Why I get less done than I could

Why I get less done than I could
Originally uploaded by brightnewthings

Cici cat. Everywhere.

Hans Christian Anderson, I love you so

the little mermaid
Originally uploaded by hkapeman

Was I a nerd because I read too many books? Or did I read too many books because I was, inherently, a nerd? Who cares. The point is, of all the gifts I received as a child; the dolls, the ponies, real and plastic, the clothes and rubber bracelets, my favorites always were, and will remain, books. There was a lot of upheaval in my early life, and many books I cherished, like an illustrated Beatrix Potter book, and a soiled, tattered copy of Lyle, Lyle Crocodile got left behind. One book I've managed to keep near, however, is a gorgeously illustrated collection of Hans Christian Anderson stories, given to me by my father in 1988. I remember him, and my step mother at the time, reading to us from this book before my brother and I went to bed. Is it weird that my parents still read me bed time stories once in a while when I was 12? Possibly, but reading for pleasure has been linked with success as adults, so whatever.

Anderson wrote some of the most cherished stories of contemporary childhood, though you may not recognize some of the original endings. "The Little Mermaid," for instance, ends with heart break and tragedy, not Ariel and the Prince dancing off into happily ever after. Anderson also wrote classics like "The Ugly Duckling," "The Snow Queen," and "The Princess and The Pea." And there are lesser known gems, like "The Tinder Box," and "The Elder Tree Mother," both of which I loved as a child. Anderson told a world that was both beautiful and sad, and often rife with danger, where love and loss both triumphed. His characters are fragile and flawed, but find reserves of personal strength, courage, and faith.

In honor of his birthday, which was today, 205 years ago, please explore the work of this wonderful tale teller: http://hca.gilead.org.il/

And if you are already a fan, check out The Annotated Hans Christian Anderson edited and with notes by Maria Tatar, noted folklore scholar. It's loaded with intriguing and insightful commentary:
http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Hans-Christian-Andersen-Books/dp/0393060810

I have my heart set...

On the Studio at the Glenferness Estate. I have been in love with this cottage for years, ever since I found it while planning my first Scotland trip. I've never been in the position to go - it's out of the way. Waaaaay out of the way. It's situated right on the lip of the River Findhorn, long famous for it's wild and rich beauty. It was built in the late 1800's an artists' retreat, and retreat I will. I promise you this, dear reader, by midsummer next year, I will be spending a week there if I have to go hungry all year to do it. I will bring half a dozen cameras, a suitcase full of film, and a picture of my beloved cats. Otherwise, I'm not sure you could get me to come home.

I got presents and it wasn't even my birthday!

Remember a few weeks (months?) ago, when I said I wanted to trade some art with people? Katie at Lemon Jitters was the only person to take me up on it. In the words of my Sifu - "I don't blame you." I know we all have stuff goin' on. Anyhow. It took us both foreeeeevvvveeerrrr to mail out our respective packages. It was totally worth the wait, however. Let me show you what nifty treasures I received.

First of all, Katie is awesome at sending packages. She had personalized it with some of her babushka gift tags and pretty ribbon and it really amped up the pleasure and excitement of getting something in the mail. What I found inside, however, was a treasure trove. She sent a mini poster that she designed - it reads "Don't listen to your Mom. Scratch your itchies." A sentiment I can get behind, my dears. Here it is tucked inside the little memo board my kung fu students gave me for my birthday last year.

She also sent me some nifty tags she made from an old book. I don't know yet what I'm going to do with them. I thought they would make pretty tags on party favors, if I ever have another party. Which looks doubtful at the moment. Or maybe I'll send them on birthday presents to friends this year. Or maybe I'll save them as props for different photo projects....

Finally, the best part: Katie included a jewel from her shop, Lemon Jitters. It may not be something that I have mentioned before in the blogosphere, but I love jewels. Really. All of the women in my family go a little crazy for pretty, unique, jewelry. My mother swears that it's the secret to a successful marriage, and my step dad knows better than to come home from any over seas location with out a pack full of exotic treasures from afar.

The piece Katie sent is a faceted carnelian briolette on a wire wrapped brass finding and chain. I'm in love. I've barely taken it off. The carnelian is so deeply and richly colored and when the light hits it, the stone seems to glow! Lovely. And she sent it in her typical packaging, with her logo stamped card and a little dandelion puff bag. So cute. It's really made me feel like I need to do better with my own packaging for Bright New Things and Falcon and Finch.

Needless to say, I'm a fan of this girl! Thank you so much for sharing with me Katie! Also, sorry that the photos for this story ain't the best - the light in my kitchen was at it's gross point, but I really wanted to capture everything as I discovered it!

