Taking the road less travelled

Miss Pan's Island is this week's winner - she's come up with many clever ideas over the year, and it's obvious she's a very intelligent young woman. I don't know her, don't even know her real name, but I imagine that this necklace fits her. She's young and Canadian and graduating or not from University and getting married and taking many different roads... I imagine she lives in a forest reading beautifully tooled leather bound fantasy novels with amazing illustrations and making decisions about which diverged road she'll travel next. So many opportunities to make the right decision or the wrong one but never knowing because you can only take one road at a time.

I also really liked her suggestion of "Dude, where's my car?"

So, Miss Pan, please e-mail me (rachel@twodogpond.com) your mailing address and I will send you your winning necklace. Does this image look like you?

Week 52 Necklace Contest - One Full Year!

I can't believe we've been doing this together for a year already! Some of you have been entering each and every week - thank you. There have been some really fun necklaces created as a result of the clever sayings you are all submitting. Thank you.

I've decided the contest will go on.

Things here in the Two Dog Pond Sweatshop are already getting quite busy for the holidays, so some weeks you will have to be patient with me as it takes me longer to choose a winner when I'm, well, busy...

So ~ Here she is - this beautiful and contemplative woman in the forest is our contest image for the last week of Year One. You submit a saying, phrase, quote, word that you think would be perfect for the backside of this image. Snarky or Serious - you never know what's going to win! On or shortly after Friday morning a winner will be chosen by whomever is working in or visiting the Sweatshop. The winner will be awarded with a soldered glass pendant on a 24" ball chain.

It's been a great first year!

...and the winner is Therese!

Don't you love this? "Friends keep you afloat" was submitted by Therese and chosen as this week's (last week's) winning necklace. Very nice. We all have a special friend or two that keep us afloat... here's to those people in our lives {click click} that keep us going!

Therese - please email me (rachel@twodogpond.com) your mailing address and I will send out your winning necklace first thing Monday morning.

Necklace Contest - Week 51

and you thought I would post another Winter image! No way - it's supposed to be 71 degrees and sunny today. Around here, that's warm enough to go swimming!

Anyway - here's the image for this week's contest: you submit a phrase, saying, quote etc. for what you think would be immensely clever on the back side of a soldered glass pendant with this on the front. On Friday, or thereabouts, a winner will be chosen and awarded with a necklace! Enter often or just once - it's all about you!

This Week's Winning Necklace - Oh Baby...

Congratulations to *Bernie* for her winning suggestion of "Baby its cold outside". Bernie will be receiving this cute and sparkly pendant on a 24" ball chain for her clever suggestion. There were other great ideas too - you are all quite clever and wonderful. Thank you.

Bernie - please e-mail me your mailing address and I will mail you your winning necklace.

I have to apologize for this being late and for me being a delinquent blogger...it was a wild week that included anesthesia and lots of soldering (not at the same time...) I'll get back on track.

There were some highlights this week too:

Garrison came over and hung out at Two Dog Pond as a reward for some very good behavior. We got out some of my tin wind-up toys.

Scootch slept quietly with her bear. Look how long her legs are already!

Rumple went ballistic over a little snake in the yard.

(it's in the lower left corner)

Life is Good.

Necklace Contest - Week 50

Here is this week's necklace contest picture.

If it's going to snow anyway, we might as well celebrate it, right?

So here's the contest 'rules': You submit a caption, phrase, quote or word that you think would be perfect on the back of this image. On Friday - we will choose a winner and post it here. The winner will be awarded with a soldered glass pendant on a 24" ball chain.

There's only 3 weeks left of this contest, that means you only have 3 more chances to win a necklace! {Unless, of course, the contest comes back by popular demand right after the Holidays!} Complete contest rules are posted off to the side>>>

Ready *Set*Go

I'm just not ready for this...

It snowed last night. I think my flowers are dead.

Rumple and Scootch are napping after playing in the snow.

I'm looking for an excuse to eat this delicious peach jam and jalepeno jelly that Sweatshop Worker Lynn made!

Winner Week 49 - It's TLee!

Isn't this the most perfect quote for the back of this image? Congratulations, TLee - You did it again! TLee suggested "True friendships do not require words. You can see and feel the Love." Very nice!

Thanks to all of you who entered this week's contest. Remember that if you are signing in anonymously, you might want to add your name or initials in case you win...

Have a great weekend!

Gettin' Ready

Lynn is here all week working at the Two Dog Pond Sweatshop so we can catch up on orders and get ready for some upcoming shows. Lynn will be at KW Fiber Farm in York on Saturday with trays full of pendants doing a show to benefit the York Adopt a Pet foundation. I will be in Seward at Liberty House on Saturday for the Seward County Fall Festival and Craft Show(unless the weather is as cold/snowy/rainy as predicted, then I'll be in front of a cozy fire).

...and the Hookers are back....

It's more necklaces for the Hookers! (rug hookers, that is...)
We've been doing so much soldering here that I burned a hole right through my soldering iron tip! That's not good...

Necklace Contest - Week 49

Here's a sweet image for this week's necklace contest. It's from a vintage postcard. Those vintage dogs behaved better than the new puppy at Two Dog Pond! Scootch would have that little girls socks ripped off and the cute green chair all chewed up and scattered about the room....and forget the bow!

Anyway - the contest is simple - come up with a saying, quote, comment for the backside of this image and on Friday a winner will be chosen and rewarded with a necklace of this image and their saying! More details >>>>

Thanks for playing and have a fun week!

We're Not In Kansas Anymore....

Tim and I had planned a Fall Vacation to Wyoming and Montana to see Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Little did we realize that everything can pretty much shut down this early due to snow. Plus - I was pretty busy with orders, and couldn't get away for the full 8 days so we shortened the trip to a couple of days of dinking around in Kansas. First stop was in Abilene where we shopped every available antique store in town - and there are tons of them.
Next stop was Paxico for more antiquing and dinking....and drinking....we both love Elderberry wine and they make the best there.

Tim bought this weather vane for the chicken house:

Next town was Wamego - the Wizard of Oz capital of the world. They have a museum, Oz Winery, yellow brick roads etc... This year is the 70th anniversary of the movie, so it was digitally colorized and re-released. Oz Fest is taking place today and tomorrow in Wamego, and the guests of honor are three of the six surviving original munchkins. Amazingly, they were staying at the same hotel as us. While I was taking a shower, Tim went to get some coffee, struck up a conversation with them and sat and had coffee with them! We listened to their radio interview later that morning as we were driving back North. These lovely little people are all in their 90's and doing great. My favorite quote from their interview was when asked what made the movie so popular for so long. Carl answered "there's no cussing, no bad talk of any kind, and no bikinis". Unfortunately we didn't get any photos, so this morning I took a picture of a praying mantis in the yard....sort of Oz Like.

"There's No Place Like Home!"

Winner Week 48 - You're One In A Melon

Congratulations to Kris10dale for her winning entry of "You're One In A Melon" for this week's necklace contest! Very Clever use of your melon.

My apologies for this being a bit late (24 hours or so) - we were out of town on a quick vacation.

Thanks to everyone who entered this week - next week will be "Pet Themed".