Anna Sofia Designs

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat nestled in a tree.

Tilting its head to look up (I love when they do this!) as if 

contemplating something. Lemon yellow throat feathers.

Egg-shaped masked bandit. Skinny little legs.

Perched on one foot. The other foot is tucked up under the belly feathers.

Still on one foot. In profile you can see the dusting of white above the black mask, and the taupe back feathers.

I adore this bird. I saw my first one this Spring. I can't get over the black mask, it's so very Zorro.

Chic Black And White Paper Earrings

"Kassia" earrings. Three separate black and white patterns joined together in long, slim, dangly earrings. Made with Chiyogami, a silk-screened Japanese paper.

 

"Miranda" earrings, made with black and white polka dot Chiyogami paper. Polka dots have always made me smile. 

"Akemi" earrings. Pattern snips from parasol Chiyogami paper from Japan. I like using bits of a pattern from a recognizable image and taking them out of context. 

Bovines in black and white, friendly goats from a nearby farm. Naturally chic, and prone to chewing your sleeve. 

It was an overcast, rainy day, and the goats were staying sheltered in their little shed. Some wandered out to say hi, though, and others got curious and followed along. 

All three pairs of black and white (or black and cream, really) earrings are available in the shop.

Tasty

Salad with baby pickling cukes and red leaf lettuce, and a bowl of peaches, from local farms. Everything tastes greener and fresher and extra delicious when it's grown close by. 

Avocado and chopped dill.

Cream of Leek-Potato soup. Leeks and potatoes are the best of friends. They make such good soup together.

San Francisco bread toasted with butter. The crust was crisp, the inside chewy and sourdough-good. Baked by the lovely people at Berkshire Mountain Bakery. 

Butter melting into crusty, fresh-baked bread is a beautiful sight. I hope you enjoy some tasty food today.

Blue Paper Pendants

"Isadora" necklace - made with Katazome-shi paper from Japan, and wire-wrapped on sterling silver.

"Melania" necklace - made with marbled Florentine paper from Italy.

Mr. Blue Jay, modeling many shades of blue.

Twinsies

Two Tufted Titmice, each with a safflower seed tucked between its feet. Tufties usually take their seeds "to go", and eat them perched on a branch somewhere. Sometimes they eat their seeds right on the feeder. 

Twin Tufties opening their seeds. They peck open the shell, pick out bits of seed to eat, pick up the shell with their beak, readjust it under their feet, and repeat, until all the seed is eaten. 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron gliding over a pond. Its feet almost look like blush colored high-heeled boots. I'm thinking Victorian style, with leather-covered buttons running up the side. 

Look at the size of the wings; they can span over six feet.

I love the stripe by the eyes, and the curve of the head and neck.

It crept along the edge of the water, lifting each leg slowly and deliberately, stealth-like.

Heron and its reflection under a canopy of green.

Unryu Paper

A batch of deliciously colored Unryu paper from Thailand.  I was cutting each piece to size to slide into clear sleeves when I realized it had to have its picture taken! 

Unryu is made in Thailand. The long thread-like pieces swirling about on the paper are kozo, from the Mulberry tree. I love looking at all these colors. I like them all together, and I like them individually.

 

Unryu is fine, like a light tissue paper. Against a white surface it's pretty translucent, so I'll be using double layers in my paper jewelry. Hard to tell it's translucent in this picture, because I've got a few sheets of each color on top of each other. I hope you enjoy the colors! 

July Business Goals

Long and winding emerald green tunnel.

Thank you, Jena, for starting the Monthly Goal Meet-up!  It's been such a good, structural anchor.

June Recap: (Oops, just realized I had two #4's.)

1.  Blog at least 3 times a week. Done, happily. Bonus that I love playing with my camera.

2.  Make at least 12 pendants. Done.

3.  Make at least 10 pairs tiny cube earrings. Done.

4.  Make more triple-dangle earrings.  Let's say at least 5.  Almost done. I think I made 3 or 4. 

4.  Send Sale Newsletter to subscribers. Done. 

5.  Make more mini notepads to send out with orders. Done.

6.  Miscellaneous goodness: smile, breathe, do a jig here and there, enjoy popsicles, dip back into "This American Life" archives...  Time to get more popsicles. 

7.  Make a gratitude list of things I'm thankful for related t0 my small business. This felt good.

July Goals: 

1.  Contact 3 blogs that feature indie designers. Say hello and tell them about my jewelry. (Toodle-oo, comfort zone.)

2.  Make 15 more necklaces - pendants and others. 

3.  Sort, purge, and declutter all folders in top drawer of filing cabinet. 

4.  Sketch some new designs in notebook.  Capture the swirling ones (that pop into my head as I'm falling asleep) with a friendly yellow number two pencil.

For the month of July, I hope you all have thick slices of sweet watermelon, smell flowers, and touch the grass with your toes. Have a happy, flowing, good goal-time.

Acrobatic White-breasted Nuthatch

Not only does the White-breasted Nuthatch have serious upside-down skills, it's quite the acrobat at the feeder. It spreads it's wings to intimidate the other birds, all while clinging on with ease. 

A little of this.

A little of that.

Some sideways action. 

Whoa, Nellie. Female Purple Finch reflexively leans to the side, away from the caped phantom.

I love the layers of feathers when they're spread, a blend of white, grey, and black.