New PDF Pattern - Peacock Earrings (Easy Crochet Lace)

Hello everyone! Fall is just around the corner here and school for my little guys starts in just a few days .. how the year has flown by. Unfortunately, I've had quite a few surgeries this year so I haven't been able to spend much time in the studio .. but it looks like those are all finally behind me (yeah!) and I am ready to get back into the swing of things for fall.

First off, there's a new pattern available: Peacock Earrings. These are a really easy beginner crochet lace pattern. They are very lightweight to wear, look fabulous on everyone, and only take an afternoon to make. The pattern includes finishing instructions and the exact yarn I used in the photo if you want to duplicate the color scheme. The pattern is over at my Etsy shop. If you haven't been to Etsy lately, the shops there have all had a face lift and have a new, more modern look. Check it out.

Here's me wearing my pair :) My son is quite the budding photographer and took this picture. He's only 9, but has such a natural eye for setting up a great shot!

As most of you know, I'm not just an artist, but a complete geek girl too :) I forget how, but I ran across these fabulous geeky science lab cookie cutters. Oh yes, I want some. I do, I do!!
Also .. I found this great binary scarf knitting pattern:
You can include any phrase or sentence you want to knitted into the scarf, secretly encoded in binary. How cool is that?

Oh, and I did finish my new winter scarf made out of that amazing Mochi yarn I showed you in this post. I'm blocking it now and will take a pic as soon as it is dry and ready to be worn. It really turned out beautifully and I can't wait to show you!

On a Roll: PDF Pattern - Vanilla Snowflake Earrings

"Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

No snow yet ... but we did have our first heavy frost this week! The air is certainly chilly enough for visions of snow and roaring fires; inspiring these cute vanilla snowflake lace earrings.I went ahead and embellished one pair with Swarovski crystals and freshwater seed pearls .. oh la la la! They embroider like a dream! I had such fun playing with patterns and possibilities, but once I settled on the red and white candy cane colors, each earring only took about 30 minutes to embroider. I plan on wearing mine about the house while I bake holiday cookies and wrap presents :)
If you'd like the pattern for these, you can find it here or here.

And here is someplace that is always beautiful, but whose gardens are even prettier with the addition of a few snowflakes:

1. Versailles under the snow again! 07.02.2009, 2. Versailles under the snow!, 3. 030111 Versailles Snow E, 4. Versailles under the snow!

Store Update: Part I The Jewelry

Whew! Surgery is now behind me and recovery is well under way. Big, big thank you's to my uber-wonderful neighbor, my supportive husband and all my caring family and friends!! They say your true friends are the ones that stick with you when times are good AND bad .. and that saying certainly proved true last week.

Now .... I have been photographing market pieces every day. The variable fall Oregon light is making every photographic session an artistic adventure, but I finally have a few that are good to go. I'm going to start with my favorite, "Fleur de Gorgeous" . I adore the design of this necklace!! Followed by a few more lovely neck adornments, some Mouline Rouge inspired earrings, and a new lacey scarf like the beautiful ones in this post.

"Fleur de Gorgeous -- asymmetrical vivid floral necklace"
for sale at my Etsy Store.

"Satine Earrings -- mother of pearl and freshwater pearl earrings"
for sale at my Etsy Store.

"Eternity Circle -- vintage style pearl circle pendant necklace"
for sale at my Etsy Store.

"Affair of the Heart -- candy jade little bird necklace"
for sale at my Etsy Store.

"Tuscan Sun Lacey Scarf"
for sale at myJeweled Elegance Boutique.

You may have noticed the title of this post: "Part I: The Jewelry". I am very, very, very close to finishing my crochet jewelry patterns and will be showing them to you for part II. I have been working really hard on these since the beginning of the year and can barely wait to finally get the first few up. Just 1 more week!! Assuming the H1N1 Flu moving through our neighborhood will stay at bay :)

Vintagey Lucite Flower Goodness

I just love custom orders! One of my lovely customers brought me a vintage necklace from around the 50's or 60's and asked if I could re-make it into some long, dangley earrings featuring the gorgeous vintage flower beads in the necklace. I'm no expert on vintage jewels, but they looked like Lucite to me! Vintage Lucite Flower Beads .... Yum!!

Here's pair number one:


And pair number two:

They are both so gorgeous, I don't know how she will ever choose. I know I'd take both!!!

