She is finished and her name is.....

Tessa!
I received this via UPS on Tuesday morning! I could hardly wait to get the package open! I love her, she will become my branding piece of advertisement!


As you see she has no jewelry on at all. What was she thinking?????? Oh well, it
doesn't matter, she is in the right place. We will find her the perfect pieces right here at Hampton House Jewelry!

Thanks so much to those who took this virtual trip with me as she was painted, named and hung on the wall! I will be looking for the perfect frame for her soon.

Now to the advertising part!!!!

Dressed up and ready for Fall!

Fall is my most favorite time of the year! I love the colors and the
smells, and the memories that are associated with it.



I love decorating for the season also!

As you can see, the shoppe is dressed and ready for the season!

If you are ever in the neighborhood, come see me!

p.s. I see where those Christmas lights need to come down today!!!

New Signs!

Wes and Micah took a Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, to put up my
new shoppe signs. The old one had Hampton House Gifts and was getting
quite faded.

We painted the new ones. One for the top of the building and one for
the sidewalk. The one I used to use for the sidewalk would blow over
3-4 times a day. I decided that I wanted one that we could make semi-permanent.

I bartered two custom made sterling silver bracelets for this metal part
of this sign. I feel like I got the better end of the deal, but the man
that I bartered with was very pleased with his end. I like barters like that!

Thanks guys! I appreciate all your muscles and help!

Gushing Happy Heart....

I know it is cheesy, but I got to talk to Josh tonight.
I needed my heart hugged. He did a great job!

I love him and am so proud of him! His parents did
a terrific job of raising him!

Kudos Rick, Joann, and Josh!

June 7, 2010

That is the day my baby is due with her baby. about 10 days after she graduates from high school.

She will turn 18 the first week in November. My heart is a bit sad because the dreams I had for her are no where to be found now. Grief is such a hard emotion to put into words.

She and Bill, her boyfriend have been dating for nine months now. They discussed the pregnancy and had made up their mind about what they wanted to do. Abortion was never an option. Chelsea said seeing what I have gone through with the adoption of Josh was enough to make her not want to give the baby up for adoption, so that leaves them having raising the baby. They are both committed to the relationship and the raising of the baby at this time. I truly hope the situation stays that way for the baby's sake.

Chelsea and Bill both told Wes and I together. That was a good lst step. Needless to say, if you know me, I didn't mince words to well. I feel like I was pretty direct and clearly stating my thoughts so that I was understood. Wes on the other hand, was so much more like the Lord, or how I perceive the Lord to be. He was firm with his words but not nearly as curt as I was.

I am not sure what all is ahead of us with this pregnancy, but we are going to support her and Bill. We are proud of them for choosing life! We are proud of them for making a right decision when a wrong decision would have been so much easier.

So this is a new path I have not taken before, there will be lessons to learn and lots of love to give and a new life to celebrate!

Portrait Finished!

Yay!! I must say that was very very fast to have a portrait painted!
I can hardly wait to get her to her new home and hanging on the wall!
This is the artist's shoppe: JaclynBergantino.etsy.com.


Now, I need to name my lady, do you have a suggestion or two???
Leave it in my comment area! She can't hang on my wall and not have a name!
For those that know me... know that even my cars are named! Soooo :o)...
come on, help me name her!

Portrait Phase 5

This is what she had at the end of the night last night.



We both agreed some minor adjustments needed to be made.
I am still loving it though!

The Portrait Phase 4

I am loving this!

The Portrait Phase 3

I recieved this picture this afternoon after coming in from church.
I am loving every single inch of it! Did I mention it was a 24"x30"
portrait?





Jaclyn said she might finish it today! Wow!

Hampton House Jewelry Branding

The time has come... I need to start advertising for the shoppe. I want to do a branding with my advertisement. My plan is to have my avi painted and a high resolution photograph taken of it so that I might use it for advertising.

I used Alchemy on Etsy to find exactly what I needed. I needed an artist that could work with the blacks, greys, and whites in my avi. I needed one that could do portraits of a body, one that I could afford and one that could get the job done within 10 days.

I found one an artist that is super! At the end of each day, she sends me updates of what she has done. Oooooh I have already gotten spoiled to that excellent customer service. It is like getting a present at the end of each day.

This is what I received yesterday:




This is what I received today:



I am loving it!!!!!

What do you think?

I will update tomorrow!...if she works on it tomorrow...(I hope she does).

Mowing Grass!

Here is a soldier stationed in Iraq , stationed in a big sand box. He asked
his wife to send him dirt ( U.S. soil), fertilizer, and some grass seed so that he can have the sweet aroma, and feel the grass grow beneath his feet When the men of the squadron have a mission that they are going on, they take turns walking through the grass and the American soil.

To the left you see part of a skeleton of a ring that was bought over 27 years ago.I had to cut it off the owner. It was a size five. She needed a size 6-3/4. The ring was so very thin and worn. Once I had it off her finger to resize it, I looked at the prongs that were holding the stone in place.
Well, at least I tried to look at them. Only two of the prongs were holding the stone in place. The other four were non existent when it came to metal on the stone for security purposes.



This is the first "repair" that I did all on my own that consisted of more than soldering and cleaning.
I ordered a new ring shank in a size 6, and a 6 prong head as she had before. Soldered them, and then used part of her old ring, the thickest part on the old ring to size the ring up 3/4 of a size. So basically I married the old ring to the new ring thanks to solder!

Setting the stone was pretty easy! I am so pleased with how nice it turned out!

My client will be in on Tuesday to pick it up!
May she have at least 27 more years of wearing it!