Market Pics!

The last day of the Saturday Market I sell at was a fantastic success!! These pics are a bit late being posted, but the family was really hit hard by that pesky virus and we are just now getting back on our feet. My husband is still pretty ill but the kids are fully recovered which is great news! Me? I'm really tired but almost fully recovered and should be back up running at full speed by early next week. Yeah! Because I have a TON of things I can't wait to get crackin' on in the studio for the holidays. So excited! Wait until you see!

Remember the images from these posts?:
Hand Tinting an Engraving -- Marie Antoinette in Color
Hand Tinting an Engraving -- Further Explorations
Well, I bought a color printer!!! This is the first color printer I have ever had in my life and it is so exciting! And these are my first little efforts into printing. The printer came without an instruction manual, which is extremely annoying, because I'm sure the things I'm trying to do could be taught in about 10 minutes, but... I don't give up easily and am learning as I go. These framed pieces had a great debut at market and they went to a gallery the day after, so we'll see what happens!

Some of my reproduction vintage image tile necklaces from market. "Dream Bold" sold quickly, but "Dream" with the nest image is still available ($24). I just love the whole line of these pendants!

The Little Tweets have gone from 3D to 2D! I did these two mini-paintings on rough wood for some handcrafted cottage chic charm. I added real buttons for the eyes just like the real Little Tweets and drilled them so they can hang from a sweet lime ribbon. I really want them to sell as a pair, so they might be heading to the gallery too. Thinking, thinking .....

Oh, I also added a Little Tweet in red to my Etsy site! The listing is for one, but I had enough red fleece to make two. I'm thinking they would be super, super cute Christmas tree ornaments?

These are two Starfish Necklaces from market. I applied patinas by hand to the sterling starfish and then complimented them with various gemstones, beads and freshwater pearls. They turned out just fabulous! I called one "Sandy Starfish" and the other "Ocean Starfish" because of the colors the necklaces ended up. Hmm.. maybe I'm longing for a tropical vacation?? LOL! I'm going to try to get these added to one of my boutiques soon ($28 each). Still have a bunch of other things to catch up on first :)

That's all the news for now. I've got a bunch of correspondence waiting for me to answer and a pile of mail to go through still, but I still need a day or two more to rest so please bear with me!

The Glory of Felt

Little Tweets are now online!! These little felt birdies are so cute and adorable and just perfect for hanging ... well... just about anywhere! I like to use them in giftwrapping and tie them into the bow on top of the package or to the handle of the gift bag. The perfect artful touch to finish off a handmade gift. They also make fabulous Christmas ornaments!

Little Tweet --bubblegum pink sparrow
At my Etsy store.

Each Little Tweet is hand embroidered, sewn and stuffed. I use many recycled bits of felt, ribbon and buttons on them, so they are eco-tweets too :) I've had several people ask me how I can sell them for so little, considering the amount of work put into them. The simple answer is that at shows and markets, the Little Tweets are my loss leaders. What is a loss leader? A product sold at a low price (at cost or below cost) to introduce customers to your product. Basically you take a loss to lead someone to your store. So they are an awesome deal! :)

Little Tweet -- chocolate sparrow
At my Etsy store.

These are two cuties available now at my Etsy store and I have some Little Red Sparrows and some Little Red Robins ready to join them. Again, I might need to wait until school starts to get everything uploaded online that I planned to - this summer is just SO busy!! I am getting a TON done during my bloggie break, but my To Do List is still a serious foe to be reckoned with.

And look at what I won in a blog contest over at Felted Treasures!! This awesome felted grape bowl!! It is just huge and it is sooo beautiful!
Valerie was so sweet and even included a darling miniature felted bowl too. If you remember this post, at the bottom is a stitched mouse my children fell in love with -- well, it now lives in this bowl :) The awesome white bowl I've moved around the house several times already - it looks good everywhere, but especially good with my collection of buttons in it so that is probably where it will end up :) You can see more of Valerie's work at her Etsy store.

Minka Farmhouse Envy, Shop Update & A Bloggie Break

A minka is a Japanese farmhouse. Often dismissed architecturally because of its associations with poverty and rural backwardness, it has been enjoying a renaissance of appreciation in recent years. I love minka architecture and was overjoyed to find an article on one in this month's Architectural Digest. This one has been relocated to have fabulous views of Mount Fuji - ah, that view through the living/dining room windows is very nostalgic for me!Built of timber without nails, the wood is ingeniously fastened and lashed together. Smoke from cooking would blacken the central wood pillar giving it a beautiful patina of age. The rood was steeped to deflect snow. This minka, being restored and renovated, also has a Japanese style soaking tub made from Izuishi, a beautiful flecked gray-green stone. Outside is a karesansui, or dry landscape - which looks just stunning in the rain as the rocks change color.

