Happy Tuesday!!!

I've been doin' stuff.......

A few Etsy sales, but mostly custom orders. When I say custom orders, I mean (mostly) my guy friends tell me they want something for their sister/mom/girlfriend/wife then I ask them questions about their sister/mom/girlfriend/wife to try to figure out what type of jewelry they may like.

I'm no longer confused about some of the presents my previous boyfriends have gotten me.

I asked one of my closest friends if his person wore smaller jewelry or larger statement pieces.

He told me she had brown hair.

You know who you are, my love, that's ok though, you're still one of my favorites. I hope your sister is happy with her "Birdy" necklace. It'll look great with brown hair.

I have been breaking hearts like crazy around here due to my friend Christina. This is the second or third batch of Candy's Hearts I've broken, then mended (Mama taught me to how to be a proper Southern girl...& some of it stuck). Christina got one of the necklaces, has been wearing it & people want the necklace after seeing her wear it. Great model, huh? She's a beautiful model & a beautiful person, thanks Christina!!

The pink jasper will be going into the shop tomorrow & the rest will be delivered this week..hopefully. I have a couple more things let to do, but I'm waiting on final approval before I start.

This is a stone I bought from a show this year & the gem cutter had it named Bruneau Turquoise. I don't know if it's a true turquoise or now, but this stone is just gorgeous. This was picked by another friend of mine for his sister. I had to show this up close so you could see how awesome this stone is up close. Also so you could see Dakota's hair & that I need to work on the bezel a bit more. Macro is soooo not forgiving.

OK, it's shower time, so I'll "see" y'all later

Exciting news!!

I told you last week that I had some exciting news so here it is. It's probably not so exciting, but it made me feel really good about what I'm doing & I'm terribly flattered.

Over Thanksgiving I was contacted by someone locally asking if I would be interested in donating one of my pieces to an animal rescue group for their silent auction. Shut up, right?? I was so excited to be randomly asked to donate & also this was to help an animal rescue. The organization is called IAR (Independent Animal Rescue) & I believe the silent auction is in January.

Here's my little rescue dog. Maybe not so little, & not rescued in the now, traditional way, but my little rescue sweetheart nonetheless. Dakota was left chained to a tree when her family moved. We don't know how long she was there before the neighbor noticed & started feeding her as best as she could with what little money she had. A friend of a friend took her in & got her healthy, well physically healthy anyway, & that's when she leapt into my life.

I decided to make a piece especially for the event & came up with Booker. Mom doesn't know, but this is a collaboration between the two of us. I put the initial design on paper, she named him, I thought I should add something else because he seemed plain, she said no, he didn't need anything....this is what what happened.

Most of my pieces have a name & a story because I'm nearly always inspired by something I dream, or see or feel and Booker is no different. Booker's story is Dakota's story.

Booker

Booker thought he was a good dog. He misbehaved sometimes, (as we all do), but he loved his family. One day his family didn't come home. He stared at the back door waiting to see a familiar face until his eyes were dry & burning. Day turned into night...turned into day....turned into night.

Booker didn't know what he had done to drive his family away, leaving him alone, cold & hungry, but he vowed never to do it again.

Now, as the dusk settles over his little world, his eyes fixed on the encroaching darkness, he looks for his new friend, the moon. He makes his wish that one day he will find his forever family.

I printed this onto a card to accompany the piece in the auction. I hope this speaks to people the way Dakota spoke to me & they give as freely as they can. Fingers crossed that Booker will bring in a little money for the other animals when he finds his forever home.

Hugs & puppy dog kisses to you all.

Pam

Hey, Long Time!!!!

I made it back to Durham from one of the most beautiful places in the world...well, to me anyway. Nothing like going back home & getting Mom & Grandma love. Watching the ground flatten & the cotton fields whiz by me as I got closer made me realize how much I love this land.

It wasn't until I moved away, that I noticed the brackish fragrance that drifts in from the sound & lingers in my memory. One day I'll go back home....to stay. I'll have a house on our farm that looks out onto the water to be awaken each morning by the warmth of the rising sun.

