daydream..

I am finishing up some pieces tonight.

Light work.

Cutting some chain, wrapping some beads, hand buffing some pieces.

Writing thank-you cards.

This is my last big shipment for the holidays, and I'm listening to this beautiful song 

with a glass of Chianti.

I do love Armstrong's version, almost as much as Edith Piaf's.

When I imagine going to France which I will soon I've promised myself

I hope to hear this song wafting through the evening air while sitting outside at some small cafe surrounded by cobblestone, gorgeous architecture and good company.

It's a nice daydream, don't you think? ;)

Norbert and I watched the Edith Piaf biopic, La Vie En Rose, earlier in the year.

I highly recommend it.

Marion Cotillard (whom I love) is absolutely outstanding in this role.

Tonight, though, it's the The King and I.

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Wrapping it up...and giving

Heya :)

I know I said I was out of the rabbit hole, but in actuality I kept one foot in. And a pair of hands. ;)

What free time I have had I spent it with friends and family (lots of holiday parties and evening trips to the bookstore for browsing, bagels & coffee...one of our favorite pasttimes). And some decompressing moments at night curled up in bed, reading.

I have a lot of thoughts in my mind that I'd like to share, but I think I'll save that for later. I'll be blogging much more in the coming weeks as things start winding down here in our part of the world.

Now, it is time for much more important news:

The randomly chosen winners of my Call for Pictures giveaway.

First off, is Bonnie wearing my 'Company of Circle's necklace.

She said that the necklace is special because it signifies her and her two sons. :)

Next, is Aimee wearing my 'Harvest Moon' earrings at her sister's wedding.

This is the only pair I have made of this design. 

(This picture just exudes happiness doesn't it?)

And lastly, is Samantha wearing one of my signature burst rings. 'Lemon Burst' to be exact :)

She is also modeling one of her fabulous knitting projects.

We will be emailing the gift certificates to the winners today.

I just realized that all three winners happen to be artists/crafters as well. Very cool :)

I can't even explain how wonderful it was to go through all of the pictures and read the lovely notes for every entry that came in. We LOVED it. I know I mentioned this before, but it's just so nice to see the faces behind the names. It makes my work feel even more special :)

THANK YOU everyone who submitted! We will definitely do this again next year.

And on to another important piece of news:

We will be closing our shops from December 23rd to January 7th.

We plan on relaxing, eating, drinking, laughing, talking and dreaming up a storm during this time so that we can come back in the new year with renewed vitality.

And honestly, I can't wait to show you what my thoughts and dreams have been preoccupied with...

you'll see :)

p.s. the newsletter went out this morning. Email me at info@bluehourdesigns.com if you'd like to subscribe, leave a comment below or sign-up on our website.

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What is missing....

...from this picture??

I live in Colorado and..

..there is no snow.

*sigh*

(yep, that was a sad sigh)

p.s. tomorrow I will announce the winners of our 'call for pictures'  giveaway!

I LOVED looking through all of them....loved making that connection :)

see you then...

EDIT: I jumped the gun on the announcement.

I will post the winners here at the beginning of next week when our newsletter goes out.

Sorry for the jump!

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Deep down the rabbit hole

I've been a bit busy lately. Okay. That's an understatement.

The reality is, that we have felt the full onslaught of the holiday shopping season here in our little workshop.

We've had moments of insanity. I'll admit ;)

But, we weathered through primarily because of pure passion and excitement.

And now it's time to breathe: 

I spent some time today in the (abnormally) warm Coloradan sun watching my sons play.

Moments like these are what make me breathe with such contentment.

I love seeing their growth. The development...the stage of boyhood that they have entered.

It is so incredibly beautiful to me...

I have left the rabbit hole!

goodnight :)

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Thanksgiving prep

A peek into our kitchen tonight:

  

We're doing Thanksgiving prep to this music.:




It's blaring. And it's happy hour. So I guess that means we're having a hell of a good time.

And just so you know, this is definitely my favorite song from the King. ;)

Oh. Can't forget this one too:





See you on the other side.....

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The other morsel....

...is this:



A chance to win one of my 'burst' rings over at Mrs. French's lovely Bliss.

You can enter here.

She will be choosing a winner on Friday :)

And on a side, yet very important note, I hit two milestones within the week.

1. I passed the 1,000 sales mark on Etsy AND

2. I passed 3,000 hearts on Etsy, as well.

These were MOMENTOUS occasions that were most definitely celebrated in this house!

(by everyone under this roof in fact!)

