Swizzlet

I love this pin. I found this on Etsy a while back and I was just visiting my "favorites" section today and rediscovered it. It brings me back to the days when I was kid and we would go out for a fancy meal at a steak house.

Here is Nina's description:

WHAT IS A SWIZZLET?
Swizzlets are jewelry made from vintage swizzle sticks, cocktail picks and more!

HOW ARE SWIZZLETS MADE?
Swizzlets are made from making molds of vintage plastic and casting them in metal. Then they are formed and altered into the jewelry you see here!

Check out the rest of her jewelry. Amazing! She is very talented.

A Few New Pieces

These should all be up in my shop by the end of the week. I am working hard to get new stuff together for Renegade in San Francisco. I hope you enjoy my new series of hand drawn flowers. This is a favorite subject of mine so I'm sure there will be more in the future.

A wonderful customer on Etsy contacted me to say that she recognized the design from the playing cards. See post. The artist, Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a designer and architect in Scotland in the late 1800's and early 1900's and was a huge influence in the art noveau movement. This is his "Glasgow Rose". Isn't it so pretty!

I heart Amelie!!

Has anyone does this before? It is so funny! The funny thing is that one time I met Larry David ("Curb your Enthusiasm") and he jumped back and said "wow, you look like Amelie (Audry Tatou)". Of course I had her haircut at the time, so that may have had something to do with it. But nonetheless, I was flattered. Follow the link and you can do it too. You can also upload a picture of your child and see who they look like more - mom or dad.

Typography

Here is another custom order I just completed. I'm am so happy with the result. I've listed a couple of the styles in my shop for now. Maybe more to come later:) I've entitled this collection "Just sayin". They were featured here also.

Oh, and I've got a really exciting project that I am working on but...I'm not telling just yet. Hopefully by next week I'll be able to spill the beans. Let's just say it's really super cute!

Something Blue

This is a custom order I just completed for a bride. Her friend ordered this for her "something blue". I wonder if the friend is planning on keeping it for herself and calling it the "something borrowed, something blue" piece:)

This was my "something blue" when we got married.

And while I'm showing wedding pics, here is a picture of where we got married. This place is seriously amazing! It's Wattles mansion in Hollywood. I just discovered that they have a community garden there also. I am going to look into joining. If I can't have those gardens that I blogged about in my last post, then I will just join in on someone else's.

Trees, flowers, vegetable garden

Oh, how I long to have those things - trees, flowers, vegetable garden. Every 4-5 weeks I get a panicky feeling that we really need to move. We live in a really lovely 1920's Art Deco apartment - I'm not really complaining. But I yearn for a garden and a yard. Raising a son and 2 dogs in an apartment is challenging. While searching Craigslist here are some gardens that I covet:

Too bad those rents average at 6,000 a month (ridiculous, right?). One of them is $9,000 a month. You know what I could do with 9,000 a month!

Threadless

My neighbor had told me about this website before but I kept forgetting to check it out. Have you heard of Threadless? I am not a tee-shirt wearing gal, but I found a few that I fell in love with . Like this one from Anke Weckmann. Isn't it wonderful!! Check out her website also...it's really cool. I love her sketch book.

Millions of Happy People

Millions of Happy People by Michelle Moode:

I met Michelle at a show once....but I can't remember which one. Anyways, I loved her work from the beginning. Then recently I was reminded of her work again at the Patchwork Show in Santa Ana. Her art has life! and such beautiful colors.

Here's her bio in her words:
My mixed-media work is an exploration of the non-linear nature of memory. The repetitive nature of my processes, (printmaking, mark-making, sewing, crocheting,) allows my mind to wander, thus each finished piece becomes a record of my thoughts. I am interested in souvenirs, collections, and ephemera from everyday adventures.

Here are some of my favorites available in her Etsy shop from her "Islands" collection:

Self promotion

I swear my blog is not going to become just a vehicle for self promotion, but I have to share these two things with you. What a delight to wake up this morning with 2 google alerts telling me about 2 different features I have.
Thanks so Coleen at SomethingJustToStart for a very well thought out article/interview on Chocolate and Steel.

And also to Nichole of Muchamuchacha for her sweet feature of Chocolate and Steel on her blog Oh,LookWhatIMade! (love that title). Nichole is so super talented herself. She makes fused glass pendants that I die over. She has a terrific eye for color.

So, thanks for making my day.

Now, in order for this blog not to become all about self promotion, I swear to blog about something besides myself tomorrow. So, come back tomorrow, it will be good!