Love Me Some Lavender {Earrings-of-the-Month}

Lavender is one of my favorite scents and flowers. I wasn't able to attend the Lavender Festival here in town, but my friends did and brought me an armful of stems and other lavender goodies. Thank you!!

I was inspired to create this month's earrings-of-the-month in gems that reminded me of lavender: amethyst. I used both dark and light stones all handwired with sterling silver and hanging from sterling earwires. These are all packaged up and in the mail.

I made one pair asymmetrical. I hope the gal who gets that one enjoys it as much as I do. I know not everyone is good with asymmetry.

This lavender shot [below] was one of my photographs that was displayed during the Flower Power exhibition at the 1650 Gallery in Los Angeles in December 2010. 

Persephone's Passion {Earrings-of-the-Month}

For my January EcoChic Designs Earrings-of-the-Month pieces, I found inspiration in this pomegranate pendant. 

Since the deep red color of the pomegranate arils gave rise to the naming of the garnet - January's birthstone - I handwired garnets galore with sterling silver. Some pieces also have sterling stardust beads and moonstones.

These lovelies are in the mail today to my members. Enjoy!

 

 

Christmas Spiders...Sort of {Earrings of the Month}

Do you know the legend of the Christmas Spider? It's a folktale from Germany and Ukraine; it explains the tradition of decorating the tree with tinsel.

Here's a rough approximation...

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, a mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year: the day on which the Christ child would come to bless the house. There was not a speck of dust to be seen. Even the spiders had been banished to the farthest corner of the attic.

Finally Christmas Eve arrived. The tree was decorated, but the poor spiders couldn't see the tree. Silently they crept out of the attic, down the stairs, and across the floor. They climbed all over the tree - up and down, over every branch and twig - and enjoyed every ornament.

But alas! Everywhere they went, they had left their webs. And when the little Christ child came to bless the house he was dismayed. He loved the little spiders, for they were God's creatures too, but he knew the mother wouldn't feel the same. So he touched the webs and turned them to sparkling, shimmering, silver and gold!

Ever since, we have hung tinsel on our Christmas trees.

I’ll be honest, I love twinkle lights and tinsel. They remind me of glitter for the house, but I don't use tinsel on my trees because I try to minimize the plastic in our lives. So, this month, in celebration of the Christmas season, my earring twinkles and sparkles...and none of it is plastic.

The pieces this month are comprised of sterling silver, diamond-cut sterling chains, sterling stardust beads, and faceted gemstones…all handwired…and all one-of-a-kind.

May they bring my subscribers joy during this holiday season and beyond. These are in the mail to the gals this weekend.

Garden Glory {Earrings-of-the-Month}

A couple of weekends ago, we were lucky enough to attend an event at the Tor House in Carmel; you can read more about that property here. I haven't been there in at least two (maybe three) decades. While the history of the property, the Hawk Tower, and Robinson Jeffers' poetry were all compelling, I was captivated by the rose bushes that were rife with fragrant, voluminous blooms. So gorgeous!

While the gems, obviously, don't smell like a garden, my hope is that their hues and configuration remind you of a garden in full bloom, a garden in all its glory.

I used faceted briolettes in different shades of quartz and chalcedony...

they are handwired with sterling silver...

and hang from sterling silver ear wires.

While this doesn't really have anything to do with the garden, it is one of my favorite Robinson Jeffers' poems: Song of Quietness.

Drink deep, drink deep of quietness,

And on the margins of the sea

Remember not thine old distress

Nor all the miseries to be.

Calmer than mists, and cold

As they, that fold on fold

Up the dim valley are rolled,

Learn thou to be.

The Past—it was a feverish dream,

A drunken slumber full of tears.

The Future—O what wild wings gleam,

Wheeled in the van of desperate years!

Thou lovedst the evening: dawn

Glimmers; the night is gone:—

What dangers lure thee on,

What dreams more fierce?

But meanwhile, now the east is gray,

The hour is pale, the cocks yet dumb,

Be glad before the birth of day,

Take thy brief rest ere morning come:

Here in the beautiful woods

All night the sea-mist floods,—

Thy last of solitudes,

Thy yearlong home.

The Color of Adventure {Earrings of the Month}

This month I was inspired by a week long trip to central Oregon with my boys - husband and two sons - for Spring Break. We've been there before, and had no agenda but to relax, enjoy the outdoors, and spend time as a family. Oh, toss in some snowball fights and brutal hikes and you have my idea of fun!

