Silver Sparrow Designs

riveting again

2012-01-26T20:10:00.001-08:00

these are some new pieces i made this week.

i am delighted to say that i have been riveting again, love it so much.

this ring is quite magical.

you almost might think there is no stone in there at all. when in fact, there is a delicious faceted moonstone, not rainbow moonstone, just the good old fashioned regular moonstone.

tension set and riveted into place,

just like magic.

and this prehnite piece,

rather victorian looking, i think.

i set the stone "upside down", pointy side up.

and this tranquility ring,

with the deepest blue kyanite i've ever seen.

and a faceted lemon yellow prehnite ring

these pieces are actually not going into the etsy shop; they are for the new store i am going to have my work in. however, if you absolutely love one of these and feel you can't live without it, please don't hesitate to let me know, and we can talk.

tomorrow, olive and i leave to go to salt lake city to see emily, her lovely family, and blind pilot (with martha scanlon opening)! very exciting!

hope you all have wonderful weekends as well...

a felice piece

2012-01-22T15:56:00.000-08:00

this is a custom piece that i made for the very special shan, perhaps the only other person i know who may love the felice brothers the way that i do. (you can check out her very cool website, two sisters and a show, here. she and her sister post photos and reviews of the many shows they attend.)

it features an incredibly gorgeous greenish blue kyanite

and some of ian's lyrics from the song forever green

so, for all of you, my dear readers, who have followed my borderline obsession with the felice brothers, have seen me follow them all over the country, from lancaster, pennsylvania to big sur, california, from charleston, south carolina to salt lake city, utah, and other cities in between, and have seen the custom guitar picks i have made for ian, as well as the many pieces of jewelry that bear his words, who have listened to me ramble about how amazing they are and how no one's music compares to theirs, live or otherwise, and have heard me talk about what great guys they are, personable and sweet... know that i am not alone. there are other people in the world who feel the way that i do, and miss shan here is one of them. she is a wonderful sanity check for me, and, should a situation ever arise where i need someone to testify that i have not completely lost my head over the felice brothers, and that my actions were well within reason, she would be the one i would call.

for you, dear, i hope you love it.

nuance bracelets and stacking rings

2012-01-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

i made some new "nuance" bracelets this week, a variation of the old "rustic nuance" design. these are more subtle and more for everyday wear.

each has one of my bars with words on it. this one says "be who you are" and has a faceted rainbow moonstone on it.

there's also a lovely faceted labradorite,

and a beautiful kyanite.

these are great because they twist and twirl and flip and turn and however they end up, it's just fine.

this one says "live your love"

and has amethyst, rainbow moonstone, and peridot

this one says "always remember who you love",

and it has prehnite, smoky quartz, and amethyst

and this is the "kyanite moon" ring

with a fabulous kyanite

a new prehnite stack

with the prehnite resting in a little cup.

and a moonstone stack as well

these are all in the shop.

have a great weekend!

snow!

2012-01-19T17:26:00.000-08:00

we finally got some snow here!

thank goodness.

i have been skiing boggy draw everyday.

heavenly.

olive loves it too.

(see how she is growing? we just got back from the vet and she is up to 6.8 lbs at four months. the vet thinks she will finish growing at about 6 months, most likely at around 9 or 10 lbs.)

i hope everyone is doing well. i am hard at work making pieces for the new gallery, as well as trying to keep up with all of the orders from my dogids.com account. i will have some new bracelets and probably a couple of rings to share with you tomorrow.

do you have snow where you live?

p.s. you may or may not notice that i finally updated my playlist! sorry it's been a while, but to be honest, i have been really struggling lately to find new music that i love. (i can't help but compare everything to the felice brothers and nothing stands a chance.) anyway, i've added some old favorites; i am sure you've been getting tired of the same old songs.

...and more hearts...

2012-01-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

here they are, all finished...

for some reason or another, the firing of this entire batch didn't exactly go so well. i have spent the last two days repairing these hearts. i have refired, soldered, pickled, soldered again, filed, fired again, etc. repeatedly fixing and repairing and then trying again. needless to say, it has been very frustrating. but, finally, they are completed, and i am very happy with them.

the "your ruby heart" flapper bracelet,

with a tiny ruby, a very fancy faceted rectangular amethyst, a gorgeous faceted sea foam green chalcedony, and a sweet little lavender lantern.

the "true" necklace,

with a beautiful rainbow moonstone

and a flashy teardrop labradorite

and the "your amethyst heart" ring

all of these pieces are rugged and tattered and torn. they are imperfect and rustic and a bit flawed (like your own heart?) and i love them just as they are. henceforth, these 11 pieces shall be known as the rugged heart series, even if just to myself and whoever is reading this right now. there's so many cheesy metaphors for hearts and challenges that i could say about these pieces, but i will keep them to myself. just know that these 11 hearts are pretty special. i'll be listing these three in the shop tomorrow for a few days.

i hope you are all having a great weekend!

hearts!

2012-01-12T15:48:00.001-08:00

this is the time of year when you start to see hearts all over etsy. usually i do not jump onto the valentine's day bandwagon, but this year, thanks to my beloved pmc, i am hopping aboard.

i got a bit carried away with the pmc yesterday.

i had a blast upstairs in my office and before i knew it, 3 hours had passed. i tried some new techniques, creating small eyepins and inserting them into the clay while wet to make rosary-type connectors with hearts. it seemed like such a good idea, but i ended up spending many more hours today redoing them because for some reason it didn't work.

this one i made for myself and incorporated into my "flapper" bracelet that i never take off.

with a tiny little blue sapphire.

i know the "sutured heart" image is not terribly unique, but it really speaks to me. it's like the next step up from the hole in your heart. you've got the wound, but now it is healing.

your sutured heart necklace,

with a tiny little amethyst.

like the sun image in the hole in your heart necklace, the stitches to me represent the positive that comes from heartache and pain. the strength and courage that you are forced to discover within yourself in order to heal from your hurt. and within healing, of course, lies growth.

and the "your flaming heart" necklace,

with a tiny little peridot.

this one is about your passion, whatever it is that ignites you. this is a celebration of the things in your life that really get your blood flowing and your heart pumping, the things that excite you and make you feel alive, the things you couldn't live without and will never give up.

and the "be fri" necklace.

did you have one as a kid?

i made this pair for hazel and her sweet little bff, kianna, as a christmas gift.

when i was a kid, i was "be fri" and dear megan shackelford was "st ends". i cherished that necklace that we bought at spencer's. i thought it would be fun to replicate that.

hazel and kianna at hazel's birthday party this year

these pieces will be in the shop later tonight.

vacation

2012-01-10T19:44:00.001-08:00

we had a truly wonderful 2 weeks off together. for most of the winter break we stayed home, which is unusual for us. we relaxed a lot, and read a lot of books, and went to bed early and woke up late. we skied a bit, but there's no snow within a 50 mile radius right now. we haven't had snow in 3 weeks. i am so sad.

but last weekend we met my dad up in crested butte.

and there it snowed!

and there we skied!

the girls had a blast snuggling their pops.

and big ed (a.k.a. poppy) and kathy (a.k.a. apple)came to visit us!

it was wonderful.

big ed got me my very favorite christmas present of all (unless you count olive, who is now being considered a christmas present from glenn):

(this is not it.)

this is my old disc cutter. rusty and old and warped and quite impossible to use. when i told poppy about my new account with dogIDs.com he asked how i made the blanks and i told him about my crummy old disc cutter. he came out to my shop with me to try to fix it, but we determined it was unfixable. so he got me this one:

my new disc cutter

shiny and clean and smooth and beautiful and oh-so-efficient.

i just want to cut discs all day.

