Spring Confection

Now that I've finally turned the calendar to March I'm getting a bit excited about the arrival of Spring. Here are two pairs of earrings that remind me of the cool, bright delight of this season.

Bright pink topaz and bright blue apatite are paired with pale green amethyst drops in a hand coiled pattern of swirling loop-d-loops.

Aquamarines ever so subtly colored in pale shades of pink, blue and green dangle playfully from oxidized chains of sterling silver.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Fall Dressing

Halloween is fun. Dressing up as an alter ego or wanna-be dream can be quite a blast. But it is only one day so when I decorate my home I dress it for Fall. I love Fall and adding a bit of Fall inspired decor carries me from October through Thanksgiving.

OK, the jack-o-lantern is a bit of a stretch but it is surrounded by lots of Fall leaves :)

Studio Peek

Etsy Bloggers are sharing photos of their studios this month.

With bits and pieces of my various projects migrating to almost every room, my whole house seems to be my studio. I mainly work at my kitchen table, not terribly glamorous but it has great light and a wonderful view of my backyard.


I have a variety of storage containers.


I'm particularly fond of these.

I like the orderly little compartments and the fact that I can see what's inside without opening the lid.

This case is very efficient at storing a number of larger items. The multi-level tiers give me a lot of storage in a small space which is really great when I go to workshops.


I'm pretty low tech too and have been 'green' well before it was the 'in' thing to be.
I re-use all sorts of containers from plastic bags to cardboard boxes.

This has been my long time favorite way to keep my supplies semi-organized. The emphasis on semi, because while I'd love to be super organized I never quite seem to get there.

How do do like to organize your supplies/workspace. I'd love to hear your tips and tricks.

Fall Into Color

Rich and luscious, soft and smokey I am so excited about the colors that are being shown for the fall and winter season. Normally I don't pay a lot of attention to the current trend but I really love the color combination and overall fashion feel that I'm seeing in the latest magazines and catalogs.

So with these colors in mind I've begun creating new pieces for the fall and holiday season.

This bangle features delightful artisan lampwork beads in shades of plum with coral accents. I've added dangles of amethyst, chalcedony and a sweet little sterling silver flower to echo the pattern in the focal bead. I'm sorry you can't see the little flower in this photo. It's next to the chalcedony nugget.


I fell in love with these beads the moment I saw them. They have such subtle depth of color and pattern, so interesting to look at. I've combined them with sterling silver and ceramic beads to make this one-of-a-kind bangle.


I don't know what it is about Fall, maybe it's the whole 'back to school' phenomenon, but I'm feeling particularly fresh with new inspiration.

July Joy

Christmas in July. I loved the idea when I first heard it, all the fun of the Christmas season without all of the pressure.

I love shopping, especially on Etsy. Here are a few of my many favorites.


A pretty vintage dress from Estatesale.


An elegant silk lined bag from Redrubyrose.

I also enjoy baking up sweet little treats.

I've been eyeing this violet macaroon recipe for a while.

If you love to bake or just love to drool over luscious photos of yummy desserts, take a look at Tartelette's blog. Her photo taking skills are enviable and her recipes will make you weep.

She also sells her gorgeous photos in her Etsy shop.

Roses and Moonstones and Pearls, Oh My!

June means roses, lots of roses around here.






























I have them blooming in my yard.







And we have a local rose festival.
It's a lovely, low key event that features 13 acres of bed after bed of gorgeous roses. I wish I had room to plant one of each.

Wonderful vendors of plant and nature related items, great food (Mozart's is my fav), educational offerings and entertainment round out the fun. Best of all, admission is FREE!
Can you tell I love going to this annual event?

Pearls and Moonstones are June's designated stones. I don't know who, when or why these particular stones were chosen, a Google search found nothing. I would love the answers, so please leave a comment if you know.



I made these earrings using a variety of pearls and moonstone. The large 'cornflake' pearls are so luscious I could eat them with a spoon.

Princesses All

One of the May topics for the Etsy Blogger's Carnival is to post about a favorite fairy tale.
I liked a lot of fairy tales as a child, but the one I refer to often is 'The Princess and the Pea'.

When I teach my yoga classes, especially the beginners, I encourage the students to pay close attention to how they feel. I explain that most of us, moi included, don't pay attention to the little signals our bodies send us until they become big head-pounding, back-stabbing, can't-get-out-of-bed pains in the ....

So during savasana (relaxation pose) I tell them they are all princes and princesses and ask them to notice even the smallest little pea of discomfort or tension. Then, using various relaxation techniques and yoga props, we work to ease the tension.

