The Edwards Family Picture at the Beach

Here we are at the beach this summer.



And my rocker alias.

Okay this is proof positive I have too much time on my hands. Enjoy!

Is there an M&M in you?

Someone sent me this link today http://www.becomeanmm.com/ and it's sooo fun! I think I need to make a whole Edwards family out of M&M's. LOL So here I am in all my M&M glory! I think next I'll make myself a Rocker Chick M&M. Enjoy!

The Generation Celebration Limited Edition Sessions

Now booking for Generation Celebration Limited Edition Sesssions!

A fabulous opportunity to celebrate the connection between generations in your family. This event will help you create heirloom memories for generations to come!

Sessions will take place on March 29, 2008 in studio.

$225 Limited Edtion Session Fee includes:
1 - Framed 11x14 portrait
1 - Gift Portrait (any size 8x10 and smaller)
30 minute in studio session for up to 5 people of any age range
1 - backdrop
8 - 20 beautiful images to choose from

Additional purchases at with collection pricing

Call to book your session soon!

This event is not available for groups of 7 or more people.

Got Gossip?

Jan and I both have kids in the same grade, but ironically we didn’t really meet until the first time I went to one of her Lia Sophia shows. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but thought it was a good reason to get out of the house on a Sunday afternoon. Little did I know, I would be finding a new obsession that day!

Today Jan Nelson, Lia Sophia Advisor, sat down to talk with me today what’s new at Lia Sophia.


(yep, those are all mine!)

Becky: Hi Jan! What are you up to today?
Jan: Hi Becky. Today I am checking email while waiting for my Jeep to have some maintenance done!

Becky: So tell us a little bit about Lia Sophia for those readers not familiar with it yet.
Jan: I’d love to! What an incredible business opportunity for me as well as other women interested in scheduling their own hours, building a business of their own and having an unbelievable earning opportunity! Also, Lia Sophia is a terrific place for jewelry lovers to purchase jewelry! I truly believe I have one of the most glamorous and exciting jobs around!


(the piece that "hooked" me)


(my most recent addition)

Becky: I can’t wait to see the new Spring line. Is there anything in the new catalog that you think I won’t be able to live without?
Jan: Oh my, Becky. . .the Ginger Frost necklace and bracelet (on pg. 29 of the Spring/Summer catalog) are OUT OF THIS WORLD! Of course, as usual, the catalog just doesn’t do it justice. The detail in these pieces and the genuine stones makes this such a stunning set! I’m thinking, Becky, you will certainly want to be booking another Lia Sophia show real soon!

Becky: I’m actually kind of jealous of your personal jewelry selection. I mean, it’s amazing! But I’m sure you’ll add to it right? What is it YOU can’t live without from the Spring line?
Jan: Because we have a new line of jewelry debut twice a year, I am continually adding new pieces to my display. Lia Sophia does a fabulous job keeping up with new styles and trends so that we have new, up-to-date looks for our shows and for the customers to enjoy. I am able to earn most of my jewelry display for free and at 77% off by being an Advisor!

As far as what I can’t live without from the new Spring line, I would have to say the necklace called Remix (on page 28) along with the ring shown below it. Both pieces have genuine Tiger’s Eye and the Remix necklace has River shell stone in it as well. It is such a unique and fun necklace that I constantly get compliments when I wear it. Since neutrals are in right now, that makes it one of my most worn items because it goes with so many of my clothes!

Becky: So here I am this fashionably challenged person, who lives in jeans, t-shirt and a pony tail most days but I am totally and utterly in love with these accessories! I’ve never really been one to accessorize before, but I think it was because I was overwhelmed with choosing and buying and shopping and worrying about the quality of something I would buy and worrying about if I was choosing something cool or not. With Lia Sophia, it’s so easy! I mean you go to a party, have fun with your friends, try on jewelry, tell each other how cute they look and there are so many awesome choices. Really this has revolutionized the way I feel about my personal appearance. I can dress up my jeans and a t-shirt wardrobe and look totally pulled together. You were right when you told me that when you are wearing great jewelry, people notice how pulled together you look regardless of if it’s jeans and a T or something a little “nicer”. Do you find it odd that I love Lia Sophia so much?
Jan: Well, Becky, we all know you can be an oddball at times but to ease you mind, there are many Lia Sophia “jewelry junkies” like you and me! Honestly, there is so much to love about Lia Sophia beginning with the beauty of genuine gemstones along with the most current trends and fashions. Couple that with terrific prices and a guarantee that doesn’t stop! Why wouldn’t anyone love this jewelry line!