It seems strange to say, but I love how different the sky looks when I travel. I always notice that the blues seem more blue and there's even a tinge of violet in the high desert.

So, it's with that in mind that I created this month's EcoChic Designs pieces. I started with some glowing blue chalcedony briolettes and paired them with aqua chalcedony, grey labradorite, various shades of amethyst, and faceted citrine. All of those natural colors reminded me of our Oregon adventure. The color of adventure! Do you think adventure has a color? What would that be?

I hope my subscribers enjoy wearing these as much as I enjoyed creating them. ~CMM

International Day of Peace {Jewelry of the Month}

About month ago, D volunteered to be part of the International Day of Peace celebration here in Carmel. He handed out white roses before the service. Here he is with Father Rob, the rector from St. Dunstan's in Carmel Valley.

As an interfaith celebration, there was everything from a haunting kaddish to a Celtic litany and a Gaelic blessing. Father Rob shared thoughts on Dietrick Bonhoeffer's 1934 sermon "The Church and the People of the World"; there was also guided meditation by one of the monks from the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.

The afternoon was both calming and invigorating. What a lovely, all-encompassing afternoon.

I was inspired to create jewelry this month that represents peace around the world. I selected stones to represent heaven and earth with the brown from Brown Opal, blue from Turquoise and Apatite, and both blue and brown in Amazonite. Each piece also includes a sterling silver dove and hangs from sterling silver earwires.

Peace I leave you. My peace I give you.

Not as the world gives, I give to you.

Peace I give to you.

Let not your heart be troubled and fear not.

In this world you shall have tribulations.

Take heart! I have overcome the world!

Peace I leave you. My peace I give you.

Not as the world gives, I give to you.

Peace I give to you,

Peace, my peace, my peace I give to you.

September 2016: Fire and Ice {earrings-of-the-month}

Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone

Suzanne the plans they made put an end to you

I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song

I just can't remember who to send it to

I've seen fire and I've seen rain

I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end

I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend

But I always thought that I'd see you again

Won't you look down on me, Jesus

You've got to help me make a stand

You've just got to see me through another day

My body's aching and my time is at hand

And I won't make it any other way

oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain

I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end

I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend

But I always thought that I'd see you again

I’ve been walking my mind to an easy time

My back turned towards the sun

Lord knows the cold wind blows it’ll turn your head around

Well, there’s hours of time on the telephone line

To talk about things to come

Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.

oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain

I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end

I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend

But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one more time again, now

Thought I'd see you one more time again

There's just a few things coming my way this time around,

Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now

Thought I'd see you just one more time again.

"Fire and Rain" ~ James Taylor

Everyone has a 9-11 story. Just as, depending on your age, everyone remembers where they were when President Kennedy was assassinated or where they were when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. As I wrote, everyone has a 9-11 story. Here's mine.

I wrote most of this on the 10th anniversary of that life-changing day.

Flight 77 made an indelible mark on my life. When Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, claiming nearly 200 lives, including the life of Suzanne Calley, I lost a great friend and mentor. I watched her husband, Frank Jensen, grieve. I watched my husband grieve. And I grieved myself.

Jake and I were in Cabo San Lucas with friends for a week-long vacation when we began to see news footage of the Twin Towers in New York burning. Because we were in Mexico, all of the reporting was in Spanish. Later we discovered an English-speaking channel. And, probably, like everyone else in the world, we were glued to the television sets. Day and night. They even had the news playing down at the resort's pool. Cocktails, chlorine, and tragedy are odd bedfellows, but they got us through the week.

With all that coverage - including the victims' names scrolling across the bottom of the screen - you would think that one of us would have seen her name. Suzanne Calley. But, for whatever reason, we never did. The border closed and we were stuck in Mexico for longer than anticipated. The evening entertainment at the resort began to repeat and by the time "Jesus Christ Superstar" started up for the third time, we drew the curtains and the guys poured some more tequila.

When the borders finally opened, tourists trying to get home flooded the airport, but I think we were all leary of getting on a plane. Two plane rides and a shuttle bus later, we opened the door to our townhouse, dropped the bags on the floor, and collapsed on the couch. It was then that we noticed our answering machine blinking. 27 messages. Seriously.

It's all a blur now, but I distinctly remember hearing Frank's voice, strained, holding back sobs. "Where are you guys? Zanne would know where you are. Call me. I need to talk to you." That was the first message...and the fifth...and the fourteenth. All the same but with increasing urgency at each call. All wondering where we were and why we weren't returning his call.