I have a few things headed to the shop this afternoon. This is my golf ball marker. Carolyn, from Autumn Leaves Jewelry has been a huge help to me while I was trying to get this off the ground...after all, she cornered the market on Etsy. Mine is a little smaller & has the little peg thing on the back. A friend of mine asked me to make him one & gave me a little plastic one as a model.....probably the only thing from Rolex I'll ever own.

Care, what do you think? I'm going to make it available with up to 3 letters. I only have one letter stamp set & this marker is about the size of a dime, so I don't have a lot of space for stamping. It'll come in a "velvet" pouch packed in a gift box.

Here's a pendant with a simple white quartz. You can't see it from this photo, but behind the little flower is the silhouette of a dandelion. A simple little necklace.

I have some exciting news, but I'm gonna wait to tell you. tee hee. Doncha hate that??? It's not really a huge thing, but means a lot to me, for several reasons.

I hope you all have had a great week..I missed you.

Pam

xoxo

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a quick note to say Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Amerians. I'm heading out to go back home to visit Mom & Grandma for a good Southern meal. I hope you enjoy your day regardless of where you are & what you're doing.

Blue Skies

After a week of steady rain from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ida we finally saw this.

The sky always seem so clear & blue after a hurricane/tropical storm; it's as if the rains have cleansed the air to make way for the sun & air. It started raining again after this, but we have more blue skies today.

Do you smell these?? I placed an order with Candles by Victoria & could not be happier. Victoria makes these candles in Van, Texas with her partner, Matt (aka Candleman) and their daughters, Chelsea and Melissa. Victoria has well over 500 scent recipes & when you finally decide what you want, your candles are poured. Yes, she pours your candle when you place your order, which means that even if they weren't already scented with triple the amount of fragrance, they would still smell better than the ones that have been sitting on the store shelf for months (maybe years).

I opted for the 8 oz No Frills Sampler Pack, (which is the 6-8oz candles...you pick the scents for $40.00), 4 Scent Shots (the tarts that you place into a warmer & a great way to try out new scents for $1.95 each) and the Surprise Bag on Mini Bud Tarts (12 [I think] of misc tarts for $4.00)
Most of the candles & tarts I ordered are for gifts & very reasonably priced. The scent of each of these is amazing. I'm not a fan of the bakery-types scents, but I ordered a few for gifts & they really do smell like Pineapple Upside-Down Cake & Pumkin Pie Spice. French Quarter & Mango Sage Tea are probably my favs of this batch, but Apple Jack N Peel is a close third for this time of year. Victoria is also on Youtube, so go meet the woman behind the candles at CBVictoria.

I'll definately be buying more candles from Victoria & I hope some of you check out her site & look into some candles as well. I will say that if you want them for Christmas, you may want to go ahead & order them because she gets increasingly more busy & may have a couple of weeks backlog. I ordered mine on a Friday, she sent them out on Tuesday & I got them on Friday, but that was a couple of weeks ago. If you want me to go into more detail on the candles I bought, just let me know & I'll do another post about the scents I ordered.

Fresh from the tumbler & waiting to be dipped into the stinky LOS, steel wooled, then tossed into the tumbler again. I don't usually tumble before LOSing, but thought I'd try it after some discussion on Lisa's Lovelies blog about polishing & tumbling & all of those things only interesting to us metal heads.

I hope you all have a blessed weekend & maybe I'll actually have new pieces to show. Most of the pieces I'm working on are for custom orders, but a couple are headed to my shop. Yes Beth, I listened & am working on restocking my shop ((hugs)).

xoxo

Pam

So, what happened was.......

