your muchiest muchness

i saw the 3-d alice in wonderland last night. the movie was very colorful and beautiful and visually stimulating. in addition to that, i love the hatter. LOVE him. it's not just because i love johnny depp (who, by the way has now redeemed himself, in my eyes, after his jack sparrow role) i couldn't get all of the imagery out of my head. i even dreamt about possible necklace designs to represent it.

when alice isn’t quite exhibiting the gumption that the hatter wishes she was, he tells her, “you were much muchier before. you’ve lost your muchness.” it was my favorite part of the movie. what a wonderful way to say that. it really struck me. so, i told my mother that i would lose my mind (if not my head) if i did not get out to my shop today. i made this:

i looked it up; “muchness” is a real word. it means “greatness, as in quantity, measure, or degree”. this necklace is to celebrate your muchness, your courage, your acumen, your spirit, your sagacity, your (as my dad would say) stick-to-it-ive-ness. it's for when you need to remind yourself that you can do it; you have what it takes. you are you and you have reached this point in your life for a reason and you are the only one who can get you through it.

it is made up of two layers of thick sterling sheet. i have bezel set four stones~ a citrine, a prehnite, a blue chalcedony, and an amethyst. i put a dotted spiral on the bottom and ruffled the edges of the silver. the bail is made of a bead wire. it has sort of a tattered and torn look, like the hatter himself.

on the back, it says “you mustn’t lose your muchness...” instead of my usual raindrop with a sparrow and my initials, i put a sweet little hat with a spiral heart.

the chain is very mad. one side is comprised of handmade sterling silver links with austrian crystal, whiskey quartz, artisan glass, labradorite, and amethyst mixed in with a large textured chain. the other side is a pair of link chains, one textured, one not. it is finished with a figure eight clasp and an artisan glass bead drop. it is adjustable from 18” to 20”.

i am on my way to list it in the shop now. in other news, unfortunately, my tattoo appointment has been postponed. apparently nic is quite ill. it was supposed to be on tuesday and now it will not be until next thursday the 18th.

i am sad. it does mean that i will be able to get out to the shop on tuesday though.

a day in durango

it is so great having my folks here! we had a lovely day today in durango. we walked on the river path; it was so warm and sunny. we walked around downtown and we went out to dinner.

(check out junebug's clever transport mode for her baby.)

it's sort of a tradition for my mom and i to color my hair when she's here. last night we did some reddish highlights. (or do you call them lowlights?)

and... mom and dad took the girls home so that glenn and i could stay in durango and go see alice in wonderland, the 3-d version.

it was lovely. it, of course, inspired a necklace that i can hardly wait to make! i will be in the shop for a couple of hours tomorrow, but probably won't get to create it yet.

i usually go out to the shop all day sunday, most of the day tuesday, wednesday night, and all day friday. last tuesday was glenn's personal day when we went to telluride, so i didn't get out to the shop then. wednesday night we went out with some friends to celebrate glenn's promotion so i didn't get out to the shop then. friday glenn had to work although he usually has fridays off, so i didn't get out to the shop then. tomorrow my parents are here, so i won't get out to the shop then (except to make a couple of orders). and tuesday, i am getting my tattoo (!!!!), so i won't get out to the shop then. i am going crazy! i really really NEED to get out there! soon....

their glasses are not quite as cool as glenn's and mine, but they do have pigtails.

the deer and elk aren't the only ones in town

so these guys were running through town yesterday...

i do not think i am savvy enough to make a turkey necklace that is actually aesthetically pleasing. sorry little guys. (i do think you are cute.)

my parents are coming to to town today! it will be great to see them but it also means no studio time, so unfortunately, i will not have any new pieces for you this week. but next week i sure will. i've got a belt buckle in the works, a new elk necklace, and several rings...

have a fabulous weekend!

great date, great news!

glenn took a personal day today so that we could have a ski date together. it was fabulous! we went to telluride, where the skiing is still perfect.

