Jangle Chainmaille Earrings

I probably shouldn't admit this, but it's been months since I've worn a pair of earrings. I know, I know. Who designs pairs upon pairs of lovely earrings for other people, and then fully admits she doesn't have the time to actually put them on in the morning herself?

Well, that changed on Friday. I was starting to miss how pulled together and polished I felt when I had a killer pair of earrings on, so I specifically designed these to wear to the last First Friday event of the year in Haddonfield.

Amazing. I know you've all heard it from me before about how lightweight the aluminum is, but it's funny how you start to forget it for yourself after going a long time without wearing them. But I've been reminded. I nearly went to bed with them still on that night because I forgot that they were even there. Except, that is, for the very faint, very pleasant jingling sound that the chain makes when you shake your head :)

Hence, the name: Jangle Earrings. You can now find them in my shop, and I plan on adding more color choices very soon (and please feel free to mention in the comments what colors you'd like to see go up next!)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/85421881/jangle-chainmail-earrings-brown-green

"I'm -- too sexy for my cat. Too sexy for my cat."

This post will be short and to the point:

Disclaimer. I am very much an animal lover. Animals are some of my best little buddies.

However. That said.

The following are occasions when I have to try really hard to like our furry friends:

• When they eat my vegetables from the garden. (Okay, they're hungry too. Fair enough.)


• When they wake me up at 5am meowing to play. (Okay, some of us are early risers. I can respect that.)


• When they leave surprise "presents" on the floor for me to find. (Well, it's the thought that counts, right?)


• When they chew up my favorite pair of shoes. (Okay fine, I'll take the hint, eight year old sneakers are probably ready to be replaced.)

However. There is one thing that I will not tolerate, no matter how mournful those eyes are when told to "git."






I will not tolerate fame-hungry diva cats and chickens photo-bombing their way into my jewelry photo shoots. I don't care how fuzzy and adorable they are, no special treatment from me. If they want to be models, they can write to Ford or Elite like everyone else.

(Now watch they do just that, and end up being the next Fancy Feast cats or Whiskas lovebird. I guess that'll show me not to appreciate true talent!)

A Moment of Recognition for the Original Bird on a Stick

The "Little Birds" craze has been going on for years in the handcraft scene, and I believe we've all forgotten to give credit where credit is due. Nowadays we're seeing "Tiny Finches" on:

• pillows
• charm bracelets
• baby onesies
• messenger bags
• oversized cowl scarves
• chai tea cozies

but there was one special bird that came before them all, and I was humbly reminded of this during a recent road trip.

Where would the handcraft scene have been without:



Virginia: The Original Bird on a Stick

Without that bird, we would have had nothing but decoupaged octopi on coasters and hand-stitched squirrels on pom-pom hats.

An Obvious Lesson That Bears Reminding

So, deciding to have a go at the current "items on top of book pages" photography trend, I selected an attractive-looking volume of Edgar Allan Poe from the shelf, fetched my jewelry, toiled over setting up the perfect shots, and then proceeded to click away.

Somehow a very obvious fact slipped my mind:

Books have words. Yeah, no joke. And people can read words. And Edgar Allan Poe's words aren't always exactly conducive to a happy jewelry shopping mood.

So I now have about 20 otherwise lovely shots that, when looked at upside-down, contain the bold typewritten words "sufferings," "anxiety," and "putrid." Not exactly what I want people thinking about and associating with my jewelry!

Time to get the camera out again. What book should I use this time? Beowulf? Cujo?

Got any stories to share about obvious lessons you've had to learn the hard way?