I was careless. It's easy to get too comfortable with the tools that we use everyday. We become enraptured by our next "piece of art" that the tools fade. The torch isn't a torch anymore & the glow of the metal is just a lovely color that we're trying to achieve, instead of it being a means to an end. All of that, added to it being a bad soldering day & my torch not getting the piece hot enough made me, yep made me, forget the basics. The really basic basics...like not haphazardly picking up the piece with the tweezers & holding it up so I have less of a heat sink. It's all fun & games until said person (that would be me) shifts in the chair, the piece over her lap, then drops cherry red piece into her lap. Oh no!! Let me tell you......not a good move.

The smoke created by a 1200 degree piece landing on sweatpants is quite incredible & a little scary. I quickly brushed it off of my lap, but it had already melted a hole into my sweatpants. I looked at my leg & nothing; it wasn't red & didn't even hurt. Well, I continued on my merry way & later that night my leg was itching..oh yeah. A blister like I've never had before. Oh well, it's better now, and never hurt like a burn, but hopefully I've learned my lesson. Am I really ready for a Big Girls Torch? I think so, but it'll have to wait; until then, I have new respect for my little butane.

Ya'll be careful!!

xoxo

Pam

Rain, Rain

*sigh* Still raining here. Hopefully tomorrow the remnants Hurricane Ida will move along & leave us with a little sunshine. It's been raining here, almost constantly, since Monday night. The wind is still gusting, uprooting some trees & some areas are flooding, but this is an easy one for us. Maybe we'll see sun this weekend. Gotta throw in a picture.

Dakota's moping around these days, becausing she's reflecting back to her fun days in the sun. Right now, it's looking more like a mud pit.

Be good & remember not to drive through standing water.

Ft. Hood

I just want to send love & hugs to the families & soldiers at Ft. Hood.

xoxo

Pam

Etsy Gift Guide!!

I received a convo today telling me that I was in the Jewelry Gift Guide on Etsy!! Yay!!! My first one..I would have never known if it hadn't been for Carolyn from Autumn Leaves Jewelry, who is also in one of the gift guides. Thanks Care!! Her sterling silver dish is featured in the One of a Kind Gift Guide.

Candy's Heart is the one who made it to the gift guide.

xoxo

Be good!!

Friday Bits

Happy Friday!!

I have a couple of little bits to show you today. They both still need a little finish work on them, but I dashed out to get photos because the sky seems heavily laden with an excess of moisture. Yeah, it looks like it's gonna rain.....again.

This is for my friend Beth for whom I made the little silver hibiscus pendant. This is a little gifty-poo for someone's birthday..I'm not going to mention any names, but her name in Hawaiian mean "heavenly moon" (I think, sometimes things get lost in the translation). I left the setting around the red plume agate heavily oxidized to contrast with the 4 full moons surrounding the stone, then "waning" back to the onyx "new" moon at the clasp.

My friend Bob wanted me to make a necklace for his sister & his mother. This one is for his sister because he told me her nickname is Birdy. It took me hours & hours to design a piece so deceptively clever that no one would immediately get the connection. Did you get it yet?? Yes!!! I made a bird pendant because they call her Birdy. See, I'm a clever girl.

I'm still working on getting beautiful photos of my pieces, but still haven't gotten there. I like natural light & the natural setting of being outside, but the glare on the stones is awful. Well, until I figure it out, y'all always know you can check out my foliage situation just by gazing at the reflections in the stones. As you can see by Beth's pendant, the dogwoods have almost lost all of their leaves.

I hope y'all have a great weekend & don't let the boogey man get you.

xoxo

Pam

SATeam Wrist Candy Holiday Giveaway.

Do you remember this??

Well, the little fellow found some friends (see him there on the top/). This is the collaborative charm bracelet SATeam (Starving Artist Team) has put together for our first giveaway. This bracelet is loaded with 25 handmade charms from some of our members & will be given away in December. A purchase from one of our shops will get you entered in the drawing to win this beautiful one of a kind bracelet. Hurry, hurry, you have from now until Dec. 6 to find something pretty so you can be entered. For a list of all of the shops participating please go to SATeam's Blog . Good Luck!!


Have a great day!!

