Muttville Circus visits Port Jefferson, NY

Gabriel with the Stars of the show!

Port Jefferson went to the dogs and we were there to witness it!  The Muttville Circus came to town for the entire community to enjoy!  And boy was the lawn packed!  It seems as though everyone from near and far came out to enjoy this show.

This is one of the many family-friendly events The Port Jefferson Parks and Recreation Department hosts for the community every Thursday night throughout the summer weeks.

Want to see what's left on the schedule?  Here's the calendar of events.  Boy do I love living in this town!

Check out more of my my amateur videos of the event on You Tube here, including the doggy high wire act! 

If you missed the performance, don't worry! Johnny Peers' Muttville Comix is on Long Island through September 6, 2010 at The Long Island Game Farm in Mannorville, NY.

Johnny Peers Muttville Comix has been around since 1980.  Formerly a clown with Ringling Bros. and the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Peers and his 15 dogs perform a variety of tricks, such as jumping rope, ladder climbing, tightrope walking and skateboarding.  Muttville Comix was the winner of Animal Planet’s Pet Star Television Show in 2003.

Julia Williams of Responsible Pet Ownership interviewed Johnny Peers back in March of this year; you can read all about it here.

I Waited Three Years For This

I'm at the playground with Gabriel today, pick up the android and get on Facebook.  Right there, staring me in the face is a friends post on my wall saying, "Yay!  Look who was in my inbox this morning", and it was a picture of our Carpe Diem ring.  "Woa!  Are you serious?", I replied.  And sure enough, after checking my own email, there it was staring me right in the face - the MerCurios Carpe Diem Ring in the Etsy Finds Tangled Web Blog Post!  I almost fainted!

Now - MerCurios has been getting a lot of attention lately - the ThreeVillage Patch business feature, the LeopardMilkshake shout out, Fashion Clique with "Rings that Rock", Cleo Magazine requesting samples for September... All of which is AMAZING, of course!  My gratitude to the Universe, and EVERYONE  is unending. 

However, this is most definitely the creme del la creme of them all.  For those that don't know - Etsy's web runs very deep.  The Etsy Finds Blog is up for ALL members to see - permanently - and an email gets sent out to those who choose to subscribe to it - like 200,000,000 people; seriously.  So of course I am stoked!

Like I said, I waited three years for this and I plan to relish each and every second of it.  So please try and bear with me. If my head swells a little too much feel free to pop my balloon... (I always have a back up on hand, lol)

This fabulousness took place on Wednesday, July 21.  Below are the stats as of Thursday morning.   I'm pleased to say the numbers are continuing to climb.  I'm convinced the fallout of this event is limitless.

• Carpe Diem Ring  = 1461 item views / 218 hearts (bookmarks)
• MerCurios = 1515 NEW visitors / 6073 page views / 68 hearts (bookmarks)
• Remaining Items = 4612 views / 67 hearts (bookmarks)
• Sold five items -- three Custom 2 finger rings & 2 other items -- not to mention the numerous inquiry's that I'm confident will lead to sales

Now for the best part - In celebration of this event MerCurios will be giving away a Custom 2 Finger Ring just like the one featured.   Yes! You read correctly.  This contest will be a Twitter Exclusive and is open to all of our followers.  Be sure to follow @mercuriosjewels & stay tuned on Twitter HERE for the details.

xoxo

Etsy Finds: Tangled Web

Our "Carpe Diem" Tattoo Banner Ring as seen in the Etsy Finds email

Have you ever seen a Scallop run away from a Sea Star?

Have you ever seen a Sea Scallop run away from a Sea Star?  Well now you have! Did you know the Sea Star (starfish) is the natural predator of the Scallop?  In the oceans the Sea Star will bind itself to the shell of the scallop, slowly prying it open overtime.

The Sea Scallop exerts so much effort to open up & "run" away from the Sea Star, that it can actually take years off its life.  With that, please enjoy the video, but don't try this next time you visit the Aquarium...we'd like those Scallops to live as long as possible.

Keep your eye on the Scallop!

Hair Days

Good hairs days, bad hair days...we all have them.  Me, I'm on a messy hair kick lately and this is my new Favorite doo!  A slight modification to the bun.  Basically, I just tie my hair in a couple of knots - YES knots! - and then hold it place with chop sticks.

Here goes - grab two pig tails if you will, and tie them end over end into a knot up high on the back of your head.  Repeat step 1.  Hold it with one hand while pinning with the first chopstick...then add the second.  Is it a little loose?  Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it.

As long as I can remember, I've had really, really, really long hair.  Except for the few years I was with EMANUEL/Emanuel Ungaro and Liz Claiborne -- I was going through a bob phase then.  Did I mention I was blond too... (can you imagine me as a blond?)  Anyway, I digress...  My point being that with long hair I've always been pretty creative with my hair styles &  love putting it up or tying it back.  

