It feels like it was just yesterday I was writing my post about summer and then I blinked and now it’s 2020. I’m not sure what happened. I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday season!

It dawned on me while scrolling through social media guides (Pinterest decided I needed to read them… not sure what to think about that lol), that I have never done a “Meet the Maker” post. So, as the first post of 2020, here it is… five facts about me and TSB.

Hiiiiiiiii I’m Jen. I’m the one on the left. The one with the killer eyebrows is Chloe. I inherited her when I met and married my husband. She was his faithful companion for two years before I turned her life upside down and claimed her as my Preciously Perfect Pretty Puppy Princess. She was the inspiration for the name The Sad Basset, and my cuddle bug for four deployments, countless underways, two pregnancies, and lots of moving around the country.

I hate having my picture taken, so that is from about twelve years ago. Basically everything is the same except Chloe is no longer with us and my hair is a bit longer and more purple. And I can’t get away with not wearing my glasses anymore… unless I don’t actually want to see.

I went to school for graphic design, but ended up not being able to find a job when we moved to San Diego in 2009. Being a creative type, I needed a creative outlet and tried a few different mediums to get myself out of the funk I was in. I kind of fell into jewelry after a necklace I had bought from another handmade shop broke. I grabbed some pliers, felt an insane jolt of superhero like strength in fixing it, and then decided to buy the entire contents of the jewelry section our local Michael’s (not really, that’s just what my husband and my credit card thought), and started beading up a storm. I decided that I wanted to be able to add personalized elements to jewelry and found hand stamping. From there I think I progressed in much the same way other jewelry makers do… sawing, soldering, metalwork, enamel… and enough tools to make the local hardware store green with envy.

This post would seem to imply otherwise, but I hate talking about myself. If I could have that due from Pixel Perfect create a robot to be the face of the business so I could just be off creating, I would. Also, if you don’t know that movie, it’s a really old Disney Channel original that I was forced into watching with my little sister and then ended up buying the soundtrack because that’s what I tend to do.

And last but not least, the bulk of my work time comes while my youngest is napping. I have two boys, one is 8 going on 14 and the other is almost 3 and going to give me an ulcer. He has no fear and is the embodiment of this meme.

So that’s a little bit about me. If there’s anything else you’d like to know, just ask in the comments.