What's on the Bench?

I am currently working on my Fall 2009 line. So far I only have 2 earring designs and one necklace design. I don't know what's wrong with me but I CANNOT think of anything for this season. That rarely happens to me; usually I can sketch and sketch and sketch. So, even though I don't have the complete line designed I started with what I had and will go from there. DOES THIS EVER HAPPEN TO YOU?

This is my new studio space. It's not very exciting at all. I'm tucked away in a small area of my dad's garage, which is dirty, dusty and not very inspiring. But I am very grateful to have a space he so generously allows me to use.

Mike and I are currently discussing the idea of buying my parents house next summer. They were planning on putting it on the market around that time. It's a really great house. I grew up here and would love to raise a family here. This is a picture of the potting shed/greenhouse that my dad built for my mom. It is located right off the back yard. If we buy the house this will become my studio! I can't believe how perfect it would be. It has lots of room and even more potential. I have been thinking about what I'd do to make it "me". I have way too many ideas to list. But some of them would be a bright, fun paint job, window planter boxes full of gorgeous flowers, and some pretty landscaping of course. I can't let myself get too excited about it right now since we're not sure about buying the place yet. Lots to think about!

Anyway, I am really in the mood to organize and clean etc. I am going to clean our room, do some decorating and then try to figure out how to transfer pictures to my new computer. After that I'll be back in the studio working on Fall 09. I hope your having a great day!

Eloping

My sister Emily is eloping tomorrow (me, my parents, the grooms parents and Em's son will all be at the wedding) and this is the outfit she is going to wear. We are throwing her a surprise bridal shower tonight and the theme is "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue". My sister Sam is going to loan Emily the jewelry I made her for her wedding (something borrowed) and I made her this new jewelry to pull her outfit together(something new). The crystals in the set I made are from my husbands grandmother and are from around 1940 so they are vintage (something old). Emily is absolutely gorgeous but now she'll really sparkle on her very-last-minute wedding day!

Truly a Treasure

I made this ring for my dad's massage therapist. She found the pearl while she was eating oysters! How cool is that?!? We are going to barter so I'll get a massage out of the deal. Yes! Anyway - enjoy the pictures.

Experiment

I have always admired this particular style of wire wrapping and layering components to create an elegant piece of jewelry. Maybe you've seen some of the "masters" on etsy (check out emily gray, she's amazing!). I've looked in awe and wondered how they do it? But I've never wondered enough to try and figure it out. So, naturally when I saw the cover of this months Art Jewelry magazine I just had to buy it. This is one of the projects they are featuring this month.

It was definitely a challenging project! And my finger tips haven't ached like this since I don't know when! It is totally different than the way I normally work, but I think that's why it was so fascinating to do. I learned a lot and may include some of the techniques I learned into my future work. But overall I am just glad I accepted the challenge to learn something new. And when I gaze upon the beautiful work of the masters on etsy I'll have a greater appreciation for it.

I am soon off to enjoy my anniversary weekend! I cannot wait!!! My husband took off from work early so that we can check in to the hotel right at 3pm. This way we can fully enjoy the delights of a 4.5 star hotel. The pool looks amazing and I can't wait to dive in! I am a bit bummed that I won't be able to model my new necklace. It doesn't go with either of my outfits for the weekend. However, my mom and dad decided to go on a date tonight (which they NEVER do) and I am loaning it to her for the night. They are getting dressed up and everything!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Drama: Just Say No!

That's all I have to say about that...anything else would just be dramatic!

Snarf...Hack...Snarf, Snarf...Sneeze!

That is a really unattractive entry title, but it's what our kitty Max has sounded like for the past few days. He got brave and went outside for the first time about a week ago. To our surprise he was gone for about 2 days! A few days after he came back he started snarfing (that is literally what it sounds like). It started getting worse the past day or so. My husband did some research online to see if he could find anything out about kitty-colds. Every reference said not to bother taking them to the vet because they give all of these shots, run several tests, and hundreds of dollars later just tell you to give him vitamin C. We're going to try that out and if it doesn't work then Maxi is going to the vet!

On a more positive note...I JUST GOT THE CUTEST SHOES! It is my 6th anniversary this weekend and my husband and I are going to a really nice hotel in downtown Minneapolis for a night! We're going to go to a somewhat fancy-pants restaurant Friday night and I realized I don't have a Friday-Night-Out-In-Downtown-Minneapolis kind of outfit. So I did some shopping after work and scored! I found an adorable skirt for just pennies of it's original price! A top to match the skirt and these shoes, which of course make the outfit. I also found an adorable feminine-blousy top for Saturday when we go bummin' around the city (which is our favorite thing to do together). Okay - so these shoes have a 4-1/2" inch wedge which makes them absolutely fantastic! I love heels. I don't wear them that often, but when I do they're the real deal. You can't see it in the picture very well, but they are a raw silk material so they're kind of matte. They are very pretty! Anyway, now I've got to make some jewelry for my new outfit...TTYL

Yipeeeeeee!

Hooray for my new computer! It was here waiting for me when I got home from work this afternoon. So far so good; I am just figuring out how to use it. I've never had Vista before so it's a little different navagating etc. However, it's beautiful and super fast! The internet is a pleasure to use (finally). And I love the widescreen screen...I feel so modern! But still, one of the best things about has to be that it is green! It matches my phone, wallet, planner and almost everything else you'd find in my purse. Not that I'll be lugging this guy around in my purse. I do finally have an excuse to buy a super cute laptop bag now. I'll have to get on that!

It was so nice to hear from my ex-studio-partner this afternoon. Leah and I haven't gotten together in way too long. I miss her (and our studio) terribly. I am going to head over to there

to 'play' the rest of the afternoon! I am so excited!!!

Catch ya later!