JUNKMARKET Under Glass and Mimi-Toria's Designs

JUNKMARKET Under Glass 

"MARCH MADNESS" 

March 1, 2 & 3, 2012

Hours will be:

March 1  8-10 Early Bird Shopping (see info. below)

March 1  10-6 p.m. (Thursday)

March 2  10-5 p.m. (Friday)

March 3  10-5 (Saturday)

I am so happy and excited to be a part of this great event.  I have been having some recent back issues, but have been working hard to provide you my customers another wonderful experience and will have new lines of jewelry available as well as some of my trademark pieces that my customers have come to love and define a Mimi-Toria's piece upon appearance.  I will post photos as I get a chance, but it's time to get back out to my workshop and get busy.  So here's the details...

Otten  Bros.  greenhouse  will once  again  be  hoppin'  in a few short weeks March. Yep!  That's right....  were baaack!  And once  again all of your favorite  vendors  and vintage finds will be here, and  you will be able to shop in a warm and inviting greenhouse!   Now how fun is that?

Otten Bros. Garden Center and Landscaping is located at 2350 West Wayzata Blvd, Long Lake MN. JUNKMARKET Under Glass hours will be Thursday at 8-10am with Early Bird Shopping.  Beat the crowd and get the great buys and scoop up the one of a kind finds before anyone else! Remember, the early bird gets the worm!  Early Bird Shopping admission is $20 which is good for all three days!  Regular shopping hours start Thursday from 10am-6pm, Friday and Saturday 10am-5pm. Regular Admission is $5 for each day.

Hope to see you there!!!!

Copyright Thief Caught

Life is always interesting here at Mimi-Toria's Designs.  A while back a friend of mine, notified me that my blog content appeared to of been lifted and put on a UK website and that I might want to check it out.  Hers was also stolen, and while dealing with hers, she had noticed and notified the other victims as well.  Mine being one of the four or five that had been stolen from, I readily was contacted and she shared what she had learned in order to get her information removed.
I wasn't sure what I should do, so initially I posted a facebook status and asked others opinions on what they thought I should do, and/or if I was over reacting, etc.  Lots of great feedback ensued and in particular one facebook friend that took the time to comment referred me to her website.  Deb's site "Deco Diva Debi" has an entire area on her blog page that is devoted to how to deal with this type of thing.  After viewing her information offered you can read about how I went about handling it via her blog post below.  It is a great article and since I've been house bound and somewhat bed ridden for two weeks with back issues and am standing at my counter to type this post, I will not babble any more, but will let Deb's post do the talking.  Take from it what you can, learn from it and pass on the information to anyone you may know that has experienced any of this type of thing.
It truly is frustrating to see 1000's of you working hours casually lifted aka/stolen, and than have it show up half way around the world on some strangers site, so that they can make $$$$ off of your hard work and labors?  Some people have no shame...
A little side note:  This was not a stolen design idea, which can be disheartening enough, but this was 2 years of my life shared through my jewelry designs, photographing them, editing them, sharing and writing about them, photographs of my daughter, my Dad, my family, etc., and it was all lifted complete with photos, titles and all content, with no links back to the owner at all.  And for what purpose?  To sell "AD SENSE" ads, so that they could make money off of the readerships clicks on the ads.  Tacky, I say.
See the article below that Deb wrote and shared with her readership on her blog.  I'd love to hear if this has ever happened to you, or what you think you'd do if it were your personal situation.

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2012/02/cyber-theft-cracking-case.html

Details are a Good Thing

So I'm trying to be better about updating my blog, and since I'm homebound nursing my back to health I will post two days in a row.  Score for me. . .  :)

This was a custom order for my husbands, Aunt Debbie.  She attended a Junk Market Under Glass event with her sweet daughter, Christi and I happened to be wearing my personal "Believers Necklace".  She loved it, and asked that I try to do a focal similar to mine for her.  It took a while for me to amass the right elements, but than finally, it all came together for me.

This was sent to Debi right before the Holidays and this is what she received in the mail.  The photograph of the mannequin with wings is one I took last Summer and had made into professional stickers.  This made a nice little extra touch for her otherwise white cardboard jewelry box that I have been packaging my SOLD items in when shipping via the mail.

I love bakers twine for packaging and happened to have it in aqua/white, black/white and grey/white for my packaging choices.  When I found this pretty aqua feather in my stash and the ivory floral pick, I decided to use this for her package.  I of course, was short on time, and oh how easy it would of been to throw that white box in the bubble mailer.   However, I'm glad I took the time for presentation.  This was one of my highest price point items, thus deserving of forcing myself to slow down and take that extra time to gather the right materials to make a statement.  In turn this went from a blah, to ahhha package with a few extra touches.

