Well, it has been a very difficult month, but the Bird of the Month collection for June is finally ready! Better late than never, right? Because of the many requests for Galahs over the past few months, I decided I HAD to go with this lovely bird this month. I have posted a large collection of Galah / Rosebreasted Cockatoos for auction on eBay this week, which include a bracelet charm, choker, pendant, pin, glass bead necklace sets, beaded bracelet as well as a pair of full body earrings!
There are actually two glass bead sets available this week, one with silver beads with the bird created in a brighter pink, and one with gold beads with the bird created in paler colors.
The items will be available for the next 6 days on eBay, so go take a look if you have been waiting for this species!
Also new on eBay this week is a Hahn's Macaw choker, as well as a Congo African Grey glass beaded necklace/earring set in a black and white theme with polka dots and stripes - fun!
To see the complete list of items currently on auction, go to my EBAY listings.
It is with tears that I write this sad entry - we've lost our dear doggie friend Buddi. He was almost part of the family and we all loved him so very much. Sadly, he suffered from a fast growing brain tumor. Buddi was such wonderful dog, and quite a fighter to put up with so many treatments, his family did everything for him. It's been a long and difficult battle. He was let go yesterday and is at peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they grieve his loss.
Teddy, Maisie, Maggie and I will forever miss you Buddi!
I wanted to let everyone know about an online auction that will be held from June 25th through July 2nd to benefit the evacuated animals of the devastating Cedar Rapids flood. The website is located at: www.iowafloodreliefauction.com - please stop by and view the photos and stories of the many people and pets affected by the flood.
Over 40 vendors and artisans have donated items, and all proceeds will go to the "Friends of the Animal Shelter Fund", which has been set up to help these pets. I am happy to be able to participate in this worthwhile cause and have donated the Congo Grey bracelet shown below as well as a light switch plate, so I hope you will go visit the auction, bid high, and help the animals in need! (If you aren't looking to purchase anything, but would like to show your support, you can make monetary donations through the links on the website or by sending in a check to the foundation.)
It's amazing how life for so many people can turn upside down in such a short time. My city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, suffered severe devastation from record breaking floods over the last week. (If you missed coverage on the news, you can view a great deal of footage on YouTube.com by typing in "Cedar Rapids Flood".) It is a difficult time and sad to see so much loss all around, yet we are so thankful that there are have been minimal injuries or deaths.
Thanks so much to all of you that emailed and called to check on me after hearing about the disaster on the national news - I am a bit shaken, but safe and sound! I personally have SO very much to be thankful for, besides the most important fact that my family, pets, and friends are safe, that my home was safe from the flood water. We are thankful to have electricity and phones working and had wonderful news yesterday that the city water is improving capacity so this is going to be a huge help in getting everything a bit more normalized.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, I really appreciate it!
I'm finally seeing the "light at the end of the tunnel" from the massive overload of custom orders I received back in January. :) It has felt like a never ending line for so long that I am so excited to finally feel like I am catching up. Slowly but surely, I'm getting there, and I'm shooting for another opening in 1-2 months hopefully! Stay tuned through my newsletter to be informed when I plan my next limited opening.
Below is a custom order finished from yesterday's work.
I've just listed the majority of my parrot jewelry inventory on eBay! There are a few brand new creations included on auction, such as this male Eclectus choker set, which also has a matching bracelet, so stop by my listings and take a look!
Wow - it's been several weeks since I have posted in my blog, but I haven't disappeared, I promise! :) Health issues continue to keep me working at a snail's pace these days unfortunately, but I'm coming along with the current line up of orders as best as I can!
Here is a photo of a custom 6-bird pin that I just finished. I rarely make pins with this many birds, but made half of them "partial bodied" in order to keep the size and weight down on it. More pictures of this piece can be seen in my Flickr album.
It is hard to believe my little baby is already six years old! Kaleena (nicknamed Kiki in case you were wondering) is such a cuddlebug and sweetheart - although she wasn't much into having a party today as she is back to being in egg laying mode. However, she take a little time out to have some of her "bird-day cake" that her grandma made especially for her today! (THANKS MOM!!!) It was quite a hit!
In honor of Kaleena's birthday tomorrow, I am offering a unique Eclectus creation for sale this week! The necklace set features a Female Eclectus in a different style than the typical birds I make. She was sculpted from solid black polymer clay, with an application of beautiful metallic pigment powders in shades of russet, red, lavender, purple and highlights of blue. The glossy finish makes the piece really shine!
Coordinating glass beads sparkle beautifully, and it is just impossible to get a photo that truly reflects the lovely colors in this set. It is a special and unique creation that I hope will find a hope with someone special! You can view or bid on the set for the next 6 days currently on EBAY.
Don't panic! My website is down temporarily as I've just done a major upgrade and my files are in the process of being uploaded to the new server. I'm working on it as quickly as possible and hope to have the entire website back tonight. That is, if I can figure it all out.....
This trio of custom budgies are flying off to their home in Germany, but stayed for a moment to pose for a picture! :) This piece really took a long time to finish, I find parakeets to be one of the most challenging species to create in clay! More pictures of this custom pin can be viewed on Flickr.
We just received a great assortment of yummy goodies from Heidi at http://shops.ittybittybirdiebites.com/Heidi/ kindly given for Killian and Kaleena to try out. Well, as you can see, they enjoyed their birdie bread made from "Fid Flour" and the "Itty Bitty Birdy Bites" so much that they didn't even take their heads out of their food bowls to look at the camera! :) With the fresh, human grade ingredients and wonderful mix of flavors, it's no surprise that they are loving it! Thanks so much Heidi!
I was honored to have a photo of one of my custom light switch plates requested for Bird Talk's Avain Flair column in the June issue! The piece that is featured has 2 Maroon Bellied Conures, which you can also see on my Lightswitch Plates page.
In other news, take a look at my current auctions on eBay for a variety of conures on sale this week!
Believe it or not, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake centered in Illinois early this morning was felt here in Eastern Iowa, about 400 miles from the epicenter. I have always been fascinated with the reported behavior of pets and other animals before earthquakes and natural disasters. However, I slept through it, and none of my pets showed any odd behavior enough to wake me. We are thankful that it wasn't a big deal! :) After being in a tornado watch last week and having to get the birds set up in travel carriers just in case, there has been a lot of excitement around here. It's a good reminder to have your emergency gear and extra food supplies for your pets all ready for situations when you may need to hurry to safety! I'm glad that my birds love to go into their travel/emergency carriers and seemed to enjoy the few hours spent waiting it out.
Hearing about the earthquake does bring back memories of going through the Mt. Pinatubo volcano eruption in the Philippines in 1991, which was certainly QUITE an event to live through! The house shook, and while we had no structural damage, we had ash damage. Our car, yard, and the majority of the surface of most objects indoors as well were covered and took days to clean and make livable! But in light of the tremendous losses that were sustained by others, we were incredibly grateful. What an experience!
