Girls' weekend

A weekend away in the oh-so lovely little town of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina.
A nice change of course for this city girl of northern origins.

Fresh country air, a relaxed pace, southern hospitality,
some much needed girl time with my dear, dear friend, Jess, of famed Rosy Revolver.

:)

 The hours sailed away and three days came and went just. like. that.

We two metalsmthing mamas:
embraced our time together, chitchatted, gossiped a bit, laughed a lot, sprung a couple tears, went deep into the deep topics, stayed up late, slept in, got creative, banged on silver, shared ideas, shared secrets (both jewelry-making and other), ate tasty southern food, imbibed the good stuff, went antiquing, swooned over coveted treasures from times of yore, tried our damnedest to slow down the clock and prolong the weekend...

...alas, and unfortunately...all good things do come to an end.

Here are some photos highlighting the time we shared.


We shopped

Digging through a gold mine of old, rusted and colorful cast iron goodies at the flea market.

I found some decorations for my jewelry booth.

We ate

Enjoyed Southern culinary specialties,

such as:

fresh squeezed lemonade, fried chicken, pulled pork with Carolina style BBQ sauce and cole slaw, sweet potato hush puppies, banana puddin'...

...and I was acquainted with...

What the?!
I tried a crumb of a corner.  It was....uhhhhm....interesting...


We played

I had the immense privilege of visiting the Rosy Revolver studio. 

Yes,

I saw firsthand where all the magic happens.
Let me say, after seeing what goes into a Rosy Revolver piece I have more respect for Jess' creative process now if you can imagine than I ever had before.
She is the quintessential artisan. Brilliant with her medium. Flawless in her craftsmanship.

I got to play with Jess' own tools (which are surprisingly not at all like my own).

Who knew there could be such drastically different ways to set stone in silver.

 I designed a pair of earrings

while Banjo kept us company with his distractingly cute looks.

We played some more...

Painting while drinking wine.
Which genius person invented this concept? I give you a prize.

Ok, nevermind what's in my hands here.  

Check out what's ON my hand.

That's a Rosy Revolver original right there.

just for me

Here, take a closer look

How gorgeous?!

!

and on the back, hand stamped in latin:

To be, rather than to seem

*sigh*
I love you, Jess. 

We may be separated by geography, 

but you know...

true friendship

transcends such inconsequentialities.

You can go here to Jess' blog to see her pictures and post on our weekend :) 

Going to Carolina

I keep humming that James Taylor song in my mind as I pack my bag tonight.

The day has finally arrived!

I fly out in the morning.

I'm going to spend a few days with my darling Jess, aka Rosy Revolver.

As I contemplate what to pack for a weekend of hanging out, catching up, jewelry-making, girl-talking, wine-drinking, painting, and who-knows-what-else-ing...

I realize I've probably had one glass of pinot too many....


Wait, how many pairs of shorts will I need for 3 days? 6 is too many, right?

I'll see you back here in a few days with details and pics :)

PS.

You guys, thank you again for the overwhelming response to my blog giveaway.
 

Click here to read about it and enter, if you haven't yet.

New beginnings

First day of school 2010

I fought back tears this morning in carpool as I watched my little one walk away. 

Her little hand held by the teacher's.
Here marks another year behind us and another year begun.

The first day of school is always emotional.

We raise them to be independent and capable.

And when it's time to watch them go out into the world,

it just cleaves the heart in half...

Fly off my baby bird.
Spread your little wings and go,
go learn about this beautiful world.

Mama is proud, and loves you so.

With Mirth, I say

I  saw a quote last night, on a dear friend's facebook wall. 

It was one of those quotes.
You know, the kind that strikes you in the heart, brings tears to your eyes.

Something about it just resonated with me.

I literally thought:
"this quote needs to be tattooed on my right hand, 
so I can see it and be reminded every day".   

With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.

~William Shakespeare.

Since I couldn't very well go to a tattoo parlor at 9:30pm...

I marched myself down to my studio instead,
pulled out a rod of sterling silver, my letter stamps, my hammer, my ear protection...
and let the inspiration do its work.   

These empowering words wind and spiral around the bangle.

A 413 year old quote
more relevant today than ever.

We need to be reminded, I think, we women today.
The airbrushed model in the magazine, on the billboard.
They've removed more than just some lines and wrinkles.
They've erased part of her life story.
Changed who she is.

I made this bangle,
for me,
for you,
for her.

For all of us who need reminding:
It's empowering to age with grace.

