Aaaaarrrgh... Naughty Pirate Nautical Earrings

Okay, so I've had a love affair with pirates for a few years now. I think it culminated when the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out the summer after I graduated from college. My friend Jen and I went to see the movie 7 times in the theater that summer, (yea, we had some time on our hands -- no classes and no jobs yet). Of course, Swiss Family Robinson was also my favorite movie growing up... and the pirates in that movie were awesome!! Anyway, I picked up these sweet little charms at Dava Bead the other day... and was inspired tonite to mix them into a fun pair of earrings!

I love mixing red and light blue together... and there are elements of brass, gold and copper mixed into this pair. Mixed metals, good colors -- fabulous! And speaking of colors... when I was in Seattle the other night I saw an HGTV show called The Ultimate Color Guide. Has anyone ever seen this guy? He's fabulous... extremely cute and obviously gay... but aren't all the hot ones anyway?! (By the way, this picture does not do him justice -- he's adorable, and I love the tat).

Here's a link for the show:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/on_tv/show/0,1000145,HGTV_32663_1003,00.html

I mean, seriously, I am in love with the living room he did on the episode I saw, (except for that horrible stone fireplace -- that he couldn't remove or otherwise would have). Check it out:

I love mixing those colors together.. and there are some paintings hanging on the wall, (not shown in the picture), that he just busted out... out of nowhere. I want him to come to my house! Actually, no, I want to do it myself... and just watch his show for ideas on how to do it well. Anyway, our bedroom is orange and turquoise... a color combination that horrified my husband at first, but now it's like our little, (very packed), island oasis. I can't wait until we have more space! 660 square feet for both of us plus a 50 pound husky is a bit tight.

Okay, so from sailors to design... that's what's on my mind tonite. I'm TIRED! In another hour my graveyard-working friend comes to pick up jewelry I made for her and for her mom... then it's off to bed for me! 'Night! :)

Katery

Vintage Bride... Search For Shoes!

I just posted a new item on Etsy... Antiqued Brass Glass Pearl Earrings


I love these sweet little earrings... very vintage-y bridal to me. I could see a lot of Portland brides rockin' them. :) Like check out these fabulous brides I found on Flickr...




I love it! Of course, I waited to get my tattoo half sleeve going 'til after the wedding.... and the one on my foot. In fact, I had just one teeny little Japanese kanji for zen barely visible on my shoulder on our wedding day. Now, it would be another story. :)

Meantime... I'm on the hunt for some cute gold sandals. There are thousands online... and trust me, I spent about an hour last night perusing quite a few of them, but I'm super picky and couldn't find anything I like. I've been wearing gold a lot more lately... and want to get some cute, flat sandals in time for Palm Springs, (we leave Saturday, yay)! So far, not so much luck. I'm not a big fan of the gladiator styles... way too trendy for me... and I'm super picky about t-strap sandals because I already have narrow feet... and they make them look even skinnier. Isn't it funny how particular some people can be about their shoes? It's ridiculous, but now that I've spent so much time looking, (I also went shopping with Erica for about 5 hours yesterday... marathon shopping wore me out), I want to make sure I get the perfect pair. So far -- I'm not sure they even exist. Oh well! C'est la vie. :) I did manage to find an awesome yellow skirt at JCrew yesterday. Woot!

And.... while looking for a picture of that skirt to post, (which was, as it turns out, too elusive)... I found video and a picture of Michelle Obama from last year... wearing the same yellow sweater I have from J Crew. I love her!! :)

Michelle:

Me (last Fall during student teaching):

Yay! Off to the gym before a day of hanging out with Grandma and Mike. :)

Cheers!

Katery

New Etsy Treasury

I scored a treasury this morning and devoted it to Unique Women in Business members on Etsy. I love the colors anytime of year, but especially for Spring. Enjoy!! :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=48493

UWIB: Shop of the Week!

So, I've decided it's high time to start doing more blogs that feature fellow artists, and I also feel like it's important to promote my fellow Unique Women in Business artists, (especially since they promote me, too). So... as a result... I want to highlight an Etsy shop of the week; a shop I love, can't wait to buy from, and think other people should know about, too. This week it's Cozy Moments.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5250593

This seller is amazing! She's an active member of UWIB and is finding great success, with nearly 11,000 sales on Etsy. I can't even imagine how she does it! Actually I can -- check out some of her products!

Last month I bought the Lavender and Peppermint soothing foot salve. It smells so good and works so well! Obviously, with ingredients like Beeswax, Cocoa Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Jojoba Oil, Lavender Essential Oil, Peppermint Essential Oil, and Tea Tree Oil it has to be good stuff!


