useful things

Hi! I just received these vintage style tool boxes from Rio Grande and love them! Lately, I've spent the majority of my time at the dining room table, since my studio is NOT child safe (beads, needles and fragile things are everywhere). These beautiful boxes are pretty and useful, perfect for transporting a 'few' supplies to various spots, since I like to craft with the family.

The smaller box contains my wax kit: alcohol burner, tools, wax, gemstones and a lighter. Its designed for beaders, with slots for soft flex and pliers, but I found the slots useful for tins of small objects. A nice detail about this box, is the little catch on the inside that prevents the drawer from flopping open. The large one is roomy, with pockets and drawers and a neat space for a necklace board (that comes with it) or for a piece of plexi glass (which I have sitting on top of the board). This box holds a variety of supplies, some for polymer, sewing and beading. One never knows when the desire to create will hit, so its good to be prepared!

slowly unwinding

Max loves his utensils! He always has a spoon handy, just in case he finds something delightful. Big sister is sporting her new expression of exasperation, something we're seeing a lot lately!

The other favorite toy, bumpie alien ball, sees a ton of action.

This dress was a joint project between my friend Jessica Wiesel and myself. She made the scarlett silk dress and I embellished it with black lace, vintage sequins, crystals and ribbon.

Here are some of the bead strands Greg brought back for me from Tucson (from the top down):

emerald chunks, tunduru sapphires, green tourmaline crystals, rough cut diamonds, rainbow sapphires, pink and green tourmaline, andalucite and my prize.....teal alexandrites. This stone is unusual because it shimmers like labradorite and shifts color between pink and teal under different kinds of light. Now I just have to figure out what to make with my new lovlies.

Time is passing so fast! Just yesterday I was spending every moment working towards finishing goods for Tucson (which was great for us, by the way) now I can hardly believe its over. After spending so many days working way past midnight, I felt like relaxing, nesting and crafting (of course!). My friend Jessica Wiesel came down for the week and a half that Greg was gone and we had the best time! Here's a brief list of what we did/made:

- 16 jars of blood orange marmalade

-5 jars of bacon jam

-3 variations of chocolate pudding (a specialty of mine)

-vanilla madelaines

-sweet potatoe and kale soup

- doll kimono

-silk doll dress

-mini books

-suit for a doll

So, basically we feasted non-stop and sewed doll clothes. Yeah, I was in heaven. I'm taking a few more days to unwind, then its back to the studio, or the kitchen table.