Peace, Love and Bling

Every year I pull out my carefully packed, stacked and stored tubs loaded with all kinds of winter holiday decor and decide which of the treasures are going to escape their confines for the month of December (and, let's be honest - a bit longer than that!)

Prettifying with Pumpkins

I'm not a huge Halloween decorations kind of person. I don't like the scary stuff. I tend more towards lots of bottles and potions (and a couple ghosts, of course) kind of fare. My mantle shows this year's Halloween 'laboratory'

that makes me grin every time I catch a glimpse of it. I'm also in love with the time-less velvet & rhinestones witch. I made a costume a few years ago that catches my alter-ego perfectly and warms my heart whenever I think of it.

My Forest Friends

I live in a forest.

Well. . . not quite - but I do have over an acre of forest in my backyard and across the road, just like many of my neighbors here in the Ozarks. Nearly every time I look out a window or venture outside I see the wonders of some beautiful creature looking back at me.

Feathering a Pretty Darned Good Office

Though I spend LOTS of time in the ksyardbird Studio (and outside spray painting and around the house decorating and wandering around my forest snapping pics) - I also spend LOTS of time in my beautifully cozy little office.

Bling of A Kind

It all started with a heartbreaking message from a very sad Blingee and a (now broken) necklace (no thanks to airline security) *sad face*.

"Can you please make another one just like it?!"

The Pearls Have It

Pearls. . . Wonderful, Lovely, Beautiful, Amazing ~ PEARLS!

I have many (let me stress - MANY. Like, quite probably millions or even zillions) semi-precious, glass and metal (even a few precious gemstone) beads in the studio. And while I have many beads that I adore working with. . . my all-the-time, in-every-way favorite is, without a doubt, pearls. Sweet and Shimmery Pearls!

Shelving the Shelf Idea

Re-fabbing black floating shelves to make them look like bronzey-black metal. That was the plan.

I've been in the midst of updating my studio now that  I finally have REAL worktables (no more folding  tables for this birdy) and they've been set, organized and in use. HOORAY!  I decided some floating shelves would be just the thing to display and store my myriad of trays when they're not in use. And I had three shelves in my stash just waiting for a purpose! Scoooore!

A few weeks of pondering, piddling, and painting. . . They're beautiful, aren't they? 

But they're not going to work the way I had envisioned. Sighhhh. . .  

Totally Tabled aka Getting the Studio Together

Oh! The joy! The Joy!!! The J-O-Y!!!!

As many of you know, Hubster and I relocated to Northwest Arkansas in January of 2016. As some of you may NOT know, I have been using white. plastic. folding. tables. in my (beautiful) studio. Ugh!

Not to diminish their usefulness and their dedication to all the projects that they've seen over the past year and a half - but. . . well, an upgrade was definitely required, IMHO. And mine is the humble opinion that counts.

Typewriter Key Blingity-Bling Bling Bling

What's new in the ksyardbird Studio? Oh, so So SO much!!! Like Typewriter Key Blingy Jewelry!!!

A couple of my Very Special Blingees wrote me from Alaska and requested that I create some special jewelry for them ~ something they hadn't ever seen in the ksyardbird Etsy shop ~ they wanted treasures made with typewriter keys.

Guestly - Nestly Retreat

A little more than a year ago, Hubster and I went on a grand adventure and landed ourselves in Northwest Arkansas in a beautiful house complete with an acre of forest for a backyard. And a few months ago I shared one of my two guest rooms with you. Soft neutral, bits of robin egg blue and lake / seashore touches (see it all here: http://bit.ly/gussiedguestroom).  Still in the decorating mode - I think it's about time to reveal the other guest room!