Where have I been?

pods
Originally uploaded by brightnewthings

Really. I've been terrible. I've barely blogged, attended my various team functions, blahdy blahdy, all the other stuff I do regularly. And I'm sorry about that. But I have a good excuse:

I've been on a staycation! Really, I'm house sitting, but I like to look at the bright side of things. It's a gorgeous house in the SFV, not too far from my condo, so I can check on the cats every day, but it really is like another world. Maxine has a gorgeous garden, a hot tub, and a water heater that ACTUALLY works. Between the hot showers and the hot tub, my skin will be pruny for weeks. This photo, Pods, is a TTV I took at Sunrise in the garden a few days ago. It's been amazing. Sunlight, cool breezes, a clean kitchen - I may as well be in Greece.

And like a real vacation, I am stuck with the vagaries of limited computer access. Max has a pc, but I'm pretty sure she purchased it in 1997. It's slow, archaic, and doesn't like the internet all the much. That's ok, though. Having limited net use has freed up a lot of my time for hot tubbing, book reading, and napping. I can't complain.

Max also has a puppy - a mountainous Newfoundland dog who follows me around and puts her enormous head in my lap all the time. I adore her.

But all good things come to an end. Today is my last day of vacation. Tonight I will be back in my messy, cramped condo, with lots of meetings to catch up on, items to list, negatives to scan, and so on.

Oh, and if you really do feel like you've been missing out on my blogging, I have managed to maintain my Wednesday posts at eWitch. Enjoy! http://ewitch-virtualcoven.blogspot.com/

Pagans of Etsy Team Spring Sale

Pagan Team is having our first Spring Sale! Search etsy for the tag paganspringsale for a plethora of Spring themed items - art, oils, celtic and fae themed stuff, it's a pretty long list. At brightnewthings, I'm offering free shipping on all sale tagged items. I haven't had a chance to do Falconandfinch yet, but there will be discounts on tagged items - check back tomorrow. Some of my favorite things from other people's shops:

This Quartz Crystal Egg, from Rainadelmagick is SOOOOOO nifty. And during the sale, it's got free shipping and a free gift!

The Ivy and Vines DreamCatcher from HowlingCaterpillars is a pretty way to protect your dreams, and is currently 25% off.

And I love the pretty cherry blossom pattern of this Tarot Bag from EarthRitesBags. On sale for 20% off!

I hope you will visit all of these stores and share a little Spring Time with all of us!

I heart "I heart Falling"

I have a super huge girl crush on my friend Erynn. Not only is she a talented studio artist, aerialist and performer, but she is also amazingly crafty. She recently started an etsy shop for her super comfy and colorful hand knitted neckware, called I heart falling.




I recently had the pleasure of photographing some of her products for her shop opening, and I wanted to share a few of my faves from our shoot with you. We had a great time, and I got see all of her stock up close. I was so impressed with how much care and attention she puts into her designs, and the neck warmers are so very versatile!

Running out the door

To nanny a squeelly little two year old, so I don't have time for a proper blog post. But I just read this lovely post from Lynn at Tea For Joy, and I loved it, so I thought I would share. I love apple crates!!

It's my Etsyversary!

I love Coney Island
Originally uploaded by brightnewthings

Yep, I almost missed it! BNT has been a photo sellin' entity for one year and two weeks. I'm not exactly a house hold name yet, but feedback has been good, and the sales I've made have been from people who seem to really enjoy my work. I suppose you have to, if you are gonna put it on your wall, right? And I appreciate deeply every single person who has purchased a print, hearted my shop, or dropped me a convo to tell me how much they like my work. Nothing makes me happier than when my work touches someone.

To celebrate: from now until March 11th, buy any print in my shop and receive free shipping (refunded through Paypal after you have completed checkout and payment.)

And a very special thank you to all of my friends who have featured me in blogs or treasuries or by word of mouth and helped me land each and every one of those sales. You guys are the raddest.

Early Taste of Springtime. At least, in my house.

Springtime in the San Fernando Valley can be elusive. I like to describe our weather like this: on a normal year, we have 6 months of hellishly hot weather, followed by three months of smoky, hellishly hot weather (thank you, wildfires,) followed by a month of extremely windy, hellishly hot weather, followed by a month and a half of overcast, surprisingly chilly days. If it's an El Nino year, make that a month and a half of flash floods. Spring, then, is a dreamy blink of an eye that lasts as long as it takes the blooms of the Jacaranda to appear and then drop in a rain of purple flowers.

I love Springtime and always try to prolong it's visit here by trying to grow things year round in my kitchen garden window. Most of the year is a failure for everything except basil, my aloe, and a few other things that seem to thrive in the heat. This year, that included a little pot of bell peppers I grew from seed. I don't know if it was the pot, or the soil, or the seeds, but none of them got bigger than a golf ball.

The El Nino rains also brought my usually brown and dry back patio to life: lavendar, nasturtium and Oxalis Shamrocks are growing like weeds. Which two of them are. But still. Nothing is blooming yet, it's still too early. At Imbolc I brought in some clippings to Spring the joint up a bit.

What a change it made to my mood, to be surrounded by lovely green things. Happy Springtime to you, whenever it gets there!