New Year, New word, Big news!!

Over the past few days we've listed several new pieces of jewelry for sale.

A metal cuff bracelet with a Short message (this is great for guys too!)


A metal cuff bracelet with a Long message (Fruits of the Spirit, family names, a verse, etc.)



Many of you do a Word of The Year, rather than New Year's Resolutions.
One simple word to focus on throughout the year.
My word this year is Dare.
Dare to be true to myself.
Dare to step out of my comfort zone.
Dare to dream bigger.
Dare to be courageous, not timid.
Dare to take risks.


The next necklace is one I'm super excited about!!
We've paired up with ICT S.O.S. - a local organization to help prevent human trafficking.
$10 from each of these sold in January will be donated to help!

What is human trafficking?
Human trafficking is modern day slavery and is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. It is the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or taking of persons by means of threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, or deception for the purpose of exploiting them. The United Nations estimates that 2.5 million people are trafficked annually. It deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, it is a global health risk, and it fuels organized crime.
Victims of trafficking are forced or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Labor trafficking ranges from domestic servitude and small-scale labor operations to large-scale operations such as farms, sweatshops, and major multinational corporations.
Sex trafficking also happens to U.S. citizens and residents already residing within the U.S. borders. An estimated 300,000 American children are at risk for trafficking into the sex industry annually. Traffickers coerce women and children to enter the commercial sex industry through the use of a variety of recruitment and control mechanisms in strip clubs, street-based prostitution, escort services, and brothels. Source.

Be Free.

Even reading the description puts a lump in my throat.
It is a very real problem and we are honored to be able to do a tiny bit to help.

So.... That's a lot of info.
2012 is a year to be inspired. Make changes. Do more. Be daring.

What is your word of the year?

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
-------------------



Driving across Kansas the other day, in the middle of December, with no rain in site, I looked out my car window and noticed a huge rainbow.

If colors and scenes can be this beautiful on earth, I can only imagine what heaven will look like.
Rainbows everywhere? Warm yellow light? Gold sparkles? :) Yep, I believe so.

Hey Girl, .... This is all for you.

There's a big trend right now - Ryan Gosling pictures with the words "Hey Girl" and then a message - things that women would love to hear.

Then a Hey Girl Handmade blog popped up. (click here)

And while I have nothing against Ryan Gosling, I mentioned on Facebook the other day that I think the Hey Girl's should include other men.

And I got a response. A big one.
One friend who I know is a homeschooler mentioned Hugh Jackman.
So to be silly, I grabbed a photo of him and edited it, then posted it to her wall.


And then it grew. And grew.
And before I knew it, I was making Hey Girl's with tons of different celebrity men.
While my kids ran wild and I should've been wrapping Christmas presents and praying The Man wouldn't show up while I was still in my pj's, I sat for way too long making Hey Girl's.

And then I started getting requests to please blog them.
So people can put them on pinterest.
So... Here are some Hey Girl's.
It's not my fault. Really...

























Hey Girl, forgive me... I know not what I do.
It might have been lack of sleep.
Or stress.
Or Holiday libations.
Who knows.

Ho Ho Ho!

Last week started our Christmas break.
And I started a break from my businesses.

I barely picked up my camera, which is rather nice sometimes.
No emails, no jewelry making, no nothing...
Just sleeping.
And sugar.
And coffee.
And eating.
And more sugar.
And chocolate.
And naps.
And caramel.
And nougat.
And pie.
And gooey butter cake.
And a candlelight service.
And caffeine.
And movie watching.
And laughing.
And whipped cream.
And family.
And sprinkles.
And java.
And cherry filling.
And toffee.
Oh yeah, and some presents too.

Whoever is opening presents gets to wear the Santa hat.


("that camera better not be aimed at me!!")





Today it's back to work though.

Do you have a usual Christmas dinner?
(We have turkey or ham, with stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes, etc. for one side of the family. The other side of the family has a soup feast... Everyone brings a different type of soup!)

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
-------------------

What a week! I mentioned the other day that we had 2 kids' concerts to attend.
This is a snapshot of me and The Boy at one of them.
Children singing Christmas songs gets me choked up every time.
Our school has a tradition at the end of the Christmas concert where the kids all sing Silent Night.
Then the entire audience stands up and sings it with them!
For a brief moment, there is no "Public school" government legal blah blah drama... It's just an auditorium of people singing to God, led by children.

It's perfect.

Our TV segment...

We've been featured in numerous magazines.
And I have at least one speaking engagement lined up for 2012.
But I think this is the first time we've been on TV about our business.

Apparently I roll my eyes when I'm nervous and talking.
Who knew??

The Baby makes a brief appearance.
And if you look closely, Lilo was under the desk. She's such a fame hog.



Have I mentioned that I feel abundantly blessed?
I do.

A birthday boy and I'm on TV.

