Delicious and Simply Adorned

Phew, I'm back! I've been without my computer for the past three days and I felt like one of my appendages was missing. :) Yes, I'm addicted--but I use the computer all day long--yes, checking my email and Facebook and blogs are part of that, but I also pay bills, look up phone numbers and operating times, recipes, photos, etc. etc. all day long so to be without that was annoying. I was able to check up on my email & blogs with my iTouch, but typing anything on that tiny thing is an exercise in frustration so I'm SO glad to have the ol' compy back, updated with a super-speedy processor and roomy new hard drive.

The bad news--I fear I've lost all of my bookmarks! It never occurred to me that I might lose them so I never thought to make a backup. Which is SO stupid, because I've been signed up with delicious for a couple of years now. delicious is a great idea--it's a place to keep all of your bookmarks organized online, which is really handy if you're not on your home computer and need to access a bookmarked site, or if you take your computer in to the shop be worked on and lose your bookmarks in the process. Argh! I got lazy and stopped saving all of my new bookmarks to delicious a while back so even though I still have some of my older bookmarks saved, all of the new ones have gone *poof*. So, friends, learn from my mistake--sign up with delicious today and be vigilant about saving your bookmarks to it as well. You can bet I will be better at it from now on!

Even though it's been several weeks since I celebrated my birthday, I wanted to show you one of my favorite birthday gifts--this Simply Adorned necklace that my mom made for me.

The Simply Adorned line from Stampin' Up! is a range of jewelry that you can personalize. The pendants look a bit like the soldered glass pendants that are so popular right now--they have a nickel-plated frame and beveled glass in the front and come in several different sizes (mine is 1" x 1-1/4" and the necklace also has the tiny 5/8" circle charm and the Vanilla Pearl Bauble).

The neatest feature is that they are actually hinged like a locket, so the charm opens up! And that means that they can be personalized and you can switch out the artwork inside whenever you fancy.

My mom made several different little pieces of art that I can put in my charms--can't wait to wear those cute Halloween designs! It's easy to make the art because it's small and you only need a few scraps of paper, so it's not intimidating like a big canvas might be. And just think of all the possibilities for things we vintage-lovers could tuck inside: bits of ledger paper, old photos, sheet music, book illustrations, playing cards, Victorian scrap, a lock of hair, doilies, scraps of lace, pressed flowers, maps, ribbons...you name it! I even have some thin vintage shell buttons that I believe I'll try.

The charms and chain are really lovely and the quality is great. They'd make a great gift--I can attest to that! If you're interested in ordering one, you can contact your local Stampin' Up! demonstrator and place an order through her. If you don't have a local demonstrator, you can go to my mom's Stampin' Up! page and she can help you.

Have a good weekend! I'll be spending mine trying to remember bookmarks. Ugh.