Friday night....

Hmmm....it's Friday night what should I do......

Oh goodie - here's Trisha.....

" Fancy going out with some friends sweetie?"

Hmmm. I guess not.  Quiet night in for two instead.....but then we are lovebirds so I guess that is good!

My New York Times Interview!

I've had an exciting couple of days and have been eager to share it with you.

On Friday I was approached my someone from the New York Times saying that she wanted to include me in a photo essay on selling handmade online.  You can imagine how excited I felt and wanted to tell everyone, but I also wanted to wait a while and see if it was all going to turn out OK and my answers etc fitted in with her article.

But yesterday I had a 2 hour photo shoot at my studio. The photographer - Peter DaSilva was great and I really enjoyed it.  He took photos as I created some of my Humphrey and Trisha Lovebird earrings, photographing all the different stages.  Above is the Humphrey that I made for him.

Then he took lots of shots of me in the studio which was quite a challenge. If you haven't seen my studio, it is a tiny attic space where you can only stand up in the middle of the room!  He had to crunch himself in odd little spaces to try and get shots of the room - looking quite the contortionist!

Then today I had a brief telephone interview -  just answering a few general questions on where I sell online etc - and as it is a photo essay,  that will be captions to photos rather than script. I have no idea how much, how big, how small, how many photos, how many other people etc there will be - but the article is scheduled for this SUNDAY in the Magazine.

Yes, Humphrey - you can take a bow! You did well yesterday.

I hope you'll share in my excitement and get a copy on Sunday.    As luck would have it - I will be getting off a plane in England on Sunday morning  for an expected visit back there so won't even be able to see it until I get back ......... unless I can hunt down a copy over there. However there is also a NY Times  magazine version online but not sure if they include everything.  You know that I'll be looking there anyhow!

Month of Earrings Challenge Finished

Yeah! The month of earrings challenge has finished and I completed it!

The goal was - starting February 1st, to make 30 pairs of earrings by April 1st - that averages out as making one earring a day!

Here are all the earrings - and the link to my Month of Earrings Set on Flickr for a closer look at all 30 pairs and the Month of Earrings Challenge Group on Flickr where you can see everyone who took part.

Here is a breakdown of the earrings:

A. Materials used:

• 19 were made of (at least in part) silver clay

• 2 were made of bronze clay

• 8 were made of hand colored anodized aluminum

• 2 were made of (at least in part) polymer clay

• 1  included resin

 Garden Seat

 B. Subjects created:

• 8 were birds
• 7 were animals
• 8 were flowers/trees
• 4 were patterns/shapes
• 1 was cooking utensils
• 1 was toys
• 1 was "anyone can" figures

C: Types of earrings

• 26 pairs utilized ear wires
• 3 pairs utilized ear threads
• 1 pair utilized ear posts/studs

 Break out of your shell

D: Mirrored pairs

• i5 pairs were roughly mirror images between each earrings
• 15 pairs were not intended to be mirror/matching earrings but each one with it's own character!

 My achievements from the challenge:

1. created 30 pairs of earrings in 2 months
2. created 2 new series of earrings - a) dangly leg animals and b) hand colored anodized earrings
3. initiated another caption competition from my dangly leg birds
4. tried a new media - coloring anodized aluminum
5. tried a new media - polymer clay
6. initiated a poll on my blog which got lots of votes for the next species of choice for a dangly leg animal.  The octopus was selected and they ended up being Nate and Kate, my #30 pair of earrings.
7. Saw lots of other great earrings through other members of the group
8. Got to know the work of some new jewelry artists who were also in the challenge

Flowers feed the soul

My favorite of all the 30 I made are Humphrey and Trisha - and I wear them a lot. Next favorite are Nate and Kate.

Humphrey and Trisha Lovebirds

If I did it again, I think I'd work on trying more styles of earrings, using less ear wires!

The whole challenge idea was Vicki Hallmark's with some encouragement from a few of us.  So thanks Vicki. As you can tell - I got a lot from it and loved it!

So do you have a favorite of the 30 pairs?

I start a new challenge today too....a very different one......but more of that later!

Anyone can do tricks! - Olympic earrings!

These earrings were inspired by a comment made a couple of years ago by my elderly mother-in-law.

My husband had been talking to her on the phone and she had said she had been watching the olympics on television, so he asked her which sport she had been watching. Her reply was "it was people doing tricks"!

We had to assume it was gymnastics!  I'm not sure the olympians would have been flattered to hear that they do "tricks" - but it did conjur up a lovely image.

And so - my little "anyone" figure, is doing "tricks"!

As my mother in law frequently makes interesting statements, we thought of starting a blog in her honor, calling it "mum's the word" and listing her classic phrases!!!  

Anyhow, hope you like my strong anyone's who have been working out hard.  Perfect earrings for gymnasts, yoga lovers, and any tricksters out there!!

They are part of my Month of earrings challenge - #22.

Next dangly leg animal! - Poll results

The poll station has closed!

The animal that won the poll ..ie that I have to make into dangly leg earrings was the Octopus!!!

Thanks for your votes..... I think :=}

Hmmmm. Now I have to make some octopus earrings with not 2 or 4 legs as I've previously done for other animals - but 8 legs!!!  What sort of challenge is that!!???????

Second place was the hippopotamus.  All the results are on the sidebar at the right.

A.N. Other ideas were:

• monkey
• capybara
• kiwi
• armadillo
• lambs
• ferret
• yaks

I suppose an octopus is better than a capybara or yak!!!  I guess this is proof of the old saying "be careful what you ask for"!!!!

I'll be working on octopuses soon....

Going for Gold!

My best selling item this season has been my flower ear threads! So much for seasonal items!.....people just want to be reminded of flowers and spring and sunshine!


So as they've been selling so well, I thought I'd list a gold pair for sale and see if that gets any interest. They are the same shape flower, but in 14K gold. Not gold plated, but solid gold...on vermeil ear threads.


I've called them "Love is the flower of life" as I see them being quite the romantic gift for someone........ I just love the way ear threads move too....catching the light and the little stamens seems to dance....


What do you think? Do you like them in the gold?