The Cream is at the Bottom

How do they really make sprinkles for ice cream? I've been wondering this for years. Truly. They can't possibly make each one in a mold - especially since they are perfectly round and lack a flat area that would result from the top of a mold. And they can't really have been cut from a long skinny tube of sugar concoction because then the ends would be flat - and they're not; they're rounded. And they couldn't have been cut up into logs and then heated (to round the ends) because if the ends pulled in from the heat then they'd end up in a sphere - not an elongated cylinder.


Life is just filled with mysterious and complicated matters. Clearly.

But sprinkles aside, I recently received a special order for jewelry and it has sparked some new designs! I'm actually pretty pumped at the new bracelets and earrings that resulted from this interaction. I had done all of the glasswork last night and this morning I could hardly wait to open up my kiln. Amazingly EVERY THING turned out perfectly! I couldn't be happier with it. The funny thing is that even though I'm ecstatic with this new set, I can't be bothered to make a batch for myself! How silly! And by 'silly' I mean 'stupid'. What a stupid thing to do, Ashley. You should be wearing only your best pieces so that you can parade around town; a walking advertisement that looks unavoidably delicious and appealing; stop wearing the broken pieces!

Yet I'm unable to throw the 'mess-ups' away. I just can't do it. I'd much rather put them to use, hanging proudly - though tilted, or cracked, or just obviously imperfect - from my body.

It's hard to look your best when you're surrounded by wounded jewelry - I just want to save them all. Like the way you want to salvage that blob of cookie dough that drops onto your dirty floor; you're pick it up, unable to simply toss it into the trash, and scrape off the top layer since it clearly was not involved in the accident. Why do we turn out backs on the cream of the crop, just to 'rescue' the duds?

I don't have the answer. But if you see me at the bookstore, or the coffeeshop, I likely won't be wearing a symmetrical piece of perfection.