Autumn

Happy first day of autumn.  Baby A.'s napping, but never in her crib since she was 3-4 months old.  The sound of construction is in the distance, the leaves are already turning color.  Fall is in the air despite the excessive heat wave we had a few weeks ago.  Thank goodness that's over and done with.  I'm hoping October will be a relative heat-free month.

Baby A. is a fall baby, as some of you know.  Thinking about this, I'm becoming sentimental.  I want to memorize her facial expressions, her already expansive vocabulary (40+ words) and how she says certain words, and the baby chub that is fading with every step she takes.  I want to remember it all.

August

With the end of summer fast approaching, I've been searching for glimpses of autumn in the world around me.  A sharper gust of wind, a cooler shift in the air, an early golden leaf.  Baby A. is my constant companion in these outdoor jaunts, peeping over my shoulder and looking high up into the clouds from her vantage point in the carrier.  I have to try pushing her around in the stroller because she's getting bigger and bigger - where does the time go?

Motherhood has become a sort of coming-of-age story for me, an awakening.  If I could go back in the past I'd tell myself to be kinder, to cut out the incessant worrying and the frustration because it's all happening for a reason.  The reason may be elusive in the moment, but there is always a point being made.

As the verdant colors of summer shift to those of autumn, I look forward to sharing my favorite season with my little one.  The golds and browns and oranges and reds.  The cozy sweaters and the hoodies.  I also look forward to celebrating her first birthday, helping her take her first steps, and taking road trips with her Daddy and her.  She already says 10+ words on her own; reading/studying books is her favorite pastime.

Happy Autumn

via Instagram

Been quiet around here.  Spending time outdoors to take in the start of autumn: the profuse colors, scents, and sounds.  The fog rolling in and then out, the stillness that abounds.  A heat wave has found its way here, and because of it I move languidly among the mums, blueberries, and dainty yellow daisies.  Hopefully this heat wave is short lived.  The earthy, rich colors though are here to stay as I stroll around and attempt to capture their beauty through the opportune lens of a smartphone.  Clumsily, quietly, I prevail.

New in Shop: Raven Book Page Envelopes

If you've been following along on Instagram, the subject of this blog post - raven book page envelopes - may look familiar.  This week, I added a set of 10 of these small handmade envelopes to my Etsy shop.  Spooky and perfect for Halloween gifting or parties, these delicate envelopes can also be used for your seasonal DIY projects and function as bookish Poe-esque home decor, too.

                            

Raven/Crow Book Page Envelopes

Close-up of the raven/crow image, which I stamp by hand using a rubber stamp and archival black ink.  Layout varies slightly per envelope, as does ink saturation.

These upcycled book pages each have a different visual text layout.

No top closure allows for use as tiny gift bags - tape the top closed with your washi tape of choice and you're all set.

Size-wise, these handmade envelopes are around 4" tall x 2.75" wide.

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See the listing here.

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Autumn/Fall Girl

via Pinterest

I'm definitely a dog person, but all else pretty much rings true!  And add family to the illustrated list and it's complete.  Ready for fall...

Bookish Frenzy

I've been creating more paper goods lately.  Book pages and glue, plus cardstock and stamps, have made up my down time since the days have been getting shorter.  Working with paper is a consistent, meticulous process that is comforting in its repetition and movement: a fold here, a straightening of edges there, a precise cut with scissors--or else the edges won't line up (blasphemy).  From palm to fingers, my hands turn black-gray from dried glue, neck tenses and shoulders ache from hunching over; tips and sides of fingers are sensitive from using scissors and tiny wood-mounted stamps.  It's tiring but genuinely worthwhile work.

There's something exhilarating about smoothing the corners of paper--and slowly running one's fingers across its subtle grain--that calms the soul.  Of pressing rubber stamps to paper and hearing, ever so softly, the edges meet and then separate, leaving a strategic mark in its place.  When making book page goods, I often catch myself reading the upcycled pages instead of creating something from them.  I read on, shifting my attention to a plot that I am obviously not following (the upcycled book pages are never in numerical order).  This is especially fun since I catch only glimpses of character development and plot; so to compensate, I make up the rest of the story in my head.  The result is always messy, with a strange turn of events and a quirky ending--and never does the novel justice--but it is still a fun process.

Maybe it's the meditative, tactile nature of making paper goods that catches me: wily imagination and all.

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Thank you to Fantasy Faction (The Hybrid Writer) and Life of a Female Bibliophile 

for featuring my bookish work...

Golden

Above is a new favorite photo of mine.  It's of a leaf collected during a stop on the way home from our road trip to Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park nearly a month ago, which I've documented here.  The leaf is huge: bigger than my hand, as wide as a face--in these parts, we rarely get leaves this big.  And the color is so deliciously golden, with a dappled hint of warm honey amber bordering on burnt cinnamon.

