Its Wedding Season!

I have had the pleasure of working with several brides over the past few months to create custom hair accessories and jewelry for their weddings.  This process has led me to explore new materials and themes.  I can't even tell you how much fun it is to send a few photos to a bride-to-be and then get an email back that is filled with exclamations of joy and excitement.  (They don't realize that I often have the same feelings of joy and excitement.)  So, I wanted to share a few custom orders with you today. 

This order is composed of six pairs of gray carmina pearl earrings accented with small hematite stones. I packaged them in individual tiny silver boxes, perfect for presenting these chic handmade earrings to six lovely bridesmaids.

The next custom order is one of my favorites!  I really had fun experimenting with different variations on the theme during the design process.  It was really interesting and challenging trying to find sources for the strawberries and the berry blossoms/foliage that suited the look we were going for.  In the end, I made the blossoms and leaves myself.  I LOVE the finished piece!  This is the initial design sketch (I know, its very basic).

This is the finished hair comb!  You can read all about the nitty-gritty details in the item listing here in the shop.

Wedding Inspiration

Big thank you to the frosted petticoat for featuring my handmade fabric flower necklace on the CUTEST dang inspiration board.  I don't want to spoil the fun, so you'll have to head over to the the frosted petticoat to check out the super fun theme.  Be sure to browse the blog there, be forewarned if you're already married... you'll find so many great ideas, you just might want to tie the knot again!

If you love this necklace, you can find it in the shop.

Speaking of weddings, you might want to check out the shop if you are interested in this little number.  It is one of a kind and I posted it today!

I've been sewing something sweet

Remember last month, when I said I was going to do some stuff?  I'm too ashamed of my bold declarations to do more than mention it here.  If you want to refresh your memory, you can read the post here.  Well, I guess I kinda forgot how busy my life gets at this time of year when I work for a flower shop!!!  Actually, I'm pretty certain it must have been denial, (not forgetfulness) because if I remembered how crazy it gets, I might not have been willing to commit my time at the flower shop.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy being there, but after several proms (that means a couple hundred corsages and boutonnieres) immediately followed by Mother's Day (perhaps the busiest floral holiday, except maybe Valentine's Day) I am pretty glad its over.  I have jumped into sewing and I haven't done much else.  I think its been very therapeutic.  My nieces have their birthdays this month and last, so I made these:

The blue butterfly pinafore is a pattern from the One Yard Wonders book.  I embellished it with handmade flowers and a leaf.  (By the way, I made it in size 4T and it required more than 1 yard of fabric, I'm just sayin'.)  I also made a matching hair clip (which I forgot to photograph).  Its cute, you'll just have to take my word for it.

The ruffled halter is a pattern by Liesel Gibbons for Stitch magazine.  (She's the designer behind the label Oliver and S, I just love her style!)

The dolly is a pattern I drafted myself!  I made her as a companion to this little Miss.  After all, real live sisters need sister-dollies too, don't they?

I made the cards to compliment the sewing projects.  :)

in which we discuss your wild and earthy nature

I know I'm not the only one.  Tell me you don't sing to yourself when you're walking alone outside.  You have a tambourine (and you love to sing and dance with it, but only when no one is looking).  Tell me you don't thrill deliciously when the sky turns black during the daytime and a ferocious rain pours from the sky (complete with lightning and thunder).  You prefer vinyl records to cds.  You may have experienced the wild abandon of riding a horse bareback, running freely in fields of green and gold.  (If you haven't, then its most definitely on your wish list.)  You are a free spirit.  You are an artist.  You have a garden, of course.  You might wear your Mother's old hippie clothes, if you are lucky enough that she saved them for all these years.  You have been described as 'sassy'.  You may have considered running away to join the circus as a viable career opportunity at some point in your life, (or maybe the gypsies would take you in?).  You wear sassy boots with skirts, people may have described you as 'colorful' - take it as a compliment, trust me.  You, my friend, are just the sassy miss (or Mrs.) who I've made these earrings for.  They are new and in today's shop update!


               

In which I confess my inability to finish one task before starting another...

