Kittens and pearls and flowers, oh my! part 2...

Time passes, things are the same and yet they change. We are still fostering this litter of kittens, but they have continued to change and grow into even more marvelous kittens...

Pearls continue to be a focus at Bumbershoot Designs, and they are turning into beautiful pieces of jewelry, Marie Antoinette, below, being one example (check out the "vintage pearls" section of the shop)...

And those flower cabochons from 1940's 1950's Japan are turning into all kinds of lovelies. Check it out...

It's a good life around here...

Kittens and pearls and flowers, oh my!

An update on several items...

First, and most importantly, I celebrated 15 years of being a mother on May 13, Emma's 15th birthday. What more can I say?

Second, our kitten foster babies. They are growing like weeds, trying to scale the baby gate blocking them from my office, eating each other's tails, eyes still interesting shades of blue, still completely and totally adorable as only kittens can be! Emma has some GREAT pictures on her blog, the blue sheep knits, here are some links:

Sisters, sisters

Under Pressure, and...

Our one little boy, who is now going by the name Freddie, is so people friendly, he allowed Emma to dress him in a (supposed to be) baby cap she knitted, see his picture here:

The Curse of the Koigu

Third, while I work on preparing my paper arts for prime time, I've introduced to Bumbershoot Designs a new line of jewelry made from vintage faux pearls. Below is a convertible necklace-bracelet, with an optional tie made of vintage French ribbon from - yes it is truly written on the spool- 1943.

Head on over and have a look!

And fourth, flowers. I've just received an order of hand painted, Japanese, acrylic flowers for Bumbershoot Supplies. Vintage 1940's to 1950's. They just don't make 'em like this any more. These will be listed over the coming week, on both Artfire and Etsy, but here's a preview. They are spectacular!

And my current personal favourite, the daisies....

Mother's Day

I'm sure that being a mother is the most challenging and most rewarding and most wonderful thing to be in the world. I think the only thing that can compare is being a father.

Honoring all mothers everywhere this weekend, we're offering free shipping on any order that includes these vintage mother-and-child cabochons.

These vintage limoges-style cabochons are just breathtaking. The picture is a decal applied to glass and then coated. To me, these cabochons have an aged appearance reminiscent of the beauty you see in very old paintings. They are so detailed, yet so soft. You will find them in 3 sizes at Bumbershoot Designs on Etsy.

A guide to Pacific Northwest pronunciation

Above, Rainier Raindrops. That's Ray-neer Raindrops.

And how about these Washington locations:

Sequim = Squim

Spokane = Spo-can

Puyallup = Pew-a-lup

And in Seattle, the original location of the first white settlement:

Alki = Alk-eye.

It is from the Chinook trading jargon, and correctly pronounced Alk-ee. It was changed to "eye" during prohibition because the locals did not like the alcoholic-sounding correct version.

Last, but not least, for now:

Geoduck = gooey duck. A very large saltwater clam, native to (primarily) Washington and British Columbia.

Do you have any more?