My customers are just the best ever!!!  I'm beyond grateful for the positive responses my jewelry has received from so many of you at the last few shows for my new designs and loving my style and vibe!  You are my tribe!

July and the beginning of August were some VERY busy months with shows every single weekend, with a 3 day-er that was HOT and HUMID in Glenwood.  Whew.  We were super thankful to have had a shady spot smack dab under a big tree.  Hope we get that spot again next year!

The rest of August will be quiet on the show side, we are taking a bit of recuperation time, catching up on custom orders and some medical stuff.  Beginning September we will be back in Rice at the Old Creamery for the Annual Craft show.
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THE JEWELRY:
In between all the shows I had to do some restocking of my popular vintage look sparkly bracelets (and will need to create more new ones soon), some beach glass and turquoise items.
I'm super excited about the White Buffalo & Turquoise chip stones I got in recently and a couple designs already found a home with their person!

With so many young people & little girls visiting my booth, there are now small bracelets for tiny wrists available.  Aren't the lil turtles super cute? The Agate bead colors are beautiful!   Also I needed to do some re-stocking on my lava bracelets and chose more Amazonite stones for those.
Then....the White Buffalo chip stone from Tucson!  It's been the craze lately and since it's apparently a popular (and not cheap) stone, I had to secure a strand to see how it would be welcomed by my tribe.  Apparently it's a winner!  The silver pair of earrings I hand formed, hammered and wire wrapped the White Buffalo stone to it.  This one actually sold last weekend.  The square pair is still available and I'll be making more.  
The short necklace is made with beautiful abalone shell and gemstone heishi beads.  So summery!

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LASTLY:
Again I want to say a huge 'Thank You' to you all who have supported my booth, designs and art in the past shows.  You Glenwood folks are hardcore with the weather we had!!  Heat, humidity, rain, thunderstorms....yikes!!  But I'm so thankful to have been there and meet so many new wonderful people!

Elbow Lake's Flekke Fest was fun, with seeing a few of you again who where in Glenwood and get some hugs.   Our friend's store KR-Digital & Gifts, is a really cute gift & frame store right on Main Street in Elbow Lake and you wouldn't think it by the name.  They do photography, custom framing and photo duplication on one side of the store (that's the digital) but the other side is filled with all the cutest gift items you could dream of, including my jewelry in the barn wood cabinets my husband specifically built for my store display.  

Well now that we have a show-break, we are going to enjoy our summer, the warm days and the longer daylight which is way too quickly starting to fade already and get ready for some fun fall shows.

Don't forget about my yearly NotesNBling Open House the last Saturday in September.  There will be 50% off, 30% off, 25% off selected items, drawings, snacks, and hopefully it'll be nice like it was last year where we all could sit outside, have conversations with each other, your friends and just have a fun relaxing time at the studio back yard.

See you at the shows!!

Welcome Summer!!  July is here and with it a lot of Art/Craft shows I'll be attending!
How are you all enjoying your summer so far?  We've had some strange weather, sometimes super hot and humid and then a tad "chilly" for this time of year.  But yesterday for the Art Show it was the best weather day ever!
Even when it's a bit sticky out, I'm still thankful for the warm days, the rain....just not the mosquitos...🤣

Here's the lineup of the next upcoming events...

THE JEWELRY:

Since the last show I had in May at Bobbing Bobber Brewing Company, so much "life" has been happening, that I barely had time to create things.  During June and first part of July I usually do not have any shows lined up due to hubby's TNT Fireworks tent selling season late-mid June to after the first week in July.  Not much creating wasn't happening either.

So the last three days, right before the Art in the Gardens show at Munsinger Gardens in St. Cloud, I worked super hard to flesh out the ideas I had in my head for a while with the beads that were waiting to be used.

So here are a few new items:

Beach glass has been one of my favorite beads to work with and they've been much requested by many of my customers.  Nice to have them in SO many color options.  For these bracelets I chose the green seafoam and blue Beach glass and some other cool beads to create the first two styles.
The Turquoise inspiration came from an idea I saw online a long time ago but always wanted to create something similar so I used the beads I recently got in and paired the Turquoise with Moonstone, Amazonite, Czech Melon beads and Coffee Jasper stones.
The handcrafted ceramic starfish bracelet also features Freshwater Pearls, Beach glass and Tube beads.  The necklace also has a handcrafted beige/blue starfish pendant placed on an African handmade silver "Wollo" ring and the leather is lined with blue beach glass and tube beads.  Lobster Closure.

