This photo is sort of like us.  A Love Note Reader's view of the world.  We see a beautiful blue sea with soft summery laundry billowing in the foreground.  We can almost feel the sunshine on our shoulders,  a breeze wafting through salty hair.  We ignore what looks like a platoon of icebergs passing by in the background.   This is our nature.

The iceman has already cometh, we're all done with winter.  We expect this last gasp of March to exit like an Easter lamb.   And off we go.   READ MORE

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Spring has sprung and I'm back in Virginia for a bit.  Gladly.  Not that I didn't love my time in Boca Grande with many dear friends (and thank you to all the ladies who came out for my best trunk show ever).  I loved relaxing in Longboat Key with my cousin Jennifer who's like my sister.  And yet, there's no place like home.  Especially when it's spring in Virginia.  As I'm fond of saying, that's why we live in Virginia - for the spring.

My daffodils welcomed me back, having mostly survived the wild swing from 84 degrees to a blanket of snow the very next day.  The parade of life emerging from my garden has begun in full force.  Camellias in bloom, lilies forcing their way up, and a goldfinch at the feeder.  Let the trumpets sound!  Limelights and tulips and birds, oh my!   READ MORE

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The studio has been a flurry of activity, getting me ready for my trip to the Gasparilla Inn.   It's a particularly fun show for me, because I can concentrate on designs that are all about shells.   My peeps will love them.  You see, I know their sweet spot, for it is one we share.  And I love visiting with so many regulars who by this point have become old friends.  The show is this Friday to Sunday, so if you're in the area, please stop in and say hello.  You can also get a preview of some of my new creations below.

These past few shell-forward weeks have gotten me wondering ... just what is it about seashells that keeps us utterly infatuated?  From the smallest child to that elegant elderly beachcomber in the slightly cocked hat (you know the one), each of us is equally smitten with shells.  Maybe it's because each specimen, from the humble coquina to the king's crown, feels like its own small miracle.   We grasp it as a keepsake, a reminder that Mother Nature is indeed the best designer of all.   When someone marvels at one of my modest shell creations, I like to remind them, "It was once someone's house".  And then I get to stand back and watch as a wide smile erupts, beginning in the corners of their mouth, rising slowly into an allover glow which peaks in the outside corners of their eyes.  (I think I just might sense a glow coming on in you?)  READ MORE

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