Because she rocks...literally

Since I'm on the "writing about talented friends" kick, I really couldn't end it without showing you this wonderful video by my awesome friend, Reagan Richards. I always did feel a little self-conscious singing our very own rendition of George Michael's "Heal the Pain" in our college days with her (listen to the video below and you'll know why I say that). Her voice is amazing!!! (Can't wait to see you in SF soon, girl!)

We never used to dress up much for our impromptu concerts in the dorm, but ah...there was that one Halloween we decided to go trick or treating...I'll stop there...don't want to scare the little ones...Our costumes were really cool, but (no offense Reagan) that box I was wearing couldn't hold a candle to the costuming in this video!!! I love the characters that emerge in this video from careful consideration in costume and make-up design! The shiznit really...(is that even a word anymore?)

Ok, get to it...listen up right here!



I TOLD YOU SO!

Best friends

Beach ring by Auka

It seems like in the last few weeks, I've been surrounded with reminder after reminder of the concept of being "best friends", so I've been quite preoccupied with thoughts about what a best friend actually means. I've mulled it over and over in my head and have realized that there's only one person in this world that I truly associate the world best friend with (besides my husband of course). The funny thing is that we haven't seen each other in years. We haven't even really talked, I mean REALLY talked in years. Much of it because we're on separate continents and also much of it because our lives have sort of diverged as the lives of people who you lose touch with during those formative late high school and college years often do.

Sunbather ring by Auka

We grew up together in Spain. And boy, was it a great childhood! On account of our parents being good friends, our two families seemed to be but one. We'd go out to dinner together, vacation at the beach in southern Spain together, go hiking in the mountains, have potluck-style tapas at the neighborhood pool together. The kids would climb up in the trees and build forts, build a snowman after the first snow (yes, it actually snowed in Madrid a few years!), spend hours and hours in the pool perfecting the art of "dolphin diving", listen to music together, play games, read lots of books together. Many summer evenings were spent playing Sorry! on the grate of the pool's mechanical room since the grate would remain warm throughout the evening from the sun's beating during the day. We would romp around in the grassy fields near our homes finding stuff to make things with. A branch here. A nut there. It seemed we were always making "things". In fact, Ana was always super talented. She could draw amazingly. People, faces, designer sketches. She was always doing something of the sort. When my own family would be away on vacation or visiting relatives we'd write to each other and I'd always look forward that beautifully illustrated letter that I would get from Ana. I have very fond memories of our time together when we lived in Spain. Then, my family made the move to America. Our lives were never the same. New continent, new country, new climate, new language, new culture, new school, new opportunities, new friends (although that took a while because of the language barrier and a lot of culture shock). The distance and time eventually just pulled my best friend and I in different directions. But somehow, we never really forgot each other. Our circumstances have changed, our high school and college years have been apart and our lives are completely different. Yet I still hang on to the thought that Ana is my best friend. That spark of friendship still exists. It may be faint, but it still exists. And will probably bind us forever.

Bzz...bees go to honey earrings by Auka

I mentioned Ana was always very creative and quite talented. It didn't surprise me then, that one day, I'd find her on Etsy. Her work is gorgeous and amazing. Her rings are so fun! And surprise, surprise! The pool and beach that were so much of a part of our childhood have made an appearance in her work. Check out Ana's beautiful store on Etsy: Auka. Go ahead! Carry a little piece of beach on your finger...

lil' people ring by Auka

Life's a beach!

Sad friends?

People often ask me why my dolls look so sad. Although I am not a sad person in general, I have been known to give in to melancholy from time to time. It's just part of my personality. I get in a pensive mood that eventually leads me to answer the question "Why are we here?". No, not really. No matter how much thought I put into it, I can't really seem to find an answer for that one. But isn't everyone a little melancholic once in a while? No? Ok...It's just me then. But I digress.

My melancholy is the place my little doll friends come from sometimes. While, in some ways, my dolls are the expression of that melancholy, they're also quite the opposite. This is because my little worry doll friends are made for the express purpose of chasing the blues away and those blues are not necessarily always mine. All my dolls have a very important job to do that takes a lot of their concentration, but don't let their worried or sad looks fool you. They're all very good at their jobs. And they've had ample training. They love their jobs. They enjoy helping you get through a tough time when you're a little sad, worried or scared. They'll be there to support you until the rain clouds pass. They'll be there to catch your nightmares and direct them away from you so you can get some sleep. They'll be there when you're worried or when you're stressed. Or they'll be there when you just need some quiet from the negative self-talk in your head. They'll even be there to remind you of your worth when you forget. They'll be there absorbing all the bad that surrounds you. And most of all they'll be there to love you when you don't know how to love yourself. That's why they look so sad. It's a difficult job, but someone's gotta do it.