Yesterday was The Boy's birthday, but since it was going to be such a busy Monday, we celebrated over the weekend.
If you ever get the chance to have a baby 6 days before Christmas, don't.
It makes it very hard to do parties.
So our annual tradition is an indoor pool party.
We do easy, relaxed birthdays anyway. We just gathered up a bunch of his friends and went to the local indoor pool.




Then we headed back to our house for cake and presents. I seriously can't believe he's 10. I'm quite certain that I haven't aged a decade, even though he has.


We've started a new family tradition where I take donuts, rather than cupcakes, to the kid's classroom on their birthdays.
Donuts = different. Donuts = fun. Donuts = everyone loves them. Donus = one less thing for me to worry about.
So yesterday morning I got around bright and early and took donuts to The Boy's class.


I came home, headed into the studio and started making the last of our jewelry orders.
The phone rang. It was a local journalist who wanted to do a story on me/us/our business. And he wanted to do it right away.
Oh emm gee...
Because we live in the boondocks, it would take him about 45 minutes to get here.

We scrambled a little, maybe shoved a few things in drawers and closets, threw on mascara and lipgloss, thanked God that I wasn't wearing yoga pants and that I actually had a bra on, and prepared for a tv camera to show up.

Then another call came in. Our journalist was stuck. In the mud.
Because we live in THE BOONDOCKS!! My assistant and I made numerous phone calls and finally found a local farmer who could go pull him out.

So about an hour and 45 minutes later, he arrived and we did an interview.
I'm not entirely sure what I said.
I think I spit and stumbled a lot.
Lilo goosed the cameraman.
I'm pretty sure we laughed a lot.

And it airs tonight on the 6:00 news. Local people, tune into KAKE channel 10.
And please don't laugh at me. Or my chins.
Not so local people, I'll try to get online video when it's available and post it soon.

Then last night (still The Boy's birthday...) was his Christmas concert.
Christmas at the OK Corall.


This was followed by more cake. And more presents. And a mommy drink.


Oh, and I keep meaning to tell you - The Rusted Chain was thrilled to be featured in Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine's Holiday Gift Guide! (Hello, number 9!)


That's the end.

(I lied. That wasn't really the end. The winner our our recent giveaway is Danyelle! Congrats!! Please email therustedchaininfo AT yahoo.com to claim your $50 gift certificate.
That's the end. For real this time.)

Christmas Gift Certificate sale!

Our Christmas deadline has arrived.
As of today, we can't ship orders for Christmas delivery.
Our team has worked insane hours to get all of our orders out!
I've been so impressed! The only thing the could've done to produce more jewelry is move in with us...
They've put in long hours and I am so appreciative.

So since we're no longer shipping in time for Christmas, we're offering a Gift Certificate sale!

For every $25 gift certificate purchased you'll receive a $5 coupon to be used in January. (gift certificates are emailed manually and will arrive within 24 hours.)

If you buy a $25 gift certificate you get a $5 coupon.
If you buy $50 in gift certificates, you get a $10 coupon.



You can have it emailed to the recipient, or to yourself... Even purchase it for yourself if you want a treat!

Happy New Week to you!

Happy RandomDays...

*It's 10:49am and I smell popcorn. I wonder if I forgot to feed someone breakfast.

*This week we have a birthday for one of my kids.

*This week we have a concert for one of my kids.

*This week we have another concert for another one of my kids.

*This week we have 3 different dentist appointments.

*Thursday was National Cupcake Day. Did you know that? I'm a good blogger - telling you about it a few days late. I made cupcakes for my family.

*I'm nice sometimes.



*Did you know they make snowman Peeps? Now you do.

*I miss blogging. And taking fun pictures. And feeling "normal."

*I think I'm going to stay in my pj's for all of January, curled up in bed playing on pinterest and catching up on your blogs. I miss you.

*I just changed my mind. I'm going to spend all of January on a beach somewhere, not connected to the internet at all.

*Don't take that personally. I still miss you. But a beach sounds better than my bed.

*We have a bunch of people coming over in just a bit and I'm still in my Mickey Mouse lounge pants... a.k.a. "Work Attire."

*It's funny how you can want something so badly and when you get it, it's different than what you thought it would be.

*I'm not complaining. At all. Just saying, things can be different than you expect.

*I should shower now.

*Bye.

*Happy Sunday.

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
-------------------



And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.” Luke 1:46-47, 49 NIV

Happy Friday to you lovelies. I hope you have a weekend filled with rejoicing!

Love it! {baking sheets}

If you still don't know what to ask your family for for Christmas, this is is what you need.

Commercial baking sheets.


I know... I didn't know I needed them either.
ReeRee said so. She has mentioned several times that they're essential in the kitchen.
So last year I asked The Man to get some for me.
I didn't even know why I needed them, or what I'd use them for but if ReeRee said so then I was willing to listen to her.

