Loreena McKennitt Christmas.

Always makes me think of icicles sparkling in the moonlight...

Last minute Christmas gifts.

Hope you'll excuse my silence!

I've been a busy beaver in the studio the past two months, playing with gemstones, experimenting with my steel texture stamps, conjuring pieces that are sometimes more complex, sometimes drastically simpler than what I usually make. There's nothing better than zoning out to some good audiobooks* and making jewelry on drizzly winter days.

Here are a sampling of goodies still available for sale at Seattle boutiques, if you're a gift-buying procrastinator living locally. Or maybe you just want to reward yourself for getting through these hectic days with sanity intact?

Thistle Leaf crown ring (size 7 1/2) at Ghost Gallery in Capitol Hill:

Amethyst heart (they were supposed to be bees initially...) earrings at Velouria in Ballard:

Lady of the Manor ring (size 7 1/4) at Ghost Gallery:

Raw fluorite pendant necklace with 24" chain at Ghost Gallery:

And of course, there are still many delightful Dorothy Cheng Jewelry pieces at Tacoma Art Museum Store and Paper Hammer. 

Happy holidays, everyone!

*Speaking of audiobooks- I highly recommend Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Set in an elite and isolated liberal arts college in Vermont, it follows a tight-knit, secretive group of friends who study ancient Greek and end up murdering one of the members in their clique. It's the kind of college experience I used to fantasize about as a kid, because like one of the characters, I also had a "morbid longing for the picturesque". Obviously, murder never featured in my college fantasy, but complete immersion in an esoteric field of study with a group of like-minded peers certainly did!