Trunk Show time again!

Metalsgirl

The mighty fine folks over at The Ginger Man have started this awesome new artist series on the last Saturday of every month. So, tomorrow, Saturday the 30th is it! I'll be there from 3-7pm sharing the space with other two other Fantastic Austin artists! Come by and say Hi!

The fabulous Christine Terrell of adaptive reuse

The perfect gift for ANYONE Jake the Dot

So, meet up with us at The Ginger Man on Lavaca between 3rd and 4th. We'll be there Saturday May 30th from 3pm to 7pm. Did I mention they have like 80 some-odd beers on tap? Yummy!

Summertime and the livin' is easy.

Well, I don't know about easy. It's sure not as simple as the days before graduating from high school. Lazy summers with the hardest decision being whose house were you going to lay out at that day. Ahhhh, sleep til noon, hang out with friends, and go to bed sometime before sunrise. I had it good. Now I do have to work through the summers but that's okay. I do love my job so that makes it "easy". These earrings are my new favorite summer time accessory! They are so light weight - you don't even know you are wearing anything - I wish I could find clothes like that - we've already seen highs in the upper 90's and it's still May! Uggg. Oh, and the bright, fun, cheerful colors...Love them!

Makes me giggle.

When I started making these bottle cap charms my one stipulation was that I wasn't going to put just anybody in them. It had to be people that I liked for some reason or another. I'm not gonna make a bunch of oh, I don't know, Ben Stiller, just because they might sell. Or whoever, Justin Timberlake. So maybe my "people" aren't flying off of the "so-to-speak" shelf, but they get a lot of giggles. And it sure is fun to have people ask "uh, is that Isaac from The Love Boat?" And I happily say, "Why yes, yes it is!". Oh, and another favorite - "Is that Bob Barker?" to which I reply, "Uh, yeh, what better to put on your spayed or neutered dogs collar??"

Whoo Hoo!

I am a show off. I am not afraid to toot my own horn. Shoot, I spent a lot of years in school to do what I do - and now I make a living at it! That's pretty cool. But to get aknowledged by your peers and community on top of that - I'd say that's worthy of a horn toot!

So I think it's super cool that I made Rare Magazine's 2009 "Rarest of them All" issue! I was blown away, totally flattered, grateful, and proud. Thanks ya'll!

Wish me luck!

So I have finally gotten up the nerve to apply for a booth at ACL. If you don't know what ACL is - it's a HUGE music festival here in Austin. It's big I am telling you. Bands like Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam, and Dave Matthews are playing this year. Previous years Van Morrison, Tom Petty, Beck, John Mayer, etc. It's big. It's a three day festival that attracts roughly 65,000 people. Yes, I mean three zeros. 65,000 people! I've been a little a-scared to apply in the past. That's a heck of a lot of inventory and the booth fee is, ahem, steep. But this year my friend Liz of the super fabulous Bolsa Bonita suggested we share a booth. Now that's a great way to ease into it. Still intimidating but much easier for my brain to deal with. So, wish me luck!

My new Cupcake

Just thought I would show off my new tattoo. I got this cute cupcake last Saturday and I LOVE it! The fabulous Stacey Martin did the work for me and I am amazed by her...I kinda want to eat this cupcake!

Happy Mother's Day

This is me with three of my favorite people in the whole world. My mom, my grandmother, and my great grandmother. Today, on Mother's Day, I can't help but think about them. Of course I am thinking about my mom. I was fortunate enough to spend the majority of the day with her. But I lost my grandmother when I was 11 and my great grandmother when I was 14. But even having lived more than half of my life with out them they still have an enormous influence on my life and how I choose to live it. They all, including my mom, are strong, brave women. I hope that some of that is in my genes.

My grandmother is my greatest hero. She was the kind of human being that I strive to be. She faced obstacles in her life that could have destroyed some people. But she chose the path of grace, hope, and kindness. In the most difficult times I never heard her complain. I have fabulous memories of my time with her...my favorite being lying in bed at night watching the Odd Couple and The Carol Burnett Show and laughing together. She was in a wheel chair with MS, completely paralyzed for most of my life - but she still had a regal, graceful quality about her that I find amazing now.

My great grandmother is one of the greatest loves of my life. Not a single day goes by that I don't miss her and wish, sometimes irrationally, that she was here with me. Even though we had a 70-some odd age difference I felt like she understood me like no one else. I felt like she was my greatest champion, I still feel that way. Some days I would give nearly anything for one more minute with her.

