In a strange mood.

I think that I've fallen kinda into a funk lately.  Maybe I'm a little strange, but I have a tendency to get really affected and obsessed whenever I watch a really good movie.  After I saw Divergent for the first time, I ended up watching it over and over again and I ended up working out like crazy and I looked into trying to go Ziplining and Sky diving, thinking that it would be a very "Dauntless" thing to do.

A few nights ago, I saw The Fault in Our Stars for the first time, and as expected, I cried and cried to the point where I got sucked into this vortex, the one where you start sobbing and your body is heaving uncontrollably to the point where you almost feel like you might upchuck :P

Since then, I haven't been able to get the movie and it's themes out of my mind.  I spent a whole lot of time yesterday doing research online to learn more about what happens when people get cancer.  In addition to learning the science of it, I read about many personal stories and experiences of people who get the disease.  These stories touched my heart in such a way that made me feel closer than ever before to understanding what it means to be human and just how amazing, and at the same time terrifying our bodies can be.

We talk about just how wonderful and efficient are bodies are, with all of these systems that work together to keep us alive.  Why is it then, that sometimes, our bodies end up becoming our enemy in our battle to survive?  I haven't been able to get that thought out of my mind and I feel like I even dreamed about it as I slept last night.  Maybe this is something that I'll never understand...

My photography evolution and shell, kyanite, and pearl earrings...

I've had my etsy shop open for almost 4 years now and I think my picture taking skills have gone through a HUGE revolution!  From my very first pictures taken with my camera phone in my backyard, to making my own photo lightbox, to finally learning how to edit my photos, I think I've really come a long way!  It's funny to think of how blurry and ugly my first pictures were, and even though the photos that I take now aren't perfect, I'm definitely proud of my progress.

I had a request to create a new pair of earrings recently, and more than showing off the actual jewelry, I think I'm just excited to show off the actual photo!

Many people who have tried will say that jewelry is not an easy thing to photograph well.  If you have any tips or suggestions for me, I would love to hear them :)

It's been a loooong time!

It's been at least a few months since I've last been able to post on here!  I started a new job and I am now a full time 8th Grade English teacher, so as you can all imagine, I haven't had any time for jewelry making and blogging.  I'm still a full time graduate student on top of all of that, which means I've barely had any free time for anything.

We finally had our fall break this past week and even though I thought that I would have lots of time to relax, I ended up still crazy busy with a lot of unexpected things, so I'm now scrambling to get papers graded and finish my homework the day before everything starts up again :P

Yesterday, I did have a moment to devote to some jewelry, so I'm happy to share these earrings which are the first new items that I've posted in months!  With aqua crystals, pink coral, and white shells, these are the perfect pair to go with any beach outfit!  As always, you can check them out in my Etsy shop at http://skinnypigdesigns.etsy.com/