the midwest. Our driving days were great with no rain, or snow/ice on roads. We did have trouble with hotel stays due to workers hired for the storm. Other than that everything went great.

So we are now near Fort Wayne, Indiana, enjoying the snow. Yes, I miss Hawaii but I am thankful for the 18 years I was lucky enough to live there and the great friends I had there. I look forward to a great new life here in Indiana where the people are fantastic and everything is so beautiful.

My Son - New Hawaii Deputy Sheriff!

Friday was a happy day for us. My son Ben has graduated recruit class and is now a Hawaii Deputy Sheriff. I am so very proud of him and his accomplishments including his six years in the Air Force. I have struggled many years as a single parent, trying to raise my only son to be a good kid and it has finally been accomplished in my eyes. My hubby Ray and Ben's fiance Shayna have also contributed greatly to his success. We look forward to a great career in law enforcement.

New Business Card and Banner for Amor De Plata

In case you haven't noticed, I have a new banner for Amor De Plata. My bright new banner was created by Etsy shop Stypecreative.etsy.com. I was so pleased with my banner that I asked Stypecreative to make some business cards and round stickers (shown above) for me. The back of my business cards is the silver. I'm very pleased with all of the graphics stypecreative did for me.

Mexican Sun Drawing Inspired Pendant

Here is one of my latest creations. A pendant inspired by ancient mexican sun drawings. My sketch was used to hand carve a mold and make this metal clay beauty of a pendant. All handcrafted and made by me! The pendant is oxidized with a bronze background and shiny sun.

I'm Healthy and Back in Business!

It seems like I've been "out" of contact with others and my Etsy shop, blog, silkfair etc. forever. Without getting into the ugly details, I had health issues that have been resolved. I feel good now, I'm healthy, and I'm ready to get back to business.

Thanks to all who have commented, convo'd or e-mailed me with happy thoughts and prayers.

Celebrate Earth Day with Amor De Plata Jewelry

Go green with Amor De Plata's jewelry. Yes, Amor De Plata's jewelry is green! Made with 100% recycled pure silver. Do your part and save the earth, buy your jewelry from Amor De Plata.

How To Build Your First Webpage - FREE Course

Struggling to build a website? I have been agonizing over building my website and not wanting to spend money. I discovered a FREE online course going on now at ivillage.com, in the ilearn section. Signing up is simple and FREE! That seems to be my favorite word lately.

So, I signed up, and they e-mail you when lessons are available. You can download the whole PDF file and scroll through at your leisure later if you want. Once a lesson is posted, it remains on the site 24/7 until the end date of the course.

I have no excuse now, I will let you all know how it goes with my page. Good luck with yours!

http://ivillage.com

My Latest Project - Double Silver Hearts

This fine silver double heart pendant was a special request from a friend. It was quite a challenge. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to accomplish in this medium. I rolled out a snake of Art Clay Silver and shaped it into a heart. A little slip paste was added to attach the ends. I let dry and sanded, no problem. Attaching the first heart through the second one was the challenge. I ended up supporting the first heart in a clear box lid with a slit and a hole punched out. I created the second heart on top of the lid, added slip paste to attach ends and let dry. After sanding smooth, I torch fired while moving piece with a crochet hook. This is the first time I did two pieces at once and I was afraid they would fuse together, but they turned out well.

One day I may do a tutorial. Our Yahoo metal clay group in my favs does a great job doing all kinds of tutorials on working with metal clay.

Plug In!

A "plug" is a small banner advertisement that can be displayed on a plugboard. You can put together a plug on your own if you have computer skills.

A special thanks to BittyMoose.etsy.com for introducing the plugboard to Etsy. BittyMoose will make an animated plug (88 x 31) for you for $5.

I've put a plugboard on this blog, so feel free to plug in. Visit our fellow advertisers by clicking on their banners.

Promote your Business!!

A friend gave me info on website to promote your Etsy shop or business. Seems like a great way to earn money. Check it out!

http://amordeplata.qassia.com/

Broken Torch

Well, things are definitely not going well to start the new year. My torch has gone kaput-died. Ordered a big supply of silver to start on new projects. Waiting for the shipment of my new torch. Waiting, waiting and more waiting. Will list new projects upon resuming my torch firing.

Holidays - I'm Tired!!! - Oh and Happy New Year!

Well, I don't want to make this a totally negative post, but I'm tired. I'm tired of cooking, cleaning, shopping, working. Does anyone else feel like this?? I don't want to think of taking down the Christmas tree (maybe it will be up till March) or what I'm cooking for New Year. I feel like it all catches up with you in the end.

Ok, I'm done with the rant and I feel much better. Wish you and your family a very Happy New Year!

Indiana Trip Photos

A few more pics. Here is Ray, Jessica (my niece) and yours truly in front of a Christmas display. I also wanted to show you a pic of us in front of an anchor at the Pier in Chicago. Do I look cold? The first picture is Ray, my brother Jim, sister-in-law Valaine, nieces Lily and Jessica coming out of the General Store, which was a great place to buy souvenirs.

Back From Our Vacation to Indiana

Well, I'm thawing out from our trip to Indiana. I thought I would have computer use but I didn't so I'm posting after our trip. Here is an eatery in Shepshewana.

As you may have guessed it is in Amish country and the food was great! Thanksgiving was great at my brothers home.
We had a chance to go to Chicago and my favorite place was Millenium Park and the Hancock Building. It was very chilly but I loved the country living and city excitement. Our two weeks flew by but we are so happy to be back in Hawaii.

Leaving Hawaii to Visit Indiana

It's finally here! My hubby Ray and I are leaving the Islands tomorrow to visit Indiana. Fort Wayne to be exact. We are planning to visit Chicago while in the area. Looking forward to the two weeks we will be on the mainland. Will keep you all posted.

Hickam Craft Fair

We have now tried a craft sale to sell our items. This was my (AmorDePlata.etsy.com) and my hubby's (HawaiiRayRay.etsy.com) first craft sale. We joined up with Angela (AMKstiches.etsy.com) to sell our Etsy items. Angie had the greatest sales and did well, Ray sold a few and I had a sale.

My items apparently are not for craft sales, maybe home shows would be better for me. It is lots of work and took about 10 hours of time. I have to make more items and I just can't find the time. I am very happy to have had this experience and we did give out lots of business cards and Etsy Hawaii Street Team postcards during the craft sale. This may be good for future sales and maybe Chrismas sales.

I've Been Featured on Talentdatabase

New Etsy Hawaii Banner

Well, I'm finally finished with the banner for our Etsy Hawaii Street Team. Hope you like it!

Amor De Plata - FREE shipping on items over $100.

Visit my shop and receive FREE shipping on all items over $100. New items have been listed.