Friday, April 20, 2012

Bling!

It's been a long week..a very long week.  
But I know for a fact that the days and weeks are getting much too short for a certain bride-to-be!  The reason why my days seem to be crawling by is for the same reason the days are whizzing by for little miss L..destination wedding, here we come!  Well, almost.  The next few weeks will be long ones alright.

In the meantime, the sunny days have unfortunately brought on an early gift of seasonal allergies.  My poor little nose has taken quite a beating these days, and my eyes..aaagh, my eyes!  If I could reach inside my head and scratch the inside of my eyeballs for just a second..what I would give right now for 
one..
tiny..
scratch..!  
So instead, while the allergy-medication-takers are out enjoying the glorious spring weather, I've been down in the studio working away.  Where no one but Leo and Sachi can hear my sniffling and nose blowing every few seconds, the hammers have hammered and the torch burned hot and bright.  And the fruit of all that sniffling labour..some bling!  


 sterling, agates, moonstone, prehnite

sterling, agate

Lovely, chunky sterling rings of all stones and sizes.  They will be available tomorrow in my shop.

Have a lovely, allergy-free weekend everyone!
xo Blue Gnome





Monday, April 16, 2012

A Whale Of A Time.

Have you ever seen the movie Stealing Home?  It was made in the 80's and stars a young Jodie Foster and Mark Harmon..have I just dated myself..??  I haven't watched it in years and I'm sure it's nowhere as good as I remember it to be.  But what that movie did was make me fall in love with Maine..or what I envisioned Maine to be.  
Crashing waves and sand dunes at twilight, riding around in convertibles with the wind blowing through your hair.  Beachside cottages with white picket fences,  where everyone wears white and is sun-kissed a golden bronze, sipping gin and tonics while the evening breeze gently caresses the tall grass on the dunes.  

When I was in my early twenties, I finally took a road trip to Maine and the beaches were as lovely and romantic as I had hoped.  I stayed right on the water and watched the sunset every night of my 5 night stay there, sipping gin and tonics and wearing my beachiest whites.  I walked along the sand when the surf was low and collected the oceans offering of sea shells and beach glass, tumbled worn and smooth from countless embraces from the sea.  On my last day there, I walked to the corner store to grab a few essentials and as I stood by the cashier to pay, grabbed a vintage reproduction postcard that read, "Having a WHALE of a time in Maine!" with an illustration of a whale with exaggerated, animated eyes wearing vacation gear and waving hello.

I've moved countless times since then and my collection of shells, beach glass and even photographs from that trip have been misplaced and lost.  But I still have that postcard, a little worn and dog eared but I found it just the other day.  So I thought I'd make a whale ring, just for fun.


sterling, black onyx

When's the last time you had a whale of a time on a vacation?

xo Blue Gnome



Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Finding The Beauty In Unbalance..or Imbalance.

 Sterling, Amethyst


Sterling, Freshwater Pearls

Something's off kilter today, I'm not sure what or why.

The sun's been trying to come out all morning without much success, the clouds seem unwilling to part.
My friend and dog walker P, was dragging his feet today too.  Said all his dogs were slow, overly sensitive and trying to pick fights at the park.  

Leo missed his nap this morning and had been fighting sleep since 11am.  Finally he's down..went down swinging (literally too..landed a nice upper cut on my jaw, ouch!) but his sleep is restless..tiny cries of frustration..like he's still trying to swim his way up into consciousness.

I went downstairs to try to finish some pieces and almost dropped the torch into my lap.  Nothing was soldering properly so I packed up and called it a day in the studio.  On my way out the door, I knocked over my bowl of amethyst beads.  I could hear them bouncing and rolling under my bench..everywhere..all over the studio floor.  Grrr..yep, it's one of those days.  


Wake me up when the skies are clearing,
                                                                  When the water is still,
'cause I will not watch the ships sail away so,
Please say you will.

If it were any other day,
This wouldn't get the best of me.
But today I'm not so strong,
So lay me down with a sad song,
And when it stops then you know I've been,
Gone too long.

But don't shake me awake,
Don't bend me or I will break,
Come find me somewhere between my dreams,
With the sun on my face.

I will still feel it later on,
But for now I'd rather be asleep. 

- Norah Jones/Wake Me Up



What do you do to rejuvenate your soul when you feel as if you'll break rather than bend?
How do you feel the sun on your face again?


xo Blue Gnome