The Importance of Play

 

I was working on making some earrings this weekend:

 

Lichen Sprout Earrings. Sterling Silver.

and as I was making all the tiny little “sprout” pieces, I noticed how sweet they looked piling up on my desk… I pushed a few of them around and started to think….

 

“sprout” production leads to new ideas….

These little guys make such sweet little branchy designs. I quickly soldered a few pieces together:

 

new prototype

 This first prototype is basically like a sketch. Though I tend to draw out a lot of my ideas in my sketch book, sometimes playing around with scraps and left over bits of wire is much more fruitful. These little sketches are an integral part of designing. Before I had soldered these babies together, I though they’d be hook / dangle style earrings. An accident with the torch resulted in the very top of the earring to ball up, so I embraced the accident and realized that it was the perfect spot for a ear post.

I’ve completed another variation of these earrings that is much more successful (I’ll share pictures as soon as they’re ready!). I’m really excited about them. But more importantly, I’m glad I allowed myself to take the time to play around at my bench. Though I was trying really hard to get some serious work done, even just a few moments of playing opened up lots of new ideas. 

Also, here’s another pair of earrings I recently finished:

 

Lichen Sprout Earrings. Sterling Silver and Garnet.

They’re my new favorite and look so beautiful on. I’m becoming obsessed with these little sprout forms – I want to cover everything with them!

 

 

 

 

Congratulations are in order! (and so is a party)

2 of my most wonderful friends have recently been joined in harmonious marriage. Their ceremony was small, filled with their closest family. So my sweetie and I threw a “friends” party to congratulate them. 

This party was the only party I have ever really spent a great deal of time and resources on, and I couldn’t have been more pleased.

I’ve seen these types of banners before, so I was really excited to try my had at it for the occasion. I used some cute floral fabric cut into triangles (cut with pinking shears, edges left raw), spelled out my message with iron-on letters from the craft store, and then affixed the little flags to a long length of ribbon. Voila! Though you can’t really see in this picture, I also added little butterfly pins in a few spots. Cute!

I also made a huge center-piece with long branches of curly willow (I had been eyeing it for weeks), cat tails (my sweetie’s idea!) and dried “money plant” branches (little silvery-papery coins). The vase was weighted down with tumbled stones and filled up with dried moss. This was also adorned with sweet little butterfly pins.

Top it all off with good friends and good food (including these delectable dark chocolate cupcakes made Anna), and we all had a lovely time. Thank you everyone who helped celebrate!

Count Down

Only a few more day’s until the Renegade Craft Fair! I’m almost all ready, and soooo excited! 

While I’ve been busy finishing things up, I stumbled upon Waxing Poetic. This jewelry company has a beautiful website and super sweet designs. Here are a few of my favorites:

What better way to make a decision? 

The ravioli! So cute! (they also have a pierogi, tortellino and a wonton)

 

I need this one!

 

This is one of most unique bestie necklace I’ve seen in a long time.

Microcosmic Ispiration

I wanted to share with you some of my new favorite Etsy artists! The following artists have created things that wander into my mind all day and night.

The photos are so beautiful – they look like an accumulation of cells, and each one individually looks like it’s own universe. They’re all made of recycled plastic too! Find these (and more amazing pieces) here.

 

Pouches, pin cushions and wall hangings – all decorated with exquisitely hand stitched mold! I love to see bacteria blooming- the colors, textures, and the patterns of their growth. Amazing! See more of these beauties here.

 

Pen and ink drawings are some of my favorites. These prints have so much depth and texture. These remind me of sprawling lichens and mushrooms, or an electron microgram. These lovely prints (and so many more) are here.

I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at these as much as I do!

A Little bit of Inspiration

I found etsy seller BeHappyNow, and I’m totally in love with these pieces:

This is called My Lovely Plume and I think it’s just exquisite. I love the fine details and all the textures and patterns. 

This is also called My Lovely Plume: 

These would be so lovely framed side by side. 

I also really love this photo of a hand crafted scene:

So colorful and full of humor, light-hearted and joyful. I love this little world!

Sprouts!

This evening I stumbled upon a miracle! Tiny leaves had begun to sprout in my hanging fruit/veggie basket. A lonely little potato has been waiting so long to be transformed into dinner, that it began to imagine its own new beginning:

How spectacular! I’ve never seen such a glorious potato in my own kitchen. It’s bright purple stalks and veiny leaves are such a sight to behold.

Look how brightly the purple veins contrast against the green leaf. I just love it. How incredible that this little fellow, impatiently sitting in my kitchen, was so sick of sitting still, he decided to sprout a forest of purple and green. 

The flowers I bought at the farmer’s market last weekend might be dead, but who needs them when I have this little guy?

Cool Creatures

I was forwarded this photo contest  and found the most lovely pictures of all kinds of mysterious sea creatures. This is one of my favorites:

I want to make a pair of earrings based on their funny little stick legs and antenna (or whatever it is going on on top of their heads!).

 

I also just wanted to share that my mom and brother were just in town visiting. I hadn’t seen them since December, so it was really nice to have them visit. 

We didn’t even mean to all wear blue! Guess we all think a bit a like. We had a really nice visit, but I’m sad to have them go.

New Inspirations

I found these images on one of the blogs I frequent, and am so in love with these paintings by Julie Evans:

I love how organic these paintings feel. They remind me, ever so slightly, of mold blooms. Lovely.

 

I also have recently come across another painter named Emilie Clark. I wasn’t able to find a lot of info on her, but I did find a great deal of her work here.

I just love these elegant forms that are so delicately rendered with exquisite detail and an easy precision. I also really like how the intense, vibrant pools of colors are balance by expanses of white space.

Petri Dishes

My new inspiration:

Cooooool!

These are the earrings I’ve just listed in my shop - my version of a petri dish!

They’re available in 3 sizes and I’m so excited about them

I hope you like them!

The Eye’s Have It

I just posted a new ring earlier today in my etsy shop:

It’s made with a glass eye – the kind used for taxidermy. It’s pretty creepy, but I think it’s the coolest. I found some other eye’s I want to buy and make into jewels:

This is for a Carousel Horse – a bright splash of color.

This is just for general fish use (?), but I love all the depth in it.

This last one is a Warthog eye. 

The creepy factor is combated with the beauty in the detail of these glass eyes. They all have so much detail and depth, they really are like little jewels.