When we arrived home that night, I pressed the giant leaf flat under a heavy textbook in the hopes of preserving its delightful, intoxicating fall scent.  When this picture was taken a week ago, the arboreal scent still remained, lightly preserved, reminding me of walking at dusk in the thrilling chill of a November evening--along the empty cobblestone streets of an old, old town.

Autumn Inspiration: Book Page Leaves

A few nights ago, I came up with an interesting (if not mundane) idea: trace a dried autumn leaf onto upcycled book pages.  These were not any ordinary book pages--they were gently hand-cut from Sylvia Plath's esoteric poetry collection, Ariel.  This being said, I felt that I had to treat these pages with the revered care that they deserved.  The results are as shown here, with each delicate book-page leaf traced and cut by hand (no die cuts or stencils were used), allowing for slight variances per leaf due to issues related to hand-eye coordination and the physical act of cutting paper with scissors.  Like autumn leaves, I was afraid that these paper leaves would crumble under my fingers; fall between here and there.  But no, they're sturdy enough for the Plath lover to read bits and pieces of her work on each.  It's just the stems that are delicate enough to fall if tugged slightly, which you can see in the image below.

I was surprised that the dried autumn leaf held up to my heavy-handed tracing around it--only a few bits of the edges fell off.

Now my immediate concern is what project(s) to use these book page leaves for.  I have some winter packaging ideas for these, since the stems are so delicate, instead of listing them for sale.  Perhaps some holiday-ish acrylic paint or layer of sealant will do the trick?

New Work in Progress

Here are some new jewelry designs that I've been working on and have been wanting to share with you.  Lots of ambient moodiness here, with dark colors, as well as single-color gradients and flashes of blue (thanks to lovely labradorite).  I apologize that the photo quality is not so great--autumnal light always does this to me.  If the photo coloration doesn't take on a blue or gold tint, then it's dark, dark, dark.  Even with help from photo editing tools.

Feel free to enlarge the image for a better view.

Some of these pretties are already listed for sale in my shop if you're interested in checking them out.  Even with my struggle with fall lighting, I've been keeping only the product photos that accurately depict how the piece looks like in person--needless to say, photo sessions have been longer than usual lately.  As always, my product listings include detailed close-up shots with an accompanying (lengthy) description of the item.  I can't help it if I feel the urge to describe the piece from all angles, note the coloration and faceting (at different angles), in addition to the size (in a photo: next to a clear point measurement, or held in hand), the latter of which I occasionally type in the listing description itself if I feel that the images are not well-rounded enough to convey true measurements.  I think I'm too much of a perfectionist sometimes, but that's okay!

New in Shop: Labradorite Pendants and a Ring

Delicate Large Labradorite Pear Focal Pendant

Simple Delicate Thin Copper Ring Pendant

Faceted Labradorite Teardrop Pendant

Harvesting for Fall

Oh autumn, how I am so happy that you are now here.  In the time between writing for clients and for myself too, I've been harvesting for fall, anticipating and hopeful for a drizzly and wet next few seasons.  I've felt my creativity swell under the gentle crispness of fall in the air, more detectable now than it was last week during our autumn heatwave; felt fall stir up excitement-filled emotions in me--mostly in hopes of working while donning a cozy sweater over my normal clothes, sipping milk-tinged chai tea or taking in the smoky scent of freshly brewed, comforting coffee that will permeate the room.  Reaching for the great outdoors to instill bountiful autumn colors into my expanding, pulsating field of vision, I hope for a consistent rhythm--a creative drumming of beat amid the white-noise of rain and the visual of fall leaves--to carry me through the next few months as I plan for the busy holiday season.

Anticipation

I've been smelling bits and pieces of autumn in the air lately--a barely detectable crispness layered delicately between the humidity and Indian summer that have lingered for most of the year.  It's a certain light shift in the air that precedes the first falling leaf.

Crime and Punishment has been my book of choice as of late.  It's a gruesome exploration of nineteenth-century morality, as well as a scathing social commentary that transcends (as all good literature does) the time period in which it is based.  C&P is intriguingly dark, focuses inward, and is delightfully, even wickedly, complex.  On occassion, I have re-read a page or paragraph multiple times in order to grasp the full meaning, which I felt was slipping beyond me.  Dostoevsky was indeed a master storyteller.  For instance, in this work, the reader can visualize minute details of each scene through his sharp observations: from the characters clothing, to their mannerisms, to the feeling of the very room (and its lighting) in which they stand.  Two months in, I'm only on page 158 (about 1/3 of the way through), which I consider to be a slow but steady accomplishment.  It's an English translation of the original text.