(one of my all time favorites)

(another all time favorite)


(the piece that goes with everything)

Becky: Okay Jan, do tell, what is your favorite all time piece of jewelry? The one that you would consider buying 2 or 3 of just in case you ever lost one of them.
Jan: How funny you would mention buying two or three. I do actually have customer’s purchasing more than one of something because they are afraid of losing it!

My all time favorite would be the Omega necklaces (found on pages 17, 21 and 23). I would choose these because of their classic look and the fact that by adding an inexpensive slide you have a completely different and new look. Many women purchase this as a basic piece and then build their wardrobe off the different slides they choose to add to the Omega! The Omega necklaces would be comparable to a basic pair of black pants. Every jewelry collection, like a wardrobe, needs basic pieces that remain in style and are able to stand the test of time moving in and out of seasons!

Becky: Well, gosh… I don’t have the Omega, definitely something to consider here soon! I have three favorite all time pieces. First, the Grape Chill slide – it’s delicious. The fact that it is purple might scare some people off, but really, it’s gorgeous and I love the way it feels and even though it is purple, it has enough pink in it to go with a lot of stuff in my closet. Then 2nd would be the Bedrock bracelet, it’s a fabulous combination with the Grape Chill slide. I get compliments on them every time I wear them. They are my feel good pieces. The third one is the Shoreline necklace. I swear it goes with every piece of clothing I own. I wear it all the time!

Becky: Is it odd that I know all the names of the jewelry? I mean… am I the ONLY one of your customers that memorizes them like that? I always call them by name, like they are my new friends. LOL I am a little bit obsessed, aren’t I?
Jan: Many of my hostesses and customers are like you and have the whole entire catalog memorized! Not only do they know the names of the pieces of jewelry but some even know the page number they are on! It’s a bit embarrassing when someone at a show asks me where this and that necklace is and my hostess pipes up and tells them before I can! I do have to mention my concern though, Becky, about you caressing and talking to your jewelry. You might want to consider seeing someone about that!

Becky: Okay Jan, time to change subjects… What is your all time favorite home made food?
Jan: My mom taught me to make chicken noodle soup with hand made noodles. I thicken this soup and pour over mashed potatoes and corn! My kids go ballistic over this. To top that off, I make homemade refrigerator cinnamon rolls. Talk about comfort food!
Becky: Mmmm… that does sound good. I don’t like to mix my food, but it sure sounds good!

Becky: And if you could vacation anywhere in the world without money being a concern, where would you go and who would you go with?
Jan: I would love to go to a beach resort in Costa Rica! My soon to be son-in-law grew up there as a missionary kid and tells me how rich and wonderful it is! I love going South in the winter! I would like to take with me my new guy friend that I have been spending quite a bit of time with lately and my friends Beth and Kevin. Beth is the one who introduced me to Lia Sophia by inviting me to attend her jewelry show over two years ago!

Becky: And my last burning question. Tell me why your license plate says SALSA.
Jan: Wow! That would be for me to know and you to find out! What I tell people, when they ask, is that I grow tomatoes and make salsa (which is true) but those gals that went with me to Mexico know the real story behind the license plate “SALSA”! It actually would be considered my most ever embarrassing moment—it’s quite a story if I were to ever share it and only women can appreciate it!
Becky: Well! I guess I’ll be bringing a bottle of wine to your next show so I can try to get you to spill the beans!

You can check out the Spring/Summer jewelry line at http://www.liasophia.com/cooljewels4u or email Jan for more information at cooljewels4u@hotmail.com

Fresh!

He's fresh alright, just 11 days old, in fact he may be fresher than that gallon of milk in my refrigerator.... Now that's a fresh baby! This little guy was such a sport and a great model, in fact.. I swear he was posing for me at one point! He moved his head in the direction of the camera everytime I switched angles. I think he was ready for his close-up! And with eyes like this, he certainly deserves one!




Look at those precious fingers all intertwined! Doesn't he look comfy!

Got Gossip?

Wendy Deane, business owner and artist in Valley, Nebraska sat down to talk with me today what’s going on at The Gallery.

(This is Wendy)

Becky: Hey Wendy! What are you up to today?

Wendy: Hi Becky! Well, later today I’m going to do a little painting and I’m getting ready for the Valentine’s Day Tea that we are hosting here on Saturday.

Becky: That sounds like fun.

Becky: You know Wendy, you are such an inspiration to me. You are not only an amazing artist, but you are an equally amazing business woman. It’s not often a person has both sides of the equation working for them like you do. I’m assuming the artistic side comes naturally, do you feel like running a business comes just as naturally?

Wendy: For my business it does, since my business is pretty untraditional. I was very aware of the saying “starving artist” when I bought this building. I just kept thinking if the art doesn’t take off what else can I do with the building? I will embrace whatever comes to me and that attitude has allowed me to be very unique with my business, which has brought me customers through some very unconventional avenues.

