plum blossoms waving
gently in the joyful breeze
spreading their perfume

***

windows open...
doors open...
dusting and vacuuming...
and drinking hot coffee.
It's spring.



walking in springtime...
...birds singing; flowers blooming...
me... loudly sneezing.

***


I love spring. 
But I am really tired of sneezing... and not sleeping well.
ergh

On a plus side... it is really lovely out...
and I have been working in the studio.... making jewelry... which I love :)



in glorious pink
((her most favorite color...))
she smells the flowers

***

today I had the pleasure of my granddaughter's company... and we played all day.

MondayUPs




Monday's can be rough... But I'm here to help.
In celebration of my 15th year selling my handmade stuff... I am going to be featuring things I've seen on blogs, on the internet, in books...wherever inspiration strikes! On making new items from old goods..hence, MondayUPs (upcycling)...

 It's allergy season here in ABQ... and there are lots of things I do to cut down on dust inside the house.
 I have limited carpet (only in the bedrooms)... so that I can sweep often.
I try not to collect too many tchotckes... and  I use old quilts on most all my soft furniture and beds. 
This way, I can wash it weekly, and minimize dust and dog hair and such.

 And it got me thinking... I love quilts.. and I love using old fabric in making them...but what else can you do with old fabric?

 As the photo above shows... you can cut strips and make rugs. 
...and you can make art!



 (( as seen here ))


...You can make jewelry!



... you can UPcycle and re-work clothing into new fashions!



... you can even fashion a cool gypsy tent!


 (( as seen here ))

 ---- so use your imagination... 
and use those old scraps of fabric :)



Spring has definitely sprung into bloom here in ABQ... and most everything is trying to sprout.
Unfortunately... with that comes the usual March winds... and alas, I have been struck with some pretty bad allergies ...
which is trying to become bronchitis.
It's hard when you SO want to be doing things.. and just can't.
That said... we have had a pretty productive week here at MoonGipsies.

We've gotten some new supplies for the shop... wonderful stones and wire... and some old books to upcycle... and we've also gotten a fabulous new table saw... so we can now do some work with the stash of old fence boards, barn boards, and wood sticks from PA.
 It's wonderful when plans come together.... and I feel very fortunate..
and a huge sense of gratitude for what promises to be some great new projects.



And so begins a new week... new projects...  a new season...
Hope you are all doing well.

friday finds




(photo of my daughter's sketchbook... she is a fab artist)

***

I read... alot.
I love the written word.

I have decided to feature some of the blogs I read on friday's... hence the title... Friday's Finds.
I have about 250 blogs currently on my reading list... and I'm going to be sharing those links over the course of this year... on Friday's.
(plus any more I come across).
If you have a blog.... or have a favorite blog that you want me to feature... just shoot me an email (moongipsies@msn.com).

Today's finds are all about monsters!
I am a huge fan of the TV show GRIMM...
and my dear BAJ found me this awesome magazine at Barnes & Noble...



so I thought that today I would feature some more cool "monster" sites.


welcome the ripe
...the sweet, the sour... the tangy
the garden grown love.

***


the lonesome chair waits...
waiting for the comfort from
invisible you

***

this is a photo I took a couple years ago, at a family farm.
It was raining... and the car was stuck in the mud... and so I was wandering around taking photos.
I love the lonesomeness; the feeling of being forgotten... the solitude... of this shot
... and the abandoned chair... 



daffodils spring forth
blooming with the sun's warm rays
and dance in the breeze

***

my neighbor's daffodils are blooming :)

Monday UPs




Monday's can be rough... But I'm here to help.
In celebration of my 15th year selling my handmade stuff...
 I am going to be featuring things I've seen on blogs, on the internet, in books...
wherever inspiration strikes! On making new items from old goods...
hence, MondayUPs (upcycling)...

Seems like SPRING has SPRUNG up overnight here in ABQ...
and like so many people... we are thinking about what to do with our garden space this year.
And so... I wanted to feature on today's post, some interesting
things to do with your garden space... all with recycled/ upcycled stuff.

Here they are:






And then I found this awesome blog post on using pallets in garden design:
here

And this great post on garden decor:
here

Have some fun... and enjoy your garden this year!



The chimes on my front patio are making a crazy tune.
The wind is blowing... and I wish it would rain. My allergies are killing me.
Such is life... especially at springtime... 

But I am grateful. 
Today I was able to (finally) clear off the debris from my front patio... 
and I dragged all the plants from inside the house... and re-potted them with fresh soil and such.
I also cleaned out a bunch of old pots --- and am getting ready to plant some more herbs for the year.

I am also gearing up for some new studio equipment... that I am anticipating getting this week...
and working on a new "line" of postcards for the Etsy shop.

I also packed up a large box full of about 100 guitar picks, 40 sets of envelopes, some handmade earrings and such... all as a donation to an "Earth Day Festival" up in Connecticut to help raise funds for a local "green" club at the Community College there. There focus is on organic produce and recycled goods... and it sounds wonderful. Plus, it emptied out some extra stock I had lying about in the studio... so it's all good.
Good comes in.... good goes out.