I happen to love the way this style looks?  You?

We happen to LOVE asterisk & ampersand - a steampunk inspired hair stick Goddess.  Now I've browsed the web end-over-end and have never seen anything as stunning, creative or natural as asterisk & ampersands work.  While I'm sure a lot was put into the pieces, the end result conveys effortless style & simple elegance - which is why I love it so.  I'll be getting my order in shortly as it's time I retire those Hello Kitty chop sticks for a piece more my style!


What's your current favorite hair style? Do you have a "can't live without" hair accessory?  Feel free to share your favorites here -- links are welcome! 

It's a wrap

Today's projects consisted of four custom rings - I got three done; not too bad! - phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, and more press kits.  Now I don't know about you, but I loathe phone calls!  Seriously!  Ask anyone that knows me 1. If I ever answer my phone? and 2. If I ever return phone calls? I think you can guess the answer...if you guessed NO, then you'd be right.  My husband actually put someone else - someone that answers their phone - as his "emergency contact" at work.  I hope you can find the humor in this, because I sure can.

Anyway, I digress.  All three custom rings were from the "Define Yourself" Collection, and all were Two Finger Tattoo-style Banner Rings.  I am loving how popular these rings have become!  Did I mention they are available in Brass and Stainless Steel too?!

The copper rings are now lined with felt too & POP Colors are available for those who want to stand out.  I did this for two reasons... 1. to prevent the skin oxidation that happens to some when wearing natural copper 2. I prefer not to clear coat my copper pieces due to the intrinsic healing properties ...& because I like the rustic look of raw copper.

This is what I call a "3 Finger Bench Ring" in that it slides on to three fingers and sits there like a bench of course.  Believe it or not, it's really comfortable & keyboard-friendly! This, however, is the prototype & it's spoken for.  As a matter of fact it's being shipped out to Miss Kat Von D 1st thing in the morning -- I created it with her in mind after all.

Want your very own "Define Yourself" or 3 Finger Bench Ring?  Not to worry, contact me here for a quote. 

What did you do today?

Instead of working on the projects that I should have been working on, this is what I did today:

Two NEW multi-finger wrapped rings.  The first is a glass bulb filled with all recycled copper bits and pieces left over from previous projects.  The second variation is empty, waiting for your wish!  Tell the Universe what you want & don't be shy!

Both rings still need to be antiqued -- shiny copper just isn't for me.  Maybe wrapped a bit more too, who knows.  The rings are also available in gold and silver.  Two finger rings too edgy for you?  Single finger version is coming soon!  Contact me here to get on the waiting list!  Remember, each ring is handmade which lends to its one-of-a-kind uniqueness.

So, what did you do today?  Whatever you did, I sure hope you had fun doing it!

xo,

~MJ

Recipe: Scooby Snacks anyone?

For those of you that don't know, the Scooby Doo cartoon gets its 11th incarnation this evening at 7pm on Cartoon Network.  That's right it's the premiere of Scooby Doo Mystery Inc. and Gabriel and I couldn't more excited!  We've been waiting for this day for months; ever since we heard whispers back in the fall...

Anyway, in honor of Scooby Doo, and to commemorate the NEW series we decided to make Scooby Snacks.  Well, actually gummy (bear type) candy.  Here's the recipe if you're interested.  It's quick, inexpensive, easy...and messy of course.  Enjoy!!

What you need:

1. Molds - any candy molds will do

2. Jello - that's right, Jello; One 3oz package

3. Unflavored Gelatin - Two 0.25oz packages

4. 1/3 Cup of water

What you do:

1. add the water, Jello & Gelatin in a pot and let sit for 10 minutes

2. cook the mixture on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until everything has dissolved

3. remove from heat & immediately pour into the molds

4. place the mixture-filled molds into the freezer for 10-15 minutes

 

 

 

A moment to reflect

Things have been happening so fast lately that I haven't had the time to digest all of it, let alone sit back and revel in it. It's as though I'm caught up in a tornado.  Freddy - that's my better half - say my press is better than my sales & at-a-glance he is right.  The press has been phenomenal - from Stylists and Major Fashion Magazines requesting samples to News Articles and everything in between.

The sales though have not been half bad either!  The major winner is the multi-finger "Define Yourself" Tattoo-style Banner Ring.  Did I mention it's a custom piece so each one is unique to the person wearing it.  It's UNISEX too!

Besides, "sometimes you have to run before you can walk" - a quote from the infamous Tony Stark.  I think that's the case here...first comes the interest, then comes the $; right?

That said, here's the latest MerCurios hype; ENJOY!!

• LEOPARD MILKSHAKE
• Three Village Patch
• Fashion Clique
• New and Worthy
• Denim Debutante