Mille Grazie ♥

Recently, I had the honor of receiving the following award for my blog two times--thank you so much Barbara, of Southern Lady's Vintage, and Merle of RowanDevoe! 

According to the accompanying message, the spirit of the award is this:

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY--nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. The kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this written text into the body of their award."

Since starting my blogging adventure back in April of last year, I have met so many kind, talented and supportive bloggers. From those who pop by from time to time and leave encouraging comments, to those who choose to "Follow" my blog on their Reading List, it is very hard to single out just eight, but I will try!

 Here is a group of  ladies who I believe epitomize the ideal of the award: charming, generous, friendly, encouraging--and not to mention talented!

♥ Michaela of See You in the Wind

♥ Emma of Emma Lamb

♥ Kerin of Kerin Rose

♥Susanna of Suzy Q Jewelry

♥Sheela of Ecclectica

♥Ren of Fairysteps

♥Michelle of Michelle-Renee

♥Kirsty of Kootoyoo

(I would also add Barbara and Merle to the list too!)

*

While I'm at it, I'd like to take the moment now to say  Thank You! to Julia of The Spotted Sparrow, who was kind enough to feature my jewelry recently in her DaWanda Spotlight. The article can be viewed here. And while you're visiting her blog, check out her wonderful paper creations and DIY posts...

And Thank You! to Susanna of Suzy Q Jewelry, who included my Paisley Earrings in a recent post about textile jewelry on her blog. Susanna makes gorgeous and intricate wire-wrapped jewelry. Check out her work, and the blog post here.

*

I am getting back into a jewelry making routine now, after taking a nearly 2 and a half month hiatus--I should have some new designs to post in the next few days!

New to my Etsy Shop...

Robin's Egg Earrings

A new little earring design for Spring! After being featured in a robin-themed Treasury full of turquoise hues last week (see previous post) I was inspired to make a pair of earrings in the same color scheme...

These are very dainty--only an inch across and a little over two inches long. The earrings are made with turquoise silk thread covering small wooden discs, and embellished with hand-made gold lace, amazonite, and freshwater pearls...

The earrings also unveil a new technique--lacy matching bead caps on the large freshwater pearl drops...

They were originally meant to resemble flowers, but the medallions now remind me of a little robin's nest with six tiny eggs in it! 

And a view of the back...

More designs coming soon! (and much more frequent blog posts :)

*

And I have some good news-- I've finished the large custom project for Courtney Love and it will ship out tomorrow! Although I mentioned that I might put some photos up of it this week, I've decided I should wait until she receives it and see if she's okay with this idea  (I'm not quite sure now what her plans are for the design, but at one point she had mentioned wearing it on tour, or wearing it on a photo shoot, and if that's the case, I don't think I should let the cat out of the bag quite yet!)

But I did want to show you what (or rather who) is going along for the ride with the suit--this very cute portrait doll of Courtney by my talented friend Cindy Sowers: 

Cindy made the entire doll by hand-- from the carefully needle sculpted fabric face, down to the dainty pink velvet shoes! I think she did a great job on the face and hair--and I love the Marie Antoinette inspired dress that she made...I think Courtney would approve :)

Here she is striking a pose...

And the finishing touch is a fully functioning, matching mini-amp made by Cindy's husband,  John,  whose company, Haas Amplification, creates custom amps. When you flip the switch, the amp plays a series of guitar riffs from Courtney's songs--all played by John himself (coincidentally, John was in a band in Seattle back when Nirvana was getting its start and often played at the same venues.) 

I thought you all would get a kick out of seeing the doll! 

A Little Bird Told Me...

...that I was included in this lovely Treasury! 

Robins Join in For Tea

My friend Michaela curated this charming collection of cheerful turquoise and orange items on Etsy...my Monarch Butterfly was invited to share tea with the robins! It's fluttering on the far left of the bottom row. You're invited to the tea party too...check out this link to see the Treasury up close, before it takes wing and disappears on Sunday.

And while you're on Etsy, you might like to check out Michaela's work--she's a talented photographer...

....and jewelry designer...

....and crocheter!

She's having a sale in her shop, Skinny Swallow, right now for the month of March :)

*UPDATE* Yipee! This Treasury made the Front Page of Etsy!