Aaaaaand....

Awaaayyyyyyy

Weeeeeeee

Goooooooooo!!!!

So ironic that the day before I leave for a one day, whirlwind trip to Los Angeles,

my dearest Liane and her beyond grown-up Seamus (who LIVE in Los Angeles) would

be on their way north to Sonoma to see family....

Thank the Lord that I got a chance to see them over pizza, orange juice and

giggles-

We snuck in a sunset bike ride

to cap off the lovely day in San Jose.

xoxox,

A

Surprise!

Well, I got a wonderful email this morning from the vocal contractor I work for in Los Angeles:

I am going down on Sunday to attend a Monday audition for Oscar winning composer

A.R Rahman

and an upcoming project - imagine my surprise!

This means I will be closing up both shops for the better part of two weeks

starting tomorrow

and strapping myself into Brock

for an adventure!

Wish me luck :)

xoxox,

Allison

Finished Wings & Feathers

RESERVED

Laguna Agate, American Turquoise

Sterling silver

Feather

What a finish!

RESERVED

Arizona Turquoise

Feather

.

RESERVED

Clay Canyon Variscite Wing

Double Layer, riveted copper and Sterling silver

.

Dragon Fly and Bee Wing in sterling, separate pieces...

And that, my dears, is the last of the offerings for some time.

Please do CONVO

me

If anything strikes your fancy - I will be listing unreserved pieces starting tomorrow morning!

As of next Tuesday, I am off to Minneapolis, MN for a loooonnnnng week away to recharge and rest

up in the bosom of my nuclear family.

As Anthony is finishing up with MW3, he cannot come, but I'll carry a piece of him with me.

xoxoxo,

Allison

Priday Plume Auction

I am auctioning off one piece of the three

Priday Plume Agates

I purchased in the Olde Rockhound Parcel

HERE

In case you want to get your hands on it!

xoxoxo,

Allison

Concert Belt Bag and Sweet Things

Poppy Belt Bag - this one will be hitching a ride on some lucky belt (1.75 at the widest)

this summer!

Featuring a big old poppy, it'll likely be a rich deep brown or black with a red-orange bloom

all-outrageous-like on the front - I am so excited!

On the back where it snaps on to the belt: a tight bud, waiting for the right moment to open!

PS - the double wing clutch I spoke of a few weeks ago? Claimed.

Tomatoes - they're what's for lunch

brunch

snacks

dinner

and

sometimes

breakfast!

For heaven's sake.

Yes, he's still beautiful and judging from this picture, sorely neglected

and in need of some pats.

Worry not: he got all the attention he so richly deserves....

(and Lord knows he is deserving!)

And then there's this tiny lady - I finally gave in and put a blanket on the kitchen table because she loves the light in there so much,

and now I come into that room at random, greeted by

her sweet

bird call.

"Preeeeet"

(an arpeggio sweeter than any I've played on the piano, hers)

when she chirps she does it from her little belly, so the sound is accompanied by a funny looking diaphragm squeeze, like's she's a kitty pilates instructor.

Any way you cut it, they're pure love.

Have a wonderful evening,

Allison

Feathers and Wings, Revealed

RESERVED

This necklace in the works with the Clay Canyon Variscite and the double riveted wing is quite frankly the most arduous, rewarding and ambitious piece I've worked on:

the construction of each piece has taught me valuable, beautiful lessons.

It's nearing completion, and how.

Just had to snap a better shot of this stone once more...

when I say 'rare', this stone truly embodies that definition.

Another feathery rarity: a natural Laguna Agate drusy, peach and cream in its color scheme

set atop a feather

whose impression was beautifully deep!

Lastly but most assuredly not leastly, two small offerings to come:

a dragonfly wing (collected and gifted to me by the talented Laurie Brown)

and a wee bee wing!!

I have decided to allow all of these pieces (there will be a few surprise pieces)

to be reserved for the coming listing on Friday:

do

CONVO

me

if you feel a strong pull toward any or all of them.

Love,

Allison

Offered

I can think of nothing other than the pain felt around the world today.

I send out prayers like so many balloons

hoping they land somewhere needed.

Love,

A

The last of the Jewel-hicans for a bit...

There is a metric ton of stuff going on around these here parts:

more than I could ever express

in ways more profound than I have words for.

All I can say is that I will be able to give more information

in the coming weeks -

in the meanwhile, there is a trip to Minneapolis from the beginning to the middle of August

and a winged clutch in the works Leather-Shop-wise.

What you see here may be the last of the earrings going into the Metal Shop for a while:

there will be a few feather necklaces next week

and an EPIC piece that ties in the wing engravings I've been working on forever with that

incredible piece of variscite that was in ye olde rockhound's collection.

So lovely, today's offerings - feathers, riveted and decorated with small swirling circles

benevolently made by my drill press:

I can manipulate it to make these at certain angles, but it's mostly just dumb, gorgeous luck.

