Drumroll Please........

My Latest Creation!!!

I love this bag. I had bought a gorgeous piece of white leather and it had been laying around the apartment forever because I had not come up with the perfect use for it. But then God sent a little birdy who whispered in my ear and said "Hey, it would be pretty cool to slice this leather up and tie it in knots!". And everything worked out fabulously. I am so happy with the results. Of course, you'll have to go to my Etsy store to check out the other photos and the important information about it. I just wanted to share it here first.

The Black and White of Things

Looking for a rockin' frock for spring? Here are two looks I love from Etsy.

* The first dress comes from JAlvo. It's tough and pretty at the same time. The straps can actually be moved around for different looks.

* The second is from janeanemarie. Flirty and feminine and so comfy looking. But I love the way the model still looks a little bit punk.

May You Have........

lovely poster from here

Doesn't it just make you smile? Me, too.

Just thought I would share a few things with you that are going on in my world. I have a new bag made that I am pretty excited about. I hope to give you guys a little sneak peek at it before it gets listed to my Etsy store.

My husband and I hope to be moving out of our tiny apartment and into a small, old house that my dad owns. My brother had been living in it, but he's bought a place and now it's my turn. I'll be doing a few facelifts to it, so I'm also hoping to have some before and after pics for you.

Also, I'm on the lookout for some special summery dresses for you dolls to look at.

Happy Thursday. It's almost the weekend.

Weekly Ring Envy

Hello darlings and welcome to another Wednesday. Today I am going to share with you a ring that I have been in love with for many years now. A ring that has been around since 1931. That is the year that Rene' Lalique designed the famed Cabochon ring for the Lalique crystal company. Those wonderful folks at Lalique still make this amazing ring, it is still going strong and it comes in a bevy of juicy colors. The one above is my very favorite. It's called Lagoon and I'm sure you can see why. It makes me think of the ocean and salty breezes and warm sand.

You can check out the selection at the Lalique website. But online auction sites, like eBay, seem to have quite a few of these beauties up for sell. Let me know which color is your favorite.

Blaaaahhhh.

image from Isa Ferreira on Etsy.

I am here in spirit, dolls. But not so much in person. Feeling quite run down and sickish again. We just keep passing this cold around here at work. I need some rest and restoration. A nap under my snuggly down blanket. And maybe a good dose of cold medicine. If I make it to lunch time I think I will go home and stay there. Maybe. We'll see. But hopefully I will be around tomorrow to do some ring shopping.

P.S. Read my last few posts, sweets. I need some advice.

Making Me Smile

Thank goodness for things that make me smile. Dear sweet P's blog always makes me laugh. There is always a bouquet waiting for me here. And a whole list of others keep putting a little sunshine into my days. I appreciate the people who share beauty and excitement with the rest of the world. Thanks to you all.

So now I am going to share with you an adorable little shop that I found on Etsy this morning. Lori Marie of Pretty Lil Things makes the cutest stuff. Little cactus pin cushions (above). These sweet pouches that look like houses......

Or undies.........

Or little faces. How could you not love these?! The candy colors and attention to detail just make me bubble over. OH!!!! And guess what?! She's having a 20% off sale through Monday! Perfect time to buy a house (0f the darling cloth kind) or a doll (she has those, too). Check her out.

Soul Sharing: the need for blue skies

Photo from Jen Marie Art


I don't want to sound like a whiner, but I want to share something and get some feedback. Please? The last few weeks I have been dealing with some serious depression. Not the run-of-the-mill "I just want to sleep all day and eat a pound of pasta" kind. The clinical kind that renders me slave to an onslaught of tears that I have no control over whatsoever, a shoulder that feels like I have an anvil tied to it, and the uncontrollable desire to throw things (that's actually manic). I've been in this battle for years. But more recently I have also developed some fabulous nerve/anxiety issues. Every once in a while my insides will feel like they are vibrating, and not in a good way. Plus, I had an interesting little dizzy spell (anxiety attach, my mom says) about a month ago. So here's the thing. I know myself pretty well. I have spent years studying my own psyche patterns. And I happen to know what will fix all of this. (or help out drastically)

I need to quit my job.

But just how the hell do you do something like that in an economy like this? My husband was laid off from his job and his work is erratic, to say the least. There are no jobs, let me repeat, NO JOBS! to be found in our area. And even if I did quit, I wouldn't want to run out to find another job. I would want to put all my time and energy into my Etsy store. I can't make sells, or new stuff, or better pictures or anything else right now because I have no time or energy. I am miserable. I love my hubby. I love my family. I love my friends. And I just want to stay home and make shit! Forgive me for the fourth grade profanity. What do I do? This job is going to kill me. I want out. I need to see my blue sky. I need for the clouds to part. I need for God to smack me in the head and make it all clear.

Advice? Encouragement? Anything?

