Hummingbird please fly away

Our back room has big windows and doors and lots of bird activity.

As I was working this little chap hit the window hard with a thud.

I ran out there to see his little body on the ground...

I had to get pictures of him cause really when do you get opportunities

like this...I  clutched it gently in my hand and ran into the house with him...

so totally dumb as he could of flown off  and well I wouldn’t

be writing this right now I’d still be trying to catch him.

the tiniest feet you’ve ever seen.

little eyelids!

glowing feathers...just glorious.

well of course I was happy while having this little sweetness in my

hand, I knew in my heart he probably wouldn’t make it..

We have birds hit our windows and most don’t...

So I came back in, loaded these pictures and starting writing...

Looked out where I placed him in one of my husband’s sculptures...

Happy DAYS!  Gone!!

I breathe a sigh of relief and feel like celebrating.

Petra’s good things.

There is nothing like some great beads to get the creative juices flowing.

Petra, who sells out of her etsy shop, ScorchedEarth, provided these

fine little leaves that were the starting point for these earrings.

I altered them a bit to add some cohesion and also cause I can never leave anything alone, using a new to me product, Baroque Art gilders paste in Verdigris.   I smeared some of it on with my finger,

and then polished it off with a cloth.  Then I added some of my handy dandy

(well my husbands actually which I pilfered out of his studio)  Rub' n' Buff

European Gold in bits here and there.  I thought that the green on both beads pulled the two together a bit more.   Luckily, she got back to me and said she liked it so I haven’t like ruined her creations.

Here you can see my grimy fingerprints which I kinda like...

adds that personal touch.

In the same little bundle of happiness that I got from her English

countryside studio, were these hot little numbers that I had a wee bit

of input on in the making...a collaboration of  sorts, well at least

that is the way I like to look at it.

Petra had made these first as bigger bars to use for a bracelet link.

I said “ Can you make these smaller for use in earrings”

mostly cause I don’t make those kind of bracelets and I loved the look of these.

And so she did...

I was going to go my usual route but stopped myself after seeing that

this was enough...I liked it.  Why go all crazy when sometimes simple is best..

  Besides, less work means less time means a lower price can be asked

and I like to make my things available for all budgets...

The  first pair is up in the shop and the second pair is in the “photography studio”

waiting to be primped up a bit.

Petra’s cool, whimsical pieces are available for purchase 24/7

in her etsy shop .  She adds to it all the time and

things go fast.  She never seems to run out of ideas and just by

looking through her shop you come up with a load of cool ideas you

can use.

 Here’s the link to her shop...

ScorchedEarth on Etsy.

toodles, bh

Ann's last cigarette

I had the pieces...all I had to do was put them together....

This 1930s Bakelite cigarette holder has been part of my stash for forever...

the skull a recent acquisition...

I wanted to use them in a piece but never thought of putting them together...

but yesterday I went to a funeral of a friend's mother, who, although

it was never said that she died of smoking, all the signs were there...

the cough, the oxygen tank, the raspy speech.

I thought of my mother...and her Camel unfiltered in the 50s,

then the more modern Salems...but my mom wised up and quit

before the damage set it...

still she bought the goods sold by advertising companies

and by the fact that in the 1920s to the 80s smoking was considered cool...

and suddenly I see a resurgence of smoking in films, photography and cool hipster bands.

But now that I think of it, nothing like what we had when I was a teen...The Rolling Stones,

The Beatles, The Animals...all my heroes and cigarettes were a big, no huge, part of their

looks and sex appeal...

So then this came together..

 My homage to Ann Zam...

A fine southern lady, a wonderful cook, conversationalist,

fellow gatherer of antiques, a zesty drinker and

a lover of life...rest in peace Ann.

Blustery, sunny, thunder, rain, rainbows and more!

What a day!   the weather has been all over the place...

started out English grey, cold...then dark, then suddenly

torrental downpour and big shock, a loud clap of thunder...

it hardly ever thunders here and to hear it reminds me of home back in Wisconsin,

where thunderstorms were as commonplace as grass...here not so much.

Right now...cold but clean clear beautiful fluffy clouded sky...perfect.

Meanwhile, I’m at the workbench making these..

Had to use the pearls I found at the Los Angeles Gift show..

they just are amazing with Om Shanti etched right into the pearl.

They look so elegant, old wordly and downright magical...

then working with aluminum which is my latest fave metal...

so soft and easy to work with...files like butta.

These are pretty on and make the best tinkling sound as you walk.

I got these great brass beads at the show too which I have found

to be so useful...you can pound them flat on the wire to hold things in place

to finish off the end of a wire...dah?   Also working on these little whirls, twirls with wire...

they come out different each and everytime, but I like that...quirky.

  Sometimes I am a little slow on

discovering things that everyone else has been doing for ages...

such is the plight of a self taught art tist.