***Update: She picked pair #1! Pair #2 is looking gorgeous and seeking a new home. To be the proud new owner of these lovelies click here. ***

The necklace was pretty long, so I had tons of extras left over. I'm going to post pics of them here and add them to Etsy too (here and here and here), in case anyone wants to make their own pairs.
So... you may ask what happened to the great Spring cleaning I was in the midst of. Grade school is so wonderful for the sharing of germs, esp. in Spring. Let's just say this has been "The House of Flu" for the past few weeks. Me hit the hardest since I exhausted myself nursing my sick little guys and husband. Life is bouncing back around here though and with one custom order done and packaged, I think I hear that coat closet begging to be cleaned out today! :)

Oh, and if you haven't seen this very cool Flu Trend Tracker from Google you should take a look. The tech behind it is quite novel and yet, extremely commonsense too. Google found that certain search terms were indicative of flu activity. They used the Google aggregated (combined) data to estimate flu activity in a given region. Neat, huh? Currently, Oregon rates as "high" .. no surprise there :)

Minka Farmhouse Envy, Shop Update & A Bloggie Break

A minka is a Japanese farmhouse. Often dismissed architecturally because of its associations with poverty and rural backwardness, it has been enjoying a renaissance of appreciation in recent years. I love minka architecture and was overjoyed to find an article on one in this month's Architectural Digest. This one has been relocated to have fabulous views of Mount Fuji - ah, that view through the living/dining room windows is very nostalgic for me!Built of timber without nails, the wood is ingeniously fastened and lashed together. Smoke from cooking would blacken the central wood pillar giving it a beautiful patina of age. The rood was steeped to deflect snow. This minka, being restored and renovated, also has a Japanese style soaking tub made from Izuishi, a beautiful flecked gray-green stone. Outside is a karesansui, or dry landscape - which looks just stunning in the rain as the rocks change color.

Images from Architectual Digest
(Did you know they have whole articles from the print magazine online now? So great for research!)

No minka vacation for me, but it certainly is easy to dream about one looking at the article's gorgeous pictures! But I did get a small shop update done -- Yeah! My Etsy shop now has cupcake magnets, some of my hand crocheted coffee cozies (more to come) and more 18thc. French inspired earrings, like the Antoinette earrings.There's still time to take advantage of the summer Etsy special: June 26th - July 26th: Every order $20 or over (excluding shipping) gets a mystery freebie added to it :)

And now I really need to take a short bloggie break to get caught up on everything! I'll be back to blogging in a few short weeks!

Getting Ready for Saturday Market

I've been locked in the studio all week cranking out product for the opening of Saturday Market. This weekend I made faux dichro earrings (these have 3 layers of the dichro papers lacquered on a mother of pearl base). And they look stylish on those vintage labels too!! I'm going to need to get more labels I'm going through these so fast - lol!And here is a pair in the company of a felt flower pin. I just love these pins! So retro and sweet! Not to mention colorful.

Jen at ARtful Paper Dreams tagged me to tell a little more about myself. These types of tags always take me forever, so here is the *very* abbreviated version as I take a brief break from production and enjoy a hot cup of tea:

2. What are two of the best places you have been to ---- restricting myself to the world of art and architecture, I'll pick the Cloisters Museum in New York and Hearst Castle in California. Look at the fabulous mosaic work in the Roman Pool at Hearst Castle. It's decorated entirely with 1″ square mosaic tiles, mostly blue and orange but some that are clear with fused gold inside. Plus, lovely globe lamps and statues of Roman gods, goddesses and heroes.

Roman Pool at Hearst Castle
Images from Sandra Leidholdt at Flickr

4. Name two things that pretty much everyone knows about you ---- voracious reader, organizing goddess, historical costume lover, designer and privacy advocate. Hmmm.. well, that's a lot more than three, but since I'm only doing a few of the tag questions that seems OK!

Here's a dress I've drooled over for two years that no one who knows me will be surprised I want! But I'm already married, so I dream of ordering one in a soft celadon shade with copper accents to wear on other special occasions.

Absolutely stunning Lord of the Rings style gown from Rivendell Bridal.

The gown in white, blue and silver from Rivendell Bridal.
Images from Rivendell Bridal

6. Two things you may not know about me are ---- animal rights advocate, firm believer in the value of world travel as part of schooling and of life-long continuing educational opportunities for all, and I design arcologies just for fun :) Whee - that's three! These are getting easier to answer!

