Introducing Twisted Crystal Artisans, LLC

I would like to introduce you to a new company that was launched this weekend by my close friend, Aaron Smith. It is called Twisted Crystal Artisans, LLC (TCA for short).

As a Disabled Veteran from the USAF, Aaron has had a goal to start a business featuring some of our local artisans who are very talented in their field. Since the beginning of 2020 and the growth of COVID-19, Aaron has had the time to finally research and implement his dream. In addition, with his leadership and management skills from his military and civilian careers, he is launching a consulting side to his business to help others who are looking to get their business off the ground. I have the privilege of assisting him with the consulting branch using my skills I learned working in marketing for over 12 years. Let's meet the team....

   (Top left: Aaron Smith, Top right: Troy Burris, Bottom left: Matt Smith, Bottom right: Brenda Keefer)

Our premier artisan will be Troy (T.J.) Burris. Troy is an artist who works with various media creating some of the most unique artwork that I have seen in a long time. He does professional wall murals, pouring which is a technique where acrylic paint is mixed with some type of pouring medium and then poured onto a surface in a variety of ways. He is also working on some exclusive paintings he will be releasing soon.

All T.J.'s paintings will be released on TCA as canvas prints and will be limited editions, numbered and signed by the artist. I am fortunate to own one of the very first pieces he did, and it hangs in my dining room. It is called The Vine. I own the original painting, but it is available in various sizes in a canvas print. 

Here is one of his murals he has done on an entire wall in Sheree's Sweets and Treats in Dandridge, TN. We are excited to be able to feature him as our Premier Artisan.

In addition to painting and artistry, we will be producing a line of t-shirts and other apparel featuring the graphic designs of T.J. along with the designs of artist Matt Smith. I have seen many of Matt's sketches and I am so excited to see his designs come to print on an exclusive line of shirts which Matt is working on. Sorry, no sneak peaks just yet. But rest assured his line is going to be amazing. I will be featuring them whenever the release is ready. I am going to order one as soon as it is available so I can own the first original Matt Smith line of apparel.  Just keeping it under wraps until the release date of his new line.

We are working on a contract with a line of blown glass products that we are super excited to release soon by various glass artisans. Our founder is also a gifted artisan. Aaron has many talents and we will be carrying a line of his creations as they become available. I own one of his creative pieces that sits proudly in my home office. I was blessed with this gift last Christmas when I decided to convert my office to a Steampunk theme room. I could not have been happier to receive a Steampunk lamp for my craft table made especially for me.

 You can see we have lots of exciting things in the works as we continue to add artisans and products. We also continue our support of social distancing during Covid-19 by featuring a line of custom face masks. All our masks are 100% cotton fabric, machine washable and made in the USA with a comfortable fit. One size fits all. There are many fabric prints available. In  addition, if you have a "theme" that you want to check and see if we can custom create for you, just use the Contact Us form on our site our site to speak with one of our team. Our team has their favorites. I am partial to the Biker's Dream since I love paisley prints and bandana patterns.

But I also love the Cotton Candy Dreams with the tie dye look.

But if you go to the site to see all the masks, you will immediately know why the Born to Bake is my absolute favorite. 

I hope you visit the site at www.twistedcrystalartisans.com and would love to hear your feedback. You can also subscribe to our newsletter or visit us on Facebook. Be sure and like or follow us to receive updates. Thank you for taking the time to check out our new site. We are all super excited about it. 

Have a blessed day!

Fall and Halloween ideas

Just some things I have seen that I like for fall and Halloween decor.

The Good and the Bad

I guess we can all agree on one thing in this world. And that is that 2020 has been one heck of a roller coaster ride. But I'm not here to rehash any of the political, moral, ethical, medical or anything else that has been going on. I'm just going to focus on my own little part of the universe and what been happening there.

The Good

For the first time since I have worked in the tourist industry here, I volunteered to take the layoff for two months in January and February. Why was that good? Because I had been sick on and off in November and December, but continued to work every day. Because it was our busiest season, I ended up working 5 days a week from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. Yes, that is 14 hours per day. By the end of December I was was physically, mentally and emotionally drained. So getting two months off was fantastic. I rested. I baked. I cooked. I cleaned. I organized. I shopped. I visited friends. Basically, I did what ever I wanted when I wanted. It was really good. And I needed that time to clear my head to get ready to get back to work in March. 

The Bad

On March the 3rd, I returned to work. During my time off I had developed sciatica and it made itself known in my back, down my hip and thigh and all the way into my calf muscle. The pain was so unbearable on some days that I just layed around the house. So when they called me back to work, I gave them full disclosure that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to work since my job had changed with all the new Covid social distancing. I used to be able to have down time in between shows. The new procedures meant I would be off my feet for maybe 15 minutes between shows and some days would be 4 show days where I would stand on my feet for 8-10 hours a day. 

