I wish...

That I was doing this...

Instead of heading out the door to my day job.

That about sums it up for me today...

Somebody got some work done before leaving for "work"

 Sleeping beauty faceted turquoise, with my favorite chain...

Lovely little drops of "lime juice" colored Jade

Rustic tall oval links with more of the lovely turquoise...

Last but not least, 5" of dangling, shoulder dusting goodness in bright pops of red/orange coral.

These lovelies made their way into shop this morning, hopefully to be followed

by a few more this afternoon!

Let me just say, that I am seriously feeling the Friday today...We've got a beach bbq

with lots of kids and dogs planned for the morning, then hopefully a

quick nap at home before heading out for a date!  Jo got us VIP tickets for a 

reggae show at a park by the ocean!!!!!  (they were a gift from a friend that couln't use them).

I can't remember the last time I went to a show, let alone outside under the moon 

and stars!  Excited doesn't even cover it...And since we got the VIP hookup we get free pupu's

beers, and have our own fancy concert bathroom facilities!  ( While my injury is mostly healed

I still get excited when I get to go do "normal" things, especially when the lines

are shorter and whatever I might need is not a LONG walk away!)

Sending love and Aloha for your weekend!

 I had  a super positive, productive, and most of all fun time in the studio over the weekend...

I had so much fun making this necklace, that I wanted to continue with the theme and make another, this time with a super RAD ocean jasper cab.  The deep sea green,  and mustardy yellow goodness is really quite something! 

I figured when I sat down to make this one that I would stumble upon the usual roadblocks that I usually encounter...Solder won't flow, melted bezel, melting the chain while trying to solder the jump rings, etc...  Such is the story of a mostly self taught craftswoman.  I have come to peace with my little studio hiccups and am learning to breathe deep through the frustrations and try to figure out what I can do to turn the situation around, really great advice for the challenges of daily life too!  I was shocked, thrilled and STOKED that this piece went just as smoothly as the original and everything just flowed...Amen.

I also finished up a bundle of earrings, hopefully making their way to the shop tonight.

 

As you can see, I've got a thing for long dangly earrings this time around...It makes me want to cut my hair even shorter, and head out for some summery adventures.

I'm getting closer to my trip to the mainland, for some long over due visiting with my "sisters" that are scattered across the west coast...When I say "sisters" I'm referring to the ladies in my life, and one special boy, who I love with all my heart.  These are the hand full of people that I think about a million times a day for no reason, who I cannot wait to share laughter, sunshine, coffee, days in the city, farmers markets, and aimless walks with.  My very being longs to connect with theses special humans, I seriously think that my cells miss them...Only large amounts of laughter, and a few moments of making new memories will quench this thirst, I am counting the days!!!!!

I hope your Monday was as awesome as mine...

At Home

The weekend has been good to me...

Celebration of LOVE

 

Last weekend Jo and I will be celebrating four years of "wedded" bliss, love and togetherness!  I am so overwhelmed with emotions, full of love, gratitude, and have a head filled with amazing memories of fun times together.  The best gift this world has given me is the love of an amazing woman, (that sounded pretty cheesy...but, it's SO TRUE)

Also, I'd like to call in sick today and go here...

Ke Iki beach, North Shore Oahu

In other news, my head is brimming with ideas and all I want to do is go on lock down in the studio...Alas, my "real job" awaits, with a full book of clients in need of massage.  I've got a vacation coming up at the end of June and mommas got to make some dollars so that I can afford to be out of town for three weeks, so those ideas will have to wait until the weekend...

I've been experiencing some infuriating iphoto moments this afternoon, so you'll have to excuse the very brief nature of todays post...Short on words, heavy on images.

I finished up this beauty last weekend, and am so thrilled with the way she turned out...

I know it's a lot of pictures of the same thing, but you can really see all the different shades of white in the stone in some of them more than others...This is a beautiful piece of "White Buffalo" turquoise, my new favorite stone to work with.  I love the way the milky whiteness looks against the satiny, oxidized silver.

I'm already dreaming up more versions of this piece with all kinds of stones...

I should have this one posted in the shop tonight, (fingers crossed)...

Thanks for stopping by,

Sierra

Dear Hawaii...

Thank you/Mahalo/Gracias...

We went to the beach the other day for a sunset swim...It was RAD.

The adventures of Max

 

Jo has made it her new hobby to teach Max how to surf!  She picked up this life jacket the other day, and took him out for a try on the foam board.  It was mostly just him getting used to the balance on the board, it was calm water, and he could jump off and swim around and then get back up on the board and try again.  Evidently he did very well, taking after his mermaid momma!  It's got a nifty handle on top and you can just grab on and pick him up out of the water!  He seems to swim easier and enjoy it more with the vest on, so we've got some practicing to do, and then they will try it in some waves with Jo on the board too, FUN!  I can't wait to get in on that dog surfing action!

The light was lovely when I got home from 

work this afternoon...I had just enough time to 

snap some shots of the pieces I finished up over the weekend.

Two lovely neck adornments...Each one made for a certain someone out there in the universe, who that is, they don't know and neither do I.  I love to imagine the lady who will scoop these up, and how they will feel so at home when pressed against her chest.  I truly believe every piece has its proper home, we all just have to wait until we meet each other, and then the circle is complete.  The turquoise on this first necklace is electric, a gorgeous specimen of Kingman turquoise. I had a blast making these, and really wanted to attend to the details, namely making my new favorite shaped links.  I don't recall where the idea came for this particular shape, I just know that it is ever so satisfying and aesthetically pleasing to my eyes! 

I've feel lately like I've been given some kind of special permission to go wild with creativity in the studio...Like I've gotten some silent green light from the muse, to just go for it, to bare my creative soul and make bold decisions and not question the outcomes.  Sounds good to me...

Buenas Noches....
Sierra

PS.  I'm working on getting these in the shop tonight or tomorrow!

Greetings from lazy land...

I'm heading out in a bit for Art and Flea, the once monthly vintage/handmade/thrifty/crafty/music/cocktails event that I do once a month.  I spent a little while fooling around with display ideas and tweaking some things...but I have to say I'm really not feeling it.  Why is it that sometimes no matter what I do, nothing is good enough?  It's my inner perfectionist screaming out...sometimes I like it when she screams, and gets me to do some very detailed work just perfectly.  Other times I think she's yelling just to hear her own voice...meaning sometimes I suppose I need to give myself a break.  Why are we so hard on ourselves?  Doubting, questioning, and letting negativity cloud our heads...(and I say "we", but really, who am I kidding, it;s "me" all the way).  My very soul has been screaming this week, about so many different topics.  I feel changes coming.  In fact I NEED changes, so I suppose that I need to figure out what they are, and make them happen...harder than it sounds.  I could use some bolstering, some encouragement, some ideas.  I seem to realize this very moment however, that I have a nasty habit of searching for those things outside of myself...So, here's to being my best bolster, to encouraging myself, and to being kind to myself in the process.