9. What are your top two fun things to do after work ---- what is "after work"? lol! I'm always working :)

10. Name two things you would like to learn ---- only two??? There are lots of things on this list :) But this is my art and biz blog so I'll go with: using a sewing machine, making faux cupcakes, and advanced wire-wrapping techniques so I can make drop-dead gorgeous wire-wrapped jewelry.

12. What were the last two books that you read? ---- I don't get much time to read now that I'm a Mommy, unless it's Dr. Seuss :), and when I do, I have very high standards for book recommendations, so I'm going to list the last two I read that I would recommend: fiction: Oryx & Crake (Margaret Atwood) and non-fiction: China Road (Rob Gifford).

Market opens in less than two weeks, so I'm not sure I'll have time for another blog entry before then. But I will definitely be sharing some pics of opening day and my new updated, fabulous and fresh booth design after I get back!

Studio News

I've recently been watching Season 1 of The Tudors on DVD, so I was thrilled to find this quiz featured over at my friend Deb's blog! Have you ever wondered which wife of Henry the VIII you are most like?? Take this quiz and find out! This is what mine said:

Katherine Parr spent nearly her whole life married to crotchety old men: Henry was the THIRD old fart she was forced to marry. Is it any wonder she turned to books and religion to occupy her time?

Katherine wasn't just smart, she was a tiny bit uppity, too: she almost got herself thrown in jail for arguing with His Royal Fatness about some theological issues. After Henry croaked, Katherine dropped the prim and proper act and married Thomas Seymour, a handsome, dashing pirate kind of guy who was also as dumb as a post.
My husband got a great kick out of this. He wanted to know if he was the crotchety old man or the handsome, dumb pirate :)

As promised, new designs are rolling out of the studio for the start of the new year. My favorites so far are the Damascus hand-inked earrings. The classic version has the hand-inked abstract floral designs in a rusty red with a beautifully aged golden shimmer. These look like old treasures found in a jewelry box in the attic. The deluxe version adds sparkling burgundy crystals to the bottom.I also love these new charming Garden Sparrow earrings with vintage brass bird charms. I just love the look of vintage brass jewelry - I adore everything Art Nouveau - and am thrilled to offer these! All of the earrings I've been designing are super lightweight. After so many years of intricate chandelier earrings, I was ready to design some classier, easier-to-wear pieces. I've also decided to move on from the standard plain white background for product shots. It is so much more fun to use old books and fun papers! And you can communicate so much more about the mood of a piece!

If I seem a bit absent from blogland recently, it's because most of my studio time is currently being taken up doing accounting, getting ready for tax time. Accounting is not my special gift, so it's taking a looooong time, but I hope to be done by next week and back to visiting!

How Many Things Can You Adore in One Week?

This has been a week of adoration. For instance, there is my new and deep adoration of the romantic Japanese tale The Butterfly Lovers (Les Amants Papillons) by the French children's book illustrator, Benjamin Lacombe. I love the rich glowing tones and smoky shadows. The romance, intrigue and mystery hinted at by the visual atmosphere. It doesn't even bother me that it's in French (which I don't speak) or that it is only available from French Amazon (which I have no hope of ordering from without speaking French). It is so beautiful to look at that it captures the heart without words.
Is the lighting and mood in these illustrations not sublime? Love that barest touch of color from the blue butterflies as she walks down the shadowed hall.
To see more of his incredible work, click on his name above.
And then is the adoration of a well organized clean studio. I've been cleaning out and reorganizing my studio for several weeks now. I've set up a new packing and shipping counter and a new storage system for finished pieces, like these "Ruby Terbium Briolette" and "Friend" earrings, to keep everything protected and easily accessible. I have also redecorated my newly arranged space with all your little paper dresses, and I adore coming into the studio in the morning with my coffee and seeing such beauty from friends. Makes me smile :)

What else did I adore this week? Well, my awesome husband and beloved children of course. And those sinful pumpkin muffins and lattes at Starbucks :)

And my mailbox. This delightful package came from Felicia, who makes the cutest little creatures. I won some fun Halloween yarn skeins over at her blog, Fluffy Flowers, and look at the wonderful package she sent! Pay close attention to that little mouse in the lower right corner. It took me almost an hour to find him for this photograph. My youngest child pounced on it with glee the moment the package opened, and put it to "bed" last night in a secret place. Now I need to sneak it back there before I go pick him up from pre-K :)


And of course, I adore all my bloggy friends! Like Roxi and Deborah, who both awarded me the You Make Me Smile Award. Thank you!! I couldn't possibly narrow down the list of who to pass this onto to just 10 people, so I nominate all of you, my dear friends and readers, for the joy and happiness you bring me everyday!

I hope you all had a good week too! Was there anything that you adored about your week?

It's Pumpkin Latte Time

The air here is starting to have that morning chill and Starbucks has pumpkin coffee lattes back on the menu -- fall is coming! This almost-fall week I went shopping for goodies. Look at these gorgeous lacy trims I found this weekend! Some pretty mini-flowers and a great strand of miniature faux pearls too (love this). I also bought some really cool victorianesque blacked silver & "diamond" buttons. Yum! I can't wait to try these out on the paper dresses I'm designing!

In addition to happily crafting paper dresses, I'm starting to amass stock for the Art & Antiques fair I'll be vending at in two weeks. And getting a bit stressed at all the preparations I need to make. Making LOTS of nests and bird tiles of course. Those new little painted bird earrings will be there. Also, these new little felt earrings I'm experimenting with. I'm calling them "flirty felts" and I think I will put them in the web boutique too.


Also, I have recently become aware of a fantastic resource for swaps. If you have ever just missed a swap sign-up, had trouble finding a swap to join, or hosted a swap and wanted to advertise it, this is a blog you will want to check out! I'm just in love with the idea of having a central location to check for cool swaps. Maybe I'm the last one in blogland to discover SwapDex, but if not, I wanted to share this awesome resource with you. Speaking of swaps, everyone who signed up for the paper dress swap should have received an Official Paper Dress Swap letter by now and know who your partner is. If not, please e-mail me ASAP. Thanks!

This last item may seem like it's coming out of left field in an arts/crafts blog, but it's not really given that my degree is partially in Japanese Art. I found this hilariously funny satirical commentary on learning the Japanese language. If you don't study Japanese, it probably won't mean much to you, but if you do or ever have, I thought it was funny and you might too :)
(A scene from "The Tale of Genji" courtesy of Wikipedia)

Thank You & Little Birds

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who stopped by to comment on my little paper dresses and the swap! You are all so fabulously sweet and such wonderful souls!! This is what I love so much about blogland - all the giving and sharing and warmth of this fabulous creative community. Thanks so much everyone! It will take me a few days to catch up on all the e-mails and comments. My two little kids started school today (pre-K and 1st grade) so its an eventful day here for the family.
For those who joined the swap, I've been thinking of how to display our fabulous swapped dresses! I've seen them strung on ribbon like a garland and on doll hangers, but I was playing around and came up with the graceful hanger above. It's a simple piece of 20 gauge craft wire where the ends are curled up into loose spirals. A length of ribbon is tied into a circle with a bow and then slipped under the spirals. The dress is attached with small clothes pins. Too cute!

I will be sending out e-mails with swap partners on Thursday, Sept. 6th . If you do NOT receive an e-mail from me by Friday morning, Sept. 7th, please e-mail me right away at the address in the sidebar. If you haven't joined the swap yet and would like to, there's still time! Just leave a comment on the prior post. We have quite a few international participants and while the dresses will be small enough to fit in a large envelope, if you are uncomfortable shipping internationally for any reason, please e-mail me privately.

And look what's been cooking in the studio! Where do you dry birds-on-a-stick? Why in the pages of one's unabridged dictionary, of course! I had a hand full of toothpicks with wet paint birds and realized I didn't have a block of styrofoam to set them in. Looked around desperately for a few moments, then happened to look down and see the dictionary ... perfect! My two boys and I have been diligently watching some sky blue eggs in a robin's nest hatch into cute little fledglings, so I have baby birds on the brain :)
And here my little painted baby birds are all grown up as earrings and ready to fly away :)

Letter Writing in the Yoshiwara

The Yoshiwara was a famous walled and licensed entertainment quarter during the Tokugawa regime in feudal Japan (1600-1868). This beautiful Oiran (high class courtesan) living in the Yoshiwara is composing a letter to a male admirer. Also present in the room is her Kamuro (young assistant/apprentice). Let's eavesdrop on what they are saying!



I couldn't resist doing this! It was just too much fun! These were such beautiful Ukiyo-e pictures and all the women were missing were some jeweled accessories. :)

Stay tuned next post for mail love! My mail box has been delivering the most tasty crafty treats I can't wait to share with you!