Happy New Year

I had planned on crafting a delightfully philosophical this-year-is-over-and-here's-what-I've-learned post as a way of wrapping up 2008. But, then I got hit with a truly gross wouldn't-wish-this-on-my-worst-enemy stomach flu, and now I'm just happy to be sitting upright. And, well, maybe that's philosophical enough.

Russ and I are headed off super early tomorrow for a mini New Year's bike tour. After taking the train to Santa Barbara and heading north, we'll be toasting the beginning of 2009 on the beach at our favorite hiker/biker campsite (Refugio State Beach). And then we'll make our way up through Solvang, Santa Maria, Guadalupe, Morro Bay and into San Luis Obispo. I'm really looking forward to it.

Russ at Refugio earlier this year

I have no idea what next year will bring. This is the first year in a long time that I don't have any really specific resolutions. All I know is that there are great changes brewing for 2009 and I am excited.

So here's wishing everyone a delightful New Year's celebration (whatever your plans are) and all the best for coming year.

Etsy Front Page

What a fun surprise today! I got a convo through Etsy alerting me that my Window pendant had been on the front page today. When I went trolling through flickr in search of a screen shot, I stumbled on to all of these other shots of my work on past front pages! At least four front pages that I didn't even know about. It's a much-needed boost at the end of a busy year!

Edit: I found the treasury that was picked to be on the front page and grabbed a shot! Thanks CatamountDigital!

Joining the 'net revolution

I had all sorts of mental hurdles to jump over, but I did it... I joined facebook. Web 2.0, here I come. So, if you want to be my friend, scurry on over. I'm still figuring it all out, this new-fangled technology thing, but so far the boogie man hasn't come for me... :)

Happy Everything!

Here's wishing everyone a very happy whatever-it-is-that-you-celebrate!


Russ and I will be mostly hanging out at home, enjoying the quiet (and the rain that we're due to get Wednesday & Thursday), watching some movies, drinking some beers, playing some dominoes, and probably eating a lot too.

I'm going to tidy up my studio and then leave it alone, while I start thinking about my goals for 2009 and what direction I'm headed.

I hope everyone out there enjoys their holidays and their time off.


And thanks to my mom for unearthing these delightful old photos of me at Christmas!

Procrastinator's Night

Can you believe that it's December 22 already?! Where did the year go? I wanted to thank everyone who came out for the final Pop Up Shop yesterday. It was our most successful of the season, and proof that we're on to something. :)

I just heard about a fun event that I wanted to pass along to any Corvallis, Oregon area readers. It's called Procrastinator's Night and it's from 5-8pm tonight at the Arts Center. There will be live blues music, pizza, beer and, of course, lots of great last-minute hand-crafted gifts. If you're still looking for a great gift, swing by and check it out!

Ornament Swap Update

Curious what I've received in exchange for my star ornaments that I sent out for the Swap? I've gotten eight ornaments in the mail so far, and they're all so lovely.


This year, due to lack of space and general not-wanting-to-deal-with-it-ness, Russ and I skipped getting a tree. So how am I displaying all of my new ornaments? Meet the Ornament Mobile...


Sturdy eucalyptus branches collected after this recent storm, tied together with hemp yarn. It spins around freely and the ornaments hang unobstructed. I'm really quite thrilled with it. :)

A few more close-ups of the ornaments I've received...

Could it be..?

Every so often, it almost feels like winter here. The rain has stopped and the storm is pushing through, leaving us with these gorgeous snow-capped mountains in the distance. (I had to snap some photos on my ride to work this morning, since the smog will fill back in tomorrow and obscure the beautiful view.)

In honor of it actually feeling like winter - and the fact that we're just a few little days away from the big holiday - I'm offering a FREE upgrade to Priority Shipping on all orders out of my etsy shop through the end of the day Friday the 19th (that's tomorrow!). (My last holiday ship date is Saturday.)

And if you're really waiting until the last minute... come check out one of these opportunities...

