o, world.

{rocky} little things.

A box of quartz crystals I've had since I was small, and sift through often.

{wonderfully} Busy.

So much happened this week{+end}. My afterschool art classes finally got into full swing. The kids painted, glued, drew, collaged, sculpted and built. I got a sticker that said 'I love you', more hugs than I can recall getting in the last several months, and two drawings of Wolverine.

I went to the thrift for the first time in awhile, where I bought several wonderful things: a cracked, kelly green coin purse that is essentially useless but un-pass-up-able, being practically perfect in every way (very green, very old, very tiny), an old, red leather bag with a very confusing strap, and...



...which quickly, excitedly became...



I made a necklace for a friend's wife...



...and something I can't show you quite yet with these Moo cards.



I spent Saturday wandering around Cincinnati, which kept my over-excited (Moo cards! Silverware to slice up! Tiny coin purses! *falls over*) brain from burning out, and made for some lovely photo ops.



The light was perfect, and I took more pictures than I had in a long time.



And now I'm here, catching up on emails, looking forward to tomorrow's dinner with my parents, and to next week's finishing of above-mentioned projects and the start, inevitably, of a few new ones.

Links I Love {The You Learn Something New Every Day Edition}

I never knew - okay, I never gave much thought to - why leaves fall off trees. I came upon this post on NPR, and it satisfied my general love of knowing random facts about random things, complete with a little etymology and biology thrown in for good measure. If nothing else, check it out for the gorgeous plant cell photo midway through the article. Just lovely.

Swoon.

Okay, one, how gorgeous is that photo?, and two, EMERALD COLORED MINERAL MASCARA. I am particular, meticulous, anal, obsessive - the list goes on, really - about mascara. If it's too clumpy/thick it makes me look old and strange. If it makes my already long eyelashes curl too much, I look ridiculously done up. When I have money (ha!) I just get my eyelashes dyed, which is my favorite, though I could do with a bit more volume. Which brings me to the above-mentioned EMERALD COLORED VEGAN ALL NATURAL MINERAL MASCARA. Yes, I am shouting, because it is awesome. And, really, I should also shout - but I will spare you - that it comes in sapphire, aubergine (deep purple), black, brown, dark brown and bronze as well. I really think it's my perfect mascara. Billed as a lash paint, it promises to condition lashes while making them stand out. And it comes in a tin! A tin, friends. A fabulous, vintage style, mascara cake that will make your eyelashes look long, keep them soft and healthy, and, well, you heard me, it comes in EMERALD. Sold.

Crafty.

Aren't these (vintage! glass!) cabochons kind of amazing? That bark texture is just perfect, and the color absolutely glows. Of course, being an experimenter, an 'Okay, yes, they're pretty much perfect, but wouldn't they be even more perfect if we tried this?' breed of person, I wanted to see what they would look like if I etched them. So, I etched a few, and I am (see, it was worth it!) so happy I did - the result is the same color, only wonderfully muted, with the texture defined in a really subtle, fabulous way.


Can I make a confession now? I bought these cabs knowing - KNOWING - I wouldn't use them in my own work. I just wanted to have them, and look at them on my studio's Shelf of Pretty Things, and maybe get them out and touch my fingers along the beautiful texture every once in awhile. But, once I etched a few, and saw how perfectly autumn-esque (can't you picture them in a darkly oxidized setting, hanging from a long chain or set into a ring?) they were, I decided to offer them for sale in the shop. You can check out more photos there, and wait patiently (or not so patiently; I won't judge) until tomorrow, Nov. 1, when they'll debut!