I bought these picks one year at the end of the Holiday season on clearance for like .29, and it probably would be about that same time of the year that I bought these, so if you like them places like JoAnn's, Michaels or Hobby Lobby would be apt to be the kinds of places to carry something that could be used like I did here.

This photo shows the focals of the necklaces.  My original one that she loved is on the right.  What I recreated for her is the one on the left.  Each of ours has about 18 vintage religious charms and I carefully chose each and every one to be more desirable for a person that is of a Protestant faith vs. the Catholic faith.  So no saints were used, and only one of Mary.
Many of you know that I create only OOAK (One of a Kind) jewelry designs, so when Debi asked me to make one like mine, I explained to her that I couldn't do exactly.  When one works with vintage elements like I do for these creations, I can only make it resemble one another, not duplicate.  The "believe" silver tone and bronze tone word tabs and the crown elements are new, so that portion was changed with the words being chosen in different metals, but all else is vintage elements.  A pretty good match and I think she was pleased in the end with the results.

A Few January Sold Items

It has been a while since I posted some of the jewelry I've been creating and/or have sold, so thought I'd share a few items real quickly tonight.  My Internet is having fits, so I'll make it short and just a few photos.  Enjoy...  Sorry, but these all have sold at either recent events or through my face book site.

On a side note, I have been laid up most of last week with quite a severe back issue, but am hoping that I am on the mend now.  It appears that the good Lord is telling me to slow down a bit, and smell the roses, as I tend to go pretty non-stop when I'm awake.  Unfortunately, this may mean some down sizing at future shows, but this will unfold according to how my back heals from this injury.  It was not lifting excess weight, but rather reaching for a jewelry product off a shelf in a backwards grab while walking forward and my sacroiliac came to a screeching halt and chose to lock up for about a week.  Not a fun thing to experience, but indeed I am much more fortunate than many that actually have a lingering illness they are battling and even those that are fighting terminal disease.  This just has gotten my attention.

Bethlehem Steel, Sparrow Point numbered vintage brass tool tag id, along with a sparrow bird, turquoise nugget and a long antiqued gold tone ball chain necklace.

These two lovelies are both sold, but are buttery soft leather adjustable style cuff bracelets and I have a variety of these types of pieces that will be featured at the March 1-3rd Junk Market Under Glass event at Otten Bros. Nursery in Long Lake, MN.  This is a fabulous event that you'll want to be sure to plan to attend and schedule it on your calendar.

I will continue to create my original hand stamped spoon pendant necklaces with bling and also simply stamped spoon pendants for those that like a more modern feel to theirs.  These pendants are scattered through out the internet with others selling them now, but I'm happy to say that mine were originally created into necklaces early on and still are an original design that had been inspired by a local gal stamping plant markers out of silverware.  About four years ago, I bought some of hers, and made them into pendants, and soon after started using my vast collection of silverware I had been collecting to hand flatten, hand stamp, hand polish, hand ink, drill and hand select the bling pieces that I would cold solder to each pendant, choosing it according to what had been stamped on them.  Thus, the hand stamped spoon pendant was born...  Because of the wear and tear on my body and an injury I suffered while setting up at an event several years ago, I have since started hiring a friend to use his industrial press to save my back from one step in this multi step process.  You may think they are simple, easy to duplicate, but truly they are a labor of love and quite time consuming, when you attempt to create a well made design.

This was one awesome piece that had two different chain options sold with it, so that there were many ways in which it could be styled.  With it's oversized leather tooled cross, vintage key, gorgeous chunky semi precious gemstone bead and funky heart and cowboy hat, it was a quick seller at my recent Trunk Show.

A Fresh Beginning ~ 2012 ~ One Word Choice

As the New Year has arrived with only today to reflect on 2011, I would like to wish you all a Happy and Blessed New Year!

Looking back on 2011 and all that has transpired, I would have to say that I am once again so grateful.  It is with thanksgiving and praise that I will go forward into 2012 hopefully a better person.  As I believe we should each continually grow in our lives,  I personally will continue to work on my spiritual, family,  personal and business growth for 2012 and on into the rest of my life.