Last Holiday Pop Up Shop ... Sunday, December 21 ... 12noon-6pm
Winterlight @ The Corvallis Arts Center ... runs through December 24

Monday, Monday

It may be pouring outside right now, but Mother Nature held off yesterday, instead giving us a gloriously sunny (albeit quite chilly) day. Thanks to everyone who came out to our second Pop Up Shop! You made it even more successful than the first one!

Also exciting... I'm finally mailing off my gift for our EtsyMetal Secret Santa swap! I had to fight some feelings of "are they good enough?" when I started seeing what other folks are sending off. But, when I think only about the earrings, I must say that I'm quite happy with them! Eco-friendly sterling silver with dried nasturtium petals.


And now I am off to brave the downpour, bundled up in lots of goofy-looking layers, on my ride to my day job.

Here's hoping for some sun

When you live in Southern California, you start to forget that planning an event outside in the middle of December might be slightly problematic. Here's hoping that google weather is wrong and it will be perfectly sunny for this week's Pop Up Shop...

Edited to say that in case of rain, we'll be under the theater marquee.

Pop Up Shop, take two

If you're looking for some shopping fun this weekend, head on down to the second Long Beach Pop Up Shop! Last weekend was a great success and a lot of fun - and we have so much more in store for this Sunday...




Photos by Russ Roca

Head badge update

Yesterday, I mailed out a duet of head badges for a couple that owns a bike shop. It was a lovely job to work on.


That said, I'm going to push the pause button on making head badges. They have become more time-consuming than I had intended and I really want to give myself the space to focus on my jewelry right now. So, I'll be taking down the listings on my etsy shop until further notice. Thanks for your understanding.

Art, art

I'm at home this afternoon, finishing up some work, packaging up some sales, adding a few more books to the aforementioned stack, and hopefully cleaning my studio after I'm all done. It's nice to have some time away from my day job, especially when my brain is full of ideas.

I thought I'd pop in to post a really sweet video that I found on the Scoutie Girl website and finally had a chance to watch today. Enjoy.


(My favorite part comes around 1:47)

A few small changes

Russ and I had an interesting discussion last night about ways to better position myself and my work. I won't let you in on all the craziness just yet, but suffice it to say that we came up with the beginnings of some really great new ideas - and there will be a few small changes in the works. Not so much with the style of jewelry I'm creating, as with the way that I talk about it, promote it, and put it out into the world. I'm excited, because I think it will be really good me and help me move forward and grow as an artist.

But, first, I have some big ol' books to look through.

Small joys

Woo hoo! Nothing like checking the Etsy Treasury room and discovering that you're in 3 (yes, three!) different treasuries, all featuring different pieces. Take a look...


Misercordia
we carry each other
Wonderful Wonderful

Come One, Come All...

The 1st Pop Up Shop is tomorrow! Come join us - We'll have lots of great gift items and yummy things to nibble on.

Just a Reminder...

Today's the last day of my Kick-Off-The-Holidays Sale in my etsy shop. Hurry on over for Free Shipping and a Free pair of Seedlets or Seed Hoops earrings with a $150 purchase.

A mini milestone

I finally crossed to the other side of 500 hearts for my etsy shop. :)

Bringing back an old favorite

In hunting through my stash of jewelry tonight, I discovered some silver chains that I had forgotten I had made. (Don't you love when that happens?!) These are made of large loops (varying from 1-2.5" in diameter), hammered for texture, oxidized, and buffed to a nice shine. There's no point in them just sitting in a box in my studio, so I put them up in my etsy shop.

It's December!

I can't believe it's December, can you? Russ and I are back from our Thanksgiving weekend bike adventure. What a lovely time we had! My camera didn't get much of a workout, so for lots of great photos, check out Russ' flickr.

As a welcome home surprise, Etsy featured my cuff bracelet in a Storque article mentioning items with free shipping. Woo hoo. I'm offering free shipping until the end of this week, so take advantage of it while you can!

And even though I just had a four-day weekend, I took today off from my day job so that I could get some work done in my studio. Ornaments are finally done! I am packaging them up today to ship off tomorrow to my swap partners. And the extras are up in my etsy shop.


Happy December everyone!