Ahhhh....the clouds have lifted and I am now able to comprehend the language of managing a website. In the past couple days, I sit in front of this computer and squeeze myself with glee because I'm just so darn proud of myself. The next step will be making this very blog a little cuter for you all....I promise it will happen.

Today I visited Ornamentea's website and blog because I can't get enough of their fabulous baubles. And gee wiz....their blog is nice. There were so many insightful things being said and so many great pictures....ah *sigh*....i'll make it there one day.

I've been content to paint like a mad woman lately...now that everything has slowed down a bit. This most recent one, Amber Lights, also knows as North China Sea, was completed a few days ago. The newest piece I am working on (while listening to The Labrynth by Kate Mosse on audio CD), is a yummy layer upon layer of dark blues and purples....so dreamy.

A big handful of my art is still up at Olsen Estates Winery, I think you can see them there for a bit longer. Also, don't forget to check out Airfield Winery.....I did two commission pieces for them that sit happily in the mens and ladies potty rooms ;).

I think I will go to Kennewick this week, find that wellness center (forgive me, I can't recal the name), and sit in their Infrared sauna for a while. It will be nice to burn/sweat this computer ache out of my muscles.....

I hope all of your Holidays were wonderful.

Our troubles will be far away....

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
From now on, our troubles will be far away

Here we are, as in olden days
Happy golden days of your
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us
Once more

Through the years, we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

Cracked

Have I mentioned yet that managing my website and, therefore, sitting in front of a computer for hours on end is quite painful?? I only say that because of all the web-based learning I've had to do lately. I'm trying to keep my posture, but I feel like I've developed scoliosis....or some type of permanet curving of the spine. Then, suddenly, in a moment of hypochondria, just as I was sure I had suddenly become a hunch-back-with-a-jutting neck for good....I realized I hadn't blogged lately. And I couldn't think of a more fitting necklace than my fabulous "Cracked but not Broken" piece.

Tomorrow I will run out into the open air like a little school girl and venture into the Tri-Cities for some Christmas shopping and to visit the new Bikram Yoga Studio on Canal Drive. I'm thinking I might even take a class at the end of the day.....oh, my withered spine says Yes, Yes, please take me to yoga.....

Knobby

In the process of making this kitchy coasters, I realized how much I love the term and how I need to use it to describe people more often. I found some glitter gold and silver paper at my favorite craft store that I am completely crazy about.....I want to use it for everything! I made some vintage bicycle coasters for some family members....what better to make for some lovable drunks?

I am so inlove with the creative process I have been going through lately, I've been coming up with the greatest stuff. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but to me, it really is great. I obsess all day long in my studio, work my self up into a frenzy and can't get enough. I'm sure it has something to do with the time of year; night time is the right time for this little Swede.

Hoot Hoot

Lamination is my new addiction....I have to laminate everything lately. I laminated this owl picture and put some spooky Swarvoski crystals for eyes. I put a couple of my laminated pieces on Etsy....I'm dying to put them on my site, but until I learn the administration in and outs from my web lady (which will happen Dec 12!!!!!), I just have to be patient and let her list/correct things as she can. It is through this experience that I've realized what a control freak I truly am....especially when it comes to my sweet little jewels.

It snowed today!!! Oh, man, it was a beautiful, fluffy, snowman kind of snow! I caught some flakes on my tongue and listened to some Bing Crosby.

I finalized, paid for and sent my ad to Bust a few days ago! I can't wait for January 22 when their March/Feb issue comes out and can see Zoradell Designs in my favorite mag ;)

Bottle caps and snow

I made a bunch of new bottle cap rings, I named this one "What a Whore"... They'll be on my website by the end of next week, hopefully.