Go on. Say hello. Let one become your hero.

It's been waaaaay too long

Macaw wing feather quill pen by SomethingWiccan

Ok, so I know the first thing on the docket is that I absolutely MUST apologize for not posting in several months. Well, it's been a little hectic in my life, but I won't even use that as an excuse. Truth is, my inspiration has failed me. My writing muse left me for a while. Well...to be honest...she moved out is what happened. She must have found a more attractive brain to make her dwelling in. One with less cobwebs and possibly even less crickets chirping...

And, the thing is, she's not really back yet, so this post will probably be short. But I was so inspired by this blog that I found while visiting my friend Andrea's blog that I had to tell everyone about and post a link on my own blog. I love the message that Melissa from Operation Nice brings to the world. Although the name Operation Nice definitely hints at what you can expect to find in this blog, it doesn't begin to touch on its greatness. Check it out to get the full extent of what it has to offer: Operation Nice.

Ok...Off to make a phone call to my writing muse to beg her to come back to me. *note to self: try begging (and being nice)*

Airplanes

Red airplane knobs by knobs

My yearly frustration with airline ticket prices has set in for this year. Gas prices are down...way down from their high this past summer. So why is it that when I want to go visit my family on the East coast prices of airline tickets have skyrocketed higher than they were when gas prices were orbiting the moon? Couldn't possibly be that I want to visit my family during the busiest time of year. Say...Christmas perhaps. Whatever.

Flying High by teaforbini

I think airlines should take into consideration what we actually ask of them for what they make us pay. I mean, it's not like I am trying to get transportation to the moon. It's only half way...well, ok...ALL the way across the country that I want to go. But come on. That's a far cry from the moon. It's not like I expect to be fed on the plane, either. They can hold the peanuts. And it's not even like they have to transport any of my luggage or anything. I will take a carry on only thank-you-very-much.

Plane patch by stiksel

And it's not like the airline is expected to pay for my parking, nor my dog boarding...so the way I figure, the price breakdown for an airline ticket should be as follows:

$650 (price per ticket that they're trying to charge me)

-$400 (for not having to take me to the moon)

-$20 (for not consuming any food - not even peanuts)

-$100 (for two suitcases I am not taking - just a carry-on for me)

-$14.50 (two days worth of parking at the airport)

-$400 (10 days worth of dog boarding)

______

+$284.50 is what the airline owes me for picking them to fly on. Priceless.

I'll let you know how my argument works out for me at the airport ticket counter, but you probably shouldn't hold your breath.

I can dream can't I?

GO airplane by hemgoods

Hearts & Urchins

I am doing a quick fly by today. Not really writing a lot. Getting so busy! I'm surprised my head isn't falling off. It's been jerked so many different ways in the last few weeks. Anyways, just wanted to share some of the beautiful pieces of art that I acquired from some of my fellow Etsians. I recently photographed a few of these pieces on an old trunk I bought at an antique store a few months ago that I am using as a coffee table. I think the rusty, dusty and antique look of the trunk really show off the lovely, smooth lines of the ceramics. And the contrast of the soft leather of the trunk and the "spiky-ness" of the urchin bowls is amazing. What can I say, sometimes I really have a flair for the dramatic. Here are some pics. By the way, you really really really need to check out my friends at Etsy that make these gorgeous pieces. The urchin bowl is from elementclaystudio.

The shopowner & artist, Heather Knight, is not only an amazing artist, but she is very professional and warm person. I had seen these urchin bowls the minute I first layed eyes on Etsy and I just knew I had to have them. They are just wonderful. Their spikes' "dangerous" look is so beautifully contrasted with the softness of the bowl itself! Don't take my word for it. Buy one (or two, or twenty) here. The balloon heart was from bridgemanstudios and I thought it was one of the most lovely ways to depict a broken heart. Jim, the shopowner and artist, was extremely nice when I asked him for a custom order. Unfortunately, by the time I went to make my purchase of the heart I wanted, it was gone. Jim went out of his way to help me with my request. And all the while, he was super nice even though he had just put in some major time at a large show he did that week-end. Do you want your very own broken heart? Well...ok, bad choice of words, but check out Jim's hearts here.

