Etsy Shades of Ruby Gift Guide

My tatted Rose and Embroidered Hearts Wrist Cuff was chosen to be in this

months gift guide on Etsy

Hummingbird and Lavender

The latest view outside my window!

A Small Quail Family

A family of Quails!
This is a small family since I usually see at least five babies in a family.
Look how big the feet are on the baby!

One of a Kind Art-Wear from 1000Markets!

Produced by Fatal Attraction from 1000Markets!

Designs created by the talented artists from 1000Markets

Ferns, Lady bug and Ant Hand Embroidered Cuff

Here's my newest cuff...

Red Rocks of Sedona Arizona and Camping

We took our new roof top tent for a spin last weekend. I was a little worried about sleeping on top of our FJ, but less worried then sleeping on the ground with all of the threatening critters. We went off-roading on Broken Arrow first and had a great time...with a lot of great people. Then we went and had Mexican Food at Javelina Cantina...then we drove to our campsite and set up our tent. It took about 25 minutes. I imagine it won't take much more then 15 minutes the next time. It's so easy to just unfold your tent, drop the ladder, and open the windows. This roof top tent is available from CampingLabs.com. The mattress is very comfy. However, I'm going to transform a pillow top mattress cover to fit over top of the mattress that comes with the tent. Then it will be perfect! The weather was wonderful --it did get a bit chilly that night....about 40 degrees, but we had quilts and blankets so it was snuggly warm.

Enjoy!

It's Good To See You Again...

I feel a breeze and cool, moist air. It’s the freshest air I have ever breathed. As I take a step forward I hear the mechanical sound of a lock turning closed behind me. I turn around and can feel a wall, but as I run my hand across the surface I find no handle. There is very little light here and I cannot make out what has happened to the door I just walked through. I try to calm the thoughts going through my mind. How will I return?

Where am I? What is that sound creeping in? It is dark here, but the moon casts enough light so that I can see that I’m standing on a sandy, dirt path. Since I cannot go back I decide to follow the path. As I walk the sound gets louder. It is a familiar sound, but one that I have only heard from recordings. Peaceful and powerful. As I pass a huge outcropping of rocks I can see the moonlight glittering on a huge mass of water. It is turbulent and is rushing towards me, just as I take a step back it recedes. I hear the voices from the tunnels. Stella and her companion. I realize they have seen me and by their tone are discussing my presence.

Stella walks over to me. She looks at me carefully and then says, with a sigh “you shouldn’t be here…you can’t go back now.” She asks, “did you follow us?” I tell her, “no, not really I was on a journey of my own but then saw you in the tunnels.” “ok,” she says. I can see her visibly relax. I won’t tell her of my possessions. She says, “come and wait with us, there is no where else to go and we can’t leave you here.” I think about everything she has said to me and now realize that I am worried. I can’t go back and I can’t stay here…what exactly does that mean? Where are we going?

As I follow Stella I catch a glimpse of a shadowy figure in the rocks to my left. The shadowy figure reaches out to me and I feel a finger touch my cheek. I gasp and Stella stops and asks me what is wrong. I tell her and her face shows panic. She takes my hand and pulls me along quickly. We finally reach the person that I saw her with in the tunnels. Once again I do not recognize him, but he says to me…”hello Sarah, it’s good to see you again.”

Key Triangulation
He Whispered-Chapter One
We Must Be On Time-Chapter Two

A Monster!!!

And, look at this beautiful beaded bracelet by Carol of Sandfibers...she captured the colors and texture of the Gila Monster perfectly!

Off-Roading In Another Dimension...

....and refueling with electricity

Happy Mother's Day

Have a wonderful, lovely day with your family...

Turtle Expedition and Photographer

I met a wonderful couple who are "Turtle Expedition." They travel all over the world doing overland expeditions. At the Overland Expedition in Prescott Valley, Az they gave a slide show of an adventure through Russia. They were challenged to make it from the Pacific to the Atlantic...all on dirt. Of course they had to cross some streams and rivers, but they were able to make the journey. The stories they shared about the "country" people of Russia was amazing and heart warming. One of the most interesting and sad stories they told was about the "road of bones." This road runs from Magadan to Yakutsk in Siberia. It was built by political prisoners during Stalin's rule and as they worked they froze and starved to death. Since the ground is frozen it was impossible to bury the dead. The bones were broken up and used to "pave" the road. The road is 2000km long.

As I walked around taking pictures at the Overland Expo I caught a very young photographer wielding a camera with a lens that was almost as big as she was.

Bird, Roadrunner, and Bunnies...oh my!

I love looking out my office window because these are the things that I see daily...


Now if this guy isn't careful
His baby brother is going to steal his sunning spot!



He's about the size of an egg!

Front Yard Wildlife...what's next?

I really, really understand the importance of our entire eco system.

I hate snakes.

