Off to L.A.

I am off!! I will be bringing my computer, but goodness know I'll be busy: there will be so much I'll be excited to share with you.

When I return I'll be making some new and exciting original creations and I have decided to leave the custom lists closed until after my tour is over: too much stress.

My heart has been teaching me that it's not worth it to try and make everything every time without having a bit of a cost on the body: I get lots of signs to slow down and see life happening.

Wish me luck at The House of Blues: hopefully I'll have some wondrous tales of musical goodness for you! 

One of the things I am doing on my trip is singing at a Victim's Rights Luncheon tomorrow in Riverside: last year affected me more than I could ever say.

Singing "I will Remember You" surrounded by the faces and stories of the lost and all of their families... it's really important to honor the bravery inherent in moving on from tragedy.

Have an amazing Thursday and beyond!! :)

xoxo,

Allisunny

May I Present....

The Peacock Portrait!!

Something Special

I made something tonight, something I thought could only be an idea... I have been so enjoying the whole idea of making peacock feather jewelry that I decided to make an entire peacock.

A peacock figure. A necklace. With a wing of Rainbow Opal Doublet.

Tomorrow morning it will be unveiled in the Metal Shop!!!

I am so excited!

Busy Busy!

Before I go off to Los Angeles on Thursday I wanted to take care of many custom orders and also make a few things for the shops: I also successfully mixed leather and a chosen bezel-set stone: Sonora Sunrise, which is one of my very favorites:

The chain is so ridiculously beautiful and luxe: a recent find. It's my lucky raven feather necklace, and it will drift into the Metal Shop this afternoon: attached is also a stunning four piece strand of sleeping beauty turquoise: you can only see it from the back, so it makes the necklace lovely to look at from all sides!

I also made another peacock feather ring, this one in Peruvian Pink Opal, size 7.25.

Everything else made was a custom order: I cannot wait to open the custom order list back up: soon soon - maybe even before I leave for L.A.... we shall see.

Custom mookaite, custom Honey opal, custom Dove Feather:

Creating is breathing around here!!!

Curious and Curiouser

Something very bizarre and wonderful is happening in my house: my ex boyfriend is singing in my shower while my husband and I giggle about the powerful emotion emanating from our bathroom.

How do things like this happen?

Well, I come from another planet where I believe firmly that if we mingle many years of our lives with another that surely they deserve a place in our lives permanently.

Barring, of course, any physical harm or deep psychological damage.

My illustrious ex announced a roadtrip to Northern California while I was in Las Vegas and I bid him come have dinner with us.

It was delightful.

Billoah, the man I moved out to California to be with, has ended up becoming a father of one gorgeous girl and a fiance to an extraordinary woman.

I found in this strange new state of CA a man I could happily spend the rest of my life with -

Isn't that reason enough to celebrate over thai and offer a shower to a road-weary traveler?

Vegas was wonderful and lovely to leave: the wedding made me cry and I got to learn about quilting from Grandma Pierce.

What a privilege to watch my Danielle become a Mrs. - we have known each other since high school.

Wonders truly never cease!

I missed you all so much :)

Vegas, Baby II!

I am off to Vegas for a wedding and I will not (gasp!!) be taking my computer. This makes me realize how deeply I am addicted to it: I already have that kinda lost feeling :) That's good!! A nice clean break will do my heart god.

I will return on Sunday evening full of wedding tales and really good Vegas food.

In the meantime, have an amazing weekend!!

xoxo,

Allisunny who is so money (she doesn't even know how money she is)

Hummingbird

She makes me think of our little girl outside our bedroom...

Surrounded by Love

My favorite part is the frownie on my forehead!!

Determination

Sometimes you just kind of fall apart. Last week I did: I know at least one person who reads this blog who can attest to a teary convo and some deep frustration, heavy and big.

I am hesitant sometimes to be whole here on this blog (read: share the more difficult parts of this path): I think it's important, though, that you know the Being behind the doing.

Every day since last Friday I have been climbing out of that place we all visit often when creativity is the norm: there's just an overflow that happens and it hurts: it's kind of nameless and you try to pin it on something specific and it ends up being a salty soup and typically it is a result of everything that ever happened since that last good cry you had two months ago.

I am just sad this last week or so. 

I miss being able to tell Liane that I'll be right over, or telling Terra or Katherine that Wednesday for lunch is best. I was explaining to a friend via email last night that I am at that phase of my 'breakup' with Los Angeles where everything about the place sounds enticing and all of the memories are pristine and happy.