I have approximately half a billion projects started right now...  uhhhmmm, and I keep getting NEW ideas and starting more!  What is wrong with me?  Sometimes the thought of finishing things just fills me with dread.  Now that I've publicly confessed that personal fault, I am going to make a concerted effort to choose some long-unfinished projects and get them wrapped up!  Maybe I'll post my progress for accountability purposes.  Ooohh, that makes me feel squeamish.  :)  I think that means its a great idea.  First 'to be completed' project will be posted this week.  There, I've made a commitment.  This is going to be good for me!  I can already envision the finished sewing projects and organizing tasks...  Aaaahhh, the wonderful feeling of a task freshly completed. 


I have 8 (yes, eight) new pairs of earrings to post in the shop!  I just need to photograph them.  So, look out for a shop update (or a couple of them) over the next few days.


My new green hair clip has been featured in two very beautiful treasuries, "Mossy Green" and "Discovering Spring"!  Green is my favorite color and these are just so springy!  Here they are, (you can click on the treasury title to browse the treasury or a specific image to view the item details):

Hurry up, Spring!

First, I want to share a little teaser with you.  I have been painting.  I'm working on a series of collages that will be featured in the shop very soon!  I am very excited about this and I look forward to sharing more!  I will be offering prints and notecards (and perhaps originals too).  More details and PHOTOS coming soon!

Check out the shop for some new items!  This cute green and yellow hair clip is the perfect accessory for your Spring wardrobe.

Perhaps this green flower says "Spring" to you.  Find them both in the shop today.  There you can find all the details regarding the measurements of each piece, as well as notes detailing the thoughtful touches that went into the creation of each item. 

Yesterday Jeff and I visited a local greenhouse in search of potted bulb gardens.  They told us we would have to come back tomorrow to find bulbs in bloom, but we HAD to look around any way.  As soon as I walked inside and that warm, humid air surrounded me and there was green EVERYWHERE, I felt like I was in paradise.  Well, maybe it was the monkey.  Yep, that's right.  They have a monkey.  (I'll take the camera when I go back today).  Jeff loves monkeys, so we had to feed her, of course.  She is so funny and cute!  She put on a little performance, smiling and 'making eyes' at us.  Its fascinating to see her little face and her hands, she's so expressive.  At times she looks funny and then very thoughtful.  So, after feeding Mingo a bit of trail mix we marveled at all the fabulous plants.  One thing that caught my eye was a large planter featuring an array of succulents.  It was too pricey for us BUT I remembered that we have a beautiful container at home, hens & chicks in the garden, a succulent in a 3" ugly plastic grower's pot on the kitchen window sill and all the necessary rocks and soil stuff.  We decided to purchase one 4" succulent to be the focal point of our planter.  As soon as we got home, I went right to work.  Here is the finished planter!  If you look closely, you can see some tiny little 'babies' I put in the soil to root.  I think its going to take a long time for the little guys to get big, we'll see...

I can't wait to plant things in the garden but for now I'll feast my eyes on this little oasis of green and try to wait patiently for the soil outside to warm up.  How about you?  Are your green thumbs itching to get to work?

So Treasured...

  Treasury is an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery comprised of lists of items. Lists contain 16 items. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or whatever they like. Any Etsy member can create a Treasury list, and there is no limit to the number of lists you can create. You can edit your lists as often as you desire, and post comments to other members' lists.


  It all began on July 22, 2010.  The first of many Etsy treasuries I was lucky to be featured in.  Do you see my fabric flower corsage in the top row?  (You can click on the treasury title or the individual items in the images below to check out the treasuries!)   
 




  Since then, I have been featured in 83 treasuries!  Can you believe it?  I can't!  Well, I would like to share a few of the most recent treasury lists with you.  It is such a fun way to shop and explore Etsy to find new artists and amazing vintage stuff.  Some of the themes and collections are so AMAZING.  You'll see.



  My friend (and a fellow artist) Jenny of ReturnStudio created the above list.  (The jewelry she makes is so cool, please take a  moment to check out her shop.)  My cards are featured in the top row of her treasury list!  Suuuuuch goooood stuff!  Clever theme and I adore the color scheme!




