this week's wants

Today, our Sunday drive revealed signs of fall. Changing leaves everywhere! Accordingly, this week's wants centers on those warm and beautiful hues!

Let's start of with this gorgeous pink leaves pillow by Parker Sewn. This would look lovely in my living room any time of the year and would be perfect for a little cuddle in front of the fire!

I love the colors and texture in the Uprising Ring by chocolate and steel. It would suit any time of the year, but I think it would look particularly wonderful with the warm oranges and violets that seem to be all the rage this fall.

The Bratislava sweater in brown by Little Houses is definitely a stylish alternative the old hoodie standby. And what girl doesn't want to look hot while she's keeping warm?

UnaOdd has managed to seal a little piece of fall in resin in a glorious way her gorgeous Autumn Witch Hazel pendant. The detail is incredible and the texture so smooth. I imagine I'd constantly be rubbing this if I were wearing it!

Enjoying the season,

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festival of the forks

These days it seems I can seem to blog as regularly as I'd like. If I have my way, I'll make up for my lackluster blogging this weekend! I thought I'd start off with a few photos of the Festival of the Forks, which is held in our community each fall. (The Kalamazoo River "forks" in our town.)

The weather was beautiful last weekend and loads of people wandered the streets of our tiny town eating barbecued ribs, elephant ears, and "butterfly fries".

It's not my first time attending the festival, but it is the first fair I've attended since starting the b-line and I took the opportunity to check out how other jewelers set up their tents. There weren't too many vendors selling handmade goods, but I did pick up a few ideas on display. And the fresh-squeezed lemonade was delicious!

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this week's wants

Fall is here! Let's celebrate by shopping. Here are a few things I'd love to give and get!

Romantic as it would be, I don't imagine Andy and I will ever carve our initials into a poor ol' tree. Just doesn't seem right. But then, who needs to? This adorable pendant by block party press captures the sentiment without harming the tree!

Presenting the Fraulein tote by moop. Seriously, the number of very beautiful (and functional) things I could tote around in this all-to-stylish bag is mind-boggling. I'd love one in rosewood, please! Andy? Mom? Are you reading?

The francophile in me was drawn to these cards by smock paper (mais, bien sûr!). And I love the muted tones. This is just one example of many beautiful letterpress cards you can find in the shop. I'd be happy with any one of them!

Fall and winter mean more indoor activities, so it makes sense to pretty up the surroundings! I'm not that great at sewing. I've always been really lazy about pinning and then I end up with uneven seams. I now realize that the reason I'm so lazy is that I don't have an adorable pincushion from The Daily Pincushion. One of these cute little numbers and I should be pinning everything in sight!

Keep shopping!

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you're a peach!

Before I opened the b-line, I never thought I'd be one to blog. I like to write, but I've never kept a journal with any regularity. And, to be honest, I wondered who would want to read what I'd have to say anyway. Despite my reservations, I started this blog to help build my business. I'm not sure how many sales it has generated, but the b-line blog has turned into a really great thing of its own. A way to share with family, friends, and customers what I'm doing, what I like, and who I admire. And a way to keep track of the creativity, ingenuity, and vision of fellow artists.

So, imagine my surprise today when I read my friend Amy's (of The Peach Tree) blog and found myself featured as one of her inspirations! This really is a terrific compliment, as Amy's blog is one I read and draw inspiration from regularly. If you haven't checked it out yet, you must!

And when you're done, stop by her fantastic shop on etsy. I have two lovely pairs of Peach Tree earrings already that I wear constantly. Here's something to get you started!

Thanks, Peach!

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the view from my office window

So, the weekend was filled with rain, rain, and more rain, but fortunately, I had plenty to do indoors! Here's a little glimpse at a "barn-raising" sculpture build and installation that I participated in this weekend.

We started with little pieces like these that we had to bolt together.

As the flat pieces of powder-coated aluminum are bolted together, they begin to form an orb. Here, members of my team (hubby on the right in black!) inspect the orb to make sure it has all the bolts, washers, and nuts it is supposed to have.

There are nine orbs in all. We built the biggest (and reddest) one on Friday night and the other eight on Saturday. Look at all of these people who spent their rainy Saturday putting together the various orbs!

While all nine orbs have the same basic shape (the rhombic triacontahedron, which has 30 face planes), with triangular and pentagonal elements, each one is unique as well. Each has an inner orb in a darker tone and an outer orb in a lighter shade that weaves through the outer orb. I love the colors in this one!

The orbs were hung from the ceiling of our science center atrium. Here's a shot of the last one being installed.

