So many Blessings have come my way in the past week or so. A piece of my work was included in an Etsy Treasury on Sept.7!

Vintage Scroll Heart

I am so new to Etsy I am not sure how they work, I just know it's a "Good Thing" if your work is included in one. I noticed I had more traffic coming to my shop as well.

Then again on the 10th another piece of my work was in a second Treasury! You can pinch me now to see if I am dreaming.

Round Keepsake Box

Shortly after the second Treasury I had my first sale! Nothing huge, but a sale just the same. So I am pumped up. Our Annual Key~Mammoth Cave Polymer Retreat is just around the corner Oct. 24-27th and it is always my favorite time of year. I keep in touch with many of our groups members through Facebook and email. Every once in a while my cell phone will ring and my dear friend and fellow Artist Debbie Jackson will be on the other end. Debi was a guest artist 3 years ago at our Annual Retreat and we instantly connected.  It just amazes me how God brings people into your lives and I am truly Blessed to have the friendship I do with this beautiful woman! Check her work out folks!

I am busy in my Studio (de-cluttering) I listed 2 items on Facebook (our local town's yard sale group) and sold both within 15 minutes. I better just keep on keeping on with getting things I don't use, nor need out of the way. Once I get things in order I will be back at my work table probably making something with the Pardo Translucent Art Clay.
Blessings~Melanie:)

Grand Opening

The doors are open in my Etsy Shop! It's been a labor of love. You will find a link on the right on my home page here. I hope you find time to stop by and see my work. Blessings~Melanie

It's been some time...

.....that it has. I was looking at the date of my last post and it was July 29, 2011. It's been 2 whole years. I really enjoyed having a blog, so I am not shutting her down! I am at a turning point in my life. I guess you could call it that. It's all good. Something that has been on the "back burner" for some time. I have continued working in Polymer Clay. Attending our Annual "Key Mammoth Cave" Polymer Retreat the last weekend in October each year. I met some fellow Polymer people in groups from Ohio and Indiana that came. I attended the 10th Anniversary "Buckeye Bash" this year, where they are from and made so many more new friends. *I am so Blessed... :) I have learned many new techniques from classes taught at these Retreats by some of the best in the Polymer World. 

Well "Nuff Said"....I am back and have been setting up Shop on Etsy. *That would be the turning point I mentioned. I will have a working link when the doors open there. In the meantime I will share the name. Of course I carry my family name on over there as well. *Love and Miss you Mom and Dad. "ThistleDewtoo" I will be spending some time here giving the blog a face lift. Sweep out the dust and cob webs. Post a few photos. Catch up with ya real soon. Blessings~Melanie




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Big Huge Giveaway - that's the BHG!

Thanks Heather for having a Huge Giveaway

and getting me back to my blog....

I would never let the chance to get my hands

on your beads pass me by!

It's been very hard since the loss of our Precious Basenji Sydney. :(

Huge Humblebeads Giveaway Peeps!!

Go to the link above to enter. Heather's beads have been featured in so many bead magazines I couldn't begin to list them all! Her work is fabulous! Very Earthy. My favorite in her mass collection is her "Dogwood Blossom" bead...you can click on the link and go to Heather's Etsy Shop and have a look around! Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Blessings~Melanie

In Memory of our Baby Girl Sydney

Meisterhaus Jungle Jezebel

Our "Miss Syd"

On this what would have been Miss Syd's 9th Birthday I found it only fitting to put together a memorial page for our Sweet Baby Girl Sydney. We woke up this morning to the most beautiful snowfall. I know it was sent from the "Heaven's Above". One week ago last Sunday Nov. 21, 2010 our little girl lost her battle with Renal Failure.

In 2001 a dear friend of mine and at the time she was my Yoga teacher had told me about her recent addition to her family. A Basenji named Miss Ellie. I had never heard of a Basenji. They come from Africa and sometimes are known as "The barkless dog". I did some searches online and Steve and I decided a Basenji was what we wanted to add to our family. I contacted several breeders, visited with them and chose Meisterhaus. A very dear man named Tad Brooks was expecting 2 litters that winter of 2001. I had my heart set on a red/white girl but when we visited in December when the pups were only a few weeks old this Brindle girl found her way quickly into my heart. She chose me. We brought Sydney home the end of January 2002.

She was a handful. I have never in my life faced such a challenge with a puppy. Basenji's are definitely not for everyone, but once they know who is Alpha (Mama of course) then things get easier! I would have to put her on her back in my arms, grab her muzzle and tell her "No Bite". Or whatever the struggle was we were facing at that moment! I hated the term "Bitch" that breeders use for the females, but I tell you *That term fit Miss Syd to a T! That's where the "Miss Thing" , "Miss Syd", "Miss Bossy", and "Miss Bitchy" names came into play! :)

Once a Basenji owns you, you will find a love for a fur baby like no other. They are so intelligent. I tell people when I talk about our Miss Syd, and little man Sheldon that they are smarter than most people I know. They are clowns! They have you wrapped around their little hearts in no time.