There are a few more summery styles, I will need to list on the sales page.  It'll be a moment as I'm at quite a few shows the next couple of weeks.  
Just email me: [email protected] to inquire of any of the styles you see here or on my Facebook page as they get posted there quicker daily with the ability for me to schedule posts.
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LASTLY:
I want to thank everyone who came out to the "Art in the Gardens" at Munsinger Gardens yesterday (Thursday, July 17) and visited my booth.  Your enthusiasm over my designs brought much joy to my heart, your purchases blessed me so I can pay bills and keep getting new beads in for more design styles and seeing so many of you return to see what's new was super cool!
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Weather wise, you guys.... it couldn't have been any better!!!  It was picture perfect with NO wind, wonderful temperatures and sunshine without everyone having to sweat or deal with humidity.  It was just beautiful out and many came out to visit all the artists.  So thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patronage and your encouragement.

Until the next show,
May you be blessed as I've been blessed and more so....
​Sam

Half the year is almost gone!  Can't believe we are in June already, but I'm excited for the warm days, the summer events and hopefully lots of beautiful weather with not too much heat, especially for the outdoor events in July and August.

As far as events coming up for NotesNBling, June has been a month I left open for helping husband with a BBQ cooking event beginning of June (which has dropped off this year so I'll be looking for a beginning of June event for the jewelry) and then his TNT fireworks tent selling season starts June 21 through July 5 at Coborns Grocery Parking lot in Sauk Rapids.

So the next events for NotesNBling will be starting back up in July:
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NOTESNBLING JEWELRY:

The last few weeks have been busy with life things such as helping a friend, appointments and a mini vacation to Illinois - hunting for treasures going thrifting.
But May was super busy creating things.... so here are just a few examples:

The sparkle bracelets have been so loved by my customers I had to do a major RESTOCK!  I made a few more with NEW colors and new designs!!  
The Square Hoop earrings are handcrafted, hammered non-tarnish wire and I added genuine Turquoise stone chips on the inside.  The sunflower earrings are all Czech beads with tiny brass Vintaj leaves and the last pair of earrings in the pictures are also with vintage Czech beads, Vintaj chain and handcrafted middle bar.  All earrings are on sterling silver ear wires.  

I'll be busy in the coming days creating more fun items. Amongst those on my list to do are some little girls bracelets, bracelets featuring a summery look with more freshwater pearls and turquoise and necklaces as well for the summer.
Can't wait to show you!  See you at the shows!
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LASTLY:

I've had such a fun trip into Amish country in Illinois last month! We rented an Airbnb and had a relaxing time there and I mapped out a route in the neighborhood for my daily walks that I'm determined to keep up since I joined the gym this year.
It was fun discovering new thrift & vintage shops, enjoy some Amish food, grab my favorite spices at the Amish store (only place that has them) which I had discovered a few years ago when my friend lived in that area and I went to visit her.  
It was great seeing the friends she made while she lived there and connecting with a fellow artist as well.

So as we've been on the road, this scripture is just perfect:
Joshua 1:9 - Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Sometimes on the roads....yikes, you have to be courageous these days.  LOL.  Thankfully we were able to take back roads most of the way!   So much more relaxing and lots of scenery and other sweet surprises!

Until next time....  enjoy the warmer days and sunshine!

​Sam

Well, so it seems that we finally have reached Spring in MN! 🙌🏼☀️ I'm so thrilled to see the wonderful warm temperatures.  Too bad it won't stay like this without heat and mosquitos!  LOL.

Saturday we had a wonderful small little market event in Clearwater MN at the Clearwater Corners Restaurant & Bar.  We were set up in the small patio area, just 8 of us crafters.  It was really neat and we met new vendor friends, bought some cool stuff and it was very successful for the jewelry!   It's always fun for me when ladies come and love my designs and enjoy trying on items to see which one fits their look they envision.