As I looked out my home office/studio window I watched two snakes hunt. In that white pipe lives brand new baby bunnies. I watched the bunnies freak out...differently then they normally freak out. As I watched them, and while I've only seen one other snake in the yard a couple of years ago, I thought "snake." As soon as I thought it I saw IT. The first thing I wanted to see was the tail, since I needed to make sure it wasn't a rattle snake. I also grabbed my camera, had to quickly attach the zoom lens and began snapping pictures. I saw that it didn't have a rattle, but I couldn't identify the snake. I was almost hyperventilating as I took the pictures and was terribly worried about the bunnies. I moved to two other rooms at the front of my house to follow IT. Once it disappeared around a corner of my house and towards our garage I called hubby to let him know that a snake was lurking.

Then I off loaded the pictures to my computer. Once I had the pictures I began searching for what type of snake it was. I came to the conclusion it was a gopher snake. But I wasn't absolutely sure. So I uploaded the pictures to my flickr account. I twittered the link and the person who answered me was a fellow etsyian whose husband is a biologist. He identified it as a Bull snake, which is also a Gopher snake. A constrictor that can unhinge its jaw so it can eat "big" things.

Now in terms of our eco system, this is a "good" snake. It helps rid the world of rodents. We live in the country, next to a orange orchard and cotton field...there are a lot of mice and gophers. I just wish the snake would eat those rather than the bunnies. Although there is a huge population of bunnies....but they are so much cuter then the other animals.

I think there were two of them. I watched another cross the yard and slither into my automatic hose reel. I will never touch that again. I can barely walk out my front door to my mail box.

Did I happen to mention that I hate snakes?

The Girl Indie Blog Feature

What an exciting honor to be featured on this wonderful blog!





This blog features some awesome artists and designers. It's written by nine wonderful women who take the time out of their day to write about and feature "chick owned businesses." Go take a peek!

We Must Be On Time

The gaslights flicker and create a shadow that allows me to recede from view. I step back and feel the cold, damp walls and shiver. Someone is drawing closer and I realize that it was only the echoing in the tunnels that made it sound like whispers. I can make out vague words, “…further…lock…12th…mad hatter…” They are close to where I stand and I’m hoping they will continue past and not turn in this direction. They stop and I hear the woman’s voice, “wait.” Seconds pass as I once again hold my breath. “There’s someone here,” she says. Her voice is familiar. The librarian. Her companion says, “Stella, not now, we must be on time.” I do not recognize the gentleman’s voice.

They continue on and the sounds of their steps recede. I emerge from my place in the shadows. I will follow, but I look down and see something lying on the ground. As I reach to pick the item up I hear a loud creaking, then something heavy being lifted and slammed. I stand quietly for a moment. I now hold in my hands a tiny, leather journal. The edges are worn. It’s no bigger then the palm of my hand. The lighting is poor, but I can feel lettering or perhaps an imprint. I open it carefully and see writing and other notations. Is that a date? I will examine this more closely later. I place this with the rest of my discoveries.

I step tentatively. I feel nervous; anticipation is building, for I do not know what is ahead. Something has always stopped me from venturing this far into the tunnels. Fear and rumors. As I walk along I examine the walls for any trace of clues. I see an illustration of three gears. As I take the next step my foot hits something hard. I step up and I hear a latch lift, a creaking sound and what sounds like a door opening. Standing there for a moment, listening, I feel something brush past me and faintly I hear, “hurry, we must be on time.”

Artist Series -- Lady Lina

I would like to introduce you to Katarina from Dubrovnik, Croatia. I met Katarina when she used some of my cuffs in her treasuries. During that time we exchanged emails discussing our crafts. Katrarina is such a lovely person and I have enjoyed making her acquantance and wanted to share her love of crafts and art with you. Katarina has two Etsy shops, Lady Lina and PerfectCut. I love both and her work is perfection defined!

1.When did you become interested in crafting and did you choose it, or did it choose you?

Handcrafting has always held an important place in my family. My grandmother was a couturier (seamstress), and she taught me how to sew. I remember my mother being fascinated by different fabrics and magnitude of their colors, lace, wool, while she was also intrigued by nails, pliers, screwdrivers... So there was constant handmaking going on in my house, knitting, crocheting, coloring, fixing... I feel that in such a home atmosphere it would have been difficult not to adopt handcrafting as another personal challenge.

2. You get to spend one weekend each with three historical figures, an artist, a writer and one of your choice. Who are they and what will you talk about or do?

The artist would have to be Chopin. His music absolutely fascinates me. I feel it would be a gathering of two soul mates.

The writer would be Milan Kundera. His books have played a significant part in my maturing. I would love to be able to sit now, as a mature person, and have a conversation with the old shrewd. This question has inspired me to revisit some of his books!