With these challenges, I can say that I am so excited to start 2012 with a fresh new attitude.  One I haven't always been aware of nor have I always practiced as much as I would of hoped.  So in 2012, I am choosing to through aside certain words I normally would use in my vocabulary and make a concentrated effort to add certain words that maybe in the past I would not of taken note of or chosen to use.  The words I toss out will be ones that normally would tend to hinder my growth and I am giving them the boot, and with God's help moving forward to a better place.  I have goals to accomplish and things to learn and see.  Many of these words were a part of the reasons I haven't accomplished what I'd like to, or become the person that I believe God would like me to be.  You may be wondering, what some of these words may be, that I am hoping to extinguish with God's help?  To start with a few of the words on my list will be "I can't", "fear", "failure","scared", etc.  I think you get the picture...

If you've followed my blog for a year or more, you might remember last year when I chose a word to live 2011 by.  Trying to pick just one word is a joke for a wordy girl like me, so I cheated.  I chose two words.  They were shared in my "One Word to Live By" post.  You can read about my struggle to find that choice word here , as in that blog post I shared all about my 2011 word I had choses for growth.  It was interesting to go back and read what my thoughts were about it.  I of course, had forgotten about some of the things I had planned to change and goals I had set, and I actually found I had failed on many accounts.  Below is a portion of that post from 12 mos. ago and the struggle I was experiencing at that time with choosing just one word.  So here is part of what I had written...

Nope...I wasn't sure.  The word "inspire" kept coming to me.  I "inspire" to be a better person in 2011.  I "inspire" to be a better Mom, Wife, Friend and Sister in 2011.  I "inspire" to grow in my jewelry design business, and as a jewelry designer.  I "inspire" to learn to do more effective photography and photo editing.  I "inspire" to learn new things in 2011.   I "inspire" to be a better blogger.  I even plan to "inspire" some of you in 2011 through my blog.  I "inspire" to share more tutorials and how-to's on my blog as well.  So, "Inspire" is what I chose...

Wait you say...  That's two words.  "Redesign" and "Inspire".  Guess what?  I'm breaking the rule.  I am so not a rule breaker, but I'm starting 2011 with being a rule breaker.  I'm choosing two words to live by in 2011.  I maybe should have chosen "motivation" as both of my words are motivational words, but "Redesign" and "Inspire" are what kept coming to me through my pondering.

So now its 2012, and I've chosen my word for 2012.  It will be "I CAN"...  Yes, another two words, but if you are having problems with the rule breaking I'm doing, than I'll just say it's "ICAN" and than I'm only using one word. :)

Here's what motivated me to choose these words.  For the past two years I have been following along, have learned an amazing amount of information both with regards to photography, PSE use (or rather my need to get one for Christmas this year), fell in love with the use of textures and layers on photos, and also was even contributing for a short time on Kim's Inspiration Studio blog (this blog is no longer active).   Cool stuff for sure, but then I dropped the ball and got super busy with life and my jewelry business and neglected the stuff I wanted to do to learn and grow.

So late last week this blogging friend of mine, Kim Klassen has a wonderful blog post she shared at Shutter Sisters. It was totally what I needed to get motivated and ready to move forward in 2012.  As a blogging fan of Kim's various blogs, it was through her that I was initially inspired to figure out what it was that I wanted to do and how i wanted to grow in 2011.  I am so thankful for her challenges and continuation of encouragements that she shares through her blogs.  Her recent post at Shutter Sisters garnered many comments, and below is an example of another reads comment and than my personal comment as well.

One reader commented:

I am taking your quote: Whatever you want in life, you can do it…. It may take hard work…there may be mountains to climb, obstacles to move....but it's completely doable. First you must believe you can. This will be my 2012 words to live by...

This is what I shared:

I CAN learn PSE10... I CAN learn how to use the fabulous accumulation of Kim Klassen layers/textures and brushes that I've been buying for the last 2 years... and I CAN become more proficient with my photography which will than enhance my vintage jewelry redesign business.

I CAN grow in my love for Jesus, my husband and daughter and be a light to those that He puts in my life through my every day life journey and my art career as a jewelry designer.

Thank you Kim for another beautifully inspiring post, for being so real and for the challenge to do more of the "I CAN" vs. the "I CAN'T". Need to be of that attitude for 2012. One step at a time!

Gretchen
December 30, 2011 | Gretchen Schaumann

As I read the above comment I had just written from my heart in Kim's blog post response, I knew right then that the words "I CAN" were destined to be my words for 2012.  Kind of an interesting way that they came to be the words, but perfect for what I need to do.  Indeed, they aren't fancy words, or poetic and such, but they are instead action words, which is perfect for what I desire to do and be in 2012.