That's not reality.

I live in a lovely small town now: today I went out into it with a desire to experience a little bit more, solo.

I got a pedicure: neon pink

Every step was measured and full of calm breathing: to the Post Office, to the nail spa, to the Market for lettuce and lemons and milk....

To the backyard to visit with the peas that are just growing so beautifully...

I watched my willful little Siamese eat the metal window hardware, determined to experience the true flavor of brass...

Apparently, it haz a flavr.

I am off to tool leather for some custom orders and hopefully to put a few pieces in the shop.

Your support means the world to me: thank you for visiting here, for your kind hearts and good intentions. I am so crazy about all of you and hopefully, after June I can put a smiling face to many of your names.

Love love love love, 

Allisunny

Slow Fruit

I have been working steady and stealthily over the last week or so, making bands, then soldering bezels to baseplates, etc. I have been working on custom orders and keeping my creativity bolstered by taking walks and trying to get out more.

I am kind of doing a bad job at the 'getting out more' part: it's all gravy when Anthony is afoot, but when he goes to work ( and I do, too ) I cannot seem to give myself a break.

Perhaps it's also because the temperature is 94?

Could be....

I am sad and lonely in ways I could never have anticipated. I am excited and lifted in areas I never thought possible. Such a paradox, the life of an artist in a new town!

Hopefully soon I will get a little braver and not stutter so much when buying lettuce at the grocery store or getting a decaf coffee.

I don't know how to come out of this strange cocoon...

Except to make, and make and make. It's my solace right now. I hope you find something of use in the beauty of these stones, as I have been.

Mookaite: I had a custom request from one of my very favorite people for a few Mookaite pieces, and it got me on a hunt for more. 

Agua Nueva: the fresh water that refills my empty well: I redid this necklace I have had in the shop for some time, making it matte and oxidizing it a bit more: it was pleading for change.

It will also be on Mega Sale (195 from 275 - that's a whopping percentage but I don't have my math hat on right now)!

Rhodochrosite: Can anything get better than pink and cream bands? Uhuh.

And I made a little "begin" reminder necklace for someone who needs an extra motor. I don't know who she is yet and I cannot wait to find out.

That is all for today, I think. I will muster the desire to leave this house and explore a bit more as the sun starts to go down... 

The gorgeous stones and their silver homes will be listed in the Metal Shop this evening!

If you are reading this, please say "Hi" in the comments: it would be so nice to know how you all are today.

Traveling, Etc.

"Hey there!"

Dearest Readers and Esteemed Customers,

In the coming eight weeks or so I will be doing quite a bit of traveling, starting with Las Vegas this weekend for a wedding.

I will be shipping out all orders received on Thursday via my gorgeous husband ( he will go to the post office for me on Saturday ).

Next week I have two gigs in Los Angeles and so I will be gone gone Thursday - Sunday.

Upon my return I will have two weeks of uninterrupted work flow and then I will be going on tour across the country and back. I will be gone for three weeks!!! Woohoo adventure!

The dates and places of our gigs can be found HERE and any and all questions can be asked in the comment section of this blog or convo or whatever makes you happy!

Today there will be some pretty things in the Metal Shop later on. I will be offering shipping on all items purchased in said Metal Shop until I depart on Thursday! Free priority shipping is something to savor, indeed.

If you're out of the United States, it will be free Airmail for you.

Well, it's back to the workbench for me! Just wanted to fill you all in on the literal ins and outs of this little artist.

Treasure from Darkness Drusy Ring

Sometimes we have to go to the deepest part of our internal selves to unearth the discovery that makes everything beautiful.

At times the worst of situations can have a moment of such beauty that it all feels worth it.

Even in the midst

of darkness

Treasure can be found.

Nestled inside of this gorgeous black agate drusy is a polished granule of sterling: an unlikely pearl.

Size 8.5

Classics, revisited!

In the Leather Shop this afternoon!

Nose Marks

This is just a smidge of the panorama I see in the evenings from my back porch.

From there we have the wildly sprouting bushes and the aged wooden stairs, the cobblestone walkway and the green of the grass.

Continuing in the circle of sight we have our lovely neighbor Francis's Granny Unit (attached to our house by one small wall) and then, the piece de resistance that takes up most of my view: the trellis with its sprawling rose bush.

