On May 15, 2010,

two hearts that were one,

became one on paper, too. ♥

With 125 guests in attendance, our prayers were answered for a sunny day on the lake.

The Mister made his entrace as a single man via boat.

He marched his handsome butt up from the dock to the platform where we were to be married in front of the lake. The platform was built by his own two hands. He is a talented carpenter, that husband of mine!

My niece and nephew did an amazing job as flower girl and ring-bearer.

My Dad escorted me toward the arms of my husband.

We were supported with love from so many family members and friends.

Towards the end of the ceremony, just as we were saying our vows, a family of geese decided to swim by with their two off-spring and give us their blessings, as well.

As the afternoon sun peaked overhead, we celebrated our nuptials and danced to Gypsy Roots Swing  (a band that the Mister and I listened to on several of our first dates).

We dined on a smorgasboard of food and drink – mostly vegetarian.  Everything was so delicious! Especially the cupcake I licked off my face…

 I guess I had that one coming, though.

As the Mister and I made our get-away, we were showered (really I mean pummeled) with hundreds of sunflower seeds.

Then we stepped into the boat a married couple  and drifted off together on the lake.

Happily.

Ever.

After.

All photos were taken by the very talented, Dreama Camphuysen.

The weather played tricks on us today. We arrived at the Bethesda Artist Market this morning to shuddering clouds and a thick blanket of rain. Three weeks of total drought in the Northeast, but today it has to rain. Deliberating whether or not to set-up the tent and hope the empty streets would soon fill with passers-by and patrons, the Mister and I sipped Caribou Coffee and munched on donuts with neon pink icing.

The rain only intensified as we talked to our friends Michele Cormier and Sara Rivera, who had decided to set up and brave the soggy weather. I’ve been exhibiting with these fellow artists for the last three years at the Bethesda Artist Market – a small, juried festival that features just 25 artists per show. Many of us are regulars. This year marked the first year at a new location on Norfolk Ave. I had looked forward to testing it out.

Even as we talked under the white canopy tents, the rain seeped inside and drip-dripped on my shoulder. Artists around us were continuously draining the pregnant pools  of water waiting to birth from the tops of their tents. The Mister and I weighed the pros and cons of setting up. The cons were obvious while the pros were all what-ifs.

Outdoor festivals are always a crapshoot, susceptible to wind and rain and a million other factors that can make or break a show. Booth fees are rarely refundable and shows are usually held rain or shine. Ten years of outdoor shows have taught me that there is never a guarantee of anything and certianly not of sales, even if there is a crowd. But it’s the what-ifs that keep you coming back time and time again. One or two great shows and you’re hooked like an old lady on a slot machine. The experience of sharing your work with others is highly gratifying, especially when your customers are as excited by your creations as much as you are. (It’s gets me higher than a regular Mountain Dew, if you can imagine that).

The 80% chance of rain forecasted all day was fairly persuasive, in the end (although I’m fairly certain it stopped raining an hour after we headed back to Richmond). (Mockery). The Mister had a time sensitive carpentry commission to attend to and I figured I could use some time to catch up on my poorly neglected blog and work on my new “Jetson” series.

Im so sorry to all those who came out this afternoon to support us and see the newest creations by Dream Spiral Art. I love my Bethesda customers! You have been good to me for many years. Be sure to look for my new “JETSON” series in my Etsy shop this week. And hopefully I will see you on Sunday, August 1 for the First Sunday Festival on West Street in Annapolis, MD.

Sneak peak of the “JETSON” series (these 3 have already SOLD).

MY BIRTHDAY IS THIS MONTH AND I AM HAVING A SALE in my ETSY SHOP TO CELEBRATE!

ALL ENAMEL EARRINGS ARE MARKED 30% OFF!

ALSO, IF YOU SPEND $100 OR MORE (before shipping/taxes) YOU WILL GET AN ADDITIONAL 10% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER (refunds will be zipped back to you via Paypal).

SALE ENDS JANUARY 18.

SIDE NOTE: In a couple of weeks, I turn 32. I remember being 16 and thinking that 32 was sooo old (double my age – OMG) and I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like. Well, nowdays I’m thinking it probably won’t feel much different from 31, or 30, or 29, for that matter.

What I do notice with each passing birthday is that I grow more and more appreciative for my life, my health, my family, my friends, the discovery of a life partner (my soon-to-be-husband), and all of the experiences that have sculpted the person I am today.  I know… cheesy, but true.

