Friday 24 January 2014

Grow your Blog post.

      Here we are at the big day for the Grow Your Blog Party!!. I  am really excited to take part in this so I can meet more bloggers and grow my circle of blog friends. Thank you so much Vicki of 2 Bags Full for organizing this party.
     My name is Nan Smith and I live in Hamilton, Ontario , Canada. It's a medium sized city about 1 hour's drive west of Toronto at the western end of Lake Ontario, near Niagara Falls.

      I started making jewelry as a hobby several years ago and it quickly became my passion. There are so many different techniques and styles to explore but I especially love wire and metalwork although I also dabble in bead stringing , polymer clay beads,and most recently discovered Zentangle which saved my life during a high stress period this past

summer.
      I joined the blogging world a year ago when I signed up for Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party and was introduced to the wonderful world of jewelry blogs!!!! I'm now quite addicted to blogs and not just about jewelry making either. It's just so much fun to learn about everybody's passions through this media. I have made several good friends and look forward to making more.I even hosted a blog hop last June and it was great fun. Hopefully with new followers as a result of this party will bring more participants to my blog hop this year.

     I have more time these days for blogging , jewelry making, playing with clay and making zentangles since I retired in December from a 38 year career as a Registered Nurse. I miss it because it was a very satisfying and rewarding profession and I miss the daily contact with patients and their families. I do not , however, miss the physical and emotional toll that working at the bedside in acute care nursing takes on one. I am amazed at how the level of stress in my life has disappeared and I have much more creative energy these days.
     I am  a divorced, empty nester with a wonderful son, Robbie(26) ,who lives in Toronto and is taking a business diploma at a college there. Maybe he will help me get my own business up and running with all his new knowledge about marketing. Hopefully this will be the year I open an Etsy shop and get a website up and running . It promises to be a busy year with that, jewelry making and regular blogging!
      I recently moved here from Toronto where I lived for most of the last 40 years. I now share a 113 year old house  with my friend Marie . There are many things I miss about big city life but the pace of life here is slower and quieter here and hopefully more conducive to the creative life. Marie has a business selling vintage jewelry  online so we are quite the pair. I prefer  a  modern, edgy, urban, minimalist style of jewelry
and she specializes in vintage jewelry with a large focus on wedding jewelry including pearls and pretty sparkly items for the bride and mother of the bride. Our tastes are very different but occasionally we find something that seems to overlap all styles and appeals to both of us.
     I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and will follow me on my journey! I will follow you when I find your blog! Goodness knows how we are all going to manage to read over 500 blogs!!!! It will take me weeks but it will be fun!
PARTY ON!

51 comments:

  1. Morning Nan, I love the wire work bracelet definitely open an Etsy shop :) I love living rural the pace of life is so much slower and more quiet but once you get used to it you will not miss the bright lights of a big city or small town. Look forward to reading more of your blogging. Laney x

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  2. I love old homes! Maybe I will come to visit you sometime. And definitely open an Etsy shop. If you need any help with it, let me know.

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  3. Hi there,
    my name is Karen B. and I am one of Vicki's volunteers and would like to welcome you to todays[ GYB and wish you a nice time and many followers.
    Hugs,
    Karen B.

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  4. Great to meet you Nan! Lovely wirework there.
    Gaynor x

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  5. Stopped in to say hi! Love your wirework! Following by GFC

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  6. Congratulations on your retirement! I took the leap to early retirement last year just shy of 40 years as an OB nurse and I agree to missing the contact with my patients is definitely a loss.

    Your jewelry is lovely. I like your map of the world.

    Have fun with Growing Your Blog, come and visit mine!

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  7. Hi Nan,

    So nice to meet you! I'm visiting from Grow Your Blog blog hop! I look forward to seeing all your creations! Hugs! deb

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  8. Nancy, I love your wirework bracelet. I'm already a follower and I participated in your My Country blog hop. I hope you'll host another one this year.Good luck with new followers. Ana

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  9. Hello Nan
    Thanks for following me. Your works are lovely, and so to return the favor, I'm following you back! I just hope that I keep you entertained with my adventures.
    Best,
    Rachael

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  10. Hi, Nan! I love your jewelry. Keep warm up there in the frigid north!

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  11. Hello Nan. Found you via GYB party and i will definitely be following you. I love making jewelry and I love seeing what other artists create. Your jewelry is wonderful. So talented!

