in the studio {ferns & flowers}

Amidst much time spent loving on one sick, teething, non-napping baby, I've been trying to do some cake-toppering too. Pictured here, some hand cut paper ferns and other cake topper adornments.

little weekend projects...

The weekend was good and laid back...the first one that's felt like this in a long while. I made some chocolate covered strawberries for a friend's wife's birthday.

I hadn't made them in a looong time... I forgot how good these are!

Also, I finished my project for little baby's room. Remember these old frames? I decided to pretty much leave them as is except for a bit of sanding (originally I had planned to paint them but decided I liked the natural/rustic wood look best...it complements the brown accents and juxtaposes nicely with all the crisp white in his nursery). As you can see, I have a little bit of a "deer" theme going. I searched for vintage children's books containing deer illustrations to find a good picture for the bottom left frame...and luckily I came across a great book at my local thrift shop that had a neat cover illustration. The book must have been in a library at one time as there was plastic over the paper jacket cover. So when I took off the plastic it was still in great condition! The other two frames contain some patterned paper topped off with handcut things...a deer silhouette and the letter "A" in a light green paper...It's a little hard to see in this photo...but I'm so happy with how it all turned out!

silver blooms

That first little gold paper flower I made awhile back for a wedding cake topper was the inspiration for making more in various colors. Each flower is cut by hand and finished with cherry red vintage stamen centers. These pretty luxe silver blooms are now available in the shop, a jarful of posies!

in the studio {paper flowers}

I needed (or rather wanted) a gold flower for a bird order and decided to try making one out of paper, of course. A few handcut layers and flower stamens later, and I was pretty happy about how it turned out. I think I'll make more in some other color combos, just for fun! Isn't paper amazing? The possibities are endless.

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P.S. Is it Friday already??? I'm getting ready for a busy weekend ahead with friends over for dinner Saturday and the lovely in-laws up visiting on Sunday! Hoping for nicer weather too!

Happy Weekend to You!

all things blue...

I realized today that there've been a lot of pretty shades of blue around me lately.

First off, my lovely Delphinium plant which was in full bloom, welcoming us when we came home from the cabin last week. These flowers always remind me of little flower fairy caps and I love this particular blue color. (This picture from Anthropologie's July catalogue almost, almost makes me want to cut a bunch and wrap them up in brown paper, just to cart around like that...so lovely!) And I mentioned in my last post about picking wild blueberries at the cabin, but we came home to find our own plants chock full of ripe berries just waiting to be plucked! And I've been eating them every day since. Such a tasty blue! Yesterday, I spent some time repotting many of my indoor houseplants. They sorely needed it and I'd been meaning to do it for a long time. Some had simply outgrown their pots or needed fresh potting soil, and others I wanted to switch into sweeter pots...
...like the lovely blue McCoy pot (left) that Hub gave me for my birthday!
And finally, the blue-ish background to a new little paper & thread collage piece I recently did. Now I just need to find the right sort of vintage-y, shadowbox-y sort of frame. Then I'll take some better photos of it too.
~Happy BLUE Thursday!~

in the studio {flutter & bloom}

It's hard to make progress on inside projects when it is so extremely perfect outside lately and there are so many little outside/yard projects too. (Anyone else struggling with this?)
But I finally took some photos today of a recent votive...and got it in the shop, right here! Each and every little flower & butterfly wrapping up around the votive is entirely handcut. I think it would be a sweet accent upon an outdoor table setting...see, I can't stop thinking about being outside. ;)

Must head out again!

More soon! ~L

pretty plumage

For my Valentine cards this year, I sent out little surprise packages for some sweet ladies featuring feathery bobby pins attached to "hats" hand cut from paper stating "you're the feather in my cap!" I was inspired by a pretty hair clip I recently purchased and wanted to try making some smaller versions using the notions I had in my craft stash. They were quite quick and fun to make! I started by cutting out a small wool felt circle as my base, glued on a few feathers, and then stitched on by hand whatever else I could find...ruffles of vintage seambinding, bits of lace, shiny beads, tiny fabric flowers, and little vintage leaves. No two were exactly alike, just like the unique & special ladies in my life!

fruitful Friday...

Hello there!

A fruitful week has been going on around here and I'm so happy that its Friday. Apparently we could be in for some wicked weather (ie: freezing rain) this weekend so I'm thankful we have no major plans going on and can just hunker down for a restful weekend after a long, busy week! I'm envisioning lots of tea and knitting by the fireplace. :)

So, today I finished up a few of the things that had been in the works recently which always feels so good. Would you care to see where some of those stamps got stuck?

A new votive using some of my postage stamps as seen in my last post, now in the shop: In My Head, In My Heart Papercut Votive. I like the shape of this votive, short and squatty, and I was really happy with how it turned out! (Actually, I think its just the bottom of an old apothecary jar that was missing it's lid?) And another new votive, now in the shop too: Birdcage Bliss Papercut Votive.