SATeam Wrist Candy

What does that mean????? I dunno, stay tuned........

Around Town

I haven't made anything new lately, so I thought I'd show you a little of Bull City...The City of Medicine......Durham.

These are old tobacco warehouses (built cira 1890's) that have been converted into apartments, but I'm sure they're not called apartments when they're this expensive. I love the units and their brick walls, exposed beams & the beautifully refinished floors. A lot of the old hardware was kept on the beams & in the floor & it's a lovely place. In the summer, there is a live band (free) every Friday. Bring a chair & some wine & you're good to go. If you're lucky (like me), you have friends in the building, so you get to hang out on their terrace or balcony & watch while mingling apt. to apt. It's been several years since I've done that.

This is a shot going into one of the courtyards. There are a few different building in the complex & an Italian restaurant st the edge of the larger one.

This is someone's "window"...it was a loading dock, but now is part of someone's living room. It's also makes a nice frame for their Christmas tree during the holidays.

Of course, I think every city has this.

The building in the background is a newer building(1948), but still part of Liggit & Meyers. Work has begun to revamp those buildings & they've opened a wine bar in one. Hmmm.....I bet y'all would like to hear about that. I'll have to check it out.....just for you.

The old Durham Bulls stadium. If you watched Bull Durham, you've seen this stadium, but it's a little nicer now than it was then. A buuuuunch of money has been spent on the grounds & buildings in the past year, but it's still used for festivals & ballgames, but not the Durham Bulls. You can see the old mascot still painted on the side of the warehouse in the outfield.


Here's the ticket booth. It looks a little meloncholy without a little face poking out of the window

Well, that's it for now. I've started working on something new..maybe I'll get it ready by my next post.

Be good!!

xoxo

Happy Friday!!

It's another dreary, overcast day in North Carolina...seems like I'm always complaining about the weather doesn't it?? I think it's a Southern thing...or maybe just hereditary....my Grandmother does it too. Oh, the talks we have about the weather!!

*Edit*

The sun is pushing it's way through the gloom .....right now!!!

Anyway, I was going to show you a photo of a couple of my newest pieces, but I can't get the photo to transfer from my camera. It's only that one set of photos, but they won't budge. I'm going to keep working on it because one of the photos could be on a calendar. That's right. I draped the ring over a motorcycle like it was Miss June. Right there next to the chrome gas cap. Yeah, it's pretty hot.

This one was going in my shop but didn't quite make it. It was rescued by a friend of a friend, but she's such a fun, classy lady, I think we're friends now too. This is a yellow plume agate & I loved the color & "plumage". I had named it Harvest Moon.....aaaw pretty.

I'll have another session of Out & About in Durham maybe next week. I finally got some photos of the old Durham Bulls Stadium. Everytime I tried to get photos it was either Blues Fest or Beer Fest. Hmmmm, wonder if there's a connection (Blues.......beer)? Nah. Well, the stadium looks a bit different now than it did in the movie Bull Durham, but I think we just spent about the same amount of money renovating it as they did on the movie.

Oh yeah, my hydrangeas. They were blue 7 years ago, then they turned hot pink. I tried to fix them with whatever it is to "fix" the color of hydrangeas. This is what happened. I rather like them.

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend.

xoxo

Lunch with Tiffany........stone

Purple Prose

*Edit*

Purple Prose has already been sold off Etsy.

I just finished making these littles. They're Tiffany Stone from Utah. I'm not a stone expert, but I haven't seen Tiffany Stone in such a yummy shade of purple. The color reminds me of Grape Nehi or some other artificially flavored, sugar laden treat. My favorite color has always been purple & when I was a little girl I so wanted to love Grape Nehi, but I didn't. It was so pretty & came in that cool bottle, but I couldn't stand the stuff.

This photo seems a little blurry...sorry, I thought it was OK. Anyway, this will be going into the shop today. I'll be headed down to my local tavern for a memorial for a good friend of mine. His family had the official Memorial Service last week, but this week, we're doing what Roy would have wanted. I'll be having a Corona with a lime for Roy.

