Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Red Tulips

Emma's tulips, from our garden at Greenlake, Seattle

Spring, thy name is color.

~Libbie Fudim

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Spring Tulips

tulips at the Pike Place Market, Seattle

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

Tulip Necklace from Bumbershoot Designs Featured on 6th Street Design School

Many thanks to Kirsten of 6th Street Design School for featuring my

Vintage Tulip Necklace in her Etsy Floral Necklace Roundup. 
Check it out!

It's wonderful to be in such beautiful company! 

This necklace features a gorgeous antiqued brass tulip, adorned with a beautiful rustic figure 8 chain and very, very old and special stamen-shaped antique glass pearls.

Skagit Valley Tulip Earrings Featured in Etsy Treasury

Many thanks to Kitty of PrettybyKitty for featuring Bumbershoot Design's Skagit Valley Tulip Earrings in an Etsy treasury and on her blog.  Etsy treasuries are time limited, so a great way to view this collection is on Kitty's blog, here. Skagit Valley Tulip Earrings are regularly available at Bumbershoot Designs, so if they show as sold when you click on the direct link, just contact me.

The inspiration for these earrings comes from the gorgeous tulip fields in the Skagit Valley just north of Seattle.

Tulips are blooming now, if you want to visit, check out the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival here.

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week

(Skagit Valley tulips)

And tulips, children love to stretch

Their fingers down, to feel in each

Its beauty’s secret nearer.

~E. B. Browning—A Flower in a Letter.

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week. Market Tulips

(tulips, Pike Place Market)

By the pixies' magic power

do my tulips always flower...

~Maud Keary

Yet more snow...but a little spring too

From sunny skies at Alki Beach, to this:


Our poor hummingbirds:

I know this is nothing compared to what many parts of the country receive (I grew up near Buffalo), but it's been a lot of cold this year for Seattle.

But I know spring is coming. Just a couple of days ago I was walking at Discovery Park and the place smelled like the inside of a greenhouse, all wet and warm and green. And, it's only about 1 month until the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

So today, in anticipation and for inspiration, I spent some time with tulips.

Like this:

And this:

glass rings

I love, love, love vintage glass rings. They represent glorious little bits of history and are wonderful to use in jewelry designs.

There already are some pieces in the shop made with the lovely green and blue rings shown below. My "mira la luna" jewelry is made using large and small pale blue rings, which came from Japan in the 1930's. My daughter Emma says that the luna bracelet makes her feel happy just to look at it.





My best information on the green glass is Czech in origin, 1960's in vintage. It's a very light, lime-y green and works really well when designing for spring. The other thing about glass rings is that while they look fragile, they are strong, and they are incredibly light, so they are a dream to wear. The tulip bracelet is available in my Etsy shop.





These cobalt blue (below) are very special and are my most recent purchase. They were made in the mid to late 1800's in Europe, likely Germany. These are the most exquisite creations, as I hope these photos show. You can see the hand of the artisan in each one through the bubbles and the roughness of the circle join, as well as the unevenness in size and width. Look for jewelry from these beads in the shop soon.