Arachnophobia!

Man, I need to start blogging and stop neglecting my 359 followers! So today, I shall begin again.

Naturally, my first post in weeks, months, years would need to be pointless, as staying with my general blog style. So, here's a picture of a baby spider takeover on my porch. I snapped this shot with a macro lens, which means I was way too close to these little dudes for comfort!

Stay tuned because I made Mushroom Risotto, and I'm gonna share the deliciousness with you all! SOON!

CHAMPIONS!!! : Celebration Video :)

Oh yeah, your looking at the champs right there! You must have all sent a whole lotta good vibes our way because my brother Cody and his team came up victorious in last nights Sectional Championship Game! Woohoo! Saratoga hasn't taken home the Sectional Championship in 10 years! The game was a total nail biter and the crowd was VERY energetic. There was some serious electricity flowing through that arena! I'm so happy I was able to be there to support the team, and scream until my vocal chords felt numb :)

In honor of this momentous occasion in my little brothers life, I made a little "Music Video" of the end of the game and the team celebration at the end, otherwise known as a "celly" in the hockey world. Watch Cody and his team celebrate, accept their trophy and generally love each other :)

Congratulations, Saratoga Varsity Hockey! Everyone is so proud of you! Good luck a the NYS Quarter Finals in Utica!!!

Coming Soon...VERY soon!

After reading a post made by my friend Amy, over at Ponder & Stitch Blog, I was inspired to let you know that I will be adding a few new items to my shop today later on! Wahoo! Exciting, exciting!

Thanks to my current head cold, which we're hoping is not Swine Flu, I'm stuck at home today on the couch and figured it's the perfect time to add a few new items! I think I'll also start perusing Etsy for possible Christmas gifts as well, never too early to start! However, I'm pretty sure I'll just end up buying things for myself that I don't need...which is equally as fun. Anywhoo, make sure to check out the Shop throughout the day!

** Don't forget to check out my new A.N. Original Home Trunk Show Secrets Series! Post #1 is up and is all about creating the buzz before your trunk show! The second installment will be posted at some point this week :)

Must Love Dogs : Meet Scout!

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." ~Ben Williams

As promised, here are some (or a lot) of pictures that I took last Monday of McKenzie, and her baby boy, Scout. I can't even begin to tell you just how much I love these pictures! I always love shooting McKenzie, but Scout is equally as fun, and has SO much personality.

Scout is a 2 yr old pure bread German Shepherd, he is gorgeous, huge, powerful, sweet and hysterical. Until meeting Scout, I had never encountered "Doggie Bubbles", but, alas, Doggie Bubbles are in fact one of the most wonderful inventions in the history of life. Seeing such a huge masculine dog, chase after dainty little bubbles, is nothing short of absolute perfection. Scout is SUCH a sweetie, and he is a huge ham for the camera, which is fabulous for me (and Kenz!). I think this shoot really made me realize just how much I love photography and the ability to take a moment of someone's life and freeze it in time. I especially love the candid shots for this reason :)

Anyway, this shoot took place in Lake George, NY, my very favorite spot in the wo

rld. What a gorgeous backdrop for an adorable family photo. I love these photo's so much, I'm even tempted to blow up one or two for my own home :) OK, OK, I'm done writing, check out the photos, I've included lots because I just couldnt limit myself, there are way too many I felt I NEEDED to share with you all! Hope you love these!

I love McKenzie and Scout!

Double Sided Pendants for Double Sided Fun!

I've been a busy bee today, listing tons of new products (and continuing to do so). Including these awesomely fun double sided word pendants, they are so fun, and tiny and sweet, I could just pinch all their cheeks (if they had cheeks...)!

If you follow me on Twitter, you might recall the initial birth of this double sided pendant idea and you may have even contributed in an idea or opinion or two during the process. If so, thank you! Your participation really helped me put the idea into motion. And now, almost 2 months later, I present to you the cutest little double sided pendants you ever did see! They are available for purchase in my fancy schmancy Etsy Shop!

What do you think? Which word combo is your favorite? Which do you predict will be a best seller? Opinions welcome and encouraged!

Now, I must scamper back off to my Etsy screen to continue listing new items. Toodles! ::wink::

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn...

Goodbye Summer, see you soon...

