{white christmas}

i hope you are having an enjoyable holiday season celebrating and spending time with loved ones. i wrapped up the 2010 show season earlier this month and finished my last custom order with one week to spare, leaving me plenty of time to spend much of this week making cookies, wrapping gifts, visiting family and watching my favorite holiday movies.

we rarely get significant snowfall in north carolina, especially in december, but this month brought snow three times, including 8 inches for a lovely white Christmas. the snow started falling last night and by the time we woke up everything was transformed into a magical winter wonderland.

leaving you with a few shots from my holiday adventures and best wishes for the 2011.

{fayetteville st. tree} raleigh, nc

{pipe cleaner angel from the 1940's}

our {cat proof} "tree"

{home} for Christmas

we always eat dinner at this local diner on Christmas.  i love the kitschy retro look of it and the staff is super friendly.  somehow we always end up with the same table and waitress.

{making snow cream}

{my booth} rock & shop: durham, nc

{custom order} sterling silver, emily dickinson quote

{custom order} sterling silver, vintage typewriter key, freshwater pearls

{black friday} sale

now is the time to get your holiday shopping knocked out. i'm running a promotion in my {etsy} store through {midnight} monday. use the code THANKS15 and receive 15% off your entire purchase.

NEW {tiny bird silhouette necklace} just listed today

durham art walk

i had a great time at the durham art walk this weekend, the turnout was better than expected, i met some amazing new customers, and some inspiring artists and designers.
the Arts Council Building currently has an excelletn exhibition of contemporary portraits going on called, People You May Know. my favorite of the show was a group of portraits by Jacob Cooley, which as luck would have it, happened to be right across from my booth giving me plenty of time to ponder them. i found them pleasantly unsettling {if that makes any sense}. the subject in each portrait is wearing a neutral shirt and the background is stark white, forcing you to truly see the person, simply as they appear, with no preconceived notions or distractions.
on saturday, i managed to {sneak} away from my booth for a few minutes and do a bit of Christmas shopping at Miss Maready, my {newest} obsession, and i learned that i really, really, {really} like kettle corn (which i always thought i hated). tonight i enjoyed a delicious dinner (an more importantly garlic fries) with a friend at Tyler's Taproom at American Tobacco Campus. this week is going to be insanely busy as i restock for the Rock & Shop and the Boylan Heights Artwalk in two weeks and get started on a few custom orders.

{Giving Trees} sponsored by Bert's Bees were made by local artists from recycled materials raised money for The Scrap Exchange

{Jacob Cooley} portraits, view from my booth

my {booth}

{holiday lights} at American Tobacco

{fall} fun

its november and fall is in full swing. i'm trying to fully enjoy my favorite season before its completely eclipsed by the madness of the holidays next week. weather wise, it has been quite mild so far, but we've gotten a few cool days and even had our first frost of the season and the leaves have finally changed colors. i picked up a few of my favorite vegetables the other day and tried out a few new recipes, butternut squash with sage & shallots and pumpkin cupcakes... both successes {pumpkin oatmeal cookies... not so much}.

fall foliage in the back yard

pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese icing {loves}

i'm kicking off the holiday show season this weekend at {The Durham Artwalk} i'll be in the Arts Council building from 10-5 on saturday and 1-5 on sunday.

{fall festivals}

{boo}

{mini donuts} yum!

{old fashioned peach ice cream}

silliness

random shots from my recent exploits at Cooke St. Carnival and the Pittsboro Fall Street Fair. catch up with on the 5th in my new studio for {first friday} 14 glenwood ave, suite 18-A, raleigh.

side project

old... mismatched... table and chairs.  refinished and placed in the breakfast nook.

{before} pealing white paint, green metal, scratched wood table top

{after} chairs & table top painted rust, table base painted bronze

settling in

we moved into our new studio space this past week and i am slowly getting settled in. we're still in The Carter Building but we moved to the second floor {14 Glenwood Ave, Suite 18-A}. its MUCH smaller than our old space {kiona says its "cozy"} i can't remember where any of my tools now reside, and when the AC is on its freezing up there! {yes, i know i spent all summer complaining about how hot it was in the old space} its always a bit of an adjustment when you move workspaces but, once i get used to the setup i think its going to be more efficient than my previous set up. i've got a window by my bench that i can open for ventilation {and people watch from, when i'm bored}, i have lots of wall space which i LOVE, more room to keep my finished work on display. i've met most of the artists on the hall and everyone is really friendly and welcoming and i get to look at {these} in the hallway everyday.  i got everything unpacked and setup with relative ease, caught up on my Etsy orders and even managed to open the studio for First Friday.  well, its off to bed, i've got an early morning tomorrow and a busy week ahead of me, preparing for the Cooke St Carnival on the 16th, finishing a custom order and restocking Stitch with new work.

its fall {sort of}

{yellow crater ring} available on etsy

fall arrived today!  well, its technically fall, with a predicted high of 92 today it doesn't really feel like it.  but its a start... right?  i absolutely adore the fall, and the fact that it follows my least favorite season {summer} always makes it even better.  i can't wait to make trips to the farmers market on those perfect crisp, cool mornings to pick out my favorite fall vegetables.  i've been collecting delicious looking squash and pumpkin recipes {like this one} over the summer in preparation.  {yum}

{enamel necklace no.1:  yellow & grey} available on etsy

{tiny owl necklace} available on etsy

{yellow & white bracelet} available from etsy

September

horray!  its almost fall {my favorite season} and my show schedule is starting to get packed.  this month has been crazy with two shows so far, another one this weekend, preparing for my studio move at the end of the month {more details to follow}, and filling an order for metamorphosis metals' new home at Foundry in Asheville, NC.

two weeks ago, i participated in the wilmington art walk, and was lucky enough to spend the rest of the weekend relaxing at the beach with the lovely and talented "Boo" Reynolds of Bijou Savvy.  it was a fun show and a great weekend, the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  i'm looking forward to next year.  and once i get beach combing finds cleaned up, i'm going to have some great new photography props and jewelry components.

this past weekend was bazaarSPARK, which is part of SPARKcon, a great local event that showcases all kinds of creativity {music, fashion, poetry, dance, craft, etc} in the Triangle area.  at the last moment the bazaar was extended for a second day and it turned out to be a really great show.  this week i'm playing catch up and preparing for Designers Downtown Market on saturday.  i plan to have jewelry as well as handmade supplies and destash there.

 last month i added a new design to the metamorphosis line, custom initial necklaces, which debuted last month at Lazy Daze and finally made it to Etsy shop today.

nc aquarium at pine knoll shores

on the way to visit some dear friends at the beach last week, i stopped to check out the remodeled aquarium at pine knoll shores.

destashing for First Friday

First Friday is tonight!  Come see me from 6-9 at our studio on Glenwood.  I will have tons of new work, destash beads, and for the first time ever, I'll be selling my handmade supplies in person.   If your in the area its the perfect chance to pick up some new jewelry making goodies and save on shipping.