Then the series of messages from other friends made it clear: "I'm watching the news and they said that Suzanne Calley died on 9-11. Is that the Suzanne Calley that we know? Call me." "Cam, are you OK? Can you call me? I saw on the news that Suzanne was on one of the planes. Call me." Everyone wanted me to call them. But my knees buckled and I fell to the floor. All I could do was focus on breathing through my tears. Inhale. Exhale.

I finally did make those calls. I took even more time off work. I went to her memorial in Gilroy. But it wasn't till Jake and I accompanied Frank and other family members to the official memorial at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., that it became real to me that I would never see Suzanne again.

Zanne was an amazing woman in so many ways. Her passions for life, for diving, and for Frank were evident in everything she did. We spent almost every weekend for two years with them, learning to dive ourselves and, then, because we had worked our way up through the certifications, as Frank and Zanne's divemasters. On our non-teaching weekends, we would go up to their home in San Martin, I would cook dinner and we would drink wine, talk, and laugh a lot. We traveled with them. We spent time at their alpine cabin, skiing and building bone-breaking bobsled runs. And it was on the divetrip that they organized off the coast of Venezuela that Jake proposed marriage.

Though joyous events begin to fill the void made by a tragedy such as this, the loss is no less tragic. I now have Riley and Dylan. Riley's due date was June 11th, 2002, a miracle pregnancy after 18 months of infertility. That is another story on its own. But you can do the math and know that I do believe in angels. Frank is remarried to a wonderful gal named Deb. We have celebrated other friends' weddings and births. Life has gone on. And though time has made the pain less sharp, I still miss her.

Well, it's been fifteen years. But I was inspired to create this month's pieces in honor of my friend. Zanne. 

Ladies, I hope you don't see these as a morbid inspiration. My life was better for having known her.

Your one-of-a-kind pieces feature smoky chalcedony, fiery agate, grey labradorite, moonstone, and more. All are handwired with sterling silver and hang from sterling silver earwires.

August 2016: New Beginnings {Earrings-of-the-Month}

Years ago, I captured this photograph of a nest while hiking in Modoc National Forest. And it popped into my head as I prepare to send my eldest off to high school in August. New beginnings. Big beginnings.

R is a bundle of excitement and nerves. He will be part of a pilot group, forging ahead to bring the International Baccalaureate program to the high school level here on the Monterey Peninsula. He's been immersed in the PYP and MYP programs at his other school, but this is a new beginning.

I still see him as this soft, little boy – most of the time – but I catch glimmers of his teenage self, with harder edges and a wee bit of tween ‘tude. He's gangly and awkward right now, but I am embracing each stage because it passes quickly. So, I’m facing this change and growth head on and enjoying the person he is becoming.

New Beginnings

The August 2016 EcoChic Designs’ Earrings-of-the-Month selections are made in the shades of these eggs, with turquoise, amazonite with flecks of earthy brown, and other gems...all handwired with sterling silver.

Beautiful Chaos {Earrings-of-the-Month}

My husband (lovingly) calls me the Goddess of Chaos.  My email address is – constantmotion. I am constantly moving, constantly creating, constantly striving, and constantly learning.

But the end of the school year is, inevitably, busier than the other 11 months of the year. And each and every May my life descends into chaos.

So, this month, I have made the earrings-of-the-month selections chaotic. I hope the gals find them beautiful despite the chaos.

The pieces are multicolored, multidimensional, and multifaceted. All are handwired with sterling silver and hang from sterling silver earwires. Enjoy…and don’t forget to breathe. Photos to come.

Ice Queen Bling {Pieces of the Month}

My family and I spent a week in Lake Tahoe for the boys’ Spring break. We sledded, snow-shoed, hiked, and just generally loved being in the Winter Wonderland.  Here we are after a day of exploring where Desolation Wilderness meets Cascade Lake. So much fun!

One afternoon atop Mount Rose summit, overlooking Lake Tahoe, I noticed small icicles in the pine needles. The sunlight was hitting them just right to make them sparkle like diamonds.

I saw there, under the trees, for what seemed like hours. It was probably only fifteen minutes; but it was cold. I waited for snow to melt to catch the droplets.

Inspired, I decided to create my April pieces in crystal, silver, and deep green. Enjoy!

I'll post photos of the pieces soon. Notice I wrote "pieces." I have some subscribers who have been part of the earrings-of-the-month club for five years. They have more earrings than they know what to do with. But, not wanting to miss out on the jewelry fun, I have migrated them over to a bracelet and a necklace subscription. So, if you ever get tired to receiving earrings, that is an option!