I'm never especially sad to see summer go. Sure, I will miss Lake George, I will miss summer BBQ's, impromptu gatherings at night and laying out in the sun, but Autumn is always welcome in my life. There's something about the change of seasons that makes me feel more alive, more inspired, more like, myself. Autumn is easily my very favorite season. I've already spent a good amount of time lounging on my deck in the crisp night air of the impending Autumn, enjoying just 'being'. I've had some really great talks with myself out on that deck at night, and have come to appreciate the simple beauty of these garden lights I have strewn across my railing. So lovely. So simple. So perfect.

Hello Autumn, I've missed you.

Another Day in the Studio with friends...

I've spent the past 2 days working in my studio on new pieces. My time in that space during this stint can be best described as frustrating. Some days, the jewelry gods do not shine down upon me and I spend hours accidentally melting jump rings, burning myself or popping saw blades every 20 seconds or so. These are the days that I begin to really question my ability and can sometimes get pretty down on myself. I know we all visit that place from time to time...

Lucky for me, I never go to the studio without some of my best friends loaded into my fully charged iPod. And by friends I of course mean music/songs etc. I am incredibly moved by all different kinds of music and like anyone else I get into music cycles where I continuously listen to an album, a band, or maybe even a single song on repeat for LONG periods of time. I don't really know why but I begin to identify it with comfort and on some days can't go to sleep unless I've put in a good bit of time listening to whatever it is I've been listening to previously.

Right now, that band is Coldplay. Specifically the "Parachutes" album and "A Rush of Blood to the Head" album. Today in particular I find myself listening to the song "Spies", over and over and over again. It's got this haunting feeling to it that I love so much that it gives me chills from time to time. Such an amazing piece of music that really makes you think.

Anyway, as I head back out to my studio for what I hope is a very productive, non-destructive afternoon of soldering, sanding, oxidizing and polishing, I leave you with the song I will continue to listen to all afternoon, "Spies". Enjoy!

Summer Snapshots: Playing Catch-up

Yikes! I just realized how few photographs from my summer I've actually shared with you guys! It's time to play catch-up! So here we go...

Here's a few new shots of my best friend, Lucie aka Suessie John Jones. I could photograph her all day long! Stay tuned for another couple post's of my summer pictures soon :)

Sneak Peak: New Jewelry Coming Soon!

I've been working feverishly to prepare myself, my shop, and my inventory, for the holiday gift giving season. I know what your thinking, it's MONTHS away! No, not for me! Once it turns Sept, I start getting very antsy and frantic trying to best prep myself for the holiday rush of insanity. Really, I should have all these items done and listed already but the casting process took a little longer than expected so here I am, behind the 8 ball and trying to make up time along the way.

Anyway, heres a little sneak peak of some of my new castings. Simple and sweet. Some were cast from hand-drawn etching patterns that I etched into sheet metal, some were carved out of wax and some were fabricated and sent off to be molded/cast etc. I'm especially excited about the etched pieces, as well as my cute little double sided pendants that some of you may or may not have been around on Twitter to contribute your ideas and opinions for. It's so fun to go from an idea that pops into your head while eating sherbet in front of your computer on a summer night to an (almost) finished product.

The next time you see these pieces they will look much much different; sparkly, domed, oxidized, etc. Hope you like what you see of these castings in their raw, unfinished form! I know I squealed when I started opening up the package of casted goodies :)

Enjoy!

Oh, P.S.- I hope you guys took a listen to Jes Hudak in my previous post! She's fabulous! Sorry for choosing a song laden with parental advisory lyrics to post but I thought it showcased her really powerful voice and her fun adaptability!

Delicious Website Re-vamp! I love you Nest In Bloom!!!

Big news kiddies! My website has gotten a full overhaul, thanks to my good buddy Samantha aka Nest In Bloom! Words cannot even express how excited I really am about this! I've had my own dot.com site for about 3 years now and it's taken me 3 years and a few designers to get here. I can honestly say, Samantha is THE best graphic designer/artist extraodinaire I have ever had the pleasure of working with! Not only did she actually listen to what I wanted, but brought her own ideas to the table and provided the darling little accents and details to the site that really brought it to a new level! My website went from being Bette Davis to being Marilyn Monroe in a matter of days! Yay! It never hurts to be easy on the eyes :)