And voila! That's my post! Longer than I thought, but then I do tend to ramble...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Mea culpa, Mea culpa, Mea maxima culpa

Ok, so I haven't blogged in a while. And I feel guilty about it. I really do. The thing is...it's not like I don't have anything to blog about. So many exciting things have been happening with all of my shops: natuure, coffeemonkey, twoangelsinparis !!! The problem is that there's one in particular that I just can't share. No! Really! I can't. To protect the innocent. Me? No, I'm not innocent...but I've been staying away from the blog so that I wouldn't tempt myself to say anything about it. And yeah...truly... I can't share. I wouldn't want to get myself into any trouble. Go ahead, convo me and tell me how bad you want to know. I maaaaaay tell you, but you might have to share a secret of your own. And I won't take just any old secret. It's got to be a juicy one. I don't trade secrets about any old thing. Come on, you gotta make it good. And I won't tell anyone. Well, maybe my blog, but no one else will have to know. Here's a secret that I CAN share. Introducing one of my very favorite soap companies on Etsy. Introducing...Annie's Powder Room by Anniepoo. Yeah, super cute name huh? Well, Annie wanted to feature some Etsy artists on her blog so I jumped at the chance when she posted a thread about it. She sent me these questions for me to answer so that I could be featured on her blog:

1. How did you start creating what you create?

2. What is your favorite thing to do when you are not creating?

3. Can you name three of you favorite etsy sellers?

4. What is your favorite food?

5. Please give us three strange, interesting or otherwise unknown facts about yourself!!!

I loved Anniepoo's store so much that I decided I would feature her on my blog. So I thought a bit about how to make this feature somewhat different from the others that I have done. And I thought about it, and thought about it, and thought about it some more (a little slow, I know) but finally Eureka! I thought: "Wouldn't it be nice if we could meet the artists through their very own questions to other artists? Wouldn't their own questions in and of themselves give you a little glimpse of themselves?" So I decided to experiment with Anniepoo and lo and behold, she was game. And she was really cool about it too! And here are her answers to her very own questions:

1. I started creating soap about 5 years ago. My husband quit his job and started his own business...I stayed at home with our little baby girl. I inherited my mother's inability to sit still and seeing as I don't really like to clean my house I needed to find something to do with my hands ; )

2. I homeschool my girls so that pretty much takes up any spare moments that I may have to myself....but when the girls go to bed me and the Mr. like to stay up late...listen to great music and watch TV occassionaly and umm...make soap ;)

3. There are so many great shops on etsy! EarCarma has the BEST carmels EVER!!! I love Alphotography, and greybrocket's shop is always fun to look through!

4. I love lettuce wraps! ummm...I could seriously live off of chips and hot sauce and think that Root Beer is quite possibly the greatest liquis ever invented!

5. 3 interesting facts...I am having to dig deep here because I am really not that interesting-

I had my babies at home ala naturale! I think that officially makes me superwoman :)

When I am alone I like to speak in a british accent...I can't believe I just admitted that!

and...um...from kindergarten until the 6th grade I never missed a day of school! boring I know but I warned ya!

And there you have it! And not only is she super cool, but she makes the best soaps around! Check out her shop here! You will love it!

And after you've checked out her cool shop, convo me and tell me one of your most prized secrets. Why should you? Because I may just share mine. I have a seeeeecret! Neener, neener, neener! **BTW...I've been talking it up so much, it's probably going to be very boring to you at this point, but I may STILL share it! See how dedicated I am to all this blogging stuff?**

Ok! Lather up!

All photos courtesy of and all soaps for sale at anniepoo

Laundry day

Photo courtesy of and for sale at brownrose

I love laundry. Not doing laundry, silly. Just laundry. Like the fresh scent of newly washed clothes. Or the sight of newly laundered white towels stacked up high in the closet ready for use. Or the snapping of the sheets on the clothesline as the wind plays with them.

Photo courtesy of and print for sale at sarahkdesigns.

Ok, I don't hang-dry anything, but work with me here. I am trying to set the stage. There's a feeling of "newness" in all of these things. Everything is bright, shiny and clean and your senses are hightened to another level. All colors are brighter somehow. The sheets are whiter, the sky is bluer and the poppies are redder. The scents around you are more fresh. Everything smells clean and flowery. But in a very subtle way as if the breeze is conspiring with those smells to tease your senses.

