This Is What Sand Grains Look Like Under the Microscope

Look at what your beautiful feet get to walk on!

When I ran across the exquisite art work of Dr Gary Greenberg, I knew you had to see them. 

Take a peek at these gorgeous images of sand. Dr Greenberg photographs bits of sand under a microscope and patches the shots together to form these breathtaking pictures of what grains of sand really look like.

Check out the rich colors and that heart-shaped grain! 

Nothing boring, bland, run-of-the-mill, simple, ugly, or predictable at all. Think back to your last stroll down the beach...you were literally treading on bits of shells, volcano dust, gem fragments, and tiny multi-colored minerals.

Grains of Global Sand

A few weeks ago, I published a post on shells, rocks, and fossils that I collect in my treasure box. THIS takes "natural treasure" to a whole new, teensy-weensy level.

A collection of Maui sand bits. 

I'm amazed. To find this much diversity in something I thought was bland and plain is a overwhelming.

Suddenly, sand isn't nearly so boring.

When it comes to beauty, seek and ye shall find!

Ancient Soles - Sandals Get Historical

Bead Fair

Another first! Just ransacked the Hillsboro bead fair to see what other types of beads/stones I can add to sandals and to network with the vendors.

 By FAR, the coolest stand had strands of 18th century beads. Some were bright, vibrant glass beads that were crafted in Venice for trade with Africa. The vendor also had strand after strand of metal beads that just sparkled and shimmered. Some strands were made of recycled bottles. After knocking about Europe for centuries, those strands now resemble beads of seaglass!

Seeing a piece of history at the bead fair was totally unexpected. How cool would some leather sandals laced with old-school trade beads be??? Would you wear sandals with a history? Splash your opinion below!

Brass Beads 

Venetian Beads from the 18th Century for Trade with Africa

Beads from Recycled Bottles. Talk About "Vintage"!

Bead-Boppin' Along

Green vs. Blue

Hola, lovely friends! Happy 2014. I spent my new years on the couch watching recaps of 2013 until around 10:30 when I said "screw it" and hit the memory foam for sleep over watching the ball drop. At 25....I'm acting pretty "old"! Maybe that's 2014's resolution: act younger and stay up later. :)

Anyhow, I thought I'd wish you cheer on this January 1 and give ya the skinny on our sandals.

Originally, I wanted to include lavender and crystal beads scattered naturally across the macrame, but the light purple just PALES in comparison to the blue morpho butterfly wing centerpieces. Time to improvise since my first thought does look right when I put the embellishments together. Back to the bead store for another exchange.

What do you think of this mermaid scale green?

Green - yes or no?

While I love the vibrancy of the green with the wing, I think the color competes too much with the centerpiece. Opted instead for some purple-blue, oil-stained lookin' mix of beads.

                                      

Purple-indigo beads. 

Nice, no? I need to shoot you a quick video so you can watch the beads and the wing shimmer. With even the tiniest change in the lighting, these embellishments are POPPING. Already fantasizing about wearing a pair at a summer evening al fresco dinner. Chic, baby.

                                 

Laying out the beads before hand-stitching them onto the weave

Now that all the embellishments are finalized and looking good, it's time to stitch it up and work all the pieces together. Being the eager girl that I am, just couldn't wait to see where we are at! After getting a delicious jewel-pink manicure, I draped each element across my foot to model the final sandal look for you!

Whatta you think? Would you wear these? Comment below. Be honest now.

First glimpse of the butterfly wedge!