THANK YOU, poppy!

look how perfect they are.

i hope you all had wonderful holidays! tomorrow i should have some new pieces to share with you.

aquamarine to die for

2012-01-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

wow! i recently bought the two most incredible pieces of aquamarine i have ever seen.

aquamarine is said to be a "stone of courage". it enhances learning about oneself. it emits a gentle and compassionate energy. seems like a wonderful stone for a new year. these pieces are enormous and i've never seen their equal.

because i originally started making resolve rings to help encourage the keeping of new year's resolutions, i made a couple new resolve pieces for you as well.

the aquamarine courage necklace

with the most gorgeous high dome teardrop aquamarine stone ever

and a wee bit of janis for you...

and the sister ring

look at that high dome!

a new resolve necklace,

with a gorgeous blue green labradorite teardrop

and a bit of everybodyfields

and a delicious little resolve ring

such a flash!

from the original resolve listing:

the back says "resolve". resolve is the verb form of resolution; dictionary.com defines it as "to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something)". labradorite eases transitions. this ring will serve as a reminder for all of those new resolutions you've made.

i am preparing to have my work in a new gallery at the start of february. these pieces really should be for that, but i never feel right about not sharing my new work with you guys. therefore, over the next month, i will list my new pieces in the etsy shop for a few days and if nobody snags them up, i will "un-list" them and save them for the gallery. fair enough?

sea of joy

2011-12-30T20:18:00.000-08:00

i am excited to introduce to you my new line, the sea of joy...

with these amazing mystery shells, blue sapphire, rainbow moonstone, and chalcedony

my old friend sam is a surfer. and he discovered these shells at a secret beach.

he thought i could use them in my jewelry.

he drove down this road.

across these salt flats, through the desert for 100 miles.

and there they were,

on this amazing beach

(i promised i would not reveal the name or location of this special place.)

and now they are here, in my jewelry...

the sea of joy ring, with shell and blue sapphire

you may think it's odd that i, living here in landlocked colorado, am making jewelry of the sea. but i long for the ocean in ways i cannot explain. the ocean does something for me that nothing else can. being at the beach takes me away like nothing else. and so these designs, similar to the tide will bring and tide will take pieces, are to take you away. to bring you the tranquility and the peace that the ocean and the beach bring to me.

the sea of joy necklace, with shell, rainbow moonstone, and faceted chalcedony

i love the barnacle-ish feel of these pieces.

and the earrings,

with small rivets included in the design

the shape of the shells forced me to try some new techniques and i very much enjoyed the process. these pieces will be in the shop shortly.

sam gave me the idea for the name of this line, based on this movie...

thank you SO much, sam.

i hope you like the pieces.

christmas!

2011-12-23T09:13:00.000-08:00

hello there! sorry i haven't posted in a while. things have been truly hectic around here.

we've got the house decorated,

the tree up, the presents wrapped, the stockings hung.

of course, i've had some help...

(the best christmas present EVER)

and someone is very excited about all of this.

the christmas orders are all shipped.

i have really enjoyed making all of my custom orders this year. there is something so wonderful about knowing that i am making special future heirlooms, personalized for families to treasure forever. i just love that.

i think this one was my favorite this year.

i've had a helper with all of this too, of course.

we've had junebug's winter program.

(glenn and i accompanied them.)

hazel's winter program,

and we, of course, have seen santa.

we had a party to celebrate the holidays in our "new" house.

(of course, olive and i have been skiing throughout all of this. my favorite local spot, boggy draw, is officially skiiable! i've been up there almost every day.)

and, thanks again to the truly amazing patty, we rode the polar express.

"grandma and grandpa" patty and larry (aka santa's brother)

times are truly joyous around here!

i hope that you all are enjoying your holiday season as well.

the girls, and glenn, have two full weeks off of school after christmas this year. i am so looking forward to some relaxing time at home, just enjoying each other. i also have ordered a LOT of new stones and i am really looking forward to making some new pieces for the new year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

sideshow!

2011-12-11T19:27:00.000-08:00

glenn and i played last night at the fabulous sideshow emporium here in dolores. it's an awesome gallery/vintage clothing store and she was having an opening.

incidentally, i was one of the artists featured in the opening.

i think heather did a beautiful job displaying my work and i now have a local place carrying it. very exciting!

such a great show!

2011-12-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

i do so love the show at the brewery.

it was a blast!

great people,

food, and music,

and shopping, of course. i did some great bartering; i got a handmade, felted-wool dog leash, 10 whole bars of the most fabulous soap, 20 lbs. of potatoes, and some great prints of my friend kat's photography.

and this was happening right outside the door...

these pieces were not snatched up, so i will be listing them in the etsy shop tomorrow:

a fantastic little grace ring

with a beautiful puffy chrysoprase

and this little peruvian opal ring

a grace necklace, with a gorgeous faceted chrysoprase

and a sister bracelet for the above ring

also, the fabulous rosie carter, who is the designer of my beautiful logo, has opened an etsy shop, the rural underground, with her amazing creations. please check it out here.