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  12. Hi Nan--I'm visiting via GYB party and am so glad I did--I love your bracelet. It's stunning and I think it would sell well on Etsy. I've been on Etsy selling vintage for about 3 months and it has been very rewarding. I think you would enjoy it too. I am now a follower through Google Friends Connect and I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful jewelry! Blessings, Diana

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  13. THANK You so much for leaving such a lovely comment on my blog -it led me to you! Which is fabulous! I love your blog - you write so beautifully! I'm going to become a 'follower' and will be back to have a good read of your posts, taking time to enjoy your wonderful photographs and lovely jewellery designs (I love the colours you choose!). It's been such a long day of blog hopping that I'm signing off now - you're my last vist! Thank you again and best wishes - Shroo:)x
    www.artyshroo.blogspot.co.uk

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  14. Hopping in via the GYB party........you have a lovely blog. Looking forward to more of your posts.
    And thank you for visiting my blog.
    Hugs,
    Sruthi

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  15. Great blog! I have just clicked the follow button. And thanks so much for liking my facebook page. Have fun hopping!

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  16. Hope you are enjoying the lovely selection of blogs, Nan (See, I decided to take part LOL)

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  17. That was a really enjoyable intro to you and your blog and I will certainly be visiting again, although I am certainly not the jewellery maker lol . Stop by if you feel the urge at either or both of my blogs, as they have different feels to them..... www.countryfragrance.blogspot.com Or. www.the7pillarshome.blogspot.com
    Hugs Sharm. ( Australia)

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  18. Just stopping by from the GYB and am now a new follower. I am also a jewelry maker and I make lampwork beads also. You should definitely try an Etsy shop. Looking forward to reading about your jewelry adventures and the redo of your house.

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  19. Nan, I just added to your followers. Thanks for stopping to visit my blog in the GYB party. The wire work bracelet is great. I look forward to seeing more of your creations, and hope to see you around Etsy. Have fun!

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  20. Hi Nan -
    I'm so glad to find another jewelry artist here on the blog hop! I'm looking forward to learning more about your and your jewelry. I hope you find many new followers and I'll definitely be one of them!
    Best-
    Lisa
    http://www.lisayangjewelry.com

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  21. Hello Nan, thank you for leaving me a comment, what a gorgeous photo you the sun on the water and snow is very inspirational. I like your wired jewellery I did quite a bit of wire wrapping and sculpting a few years ago but silver got just too expensive to carry on with it so I changed direction. I am following you and look forward to see more of your work.
    Jackie

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  22. thank you for your visit, I'm reciprocating! although I don't wear jewelry, I do admire your wire bracelet. You've made some really big changes in your life. When my husband was still alive, we made visits to London, Ontario, where his aunt lived. Both are gone now. I did enjoy visiting there.

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    1. oops! I forgot to tell you that shot of Niagara Falls is amazing!

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  23. Thank you for your lovely comment on my blog Nan. We spent a wonderful holiday visiting my sister in law in Toronto...we spent time in the city, at Niagara Falls and up in the Lakes area. It was fab. Your photos are beautiful.


    fatdormouse.blogspot.com
    dormouse.wibsite.com

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  24. Oh I love jewelry and will not go without taking it out of the house ... but even I'm doing something rare, even though I come from a goldsmith's family. But not the skill of the hands inherited, only a sense of beauty.
    I like to follow you :-)
    By the way: I'm living in an over 130 years old house. Such houses are not real estate, but partners with their own charactera ;-)

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  25. Hi Nan. Thank you for stopping by my blog. I love your photos and your work is just lovely! So nice to meet you and I will be following! Hugs, Terri

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  26. Hello again, Nan - thanks so much for visiting and leaving your nice comment on Comptonia! It's so interesting to meet a variety of crafty bloggers through the GYB Party. Your jewelry-making sounds like a second career (lower stress, too!) but I had to google Zentangle :)

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  27. Hi Nan,

    Thank you for the lovely comment on my blog. Trust me, my craft room only looked like the pictures for about a day and then I started working in there. You make some lovely jewelry and congratulations on the new/old house! The older houses have so much character. Thanks again for the visit.

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  28. Hi Nan, nice to meet you! Thank you for visiting my blog and for following. I'm following you now, too, and I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful jewelry.

    Blessings,

    Victoria

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  29. Hi Nan!
    Thank-you for stopping by my blog today! It's fun to meet a fellow wire jewelry maker in blogland. I'm going to take a look around...Happy blog-hopping!

