Birch Bark House Charm

On a walk yesterday, I spied some white birch trees with long strands of hanging, peeling bark.  I told my hubs that I HAD to have some!  He is used to my constant scavenging...so he waited patiently while I gathered it up!  When I got home, I covered a funky little house charm with it.  I love it!  It's so natural and light...it seems cozy...like a good place for a little bird to wait out the winter...

Etsy Fave!

I cannot express how much I enjoy perusing The Frantic Meerkat on Etsy!  I have purchased a few items from her but always check back to see what's new!  I always find myself giggling when I browse her shop and my daughter always calls up to me "Mom, what's so funny?"...to which I reply, "You wouldn't understand".  You really have to visit The Frantic Meerkat to see for yourself!  

My Funky Little Houses Hit the Big Time!

A few months ago, I was contacted by Interweave to do a "how to" for Handcrafted Jewelry magazine.  I was thrilled to do it!  Little did I know, they would put my humble little houses on the cover!!!  I'm shocked, thrilled and totally freaked out!  My hands were shaking and I couldn't think straight for at least two hours!  I'm so grateful for the exposure, for the cover...and that something I made is considered good enough to show the masses.  It's humbling and fun!

Too many dictionaries!

I've become a collector of vintage dictionaries.  Not because I particularly love dictionaries, but I do love making these pendants out of old glass watch crystals...which requires fabulous dictionary illustrations.  So I pick them up at yard sales, thrift stores, antiques shops...and its very hard to throw them away.  What if I discover another word that inspires me and I want to extract it from every dictionary I have?  If I throw them away, I won't have them.  What if I overlooked a fabulous illustration?  What if I find a use for the incredible aged pages that were rejected for this project?  And the arguments go on as the books pile up!  Did I mention that some dictionaries are very big?  They are.  They take up lots of space.  Have  you seen the humungous ones that are literally 10 inches thick?  I have a couple of them.  They're actually pretty cheap to buy...because people can't find anyplace to PUT them...trust me on this!  I don't really know what to do.  Yes, I know, I could bite the bullet and chuck 'em....but what if....?
See my dilemma?
:o)

Featured!!

One of my funky little house charms has been featured on Jenny Doh's blog!  You can see it here!
Thanks Jenny!