Who is the Brilliant Mind Behind This Awesome Blog? *smiles*

Me and my hubby of 25 yrs. a couple of weeks ago, May, 2007 in Helen, Georgia

How did you like my title? *laugh*

I thought I'd give a small autobiography about me. Who I am and what I'm about.

The above pic is me and my hubby last Christmas. December, 25, 2006, 7:00 A.m

My name is Tracey, I am 43 years old last Feb. 13, '07. I'm a nurse and a circuit board repair technician. I also have my Associates of Art in Philosophy. I've been married to the same man, Eddie, for 25 years as of March '07. I have a son, Eddie II, 24 and a daughter 22 years of age. My son had my first granddaughter April 6th, 2004. Her name is Mikayla Renee Wilson. My daughter had my second granddaughter as of July 6, 2005, Juliet Grace Wilson. We're all excited to be expecting our 1st grandson around August 21st!

The above photo is my son and his family. (The

baby was getting tired-lol) The above right is my
daughter (pregnant), DIL, grandbabies. And

the one to the right is both of my granddaughters
in Helen, Georgia. If you have never been to
Helen- order the brochures off of the internet and go! You will have a wonderful time! Lots of shopping and beautiful waterfalls :0)

I live in Pensacola, Florida, my hometown (Pensacola beach to your left). The beach is really pretty, but I would rather live in the mountains! I lived in Winder, Georgia- 60 miles NE of Atlanta for 12 years and consider it home. I have also lived in Monterey, California and Clute, Texas (about 60 miles SE of Houston).

I am a jewelry designer and artisan. I enjoy offering quality pieces at affordable prices. I also offer greeting cards, matted or unmatted photography, soaps and other hand-crafted items.

You can find many of my items at http://traceystreasures.etsy.com

I'm also happy to take custom orders! Just drop me a line!

I also have been writing as long as I can remember. I love trying different genres. But I am probably best at my poetry, prose, non-fiction and drama. I have four poems published and my short story "Surviving the Storm" [E]. The only thing I have submitted for publication in years, is the non-fiction Short Story listed above (and just recently a poem which was accepted!). I'm thinking about starting to submit my work regularly again to different mags and anthologies. With my sister and husband's urging, (and now a couple of friends) I have started a book of my memoirs. I love animals, mainly dogs -- I have 2 little terrier mix, who believe they are part human.

I did have three dogs, but sadly one has passed over. I'm allergic to cats and rabbits, but will still hold them for a second and even owned a cat as an adult. She had short hair and stayed outside most of the time, (Her choice). She showed up one day by our front porch. When she arrived, Special, (her name) was maybe four weeks old and was almost dead. I could count her ribs. I couldn't say no, as I am an extreme animal lover; so much so, that if we happen to get a rat in the house, my husband asks me if I'm feeding it. *laugh* I have had a lot of different animals in my life and have enjoyed every one of them.

I stay surrounded by books, craft items and notepads and pens at all times. When I'm not reading or writing, I love to listen to mostly meditative and gospel music. My headphones stay on my bed, I usually can't go to sleep without them.

Besides the artisan work listed above, I also love to do all kinds of different crafts. Name the craft and I have probably done it; all except quilting, which I would love to learn how to do. I love experimenting with my digital camera and playing with my different photo and graphics software.

I'm also a firm believer and lover of quiet times. I love to laugh and smile and make other people happy. That's what brings me the most pleasure and feeling of peace. I hate housework!! YUK! But manage to keep my place clean enough for people to enjoy themselves when they come over. *laugh*

I was raised in a very dysfunctional family and come from a life of abuse and neglect. All my parents and grandparents are gone now. I had five sisters and two brothers -- one brother has passed over, years ago and we lost my oldest sister, the same day my granddaughter was born -- April 6, 2005. And as of last August, 2007, another sister died, joining our huge family and friend's ring on the other side.

I am a now chronically disabled due to four herniated discs and left sided nerve damage, causing sciatica. Along with other minor disabilities. I am blessed though to still be able to get around without a chair. As long as I can take my time and take short breaks when needed, I do pretty good :)

I have a firm belief in God, but believe in all different religions. I don't believe just one has all the answers. My beliefs are out there -- but one thing that is not, is I believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

I consider myself much more spiritual than religious. I believe in karma, reincarnation and many aspects of the paranormal. I have had too many experiences not to.

Judgemental people really upset me and I try my hardest not to be judgemental. Of course it is human nature to do so a little, but I really try to remember 'Judge not, lest ye be judged' Elderly people and animals touch my heart the most, and people who do things for others out of the pure goodness of their souls. Violence and people or animals in pain emotionally or physically makes me the saddest. I'll do anything in my power to help people or animals.

