Peony Roses

Peony roses. 

Yes, there is such a thing!  

They are my new favorite flower...well, almost.  

Peonies are still my favorite but they are impossible to purchase or grow in Southern California. 

It's possible that peony roses are also impossible to grow here too but no worries because I can order them from my dear friend Liza who owns a flower company (Fiftyflowers.com).  

I first saw these roses at mutual friends house who received them as a gift for Valentine's Day from her husband via Fifty Flowers.  I freaked out!  

When Liza and I decided to host and decorate a table at our kids school fundraiser this year, I said I would love to use the peony roses.  

By the way, darlings, the official name is "Peony Rose Yves Piaget"....so fancy.
AND, they are incredibly aromatic and smell like heaven above!

 Well, Liza ordered TONS....and gave me two dozen to take home.  Woohooo!!!

Thank you my dear!

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck."  

~Emma Goldman

Ancient or Contemporary

I sketched the design for the following necklace sitting in a splintery old wooden chair set in a strip of gravel next to a decomposing asphalt parking lot behind an old gas station while my car was getting it's yearly health inspection.  Instead of dwelling on my unsavory surroundings, I enjoyed a quiet moment in the California winter sun and let my mind wander.  I came up with several simple designs, all with curves, dots (I love dots!) and holes.  I tend towards simplicity but I love detail.  I think the piece below is a nice compromise. But I can't decide if it looks contemporary or ancient....maybe my creative juices went back to the future!

This piece is now for sale in my online Etsy shop.

"The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."
 ~ Albert Einstein ~

Monica Ros Kindergarden Class Project

I've been busy attending to one of my new jobs....Kindergarden Room Parent!


I just finished helping guide and complete the "class project" which will be auctioned off at our Savoir Faire Fundraiser next weekend.  We (parents) cut, sanded, primed and painted the wood blocks (cut from 4x4 post) then each student chose a block and painted a chicken on it.  The tape came off, cubes were screwed into a 1/4" painted plywood base, cork was glued on back to cover screws and voila.... a Kindergarten masterpiece!


I'm not sure what we're going to call it....any ideas???


The chicken is the Kindergarden mascot, thus the chicken theme for the blocks.  In a few weeks, each student will be given a fertilized egg to take care of, study and then watch them hatch and grow.  We can't wait!!!


The hangers on the back were just attached five minutes ago and now we're finally complete!  Here's a brief visual story of what they/we (kids and parents) created....
(Sorry there are no photos of the kids!)

Thank you Val, Blu, Andre, Susannah, Mrs. Fiore and Mrs. Krout and all you awesome kindergarteners!

“We can see a thousand miracles around us every day. What is more supernatural than an egg yolk turning into a chicken?”

S. Parkes Cadman

My Metal Clay Creative Process

Making jewelry really is a process.... of imagination and digging deep.  I try to be in the moment but it doesn't hurt to look to the past for inspiration.  I've shown a similar process before but I thought I'd share it again.... 

Twenty years ago, in a college printmaking class, I drew a design on a tar covered zinc plate and etched it in acid.  The finished plate was then printed on paper with black ink (see below).

Then recently I decided to have a rubber stamp made of the design to possible use in jewelry making.  I photocopied the print, reduced the size and sent it in to the rubber stamp company (here's how I found the idea!). I ended up using the matrix that creates the rubber stamp to mold the clay.  Below you will see the raw clay after pressed into the mold and cut out, then the finished product after firing and polishing.  I have ended up creating two pieces from the original design (so far)...

I have found that this process is much easier than carving into very small pieces of clay and I can achieve  a more three dimensional look.  Hope this helps!

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.  

~Georgia O'Keeffe

The Sensuous Mango

Valentine's Day is typically associated with pale pink and red and hearts.

But, being that it's cold and wintery in most parts of the world (like inside my house!), 

what about something spunkier, warmer, more sensual like mango, orange and magenta! 

And instead of chocolate and flowers ...

how about silk, candles, lollipops and jewelry!

  Sounds good to me!!!!

petrafanella $25.00	Fairyfolk $18.00
ZahnerPhoto $18.00	vixendesigner $48.00
FusionSweets $21.00	Fabricana $3.50
bunnybuttapoth... $5.50	SmadarsTreasur... $74.00
southindiabaza... $42.95	SpaGoddess $25.00
cutemonkey $8.50	LidsJamsandJel... $5.00
rawadesign $120.00	IndigoFragranc... $2.39
whatnomints $9.00	PKStudios $69.00

You can click on any image above to take you to the Etsy online shop...

Everything at Etsy is handmade and sold by small independent businesses.

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com.

Ancient Valentine

I just looked up the history of Valentine's Day and am so surprised to learn that this special day is a very ancient tradition and not invented by Hallmark!  The history is a bit convoluted BUT I will give you a VERY short synopsis.... 


There was an ancient fertility celebration the Romans called Lupercalis/Lupercalia on February 15th.  In the 5th century AD, Pope Gelasius turned the celebration into a Christian feast day honoring St. Valentine and changed the date to a day earlier.   Two hundred years prior, the bishop Valentine had ignored the emperors ban on marriage and married young couples in secret and was consequently martyred ....  on February 14th.  In the middle ages, St. Valentine's Day became associated with romance and love....supposedly influenced by Chaucer. You can read more about it at the Holiday Spot.


I only have one heart necklace for sale in my shop so I'm excited to get into my studio to create more tokens of love!

"My bounty is as deep as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite. "

William Shakespeare

A Winter's Joy

There are definitely many reasons I chose to be born in Southern California and one of them is the winter.  Though it has been unusually cold and rainy the last several weeks, the gods of California have smiled on us once again.  The weather is GORGEOUS, the birds are in a frenzy outside my door and I am a happy camper!  

We went to the beach two days ago and played in the sand and sea.....

joy was in the air.

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me

there lay an invincible summer."

- Albert Camus

Happy New Year!