IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD! MY KID GOT A BAD HAIRCUT!

Today my son got dragged in for a haircut. I say dragged because he wasn't thrilled to be going. The kid likes to wear his hair long. Normally, I don't really care. It's just hair, right? Besides, his dad has long hair-- really long rock star kind of hair, minus the rock star part, so I let my son grow his out a couple of years ago and have pretty much just taken him in for trims every four months or so. The problem is, the kid hates to brush his hair, so not only does he have a mess of tangles, but he looks like he just crawled out of bed, no matter what time of day it is.

Recently, he joined a track team and had his first official practice today. I watched as his sweaty long hair clung to his face and kept getting in his eyes. After practice, I told him he needed to get a haircut... just a little one, something that wouldn't keep getting in his face.

So-- off to the very trendy barbershop I've been taking him to for awhile now. The only problem is that the guy who usually cuts his hair, the one who gets the whole shaggy surfer dude look, is no longer at the barbershop, so... we got someone new (insert gasp here!) After some quick, frenzied snipping, the cool shaggy surfer dude look wound up looking like some sort of hybrid hair... a cross between one of the Jonas Brothers & some random dude from High school Musical.

My son is devastated. It's a lot shorter than he wanted. The truth is, it's still longer than most of his friend's hair. It's more stylish than what he had before... and he can't stop crying about it. His world is over. His hair is ugly. After hours of assuring him he looks so much older... like a cool middle-schooler... I have now resorted to the lowest of lows. I promised to buy him something cool. Something really cool. Something all the other kids would think is so cool, they won't even notice his cool new look.

I had no idea what that thing should be, so I started browsing around the web, looking for something cool and I found these really cool bracelet cuffs made from recycled soda cans at Elsewares.com

The price though... is a bit steep for my current budget and since I make jewelry for a living, it's hard for me to shell out that kind of money for something that I can't help but think I could make myself.

You know, it really wasn't THAT bad of a haircut....

SODA POP TABS PART DEUX!

I'm preparing to launch my Green Girl line soon, which will include designs made from recycled and salvaged materials. The other night, I was fiddling around, trying to come up with earrings using soda pop tabs that would look cute with jeans or even something a little more dressy. I added beads made from recycled glass and beads salvaged from a swimsuit manufacturer for a little color and flair. The earwires are sterling silver. Here's the end result.

I am pretty pleased! Wish the holes in my ears hadn't closed up!

MARCH MADNESS!

Can you believe that March is right around the corner? Before you know it, it will be Spring! Spring is one of my favorite times of year. I love seeing all the flowers waking up from their Winter slumber and look forward to the bright colors that start peppering the landscape.

March's birthstone is Aquamarine. The cool blue tones of this semi-precious gemstone remind me of the seashore. Some of my favorite jewelry pieces have aquamarines in them. I swear that I can almost smell the sea spray and hear the whooshing of the ocean’s waves when I’m wearing them. It’s interesting how color can have such an affect on you. How yellow makes you happy. Grey makes you feel more sedate. Colors and patterns and textures truly are such an important part of the design process. Together, those elements can evoke a whole host of emotions in someone, or transport them to a different time and place.

Beansoup Aprons, for example, does just that with their whimsical line of aprons for children and grownups! The patterns, colors and designs bring you back to a time when Sunday afternoons in the kitchen with Grandma were times to be cherished. Hop on over to Beansoup and check out their funky, retro designs. My favorite? Their Retro Surf Overall Apron.





Is it me, or is that the beach calling?

My First Blog Post

Thursday, February 19 2009 - 01:11

Welcome to my blog for LinnyGirl Designs!

I will totally confess that I have no idea what I should be writing about right now, as this is my first attempt at blogging, so I am just going to write something and hope I don’t scare anyone away. In all honesty, blogging to me still sounds like something a six year old might do after eating way too much cotton candy, but everyone says that blogging is an important part of promoting your business, especially a new business like mine, so here I am jumping on the bandwagon. Do I know what the heck I'm doing? In a word, no-- but I thought I should jot something down to get things rolling or I will procrastinate this whole blog thing to death. I do need to finish the five other projects I’ve already started; designing new earring cards for one. I know I could just buy stock earring cards, but I feel that handmade jewelry designs deserve something special for them to be displayed on.

Here’s a picture of my first attempt at making one.

Pretty purple paper. Pretty stamp. Pretty gold ink. Somehow it all looks so wrong….

Here's my second attempt.

Same pretty purple cardstock. Same pretty stamper. Different color ink... still doesn't work.

Third attempt.. .hopefully the last.

Pretty printed cardstock. No stamp. No ink. Simple. Elegant. I like it.

Love to hear your comments!