A Handmade Holiday

Here’s my personal wish list for my own handmade holiday. This is my super indulgent – “I want these things bad” list. All are from Etsy artists who do wonderful work and whose artistry I have enjoyed for a long time. This is my holiday must-have list, so if you happen to see my family and they don’t seem to know, would you please tell them for me?

First off, I’m always trying to stay organized, so what better way to start the year than with a pretty calendar?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82303945/2012-calendar-paper

Being a jeweler, I don’t usually ask for jewelry, but how could I resist this pretty leather necklace?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62751086/silver-lace-leather-necklace-laser-cut

 

And, of course, I’ll need a pretty place to keep it.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70184882/wooden-handmade-box-memory-boxkeepsake

I’ve always got a sketchbook/notebook near me, and this one is just made for me, don’t you think?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62191869/leather-journal-sketchbook-handprinted

 

Okay, who wouldn’t want to get this print from their own sweetheart? Hint, hint, Tom!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/64382002/you-are-my-sunshine-bw-printed-on-old

I’m always cold and these mittens look so pretty and functional. I love the fingerless variety of gloves and I could use some new ones for this year. These fit the bill nicely.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/65062345/hand-knit-vanilla-oatmeal-fingerless

 

Pretty cutting boards are a bit of a weakness for me. I love the look of these with the natural edges and the thick board. Such pretty wood!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/87120698/reclaimed-huge-live-edged-black-walnut?ref=v1_other_2

 Okay, family, this has been on my list for the last couple of years. I’d say it’s time. I would really LOVE to have this. Oh, I’ll need the iPhone in it too, that would be just perfect! 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/87956691/leather-iphoneitouchhtc-desiremozart

 

Antique keys with wallets – what a wonderful combo!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74894397/black-leather-wallet-with-antique

 

And, last but definitely not least,  this print just gets me – I love this image and I love picturing myself sitting here on a warm summer day just chilling. My grandparents had those chairs. I’m sitting there with them. We’re drinking lemonade. Ah, that’s my happy place…

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59253994/yellow-lawn-chair-11-x-16-limited

 

I hope all of your holiday wishes come true and that, most of all, you are surrounded by people you love, doing things you enjoy and having a wonderful, memorable time. Happy Holidays!

Now let’s see what those fun team-mates of mine have in store – I bet there will be some great ideas that we’ll all want to add to our own lists!

 Mary Anne Karren - silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/
Jessica @ Abella Blue - www.abellablue.com/blog
Elizabeth Brown – resurrectionsilver.blogspot.com
Lilian Genebra - www.girllovesglitter.blogspot.com/
Pennee- All Wired Up Jewelry Designs - allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Claire English - brightstar109.blogspot.com/
Gayle - thisartistsjourney.blogspot.com
Nancy - nancysjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Autumn Bradley - www.autumnbradley.blogspot.com
Amy Estelle - amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com/2011/12/handmade-holidays.html

Holiday Shipping Dates

Have you started your holiday shopping lists? It’s getting to be the time to start thinking about what to get and when to get it. In case your list includes some Form and Funktion originals, here are my shipping dates for getting gifts out in time for setting them under the tree.

For MADE TO ORDER items (including all rings made to your size), please order by:
Continental US: December 13
Everywhere else: November 26

For IN STOCK items, please order by:
Continental US: December 17
Everywhere else: November 28

I’ll be posting some new designs in time for the holidays so be sure to check my Etsy shop to see them. Or, if you'd rather let them pick out their own treats - no problem!  I now have gift certificates in the shop as well.

It’s A Wrap!

When you buy yourself something online, and you wait days for it to show up in your mailbox, isn’t it fun when you open the package to find another pretty package with your little treat inside? Well, I like that, so that’s what I do when I ship my jewelry.  This month, my team-mates and I are showing off our jewelry gift-wrapping on our blogs. It’s always fun to see the creative ways that people find to do the same task. Here is mine:

The new piece of jewelry gets its own little tissue paper package first. This has a Form and Funktion sticker with my logo including my cute little bird.

Then they get to be in a box with a little bird stamp as well. I love the idea of people being excited to open the pretty packages to find their new treasure! In my book, pretty things should always come in fancy packages. Now let’s see how some of the other Aspiring Metalsmiths wrap up their creations.

 

Beatriz Fortes - http://cjbf.blogspot.com/
ArtistiKat - http://artistikat-scratchingpost.blogspot.com/
Claire English - http://brightstar109.blogspot.com/view/classic
Mary Anne Karren - http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/
Lisa - http://glenshire-shop.blogspot.com/
Stacy - http://www.formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com
Amy Estelle - http://www.amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com/
Morgan MetalAdornments -http://metaladornments.blogspot.com/2011/10/adding-little-something-extra.html 
Jason - http://happytortoisedesigns.blogspot.com/
Jessica @ Abella Blue - http://www.abellablue.com/blog
Sha - http://gifteddesigns.blogspot.com/

What's Your Favorite Color?

OMG!!! I am in LOVE! How cool is this?!? Check out this blog about the guy who does these fabulous crayon sculptures.

