annarack jewels

   My talented and very patient friend, Anna Jane Searle, runs a lovely little shop on etsy. She is an illustrator at heart, whose passion has now leaked over into textile and jewlery design. Since we already trade mail art, I though it’d also be fun to trade from our shops; she happily accepted. In classic Jessica fashion, I am late in sharing the wonderful treats I received from her. My apologies for keeping the adorableness a secret. I picked out a set of hand-drawn earrings! My favorites of the four are definitely the little black skulls and the mini deathly hallows symbols. They are even tinier and cuter than expected! The treats showed up in a wonderful and exceedingly generous mail art package which included books, animals, stamps, gemstones, and extra treats from her shop. Thanks again for sharing your talent with me Anna.

a million city lights

I am a very lucky girl who knows some incredible people from all over this vast blue planet of ours. I thank the internet for many of my creative friendships, including the one I have with the talented Beverly Ealdama (@beverly_e) of A Million City Lights from California. Fortunate for me, she loves my artwork as much as I love hers and after exchanging mail art for over a year, a bigger art trade naturally blossomed. Trust me, you NEED some of the goodies Bev makes… these book worm buttons, geometric earrings or any of her clever typographic pieces are all winners. Peruse her etsy shop to pick up some of your own lovingly handcrafted goodies!

one year later & so in love

Today marks John and my engagement anniversary! It has been a whirlwind year (lots of fond memories and many changes) and although I didn’t think it was possible, I feel closer than ever to this wonderful man. Our lives continue to unfold with many blessings, and our love is one of the biggest. Now that we are settled in a new town that we adore, with my studio almost complete and John working at a radio station he LOVES, perhaps we will finally start looking towards the future and begin planning the big day. Although I must admit, I’d much rather cuddle on the couch with him than pick out color themes and dinner menus. I guess that instead of imagining my ‘big day’ and what it would be like, I’ve always just dreamed of finding someone special to spend the rest of my life with…. mission accomplished: one year and counting.