She also sent along a free sample -- Cucumber Mint Goats Milk soap... that I love.

It's some of the other products in her shop that sound more like a dessert bar than a body shop, though. Like these lovely little Pink Sugar Kisses Cupcake Soaps -- just $5!!!


Other things that make me hungry are the Apricot and Honey Goats Milk Soap, Pink Buttercream Marshmallow Cake Beautiful Body Butter, and Mango Papaya Shea Butter Soap. Oh my goodness... I'm hungry already!


So, if you're looking around for a Mother's Day gift, a birthday gift, or a little something to spoil yourself -- I highly recommend Cozy Moments! It comes quickly in the mail, has great ingredients, and supports independent business owners, rather than places like Bath and Body Works, (which, by the way, tests on animals -- so stay outta there)!

Now, back to making jewelry for me. Hope everyone has a good day!!

Birthday Fun!

Well, it wasn't my birthday... but Erica's birthday was Monday and we had a great group celebration Saturday night. Check out the pic.. Erica and I always manage to take a picture together! :)

She and I also re-celebrated her birthday Monday night with beer @ her house then McMenamins. Yum! Tuesday night Mike and I celebrated at another McMenamin's... the birthday of a neighbor. Mmm... who's next on the birthday list? I think my niece Heather on April 16th!

July is the time of year when my family has a serious birthday stretch -- me on the 7th, followed by Shannon, Grandma, my brother and sister! It's crazy! This year my other niece Shannon turns 21. I can't believe it! Look at what a cute baby she was... with my best friend growing up and I... posing near our house in Littleton, Colorado.


That's Jo-Lee and I as little girls... and now she's helping inspire my tattoo half sleeve... I'm working with a local artist who she recommended. Look at what we're doing now!

That's Jo-Lee and Preston and I at my wedding. And this is what's on my left bicep now...
Anyway... randomness. I felt like I should update my blog... and started going off on a tangent. So... here's the newest listing on Etsy...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17202106




They're made from black onyx beads, found in Eastern Oregon in the 1920s... I paired them with funky gold ear wires and vintage-looking brass beads. Love these!

Have a happy Wednesday night! We're off for a triple date to go bowling at Grand Central. FUN! :)

<3>

Yay! Agate Slice Necklaces!

I've been working on putting these together for about a year! I bought my drumel (sp?)... broke countless agate slices drilling... burned through diamond bits... worked in my father-in-laws garage with a vice... all to no avail... that is, until I figured out I had to drill through the agate under water! As a result... I can finally drill through these gorgeous dyed brazilian agate slices. I just picked up two dozen different colored slices at Ed's House of Gems in Northeast Portland. It's a fabulous rock shop... where I also picked up gorgeous faceted, tear-drop shaped rose quartz pieces to make pendants... and a fabulous new business-card holder... a giant chunk of beautiful quartz crystals. I absolutely love the natural beauty of stone. Most of my jewelry is made with stones... and the more natural, the better. I've loved amethyst and other natural geodes since I was young, too. I remember going on a field trip in elementary school and coming home with a big chunk of raw amethyst on a rock for my mom, (her birthday was in February and amethyst is the birthstone for that month). It's been nine months since mom passed away... actually, exactly nine months tomorrow. I had a mini-breakdown this weekend as a result. I feel quite stressed and overwhelmed by everything... Dad and his Alzheimer's, my grandma freaking out about moving to Portland, Mike being worried about losing his job... and all the while studying for teaching licensure tests. Making jewelry is such a great outlet for me. My grandfather used to make jewelry, too, and I have quite a few of his pieces, many of which came from my mom's jewelry when my sister, nieces and grandma and I split it up last summer. I like to think I take after him. Also, the very last hour I spent with my mom we went shopping on Hawthorne and stopped into the first store where I started selling jewelry. She checked out everything I had in the store and asked if she should buy something. It was very sweet... and I told her of course not... she gets it for free from me! I got all the jewelry I made her back, as it turns out, and now anything I have that reminds me of her is more precious than I ever imagined. :)

Step Into Spring...

... with a little fashion! This necklace is the newest item in my shop... and I'm loving it!

Here's the listing... http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22557893. Check it out!

I've had the idea in mind to use ribbon to tie a necklace off, and it finally came to fruition! I also made a trip out to an awesome rock shop here in Portland, Ed's House of Gems, today and walked out with some fabulous new agate slices and rose quartz pendants for future items. I haven't posted these agate slice necklaces I'm making now to Etsy yet, but they're soon to come. I've gotten great response about them so far... so stay tuned for those!