When Sydney was 4 years old I talked to Steve about how hard it would be if we were to lose Sydney. How lost we would be without her. I begged Steve to let us bring home another Basenji. At first Steve was against it, and being Steve he just had a hard time telling me no. That's when Sheldon was added to our family. OMG it was a nightmare when he came home. Miss Syd did not want any part of "look Syd here is a baby boy for you to love"... LOL I think her feeling was "Oh Hell No", not in this house! She beat him up. Now it sounded like blood was flying, but it was all noise. No bite marks. But regardless Sheldon took a beating from Miss Syd. I called Tad and said "I have got to bring Sheldon back" it just was not fair to this beautiful boy. I took him back to Meisterhaus. When Tad and I talked he said he put Sheldon back with his litter mates and he just sat in the corner of the pen. Then Tad thought he would put Sheldon with the older "Bitches" and the same thing. Sheldon missed me. His mama.

Sheldon and I had bonded and his heart was broken. Well Miss Syd and I made a trip back to Meisterhaus, visited a bit, Sheldon was brought into the room to see what Sydney's reaction would be. Still she could care less about Sheldon. Sheldon had spent the nights in our home with me and he would lay up by my head suckling on my ear lobe.

I told Tad "I have never failed at anything I have set my mind to accomplishing", and so Sheldon was brought back to our home. As Sheldon grew he started to tower over Miss Syd, and he also didn't take any of her crap!. But, Syd was the leader and Sheldon would follow one step behind her. Always. Our hearts are so heavy over the loss of our Miss Syd. We have our good days, followed by our bad days. Today is a very difficult day as I said, "It would have been Sydney's 9th Birthday". When she was admitted to the Vet and put on IV's I told Dr. Weakley we were planning the Biggest Birthday Party for when Sydney came home for good. That won't happen as Miss Syd has left us and taken a BIG part of our hearts along with her. When Sydney was admitted to the Vet's office Tad had told me about a Dr. Gonto. He is a people doctor, but he had a Basenji boy who came down with Fanconi and finally went into Renal Failure. But while facing this battle for his boy he developed a protocol that the Basenji people follow to treat Fanconi. It is not just something fur babies can develop, humans as well can. I kept in close touch with Dr. Gonto during Sydney's battle. Once you meet a fellow Basenji person you have an instant friendship. When I contacted him about our loss of Miss Syd I got the most heartwarming email. Here is just a piece of that email:

**At this point, I have no doubt that Syd has found Topper. I sent a little prayer asking him to keep an eye out for her. They can both figure their way around the best sunshine spots in heaven together.***

Topper was Dr.Gonto's boy. Yes he has suffered that loss of his baby boy as well. Just a week or so before we lost Miss Syd. Sheldon is glued to my side 24/7. He is so lost. We have stopped everything we are doing to console our boy. We try not to say Sydney's name out loud so he doesn't constantly look for her. I know time heals all wounds, but this is such a heartbreaking day for the Pierces... :(

Why do we put ourselves through all this pain? Bringing fur babies into our lives only to lose them way too soon? Because their love is like no other. It's unconditional. They greet you at the door when you come home like they haven't seen you in ages! They lay with you and console you when you are having a bad day. When you look into a Basenji's eyes you are looking straight into their soul.

Rest in Peace "Miss Syd" We will find you when it is our time to leave this Earth *At Rainbow Bridge*

"Sleep in Heavenly Peace" Baby girl. You will always be with us in our hearts.

Love Mom, Dad and Sheldon Pierce

A page from Sydney's Scrapbook

The day we brought her home Snuggling in Mom's lap

See the #1 on the back of her neck?

Sydney will always be our #1 Basenji :)

It just doesn't get any sweeter than this!

Our baby girl experiencing her first Snow Fall

All Stretched out on the deck steps to our pool

What a beautiful face

Sydney's first boat ride

Her first dip in the Lake :)

One of my favorite pictures! Ashely and Miss Syd fishing

Our "Keepers of the Heater"

This is a rare photo of Sydney and Sheldon laying together. I had just gotten up from the lazy boy and they were in my lap. This is the way they ended up and only lasted long enough for me to grab my cell phone and snap this photo.

Wee Memories~ BIG Giveaway

I just ran across a post on facebook about Tami's blog "wee Memories" and a give away! i just have to share with you!

So run, don't walk over and see for yourself! :)

and enter to win one of these Awesome Color Cubbie's!

Be sure to check them out HERE... and the owner, Tami, is such a sweetie so be sure to go on over to herblog and let her know how much you like them. So sweet she was kind enough to let me give one away to you! Thats right! One lucky follower will win one of these awesome storage systems. How cool is that?

Heres what you have to do to win one of these:

- Become a follower here if you haven't already

- Post about this giveaway in a blog post or on your sidebar, help spread the word about Studio 3 Solutions and this great storage system!

- Leave a comment here letting me know you have done these and what you think of the Color Cubbie

Thats it! This giveaway will run from today until next Wednesday the 8th of Sept. Good luck!! :) :) :)

Blessings~Melanie:)

Beads 2010 Review

Beads, 2010 - Interweave

I have spent the better part of two days thumbing
through BEADS 2010 The Ultimate Beader's Resource
Loaded with beads displayed in categories like
Oh So Dreamy and Have a Heart...
The one thing I was a bit disappointed in
is there is very few polymer clay beads in the mix...
There are lots of Filigrees, Ceramic, Stoneware and Glass..
Jewelry and Color Trends
This magazine is a bead lovers must have...
now I must get busy in my Studio!
Happy Reading
Blessings~Melanie:)