A World of Whimsy

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.........

These are a few of my new favorite things for September:

Bright Star, Jane Campions new movie about John Keats life and secret love affair.  Filled with painfully beautiful cinematography, and brilliant performances by Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish.

Benefit , Benetint lipbalm. While not truly a stain I love the transparent red hue it gives my lips and the instant brightness it adds to my face.  Combined with the subtle color is a soft rose scent that makes each application a pleasure. It also has a spf of 15 . Sun protection is always a good thing.

 Edith Piaf. Simply amazing. I love to turn on Edith Piaf, throw on one of my many vintage slips after a  hot bath, grab my knitting and settle into the evening.More to come in November....

More to come in October......

Tea For Two.....(Or Ten)

Today I realized I will be 27 in just a month.  I'm wondering how is it possible that the days seem to linger on while the months seem to hastily pass us by.  While rifling through photos, attempting to remember where the last year has gone, I stumbled across one of my favorite events,: Our Summer Garden Party. Thank you to all you lovely people out there who made that day a great one. I hope the photos below brighten your day as much as they have mine!

Homemade lemon bars, fresh from the garden tomato and basil salad, lemonade, tea, and other yummy treats.

Vintage, yellow-ochre, glass dishware mingle with missmatched goodwill dishes and vintage linens for a pretty table. Only if we had cute vintage chairs, oh well.

At night the candles were lit. The illuminated paper candle covers stood out starkly in the warm dark night.

Lost and Found

I recently stumbled across an antique photo album from the early half of the 1900's, most likely a young girl's. I instantly fell in love with dated, nostalgic feel but also the noticeable care and placement of each tender photo, sticker or scrap of paper.  I wonder, how would you feel if someone found your greatest childhood treasure and was filled with awe and longing ? 

I hope you enjoy this found treasure as much as I have.

      

 I love how odd and playful this page is...

 

I want to live in this world of cream and pink roses, draped over my painting easel...

This page leaves me speachless, and I dont't really know why.

 

I find this cover so lovely and mysterious. 

Woodland Cookie Night

Inspired by woodland animal cookie cutters, we felt compelled to create a themed event of intense cookie baking and decorating! Karen and Sandy joined us for the evening. I learned a few new things that night:

1. Cookie dough can be molded and baked into 3-dimensional shapes (please note the toadstool cookie).

2.Giants rabbits DO exist. 

3. Probably the most important: Sake is good. Not only good,but an excellent pairing with homemade sugar cookie dough!

Prepare for extreme cuteness....

Homemade frosting, dyed by by Nora and myself. We later added  a brown, for more authentic woodland animal cookies.

 The ugly ones must be eaten promptly!

 

Karen deliberating on what to decorate next.

The fruits of our labor. Notice the toadstool standing upright!

A giant bunny and miniature horse enjoy a picnic date. Love their outfits! Their non-cookie counter parts really do exist. Now only if there was a picture of them on a date together, that would make my year!

Glory Days

This morning I awoke to the faint sound of rainfall. As I laid there, realizing summer has come to a distinct end, I was reminded of our quirky themed events and mini-adventures.

One adventure stands out in particular, a new tradition among us: The Russian river trip. I can honestly say our first trip was an utter disaster, we almost killed ourselves and an innocent bystander. The subsequent trips has been joyous endeavors, filled with salami sandwiches, adorable swimwear, plenty of sunshine.The day ends in a trip to Foster's Freeze and a quiet nap on the car ride home ( my favorite part). Here are some pictorial highlights from our most recent trip.

       The beautiful Russian River.

Lindsey Suda ( not pictured) takes this scenic pic of me before the adventure begins

 Joey Enos attempts to rock out, even in the middle of a river. A musician to the bitter end!

 Joey and Alexis Friedman taking a brake from the tiring labor that is kayaking

 

YAY!

Nora was interviewed by Pinball Publishing. Check it out. I love her new Alice print!!!

Works in progress....

Well, it has taken me almost a year but I finally finished the prototype for my Ombre Hand-warmers. They are still not perfected, but I think they are pretty amazing. After knitting and sewing in all the loose ends, I heat the fabric dye. The hand-warmers are carefully steeped and bathed, to ensure the proper fade. Now we will see if I can make a few more for the Holidays.

I'm progressing with my Small Treasures. A popular item at Renegade Craft Fair this past summer, I wanted to post them right away.That was almost three months ago. Better late then never I guess. They should be up by the end of the week!

New & Improved

I recently finished turning my dark, cluttered, closet of a computer room into my creative space. Sadly, in my excitement to purge, I neglected to take "before" pictures.  Imagine, if you please, deep yellow ochre walls closing in on an overflowing barrage of papers and trinkets, flowing down to piles of multicolored, dusty fabrics that litter the floor. It still gives me nightmares. Now, with a fresh coat of Belgian Cream, and some organization the room breathes and so can I.

 

 

My Behemoth Bunny

        

It was recently brought to my attention that bunnies of a rather large stature exist. I was floored, and well  now they are all I can think of.  Sadly, it is Sterling, my pit/beagle mix, who must bear the burden of their new found existence. You make a good giant bunny Sterling, but perhaps even a better miniature deer. We shall see....