Purple Lilacs and a Turquoise Sky

We enjoyed a glass of wine while sitting out in our yard last night. I picked some lilacs and arranged them in a beautiful stoneware pitcher we received as a wedding present from our high school music teacher. Dan watered our new pear tree, the dogs ran around chasing birds and squirrels and flirting with the puppies next door. Clouds starting rolling in around dusk and the sky was an incredible shade of turquoise. Here are a few pictures:

Copper Blossom Pendant

Introducing "Copper Blossom" - find it here!

ORANGE!!

Lately I have come across some blog posts where the author is dissing one of my newest favorite colors - 

Orange!! 

How can you not love orange?? I am starting to feel like I could surround myself with it and be perfectly content. My kitchen is painted a lovely color of orange called "Indian Curry" and it's almost as yummy as the curry we sometimes make (and happily eat) in that room. You know what else I love about orange? It looks fabulous with turquoise (another one of my favorite colors). So I decided to go on a little virtual shopping spree on Etsy to see what orange (along with some turquoise) lovelies I could come up with. Here's what I found:

Visit these shops and surround yourself in sunny orange! :)
(from the top down - left to right)

Orange Chrysanthemum Necklace from BrittanyChavers

Vintage 60's Abstract Print Hippie Maxi Dress from RedAngoraVintage 

Orange Goblin Hood dress from malam

Fresh - Turquoise and Epoxy Disc Earrings from linkeldesigns

 

Little Bird on an Orange Elephant Photo Pendant from pinglebell

Life is a Carnival - vintage orange hoop green glass earrings from adornyou

Vintage mechanical alarm clock from ClockworkUniverse

Vintage 80s Plastic Chunky Bracelets from bontonvintage

 

Tulip Stack from littleputbooks

Vintage Orange Gooseneck Lamp from OctaviaBrown

Retro Mod Plastic Orange and Blue Shell Chairs from backgarage

Chandelier pillow - turquoise on orange from PillowPallooza

 

Two Orange and Turquoise Mugs from LynnCardwellPottery

Madame Jade's Garden - 12x12 matted kaleidoscope print from thepaintedlily

Richter VII - 12 x 12 Fine Art Print of Original Contemporary Abstract Painting from StudioMarlene

My little turquoise bowl from azulado

The First Blossom of Spring

Here is a shot of the first blossom to appear in our yard this year! We don't have many plantings so even though there are others for whom daffodils, hyacinth and crocuses have opened their pretty petals - we await the first fragrant blossoms of the lilacs. Here she is and, oooh, she smells sweet!

Here also is a shot of the first piece of jewelry to be completed in my new studio space. Sort of fitting that it would also be in a lilac shade of purple! It features a handmade clay cabochon, amethyst stone chips and the tastiest pink glass beads (and seed beads, of course!). This little beauty will be up for grabs in my "caraway" shop on Etsy.

Give-aways, a New Cooling Fan and Some Studio Space

Well, I have finally gotten my new cooling fan for the computer so, hopefully, I will get caught up on blog posts and the like. April is almost half over and I haven't done the drawing for the March give-away. I know, I'm a terrible slacker!! :-P and since I am such a terrible slacker, I'm going to extend the give-away until the end of this month BUT every comment left during the month of March will count as double!! I hope that will be fair. If you don't think so, just leave me a comment saying so - it won't change my mind but it will get you entered in the drawing for the "Summer Harvest" inspiration kit! :D Here's a shot of it to entice you...lots of little goodies in here!

Also, some news! I have opened a small studio space in our local art center! YAY! So far, I love it! I'll be sure to take my camera when I go in tomorrow and take some pictures. I've gotten some fun stuff at garage sales and the space is actually starting to look like something - I can't wait to share it with you!

Chakra Necklace

I just wanted to share with you my latest piece. This necklace was a custom order from a wonderful client of mine. She had seen photos of another one I sold a few years ago and wanted her own. CHAKRA consists of 7 individual pendants in the rainbow colors of the Chakra. They can be worn individually or all together to make a colorful statement!! I enjoyed making this piece so much that I am offering to make more custom pieces like it. Visit my shop on Etsy to see the listing information. No two will be alike - the pendants can be any shape and the palette can be changed to suit personal tastes - your own personalized "chakra". I can see it looking lovely in pastels on a string of pearls or in classic colors of the southwest - turquoise, coral, rust reds, desert tan - or in bold shades of gray going from black to white. The possibilities are endless! Here are some shots of both Chakra necklaces made to date - please feel free to comment! :)

Having Fun and Blue Green

Here are some pretty Etsy treasuries I found my work in lately. The first was curated by my friend Kath of ThingsOldeAndNew. She put together this fun collection called "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and included my Mardi Gras beaded cuff bracelet.

The second was curated by Smadar of Smadar's Treasures. She included "Sage and Champagne" from my caraway shop. Be sure to visit both of these shops to see the pretty treasures there!