My mom is quite possibly the best mom ever. She lost her father when she was only five years old and then had to care for her mother (my grandmother) when she was diagnosed with MS when my mom was very young. As a single mother she did EVERYTHING to make the right choices for me. Looking back I can see that it must have been painfully difficult - but she never let me know. As a child I never knew how poor we were, and it's not that she spoiled me with things. She just never let me see her worry, she let me be a kid. She never talked badly about my father after their divorce (I will be grateful to her for that for my whole life). She protected me, she gave me morals and manners, she was a wonderful role model, and she loved me. And now, as adults, we are so close. We laugh all the time. And I tell her all of the time how grateful I am for the sacrifices she made for me, for the choices she made for our lives.

I was a crazy lucky kid.

My Aunt Millie.

I lost my aunt yesterday. And tonight, right now, I am typing this lying in her bed. We left this morning for the eight hour drive to New Mexico. Family was already here when we arrived. It was so strange walking into her house expecting her to appear around every corner. I feel so strange. I haven't lost anyone in several years and I don't remember this feeling. It's not the sad part, I know that feeling, I can interpret that feeling. It's this odd space where everything feels like she should be here. I am surrounded by her things, food that she bought still fills the fridge, her car is in the drive way, I am staring across the room at her hairspray on the dresser. I keep having these moments where tears spring to my eyes and that sadness lump fills my throat, but for the most part I have this odd, I don't understand death, feeling. I guess it just doesn't feel permanent yet.

I love this photo of her. Her high school graduation photo I think. She looks beautiful. She was a grandmother type for me. My cousin Chris and I could do no wrong. We would run like banshees through the house, chase her dog, screaming all the way I am sure. My Uncle Clyde would yell at us, but not Aunt Millie. She would feed us anything we wanted. I remember driving here with a friend when I was in college. I brought my laundry from the dorm and she washed it all. She asked what we wanted to eat. Onion rings. She made THE best onion rings. And of course she made them.

As we age we transition from one phase of life to the next with out a lot of knowledge of it happening. Aside from things like graduations we just go from child to adult fairly seamlessly. But losing Aunt Millie feels like I am having to let go of my last grasp on my childhood. The Christmas dinners around her table with my great grandmother, my grandmother, my great aunts and uncles and cousins, the hot summers sitting on the patio listening to the adults "visit", the laughter and the story telling, the traditions that only belonged to my family and to me...I had a wonderful childhood and a wonderful family.

Two more...

So, I told you that when we went to the shelter last week we picked out the little white chihuahua AND two little dachshund mixes. Well, here they are. Their "due out" day was today so we went down to the shelter and picked them up. They really are precious. The little boy (the one with the shelter identifying paint on his head) is very out going. And the little girl is shy at first and then in your lap giving kisses upon kisses after about one and a half minutes.

Now we are working on names for them. I was thinking Muskrat Susie and Muskrat Sam, but Tom's not convinced. We have to decide quick because they've gotta go up on the Blue Dog Rescue web site on Monday! And hopefully there will be videos of them as well. Seriously, how cute would the video be set to Captain and Tennille! Oooooo, maybe we should just name them Captain and Tenille!?!?!? Oh dear...

Oh and by the way, the little white chihuahua is officially named Scribble!

hmmmm, what to name him...

Meet our newest foster. We just brought him home today, he doesn't even have a name yet. Tom took the day off work and I had a wild hair to go down to the shelter and pick out a new foster pup. I love going down there, Tom hates it. I try to focus on the fact that we get to liberate some precious dog from "jail". Tom has a hard time not thinking about all the ones we can't take. For instance, there was an old lab in the office hanging out with the staff. She was scheduled to be euthanized that day and they were just trying to give her some love before the end. It was horrible. I wanted to take her. It's so hard because if we take one long term dog that's a lot of dogs we can't help while we search for that needle-in-a-haystack home. Not too many people want the big lab on its last leg. If people would just spay and neuter their pets!!! But I digress.

So we "interviewed" a few dogs. This little guy seemed fairly calm, he was already neutered, vaccinated. I'm thinking "quick adoption". We also picked two young wire-haired dachshunds whose elderly owner was sick so her "loving son" took her dogs to the pound. But I digress.

