~newbie

many months ago, as a newbie to the national boards, i waffled back and forth on what to do with crafting jewelry and my shop. open.close.open.close.destash.quit. as i became more in-tune with the process and figured out the scope of the project, i realized i was simply unsure how crafting would fit into my new life (working a ton beyond my existing workload) yet it never really left, did it? no siree. i even find now that, as i ruminate over passages and lesson plans and video taping and how to reach my students, i go putter while i process. it works! not only can i create and play, but doing just a little something every day has had a rewarding effect. you all didn't believe i could stop and you were soooo right! i just needed to find the fit. so whether i'm packaging a sale, making something new or uploading something i've never listed before, i am still in the national boards mindset. thinking.thinking.thinking. i spend so much time thinking and doing and creating and being. it's exciting to say the least. today i've listed a choker i made before the recycled art show. it's great with a plunging neckline! xoxo

new here today

~love and faith sunday earrings

found here

and finished~

here today

s'more goodies~

roller derby~

a friend is a derby queen. when she changed out some bearings, i was gifted them. now adornment. ~ hand stitched creamy sari silk yarn. antique shell buttons, roller skate bearings, bone and brass drop, hand formed sterling silver findings.

~chunky elephant

gonna be a busy day! and here i am all tired and shit. hahaha. i simply haven't recovered yet from our three day camping trip. but it was a beauty trip and perhaps well worth the three day recovery ~i'm on day two. i managed to make some things when i got back. lot's of beads and buttons in these. most of the beads and buttons came from trades and some from an old necklace i dismantled. i made something very delicate and not like me at all! but it looks simply lovely on...got in some bike parts as well as the super chunk.

so, the camping trip was cool. it rained a lot so we cut it short though. but when it wasn't raining we were eating lots of great camp food, everyone sharing what they brought ~steak and asparagus, breakfast burritos, cheeseburgers, pork and tri-tip stews, pancakes with bacon, hot wings with homemade sauce, pasta and pesto with sausage...drooling yet? we were! and there was more to boot.

so 10 of us altogether. it was honey's birthday trip to his favorite mountain biking destination. he rode daily, sometimes three rides as he took the kids out as well as a jen as he knows the trails so well. he and his buds got seriously muddy one day and stayed dry the next while it poured at camp. luckeee! he's the kinda guy who does a 34 mile loop and thinks nothing of doing another right away in a different direction or adding on to it.

i got out once with my friend jen, but fresh puma tracks on the trail had me heading back to camp IMMEDIATELY and i wouldn't go out again. me and mountain lions do not mix nor do me and the bears, but they stayed away. so, being the only scaredy cat, all the rest of the big kids had a built in babysitter for their serious rides. worked out well and all had a blast.

is it beer-thirty yet? cheers!

antique shell buttons with sari-silk wrapped bike chain links~

 front of the chunk~

back of the chunk with button and loop closure. macrame knots with seed beads~

delicate. all mother-of-pearl with seed beads. macrame finish~