Can anybody hear me...?

My recent decision to concentrate on creating my real flowers in resin jewellery seems to have been a good one and it's proving really popular.  I thought that now would be a good time to get started on my long-intended blog.  I thought I'd try and blog weekly with details of new products, offers and giveaways as well as random doggie news and photos (I know you all love Annie more than the jewellery - my Facebook insights tell me so!)

For anyone who doesn't know me, Annie is our dog.  Here she is, posing!  Isn't she pretty! 

Annie is a 5 year old border collie who is completely deaf.  She also suffers from epilepsy, a cruel, frightening and unpredictable condition.  I have spent the last three years learning all about canine epilepsy so that we know how best to manage her and to give her the best possible quality of life.  Annie is a very soft, daft, loving and happy doggie!

I created Because of Annie so that I could work from home and be with Annie all the time - the thought of her having a seizure with no-one home to help her fills me with horror!  Annie's epilepsy is well controlled at the moment with careful diet, two different medications and regular blood tests (which she hates - but that's another story!).  The meds make her super-hungry, naughty and sleepy.  She pees a lot and drinks a lot. But most of the time, she's just goofy Annie! Annie is not insured so every penny I make from selling my jewellery really does help pay for all these things she needs to keep the epilepsy monster at bay.

We also have a terrier, Jimi, who is keen not to miss out on a bit of the action.  Here he is...

As you can see, he has a lot to say for himself! He stands around 8 inches tall and most of that is mouth!

Jimi loves to play catch with his squeaky ball and he's a bit of a whizz at it, I must admit.  A bit of a show off, in fact...  He also has some strange ideas about recipes, some of which I may share with you in the future.  They're not for the faint-hearted - many of them feature pickled eggs and custard - so if there's an audience out there for Jimi's noms, I'll see if I can get him to share them with you.

As for the humans in the household, there's me and my now husband, Ray.  We were married on 16 February this year and here's a photo to prove it!  

I don't always look that glamorous.  Jeans and wellies is more my style these days but my best mate, Suzanne, insisted I had to wear a frock and heels and put some makeup on, just for one day, and I have to admit, I think the photos are better for it...

Anyway, that's introductions over.  We also have a couple of cats and two guinea pigs but I'll save those for another day or things could just get too weird!  Bella the Persian needs a whole blog post to herself...

So, what's new in Because of Annie world this week?  Well, I've made and listed a few new necklaces in my Etsy shop. 

First up is this real pink heather and blue forget me nots necklace. The heather and forget me not flowers are picked from my own plants and pressed by me for several weeks before being set in crystal resin, which takes a day or two to fully harden.  I then have to carefully sand and drill the pendants before attaching them to the chains to make pretty necklaces.

Also listed this week was this necklace featuring real pink heather.  I love this one!  I haven't done any pink flowers yet and I love pink!

Last up this week is this real blue and cream viola flower necklace.  This is only the second viola necklace I've created and they're sooo pretty.  I've got around a dozen more flowers in the flower press now, waiting to become necklaces in a few weeks - deep purples, pinks and blues.  

Did you know you can eat violas too?  They're delicious and they make your salad look and smell really pretty! 

If you want to visit my Etsy shop and have a good browse, there's a link at the bottom of this post.  If you decide to buy some of my pretty flower jewellery, you can do so with a warm glow, knowing you are helping to keep Annie seizure free and healthy. 

You can also subscribe to my blog if you like.  Just pop your email address in the box at the top of the blog page and click submit. Then my blog posts will magically appear in your inbox!

Well, there we have it.  My first ever blog post!  I wonder if anyone will read it...  If you do, please leave me a little comment - say hi and introduce yourself.  I won't bite. But Jimi might... ;)

Have a great weekend folks!

Tracy x

Find my Etsy shop here and have a browse!

Find me on Facebook here.