The last two days have consisted of me using the new action words "I CAN", as I have spent both days on my MacBook Pro trying to organize and sort through tons of photos to eliminate some of the mess I have on my computer and also have been working on learning Photoshop Elements 10, which I got for Christmas.  Kim Klassen, is offering a free Photoshop Skinny Mini eCourse starting January 9th, and I'm signed up to participate in it.  To learn more about this wonderful free opportunity go check out her Kim Klassen Cafe site.  Thank you Kim for all that you've shared so graciously that has encouraged me on my journey.

Thanks to Heather H for spending time with me at Caribou Coffee to help me with editing the above photo last Thursday on my new PSE10 software I got for Christmas.  This is some of the techniques and looks that I hope to continue to learn for 2012 and enhance my photos and business through the use of these techniques.  I will be taking Kim's class this month and it should help as well.  Necklace was created for a Christmas gift for one of my customers, by her thoughtful husband.  He has done this for her two years now, and he always has a meaningful reason behind his purchases for his wife.  So cool!

So, long story short, my word for 2012 will be "I CAN".  What will your word or goals be for your fresh New Year?  Another of my goals is to improve my blog visually, as well as actually do better with posting.  Maybe, I will get to the point where I can post a short post and not such a long winded one like this one has become and actually do the posting more often.  :)  That would be awesome...  I have good intentions and than life gets in the way, or the photos aren't ready, etc... and than I don't post.  Here's to a better New Year..

My next jewelry event is coming up soon and I will share more about that in the days ahead.  For now, mark your calendar for January 28th, a Saturday.  This event is one you'll not want to miss...

Sorry for the lack of photos in this post, as I've been doing some messing around with my computer and can't quite upload the new photos of jewelry quite yet.  This blog post was originally started days ago, so I'm going forward and hitting the "post" button, or it will be like other posts and end up sitting in my draft box never to be posted...    I need to be better about finishing one task at a time.  However, in my defense, my daughter asked me to spend some time with her on her last day off of Christmas break, and thankfully I decided to take the opportunity and put aside my blogging and learning, so I apologize for mostly words, and only one photo.

What is it  that you would  like to do  differently this year?  Anything  at  all, or  do  you  not do  the whole New Years self improvement  thing?  Please  share your  hopes and  dreams  for  2012  with  me.  I'd  love to hear them.   Can you believe  that  I've only done this for  two years  in my  entire life?  I did  not grow  up in a  goal  setting family, so this is all new to me.  Kind of fun...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~Be blessed~

For Sale Necklace Items 13-19

You've been asking for some jewelry for sale to be listed, so without further ado, here you go...  Be assured all items I create are OOAK (One of a Kind) creations.  Contact me if you need lengths on these or more details.

gretchen.schaumann@comcast.net

Necklaces

 #13

Vintage Hardware French Vanilla Necklace

$62.00
SOLD

Necklace is a mix of antiqued Silver and Gold tone chunky links with Baroque Faux Vintage Glass Pearls, Vintage Chippy Hardware with Ivory Rose resin set inside hole, and a gorgeous filigree Vintage Mother of Pearl Cross Focal.  Truly stunning in person. 

#14

"Play" Mother of Pearl Necklace

$44
AVAILABLE as of 2/5/12

Vintage Mother of Pearl Ivory linked beads with unique religious connector attached to a Vintage optical lens with a sparrow shaped book page punched out with the word "Play"

#15

BT 410 Necklace

SOLD

Long Antiqued gold tone ball chain necklace with Industrial vintage tag (see details in 3rd photo below), tear drop shaped focal piece has a wood/crackly look to it, and has been layered with the BT 410 Vintage tag, vintage keys and a vintage rhinestone bling.  The ball chain can be cut with a scissor to a shorter length if that is your desire.

#16

Chunky Robins Egg Blue Maltese Cross Necklace

SOLD

This necklace is so cool in person.  The photos do not do it justice at all...  Layers of gorgeous gold vintage chains, and this fabulous Chunky Robins Egg Blue Maltese Cross focal with the rhinestones all set in and all intact is truly stunning.  This is a conversation piece for sure.  Love this one...

#17

Antiqued Silvertone Vintage Amber Locket Necklace

 SOLD

This necklace has some gorgeous huge vintage amber faceted crystals and a beautiful shabby chic oval locket with amber set in stone and rhinestones.  The shabbiness of it shows that the locket was dearly loved in its past life and makes me wonder who owned it?  Was it a gift from a loved one, long ago?  Love these shabby saved pieces such as this locket and I personally feel the missing pieces add a mystique to the piece.