Happy (Almost) Spring

I’ve always loved tulips. At my wedding sixteen years ago, my bridesmaids carried bunches of tulips with ribbons wrapped around their stems. I commissioned a local artist to create a sterling silver parrot tulip ring for me years ago. I wear it all the time.

To me, tulips represent Spring which, in turn, represents rebirth and renewal.

I love that they are equally beautiful in the garden as they are, singly, in a vase or as part of a larger arrangement. They are statuesque, graceful, and vibrant.

So, this month, I have made the earrings-of-the-month selections tulip-themed.

Some of the gals are getting handmade lampwork glass tulips from an artist in Oregon (Serena Smith Lampwork); some are getting sterling-over-brass sculptural tulip beads; and some are getting pieces with gems that are my favorite colors of tulips.

Enjoy…and Happy (Almost) Spring.

Deck the Lobes {earrings-of-the-month}

This month's selections are inspired by my lack of space for holiday decorating. We are in the middle of a major remodel on our house and my husband declared: NO holiday dinner parties and NO big Christmas tree! Boo. 

He has promised, however, to restore water and electricity every evening by the time I get home from work. Okay.

 

So, instead of spreading tinsel and hanging delicate glass balls over the boughs of a tree, I have decided to deck your lobes!

This month's earrings are made with sterling silver swirls and swoops - just like tinsel - and sparkling micro-faceted gems - just like ornaments. All are handwired with sterling silver and hang from sterling silver earwires. I hope my subscribers enjoy these pieces made just for them!

Disco Balls {Earrings-of-the-Month}

Who knew that a novel turned movie about an astronaut stranded on Mars would cause a revival of disco?

If you haven't seen The Martian, the soundtrack is enough to send any disco-lover into orbits of elation. So, the other afternoon, D was looking through our CDs to find good "cookie-baking" music; he found a disco compilation. Yes, I have one!

"Mommy, do you think we should listen to disco while we make cookies?" Yes!

"You have terrible taste in music," deadpanned R, quoting Matt Damon's character.

So, while we baked cookies - here are the Kaffir Lime-Matcha Sugar Cookies we made - we listened to Gloria Gaynor, the BeeGees, and more! I even dug my pink glitter platforms out of the costume bin. It's a good thing people can't see into my kitchen too often!

But while looking at my beads, I decided to completely change direction on the earrings-of-the-month. This month, I made disco balls with microfaceted gems handwired with sterling silver.

I had made a pair of earrings for a friend's birthday and she wrote in her thank you note: "Love the purple disco ball earrings - well, they remind me of disco balls anyway. It's like a party dangling from my ears."

I love it! So, here you go, gals. Disco balls for November's EcoChic Designs' selection. It's like a party dangling from your ears. Enjoy!

For the Love of the Vine {earrings of the month}

This month had me thinking about wine and the grape vines. A few vintner friends were talking about the early harvest due to the warmer-than-usual summer. So, inspired by my love of the vine - and, yes, the ensuing liquid libation that comes from those vines - I created this month's pieces in different shades of wine.

See the wines...

I used lemon quartz, green garnet, deep garnet, dusty Burmese raw rubies, green onyx and more to represent the palest gold of Pinot Grigio to the almost inky black of Negrette.

The last of the packages went into the mail today. I hope the gals enjoy these. Cheers!

Rain Dances {Earrings-of-the-Month}

Over eighteen months ago, I made some earrings that were inspired by stormy skies and playful puddles. Well, we haven't had any of those in all that time. It's time for more drastic measures and this month's pieces represent a full-on rain dance! The drought we are experiencing in California is bad. We desperately need rain. We need water. Badly.

So, I was inspired to make some pieces this month – earrings that will do a virtual rain dance, swinging and swaying on ear lobes this month.

This month’s EcoChic Designs earrings-of-the-month pieces are created using upcycled sterling silver chain, rutile quartz teardrops, and faceted grey agate rounds - all handwired with sterling silver wire and hanging from sterling silver earwires.

Enjoy and dance for rain!

Rain

by Shel Silverstein

I opened my eyes

And looked up at the rain,

And it dripped in my head

And flowed into my brain,

And all that I hear as I lie in my bed

Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,

I walk very slow,

I can't do a handstand--

I might overflow,

So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said—

I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

Mustard Seeds {Earrings of the Month}

He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." - Matthew 13: 31-32

EcoChic Designs’ August Earrings-of-the-Month –

 MUSTARD SEEDS

I don’t know what your religious beliefs and affiliations might be, but this month, I was inspired by faith. Not mine. My boys.

