Monday Muses: Cherry Blossom

 Copper Blossom Branch Cuff by HapaGirls

Gun Metal Cherry Blossom Earrings by beladonnajewels

Whimsical Cherry Blossom Ring by LolaAndCash

Cherry blossoms are so dainty and feminine. I'm not sure if it's their color or their shape but something about them is so beautiful. So cute. Precious. And delicate. Love them.

I'm currently at my brother's house absorbing the love his family has. I've been having trouble sleeping lately and last night was the first night in weeks I slept 7+ hours straight... once I actually managed to fall asleep, that is. :P I think it had something to do with the yummy chicken soup my sister-in-law made. I had two bowls of it... lol.

My baby nephew. He's going to be 5 months old in a week. Isn't he adorable? He looks just like his daddy. 

My brother, the baby nephew, and his big brother... I stole the pic from my sister-in-law... SHHH!!! :P

I'm recharging my batteries. My baby nephew's giggles, me playing with his big brother, eating my sister-in-law's good food, and watching how my brother just loves his family- this is what I will think of when I hit a low spot, which has been a lot lately. And when I think of what I want when I "grow up," the happiness and love they have for each other is what I want... but don't tell my brother that. Siblings don't admit that stuff to each other :P

When I go home tonight, I'll be ready to tackle my magazine submissions and plan an open house (hopefully).

Happy Monday, all! Let's have a good week this week, k?

Work in Progress: Ballerina

Last night, daylight savings time ended so I thought I'd use that "extra hour" do start a new drawing.

Sorry the picture isn't very good. I only had my camera phone.

It's a ballerina on tinted paper. It feels good to be working with colored pencil again. Not sure what I'll do with it after... sell prints, maybe?

I stayed up really late thinking "Oh, so, it's 3am... but it's really 2am... so I could probably stay up another hour..." And then woke up really late (though my phone informed me I got 7 hours of sleep... don't feel like it was that much). Siiiigh. Really gotta watch the sleeping habits. Lol.

I'm off to visit my parents and brother's family in a little bit. Excited to see my nephews.

Happy Sunday, all!

Just one more pin...

Omg, Pinterest. I love you so much...

I've already found a ton of crafts I want to try out. You can see them on my board here. I absolutely adore this site.

Happy Saturday!

Friendship Bracelets

Just listed some friendship bracelets to the shop tonight.

I love this quote: "Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours."

Happy Friday, all!

NaBloPoMo: Music and Writing

This month is National Blog Post Month. The goal is to write a blog post every day! I love it!

Today's prompt from NaBloPoMo is:
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Can you listen to music and write? What song did you hear today?

Music is such a powerful force. Even if the music/song is in another language, one can form an opinion instantly about that piece- love, hate, indifferent... It's amazing.

When it comes to writing, if something is playing, it has to be instrumental or in a different language for me to write without becoming distracted. On a deeper level, the music cannot be depressing or too intense. For example, I like listening to some Sufi or Hindu music while I write. But some of the chanting can be a bit depressing. On the same note, the Harry Potter soundtrack can also keeps me from writing because some of the pieces are dark... beautiful, but dark.
 

Today, I worked while listening to an audio book. I can immerse myself in jewelry making or design better when there is an audio book playing. Better than with music. I'm not sure why that is. Some part of my brain is listening to the story while another part is focusing on my hands wrapping wire or adjusting fonts on the computer. It's interesting because if I were listening to music, I stop frequently and have to look at who is playing or even dance.

Now, when it comes to drawing, I can listen to anything- music, audio book... a lecture. I think that comes from doodling in class when I was bored...

Sometimes, however, silence is what I need most. When I can't focus on my task or when my head starts to pound, I turn the iPod off and just close my eyes and focus on my breathing and heart beats.

That is a kind of music itself, I think. The music of someone's life.

BTW: Hooks in Progress

Here's what's on my bead table today:

I'm making hooks! Shaped and hammered some copper wire.

Wire wrapped pretty seed beads with more copper wire.

Aaaand HELLO Paisley Hooks! Aren't they adorable?

These will be added to the shop at the end of the week. I have a few more I want to make before uploading them.

Check out the Flickr group here!

Happy Bead Table Wednesday!

Printer Tray Tuesday: Golden Blossoms

Compartment #4!-
-2 gold rings
-6 gold flowers
-6 freshwater pearls

Not very much in this compartment. But I think what little it did hold were tiny treasures.

The rings were from a bead store in Tustin that I just HAD TO HAVE. They were chained together with 3 more lovely links. I can't for the life of me remember what I did with the other 3 rings but these beauts have sat in my stash for a few months.

The golden blossoms were bought on one of my first bead store trips maybe 2 years ago. Isn't that insane? I remember because I forced myself to buy them because I don't usually work with gold. I, personally, don't wear gold and I find that copper is an easier color for me to match. Let's not even talk about silver and how much it costs... :P

I have quite a few FWPs in my stash. But these are close to the last of my stock of the peachy color. I love that peachy color. I remember picking them up from JoAnn's and the tag read "lavender." I did a double take. They're clearly peach... to me anyway :P

The glass dangles at the bottom are from my newest haul at my usual bead store in Lake Forest. Czech glass, I believe. With touches of amber and brown. I love them. I see myself making them into a bracelet in the near future.

The earrings have made their way into the Etsy shop. You can find them here.

Side note: If you check out the right side of the blog, you'll see a new badge for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). I am going to do my best to post everyday this month. Last year, I struggled but I think I got it done. It was a fun month, if I remember things right. And who couldn't use more fun in their life?

<3