We first took this little guy out and decided he was a taker. Then we took out the dachshunds and decided they were takers. Tom wanted to take one of the litter of catahoula puppies but I am so puppied out after the last two. But it's so hard to say no to puppies. And it is major puppysville at the shelter. I think there were at least 50 puppies. Several litters - cute stocky little yellow labs, a couple of yorkie-poos - and then lots of single pups - a cute pure bred boxer pup, a purebred german shepherd pup, two pit bull puppies I could have died over! But I digress.

We were only able to bring this little one home today. We'll pick up the other two on Sunday. So we hop in the car with Kid Dyn-O-mite (as we are calling him at the moment) and he's a little more active than he appeared to be. Then he starts running around the car. He hops in Tom's lap as he drove down the highway and was doing laps up his chest and around his head and back again. It was hilarious and fairly dangerous I am sure! But he's very cute and resting comfortably in Tom's lap as I type. I am sure it is much better than the concrete floor he slept on last night.

Now, what do we name a five month old, white, spastic chihuahua???

My two cute cats that no one knows I have.

Everyone always seems shocked to find out that we have cats. "You have 12 dogs AND two cats?!?!?" they say in shock. Yes, we have two cats. In fact, one of the cats came before any of the dogs.

Meet Daisy. Daisy is about 16 years old. I got her when she was a kitten from someone giving away kitties in the paper. Now, I know cats are strange, but Daisy has got to be up there among the strangest. She lives in our closet. Before I sound like a hideous pet parent, let me say, the door is open at all times. She can come out of the closet when ever she likes. Which she does do once night falls. Like I said, odd. I know what else you are thinking, "With all of those dogs of course she stays in the closet." But no, she sleeps on our bed with the dogs, right next to the dogs. She also won't drink out of anything but a drinking glass. odd. Oh, and she will not tolerate being held or picked up. But she's oddly affectionate.

Meet Berklie. Berklie is about 12 years old. I found him in a parking lot, under a car, covered in oil. He was about as big as a minute and his ear hair was bigger than he was. Good God he was cute. I took him home and tried to convince Tom that we needed a second cat to go with our current cat and our one dog (those were the days). He balked at first, but then Berklie snuggled up to Seven (our dog) and that was it. Berklie's actual name is Berkatu, as in Lybia. At the time I was working at a physical therapy clinic as a pt tech. I had this patient that I adored, Roger Smith. He was an older man who had been in World War II. Every day he would come in, hop on the stationary bike and I would say "Where are we biking to today?" and he would proceed to tell me about some place he had been during the war. He would tell me about the people there, the landscape, what he did there. He had so many amazing memories and they were all pretty positive, especially considering he was there because of a war. On his last day of therapy he came in and handed me an envelope and said "Today we are going to have a test". I opened the envelope and there was a stack of photos. They were all taken during the war, his personal photos. He said I had to look at the photo and tell him where it was - based on the landscape or various stories he had told. It was incredible. Needless to say I cried like baby when he left. I found Berklie that day and I INSISTED that he be named after Roger Smith in some way. So, Berkatu Lybia it was.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

I was telling Tom as we drove home from yesterday's trunk show - "I love our life". We spent the day at one of our favorite places with several of our favorite people and it was for work! Who gets to do that? I am so freakin' lucky. The trunk show was a great success. I sold some jewelry, hung out with friends, and had some beers - I'd say that is a successful day. So, thank you Corina for having me, thank you Anders for the Bad Ass chalk board, and thank you everyone who came and hung out with us. Another glorious Saturday in Austin at the Ginger Man.

Saturday in Austin!

Last minute, but this should be lots of fun. Great beer, right in the middle of Art City. Head by the Art City Art Fair (formerly the Austin Fine Arts Festival) at Colorado and 1st (Cesar Chavez). Then head back up Lavaca to the Ginger Man to quench your thirst for tasty beers and fine, funky Metalsgirl goodies. See you there. I'll be the one with the Hefeweizen in hand!

Saturday April 25th from 3-7pm.

Experiments in Enamel

So I am still playing around with fire torching enamels. I have to say, it's pretty cool. I've never worked with enamels before at all so I wouldn't know how to compare it to the traditional form of kiln fired enamels. But I sure do love watching the enamel start to melt to the metal. And having control over whether it melts a lot or a little, watching the texture change, under-heating and over-heating. This ring is one of my latest experiments. I've layered I don't know how many different enamels - I couldn't recreate it in a million years. But I pretty much love that.

And the Winner is...

Today was the last day of the blog contest!! Thanks so much for participating and for all of your kind comments. I wrote all of your names down on little papers...

...and the winner is HEATHER!! Yay!