Fall Equinox is Here

Yes, fall has arrived! Which in the bay area of course means lots of warm weather still to come, but the seasons evolving still gets me all excited for changes: for cleaning and de-cluttering (and not just the home, but the mind too!), for newness in the yard (plants changing colors, some curling up in hibernation for the cold weather to come), and (of course) new jewelry designs! 

I didn't think I was gonna be able to pull off a new collection in time for fall, but it happened! Called Shapes of Fall, this collection is inspired by this beautiful season and features many organic, natural shapes. I've gone less geometric with these pieces and more free-form. And, for the rest of the month I'll be having a 25% off sale in my Etsy shop with coupon code "SeptemberAir." The sale is good on ALL pieces, not just the new ones, fyi. 

I hope everyone has some time to stop and appreciate the beauty of today, the equal balance of light and dark, the changing colors, all of it! I had "scheduled" in some journaling and quiet relective time today, not realzing that I had scheduled it for the equinox. How more perfect could that timing be!

(Lastly, I'll be updating my events page with the rest of my events for the year soon, along with sending out a newsletter to all of my email subscribers. If anyone wants to be added to my newsletter, simply head on over to this page here and I'll make sure you receive my next installment.)

Studio time, Birthday, Springtime Sale, and Ramblings

Well, I'm back from my trip to Disneyland. It's so much fun to see the park through a kids eyes (my 6 year old nephew). While it can be challenging juggling the demands of two young kids and the needs of the adults, it was such a wonderful break from my daily routines. 

Now that I'm back I'm slowly getting in to full-time work mode. Honestly, I had to take a day off after the trip just to rest and re-charge my batteries. This week is my birthday as well, so Jeff and I will take some time to celebrate. I'm keeping it low-key this year. . . for a lot of reasons. Mainly, I just don't want a big party this year. I want quiet and relaxation and good food. If I could afford it we'd be headed to a little spa in Mendocino, but alas, that is not in the cards for now (hello, I owe more on taxes than I thought I was going to, money crunch time). Which brings me to my next point-of-business: It's time for my spring sale in my Etsy shop!

(Help a girl pay her taxes!) I'm gonna be frank 'cause that's the kind of mood I'm in this morning: Money is super tight right now. I've gotta pay my taxes in a few days, I have a stack of craft fair applications to pay (that is serious money) and my business credit card is due any day now. Soooo, why am I sharing this with you? For one, it's the reality of running this small handmade business. Sometimes I feel like us hand-makers get so caught up in always showing the sunny, beautiful side of what we do that it can make people feel like everything must be amazing for us, all of the time. And, secondly, I've been noticing a trend with bloggers lately to try to showcase the "real" side of things and not just the pretty stuff, and I have to say I like this trend. It's a way of showing the behind-the-scenes of how we make the making happen. 

Don't get me wrong, I feel very lucky to be able to do what I do. I just think it's healthy to share the whole picture every now and then. And I've always got a spunky 6-year old named Noah and an orange tabby named Arlo to remind me what really matters as I stumble and trip and sometimes walk steadily through my days. 

(p.s. I'll have lots more pictures from my Disneyland trip next week when I get done going through the 150 or so pictures I took!)