It's a good thing we had so much fun snowboarding right before the new year began, because we had about a 6 week dry spell with almost no snow! It's hard to believe that while most of the nation was being pummeled with snow we had almost none. I was starting to go a little stir crazy but being one to always look on the bright side, I took the opportunity to get a lot done in the studio.

Robbie the boys and I had a painting party. The color was a miss-tint from that we found at the Habitat for Humanity re-store. It was hard to tell what the color would look like from the tiny dot on the top of the can. I was a little worried that it was going to be way too mental institution green, but it ended up a beautiful turquoise blue. Robbie pointed out it's exactly the shade I would have picked from a paint chip and he was so right.

Robbie also built me a new glass rack AND a table for metalsmithing. The days of me taking over the kitchen counter with my jewelry work are happily over! I'm loving being able to leave a partly completed project out in the studio without it being endangered by a bouncing ball, stray nerf bullet, or tiny curious fingers.

I'm grateful that the lull in snowboarding gave me plenty of time to dream up new work and get started making some of them a reality. I'm hoping to have at least a few pieces finished for my two March shows. I'm very thankful that winter is back in full force and will be spending the next few weeks happily playing in the snow in the morning and working to finish new things in the studio in the afternoon and evening. Life is good. Very good.

My first show in March will be RAGS Wearable Art Sale & Show. Hope to see you there!!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!

This is my husband Robbie. He is the one who puts the silver cores in my beads, cleans my beads, makes travel arrangements, goes to the post office, etc., etc. The list could go on and on. Without him I wouldn't be able to do so much. He is also my best friend. Besides our family, one his biggest joy in life is snowboarding. Can you tell? His love of snowboarding has spread to our whole family. The other day the words "I love winter more than summer" actually escaped my mouth.

The kids have been on winter break so I've been taking a break too. Beginning the day after Christmas, we went on a 5 day snowboarding marathon. Every day there was fresh, deep, dry wonderful snow to play in.

All I wanted for Christmas this year was tools for metalsmithing. Robbie got me a third hand and a set of files. I quickly spent all my Christmas money on tools, before I could spend it on bills.

I want to thank everyone SO much for supporting Larissa Spafford Designs in 2010. I am so grateful for each & every one of you that made purchases, gave compliments, encouraging words & shared stories. Even just taking a moment to stop by my craft fair booth, my website or my etsy shop is greatly appreciated.

I've had a great winter break and can not wait to get back into the studio when the boys go back to school this week. It feels like we've been on vacation for a really long time. There is only so long that I can go without doing anything creative!

Happy Holidays!!!!!

Happy Holidays from Larissa Spafford Designs!!!! Enter the coupon code HappyHolidays15 during checkout in my Etsy shop to receive a 15% discount.

Every year around the holidays, for pretty much both of my son's lives, I have been busy with craft fairs. This usually results in doing almost nothing to get ready for Christmas at our house until after the last craft fair. The last craft fair usually happens the Saturday before Christmas. There is always last minute Christmas tree shopping & decorating, and last minute gift shopping too. This year I was feeling pretty on top of it because we went and got our tree BEFORE we left town for the last craft fair. We put it in our garage and it was waiting for us when we returned home on Wednesday. We also began picking up a few things for the boys stocking stuffers way back at the beginning of Dec. when we were at the One of a Kind Show in Chicago. That is record breaking early for us.

For me Christmas is about being together & celebrating, not just about giving gifts. I love, love, love to give gifts, but I really want the boys to grow up knowing that Christmas is about more than gifts. But they are kids, and presents really are what they seem to care about most. Kai was about to hyperventilate a few minutes ago because he can't wait until tonight when we told him he can open one present.

Last night we had planned to have a few friends & family members over for dinner and then decorate our tree. Our plans changed when our friends car broke down on the way over and Robbie went to pick them up and take them back home. By the time Robbie got them home to Eugene he was tired and decided to stay the night. I wanted us to all decorate the tree together, so I told the boys that we would have to wait one more day to decorate. They didn't really go for the wait one more day idea, and one was crying and they were both saying how Christmas was ruined and how it did not feel like Christmas time at all. Great. I explained that traditionally people did decorate their trees on Christmas Eve. They did not care....one bit. When I asked them what we could do to make it feel more Christmas like they didn't have any ideas. Even greater.

