Its Beginning To Look Like Christmas

A scene from our little, itty, bitty tree...


Our Christmas Star...with a turquoise feather boa( of course!) and star lights!

Spooky Christmas frogs...I wonder what they do when we go to sleep?

Ethereal...Sparkly...Hazy... Christmas Tree!

I love this photo! It was yesterday evening...the lights... that is what the holiday is really about during this dark time for me...although its not so dark as compared with other places around the world!

So Now I have to wrap up gifts this weekend...finish decorating...the paper star garlands are almost done...baking and lots of baking will be going on this next week...Oh the holiday madness!

I love it! So there will be more photos!

What To Do With Your Chistmas Cash?

Some people get cash for Christmas...Wow!...I wish I could get scads of cash...Are you listening Santa???? Anyway if you are one of the lucky ones I thought I throw out some ideas for you to drop those after Christmas dollars!

My first idea on how to spend your money are these fantastic earrings above by VeraRodrigues.



Above are a set a super cool cups by circaceramics. They have an amazing selection of ceramics.

This coloring book by ClaudiaGPeason is currently sold out but its so cool! Maybe she will have one in stock by January.

If I wore belts...I would so wear this Turquoise Poppy Belt by MoxieandOliver...I would so take anything from this shop.

I love this bag with all my heart...Its called a Truffle Bag and the teal color is amazing. The shop is called Morelle and if you love bags... which I'm sure you do...you should go there immediately!

Biscuits and Bacon...Yum!

I finally did it! I made those delicious biscuits and jam butter. They were pretty delicious.They were a little crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. The jam butter was strawberry.I only made one kind of butter because it requires a whole stick per flavor and my husband would definitely have found a way to eat the two other sticks. Methinks it was a good experiment especially for it being my first time making biscuits! Here is link to the recipe from SundaySuppers.

Winter Arrangement

Well its almost winter. This week I have been a little under the weather so I have decided to make arrangements from what I have in my yard and house to make me feel better!

My yard is full of succulents and citrus...so I have used vibrant green sedum and lots of little lemons that I skewered on bamboo skewers...the tree is full of them. I wrapped the glass vase with natural colored twine and tied a kraft paper star I cut out on it. I totally dig it and it was almost free...YAY!

Its a beautiful rainy day here in Southern California. So I thought I share one of my favorite pieces of art to brighten up this day! It is an 8 color layer hand pulled screen print. It was done by hand with stencils...how amazing is that? Its called Trippity Horse by Branchcake on Etsy. I hope you enjoy its intensity!

Scenes From My House

I recently found out about picnik from one of my favorite blogs J.ChristinaHuh.It is a photo editing service! I love it. I guess a lot of people know about it. Anyway here is my first experiment!

Breakfast of Champions!

Nothing says love like coffee and home made brownies( and not the box kind!) in the morning...
If you like brownies I recommend the Katherine Hepburn ones from the Gourmet Cookbook!

Finally...Some New Items in the Shop!

So I have been uploading for an hour...yikes! So here are the new cahiers finally done and photographed.

After a horrible printing disaster...here are the new bags! I took some photo styling ideas from Mav3191 and Littleglowinglights...and made them my own...thanks for the inspiration! So now I hope I will have dishtowels to list sometime next week and well the sparkly birds and wood necklaces they will probably have to wait until next year.

So Behind....

I am getting ready to print a custom order...Hooray! But I'm behind. I was supposed to post several new listings today...and surprise! No listings...So sorry if anyone came to the shop expecting to see new stuff. I promise promise promise new listings by SATURDAY! I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Sunday Suppers

Have you been to Sunday Suppers yet??? It is one of my favorite blogs. Ive been perusing their site this morning for the first time in a while. Basically its a blog about a cooking class.
karen Mordechai does all of the photography and food styling. Someday I'm going to take a week off and make five recipes I have been dying to make especially the biscuits and jam butters! These pictures are of Tomato and Cantaloupe Salad the link is to the recipe. Yummy!

Things to come

I took a good look at my analytics this past weekend and let me tell you they are frightening!
So I know I better start a bigger fire under my butt!

So I present you a sneak peek at some items coming soon! Cotton totes in turquoise and red.

There are also some other designs so you will just have to stop by my shop December 1st.

I have also printed some more turquoise cahiers small and large ones. I was surprised how quickly the first ones sold. I am also working on some wooden tile necklaces. So we will see how that works out!

My Creative Process is So Slow

Well it has been my 2 year anniversary on Etsy. I signed up but took a year to really work out what I wanted to sell. I sketched, made some really labor intensive cards, made linoleum blocks, and painted designs for fabric.( the picture above is part of a series of watercolors for fabrics that need to be photoshopped...whenever that happens)

I actually posted in my shop in January of this past year. I was so excited...staying up until 3am experimenting with block printed textiles. I figured I was devastedly tired due to my new hours and taking care of a house and a one and a half year old that is until I figured out I was pregnant.(the above picture is a sketch I pinkified on photo shop...my husband was like"whats up with those cheeks?"...she reminds me of puck)

Oh yes the morning sickness was delightful and lasted until mid April. I basically put a lot of ideas on hold. Then when I was feeling better...my computer died. I also had 2 really sad deaths in my family too and did a bunch of floral design jobs.(this is a pencil sketch of a pagoda...dude I love pagodas...I mean I REALLY REALLY love them. I spent the better part of my early childhood watching costumed Asian dramas on channel 18...no I'm not Asian and I had no idea what they were saying.)

