Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Lots Going on These Days


I titled this post and then thought to myself "When isn't there lots going on?" Busy-ness and all tho, I decided to take some time to share some photos from one of my most recent fairs, Bazaar Bizarre.


My booth, above. I decorated for the winter holiday season with little lights, evergreen boughs, and sparkly accents here and there.


My antique drop and "Chance" necklaces behind me.

A photo snapped by a friend. 

The piece on the bust (above) is one of my favorite designs. This piece isn't available on Etsy, but you can always find it at one of my fairs!










Thanks to everyone who came out and made this a wonderful fair! It was a lot of fun (and a lot of work!) Next weekend you can find me at the Vagabond fair. We'll be having a bake sale as well. I hope that entices you =).

Friday, November 30, 2012

Holiday Bazaar

This weekend! You can find me at booth number 76. I'm in the middle of the Concourse, in the "valley." Hope to see you there!


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Plaid Friday Sale

Along with a bunch of other local, east bay artisans, I'll be having a Plaid Friday sale the day after Thanksgiving. Simply use the coupon code "PlaidFriday" in my Etsy shop for 25% off your entire purchase! Click the flier below for a full list of participating artists. 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A Real Weekend


 This past weekend was a real weekend for me! Woo hoo! Saturday I spent some time in the garden, tearing out the dead tomato plants and preparing the ground for some winter veggies. We'll see how that goes. . . Our backyard gets very little sun this time of the year.

Winter weather is most definitely here. I'm finding myself planning my outfits around which sweater I want to wear that particular day. Lately I've been hankering to get back to the outfit photos (especially for Wardrobe Remix) but just never seem to find the time. . . and, well, my outfits aren't as cute as they used to be! This is what happens when you work for yourself and the work is never done. I find myself wanting to wear the clothes that will feel
one of my coziest sweater
 the most like pajamas all day long!

Ultimately tho, the blog and outfit posts from other everyday gals are the ones that feel the most real to me. I want to know how the gal who only has a bike to get around town makes her outfits work. Or the stay at home mom. How does she manage it? Or the self-employed artist. I don't seek perfect polish or panache. Outfits that don't feel contrived, or sponsored by clothing and shoe companies. . . Just real gals posting the clothes they wear to go about their very real days.

In case you wondered, some of my favorites are:
* The Girl Who Married a Bear
* Astral Boutique's Blog
* Clothes Cameras and Coffee
* Thrift Candy
* Making Nice in the Midwest

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the more polished gals with the gorgeous style. I LOOK at these blogs and drool over the clothes, the style, but I guess what disappoints me sometimes is that I started following these DIY fashion blogs because it was inspiring what gals were doing with very little money. . . I feel like so much of it has become commercialized in a way that's just not for me. . .

I've been thinking about growing my bangs out. . . 
What I'd really like to see is a resurgence of the "non commercial" style blog. Blogs that are true expressions of the person ( the gal, yes, since I mainly follow blogs written by women) behind it. And I am finding those blogs. Sometimes tho, the internet is such a crowded place it can be hard to find the things you want to find. So, if you know of any awesome, feisty ladies who like to post about personal style, life, politics, food, road trips, etc, let me know about them!

This bag went everywhere with me this weekend
 

Saturday night Jeff and I cooked dinner together. Sauteed some veggies and fish. Also baked an acorn squash with some brown sugar and butter. Mmmmm. One of the yummiest (and easiest) fall foods!

Today I'm working on pieces for my holiday fairs. There are so many of them: fairs and pieces to work on! Having a "real" weekend definitely helps me focus more during the week tho.

Here's to a "real" weekend as often as possible!


Sunday, November 11, 2012

A Day at the Zoo


Last weekend some members form the SF Etsy team got together for a little "behind the scenes" meeting with five lovely creatures: a porcupine, an owl, a frog, a snake, and a parrot. We were there to sketch and take photos of these animals for inspiration for art work for a 2013 calendar that will be available through Weave. I'll post more info about my piece here once it's completed!

(that's me in the front row, with the peach colored shirt on, and Jeff to the right of me, right behind the owl, Archimedes)


That's Archimedes, the Great Horned Owl above, and a quick sketch of mine of the porcupine, Sassafras, below. 



