My FIRST Blog Post!

Hello Everyone,

This is my first blog ever and thought I would use this as an opportunity to connect with more people.

I will start this blog by telling you a little about me. I am 31 years old and served 6 years in the Navy on active duty. I was a hospital corpsman (medic) and loved every minute of it. I am a person who loves to help others, and being a corpsman was a very good way of doing that. I decided in 2005 that I wanted to leave the Navy because I wanted to settle down. I didn't want to have to move every couple of years anymore. I wanted to buy a home, and have pets, and a more stable life style.

Since getting out of the Navy though I have come to realize that I can not find a reasonably paying job in the medical field for my military experience. The laws in the Military are a lot different then those on the civilian side which prevents me from doing any significant duties. So I went back to college and recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. YEAH :) I am now seeking a Master's program for Physician Assistant.

In the meantime I was seeking a new hobby and I LOVE jewelry. I did a little research on the internet and decided to give it a try. When I decide to do something I go all out, so I went to the local craft store and spent hundreds of dollars on wire kits, books, and basic tool kits. I personally like things that are unique and different so wire work seemed appropriate. I didn't see many things wrapped in wire in the local boutiques or malls. I started with wire, but did some basic beading, then came across some gorgeous bead weaving and dabbled in that even. I also dove into some clay work. I LOVE clay but I have too many ideas and projects to do them all so I did some clay work but I have been distracted by my most recent project.... Button rings.

I have seen button rings before but I didn't want to just buy plain buttons that you get with an outfit at the store and layer them. I wanted them to be unique so I started with unique buttons that I could layer and then wrap the wire on top. They turned out pretty good and were huge sellers for me. One day I came across Czech glass buttons, most of which were rare to find and decided that was IT! So I also have many button rings that are made of rare czech glass buttons.
You can see these rings at the following link:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5263154&section_id=5478517

I am currently experimenting with different ways of making cuff bracelets that will display these unique buttons.

I have a nice array of holiday themed items I have been working on recently also.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5263154&section_id=5521590

So I hope this first blog gives you an idea of me as a person and artist. I plan on using this blog to discuss promotional techniques, share my latest creations and ideas, and discuss techniques for my jewelry. I hope to cover a wide range of topics such as craft fairs and what you should know if you want to do them, or talk about throwing jewelry parties etc.

Please feel free to ask questions, comment and suggest topics you would like to know about.
Thanks for reading.

Janet