2011-12-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

before

after

these are some of the new pieces that i made this week for the annual show at the dolores river brewery tomorrow. (kyanite, moonstone, peruvian opal, chrysoprase, dendritic opal. swoooon.) i LOVE doing this show. remember last year? it is always so much fun; i am really looking forward to it!

olive has been out in the shop with me all week, helping out. she is such a delight to have out there with me. molly never really liked to be out there with me, and and she was so big there wasn't really much room for her.

this guy was also out there today. aren't they supposed to be good luck?

we are enjoying the start of december around here. there's a tiny bit of snow falling outside. the advent calendar is stocked.

we started a new tradition this year, in honor of the girls having their own rooms. they each got their own (pink, of course) christmas trees and we are working on decorating them.

and hazel's been rocking out.

i made a new flapper bracelet

2011-11-28T19:29:00.001-08:00

with the most gorgeous rainbow moonstone, labradorite, and prehnite

i really love making these, but they are very time consuming. this one in particular, as i have been making my own jump rings in an effort to cut down however i can on the amount of money i spend on silver these days. for this piece i constructed and soldered 30 jump rings. i made the toggle clasp as well. but these are my three very favorite stones (plus kyanite, of course) and i am swooning over the flow and the feel of this bracelet.

of course i couldn't truly capture the incredible blue flash of this moonstone. it is amazing.

you can find it here. i know it seems really expensive, but it truly was a labor of love. i know you understand, especially my fellow silversmiths. there is a 10% off sale in my shop right now, but, actually, i have been wanting to offer you, my dear readers, a 15% off coupon code, just in case. please use code BLOG15 until december 1st.

skiing! (with olive)

2011-11-25T21:00:00.000-08:00

the girls got to go spend the night with patty tonight, so glenn and i went and had a wonderful date. we went for a beautiful sunset ski at the fabulous trout lake trail and then had dinner in telluride.

see olive there? that's where she goes when she gets tired.

and if it's especially cold and windy...

so beautiful

it turns out, olive loves skiing! i read that pomeranians have been bred down from icelandic sled dogs. olive is mostly pomeranian.

this trail was groomed at the start of november, the earliest on record.

this was actually olive's fourth time skiing.

she's been twice with the girls

where she had more options if she got tired.

i am delighted that ski season has begun. i am desperately in love with olive. i am looking forward to many more skis with her, and with glenn, and with the girls.

oh, and did i mention how glad i am to be back?

thanksgiving

2011-11-25T08:48:00.000-08:00

(yes, here i am back at the old blog. i feel like i have put on a nice comfy pair of sneakers after prancing around in some high-heeled boots for a bit. sorry for dragging you back and forth, but i am back now. thanks for following me around.)

we had a really awesome thanksgiving yesterday. for the first time ever, it was just the four of us, in our home. and although we missed apple and poppy, it was lovely.

because we have issues with our oven (and just because it was cool) we cooked our turkey in the dutch oven.

and, we made pink whipped cream for our cherry-apple pie.

i am so very thankful for my amazing family,

and my beautiful new home

(more photos soon, i promise)

and the sweetest little olive

and how she has blended so seamlessly into our home.

i hope that you all had wonderful, grateful days yesterday as well!

(it's so good to be home...)

i have moved.

2011-09-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

hello there! i am writing to tell you that i am no longer here. if you are looking for me, you can now find me at my new home, silversparrowdesigns.com. it's very exciting over there, you should come check it out!

i love telluride!

2011-09-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

as i have told you, i've been doing the telluride farmers' market this summer. i have been doing it about every third week. it has been SO wonderful! not only has it been a full time job for me, working as much as i can in between shows to keep up my inventory because i practically sell out each time i go up there, but i have perfected the art of set up/take down, and i have really built up my confidence and skills as far as selling goes. i feel so much better about interacting with people and selling my work. it really is the type of thing that only gets easier with practice and i have had a lot of practice this summer. this weekend was the telluride film festival and the market was especially hoppin'. film stars and producers everywhere. (apparently jennifer garner and one of her daughters bought kettle corn from my dear neighbor.)

this is a design that does quite well in telluride, the three little stones on a ring, with matching earrings.

AND, check out my new banner! isn't it fabulous? a sandwich board is coming next. i feel so professional...

this was a big hit this week too. the "build your own charm necklace" option. ladies (and even men) had so much fun digging through the dishes and designing their pieces. i will be hard at work making lots more charms for the upcoming durango arts festival.

i also got some new displays. see the individual earring displays? and the larger ones that showcase the necklaces with the matching earrings? i love them.

and... this is bailey, my fabulous new apprentice! she is hammering stacking rings for me here. i have known her for years; we used to work at the bead store in durango together. she still lives in durango and will be coming over once a week to help me out in exchange for learning silversmithing skills. she has already taken some classes so she's quite proficient already. i just love her!

also, my friend doug is still working on the all new silversparrowdesigns.com. i am meeting with him tonight to work out some details. very exciting! stay tuned...

...until you take flight...

2011-08-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

it's been a while since i have done a post about my process. i was very excited about this bracelet so i took photos as i went. i am realizing that a bracelet is an excellent canvas for stories, for a progression. first i drew the above picture, to scale, ready to be glued onto silver.

i forgot to get a picture after i pierced out the birds, but here is the back, with the solder ready to go. it probably seems like a lot of solder, but it's necessary.

and here are the tiny little pieces that have to be soldered on separately.

here it is, all soldered.

this is the back.

then i hammered it on the mandrel to shape it.

then i heated it up to anneal it and hammered it some more. i repeated that process several times.

then i oxidized the entire piece, hand-buffed the raised areas, and...

the "until you take flight" bracelet.

this bracelet represents a progression, from a little bird who is resisting flying...

to a bird that is considering it, but hesitating...

to a bird that is poised and ready to go...

to a bird that has launched...

to one that is soaring...

...you never know how high you can soar until you take flight...

so where are you in this progression? are you resisting? do you have a reason for not wanting to fly? are you afraid? or are you considering flying, but just not sure if you're ready? or are you ready? ready, poised, but just need a little push, something to encourage you? or, have you launched? launched, but still nervous, flying low to the ground? or have you done it? have you made it through all of those stages and now you're really soaring? you finally made it?

photos!

2011-08-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

so it turns out the reason i couldn't post any photos was that i had reached my limit for my blogger account, which is 1000 photos! that really put it into perspective for me how much i've put into this here blog. pretty cool. i just love that i have this record of our lives and of my work, what a wonderful thing. anyway, i realized that i could go to my picasa web album and delete some to free up space here and that's what i did. so here are the first day of school pics.

i almost never dress them in matching clothes. but patty and i took the girls back to school shopping in nearby farmington and when i saw these dresses i had to have them. i think some family portraits may be in order soon as well. please note junebug's choice of footwear. and how freakin' TALL hazel is!

of course her blanket, "tinky", went with her.

she's so proud of her little first grade self.

and here is my new office! it is fabulous. the main framer, woody, told me today that they are almost finished framing!

this is the view if i am standing right outside the door to my shop. that big space there will be french doors leading out of our bedroom. above that is a big window that you can't see because of the tree. next summer glenn will build us a beautiful flagstone patio outside those doors. it will be so fabulous!

how's everybody doing? are your children back in school? what is the end of summer looking like for you?

first day of school!

2011-08-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

i am so bummed. blogger here will not let me upload ANY more photos, which means i cannot share any pictures from hazel and june's first day of school today. but believe me when i tell you it was pretty darn sweet.

i also cannot show you how the remodel is coming along. although i have been referring to the girls and i as renovation refugees, and doing anything i can to keep us out of the house while they are working, mostly because it is so LOUD all the time, when i climbed the ladder up into my new office today, i almost cried. it is going to be so amazing!

my good friend doug is working on getting my new site up and running and i will share the link with you very soon.