*I am an Aquarius, which we all know is the best sign there is. No ifs, ands, or buts

*I'm very short -- a whopping five feet even-hehe

I have long, light brown hair down past the middle of my back.

Big bluish-green eyes that are actually hazel and change colors with my mood.

A little overweight, Okay, okay, quit twisting my arm ... maybe more than a little -lol -- always stayed slim, except as a child, so this weight thing I hate -- though, I hear from many I am well proportioned.

I Have ugly feet and hands and a cute stomach (well, when it's not pudging out like now, it's cute. So I guess you can say, I use to have a cute stomach).

I pick up on people's emotions very easily and feel them strongly with the person experiencing them.*I consider myself highly intuitive, thus my handle, intuey (intu from intuitive and ey from TracEY)*

I don't watch much T.V - but I still like to have it on.

I have an awful memory, though my husband who I have been with since I was 18 -- has told me, "You've always been like that, you just don't remember." SMARTASS! lol

My favorite colors are of the violet, purple colors. I do love teal and sapphire also. I don't think there is a color I don't like.

I love shrimp and jumbalya, spaghetti also -- not real fond of sweets, but will eat them often. *smiles* Also I am a coke-a-holic, yep, you heard me right, have to have my coke- though I really prefer Pepsi.

I hope you have enjoyed getting to know me a bit. I look forward to visiting your blogs, sites and stores and making a few good friends along the way :0)

Smoky Quartz Teardrop Double Jointed Earrings

How would you like to make these beautiful smoky quartz teardrop earrings? They are really easy to make (as long as you have a little experience in wirework).



You can use any stones that you would like to use. I chose smoky quartz for my teardrops and garnet and smoky quartz as my other stones. I also work with sterling silver- but again, the wire you choose is your choice. It's all good :)

I love the look of long, french earwires. It really adds style and elegance to some types of earrings- especially long dangles. These are posted on etsy, available for purchase at the above link.




Instructions to Make your own Elegant, Teardrop Earrings.

Materials

2- 2-1/2" Sterling Silver 20 or 22 gauge wire
2- 1" Sterling Silver 20 or 22 gauge wire
2- 1-1/2" Sterling Silver 20 or 22 gauge wire
2 Teardrop Stones (mine are 12mm)
4 accent stones (mine are 4mm)
2 accent stones (mine are 6mm)

Round Nose Pliers
Chain Nose Pliers
Flush Cutters

3 Step Plier *bail maker pliers* (optional)
Cloth to smooth and straighten wire or fine steel wool '0' or straightening pliers

Jewelry Files

I want to make it clear before we start- this is how I make my earrings. This may not be the way the professionals tell you to do it. But this is what works for me. I think jewelry making is as personal as jewelry design. You have to find what works best for you and as long as your jewelry is of good quality when it is completed, it doesn't matter how you get there :)

The first thing you want to do is cut 2, 2-1/2" of your wire. If you want to make your earring wires a bit shorter, than you need to cut your wire shorter.

Take your 3-step or round nose pliers and hold it just below the tip (or lower if you want your loops bigger) and let just about a 1/4" of your wire stick out the other side .

I'm using the last size on my bail maker pliers, but you will want to determine where to use yours, depending on the size of pliers you have.

If you are using round nose, you'll probably want to position it at the bottom of your round nose.

Hold the pliers with your dominant hand and the wire with your chain nose, a cloth or your bare hand. Hold tight and roll the pliers toward your body. Stop at a half turn. Remove your pliers- now, your wire should look similar to this:

Next, you want to take your round nose pliers and position the end of your wire in-between the top tip of your round nose's. Have just a hint of wire sticking out of the other side, where you can feel the point of it with your index finger.

If you notice, my hook is a little crooked. So I took this time to straighten my wire, by holding it secure with my chain nose at the top curve and took my jewelry cloth and firmly swiped down on my wire several times to straighten it. If you have a pair of 'straightening pliers' you may prefer to use them. When it's a small amount, like above, I prefer a cloth.

Again, hold the wire with your non-dominant hand and your round nose pliers with your dominant hand. Make a complete turn toward you, making a little circle with at the tip of your earring wire hook. This will look similar to a 'P'.

Congratulations! You now have the curve part of your earwire completed!

