features ~ 'ray of sunshine' daisy earrings in knot wedding!

Months ago I had the sweetest customer tell me that her wedding was going to be featured in The Knot and her bridesmaids were wearing the Ray of Sunshine Earrings she purchased from my shop! I couldn't wait to see the pictures, and finally they are available! You can view this fabulous daisy inspired wedding on The Knot TV (skip to 23:44)  Doesn't she look absolutely radiant?

Image: The Knot

shopping ~ mercury glass candle holders

The year is coming to an end and if I could give 2009 a prevailing theme for our lives, it would be to "live simply." As many of you already know, we spent the last year shedding a lot of deadweight; scaling back, trading in, giving away, letting go, paying off, paring down. The end result-our lives are much less complicated and I am seeing reflections of that around our new home's decor. For example, when we set out to decorate this year's Christmas tree, we decided to leave all our traditional ornaments and decorations in their boxes and chose instead to hang simple, yet elegant, glass icicles, white snowflakes, and silvered mercury glass globes; all of which were accented with garlands of sparkling clear lights. The combination of green, white, and silver is so fresh and pretty it has given me lots of ideas on how I want to decorate our home (now that we're finally unpacked), and set in motion my newest shopping obsession: mercury glass candle holders.

Mercury glass has been described in the blogosphere ad nauseum, so I won't repeat what others have already done so eloquently. Instead, if you're like me and are interested in starting or adding to a collection, I have done all your pre-shopping for you. I've put together some examples of lovely reproductions ("real" mercury glass is WAY out of my price range, and the repros are very nice, too). Surprisingly, I couldn't find any great examples on Etsy...but there was quite a plethora available everywhere else. By the way, don't forget to check out your local craft stores! I picked up a whole bundle of votives, which I am going to use as vases for our wedding reception, for 60% off in the Holiday aisles!

Some antique mercury glass I am swooning over! Image: Paris Hotel Boutique

"Real" mercury glass has a lot of depth and personality that is hard to find in the reproductions. But if you are the craftsy type and feeling up to making your own mercury glass votives and candle holders, there is a great tutorial that does a very nice job of recreating that look found: HERE

Shops: vagabond, pottery barn, orvis

Shops: wisteria, vintage weave, ballard designs

Shops: gift of style, qvc, elizabeth embellishments

Shops: comfort market, target and michaels, elizabeth designs

Shops: ebay, the weedpatch store, pom pom interiors

Images: Better Homes & Gardens

This white on white theme with the flashes of silver is just what I am going for in our living room. I love how clean and bright everything looks and how the greenery just pops. Once our tree goes to the great chipper in the sky, I am going to be sanding and painting (white, of course) an old fireplace mantle we have had laying around to take it's place and recreate this look. In the meantime, I'm going to have a lot of fun shopping for the accessories. :D

into the garden ~ winter walk

Mom emailed me this morning and asked for some winter pics for a Christmas video she is creating....so it was a great excuse to go for a walk in the park behind our house to enjoy our most recent snowfall. Here are some pics!

wedding artboard no 15 ~ hairpieces, part I

In between working on my business, I like to sit down with a cup of coffee and peruse the gorgeous "handmade wedding" goodies found on Etsy; my latest obsession: hairpieces. Aren't these choices delightful? It's so hard to make up one's mind; the possibilities are endless, and I think even after our wedding, I'll still drool over these kinds of things. Anwho, this is actually a 2-parter artboard, as I am going to devote the next one entirely to rhinestone clips, bobbies, and tiaras....so stay tuned!

 

heknowsmyname, sweetpeaandfawn, brendasbridalveils

kpersonboutique, laboheme, veiledbeauty

fascinatingcreations, thehoneycomb, onelittledove

shopping ~ narwhals: the next big thing

Contrary to popular belief, fawns are not the next big thing in the handmade movement; it's narwhals.

OK. I know I have no place in making this claim as I am in no way a fashionista, nor a trend setter (quite the opposite, in fact). And being an owlphile, I can't believe I'm saying this, but haven't we seen enough of the woodland creatures? I don't know what it is but I am loving narwhals as design elements these days. To me they are whimsical, slightly mysterious, and totally quirky. Perfect. Enjoy these selections found on Etsy, and if you feel like commenting, tell me what you think will be the next big trend!

narwhal treasure box by gumball grenade, narwhal mini print by paper sparrow, n is for narwhal by dp sullivan

narwhal rubber stamp found at niko art, noodle the narwhal by skunk boy creatures, unicorn of the sea t shirt by production apparel

narwhal notebook by julie peach, sterling silver narwhale necklace by celula, embroidered narwhal patch by lou lou & oscar