A Good Way

To spend a vulnerable, soft day is to make something beautiful, and so I did.

I finished a long-promised custom order whose setting was waiting for this new symmetrical phase I am going through - there was no other way!!

A huuuuuuuge morrisonite cabochon, a very valuable and sought after material - I didn't understand all the fuss until I had a piece in front of me: it is magic.

I made a turquoise ring for my best girlfriend who reads this blog only one every blue moon, so hopefully she checks in after it ships tomorrow!

Lastly, here is one for you: a little tiny tree inside of a piece of boulder opal with a gentle stem - like a ginko leaf.

On the ring band is the word, "Life", a little tree of life in size 7 with sprouts.

This little gem will be in the Metal Shop this evening.

Super Vulnerable City, Batman....

I am having a strange time with the aging process. Those of you who are over forty are liable to chuckle at that sentence, and that's ok. Those of you who are under thirty might not quite get where I am and that, too, is just fine.

Please be kind.

I am at that point where the train of my shining, powerful youth is just beginning to chug slowly and surely out of the station:

Skin that was once taut gives a bit more than it did two or three years ago... weight that used to come off with the slightest hint of cardiovascular oomph is stubbornly hanging on through six days of exercise per week.... fat that was once a luscious curve on a hip or rib is dimpling.

The scale numbers are going up even though my diet has been even healthier lately.... my body is new to me and I am judging it harshly in a way I would NEVER judge anyone around me.

I am not sure how to feel about that, how many phases there are between here and the amazing crone I picture myself being at ninety with lessons to teach and peace in my heart....

Will I fight the years with injections and surgeries? Even as I write that I smile because I know I won't.

Will I look at younger women with envy and sour thoughts? Will I graciously allow my body to be a bit rounder, softer or will I impose stricter regulations on what I eat, how much I exercise?

Will I squeeze all the joy out of my life with worry? Will I simply let time and God work their magic and mold me into a compassionate, mature being?

I am so completely full of questions and so void of answers about all of these things, having recently stepped out of my bullet-proof twenties.

I would love your thoughts on how to walk these steps we will all/ have all walked gracefully. Please be kind, I am feeling very vulnerable.

Making a Purse Like This Takes Over Your Life

nearly 20 hours, 200 rivets and hands the color of orange pop.... add tons of love and affection and a a miracle custom purse is born!

Thank goodness my work-week is complete (I know I am not supposed to work weekends but like I said, purses like this take over your life!!)

Happy Saturday to you all!!!!

Filled to the Brim

Do you ever have days where you feel endless? Like there's not a thing you cannot do if you really set your mind to it?

Yesterday I patiently waded through thick sadness, asking for companionship and what should occur? While journaling on the sweet back porch next to the climbing rose, my neighbor came out and told me a story about chasing a wildly snaking garden hose about after it had gone rogue and splashed him in the face.

I belly-laughed and we talked for a good 15 minues before he went on about his daily errands.

I looked up with tremendous gratitude. God was listening. As the day wore on invitations came for fairs and weekends and my heart soared to infinity with the goodness around me.

I went for a run, experiencing for the first time since college the desperate need to feel the wind whipping across my hair and some anthemic song blasting in my ears..... St. Elmo's Fire theme song "Man in Motion" really makes you feel like you can conquer the stars.... what a feeling.

I have a surplus of energy today, and I am going to go into the studio and grow that into something tangible.

I know there are those of you reading this who may be having a day, or a series of them - to you I extend the warmest hug a body can give

and the desire to tell you that beyond the doorway of this ache

lies something so divine you cannot even imagine it now.

We are tested so we can be bigger than our current shell allows.

We shed and molt so that we can adapt to the seasons of our lives.

On a side note, I found a cab today that made me cry, and even though it was deeply expensive, I bought it because I know it belongs to someone.

UPDATE: The stone has a worthy and amazing home now, thank you for responding!

It is one of the most stunning crosses I have ever seen and looks as though it is painted at dawn - if it belongs in a piece of jewelry for you please write to me via Etsy or here.

Symmetry

Normally I things asymmetrical, but this week I have had a hankering for neatly wrapped rectangles, squares and gently rounded edges.

I have a very meaningful piece for you today, and a kicky, sexy one!

First, the light:

The Tiger Grrrl Necklace

Set in a very mod cut of sterling, this Australian Print Stone just made me think of tigers and sensuality, hence the "grrr" - I actually laughed out loud several times while I was making it, with no witnesses other than my thriving tomatoes to notice that my job brings me joy.

This will be in the Metal Shop this evening.