It was a bit hard to accurately capture this votive's sweetness in photos because the colors are so soft and pale and due to the dreadfully dreary natural light here as of late...but I really do love it, especially when silhouetted against a window or with the glow of a tea light within.
Some new cheery red tags! (Now in the shop: Heartstrings Gift Tags.) So again, more crafting with the hearts cut from old postage stamps.
I like how that bird stamp above is framed so well within the confines of a heart shape.
A little peak of some packaging today...I don't know why but I get excited about labels! I picked these fun red & white ones up from Target after Christmas and I thought they'd be great for Valentine's day or almost anything really!
And finally, on a cozy note...one of my simple pleasures is enjoying leftover homemade soup warmed up the next day in a big, oversized mug. This was lunch today along with some crackers and cheese. Yum!

Hope your week has been just as fruitful and sweet!
Happy Weekend!
~L

in the studio {hearts}

Here're just a few little things in the works right now. I've been slowly creating, having brief spurts of inspiration followed by longer moments away from the studio. I blame it on mid-January, cold, gloomy dark days (which make for poor picture-taking), and the fact that one of our old cameras is no longer compatible with our new computer. We can buy some device that will allow us to use it...just haven't done it yet. Blame it on January. Poor January.

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P.S. I'm listening to Laura Veirs today, a beautiful, sweet and peaceful sounding CD Hub surprised me with last night...perfectly fitting for January.

White Christmas

{mum's Swedish flag garland dances across the window to the white world outside}{mum's forest of trees lining the windowsill}

{calming chamomile}

{mum's Swedish puff pastry}

{paper trees + zigzag stitching...my simple handmade Christmas cards}

{knitted lavendar hearts...a few little gifts I made}
{my first ever caramel-making attempt...}

{...a success despite my lack of candy thermometer!}

{our mailbox}

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Another Christmas has come and gone and I always find myself feeling more than a little relieved. I love the time of year but I'm also happy to have life once again return to a more normal pace...where the stores aren't filled with frenzied shoppers and my lists aren't miles long, mostly because of expectations I put on myself. There're always so many things I want to do and make and bake and try...and once Christmas has past, I can let all those things go for another year...which feels so good! We spent a few days over Christmas staying with my parents in their new home, and although it wasn't the house I grew up in and was used to going back home to, it still felt like home to me with all of Mum's lovely touches...her cozy decorations and freshly baked goodies. While Hub and my Dad did their fare share of bonding over snowblowing and shoveling, we were anxious to return home and see what our snow-covered house would look like. News reports were saying that we'd received the most snow in the state...being dumped on with about 24 inches of snow while we were away! Thankfully we came home to find our driveway freshly plowed by a kind neighbor...a nice and unexpected gift which made a very merry end to our Christmas!

in the studio {+ going red}

So I've been crafting up a storm lately...making some simple, complimentary tags today to go along with an order...and starting to work on some new deer sculptures for the shop......with red fingernails and all! I'm really getting into the season, I guess. Aren't they lovely?! ;) This is about as wild and crazy as I get!

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P.S. I put together a little "woodland" centerpiece for the table today using some reindeer moss and a sweet, white owl candle I recently purchased...see the sidebar photo!

nighttime snowflakes...

Hibernating in my brain for the past few weeks has been this idea of a three-dimensional snowflake votive...with hand cut snowflakes floating up and around a votive...white on white. And it wasn't until yesterday that I had the time to finally set this idea free. I gave you a peak yesterday with my cut-outs. And today, here's a nighttime photo of the finished votive. I can imagine a cluster of these votives in various shapes and sizes, gathered on an old silver tray perhaps, casting their light and emaninating warmth throughout the winter season...so I think I'll embark further on this 3D votive idea and see what becomes of it...perhaps some for the shop this winter even...stay tuned!

in the studio {snowflakes on my desk...}

Today has been a chilly, gray day...thankfully its not snowing outside. Although a bit of pretty, papery snow has been accumulating on my desk. I've been busy in my little office, cutting and glueing away. Unintentionally, whites and grays and purples abound. Sort of like the weather and critters outside. I noticed the gray squirrel surveying our yard this afternoon, running the perimeter and pausing briefly. I imagine he's wondering when we'll fill up the bird feeders again so he can get back to his seed-thievery. We haven't filled the feeders since we got back from our SC trip...poor birds. I can't reach them and its always dark when Hub gets home from work now. And since our trip, Hub and I are attempting to turn over a new November leaf...to be healthier. I think traveling makes me feel this way. Eating strange things, getting out of a regular workout routine, etc... So last night we made Greek salads for dinner. And luckily I had some Spring Mix lettuce left to make myself one for lunch. I made a little vinaigrette right in the bottom of my bowl...sea salt mashed with a tiny garlic clove, pepper, oregano, white wine vinegar (because that's the kind we have but you could use another), and olive oil.

Mix the vinaigrette together and add in all the lovely, Greek-ish ingredients. I like red onions sliced very thin, pepitas, feta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and OH NO...I just realized I forgot to add the kalamata olives! They add the perfect punch to this salad. Hmm...I had a feeling I'd forgotten something!

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Something I won't forget though is to share a bit of good news... My little Owl Cake Toppers were chosen as a finalist in the Martha Stewart Wedding & Etsy DIY Contest!!! According to Etsy's Storque article, a panel of judges from Etsy Admin and Editors of Martha Stewart Weddings used secret ballots to select 1 winner and 19 finalists from more than 3200 entries. Go here to see! Eek, I was (still am) excited! Congrats to the lovely winner as well! Fun stuff! :)