This year, our autumn mums have budded and bloomed unsteadily year-round.  It's been odd to see vibrant bursts of rust red, goldenrod, and bright yellow throughout the year, almost garish even.  Yet, I am looking forward to see what these autumn mums do when fall really arrives--I hope it's a grand old show.  I bet I'll still be reading C&P then; hopefully our weather will be closer to the weather depicted in the novel by that time.

September: First Cold Snap

Hello, September.  I hope that you indeed bring the first cold snap of the season--and lots of rain to go with it.  In the meantime, check out this cozy autumn Etsy Treasury that I was featured in: First Cold Snap.  

To tell you the truth, I've been in full-on-autumn-mood mode these past few weeks (yearning to wear sweaters in August, sip hot chai tea all day, etc.), so seeing this Treasury--which includes everything that I love about the upcoming season--has been a sumptuous, visual feast for the senses.  Thanks to Leah at The Black Spruce for the feature!

Mid-Season Jewelry Designs

Citrine point pendant 

Here are new EmeraldCut jewelry designs made just this past week.  The lighting is a bit pensive and moody, since we've had overcast skies and muggy weather.  (If you're interested, I've sort of chronicled this weather here.)  I know I've been late in creating these, as my goal to make some new pieces in late spring didn't quite happen...

Huge amethyst point pendant

By didn't quite happen, I mean that I became sidetracked.  However, these beauties, in my opinion, make up for my procrastination, as each of these stones are really one of a kind.  

Light cognac citrine point pendant 

For instance, I like to refer to the above citrine point color as light cognac: a rich, silky medium-golden-yellow color with tinges of amber.  Not shown in the photo is the cool semi-bifurcated point.

Peach moonstone pendant 

The above pendant showcases a beautifully faceted pear-shaped peach moonstone.  The stone has a lightly chatoyant (aka cat's eye effect) luster at certain angles.  I think this piece would be a graceful-yet-eye-catching addition to summer wedding attire.

Rainbow moonstone nugget pendant 

Adding new rainbow moonstone pendants to my shop has been in the back of my mind for the past two seasons.  Here is a new one--isn't it gorgeous?  The above stone teems with deep blue, yellow, and orange flashes of color when moved about.  It's interesting how, when not held at certain angles, this particular rainbow moonstone appears to be a plain, pure white stone with numerous cloudy striations!  (That's actually what I love about rainbow moonstones such as this: their unassuming beauty.)  

"Ametrine" point pendant 

As you may know, just about all citrine on the market is heated amethyst due to the geological abundance of lush, natural amethyst stone.  Citrine and amethyst are types of quartz.  The above stone is called "ametrine," which is the term for quartz stones that exhibit both amethyst and citrine colors.  I only noticed this unique characteristic when I photographed the pendant and saw minute purple areas above the golden point (not shown in the above image).  I've worked with many citrine points past and present, but this is the only one that has exhibited both amethyst and citrine colorations!

  

Amethyst point pendant 

This amethyst point stone showcases translucent light-to-medium purple hues in the point amid a translucent white quartz base.  Beautiful symmetry and a well-defined chiseled point makes for a coveted piece of jewelry.

Below is what I call the two hearts "mystery stone" pendant.  The backstory is that I received these stones (they are indeed stones rather than composed of synthetic-type material, which is seen in the inclusions and composition of each stone) in a pack of miscellaneous, rustic gems.  I thought it would be lovely to create a simple pendant that carries the hearts vertically, giving the piece a sweet aesthetic with both hearts visible.  I doubly secured the argentium sterling silver wire at the bottom for added security.  

Two hearts "mystery stone" pendant

Two other heart-shaped stones from this miscellany stone stash can be seen in this donation pendant for sale in my shop.

These mid-season designs will be added to my shop in the next few months, just in time for autumn.  This year has really gone by, hasn't it?  And with all items that I showcase on this here blog before I physically list them for sale, my blog readers get first dibs (contact me on Etsy to reserve a piece)!

P.S. It's been so long since I've had one, so I'm gearing up for a giveaway.  Check back soon for all the important details!  

Autumn Leaves Pressed in Old Books

Autumn leaves pressed in old books,
 March 2014

My favorite 2014 image taken to date.  However, since it's only March of this year, I hope to take many more shots as the year progresses--as both documentation and art.