I guess all this pondering is about the fact I cant believe its almost the end of the year and I thought I would have so much more done. Then I think give yourself a break...you have 2 kids now...what am I crazy?...also I guess I accomplished a little bit I mean I am not a machine or Martha...that could be the same thing though.( these are some sketches of lanterns also pinkified...I also love lanterns a lot maybe not as much as pagodas but they are high on the list of things I love. I wanted to see that movie Australia because of the commercial that showed a party with all those lovely silk lanterns and I love the teacup ride at Disneyland at night because of how cool the lanterns above look!)

Pretty Bunting

How simple and fun is this DIY bunting project from Project Wedding. I love how easy this is too! I really like to make garlands and such so this is right up my alley. Click HERE for the directions. Really I should be working on finishing cahiers and photographing little sparkly birds. Oh yeah and I should be silk screening but instead here I am thinking about party decorations. Yeah...I'm a total procrastinator...don't rub it in...I need Amelie to come yell at me!

Its Baby Madness!

Here is my little Jack. He is 4 weeks tomorrow. Happy anniversary to you. So of course here is a little shopping spree with the small ones in mind!

These adorable little elfin wooden creatures are sold out but are from Urastarhouse

but they have plenty of other cute little toys. Don't you think they look like my baby?

Look at this beautiful Turquoise Branch Quilt by Jewelweeds. This is sure to be a saved treasure for your little ones little one.

How cute is this Baby Blues Patch Hat by Bigalhats? Amazingly my son's head would be too small for this hat. My daughter and husband have large heads.

Really baby feet are super cute and these shoes are equally as cute. They are by LittleHuisMus.

Here is an adorable prop to photograph your little love. I thought about ordering one but then it was too late and I am really lazy lately. This cocoon is from BeachWalkPhoto. Get well BeachWalk!

Here is a sweet little plushie by PilliPilliHandmade. She has all kinds of whimsical items and they are for adults! Yeah!

I love how smooth the toys from littlesaplingtoys look. They make me want to pet them continuously.

The fun thing about being a parent is having the opportunity to dress your kid up in ridiculous outfits and hats. This hat falls in this category. I love this hat so much! I think I would actually squeal if I put it on either one of my children. Its by Dalinda.

OH BABY!

Here is a picture of my daughter about 5 days after she was born. Aren't little babies the funniest looking things ever...definitely a face a mother a could only ooh and awww about.

That being said...I wont be here for a little bit because I'm going in this morning for my C- Section. It is my little boy's official birthday out of the womb! I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

And yes please do lots of blogging so Ill have plenty to read when I get back!

House of Turquoise

Last week I found the most amazing blog called House of Turquoise. Now if you visit here you you know I love this color. I have been perusing this site for a week now. I go everyday...what can I say I'm a freak.

How amazing is this kitchen? The floor and island are just beautiful. The image is from Diamond Barratta.

This is a stairwell designed by Muriel Brandolini. LOOK at those super cool lanterns! Both of these pictures have yellow in the mix. I love yellow and turquoise together! Anyway, thank you Erin for taking the time to research all these amazing photos! Your Blog is delicious!

Les Violettes

Lately I have really been into purples. I think its because the last floral event I did was based on that color palette. So now that my real birthday is even closer and I wont be pregnant I keep thinking about my big four oooh! in February. So how fabulous would that bustier in purples from VintageOpulence be? I could do my hair all curly and crazy with these purple ribbons from JamnGlass.

These cards look fabulous!I have never tried quilling. It looks hard to do. They would make great invitations! They are from Dizzeelizzee.

Some purple floral inspirations from Bornay. Oh Bornay I never tire of your floral glories!

Now here are some new mixed purple colored poms from pomlove. I love your shop...I love your blog. These would be great hanging in my living room...heck they'd be great hanging in your living room.

Last is a gorgeous raspberry garnet ring. What a beautiful gift to me! Its from SingleBbeautiful.

So how fun would all of that be?

Now for the menu planning...but that is an entirely different post.

Baby Shower

Here are the remnants of my baby shower 2 weeks ago.

I'm terrible about getting things photographed especially if its a party at my house. I didn't have to cook. I only had to put the decorations together. This is why sometimes...most of the time new things in my shop take a while to materialize.

I made garlands with one of my block print parasols and left over papers. My husband printed its a boy on the back of the parasols in matching ink color.

I also made succulent arrangements to give away in saved glass bottles. These arrangements are 2 weeks old. I had 4 left over from 12.

I think they looked pretty good and still do. The succulents are starting to root. They are just hanging out in air. I didn't put them in any water. I thought the colors and arrangements were perfect for a boy. I'm thinking I should make a party pack for baby showers...you know invites,little tags, and garlands. What do you think? By the way thanks to all that came! This week I have to finish Thank Yous.