Inspiration Folder

All of this

provided by the lovely Earth

fodder for

so many jewelry designs.

The Redhead From Wyoming

I watched this movie last night while cutting out little price tags (these have my Etsy address on them!). I'd been hankering for an old movie and was perusing the "watch instantly" classic movie options on Netflix and found this. While I'm not usually one for old westerns I really enjoyed this one. Two great things: the lead female role outsmarts all of the men AND the fashion. I kind of get a chuckle out of it because you know that no woman would have had the money and resources to look as well put together as Maureen O'Hara's Kate does, but the fantasy is nice to appreciate (and draw inspiration from).

A few rooms to call home

I, like so many others at this point in life, love to comb the internet for pleasing images, pictures of places or things or people that speak to me. It is a lovely way to unwind at the end of my day. The internet has given me a way to easily stumble upon pictures that speak to me, that appeal to my aesthetic.

I've started many inspiration folders on my desktop. Today I was combing through one of them and thought I'd share a few room photos that I've saved from various sources. (Unfortunately, I do not know where any of them have come from at this point.) With my recent move there has been much unpacking and arranging of furniture. . . and looking at others' spaces that I enjoy helps me realize what I desire in my own living space.

This room looks like the perfect little hidey-hole away from the concerns of everyday life. . .

I love the use of miss-matched pieces of wood as the headboard in this room.

This room, is quite frankly, blissful perfection in my opinion. With the addition of a plethora of glass jars and vases in various sizes, shapes, and colors I would joyfully sleep here and read here every single night.

I may start a "Monday Inspiration" installment to this blog. . . I'll see how that idea feels as the ensuing weeks unfold. Have a lovely end to your day, however you choose to spend it!

A weekend in sunsets

I will be moving soon, merging two homes into one. I've found myself snapping photos around both houses, wanting to have some sort of record, a literal pictoral memory of life at these two places. The sunsets, as seen from the backyard of my boyfriend's house, are one of the amazing, distinguishing things about his place.

March 12th

March 13th

March 14th

It was a bit of a whirlwind of a weekend. Stopping to just gaze at the sky for a bit helped keep me grounded, which I'm not so good at doing! Staying grounded that is! My head so often gets bogged down by big ideas and goals and can quickly run out of room for the necessary, daily stuff of life. Maybe it's a bit of the case of "artist's brain". . .

Raindrops and Pearls

picture courtesy of this lovely Etsy shop

The weather has taken a turn for the cloudy and windy and very very rainy. It's been a delight to stay at home, all tucked in with four cats and lots of jewelry projects to work on. Last night I tidied up and re-arranged my studio space. (I'll hopefully get around to posting some pics of my workspace either here or on my flickr page sometime soon!) It was needing it, it felt like a spring cleaning, and while it may not be spring it is most definitely time to usher in a new season. . .

The simple act of going through piles of old beads, scraps of this and that: metal, fabrics, buttons, re-arranging the furniture in a more heart-pleasing way put me in a very reflective place. While I don't always feel like I have everything I want (who does anyways?), I do feel very grateful for what I have.

~My adorable cat, Snickers (who turned 13 in July):

~Warm scarves and cozy gloves and tights and socks and all the fun things there are to layer with when it gets cold outside.


handknit scarf from this lovely etsy shop

~This guy (my wonderfully supportive, caring, and understanding partner in life)

Other things I'm grateful for: good strong coffee first thing in the morning,this blog, oh and this one too!, good books to read, like The Hummingbird's Daughter, thrift stores galore, the simple fact that I live in the gorgeous San Francisco bay area, the upcoming holidays, the candy-pink trimmed house across the street from my own, the selby for interesting and inspiring live/work spaces, my own studio space for working on and creating jewelry designs. . .

There's lots more, and I could go on for quite a while, but I'll stop here and leave some for a future post!

Have a lovely day all~

Inspiring

Sparrow Salvage

This lovely lady keeps one of the most visually lush, inspiring blogs I've stumbled across in a long while. Equal parts "tromp through the forest" (and not just any forest, but a forest full of fairies, and friends, and possibility) and "magic in the everyday", it will feed your creative soul. Really feed you, in a substantial way.

She also has an Etsy Shop full of gorgeous, handmade wrist cuffs, broachs made of repurposed fabrics and materials, and earrings fit for an urban queen. I bought a lovely wrist cuff from her store a few months back and I have not been dissapointed. It's a lovely touch to many of my dresses. It is perfect in that raggedy-beautiful way I like my things to be!


I kind of want these earrings for myself one day:

In the meantime I'll have to keep myself happy with regular trolls though her Etsy Shop and cozy readings of her blog.


all images sourced from her Etsy Shop and her blog

Inspiring:

Forest Bound




These bags are all designed and created by the lovely Alice Saunders of Forest Bound. I love her unisex designs as much as I love the lace be-decked ones.



And the best part is she uses recycled and found materials like WWII era fabrics and old bedsheets. Currently her Etsy Shop is on temporary hiatus so she can focus on custom orders, but you should definitely visit her Shop and click the little bubble to be informed wheh her shop does open again.

Oh, and her Blog is pretty amazing too!
(and all of the lovely photos of her bags come straight from her blog as well)

A Walk

My mood’s been reflecting the weather lately. . . Dark and dreary, but warm, like it can’t decide to be spring and cheerful or wintery and rainy for a bit longer. One minute I feel inspired and revved up and ready to get to work and the next I feel sluggish and simply ready to sit down for a good long while and just do. . . well, nothing, really.

I really bear down on myself heavily when my momentum starts to lag, and yes, I recognize the way I’m chasing my own tail when I do this. It’s just part of who I am. But also part of the whole equation is my job. I work at a coffee shop, and while it isn’t as soul-sucking as some jobs can be, it still leaves me frequently drained. There’s something about constantly trying to meet other peoples’ needs for seven hours straight that wears on me in subtle ways. I especially think that customer service jobs can be taxing to sensitive folks, you know, the ones who are easily affected by the way others feel, who have a thicker and wider empathetic streak than most. It’s taxing to be exposed to so many different people’s issues and needs and wants; you walk a fine line between feeling like a barista and a psychologist/friend to these people, your customers. To someone who’s never worked in customer service this may sound melo-dramatic, but trust me, there is truth in my words.

In an effort today to get out of my head and away from my overly critical thoughts, I decided to take a walk through my south Berkeley neighborhood. I had to go to the post office anyways, the filling of two needs at once made my muti-tasking self happy.

One of the things I love love love about living here (as opposed to the well-coiffed suburbs where I grew up) is the abundance of overgrown flowers. . .






And while my neighborhood isn’t exactly the nicest in all ways, it’s charm has grown on me considerably since moving here a year and a half ago.