THANK YOU!

p.s. AND don't forget to go enter to win one of my rings!

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Stacks

Here's a peek of us at work this week....

Beautiful stacks of packages...

really, very beautiful to us

Writing thank-you cards to every wonderful customer...

And while in the midst of this we are also knee deep in family revelry.

We've had lots of little ones' laughter and pounding echo off our walls the past few days because my sister and her mini-me also visited. The boys were beyond thrilled.

And of course, I am listening to music constantly.

This band being a new favorite:

This may turn into a two post day....

if not I'll see you tomorrow morning with another morsel of information ;)

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Business & Inspiration...in that order!

Good Morning!

First order of business this cold morning is to alert you of our next giveaway lined up over at Bloesem.

You can enter here.



Tis' the season of holiday giveaways and specials so hop on over to Bloesem and enter to win a chance at a $100 gift certificate for use in our shop!

There are more goodies up our sleeves for the holidays so keep your peepers on this page for all updates :)

My next bit of news is to lay out our holiday shipping schedule:

For U.S. Christmas delivery - orders should be placed by Friday, December 17th.

For International Christmas delivery - orders should be placed by Wednesday December 1st.

If you place your order before these dates you should be on the safe side for on-time Christmas delivery.

And lastly, I had to share with you a jolt of inspiration for your Wednesday morning.

 GORGEOUS, right??

Man alive would I love one of each. Really, really!

Especially that coat!

I also love that they are a small business run by a husband and wife team.

(can SO relate)

The model above is the designer, Emerson, of the sweet line, EmersonMade.

I found her via Bliss.
Go take a look at the rest of her line. I love the streamlined and tailored look of her clothing.

Okay, time to head to the studio!

Norbert and I have been working together every morning while the little ones hang out with Nana and Papa.

It's been really nice having company in the workshop :)

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festivities

I made this tart for my little one's birthday yesterday.

It's an apricot & pear tart recipe that I found in Real Simple.

It is delicious!

Look's a bit similar, huh?

We had a great day spent with Nana and Papa who have come to stay for a few weeks.

We first headed to a coffee shop for bagels and coffee and chocolate milk for the little ones.

After a quick stop in a thrift shop we headed to local children's museum for several hours.

The second half of the day was mainly spent cooking, baking and eating.

The process is always as much, if not more fun, as sitting down to actually eat.

We usually have music going, a drink poured, and in this case a glass of beer, for everyone over 5 feet.

 (my mom's not much taller than this ;)

 That stack of tortillas, by the way, was made by my mom. She makes the BEST tortillas...hands down!

She made a fresh dozen about 3 to 4 times a week when I was growing up.

Even now, she makes them every week because of all of her children and grandchildren who completely devour them.

After the festivities we topped off the day with a pajama party.

I can't believe my youngest is 3.

It goes by SO incredibly fast.....

yet when they are yelling at the top of their lungs and destroying things I often think to myself,

"exactly when does this phase end??" ;)

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fantastic update

Please head over to Cup of Jo to enter our giveaway for the chance to win one of two $100 gift certificates for use in our shop. She will be choosing a winner at random tomorrow so hop on over....quick!

Loving the love :)

SO many wonderful and sweet comments have been posted!

This ushers in the weekend on a high!

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winter touchdown

This is the view outside my kitchen window.

And on my front porch....

The view from above.

Checking out the rabbit tracks with my little midget.

Winter has touched down. Finally :)

Actually I've loved this fall season immensely. The snow has arrived at the perfect time.

No sooner.

No later.

For my taste anyway!

Today has been a day of remembrance.

On so many levels,

 for so many people.

I'm off to hug and be hugged by three pairs of hands that completely hold my heart.

goodnight :)

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The Fruits of my Labor

I'm starting out with the one that I love just that much more.

It is already gone.... :)

These are new favorites for sure.

They are so comfortable and eye-catching.

This is the bulk of my new work that just went up into our Etsy and website shops over the last few days.

I worked really, really hard to get all of this listed and when I finally finished yesterday I slipped away from the boys and laid my head down on the couch. And I was out.

It is so gratifying for me to get my work listed and then put out into the world.

I am sure this is a universal feeling for anyone who puts so much of themselves into something.

(It doesn't just pertain to art.)

So I've been breathing a bit deeper since and I'm feeling release.

I'll be working on filling orders for the next few days in between getting my house ready for visitors.

My parents are coming to stay with us for two weeks beginning on Friday and we are sooooo ready for them to get here. They are the absolute best at swooping in and taking care of us :)

Time to head out into the sunshine and play....

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