Hello my dear friends and jewelry lovers. You may have noticed that my blog has been more than a little quiet lately, but I assure you, I am not Missing In Action. Rather, for the past two months I have been immersed in a full-time massage therapy program and I LOVE it! Because it is an accelerated program, after just 7 weeks I have been able to put my newly acquired Massage skills in Action! My fellow classmates and I  work with the public every weekend in the clinical setting at I.M.T.  If you are interested in receiving a one-hour therapeutic wellness massage for the bargain price of $25, please contact the Institute of Massage Therapies.

Best wishes and gummy fishes,

Ann

P.S. I am definitely still finding time to work on jewelry.  Not even three tests a week on muscular anatomy and kinesiology can keep me away from my sunny haven of creation!  I have had the pleasure of designing several commission pieces lately, most of which are gifts or Christmas pressies.  But I promise I will post pics of finished products as soon as it’s safe.

P.P.S. How do you like my scrubs!

I’ve been travelling, my friends. 

Half way across the continent and back again. 

It’s good to be back home again.  

Delving my hands in dirt, blanketing the roots of my first cool-weather crop in a freshly tilled plot of land.

The smell of earth and metal fresh on my fingertips as ideas unfurl like butterfly wings back in my studio.

Life’s amazing plethora of color, texture, and pattern burning in my mind.  

Fodder for the imagination.

LOOK what I just listed in my ETSY SHOP!

PINK ROSE PETALS for SPRING! 

YELLOW ROSE PETALS for SUMMER!

RED BROWN ROSE PETALS for FALL

Part of my new “Captured Collection”, these modern flower necklaces are a one-of-a-kind trio, created in homage to my three favorite seasons: SPRING, SUMMER, and FALL.  Sorry old-man Winter, you didn’t make the cut… at least not yet, that is.

Each modern pendant measures approximately 1.5 x 1.25 inches and is handmade from sterling silver, 14 karat gold (YES, GOLD!), and a dried rose petal that is sealed in resin.  Gliding on an 18 inch sterling silver snake chain, each one-of-a-kind piece is hallmarked on the back with my initials.   Enjoy!

By the way, this is my first canna bloom so far this summer.  I wonder what it would like to like to have this fiery ORANGE CANNA become part of my “Captured Collection”?

So I quit my day job a few weeks ago and have been super busy working in the sunny studio. I am loving it! My crazy show season will soon start, so before that happens and gobbles up my time (in a wonderful gobbling sort of way) I want to share a SPECIAL SALE with YOU!!!

For the MONTH of AUGUST ONLY…

BUY ONE PAIR OF COPPER or ENAMEL EARRINGS, GET ONE (of equal or lesser value) for HALF PRICE!!! This is a great opportunity to stock up on pressies for yourself and gifts for your friends, maybe an early Christmas present or two!

See the “COPPER ENAMEL Earring” section of my ETSY SHOP for eligible items.

HOW IT WORKS:

Purchase the first pair of earrings through my Etsy Shop and put “AUGUST BOGO” in the note to seller, indicating which second pair of earrings you would like for half price. Wait for a revised invoice, pay, and voila! your earrings will ship within 48 hours!

Please CONTACT ME if you have any questions. Or if you see a style you like, but want it in a different color, feel free to ask – I am happy to accomodate special requests.

Also, if you prefer, you may simply drop me an EMAIL with both of your selections found in my ETSY SHOP and I will email your Paypal invoice directly.

Just look at all those perty earrings ready to ship to YOU! My inventory is growing almost as fast as my vegetable garden!

Yay! My package finally arrived. All of your orders shipped out yesterday afternoon. I can now put my feet up and think about what to do with all of these veggies I found in the garden.

Ratatouille anyone?

The GOOD NEWS is…

That I had a very productive day in the studio today! I finished a commission piece for the ever-patient, SR.

Several months ago (I won’t tell you how many because it’s too embarrassing) SR gave me two loose stones – a rectangular lapis and a facetted citrine teardrop – to turn into one-of-a-kind jewlery pieces. Until recently, I had taken a long hiatus from using colored stones in my work. But the lapis stone hit a perfect note with my latest work and became part of my newest jewelry chorus, that features colored stones, set in a silver frame and finished with a handmade chain!!

What do you think?

I think I might be tempted to keep it. Shhh! Don’t tell SR.

Now for the BAD NEWS…

I was expecting the arrival of a little brown package today.
But 6 p.m. rolled around, and there was still no package. Where in the world could it be?

I had my suspicions, so I checked my handy UPS tracking number again. It told me that my delivery was scheduled to be on time, but an “EXCEPTION” had occurred. An “EXCEPTION?”

Okay. So I read a little futher and it said that our address did not exist. Oh no, not again! Our house has an unfortunate habit of being transported to the twilight zone whenever the friendly UPS man comes around (I wish it would do that when the not-so-friendly gravel sleaseman… I mean… salesman honks his horn in my driveway at 8:00 in the morning).

