Work Mode

I couldn't resist capturing my lovely look here in a photo. I was working yesterday and had on headphones, goggles and a face mask. I was listening to This American Life on the iphone app.

I'm gearing up for Texas Metal Arts, which is less than two weeks away. If you would like to receive email updates about my future shows please sign up for my mailing list on the right sidebar of this blog. If you live in Central Texas please come out to the show in Gruene. Gruene is a wonderful town and there are lots of great little shops and yummy places to eat. I probably won't be around here much for the next couple of weeks as I finish getting ready for this show.

A First Birthday Bracelet

Please forgive me for not taking a proper picture of this one. I made it the day that we left for Austin, and that was after running around all morning! It was a rushed job, but turned out adorable, I think. The bracelet is sterling and copper with a little peridot for Karlie's birthstone. It fit perfectly, thanks to a size chart that a fellow Etsy Metal member shared with me.

It was a challenge getting the thing on her, and she wasn't quite sure about it once we did. She pulled on it a bit. I'm thinking I should try making her a little cuff which would be more flexible and grow with her some.

Here is Karlie wearing her bracelet and checking out one of the books that we got her.

I just couldn't resist this one. She is too precious. That rocker was my mom's when she was a child. Mom also made the cushion for it and the little doll blanket that is hanging over the back.

I knew I would love this child from the moment I found out my brother and Celeste were expecting. I had no idea how much! We have three beautiful nieces on Frank's side, so being a Tia is not new to me. There is something different about a child that looks like you and belongs to your sibling. I am so in love with her and I can't help but smile ever time I catch a glimpse of her!

Finished Custom Collage Pendant

I finished the Custom Collage Pendant yesterday. I love the color combination that my customer requested and I love the meaning behind it. This piece is in memory of my customer's calico cat and I thought that was a really sweet and special tribute. These pictures aren't the best, I took them in a hurry before I put this in the mail, and was playing around with different backdrops, but you get the idea.

My little model

Lucy modeled for me again the other day. I love how sunny and happy these shots are. I love how willing she is to pose for the camera.

My new room

My front room/office/studio is finally coming together! I got the shelves put back together and some decorations on the walls. For some reason painting always takes me forever, but I finally got it all done and am so happy with the outcome. This room (at least this side of it) is now full of things that make me happy and I just smile when I see it. You know that feeling when you are so pleased with your accomplishment that you can't stop looking at it? That is how I am feeling about this room, and now I really feel like I can utilize the space and want to be spend time in it.



I have selectively brought home some family heirlooms and collectibles as I helped my mom go through her belongings. The old camera above was my grandparents and still has their address sticker inside. The bottle collection came (mostly) from mom too. My great grandfather owned a pharmacy and several other stores and some of these came from his barn.



I'm loving the A that mom gave me, as well as the jars full of shells and coral.



This piece, which will hold all my business cards and random office supplies, has been in my parent's house as long as I can remember. I am so happy that I get to give it a good home now.



These old type letters were from my mom's collection too.



So, this is the other half of the room, my studio. I used to have a divider that hid this area from view. While painting, the divider was out of the room and the room felt soooo much bigger. I decided to leave it out, but now I have to beautify my studio area! That is probably a good thing because having this more attractive will make me want to work more, hopefully. I have some plans, including new lighting (much overdue) new art hanging system, painting the ugly file cabinet and replacing the draw organizer with something more attractive. These projects will probably be put on hold for a while though, as I'm about to start getting ready for my fall shows.


Before and progress shots here.

More from Colorado

I flew into Cheyenne, Wyoming last Thursday, and my dear friend Christi was there to greet me at the smallest airport I have ever been to in the states. We drove down to Fort Collins, Colorado where she and her family live and I spent a long weekend with her and her three kiddos. On Friday we drove down to Rocky Mountain National Park and it was much larger and more magnificent than I had imagined. We were greeted by rain and I was even cold, hard to imagine when you live in Texas in August! We spent the afternoon in the park doing two short, kid friendly hikes. First we walked around Sprague Lake and then up to the falls called Alluvial Fan. I enjoyed every minute of that day and really felt like I was soaking in the beauty and was calmed and relaxed by my surroundings. I want to go back and camp in the park and explore a whole lot more. I feel like you could be there for a week and not scratch the surface.

Home again...

I have just returned from a wonderful but exhausting long weekend in Colorado. It was a treat to escape the Texas heat (100 + temps everyday here) and I got to spend time with one of my dearest friends and her family. I also got to visit Rocky Mountain National Park for the first time! I will share more pictures soon, these snaps are from my plane ride there and were taken with my new iphone and the hipstamatic app, which is lots of fun to paly with.

Best Waffles Ever!

Weekend before last we were lucky enough to be invited to a delicious birthday brunch. Brunch was a waffle bar and the waffles were the best I had ever had in my life! The waffles were crispy on the outside and soft, almost custardy on the inside, so delicious. The baker was kind enough to share her recipe and we whipped some up this weekend. I made the batter Saturday morning and we had plain waffles with honey for breakfast. On Sunday we finished off the batter with strawberries added. They were just as good as the birthday waffles and the only thing that was missing was the homemade whipped cream with almond oil that was served that day. I figured we were indulging enough already! I didn't have buttermilk on hand so I substituted milk with lemon juice added (two tablespoons milk and then fill measuring cup to 2 cups, let stand for few minutes).

It had been a while since we had used our waffle maker and couldn't remember how much batter to add, the first one was a half waffle but still tasty!

Saturday morning, yummy.

Sunday morning, even better!

1 & 1/2 cups flour ( It's good with 1/2 white & 1/2 whole wheat, too)
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 Tbls sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup veg. oil
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Mix dry ingredients well. Combine all wet stuff, then mix together and let rest about 1/2 an hour. Makes about 8. Waffle on!!!