Flower Power

For Xmas my lovely friend gifted me

this beautiful necklace.

 

Apparently the person who made it

hand dyed the lace that she brought from Japan.

 

It was tres cher

and I never would have bought it for myself.

(Thus the perfect gift!)

 

I couldn't find the artist's name alas

or I would credit her here.

 

It's so lovely in fact,

sooo lovely,

that I tried my hand at making my own version.

 

 

The original version is more fantastic

 in lots of subtle ways

 

But, after much trial and error I figured out

how to duplicate the stamen.

 

My lace is from down the street and it came this colour.

 

But I LOVE it too!

 

Much like the dolls I finished sweating over,

after spending the time to hand tie the knots...

 

Sew the lace to the bead caps, filaments to the beads

and build the delicate pieces together

 

the price that I thought was initially so outrageous

 

 

seems totally justified.

 

These handmade details take time people!

 

Now go frequent your local artisans!

 

And thanks to the mystery woman who brought

this beautiful piece of artistry into my world.

And the smarty pants who gifted it to me!

Giveaway Day at Sew Mama Sew

Here's my offering:

It's a birdie themed choker necklace.

 Measuring 2.5" x 15.5

The giveaway closes May 25th

Reversible.

It is made from organic oatmeal linen.

 

It's hand stamped, machine & hand embroidered.



With lace, applique and button embellishments.



To win this little accoutrement
please leave a comment saying why
you would like this little fella to come live with you.

Be sure to include your email so I can contact you when you win!

Feel free to include your address as
you(at)flyandnest(.com)
if you are worried about
putting your email out in cyberspace.

I will select randomly from a hat.
Or more likely, a 2 year old will.

For two chances, become a follower!

I'll ship internationally so welcome everyone!

And, thanks for visiting.

The Elements

I get all misty around this season.

After people speed up in a frenzy of Xmas preparation,

I relish the slow down.

The true holiday time.

That sacred commitment to call or visit with loved ones

and be present to take the call

in person

in a deep way

'tis the season after all.

There is this little spot in our house

that has lived with an alphabet illustration for a few years.

Well, shorty number 2 yoinked it down in a bluster.

It's right above the recycling and in a year or so

I imagine 2 phat frames

with rotating art work from the height challenged set.

Until then, it needs a little love.

And then the original wee one needed a little love too.

Mostly the 3 1/2 year old needed extra love

because she spent a lot of time running naked around a giraffe.

I wish that that was a euphemism

 or metaphor for something profound.

But no, I mean literally running naked around a giraffe

pigtails flying.

On and on and on.

Definitely something to note.

And, well, that's just the sort of behaviour I want to get behind.

It's likely that each of us would benefit from spending a portion of our day running naked

around something

or someone.

Kids are weird.

Isn't it great?

But, I digress.

Speaking of metaphor...

I love the juxtaposition of hard and soft.

I love this faker crochet rock wearing a sweater.

I love a reminder to soften all the hard bits in life,

when we can.

The thoughts,

the deeds

the driving finger.

(...isn't that what gloves are for?

the middle finger condom for the bird when you set it aflight

 at the hummer that ran over your psychic toe?)

It's not even a frightening Xmas sweater with a nose that lights!

What can I say, I even like my minerals cozy.

Thanks to kootoyoo.com for the cheat.

May your cockles by warm and loved

whether naked, or otherwise.