Be proud of those fine lines,
the deep ones, too.
They stand for where you've been,
for who you are,
for the wisdom you've acquired
with every tear, smile, laugh, and frown.

Embrace it
with Mirth, I say.

:)

In the Etsy shop later tonight.

Paper + Tape = Shoes

"Mama, I need 2 pieces of tape"

...

...2 minutes later...

 Pretty innovative, huh?

Only 3, and already designing shoes...

PS - 

THANK YOU,  THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone 

who has entered and spread the word about my blog giveaway. 

Your support and your amazingly encouraging words about my return to jewelry touch my heart. 

I get emotional reading your comments.

I love you guys. Thank you!

It's the Great Welcome Back Blog Giveaway!

I took 5 months away from everything. Away from the blog.  Away from the jeweler's bench. Away from creating. At one point I was sure I would quit making jewelry altogether. Sometimes life throws roadblocks at you and you have no choice but to stop.  Sometimes that's a good thing.

And now I'm back. Feeling at the top of my game. Ready to make. Ready to take it all to new heights.  Ready to push the limits of my creative potential.
And I'm relaunching my comeback with a blog giveaway.

I made this for you this week.

But wait, can I just say,
how GOOD it felt to have that silver back in my fingertips.
To manipulate the sheet and wire with my hands and tools.
To  make it all merge and melt into one under the fire of my torch.  
I love being a metalsmith.

And as I sat there and created this piece, I meditated on the idea that the beauty in life is all around us.

You don't always have to look for the deeper meaning in things.  
Sometimes what you seek is right there in front of you. 

And so, stamped into the back of the pendant, among my hand drawn roses,

is Gertrude Stein's quote which perfectly echoes that sentiment:

"a rose is a rose is a rose"

Reminding us that it is what it is.


Crowned with my hand drawn Art and Crafts style rose,
embellished with balls of fine silver, and organic curves of sterling wire,
this Art Nouveau necklace
features a gorgeous opalescent glass cabochon in orange.
Beneath the beautiful blue and purple flashes of the glass lie more roses.
 Roses on the back, too.

Constructed entirely of sterling and fine silver, glass, and hand-wrapped freshwater pearls.
Made by me every step of the way.
The length is adjustable 16" - 19".

Here's what you can do to win:

1. Follow my blog (then leave a comment on this post saying that you did).

2. Share the link to this giveaway on Twitter,
3. Facebook, 
4. and/or your own blog (then leave a separate comment for each, they each count as one entry).

5. Join my Facebook page here (then leave a comment on this blog post).

That's it!
You have anywhere from one to five ways to enter.
Each one of the above entitles you to one entry (please leave a separate comment for each one to make it easy for me to calculate all the entries at the end). 
Also, muy importante: Please make sure I have your email address so I can contact you if you win!

The giveaway closes on Tuesday, August 31st.

The lucky winner will be announced on Wednesday, September 1st.

Thanks for welcoming me back,
and good luck to all!

*~*~* EDITED on Tuesday August 31st *~*~*

Deadline has been EXTENDED by one more day

Comments on this post will be closed at midnight tonight, Tues Aug 31.

Winner to be announced on Thursday September 2nd.

Thank you :) :) :)

Welcome home, kitties!

Last night we brought home 2 little sweeties!  

Meet Noisette and her brother Claude  

(SweetPea named him Cloud, so we call him Cloud, but we spell it Claude, because I think I'm French).

They love each other so much. 

We originally wanted to adopt Noisette alone, but they are so bonded, we couldn't bear to split them up.

Look how cute :)

Claude, clearly up to no good with our fish BlueberryMuffinStrawberryShortcake.  I need to get some sort of mesh covering for that poor fish's bowl.

We love these littles so very much.  

You'll be seeing more of them around here, that's for sure.

Have a lovely day :)

Here's a Turkish recipe

I was born in Toronto to immigrant parents.  My mother is Italian from Naples.  My father is Armenian from Istanbul hence our last name.  I grew up immersed in 4 different cultures - Canadian, Italian, Armenian, and Turkish. I learned to speak 4 different languages at the same time - English, Italian, Armenian, and Turkish  French and Spanish came later in school.  I was raised with an appreciation for delicious food from each of these places.  Here's a recipe from my childhood. It's one of the first things I learned to bake as a kid. It's one of my favorite things to have for breakfast.