In the meantime, tonight I'm off to hang out with my "sista", Miss Julie Ramey, and Kai's coming with me to hang out with Chrissy, Julie and Donald's pit bull. Poor Julie has to go back to work at nearly midnight... probably to escort some superstar to his or her room at The Nines hotel. Sweet job... even at midnight on Friday, I guess.

This weekend should be busy with Erica's birthday festivities tomorrow... and finally a little quality time with my "L'il Sis" Coyla, whom I haven't seen in a long time. What a sisterly weekend! I wish I could've made it to Shannon's reception in Nevada for Rainbow Girls... but it sounds like it's also going to be bittersweet.. and I perhaps the less emotional things happening in my life right now -- the better! There's a lot of difficult stuff going on... but looking on the bright side... the flowers are blooming on the trees outside. I LOVE it.

Cheers! :)

Katery

Origami Super Star Earrings!

I LOVE Asian influenced jewelry... I LOVE origami creations.... I LOVE the beauty of Japanese kanjis... and I LOVE studying Buddhism. What could be more perfect than these sweet little earrings I just added to my Etsy shop?


I'm taking part in a fundraiser/Spring artists' fair at my cousin's son's Japanese-American school in a few weeks. These will be perfect for that... as I put together a few other Asian-inspired pieces for the show. I babysit Ethan and Ben, (my cousin's kids), once in a while and always have a blast. (Even when Ben hides out in his room). ;)


Isn't Ethan a cutie? He was our ring bearer last Spring in our wedding on April 5th. Oh my Gosh! I can't believe it's almost been a year since we got married! The Japanese cherry blossoms are starting to bloom again in Portland... something I was on alert for last year. I really wanted blooms in our wedding pictures and we got them!! Yay!


What a sweet sign that Spring is nearly here!!!

Juicy Fruit

I've upgraded my Etsy site to include a new section: Juicy Fruit! I keep finding the perfect supplies to make cute, cute fruit earrings. What started off as an idea to make "tomatoes on the vine" earrings... turned in to little lemon drops, tangerine dream, red delicious apples... and now little blueberry earrings! Some of these are also turning into necklaces, (not on Etsy yet -- but soon)... so I thought I'd devote a blog entry to my love of fruit... and these fruit pieces!

Raspberries are actually my favorite fruit, and as summer draws nearer -- I'm excited to find more inspiration from my favorite foods, the sunshine, and all the beautiful Northwest berries that come along with it. Keep a close eye on Etsy, as I'm sure more fruit will be added in the near future! :)

Cheers!

Katery

Happy St. Patty's Day! (For 1 more minute!)

Just had a great night out for St. Patty's Day! Started off at an Irish joint in Old Town... then headed to SE for a little bowling at Grand Central. Good times! Lots of Guiness! :) Here's a shot of my good friend Erica and I courtesy of Kevin's iPhone.

I don't usually get so into the holiday, but as you can see -- we were pretty into it! I believe the enthusiasm on my end is in part because I'm still waiting on my teaching license -- therefore, have no job... and get really happy when people want to go out on a Tuesday night. Even so, I felt like we took it easy! A few other people went to the craziness that is Kell's -- packed crowd, $20 cover, and Porta-Potties? No thanks!

We'll see how well step class goes at the gym tomorrow. Ugh.

Cheers!

~Katery

P.S. Note the eclectic mix of St. Patty's Day fun-ness around my neck. I love being a jewelry designer! :)

Update on Life :)

It's been a busy couple of past weeks. Dad came to visit for a few days, and we had a great time... going to a Blazers game, museums, fun restaurants, hiking, brewery touring. All kinds of fun stuff!

Now that things are settling back down, I'm getting back to some new jewelry making and blogging! Here are tonight's creations! :)

That last necklace is part of my work I plan to show at an upcoming benefit art show for my cousin's Japanese-American school. It's jade and faceted glass beads, tied together with brass charms and gold wire. Fun, fun, fun! Some people, (I've noticed), really dig the red and jade. It's not my thing as much, but it seems to sell! :)

That's all for now! Hopefully more updates soon!!!

Oh my.... my poor neglected blog!

I don't know why I stopped blogging so much, other than the fact that I didn't see a lot of progress happening as a result of trying to network through blogging. I'm in a place now where I'm willing to devote more time again to my Etsy store and promoting my jewelry online. It's a tough thing -- that Etsy! I feel as though my jewelry is pretty sweet... seems as though most of my friends, (and fabulous customers), agree. In fact, even store and boutique owners around town are in on the act. So what gives? Hello Etsy. How do I get my store going? Argh.

In the meantime, here's the latest creation on Etsy. I planned to make these earrings focusing on one color group at a time but realized these colors all look so lovely together. :)