It is for a woman with a delicious sensual side and sense of humor!

The second piece is full of meaning, and my breath caught in my throat a few times while I was making it. This was a day full of duality in my studio.

We have a tendency to look on hard times as something we wish to pass over and the good times we wish to hold tight to....

The truth is that both the high and low points shall pass.

The stone I used in this piece is an incredible porcelain jasper that looks very much like mountains in the distance in an old, cracked photograph.

Isn't the earth amazing?

Are you going through something hard?

It shall pass.

Something amazing?

This too shall pass.

Love every moment as best you can with a tender, open heart, for all they all hold the promise of becoming memories and lessons.

This piece will be in the Metal Shop this evening as well.

It is for a sensitive and special woman.

Tonight I am taking my Schmilly on a date to a fabu restaurant after a good run - for the next few days I'll be laying a bit low: don't want to burn out - this week has been rich in creativity - it's time to be rich in recharging!

We Have a Winner!!!

Carlene!!!

 Please convo me on Etsy or send me an email at sunnyrisingleather@yahoo.com to claim your rightful sprout!!!

Thank you thank you thank you to all who came by and said some seriously vaklemt-making things.... 

You guys are amazing.

Belt Bag Bonanza Tonight

So I made a little 5X5 inch belt bag a few weeks ago and the response was very big: the bag had sold very quickly and convos began coming in about when the next ones would be available.

There are two that I will be listing at 6:00 PM Pacific Time tonight - behold!!

One Happy Apple Blossom Belt Bag and one Grape Leaves and Tendrils belt bag.

The Grape Leaves B.B. will be a bit more expensive due to the amazing amount of tooling it requires.

I will not be holding them for anyone, so just have your cart ready and I hope that one of them belongs to you!!

Just a note on their coloring: when it comes to a piece like this I want it to be beautiful and noticeable on close inspection by dear friends, but because you'll likely have your cash and your most essential goodies in there, I'd rather not have it be neon yellow, so these will be made in mostly neutral shades.

Contest Ending in a few Hours!!

Dearest Dearests,

Thank you for the amazing response to the contest!! I'll be writing down all the names and drawing them from a bowl around 3 PM my time today...

Can't wait to see who wins!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxox,

A

P.S. I am certain Jones will want to help!

I wanted to share...

A part of the leather process that is most amazing and always interesting: applying antique.

Voila, before:

Everything is in its natural raw state: all that has been done is tooling, punching and cutting.

In this case I have one biiiig custom order and two belt bags in process.

All of the pieces will be colored using a water/acrylic antique in various shades.

The tendrils on the leaf bag and the flowers and leaf veins on the apple bag have been coated with a 'resist', which on great days actually repels all of the color applied.

On bad days it does whatever it wants: splotches, etc... it is uncontrollable: leather responds in a completely different way to color: even within one piece certain spots will take color like a champ while it cannot seem to permeate in other places.

The belt bags ended up a gorgeous reddish-toffee shade:

While the big koi bag was colored using a double process: one color and then a layer of another around the holes where the inlay will go (little night skies....I am so excited!) and the edges of the bag itself.

Today I will finish to color process, highlighting with white on the apple bag and making the koi come to life on the big bag.

Tomorrow I will stitch and the following day I will rivet the big bag, which is quite a feat, and then the strap will be made for a weekend unveiling!!

Custom Love and Koi March!

I have been an incredibly busy bee these last few days:

Koi are the the Leather Shop and Custom Orders are in the Metal Shop.

I am going to go get some elation while taking an aerobic dance class- woohoo!!

My Etsy-Versary Contest!!

One year ago today I timidly and hopefully typed in the pertinent information to begin the formation of Sunny Rising Metal on Etsy.

It felt bold. 

It ached with necessity: I love metal and had long wished to work with it.... I took a series of classes which taught me how to file and melt and solder and voila.... the rest has been something I have figured out on my own, stumbling and frustrated, wasting money over hopelessly destroyed pieces I could never really fix.

Onward I crept, buying a proper mini torch instead of using my Bed, Bath & Beyond creme brulee torch, purchasing thicker gauge silver and dedicating countless hours to mistakes and rebirths.

My business has sprouted, my leather and silverwork have grown in tandem as though planted together in the earth, one for each year I have decided to wing it and break the chains of corporate labor.

Their growth has been my saving grace and I have all of you to thank: your support, your comments and your love steer my little boat into calm waters when I come upon storms.

