purple

I like all colors,

but purple is lower on the list than most.

And so I was less than thrilled about this month's installment

of the Color Your World Challenge

until I remembered the lines

"For purple mountains' majesty/above the fruited plain"

from "America the Beautiful.

Ah, ha.

I have always loved the way mountains

layer away, fainter and fainter

into the distance.

And so I found my inspiration.

simple owl birthday party

I like owls.

(Well, some owls; some of them are downright creepy.)

And I don't want a full blown owl collection.

So I thought that choosing an owl theme

for Sweet Pea's first birthday party

would be the perfect time

to showcase my affection for owls in a fairly disposable way.

We celebrated last weekend

(a little early)

so that both sets of grandparents could be present!

owl invitations

The wings open to display the details.

(from a free printable with six possible color variations!)

sealed with some owl stickers I already had

easy owl cupcakes

(There were only three brown M&M's in the bag I bought,

so we had to get creative.)

some simple favors:

owl stickers, a lollipop, and a couple of blowouts

(such an awful name, but they're fun, quiet, and inexpensive)

packaged in wildly colored owl treat bags

(Hey, they dressed up for the party!)

Fun was had by all,

and I only stressed a little bit.

to Bannack

The first territorial capital on Montana

is now a ghost town,

a state park,

a not-too-tourist-trappy local attraction.

We took Benjamin's parents

to see it while they were visiting last weekend.

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather

or nicer company. : )

(Yes, that's Benjamin. No, I wasn't driving while photographing.)

vintage jewelry

Remember my Instant Collection of Vintage Keys?

Well, in that same assortment of vintage goodies

were several very nice pieces

of vintage jewelry.

(Look closely to see the reverse carved pagodas!)

I fell in love with these earrings the moment I saw them

even though they had funny clamps for attaching them to earlobes

(like these only more tarnished).

I asked a friend who makes jewelry

to add the pretty orange beads and put modern ear wires on them.

This style of earrings was apparently quite popular in the 40's

when WWII veterans, returning from the orient,

would bring them home as gifts for their sweethearts

and family members.

(Perhaps they were a gift

from my Great-Grandpa, a medic in WWII,

for my Great-Grandma!)

I haven't been able to find out much about

this delicate blue set.

I had my friend add modern ear wires to these as well.

This sparkly little number made of iridescent beads

definitely evokes glamor.

This Jerusalem cross pendant is labeled on the back

that is it silver and that it was made in Mexico.

It is only about two inches across--

the intricate details are breathtaking!

Once again, I haven't been able to find out much about it.

I must admit to being quite delighted

with my "new" pretties.

red white and blue

Once again I'm too late to actually link up

with the Color Your World Challenge.

sigh.

Maybe next time?

This month's challenge was to interpret red, white, and blue.

I didn't want to lump

all three lovely colors into one piece of art,

so I made three.

(No wonder I'm running late!)

"Painters use red like spice."

~Derek Jarman

(Here's hoping that my red splotches

look more like paint and spice than gore.)

 "The first of all single colors is white...

We shall set down white for the representative of light,

without which no color can be seen;

yellow for the earth;

green for water;

blue for air;

red for fire;

and black for total darkness."

~Leonardo Da Vinci

The quotation made me think of a prism--

a beam of white light fragmenting into every hue.

"Once in a blue moon."

~ colloquial expression

I need to find some sort of paper

that will not curl when I watercolor on it

yet not make my calligraphy ink bleed.

Any suggestions?

linking up with Jennifer's Sneak Peek Friday.

Benjamin's birthday

Yesterday was Benjmin's 30th birthday.

And aside from the fact that last week he bought a motorcyle

(and a bunch of safety gear)

as his new commuter vehicle,

we celebrated simply and quietly as a family.

In the morning I loaded up Little Man, Brother, and Sweet Pea

and we surprised him at work.

We brought handmade cards from the boys

(and a store bought card from me--hey, a girl can't do everything),

a couple of small gifts,

and the boys' favorite part: a mylar balloon.

In the evening I made his choice of dinner:

Island Chicken with Avocado Mango Salsa and Coconut Rice

Then we had spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

decorated by Brother

and Little Man.

Happy birthday again, Love.

Looking forward to another year together. <3

custom wedding vow calligraphy

Yesterday I finished

this custom wedding vow calligraphy

for a customer.

I really love making custom orders,

taking a someone else's vision

and making it my own

and theirs

at the same time.

It's the best sort of stretching experience.

In fact, I enjoyed working on it so much

and was so pleased with how it turned out

that I decided to offer it

(well, offer the concept at least)

in my shop.