July 27, 2012

Inspiration Strikes!

Inspiration. Where does it come from? When you can't find it... Where has it been? Sometimes it eludes me and other times is a flood that can barely be contained. In those times when inspiration seems to be hiding, I've always thought it would be useful to have a bit stored in a jar or hidden in a coat pocket. This got me to thinking about what inspires me. Nature is a wealth of inspiration. My kids do and say things by the minute that inspire me. Before I had little ones performing magic on a daily basis, I had more time to create and explore designs and mediums. One way that was fun to create was to pull pages from a magazine and just start cutting and arranging. Shapes, colors, texture, hue... All the things you were presented in a design class would be right there in front of you. Wheeeee! I've had this idea in the back of my mind for a few years, to create a deck of cards to pull out for inspiration.... It has taken a long time but I finally designed a pack of 25 cards to "play" and design with. Shuffle, arrange, play....



July 26, 2012

July 25, 2012

Christmas In July.

Every time. It never gets old. Opening the kiln is like Christmas! We have finally gotten into our summer routine. Up a little too late but enjoying sleeping in as well. Actually, the kids have managed to sleep in, I've been surviving on 6 hours a night and lots of caffeine! But the thrill of newness in the kill also keeps me going! Summer camps and visits with friends. Trips to the water park for swimming and cooling off. Making time for all this has been tough and keeping up with orders has made me reflect on what is working in my life and what isn't. I've taken a leave of absence from Made In Ojai. I dearly love the artist and the support that has been shared but sometimes you just need to take a step back and evaluate what is working and what is not. Saying "no" is good and for me is necessary. I think as a society we want to give everything our all. For me that means giving everything my all but limiting what my all is going to be....



July 12, 2012

Eat Your Limas!

So, so excited to see all the new goodies up on the Lima Beads website! Ali and Kevin and their team work so hard to create a jewelry designers paradise! They newly remodeled their site and I have had such a good time window (and not so window) shopping and discovering new techniques and how to videos! Because they make such an effort, continuously adding to their ever expanding inventory, there is always something new to see and new deals to be had. I totally appreciate this!



July 10, 2012

Summer Dreams...

Summer is here and so is the heat. I am trying to embrace it. Really. I am. Trips to the water park and visits to the ocean are all part of a season that really is very short. It was astonishing to see oversized pencils hanging in Target this week, harkening the arrival of back-to-school and shortly after, fall. In this instance, I am choosing to not plan ahead. To just enjoy the wee bit of summer and time with my kids. To slumber in the colors of summer...