Great Giveaway Over on Lorelei's Blog

The one thing I try to do every day (besides the normal, obvious stuff) is read a few blogs that feed my creative soul.  Other artists - and not only jewelry artists - inspire and influence me and allow me to see possibilities that I don't always see right away.  However, I do read quite a few jewelry blogs as they help me hone my skills and my craft.  One of my favorite bloggers is Lorelei Eurto.  We've never met (or actually even chatted), but from what I can glean from her blog, we have similar backgrounds (art history majors, museum career) and a love of a collagey-type style.

(Pause - does reading blogs and then talking about what you've read seem somewhat stalkerish?  Maybe it is just me.)

Anyways, Lorelei always has amazing pics of her beautiful work as well as interviews with artists and, occasionally, an unbelievable giveaway.  She has some absolutely delicious Lark Books she is giving away on January 2nd.  Of course I would love to be the winner, but I also am going right over to Amazon and put them on my Wish List.

Here are the books:

The cover pictures alone want to make me quit me job(s) and make art all day long.  (A girl can dream, can't she?)  I'd start with that Pendant.  I'm not sure what material was even used in creating it, but it is delicious!

So, please, go take a look at her blog and enjoy the eye candy!  Maybe sometime in January I will have time to make my own eye candy to show you.

Lisa  

Triage

November and December are crazy months for me - always.  Craft shows, jewelry making, LOTS of pet sitting and dog walking, and the other 10,000 things that seem to happen at the same time.  I spend a month and a half in triage mode - just doing the next thing that has to be done.  It can be exhausting.  In the midst of all of this, our CRV was totaled in an accident.  Thankfully, my husband, my 5 month pregnant niece and myself were all ok.  But, I added car shopping to my "Must Do" list.  Blogging (and many other things) sort of fell to the "If I Have Time" list.  

Perhaps I should have invested in a few rolls of this tape?

But, the car decision is done and the purchase has been made, the work is crazy but manageable, craft fairs are done, and, while I'm working, I have time to get my little chickens in order (I like chickens better than ducks) and start with goals for the new year.  It's really very simple.  I'm concentrating on 3 things: My pet sitting business, my art and the shows I really love doing, and my down time.  The other things that took up so much time this year - cancer/surgery/recovery, the illness and death of my dear MI, and the car disaster - are all mostly over with. I should feel a lot more beaten down, but I'm not.  I'm surprisingly optimistic about the new year.  There will be a few more big changes of course, but they are all going to be instrumental in helping me achieve the things I want to concentrate on.

Meanwhile, back in the jewelry world, I signed up to participate in a Jewelry Blog Hop coordinated by Michelle Mach.  The theme is "Secret Snowflake Challenge" and everyone has the same jewelry components to start with.  

I've been thinking about my own experience with snow which, sadly, doesn't take too long because I have to actually plan on visiting a place that snows to even see some of this illusive stuff.  So, I have very specific memories and impressions of snow.  My inspiration is the granite of Sierras, the red bark and pine green of Giant Sequoias, the pale winter mountains sunshine and the sparkling of new fallen snow.  I've been playing with beads, adding some that reminds me of granite, looking at Carnelian as the perfect color of the sun.  I just need to put it all together in a pleasing piece.  The reveal date is January 15th.   You'll see my piece here and will also have links to others who participated in the challenge.  

Lisa!