Spending Friday at the Claremont Green Market with friends MissD and Martin was so spectacular that it inspired me to revamp and recreate a few of my handmade items. The evening was warm and breezy and the proximity of Claremont to the mountains was awe inspiring. Here are a list of handmade goodies that I’ve felt the urge to recreate and recycle over this past weekend.

Later on this week, I promise to teach you how to build a custom frame. I just learned myself and have started to perfect the art;)

When I got home today, I was thrilled because the order I placed last week finally arrived!

I decided that some porcelain palettes and nesting bowls would help me get my dresser top into order and provide a welcome change. Sometimes all the junk tends to pile up here in the bedroom and this one of my favorite spaces to showcase.

While it’s super embarassing that I’m showing you all the clutter on my dresser, I think I am liking the way these palettes can organize the space.

I first saw the idea of using a porcelain palette in Martha Stewart Living. Since I am a painter, who also makes jewelry, this idea immediately appealed to me.

I looked around at all the local art stores for inexpensive porcelain palettes but found them to be all overpriced! $23 for a palette, C’mon, I know there’s gotta be somethin’ on Amazon. As it turns out Blick online had the most affordable option and I even scored some nesting bowls.

Kinda’ cool that we have nesting dolls (top pic), nesting tables, and nesting palettes all in one room! Which means you can stack them up, like the one pictured below right.

Although, they are originally intended for paint, I think they’d make a great storage for beads. There are even grander palettes out there that could store lots of tiny earrings and necklaces. I could see them going in fabulous directions!

Having things all tidied up reminds me that I own a unique pocket watch from Malaysia! It is probably not valuable, but was the sweetest gift that my boyfriend got for me ’til date. While on a long layover in Kuala Lumpur, we ventured out to bargain for lovelies out in the market. I tried to haggle my best, but couldn’t get the vendor to budge a bit on the price of this watch. As foreigners, we knew were being had, so sadly walked away from the piece. As a surprise on a return trip alone, he went back out in to town an scored the same watch for me!

Now, I should really find more occasions to wear it!

Here are the lastest pieces that I’d love to add to this sweet little collection I have got going.

Do you know of some great jewelry designers or organizers?…please share the link!

Rita Cirkse, a Latvian artist, as her jewelry shop name ALatvian, suggests makes some very unique accessories.

As Part II of the Structured Chaos, Shop and Swap, and Blog, I signed up for a international artist to swap goods with, Rita has sent me samples from each of her 3 shops.

I took the liberty of pairing some of her warm brown beads with round wooden beads of my own as I try to decide what to make with her beautiful supplies.

In addition to a owning a jewelry shop, she also sells natural stones and ceramic beads as seen above.

She sent me some these sparkling green beads. I think I’m going to try to make some earrings out of them, perhaps they will become Christmas gifts.

Or I could keep them. In my opinion, green is a color that looks great on redheads, blondes, and brunettes.

I love the shades of purple in these Mayan earrings!

I am so happy to have been able to share Rita’s work with you all today.