fromheathershands

I'm inactive at the moment...craft show season is in full swing and I only have so much time to do everything...as soon as I have time i'll be back swappin' :O)

I landed in Virginia Beach thanks to the Navy, I finished high school here, went to college, met and married my husband, found wonderful friends and endless inspiration.

I work as an environmental chemist helping to monitor the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Being on the water can be miserable when it's rough but the majority of the time it's a pure blessing. Being able to feel the wind on your face and smell the salty air is wonderful! We've seen dolphins, fish, all sorts of birds... dragonflies and butterflies too (they get blown out to sea). Once, a boat crew member and I went out in the life raft to assist a leatherback turtle. He had gotten tangled up in a buoy, he couldn't even dive... it had already takes a fin and was working into his neck. Thankfully, we were able to free him and hopefully he had the strength to recover (and make some baby leatherbacks too!).

I am also fitness instructor. I teach step aerobics and body design (weight lifting) on a regular basis but also enjoy subbing for yoga and kickboxing when needed. I've been blessed by meeting some of my closest girlfriends at the gym...some instructors, some not...they are all awesome!

...and I'm a jewelry designer...for years I wanted to start building my accessory wardrobe again. I'd see pieces in the stores and at craft shows I'd love but would be unwilling to pay the prices. I just couldn't bring myself to spend $50, $60, $70 or even more on a necklace and earring set. So I taught myself :o) At first I made for me, then as gifts, and then people wanted to purchase. It soon took on a life of its own and in the summer of 2008 I made it an official business! Check out my website to see what I do :o)

I love to see what people create and supporting individual artists... if you have a business throw your card in when you send me something.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask, and/or take a look at my website, you'll get a pretty good feeling for my style by what I make and especially my scrapbook pages.

• spending time with the people I love
• the outdoors - I love to hike and spend time in nature, away from all the concrete
• reducing waste
• reusing - I try to find a use for everything or pass it along to someone else
• recycling - I recycle everything in site!
• conserving - If it's avaliable and I can afford it I purchase items made from renewable and sustainable resources...I just bought a tablecloth made from plastic bottles, how awesome is that!
• birds
• trees
• flowers
• long walks in the woods
• going on crafty getaways with my girls
• hitting the gym
• thinking outside the box
• going to a play
• fun, whimsical stuff...it's gotta make me smile!
• stuff for the garden
• fav colors...blues and greens, esp the "dusty" ones, hints of a grey in there...and warm colors too, esp burnt orange and raspberry red

• factory farms - I'm a vegetatian b/c of them
• disrespect...to the world, animals, and each other. We'd all get along better if everyone respected everyone and the world we live in.
• "country" decorations
• pictures/drawings of "real" insects - I can appreciate thier beauty as long as they don't get on me. I can enjoy a whimsical dragonfly piece of art but I wouldn't want a real, larger than life on on the wall, I know...I'm crazy!
• pastel colors - just not my thing
• kid theme stuff, I don't have any so have no use for anything of that nature
• hello kitty and the like

So my current obsession is jewelry but I am also big into scrapbooking, card making, and photography. But I also love to try anything that looks fun and worth a shot :o)

I use a bunch of the typical supplies but I love using the unexpected too.

I love...

• texture - I'm a traditional scrapbooker, no digital stuff for me...if there's a ribbon there I want to be able to feel it :o)
• metals
• embellishments - from paper and silk flowers, to brads, chip board, stamps, and anything and everything in between...I love the dimension and texture it brings to the project
• fibers - ribbon and fabric, anything touchy feely
• color - pretty much anything but pastels, I love warm and cool colors, patterned papers
• paper - I'm an admitted paperholic, when those slabs go on sale and I think about all the awesome stuff I can make with it...I'm a sucker
• stamps - esp. nature or cute animal oriented
• glitter
• embossing powder
• diamond glaze
• beads - esp. gemstone and metal beads
• wire - just the basics...silver, copper, and gold...haven't gotten into all the colors, who knows, maybe that'll be next!
• bead caps

all time favs...Linkin Park and Bon Jovi

some others: paramore, goo goo dolls, beyonce, black eyed peas, muse, flyleaf, foo fighters, green day, incubus, justin timberlake, nelly furtado, rihanna,

I love rock and a bunch of softer music too, and then I love classical piano too...I pretty much like anything but country and hard core rap, not fond of all the vulgarity.

mostly fun girlie books but I sometimes pick up a biography or something that will bring me into another culture.

I love a good comedy...and sometimes a not so good one. When I get crafty with my girls we always put a movie in, it's become tradition we play White Chicks first. I never even wanted to see that moive and now it's tradition, crazy!

some I love...the new Star Trek, the Lord of the Rings series, Sweet Home Alabama, Shrek, Three Muskateers (the one with Kiefer Sutherland), The Notebook, ...so many good ones!

oh! I am not a fan of horror movies but since my hubby is a screenwriter in the indie horror world I've seen my share and even got to go on set (that was a blast). If you want to know more about his work just let me know and I'll put you in contact :o)

Pretty much anything on Discovery that has to do with science, the environment, or the human body and conditions...I love Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, and stuff like the Tree Man documentary.

CSI (the original), NCIS (original and LA), True Blood, Tosh.0, Glee, The Ellen show - I don't often get to see it but she's one funny chick!

...once my husband taped a show called Craft Wars...it was a game show where participants had to do something crafty right on the spot, it was crazy and fun...only ever saw the one episode though.