All my neighbors are coming out and enjoying the nice weather... kids playing basketball... dogs chasing balls... parents chatting... it's definitely looking like spring out there. Hope you are all doing well... and enjoying the nice weather... and tomorrow is St. Pats!
So.... have a green beer and know I am thinking fondly of you all...

friday finds





I read... alot.
I love the written word.

I have decided to feature some of the blogs I read on friday's... hence the title... Friday's Finds.
I have about 250 blogs currently on my reading list... and I'm going to be sharing those links over the course of this year... on Friday's.
(plus any more I come across).
If you have a blog.... or have a favorite blog that you want me to feature... just shoot me an email (moongipsies@msn.com).

Today's finds are all about sewing and crafts!
I'm not much of a seamstress... I am intimidated by the machine ... and prefer to sew most anything by hand.
But I love the thought of handmade.

One of the wonderful things about the blogging community... is all the creativity out there...
and there are some great ones on sewing and crafts.
grounded in the soil
soft layers of earth filling
every crack in my soul

***

today was a day for grounding.
taking off the shoes... and burrowing my toes deep in mother earth.
Feeling the vibrations...
the earth singing...
awakening from it's winter sleep.





flicker in the sun
singing so sweetly to me
..."thank you for the ants!"

***

we have had a problem with a colony of red ants in the back yard... ever since moving in to this house.
Last summer... a huge flock of flickers landed and ate most of them...
and today... they came back for more.



barn owl flies
into the sunset soaked sky
as the field mice hide

***

MondayUPs




Monday's can be rough... But I'm here to help.
In celebration of my 15th year selling my handmade stuff...
 I am going to be featuring things I've seen on blogs, on the internet, in books...
wherever inspiration strikes! On making new items from old goods...
hence, MondayUPs (upcycling)...

This week I am focusing on things you can do with old bottles and glass.
I remember back in the 70s... seemed like everyone had a glass cutter
and was making glasses for the dinner table out of old bottles.
Then came fusing and melting...
like these spoon holders:


and the ever popular bottle tree...



But there is so much more you can do!



lamps, jewelry, art glass panels, kitchen stuff, yard art, mobiles...
the possibilities are endless.

Go play!

But before you go...
check out this stunning temple in Eastern Thailand:


***

photo at the top of the page is mine...
I took it at "the glass graveyard"... a local art gathering spot here in ABQ.
It was a junkyard decades ago... and they would regularly burn the debris... which resulted
in these fab mounds of melted glass and remnant bottles.



There is quite possibly, nothing better than having a dream... except for when that dream becomes a reality.

In 2009, I took a class at Rio Grande on making jewelry items with PMC clay. PMC is a precious metal clay, that when fired... becomes 99.9% pure fine silver. Because it is a clay, there are all sorts of interesting possibilities with it... carving... molds, impressions... sculptures... the list goes on. Additionally, the clay is now available in copper, silver, gold and bronze.
But it's expensive to buy... and expensive to fire... the best of which is with a kiln. 
Cheap kilns just recently became available for about $200... but the good ones... well... more like $800.

So ... this dream has been on the back-burner for awhile...

On Feb 13th... I closed the Etsy shop for a complete overhaul... and I made alot of subtle, little changes... like changing the section names and tweaking listings. I also took that opportunity to go thru all the stuff I had listed... and re-focus on what I really wanted to be making and selling. I ordered new business cards... and I also re-organized my studio space. In the process, I amassed a bunch of things to sell... most all of which I listed on either Craigslist or Ebay. To my surprise... most everything sold! And I now have enough cash to buy a top of the line kiln! 
In the next week or so... I will be shopping for the PMC kiln of my dreams...
 and will start making fine silver jewelry for the shop. 
Dreams CAN come true.

friday finds




I read... alot.
I love the written word.

I have decided to feature some of the blogs I read on friday's... hence the title... Friday's Finds.
I have about 250 blogs currently on my reading list... and I'm going to be sharing those links over the course of this year... on Friday's.
(plus any more I come across).
If you have a blog.... or have a favorite blog that you want me to feature... just shoot me an email (moongipsies@msn.com).

Today's finds are all about making jewelry!
I absolutely love to make jewelry, and have been doing so since 1995.
One of the wonderful things about the blogging community... is all the creativity out there.
There are some really awesome jewelry making blogs... and here are a few of my favs...


on this earthly feast
consider me your sweet taste
of most precious wine

***

About this photo:
I saw this downtown here in ABQ... part of a larger mural.
I think it's gorgeous.



Sinai and Owami,
Arabian and Gobi...
dry as a desert.

***

It's interesting how weather changes effect us all.
I was looking through old photos, and I have them sorted on my computer by date.
So... one can, for instance... see that last year daffodils were already blooming here...
and that this year... it's still more in winter mode.
Hopefully, someday... I will have ALL of my photos into digital files... but, not yet.
In the meantime... I hope that wherever you are... it is nice :)