Farmer's Market

I love this time of year in New England - I end up at one of the local farm stands almost every day to revel in the gorgeous summer vegetables. Last week, I bought a head of lettuce so beautiful it could have been a flower. And it really is true that fresh, locally grown food tastes so much better than the sad things we buy in huge supermarkets that have to travel thousands of miles to reach us. I'm working hard to focus on eating local foods and to make sure that my kids learn about eating responsibly, both for the sake of their own health and the health of their environment. I have a long list of books waiting to be read, including Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Frances Moore Lappe's Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet.
On a more frivolous note, I'm working on some food-inspired jewelry designs. I have a garlic clove pendant in my Etsy shop now, and I've got more to come later this week:



Enjoy midsummer, and eat well! :)

Shape Sorting

My newest earrings are apparently my 2 year old daughter's favorites. I stacked black cube beads on sterling silver backgrounds, and when Heather saw them, she said, "Good shape sorting, Mommy!" :)





Speaking of blocks and shapes, I've found two Etsy sellers to add to my favorites - both of whom make beautiful wood jewelry. Snowgalvin's pieces, like this beautiful bracelet, are inspired by furniture (I love this idea):


And I'm going to get myself one of ShrkB8's great wood rings:




What are you coveting today?

Back to this space after a too-long hiatus. I've been working on some new metalsmithing skills, and renewing some old ones that I haven't used in a long time. I'm really happy with some of my new pieces, and still working on developing them.

My particular favorite is my Flower Garden Necklace:





I've got earrings to match, and am expanding on this idea with a flower box and flower pot set, to be listed on Etsy soon. I found some lovely little glass beads in interesting shapes to use as "flowers," and the flower box will have trailing peridot vines, as well!
These pieces require some patience and dexterity, and some days I feel a little dizzy after focusing on soldering all those flower stems, one at a time - but I still like the results.