After we finished up with our visit with the animals, Jeff and I walked around the zoo, enjoying the mild weather and all of the amazing animals. We were also privy to a pretty amazing sunset. 


getting goofy with one of the "photo ops"


I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend (both this one and the last!) I'm currently hanging with the family and trying to wrap up a few lose-work-ends before my work week starts. Oh, also, in other non-essential news, I made the best brownies this weekend. Try this recipe if you like fudgey brownies. They were delightful! They were for my dad's birthday. Happy birthday dad! 

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Go Vote

I voted today. I was amazed by how long the lines were at my voting place, and I got there at 8:30 this morning. It felt great being there, the energy, the hope palpable in the room. I live in a very liberal place (the San Francisco bay area) so the general feeling is "Go Obama!" And I absolutely want him to win. But I voted green party for president.


I don't feel like I threw my vote away. I can say with confidence that California will go to Obama. I am happy about that. But the Green Party is the party that most closely represents how I want the world to be. I vote Green Party but know that they won't be sitting in the white house just yet. One day hopefully!

K, tomorrow: a post about a trip to the San Francisco zoo. I got to meet an owl, an armadillo, and a parrot. It was pretty amazing. 

(And fingers crossed that all things politic go smoothly this evening!)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Halloween Fun

Last night was so so so much fun. Jeff and I both dressed up. We went out to our usual spot, had beers, and then met up with some friends at Bar 355 in Oakland. Much dancing and laughing ensued. If you're friends with me on facebook, then you already know what I dressed up as. For those of you who don't, I attempted to "re-create" Kate Bush on the cover of Never for Ever. . . 


And me!

I kind of felt like I was giving birth to Noah's Ark! Ha! What was really awesome about this costume was how great it made me feel. I think the fact that I was trying to embody a facet of this woman who I find to be completely amazing had a wonderful affect on me. I mean, I could probably give this entire blog over to things only related to Kate Bush and never get bored with it. . . That's how deep me love is =). It also helped that people seemed to love my costume, even if they didn't "get it" at first. 


But it's back to work today. At the studio attempting to get some work done. The one bad thing about nights like last night is it makes it entirely impossible to concentrate. Good thing I can just spend all day making earrings if I want! 

(Which reminds me of a conversation I had with a good friend last night. We talked about "being artists" and the good and bad the hard and the easy that comes with it. I said something about just wanting to be able to wake up every morning and do exactly as I please - don't we all! - and he said to me "But don't you already do that?" It made me stop and realize I do get to do that, at least to a certain extent, and to a much larger extent than when I worked for someone else. Being an adult - and an artist - brings with it a lot of responsibility that you can't just run away from. And it helps to talk about it all with like-minded folks.)

I hope everyone out there had a fun and safe Halloween!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Full Moon Monday

So, yes, as stated in my last post I have been quite remiss at regular blog posts. . . I always seem to start the year out bound and determined to regularly post here. And I start out that way because I always have one hundred and one things that I want to blog about. That hasn't changed, if anything I now have one thousand and one things to blog about! 


But, as the year wears on and my schedule quickly fills up with craft fairs and large jewelry orders, I find myself relegating the blog to a fairly low priority. 

Today I simply wanted to share with you some "moon phase" pieces I've been working on. They're not perfect, but I'm so happy about them, I wanted to share them now! These pieces have me thinking about the possibility of getting into some torch-fired enamel work. Which would be a new direction for me, but a consideration going into the new year when I'll have a bit of time to experiment with new techniques. 


Without getting too esoteric about it (nor am I an expert on this matter) the full moon is a wonderful time for "full" energy. The kind of energy that births new ideas and new paths. And I'm thinking it may be birthing in me a new direction with this blog, one that fulfills me creatively. . . 

I make no promises, as I do believe I've said many a times that I was gonna ramp up this here 'ol blog only for it to go pretty quiet for months on end. But, I'm just sayin' I'm thinking quite a bit about some series for the blog and a blog makeover.

So, thanks full moon for giving me the energy and the excitement to dream about change and dream about, well dreams!