As my gratitude, I offer you this: 

A triple sprout necklace for the ultimate homage to how much we've grown, for surely we've grown together: I have known your joys and sorrows through letters and emails and I have pretty much bared it all here for you to see, and you have cradled my heart.

To win this lovely necklace all you must do is leave a comment in the comment section. I will draw a name at random on the 9th - you have three days to post, one for every sprout.

I am so grateful for you and so excited to say that the Metal Shop is thriving and full of new thoughts, as is the Leather Shop.

Here's to many more years to come!!!

Our First Married 4th

Today was our very first 4th of July as a married couple. We are in a new town with no friends to speak of, so there were  no gatherings to attend, no calls from anyone down the street....

instead we drove up the coast to Bodega Bay and down to Point Reyes for some yummy sweets from the Bovine Bakery.

We came home and went jogging together around the high school track a 1/4 mile from our home. We made dinner of foil-wrapped potatoes and creme fraiche to complement a delicious chicken marinade and ate while we watched the darkness rise in the streets outside of our lovely dining room window.

At the first sign of a major fireworks display we went onto the porch with some fantastic cheesecake and some cherries bought at a roadside stand (the woman said they were from Washington state, so 'farm fresh' seems a bit generous in terms of time) and watched the show framed by sycamore branches.

All the loneliness we might have felt being away from the familiar for our first major national holiday wasn't there: I sat in the halo of my husband's strong arms in my thick sweater and basked in the warmth of our little life. We named fireworks as though Anthony and I were their makers, things like, "Doublemint Twins", "Cherry Bombs", "Warp Speed", etc. There was a lot of laughter and some vulgarity included in our false knowledge.

We. Our. Us. I never knew a holiday for two could feel like a family of 4 - such is the power of strong love.

I hope that you all had amazing 4ths, full of fireworks and laughing children... God Bless this land so full of hope and promise!!!

Friday's Menu

Custom Moctezuma Agate (the last of this particular breed, more to come soon!)

for a dear, dear friend.

This lovely sprout necklace will go to the winner of my year Etsy-versary for the Metal Shop!! I'll announce the details on Sunday!

This is a giiiiiant Imperial Jasper set simply in a sterling bezel and hung with a gorgeous and very substantial chain. It is 20 inches long, fits more like 19.5.

A lovely sprout necklace that reminded me so much of summer that I put 'bask' on the back, because what else are you to do when the weather is this lush?

Last but most certainly not least is a lovely Amethyst vase ring with my newest addition to the sprout family: wild sprouts!! Their movement is less predictable, more like constellations than something that grew from the ground.

On the back are stamped the words "grow wild". Indeed!!! Size 9.

Everything that is for sale will be listed in the Metal Shop this evening.

Have a happy, safe and joyful Fourth tomorrow!!!

Old Treasures and Such

This necklace is made with Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and sterling silver. I look at it now and I admire its sturdy construction (the pendant is at least 16 gauge silver) and the sweetness of the color.

It was purchased for me by the man I moved out to California to be with about two years before we became not we. It doesn't really make me consciously think of him, though I did see his nearly two year old daughter on Facebook the other day and my breath caught in my throat to see that what my younger self wished indeed happened, just not with me.

I don't think we can ever completely quell the part of our younger selves that WANTED with such ferocity that it overtook our better judgment and sometimes our sanity.

I wanted this man in the worst possible way, which was good when I had him but terrible terrible terrible when he decided that the journey had to be made alone.

How desperately I waited for the day when he would come to my door and confess his foolish heart and tell me that letting me go was the biggest mistake he would ever or could ever make.

The days passed, the years flew and eventually the ache subsided into a warm kind of peace, a peace so vast that I was able to invite him into my home that I share with my spectacular husband a few months ago.

I learned patience and self-worth by being...left. There's really no other way to say it... I had to make the journey from victim to universal partner in my own healing in order to heal fully and love again.

You see, no matter what the grand passion of our life has been, meeting the love of our life makes everything change. We must be that love for ourselves, because then when the day comes where we meet someone scrumtrulescent and extraordinary, we can meet them as equals and know double love. That's where the love of self meets the love of another and some sort of cosmic laser shows begins!!

Double love is the kind that stays through all challenges.

The kind that happily brings you soup when you're sick and holds your hand through the joys and sorrows of this amazing life.

Isn't it interesting that just in picking out a necklace for the day I can see back seven years to the girl I was?

I wear it in celebration of the woman I have become.

Custom Love

Today has been a day of making with a full heart for people I have never met but truly adore.

I woke up with that amazing sensation of loving what I do that still floors me

every time.

I. Get. To. Make.

.

.

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