I found the adorable print pictured above in fellow Etsy Blogger, Beckykazana's shop. Her shop is brimming with whimsical items inspired by fairy tales, Roald Dahl and just plain fun.

Easin' Into Green

'Going green', 'Recycle', 'Reuse', Reduce'.
There are a lot of buzz words aimed at encouraging environmental responsibility. Over several years we've gradually incorporated these ideas into our home.


One More Time
Recycling paper, glass and cans was our first step. Our city made it easy for us, providing the containers and curbside pick up.



Win Some Lose Some
In grade school my kids each got cute re-useable lunch bags. After three lost lunch bags, we reverted to paper bags for my son, but my daughter still uses her original bag.



Light My Life
In sixth grade my son joined SEE, Students for Energy Education. He loved being part of this group. We all learned a lot, including the idea of replacing regular light bulbs with CFL's , Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs, to help reduce our energy consumption.



Steppin' Out
My daughter just bought these shoes, made from vegan and recycled materials.



Earth Day is coming. Any plans? I'd love to hear them.

Sprung

I have a love/hate relationship with Spring.

Day after day of damp, muddy grayness bores down like an endless tunnel of gloom.

But then there are are the hints of hope. Little glimpses of life that promise color and brightness. I have planted hundreds of Spring bulbs over the years and the eager anticipation of seeing their lovely little faces makes Spring a surprise package that is worth the wait.

So maybe I should describe Spring as a love/love/hate relationship. The delight seems to outweigh the gloom.

Like surprises? The photos are links :)

P.S I like to make recipes using Spring fruits.
I'm thinking this Spring Fruit Pudding sounds super yummy. I'll write a post when I get around to making it.
If you try it, please let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

One Sweet Date

One of the Etsy Blogger topics for this month is to describe a favorite valentine date.

I love to cook. I love cooking with my sweetie. I'm thinking a lovely lasagna. This Eggplant Lasagna with Parsley Pesto looks like a great new recipe to try. A wonderful red wine and a crisp salad of baby greens would be perfect accompaniments.

For dessert, cupcakes! One for me and one for him. Maybe something from Cupcakesinjars.

Chaos to Calm

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions. When I want to make a change, I do it. No matter what the date.
But this year I've been on a mission. Since the first days of '09 I've been clearing the clutter. I'm not sure why I'm suddenly so motivated, but I'm not questioning it. It's something I've been thinking about doing for a long time.
The trouble is when I start cleaning I make a big mess, as you can see in the first photo.
But I have made some progress.

If only my whole house would look this neat and tidy! I'm still working on it.

Firey Glam

This stunning necklace and earring set is just one of the gorgeous creations you will find at Roseworksjewelry. Created as part of a theme challenge based on the Firefly/Serenity TV show/movie, it sparkles with color and imagination.

Not just beautiful, her pieces are also very affordable.

Her blog is just as colorful as her jewelry with stunning photos and fun posts. Take a look!

Winter Blooms

I rescued these three Christmas cacti from the local grocery store several years ago. They were terribly water-logged and headed for certain doom. I just couldn't leave them in that state. I took them home and sopped all of the excess water out of their pots. They've rewarded me with lovely blooms every November/December since.

Also called Zygocactus or Schlumbergera, these plants require minimal care. Which is great for me! I don't exactly have a green thumb.

"Project Runway"

Etsy Bloggers want to know - what am I working on?

I'm the featured artist at a local gallery for the month of December. So, I'm working on lots of new jewelry pieces for both the gallery and my etsy shop.



And I'm knitting:

Fingerless gloves in baby llama yarn. Soooo soft.



A scarf in alpaca yarn. My first colorwork project.



And a caplet in a kid mohair/silk blend that is a gorgeous shade of teal green.

Relax and Renew

What do I do to relax? I create. When I'm not creating new pieces of jewelry I'm creating something else. The creative process helps me focus on the present moment and when I focus on the here and now the specters of past worries and future plans find no space in my mind (at least for a little while).

Knitting is one of my favorite mediums of creation. Add a cup of tea, and I'm in heaven.

Kkhymn's Corner has a lovely, poetic post about living in the present moment. She writes beautifully and I really enjoy reading her blog - also very relaxing and renewing :)

Born of Fire

Orange is not my favorite color but when I saw these juicy tangerine chalcedony I had to buy them. They have a gorgeous, glowing quality; an inner fire that burns with shades of lemon, tangerine and rich red/orange.

They just begged to be used in a fun, light, super colorful design. And so the 'Charm Me, Sunshine Mix' earrings were born.

Link to Hawaii

Just for fun (and because I'm so curious), I 'googled' my title for this post. There appear to be a number of things with a similar title. The one I found most interesting was a PBS special on Hawaii.