Friday, October 19, 2012

This Weekend

Oh, I have no excuse! My blog is being sorely neglected as of late. Or, being busy is an excuse, right? =). Well, I wanted to drop in and let you know I'll be in San Francisco this weekend for these two great fairs. . . 

Saturday:


and Sunday:


Hope to see you at one of these events!

Monday, October 1, 2012

A balance in opposites

Work lately. . . 
Photo: new pieces at Good Stock http://instagr.am/p/Pz_6g5Stfc/
these can be found at Good Stock

on Etsy soon!

Photo: Sneak peek of my fall/winter collection "Sage Dusk" to be re-leased on Etsy next week. . .
now available on Etsy

Just a quick peek at where my creative muse has been taking me lately. I'm finding myself working on tiny, delicate pieces AND chunky, more ornate pieces. I think it's a good manifestation of the internal tug-of-war that goes on inside of me continually: the "maker" vs. the "artist." 



Sunday, September 30, 2012

As you can see

Exciting things have been happening in my neck of the woods lately. It's been making staying focused and getting work done a bit difficult to say the least! 


But I am lucky, my garden is plentiful. Time for jewelry, time for family, time for cooking. Good times. 


The tomatoes above are from my garden. I'm pleased as punch that my tomato plants have proven so fruitful this year. Especially given the lack of "real" garden space in my yard. But, hey, I have a yard, one that my cats and the squirrels love and appreciate and one that is the perfect place to sit and relax with a good book.


I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday. Sunday is my favorite day of the week, by the way. My reasons are sort of vague, for some reason Sundays feel like a "no pressure" day to me. Like it doesn't matter hoe much I get done or don't get done, it's all okay. I'm off to my studio in about an hour, time well spent on my favorite day of the week.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Family

Chase Ryan Caraballo born 9.26.13 at 7:28 am. Nine pounds, 20 inches. My second nephew! by Tangleweeds
Chase Ryan Caraballo born 9.26.13 at 7:28 am. Nine pounds, 20 inches. My second nephew!

Friday, September 14, 2012

Blueberry pancakes and the end of summer

The seasons are changing and I'm really feeling it. Those last few chances to bbq in your backyard, enjoy amazing summer fruits, and get all dressed up and not have to worry about what coat to put on. . . 

And, of course, there's always new work! These necklaces will be available this weekend at Rock Make and Urban Air Markets.









Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

End of Season Sale

Hurry on over to Tangleweeds on Etsy for your last chance to get my spring/summer 2012 pieces at 30% off! Simply use the coupon code "EndofSummer" at checkout and you'll receive 30% off your entire purchase. Stock is running low on many of these pieces, some I only have the one listed left, so if you've had your eye on any of these, seize the moment. . . 


SALE Haystack and Wood - Teal Leather Necklace - Brass Metalwork Necklace - Artisan Tangleweeds Jewelry
Haystack and Wood - Teal Leather Necklace - Brass Metalwork Necklace - Artisan Tangleweeds Jewelry

 SALE Darlings - Amethyst and Brass Delicate Earrings - Artisan Jewelry
Amethyst and Brass Delicate Earrings - Artisan Jewelry


SALE Sepia Tinted Petals - Tan Leather Earrings - Brass Metalwork Earrings - Artisan Tangleweeds Jewelry
Sepia Tinted Petals - Tan Leather Earrings - Brass Metalwork Earrings - Artisan Tangleweeds Jewelry


Have a wonderful rest of your holiday weekend!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

New Work of Late

Oh, Sunday, how I love you. I hope everyone out there is having a great Sunday. I had the pleasure of having brunch with a good friend today at The Fat Lady. The rest of my day has been unfurling at a pleasant pace. And I thought it was a good moment to share some snaps (mostly via Instagram - my handle is "Tangleweeds") of some of my recent work. None of these are available on Etsy just yet. But you can always catch me at a fair!

I think of this one as a very powerful piece. Obviously not completed yet, but well on the way.

"Chance" earrings. These are available with many different stone options. 

Full circle lariat with triangles.

Something itty-bitty and delicate and perfect by itself or worn layered.

A trio of rhombus earrings.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!