random photo of the week

preparing for a big furniture presentation at work, i'm searching for images of furniture pieces for the renderings that we're preparing.

this image came up under a search for a "wing chair". (it was a bit more specific than that, but still)

wing chair.....to FF skateboarding in a rad pair of Nike's? (photo courtesty of blog.myjemz.com)

awesome.

happy Friday!

finally 2009: the year i'm getting married

welcome to 2009, she said as she updates her blog finally. it's been wedding mayhem and chaos at work and i have no more excuses. the weather is so gorgeous outside, and my excitement is growing as our wedding day is closer and closer.

inspiration for our DIY farm day wedding! my parents are helping so much, with ideas and actually making the farm so beautiful for our special day. i couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else, and thankfully Brian was totally gung-ho about it too.

this is kind of a bad photo, but this is the stem of all my inspiration for the look and feel of the reception! a display at Anthropologie last year, i love the idea of long, rectangular tables, with the mis-matched chairs (although that idea sort of blossomed into something completely different and wonderful!)

lots of glassware, bell jars, old glass bottles and wildflowers! (photo courtesy of TheKnot.com)

lovely burlap tablecloths (unknown photo source).

i haven't been making a whole lot for my Etsy shoppe, mainly focusing on the wedding - still lots to do. this month, we're finishing up the invitations, escort cards, and purchasing miscellaneous items. it's been quite an adventure planning this entire wedding (which will be at my parents' farm in Michigan) from NYC, but i've loved every minute of it.

this month's distraction: ICFF - International Contemporary Furniture Fair, held at the Javits Center on the west side of midtown Manhattan. it's this week! and there are tons of parties all over the city, for us savvy designers.

to post soon: i'm knitting my mother a shawl for her to wear at our wedding, to go with her oh-so-couture BCBG dress! photos soon.

daemon

i've been reading the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, by Phillip Pullman.

i'm in the middle of The Subtle Knife right now, actually, i'm almost finished with it. but since i started, i've almost been obsessed with thinking of what my daemon would be. the animal entity of my soul, living outside my body. he talks to me, and reads my thoughts.

after weeks of pondering and discussing with brian, i've realized this is what my daemon would be.

a lynx. (photo courtesy of http://kritterkorner.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/canadian-lynx.jpg)

brian would be this.

an owl. (photo courtesy of http://photoramas.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/barred-owl.jpg)
how wise and philosopher-like of him.

can you imagine a giant cat-like creature and an owl crawling around our little apartment??

what would your daemon be? read about them.....here.

merry christmas and happy new year

we decorated our first christmas tree tonight.

we almost didn't get one. but i couldn't resist the small, white 3' tree.

the "yard" tree. as brian calls it.

our first ornaments. matching chuck taylors. brian's is black (like the pair he wears on his feet). mine is white.

and we even made a little star out of copper wire. maybe next year we'll have one that glows too. like the twinkle lights.

merry christmas. we'll be in michigan soon.

uplifting treasury

i just flew back from Texas....and boy, are my arms tired!!

it's always amazing when i'm in a sort of creative slump and i get featured in an Etsy Treasury!

my entire creative soul has been focusing on work so much, that when i get home, all juices to make anything even remotely functional or fun is completely gone from my system. BUT this is no time to complain! i am still doing what i love, and trying desparately not to let it drain me.

(those are my felt earrings at the top center!)

i thought i would give a quick update, since i haven't posted since May! it is such a beautiful summer, i'm having so much fun travelling (Texas this past weekend, and Michigan in one week!), spending time with friends and my special one. we are going to meet my family next week!! we were in Texas meeting his family, which is not quite as large as mine. hmmm....

i miss knitting! i have a few projects going on, but my hands have been worn out from over-usage on the computer at work, and plus my hands don't like holding the wool in the summer. but i've gotta finish sewing up el babe sweater for little Eden! or she'll be too big for it! ah! plus the ladies have been travelling so much this summer, it's been difficult to get together for some quality knitting time.

more to come soon!

homeward-bound

isn't that the name of a movie? starring 2 dogs and a cat? with Michael J. Fox as the voice of a mangy old pitbull??

in my case, it's the wonderful news that i am again venturing to the mitten state for some well-needed stress relief on the farm. 5 glorious days of rest, relaxation, hot tubbin, ice cream eating (oh wait that's what i'm doing right now), beer drinkin, inside-joke-laughin, movie watchin, game playin, kissin, and huggin.


enough said.