2011-08-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

several folks have asked about the renovation, so i thought i'd share some photos. (the weird thing is, i just got a message from blogger saying i have reached my limit; i can no longer upload photos to this blog. which is very interesting because i had just made up my mind to move to my silversparrowdesigns.com wordpress site. will you all follow me over there when i make the switch?)

anyway, here's the house after they tore down the mudroom.

they only just poured the concrete yesterday and this is what it looked like today when i got home.

that's our future bathroom.

and the future bedroom. it will be 15' x 20', 300 square feet. our bedroom right now is 12' x 13', which means we are doubling the size of our bedroom. it is hard to believe!

very exciting, we just cannot wait!!!

for your wrist...

2011-08-15T19:32:00.001-07:00

always when i do shows, people ask me about my bracelet, and want something similar. the durango arts festival is quickly approaching, so i thought i would start working on some. this is what i came up with so far:

this one is my favorite. emily had a fascinating wizard of oz pop-up book, by richard sabuda. the images in it were remarkable, and very inspiring. i had to create this bracelet. it is for all my wandering friends. the image is of the scarecrow, dorothy, and toto wandering through the forest, as it was the scarecrow, hoping for a brain, that dorothy met first.

on the back, i stamped a line of conor oberst's, "there's nothing that the road cannot heal." because what is the wizard of oz about if not being on the road? the yellow brick road is a symbol of everything wonderful about traveling- freedom, adventure, challenge, chance encounters, new friends, lessons... everyone on the journey got something so much greater than they ever expected out of it. it was never about the wizard after all.

this bracelet is heavy, comprised of many layers. i have a special connection to this piece, as my middle name is dorothy and wizard of oz/ kansas/ toto/ there's no place like home comments have followed me around most of my life.

this is the "raise your head high" bracelet. as a totem animal, an ostrich is said to help with grounding. this particular ostrich is struttin' her stuff, with her head held high and a sweet little moonstone soul. i like her as a reminder NOT to bury your head in the sand. to raise your head high and face the facts. to see the world as it really as, to not purposefully shelter yourself from the facts.

a beautiful fire opal accompanies her.

and the labradorite marquis magnificence bracelet,

with the very most incredible labradorite

it is simply gorgeous.

these will be in the shop tomorrow!

salt lake city

2011-08-13T19:09:00.001-07:00

so, in order to escape the intense chaos of the renovation, and to go visit the fantastic emily, and to see BRIGHT EYES, the girls and i headed to salt lake city for a few days.

it has been a while since i have driven a long distance with both of the girls without glenn. it was quite trying, but very worth it once we reached our destination.

i think the highlight of the trip for the girls was riding the "train" to the show. as you may have guessed, there is no public transportation in dolores.

emily's the best;

we love her.

i admit, it was an entirely different experience having the girls with me at a show. but when i saw that it was a free show, in a park, i figured i should give it a try. luckily, some random man saw us with them, told us to stay right where we were because he would be right back, and returned with a beach ball. i guess they had been giving them away earlier and we missed it. it is a good thing that he did because it kept them thoroughly entertained the whole time. they kept hitting people in the head and they would just laugh and toss the ball back to them. they danced a bit with me, read their books, played, etc. we had so much fun! of course, twice june had to go to the bathroom, during songs that i love. and we were pretty far back, where it was safe to lay out a blanket for us to sit on, not right up front, touching the stage like i usually am. and i really could really only half watch conor up there because i was keeping a constant eye on the girls. but it was great, and i am glad they were with me. i was very glad emily was with us too; she was a big help with them!

i have seen conor several times, but i have never seen him like this. he was ON. it was amazing! he is playing again next month in albuquerque and i think i will have to go (without the girls).

on friday, we went for a great hike, to donut falls. it was about 1.2 miles, and only took us 3 hours!

emily's kids, ella, sammy, and sadie, are so awesome.

and emily is hardcore!

(two on her back, one in the stroller.)

and then, after the hike, i went paragliding.

yep. i flew.

emily's husband, johnny, runs a paragliding business. that's him there in the back and i am in front. words cannot describe what it felt like.

i can't wait to try it again!

they live right down the road from point of the mountain, a world famous paragliding spot. people come from all of the world to train there. so cool.

THANK YOU so much, emily, for everything! we had such a great time with you!

unfortunately, we had a tragedy on this trip as well. we brought daisy with us, because we bring her everywhere with us. but we had never taken her on such long trip before. we didn't really think about it. but she didn't make it. she was in the way back of the element, where she always travels. the air conditioning was on, but i am afraid maybe it was still really hot back there. when we arrived, she seemed very disoriented. we put her in the shade, where it was quiet, away from the kids. but when we went back to check on her she was dead.

i think i was as devastated as hazel. but the interesting thing to me was it was the first time that she was truly inconsolable, about something real, and i don't mean that in a judgmental way, i just mean she wasn't crying because she didn't get her way, or because she wanted a toy that june had. she was truly heartbroken. and i felt that, and it was intense. it is cliche', but i felt her pain. and it made me realize that there is a lot more of that to come. and it scared me. i called vicky, the woman we got daisy from right away to see if she had any more babies. it just so happened that she had a litter that was ready to leave their mama today, so we stopped on our way home and picked out a new bunny. her father was the same as daisy's.

i am a bit smitten with little cleo. yes, it was my idea to call her that. short for cleopatra because she has these perfect rings around her eyes, like eyeliner. i loved daisy so much, and her death made me realize how fast things can change. but rather than spend too much time mourning the loss of her, i intend to put my energy into making sure this sweet little girl feels as happy and loved as daisy did.

i will be out in the shop all day tomorrow and i can't wait!

my "musical debut"

2011-08-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

remember last year when we went to the joe moore picker's reunion? well, we went again this weekend and it was wonderful. just so much fun. just like last year, the girls had a great time eating watermelon and watching everyone play music.

and this year, glenn convinced me to play on the stage with him. our band name was "bee's knees".

i was really nervous, but it turned out to be wonderful. here is a video of us playing her eyes dart round by, of course, the felice brothers.

i have had a very interesting realization this weekend. you know how i went through so much turmoil this winter? i struggled so much and couldn't understand how to move through it, or what i would find on the other side. well, it is finally clear to me. i had to move through that pain and reach a place of acceptance in order to come to this place of liberation that i now find myself in. i feel that, for the first time in my life, i am truly free to honestly be who i am, without fear of judgement or rejection. it is an amazing feeling and i am embracing it with everything i have. i think it is this newfound sense of freedom that gave me the courage to get up on that stage. it is this new belief in myself that allows me to do the shows that i have done this summer with my jewelry and to be so successful. i am proud to offer myself and my gifts to the world. i feel confident now and the world can take me or leave me, and i will be fine either way. it is a fantastic place to find myself in.

new pieces!

