Thou Shalt Not Jinx

Exciting! K liked all the boxes she ordered and is going to try to get them to wholesale in other boutiques. She's got plans beyond that should her initial plans become successful--now it's just a waiting game as to what happens. She won't really know until October or so for any updates, so patience is key. That's all I know, and even if I knew more I probably wouldn't elaborate because I don't want to jinx anything! Here's to crossing fingers and having positive thoughts!

My Cup Runneth...

...over with paint! New boxes to add to the order. K loved the first 6 so much, she ordered 6 more for her first order. I'm sooo excited she likes them so much--now I hope some customers will, too. I'll probably be posting some to my Etsy store, too, after I fulfill K's order. Which one do you like best?

Next in Line

Here's the next little trinket box. Ms. Boutique Owner loved our pink one shown in the previous post, so I'm on to create more! Yay! I personally really like the color combination on this one; it's different, but a nice "grounding" colors of aqua and green, but with a punch of orange that, to me, is a fun surprise. Do you like combinations like this one? Let me know what you think! Do you have a favorite color combination? Aqua and Red? Olive and Periwinkle? (Sport team colors don't count! : )  )

Trinket Box Sample

So in an effort to get a new sample to the boutique owner (mentioned in the previous post), I whipped up this little candy colored delight. I still need to glaze it, but I wanted to post it, in the hopes of getting some feedback. Hope you like it--hope the boutique owner likes it, too! : )

Paper Trail

Exciting News--a beautiful boutique not too far from me may be interested in my hand-painted trinket/jewelry boxes!! Wish me luck! The boxes will have pretty paper decoupage on the inside. Here's a sample so  you can get an idea of the bright colors an patterns I like to play with. The second photo is of one of the boxes the boutique owner bought as a sample.

Let me know your opinion: Is this a type of gift you would buy for a friend?

Vintage Fashion

So a couple weekends ago my family and I meandered around an "Art in the Park" event in Morro Bay. There were so many beautiful things there, from photography, painters of various mediums (media??), ceramic pottery, jewelry of all kinds--just beautiful! And there were a few booths that had the kind of art I like to do a lot: repurposed furniture and wares. Being a sucker for anything fashion-themed, I pounced on these two window-framed "Couture" fashion posters. The colors are perfect for my art room, which is going thru a bit of a revamp right now. Dear husband agreed they would look great in the room, so lucky me got these two early birthday presents.

If you have--or could have--your own creative space, what would you do to liven it up? Let me know as I always love hearing and being inspired by fresh ideas!

Spring Things

There are few things that are as serene as a gentle rainfall, and for me this photo captures it beautifully. I can hear the gentle drops, and imagine getting caught up in watching each raindrop gather then drop slowly in a mesmerizing pattern. I stumbled upon this beautiful photo on etsy, here, which led me to a flickr.com portfolio here. There are so many gorgeous nature photos here! She has a wonderful eye for light and composition, and can make you see the simple beauty that is there. If you don't think much about stopping to appreciate the simple things in life, you will now. Beautiful! The artist's name is Maria Kallin. Check out her links; you'll be happy you did. (Photo below ©Maria Kallin)

Fairy Land

We just got back from a nice little getaway along the Central coast, and one of our favorite things to do is to wander through some plant nurseries that have a very random looking, yet beautifully structured garden areas. Everything LOOKS like it was just randomly springing up, but in actuality the little meandering paths and beautiful array of plants sucks you in, and you wander off through lovely spaces. And tucked here and there among these lovely spaces were little, beautiful fairy gardens. From that moment on my little girl had to create one--it was her mission, and it was her daddy's mission to help her--make one. Careful selections of just the right sized plants and flowers were made, with moss and pebbles for accents. And of course we needed to provide a cozy little abode, with a fresh rainbow of paint. The results are below.

Another Project Finally done

So my sister gave me her plain oak porch bench to get a little crafty-practice. It took me quite a while (time and schedule constraints), but I finally finished. Photos are a bit blurry, but still clear enough to see details. Comments are welcomed!

Wowzers!

So I'm behind, behind, behind! So many things have happened since my last post (and some things before then, too)! First things first...

The Holiday Rosamond Craft Fair (back in December, naturally) was fun! A small venue, but perfect for a first-time selling experience for Ann, Laurie, and me. I even had a few sales--even of a chair! I was so excited and encouraged. Maybe I'm actually onto something! Here are some photos:

Little Blue Cottage

I covet a lot. Mostly my friend Tina of Little Blue Cottage. She is one of those fabulous people who can do anything. Cook, Bake, mother, and quilt. And I covet that she has somehow figured out how to jam 29 hours into one day. It's kinda freaky.  But this is where that kind of talent (aka, magic) goes to: this fabulous quilt not only catches my eye because it has 3 of my fave-o-rite colors all playing together nicely, it reminds me that someday I want to rub elbows with Tina harder, so maybe some of her magic will pole-vault over to me (not likely), and then I'll be able to make beautiful quilts in under 29 hours. Thanks for sharing, Tina!

Cheers

Ahhhh, London! What a fabulous place! I've been twice--once for a long weekend (no, I'm not rich, it was a killer deal on Virgin Atlantic!) with my husband (then-fiance), and once as part of my husband's and my honeymoon. So there's romance  as well as nostalgia in it for me.

I have a love of the UK that maybe I should be called a Britophile (a la France's "Francophiles"). Such a small place that has played an enormous part of the world's history--and an enormous part of American history. Beautiful country sides, amazing metro areas, castles, kings and queens whose influence has reached much farther and longer than just their reigning years! If you ever get a chance to travel, go to the UK! People are amazing, the stories are amazing, the architecture and landscapes are amazing....Did I mention it was amazing?

Below is a link to a cool bit of art by redletterwords on etsy.com. Simple, graphic, bold and cool--just looking at it sends a rush of memories of many rides on the Tube (the underground railway). Browse through her site further and you'll find this:

Which of course is just in time for Valentine's day (also comes in pink)! Take a virtual gander in her shop--she has a variety of themes available for you.  Maybe you'll find a little romance...