Images from Architectual Digest
(Did you know they have whole articles from the print magazine online now? So great for research!)

No minka vacation for me, but it certainly is easy to dream about one looking at the article's gorgeous pictures! But I did get a small shop update done -- Yeah! My Etsy shop now has cupcake magnets, some of my hand crocheted coffee cozies (more to come) and more 18thc. French inspired earrings, like the Antoinette earrings.There's still time to take advantage of the summer Etsy special: June 26th - July 26th: Every order $20 or over (excluding shipping) gets a mystery freebie added to it :)

And now I really need to take a short bloggie break to get caught up on everything! I'll be back to blogging in a few short weeks!

Hanboks and Cursed: What a Combo

I love to browse through foreign language magazines at bookstores, especially the lavish, glossy fashion and home ones filled with fresh stylish things. There are certain themes I never tire of adoring, like chandeliers, vintage bling and kimonos, but I am really liking these Korean hanboks. They are so serene with their clean lines, blocks of color and simplicity.

Korean Vogue October 2007
Images from Nihilistic_youth at Flickr

I've been surrounding myself with serene and calming things lately because such bizarre, unexplainable things and bad luck have been happening around here lately. I don't believe in curses, but if things keep going this way, I might just have to change my mind. I'm beginning to feel a bit like a tiger chasing it's own tail and getting random shocks with an electric cattle prod. If anybody wants to send some good luck this way, it would be appreciated! But look .. The tulips are starting to bloom in my garden and Spring, that season of new hope and new beginnings, is near! Maybe Spring will chase away this barrage of bizarre happenings :)

I did finally get a new batch of magnets done! Yeah! They look like little mushrooms here. I found this one sheet of paper for magnet manufacturing that is just too cool - it's patterned like illuminated manuscripts.
And now .. new friends and old, I'll see you in a week or two! If this bad luck doesn't make my laptop explode or drop an asteroid on it :) Then you can see some awesome mail love AND ..... the little bird and nest I'm currently creating for a swap. Shhhh .. quiet .. my little bird is about to lay some pretty eggs! :)

Heat Wave

This week it has been triple digit HOT! This in a region where if it hits 80 degrees it's considered a heat wave. My unairconditioned studio at the top of the house has been just too hot to work in. I've squeaked in a few things during the wee hours of the morning when the temp. has dropped a bit, but still .. very warm. Above is the mystery creation from the supplies pictured in the previous post -- mini cupcake pincushions! These little guys are only about 1" x 2" and are completely cute handcrafted whimsy!



While waiting for the heat wave to abate, I spent some time surfing online from my cool kitchen and discovered these two amazing French artists. I don't speak any French, but it's jaw dropping eye candy even if you just look. Above is the sublime paper sculpture work of Le Jardin de Miss Clara. I just love this dress and shoes! She has some lovely art prints and downloadable wallpapers too.



And here at Laetitia Mieral these fairy-tale based papier-mâché wonders are created. She has an amazing blog (partially in English) full of creative costumes and custom creations. Given the current craze for Marie Antoinette, I thought this was really cute.

I'm heading back to the lavender farm this week for fresh culinary lavender and I'll publish recipes and lavender goodies next week!

Yarn Addiction

Have you ever walked into a yarn or craft store and been smitten by row upon row of gorgeous, pretty yarn? There are so many wonderful choices in today's market: Sparkly with embedded sequins, hand dyed in yummy colors, soft and woolly ready for felting ....... I am addicted to pretty yarn and my yarn cupboard is overflowing! So, I've started this year's Spring Cleaning in my yarn cupboard. First to be used up is a really pretty red wool. I've spent the week felting and embellishing these gorgeous poppy magnets. Aren't they cute!!

I also finished up this little drawer sachet and will fill it with scented and dried herbs. I suppose I should fill it with rose petals since it has a little rose embellishment, but I so love the smell of lavender in a clothes drawer. So I'm thinking lavender combined with ..... rosemary, perhaps?

Next? I'm thinking more pretty, floral things .... must be the influence of Spring!

Bejeweled - Jeweled Elegance

Soapy Love

My two little guys have discovered the joys of helping Mom make soap, and before I knew it, they were choosing enough scents and styles to fill a workshop. So ..... my kitchen has temporarily become Soap Central. But look at what yummy things they are cooking up! (with Mom's supervised help of course)

They loved choosing herbs and spices for the soap, so we ended up with a lot of complex things: English Rose soap with dried roses, Honey Applejack soap with ground cinnamon, and White and Green Tea soap with Japanese tea raided from Mom's tea cabinet.




My favorite is this one: Vanilla Almond Latte with real coffee. They wanted to make a soap just for their caffeine loving parents. Aren't they sweet! We hope the recipients of all this soap handmade with love get as much joy out of using it as we did making it. Happy Holidays!