  I absolutely love this treasury.  Great stuff again!  Can you find my necklace?  Its in the third row, on the left.




  Two by two, oh my gosh!  Is that cute, or what?  I have a pair of sweetheart earrings featured here.




  I.  Love.  This.  Theme.  Pretty much love everything in this list.  Great collection.  They featured my sweet and sassy headband with flower and feathers (and a bunch of other neat stuff). 




  Finally, this is the most recent treasury.  Nice shopping guide for Easter or Mother's Day.  My hair clip is in the last row, on the left.


Thanks for taking some time out of your day to take a peek at the treasuries!  I would love it if you would leave a comment here or on the treasury pages! 
Thank you to everyone who has featured one of my items in their treasury lists!  It is so exciting each and every time I get a new treasury notice.

Spring Fever - Shop Update

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

This is one of my favorite pieces.  Its so pretty I can't even stand it.  For the love of all things pastel, vintage-inspired and girly!  Among the fabulous details are four handmade flowers, a vintage button, czech glass beads, a budding branch, ribbons, and a pair of embroidered eco-felt leaves on an elastic headband.  If I can bear to part with it, you will be able to find it in the shop later today.

Shop Update - coming soon!

This ADORABLE dotted tulle mini veil is just one of the new pieces you can find in the shop very soon!  I hope to photograph it in a model in the next few days and then it will be posted in the shop.  This is my first exploration working with a blusher-type veil.  It can be worn in the front/side like a traditional blusher, or perched upon your updo.

I am feeling very springy, in spite of the winter storm we are experiencing.  I am also working on a headband in pastel colors (no photos yet, you'll have to check back later to see that cutie-pie).  I also have a few pairs of earrings I completed over the weekend.  Perhaps I'll photographs them this afternoon...  if the light is good.  Meanwhile, scoot over to the shop and see the cute new headbands I posted last week!

Its a wrap!

When I ship something, I love to make the packaging (you know, boxes, bubble mailers, etc...). I always try to challenge myself to see what I can come up with using recycled/repurposed materials.   I made these bubble mailers out of brown paper grocery bags, an old lighting catalog and some bits of a beautiful sheet of art paper.  I also added some ink and rubber stamping, as well as using contrasting thread to sew them up.  The bubble wrap I used for the inside was 'trash' my Mom and I saved from the landfill.  She works in industrial food services and great big pieces of it were used for lining boxes... used just once and then chucked in the trash!  Well, we fixed that!

This stack of twelve mailers was a custom order for a girl who wanted to send out her graduation announcements with a CD of pictures.  She was looking for a cool, unique way to package/present the CD and the envelope.  I chose the paper from the lighting catalog because she had a background in theater.  I provided the manila shipping tags for addressing the envelopes.

Wouldn't you just be so excited to find one of these in your mailbox?  It could happen, skip on over to the shop and pick out something pretty for yourself.  I guarantee it will arrive wrapped in eco-conscious style!  In fact, I have as much fun packaging items and I do making them!

Subject: Feedback

I like getting feedback from my Etsy customers.  Its especially fun to hear if they have done something cool with my stuff.  A while back, (okay it was last June, I KNOW I have been a wretched blogger, puh-leeze forgive me?)... so ahem, last June a customer purchased a set of my handmade cards and this is what she said about them.  "Loved them! So pretty- I'm actually using them to decorate my room and they work perfectly- thanks!"  I think this is a perfectly lovely idea.  These are the cards she was speaking of:

I wish I had a picture of her room!  I'm imagining an adorable cottage style with lots lots of vintage things.  Cards as framed art - LOVE it!

For the love of patchwork

What does one do with a pile of teensy tiny fabric scraps?  Why, make patchwork, of course!  I LOVE working with colors...

I've decided to whip up a batch of patchwork baby bibs from sweet booties! (its actually called the 'too too fun bib' in the book).  I meant to make one for my niece, but once I started playing with the fabric scraps, I was having WAY too much fun and I couldn't decide which color combination I liked best.  So, I am making a little stash of them.  After all, you never know when you'll need to give an (adorable) baby gift.