The Saga of the Keys

Fantastic Stress Reliever~

I'm so happy to have one of the greatest constant stresses of my life discontinued!

Losing My Keys!

You can't imagine the constant irritation of always stressing out about where I've left my keys

- - - or, maybe you can!

Maybe you even have the same problem. If so, read on - maybe you'll find the solution!

Nine times out of ten, when I'm ready to leave the house, I can't find my keys. Even if they are in my purse, I still have trouble finding them amid all the little zippered compartments - and the dark recesses in the bottom of the bag. My panic moments have been so lessened - and all it took was a fork. Yes, a FORK!

Here it is!

Above, you see the fork as it has been re-purposed into a great key ring. First, I use my torch to anneal the metal. This softens it so I can bend the fork in half and curl up the center two tines to hold the key ring.

After attaching the keys to the ring, I simply slip the fork, aka "key ring" over the edge of my purse - always ready to use and never to lose again. Now, if I can only keep up with my purse!!!!
You can find my silverplated key rings in my etsy shop or at The Gallery at 916 on the square in Bowling Green, KY. At only $20 these will make a fabulous stocking stuffer this Christmas, which means you probably need to get two! . Ask Lynnn or Melissa to see the "keyrings by Kay" and they will show you how great they work.

While you're there, check out the other hand crafted jewelry. I will soon be taking some fantastic hand forged silver pieces that will make a very special gift for someone special. My silver can be personalized with hand stamped names or special words and phrases. Here's an example of some of my hand stamping on hand forged jewelry.

This collection of cuffs and ring demonstrate the rustic style of hand stamping. The one on the bottom is my personal cuff which has become my constant reminder to end WORRY! It says, "pray over all things, worry over nothing". The ring says "hope peace love". But you can choose your own words! Wear what you want to say! See more of my jewelry at www.kzoretic.etsy.com.

Calling All Pet Lovers

A New Etsy Artist . . . for Your Pleasure

If you love your pets and want something special - check out kidesign.etsy.com. I am now the proud owner of paintings of my two adorable "grandpugs", Lily and Channey. Actually, I only get to enjoy them for a couple days and then they are on their way to Georgia for a birthday present. Christi is the artist at kidesign.etsy.com and she has been doing a number of types of painting for years, but recently embarked on pet faces. She does emarkable work - and I wish I could see my son's reaction to his birthday present. Both Bill and Paula will love the paintings of their cuties - I just know it! These little paintings are on 6" ceramic tiles and she furnishes the easels as well. If you have pet lovers in your family, bundle a grouping of pictures and email them to Christi. She has a fast turn-around time, but she really likes to have a large grouping of pictures to get a good representation of your pet in the painting. I expect her to get really busy before long - these will make wonderful Christmas presents.

Always keep an eye out for the interesting and wonderful on etsy and let me know when you find something special. I love helping promote hand crafted items - especially those from Kentucky.

Check out kidesign.etsy.com and see some of the other examples of Christi's work. She has also saved lots of old windows from certain death in landfills by reclaiming them and painting on them - providing beautiful wall art and saving room in the landfills for some of the non-recyclable items. That's a double good thing!!!!

Another of My Favorite Etsy Artisans

Speaking of special - another special etsy artisan is Linda at poppypatch.etsy.com. Linda makes a great variety of hand sewn items. She does wall hangings, credit card holders/wallets, Christmas Tree skirts and table runners - but my favorite of all are her "baby blocks". These are fully washable (in the washing machine) fleece blocks rangeing from 3 " to about 6 ".

These are wonderful for encouraging the early crawler. Baby will crawl to get the block after he/she flips it away.

This charming little lady is holding the 6 inch one.


I got the set of these for Ryan, the new baby in our family. From what I hear, he loves them - and he notices the sound of the little tinkling bell inside each polyfill stuffed block.


Your favorite baby can have fun tossing the block without the banging or clanging of nosy toys and without the worry of injury. And, how nice to know you can occasionally toss it in the washing maching to keep if fresh and clean.