Photo courtesy of and candles for sale at miltonandmargies

There's also a feeling of home in laundry days. Laundry days are filled with reminders of what it was like as a kid to be lulled to sleep by the hum of the washing machine, the tinking of a button on a pair of jeans in the dryer or the warmth of those towels when they came out of the dryer. There was something soothing about it in those days. And even today, even though I don't particularly love doing laundry, there's something about laundry...see for yourself in the very first treasury that I put together.

I was a real noob at putting it together (only took me a few hours to figure out that I had snagged one - had no idea how that worked) but I think that you'll appreciate the wonderful etsians that I included. Check out their great wares:

shanon1972, brownrose, foodfabricandpaper, MichelleBrusegaard, miltonandmargies, VinylDesignandDecor, sixhours, delight, sarahkdesigns, sisterowl, creativespring, bannerbabe

Oh! And remember. Enjoy laundry, but don't kill yourself doing it.

Photo courtesy of and for sale at sixhours

Meet Sam

Sam's picture may be a bit worrisome. But have no fear. He's a worry doll. Judging by his expression you may think there's no way he can do the job. Trust me. His little heart can take it. He's been training for this his whooooole life. Just project your worries onto him and he will take it from there. He'll do the worrying for you. So you can go on and get some sleep. Go on. He'll protect you from yourself.

Sam is the first in my new series of art dolls that I am calling my worry dolls. The original worry dolls are made in Guatemala. They are tiny dolls made of clay and very colorful thread that children place under their pillow at night so that they can sleep better. Folklore has it that the dolls absorb the children's worries during the night.

I worry. A lot and all the time. To assuage my fears and worries, I create. One day I stumbled upon a wikipedia page that talked about these worry dolls and I was intrigued. Rather intrigued...by the possibilities. And thus Sam was born. How apt is it that I made my own worries go away as I created him? Serendipity. I know...

Sam is completely handmade. His head, hands, feet and heart were made with polymer clay and acrylic paint. His body was handknitted from colorful yarn I had in my stash. I used vintage buttons to decorate him and vintage thread to sew on his little red heart. He is stuffed with polyfill.

You can have your very own Sam and/or a bunch of his friends in my coffeemonkey store on etsy. Come on in and take a look. 'Til next time!

Balls, balls and more balls

I mean the holiday decoration kind...Not sure what you were thinking, but well...let's not go there. I will just get myself into trouble. Anyways...the holidays are upon us. Yeah, I know, it's still too early. I hate it when stores put that stuff out early. But honestly, the shops around here were already putting holiday decorations out before Halloween. I am actually quite late! As much as I hate it, I succumbed to the tempting pull of the holiday vortex. Every year since I was old enough to start buying my own Christmas gifts rather than have mommy and daddy buy them for me (you know, when Christmas stopped being an exciting time of year because it meant I'd had to spend my own money) I have managed to completely ignore the holidays. I managed to scrooge my way out a lot of things.

Putting up decorations was out because I would have to be "out of town" for the holidays. Being out of town = no need to buy gifts. No gifts = no need for gift wrapping. No gift wrapping = no need to brave the store isles full of commercialized holiday junk. No store visits = no need to hear the same obnoxious fa la la la la la la la la...scrooge enough for you? I had it all worked out. Well...not this year...no siree...THIS year, this gal has found her way back to the cheeriness that is Christmas. The holiday season has begun and this gal is ready for it. Yup...this year everything is different...THIS year, I got bit by the holiday bug. Not sure where he came from, not sure where he's going. I am not even sure where he is right now. But I felt him stick me with a dose of holiday cheer right there, as I browsed around one of my favorite vintage stores.

As my eyes honed in on a brown box on the shelf that was in tatters, I felt him bite me. And he hungrily sucked the scrooge out of me like a mosquito in the middle of a humid Florida summer day as I peeled back the top of the tattered brown box to display a set of beautiful red vintage holiday ornaments. These things were so shiny that I could see myself in them. They were so red they might have been mistaken for Rudolph's nose. They were so old that they might have been older than me (unlikely but whatever). These things were so beautiful they rivaled an unblemished snow covered river bank at first light on a Christmas morning. Yeah, THAT beautiful. The bug was full and satisfied. He flew away to find his next scrooge victim. I was left empty to be filled with nothing but love and affection for that distant yet oddly familiar sense of "the holidays". I bought the ornaments and ran home to do what I always do when I am happy. I create.

You can find these lovely ornaments in my etsy shop natuure but for a very limited time. I will still be "out of town" for the holidays.