jewelry not yet on etsy

love this one- the asher. champagne citrine (notice the new shape?!), london blue topaz (also new shape!), sky blue topaz, and smoky quartz, 18"- $78.



this is like a retired beanie baby. i'm not sure how, i just think it's funny when people compare things to beanie babies. actually, i'll tell you how. the smoky quartz stone above is really pretty, but the angle of the top of it is not something i was prepared for, and most were too wide to wrap. on the rest the wire just bunched and said, "no way, jose." i think the ones that worked went to the stores, and maybe i kept one. a new version of this necklace is available without so much wire wrapping at the top. 36"- $68.

this was made with valentine's day in mind, and although it's not in my etsy shop, it is available at jenni b. in monrovia and dreamy in encinitas. or just email me and i'll make you one. rose quartz and rhodolite garnet, 18"- $48.
these i only have one picture of, which is why they're not on etsy. i kind of like them, though, so maybe i'll have to make another pair and stage a photo shoot. black tourmaline and sapphires, $98.
the above bracelet and earrings are london blue, white, and sky blue topaz, champagne citrine, and smoky quartz. the whole blue and brown thing. i tried taking some artsy shots of the earrings in our christmas tree, but that was a disaster. looks like the lighting still wasn't great for the above pictures...earrings- $98, bracelet- $198.

this necklace is a version of a necklace i made and sold at the la county fair years ago, before i started photographing my jewelry. now it's called the mabel, and it's $298 if anybody's interested. adjustable from 16"-18".

that is a custom pendant i made for someone- a gift for her from her. it's similar to the avery necklace, with mint quartz, green sapphires, and headpins i made myself! the heart clasp isn't actually part of it, just holding it for the shot.

i made the above earrings for a bride last fall. keishi pearls, white topaz, and rhodolite garnet. I think they ended up being about 2.5 inches, and went nicely with her very drapey orchid bouquet.

i call it: restoration hardware under the big top

some fancy 60's yard sale furniture- a la marcia brady.

some framed paper from ps- and a wonderful wall of stripes (like a circus tent, get it?) thanks, ryan :)

my proudest achievement- a pennant banner originally made for maribel's shower (also kind of circus-y). actually that chair rail is my proudest achievement. do you know how i feel about chair rail and crown moulding and wainscoting?

my lovely anthro lamp which matches the smaller one in the living room, and my very favorite cliche poster- which i now own two of.

here's what our room looked like last week. if i ever get around to ironing (and starching, judging by the picture above) my new duvet cover and sheets and pillowcases, i'll post pictures of what it looks like now. although, it took me about a year for these pictures, so don't count your chickens.

unique la

this saturday, my mom and i went to unique la, a neat show at the california mart downtown with a bunch of crafty local designers. we saw stacey winters, who makes (and photographs, cause she's a photographer!) the following stuff:

and her bluebird print is the cover art for a new book!

and kelly robinson, who is a friend of a friend, and had this neat booth setup:

she also has a cupcake and event planning business, where she does amazing stuff like this:

so much talent! we bought a few things for each other's stockings, and i could have spent thousands pretty easily. we had a lot of fun, and maybe next year i'll have a booth of my own!

the animal

we caved (i caved; ryan cheered), and finally bought this very expensive piece of machinery- the dyson animal. bed bath and beyond sends us 20% coupons every week or so, and even though dyson is listed as one of the brands it cannot be used on, apparently it can. as can all but about three of the brands listed. we saved $110, then ryan won a poker game last night, so it's like it only cost us a couple hundred bucks. what a deal!

we'd been struggling with a vacuum purchased from sears 6 years ago that seemed to emit dirt instead of sucking it up. everytime we use it, our house smells pretty awful. we decided we'd had enough after max vacuumed the whole apartment saturday and we were fairly certain it picked up nothing from the floor.

our suspicions were confirmed when we got the animal home and ryan vacuumed the whole place again (with excitement and ease! thanks to the easy maneuverability of the ball action), and he dumped the filter out three times. we ran it right next to the wall and it picked up stuff lurking in the corners. we realized how grimy our carpet felt before compared to how it feels now. apartment carpet with almost no padding underneath, granted, but still, much better.

now the boys actually want to vacuum- i know this will not last forever, so i must take full advantage of it now. there's even a motorized attachment for couches, curtains, and cars, which looks pretty neat.

so, although it was pretty ridiculously expensive, i feel like i can breathe in here without getting sick, as i so frequently do. and dangit if it isn't the coolest looking vacuum in the world.

why you'd want to live here

the nice part about living 5 minutes from the beach is that it's there if we ever want to go. the reality is that we never go. so ryan, max, my cousin travis, and i went to the beach tonight after dinner. we decided to take our fun camera out for a spin, and here are a few of what we ended up with:

max and i

me, filtered with ink

watching the tide roll in

cool feet

travis, max, ryan- ink again

the cardiff crew

ryan and i

you can see the rest of the photos here

jurassic park peonies

i bought some unopened peonies at trader joe's two days ago.

by that night, one flower had opened up completely and was about the size of my head.

one by one, the others have followed suit.

we thought we might put a stop-motion camera on one as it opened, but i have no idea how to do that, so i hope you like these macro shots instead.

i had an idea in my mind of what peonies looked like, and it's certainly not like this. however, they are very beautiful and have received rave reviews from everyone.

i only spend money on very important things...

here are the beautiful pillows i bought yesterday:

don't ask how much they cost.

a good month

March is starting out to be a good month. I've had a few Etsy sales, made some new friends, paid off my Nordstrom Visa (no, I do not compulsively shop at Nordstrom, as my Mint account would have you believe; I use that card for all my purchases), found a house for my cousins to move into, taught a PaperSource wedding workshop that left me exhausted in a good way, made my bed (but somehow that hole in the wall still has not patched itself..), and made some good jewelry connections.

Today, I am so excited to say that I'm featured on Snippet & Ink, a lovely wedding blog. How sweet of Kathryn to include my name in her Friday discount section! Kathryn posts absolutely gorgeous wedding inspiration boards that definitely inspire me in so many ways. Here are pretty much the first three I found, because they are all equally amazing. So you should go now and read her blog everyday.

#343: Backyard Picnic

#351: Wizard of Oz

#352 Sweet Tooth

Watch for a very special post later today... Hint: free jewelry is involved, so tell your friends!

room for baby

i've been hanging out with babies lately, and it's inspired me to post some cute baby rooms. oh, and because it seems as if every other person I know between the ages of 25-30 is pregnant. i'm only 24, so stop those thoughts.

seafoam and yellow, who knew?
from ohdeedoh


oh, those tiny clothes.
from ohdeedoh


unexpected colors, and neat silhouettes.
from ohdeedoh

not as cutesy as i prefer, but fun and outdoorsy.

love those vintage book pages above the bed.

great butterfies, fabulous jenny lind crib.

above three from domino


scarlet's room. that baby has no choice but to be stylish.
from the tiny bean sprouts!

yellow and black. like a bee, only better.

feels warm and cozy.

those circles remind me of the season 1 winner of project runway.
above three from domino

easy, beachy, fun.
from beachbungalow8: gum tree, los angeles

boho baby.
from beachbungalow8,
bedding by rikshaw design

easily transitionable into a kid's room.
from pottery barn kids

can't go wrong with pink and brown.
from pottery barn kids

it's my m!
from pottery barn kids

good pattern combinations.
from pottery barn kids

bedding looks like orla kiely.
from making it lovely


i've never been a purple person, but i like it here. seems restful.
from cookie magazine


i hope my nursery post inspired your nursery decor. because i know you're all working on one.