April Showers in Spring Garden

We always welcome  April showers in our garden.  It is the time when we see the garden come back to life from the ground. Almost overnight there is so much bright green everywhere. The crocus on the right were sprigs of green right before the flowers appeared.  

Well before these crocus thought of springing out of the ground, the planning began for the Vegetable Garden.  We use crop rotation to keep the group from becoming overwork.  When the snow was still falling,  back in early February, the layout began.  

The first seeds went int the garden in Much.  Thank you peas for being able to withstand the fluctuating temperatures of late March & early April.   

Shortly after the peas were planted the Mustard & Mesclun went into the garden.  These seeds were started in early March. Happy to say the first harvest will be this week for fresh greens from the garden.  Welcome to home grown in April.  The best thing when making a meal is to have fresh from your own backyard garden. 

Why would you want a garden you may ask?  

• Flavor
• Convenience
• Pride / satisfaction of success
• Control of the process
• Non-GMO crops 
• Fragrance
• Beneficial guests in the garden

We welcome input from our readers.  The best way to know exactly what people are looking for is to have them request it. We do our best to accommodate customer requests.  Copper teardrops are one answer to  -  more copper pieces please.  These are a new earring design that is proving to be popular.  Shown in all natural copper, teardrops catch the light as they move & are very lightweight.  They are available in both large and small sizes.  

Happy dance for this design and a few others recently in copper.  More on the new copper pieces in a future blog post.  

Custom cut gemstone cabochons are one of our passions. This plume agate showcases the beauty Mother Nature puts into her work.  We take pride in discovering the beauty inside each stone and showing it to you.  These gemstones are available to be set into a special piece for your gift giving pleasure.  

Another way we share the gems is to sell wholesale to other jewelry designers in the area and worldwide.  

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Note:  Website prices are retail.  Please send PM for wholesale inquiry along with your business credentials.  

Guess What....garden bounty?

My new shopping cart is working well for the website.  Very happy to have new traffic and from so many different places.  Visitors from over 25 countries and the majority from about 10 different countries. Surprised to see visitors from so many countries. 

and drum roll please......

The long wait is over.  My Vegetable garden has produced the first ripe tomatoes.  I harvested them this morning. these are the first two cherry tomatoes form the 2015 garden.  Behind them are kale and leaf lettuce, all going into a great salad for dinner tonight.    Prior years tomatoes were ripe by about the 10th or 12th of July.

This second pic shows the greens better.  I enjoy gardening.  Wish my father and his Mom were here to show them what I have in my yard.  Many thanks to both of them;  my love of tools and growing things is due to they love and teaching me when I was younger.

This is Genny From Charlotte, a stunning Sterling silver pendant. I collected the beach glass myself in Charlotte on Lake Ontario. To see this & many more of my creations, website link is below.

Have a happy summer day.

My shops:  Panda Wear Website
                   Cabochons and Supplies

 
Facebook:  PW Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Pinterest: Pinterest

Vera Jayne - Handmade with Love

Vera Jayne

Handmade with Love

Vera Kirkpatrick started her business, Vera Jayne as a way to work from home while she home schooled her 5 children. Vera has had numerous handmade businesses before that but all of them involved craft markets and selling in brick and mortar stores.

Blue Baby Shoes

 

She wanted to start selling her handmade goods online. She wanted the freedom and flexibility of choosing her own working hours and still having time to do the things that she thought were important in her role as a mom.

Vera Jayne sells hand knits – scarves, hats and accessories for ladies and children and crocheted baby shoes. Vera has always loved creating and she started making these particular products as there was a demand for them.

As for advise for someone starting out in her line of work:

•  Running a handmade business is hard work. You start off creating and doing what you love but when the orders start rolling in, you need to move from a hobby (creating and selling the few things you create which brings a little income and job satisfaction) to running a business! 
•  Use all free social networks. Her favorite is INSTAGRAM and she have gotten many sales and wholesale orders through this venue alone. It is free! Vera also use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Wanelo, We Heart it, Keep, Polyvore
•   Keep learning – She reads as much as I can about handmade businesses and small businesses. There is a lot of information out there! Vera is constantly self evaluating her product photos and trying to better her skills as a crafter.
•  Interact – She interacts with many handmade businesses and has formed good friendships. We support and promote one another. We pool resources and help each other succeed.

 As for where to one can find Vera Jayne products,  several places.  At the moment, she sell on Etsy, Storenvy and a South African online site.    She also sell her patterns on Craftsy and Ravelry. Vera supplies a local wholesaler who buys her baby shoes and sells them along with a baby outfit (sold as a set) that sell in Brick and Mortar stores all over South Africa.  Her baby shoes are sold wholesale to an online shop in the US that stocks brands

Chartreuse hair elastic

Vera love custom orders! At the moment her turn around time is 7 days but with wholesale orders (big numbers), depends on the amount required.  During the busy months her turn around time may be 2 weeks.  Her most popular item is baby shoes. 

To contact Vera of Vera Jayne

Instagram

Email

Store

Facebook

New Direction for Panda Wear - Stone DIY

New direction and focus for Panda Wear...what is this about you ask?
 
I am a lapidary which means I hand cut my own stones.  Having enjoyed cutting gemstone for many years, there is a surplus of stones I am unable to use right away. Also, there is a surplus of rough stone - which is the rocks before they are cut into cabochons.  The rocks started to accumulate (pile up) around my home.    To make space,  I decided to start selling the extras.


Above is a Unakite boulder in the quarry where I have collected some rough in NY state.  The travel mug in this pic is about 10" tall to show perspective. The boulders are over 3 feet tall.  The blue rocks on the left side are mostly calcite.
 

Steps to make a cabochon

1. select a rock
2. cut a slab form the rock
3. decide  the shape of the cabochon & draw it
4. trim the slice around the lines
5.  dop the trimmed piece
6. start cutting the cab
7. polish the cab

Michigan Kona dolomite slab.  This is a piece of the selected rock cut into a slice.

Texas graveyard point agate slab.  This is a slab or a slice from the rock. the slice is the second step to making the rock into cabochons.    Imagine the rock as a home made loaf of bread cut into slices.  They can be cut whatever thickness I desire. Clear or transparent rough works best cut thick to show the beauty in the stone when finished. 



In my work, I have bought nice quality supplies for many years. Having bought the high quality beads and cabochons for years I believe I have an idea what other designers are looking for.  Your referrals of friends whom are jewelry designers or jewelry store owners are always appreciated.   Most of my cabochon sales are to other jewelry designers right now.   A few are sales to collectors. Yes, I still sell my OOAK jewelry.  It is just that my focus is on the gemstones right now. 

On the right, a piece of the Unakite I collected as a finished cabochon.  I went through all of the 7 steps above with this rock.

Below is a Montana Moss Agate cabochon ready to be set into a piece of jewelry. This is a transparent stone and the light is reflected best when the back of the piece is left open.

My cabochons are free form which meas they are not round, or oval like most of the ones I see for sale.  This makes them unique and OOAK.
OOAK means One of a Kind. Cabochons are also called cabs.

Please feel free to ask any questions about the process of stone cutting or making cabochons that you have.   I have taught wire wrapping and jewelry making for years.  I also taught my boyfriend to cut cabs. He is a natural and is a better cutter than I am.

My stores: Jewelry shop
                 Cabochons and Supplies

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Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems