3rd Do-Over Challenge-- REVEAL/PARTY!

... Okay, so I feel like a complete moron. I totally thought the hop/reveal was today-- so I'm a day late to the party!

(Next time I should probably write the deadline on my calendar, instead of in my head...)

It's all for the best, really. I wasn't feeling that great yesterday, health-wise, so I spent the whole day recuperating and resting. I'm feeling much better today-- albeit a little sheepish about the mix-up.

So I have been RIDICULOUSLY excited about this reveal. A while back, I received a package in the mail~ a necklace from Jeannie, as a participant in her third do-over challenge. All of us who participated, received one of her older pieces, one that she made when she first started doing jewelry-- in her words, an "old, tired piece" that she "won't" sell-- and our challenge was to transform it into something different and new.

Here is the piece I received:

The glass colors are VERY subtle-- I had to put the piece against my watercolor paper, to show the color of the piece! In reality, it's much less bright. It's more like a watered-down shade, more like a white glass with a slight tint of color.

I loved the construction of her necklace, but the beads themselves were very pale-- and those who know me, know that I don't "do" pale pieces. I love color, and love bright things. It was definitely a challenge for me! But here is the piece that it became:

I figured, since I photographed the original on plain paper, it's only fair to do the same to mine~

I absolutely LOVE this necklace, and I'm so proud of myself! I had never done the wrapping technique used in both her necklace and mine, so it was quite the learning experience for me. I used brass wire and brass links-- and in addition to the faceted glass from Jeannie's piece, I threw in some crystal beads (faceted, slightly smaller-- you can see them flanking the off-white and blue beads) that I got from Suma and some beads that were VERY special to me!

I was so proud of this piece that as soon as I finished it, I woke Hubby up to show him!

The small square beads (between the green, purple, pink and blue ones) were absolutely perfect for this, since they only came in those four colors! I got them *years* ago, when I was only twelve-- my grandmother gave me a gift card to a bead shop near her house, but the items I sold back then weren't "right" for the beads. I've held onto them for years, waiting to find the right project to use them. And I am SO GLAD for that... because they were beyond perfect for this necklace!!!

You can see the square beads and the small faceted crystals much better in these next couple of photos~

I wish I remembered what the squares were made out of!

Oh, and I almost forgot-- in addition to doing over Jeannie's jewelry, I also took apart one that my mom gave me-- the large amber-colored glass beads, between the blues towards the bottom, were taken from a bracelet that was past its prime:

It's got three sections to it, design-wise~ this is one side, the one I took the beads from! See what I mean?

The center cabochon and brass focal bead is another "special" item for me. A local handmade jeweler used to sell her items once a year out of her house, and my mom and I always went. She was so impressed with my interest in the jewelry that she gave me (and I bought) BAGS full of metal pieces that were fixed up by her. This center piece was one of them-- like the square beads, it was one of those things that I'd held on to, waiting for the perfect piece of jewelry to come along. And here it was, and here it is!

Close-up of the focal "bead"-- it's more like a component, but details-shmetails...

I absolutely love this piece-- I am so proud of myself and of the work! I was originally planning on selling the finished piece, but now that I've seen it I think I'm going to keep it for my own collection. I have a few outfits that will be completely completed by this-- and I put aside a few purple beads to put together some earrings, to match! I just have to wait for some brass ear wires to arrive...

Looks like it's time for me to do some hopping, and catch up on the A to Z when I'm done with that~ see you later!

A to Z, 2012-- O is for...

The OCEAN!

This photo (Copyright TJ Wasik) was taken by one of my best friends, on a trip to the USVI. The water was such a gorgeous color of blue!

So those of you who know me, know that I'm a water-baby through and through. Even though I was the slowest child on earth to learn how to swim (I don't think I took my swimmies off until I turned seven!), I've always loved being in the water and I practically grew up in the ocean.

Look at me-- a nautical natural! Ahoy, mateys and Mickeys! Of course I look like a natural on the water... I am a Cancer, after all, and that makes me a crab baby! Just look at those "claws", expertly holding onto my food~

See, my grandparents had a boat. Every summer, I would visit them-- sometimes with my mom and dad and brother, sometimes on my own. We would ride over to a nearby barrier island, park in the marina, and stay for as long as we liked. There was the bay (shown above, older my shoulder), there was the ocean (not pictured above), there was sand as far as the eye could see. We had boogie boards and money for ice cream cones, and when I was tired of playing in the water there were parks next to the marina, with swings and slides and monkey bars.

The ocean was where I got to spend time with my family and read as many books as I liked. But most importantly, the ocean was where I learned not just how to make jewelry, but where I grew to love it and learned how to sell it!

(I'll talk more about that at a later date. If I put it in this blog post, it would be longer than some of Hemmingway's short stories!)

In any case, the ocean is a place that fills me with joy. When I am there, I am filled with a warm and blissful calm. When I am thinking about it, I can't help but smile.

And most importantly for this blog, it inspires me artistically.

A to Z, 2012-- J is for...

ME!

No, wait... that's not quite right... well, I mean, it is, but it's not the word I want to talk about.

Today's word is Junk.

As much as I love to use fancy rocks and beautiful gems and whimsical glass, there is something to be said for creating something beautiful out of practically nothing. I believe that the term now is called "upcycling"-- using things that would have otherwise been discarded, for an entirely new purpose.

My mom picked up a pair of earrings down in Florida, made from soda can tabs and shells:

Thanks for sending me the photo, Mom! Love you lots <3

On Pinterest, you can find many more things like this-- a ring made out of an old fork,  a bracelet made out of old credit cards or gift cards, a bracelet made out of knitting needles, beads made out of old rulers, a bracelet made out of tape measures, a necklace out of old book pages...

Oh... I almost forgot... they have beads made out of paper, too! This example used Archie comics... I wonder who made it? They must be an AMAZING artist, and a wonderful handmade jeweler~ hee hee hee!

(By the way, those links are NOT from *my* Pinterest page... just someone who has very similar interests to mine!)



I love getting deals at thrift stores and bargains at yard sales. It's the thrill of the hunt-- the idea of finding something special that I can use for a project, something that has been discarded by someone else.

On my most recent thrift store expedition, I found two very interesting objects at an absolute steal-- less than $5 for both--

I'm going to have to do a close-up of each of these at some point. They're all really interesting beads-- carved from stone-- some of them look like chess pieces, others look like Transformers, others look like Aztec relics. Oh, and there's one bird thrown into the mix, too~

Or at least, I think it's a bird... either that or a fish...

And "found object" number two-- a brass bracelet, with black and white resin centers!

I've already taken apart the black and white and brass bracelet-- I'm using one of the "links" as a focal point on a necklace-- but I have NO IDEA what the stone beads are going to be yet.

My family always said that one man's trash is another man's treasure, and I couldn't agree more. Before you throw something away, think not what it is today, but what it *could* be.

See you all tomorrow. Happy creating!

A to Z, 2012-- D is for...

Decisions.

We make decisions every day, every single one of us. Chefs, healers, doctors, mothers, engineers, teachers, athletes, movie stars, musicians, cashiers, day laborers, and yes, artists. It doesn't matter if we are rich or poor, happy or sad, strong or weak, we all make decisions every single day.

Morpheus and Neo know where it's at! What'll it be-- the red pill or the blue pill?

Some decisions are small, so small you don't even have to think about it-- for example, what music you will listen to on your commute. Others are made so often that they become part of a routine-- like what you will put in your coffee, or how you will style your hair, or what you do first in the morning after you wake up. Some decisions are new every day, but require some thought-- what to wear, what to cook, what you will do after work is over.

And some decisions we must make are so tremendously huge that they consume your thoughts and your life.


I'm at one of those crucial crossroads right now... and I have been for quite some time now.


When I first got sick, the question was whether I should have surgery or not. I weighed the options, and had the surgery. While it didn't give me any relief from the pain, it gave me something that I didn't have before-- an answer.


When I realized that teaching was out of the question for me, I had to figure out what to do with my life. That took quite a long time, but I eventually realized that I actually could "make it" as an artist. A life-changing decision, most definitely-- and while I question my choice all the time, I absolutely love what I am doing.

See? This might not be the best photo of me, but there's no doubt about it that I am happy to be making jewelry. Notice the earrings hidden by my hair, the bracelet designed by me, and the necklace designed by Hubby. I look like I'm ready to take on anything. Look out world, here I come~!

Yesterday, at the doctor's office, I talked to a new doctor. A specialist in his field, quite literally world-renowned. I now have some major choices to make about my treatment~ the decisions I make will affect my entire life's course, so I will have to think long and hard about my course of action.

Today, my decision was to buy a new earring stand for my jewelry display. I needed something that was more fun, and more functional, than the one that I was previously using. 

Apparently, in my universe, earrings grow on trees from the roots of bracelets... I'm practically a psycho-analysts' dream come true!

I love the tree, but am not so fond of the butterfly on top. I will probably be replacing it with something else, at some point in time.


Tomorrow's biggest decision will hopefully be nothing more than what to eat for lunch, or what components to put together for a necklace that I'm designing. The truly tough decisions will be on my mind for some time to come, because they are not the kind of choices that one makes in an instant. It's not every day that we are faced with the "big ones"-- and thank goodness for that.


See you all tomorrow, for the letter E, and don't forget to sign up for my giveaway, a few posts back. Don't forget that it is the love and support from my family and friends that has made me as strong as I am today-- and I consider all of you my friends <3

A to Z, 2012-- C is for...

COOKIE!

(Okay, so this post is not *actually* all about cookies~ but I couldn't help it~ what can I say, the tiny child trapped inside my adult body just can't associate the letter C with anything else! Talk about word associations that just won't die...)

So since C does not stand for cookie, in this instance, it must stand for something else. Now what could that be?

For the longest time, I had the whole thing planned out and set up. C was SUPPOSED to be for Cables. But then today happened.

I had two doctors appointments today, two very important appointments, and I ended up being out of the house all day. It was a great day-- I was able to go to the bead shop AND the metal shop AND my favorite food chain of all time.

I absolutely *love* eating at Pret, and they're all over the city. The food is good and fresh, and it has my latest culinary addiction-- Brie cheese. Specifically in the form of a sandwich, with tomato and fresh basil. YUMM-O!

Anyway, back to the letter C.

As I mentioned above, I ended up at the metal shop... my first time there. And OH MY GOODNESS! I found metal components that really bring me back to my childhood, things that spoke to me as an artist, things that inspired me to create.

Among other things, I bought my first CABOCHON. And some filigree to wrap it up.

As long as I'm recovered from the day's activities, I'll be putting this together tomorrow. It's my first one, so I'm hoping it turns out as pretty as I imagine it to be in my head~!

 And that, my dear friends, is the story of how the letter C became associated with something completely different and unexpected and new.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more alphabet-ty goodness~ and don't forget to sign up for my giveaway from a few posts back!

A to Z, 2012-- A is for...

Art.

But before I get too far "into" that, don't forget to sign up for my special giveaway... if you sign up for it, please remember to do so on the ORIGINAL blog post, linked above or found a few posts below. And let me also give a warm welcome to any A to Z challenge participants who may be visiting!

Now, back to the scheduled program. It took me a long time to consider myself an artist, and realize that I truly am one.

Me as a senior in high school, putting together my "senior project"-- a 3-D rendering of the high school musical. In this photo I was working on the curtains, made from fabric left over from my costume. I'm smiling in this photo because a friend was taking the picture, but this was probably my least favorite project, when it was done~

I've been creating since as far back as I can remember. I learned how to knit (the first time, at least) when I was three. I started out making jewelry and doll-pins, and selling them along the beach with a friend, when I was around 11 years old. I took art lessons around that time, and refined my painting and drawing and sculpting techniques. In high school I took several art classes, and learned how to screen print. College taught me to design techniques for 2-D work, and introduced me to the psychology behind designs.

But I never considered myself an artist.

The art of a former student. Coincidentally, this photograph also reflects exactly how I used to view my work~!

See, my problem is that one of my grandmothers is an artist. She paints watercolors-- the kind of watercolors that are hung in galleries and governor's mansions. Whenever people complimented me on a project, I always thanked them, but made sure to tell them that I was no artist.

No more.

Now, when people ask what I do or what I am, I tell them proudly that I'm an artist. I tell them that my most recent work is wearable art-- because whenever I make jewelry, that is what my ultimate goal.

I'm not saying that I think of myself as the world's best artist. I'm not saying there's nothing else for me to learn-- far from it-- and I still have doubts.

I found this through Facebook, courtesy of a friend <3

Even now, I still have moments when I wonder if this is what I'm truly meant to be doing, if this is the kind of thing that I SHOULD be doing, if this is the kind of thing that I'm good at. I question myself every day.

But now, at least I know, thanks to friends and family (and my own soul-searching) that I deserve the title.

To those of you reading my blog, who might be questioning your OWN status as an artist, I highly recommend that you read this article. It expresses my feelings, exactly, about what it means to be one.

Do my perspectives on being an artist resonate with any of you? I know I'm not the only one who struggles with this title... do any of you have experiences to share?

Tune in tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel, for more alphabetical excitement!

Day Thirty, Time to Party!

Cheers from both myself and Hubby~!

  ...Okay, so it's not a perfect rhyme, but it's more fitting than anything else I could think of.

Today we celebrate the (almost) end of my month of earrings. I have one day left, but I couldn't think of a more fitting time to throw a mini-party with my readers. See, I have reached over 1,000 page views to this blog. I am almost up to 50 posts. And I'm starting up a new post-a-day challenge as of Sunday!

Today's post kills two birds with one stone, metaphorically speaking. My earring-of-the-day is part of the special giveaway that I've been hinting about for a while now. SURPRISE!

 

First, the materials. The black beads are glass (the smaller ones) and ceramic (the REALLY small ones on the earrings, and the larger round ones), and the colorful beads are made by myself, out of comic book paper. Archie, to be specific-- I wanted that "retro" feel. Coated in Mod Podge, of course, to make them a bit more water resistant. The ear wires are made from Sterling Silver, so you can wear them without fear of the dreaded "green skin" syndrome!

One lucky winner will get both the earrings and the bracelet. Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win-- I'll be choosing the name at random on Sunday, April 8th, around 12 PM (aka "Noon") Eastern Standard Time, so be sure to put your name in before then!

I'll be announcing the winner on the blog, so I STRONGLY recommend that you follow the blog in some way (either Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers or RSS or whatever you choose). If the prize remains unclaimed after a reasonable amount of time (I'm not talking one day late, guys!), I'll draw a different name.

I'm super excited to be offering these items to all of you. Please don't hesitate to ask if there are any questions about this. Good luck, godspeed, and thank you for helping to make this blog as amazing as it is! I "luff" you all, as one of my friends often says <3

Day Twenty-Nine, Time to Shine!

Wow... you all must have been hitting the refresh button HARD... I'm almost to 1,000 page views! Which means I'll be posting all about this special giveaway tomorrow. I can't wait!

To tide everyone over, here are the earrings of the day:

Trusty old teacup~! This one probably shows off the color best...

But THIS photograph probably best shows off the marbleized detailing in the agate.

The color of the square agate is actually more of a deep purple, and the round agate is more of a bright pink/magenta.

So as you may have surmised through my comments under the photos, this pair was made with two tones of agate-- pink on the top, and purple on the bottom. Both of them have a marbleized effect; the pink sphere has undertones of red and purple, and the purple square has accents of tan and deeper purple.

I'm hoping to get to do a great deal of artwork tomorrow-- earrings and jewelry and clay and resin, oh my! And most importantly, I will almost assuredly be posting all about a special giveaway tomorrow. Keep your eyes and ears peeled~ as I frequently say, stolen from a favorite show of mine~ same Bat Time, same Bat Channel~!

Day Twenty-Eight, Moving Along at a Fantastic Rate!

So, I have an exciting bit of news. I'm getting awfully close to 1,000 page views for this blog! While these are mostly repeat views from my faithful viewers, it's a very exciting milestone for me. When I reach 1,000 page views, I'll announce a special giveaway. It should be very soon, at the rate we're going on this blog!

Keeping this blog entry short and sweet. Here's the latest and greatest earrings:

Side By Side By Side, to quote a musical~

I love my trusty old teacup and piano bench...

And a new photographic surface emerges-- the cherry wood silverware box!

 Back to the pearls, I know-- it's just so hard for me to stay away! These ones are two different colors and shapes of freshwater pearls-- golden and dark brown, imperfect and oval and irregularly round. I made these to match a necklace that I designed a while back...

A matching pair of pearls-- shades of brown, just like autumn!

This is one of my favorite sets! My mother-in-law wore it to her church's Lenten Bible Study meeting tonight, and got *MANY* compliments. I have four sets of pearls that are similar in style but different in color, that one of my friends described as a "set for all seasons"-- this includes the green one previously posted, as well as this brown one, and two sets that I haven't shown yet on this blog, one of blues and another of browns and pinks.

Since this set (and the green one) turned out so well, I'll have to do the same for the others another day. See you all tomorrow~!

Day Twenty-Seven... Learning Resin!

I want to start making my own beads and jewelry components. The other day I picked up a kit to make resin jewelry. I have all the necessary supplies... now I just need to feel well enough to do it.

If it turns out well, I'll post the results (proudly) on this blog. If not, well... there's a site for failed projects that just might be calling my name. If it comes to that I will probably be very upset.

Anyway, I'm still under the weather, but I'm proud of myself for being so productive today. Here are the earrings:

I nicknamed these "Double Jade", since the two beads used are two types of jade. There's teal jade for the bottom, and blue jade for the top!

Now, I usually try to get at least a few different views of my jewelry, to show it off to the best it can be. Unfortunately, this is all you're going to get for now.

The camera did not pick up the color of the jade as well as I'd like. The one on the top-- the smaller bead-- is a dark blue, and it came out more of a black color. The one on the bottom is teal and white, and came out looking like a gunmetal grey-blue.

Today's earrings have been a complete Color Fail.

At least they're gorgeous in person. And at least the photo doesn't look *terrible*~ it just doesn't show up the colors as well as I'd like.

If I ever get a better photograph of these earrings, I will gladly show these earrings off again. In the meantime, have a great evening, and I'll see you all again tomorrow!

Day Twenty-Six, Still Taking My Licks...

I'm starting to think that perhaps I'm doomed to a life spent in bed...

Oh well. At least I've had some great television to keep me company!

Today's earrings are incredibly simple-- no frills, nothing elaborate, nothing overly fancy.

These earrings remind me of a pair I had as a teenager-- I got them as a souvenir when we went to Disney~

 Nothing but sterling silver and blue freshwater pearls. They're not baby blue or sky blue-- more like a cool grey-ish blue. But those who know me, know that I love everything blue, no matter the shade!

They're so simple, it's ridiculous!

 Personally, I like my earrings to be a bit bigger, to have a little more "heft", but I know that not all my customers and clients feel the same way.

Tomorrow's pair, I'm going to try to stay away from pearls. I promise!

No matter the design I end up creating, I have some big announcements to make over the next few days. Can't wait to let you all know about my big plans-- see you on the flip side of the moon!

Day Twenty-Five, And I'm Still Alive!

... but barely. It's been a rough week or so...

This post will be a quick one, since I'm feeling majorly under the weather.

I love the details on the stones!

Those who read both the personal and business blogs can recognize the Chrysocolla beads that I posted about just the other day!

I remember the name of this stone, for one reason only-- because I have a friend named Chrissy, and all I have to do is pretend that she loves Cola!

I love the way it seems to change color in different lighting~

These earrings are quite simple-- sterling silver spacers, plus the Chrysocolla stones, all hung by a sterling silver wire on sterling silver ear hooks.

They sound all fancy-schmancy when I list all the component parts! Seriously, though, I love today's earrings. They're the kind of style that I would wear every single day, because the stones have enough shades of blue and green that I could easily match 3/4 of my wardrobe~!

One more day down. I can't believe I'm almost done with these personal challenges!

Day Twenty-Four, It Never Rains But it Pour(s)

So much has been going on with me lately, not the least of which has been my health. Endometriosis is always a yo-yo... sometimes it's up, sometimes it's down. I've spent over a week now with elevated pain levels, and there's nothing to be done about it. I'm still making my earrings every day, and I'm still putting together posts every day, but it's hard for them to actually get put *up* every day.

Thankfully, I have an amazing family and supportive friends, who understand what is going on and have been giving me some LOVELY recommendations for things to watch while I'm bed-ridden! I just finished watching every single episode of "Bones" available on Netflix, and am working my way through the first season of Downton Abbey. Next up, I'm going to finish "United States of Tara"~ is there anything else out there that you think I absolutely have to see?

Anyway, onto the earrings.

A friend suggested that I name them after her-- "Yosie's Choice"-- because they're her kind of style~!

Sterling Silver spacers surround and separate two delicate pink beads-- one perfectly round freshwater pearl, and one cool and smooth rose quartz.

Still experimenting with different photo surfaces...

I don't know what I'd do without this teacup!

I have some exciting news to post, both on here and the business blog. Stay tuned!

Day Nineteen, Fit for a Queen

Alright, so I didn't drop off the "bandwagon" entirely, I've just had a rough few days, health-wise. I've been bed-bound the majority of the time, and I've *written* blog posts for every single day, but I haven't been able to actually put them "live".

I don't have a lot of energy, so I apologize for the brevity of these posts.

Today's earrings are designed to match a necklace that Hubby made. He is still holding most of our jewelry captive-- still trying to take photos of it-- but I'll see if I can grab the necklace for a short bit.

Not my best work, as a photographer, but I'm very proud of them as earrings <3

The earrings are made by hand, with brass wire. Ear wires and everything else was made by me-- and I put a faceted jade bead, colored teal in the middle of the spirals.

Thank goodness I'm done with the "teens"~ onto the last third of this challenge!

Day Sixteen, There's a Special Sheen

Ugh... I finally get the camera fixed, and Hubby is hogging it tonight~!

Oh well. At least he's taking photos of our jewelry, so I'll have photos to add before the night is over.

Today's pair of earrings are quite lovely, in shades of purple! This pair features pink amethyst, oval-shaped and faceted, flanked by two small beads of white quartz and two smooth round amethysts, in two different sizes.

Photo will be attached as soon as Hubby takes peek-tures.

Tomorrow is market day... so excited! I'll let you all know how things go. See you tomorrow, amigos!

Day Thirteen, and Technology's Mean :(

So, there's a post today, but no photos yet.

Why, you ask? Because my camera is still out of commission, unfortunately. Hope to fix this by tomorrow~!

In any case, today's pair is a lovely blue, of course. Sterling silver ear wires, and blue jade. What a great combination!

PS- As as side note- I wonder how long I can keep up the rhymes....

Day Twelve- I Truly Delve!

So, first things first~ the earrings of the day!

Today's pair is a special request from a friend of mine. These are brass wires, wrapped in a spiral, and ending in an onyx teardrop. I plaon recreating these in sterling silver quite soon~ and while I know that you all think the model is OH SO ATTRACTIVE, this photo doesn't show the detail as well as I'd like... so more photographs will be attached tomorrow.

And now for something completely different.

I wanted to thank all my friends and family, and those who have visited me here, for being so supportive. Since posting about my health a couple weeks ago, I have received so much love from so many people, both on here and in real life. It means the world to me, and keeps me smiling when things get hard. Since then, as always, I have had good days and bad days... and the thing that keeps me going when things get tough is the idea that I will always have people in my life who support what I do.

When Hubby and I were watching Star Trek: Voyager on Netflix, and reliving our youth, the Vulcan character (Tuvok) said something that truly resonated within me. I was surprised to enjoy a quote from this particular character, since I am pretty much the anti-Vulcan for the most part.

"Do not mistake composure for ease." 

My life has challenges, but I always try to hold myself together as well as I can. I always try to keep my head up, and keep going. Many people say that they would never have known that I was unwell, had I not told them. I don't like to complain, and I don't enjoy showing my weaknesses to people. Some seem to think that because I don't show these feelings, that I'm perfectly fine.

Even when I'm at my worst-- no, ESPECIALLY when I'm feeling my worst-- I always try to make things seem much better than they truly are.

This does not mean that I feel any less unwell... just that I try to hold myself together as best I can. And the two things that truly help me to do that, are the important people in my life, and my art. Those two things help me keep my composure through the worst of times.

What inspires *you* to keep going, when all you want to do is stop? <3

Day Eleven, Earring Heaven~

So, I'm up to day eleven. UNBELIEVABLE! AMAZING! OUTSTANDING!

... every so often, we all need to be our own cheerleader. That's just the truth~!

Anyway, here's my latest pair, made today. Was not feeling great, so I didn't have time for my fancy or pretty pictures yet. I'll add a few more tomorrow, if time/energy allows. All glass beads, with some kind of metal for "joy"~

These are the "sister" earrings to the ones I made that said "hope." I keep making these because I got a lot of these charms a while back... and while these aren't my favorite earrings ever, the message is important today. I did way too much yesterday, and as a result spent most of the day curled up in bed. It's days like this that it's important to have a little slice of joy and whimsy.

Hope you all had a great day, at least, and I look forward to a better tomorrow!

Day Ten, Let's Do It Again!

Day ten of my personal challenges, and I'm still going strong! Earrings du jour:

This teacup has become my new best friend...

This beautiful pair is a personal favorite of mine~ lapis lazuli centers, flanked by golden freshwater pearls (shaped like doughnuts, yum yum!) and small black onyx beads. They were designed to coordinate with a necklace that I had in mind for a while, and finally finished up today as well.

The lapis lazuli is a little out of focus here, but it gives you an idea of the colors against a darker surface~

Now, I absolutely LOVE this set. I love the way it looks, I love the stones, and I love the colors. But I have to admit that when I saw them on the neck form... no matter how I tried... no matter what angle I took the photo... no matter how I moved the earrings around, and the necklace up or down... it looked like the face of a deranged cookie monster.

"C" is for "color" AND "cookies"!

Fortunately, it does not have this same effect while on a person. I speak from experience on this.

However, I will have to be EXCEPTIONALLY careful when I put them on display these for sale. No need to scare the customers away from the booth...