I think that’s why I decided to orient so much of my life around studying a language. Words are magical. The fact that some words express so much, the fact that some languages have words that seem so perfect and yet are missing in other languages, the fact that learning new words makes me all giggly — this is my life.
I’ve said it before, but I think that we are too quick to say nowadays that there just aren’t words for something. Maybe we have just lost the power to find them. Shakespeare would find them, Dickens would find them, Proust would find them — even if it meant that it took a sentence that lasted 5 pages and had 22 semicolons. And when I find the right words, the perfect words that expressed something that is true, I just want to hold them close to me in a tangible way, which is of course impossible. They are, after all, just words.
But that’s why I’m so excited about today’s giveaway.
Wendy, of the Etsy shop Some Tiny Stories takes words, names, thoughts, and phrases and spells them out in morse code on necklaces and bracelets. She takes the words that stick with you and lets you see and wear them, turning something meaningful into something beautiful.
When Wendy and I talked about doing a giveaway a while back, I had the hardest time picking some words and phrases. I finally decided on some that I wanted to keep close and I have loved wearing them around the past couple weeks. Lines from favorite old hymns, French words with nuances I love, just seem so perfect pulled from speech and stretched out in shining strands. I took some photos of my beautiful friend Sarah in the jewelry Wendy sent for her website and I am happy to share some with you today. At the very bottom, see how you can win some jewelry of your own!








To win a custom piece of morse code jewelry:
- Like her page on Facebook.
- Visit her Etsy shop and look around. Make sure to check out her About page and see a picture of her precious little girl!
- Come back here telling me you did the first two steps. In your comment, also share what word, name, or phrase you would want made into some jewelry, unless you are like me and will need to think for forever. Make sure to include your email in the comment form (always private from anyone other than me) so that I can get in touch with you.
- You can enter any time before next Thursday, Nov. 14th, at 8am. Winner will be announced on here later that day.
Additionally, Wendy is giving 10% off any order with the coupon code theartinlife10. This code has no expiration, so you can keep on having pretty words as long as you want.
So what words would you want to wear?
Note: Unfortunately, the giveaway shipping can only be domestic. International readers — you can still share what word you would love, but the winner must have a US shipping address. Also, as some phrases are longer than expected once spelled out in morse code, you may have to tweak what you decide on if you win… your neck only allows so much room for words.
Update: Our winner is Joanna Dixon, who thought of a beautiful Spanish phrase that she would love to wear. Joanna, I’ll be emailing you shortly with instructions on claiming your lovely jewelry! Thanks to everyone who liked, browsed, and entered — I wish I could send pretties to all of you. Remember that you can use the code above for 10% off an order at any time. Happy shopping!












If DC could be represented by a meal, it would be brunch.
Despite his exceedingly devoted midwestern work ethic, James loves brunch too. I’ve mentioned before how 








Happy color hunting. 










