We had a bit of an ice storm today, and while it made driving a pain, it did make for some very pretty pictures.

But my big news is that I was accepted into the Handmade division of the New York International Gift Fair. In February. Commence panicking. And list making. By my calculations I’ve got to make 40 to 50 pieces of jewelry by February. On top of the sculpture I’ve got to make for ACC.

Its going to be a very busy holiday.

I’m back from Bust, and in the process of a major shop update. There are still a few more online shopping days until Christmas, so I’m posting a few new necklaces here and lots of ornaments here.

The last day to place an order for first class shipping is December 15, but I’ll take orders for priority shipping until the 19th.

Tomorrow’s the big day – the BUST Holiday Craftacular! If you’re in the NYC area, stop by and say hello.

I didn’t get get quite as much done as I would have liked, but I’ll still have plenty of stuff there, so stop by and shop!

So I’ve reached panic level with my preparations for BUST. I realized that I’m horribly low on inventory, especially with some of my big sellers. So I spent the day making lots of components, and I’ll be spending the night doing clean up on pieces.

I also asked my mom to help me out at the show on Saturday. Most shows I do without help, but I’m hoping to get a chance to look around (so many good vendors!) and hopefully the show will be busy as well.

I missed my countdown to BUST post yesterday, but things are still moving along. In fact, I’m working on new work as we speak. (Ok, well obviously I’m not working and typing at the same time.) Its super cold in my studio (yes, we’re talking about that again this year), so I may relocate into the house to work for the rest of the day. Hopefully, I’ll make some serious progress today.

My leaf earrings were featured in design*sponge‘s buy handmade gift guide!!! There aren’t enough exclamation points in the world!!!

Once again, today was all about filling orders and only a little about making work for BUST. But the exciting news is that I’m now making work on my new bench. Even though it isn’t a traditional jeweler’s bench, it makes me feel like more of a jeweler than working at my plastic folding table.

Today was all about playing catch-up and filling orders, but I am starting on a big batch of silver on steel rings and bracelets to have for BUST.

Today was also the first of FOUR days in a row that I have just to work in my studio! I can’t even tell you the last time that happened. That means lots of time to stock up on my staples, and hopefully a little time for new work as well.

Oh, and yesterday my ornaments were featured on Modish! Yay!

On December 8th, I’ll be participating in the BUST Craftacular in NYC! BUST will be my 12th show of 2007. When you do so many shows, its hard to feel ramped up about any one show in particular – I’ve really just gotten in a habit of doing the shows without much fanfare. (This also makes it much less of a big deal when you have a bad show.)

But sometimes you have to get let yourself get pumped up for a show, and I’ve decided BUST is that show. With ten days to go, I’m scheduling some serious studio time, planning some new pieces, and redesigning my display. And I’m going to be blogging about it every step of the way!

It seems like a good way to end the year with a bang. Let the countdown begin!

I was tagged by Cally before we left for vacation, so here we go… Five weird/random things about myself:

1. I consider staying in bed until 8 AM sleeping in.

2. I’m terrified of groundhogs. (Yes, groundhogs. When I was little, someone told me they would chew my leg off. That kind of things stays with you.) If I see one, I instinctively cross the street or run away.

3. I’m convinced that if I really like a TV show, it will most likely get canceled. Perhaps thats why I mostly watch reruns.

4. I commute an hour and a half to my teaching job two days a week. (I realize some of you already know this about me, and its not so much weird as just plain crazy – but I’m tired and out of ideas.)

5. I actually don’t really like Christmas that much. I find the whole gift giving/receiving process very stressful. But this year I’m really trying to embrace the holiday thing. In fact, my tree is already up. (Though technically that’s because I was photographing ornaments on it.)

Ok, I tag Elsita, Liz, Liz, Beth, and Rachael.

Oh, and here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.