(one of my personal faves)

(her signature textures)

(another favorite of mine)

Becky: The Gallery offers unique and one of a kind hand painted artwork, created solely by you. When designing a piece do you plan it out first? Do you take into consideration trends or seasons or do you just paint from the heart?

Wendy: All three combined. With custom pieces I have to really get inside my customer’s head, I have them look at past pieces that I have created and ask them what they like and what they don’t like. I look at their home and other art pieces they currently own. Some customers are very specific about what they want, the colors and the design concept; others are more open to my interpretation.
Whenever I am commissioned to do a custom piece I make a 2nd piece based off of the original but with whatever different twist I think it needs and put that here in my gallery. I consider my signature pieces to be my textured pieces, some customers love them and some hate them, rarely is anyone on the fence about them. [laugh]

(her living space which doubles as a party room and bed and breakfast)

Becky: We should mention that The Gallery is so much more than an art gallery. Tell us what else The Gallery has to offer.

Wendy: Well, #1 it’s an art gallery that I use to showcase my own artwork. But because of the amount of space I have and the unique layout of the space I also rent out the main level for parties and fundraisers. It’s also a gathering place for community groups. The main level also serves as my studio and my work space.

The upper level is actually my personal living quarters. I have completely renovated it, keeping many of the original details like exposed brick walls, original wood floors but have modernized it quite a bit. Aside from my own personal living space, I also rent it out for parties, I host cooking classes with Delicious (the pastry shop next door) in my kitchen and it can be rented as a bed and breakfast. In fact, Hollywood stars, Marg Helgenberger and her husband Alan Rosenberg rented this space for 3 days and after staying here, they purchased 5 pieces of my original artwork.

(the most gorgeous master suite on the planet)

(the focus of the show Rezoned - her master bath that was converted from an old freight elevator!)

Becky: Your space never ceases to amaze me. I love the “old” feel with the modern twist. I grew up in an old farm style house in Nebraska and your space really reminds me of home. I absolutely love how you have kept the details from the late 1800’s but yet it doesn’t feel “old”, it just feels welcoming. Maybe I’m just a sentimental sap. I loved my home growing up. I loved every creak in the stairs and the wobbly banister and everything. Of course my home wasn’t near as grand as The Gallery, you really did a lot of work in your space to make it such a commercial success and in 2007, your space was featured on the HGTV network show Rezoned. Tell us about that.

Wendy: Well that really was quite a surprise how that all came about. I am an HGTV junkie and I will stay up late watching whatever they have on. They kept running commercials about registering for their dream house, so one night I went online to register and I started surfing around their site and I came upon the site for the show Rezoned. They had this box saying that you could submit your own space and possibly be on the show. So since I was always taking pictures of my space as we renovated it, I uploaded a couple pictures and hit send, without giving any information on how to contact me. The next day I had an email from them asking me to fill out a questionnaire, but I couldn’t open it, so I just sent another email back with some of the history of my space, but again, never leaving any contact information. Within an hour, my phone was ringing and it was the TV show saying they googled my name and found me in some newspaper article and tracked me down! They told me they were going to be filming in Kansas in four weeks and could they stop by and film here on their way back!

Becky: Did you sleep for the next four weeks?

Wendy: Not much [laugh]

Becky: Okay Wendy, time to change subjects… What do you love to do on your day off?

Wendy: I don’t really have a day off – you know how it is [laugh], but I do make time for fun. Every event I host is a big social event for me. I’m at all of these awesome parties and I get to meet and talk with so many wonderful people. My social life is really amazing right now.

I also love country dancing. I go out dancing at least twice a week. And every Tuesday I spend with my 3 ½ year old granddaughter. Most of the time we spend the day at her house, but sometimes she comes here and she paints right along side of me.

Becky: What is your all time favorite home made food?

Wendy: Desserts win hands down, but really anything my sister makes. I love her Hearty Chicken Vegetable Soup, her tiramisu, anything with sugar in it.

Becky: Ooooh! A girl after my own heart… I’m a sugar junkie too.

Becky: Thanks for letting me come by today Wendy!

Be sure to check out more of Wendy's artwork at her website http://www.wendydeaneartist.com/

Still Looking...

Still looking for that baby girl to do a fun session with. And don't forget it's all gratis. The whole session will be artist's choice as I will get free creative reign on all my new ideas! I'm guessing all you mama's out there think there is no way you'll get chosen, but hey, there is no harm in asking right? So call or email if you want to lend your sweet baby to me for an hour or so this week.

Check this link for the details http://beckyedwardsphotography.blogspot.com/2008/01/wanted-1-baby-girl-4-9-months-must-be.html

I'll be back on Monday and I've got some fun stuff for you, so be sure to stop back!