Christmas?

When I come up for air, I can't believe that once upon a time I used to decorate for Christmas...not over the top decorate, but basics like a tree and a few vignettes and other bits and bobs. The past couple of years, though, I just haven't prioritized it enough in the face of how busy this time of year becomes for WillOaks Studio. At least I'm slowly swapping some of my "nature decor" from summer to winter, like this pine cone that I've carried around for years from a great Sequoia. Hey, it's SOMETHING! And I juxtapose it here with a new piece in progress.

Truly, I'm so grateful for all the business flowing though my shops right now as it's sort of making up for a kind of slow year! And as my dad always said, "Make hay while the sun shines." Yes, we were living on a farm so all those old sayings made perfect sense. But to be fully indoors in high studio gear is such a gift, especially after all those months of "campground duty" when I could barely find spare minutes for the studio work.

We're bracing for heavy weather tomorrow, as is a lot of the country. Might lead to some good snow photos and I don't mind because I'm about as prepared as I can be: hunker down and keep working in the studio!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Very Good Day, Good Weekend, & Busy Week for WillOaks Studio

Quite a weekend here as new pieces finally got finished AND photographed. Things are kind of messy here at the moment as I'm just focused on finishing pieces, filling orders and all that kind of thing. But I just love this new neck piece--kind of a relative of the Red one I posted about a week ago or so (and have since sold 2 copies of, wow!) This one happens to be one of a kind as I used some things in it (the special leaves) that I can't get anymore. But that's OK--kind of like the difference between a painting and an art print-there's only one of the first, and multiples of the 2nd. Did I mention that "wasabi green" is one of my favorite colors? No? You should see my sweater and shirt collection in this color...it's kind of scary except this color just makes me happy. I have a pair of Born wedges in this color, too, that I got seriously on sale because, I guess, this color isn't for every one! Lucky me...ha ha ha!


This piece also came together and got posted over the weekend. These plump, baroque pearls were such a find last year and have inspired me so many different ways. I found them in shades of white, natural, pale peach and darker peach. I just love the organic shapes because when I use them in pieces like this one, they represent blossoms on branches to me (a bit less literal than the actual pressed glass flowers used above.) In this piece, I paired the pearls with a beautiful soft golden yellow citrine and hand dyed brown leather instead of using linen. Both of these new pieces are listed in my Etsy shop and the photos link to them, if you want to see more views, etc.

And finally, while I'm manically working, check out my two boys here. I'm not sure Purrmeister looks particularly attractive posed like this, but he sure does a good impression of a relaxed (lazy) slacker! And while I didn't mention it here last week, Mariah, the female cat of the house is on the mend.

She because seriously ill while I was away at Thanksgiving, leading to an animal E.R. Room visit last Saturday night. I was pretty scared, but we ruled out my biggest concerns in E.R. (for a fee of $250, yikes!) And then my regular vet got us set up with some medicine that seems to have done the trick. Mariah is unusual, in my cat experience, in that she was born with very serious allergies (esp poultry and eggs, plus vaccines and insect bites) and whenever she has a reaction to something, it's a big deal. Unfortunately, these reactions seem be have become much more dire the older she gets and I had hoped she'd outgrow them....no such luck. But she survived another event and for that I'm very grateful because she really scared me this time around!

New, Beautiful Treasury & Reminders of Deadlines....

Last night, I learned that I was included in this beautiful treasury, which needs your comments a.s.a.p!

The curator was Anny of La Chiffonniere. Besides having a great eye, she creates adorable things for the home and for kids with an emphasis on recycling and upcycling! I recommend you take a look at her shop soon as she's in Quebec, Canada and if you're shopping for Christmas, you will need to order very soon!

A reminder if you're interested in getting a nice $15 credit to use in my AF or Etsy shop, today (Sunday) is the last day to enter the give-away at Cafe Handmade! Pop over here and just go for it! When I checked last night....the odds of winning are still very, very good!

And on the subject of give-aways, remember to check all these cool gift packages as there is also still time to choose 1, 2 or all three of them and enter to win!! Just click over to the prized page of "I Heart Handmade" soon! I've got a $20 credit to either of my shops included in gift package #3, f.y.i!

Have a great Sunday and thanks for stopping by!

Juggling Many Things at WillOaks Studio

I had forgotten how athletic kittens can be and how they are either all "on" or out like a light. Purrmeister turns anything into a sport, including the adult cats who are relatively patient about getting their tails chased or being gently bopped in the nose. Mariah isn't too keen on these games yet (she's coming around) but Red Kitty is acting like a patient uncle.


Yes, there's snow on the ground and it's been cold enough that it sticks and lingers awhile. The corn hasn't been harvested yet and when I spoke to the farmer's wife earlier this week, she again mentioned that they hoped to pick "maybe by Christmas", the hoped for schedule. If we're lucky, the ground will be frozen before they bring in the combines because we have "no till" fields here, so compacting the soil, especially when it's been this wet, is to be avoided at all costs. But it's just never gone this late before so it does seem strange.




And finally, a quick peek as a custom order I finished this week. The design challenge was to recycle this sentimental, broken strand of lovely pale blue glass beads into the structure I've been using for the "super long knotted" necklaces. By mixing in both a dyed blue quartz and a liberal mixture of opalized glass beads, I came up with 72 lovely inches that close with a sterling toggle. When the length is this long, a quadruple wrap is still a bit under 18", which doesn't really show up on the display busts as well as it does on a "real body" but the general idea is on display here. Opalized glass is kind of amazing in the right light, such as I caught in these photos. It changes from a kind of transluscent, milky white to showing internal color, depending on the light conditions. I just love the material...and now, I wait to see if the customer is pleased with the results....

Flowers in Winter

Time to stop and smell the flowers. Well, this orchid doesn't actually have a scent, but I've been so wrapped up with my work, that I've been neglecting taking photos of the many different plants that are cheerfully blooming, in spite of the short, dark days. Another orchid is all budded up to bloom within a week or so, and just like about a year ago, when I was experimenting with what to hang my earrings on for photos....sure enough, this budded branch did a nice job of it!

More Bits and Bobs from WillOaks Studio

Blooming Pearls with Peridot necklace

I'm in overdrive in the studio here, and it feels great (as long as I remember to relax my shoulders and neck periodically--I seem to tense up/bunch up when I'm too focused at my work bench. It's a bad habit!) But I'm trying to keep up posting here, so just a couple cool things: Purrmeister and Red Kitty are starting to get along and it sure beats the hiss game that has gone on for the past week plus around here!

And I've redone & revisited one of my older, but still popular designs...pairing pearls with peridot and pulling it all together with brown linen. OK back to work!

Wordless Wednesday (Sepia Italy II)

The town is Sienna. The head portraits up under the stone eaves are the town's founding fathers or famous notables. And the portrait in the top photo is reputed to be of Dante.