Y'all have a great day & hug someone today.

I've Got Soap!!

It's funny that as I was preparing (mentally preparing, so it doesn't take long) to write this blog I visited Carolyn & she was revisiting a vlog about some soap she had ordered. There are so many awesome "bath & body" people on Etsy that it's impossible to decide, so you just have to jump in sometimes. I had noticed this person on the forums & Twitter & when I saw that she was having a sale, decided to jump in.

These are from Burnt Mill on Etsy. She was having free shipping on her 6 bars for $24 item. Who could pass that up? The "free shipping" is over, but 6 bars for $24 is still there. Well, be warned, these are not your Grandmother's soaps as you can see by the photo. Thay are funky & swirly & fun. They arrived very quickly & the smell.....oh, the smell when I opened the package.

I ordered (from top left down, then top right down)

Enchanted Apple Type (love this....like a fresh apple)
Warm Vanilla Sugar Type( not too sweet & with a little bit of musk undertone)
Love Spell Type (very crisp smelling)
Jasmine (light jasmine scent..very clean)
Lavender Blossom (light lavender scent..very clean)
Island Kola Nut ( warm, but not too sweet & that is coconut you see on the top)

I knew these were going to be wonderful when it rained all day & the soap got a little sweaty. I don't know the real reason, but maybe I've figured it out. Glycerin attracks water & it was raining. If the bars were sweaty, (not sticking or oily), the glycerin in them is attacting the moisture from the air. Glycerin =softness & yumminess. It's all very scientific really...obviously....especially the yumminess. I used to make soap & I really enjoyed making soap, but not getting stuck with 5 pounds of the same soap whenever I wanted to "play". I'll leave it in the hands of the experts.

I love these soaps but have to decide which ones will leave me to be given as presents, but until then they stay with me in my living room. These are large sized bars (I'd say around 5 oz) and the seller sent them out the day after I ordered. I love the scents & was surprised at the ones that have become my favorites. The lather is awesome & makes my weathered hands feel "oh so good". She has over 30 scent & the bars are beautiful. It's a shame that I have to use them, but it's the circle of life.

Y'all have a great day!!

xoxo

Island Girl

Just a quick little post to show you what I made for my little friend Beth. She vlogs, she blogs, she sews, she types & she makes me laugh. Beth is silverscreamgrl on Youtube & she really is a scream. She vlogs about things, pretty much what I do, but I don't have to do it on camera..HA!! Beth lives on the island of Oahu (not a bad gig, huh?) & I really didn't want to make her something exotic & tropical (because she sees the real thing every day), but when I see the girl vlog almost everyday with a plumeria tucked in her hair, it's hard to fight it. I went for it & came up with this.

I don't have any of these in my shop right now, but I may make a couple & throw them in there. It's not as big as your head like it appears. This is just a little baby at around an inch. Yes, that's my idea of a hibiscus...don't laugh, to' up flowers need love too.

Y'all be good.

Sisters

I don't have any sisters, or brothers for that matter, but I've been fortunate in my life to have others who have become part of my family & part of my heart.

I just listed these earrings Sisters. I have already sold a pair off Etsy, but have made more.

I believe that everyone has a soul mate. I also believe that we can have more than one & that it isn't confined to a romantic connection. I believe in kindred spirits & that our kindred spirit is also our soul mate. I have people in my life who are my soul mates. We share a bond that is strong enough to bridge time & distance, just like the sisterly bond. They mean everything in the world to me & I know my heart would stop for a moment if anything ever happened to them. I believe you can be an only child and still have sisters.

This design is based on the Native American symbol for sisters. The circle signifies the unbreakable bond and the X with the O on top symbolizes the female. These symbols, side by side, represent the bond of two kindred spirits.

Guess Who's Having a Giveaway??