It is snowing in Mabton....almost six inches already! I'm burning a pine scented candle and hanging large plastic snowflakes on the window sill. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

I'm looking forward to January for the first time ever. In the past, I've viewed it as this horribly blah month that my birthday just happens to be at the end of. But, I guess I'm older now and kinda looking forward to relax and focus on making lots of things for spring shows. Maybe I'll get some good audio books from Santa and then I can super duper enjoy all of the studio time I plan to put in.

Do You Like my Moustache??

I recently purchased this "disguised" wallet from Bumblesandlu on Etsy and I can't wait to get my hands on it. When I don't want to pay for my canned olives at the checkout stand, do I just hold the wallet in front of my face and chuckle menacingly?? I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes.

Other than that, my weekend was great! I have half of my Christmas shopping done (including the things for Mother, since she is the hardest to buy for), I listed some new items on Etsy, wire-wrapped myself into a frenzy trying out some new designs and fussed over the add I want to do for the VenusZine spring and summer issues. Can't believe it is already time to think about spring and summer!! By January, I hope to have a sturdy plan for the shows I will be doing. Hope it is more than two. Peace out!

Tofurky Day

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I am smelling mom's yummy baked goods and giving love to all of the animals....especially my baby Oliver. Oh, boy he is so fat. He loves to snuggle me at night.

I'll be at the store with mom tomorrow for most of the day. I hope it is busy and I hope lots of people want their gifts wrapped....I love to wrap! Seriously. I can't think of anything that gets me more in the mood than strapping packages with pretty bows.

On a different note....what's the deal with everyone eating meat for Thanksgiving?? There's nothing like dead bird breath. I wonder who else out there is having a fabulous vegetarian feast like me. And who wants to get up at the crack of dawn and go to Target tomorrow?? Why not just pour yourself a cup of joe, stay at home and buy all of your gifts on Etsy. Better yet, piss all of the materialistic people off on your list and donate money in their name to the ASPCA and save a life.

A day off

Ahhh...I spent some much needed time yesterday to zone out and take a drive while in Seattle. I enjoyed the festive food samples and atmosphere at my favorite Whole Foods in the U District, then I trolled the local book store magazine rack for a few yummy items. I ended up with many of the mags I buy fairly regulary, with the addition of Curve which turned out to be quite a lovely read. Venuszine, Bust, Adorn and Cloth-Paper-Scissors are the volumes that usually find themselves under my arm when I head for the checkout....so I posed the question to myself, Why don't I just subscribe?? Then I realized that it is the ritual of surfing through everything on the rack with a hot coffee in hand that I cherish most of all, how could I give that up for the convienence of having them delivered to my front door??

"Under the Surface", the piece above, will be traveling across the mountains with me in three days to visit it's lovely foster home, Hopfengarten Gallery. Maybe someone will give it a real home some day.

Beautiful Wreck

I was making some crazy things this morning, daydreaming about Thanksgiving, (my mother cooks up a mean Tofurky and vegetarian feast) to relax and help out at the store. I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR! Some would say I am a slice of bread short of a sandwich, but I love everything about it. There are the obvious reasons, like family, gifts, sparkly things, the smell of pine, fireplaces, food, etc....but I also love it because of daylight savings time. I do my best work from dusk to midnight...so the creativity is really flowin' now baby!

On a somber note, I had a dear, dear friend try to commit suicide on Tuesday. She is recovering at Harborview, where I went to visit her yesterday. She is just such a Beautiful Wreck , and I made the above piece and named it with her in mind. Life is so precious, my Beautiful Wreck, I Hope you realize that now.

Ma Shuga

As promised, here is just one result from the sweet bubblegum trinkets I rescued yesterday. I call these beauties "Ma Shuga".....also available in yellow and pink (all soon to be available on Etsy and my own site). I worked into the wee hours last night, painting and making what ended up being a bunch of Valentines jewelry, although that was not my intention starting out. Oh, well, Mother always said it is never wrong to start getting ready for a holiday months in advance.

I am hoping to do the Ballard market this Sunday...unless we get rained out. I love being in the rain, of course, but I don't know if my paintings like it.