About 70% of the time, deliveries reach our house without a hitch. The other 30% of the time reminds me of one of the few cons of living off the beaten path, as in, not in a neighborhood. Well, if it doesn’t come tomorrow, I will have to hunt down that truck with my hammer and torch – a mad jeweler on the loose, LOOK OUT!

So sorry for those of you who are waiting for the arrival of your Dream Spiral Art Jewelries or Supplies. Rest assured, as soon as I get that package, I can put the finishing touches on your pieces and zip them off to you in the mail! Oh, and I’m doubly sorry for my grumpy face in the photos. Hopefully you won’t have to see that ever again (I usually save those faces for my Sweetie Pie).

INSOMNIA. Teetering with the excitement of my newfound freedom, a laundry list of things to do, passing like cars on a freight train two miles long. Both the beauty and burden of working for oneself.

Did I forget to mention that I quit my desk job last Wednesday? In preparation for my final chapter of four years with Virginia’s judiciary, I may have forgotten to write you much these past few weeks.

They threw me a most generous exit party equipped with a gi-normous cake, presents galore, and an open house for the entire building to eat cake and bid me a merry farewell. For my last lunch with the front office, the ladies treated me to my favorite brunch at Cafe Gutenburg. A girl couldn’t have dreamed of a lovlier send-off to propel her with love and excitement for the journey ahead.

Sometimes a girl just knows it’s time for her to fly. And this little birdy has let the wind lift her wings for a new adventure.

In the fall I will be going back to school to reaquaint myself with an old flame that bears a hundred names: holistic health, alternative healing, eastern medicine, naturopathy, herbal healing, holism, mind-body wellness, homeopathy, spiritual healing, and therapeutic touch. Addressing both my psysical, psychological and spiritual well-being, so that I may, in turn, help others, I have decided to become a massage therapist.

I start the program in September. Until then I am full throttle wielding my hammer and torch, working from home, selling in my Etsy store, and at weekend festivals, developing my number one passion, my jewelry biz, Dream Spiral Art.

I must admit, though, I am a little scared. Sometimes when the heart has desired something so precious for so long, it is frightening to finally embrace it.

The unknowns jut out like jagged rocks along a road of mountain switchbacks. But I know that perspective is not achieved when dwelling at the bottom so it’s time to put on my hiking boots and begin the ascent.

POST SCRIPT: All birdy photos are compliments of my bird-man-in-residence (the one who really makes my wings soar), SMB.

Everything is growing so ferociously in our garden that I decided it’d be fun to document the weekly harvest.

FRIDAY: Gorgeous gladiolas (a feast for the eyes), two tomatoes, and a yellow squash.

Monday: One Japanese eggplant, two zucchini, several tomatoes, two cucumbers, and a fistful of string beans.

Thursday: one butternut squash, one cucumber, six cat-sized zucchini!

Do you know any good zucchini recipes???

Seriously.

In order to explore the color-painted world of enamels, I took a two-year hiatus from working with gemstones. But lately these earth-toned beauties have been finding their way back into my work again in a series of necklaces.

Each necklace is designed to showcase the lovliness of each stone as a work of art that is framed by sterling silver and my signaure hammered textures. The motif that frames the stone is continued throughout the necklace in a chain that is hand-fabricated by me to relate the design as a whole.

Just like the stones I use, each necklace is one-of-a-kind. Be sure to visit my Etsy Shop to find these new beauties.

There are three necklaces in the collection so far. What do you think?

I have been re-reading “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran lately. The excerpt ON LOVE is beautiful and I’d like to have it read at our wedding next spring.

Two nights ago, with these questions burning in my mind, I randomly opened “The Prophet” and my eyes landed on this exerpt:

“Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.” – Kahlil Gibran

Speaking of work, I can’t wait for my studio day tomorrow so that I can share some of my new (jewelry) work with you!

This weekend I’ll be partaking in my first art show in Annapolis.

What: FIRST SUNDAY ARTS
Where: ANNAPOLIS, MD – on West Street
When: Sunday, June 7, from Noon to 5:00 p.m.

The fiance is working in Annapolis as I type this. He is the carpenter/caretake/plumber/renovator/whatever needs fixing extraordinare for one of the Historic Buildings in downtown Annapolis.

So, not only will you see ME on Sunday, but you will also get to meet the Mister, the Yin to my Yang, the amazing Fiance, SMB!

P.S. Due to the show in Annapolis, my Etsy shop will be closed on Sunday. So don’t delay if there’s something you’ve been meaning to snatch up; it might not come back from Annapolis with me, if it gets snatched up there instead. (: