New Year resolutions

Here it goes:O))
1. Loose weight
2. Read more
3. Take Dominick to the park and playground more often
4. Take advantage of the beach this summer
5. Try new cooking recipes, my cooking got too boring without the constant experiments
6. Get organized
7. Take the time to enjoy life
8. Be happy

I can't remember starting a new year with more optimistic outlook on things to come. It has a lot to do with coming close to finding a balance between work, without which I can not function at all, and my family. I love what I do and I am my own boss. I AM THE BOSS! and as long as the boss is happy everyone else will be happy also:O))))

Happy New Year's everyone!!

End of the year reflections...

Yesterday, craft show season officially ended for me and I'm left with catching up to do on all my household chores:O) The pile of laundry is more than scary and toys are stuffed in every corner of every room...my boys made sure I will be busy the last few days before Christmas. My studio, strangely enough, seems to be the only organized room, and it is usually the other way around.

My last show, the craft fair at the Brooklyn Lyceum, was a great success despite the snow on Saturday and pouring rain on Sunday. It was so nice to see my previous customers at my table and hear all the priceless feedback. Thank you everyone for all the wonderful words and suggestions, I'm ending this year with so many ideas and plans for the future. Your wonderful words made me believe that this crazy path of jewelry making was a right choice, and I'm ecstatic, that I have the opportunity to do what I love and am completely addicted to.

Thank you {NewNew}! I love you everyone:O)) Thank you for putting up with my constant chatting, thank you for steering my craftiness in whole different direction and your wonderful company. Joining the {NewNew} was a life saving experience for me and I can't wait for what the future will bring. It has been a wonderful ride and I'm not getting of this train anytime soon:O) Well, it seems more like this train is faster than the speed of light but I will catch-up soon;O)

I hope, everyone will have the best Holidays ever, and the New Year will bring all the happiness and joy you are wishing for.

{NewNew} at the Brooklyn Lyceum

If you are like me, crazy busy or just hate spending countless hours at the mall searching for the perfect gift for all the loved ones, and still have some shopping to do, check out the Holiday Craft Fair at the Brooklyn Lyceum this weekend. This will be a two day shopping event featuring local artists and crafters, and their beautiful handmade creations. I guarantee you, you will be able to find the perfect gift for that one person, you have trouble shopping for, and it will be a wonderful gift everyone will be convinced you spend countless hours hunting for:O)) I will do the same! Shop, shop, shop for handmade:O)

So stop by, and check out my creations, and of my fellow {NewNew} members:
KnitKnit, Better Than Jam, Collective Elements, Glass is My Name, Journalistic Tendencies, Lingua Nigra, Nordea's Soperie, Blue Stitch Books, The Original Beadscarf, Kimm Chi, Red Bridge Studio, Adornments NYC, Vyphuis Designs, Allene La Spina, Metal Sugar, Dew on a Petal, Beacon Bookmarks, Yania Creations, Molly Shoelace, The Hand of Fatima, Jantar Handcrafted Jewelry and more

crouching

crouching, originally uploaded by wrrroah.

This is my Flickr find of the day! Isn't she/he cute? The bushy tail, big ears and the wonderful orange color makes you want to go nuts for the European squirrels. They are also very shy and stay away in the woods and parks, unlike their gray cousins who rummage through our backyards:O)

The {NewNew} York Etsy Street Team weekend sale!

Some of the {NewNew} Etsy shops will be having a sale going on this weekend. Take advantage of this great offer, and give the gift of handmade this holiday season:O)
For more info visit the {NewNew} blog: http://thenewnew.blogspot.com/2008/12/weekend-sales-10-off-these-shops.html

I will have a sale also, 10% off regular price in addition to free US shipping.

Intense Search for a hiding spot:O)

Our adopted miniature pincher Buddy, is still looking for the perfect hiding spot from our little bundle of joy, Dominick:O) He already tried the bath tub, every closet in the house, the cabinet under the sink right behind trash bin, pile of leaves in the backyard and the tight space under my bed. We hope that the running incident last month was just his adventurous nature and not "The Big Escape!" From now on I must make sure to double check washer and dryer before turning them on :O)

The Lyceum Holiday Craft Fair

In case you have missed our Holiday Handmade Cavalcade, you can still check the {NewNew} before Christmas at the Brooklyn Lyceum, where many of us will be selling our creations on Saturday December 20 and Sunday December 21.

Handmade Cavalcade

Handmade Cavalcade, originally uploaded by kimmchi_kimm.