Miss JJ of Rosy Revolver. I really can't say enough about this wonderful artisan, her work speaks for itself. If you think her pieces are amazing, you should see them in person & hold them in your hand, or wear them around your neck. She's generously giving away one of her necklaces & you really have to see it, so go check her out, don't enter because I really, really want this little beauty. Just kidding, check her out & enter (not really). ;)

Y'all have a blessed day!

My Saturday & Saturnight

Warning!!

Better grab another cup of tea, coffee or whatever libation you usually need to get through one of my blogs. This one is a long one.

I intended on going to the Farmer's Market, but couldn't make it due to the fact that I didn't fall asleep until about 7:30 Saturday morning. When I woke up I wasn't interested in fresh veggies or much of anything else for that matter. To the shower & out the door.

I walked a few blocks to Centerfest,

That's part of downtown Durham in the background.

where I visited with my friend Jenni. I hadn't seen her in a while, so it was nice to catch up...in between her customers. We chatted & enjoyed smoothies, my pick was mango; yummy & the only think that could have made it better would have been a bit of pineapple rum. After we'd chatted up a storm it was time for my next mission so off I go searching for someone.

Who was it, you ask? Well it was Miss JJ of Rosy Revolver. I"ve been following her blog & admiring her incredible talent so I was excited to finally meet her & her jewelry in person. She is just as lovely in person as you would imagine & her pieces are even more than you would expect. So feminine & somewhat old fashioned or Victorian with an edge (I'm talking about the jewelry, not JJ). All I could do is ramble about the weather & fondle the rings, earrings & pendants that were displayed in front of me. I'm not sure what we talked about, but her jewelry is still etched in my mind. I had to leave because I heard the all too familiar wail of the gentle siren calling me home. I knew what I had to do & where I had to go.

I ran into this little fellow on my way out of Centerfest & he followed me home. He's going to live with my Mom. He's made out of left over steel from barges so he'll feel more at home a little closer to the water.

As I left Centerfest my feet took me to the left, then the right, then the left, right, right:


Oh, that was the call!! Like an old friend...the door's always open. I didn't know there was going to be a Dead Celebrity Party that night, but was quickly recruited to draw & cut stars out of glitter paper. Seriously?? Glitter paper?? Do you know how hard glitter is to get rid of when you get it all over you? By the time I was finished I looked like a Vegas show girl that had had a Care Bear throw up on her.

Time for the party. I didn't dress up, but the employees did. This is my friend & bouncer, Toa. I'm not sure who he is dressed up to be but it is not King Kamehameha. Toa is from Hawaii, but he's Samoan, not Hawaiian & very adament about that fact. He also used to be a wrestler, is related to The Rock (Toa's his uncle) & has a voice like an angel....a very manly angel.

This is Susan aka Judy Garland. I loved that she stepped out of the normal "Dorothy" Judy & went with the older, sassier Judy. Susan's wearing the fishnet & heels under that long blazer & looked absolutely perfect.


Now here's Chrystal. She started off as a bartender here several years ago & has found herself on the business end of the bar. She bought the bar a couple of years ago, but still enjoys slinging drinks a couple of nights a week. I've known Chrystal since she first started working here &we've become quite close...I actually made her wedding cake about 5 years ago. I tried to get a better shot of Chrystal, but if the music's playing & customers ordering, Chrystal's going to be moving.

She's Lili Von Shtupp. Lili is the saloon singer in Blazing Saddles played by Madeline Kahn.
Here's my first shot of her.....zroom......

I finally got her (after many tries). How great does she look?? Chrystal still loves to dress up & has been known to wear a pink wig & tutu at work just because it's a Tuesday. BTW, she makes a great Betty Page.

Don't I have beautiful & creative friends?? What would I do without them to make me smile?

The End.

Is it that time??

No, it's not the holidays yet but I made this for a secret project. I can't disclose what it is but it is something. tee hee!! I'll show you the finished project when it's ready..probably within the next month or so. This little thing was a thorn in my side. It's only a little over 1/2" long & 2-sided. I realized I needed to make it 2-sided after I'd completed it & tumbled it for 3 hours. Oh well..back to the bench. I didn't get a photo of the back of it..I forgot. I think I may make up a few of these (1-sided) for little earrings for the shop, but I'm not trying it anytime soon. I'm still a little bitter.