The Unknown

I was afraid. Afraid of what I was doing to my body. Afraid of how I would go to bed each night crying with pain. Even prescription pain relievers will not ease a pain that is caused by constant abuse to your body by put your weight daily on parts of our body that hurt in the best of times. I knew I needed to start seriously considering a new job. One that would not require a lot of standing. One that would still making me happy with what I did and not leve me feeling like I had wasted the past four years in the tourist industy. But I knew I had to do something so I ventured out on a limb and started looking for job options.

The Unexpected

After my third day back at work, I knew I had to find something and fast. I had applied for one job that looked interesting but I wasn't sure if it would be a good fit. I followed up on my application that night and the HR lady sent me right back a reply asking me to interview the next morning. I got the job. I left the old job and I started training for the new. It is amazing. I am still working in the tourist industry. Still booking reservations. Only now I do it for a bunch of different activities and shows and for a bunch of different cities and states. 

 The Results

Bottom line is that I couldn't be any happier with the twists and turns my life has made these past 6 months. I was at my wits end at times. I worried needlessly. I would have moments of happiness and moments of self-doubt and fear. I stepped out on that limb and took a leap of faith, thanks to the encouragement of friends who believed in me more than I believed in myself. I have had an amazing year.

Week in review

So it has been an action packed interest week. First off, my crepe myrtle plant got hit hard with the cold snap in April and had nothing but dried brown buds on it. I was so upset. I love that bush. Fast forward to the 20th of July and I saw a few buds looking like they were going to bloom. By last Sunday this is what I had. I am one happy camper now.

I went to a friends house and he grilled pork tenderloin with peppercorn seasoning. I have never eaten pork tenderloin. But I must say it was delicious. And super tender. There is just something special about a man that cooks you dinner and then serves the meat on a Pyrex platter. We also had some delicious scallop potatoes with cheese and bacon. The whole meal was yummy. He's a really great cook.

Of course he knows the way to my heart is in the dessert. Especially if the dessert involves ice cream. This is vanilla salted caramel cheesecake ice cream. I had made 96 chocolate chip cookies that day and we had the cookies with the ice cream. Talk about delicious.

On Monday I wanted cake. But I am tired of chocolate cake so I changed it up and made a white cake but I still did my homemade icing though. I changed it up a little and I liked it better. Added a little more cocoa.

My husband was an amazing cook and one of his specialties was a homemade tangy (not vinegar-y) barbecue sauce. We had it with pork and with beef many times over the years. I haven't made it since he passed away. I don't like the idea of fixing a whole roast all day just to make barbecue. So my niece told me to use chicken; that it was delicious.  So I boiled chicken by a technique a friend showed me and it just shredded real easy. 

And after making and eating barbecue chicken with Hubby's home made sauce, I decided that it is chicken barbecue for me from now on. Oh, and check out the pickles. Freshly canned pickes by my son-in-law. First time he's had a garden and first time he has tried to can. The pickles were out of this world. 

One day I was in town and decided to stop at the library to look at some How to books on starting a business. I just think it is hilarious that tucked away in a wing on the 3rd floor where business books are was a Mickey and Minnie table and chairs. Of course I had to set in Mickey's chair.

Somebody had a birthday last week. This was 10 years ago.

And the one on the left is her now. Shelby Rayne, my youngest granddaughter, turned 12 last year. She told me one day that she was going to squeeze every moment of every day out of her last year before becoming a teenager. Heaven help us all. 

Speaking of birthdays, the day after Shelby's was my Daddy's birthday. He's been gone 21 years but his memory will never fade. If he was still with us, he would have be 97 years old last week.

(L-R: My sis Rachel, Daddy and me)

I was somewhere the other day and I don't even remember where. But this cute tablecloth caught my eye. Since I recently purchased a yellow t-cup and a gray rooster, I thought these would be perfect.

I ended the week making brownie cookies. This picture is from one time I made 2 dozen of the. But this time I made 14 dozen. That's right 168 cookies. It was exhausting but fun. A friend called me and said her work would like to order them and pay me for making them. So I did.  I felt so happy and blessed after this past week. Can't wait to see what this week is going to bring. 

Just wanted to share....

This was my tomato plant I posted on July 20th. A friend had it left over and gave it to me. My hubby was the gardener so I wasn't sure if I could keep it alive. 

Here we are just 12 days later and I am amazed at the growth. I have a bigger pot and need to transplant it today.

I saw these on Pinterest and thought they were adorable. 

Decided to try to make some. Don't like tying the bow. Way too stressfull to tie a tiny bow in that little spot. So I chain stitched a "scarf". Still not happy with it. I think I need a smaller hook, which I have. Trying it again today. Also, I am still experimenting with which kind of marker will make the nose better.

I was on Amazon just window shopping and came across these. Two things I love in the winter time: warm socks and anything with a Fair Isle pattern. Saw these for $4.99, free shipping with prime, free next day delivery. I thought it would be worth a try. Oh my goodness they are amazing. The fit is absolutely perfect. They are super soft and thick enough with out being too thick. I am very happy with them. 

We had horrible rains on Friday and when they were done, this was my evening sky. No photo shopping or cropping or lighting changes. Just a picture of God's natural beauty.

And to leave you with a little humor to make you smile on this blessed Sunday.