Lessons From The River

You guys know that I'm busy. Busier than ever, finishing up the illustrations for Little Dead Riding Hood. The deadline is in a month, and I just got the chapters a few weeks ago. Since each illustration takes about 4-5 hours, I need to do 1-2 chapters a day to make that deadline! There are 80 illustrations needed, So, it's been pretty hectic around this house. I wake up, run a few errands and then get home and draw until my hand aches. I sincerely hope it will be worth it. 

Yesterday Sterling and I took a bit of a break to go run some errands. One of those errands included photographing some jewelry for a friend's shop . I'll be posting more photos of the jewelry, but check out her awesome shop! 

Anyways, we decided to go to the river and hope to find some shade to take photos in. 

We got there at about 5 pm, as the sun was starting to set. We struggled with lighting for quite a while. There were a few stores that we needed to go to, that were closing soon. The light was very harsh, and the sun kept reflecting off the water into our eyes. Sterling and I were both pretty frustrated that the photos weren't working out. With this rushed stressed attitude, there was no way photos would turn out. After battle with the harsh sunlight and the rush we were feeling,  I sat down, and I said, 

"Let's just wait a bit. The sun will set, so lets just calm down and wait." And from there, we looked around at the beauty around us. With deeper breaths and calmer minds we noticed the sunlight was reflecting on the wet rocks and the waves like sparkling diamonds. The setting sun put a soft haze over everything. The river was beautiful, the air was crisp and we were in no rush. We went back to taking photos and they turned out beautifully. The sunlight went from harsh to beautiful. The sunlight's reflections turned to glitter in the background. 

I'll share more from the shoot as I do outfit posts. 

This little lesson from the river is one that I find myself learning again and again. It must be a lesson I really need. A lesson of letting go. Letting life take it's course. Let things happen. Relax, and don't try to control everything. 

And while I'm under a lot of stress with this book I'm illustrating, it's good to know I can ease up on myself a bit. I can let go just a little. It doesn't mean I will let go completely and not finish the work. It means instead I will relax about it, keep up the pace and let it happen. 

The best creative work, photos, writing and drawing comes from letting go of that desire to control every aspect of our lives... and going with the flow of life. 

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Thursday Threads - When Nothing Matches

I'm not sure if I have shared this outfit before. We drove all the way up to Sundance for these photos. and they must have been taken all the back in July. I remember it being hot. Not like the cold day we have today. The special things about this outfit is the mismatching prints, and the wonderful jewelry. I'm wearing a beautiful candy skull necklace from The Hemp Butterfly and a beautiful ring from AnChus jewelry. I love the prints and colors of this outfit, and I love how nothing quite matches.

Skirt - Nowistyle

Necklace - The Hemp Butterfly

Ring - AnChus

Scarf - Charlotte Russe

Shirt - Charlotte Russe

While we are on the subject of fashion, my friends over at Romwe are having a flash sale.

Go grab some great styles for only 12.99! 

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How To Make A Ring Display Box

So it's been a while, I promised to post the 3 DIY projects in a week, but life happened. 

Remember the necklace holder? And Bracelet stand? 

Well, if you are like me, you've got a lot of rings.

 Like a lot. It's almost ridiculous.

 Here is a cheap and easy way of storing your rings!

 This way they are all on display, in their proper place. 

Plus, these look at feel like the real deal. 

I'm sad I didn't make one sooner! 

You will need:
Fabric of your choice. I choose velvet, cause it was on sale and looked nice.
Sponge Curlers  (The big ones work best!)
Old box I had an old jewelry box laying around
Hot Glue Gun
Lace or other decorations

First you are going to take the plastic part out of the curlers. And like I said, try to use the bigger ones. I decided to make two cases, one with larger curlers and one with smaller curlers. The smaller curlers don't create a deep enough pocket, so the rings will barely stay in there. So, if you are deciding between using large curlers, or small.. pick large!

Next you are going to glue the fabric to your box. It's a little hard to explain, but I took pictures every step of the way. You are gluing the fabric into the box so the "inside" of the fabric is facing up.

Depending on the size of your box, you may need more, or less, or two and a half. My box fit two almost perfectly. So next you glue down curlers, right up against the fabric. Then lay down a line of glue. Fold the fabric over the curler and press onto the line of glue.

Each time pressing everything together nice and tight. Repeat this quick easy process until the box is full! If you want you can tuck the edges of the fabric in with glue after each row... or you can be like me and do that all at the end.

I waited until the end, and stuck glue around the edge and pushed the fabric in there. And that's basically it! Super easy, and totally useful.

I decided to make two for myself. The other one was a little more shallow so I used smaller curlers, but they don't hold that big of rings, so that's my smaller ring holder. I also decided I wanted them to match the necklace holder and the bracelet holder, so I glued some pretty teal lace over the sides.

This ring holder has been awesome. 

In fact, having all over my jewelry organized has been so good. 

Everything in it's place, displayed and ready to wear! 

No more untangling necklaces and searching for rings. 

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In The Works

I've got a lot of things planned for this week. First, all open orders will be shipped out. And a BIG thank you who helped with the sale! (I think it still has a few hours to go!) I was able to get a big chunk of the orders out last week. The rest will go out this week! 

Nubi has been a big help with the knitting and crocheting of people's hats. 

He figured he might as well help too, since we aren't sure how much his next vet visit will cost. 

He has another appointment this evening, but I've got a good feeling about it. 

Also, this week I would like to have a big shop update! I'm hoping to list all of the new jewelry. There should be over 14 new necklaces! And I would like to list some of my new work, both originals and prints, as well as show you the new stamp line and direct you to that. 

But with all that, the sick kitty, and a slightly sick me... My house has been a huge disaster and things are getting crazy. It will happen though. Promise 

Also! I was a bit late on posting this... I've got a new giveaway listed! Check it out.. 

https://m.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftalk2thetrees.blogspot.com%2F2013%2F07%2Fgiveaway-with-shawn-coss.html&h=DAQHsXSv9&s=1

Around Here..

Around here..
We are dreaming of traveling.
We are living our dream,
yet dreaming bigger. 
We are still getting to know each other.
We are still learning.
We are loving.
And we are laughing.

I'm hoping by the end of the week I will have the jewelry line listed.
Also, I have that itch to change my blog a bit...
so don't mind the weird website stuff for the next few days.