Turkish Cheese Pastries - Peynirli Pogaca (pronounced po-ah-cha')

Dough:

3/4 cup warm milk

1tsp sugar
1 package dry yeast
2 eggs (separate one yolk for later)
3/4 cup yogurt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1.5 tsp salt

5+ cups flour

Filling:
12 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped parsley or dill

Decorate:
Nigella seeds (or sesame seeds) - optional

~ Combine milk, sugar and yeast. Wait about 10 minutes for milk to rise.

~  In the bowl of an electric mixer combine 1 whole egg and 1 egg white (set aside the other yolk for later), milk mixture, yogurt, oil, and salt. Begin mixing, then slowly add flour. The dough is the right consistency when it feels like your "ear lobe", but does not stick to your hands.  

~ Cover the dough and keep it in a warm place for about an 45 minutes. It will almost double in size.
~ In the meantime, in a separate bowl, combine the feta cheese and parsley (or dill).

~ Pre-heat oven to 375. 

~ Lightly oil your hands. Tear off a piece of dough slightly larger than a golf ball, flatten it into a round disc in the palm of your hand. Spoon in 1 heaping tbsp of filling in the middle, close the dough and form it into a half moon shape. Make sure the seam is well sealed (keep the seam underneath).

~ Lightly brush the tops of the pastries with egg yolk and sprinkle with nigella or sesame seeds.
~ Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden.
~ Serve warm, with tea.

Enjoy! Afiyet olsun! Paree akhorshag! Buon appetito! Bon appetit! Buen provecho!  (ok that's all the languages I know).

xoxo, 

Alice :)

PS - I'm working on a kick-ass blog giveaway to relaunch my comeback to jewelry. Be sure to check in later this week to enter.  It's going to be a good one.

Have a beautiful day!

Something I aspire to

It's time for August's “Talk About” Blog ~ with the Handmade Division Team….

 (an Etsy team to which I belong)

August’s topic:

"Talk about something you'd like to create, that maybe you currently don't have the skills to."

This summer I decided to explore a whole new avenue in art.
Painting.

  I had tried it once in high school art class, and then never again.  
I've wanted to go back to it, yet I've had a list of excuses as long as my arm: 

I don't have time to learn how to paint.  

I wasn't good enough at it in high school. 

It's an expense to buy all the supplies.  

I have no idea what to even paint.

...etc...

Finally, in May, I said whatever! and I took the plunge.  My friend Delilah spent an afternoon showing me the basics.  And then I enrolled in a beginner's acrylic painting class at a local art school.  I only made it to about 4 out of 8 classes, but that was enough to get me comfortable with brush and canvas.  

So, I've completed 2 paintings.  
Both of them, I've gifted to my Mom (who, along with my sister and husband, has been my biggest cheerleader  and supporter when it comes to my art, THANK YOU, you three).  
These humble little paintings now reside on her kitchen wall.

I'm proud of them.  
They were both things I learned to paint in my class.  
You can find the step by step instructions for them in this book.


"Pomme"
This one was straight of the book. I painted it by following my art instructor's directions.


"Italian Vegetables for my Mom"
This one was partially from the book, although the eggplant and onion are mine.

So, I really love to paint.  That I know for sure.
The next step is to learn how to paint with oils.

The next step after that is to create some original paintings from my own imagination.
Ultimately, I would love to make insanely creative art like Abdi from Work of Art (on Bravo tv) one of my new favorite shows.

I'm 
sure
we'll get there...
...eventually...
:)


Thanks so much for stopping by!



And now you can go read my friends' blogs on the subject:

NEDbeads: http://www.nedbeads.blogspot.com/
Lisa Hopkins Design: http://lisahopkinsdesign.blogspot.com/
Jewelry by Natsuko: http://jewelrybynatsuko.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr: http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/
ArtJewel Designs: http://www.artjeweldesigns.blogspot.com/
Abhaya Fibers: http://abhayafibers.blogspot.com/
Purified Art: http://purifiedart.blogspot.com/
Nova of Sweden http://nova-designs.blogspot.com/
Bella-Bijou Jewellery: http://bellabijoujewellery.blogspot.com/
Pink Crow Studio: http://www.pinkcrowstudio.typepad.com/
Sand Fibers: http://sandfibers.blogspot.com/
Thomasin Durgin: http://metalriot.blogspot.com/
Moxie & Oliver: http://moxieandoliver.blogspot.com/
Andes Cruz: http://andescruz.wordpress.com/

A Little Fairy Magic

 

 

Wishing you a 

Magical Day