It was insane! What a wonderful event!
I wanted to visit everyone and take lots of photos and ...there was no time. My camera did not even make it out of the bag. I run out of jewelry boxes, change and my big stack of business cards disappeared also.

I'm really proud to be a part of such wonderful and motivated group of crafters and artists. We all put so much work into this event, and proved that with determination and under great leadership, we can accomplish a great success even on limited budget.

Big thanks to Kimm for being our fearless leader, and to Kristen for coordinating this event. Thank you "Knitting Factory" for letting us use your venue. Big, big thank you to everyone who stopped by and supported our very first holiday event.

To see more photos of the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade visit out Flickr pool: http://www.flickr.com/groups/newnewny/pool/

The Cavalcade is tomorrow!!!

I'm so excited, that I already can't sleep:O)))) I kept making new jewelry till 3 am last night, and if it wasn't for my really tired eyes, I would not go to sleep at all. I'm setting up my tables and display right now and trying out battery operated lights.

Go {NewNew}!!!

Enamel Flower earrings

I have been working on new jewelry for the Handmade Cavalcade and reached for the remaining vintage enamel flowers left in my stash. They are so cute, that I'm having a hard time letting them go... Here are the newest 3 pairs I made on Saturday.

{NewNew} princess treasury

I got really lucky and got a treasury earlier this week which is inspired by {NewNew} gifts for every princess post. The color combination is a bit unusual, but I really like it.

Countdown to Holiday Handmade Cavalcade

Only 2 weeks and 2 days left to the biggest event organized by the {NewNew} ever!
Holiday Handmade Cavalcade will take a place in legendary Knitting Factory.
You can find me Uptown, ground level, right next to Nordea's Soaperie:O)

For more info, visit http://www.handmadecavalcade.com/

{NewNew} gifts for little girls

Holidays are just around the corner, and before we'll realize, all the crazy shopping and chasing for gifts will start. For many years I watched "black Friday" craziness from behind the counter, ones I even run into the stockroom when things got crazy hopeing that I can hide there, and promised myself to NEVER end-up on the other side! So you'll never see me standing in line outside department or discount store in my pj's and slippers, with crazy hair and coffee mug in my hand, keeping an eye on people who try to get in line in front of me:O))))

How about making your holiday purchases from {NewNew} sellers? Here is what you can buy for the little, or not so little anymore, princess in your family.

She will love this adorable pair of Pretty Kitty Earrings can be found in ScribbleNation's Etsy shop.

This beautiful Francine Table Lamp from YoursTrulyxoxo will add warm, cozy light to her bedroom.

Pretty Pink Wrist Warmers from Shutterkate will not only keep her hands warm on a buss stop, but make her look super cool.

This friendly Barry, Bini Monster Plush Toy from Karen's Monsters will scare all the monsters away. She might need this a cute Pink Dahlia Dot Blank Scrapbook Album by collectiveelements to keep all her precious memories.

Don't forget an iPod Cozy from KnitStorm to keep her iPod warm and cozy;O))

She will definitely need this lovely Catherine Bag from thirdfloor to keep all her thing organized on-the-go.

Hope that you enjoyed this selection of wonderful handmade goodies from The {NewNew}!

Wine Glass Charm Promos

My goodie bag wine glass charms are ready also:O) Got a blister from bending ends of the stubborn memory wire rings. Some of the designs are brand new and I will be working on full size sets next week.

Ruffle bag earrings

My earrings, which will be added to Holiday Handmade Cavalcade raffle bags are ready! They will be packaged tomorrow and accompanied by a discount coupon for my Etsy shop:O)

Cavalcade snowflakes

Today, my son Benjamin, is really busy cutting out white snowflakes for wall and ceiling decoration of the Knitting Factory for Holiday Handmade Cavalcade. The little one is cutting too...thank goodness for safety scissors...

Helen's Farm, LI New York

Helen's Farm, LI New York, originally uploaded by Mirela Jazdzewska.

Visiting Helen's farm in Aquebogue is our fall family tradition, which we picked up again after moving back to Long Island. Dominick was old enough to enjoy it this year as well. He looks so cute with all the little bits of corn attached to his face:O) ...and yes, the corn is absolutely delicious!

Button Rings

Introducing my newest addiction...Czech glass button rings! The first batch of 11 rings is ready and they look fantastic. I tested the very first one, and it even survived tent packing at my last craft show. Very large order of blank base rings will be arriving next week as well as some wonderful, beautifully detailed, new buttons I found on eBay.