2011-08-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

yay! i finally completed some new pieces today. due to the remodel, there is considerable chaos around my house. it was great to finally have a full day out in the shop today, preparing for the telluride farmer's market tomorrow.

this is a custom piece with a gorgeous chrysoprase.

and another custom, memorial necklace, with a glorious faceted prehnite.

the "balance" ring,

with a beautiful chalcedony

a new "in the arms of buffalo bill" ring,

with a stunning turquoise cab that patty gave me for my birthday.

(i just might have to keep it...)

a new "without darkness" ring,

with prehnite with epidote

some new charm necklaces

and new pmc pieces

i will be listing some of these in my shop, but please feel free to contact me if anything grabs you; i can reserve it for you!

and here's what's happening with the remodel...

here you can see the "mudroom", which has served as my sewing room, an office, junebug's nursery when she was tiny, a toy room, and a room for the dogs. when they dug down, it became clear that the foundation was rotted through and they are tearing it down tomorrow. oh dear.

(when i said i wanted a second bathroom this wasn't really what i had in mind.)

pouring the concrete for the new porch

molly loves all the trenches and is just digging to her heart's content.

ten years

2011-08-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

ten years ago today i married the man i love in a beautiful mountain meadow.

it poured throughout the entire ceremony.

(good luck, right?)

and my beloved, dearly departed, miles was our ring bearer.

last night, to celebrate and remind each other of our love, we returned to that meadow. and although our love has grown and changed and been tested and confirmed over and over again, it was comforting that that meadow seemed much the same.

for dinner we went to the restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner.

it doesn't look like much from the outside, but believe me, it is fabulous. we thought we couldn't really afford to have dinner there but we would just have a beer and an appetizer and go somewhere else for dinner. however, we discovered it was $5 burger night and everything was perfect. the waiter even brought us a free piece of deliciously decadent raspberry cheesecake for dessert.

i am so extremely lucky and infinitely grateful to have this man in my life.

p.s. glenn has actually planned a very special anniversary trip for us, but it will happen in late september. we are going to float the lower san juan river, just the two of us (glenn's lovely folks are coming to stay with the girls), in duckies, with a guide to show us all of the best hikes, cook all of our food, deal with the boats, set up camp, etc!

casting!

2011-07-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

i know you are probably starting to think that i will never post photos of new jewelry that i have made ever again. you think i am too busy camping and going to see music to make jewelry. that's not true! in fact, i will be out in the shop all day tomorrow and also sunday. although, i may be spending that time fiddling around with all my new casting equipment! yippee! patty and i drove all the way to albuquerque and back yesterday to buy it. i am so excited. i have almost everything i need to start casting.

patty is the greatest.

here she is with bill, the man i bought everything from. he was so nice and told me to call him or skype him anytime i have questions about any of this stuff. he is also a lapidary artist and had samples of turquoise from all of the american mines. patty was in heaven. she bought some cabs from him as well. i think i will be making a ring with one of them tomorrow.

so, from bill i purchased practically everything i need to start doing all of my own casting, which is something i have wanted to do ever since i took my silversmithing course in high school (during which i cast a solid sterling silver dancing bear that was about 2" high. i carried it around in my pocket forever.) i got TONS of wax, i got casting flasks, flask bases, a vacuum pump and a bell jar, an investment table, a wax injector, a digital wax pen with various tips, wax carving hand tools, a casting torch as well as a small smith torch, draw plates and a bunch of other stuff, some of which i cannot identify at this point. i have so much to learn. the only two things i still need are a small air compressor and a small burnout kiln (which patty thinks she has already found on craigslist). and, i will most likely need to figure out a way to enlarge my shop, as there is no room for all of this wonderful stuff in there.

however, the very coolest thing that i got is this. a casting machine made in 1916! it is so freakin' cool.

i know it will be a process, but i am so excited to get started with it. i can't wait to learn this new technique. the possibilities are endless...

and, since we were in albuquerque already, we also decided to take a little field trip to rio grande, where i order much of my silver and supplies from. it was fun. they even have a closeout section, where you can buy lots of tools and equipment ridiculously cheap. it was fun to place my order there and have them hand it to me rather than order by phone and pay for shipping.

telluride and deer tick

2011-07-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

as a sort of last hurrah for the summer (glenn goes back to work on monday), we took the camper up to telluride and camped for five days. we got a spot in the town park campground, right in town, so we could walk everywhere. we had so much fun! and i did the farmer's market on friday which was lovely as always.

of course we rode the gondola, at sunset no less.

and of course daisy came along. we brought just the top half of her cage and moved her around the campsite the whole time, so she continually had fresh dandelions and grass and clover to graze. she was in heaven.

even glenn is entirely smitten with her. he says she is the coolest pet we've ever had.

we colored and played games in the camper.

(see the new curtains? joel dewberry)

my dear friend erik was camped in town park as well. friday night we even had a little impromptu party at our site. lots of friends, old and new were there. we had beer, we played music and there was even a bit of vending because some folks from the campground wanted to check out my jewelry. unfortunately i didn't get any photos of what came to be called "lil' loafer fest 2011" because i was too busy hocking my wares, like a peddler with her trench coat open.

lily was quite the hit in the campground. everyone wanted to check her out.

(note the nearly finished buffing job, the new jack, and the new paint on the wheels and the tongue, not to mention the freshly applied logo.)

my sweeties

and then there was deer tick. hazel made me a tattoo.

it was fabulous. john mccauley is an absolute badass. there were a lot of folks from dolores there and it was so much fun.

here's a video i took. i am starting to like this whole youtube thing.

and, VERY exciting news. glenn and i closed yesterday on a renovation loan for our house. we have lived here for almost ten years and we have outgrown it. (we live in a sweet little two bedroom, one bath home built in 1914.) we will be adding on a master bed/bathroom with a spiral staircase that leads to an office just for me. plus, all new siding on the outside, all new windows in the whole house, and possibly a new front porch. it will be amazing! we are SO excited!

and, in other exciting news, the oh-so-amazingly-fabulous patty has done it again. she found some guy in albuquerque who is selling his antique casting equipment and we are heading down there tomorrow to pick it up! i can't wait to try it out!

blind pilot part 2

2011-07-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

so glenn and i had a fabulous date this week. the ever-fabulous patty had the girls over for a sleepover and glenn and i headed to telluride for an overnight.

monday night we went and saw blind pilot (again). this show was spectacular! the sheridan opera house is such an amazing little venue. it is very old and tiny and wonderful. it is a perfect place to see blind pilot; we saw them year two years ago as well.