I was raised spiritually, but not belonging to any congregation or church. I went to an Episcopalian high school, attended Catholic masses – more as a place of quiet and meditation – throughout my teen years, and my husband and I were married by an Episcopalian minister.  While we don’t have a church, I think it’s fair to say that we are both people of faith.

But my two spend a significant amount of time with my parents who are Catholic, having returned to their faith later in life. My parents used to harangue me about baptizing the boys and rolled their eyes when I told them that Jake and I had already baptized them in the ocean. I think they gave up asking me and set their eyes on making sure their “grandbaby boys” were theists.

My boys attend mass with my parents on a regular basis. And, earlier this summer, both boys asked to be baptized. We found a minister and church that we all liked and, earlier this month, my boys were baptized.

I was inspired by the passage in Matthew that likens the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed.  Small, amber rounds represent those seeds; some pieces have yellow quartz as well. And all are handwired with sterling silver wire and hang from sterling silver ear wires. Whatever my subscribers believe, I hope that they enjoy these warm, sunny-hued pieces made especially for them.

Photos to follow. ~CMM

Wonderful Surprises, Earrings-of-the-Month (June 2015)

I have already gotten reports from some that their June earrings have arrived...and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write a blogpost about my inspiration. So sorry!

This month's theme - WONDERFUL SURPRISES.

You know there are junctions in life when you pause, look back, and are shocked at the changes or growth you didn't notice was happening all along?? That was me this month when I read my boys' projects or summative assessments as they finished up fifth and seventh grades.

I read D's letter to his next year's teacher and was just completely blown away by his skill with a pen (or keyboard). I'm pretty hard to impress and I was impressed. It began...

"Imagine a student who can find fun and enjoyment wherever he is. Imagine a student who could learn wherever he is . Whether he is in a coffee shop, or in an abandoned warehouse. That’s me, I’m a very curious kid who loves science. Anywhere I go, I find how to learn and I enjoy it. These are both things that I like, but one of my most liked things are spices. I try ANY spices I see, then cook with it." 

- excerpt from the letter to his next year's teacher

I proofread R's application to the Broadcom Masters Science Fair - he was invited after he and his partner took first place in their division at the county science fair - and marveled at how he crafted his answers to the questions. So articulate and reflective.

Wonderful surprises all! I am a proud mamma for sure.

In that vein of wonderful surprises, I created this month's pieces with pearls, for the most part, because I think those are wonderful surprises in nature...and they start with a grain of sand. Pieces might include grey pearls, navy blue pearls, and various gems this month.

Colors of the Desert, Earrings-of-the-Month

“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams...”

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince 

For eight days during Spring Break, we laid low in the desert, exploring, hiking, and enjoying a completely new environment to us central California coasters. I always imagined deserts to be flat-colored. Lots of browns and greys. Certainly there were those shades, but there were also radiant pops of color at almost every turn. From golden poppies to carmine rocks and shocks of magenta. The desert was a surprise and a delight. I even spent hours in a bead shop in Tehachapi!

The selections for my earrings-of-the-month subscribers run the gamut to match my inspiration. Pieces include striped orange agate faceted rondelles, amethyst rondelles, peridot cubes, grey pearls, ruddy ceramic discs, carnelian teardrops and rounds, lime green magnasite, and turquoise all handwired with sterling silver.

Toasting Fifteen {earrings-of-the-month}

Fifteen years ago, this month, this happened...

My husband Jake and I are celebrating 15 years of marriage this month. Fifteen years. On one hand that feels like a lifetime; on the other, it seems to have passed in the blink of an eye.

In this past decade and a half, we've had two kids, lived in two states and five different houses, and juggled probably about dozen different jobs between us. We've been to Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona; we've traveled to Italy and Costa Rica. We've SCUBA'd, zip-lined, canoed, and tangoed. It's been an amazing adventure.

But it's also been work. Don't let anyone tell you that marriage is easy. Still, being happily married is a daily choice...and I choose it. Every. Day.

So, I was inspired to create earrings that feature the traditional gift of fifteen years of marriage: crystal. And because pearls symbolize wisdom acquired through experience, I added some of those into the designs, too.

The earrings are combinations of clear genuine crystal quartz and pearls handwired with sterling silver. They hang from sterling silver earwires. Photos to come. I hope all the gals enjoy!