The Secret Garden

My newest addition to jewelry selection available on my Etsy page, remind me of the magical "Secret Garden", directed by Agnieszka Holland, with beautiful music composed by Zbigniew Preisner. O) The wonderfully detailed handmade lampwork rose beads are adorn by lovely selection of vintage and contemporary beadcaps and a touch of swarovski sparkle.

The newest addition to our family:O)

The newest addition to our family:O), originally uploaded by Mirela Jazdzewska.

His name is Buddy, and he was found by someone, who was unable to find his original owner. The phone number on his tag was disconnected! and even newspaper add did not help in reuniting Buddy with his owners.
Buddy was given to my Mother-in-law, who gave him to us:O) It has been 13 years since I had a dog, a very long time, but we are very excited to give him his permanent home.
The kids love him already, and he seems to settle down immediately. He is a bit annoyed with Dominick's ideas during play and his loudness, but still is very gentle with him.

Atlantic Antic:O)

Power Cord, originally uploaded by nguyen le.

This Sunday, The {NewNew} will be taking over the Atlantic Antic in Brooklyn:O) We will be scattered along the Atlantic Avenue, thirteen tents filled with fabulous handmade goodness. My booth will be located on the South side of the street, between Bond and Hoyt, and will be sharing my space with Nguyen of KnitKnit.

Gdansk - my hometown :)

Gdansk - my hometown :), originally uploaded by KASIACZEK.

Thanks to Utube, I've been listening to a lot of Polish music lately, the old stuff I grew up on, and the music I listened to as a tanager. It all makes me miss my incredibly beautiful city more than ever...
This beautiful photo I found on flicker by KASIACZEK, shows my favourite place of all, Motlawa River with barely visible in the dark, leaning over the water medieval crane - the Krahntor - majestic, gentle giant...

My first craft show ever!

GDAŃSK 2, originally uploaded by rycerzbiegi.

This is a wonderful shot of Mariacka Street, my most favourite street in the world. Eighteen years ago I spent there almost 2 weeks selling jewelry made by my dad at the centuries old St Dominick's Fair. The fair was started by papal decree in 1260, it lasts 2 weeks every summer and draws around 150 000 people per day!

Our spot was located on the right side of the street, couple of artists before the tree. The atmosphere was wonderful, it was very, very cold and I looooved every minute of it:O)

Resident Swan Family, Pine Lake

Awww...they grow sooo quickly:O)

The baby swan is as big as his or her parents now, but still as cute as a button...well, very large button;O)

Handmade Cavalcade Newsletter

The Handmade Cavalcade is coming to town!

Saturday, September 13, 2008 1pm-8pm Corner of Main St. & North Cedar, Beacon, NY

Bust out your shopping carts because on September 13, The Handmade Cavalcade coming to town! The {NewNew}—a group of sellers from Etsy.com—is setting up shop in Beacon, New York for a one-day shopping event.
The craft fair will take place from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and will coincide with Beacon's Second Saturday Art Walk .The Handmade Cavalcade fair will be located at the corner of Main Street and North Cedar, right in the middle of it all!

Here's a sneak peek at some of the great items you'll find for sale:

Love Gun Necklace by pulpsushi: This necklaces features a thick lightweight metal knuckle duster pendant powder coated in hot pink. Measures approximately 2.5cm (1") in size. Length of necklace is 17 inches with a brass lobster claw clasp. Chain is gunmetal. ($16)

Wooden Scull Bookmark by Beacon Bookmarks: Handcrafted bookmark made from cherry wood with a clear water-based satin finish. Measures approximately 1 3/4 inches wide by 7 inches long and weighs less than 1 oz. ($6)

Hazelnut Earrings by Jantar Handcrafted Jewelry: Made of 15x20mm oval rosewood beads, beautiful large antique brass finish bead caps, vintage brass flower caps and 25mm oxidized brass earwires. They measure just over 1.75 inches (including earwires). ($17)

Foxy Cloth Napkins by Cakehouse: Made with repurposed fabrics and silkscreened with water-based inks. Machine washable. ($40 set of four)

For more information on this one day shopping event, please visit www.handmadecavalcade.com
The Handmade Cavalcade is presented by the {NewNew} http://www.thenewnew.blogspot.com/

The {NewNew} Supply sale at the flea

This Sunday, August 24th, The {NewNew} York Etsy Street Team, in addition, to the two tents, will also offer destash supplies right on the steps of the High School building. We will offer paper supplies, jewelry supplies and much more!

For more info, visit Brooklyn Flea web page:O)

Bust out your shopping carts because on September 13, 2008, Handmade Cavalcade is coming to town!