sunshine keeps me on steinway

'we met through a queer twist of time' - Frida Hyvonen

had a wonderful pampering day. bought some new gorgeous spring shoes, a few new pieces for my professional wardrobe, and had a spa pedicure and manicure done. dark nails to grab attention.


it's amazing, i love living in astoria. conveniences around every corner. the manicure place is seriously only a few blocks from my apartment.

with this beautiful weather, i haven't been getting as much work done for my shop as i've really wanted to. i have a few projects started, but you know. i've actually been focusing a lot on my knitting, as the babies are being born as i speak!!! they'll be needing new hats and sweaters to keep them warm!

speaking of babies, many thousands of congrats to my best girl Michelle and her husband Tim out in Idaho, on their new baby girl, Eden Grace!!! i am ecstatic!! i only wish i could be out there with her. in the photo above showing my current knitting projects, the bright lime green yarn is for a sweater for the little girl!! my first sweater project. i thought i'd start with a baby size. a bit easier, right?

the other olive green is a hat (for who is a surprise!). i used a nice textured stitch that looks like argyle.

so before i start knitting, i was turned on to this hilarious site, Simpsonize Me! of course i had to make myself into a Simpson's character.

try it! it's absolutely way too much fun. i think this does actually kind of look like me!

saturday look.

last but not least today, i ordered some lovely handmade stockings from a seller on Etsy, Sans Soucie, who works out of British Columbia.

all hand-dyed and pieced together for a custom order! i simply emailed the artist, letting her know what color combination i wanted. so original.

her business card. very elegant. will model them soon.
happy spring!!!

listen to your breaking heart

the moon was a sliver of lemon last night. i could see it through the clouds passing by. by now i've realized how few stars i can see at night here in the city. it's better living in queens, at least i can count the number i see on my hands. maybe my hands and feet.

my new leg warmers! photo above shows a detail shot of the Graffiti Blossom embellished at the top of the warmer.

here they are in their entirety. another pair made from an old sweater of mine, headed for the salvation army! this was definitely one of my favorites, the simple black and tan stripes. these sleeves made for especially wonderful leg warmers, creating a nice big bell at the bottom. these are also being featured on an Etsy Treasury! called "Use, Abuse and then Re-use". genius.

today is another day filled with lots of crafting. i have many more leg warmers in the works, and also more tees for my spring line. excitement!

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in MORE excitement! my brother Peter's band, Meridian, just released their full-length album, Listen to Your Breaking Heart!!! it is amazing. i seriously have not been able to stop listening to it. they've been recording it for awhile, but finally ended by getting it mastered here in NYC by George Marino at Sterling Sound Studios! you can have a listen at their Myspace site:

http://www.myspace.com/thebandmeridian


or you can head down to the bottom of my blog site to purchase the album through SnoCap.

i highly recommend!!! Murder in a Small Town is my favorite song (Peter on the far left).

(photo provided by Meridian)

quickly

i went to an amazing party in my neighborhood last night, at SITE, a great little boutique shop carrying vintage and handmade items for the home! i met some lovely people who live right in my neighborhood, and also got to talk with one of the featured artists of the evening, Amber Zezeck of Brookadelphia! she makes unique necklaces cut from acrylic plexi, i actually bought the green grass necklace.

i did feature some of my jewelry there at another party almost a year ago. so last night was a bit more laid back.

on another exciting note, i am featured on the Etsy Trashion blog! they interviewed me a few weeks ago, before i left on vacation. i love this street team!!

returning

we have returned! Amsterdam was amazing and brilliant and cold and snowy and full of wonder. i love the culture shock, and seeing another world. the people live so differently and i drink it all in.

bicycles everywhere. we even rode them! a cute bicycle rental place near the train station rented two red cruiser bikes to us.

this is a mega short post about it. if you'd like to see more photos of our glorious trip, you can visit my Picasa web album!

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in other news, i may have mentioned that my friend Tiffany and i were trying to get into the Bust Craftacular this spring. alas, we were not one of the lucky 50 to get in to the fair, which will be on April 27. but we are going to try to get into the Renegade Craft Fair, which is in the summer time. good for me, i'll have more time to prepare and get some product out. goodie.

becuz of my long absence from Etsy and my world of craftiness, i made another felt Graffiti Blossom brooch this weekend. i realized after making it that the colors are very similar to the first brooch i made like this. but the felt in the foreground i made myself, to mimic a sunset.

it's backed with a great fabric remnant from a discontinued upholstery sample.

i love the coi fish. so classic.
coming soon....an artist featured! stay tuned.