I Made my first Treasury on Treasury East!

Hi, friends,
It took me forever to figure out how to do this, but I curated my first treasury on Treasury East and I'd love it if you took a look at it and maybe even commented.  Here is the link.  It's a celebration of Cinco de Mayo and all the saturated colors and delight I associate with Latino culture.

Enjoy.

Click here to go to the treasury.

Filigree and Fiddle-dee-dee to Fashion

There are lots of blogs telling you what to wear.  I won't do that.  I am going to tell you to have fun with your jewelry.

Why not?  I have fun making it.  I'm always on the look-out for interesting materials and juicy gems.  I love the hunt.

For instance, I recently found these antique brass filigrees that remind me of flowers, and combined them with gorgeous golden freshwater pearls and sundrops of citrine.  And Voila!

They'd be lots of fun, especially on someone with light-colored blonde to red hair, or short hair of any color.  Very feminine and Victorian feeling ~ like one of my favorite flowers, the fuchsia.

I have more citrine, if anyone wants a nice little necklace to go with these earrings.

GEM LORE: Pearls are very fashionable this year, but do you know they have healing properties as well?  Pearls are cooling and soothing, can help balance emotions, and symbolize purity.  They are very absorbent of whatever the wearer feels, but when pared with citrine, which deflects negativity, the energy is very balanced.

El espíritu de la fiesta. The Spirit of Fiesta

En español or in English, the word fiesta stands on its own these days.  The word fiesta connotes more food, more music, more color than the word party does.  Many parties are joyful, colorful and fun, but not all.  I expect a fiesta to be wonderful.

There are pity-parties and home-shopping parties at which you are enticed to buy Tupperware, and those uncomfortable to escape parties: familial days of guilty obligation. Who among us, not having the proper stylish attire, hasn't tried to fade into the wallpaper at some chi-chi soiré ? Would you long to hide at a real, live fiesta?  Probably not.

You'd show your true self, because that's who was invited.

The espíritu, or spirit of a fiesta, is the festival, or celebration of a feast day.  Originally these were spiritual or religious in nature, and that may be why they're different.  At a true fiesta the host is more concerned with the welfare of the guests, the celebration, than in selling Tupperware, or an idea of oneself as stylish decorator or gourmet cook.  At a true fiesta the hostess splurges on food, music and the children's piñata before her dress and the silverware.

(That's why I designed my Fiesta Collection of celebratory jewelry with affordability and joyful color in mind.)

WHAT MAKES A FIESTA, OR REAL LIVE PARTY JOYOUS FOR YOU? I'd love to read your comments.

¡Bondad!
 Click here to be my guest on Etsy!

I Love Water

I have just returned from a wonderful weekend trip to one of my favorite places in the world: Silver Falls State Park in Silverton, Oregon.  Inspired by my love of water, I made this necklace before I left.

Here are some photos of the water falls as well.

There are Ten Waterfalls in all at Silver Falls.

One of the  most beautiful places to be in Oregon.

Things to Consider When Shopping

Most manufactured items in the USA are made in China under difficult, even unhealthy conditions.  This includes jewelry available at stores, even high-end department stores.  It is worthwhile to consider, before buying: is this item something that supports unhealthy, unsustainable conditions?

No matter how cheaply one may purchase an item, if it is something that will hurt you, the person making it, or even you (because of unhealthy ingredients like lead paint), it is not really cheap.  In fact, it is very expensive.  It is good to be aware and ask questions of retailers.

It is not always easy to know what is involved in the making of your treasures.  Suffice it to say that here in the Heart Space workshop, I do my best to ascertain the origin of all the stones and materials I use.  I take special care because I care about my own health, your health and the health of the planet.  I may not get rich making my art and jewelry, but I am having a wonderful time.

Here is a beautiful lilac-grey agate pendant on a twisted glass bead necklace.  The agate slice is from inside a geode.

New in Shop for Spring!