This is my nod to Halloween. I wasn't sure I was going to try to do anything for Halloween, but decided to try one pair of little earrings. These are little babies at 1/2" but they're going in the shop sometime this weekend.

I hope y'all have a great weekend!!

xoxo

What is it?

It's a dogwood seed pod.

The trees can smell the impending Fall & are getting ready for their Winter's rest; the mercury, however, has decided to fight the calendar. This is usual NC weather for our shiftless season changes... typically vaccilating from balmy to brisk, sometimes within a few hours. We are lured into complacency that we have made it through another sultry Carolina summer, then blasted with the heat & humidity that leaves us breathless & sticky. We are taunted by cooler days & even cooler nights buckled in by humid days & hot nights until we are finally granted a reprieve....at least until Spring.

My dogwood is getting ready for Winter so it can give me this in the Spring:

My trees are very good to me.

Have a great day Puppies!!

Remember

8:45 a.m. (all times are EDT): A hijacked passenger jet, American Airlines Flight 11 out of Boston, Massachusetts, crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center, tearing a gaping hole in the building and setting it afire.

9:03 a.m.: A second hijacked airliner, United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston, crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes. Both buildings are burning.

9:43 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, sending up a huge plume of smoke. Evacuation begins immediately.

10:05 a.m.: The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses, plummeting into the streets below. A massive cloud of dust and debris forms and slowly drifts away from the building.

10:10 a.m.: A portion of the Pentagon collapses.

10:10 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 93, also hijacked, crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh.

10:28 a.m.: The World Trade Center's north tower collapses from the top down as if it were being peeled apart, releasing a tremendous cloud of debris and smoke.

CNN.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember the taste of fresh strawberries and the smell of the first snowfall.

Remember the laughter from the playground and the sound of the waves.

Remember the first sight and the quickening heart beat.

Remember to love and to be loved

Video (and artwork) by SplitPZ. Music & Vocals by Sara E Morris.

Here's Candy

Edited: Candy's Lariat is here.

Inspired by the lariats made by Lisa and Carolyn I decided to add something a little more sassy to my Candy's Heart line. Photographed on the real Candy, who by the way, loves her new namesake. I realize it's not the best photo in the world, what with the beer guy in the background, but this necklace needed a live model, and not just any model; this necklace needed Candy.

I added another little heart to the "lariat" portion of the necklace, but couldn't decide if it should stay or go. I decided it dressed up the otherwise somewhat stark, somewhat organically shaped circle.

I really like the way this little pretty turned out & I hope you do too. She'll be in the shop the afternoon (Candy's Heart, not Candy).

I hope you all have a safe & wonderful Labor Day weekend.

xoxo

Beautiful Day

This photo was not taken today, but I love the bright red entangled in the emerald green. He's a pretty boy.

This is a beautiful day in Carolina. Not your standard "Chamber of Commerce" beautiful day, but everything seems so fresh. The skies are gray, but the trees are green. It's like they're opening up to savor the day, unemcumbered by the smoldering heat & the oppressive humiity. It is 2:00 in the afternoon and it's only 68 degrees with little sprinklettes of rain. This lusciously cool weather makes my body & mind want to stretch; it's an awakening of sorts. Fall is my favorite time of the year..it's a reprieve from the claustrophic summer because the air is crisper & lighter & even the squirrels seem to sigh with relief. This is Carolina so it'll be back to 90 degrees in a few days, but for today we can breathe.

Coming Soon!!!