we car camped that night and woke up here.

delightful.

we went for a great hike.

but we didn't quite get an early enough start (i sort of like to lounge in the morning when i am camping, drink my coffee, hang out, ya know? glenn is the go-getter and kept encouraging me to get a move on, but oh, well) and the afternoon showers go the best of us.

the wildflowers were fabulous,

a cacophony of color.

even the pinecones were purple.

the reddish peak in the front here, cross mountain, is the one we were supposed to summit.

i am going to leave you with my very first youtube video ever, of blind pilot doing an acoustic version of three rounds and a sound. it was pure magic. and, just as i asked him to when i spoke to him in santa fe, israel dedicated it to my friends doug and casie who were at the show.

we are now heading back up to telluride again. (we've been there a lot this summer.) i am doing the farmer's market on friday and we are staying through the weekend because the deer tick show is monday night! i cannot wait. they will also be playing at the opera house. and, we are bringing lily, who is looking so great. you will hardly recognize her when next you see her.

santa fe

2011-07-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

oh, what a wonderful time i had.

this was my little camp. after deciding not to bring lily, (yes, she is definitely called lily) i packed the tent. however, when i arrived and went to set it up, i realized i had neglected to bring the poles. however, i must have anticipated that i might do something like that because i put the futon mattress in the back of the car, which makes a terrifically comfy bed. i spent a lot of time here, lounging around reading this book. (have you read it? amazing!) i also chose a campground with a pool, which was totally luxurious.

i went for several lovely bike rides. one on thursday night, all through the streets of santa fe, and a couple of great trail rides as well.

i drank some very delicious beer.

(have i mentioned that i am an IPA kind of girl?)

and, of course, saw some really great music. mountain man opened for blind pilot. you may remember them from when they opened for the decemberists in february. they truly are amazing, just beautiful vocals.

there was a really intense fire happening.

israel was checking it out while he tuned his guitar.

i LOVE blind pilot and will be seeing them again tonight, in telluride, with glenn.

remember last time i saw them in telluride? they are such sweet people and i had the opportunity to talk with them again. israel said he keeps the pick i made for him in his guitar case.

also, because he knows how much i miss everybody, glenn always send me lots of pictures of the girls to my phone while i am away. i thought i would share them with you:

i was recently talking with an acquaintance about my solo trips. she was saying how there must be something wrong with her because she could never take a trip by herself. she said that she had grown up very close with her family and was always with somebody. she got married very young and was pretty much never alone. i explained to her that i wasn't ever particularly close with my family, that i often felt like an outsider and i have always appreciated being by myself. i told her there was nothing wrong or right with either of us. just different strokes for different folks. i know i keep saying it, but words cannot express how much these trips mean to me, what they do for me. it is truly remarkable.

also, hazel lost her first tooth!

and daisy has completely settled into our little family. although we are still working on the litter box training, she is often allowed to hop around the house to her little heart's delight. recently, once she has finished exploring, she hops right up onto the couch with us and just stretches out and relaxes. all of hazel's little bunny books say that a rabbit who is laying like this is completely content and comfortable. that makes me so happy! she is just the sweetest little thing.

echo basin

2011-07-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

we camped here this weekend. at the top of echo basin road, at the base of hesperus mountain. so beautiful! by all reasoning, the camper should not have made it up that high. but we were meeting our dear friends dan, rachel, col and rose up there so we persevered and now we know that louellen (lily?) is a total badass.

our dutch oven meal for this trip was an amazing italian dish with sausage, noodles, zucchini, onion, lots of cheese, sauce and wild mountain chives. with a side of garlic bread thank you very much.

we love the camper! when the girls climbed down from their nest, they snuggled me for a bit.

this was the view out the window.

hazel took this picture.

june took this one.

this australian shepherd (which hazel named "hearts") was our companion all weekend. she had one solitary sheep that she was responsible for. we thought she had been abandoned and she seemed starving, so we spoiled her a bit, only to discover that she was playing us all along.

daisy came along.

and molly! we haven't had room for her to come with us lately, but now with the camper, she gets to come. she can't go too far anymore, but she loves to be up there with us.

oh how i love where i live!

i've been working hard on the camper. she is starting to look so great. here i am buffing off the old paint and giving the aluminum a nice brushed finish, just like my silver. i am using an attachment for my drill that is just like what i use to buff my silver.

and here i am riveting a "patch" on, to cover up a particularly ugly spot.

i am getting very excited for my little trip this week. i leave for santa fe on thursday. i was planning to bring lily (okay, yes, i think it's lily.) and was really looking forward to it. however, i have spent so much money buying her and getting her road ready that now i can barely afford to go at all! i realized today that my little car uses about TWICE as much gas when it is pulling the camper than it does when it is not. pretty crazy. so, i think that i am just going to take my car and a tent. oh, well. next time. it will still be fabulous and i can't wait. i am bringing my mountain bike and also plan to do some hiking, as well as check out the galleries, which i really haven't been able to do during my last two visits.

i have to say i have been kind of enjoying taking a break from etsy and even from my studio. it has been so wonderful to be able to camp so often, and to work in the garden (we had our first salad tonight made strictly from the garden) and to swim in the river and to ride our bikes. summer has just been flying by so fast and i am determined to spend what's left of it outside and with my kids. so i apologize for the lack of new stuff, but it will come, i promise.

true blue balance and a path

2011-07-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

i made some more new pieces this week. it is soooooooo hot here all of a sudden, so it is very difficult to be out in my shop during the daytime; i have to work at night after the sun has gone down and the kids are in bed. (the money that was supposed to buy me a swamp cooler for the studio bought the camper instead.)

a new "may peace reveal a path" ring

this just might be the most incredible crazy lace agate i have ever seen. check out that perfect bull's eye at the top, right where that path leads...

the colors and patterns are just amazing.

and i love the size and shape.

a "balance" ring,

with a gorgeous pale high dome periwinkle chalcedony

a "true blue" ring,

with a deep blue apatite. yum.

and a "rustic nuance" anklet,

with aquamarine

i hand-forged and hammered each link.

this is such a funny shot. try taking a picture of your ankle sometime; it is not easy!

also, june finally got the hang of riding her tricycle! she is so proud of herself.

so sweet.

and today we went to the municipal pool to cool off.

the girls had so much fun.

tomorrow we will camp again with the camper. maggie (whose brother i bought her from) thinks the camper ought to be called "lily" instead of louellen because she's a "lil' loafer". what do you think? i think i like it; i may have to change her name... harvey, a local welder who attached the trailer hitch for me, also got the wiring done for me yesterday so the brake lights/ turn signals work. i got a jack with a wheel that is mounted on the front of the camper so that i can actually hook and unhook her to and from the car all by myself. maggie helped me make new cushions for her and i have ordered the fabric for the curtains, which i will make next week. i have also started buffing the outside. i am thinking i want her to have a sort of matte look as opposed to shiny, like my silver. i will share photos soon.