Hi Friends,
I hope you are anticipating spring with happy hearts.  At Heartspace at Etsy, I have posted several new jewelry pieces.  I feel very creative right now, just thinking of the garden about to burst into bloom.  Come visit HeartSpace. Here's one photo to whet your appetite.

http://www.heartspace.etsy.com
P.S. - This year I'm donating 10% of what I make on Etsy to World Vision in Haiti. I have a little girl I support there, but I haven't heard how she's doing since the quake.  Please keep Suaveline in your hearts.

Colores de la Primavera

Colores de la Primavera: the colors of spring - how we love the joyfulness of these!  If you are recycling old clothes this spring, think of adding brightly colored accessories to cheer your look.  Two colors that are on the vanguard for spring are turquoise blue and of course, bright green.  I love the numinous quality of light through waxy new leaves.  Today I am featuring new earrings with this color quality in stone and glass.

Spring is coming, yes, she is!  And you have my permission (as if you needed it) to prepare for her with great gusto. What will you do to color your life?

Don't be afraid to splash color around yourself: accessories, flowers, even your walls.  It can be as simple as tucking a sprig of hyacinth into your buttonhole, or as dramatic as painting a whole wall your favorite color (paint is relatively cheap). Color has the ability to renew the spirit.  And what better time to renew than spring?

Something Small with Great Love

This locket hides a mini-shrine and a quote from Mother Teresa:

"We can do no great things,
only small things with great love."


My intention was to create something handsome, that could be worn anywhere, but would hold the secret close to one's heart, ready to be opened in times when extra encouragement or prayer is needed.

The locket closes securely with a magnet and will not pop open.  The beaded rosary chain is sturdy and attractive.  The little sequins are vintage 1940's and the tiny Guadalupe portrait is cut from a photo.

If these mini shrines are popular I will gather lockets to make more.  Let me know if there is a particular quote or image that inspires you.

Ride the Changing Tide on Etsy

It feels like I am riding a changing tide. At the end of my first year on Etsy, I'm pondering how to survive the economic crisis and still grow my Etsy site.  There's so much I would do with my site, if I had more capital to invest.  I would make a lot more jewelry, advertise more and certainly expand my options.  I have made a vow not to create debt while starting this small business, and that has kept my business small.  I have made ten sales this year, though I have made more sales off line at trunk shows and craft fairs.  Ten sales feels too small.

I enjoy making jewelry, but I've other work to do, too.  I would enjoy hearing from those of you with Etsy businesses how you find time to grow your business and do whatever other jobs you have.  I will share some of the things that have been storming my brain and look forward to your ideas, too.

Claire's Ideas for Growing Business

1. Make simpler, quicker jewelry, which can be sold for less.  
2. Repeat designs instead of making "one-of-a-kind."
3. Find a less expensive source and recycle materials.
4. Diversify what I make to include non-jewelry items (there's a glut of jewelry on Etsy).
5. Find a good, active Street Team on Etsy.  I love the team I have, but I maybe need another.
6. Advertise myself more off-line.
7. Focus on preparing for a few big craft shows and fairs and participate big time.
8. Guard my spare time with a passion so I don't get burned-out.
9. Passionately uphold my schedule, with an eye for boundary busters. (They don't know who they are, poor things, but they suck up a lot of my energy for my work.  Only I can create my boundaries - and only I can enforce them.)
10. And I will be aware of the fact I am learning and not compare myself to other artists. 

I will honor that I am doing the best I can, even in those times when I need to do better.

So tell me all of you out there in Etsy Land - any advice for growing my business, without going into debt or spending too much? How do you guard your time for other things?  What has served you well?  What hasn't?

To Wonder at Beauty, Stand Guard over Truth

LABYRINTH AT CHARTRES

As the year spins to an end, I hope all is well at your house.  I  offer these words attributed to Rudolf Steiner, philosopher and mystic of the early 20th century (revised for inclusivity):

To wonder at beauty,


stand guard over truth,


look up to the noble,


decide for the good,


leads all on their journeys


to goals for our lives.