They're 18x12 inches and if you get high quality ones, they'll never rust.
I ended up receiving 4 of them and I L.O.V.E. them. Love.
Use them all the time.
They're perfect for biscuits, baked potatoes, cookies, roasting veggies, sheet cakes, and thousands of other things.
If you're in a time crunch and need a cake, whip up a store bought cake mix and bake it in one of these for 17-18 minutes. Instant sheet cake.
We grill out a lot, even in the winter, and The Man uses one to carry steaks, seasonings, and grill tools out to the fire pit and back.
They have a lip on them so nothing drips off.

I promise, even if you didn't think you needed them, you do.
And your life will never be the same.

***********
Be sure to enter the giveaway in the post below this one!!

And we're still accepting orders and shipping in time for Christmas delivery within the US!

A bit of nothing... {giveaway!}

I could bore you by telling you I've been crazy busy lately.
That I haven't had time to do anything other than eat, sleep, and work.
And eat plenty of Subway $2 subs.
And the occasional store bought cookie.
And comsume large doses of coffee.

And put sunglasses on Lilo.
And wonder why my couch looks green/yellow in cell phone pictures when it's really white, but not care enough to do anything about it.


But other than that I've had no time.

So I'll just ask you something.
What is the best gift you've ever received? Or if you've never received anything good, what's the best gift you've ever given?
Or if you've never giving anything, just tell me your hair color.

Whatever. Just leave a comment and you're entered to win a $50 gift certificate to The Rusted Chain! (we'll draw a random winner soon.)

*Facebook it, blog it, tweet it, pin it for extra entries. Please leave additional comments for each of these.

Date night with mummies.

A while back The Man won tickets to a concert with a group called Here Come The Mummies.
Yeah.

Last night was the concert... and it was really good!
The Mummies are all Grammy winning artists who travel in this group called Here Come The Mummies, but keep their identities hidden.



Their sound is really cool... A little New Orleans, heavy on the trumpets and saxaphones, a lot of drums, very funky with an Earth Wind and Fire kind of vibe.
They have a huge cult following.


Here's the thing though... they're dirty. Naughty.
Not vulgar words, but definitely off color. You wouldn't want to take kids.


I don't really think I'd buy their music to listen to on a regular basis.
But I'd definitely see them in concert again!
If you have the chance, it's really fun.
They put on an amazing stage show!
If you ignore the dirty lyrics, the show is super cool. Ha!



Happy Weekend to you!!

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
-------------------

Lately it's beginning to look and feel a lot more like Christmas.
It's cold and a lot of days have been gray. We've had several heavy frosts and a little snow...
Combined with all the holiday madness it could be depressing. It really could.
But then I stop and think about what a wonderful joy Christmas is!
And suddenly everything in my mind shifts. Things seem brighter and happy, and joyous and even... sparkly. :) What a great time of year!!

On letting go...

I'm changing. It's not comfortable, but it's good.

I like to think of myself as a good mom, a decent decorator, a crafty person with lots of ideas, someone with a fair amount of talent.

In the months leading up to The Holidays, my mind swirls with things I'll do, moments I'll create with the kids, all the fresh cookies and candies I'll make, and how amazing our home will look all decorated.
(Dang you Pinterest!!)

For the past few years I've been overwhelmed with jewelry orders and have ended up a blubbering bawling yelling stressed out hot mess.

This year I'm realizing that I am not Martha.
Not even Martha is really Martha. She has a huge staff of people to help her get everything done.

Most days lately I spend 14 hours (or more) in the studio making jewelry.
And that's okay. I'm beyond blessed.
I have a great team of helpers and an incredible support system.



We've put up a tree and that's where I'm stopping for this year.
I'm letting go of the idea of every room in the house being decorated and looking magazine perfect.
I may buy store bought cookie dough and bake with the kids.
I don't really have to provide fresh cookies to everyone I know.
Our "Christmas crafts" may consist of printer paper and crayons.
We'll still create plenty of family memories but they may be captured on a cell phone camera, not with my big fancy camera.
They may not get blogged.
We may eat out too many times this month because I'm too busy to cook.
But it's okay.

My kids and husband like me so much more when I'm not crying or yelling. (ha.)

I've never had a holiday season this stress-free, despite our business being bigger than ever.
This year is the first in a really long time that I'm learning to let go.
And it feels so good.

I suggest you try it.

Rain and coffee and cake

Our weekend looked a lot like this.


Cold and rainy. But The Boy had a basketball game so we braved the nasty weather and did the good parent thing to do.


Someone should feed this child a sandwich.
He's so skinny and scrawny. He got that from his mama. *ahem*


Convenience store coffee.


Saturday was also laundry day. (Don't you love that you took time out of your busy Monday to come here and all you get to see is my laundry? Ha!)


Our shower broke. That's not fun.
We all took baths though, so we're not too stinky.

Sunday was The Baby's birthday. 5
I'm not even sure how that happened.
We went to lunch with some friends and family.


Then we went to a movie. Arthur Christmas.
It was really cute!!

Back home at night for cake and more presents.



It was cold and busy but really nice.
Is it January yet? I'm kind of ready for it.