​Melissa and I finally made it to the hotel. Took us about 13 hours to get here, but we made it safe and sound. 

The Hyatt is beautiful!  They have dolls set up in the lobby and signs every where. 

Check in area.

After we got checked in we set up our room for sales. 

Life is always so busy and I let my blog get away from me. I am going to try to get back into the swing of things :) I have so many things to talk about...where to begin...

I am going to the Barbie Convention this year Yay!  It is in Houston, TX.  I am super excited!  I can't wait for it!.  I skipped last year because my 10 year anniversary and my husband wanted to take a big vacation together.  Well that did not work out like we planned LOL  So this year we are going to take a few vacations to make up for it.

I did go the Barbie Convention in 2015 it was in Arlington, VA. I will get some of those pictures on here soon. 

I have some new shout outs for doll outfits and will post them and some of there outfits. 

Well until next time, have a safe and wonderful night!

At her awesome 10th birthday "Tea" party with her friends.

I had such a wonderful time at the convention.  One of the highlights of the convention, for me, was volunteering.  I so enjoyed helping out in the raffle room.  I got to meet the wonderful, super organized, Allison who was over the gorgeous room full of treasures.  Setting up items in the raffle room was so much fun! I hope to donate more and to volunteer there again next year!

There were many I wanted (didn't need LOL) to win, but sadly I did not win any :(  It's ok, maybe next year!  The two below were my favs!

I wouldn't have mind to win these either!

Congrats to all those who won these lovely ladies!

I did manage to donate a few to the raffle room as well.  In my previous post I showed the Barbie Giftset, but I didn't get around to posting pics of the Ken Giftset.

He is the Silkstone Tuxedo Ken! Isn't he gorgeous! He is all set with a whole wardrobe of clothes, shoes, accessories, and two chains and bracelets (made by me).

I used the Fashion Editor Ken box with all it's accessories still attached. Then I added more items as I found them.

They look fabulous paired together!

I also donated some other gals (Beaded Gown and Laser Leatherette) who did not fit in with my collection, but are gorgeous dolls!  I am sure whoever won those are very pleased!

This morning, Lisa & Debbie showed me the Barbie logo glowing on the floor as you walked into the lobby of the hotel. Very cool!

So far I am having a blast & I don't want it to end...except I would most certainly run out of money LOL Can't wait until the main events!

So today I arrived at the Barbie Convention and I found it a little over whelming. I found myself in the lobby just wondering looking for people to connect with, when I happened upon two lovely ladies, Lisa & Debbie from CA.  They took me under their seasoned wings and invited me to eat with them. They are the nicest ladies ever!! So sweet!! After dinner they asked if I would  like to go room shopping...of course I would! 

My first room shop was Arnaldo's Restorations. He is the nicest guy!  He does wonders to TLC vintage dolls giving them new life. I even saw a few I liked! 

While room shopping, I ran into & finally (yay!) met Sheree & Jim, super nice! So far I am having a blast! Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds, besides my first day volunteering! LOL

Oh my gosh! I can't believe the Barbie Convention is almost here.  One week away!!  So excited!!

I have been working hard finishing my table gifts, gathering my donations, and preparing for it that I didn't have time to post stuff.  Let's see if I can make up for that! ;)

But first, I just wanted to ask everyone to keep my roommate in your thoughts and prayers.  She has been diagnosed with brain cancer and may not make it to the convention.  I am hoping that she will be able to, but just in case I have made her some Barbie gifts to send her.

Below are some of the table gifts I made. 

These are for Barbie of course! :)

It was so much fun creating them and the matching pairs. 
More to come soon...

I have been trying to get back into working on some more jewelry. It has been hard , but now I have a great reason for setting aside the time. I am one of the fortunate Barbie lovers who has been given the opportunity to got to the 2014 Barbie Convention in Nashville, TN (WAHOO!) Anyhow, it has sparked up my creative juices and so now I am really trying harder.

This will be my first Barbie convention and I am so excited about it! There are so many things to read about and sign up for in the registration book.  I have really gotten lost in all the forms LOL

So far I have signed up for:

1. The 'Ugly Holiday Sweater' Contest (still need to find a sweater)
   
2. The Nashville Star VIP Pass (really want the most out of my first convention) 
   
3. As a Volunteer for whatever (because I love helping!).

Among the many fun and fabulous things to do at this event was the "Thanks For Giving" Raffle Room where they have asked for donations to create a spectacular room with all kinds of Barbie and non Barbie items that everyone will get a chance to win. I know! What a wonderful event! LOL So I decided to create a gift set with lots of handmade jewelry :) I am not finished with it yet, but below are sneaks peeks Enjoy!

This little beauty is the 45th Anniversary Silkstone doll freshly removed from her box.  She is wearing a beautiful Swarovski necklace and earrings set made by me and...

OMG! Can I just say I absolutely love her dresses! They are so well made and are so stunning, especially IRL. Anyhow I just wanted to share one of her wonderful ensembles with those who do not know her.  Now some lucky winner will get a chance to enjoy it and many more treasures!  

These are new sets and will be included in the gift set also.

So you may be wondering why I named my website Sweet Gems.  When I was sixteen, I went to visit my Grandfather over the summer and he introduced me to bead making. I started out creating my own beaded jewelry and I loved it. Fast forward 20 years, graduated in Computer Science, acquired a stable job, and voila!, here I am. I started creating Barbie jewelry  back in 2011.  I really enjoy seeing what I could create for Barbie dolls out of different beads. Plus the miniature jewelry looked so cute! That was four years ago and I am just now finding more time to make more.

These are some of my first pieces that I gave to my friend Elio. 
He really loved them and said I should start a business. 

Well Sweet Gems in my case refers my miniature jewelry, but it really can mean anything that is precious to you. It could be a Barbie, sparkling jewelry (Barbie size or not), a picture, or anything that you find is a "Sweet Gem"  for you!