If you've been following my website for a while you might notice a couple big changes! The most noticeable is probably the addition of a new beautiful face to the site! I'd like to introduce you to the gorgeously exotic natural beauty that is Ms. McKenzie Burke. She's been a friend of mine for years and does a fabulous job showing off that Turquoise and Gold Akoya Pearl Necklace! Oh yes, and my Sterling Silver Glimmer Hoops as well! Hope ya like the look of her mug (I know I do!) because you might be seeing a lot of it in the future :)

The second of the big changes is that I've decided to fully redirect my Shop on my website to my Etsy shop. I spent ages agonizing over the decision to do this and in the end, Etsy won. Etsy has been very good to me, and I love the shop setup over there so, it is now serving not only my Etsy customers but my dot.com site customers too. Etsy, you can thank me later for this with a Front Page or two :)

Make sure to look through all the pages of the site so you don't miss all the fun new details Sam has added! Love, love, love, love, love it! 

Interpol & Inspiration

"If time is my vessel, then learning to love will be my way back to sea." -Interpol

I've loved the band Interpol for, well, a long, long time. There has always been something about their sound that could really stir things up inside me and help me to create, especially their first two albums. As I've said before, inspiration does not come easy for me, so when I find a bit of music, a movie or maybe even another designer who can manage to make me break out of my uninspired shell, I latch on.

Even though it's only mid- July, I am steadily preparing for what I hope will be a busy and successful Fall and Holiday Season. I'm working out new seasonal designs and tweaking new fall line concepts daily at this point. So much so, that I'm really itching for the crisp clean and nostalgic air that comes to NY every Fall. I will still enjoy the remainder of my summer, stocking up on sun and laughs, but I won't be sad to see the change of seasons.

For me, Fall and Interpol go hand in hand, but I'm not totally sure why that is. I think it has a little to do though with all of the crisp Autumn nights I spent on my rooftop terrace 40 stories above Manhattan, listening to Interpol on my trusty iPod, sketching, and taking in the city lights. I never tired of the view from that terrace, and anytime I think of it, and of Interpol, I miss my days in New York City more than ever. Maybe one day I will go back, but for now, I have work to do here in Saratoga Springs. I will be posting some pics from my NYC days soon, of my INCREDIBLE view. I'm telling you, it is...well, inspiring :)

Here's one of my favorite Interpol songs, "C'mere", Enjoy!

more about "Interpol & Inspiration", posted with vodpod

Hurry Up and Wait!

Wow. This is where I live...can you believe it!? Sometimes I can't even wrap my head around the amazing beauty I'm lucky enough to live amongst! I count myself a very lucky girl.

But ya know... your own business, like I do, can often super saturate your life to the point of insanity and sometimes suck the fun right out of, well, everything. What's my remedy for the " I can't think productively for one more second, or I will scream" Blues? Clicking off my Blackberry, shutting down my MacBook, packin' up some snacks and beverages and stepping outside to enjoy beautiful Lake George. We are so lucky to own a little piece of this lake, rightfully considered by many as "The Queen of American Lakes". 

So off I go, to enjoy this sunny Sunday, and ignore everything to do with my business. Not to worry though kiddies, I will be back later tonight with a new Etsy Lust feature! In the meantime, read up on my first Etsy Lust feature or my ode to a great Etsy talent and friend, RockLove. 

Summer Snapshot of the Day: Meet Macy

I would like to introduce you to Macy, my little black and white Rat Terrier/Lab mix.  She was adopted early last September along with another puppy (who you will meet another day) from my local Pet Smart ASPCA Adoption Day. She was a street dog, born on the mean streets of Tennessee, and shipped up to NY by way of a funky, smelly ASPCA truck. How do I know it was stinky? On the day I met her, her stench stung my nostrils and made my eyes water, but I was able to overlook the funk because of her "Please love me" face. She was originally given the name "Callie" by the shelter, and was also with her brother "Caleb" (who was adopted before I got there) but we quickly changed her name, and of course, gave her a much needed bath. The little peanut was only 7 weeks old when we took her to her new home with us, and was very shy, she preferred to always be standing right under foot anytime we ventured outside, but it didn't take long for her to perk right up! She loves treats, walks with her siblings, belly rubs, kisses, laying like a frog, shredding her dog bed, leaping over the back of the couch in one smooth bound, sitting at the kitchen table like a human, and sleeping sitting up. Anyway, this Summer Snapshot of the Day is of my sweet little Macy, at almost 1 year old (her birthday is July 15th), and lucky for me, she loves the camera! The picture was taken at our lake house in Lake George, NY, after a morning walk. Enjoy!