First Day of Spring, Portland Style

It was a typical Portland first-day-of-spring. This means we had all four seasons in one day. It was cold, it was warm, it rained, was sunny, the wind blew and we had periods of hail - all today. You can tell it's spring in Portland because the weather gets all schizophrenic. As I came out of a store this afternoon, I turned around to see this gorgeous rainbow; beautiful bright colors that arced across the whole sky. By the time I got my phone out to take the picture, it was already starting to diminish. Another minute later it was almost gone. It made me happy that I was able to catch it in all its glory. As you can see in the picture, it was sunny where I was. Pulling out of the parking lot, it started to rain... again. Ah, it's spring in Portland!

Yes, Yes, I Believe It IS Spring

How do I know? I had on a pair of shorts for the first time this year. Exciting I know! And I didn't even have to wait until the middle of the day. Nope, I put those suckers on at 8 o'clock this morning. Even went over to the dog park in them too! Sorry there is no picture, but the camera couldn't handle the glare coming off of my fish-belly-white legs.

It's Spring Somewhere...

Photo: David Carson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Sproing Ring

Talk about evolution! The original design for this ring looks nothing like how this turned out. It's sort of a mish-mash of that design and my trying to figure out spinner rings. (A friend had left me her spinner ring to fix, so I got some "huh, how do they do that?....ooooohhhh" time with it.) And no, this isn't my version of a spinner ring though the rings do spin. Sort of looks like a spring that's sprung, hence the name Sproing. It's one-of-a-type and currently available in my Etsy shop. It's cute, huh? Vaguely anthropomorthic or bug-like or robotic. Or Sproingy.

Spring Flower Porn (2)

I don't normally take my cell phone when I go out for the morning dog walk. I don't really need it - no one calls me anyhow - and it's just another thing in my pocket. Well, the last few days I've been toting it along and taking some pictures of the spring flowers that are busting out around my Portland neighborhood. The phone takes pretty crappy pictures and that's one of the things that intrigues me about them. The photos have that watercolory, out-of-focus, impressionistic look and of course, the colors are incredible. Aren't they sexy?

Flower Porn

Primavera Posy Necklace

I find something really sweet about this new necklace I call Primavera Posy. It's kinda got that 60s mod thing going, I like the verigation in the "leaf" beads, it's simple and charming. I'm trying a new clasp system of two hooks instead of a hook and eye.
The wire I used is originally square and I flattened it out a bit. I like how the amethyst bead in the center adds a 3-D element to that flatness. Another ready-for-spring-now please-get-just-a-bit-warmer piece of jewelry available in my Etsy shop.

Spring Chicken Planting

Girl scouts? Nope. School project? Nope. Little kids to entertain? Nope. Just me. I got it in my head that I wanted to make plants in eggshells like we did when I was a kid. I started saving the eggshells from my breakfast. As you can see, I didn't make it to a whole dozen. I don't eat that many eggs and got impatient. Mixed herb seeds are what I planted. Maybe it's the warming weather that inspired me. Maybe I just spend too much time by myself. And even though I just planted them the other day, I still check them everyday for sprouts (like an idiot). I'm pretty excited about having something new to overwater!

Ready. For. Spring.

It's nearly April and I woke up this morning to it snowing. And yesterday it was alternately freezing, sunny, hailing (twice), cloudy and drizzly. What's up with that? I like living in a place that gets all the seasons, I just don't need to have them all in one day. All the daffodils have bloomed. Hell, many of them have come and gone already. Spring sprang and now it's winter again. Sixty-five and sunny, that's all I'm asking. Spring is just toying with my emotions.

Sproing!

A couple of warmer, sunny days entices some plants to start yawning and stretching and, well, just showing off. Here are some lovelies from around the 'hood.






Inspired, I created my own spring flower necklace, Morning Glory Choker. I've had these vintage Lucite flowers around for a bit, but haven't found a good venue for them. The blue aventurine goes really well with the Lucite and I love these chartreuse triangles as modern leaves. It can't stand up to the beauty of the real thing, but then it won't fade away in a week or two either.