January

It's been a thoughtful break, but now I am back into things full swing.  January saw the first of our much belated autumn-winter (our fall season consisted of a cold spell that lasted for about two weeks in early-to-mid November); it was a January autumn-winter that lasted all of a handful of days, for the temperature here has ranged anywhere from the low-to-high 60s for the last few weeks now.  While much of the Midwest has experienced (near) record-high snowfall and blustery, below-freezing temperatures this month, such as Detroit with Chicago close behind, we have experienced a milder form of the tropics here.  I was actually looking forward to wearing my scarves and long-sleeved shirts this winter, but with this dubious weather, my much coveted scarves and long-sleeved shirts will likely see little wear...  

That being said, the fog rolled in early last evening, and with it came a slight cool down in temperature.  Thank goodness!  Rain is even expected in the forecast.  Let's first see if Mother Nature throws us a curve ball.

Leaves collected in January 2014

Not that I'm complaining too much about the unseasonably warm weather because the above leaves collected earlier this month were beyond stunning, even if they were two months behind schedule in terms of coloration.  The poor daisies are even budding; my Thumbelina Leigh Lavender is throwing off tiny new shoots.  Our hummingbirds stayed, but now we are down to only one, and on occasion, two.

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With Valentine's Day coming up, I've gone heart-crazy mad.  Coming from a person who isn't big on celebrating, this is quite a strange turn of events.  Perhaps there is a link between the blurring and skipping over of seasons and festive holiday giddiness--a similar event to, perhaps, seasonal affective disorder.  The "evidence" is shown below:

All for sale in my shop.  Call me a "crazy-heart lady" if you must, but have you been on Etsy lately?  It's like red heart central on there since December 24th.  It's pretty, it's festive, and it's all about love--so I will not critique nor dwell upon this subject any further.

Speaking of love, I found the below Etsy listing and found it appropriate (as well as witty):

MaryKralDesigns

Hope you are having a great year so far.  I look forward to blogging more in the coming months and years because January 2014 was an anomaly of sorts.

When It Rained

A few short weeks ago, it finally rained.  The heavens let out a long-awaited sigh and heaved its contents onto the ground below.  Prior to this rainstorm, which lasted two entire days, our area had received a measly 2-inches of rain in all of 2013.  A paltry sum, for sure.  Now we are hovering around 5 inches, give or take.  It was not a torrential downpour like it was in neighboring towns and cities, but the rain of a few weeks ago was a sight for sore eyes: a grand, watery display of awesome proportions.

There's something about the crisp, transient quality of clean air after a good autumn rain, especially after a rainstorm that lasted for more than a few hours.  It's soothing and revelatory--the smell of soaked asphalt and rotting leaves and all, revealing the inseparable layers of life underneath, the living within the cracks and the nooks and crannies of street life that peek out only during the rainy season in the form of vibrant green growth.  The best part however, post-rainstorm, are the photos to be taken.

I am a sucker for photographing in natural light the color green and drops of water.  I cannot help it, for it is a nice, temporary departure from the indoor photography of items for sale, a necessary break from the hectic back and forth of the holiday season; it is a measure of sanity.

For me, true vulnerability, human emotion, and spontaneous creativity can only be fully accessed away from the technological advances of humankind, even if only for a little while.  This is why I pay homage to when it rained those few weeks ago.

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This post is for my husband,
who showed me many things
beyond the horizon.

October Photo-A-Day Challenge

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October, above.

I'm glad to have completed this photo-a-day challenge for October because I doubt that I would have done so in November, with daylight savings time soon approaching and shorter days ahead.  Some shots I scrambled for, others I meticulously carried out.  A connecting theme is shadow and light, as well as texture and depth.  I'm very much a macro shot person, so working with objects in landscape and portrait-type photography has been a welcome challenge.

Cozy Gift Guide

January Sun Yarnworks

Cadron Creations

the Yarn Kitchen

Dear Pony 

Let's Backtrack

Ellaina Boutique

Aren't they cozy and gorgeous?

Fall, Onward

I sure hope you got my humor in the last post.  Moving on, gracefully of course, the weather around here has been varying within 15+ degrees for the last few weeks.  One day is skin-burning weather while the next urges you to wear a sweater over a t-shirt.  Much to my surprise, today is one of those sweater weather days, as is/will be the rest of the week, which so drastically differs from a short week ago.  It's finally feeling like fall around here.  So it's not quite my fault that I recently began to crave drinking coffee and eating dark chocolate all day long--a questionable coping mechanism in anticipation of more crisp, late autumn weather to come.  All I need for accompaniment is a good read, and the afternoon is set.  Fall, onward, I say!

On the EmeraldCut shop front, I've many new designs swirling around in my head for late autumn/winter.  One of these new pieces, which is shown above, is now for sale in my shop.  It's a vintage book-page words poem on birch, which gives the work a festive, rustic, wintery aesthetic.  Will share more items once I put my ideas into motion.  Thanks for all the support.