a tribute to hazel on her birthday

happy birthday, beautiful girl!

wishes

today i made the "wishing well" necklace. i used to think that wishing was a pretty passive way to go about getting what you want. i was certain that there were other, much more effective ways, like intending and visualizing and manifesting. but it occurred to me that wishing is the first step; it is what kick-starts those other actions, which in turn bring about what you hope for. so this here is my little tribute to wishing. you can carry around with you, close to your heart, not only your own personal wishing well, but the penny to throw into it!

with apatite

and 36 little "cobbles", forming the well.

oh, and, what's this? your own little (very) shiny lucky penny on the back!

and, i made the "in the riverbed" necklace...

"take a look at your natural river. what are you? stop playing games with yourself. where's your river going? are you riding with it? or are you rowing against it? don't you see that there is no effort if you're riding with your river?" ~ carl frieseke

just like the riverbank, from the riverbed, you can watch the river. see the current for what it is. watch the waves and the flow, without being caught up in it, resting there at the bottom of the river. the direction and the movement are so much more clear when you are not moving along with it. it is peaceful and serene.

and another "rustic nuance" bracelet, in aquamarine

yesterday, we celebrated hazel's birthday (although it is actually tomorrow)! it was great...

(this one's for you, kathy)

hazel is a bit obsessed with the littlest pet shop, so that was the theme. here are the cupcakes we made for the party.

here's the birthday girl (with her new necklace)

with june and kianna

this is hazel's "boyfriend", evan.

with flora and annabel

steph & john

anxiously awaiting cupcakes

the dads

henry

we leave town this friday for our big month-long road trip, so i have a lot to do this week. hopefully i will have a few more new pieces for you before i go, but i cannot say for sure.

p.s. this song that is playing, the first one, "20 miles" by deer tick, is my new favorite; i cannot stop listening to it! (their new album came out last week. it's pretty dark, but it is growing on me.)

winner!

and the winner is... lolamichelle! please contact me via e-mail, silversparrowdesigns@gmail.com, to tell me your mailing address, m'dear. thank you so much, again, to all of you for sharing your beautiful birthday memories and traditions with me; i truly appreciate it

hazel's birthday is on tuesday and we are having her party tomorrow. because pink is her favorite color (what five year-old's isn't?) i made her this juicy little rhodochrosite necklace.

(see the squirrel in the upper left-hand corner?)

i found these amazing laguna agates at my local lapidary shop. they are not cabochons, but i intend to grind them down a bit so that i can set them. the one on the far right will be becoming a necklace on sunday, and here is the one that i made today:

this piece features a beautiful lavender and ochre laguna agate paired with one of teresa's (tajones1463.etsy.com) glass flower cabs with colors that match exquisitely.

the back of this piece says, “without darkness, nothing comes to birth, as without light nothing flowers”, may sarton. laguna agate has been used to help one return from the depths of depression to a state of openness and acceptance of what IS. the stone and the quote go hand in hand.

a lovely day

i had a fantastic birthday today! i woke up to hazel singing to me. then the girls and i hung out for a bit and went to the lake for the day. when we got home, glenn allowed me the incredible luxury of an afternoon nap. then we all went to the local pub and had dinner with some friends outside on the patio. my favorite gift was from my mother. she sent me a photo album with many handwritten recipe cards with all of my favorite recipes. it was a beautiful, relaxing day, and i tried to really focus on bring grateful for my life and all of the wonderful people, circumstances, and experiences in it.

thank you all for all of your wonderful comments on the giveaway. i will do the drawing tomorrow afternoon, so there is still time to enter!

rivers and mountains...

today, i made another "on the riverbank" ring...

"take a look at your natural river. what are you? stop playing games with yourself. where's your river going? are you riding with it? or are you rowing against it? don't you see that there is no effort if you're riding with your river?" ~ carl frieseke

from the riverbank, you can watch the river. see the current for what it is. watch the waves and the flow, without being caught up in it. the direction and the movement are so much more clear when you are not moving along with it.

the river is continued on the band...

and, i made the "tranquility" ring, inspired by out camping trip last weekend.
nighttime. full moon. serene lake. pine trees. it brings to mind a sense of tranquility and quiet and serenity. with this ring, you can go to that place, feel that serenity, anytime you want. the ridgeline in the ring is a section of the northwestern san juan mountains. the tallest peak, on the right side, is a fourteener called mt. sneffels, also known as the queen of the san juans. ( incidentally, i climbed sneffels several years ago with my beloved dog, miles.)

this ring is made up of several layers of heavy silver sheet. the mountains and the pine trees are soldered onto a sterling oval. the lake is made from a beautiful blue/green rainbow flourite and the full moon is an opal. the ridgeline is continued on the band of the ring. i stamped the word "tranquility" on the back.

this is the ridgeline.

and this is the camping trip...

we went to ridgway state park for a wonderful weekend!

we got to hang out at the "beach"

and we went to the ridgway brewery, colorado boy

we roasted marshmallows

and spent some great time in the mountains.

(glenn + kristi)

and, of course, we stopped in telluride on the way home.

don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY in the post below this!