The Fall Classic

A little sleepy again today, this time because another loved one took time away from my sleep. But staying up late to watch the Red Sox win was probably worth it. ;) Now I'll have to be sleep deprived for the rest of October watching those late World Series games. Ahh, the things we do for our children and our childhood allegiances.

In honor of the red hot Sox, I thought this might be appropriate.



Check it out in my Etsy shop!

Sunday Shopping

It's a beautiful fall day, but while everyone here gets up and ready for the day, I'm doing a little virtual shopping. I'm looking at one of my favorite indie style blogs, Modish, and dreaming at the moment of redecorating my house from top to bottom.



And check out Modishoppe, the blog's sister site, for some really lovely indie finds! It's a nice little online storefront - I'm hoping to sell some pieces there soon, too.

Once I head out for the day, I'll be enjoying a walk in this lovely fall weather and a stop at the Dunstable Artisans annual show. I'm going to be picking up a beautiful sweater I ordered from weaver Kim Niles and looking for some other treats for myself.

Happy Sunday!

Children, Sleep and Stargazing

Ahh, motherhood. Such joy, such fulfillment - even when your child wakes you before dawn on a Saturday morning. Even the dog is still asleep.

So here I sit, with a LARGE cup of coffee and a bright-eyed 2 year old, ready to share with you something I created when I was feeling both more awake and more exuberant about the joys of motherhood. The Sun, the Moon and the Stars:



I made this pendant with my daughters in mind, and the two bezel set stones are their birthstones. The idea, which is explained at length on my web site here, is that our children mean the world and more to us, and that we'd give it all to them in a heartbeat. Even when the precious little darlings rouse us from our beds at some ungodly hour.

It sounded more special when I wasn't propping my eyes open with toothpicks.

Oh, and these would make lovely holiday gifts for other sleep-deprived moms, don't you think? ;-)

Be Still, My Heart

I've given in, and I'm not ashamed of it. ;-)

I've been saying for years that heart jewelry was overdone, especially when you look at what comes in those little aqua boxes...but now I'm making hearts.

I started playing with the idea when a customer at a craft fair approached me with an idea for a heart-themed pendant with the initials of two loved ones incorporated. She'd been looking at heart shaped stampings with engraved letters, and that wasn't quite doing it for her. So I came up with this - two closed, stylized hearts that link together but move around freely, with handforged letters fused in place.


In the process of forming the hearts, I've also made this Nested Hearts pendant, with a tiny heart suspended from a larger one. I think I'll end up giving a piece like this to my newly pregnant friend (seems like a nice symbol of life growing from life, don't you think?)



And there you have it. Love someone today!

More MOO and recipes, too!

I have my cards from the fabulous people at MOO and I couldn't be happier with them. Funky little things, these. I'm planning to use them as promos at my upcoming show in November - I'll have a basket of MOO cards on my table, each with a little surprise discount on the back ($5 off purchase, or free extras, for example), and I'll invite browsers to pick a card and apply it to a purchase right then and there. Here's a shot of my cards:




Now, the recipes. My Epicurean Collection jewelry has been quite popular (people must be hungry!), and I'm having a lot of fun with it. From now on, I'll be including a recipe with each piece from the collection. Here's what I've got so far:


Garlic Clouds (little savory puff pastries, and they are heavenly, indeed) to go with this pendant


A really lovely Vanilla Cinnamon cupcake for this one. There's a lot of butter involved, so you'll need to be brave. ;)


One of my favorite Thai lettuce wrap recipes, with just a touch of heat, for these Chile Pepper earrings.

All of the recipes are my originals, or my variations on something I've discovered while wandering through my frighteningly large cookbook collection. More to come!

Shopping Tip of the Day

I recently discovered Artisans Market, a lovely little online shop with tons of handcrafted goodness. There's some furniture here that I really think I must have. Take a look!



I've set up a gallery of my own on Artisans' Market, too. Check it out here!

I'm Baaaaaack...

Hello everyone!

I'm back, with the resolve to stick around and keep posting for a while.

Lots going on here - and I'm ramping up for a busy holiday season and looking around the Web to see what I can share. I'm going to be posting daily with a recommendation for either a great site for cool product reviews, or with a particular favorite handcrafted item that I've found.

Today's plug is for Rare Bird Finds, a great blog with a nice snide sense of humor. ;-) Oh, and the fact that they featured my Aspen Leaf Pendant recently doesn't hurt, either!