i leave next thursday for santa fe. blind pilot is playing there and i am going to take the camper for a couple of days by myself. i am really looking forward to it! now if i can only get the hang of backing up with the camper...

custom rugged wedding band and a great weekend

2011-07-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

a friend wanted the perfect wedding band for her soon-to-be husband, complete with their local mountain range, the la plata mountains.

this is what i came up with; i am now offering it in my shop as the custom "rugged" wedding band (as opposed to the custom "rustic" wedding band). folks can send me images of their mountains and i will put them on a ring.

when i first showed glenn, he was able to name each of the peaks in the range.

this is the actual range.

we gave her a very thorough cleaning and then we took the camper out for her first trip right away on sunday. it was awesome!

we made a delicious dutch oven breakfast with potatoes, eggs, sausage, cheese, and green chili

and ate it inside.

we also had our first swim of the season in the river. it is the perfect way to refresh on these super hot afternoons.

i hope you all had a good weekend as well!

introducing... louellen the lil' loafer

2011-07-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

after doing the telluride farmer's market again yesterday, i drove the rest of the way up to montrose to buy my "new" camper! a 1963 aristocrat lil' loafer.

here she is, in front of the home of the lovely couple i bought her from.

she needs a lot of work, that's for sure.

but i only paid $400 for her!

the icebox

the sink

the stove/ oven

hazel and june are thrilled!

i can't wait to make new curtains and cushions. these fold down into a bed. there is also an "upstairs" bed for the girls.

this light still runs on gas; the others have been converted to electric.

please consider these the "before" photos. this will be such a wonderful project and i can't wait to see her transform. in addition to the cushions and curtains and other small repairs inside, i will most likely paint the interior. i've purchased a little buffer for glenn; he is going to bring the exterior aluminum back to a shine. i think we may actually take her camping tomorrow night!

girl time

2011-06-28T20:31:00.001-07:00

so glenn's been gone for the past three days, on a backpacking trip. the girls and i have had a lot of fun. among other things, we hung out at the river in durango, went and saw the new cars movie, went swimming, had picnics, and played in a tub in the yard. (if that looks familiar to you, it's because that's where the baby chicks were living. is that considered "repurposing"?)

glenn went and climbed five mountains in three days. my good friend shannon commented that just as i can't just go see one concert like a normal person, i have to follow the band around the west; glenn can't just go climb one mountain; he has to climb five.

finally!

2011-06-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

some new pieces for you...

the "just let it go" necklace

with a fabulous laguna agate

whatever it is that is weighing you down. you don't need it. it is only hurting you. shed it. just let it go. be peaceful and easy like the soft soothing colors of this stone.

(EDIT: i am just looking at this and realizing i look quite haggard in this photo! i guess i should tell you that i didn't sleep very well the past two nights. little daisy was partying all night in her cage in the tent...)

the "may peace reveal a path" necklace

with a really beautiful crazy lace agate

sometimes, if you can just be still, just find some peace for yourself, even for a few moments, a path will be revealed for you. a new path has recently been revealed to me! more on that in a minute...

a new resolve ring

with a fabulous flash

a strength ring

with a wonderful high dome turquoise

a pair of refrain earrings

with beautiful prehnite trios...

cascading from your ears...

and another with aquamarine and amethyst

and, we had a wonderful time camping in telluride this week. i did the farmer's market again yesterday so we all camped up there thursday and last night. it was great.

daisy (ahem) came with us.

we bought her a little leash with a harness and she had herself a fantastic time.

sweet little ellie still needs a home

(before junebug loves her to death)

and molly and daisy are getting acquainted.

now, back to my new path? so, lately i've been feeling super restless, unsettled. as i've mentioned quite frequently, my little trips to go see music have been a lifeline for me this last year. but they have also rekindled my wanderlust. prior to being married and having children, i traveled quite a bit, to see music, and just to go. doing the shows that i have done this summer has made me realize that i have inadvertently created a lifestyle for myself where i can travel, not just for fun, but for work. i know that a lot of people do not like doing shows, but me? i love them. and i've realized that i want to do more of them. i want to incorporate traveling to shows into my business, into my life. up until now, i haven't really done that very much. and the main reason is space. i simply cannot fit all of the things that i need to do a show into the car along with the family and all of our own stuff.

so last week i had a moment of peace and clarity and realized that the next step for me in my life was to find a little travel trailer so that i could start doing more shows. that way we wouldn't have to stay in hotels and we could cook all of our food, save on all of the expenses that add up when i do them now. we can choose locations where we'd like to go as a family anyway and plan trips around art shows. it makes perfect sense.

so then, as always happens when i am on the right path, a fabulous thing happened. i went to the post office and ran into an old friend who also works hard to manifest her life. i was telling her all of this and she got this really funny look on her face. she told me that her brother had just offered to sell her his trailer for a ridiculously cheap price. i called him. we talked. he lives about two hours away; he is sending me photos in the morning and i am going to buy one of these next week...

i cannot wait to see what adventures await us!

today

2011-06-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

i made this necklace today, in honor of our recent trip to the beach

with the most fabulous ocean jasper;

it looks like the surf coming in...

and this here is a custom belt buckle that i made for a friend,

for his brother's 40th birthday.

in other news, the garden is doing very well. the nights are still pretty cold here, so things happen rather slowly, but growth is happening. of course, i made the genius move of covering the garden with straw that happens to be grass seed. so i have essentially planted grass in all of my garden beds...

potatoes

lettuce

strawberry!

tomato

as far as the kittens go, i have found a home for two of them. ellis (gray stripes) and elmer (orange) will go to their new home (together!) tomorrow. little ellie will stay with us until somebody claims her.

i apologize for not having more pieces for the shop. i guess for the time being i am focusing on summer shows, which is a lot of fun. i promise i will have new pieces for you soon!

great weekend

2011-06-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

i had a really fantastic day in telluride on friday! it was such a lovely market and it was so much fun to be a part of it. and, it was a great success. the coordinator has even invited back for the next two fridays at least. even though this means i will be very busy, it's wonderful thing.

glen came up with me to help me set up/ break down. he got to hike and listen to music in between. the magnificent patty had the girls.

now i need to get busy making stuff for this friday!

then on saturday we had hazel's birthday party at the park in town. she requested that the girls come dressed as princesses, the boys as princes.

happy birthday, dear one.

i hope that you all had great weekends as well!

happy birthday, hazel!