We ended up having our own little party, just the three of us. I turned on some Christmas music, Kai made popcorn, and they drank eggnog. We got the tree out of the garage and into the living room and temporarily decorated it with some candy canes. Then we got out the art supplies and made wrapping paper for my nieces presents. After a while they were both SO happy and said it did feel like Christmas. I was one relieved & happy mommy, and I feel like Christmas to them IS about more than just receiving gifts :)

Indie Craft Loft!

This weekend I will be participating in the Indie Craft Loft at Gossamer here in Bend!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for sure. Seattle, Port Townsend, Thanksgiving & snowboarding, then Chicago. We just got home from Chicago yesterday and I'm already switching gears, and getting ready for the Indie Craft Loft this weekend.

The Calm Before the Storm

I am getting excited for one of my busiest craft fair seasons to begin. Right now is kind of like a calm before the storm and I'm just enjoying it. Mostly. I felt a tiny twinge of anxiety last night when I was typing up an e mail to send out to my mailing list. It was the first time I really put the pieces of my schedule for the next 6 weeks together. Seeing it all in black and white was a little intimidating. I'm going to do shows in Seattle, Chicago, Bend, and Port Townsend. And somewhere in there is Thanksgiving. And hopefully some snowboarding. AND actually making the things I will be selling. And being a mommy & wife. Yes I am.

This weekend I will be at the Bend Indoor Market again, one last time before the holidays. The market has been pretty slow for me. People keep saying it will pick up for me around the holidays, but guess what, I won't be there. I keep telling people that so hopefully this weekend will make up for it. I'll just have to wait patiently and see.

November 12,13 &14th I am going to be participating in The Best of the Northwest in Seattle. I really love Seattle and am happy to be going there and participating in this show again. I will be and staying with friends, which always makes doing a show WAY better. After Seattle I'm going to Port Townsend for a day or two to visit my family and friends. I really want to spend some time with my grandpa Norman who just had his 90th birthday!

The last 10 days have been pretty intense for me. My husband has been out of town, so I've been doing double duty. Triple if you count being mommie, daddy, AND the work he does for my business. I feel like I've been holding everything together pretty well, but am SO relieved, happy and excited that he's coming home today! The boys have been so sweet. They have been extra nice and helpful and have been really good about spending the weekends with me at the Indoor Market.

Most mornings between getting the kids to school, and bead making, I've been walking up to the top of Pilot Butte, a tiny state park right in Bend. The panoramic view from the top is amazing. You can see SO far. Rolling hills and buttes, and all the surrounding mountains. There is my personal favorite Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, The 3 Sisters, 3 Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, Black Butte and Mt. Hood way off in the distance. You can also see Smith Rock just outside of Redmond. Every day it's been so clear and beautiful. Of course today, the one day I remember my camera, it's hazier and you can't see as far and clearly, but you get the idea. It's gorgeous! Walking up to the top and back really helps ground me and get my head out of it's early morning sleepiness, and prepare me for the creative and busy day ahead.

One day, ok maybe more than one, when I got home from walking and took a warm shower, all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and go back to sleep. I had to remind myself that my beads aren't going to make themselves. Despite being really tired I AM still really excited about some new jewelry designs I'm working on. So I dragged myself out to the garage/studio, turned on the music and fired up the torch. Instantly I felt refreshed and remembered how much I love this medium, how lucky I am to get to do what I love every day and live in such a beautiful place. It's good to know that after 12 years of bead making I still love it just as much, probably even more because my skills are better.

An exciting thing that happened this week is that I taught my first private lesson since moving to Oregon! It was really fun. I STILL don't have my own place set up for teaching. If you have been patiently waiting, THANK YOU. I have some ideas of how to winterize the garage, and once that is finished I will be back to private lessons at my house. It should be soon. I think the frosty mornings are going to be the biggest motivator for me to make it more comfortable in there!

Tomorrow we are celebrating our youngest son's 8th birthday with a party at our house!!!!!!! I'm baking him a cake and decorating it with the theme of his favorite book, Richard Scarys Cars and Trucks and Things that Go. Better start baking now!

Bend Indoor Market

This weekend, the 25th and 26th I will be participating in a new market here in Bend. The Bend Indoor Market will be a mix of vendors selling local foods,produce, antiques, art and more. Hours are 10-4 both days. It is located at 50 Scott St. S.E. near the Sparrow Bakery. I'm really excited to have an INDOOR market so close to home where I can leave my booth set up from week to week.

This is a new color combination for fall I am calling Autumn. I used rich terracotta pink, golden yellow, topaz, clear and a touch of plum.