Happy New Year and It's Been a While!

Happy New Year, everyone and I hope you had a lovely holiday season!

I'm betting that you probably thought that I've fallen off the edge of the earth since I haven't written or updated since August!  This is the first year where I buckled down in the spring and applied for a lot (for me) of holiday festivals to showcase and sell my jewelry.  I did one or two a month from September to January and what I didn't realize is that if I sold a lot (a good thing!) I had to very quickly create more pieces for the next show which was usually a week or so from the one I had just done.  Because I have family obligations during the day and clients a few times a week, this makes it pretty difficult, so I found myself huddled in my studio after dinner for a few hours every night.  Now Mike knows how I feel when he's getting ready for an election and I feel like a single mom!

Some smaller stocking stuffer-type pieces take maybe 30 minutes, but most others take a few hours to create from start to finish, so I just didn't have time for anything but being able to bring a good amount of pretties to each holiday show.  All of the shows except for one were packed with people, so while it was a really busy few months for me, it was completely satisfying to see my jewelry being purchased, boxed up and customers walking away happy.  Yay!

My last show for a while was last weekend, so now I'm in 2018 planning mode trying to figure out what the heck I want to fill this year up with.  :D

For those of you who are interested in my jewelry, I have 12 new pieces in the shop left over from my shows.  Go check them out!  AND, as a FaceBook follower or blog follower of mine use this secret code at checkout to get 15% off all items (ready to ship).  SECRET18.

You can have a coupon code automatically added by just clicking this link:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/barbmallonjewelry?coupon=SECRET18‌

I will also be adding some textiles to my shop.  I used to macrame as a kid and now that it's really popular again, I've created some pretty wall hangings and plant hangers all in white cotton rope with pieces of driftwood.  This is a new big trend now, but it's so fun to get back into, so those will be in the shop hopefully tomorrow.

Click here to see.... enjoy!

Regarding mediumship sessions, I'm seriously thinking of adding a few days a month to do FaceTime sessions (not Skype).  I have a lot of clients who miss my phone sessions who live all around the country/world, so I may add this option very soon.  Please contact me if you'd be interested.  The backdrop to your sessions will not be pretty spiritual stuff, but rather my jewelry workbench and messy soldering station but if you're ok with that... :)  Please be sure to like my FaceBook page and/or follow this blog for updates!

I am still accepting clients in my Chantilly, VA office on Tuesday early evenings and Friday afternoons.  There is no wait list any longer and you can easily book yourself from my website under the Appointments tab.  Easy peasy!  

As far as classes go, as soon as I figure out my spring show schedule, I'll announce some classes for the spring and early summer.  Please let me know if you'd be interested in my Psychic Development Workshop or my Animal Communication Workshop.  Both are held in my Chantilly, VA office.

Personal/family stuff... everyone is good!  Maggie and Sammy are showing a little more grey in their muzzle but are just as silly and feisty as ever!  The Madam Bun is her same diva self and is currently shedding like crazy.  I couldn't figure out why this was until someone on a rabbit FB page said theirs did the same thing because it's warmer in the house than outside.  OH. Didn't even occur to me, so she's on something called Laxitone now to make sure her tummy doesn't get blocked up by her fur, which can be deadly for buns.  I could have already made a sweater from the amount of fur coming off of her!  She will NOT allow me to brush her or use any hair removal device, so I have to patiently and gently pluck all loose fur while making sure I do NOT stop petting her nose, otherwise she jumps right off me and... THUMPS.

The boys are good.  Two big birthdays this year... my youngest, Bren turned 18 in October and likes to bring up the fact that he doesn't need my permission for some things... um... you still live at home, dude.  :D  And Brady just turned 21 yesterday!  I can't believe all of my kids are grown, but at least I have a silly little Grandboo to FaceTime with weekly and go visit.  My daughter Sara and her husband Brad just bought a beautiful new home not too far from where they lived before.  Mike and I are looking forward to visiting soon and seeing it first-hand.  

I'm also very grateful that I recently had the very unexpected opportunity to reconnect with my family whom I hadn't been connected to in 12 years, I think.  A lot has changed, but it has been very calming and healing.  I think sometimes you just have to let the past go and try to grow and evolve in love as life is short.  It takes time, conversations and smiles, but at least that door is open now and that makes me happy.  :)  Plus, they like my jewelry so I have new models for marketing, hehe!  :D

Again, wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2018!  I'll be back in touch soon!

Barb xo

Summer Update and Bye Bye Waitlist!

Hello, everyone!