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  30. After leaving such nice comments on my blog, I am here to visit yours. I am delighted that I did. Your wirework is beautiful. Amen to nursing-----we do share that. It is so hard to be out of that environment with such direct contact with people every day. After ten years of a medical retirement, I still get 'homesick' when I visit a hospital to see someone. I am glad you get to focus on your creativity this year...sounds like a wonderful plan.

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  31. Hi Nan, it's nice to meet you. Thanks for stopping by my blog and following me. I am doing the same for you. I've never been to Niagara Falls but I'm hoping for my 41st anniversary this March we'll go, ( I live in Arizona). You're very talented, I will enjoy your posts.
    Sharon

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  32. How lovely to meet you and find another BSBP person :) Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier. That picture of the falls is gorgeous. I'm also a nurse, but working as something else right now. Can't wait to see all you come up with. Christie

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  33. Love the bracelet, exactly my kind of style too!
    best of luck with the renovations lol Im amidst similar here in Uk but this was only built in 1935
    Lovely to bump into you on this blog hop!

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  34. Hi Nan, nice to meet you! First of all thanks so much for your very kind offer of help with maple sugar that was very kind of you to offer.
    I just love that picture of Niagara Falls - we visited there in October last year and just loved it there.
    You have a lovely blog and well done on doing all you are doing with your life now after retirement. I wish you lots of luck with everything you do. I am now following you so I will be back to visit. :))

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  35. I didn't mention it in my post but I enjoy making jewelry as well! Before the beans it was a huge passion of mine! I so look forward to seeing more of what you create! Your pieces are gorgeous!! Happy hopping and I look forward to journeying along with you!

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  36. Hi Nan, thanks for following my blog. I love wearing "fake" jewels and never leave the house without a colorful necklace! I love your work, you are very talented. I also find crafts to be very relaxing and they should be compulsory for anyone with mental health problems, it would do them the world of good, instead of medication!

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  37. Looks like there is quite a bit of beautiful jewelry here. It will be fun to come back and see what you post. I'm a new follower. Will come back soon.

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  38. Hi Nan, I'm now following your blog, it's great to find another maker dabbling in jewellery, clay and zentangles. I love country life, it's good for creativity
    Jill

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  39. What a lovely post, Glad to meet a fellow jewellery maker, looks like we have alot in common. I can't wait to read more about you and your creative journey x

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  40. Hi, I'm Linda from craftygardener.ca and I found your site from the Grow Your Blog event. You live in a beautiful part of our province. It has been nice browsing through your blog.

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  41. Hi Nan, What a pleasure to visit your blog. Love your jewelry! I too am a retired RN. There seem to be a number of us out there in blogland! I hope to visit Niagra Falls soon. It looks so beautiful.

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  42. Your jewelry is beautiful! Here is a funny story...my mother's name is Nan...who is also an RN...who was born in Ontario! I found your blog through the Grow Your Blog event thanks for sharing with us!

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  43. Hi Nan, tahnks for visiting my blog;..now I'm back and enjoying yours! I LOVE the necklace pictured here. It is simply stunning! You are obviously very talented, I look forward to finding out more.

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  44. Hey Nan, Glad you are finally settling into your new/old house. I've moved a bunch and know how long it takes to really make it feel like home. Good to see that you are still crafting even with the move, your jewelry is beautiful. It has been lovely meeting you.

    Hugs
    Caroline

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  45. Hi Nan, dropping in via GYB party and am so glad I did ... love your bracelet and have had a lovely visit here. I plan to follow by email and I will return soon.

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  46. Hello! Thanks for the great comment on my blog! I am now your newest follower. I am also a nurse but not practicing at the moment. It's amazing just how many nurses turn to making jewelry as a stress relief/hobby. Are you Lori's Soup Party this year? I am going to sign up-it will be my first and I cannot wait! Looking forward to hearing more from you!
    XO
    Rachel

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  47. Hi nice to meet you! Lovely jewellery!

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  48. What a lovely post Nan. I think I've dropped by before (maybe bead-souping). I look forward to reading more of your posts xxx

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  49. Lovely bracelet. & a beautiful pic of Niagara Falls (even if it isn't your own).

    Thanks for sharing your blog. I'm still trying to make it to all of the blogs (GYB). What a list! please check out my embroidery blog is you are so inclined. (I'm in the 1st set of the GYB links.)

    aprilsongstress

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  50. Hi Nan! Thank you for visiting my blog. I'm still hopping for the GYB party. It has taken three weeks to visit half of the blogs but it has been great fun. Have a great day. Ana

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Thank you for all your lovely comments! I love to read them and they really make my day.