Now on to what's coming up the rest of May.
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UPCOMING EVENTS:

Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025   
Event:  3BC Vendor Market  (NNB & Sauce/Crafts)
Time:  10am-5pm
​Where: Bobbing Bobber Brewing Co., 900 Hwy 15 S
Town:  Hutchinson, MN

In past years I've generally haven't booked any shows in June due to husband's TNT Fireworks tent at Sauk Rapids Coborns location.  We try to take some time for rest before 2.5 weeks of being in that tent for 10 hours each day.

So if you are looking for fireworks, our tent hours are 10-8 every day, except Sundays from 12-8.  We should start being open June 21 through July 5.

For other show updates, check the "Events" page and I'll keep you posted should new shows come about early June.

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THE JEWELRY:

I've been making some re-stocks of popular items such as my Azurite Malachite Stone key chains, the Kazuri Necklaces and some new designs that are already selling because....well, they are cool.  LOL.

The earrings are a new form of material for me.  I'm not the fondest of 3D-Print items as the market seems to be so over saturated, however many of my customers are looking for super light weight earrings and these are PERFECT for that.  
I discovered these at a bead show and they were made by the Taylors Falls Bead Store in Minnesota.  This way it gives me the option to have something super cool, but also lightweight.
The necklaces both sold at this last show, but I wanted to show you these because they are just so cool!  I love finding neat items in thrift/antique/specialty stores and occasionally I find something awesome at a yard sale.   It's fun to give things new life when I take apart the old item (like a bracelet for example) and make it into a pendant as in the last necklace on the pictures.  I added a Cloisonné bead to it and used vintage Czech beads I dug out of the drawers at the Taylors Falls Bead Store.

​My last customer on Saturday totally fell in love with that necklace and I happened to have a scroll heart earring pair that matched!  She was thrilled!

More items are in the works for upcoming shows!

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LASTLY:

Mother's Day is coming up and I had better get my mother-in-laws card in the mail today!!  Nothing like last minute......  
With the nice weather (in MN at least) I'm hoping for a wonderful warm weekend and maybe a cook-out or two.

I'm looking forward to being in Hutchinson on the 17th of May and praying for a non-windy event for once as it usually has always been super windy....  But I can't wait to see all my customers from that show and hug a neck or two and have some fun with the ladies "playing" with jewelry.

I leave you with a word of encouragement I read this morning by Charles Stanley:
"You should never feel like you're alone.  Why?  Simply because you're not!  Once you trust Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, the Holy Spirit seals you in Him.  You will never walk alone, work alone, live alone, or die alone.  You have Him for all eternity."..... John 14:18:  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
​John 14:27: Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

Until next month. Blessings to you all,
​Sam

Things have been progressing a little slower than I wanted to with the shopping page and adding more items.  
First comes the custom orders and the shows that are scheduled and we had a vacation time thrown into the midst down to Baton Rouge for hubby's bowling nationals tournament.  It was really nice to be in warmer weather and lots of sunshine, that's for sure.

Being back in MN right before the snow hit wasn't too exciting, but it's also time for me to get caught up with a few more custom orders now that products have come in to finish those and of course to work on the shopping page...

Also both my websites www.NotesNBling.com and www.SamScales.com all point to this same website now.  Just in case some of you have been wondering what happened to SamScales.com music page.  It's still all there under the tabs.
(I have you know that I actually figured all that out how to do it on GoDaddy on my own!  That's an accomplishment for this non-tech person.  Haha.)
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THE JEWELRY:
Again as I mentioned before, I now have a shopping page on this website powered through Square.  Can't wait to see how it all works with a first purchase through the site!

Here are a few of the latest items I've created, some being custom orders too, which I can re-create should someone desire a similar design.

I'll be making a couple more of the Kazuri Necklaces.  They have been a sought after item, which is really cool.  Also got some more of the cool Howlite stone crosses in to make more bracelets and make some as pendants for leather necklaces.  All to come soon.
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LASTLY:
Ah if only the time was available to get everything done I would like to accomplish in one day.  Maybe my list is too long, haha.

Anyhow.  I'll be working on the shopping page to add more items.  Thank you all for your patience.  Until people find the page and actively shop, I have a little bit of time to get used to all the dynamics of a shopping page, listing items and making sure all shows up and works.  

And again.... I thank you all for your support of my lil business!

See you at the shows!!
​Sam