Another good one from Pinterest

This was on Pinterest today. I like it. :)

Finding My Muse

My Aspiring Metalsmiths team on Etsy is blogging today about where we get our inspiration. For me, it's everywhere! I see things all around me, all the time, that make me want to create. But a wonderful source of inspiration comes from right here on my teams - I am so fortunate to have talented people around me who share their latest creations and it often inspires new ideas and projects in me. I am thankful to them and for every single person on the teams for their continued enthusiasm and their willingness to share their successes as well as failures and for their willingness to teach others what they've learned. It is this generosity in spirit that has allowed me to learn and grow so much in the last year. I will be grateful to them always. Here are a few of their creations that have provided inspiration to me as I create my own new jewelry pieces:

Magpie and Molly Agate Pendant. This necklace made me want to start bezel-setting. I signed up for a class after having my breath taken away by this pendant.

Carole Axium Borosilicate Glass Pendant. This was the pendant that got me excited about adding other elements to a bezel-set piece. Gorgeous!

Scrollworkdesigns Clarity got me excited about all kinds of new design possibilities! She's the queen of thinking outside the box.

TheSilverPearl Black Pearl Earrings. I absolutely love Mary Anne's design sense. She always inspires me with her elegant concepts and clean lines.

Silver Blueberry Pearl Ring with Sea Urchin Texture. Esme is another team member with an elegant and dramatic style. She always has a new idea for unique stone settings.

jamauerer Silver Cast Sea Urchin Bracelet. Julie has done such interesting things - she has a very avant garde style that is always inspiring.

Ppennee Lemon Quartz Stacking Ring. Pennee is always getting me excited about new techniques and she is always a step (or several) ahead of me but so willing to teach me. She makes beautiful things and I get inspired by her diving-in attitude all the time!

Lynn Cobb Castle and Hut Series Rings. Lynn is a new team member of mine in the Metal Clay Heads team and I have been so inspired by her designs. They are completely unique and very diverse. Her work makes me want to rip open a new bag of clay and start playing!

As you can see, I have such a talented group of people around me. I love checking in with them every day to see what's new - they always make me excited to walk into my studio and try something new. There are many more on the teams who are every bit as talented, but I was limited here by time and couldn't show you all of their work. Hopefully in a future blogpost though! For now though, please check out some of my fellow Aspiring Metalsmith bloggers and see what inspires and excites them.

• Jessica @ Abella Blue - http://www.abellablue.com/blog
• Autumn Bradley - http://www.autumnbradley.blogspot.com
• Crow Steals Fire - http://crowstealsfire.blogspot.com/
• Contemporary Jewelry by Beatriz Fortes - http://cjbf.blogspot.com/
• Cabbing Rough - http://cabbingrough.blogspot.com
• Brightstar109 - http://brightstar109.blogspot.com/
• Silver Pearl Jewelry and Metalworks - http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/
• City Rustic Jewelry - http://cityrustic-art.blogspot.com/
• Becky Campion - http://www.ladysmythmetals.com/blog.html
• Julie - http://wabibrookstudio.com/blog.php

Savoring Summer

This has been my favorite summer in a long time, and I always enjoy the summers but this one was especially good. I had my sweet boy home from college, and that was definitely a highlight, but it was good in many other ways too.

My kids got along well, and that always warms my heart. I saw many moments of kindness and love between them which was so nice.  We also had lots of other kids here this summer – lots of sleepovers and impromptu gatherings of friends and that is always a pleasure. My kids have great friendships and it was great to see them renewing old friendships and pursuing new ones as well. We had some grown-up gatherings as well and it was great to welcome people to our home and do some cooking for our good friends.

I really delved into the precious metal clay, and that has been a blast. I am in love with the stuff and can’t wait to get deeper and deeper into it. I even made friends with the new kiln, which had been a bit intimidating at first. Integrating metal clay into my metalsmithing has me super excited and I just wish that there were more hours of the day to play!

I also had a successful vegetable garden this year. I didn’t feel as much of a need to hit the farmers market every week because we had so many of our own veggies growing right here at home. Our tomatoes are just ripening now and I can’t wait to have my fill of caprese salad. Yum.

 I have eaten lots and lots of strawberries this season. Those of you who know me, you know that I love strawberries as much as I love life itself. I always fear that I will start to turn red as the strawberry season progresses because I am eating so many baskets of strawberries each week. This season, I think that I single-handedly kept the strawberry stand open. I bought at least a half-flat per week and no one else in my house likes them anywhere as much as I do so you know who was eating most of those! I’m not red yet, but keep checking, the season isn’t over yet.

Another great thing about this summer was that I got to spend time with my sister and nephew and that was such a treat. It was so much fun to be at our parents home, like when we were kids, talking, laughing, and preparing meals together.  I eagerly anticipate our next visit and I hope we won’t have long to wait.

It was definitely a summer to remember and savor. I hope yours too was filled with the things you love to do, the people you love to do them with and the feel of the warm sun on your cheeks.