Happy summer!  I hope you're enjoying your summer so far!  It's been a rainy few days which I think helped keep people from setting off too many fireworks at bay.  Our dog, Sammy is deathly afraid of them, so he's been hiding in the basement on the couch.   On the fourth, I even had to sedate him slightly as he was so anxious he was constantly trembling.  Anyhoo, glad that's over!  :)

So, I finally finished up my 15-month wait list and am ready to start taking clients online again!  I found a wonderful booking website called Schedulicity and have added a button to my "appointments" page on my website.

I am still taking way fewer clients than I used to but did pick up every other Tuesday so there may be a wait, but not too bad of one as of now.

I still am not taking phone sessions and probably won't, but am thinking of doing FaceTime/Skype sessions sometime in the future.  If I do, I'll be sure to announce it on my FaceBook page and here as well as my website.

So, feel free to book yourself online!  If you have any trouble, just contact me!

As far as jewelry news, I've added a bunch of new pieces to my Etsy store and am gearing up for fall shows!  I'll be announcing where I'll be very soon so I hope you will come by and see me!  :)

Here's a little peek!

Hope you all have had a great SHORT week at work!  Tomorrow is Friday, yay!

OH, and I still have TWO seats left for me Animal Communication Class on Sunday from noon to 3pm if anyone is interested.  It's a fun class, for sure and helps you have a better relationship with your fur babies!  Click here if you'd like to register.

Enjoy your weekend!

Barb xx

Playing with Stones, etc.

Oops.

Well, I haven't been very good at keeping my blog up... and a few friends (ahem, you know who you are!) have been nudging me to get back to blogging, so since I have a few minutes, here's a little update.

We've been able to do a little upgrading of our home because of an unexpected financial boost for Mike.  We are carefully budgeting and fixing up the things that a family of two teenage boys, two dogs and ratties have helped, emmm, ruin.  LOL.  We started with our couch, which was literally destroyed by our rattie and doggie friends over many years.  The ratties loved hiding behind the cushions and we found out they had chewed little holes... which become bigger holes with the new pup!  So, out went the old, stinky couch and in came a new couch and love seat that the dogs are NOT allowed on (our rattie friends have all passed away). We moved the OLD 52" TV down to what is going to be the "man cave" near my studio and are getting a smaller, more manageable one to hang on the wall; it'll be nice having everything so open in our living room again! Next, we need to hire plumbers and electricians to fix two of our four bathrooms that are unusable and then some other things.  I haven't felt very comfortable in this house because of how it's been falling apart, so I'm excited about the little upgrades!

I've been back in my workshop more, lately and have been primarily working with larger cabochons.  Beautiful moss agates, dalmatian jasper, rutilated quartz and rutilated amethyst.  I'm learning how to add unusual touches to the pieces and not just hang a stone on a chain, so it's been fun.  Check out my newest additions in my Etsy shop!  Here's a couple of my favorites...

Rutilated Amethyst

My wide JOY ring!

Moss Agate Necklace

Besides that, our new puppy Sam is now around 60 pounds... he's a beast and we absolutely adore him.  Maggie gets irritated at him constantly, like he's the little brother who won't leave her alone.  He is great with commands, smart as a whip and lovable.  We need to find him a good doggie obedience school to get him more socialized and trained.  Right now, he's just a little fearful of other people and dogs, so that's next on our doggie agenda!  Here's a picture of our sweet pups:

As far as work goes, I've been super duper busy, and I think the busiest I've ever been... knock on wood!  It's funny, but the show The Long Island Medium has really helped in bringing mediumship back to the forefront again!  I also have to thank all of my clients who refer me to their friends and family... I LOVE seeing so many clicks on "referred by Barb's client" on my scheduling form!  THANK YOU!!  The only downside is that I haven't had a lot of time to make my jewelry, but it's ok... those stones aren't going anywhere!  And look at all these I need to set...  :)  If you like any of them, let me know!

Ok, better get going!  Need to clean up a bit before some dude comes to put some kind of bracket thingy on the wall for the TV.  LOL... I have no idea, but lots to do before he gets here!

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Blessings,

Barb

July Update - New PUPPY!

