Lucid Dreaming White and Monkstone Earrings

Here are two sets of earrings.  The first set is with what I am calling lucid dreaming white because the beads have a beautiful luminance.  They also have the striped African beads and the second pair has bronze colored beads. 

The next set, also just two pairs, is made with monkstone beads.  This sparkly brown stone is more widely known as goldstone.  These earrings have an Egyptian inspiration.

Carrie's Cozies

 

As I post this I am hoping none of the gift recipients are following the blog!  Highly unlikely, I'd say.  Above we have a really cute gift idea: these little cozy covered jars are going to be made into smoothie sippy cups for kids.  Below are the cozies for the VOSS water bottle.  Fall colors camo with handle came out beautifully.  Thanks goes to Carrie for her creative and fun order.

Shaman Hat

Here is a very exciting hat that I have been wanting to make for a while.  It was originally inspired by the amazing hats worn by the indians in Peru.  They are brightly colored with peaks and tassles and earflaps and sometimes beaded- definately a lot of time goes into them and they are very special. They are often worn by guides and shamans.  This one was inspired by my friend who is a long time hat fancier and always picks out the cream of the crop.  This time he put in a request and here is the result.  He admired the yellow ribbon from the white earflap hat as seen in an earlier post.  This hat has neon orange and gold ribbon which is from Peru.  The other countries of origin for the materials are: Mexico, Brazil and Guatemala.  I could say much more about it but I will leave it at that. 

Below: I love how the metallic threads from Guatemala are on bamboo spools.

Winter Handwarmers

 Here is the newest batch of handwarmers.  Flowers and sparklies.  Solid dark blue and solid black for the guys.  Gold rings and rasta stripes.  

 Above: gold and silver made with metalic gold and silver thread in the flowers.  Below: yes, it is true, Valentine's day is coming up!  Those are with irradecent sparkly white flowers. 

Maasai-Inspired Beaded Loop Earrings

 These new earrings were inspired by the jewelry of the Maasai- a colorful people of Kenya, Africa.  The earrings are made with bronze cones and seed beads, some of which are striped wich is something I see often in African beads.  I aslo created a striped effect by alternating black and white beads. 

New Back-to-School Beanies

Brown and beige and grey and red, with pom-pom and ribbed edge.

Blessingway Flower Crowns

Here is Catherine (above) and Lori (below), expecting mothers. We have parties to bless them and their babies.  One of the rituals is crowning them with a beautiful headress of fresh flowers.  I feel so inspired when I am making the crowns and so proud of the finished result!  They are made with: lion's sage, white sage, mexican sage, roses, hibiscus, lavender, eucaliptus, pine, redwood, fern, peruvian lilies, honeysuckle, mallow, passionflower and rue to name most of the plants.  With my horticultural background and artistic ability, I know I could be a great florist.

San Diego + New Loops and Stars Earrings

 Here I am with the hats and earrings at the boardwalk in Pacific Beach.  Below is La Jolla Cove, beautiful source of inspiration and my favorite place to swim with the seals and the fishes.  Look how clear that water is!

 Above is a new pair of loop earrings with aqua bugle beads, gold cones, and what I call "African beads", striped beads.  Below is another pair of new loops with dark blue bugle beads and bronze colored beads as well as bronze cones.  The little stars are with faceted black beads and bronze colored beads.

Organic Cotton Beanies

 

I'm pleased by the interest people have shown in the organic cotton beanies because working with this material is a delight.  It is soft and natural and a healthy alternative for humans and the environment.  Here I have three colors: cream, rust brown, and grey brown.  Or, as the yarn company calls them: macadamia, walnut, and peacan!

December Flowers

I love the combination of red and gold.  The small flowers remind me of pointsettias.These are great holiday earrings that I am personally going to be wearing year-round.  I also have a white pair with turquoise green details that go with many outfits and are simple and feminine.  

Made With Love

Sparkling green love birds.  South American design. 

 

 

These are very Indian inspired colors.

Pinks, oranges, and blue violet.  The two on the right are made with wool.

Some new wool fade beanies made with "noro" brand yarn from Japan.

Gold, purple and black brimmed, button caps, now with bright gold hearts!

Rainbow Blast-off

Bronze Cones

Long, elegant, colorful yet simple design.   

 The pair above is very African inspired and has monkstone, amber, and turquoise blue glass beads.  The pair below is with teal blue acai beads an monkstone beads.

 The pair above have black and red seeds.  Below is the bead inspiration: a real huichol indian bracelet and a blue beaded purse. 

Some Beanies!

 Above at left: a favorite design of mine I call San Clemente, with brown wool\acrylic blend, multi-colored wool, and a beige stripe at the bottom.  Center is grey alpaca from Peru; it has some faint red highlights to it and is very soft.  Right is also a softy; the mustard-colored stripes are also Peruvian alpaca. 

 Above is a light, spacious beanie with room for some hair and an open knit for good air flow. 

Below is a beanie made with some of my favorite wool- noro wool from Japan.  It is always exciting to watch the colors of the yarn change before my eyes as I work; each ball produces a completely unique hat.  The colors here would be dark red, brown, beige, yellow, pink and blue. 

 Below is another natural fibers beanie, made with some new yarn I discovered from Lion's Brand; it is 100% organic cotton. This hat also has an open weave.  The cotton has a nice weight to it and is extra soft.   Also available in dread sizes and in light green. 

New Earring Designs

 Above is a simple design involving acai seeds and macrame string.  The earrings below are made with little white seashells I collected at a place called Praia de Sono, Sleep Beach, in Brazil.  Both designs are very light-weight and I love the sound of the shell ones; they sound like waves rolling over the shore. 

Mar Pacifico

In Cuba, hibiscus flowers are called Mar Pacifico which means Pacific Ocean.  I always liked that because the hibiscus is so symbolic of the islands of the Pacific Ocean; the name makes perfect sense to me.  So here is that symbol on my new summer hats, in a red, green and gold batik-dyed style.  They are one-of-a-kind and there are only two left! (at least until I find that specific fabric again someday)

Roots Earrings 2013

These are the latest coconut earrings I made with "coquinhos"  which I collected on the beach in Brazil and then sawed in half, sanded, and drilled.  I bought the cowries and red seeds but the other pieces of coconut I cut into shapes myself.  The round, tan-colored acai seeds came straight from the land where acai palms grow abundantly.  I was able to polish them using a "rola-rola" tumbler that my dad made from recycled machine parts.  

Newborn Baby Naya

Here is Naya at three or four days old wearing her new hat with her mother Luisa.  So sweet!

Abundance and Beauty

 Above is Marcelo with the harvest from the farm in Brazil: bananas, palm heart, oranges, and acai berries.  I used the fibers from the frond which the berries are on to weave a mat (below). On the mat is a oil pastel I did of the view looking out over the valley with the acai palm and the moon rising and pink clouds at sunset.   

 Below are some beaded earrings I made which were inspired by the pink and blue sunsets at the land.

 I love this sand art!  Tropical sunset colors.