The {NewNew} York Etsy Street team — a group of sellers from Etsy.com, the online marketplace for handmade goods — is leaving the city for a day and heading up to Dutchess County to to set up shop in Beacon, New York. The craft fair will take place from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and will coincide with Beacon's Second Saturday Art Walk. The Handmade Cavalcade fair will be located at the corner of Main Street and North Cedar, right in the middle of it all!

Shop through 20 booths for one-of-a-kind items, all handmade by the hippest DIYers around. You’ll find smashing jewelry, paper goods, hand-screened clothing and accessories, unique artwork and items for the home, yummy soaps and body butters, and much much more!

For more info and a complete list of participating Etsy artists, please visit: http://www.handmadecavalcade.com/

Daylily obsession:O)

My mom's daylily obsession has rubbed of on her oldest child... and I have some cuties to share with you. They are very popular but still absolutely beautiful. I'm planing on purchasing more daylilies next year and I hope to get the multicolor varieties.









Lovely shade of yellow and I love the ruffled edges...









This daylily is my favourite. We took her with us when we moved to Maryland and brought her back to Long Island 2 years ago.









The rain drops look just like little jewels!

Brooklyn Flea

Every Sunday, six members of The NewNew York Etsy Street Team, which I joined a couple of months ago, meets under two tents at the Brooklyn Flea for a fun day of craft selling from 10am to 5pm—rain or shine—at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt Ave. Our flea group rotates, this way each member of the team has a chance to present their handmade goodness and there is always something new and exciting to see and purchase.

Here are some pictures from August 10th:O)

Wai She - waisze.etsy.com - makes beautiful handmade cards and scrapbooks. I especially love the absolutely adorable little scrapbook, which fits inside of a mini tin container.

Nguyen from knitknit.etsy.com offers the cutest knitted and felted jewelry with addition of stones and wooden beads. Very creative! Check out also the little felt bags and spooooky eyeball earrings:O)

If you are looking for deliciously scented natural soap, visit nordeasoaperie.etsy.com It's not only good for your skin and free of harmful chemicals, it has great names also! The "oh! what a man!" is my favourite!

Felicity from wishbyfelicity.etsy.com creates really delicate sterling silver and brass jewelry with tiny gemstone and glass beads. I really like her new, windproof necklace display:O)

Yania - yaniamor.etsy.com - creates colorful and sparkly gem and crystal jewelry. Her display is absolutely yummy and the new "rock candy" necklaces are lovely.

And here is my "baby"! My 11 year old son, Benjamin, and my jewelry table at the flea. Ben is absolutely addicted to craft shows and is such a great helper. He made me pinky swear the day before the flea, that I will wake him up the next morning and take him with me. Of course, he was up and ready in minutes and did not need the wake-up call:O). My jewelry can be found at jantar.etsy.com and I will be at the flea again on August 24th.

So if you are from the New York area or just visiting, stop by the Brooklyn Flea. There is so much to see and purchase: handmade items, vintage clothing, old vinyl records, antique furniture, and absolutely insane food. We are all hooked on the watermelon juice, I had 4 of them yesterday, and will probably need to work out some type of volume discount and start buying by the jug -they are huuuuge. The steak sandwiches with avocado are Nordea's favourite, I love them too. The pupusas are delicious, my son's best pick, and the casadias are simply addictive.

For more info on the Brooklyn Flea and latest news, go to: http://www.brownstoner.com/brooklynflea/

Trumpet Flowers

Couple of weeks ago I came across beautiful carved flower beads online, and just could not resist the temptation to purchase them. They come in variety of colors and materials, and in two different sizes, perfect for necklaces and earrings. First couple of pair of earrings are all finished, photographed and looking fabulous complemented by antique finish brass elements and a touch of Swarovski sparkle:o) The first pair is made of beautiful green aventurine stone with filigree beads, leafy bead caps and tiny vintage bell caps. The second pair is in beautiful, deep shade of amethyst

and this time the beads are made of glass. The centers of the flowers are sparkling beautifully with genuine faceted Swarovski crystals.

There will be more of the trumpet flower earrings and necklaces coming soon:o)

June 25Th

The coral trumpet necklace is ready! The bead is larger than the earring beads, it measures around 30mm and it's made of man-made material. I also used antique finish brass filigree beads, antique brass finish alloy ring, beautifully detailed brass filigree bead cap, brass leaf element and little sponge coral bead. I looove the end result! The leaf and coral dangles were added later and they complete this piece very nicely.