california {from ocean to desert}

{pacific ocean & torrey pines} {another torrey pines ~ I liked this photo too!} {at the beach, near Oceanside, I think?} {outside 1 of 2 Anthros visited in the same day...and I didn't buy a thing! can you spy Hub and I?} {Rodeo Drive...had to see what this was all about. Okay. Now I have.} {driving through the mountains...Sunrise hwy through Cleveland National Forest} {a glimpse of the desert from the mountains} {crazy big boulder mountains...these were just crazy but the picture does no justice} {hub in the desert...he really wanted to go there and see some cacti, so we did!}

Hub and I were in San Diego and elsewhere last week...my first real visit to California, other than a couple layovers in LA. Honestly I'm not completely in my right mind to write a lot of nice things about California or our trip at the moment. The weather was so-so, the traffic was horrendous, public restrooms were hard to come by, and I'm still battling a bad cold I got there mid-week (hence the clouded view I have right now of our trip). There's nothing worse than being very sick when you're away from home. All you really want is your own cozy bed, right? True, we didn't see the entire state... It is a quite a big state and we were only there for a short time. But in that short time, we did see quite a bit and drove over 500 miles or so. I came to the realization on this trip that the way we like to visit new places is to drive around, explore the surroundings, get out and see things, find good restaurants, etc...rather than visit the typical tourist attractions. Although the good restaurants part didn't matter much to me as nothing tasted quite right. But looking back on my pictures now, after a few days of being home, I realize it is a rather pretty place...aside from all the traffic and crazy driving. Maybe next time I visit I'll have better luck and better health!

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(10/28/10: I meant to post this earlier in the week ~hence the date~but catching up on life and being sick just kept getting in the way! More soon, when I'm feeling better, hopefully!)

next to you my deer {c'est fini!}

hello!

As mentioned in my last post where I was figuring out to how finish my deer topper, I wanted to share what I ended up deciding upon and how I finished it off.

I really liked the contrast of that pretty brown flower-y paper base against the seafoam color of the deer. Little white and pale pink flowers, tiny toadstools, and a few handcut paper leaves in pale pink and brown mingle at their feet. Now in the shop, here.

Today is another sunny day in a row of sunny Fall days and I'm busy working on a custom cake topper order, a sweet pair of foxes...back to work!
Happy creating! ~L

in the studio {figuring things out}

Today in the studio, I've been working on a couple new cake toppers...

like this sweet deer couple above. I loved this seafoam/peppermint colored pair of deer I made previously so much that I just had to create another pair. But now the fun/perplexing part is deliberating on color schemes...I often spend a very long time, looking through my stash of things, drawing inspiration for colors that will complement my deer couple from the pretty papers I have, the season, and all the other fun little doodads (like flowers, mushrooms, ribbons, leaves) that I will incorporate on the cake topper. I lay stuff out (like above) and just see what is really exciting me.
So, once I finish that deer topper, I'll share it with you soon and you can see what I ended up deciding on! But I did finish a little pair of Autumnal Owls in a violet purple color. I was inspired by many of the things in my garden, the foliage, turning from green to hazy shades of purple. Never done purple owls before but thought I'd stretch my boundaries!
They are now in the shop, right here!
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Happy Wednesday!
Go MN Twins!