These words work well to say to oneself at the beginning of a walk, especially a labyrinth walk, if you do such things. Even if you don't, life can be a labyrinth, the twists and turns confusing. I love the expression that all those who wander are not lost. I would like to add wonder to my wandering, especially when I feel lost, and find the beauty in the place I am.  

May you find wonder, beauty, truth, nobility and good to lead your goals for 2010.  

The Special Gift: Have You Found What You're Looking For?

Something New: Red Tiger Eye, Garnet, Jasper &Copper

I love giving gifts.  I don't always have much to spend, but how I love figuring out a way within my means to bring a look of pleasure to someone, along with the sense that they are appreciated and understood by me.  At the end of this blog post, I will share some of my free or low-cost ideas for gifts.  If you can afford very reasonably priced jewelry items, I recommend you visit my Etsy site to do some carefree gift-shopping. I will even gift wrap for you and postage within the USA is free this season.


I hope that my ready-made designs will please some, but I am always open to collaborating to create something that speaks to the heart.  That is why I call my store the Heart Space, because I put my own heart and soul into these items.  It is a way of sending my joy outward - via color, precious metals, beautiful beads and natural stones.

If you have an idea for a gift that you might like my help realizing, please don't hesitate to contact me.  We might be able to collaborate.  You can contact me via email at santomilagrito@yahoo.com, where you can leave a message, even attach a photo of something you might like.  I'm fully aware, gauging by sales this year that this might be a tight season financially for me and many others.


Here are a few ideas for free or extremely low cost gifts and community-building that I especially enjoy.

10 Hearfelt Gift Ideas

1. The gift of time. Start with a hand-written invitation on a pretty card (You can find many nice cards on Etsy, by the way)  Invite a friend for a lunch you cook yourself.  Sit deep and catch up on each other's lives.  
2. Copy out a favorite poem on nice paper - choose one that reminds you of someone special.  Copy it in your best handwriting or on your computer with a nice font. With a glue stick glue on a relevant picture from a magazine or old greeting card.  Toll  Tie it with a pretty ribbon. 
3. Even BETTER - if you can write a poem or paragraph of your own - with a memory of a special time with that friend or loved-on.  You can decorate it to the extent of your ability - and time.
4. Give nature lovers something you have found in their favorite places - the beach (a shell?), the mountains or forest (a river stone or pretty pine cone).  You could combine this gift with a poem above, or quote from Nature writers such as Thoreau or William Stafford.
5. A loaf of bread, a dozen cookies, a jar of spaghetti sauce, anything home-cooked to anyone living alone or anyone terribly busy is always welcome.
6. Time again - invite someone to accompany you for a special walk. Bring a picnic?  If it's cold you could eat it in the car.
7. Sachets: Buy bulk lavender at the Health Food store.  Sew tablespoons into little pockets and fill in the rest with cotton stuffing.  Tie with pretty ribbons. Include in gift baskets with bars of nice soap, or your homemade jam - or the sea shells or poems. (See above)
8. Shop local and help small businesses succeed - these are your friends and neighbors.  A few pennies saved here and there can't make up for the community you lose (not to mention the gas to drive around) when big stores take over and the little guys close down.
9. Even on Etsy, there's a shop local feature where you can find people in your city and state from whom you can buy gifts.  Heart Space is located in Portland, Oregon.
10. Always shop in a good mood.  Take a walk in the fresh air first and you will be in a good mood.  Believe it or not, statistics show that when you are happy you make much wiser choices overall.

I hope these suggestions are useful to you.  Here's to a Happy Holiday to each and every one!

Thanksgiving

Due to the untimely demise of my hard drive, I've been invisible in the blogosphere of late.  The computer was still on the warrantee, I managed to save my photos and my two novels, so I have much for which to be grateful.

One event I am grateful for is my first Open Studio November 13.  It was fun and pretty successful.  I built a merry fire and served tea, persimmon cookies and scones, with the hope of making it more of a party than a marketing venture. I didn't want anyone I invited to feel obligated to buy anything, but to feel free to browse at my work and enjoy the refreshments and atmosphere.  I hope they all had fun.

