Still Sticking

I've started listing the stickpins in my IndieMade shop. There are a few in my Etsy jewelry shop but I am concentrating on getting them all into the IndieMade shop first, especially since I have customers who find Etsy to be difficult. Once I have them all listed at the IndieMade shop, I will continue to upload the listings to the Etsy shop.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.  ~Dalai Lama

It's Arrived and It's Lovely

Linen scarf from Hank and Spool.
Yesterday, the final day of my birthday month, I received this gorgeous gift from Christine Mauersberger. You can read the back story and see her beautiful photographs of the scarf and creative things she's done with it at her blog.

I love the ombre dye photo and  want to try it myself, but I love the scarf just the way it is also ... a beautiful, calm color and so soft. I think I may just have to buy at least one more at Christine's online shop, Hook and Spool. Meanwhile, I'll thank my lucky stars that I won this beautiful piece of linen.

Bonus: it came from someone whose work I have admired for a long time ... visit her website and you'll see why.

It Just Keeps Getting Better

Stickpin with photographic greeting card.

I am thoroughly chuffed with how these stickpins are progressing. I love all their whimsical shapes and colors. They have a playful look, which perfectly reflects how it feels to make them.

I think I've come up with a very nice way to package them. It's a nice presentation and it aids in my Big Goal of trying to declutter my studio/home/life.

The stickpin appears to be resting on a plate white background, attached by a small piece of very easily removed tape. But that plain white piece is actually an envelope. Turn the whole thing over and you find a blank greeting card, too!

Photo card of 1860s Steinway Square Grand Piano (detail) with stickpin.
I'm quite happy with this solution to the problem of how to best display the stickpins. Also, most of the greeting cards are made with photographs by me. The one above is a detail shot of our Steinway square grand piano, which we sold on Ebay. I don't know about you, but I tend to hoard greeting cards. I like them, but I rarely get around to using them anymore. So it feels good to clear out the drawer with all the cards in it. Maybe I'll use some to package earrings, too. Maybe I'll even get inspired to revive the art of note writing, complete with "real" ink.


I think I'll get some washi tape to use in the future. It's so much more fun and I'm pretty sure it peels off easily, so as not to damage the envelope. 

We're finally having some nice weather ... I hope you are too. 

Bye Bye, Birthday Month!

Happy Birthday To Me (OMG I'm 63)

I slept until about 11, then got up to go to lunch with Adeline and Doug. Before we left the house, I noted the pile of presents awaiting. Who doesn't love presents? Doug and I have a tradition: he makes wonderful, whimsical wrappings and today was no exception.  There was a big box, wrapped in newsprint, with my name on top, cut out of card stock.

Um ... Honey, you spelled my name wrong.

Doug said he did notice, belatedly, that he had spelled my name wrong but he decided not to make a correct one because he figured I'd probably like this one better. He was right. I love it!

Ceviche and Camarones al Ajillo.
Lunch was fabulous. I had camarones al ajillo and ceviche. We all had fried plantains and salsa plus way too much Sangria. Actually, I think I'm the only one who had too much. 

After lunch we went to Jerry's Artarama ... a true sacrifice on the part of my two companions because they groan at the mere thought of how long I'll take, browsing the aisles. But how lucky am I to have such a great resource right down the road?

I made a wish before I blew out the candle.
It was a beautiful day, but too darn hot. By the time we got home, we were all kind of worn out and we all decided to take naps. So, now I'm up, Doug is happily asleep and Adeline is out somewhere. I think this means I get to open my presents tomorrow!

Life Force Diviner

An energy diviner for Tricia
One day, at the fresh fish section of the market, I noticed a tiny woman hunched over the packages of tuna and swordfish and sole. She had long, curly tresses, and she wore a cape wrapped around her as if it were a cave in which to hide; she looked a bit like a benevolent witch. I couldn't keep myself from looking, trying to figure out what she was doing. She had a chain dangling from one hand and she was holding it just above the fish, looking at them intently, as if she were reading their fortunes. As soon as she noticed me she scurried off, as if I had caught her in the act of something secret and leaving me feeling just a bit guilty for having invaded her privacy.

I had forgotten about this almost encounter until the day my friend Tricia came to the house for the purpose of performing Reiki and told me she would start by reading the energy fields associated with each of my chakras.  In order to do this, she took out a chain with a key attached to it for weight, and held it above specific areas of my body. The key and chain moved in accordance with the energy emitting from the chakra being assessed. Most of my chakras were pretty ordinary, one or two were somewhat blocked, but the one at the top of my head was apparently spewing forth energy like a geyser, sending the key spinning like mad.

It's a necklace, too
My chakras were out of balance but that's not really the point of this post. This post is about the choker necklace I made for Tricia, inspired by the chakra reading. My intent was to give her a chain she could use for divining energy fields; I wanted it to be beautiful as well as useful. Then I got the idea to make it so it could also be worn as a necklace, always at the ready to serve its wearer ... like when she wants to determine how much life force is still in the fish at her local market. Yes, I'm talkin' 'bout you, Benevolent Witch Person.

I gave the necklace to Tricia at a party in celebration of her latest book, Father Flashes. Many of the women there liked it and they encouraged me to make more and sell them in my Etsy shop. I asked to take the necklace home with me for the purpose of photographing it, assuring Tricia I would return it. That was over a year ago.  I wasn't lying. I did return it ... last week. What does this tell us? Well, for one thing, Tricia is a perfect friend because this kind of thing does not ruffle her feathers in the least bit. She is very laid back and very understanding of my foibles. The other thing we can discern from this tale is that somebody has a procrastination problem and her initials are MCM. How interesting then that one of my favorite sentences of all time is in Tricia's book and it addresses, perfectly and succinctly, the reason why procrastination is so deadly:
"My brother is inquisitive but procrastinates until possibility fades to loss." 
My internal translation:  Morna is creative but procrastinates until possibility turns to loss. What good is creative thought if you do not do something with it? And how easy it is to slay the energy of a perfect creative urge if you merely allow it to float around in your psyche instead of actually allowing it to jump out of your head and into your hands! But ... No More! From now on, I will do better and better.  Yes, I'm laughing a bit as I write those last two sentences ... how many times have I said those words or words similar to those? How many times have you? They might as well be titled The Procrastinator's Promise. 

Still, maybe this time really will be different. Maybe I really will make some more of these necklaces and put them in my Etsy shop. Maybe I should make several and then have a giveaway for one of them. I could do it in honor of my 63rd birthday, getting ready to slam me on July 24th.
Labradorite wrapped in antiqued brass wire, with multiple tiny crystals, on brass chain

Just for today, do not anger
Do not worry and be filled with gratitude
Devote yourself to your work. Be kind to people.
Every morning and evening, join your hands in prayer.
Pray these words to your heart
and chant these words with your mouth.
(The Reiki Ideals, Usui Mikao)