A shot of the smallest of the orbs (and the one I worked on!) from below. The symmetry is amazing!

You can see 7 of the 9 orbs in this photo, which also features one of my colleagues, Dave Reimann (on left), and the artist, George Hart (on the right). The last two orbs are hiding behind the bright red one. Oh, and my office window looks over these bright and beautiful balls of fire! (The piece is called comet.)

If you are interested in more info about Hart's work, visit his website. For even better photos of the event (and better descriptions), click here.

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this week's wants

It's been raining (and I mean RAINING) here for the past three days, so this week my list has a bit of an obsession with precipitation.

These twee bumbershoot danglies by clevergirl won't do much to keep a gal dry, but they sure are cute!

Our girls, Lola and Sita, just love to run and swim in the nearby Kalamazoo river. But ask them to go out in the rain, or even just wet grass? Fuggetaboudit! Maybe these little canine slickers by acme couture would make them more willing. At the very least, they'd look precious!

This darling hooded cape from i like you world is exactly what I need for a day like this (and the many rainy and snowy Michigan days to come). I just can't decide whether I need it in red or black!

Rainy days are good for lots of things, especially craftin'! I'm inspired by this pretty little pincusion by ReFabulous, so I'm going to start making things. Right after my nap and my cuppa!

Stay dry,

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one ringy dingy, two ringy dingy, . . .

Fingers feeling left out? Introducing the latest addition to the corsage collection...the corsage ring! I'm going a bit nuts with colors right now, and loving so many different combinations! Here are just a few examples of what's on sale now (or will be soon) at the b-line.

Oh, and the appliqué collection will soon be hitting the digits as well! Meet coco!

Wishing you a wonderful, colorful day!

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350

Today the blog has a (mildly) activist bent. I've never done this before, but hey, as one of my major sources of inspiration for the b-line, nature is important to me, and I want to see it thrive!

As part of my day job, I attended a talk last night by Bill McKibben, the author, educator and environmentalist. McKibben gave the keynote address at our convocation this year, a required event for our new first year students. The talk was great, though alarming. As Bill shared with us last night, it seems we've (read: the world) already exceeded the safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Safe is considered to be 350 ppm. We're currently at 372 ppm (as I remember from last night) and increasing at a rate of about 2 ppm per year. What's magic about the 350 number? This is what scientists say is the upper limit for the level of CO2 if we are to avoid runaway climate change.


Getting back down to 350 (or lower) can only really happen as the result of both individual effort (click here to learn more about your carbon footprint and how you can reduce it) as well as a global one (in the form of a global treaty). It's important that our governments know how important this is. Check out 350.org to see how you can join the movement to make a difference!

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this week's wants

This week's number one want? Time! It seems to be evaporating. But, since I haven't been able to find it for sale, I present you with some gorgeous, timeless alternatives!

I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what sort of stone or glass is featured in this small pebble ring by les things. It's polymer clay with copper leaf! And it is gorgeous, don't you think? It could be brand new or a hundred years old. I love the pale blue and the amber together with shiny silver. That's what I call timeless!

This photograph of a peony by Lena Brown is staggering. I absolutely love everything about peonies, especially their delicate petals and scent, though neither lasts for long. Indeed, she has managed to capture time in this print! (Wish I could smell it!)

Time in a bottle! These porcelain milk bottles remind me of those deliveries by the milkman when I was a kid. Why don't we still have that, I wonder? What a fabulous invention to have gone by the wayside. These bottles would make fabulous vases for wildflowers, but I think I might prefer to drink a swig of cold milk from them. Find them (and much more) at alyssaettinger's shop!

Certainly, I would have more time if I flew everywhere, by umbrella or otherwise! I love this "flying umbrellas" print by roadside projects. I've wanted to fly by umbrella for years, ever since I witnessed Mary Poppins alight on the Banks family. I still haven't found a gust of wind sufficient enough to hoist my person (though I have had several umbrellas turn inside out). Nevertheless, roadside's print still inspires!

Thanks for reading! May you have all the time you need today,

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how do you like them apples?

Fall is (almost) upon us. You can almost smell it in the air. The tailgating parties, evening bonfires, falling leaves, and that good ol' apple pie cooling on your neighbor's window sill. What? Your neighbors don't bake? Okay, mine don't (seem to) either. I must admit, I'm really not much a pie girl, but there's just something about apple pie (a la mode, thank you very much) that make my mouth water.

You can probably tell from the lack of posts that it's been a busy week (sorry about that!), so I've had no time to make a pie either (I'll share it with you the moment I do), but I do have several appley items in my shop to tide you over. Here are a few!

'Til next time,

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