Innocuous treasures

Hello lovely people,

Sorry for the delay and inadvertent break... sometimes we get caught up in doing other stuff or life simply comes in the way. Plus it's been a pretty weird winter so let's call this hibernating.
Back to business. Just because no text or images has appeared here, that does not mean that nothing is going on at Mariana's beaded crib. Quite the contrary...

But now for a bit of me-me-me time. I have let my hair grow. All my life I've had super short and quasi-boyish. But about a year and a half ago I decided to bight the comb and let it grow out. After an awkward mop-like phase, I've managed to get a respectable coiffure. And this new element has opened up an entire area of retail previously unavailable to me: hair accessories. Sadly nothing I saw in stores quite tickled my fancy, until an idea occurred to me: Mariana. So we brainstormed a bit and came up with a design for a unique headband that will make me feel quite regal as I take the subway to work. It's the little things.

This was the design blueprint (not printed or in blue, but equally professional and precise)

Base of the headband. Astonishing the small amount of stuff you need, really...

The knots and the beads- specially designed so as to not leave a painful pattern on my skull- thank you, Mariana!

Work in progress- but oh! so promising!

   Now, enough about me and more about Mariana's latest obsession: wood. Mariana lives in my hometown and we have a bunch of hills around. These hills are more than abundant in trees and bushes and hedges and a whole bunch of plant stuff. Mariana has decided to take some branches from different trees, polish them and see how she can use them. Mind you, different types of wood have different properties, textures and even smells. So she has decided to create accessories for reflexology therapy or even something pretty to stick in a bun on top of your head. Dealer's choice.
It's just amazing that you can make such beautiful things from something that one would usually discard as useless or dull! Plus the wood makes the whole line look and feel more natural more attuned to your needs instead of some dull plastic off-the-shelf product.

Raw, unpolished wood- dull as bricks, right?

Wrong! With a bit of love and care you remove the banal surface and bam! delicate lines and shapes.

Practically begging to be given the fancy treatment

I mean, now look at these puppies!

Don't they just brighten your day?

The colors...

The textures...

And trust me! they feel awesome to the touch!

 And to end on a more pragmatic note. You know how sometimes you get stuff on your keyboard? Dust bunnies, lint... crumbs? Well, Mariana has decided to make cleaning a bit more fancy. Just because it's a chore, it does not to also be a bore!

So that's it from me you guys. Be good, stay safe and keep an eye out for things that may seem boring but who knows? will actually become something new and amazing.