don't try this at home!

i just listed this pendant in my etsy shop. the flower shape is a re-occurring theme in my work: i use it as a pendant in this case. i wanted to experiment with some acid etching (see the engraved ditsy flower pattern?), but i didn't realize getting nitric acid would be so difficult. i called a few local suppliers, who asked me multiple questions about my intended use of the corrosive chemical. they seemed skeptical of my explanation, and insisted on passing on my vitals to the authorities. oh, 9/11: i almost forgot! eventually, a friend was able to obtain some from a local university professor. whew! anyway, the results are fantastic despite the fact that the stuff is super dangerous!

weburbanist car search

i've been thinking about getting a new car: something sporty! what do you think?

butterfly

everyone must be thinking of spring!

just sold this one-of -a kind butterfly brooch in my etsy shop!

loon-ey!

i loved her jewelry first, then i met stephney wallace at the downtown holiday market, and now i love her too! stephney lives in the artistic mecca known as baltimore, one of my favorite cities in the world and home to the maryland institute, college of art (one of my alma maters). i was watching loons fly and dive on the potomac river last week, so this pendant caught my eye this cool morning while dreaming of spring migration.

sweet jewel!

yuki found my turquoise bird on a wire earrings in my etsy shop and blogged about them

remember last monday?

last monday i was sitting here watching snow fall to the tune of six inches...today: 70°!

it was a long, cold week that ended in a brilliant weekend here in washington, d.c.

friday night we road metro to union station and attended the dc independent film festival for the opening of borf! followed by drinks and indian food outdoors at the white tiger on capitol hill. saturday i had to take oto on a long walk and short swim because it was so nice and warm out. i headed to visarts in rockville to view a kawasaki motorcycle that is the subject of an art competition to benefit the art center. i dont know if i am going to be able to come up with anything interesting for the proposal, but i do have a few concepts i am going to sketch out. (i will keep you posted!) we decided to head to the eastern market to buy up as much fresh raviolis as we could carry home. i think we got eight different flavors. i freeze them and use them for quick meals during the week. kind of awesome. before we headed home, we grabbed burgers, fries and mini toasted marshmallow shakes from good stuff eatery, owned and operated by top chef's chef spike. he happened to be there, working the grill! during a break he stopped and talked to us for a while, then took pictures with thrilled tourists and locals alike. spike was very hospitable and cool. i chilled at home saturday night so i could work in my front yard sunday, trying to regain a little curb appeal! too tired to cook dinner after laying down fifteen bags of mulch, we grabbed amazing carry out pizzas from comet ping pong. i completed random paperwork and required reading about 3a.m., and...here we are at monday again!

i have the week planned out and hope to get a lot accomplished in my studio, my home, my garden, my life, my cyberspace. good luck!

curb appeal!

fifteen bags of mulch later...the front yard is finally beginning to shape up! i decided i would mulch heavily as early as possible to help discourage some nasty bind weeds and bermuda grass from taking over like last year!

mamorated stink bugs!

it is such a beautiful weekend here in the nation's capitol! i opened up all of the windows to let in the fresh air and all these weird looking bugs came in!

herban elements™

my copper electroforming set up has been idle for sometime now. today is the day to resurrect it! the pendant above is a crape myrtle seed pod i electroformed in copper and then worked it with fine and sterling silver.

nina ricci: wow!

everybody knows i like shoes and i am not that practical...these nina ricci shoes might push even me to the limits!

super hottttt!!!

is it a lizard or a gecko? pendant

i love my etsy shops and my etsy customers rock! it has been 14 months since i opened my on-line business and i couldn't be more pleased with the results: who would have thunk i would have an international jewelry business? just sold this one of a kind kiln-fired enamel pendant. sweet!

spring!

finally! spring is here! it feels more like summer though, at 75° here in washington, dc!

borf!

just got back from the dc independent film festival: day 3, "misfits". all of the films previewed at the union station theatre were great and/or entertaining, but the standout of the evening was about washington, dc graffiti artist BORF!, directed by the amazing paris bustillos.

it was deep, truly!

make your presents felt!

makeyourpresentsfelt has ghosts! i am not sure what that means, but she makes really amazing things and a fantastic treasury! 

mann made designs

my friend jimmy at mannmadedesigns is a stellar dude and a great jeweler! he made these awesome shamrock cufflinks for my husband, and etsy has chosen them to be in the running for the coolest st. pattie's day item. vote for them today here!

melted glass

here is a lovely collection of enamalists on etsy from AdobeSol.

very good stuff eatery

had lunch with jimmy of mann made designs on capitol hill at chef spike's restaurant.

handmade modern jewelry

i finished a ton of stuff last night; mostly pendants and earrings.

now off to photograph!

jon wye

oto rocks jon wye's fredfred line.

etsy treasury

adorable treasury for the young at heart from theBeadAerie

lester+quinn

fellow artist and good friend cherie lester has partnered with artist-crafsman chris quinn to form lester+quinn. 

contemporist, yes!

i want to live in this house! designed by grosfeld van der velde and showcased in contemporist blog

etsy treasury

delicious orange & blueberry treasury from BeverlyAnn: tangy!

national cherry blossom festival

this is the piece i selected to donate to the national cherry blossom festival's  silent auction.

remnants of yesterday's snow storm

oto and i took a long walk in rock creek park this afternoon. 

dreaming of summer!

enjoy this lovely treasury on etsy by tangledthings. got me dreaming of summer!

new work on herbanelements.etsy.com

just listed in my herban elements etsy shop four cool new necklaces i made and photographed this weekend. the piece shown above is a sterling silver burr my mom found in the utah desert outside of las vegas that i lost wax cast. it turned out like a tiny disco ball!

snow removal

something NOT on today's to do list was snow removal! i am not a fan of snow, but the photos are pretty!

birthday cake

adorable shed my husband built.

snowed in!

snowed in! mondays are usually my "office day". i try to go through my in box,  get all of my show applications completed, clean the studio, and get generally organized for the week ahead. here is today's "to do" list.

1. load new work to my etsy shops, designoptions and herbanelements

2. work on my dawanda shop

3. prepare wax forms to have lost wax cast for custom order chinese lantern pendant

4. blog

5. preform a soil test for my vegetable garden

6. select a piece to donate to the cherry blossom festival silent auction

7. design st. patrick's day cuff links for my husband and brother in law

8. torpedo factory submittal

9. update my website

10. design a motorcycle!

so, here we are on the first day of meteorological spring with the first plow-able snow of the year bearing down on the washington, dc metro area. i am not a fan of snow!