Courage

Courage, my Friend :)
There are several brave women in my life right now that need the tiger strength to make brave leaps into their own power and greatness. The Plume has already begun, and my London sister is taking strides.
Hell, I could use courage walking over the freeway passes to the post office ;)

The Love Clutch

Voila :)
J'adore le monde, donc je fabrique le sac a main que dit, "L'amour!!!!"
I probably just said 'I love cheese'...it's been so long since I spoke French. Which is bad, really, because I loved it with an unholy passion. Until verb conjugation got to be too much of a hassle: I was in high school, and there were other things to concern myself with like boys and trying to be 'understood'. Ah, yes.

In current world news,
I was part of a wonderful group on Flickr called 'Design a Day' and yesterday I put in a picture of me shrugging in defeat, for you see: leather, even with the simplest of projects is a bear to finish. Then again, my version of the simplest of projects may be a little lofty...I would imagine I could have easily met the challenge without custom orders and this overactive imagination of mine that makes the humble though of a simple circle into a cacaphony of dots and swirls and off she goes to the studio to pick this uncreated thing out of thin air, not even knowing if it's going to go right. I fall on my face. I quit the group. Gosh, I am waaaay too serious. I wish I could laugh at my fumblings, make a circle and call it a day.
But I am always searching for the elusive masterpiece: the things that haunt me peck at my hands until I make them, you see. These weird spirits of bags and holders and holsters....when will I rest???? ( throws hand dramatically over eyes )
SCENE.

Bluebird of Happiness Clutch

May the bluebird of happiness sing in your heart.

Amen.

Out of my Dreams

Bees and flowers swirl around my dreams all the time. Finally captured them and made them real :)

This Worker is Fired

Jones, when I do a photoshoot, you must stop stealing the spotlight. Stop being so pretty and cute, please. It' distracting me from finding the right lighting for my leather!!! And stop making all sorts of different faces as if you were a human: you make me want to look at nothing but you, you my part dog kitty with the prettiest blue eyes and the most amazing personality I have ever known in cat form. You undo me.
Undone.
Undid.
I love you too much.

Sunny Rising Bags has Launched!!

With the birth of the tooled clutch. Well, my birth. I love clutches, and here is my baby.

I might never take it off

This koi coin purse is not quite as wee as it looks: a rather substantial belt bag I made for my dearest friend and fantastic buyer Lisa from Berkshirehostess ( http://www.bershirehostess.etsy.com ) whose own creations I have indulged in. I wear her apron when I am tooling and I carry her wonderful cloth bag when the weather is warm ( oh, I live in L.A. -- when did I get so spoiled that 'warm' is eighty? ) and summery. I am off to make one for my very own-some :)
I'll post when I do!

Another before becomes an after

Polishing The Future

I started buying opals from eBay a few months ago, mostly polished to a high sheen and from Thailand ( via Australia where they were mined ). SOme of them were phenomenal, some slightly less dynamic. And then I discovered a seller who puts up opal 'preforms', which have been cut, but not completely shaped and not polished.

I purchased cerium oxide and fine grit sandpaper and broke out the beloved dremel and began to grind and lovingly polish off the dim top layer, and what I am discovering is fantastic. I feel such a love and overwhelming passion for these stones. They are, by jewelers standards full of 'inclusions' ( cracks ) and apparently not worth a whole ton of money, but they display a small world in which I want to live: bits of fire that change with a minute turn. Always exciting, almost alive.

Koi Blossom

Finally, the little fish can stop and smell the flowers.

From In Progress to Done

Someday I plan on doing a step-by-step tutorial on some simple project, but I love when I happen to photograph something both in progess and finished, because there's something so precious about the in-between...it's where all the love goes, the infinite care and attention to detail. The magic is that it comes into existence.

Before:


After:

Tons of Music

I have been slower in the shop, but making tons of music. It's always a question of balance, and it always tips in one direction pretty far before it comes back.



A cover of 'At Last' by Etta James.
In a few days, some pretty rocking half-belts are set to be born, too! Woo hoo! The pendulum swings :)
xo

The right physician

Is this kitty. I have been bed-ridden for three days trying to fight off this awful cold/flu/migraine thing with relative success. The wise woman who owns the yoga/pilates studio where I work told me to stay home tonight. I get in this head space where I want to push through and make wellness come to me again, dammit...but it stays just out of arms reach when pushed or prodded. Best to rest and read and stare at the cats and write fever voice songs.

Buckle up, Buttercup!!!

Boulder Opals of Destiny

I don't like things to be perfect: I have never been into streamlined things without the evidence of some sort of yin AND yang, and that is why I love boulder opals. They are so amazing and full of grit and sand and dirt. And when you're walking and the necklace ( like my first piece ever, below by a few entries ) catches the light and turns purple and you find a whole new continent in the stone, it's the greatest high ever.
Besides music.

Behold, ten new additions to my jewelry family: someday they will be set in silver which will in turn be set inside of tooled leather...I have many new ideas that have completely captivated my brain. I am making a new album, too: when will I sleep?????