IT. IS. HOT.  I should just stop there, but I can't… I have more news!  :D


There are now TWO dogs in the Mallon household!  Yikes!  Last Sunday, one of my wonderful clients, Jackie, wrote me asking if we were interested in taking her new dog.  She's one of my Facebook friends, so I had been commenting on her cute three month old pup who looked SO much like our Maggie!  She works full time and had to crate Sam most of the day and wasn't able to spend enough time with him to train, etc.  She knew I was home often and he could be out all day.  It was a hard decision for her to make and we are honored that she asked us!  :)

The ironic thing is that Maggie seemed kind of depressed during the day and just laid around and slept.  She really needed a friend, but we wanted it to be the "right" friend at the right time.  We didn't want to force it, so we figured that when it was time, it'd happen.  Sammy was the name of our first lab who passed of epilepsy at five years old, so when Jackie said his name was Sam, that was it.  LOL.  She also said she'd send along his crate and take care of his next round of shots, so.... how could we refuse?  He's a handful, but we love him and he keeps Mags very, very, VERY busy all day!  I'll keep you up to date on his progress, training, etc.  :)

The horrid storm that blew through this area Friday evening was probably one of the scariest storms I've been through.  It lasted about 15 - 20 minutes but was INTENSE.  We were lucky to have only lost phone and some cell service and not our power, unlike our poor friends from Alexandria and up into Maryland who did... and for DAYS.  My prayers to all who were so horribly affected by the storm and to the families who lost loved ones.  And, thanks to my understanding clients who had to reschedule since I didn't have a phone to use for phone sessions!  We just got our service back last evening, so I'll be contacting you soon to reschedule.

Regarding my in-person sessions, I will be in the same office I am in now for another year.  I didn't want it to work out that way, but I missed the "automatic renewal" date and they had me locked in for another year, so I couldn't do anything about it.  So there's that.  LOL.

For those of you asking, my next mediumship demo is July 28 and I'll be donating a percentage of the proceeds to Jackie's favorite animal rescue or shelter, so sign up!  :)  Sounds like it'll be a Pit Bull rescue again because Sammy is part Pit as Maggie is.  We love our sweet pit bulls!  They are awesome!

Hope you had a safe and happy Forth of July!  Stay cool!


Barb

Little Silver Rattie Paw Day

Hi!

Today has been a busy day, and it's only 3:15.  Still need to hit the shower, believe it or not, and then to the store for snacks for tomorrow's Psychic Development Workshop #2.  This is the workshop where I get to see everyone's little lightbulb go off during student readings like, "whoaaa… that's cool… I am doing this!!!"  There are always a few in the workshop who struggle or just can't get anything, but that's completely normal, especially when it's hard to focus and they're comparing themselves to others in the class.  Once they get home and work on the exercises in their own space, it really does come pretty quickly.  ;)  So, I still need to get ready for my class.

This morning after addressing emails, etc., I just couldn't resist the pleading of the left over little blob of Precious Metal Clay I had left in my studio.  "Barrrrrb!  I'm still here… come make me into something."  Okayyy, twist my arm.

I've been thinking of an idea about working with pet prints in the PMC.  Not big ones, but the prints of the little guys like rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets, etc.  The reason why is because we fall head over heels in love with our little tiny furry souls, yet they only live 2 - 3 years.  Rats, especially are SO social, loving and smart, it's like having a mini dog, but most dogs live upwards to 15-20 years.  Rats live up to maybe 3.  It was more than heartbreaking when Penny our first rat passed, and it'll be equally heartbreaking when our elder Abbey goes, and then Sadie at some point.  Bleh, don't want to think about it.

I've been eyeing the three clay paw prints of my passed animals for months; Mac our beloved long-haired hamster, Blue our Australian Shepherd dog and Penny the wise and loving rat.  I really wanted to capture our rat, Abbey's print before she passes… I like that idea, knowing that she was alive and well when we took the print - happy memories, but I didn't want to disturb her from her deep daytime slumber.  I decided to use the clay mold of our passed Penny instead.  This rat was like another child, in a way for my husband.  She was "his" rat - really attached to him, so I thought I'd make him a permanent silver paw print.  The cool thing is that because her paw was smooshed into the clay after she passed (and then the clay was set like a mold in the oven), when I smooshed the PMC into her paw print it came out feeling just like her little paw.  I haven't felt that paw since I was able to hold her for the last time in the vet's office.  That was a nice feeling and I'm sure my husband will feel the same way.

So, I dried the clay piece, filed it, fired it and oxidized it and now it's a little 1" by 1" fine silver memory for my husband to put on his key chain or on a neck chain.  I'm going to order more PMC along with some non-toxic silicone and offer these to the public via my Etsy store - especially for the crazy rat lovers like us.  They will simply take the non-toxic silicone, smoosh the rattie foot in gently (or very small dog, cat, ferret, mouse, hamster, iguana, gerbil, etc.), let it dry and send it back to me.  Then, I'll do my thing here and create their piece.  :)

Here's how I made Penny's footprint.

And, here's some pics (click on them to zoom)!  Oh, and I've added better pics of the PMC'd ring (called Here Comes The Sun).  It's now up on my Etsy store!  Go see!

Have a great rest of the day!
Barb

Penny's Silver Paw Print

Here Comes The Sun Ring