My new version of Candy's Heart, modeled by the real "Candy". You won't see her face, but you will see her décolletage. Yeah, fancy name for cleavage. I have to take my random outdoor photos, but this piece needed a live model. Check back in a couple of days & see what I've come up with. If you have ideas on how to improve, please leave a comment. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. (((hugs)))

In Progress

I'm working on something to expand my Candy's Heart line. I must admit that it is inspired by a few pieces that a couple of our favorite silversmiths have been producing. There are a few design elements that I'm hammering out before I take photos. I've shown it to several people & have gotten a pretty positive response from all of them. A couple of them wanted me to tell their boyfriends/husbands that they wanted one. I'm always a little uncomfortable doing that, so I'll leave it up to the ladies to make their wishes known. I wanted to get the real "Candy" to model the necklace, but alas, it may not come to fruition as her schedule is a bit harried for the next week or so.

I really need to get working on some staple pieces for my shop, but my muse has left. I don't know where she went, but I'm sure she's having more fun than I. At least I hope she's sleeping better than I. Insomnia is awful. How can something that is so natural become so ellusive? I sit here at night, really quiet so as not to "excite" myself into sleeplessness, but I still witness the wake up calls of the birds while the encroaching dawn permeates the darkness. Another night lost, which means another day lost. *sigh*

Nina Simone

">

Mortar Love

I'm not really a collector of things, just your run of the mill pack rat who's afraid to throw anything away because I'm sure I'll need it one day....right? I've been reorganizing my kitchen, cleaning out all of the cabinets, putting things I use regularly within reach & things I don't use on the tippy top shelves. It's been a really good thing. I love it when everything has it's place.

I noticed something when I was cleaning. I love mortars & pestles. I love to use them & I love having them around. I look for recipes where I can use my M & Ps. It wasn't until I gathered them all up that I realized the seriousness of my "crush" (get it?? teehee). I actually use all of these, well all but one, because it's pretty much useless except for a serving dish, but they each have a certain purpose.

The large one in the back & the one in the center are molcajetes. They are from Mexico & made out of lava rock. I bought them new so I had to "season" them myself. Not an easy task. The insides are still a bit rough, but great for making salsas, guacamole, etc. The other one in the back is from Thailand is made of granite. That's the work horse. I can pound out pesto or most anything else in that one. The green one on the right is a Japanese mortar & pestle & has a rough bottom. I like to use that one for breaking up dried herbs & spices. The little marble one is for my peppercorns & anything round that likes to fly out of the other mortars. The mushroom shaped pestle keeps my victims where I want them. The wooden one on the left is the Diva....looks pretty, but that's it. The pestle is too round to get good contact with the mortar so she just sits around & hold things. The wooded one in the front is my garlic pounder from Syria. It is unfinished & I only use it for pounding garlic. This one gets most of my attention because I cook with garlic a lot.

I'm sure this has got to be the most boring post ever, but I'm feeling pretty boring today. Maybe the next time I'll show you my wooden spoons. Just kidding!!

I just found more of my favorite butane (Zippo) so I'll be firing up the torch to make more pretties. I'm trying to come up with a few staple pieces for my shop, but haven't really had any luck so far. I'll keep the Candy's Heart, but each one needs to be photographed because each one turns out so differently. I feel like I need to have a few simple earring designs that I can keep relisting as they sale (hopefully).

Well, I think I've done you in for the day, but just imagine how much more exciting your day will seem after reading this. Remember my hummingbird post?? Oh, the excitement of that one!!

OK, Puppies!! Have a great day!!

I just noticed that I have prattled on forever in this dissertation of my M & Ps. Sorry. :]

Candy's Heart Re-list

I just re-listed Candy's Heart. I hope this one finds a new home as quickly as the last two...I don't want to get too attached.

Just Listed

I just listed this Cathedral Agate in my shop today along with a pair of danglies. I'm working on another mended heart because someone wonderful bought the second one I listed.

I have no big plans for this weekend. I need to run some errands & work on a couple of new pieces...if i actually run my errands. I gotta get more butane, groceries, printer ink..all kinds of exciting things.

Ya'll have a great weekend & I hope you have fun. What are you gonna do?