Finished off with Petra’s spikes which are so wonderful n wacky in their own right...

you get them right there in her little shop of wonders, Scorched Earth.

So nextly, a big cappuccino, a log on the fire...

some hanging with my uke to work on some new songs...

Happy February

Best time of year in the garden...

lush cool green 

best time of year period.  My amazing vine...now about

20 feet high...I trim and prune this bush a lot to shape it into

a tall lush screen...I mean cans and cans and more cans filled to

the brim with branches...she would cover our garden if I let her

and jump over to the neighbors too...but I reel in her wildness

with a harsh pruning and tame her rampant ways

My pink brugmansia....tall gangly crazy grower...

gotta keep an eye on her cause she’ll control and take over everything!!

poisonous too... that doesn’t shock me... how she lures with those amazing scented trumpets

siren song.

Brugmansia is a genus of seven species of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae. Their large, fragrant flowers give them their common name of angel's trumpets, a name sometimes used for the closely related genus Datura. Brugmansia are woody trees or shrubs, with pendulous, not erect, flowers, that have no spines on their fruit. Datura species are herbaceous bushes with erect (not pendulous) flowers, and most have spines on their fruit.^[2]

NOT MY HOUSE

..but wouldn’t it be nice if it was...or better

than that...be able to housesit there for a couple of months.

Beautiful day here which I now plan on enjoying...

the sun...the heat...the reason for living here.

Baby it’s Cold Outside

Working on some new things and they are coming fast and furious...

a pair a day and that is very good for me.

Pantone color of the year Emerald Green

I do get trapped into a rut I can’t get out of sometimes and my brain

freezes and I get overwhelmed...this  week however I felt a real shift...

something happened.  For one thing I am a lot more confident in my abilities...

I’m making things longer and bigger...more of a statement.  I wore a pair of these

danglers out the other night and was amazed at how cool I felt...they

make such a statement that black turtleneck and jeans and my winter

cardigan looked new and modern...the swing and boldness of the

earrings made me feel with it and pretty.

My biggest thing seems to be that I start to think if i buy more

supplies that I’ll get more ideas...now this is true in many ways

but a better approach seems to be the old use what you got...

so I started to dig deep in my piles and found some pretty neat

stuff I forgot about

It’s bloody freezing here...well for California standards...

like in the 50s at night...I know...I  know... the rest of you

are probably saying oh geez but for us thin skins its cold...

So I’m bundled up at my work bench and taking advantage

of this spell of productivity while it’s happening...

jammies barely come off as I get to work in the early morning

and keep at it....my hands are hurting like hell but I just

do an Aleve and put on my hand braces and keep calm

and carry on.

ohh..i love these...making a pair to keeps.

And the ever popular bangle stacks using a bit of over-dyed

crochet sent to me by one of youse guys in our frantic

“Traveling Box” exchange days of yore.

keep warm...happy winter..bh

Belle Armoire Jewelry Winter 2013

I am in the latest issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine.

I got three pages  and boy oh boy what a absolute thrill...

So check it out ...on the stands at Barnes and Noble bookstores...

Ringing in 2013

Went to a beautiful neighborhood party where I played with my friend Mike on seven songs....
Had some delish food, met some wonderful new neighbors and then Mr. B and I headed home at 11:30 for our own private bringing in of  the New Year....

It has been quite a year...with many challenges and also many triumphs...I had highs and lows with
the Etsy shop but all in all it has turned out very well and I am very happy with it...

My work has been published twice now in Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine...a fantastic, impossible dream come true.

My music has moved forward with a lot more groups and gatherings and chances to play in public.
I realize that this year much more practice is in order for me to memorize things and have a good song
list at my fingertips...We were invited to a beautiful daytime party in SilverLake over looking the city...we ate black- eyed peas, greens and dirty rice to ring in the new year...supposedly to bring us good luck.   I played the uke with a mandolin player and stand up bass player...what fun to see people suddenly stand up out of their chairs and share in a sing a long...you would never expect it in a group of sophisticated Hollywood types, but there you have it.  I love it...and people really remember me as the uke player now..”did you bring your uke” is the first thing I hear now when I walk into a gathering...
a real dream come true for me.

This year also had the passing away of my beloved mom, my glorious cat Princess, Ginger’s illness have all taken their toll on me and I feel more tired and drained than I use to be.

So this year ...I really just want more of the same...We are beginning to downsize our processions in
hopes of moving out of Southern California in two years time...we are thinking of going back to England...who knows...it’s all up in the air but I am ready for a new start somewhere else and a different country would be just about right...perhaps live in a gypsy caravan...tra la la.

Much peace, love and happiness to you all.   You have been so wonderful to me...like sisters and
certainly best friends.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your stories and yourselves.
I raise my glass to your honor and the delight of our friendship and your companionship.

cynthia, Ginger and Giuseppe.