2011-06-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

hazel turned 6 yesterday. it is nearly impossible for me to conceive. she is such a grown up little lady all of a sudden. (look at her little legs crossed.) so smart and witty and responsible and sweet. i adore her more everyday, as she blossoms into this amazing person right before my eyes. oh, how wonderful she is.

her birthday party is this saturday, a princess party. these shoes were a must. (wait until you see the entire outfit.)

she was made to cover her eyes while i retrieved her special gift.

here is little daisy, the newest member of our family. she will be an indoor bunny, litter box trained, though we will also get her an outdoor hutch. last night the girls slept on the floor next to her cage. hazel is so sweet and good with her. junebug? well, let's just say that she is a bit aggressive with her affection and we need to work on that.

4 weeks old and as sweet as can be.

she made fast friends with ellie.

until ellie got a bit rough.

we went to our "beach" for a birthday picnic lunch.

june had a blast.

this little bunny doesn't know how lucky she is. i can't wait to watch the relationship between she and hazel as it unfolds over the years. so special.

what a fabulous trip!

2011-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

i just cannot tell you what a wonderful time we had...

yes, it was a looong drive. (about 13 hours each way)

but sooooooo worth it!

this place is incredible.

our lovely camp...

and the path that led to the beach.

"jumping the waves" was the favorite beach activity.

the awesome camp cook in action

lots of critters at this beach too...

i think he was some kind of heron.

the pelicans were spectacular.

oh, hello dolphins!

seagulls mingling with ravens...

and the sweetest seal.

and i was, of course, so very inspired by the amazing, foreign, gifts of the seascape.

it was simply wonderful. the ocean always brings me such clarity. i can sit there and all of a sudden things make so much sense to me. because it was my birthday, and because he's fabulous, glenn allowed me wonderful, long, solo walks on the beach. nothing else in this world brings me the peace that walking on the beach does. it was amazing. we have vowed to return to this spot every summer until we die.

we camped at a KOA in needles, california on the way home.

beach refugees in the desert

winner!

2011-06-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

and the winner is... katarzyna!

please e-mail me with your mailing address, m'dear.

thank you all so very much for entering the giveaway. it was so wonderful to read what all of you are grateful for. family and love were the most common, which is beautiful. i really appreciate all of you sharing!

we had an amazing vacation; i will be telling you all about it tomorrow. i am now going to list some new pieces in the shop, items that didn't sell at the show.

off to the beach!

2011-06-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

(photo courtesy of curtiss photography)

we are leaving tomorrow for the beach!!! i can hardly wait! we still have a few things to finish up in the morning but we will be on our way by early afternoon. this photo was taken at el capitan state beach, where we will be camping. it's about 17 miles north of santa barbara. it will be fabulous.

the river fest yesterday was lovely. it was a successful day and i had a great time catching up with a lot of the awesome people that live in my wonderful little town. unfortunately, i did not take any photos for you guys. i apologize.

also, i have been invited to participate in the telluride farmers' market! that might not seem like much, but it is a very great market, and quite competitive for artisans. telluride is a very beautiful and wealthy community; i've heard really wonderful things about selling there. and, my first one will be the weekend of the telluride bluegrass festival! many thousands of people come to telluride for this festival. the decemberists and mumford & sons are playing there this year. (which is probably why it SOLD OUT before i got my tickets!) i anticipate that it will be a very busy day for me. which is why i need to rest up and relax on the beach this week and be ready to work hard when i return!

i have put my etsy shop in to vacation mode and i am not even bringing my computer with me on this trip. aaaaahhhhh.....

see you on sunday, when i announce the winner of the giveaway!

glistening golden gratitude giveaway!

2011-06-03T22:11:00.001-07:00

next friday, june 10th, is my birthday. because i am so very grateful for all of you, i would like to give you a present for my birthday. i am offering this necklace to you:

beautiful golden labradorite

with love

to enter:

1. leave a comment telling me something you are grateful for.

2. become a follower of the blog in the sidebar. (leave a comment telling me you did so.)

3. like my facebook business page in the sidebar and leave a comment on the page.

4. encourage your friends to do the same. maybe share a link to my giveaway on your blog? if they leave a comment saying you recommended it, i will enter your name again.

thank you all so very much! i never forget for a moment that i could not do this without you. deadline for entering is next saturday, june 11th and i will announce the winner next sunday, june 12th.

more pieces for the show

2011-06-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

now that most of the work is done, (i still have stacking rings and spirals to finish tomorrow) i am excited for the show. it will be a lot of fun to just hang out, listen to music, and see a lot of folks i never get to see. wish me luck!

animal planet, dolores edition

2011-05-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

it's been very interesting in my yard lately. there are all sorts of fascinating new dynamics, a new chain of command.

i am busy trying to keep the chickens from eating the plants,

the cats from eating the chickens,

and molly from eating the kittens...

it's a bit stressful.

(the girls have named the kitties ellis, ellie, and elmer.)

and, can you keep a secret? the main reason we are not keeping a kitten (aside from the fact that we already have two cats) is that hazel is getting a bunny for her upcoming birthday! if you know hazel, you know that she is obsessed with bunnies. well somehow glenn came up with the decision that she could get a bunny of her very own when she turned eight. apparently, all year at school all she ever wrote about was bunnies and how she could get one when she was eight. so recently when glenn saw hazel's teacher she said "shame on you for not letting hazel have a bunny." and it worked. glenn decided that hazel should be allowed to have a bunny now. we will be surprising her on her birthday on june 14th and i can hardly wait. here she is:

the future "daisy", for that is what hazel always says she will call her bunny.

patty put an ad on craigslist for me, saying i was looking for a baby bunny that would be ready to leave its mama around june 14th. the woman who is holding this little dear responded. she raises bunnies for meat and said she didn't see why they couldn't be pets. (i know, tragic, right? we're saving her from certain death.) she told me to come over and pick one out so she could be sure to handle it a lot and prepare it for life as a pet. i went over there yesterday and this is the little one i picked. she is a rex rabbit, known for being very soft and very intelligent. i absolutely cannot wait to give her to hazel. she is going to freak out. today i went and got the cage and all of the accessories for her. how fun. it will be a "house rabbit" and we will litter box train it; i did this with the pet rabbit i had in my classroom when i was a teacher. she will also have a hutch outside.

there are also lots of beautiful things growing in my yard right now.

this is an iris from a bulb that i planted seven years ago.

they have never come up until now.

columbines

and the lilacs are smelling fabulous.

okay, and here's the food i am growing this year:

peas

tomatoes

(yes, i planted them too close together. glenn and i are building a new bed and i will split them up tomorrow.)

eggplant

squash

cilantro

basil

cantaloupe

and strawberries.

i've also got potatoes, onions, green onions, peppers, cucumber, brussel sprouts, lettuce, mixed greens, chard, and carrots in the ground. so exciting! what are you growing?

and i hope that there is something in your life right now that brings you this much joy.