Treasure Hunt

I had this crazy wonderful experience today while tooling around in my new favorite antique store. I've passed by it several times and always wondered about what delicious trinkets I might find, but I've been recently disappointed with antique venues, so I put off checking it out until today.
As I scooped up packets of unique vintage buttons, vintage brass letters and a jar of 50-some bubble gum charms, I felt a very familiar glee coat my insides. There were also vintage boardgames and books galore....but I was short on time and glad to have something to dive into for the next trip.

I hope to create something fabulous with my items today and will post a pic here asap.

Suzanne Gonsalez

I fell in love with the artwork of Suzanne Gonsalez durning a recent spin on Etsy. This is her piece to the left and you can find more of her work on her Ravenwolf store on Etsy. I believe she lives in the midwest now but....what a small world....she is from Yakima, Washington.

The last couple days, instead of listening to my usual audio books or retro punk music while I create, I have been watching reruns of I Love New York.....what a trainwreck! I love it! I must say, that Tiffany is such a mad woman, how could you not love her??

Website

My website has officially been up and running for two days now! It is just so fabulous I can't stop looking at it. Sure, I am not the best picture taker in the world, but I sure do know how to make things ;). Check it out at http://www.zoradelldesigns.com/. I will soon have a link from there to here, so stay tuned. Oh, and I can't forget Etsy! I also have a few things on Etsy.....because I absolutely love being a part of what they do. www.zoradell.etsy.com.

My Martha

Have I ever told you how much I love Martha Stewart?? No matter what everyone says, it pleases me to no end when I browse her site to see what's cookin'....especially during the holidays. These carved pumpkins can also pose as home made stamps for collage art! Yay Martha.

Ann Baldwin

I have always loved her work, but recently I find I am obsessed with the world of Ann Baldwin. I lose myself in her pieces; there are so many rich colors and strange lines to follow, so many places of interest. I wanted to pick a "favorite" to post here, but such a thing is hard to come by. This piece, entitled "Calculations II" suits my mood today.

Obsessive

I was inspired yesterday to do several yoga related jewelry pieces from my extra special stash of bits and bobs. I had a fabulous Vinyasa class yesterday, though it was much by mistake that I was in attendance. It was my assumption that every 4:30 class at my yoga studio was Bikram style, so it was a shock to find myself in the dreaded Downward Dog instead of the all to familiar Side Moon pose. This is where I noticed an extra stab of OCD in myself.

First, even though I was very familiar with the Vinyasa flow, it is not usually my yoga of choice (especially yesterday, it wasn't) and my body fully rejected the thought of something different when the lights in the studio came on and I realized that all the faces around me were not my familiar "4:30" folk. I found it interesting how irrational I became in my head....wanting to roll like a snowball into my mat and flow right out the door. I also noticed that standing still was seemingly unheard of for that class; I found reason to believe that my mat and towel were not straight, no matter how much I adjusted them, and there was no possible way I could continue on with the poses correctly unless my mat and towel were of a military standard sort of "straight". Silly, I know. And don't get me started on my water bottle; The upper right hand corner was too close to the person in front of me, the left corner was too far away from me and the lower right corner made my mat and towel not look straight. Call the friggin OCD police!!

Let's Blog....

I love this bird. She is a little relaxed, a little angry and a whole lotta woman. I call this one Star-Crossed Lovers, and it is a bit of a self portrait. Although, my eyebrows have never looked so good and I've never been able to grow my hair out. I am thinking, as I look at it, that it is more my mother, when she was my age.

My website will be up in the next couple of weeks. Thanks to Anita at Lolalu Design, the urgings of those closest to me and all the voices in my head. I am convinced that in a previous life I was a trinket peddler, possibly even one of Santa's dearly departed Elves, so setting up my little website corner shop feels like the most natural thing on earth. My mother is quite a "peddling" soul herself, I hope I do her proud.