hey cupcake....

location.jpg hey cupcaaaaaaake?  hey cupcaaaaaake?  this cute , sweet, charming little place has been calling me in my dreams.  all things i love are here.

oversized sculpture of edible something....aka...cupcake (check)

sweet goodness (check)

offers vegan options (check)

airstream (double check)

....i didn't get the vegan option since i already decided i was going to be bad and i couldn't pass up the carrot cream cheese cupcake.  i already had pizza for lunch so i just made a "bad" day of it.  then i had to come home and sleep it off.  that's the way it works, right!  eat crap, feel crap!!!  but....oh, the sweet  joy along the way was pretty damn good.  that's what sweatin' bullets at the 12 o'clock tomorrow yoga is for.

one bag "no thanks"

bag.jpg check out this great bag made by olivebrown on etsy.    i love the canvas "plastic" bag....to clever.  the other day when i went to the grocery i crammed so many things in my reusable tote bag that it almost had a blow out.  i try to avoid getting a bag at all costs no matter where i go.  we can help the environment one bag "no thanks" at a time.

OR, these made of fused plastic bags...

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and crocheted plastic bags.....

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or the recycled sail bag

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sore, starbs, studio...in that order

earringorder.jpg yesterday was my first day back to yoga......yeah, i felt so much better the rest of the day.  it's amazing how i can have such a strong class when i haven't been in a while. i guess i really needed it.  i am so sore this morning though.  i feel like i've been run over by a truck this morning.  i was good and flexible in class yesterday but being away for a week will lead to this "morning after" feeling.  all is good though, i plan on going to starbs with a friend this morning. then, i will come home and work in the studio on this all new and exciting earring order.  i am psyched about the colors i have selected.  i thought it would be tricky trying to get a fall theme going since i am so obsessed with fall colors but it is moving along.  offered here is a picture of the stones i will make into a fun round of earrings.  oh yeah, and i have a studio visit with a customer today.  i will top that cake off with a yoga class at 6:30pm and then some snuggle down and a movie with chris late this evening.  sounds like a good friday to me :O)

happy friday!!

beach pebble ring

gallery360.jpg i was browsing a website of a customer that just bought a pair of my sale earrings. i was uber flattered that she had a pic of this ring and another single pendant necklace of mine on her blog.  i was so excited that she had this ring pictured...eep, eep, eep!! i love this ring.  it is one of my favorites that i have made.  you know me and rings :O)  i should keep one of mine once and a while as a physical catalog of my ring adventure & progression (mental note).  the stone is a beach peeble that is set off center on the band.  the little piece of tubing detail makes the ring feel alive.......like it has a little eye and he's heading north.

jen, you're a peach thanks for posting about my work.  visit jen's great etsy shop for a variety handmade books, linens & cards.  love these tea towels.

pics. from st. louis

chris and i just returned from our trip to st. louis to hang out with my family and go on our annual float trip down the merimac river.  as much as i love austin, there are many things i miss about living close to st. louis: * my family & remaining college friends that still live there....obviously

* the thrift stores in st. louis, namely SVDP on forest park blvd.

* carpooling with my mom to work.....but i don't miss the crummy 9-5 secretarial position....yikes!!

* the little house i lived in after i graduated from college which was the same house i grew up in. my parents held onto it just in case my sister or i needed it.  yep, i needed it.

* the breath taking color in the fall & the crispy crunchy leaves by halloween.

* going to antique stores & the belleville flea market with my mom and dad

* shopping and lunch date with mom and grams on saturday morning

* india rasio, cafe natasha & sen, my three favorite restaurants there.

* being close to edwardsville.....it's such a great little town with so many amazing people and memories.

* monday nite dinner at grandma fisher's. my grandma makes dinner for the entire family on monday nites.  we have to call and make reservations early in the day unless ya don't mind having pb&j if nothing is left when one arrives.  sometimes there would be 18 or so people and sometimes just 4 or 5.

* the lush green of spring and summer....especially down bluff road out to my folks and sister's place.

* seeing my sister and her family grow and change as the little ones grow up.

* a healthy midwest thunderstorm

* driving thru forest park.

* the incredible architecture in the city limits.

* going to the contemporary art musuem, craft alliance, soulard market, mezzanine, the cenral west end and the loop for an afternoon.

* seeing my dad ride his horses and the farm where my folks live.

* going to b & j rockshop.

* driving down the highway and having that indescribable feeling that i am in a place of comfort and familiarity that encompasses home.

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new pendant for.....

a male client.  a women i befriended at the yoga studio asked me to make a pendant for her boyfriend for his birthday.  originally we were going to use a piece of red coral that she had until i showed her a few pics. of some "stones" i had around the studio.  she picked this really cool ancient roman coin that i was leaning towards myself.  so i was really happy to push in a bit of a different direction making the piece more masculine..... renee-2.jpg

international exhibition news....

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i am excited beyond words to be part of an upcoming international exhibition called metal inclinations.  this show is put on by the midwest metalsmith organization.  my pink bunny ring box pictured above will be part of this online show that opens on october 31, 2008 and runs til october 31, 2009.  over 1150 pieces were submitted and the show includes only 50.  a happy girl, indeed :O)

photo credit: robert boland

procrastination turns up!!

picture-1.png i have been procrastinating a bit to much today, but i guess it has payed off.  i just saw one of my necklaces on the etsy homepage.   i am so excited.  i usually miss it and only find out thru email.  happy dancin'  thanks so much for including my piece "3dots".

in the studio now....

studio-now.jpg this is one of the pieces i am working on now.....the sculptural grapes along with the polyps :O)  i am excited to see what it looks like when it's cleaned up with the stones set and oxidized.  i finished my etsy order limpet necklace today and the piece for the male client.  i will post pics. when i can get some good ones in the day light tomorrow.

old favorite

jana1.jpg i wanted to share an older favorite piece of mine made of chrysocolla drusy, turquoise, and a piece of found glass. (2004)

etsy front page....

pic22.png this is one of the two listings that was featured on the front page of etsy this week.  yippity-yeah......i missed them both so i don't know what the other listing is since it has already expired.  thanks for the heads up molly.