Heaven help me, I am in love with this house.

It is simply magnificent.

If I could I would capture the sun as it streams into my studio between the hours of three and eight PM... it is just something to behold.

From the midst of my much needed refresh I bid you all a happy evening and love to boot!

Nature's Patterns

A stunning lineup of Ocean jasper, Teepee Agate, Agua Nueva and Turquoise.

The Turquoise and the Agua are reserved already.

The other two gems will be listed in the Metal Shop this afternoon.

I am completely wiped out and feeling soul-tired. I will be taking a few days off, so I will wish you all the happiest weekend you ever did have.

Buckle Up, Buttercup II

In the Leather Shop

Just the One Million of Us

Liane's amazing inspiring family, Me and Jones ( you can kind of see him in the window! )

Happiness Comes to Town

Today I am full of a gentle defeat ( surrender? ) inside.

Hm.

I had a breakfast alone at my favorite little cafe.

It was sweet.

It was sad: I am solitary so much now.

The salve? My girlfriend Liane is in town with her little Seamus and they came over for a few hours today: heaven!

No cats were harmed in the taking of this picture: Jones was being handled with gentleness and love: his eyes are just walleyed, so he gets an odd look sometimes - like he's saying "Help me!"

Liane and Seamus. I love them to pieces.

Seamus calls me "Alooo". It melts my heart right down through the floorboards.

Liane also assured me that my house smells delightful, so I must be doing something right...

Fancy Things

In the Metal Shop this afternoon!!

New Tracks from Steady Heart Can Be Heard Here!

CLICK TO LISTEN

Custom Love

This phrase is what greets me every day in my studio: the ultimate reminder that all is truly well in every way.

It was made by the amazing Anne from Folk and Fable

and it keeps me sane, especially as my heart makes the transition into a place with chillier temps and different joys and challenges.

Sonora Sunrise ring: large and lovely (has a home).

Bee necklace, a custom order made with joy and love.

New Delicious Stones in the Metal Shop

This Sunday I did what people are supposed to do on Sundays: I ate ice cream, snuggled with the man I love and jumped on a trampoline with some of the awesomest pre-teens I have ever met.

Have you ever bounced on a trampoline? There is a pocket of space when two people are jumping together that the kids called "double bouncing" and you can send someone flying into the air as if by rocket.

I nearly needed a blindfold when it was my turn to fly: amazing!!!

This was my first Sunday spent doing Sunday things since well before we got married.

It was a miracle. It was Easter. I ate a Peep, my very first one ever.

I slept in.

As a result, my day today was full of vim and vigor, leather and silver galore.

Behold the silver pieces, finished at last from last week:

A gorgeous brown agate drusy ring in 6.5:

A stunning pair of operculums picked from our time in Kauai on Anini Beach with three generous strands of Arizona turquoise on handmade pins.

Tropicallovely!!

Being generous with your playtime can make your work ethic feel even more rewarded and ready to function.

Noted.

Sunshine Koi and the Moon

In the Leather Shop today!!

Leaves of Leather

A trio of pieces for the leather shop, these leaves are hand-cut and tooled from a very thick piece of leather for extra texture and depth - the results were a lush and gorgeous leaf that demanded the richest of colors.

I used a new technique and created the deep green leaves through a combination of dye and antique.

The green and the red are the result of layers of color: so true and endless!

Leather Shop Restock

Monday!!

The happiness in my hands and head is from tooling over the last week and painting and staining my hands and some leather, too!

I had a moment of panic today when I realized that we'd moved.

I keep forgetting - it feels like vacation

But

We have moved and I must let the sadness wave in and out like the wind.

Next week I begin yoga

Next week I begin organized meditation ( The Shambhala Center! )

I am aching for Los Angeles today in a way I wasn't prepared for, but I am completely OK with the discomfort and kind of sweetly thrilled by it: I loved that city more than I knew I did.

Ain't that something?

Love is never a bad thing, no matter the distance.

Bags on Super-Schmooper-Dooper Sale!!

Holy Wowsers these ladies are priced to go: 35% off each!!

In the Leather Shop under 'Sale'.

So nice to Come Home to

For My Mom

Not to tempt you, or anything, Mom.... but, um these are the gems of the neighborhood... we walked for six blocks.

The town in very very large....

Can you imagine how many jewels there are on streets we've not been down?

Not to tempt you or anything....but Poppy loved the town, too!