I must create a larger sphere of fans locally in order to really have a knock-down-drag-out open studio, but this was a practice attempt at introducing my fledging business, showing some of my altars and installment art, as well as the jewelry which with more people are familiar.

Last December I started my Heart Space store on Etsy and have made 9 sales online. Much more sales have been to people who have met me and have seen the work in person.  I am hopeful that I can keep increasing the quality and style of my work, and sales will continue to increase online as well.

There is so much for which to be thankful.  I am grateful for my friends, customers, blog followers, and everyone who has supported my creative ventures. My husband has found work (after nearly a year of unemployment) this month, which is a huge relief to us both.  This year taught us much- especially how strong and resourceful we can be.  But we couldn't have survived without those who helped.

The provisions and kindnesses that have sustained us this year have been so many.  I hope you all will give and receive the same to whomever you may.  Life is indeed too short to be lonely, hungry or sad; let us all share good things with each other.

(P.S. - the grandmother in the Norman Rockwell picture at the top, always reminded me of my own - and though N.R. is not by any means my favorite, images like this never fail to make me smile.)

Make Your Own Day of the Dead Altar

Hi Friends and Followers,

HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND DAY OF THE DEAD: El Día de los Muertos¡

To read about how to make your own Day of the Dead Altar, please follow this link.

http://www.saltlighttomatoes.blogspot.com/

Jewelry Trends For Fall and Winter

A little bit steampunk, a little bit 1960's modern.  Beautiful hardware silver earrings aren't heavy to wear.

Beautiful, autumnal moss greens, copper and feminine pink.

Stunning sky blue turquoise makes a statement that you're beautiful, strong and in tune with the natural world.

Hardware Edge: Heartspace's Glass and Chrome earrings

A statement necklace: choose stones and colors that enchant you.  

(Emily wearing Heartspace's Autumn Fire Agate Necklace.)

I've been Googling the trends for Fall and Winter 2009 and then thinking about which of Heartspace's offerings fit the bill.  I'm happy to say that the natural look of semi-precious stones in the rough is ever-popular this fall.  Look for what they call a "statement necklace," that is, some piece of jewelry that makes a statement about your personality and style. 

Try combining color trends with the healing qualities Gem Lore celebrates: luscious red garnets for steadfast love, sky-blue turquoise for protection and power, rainbow moonstone for feminine intuition, and yellow citrine for positivity and prosperity.

I am seeing a lot of steam-punk: that is watches and gears, etc. in jewelry.  There's a lot of this available on Etsy, but what is top fashion is a bit more refined.  Heartspace offers a couple of affordable, hardware earrings with silver findings that look like metal parts.  Very chic and handsome: not at all heavy, either.

Coral is big.  I fell in love with it last year, but learned to be careful to purchase fine coral that isn't illegally harvested, or even worse dyed red, only to come off on your neck!  I have yet to find any coral this fall that is affordable and not dyed or "fishy" in origin.  When I find quality affordable stones and shells, I will pass the savings onto you. 

The bohemian look just won't die; I think because it's so fun to wear Gypsy jewelry.  For just a few bucks, you can layer on a necklace or two, and try out some of Heartspace's beautiful earrings, that are guaranteed to flatter your face.  

I make test samples of all Heartspace earrings, wearing a pair for a full day to make sure they are comfortable.  None of my designs are heavy or scratchy to wear.  I promise!

Jewelry is a very affordable way to update one's wardrobe without breaking the bank.  May I suggest you don't scrimp with ho-hum jewelry that doesn't glow with color or interest. If in doubt, go without, until you find what really sings to you. 

El Día de los Muertos: The Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead Necklace available at Heartspace store

In Mexico and other Latin American countries colonizing Spaniards combined their Catholicism with the traditional religious practices of the indigenous peoples.  The Day of the Dead is such a synergism: a combination of the Catholic holiday of All Saints Day and All Souls Day with the cult of the dead, dating back to Aztec and Mayan traditions.  

