This week I'm staining my quilt ladder (loving it-it's totally Simple and sturdy and functional). Now if it would be this simple: I have the perfect, most convenient place to hang our much needed blankets after using them in our chilly little basement movie-watching area, so my sweet boys will stand up promptly after snuggling in for a movie or wii session, fold their blankets in half and hang them neatly on one of the rungs. Ha! I don't have confidence that this will happen even once! Still, there it is. (There is a chance that I might be able to get my husband to use it!) If nothing else, when I clean up after my little piggies I'll have a sweet ladder on which to hang their blankies.

I finished the laundry room shelves that I mentioned earlier, but due to the fact that I stubbornly only used a chop saw to cut my 12 inch boards, the shelves are not totally flush. This, coupled with the fact that one of the boards I picked up for the frame of the unit is a little warped, resulted in a sloppy side. To help me decide if I needed to take the thing apart and re-cut the affected shelves, I put my linens on it. I discovered it is completely acceptable for its purpose, and of course I'm really tempted to leave it as is. But I have such a cool color (satin granite-seems perfect with the whole washer and dryer / there's still some exposed concrete in my laundry room deal) that would be ridiculous to put on if my boards weren't perfect. Now I can't bring myself to clear that thing off and re-do it...Still, I'll take some photos tomorrow to help me think about it some more!

Yay! Elements

My new website is up and running! I have been so busy I haven't been doing enough to get the word out, but it's coming along nicely. It's a cool combination for me...photographing my pieces has always been and continues to be fun; obviously I can't enough of designing my own jewelry; and I am sort of getting into the website design aspect too. Now, granted, I have started with a pretty basic web design, but I just really wanted to do it myself.I hope you can check it out sometime. The idea behind my new store is the four traditional earth elements, earth, water, air, and fire. I've been thinking about the change for some time, as baby number four came along and slowed everything down. It feels good to be at a place where I can be a little more creative again.

Air is the line for timeless, classic designs. Anyone at any age can find something to love here. These pieces are also versatile and often neutral (see Tiny Baubles, above left).

Earth is the line that I wear most. It's comfortable, casual, and uses lots of natural components (see Gotta Be Me, left).






Fire is the place to go when you want to give a unique gift. These pieces are often bold, and always created with high quality components (see Carly, left)





Water is more trendy. It is the place to look for pieces that fit current and/or seasonal colors. Right now the line has some nice asymmetrical pieces and bib-style necklaces. The bracelets and earrings have lots of movement (see Slick, left).



And I'm still squeezing in a little time for projects, like making laundry room shelves (why did I have no place for table cloths and cloth napkins?) and a quilt/blanket ladder for the theater room. I finally got a piece of real furniture for the master bedroom...the first piece actually bought for that room (except for a bed with no headboard) since we moved in 10 years ago. It's the Java Basque buffet from Crate and Barrel. I found it in the floor model clearance section of the store a couple of weeks ago and just couldn't stop thinking about it. Perfect size and shape to go under our wall-mounted tv and I fell in love with the gorgeous mango wood and dark stain.
I just have to repair a scratch on the top (right now being covered with a framed photo of beautiful kids). So now I'm hot for some custom bedside tables. I just have to decide if I can do a project like that with only a chop saw...now remembering a table saw out in the garage! I think a whole new world just opened up!