My newest creation, a felt flower pin, was featured in Vivika’s treasury called “We Will Capture Your Heart”! I have so many vintage beads that I thought it would be fun to make them in to something else other than necklaces, so I purchased some felt and pins to create these adorable little brooches:

This one has super soft blue and white felt with hand stitching in silver, one large vintage flower in blue with a smaller silver flower in the center, and three vintage metal hammered discs.

This one has a large vintage lucite flower with a Czech glass flower in the center. There is a also a faceted lucite drop, a vintage plastic leaf, sterling sliver stardust and a sunny glass bead.

And this one has a large vintage lucite flower with a pink glass givre flower in the center. There are also two vintage spring green faceted drops that look like little leaves! You can purchase this in my Etsy shop, and I hope to be adding more soon!

OK, so I wanted to learn how to knit, and my best resource was Barnes and Noble. No kidding — neither my grandmother or mother knows how to knit, so there you have it. I was told to pick up Debbie Stoller’s how-to book called Stitch ‘N Bitch, and I’m happy I did. As you can see, I’ve got quite a ways to go, but I think I’ve got the basics down. I’m not sure which stitch I’m the best at yet, and I have the hardest time holding the yarn just right. I think after several more hours of practice, I might just get a scarf done by next year!

By the way, the yarn in the photo is called Mimi from Handspun and Dyed Too!

Here is one of my newest necklaces! I’ve named it “On Golden Pond”, and it’s a very cheerful piece for such a gloomy Friday. This necklace has a deep green jade donut, vintage flowers and pretty gold accents. I love the sweet colors and how it reminds me of Claude Monet’s famous Waterlilies.

I haven’t had much time to make a lot of new jewelry since Strange Folk, but I’m hoping to have several more pieces in time for the holidays. Perhaps I’ll work on some this weekend, between cleaning my studio and wedding invitations. Happy Friday everyone!

I had so much fun designing this box invitation for Laura and Brian’s December wedding! It is really great to work with a client who is not afraid to push the envelope, or in this case, to get rid of it entirely!

This invite was printed on white linen paper and layered with a blue shimmer cardstock. The reply card and invite were wrapped with netting and topped with a pretty sanddollar that guests can hang on their Christmas tree. I really love the texture and bright colors of this invite, and I know it will really stand out amidst the everyday clutter of junk mail!

Lauren Smash has the most creative plush toys I’ve ever seen! Puppies, bears and robots, oh my! She sketches them out first, then makes them come to life with fabric, buttons and stuffing! I bought a little gingerbread man and snowman plush — they double as ornaments. I also purchased this little pouch with a removable flower pin. I love the apple fabric and the bunny illustration with a button on its tummy!

Lauren also creates these wonderful paintings and drawings — Little Red is my favorite! Each one is unique and seems to tell it’s own little story. You can visit her Etsy shop here, or read more about what’s stitchin’ with Lauren at her blog.

My package arrived Friday and even the manilla envelope was adorable! Look how tiny the gingerbread man is! Lauren will be selling her handmade cuteness at Bazaar Bizarre in December, so if you are in the San Francisco area, make sure to check it out!

My Etsy favorites are many, and among them is this walnut bracelet from Garnish Home. I love Meagan’s contemporary use of wood and the bright colors that she uses in every piece. I’m also lusting after these lovely little earrings from Metal Garden Factory, whose shop is full of botanical jewelry in the prettiest blooms and colors!

I also have a weakness for throw pillows, and the Little Stitch has a super soft, ultra-mod collection of them. I’ve noticed that Susan’s turned her unique pillow designs into beautiful wall art — she has a great blog that you can read about here.

I’ve added all of these to my Christmas list!
Happy Friday everyone!

I have the wonderful opportunity to work with Anna Siedzik on her spring wedding invitations, and I’m very excited about collaborating ideas! With some insightful and creative input from Anna, I came up with these beautiful save the date postcards to send to her guests. The colors were picked fresh from the flower photos she sent me — I love the combination of champagne, pink and celadon! A friend of Anna’s painted a lovely portrait of the happy couple, and it is definitely the finishing touch for this piece. I can hardly wait to get started on the invitations! Thanks Anna, for being such a sweet customer and I look forward to seeing what else we can come up with!

The inspiration and colors…

…and the finished save the date!

Fall is here!
I spent Sunday with the family at Meramec Spring Park and the weather was perfect! We even brought my mom’s new pup, Harley, with us to enjoy the festivities of Old Iron Works Days. This two day festival is a celebration of crafts used in the 1800’s and my favorite booth this year was the black and white pottery! The black “designs” that you see are made from holding the pottery over a fire to let the smoke randomly add it’s own decoration. The result was so unique!

Here’s my little sis holding Harley, and my buddy Jordan feeding the fish.

I love designing for a wedding from start to finish! Julia Greeves came to me for fall themed wedding invitations, and they turned out so beautiful! Bronze and copper paper, red and chocolate accents, all on ivory linen. Last night I finished up the last few pieces needed for her wedding: special thank you cards, place cards, and cookie tags. Julia and her mom had some great ideas for party favors and such, and I can’t wait to see pictures of the place settings!

I can’t think of a better name for Beth’s “handspun goodness” other than Spindelicious! If you have never been to her Etsy shop, go now! A few weeks ago I purchased some Midsummer Night’s Dream to make a scarf and since then I have been hooked! Pardon the pun.

Since Spindelicious enjoys custom orders, I decided to give her the challenge of creating a super soft gray yarn with pops of orange to match my favorite Pumas!

Beth came through and the yarn turned out even better than I could have imagined! Since I knew she would be making this from scratch, I asked if she would mind documenting the whole process. I think it’s amazing to see all of the steps that led to the creation of this yarn:

My custom Puma yarn is amazingly soft and rich with color and texture! Beth even gave some orange vintage buttons to match! I can’t wait to create something with this fabulous yarn….I think I’ll move on from crocheting to learning how to knit. Wish me luck!

If you want to read more about Spindelicious and keep up with her newest creations, visit her blog here. I’m already lusting after Bears and Blue Skies — chocolate brown and aqua is such a mesmerizing color combo. I know my best pal Christina would love it! Thanks again, Beth, for your impeccable craftsmanship and your talent for envisioning just what I wanted…and making it a reality!