glenn was happy

i was happy

a perfect pair of tracks

for lovers

join us for a glimpse, if you'd like:

and, for the good news... glenn just today found out that he got a HUGE promotion! for those of you who don't know, glenn is currently a 7th grade science teacher. he just got moved up into an administrative position. starting thursday, he will be the new athletic director/ vice principle. obviously, this is a huge deal for our family. among other things, it means a significant pay raise.

glenn and i have been discussing this at length for a while. the move from teacher to administrator is a big one. glenn has worked really hard during his time at his school and it is awesome that this is being recognized. i am so very proud of him! while he is sad to be leaving the classroom and his students, he is very excited to move on to something new and challenging. as my grandmother (a long-time teacher) said when i told her about this, "they always take the good teachers and make them administrators."

one big impact this will have on my business is that it will free me up a bit. right now, we depend pretty heavily on my etsy income to pay for bills and groceries. now, with his increased income, i can move away from doing custom/ made to order items and focus on the one-of-a-kind pieces that i really want to be doing. i am thrilled. it also means that i will be able to invest the money i make from my business back into my business. specifically, it means that i may be able to build myself a new studio... with ventilation and a floor and real wiring... but i get ahead of myself...

yay for glenn!

the last guitar pick

now that i am officially taking a hiatus from making guitar picks, it seems only fitting that the last one that i made was a gift for a dear friend, erik nordstrom.

here he is with the pick last weekend at the beautiful losers show in dolores. you cannot see what it printed on the pick, but it says "LCK", which is short for erik's band, the lawn chair kings. (who, incidentally, played at our wedding)

chuck barry and the beautiful losers

our rock stars don't wear shoes...

this night was also a "mom's night out". we had a blast!

kelly and tamara

steph and erika

shannon and gabby

introducing... william

this here is william. a sweet little fawn, so pure and innocent. even though it has been almost a year since the album came out, this piece is actually inspired by the decemberists' album the hazards of love. in case you do not know the story behind the album, part of it is that margaret falls in love with william, who can turn into a fawn.

most of the story takes place in the forest, hence the tree, and references are made to various flowers, including the columbine, which i included in the form of a lantern bloom on the chain.

for this album, shara worden of the band my brightest diamond joined the decemberists. she sings the part of william's mother, who is the (badass) queen of the forest. in a song she sang a couple years before the hazards of love, she says this:

he is going to be hard for me to part with...

i also made his brother...

this necklace is called "like the glimmer of the fawn...

there is something about a fawn-- so angelic, pristine, wide-eyed and radiant...

so elusive and shy. if you are lucky enough to catch a glimmer of one, it stays with you, imbuing you with some of those qualities, even if only for an instant.

i also didn't want the sweet deer in town to feel like they were getting slighted and i was only making jewelry to pay homage to their big cousins. speaking of which, cinder is the winner of the elk search contest! yay! congratulations! the answers were photo #1 - three elk, photo #2 - one elk, photo #3 three elk, photo #4- four elk. please e-mail me, silversparrowdesigns@gmail.com, to tell me what size you would like your earrings to be and to give me your address!

pay it forward...

as you know, my entire silversmithing endeavor was made possible by the generosity of others. i recently did a trade with steph from endangered creations. i gave her a ring and a pair of earrings, and she gave me a LOT of cabochons. when they arrived, many of them really spoke to me. i've already used 3 of them this week. but many of them did not and i wanted to pass them on. so i gave them to dear susie, a constant support on this here blog. today, she posted this on her blog. i am so very touched. and you, susie, are so very welcome!

p.s. i've been really really really trying to manifest the selling of more of my one-of-a-kind pieces and less guitar picks. i think it is happening! the raven bracelet sold instantly. right after that, i sold the growth belt buckle at the gallery. then the elk necklace sold right away. last night, i listed three items and by this morning, two of them had sold. i think it is happening. i had two more sales today after that. etsy got rid of the gift guides, which were the main reason i was selling so dang many guitar picks anyway. today, i took the guitar picks out of my shop. wish me luck.

p.p.s coming soon... a fawn, a heron, and an owl...