Rhapsody in Bloom . . .

. . . was the title of the art fest held at our local Luthy Botanical Garden this past weekend. Close to 50 artists exhibited their creations including jewelry, garden sculptures, pottery and many other items.It was hot, hot, hot! Nevertheless, it was a great show where we met lots of nice people, received many compliments and much of our jewelry inventory found new homes. Here's a pretty necklace my sister snagged from Janet of Free to Bead:

Beautiful, eh?

More visitors . . .

. . . during this busy time! Our friends Blake and Taylor are visiting from the Indianapolis area. Since they are used to visiting at our former home in Tampa, it is somewhat challenging to replace the instant gratification we had there of stepping out the door and into our pool. This morning we took a walk to a nearby park and found this cool fort to play in. Unfortunately play was cut short after Blake and a muddy puddle collided; we had to return home to wash everything, including his shoes, and send him to the shower.Later this afternoon Taylor and I spent some time making jewelry. I think she is a natural! She instantly grasped the purpose of different components, i.e. wire guards, crimps, crimp covers, etc.

Here are her first creations. I see more jewelry making in Taylor's future!

the quest . . .

. . . for serenity has been a recurring theme in my life for these past fifteen years or so. Sometimes the need for a bit of peace escalates and makes me want to throw my arms up over my head and yell "Serenity NOW!"

 People who have hobbies may have a better way to settle their souls and I think that's what jewelry making does for me; it puts me in a 'zen' kind of place. Yesterday was that kind of a day and here is the result:

Wire wrapping each bead to form the chain, hand forging the clasp, making the charm holder and coiling wire around it, stamping SERENITY on the flat piece of silver -- yes, all of this takes time. It's worth it, though, because the work helps me get to my "happy place" and when I'm finished for the day I have created something that I hope will bring calm and solace to the person who will wear it. I've invested my own energy, my serenity, into each piece.

A slow, sputtering start . . .

. . . just like the neighbor's car I hear being worked on each day. With our vagabond lifestyle of the past few years now over (hopefully) it is time to settle in and get back to reoring balance to our lives. My etsy shop has been "on vacation" for a while now and although I've produced a couple of new pieces, the lovely ladies of our local Moondancer boutique (formerly Simply Everything Boutique) have very kindly allowed me to exhibit them in their wonderful shop and poor little etsy remains empty for now. Please pardon the photography, my "model" needs a new shirt . . .When you're off to a slow start, there's nothing slower than hand knotting. The three-strand necklace above includes peridot, rainbow moonstone, freshwater pearls and 24k gold plated Czech glass all hand-knotted on silk. Combined with gunmetal chains and a sterling silver dragonfly, it's romantic, don't you think?

Here's one I made just for me. I have been hoarding the antique key with lampwork for some time now. Happily, the universe has worked as it always does, on its own time. It sent Heather to me with gorgeous faceted citrine nuggets, answering my need for something special to go along with the key. Like it? Too bad, it is mine, all mine.

And back again to the hand knotting, here are some big, juicy, faceted blueberry pearls knotted on silk along with Swarovski crystals. I've added my handmade gunmetal chain with sparkling midnight blue crystals.

Sputtering and slow maybe, but it's a start, right?