Valentines Day...aka my Half-a-versary

Thumbprints! I read a wonderful how-to post over on ManMade and had to give it a try for V-day (which, totally unplanned, also happens to be our half-a-versary.) I used Photoshop and printed it on my home printer. I ended up having to go line by line to clean up the white spaces between the ridges but the effort was well worth it. It turned out great and Eric loved it!

Turks Head Nautical Bracelet

I love knots. Well, I love the idea and feel and look of the knot. Knit and crochet...knots. It is amazing what you can do with string. The Turks Head knot feels like a knot on the verge of weaving. I did mine over a soup can and it fits on my wrist perfectly. I used two resources to create this. The first is Animated Knots By Grog which is my favorite knot resource. The second from the How-Tuesday: Sailors Knots Bracelets feature on Etsy.

Ceramics at the Randall Museum

I recently took a ceramics class with my good friend Emily at the Randall Museum in San Francisco. It was a great class. I usually just throw but I was glad to learn quite a few new table techniques from the instructor. The only disappointment was that there is no open studio time to come in and work. Here are a few of the goodies I came home with.


I absolutely LOVE these pinch pots. I made them to be little catchall containers on top of my dresser for earrings and buttons and bits. The one on the right has one of many ceramic spoons I made being used here as a ring holder.

I left the rim of this green bowl untrimmed and wavy which was a happy accident. The plate was made by slumping it over a ceramic form. The back of the plate is raw unglazed clay. This image does not do this plate justice. It looks incredible on the table!

Irresistible Resistor Earrings!

I remember as a kid making necklaces out of multicolored insulated wire scrounged from the Exploratorium junk bin that used to be at the museum entrance. When I mentioned it to Eric he gave me some unused resistors and I made these awesome earrings! I love the wood paired with the bright color bands.

Twig Pencils

I made these two twig pencils (one is actually a crayon) using a tutorial from Boys' Life Magazine. Surprisingly simple to make. I used some fallen branches off the large cherry tree in our yard and drafting lead I had left over from a drafting course I took back when I was considering grad school in Architecture. I love the one with dried leaves still attached!

Button Wedding Band

Cute as a button, I decided to jazz it up for the day and sewed one on. Wedding bands are forever but why not restyle it on occasion?

Use a plastic button to avoid the possibilities of a scratch.

Street Food Marketing

Joining the street food vendors in San Francisco's Dolores Park is the fantastic Mike And The Cookie Bike trio (two peeps and a pup) with their fantastic chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk pairing! I personally need two glasses of milk per cookie, they are THAT good!

I designed the stamp below for their cookie bags. Definitely check them out!

Felt your dog!

I showed up at my friend's house the other day as she completed a dog grooming session with a large pile of puppy hair lying on the living room floor. "No! Don't throw it away! Lets felt it!" So we did. Kinda gross and kinda awesome.Thank you Hallie!
They would make a beautiful necklace...or dog collar?

Bridal Jewelry

My lovely friends Meghan and Patrick were recently married and I was honored to make her a necklace for her wedding day.

Wedding Day

We had an outdoor summer wedding at Pocket Creek Farm owned by Eric's Uncle in Portland, Oregon.

Signs and pictures guided guests through the woods to the ceremony.


The ceremony site under a tree.

Wear and carry flowers by Françoise Weeks.

Eric lost his boutonniere right off so we improvised.

The table flowers were picked and picked out by Eric's Mom, Aunt and I the day before.

They were arranged by many helpful hands in an assortment of funny thrift store finds.

Transportation to the ceremony provided by John Deere.

Quaker style wedding certificate signed by all our guests during the ceremony by Margaret Davis Calligraphy & Design.

Music by Tyler Matthew Smith. Dancing by all.

Photography and photo booth provided by Lucille VonTron Photography of Portland, OR.

Lawn games were played. We had horseshoes, 9 holes of golf, badminton and croquet.

The cake was made by my lovely sister Jessica. I LOVE IT! I got the topper from Melabo on Etsy.

So that was the day. Hot and amazing fun. I am so grateful to all the people who contributed to my wedding day.

THANK YOU! xoxome