#18

Silver tone & Vintage Amber Nugget Necklace

SOLD

This necklace has some gorgeous a huge vintage amber faceted crystal focal, vintage rhinestone roundels, black silk ribbon, and another smaller vintage amber faceted crystal and hangs from a antiqued silver tone chain.

Bracelets

#19

Time for a Queen Bracelet

$32.00

AVAILABLE as of 2/5/12

This bracelet has a gorgeous look to the chain and is vintage with a safety clasp.  I have created a layered drop of vintage mother of pearl, vintage watch face, filigree and a queen crown which is new and is silver plate.  This is such a pretty bracelet.

Jewelry For Sale Holidays 2011 & a Thank You

Wow!  Thank you to all of my loyal followers for hanging in there while I was away doing some local large events in September and now recently the traveling "Trunk Shows".  I always love the local events as I get to interface with you my followers and customers, but this year having two large events back to back about cleaned me out.  

I had to keep my nose to the grindstone (a family farm saying I grew up with), and create, create some more and continue to create to fill the needs of the Trunk Shows I was committed to do in November.  These traveling events were indeed a privilege to be featured at and I so appreciated it.  So a big thank you to Beth and John from Antiques Downtown in Elk River, MN and Mary of Marishka's in St. Cloud, MN for allowing me to set up within your shops.  My jewelry will continue to be for sale at Marishka's in Central Minnesota, so be sure to stop in to this lovely shop during your shopping jaunts.  It's a wonderful boutique style, warm and cozy shop.

Now, onto the job at hand...  Listing some jewelry for sale for my loyal customers that have been begging me for months to get some new items offered up.  Just in time for the Holidays too! 

While scrolling through the items think this:
1) would this work for me?
2)  would these earrings be fabulous for  _______ as a gift for Christmas?
3)  wouldn't this be a perfect match for my dear friend, ______.  She just loves hand created one-of-a-kind jewelry that no one else in the world owns.

So here is the start of a few postings I will be making every couple of days.  First come, first buy.  :)

Earrings 

All earrings are (OOAK)  One of a Kind

E1

Antiqued Sterling Silver Lever Backs with Abalone, vintage faux glass ivory small pearls and Vintage Sterling Silver Filigree connector accents with floral motifs 

$29.00

E2

Antiqued Sterling Silver French Hook wires with Vintage Sterling Silver Filigree connector accents with floral motifs and fabulous triangle shaped Vintage Light Blue set in rhinestone drop focals

$27.00 SOLD

E3

Antiqued Gold Large Hoop French Wires with fabulous Vintage Peachy Pink connector elements, Clear AB Swarovski crystals, bead caps, and Strawberry Quartz Faceted Beads.  Truly Stunning in a Shabby Chic Way.

$27.00 SOLD

E4

Antiqued Gold Large Hoop French Wires with Unique Champagne

 colored crystal drops with Antiqued Gold Star Fish Focal Drops

SOLD

E5

Sterling Silver Lever Back Earrings with Vintage crystals and Sterling Silver Filigree Drops

Sparkly and Beautiful

SOLD

E6

Sterling Silver French Hook wires with Vintage Sterling Silver Filigree Connector accents with floral motifs and

gorgeous Vintage Swarovski Grey AB Crystals and clear crystal accents.  Sparkly and Gorgeous.

$26.00

E7

14 kt Gold Filled Lever Backs with Gorgeous Twisted Gold toned Connector accents and Vintage Glass Faux Large Baroque Chocolate Brown Pearls with Vintage Gold Filigree Bead Caps

 SOLD

E8

Antiqued Gold Large Hoop French Wires with Vintage Cameo Connectors and Vintage Glass Faux Pearls in a Copper Color along with Vintage Gold Bead Caps and Vintage Swarovski Clear Crystals

SOLD

E9

14 kt Gold Filled French Wire Hooks and Vintage Filigree Connectors and 

Vintage Gorgeous Red Crystal Set in Rhinestone focals

$29.00

E10

14 kt Gold Filled French Wire Hooks and Gold Filled Filigree 

Findings  and Vintage AB Swarovski Bullet Style Crystals

$29.00

E11

Antiqued Gold Large Hoop French Wires with Vintage Filigree Gold Beads 

and Vintage Glass Faux Large Ivory Pearls

$22.00

E12

14kt Gold Filled Lever Backs with Vintage Brass oval Beads, tiny seed beads, 

Vintage Gold Bead Caps and Vintage Blue Baroque Faux Glass Pearls

SOLD

More items will be listed soon.  Let me know if you are interested in any of these and I can set them aside until I have everything listed and you've had a chance to see it all.  Thanks for your interest.

Gretchen