Many cultures believe that as autumnal days approach, the veil between the worlds of the living and dead grows very thin.  The Latin American indigenous peoples prepare for the celebration beginning in early October, when the bakeries start selling calaveras de azucar (sugar skulls) and pan de muerto (bread of the dead) which will be used to decorate the altars in honor of long-gone ancestors and recently deceased family members.  

Furnishings are moved to make room for elaborate altars (ofrendas) within family homes. Arches decorated with garlands of marigold flowers stand at the head of the altars and papel picado: intricately cut banners of tissue paper are hung about the space dedicated to them. Framed photos of the deceased, as well as their favorite foods, objects such as cigarettes, military medals or jewelry that once belonged to them are favorite offerings.  Everything is planned to celebrate the lives of those who have died, as well as to entice their spirits into the home to celebrate with the living. It is traditional in preparation for the Day of the Dead to clean and decorate the grave sites as well.  

On the eve of All Saints Day, Mexican families meet for a candlelight vigil in the cemetery. Although there is prayer and reflection, there may be music, singing and a picnic at the grave, the family strewing marigold petals to guide the spirit of the loved one to the altar at home. 

On November second, the family will eat the food from the altar and proceed to the cemetery one last time, again strewing the marigold petals to lead the spirit back to the grave site before the veil between the two worlds closes and the spirits are stranded in the world of the living.

Many Moons Necklace

This necklace is made from fair trade U.S. mined and cut, whole natural Sleeping Beauty turquoise and moonstone buttons.  Hand wire-wrapped with fine sterling-silver wire, it is light as a feather and very comfortable to wear.  The design came to me first in a dream, but it took me awhile to find the little moons to space between the smaller clusters of turquoise and the focal clusters of longer dentate turquoise.   

It is fairly uncommon to see moonstone and turquoise used together in jewelry.  With this combination I attempted to capture the wonder I first experienced as a child upon noticing a white moon in the blue daytime sky.   I could not keep my eyes off such a wonder and in my dream I affixed tiny moons between bright turquoise, just as I have in this necklace.

Turquoise is a stone attributed with properties of protection and strength, while moonstones are supposed to have feminine properties of intuitive power, enhancing cycles and rhythms. In India the moonstone is sacred for lovers. Seafarers were known to carry moonstones as talismans, but to what end I do not know.  Perhaps sailors carried moonstones to protect them from the whims of the tides, so dependent the moon's gravity. 

Enhancing this respect for gravity, is the grounding property of turquoise, which the First Peoples of this hemisphere prize so highly, expertly incorporating turquoise into beautiful amulets and jewelry.  

It has come to my attention recently that many of the Third World sources of turquoise mine and cut this semi-precious stone in conditions that are dangerous and unhealthy for the workers.  For this reason I have undertaken a search for American turquoise, such as that used in this piece.  No matter what wonderful folklore may be attributed to a stone, it is important to know it's origin as well.  

September Special: Free Postage in U.S.A.!

SEPTEMBER SPECIAL:

Free Postage for every order shipped within the U.S.A!

Click this link to visit my Etsy store:

http://www.heartspace.etsy.com

Two tier Autumn Fire agate and copper necklace, as shown, $45.00.

Animoto.com

End-of-Summer Give-away!

This fifteen dollar-value necklace is only available 

to those participating this give-away,

but the winner can choose any Heartspace item

valued ten dollars or under.

 Want to Play? Here's how: 

• Just post your comment here and--

• Leave a heart on my Etsy site (that is, mark me as a favorite if you have an Etsy acct.) :http://www.heartspace.etsy.com
  

•  Feel free to comment on this blog as often to increase your chances of winning.  
  

• Winner will be announced the day after Labor Day Weekend.  Be thinking of which prize you want: the pictured necklace or anything in my shop under ten dollars.
  

• Good luck -- and best wishes from the Heart Space.

How to Make Blackberry Pie: Part One

Kneading the dough

Rolling pie dough between sheets of wax paper

The dough sticks to wax paper and is easy to transfer to pie pan.

Waiting for the lid.

Fluting the crusts together

Good idea to cut a vent

¡Esto es!  See my recipe in posting below.