Like it?! Watch out for my singing debut on line soon! I'm trying to convince Rumi to be my back up singer:)

Oh! And just to see if you're reading these blogs...go to the end of this fantabulous song to see what I'm giving away!

On the 1st Day of Christmas my tree-hugger gave to me

*A subscription to Green Guide magazine

On the 2^nd Day of Christmas my tree-hugger gave to me

*2 Klean Kanteens

and a subscription to Green Guide magazine

 * We will post pictures by the weekend!

My favorite book of the Season is "A Greener Christmas" by Sheherazade Goldsmith and offers a multitude of beautiful ideas for the Holidays. At Belly Sprout this year Jennifer and I took bags of anise flowers and cinnamon sticks to decorate plain stock Christmas cards and hang tags for our customers and added elements of raffia and colorful yarns. We strung pine cones, long cinnamon sticks and wooden snowflakes with hemp string to decorate our windows. The cinnamon sticks were wrapped in raffia and used as decorative pieces throughout the store. Oranges stuck with cloves made the store smell divine. For our Creative Seed party last week, we used clipped foliage from Laurels tree to decorate the table of food using wooden trays, and recycled napkins and cups. Pine cones were gathered by Rumi and myself to fill large vases. Here are some other fresh and green ideas from "A Greener Christmas":

The other night I completed my entry for The Creative Seed event. I gathered my beads and sterling silver milagros, sat on the floor and began mapping out my design for my 3-stranded necklace. I let the boys watch Robin Hood so I could concentrate on my work and soon I was entering into my creative space.

When I had my jewelry business (Chakiras) for 6 years, I was able to have an enriching creative outlet. I could sit at the table and work for hours on end without a break, oblivious to time, while my hands were connected to my passion of jewelery making. It was really meditative and fascinating to me when inspiration would hit and I would just be in the “flow”. It was almost as if the jewelry was being made by someone else and my fingers were just following along. I loved it!

My love for all things hand made started when I was quite little but was really planted when my family took a cross-country trip to Minnesota over 12 years ago.

On Sunday I was fortunate enough to go to the Elevate Film Festival in L.A. at the Nokia Theater with two dear friends. My friend, Marilyn, thought it would be a great venue for me to network, but the experience we received was everything but a networking opportunity. The scene was highly eclectic and a feast for my hungry eyes as I darted around watching people of all walks of life dance before me. The film festival was created to bring together community and raise deeper awareness of our human experience.