Weekly Ring Envy

I had my ring picked out for this weeks Ring Envy. I was all ready to come in and make my new post. AND THEN..... I logged on to Etsy and was smacked in the face with these pretty navy ladies. The deep rich color is something you would expect from Painted Metal. And at a dandy price, to boot. I'm thinking these would be the perfect addition to a long, flowy, ethnic looking dress, some leather sandals and salt water tousled tresses. Or maybe a pair of inky jeans with a super soft grey t-shirt and denim hued eye makeup. Either way, I'm loving these pretties.

*apparently, "flowy" is not a word.

Miss Mini

Oh, like a spring breeze. Like a huge gasp of warm ocean air. Like a nap on a blanket in the fresh green grass. I ran across an illustration by Fumi Mini Nakamura in the new Nylon magazine (which I am, by the way, gushing over) and it stopped me right in my hurried flipping tracks. So, I went hunting this amazing artist this morning. I found her.

Miss Mini has a wonderful website that you should visit. And she even has a blog, which displays the lovely art that was shown in Nylon. I am enthralled. What lovely colors. What sweet faces. Her style is ....... well, its quite refreshing (if I may use that very overused word). And so is Nylon, by the way. I picked the latest issue up over the weekend and have just smiled all the way through it. It makes me feel young and fun, even though I'm not so young and fun anymore. I just want to buy some high tops and rock a cut-out swimsuit in neon colors.

My Paintings

I mentioned last week that I was working on a few paintings for Valentine's Day. I thought I would share them with you. The photos aren't great, but like I said, my scanner isn't working. Anywho. These first two are watercolor paintings with a tiny bit of acrylic.

This one I did for my parents. The front of the card read "Let Love Be Your Banner". It's a reference to a Bible verse in Song of Solomon. The hands are just sketched in pencil and the banner is actually sewn into the card. What do you think? Should I stick to my day job?

With Love

Ahhh. Love.

Here's hoping that you all have a fabulous Valentine's Day weekend. If you do not have a lover, know that you are loved anyway. I will probably be at home tomorrow making manacotti* and red velvet cupcakes for my beloved. Its a little too cold here to be making out in the rain. But I would totally do that if it were like 90 degrees outside.

XOXOXOX to all of you darlings out there.
Jo

*Yes, I know that is totally spelled wrong. It's Friday. Give me a break.
*photo from here

Weekly Ring Envy

Well dolls. I have decided to give up the fight. I obviously have an obsession with rings (although I don't wear them) and its getting ridiculous. So I have decided to keep it under control by doing a weekly ring post.

This week I am totally smitten with this ring from janetmillerdesigns on etsy. Her designs are just amazing. So raw and edgy, but classy and strangely beautiful. Something about this ring makes me want to stand on the edge of a very high cliff in very high winds with my hair whipping about wildly and a steely look in my eye, as if I'm getting ready to save the world from some great danger. Yeah, I know. Big imagination. Check out her other stuff, too. Girl is crazy talented.

Rain

Its been warm here for the last several days. Now the sky is hanging heavy with light gray rain clouds. It barely sputters a few drops now and then, but its just a matter of time before it opens the gates. It smells fresh. Like spring.

I'm feeling pretty calm here lately. Been drawing a little bit. Planning on doing some painting tonight. (small Valentine's projects). Hopefully, I'll post some pictures of my paintings for you to see. I don't have a great digital camera and I have a hard time getting pictures out of it that I really like. And the scanner isn't working on this computer. But I'll see what I can do.

I love the photo above. I found it on Etsy. Dewdrops on a spiderweb, for some reason, is just magical to me. Hope you are having a lovely week so far.
www.andyman2u.etsy.com

The Shack

I finished reading The Shack this weekend. Okey, so really it only took me two days. They just weren't two consecutive days. I can't even begin to describe the impact of this book. Its just amazing. Very powerful. I have never read a book that gives you such fantastic visuals. I have a pretty darn good imagination, but the descriptions in this book are just down right mind-blowing. I would tell you what its about, but I have a tiny problem with rambling on and on and I would hate to give it all away. But I do recommend it. Highly. Very Highly. Anyone else out there read it?

tICK tOCK wATCH the cLOCK

I have a cold. Yay whoo! And because of this, or maybe because I'm all doped up on cold medicine, I am having a very hard time concentrating. So I'm chillin here at work, trying to finish tasks in between looking for pretty things to lift my spirits. And I must say that this lovely watercolor from yumiyumi is just yummy yummy. I love it. I'm starting to drift off into daydreams while looking at it. On the up side, it is supposed to warm up around here this weekend. Its pretty nice to see the sunshine. I'm thinking that I need to make a trip to buy some new acrylic paints this weekend. Feeling kinda like painting here lately. What about you guys? You feeling inspired? I wanna know what creative endeavors you are up to.

lovely print from www.yumiyumi.etsy.com

And Now, My Lovelies......

I would like to introduce you to my favorite makeup shop on Etsy, Beauty by Saria. I love this shop. She has the most amazing colors of super high quality mineral makeup. Handmade! of course. Wonderful service. Quick shipping. She is so willing to answer questions and help you out if you need a color match or a tricky complexion problem.

She is having a sale Feb 6th - 9th. I think you should go check out her out!
www.beautybysaria.com