Thursday, October 30, 2008

Quand la vie te donne des citrons…

That's right, when life gives you lemons... I make lemon earrings! :)



I put these sweet little earrings together last night. Sure, it's not summer anymore, but that doesn't mean you can't wear a sweet, citrus-ey pair of earrings to juice things up during the cold winter months!

Speaking of the cold, I checked the forecast this morning, and it looks like our awesome autumn weather is over. We've had beautiful, clear days showing off the bright leaves and warming the crisp weather, often all the way up to 70! Well, this morning's forecast on KGW shows a seven day look-ahead filled with rain and fog each day! I'm sure that's going to freak out my friend Amanda, a new reporter at KGW. She mentioned over the weekend how much rain she saw in the forecast. Before moving here in September, Amanda lived in Florida for a couple of years. Poor thing, (yes for both living in Florida and now dealing with rain). I don't mind the rain at all. In fact, some of my favorite days are those rainy days that clear up just enough in the afternoon so there are sunbreaks splitting through puffy clouds.

In fact, I can remember ever since I was young loving the rain. I used to go to summer camp in Colorado for a week or two each summer. I remember one year laying in my top bunk during our afternoon mellow-out time, writing letters home, reading books, and writing in my journal, with the rain pounding down on the tin roof just feet away from my cozy sleeping bag. I think there's something about the rain outside that makes me appreciate being in my warm condo in bed or on my couch or reading in a great chair. Listening to the elements come down outside, refreshing the environment, while I'm warm and comfortable inside is so comforting!

Well, that's it for now! Time to go plug away on the Romeo and Juliet unit for the Freshmen! :)

*Kate

Saturday, October 25, 2008

New Treasury!

A pretty new treasury on Etsy. Check it out:

Ooo la la... A Winter Wedding

:) I love putting these things together, and, of course, I included my latest design in this one!

*Kate

Friday, October 24, 2008

A quick hello. :)

Happy Friday! I'm off for a teacher in-service day in a few but thought I'd update the blog first. :) I met up with the owner of Presents of Mind on Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland last night and sold a bunch of new jewelry to her. Check it out if you can. Here's the store web site:

http://presentsofmind.tv/

In the meantime, here's a pic of one of that store's favorite items... now available with garnets, amethyst, aqua glass (as shown), or a Rainbow assortment of Swarovski crystals.

Take care, and have a happy day! :)

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Etsy Store


So, I haven't quite figured out how to place my store as a permanent feature on the blog, but I guess I'll get there someday. Nor, as I mentioned yesterday, have I figured out how to upload that slideshow I posted yesterday as a permanent fixture. It helps that I've got computer genius students available at school to me everyday. With the help of my sophomore aid, Ben, I got my etsy treasury set up: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=16593 (check it out!!). Seriously, he was bored so I had him sit in front of the computer and yell at me in the other classroom when the treasury listings got to 335. Score!


Ben, our newspaper editor-in-chief, Brian, and another student, Kyle, have also all helped with uploading a Snoop Dawg video from the internet to my computer, editing it, and then inserting it in a PowerPoint presentation. I know. I pretty much rock. I'm working on that Romeo and Juliet unit, and in the first lesson we're going to talk about how language evolves. I'm learning new things while creating lessons, too. For example, did you know Shakespeare created 1,500 words? I didn't! Among them are "eyeball" and "alligator", (spelled Allegator at the time). Random. So, anyway, we talk about words Shakespeare invented, and how our language has changed since then. Like, how rappers can add language to the culture, (I figure students learn better when they can personally relate to the information we're talking about). So... hence a clip of Snoop's "Drop It Like It's Hot" ended up in my lecture for the day. I've got the "So don't change the chizzle, turn it up a little, I've got a living room full of fine-dine drizzles" etc. line embedded for students. I think the booty shaking in that part of the video, while it's there, is minimal and acceptable. Also, while I was in the process of getting this all taken care of, Brian, (newspaper kid), informed me my statement, "I need this Snoop Dawg video for a Shakespeare lecture so I can demonstrate how language evolves", is, quote, "The whitest thing I've ever heard anyone say."

You know what? It's true... but I do own the CD. So there!

While I'm On My Home Computer...


Here's an oldie, but a goodie. More from la escuela later! :)

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Shakespeare Trend Goes On!

Check out my treasury page on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=16593

A few of my favorite items... all together in one pretty spot! :)

A New Twist on Shakespeare

So, for Freshman English right now I'm working on a Romeo and Juliet unit. At the same time I'm beefing up my web site http://www.katerydesigns.etsy.com/, so guess what? You got it... Shakespeare is slowly infiltrating my jewelry collection!

I find it odd that I never really appreciated Shakespeare when I lived a mile away from one of the most fabulous Shakespeare festivals in the country. Doing research and really examining the literature is motivating me to understand just how beautiful Shakespeare's writing really is. In fact, once I'm licensed to teach, I think I'll take a graduate course on Shakespeare, to further motivate and educate my teaching and my jewelry.

My favorite piece with this new Shakespearian twist is this sweet little pair of sparrow earrings, "Parting Is Such Sweet Sparrow Earrings":


They're sweet, sparkly, and pretty, and I love! Check out the student reader copy of the play doubling as my artsy background. Who knew there'd be such a connection between student teaching and my side project?

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Katery Designs... adventure in blogging!

I'm a writer. I'm a teacher. I'm a journaler. I'm a creator. Why can't I be a blogger? I've tried this whole blog thing before but not quite successfully enough to make a dent in the blosophere. Well, now's a beautiful time to try again... and this time at least create a scratch! :)

I've got designs to promote, ideas to churn, rants to rave, and friends to update. Perfect! It'll all happen right here. Screw MySpace and Facebook. The too personal pages and too impersonal updates just aren't doing it for me anymore. Plus, I'm sick of being "friends" with people I don't actually want to be friends with.

See? Ranting already!


Okay, forget the ranting for now... and check out my web site! I've got an etsy shop to push and some spare cash to make! The added income is nice, but the creativity gives anxiety an outlet. That's what it's all about. Now, if only I were a bit more organized, I could actually keep track of my spending/income and see if I'm making money. For now, I'm having fun designing jewelry for friends, myself, family... and adding stores around Portland to the Katery Designs mix.
Here's my favorite pair of earrings. They began last summer during an afternoon of me wishing I knew how to garden and grow tomatoes. I figured I'd make "tomatoes on the vine" earrings. Well, once they were created they looked more like apples to me, hence the "red delicious" earrings I've come to love. Still, half the people who see them think they actually look more like cherries. Call them what you want. They're my favorite item so far! :)