Fashionable Friday -- Falling Leaves

Living as I do in the desert, I don't really experience Autumn much. We had a high of 89 degrees here on Wednesday. 89! And while -- contrary to popular belief -- we do have leaves out here, they're all rather small and they stay the same sagey greens year 'round. This is probably because our Winters are as warm as some peoples' Summers. What do the trees have to worry about? Ok, ok, our nights do drop to freezing during the Winter. Sometimes. But the biggest deal about Autumn here is that it's Not Summer.

This does not stop me from loving Autumn leaves. Sometimes I visit my in-laws in NY and NJ during October. In between complaining bitterly about the weather (honestly, it's not in the 80s in October? What is up with that?), I enjoy the changing leaves. Since I'm only visiting, I never have to deal with the hassles associated with said leaves, such as raking and blowing and disposing. I just admire the pretty colors. Of course, I like leaves of any sort, even our tiny little desert leaves, and I look for excuses to buy leaf beads and use leaf motifs in my jewelry.

Autumnal leaves are easy to find on my site. There's the necklace above, Autumn Dryad. And there's still Dame Autumn, whom I love to link to at the drop of a hat. Leaf Fall is more simple, but still visually stunning. I have many other leaf necklaces, and more yet planned, but these are the most Fall-friendly of the bunch.

Many other jewelry artists find inspiration in the changing colors and falling leaves. Blend Creations has this beautiful washi pendant, made with maple leaf paper. Enchanted Leaves has an entire selection of Autumn Leaf jewelry. Dreams and Jewelry has a Leaf of Fall necklace which makes a lovely understated accent. And if you want to really be blown a way, check out Christi Friesen's Amazonia Unfurled. Wow.

Of course, if you live someplace other than the desert, you might actually be feeling a chill in the air. You could keep warm with this gorgeous hand-knit sweater from JewelLace. Or maybe you just want to keep your neck cozy. Well, instead of a more traditional knit scarf, how about a stunning red leaf scarf, made from kimono silk?

Next to the Amazonia necklace, my favorite leafy item for today's blog is Andrea Adams' leaf mask. I really love her leather work, and I think this particular mask is just a knock-out.

Finally, for my fellow artisans, I offer up this great link to C.A. Therien's eBay store. I've conveniently sent you right to the "leaf cane" section, where you'll find a great variety of polymer leaf canes, just waiting for you to try them out.

Looking for awesome leaf products on-line is certainly a lot easier than taking a sight-seeing trip to see the changing colors, and more fun than raking your lawn. I'm sure that with a little browsing, you'll find things even cooler than what I've shared today. Have fun!