Now take your 2- 1" wires. You want to make a double wrap eye pin. Start by holding your wire at the tip of your round nose pliers. Make a complete turn, making a small circle on one end of your wire:

Now turn the wire where the loop is on the bottom. After making loops like this, you want to break the neck. This makes the eyepin stronger and more secure. Many tell you to break the neck, before you make the closed loop on the end. I like doing it afterwards. Hold your chain nose pliers over the loop, and use your index finger to bend the wire up to meet your pliers:

If you prefer to do it the traditional way, then grasp the straight wire with your chain nose pliers and bend it backwards to make like an upside down 'L' then take your round nose and place them on the piece of wire you bent backwards and curve it toward you to make the loop.

Now slide one of your 4mm stones on first, then one of your 6mm stones. Close the other end with a loop, just like you did on the other end. (I leave mine opened just a bit to slip onto the earwire, then close it after I hang it). Now you have completed a double wrap eyepin.

Now take the double wrap eyepin that you just made with the stones, and hook it onto your 'P' loop earwire:

Whoo-hoo! You're on your way to finishing a beautiful pair of earrings! The rest is all down hill :)

Now, we're going to do the same thing with our bottom dangle- this is what makes it a double jointed pair of earrings, with free movement.

Take your 1-1/2" wires and complete the closed loop on one end, just like you did above. Then hang your 4mm stone, bead cap and then your teardrop pendant. Now close your end with another closed circle on the end. If you want, you can make it a wrapped circle at the end, or close it with whatever style you like to use.

Now all you have to do is make the little curve at the end of your long, straight earwire. This is the part that you will insert into your ear. Clasp the end of your wire, have about a 1/4" hanging over the other side. Make about a 45% bend:

File the end to a nice smooth finish. Make sure all of your excess wires are cut flush and smoothed with your files. This is a very important last step for the comfort of the wearer of your jewelry.






Congrats! Now hold up your finished earring and admire your excellent work! If you made both of them at the same time (like I do) I find this helps me make them both even, much easier.








Now this is your finished creation, in your own colors and choice of stones, of course :)




















I'd love to hear from you if you made a pair. Be sure to share your pics with us!

If you are an artist who would like to be interviewed, please contact me :)



Have a great day everyone and happy creating!


Tracey

The Beginning

Yes! I have finally opened a blog for all crafters! If you would like to be interviewed and possibly have your store featured, please contact me!

This blog will be a bit different than others. It will contain my new projects, great ideas and finds I come across, as well as other artists, instructions to try your hand at various new creations and so much more! We will also discuss the things that go through an artisan's mind. Creative people tend to have the wheels in their mind turning a bit more actively and differently than people who are not so much into creative endeavors. Are we prone to more stress and/or mental illnesses? Simply, just how crazy are we? *laugh* It should be interesting.

If you would like to be featured on, "In Too Deep: A Crafter's Reality" Please contact me! We'd all love to hear about your creations and how your mind clicks.

This blog will feature all different kinds of craftsmanship. I do not want to narrow it down to only a couple of different types of art. There's way too many awesome talents out there, and I would like to explore and discuss all of them, not just the ones I create.

My store is http://traceystreasures.etsy.com and my ebay seller's ID is intuey1, my Bidville Seller's ID is traceystreasures. I'd love for you to stop by and visit- often!

My store features awesome, beautiful and quality Jewelry, handmade cards, photography (matted or not), soaps and more! Keep an eye out, because there's never no telling what may be making it's entrance shortly. I do a little bit of everything.

Since this is my first entry, I'm going to leave it short. I wanted to just let you know what you can (sort of) expect. I hope to make this an informative, fun and interesting blog ... and well, creative :)

Now a little about myself:
My name is Tracey, I live in Florida and have been married for 25 yrs. I have a grown son and daughter, both with a girl of their own, and my daughter is expecting a boy in August. You would never guess I'm a grandmother when you look at me *lol* And if you do, just keep it to yourself! *laugh*

I'm an Aquarius- simply the best sign that there is. If you know anything about signs, then you know Aquarians are quite unique and creative souls. I'm also an extreme animal lover- what's not to love? They are always there for you, they never complain and they give unlimited hugs and unconditional love.

I'm a jewelry designer, cardmaker, soapmaker, photographer, writer and nurse. I also create too many things to list- most of which will make an appearance, sooner or later, in my store. Although my crochet, cross-stitch and similar items I create will probably never make an appearance, because for me, they take too much time. I could never ask enough for them. I guess I'm just too slow in those particular crafts. lol

I'm always happy to take custom orders, so if you have something in mind that you would like me to create for you, just contact me! I'll be happy to work with you to the best of my ability.

I enjoy making people smile. Smiles are contagious and make the world a better place. I think we should all take responsibility in our world and try to do all we can to help save it. As Al Gore said, "Our world has a fever, we need to treat it, people!"

Thank you for visiting my blog, I hope you will be a regular return visitor!