They're like crop circles for metal!

The feather was a pure white plume found on campus

on my way back from a lovely walk a few weeks back.

These are so divine, there are no words for the color therapy and healing they give off.

Prehnite with tourmaline inclusions

Mexican jelly opal beads

and a trinity of turquoise finish these beauties off.

They are utterly luminous.

I love the way they beads come in all different shades of orange, a monochrome rainbow of sorts.

Lastly, a pair of natural carnelian posts, perfect and dainty.

I will be putting these pretty little delicacies in the Metal Shop

this evening

and then walking thoughtfully through this beautiful summer evening to do some yoga

and offer some prayers.

Love,

Allison

Dainty, Adorable Affordables

A tiny, triple rivet-centered Copper Flower, backed in sterling silver.

Delicious!

Dandelion seed "he loves me....he loves me not" earrings

nasturtium leaf 'Ashes' earrings

Affordable

delicate

and heartfelt

-Made with love in California-

*in the Metal Shop tonight*

xoxoxox,

Allisunny

LEATHER SHOP SALE

Use Coupon Code

SUMMER2011

for a 20% discount in

the

Leather Shop

on anything you dang well please!

xoxoxox,

Allison

Worth the Wait...

This pile will last about.... ohhhhhhh.....

three days?

I've waited all winter, all spring

and parts of the summer for the perfect organic heirloom tomatoes...

South San Jose Farmer's Market,

thank you so much for providing them!!

With Lavender Salt and Avocado slices,

Sunny

You Never Did Like My Tenderness Much....

I know that you figured it would somehow be my undoing:

a sweet smile at a man on the street

trusting other women around my man

loving with all my heart no matter what the cost

following my dreams with caution and care

opening

silent contemplation of bigger things...

So you took great pains to initiate me into the challenges of the world

starting with us:

you cheated

lied

left

never fully giving over to love

because you had a wall around your heart

built of wild oats

and the complicated justice of youth...

When my life shed that relationship

I nearly closed every door, almost gave in to the attractive notion of a fortress:

it would sure save me money in tissues and cigarettes, now wouldn't it?

But

Instead

I stood tall and gentle

sternum to God

feet firmly planted in the good earth of California

Letting the very tenderness you so misunderstood become my finest attribute:

I've honed it

honored it

crafted a vessel out of it

with which to sail straight into darkness as easily as light

for both have immense gifts to hand me if I can just listen up and take care.

I know you've turned out to be a good man

firsthand: I am proud of you and I hold you and your family in my heart with great respect and honest affection

but

even more important than history and fortune,

the gift of knowing you has been the understanding that

water carves away rock

quietly

singing

a calm, measured molecular song

as its gentle hand minutely sweeps away that which cannot be moved:

My tender loving heart is the strongest thing I have

and in its chambers everything heals

and leaves its perfect mark.

I built these earrings for a woman who needs to see her softness

as a warrior's strength.

RESERVE PENDING

Delicate Shields

Hammer formed

Pierced

Riveted

Maidenhair Fern Impressions

Tough like a memory

and tender as an open heart.

Namaste,

Allison

An Orphan Ring for Fertility

RESERVED

I've got fertility on the brain: I might as well share this with you, dear readers longtime and new -

I want to have a baby.

This was news to even me a few years ago: the biological clock had begun its incessant, loud ticking and I was taken aback by the alien thoughts that churned in my brain.

Babies in the grocery store lines made my heart burst

my friends' children were even cuter than normal, even mid-tantrum

I found myself perusing maternity clothes online 'just to see'...

All of these changes were especially jarring considering Anthony and I had agreed early in our relationship that children were not on the foreseeable horizon

nor did we think they ever would be:

there was so much travel, such joy in solitude and activities for two...

how could anything get any better than this?

Over the past few years we've both gotten on board the baby wagon in our own subtle ways,

and now we find ourselves beginning to hope.

To try.

Because 'fruitful' is such a frequent thought, it's no wonder this ring came to be:

it's a fertility talisman, filled with prayer for the realization of a dream.

It doesn't necessarily mean babies:

perhaps there is a job you're wishing for

a pursuit you're investing in

a volunteer organization you're passionate about founding

Starting on the upper left corner of this wonderful ocean jasper cabochon

there is space, first and foremost

and then a tiny bud

followed by a larger, unfurling flower both still too fragile to emerge...

the fullness of the wish is a trinity

of pure copper blossoms

hammer-engraved in my studio

and riveted with sterling silver centers.

I know this is meant for a very special, very specific woman

and I cannot wait to meet her.

If you feel that this orphan is yours, please send me a convo

HERE

And the ring will be made in your size

with great love

intention

and faith

that what you wish for most will be yours

and then some.

Love,

Allisunny

What's to Come

RESERVED

And then some

Thursday.

xoxox,

Allison