The great scientist and visionary Nikola Tesla enabled today's ways of communication with his ingenious inventions. Many of his ideas have not been implemented yet. It would be very interesting to hear from such a grand mind what the future holds! I believe he would also like visiting his native land.

3. How has the popularity of the Internet affected your work?

Internet has opened so many doors in my life, into the world. I met a vast array of great and talented people, and have acquired many new friends. An abundance of opportunities have presented themselves to me, and I have been able to learn many new crafts and much more.

4. Have you discovered any new technique to creating your work that you can share? How do you come up with your ideas?

I recently discovered a method of cutting through wood and plexiglas with a laser cutter.
A completely new technology to me, that I am slowly adopting. My husband uses the laser cutter in his work, and I simply have to try everything that is new!




5. If I walked into your crafting area this moment what would you show me first? What would you want to hide?

Since my work area is mainly my living room, the first thing you would see would be the table cloth on the living room table, embroidered by my husband's grandma. The pattern of it is specific to Dubrovnik region. I think you would find it very interesting! Needlepoint/embroidery is an area I want to perfect; therefore I always keep this table cloth in my sight.
And I would not hide anything. Most of working areas are a creative mess, aren't they?

6. Describe something that comes up in your work because of a life experience?

My husband is an advertisement and billboard designer. He mostly works with Plexiglas. Until recently, to me Plexiglas was just another plastic material. Then I discovered that this material is a rather interesting medium that can turn into an unusual piece of jewelery. So now, besides fabric, wool and thread, Plexiglas is my new obsession!

7. Describe what you do or who you are in a haiku

Embroidered dreams
become shaped fabric of colors
singing an adorned tale

8. Is there anything else that you would like to share?

I would like to thank you for including me in your blog; among all these wonderful artists...I am grateful for your support and for the opportunity to share my humble work with the world.

Spring Into Action

I attended a Google webinar about online marketing for Easter, Mother's and Father's Day. There's a lot of good information, along with how to do more research using some of their new tools. It interesting to see that the trend to shop online is increasing, while shopping at brick and mortar stores is dropping off. From data that they have gathered consumers are saying that they are spending either the same, or a bit more on the upcoming holidays overall. The video also talks about what segments or items people are shopping for. Hope you enjoy the information and it helps you with your marketing plans for the upcoming holidays.

Key Triangulation Part I

He whispered, the tunnel. I heard his whisper echoing around me as I made my way through this catacomb of tunnels. I shivered. Pulling my wool jacket collar closely against my neck and placing my hand in my pocket to make sure it still contained the envelope. I couldn’t remember the last time I was here. In daylight it was a beautiful place to some. The gears, the sound, the smell. Mechanical genius built this city. Now I’m on the hunt for the answer. I pray that the contents of the envelope will somehow lead me to that end.

I found the envelope yesterday, quite by accident, among his books, sketches and writings. A tattered envelope that appeared to have casually fallen from the book., or had it? I lifted the envelope; it had a weight that seemed peculiar. The contents shifted and I found the key. It was forged as a tiny thing. It was not the only item contained within, but the only one that I can speak of right now. The key is small with round symmetrical holes in a special triangulation. Gears. I’ve seen this design before but my memory does not serve me well at the moment. I am distracted by a sound and I hold my breath.

Viva La Moda fashion and handmade

What a beautiful electronic fashion and handmade magazine! To quote Ainhoa the editor and founder, "VivaLaModa is a bi-monthly magazine created to show the greatest and coolest fashionable and hand made things we can find!"

There are interviews with fashion designers, trend alerts, makeup tips, and how to decorate your home ideas. This issue includes a spotlight on the designer label Bonzie. A great interview and pictures of exciting creations. Do you know what Steampunk is? If not, there is a style insight that presents some lovely steampunk creations. Do you enjoy the series "Pushing Daisies?" Well the style guide to "get the chuck look" includes great fashion, make-up and shoes!

The reason I know about this fantastic, new magazine is that another Etysian (thanks Monicaj) let me know that my pink Queen Annes Lace cuff is included in this issue under trend alert (page 54)! What exciting news!

Now go get your subscription today!

Newest Creations and Special Offer!

I've added to my product line!

I'm now creating earrings and brooches. For now they are made to go with my Queen Annes Lace cuffs so that customers can create a set. Other pieces will only be available as earrings or brooch.

I'm also expanding into Home Decor. It is a natural progression, since I love textiles and enjoy decorating my home with unusual creations. In a blog post, almost a year ago, oh my! I showed you the Roman shades I made with vintage bark cloth. At some point I will also be offering quilts, but have been so busy with the personal accessories that quilting has taken a back seat.



And, to celebrate a full year of blogging I'm offering you, my blogging friends, FREE SHIPPING on any item that you purchase from my Etsy shop. Just mention this blog post in customer comments, or send my an email. Thank you for reading my blog and commenting! I have discovered so many interesting blogs and have created some wonderful blog friendships!