Law of equivalent exchange.

So I'm no alchemist but as I upgrade my wire and take the plunge into making my own findings (I love that I'm starting to make pieces where I can say I made everything) I find that I have more questions sometimes than I can find answers for. At every step along the way I have found people willing to share their knowledge and not only does that make me happy it makes me want to do the same in return except I know I'm not there yet.

An extraordinarily wonderful co-worker gifted me this week through a little deceit. She had overheard me talking with my main cohort in craftiness, Katey, about the latest catalog from Fire Mountain Gems. So co-worker "J" sends me an e-mail telling me she has a cousin who is starting to get into jewelry and what online shops would I recommend. Me, getting all chatty, goes on for like 3 e-mails about my favorite places, etc. so later that day I get an e-mail letting me know despite her best efforts, those particular shops don't make gift certificates easy but here's a gift to your PayPal account!

I did a happy dance! The story about the cousin was a complete fabrication but what a nifty way to say thank you. I immediately wanted to make her something very unique but I have noticed she is nary a jewelry wearing person so I offered to make something for her mother knowing that her mom is recovering from surgery and Mother's Day is coming up. Again, co-worker "J" demured but I had something up my sleeve...peonies.

My grandmother on my father's side died last year of a sudden heart attack. She was always an inspiration to me in all things botanical. I always loved going to gardens with her because she knew all the plants, knew what made them special, what would make them grow. She was also a beekeeper at times and had a shock of white hair she always kept tucked behind her ears. Some of my favorite memories of visiting her farm (in Missouri) are of the peonies she always had.

I love those flowers, especially the double peonies. Such big flowers and bright colors and there would usually be a big black ant crawling around enjoying them just as much as I did.

So when my mom called me and asked me if I wanted some peonies of course I said yes. I had heard they were a bit difficult to get them to thrive in the south (north of Atlanta) but it was possible. Co-worker "J" is very into gardening and I knew this so I knew giving her one of the peonies would be perfect and hooray, she couldn't resist!

The other thing I did was do my research on metals and decided I wanted argentium wire. I used her gift to buy some from riogrande.com after looking around at several places on pricing. Thank you to all the crafty folks out there who have posted their knowledge online about various wires and what has worked best for them.

The flower in the photo is not a peony but is a photo I took on a recent hike through Cloudland Canyon State Park in northern Georgia. I saw so many tiny flowers and knew my grandma was there.