Up the Pipeline...

 

Here is a little sneak of some upcoming pieces. The colors are a little more fall/winter feeling. I have been playing with some new colors for my resin gemstones and this is what I have come up with. These are unfinished, but you get the idea of what I am going for. Let me know what you think! Any colors you would like to see? I love to experiment, but it seems like a lot of my pieces end up blue.

 

 

Production has been a little slow due to our new little man making his arrival. I have been making a little time here and there in my studio, but it is never enough! These will come along in a couple weeks.

Thanks for checking them out!

Sleep

Ahhh, today I feel good for the first time in a while. We got 6 whole hours of sleep in a row last night. Well, to be honest, I really had more like 5. But Jacob had 6. Six glorious, uninterrupted hours of sleep. So far the most we have gotten was 4 1/2 and usually more like 3 so this was epic. I know I have just jinxed it just by posting this, but I couldn't keep from documenting the event. I *may* have even done a scrapbook page about it. Anyway, I hope we are on the right track- it took Elise months before she slept that long.

 

 

Playing With Photoshop

Photoshop is amazing. Seriously. I cannot believe all the things it can do and more importantly, I can't believe a novice like me can do them!! I had an idea, I googled it (don't get me started on how google changed my life), found a tutorial, and away I went! It may seem like nothing to you, but to me, it is revolutionary.

Here is what I made:

 Next time I would like to figure out how to change the white to a color and would use a less busy picture in the background. It is difficult to see what is there. But overall I am thrilled with the results! I may be posting some more of these soon!
Oh and I pinned the link to where I found the tutorial, just in case you are a photoshop dummy like me!

Wordless Wednesday

papernstitch

Hey guys! Check me and all the amazing designers out over on papernstitch through mid September. There is a little discount code for anything in my shop- you can find it here. There are some amazing crafters in the exhibition.

Uncommon Objects

Have you ever been to Austin, Texas? No? Well I highly recommend it. I went this spring with my sister and on top of it being one of the coolest places "vibe wise" that I have ever been, they have one of my favorite stores in the world: Uncommon Objects. Pretty much the only pictures I took were from the shop, so here they are:

This beautiful world...

*Sigh*-bottles

My Mom gave me this exact lazy susan for my birthday a couple of years ago. I love it for parties!

If you ever go to Austin you have to stop by. Everything is amazingly arranged and displayed. It is a dream! My only regret- I was pregnant so I couldn't sample a margarita at every stop. Oh well, something tells me I will be back!

A Gilded Life

I recently purchased some fun goodies from A Gilded Life and just had to show them off! I used to get their monthly stash box in the mail, but have had to settle for some special things here and there instead. Here is what arrived in the mail yesterday:

 

I purchased the vintage french silver thread and the sequins. Everything else was a happy surprise!

 

 

Oh, those aqua sequins!

 

 

This pink pom-pom ball trim had the sweetest millinery flowers tucked inside.

 

You know how I am with metallic thread...I just couldn't help myself.

 

Ooh those poms. I am loving everything I got, I cant wait to use some!

Wordless Wednesday

Tongue in Cheek

I have been loving this blog for some time and it just so happened that I was looking for some new papers for the backs of my bezels and various projects. Corey has an online brocante where she sells items she finds at flea markets and sales in France and I just received the most beautiful packet of papers from her. I was so excited I grabbed out my camera and took some shots. These papers are over a 100 years old and just gorgeous. The handwriting is amazing! I hope this is not too much of an image overload. I couldn't help myself.

Oh- and just in case you were wondering what that is in the background: Italian metallic crepe paper. I swoon!

Jacob Almon Makes a Hasty Arrival

We have been tied up with a new little mouse in our house. Jacob Almon joined our family on 8/6/12 at 11:45pm, narrowly making his due date (Elise Marie was also born on her due date). I'm told only 4 percent of babies are born on their predicted birthday, so that is one thing that makes him (and her) pretty special.  Either that or we are the most punctual family ever! The other thing that makes this little boy special is that for the last 4 months or so, we were planning for a Sophie Ann! Imagine our surprise when we realized we had a little boy!

Jacob came rather quickly, much, much quicker than Elise. By the time we put Elise to bed at 8 pm I had given up on another due date baby. I had been having contractions, but nothing we timed and obviously we were able to complete normal tasks. Shortly after they got a little more intense and by 9 pm my water had broken. I told Brad to go lay down at 9:30 after we had packed up the car, I expected it to be a long night. By 10 pm I was shaking him awake and telling him to call the midwife and my mom come watch Elise.  We jumped in the car as my Mom arrived- well Brad jumped and I slowly walked and then we made the longest drive of my life. We got to the birthing center at 10:45 and our little mouse was born by 11:45! We made it just in time.

Now here comes the craziest part of all- he was born and immediately laid on my chest and covered with blankets. In all the hoopla and intensity of the birth nobody even noticed that she was a he. We cooed and all said how beautiful she was and for about 15 minutes we had a baby girl. Then we went to take the blankets off and there was a collective gasp- Sophie was now Jacob. We already had a first name picked out from before the first ultrasound but when we found out we had a girl, never bothered picking a middle. Jacob was my grandfathers name and Almon was Brad's grandfathers name so it was perfect, but it took us about a day to fully determine his name. When we told our family everyone thought we had either been lying the whole pregnancy (not to mention decorating a nursery) or they had no idea we were talking about our baby and were trying to figure out who had a baby named Jacob. To be fair it was about 3 am when we sent the message, so we gave them some leeway.  By 5 am we were home and sleeping in our own beds. Elise never even knew we left. 

I blogged about decorating Sophie's room here and here so now I need some new projects for Jacob and I need to figure out what I am going to do with her projects I made (does anyone want a "Dream Big Sophie" picture?). I am still so in shock about she being a he, I don't really know when I will get over it.

Caring for two babies has been tough and I won't say I haven't shed some tears along the way. But we are so blessed and excited to have a healthy boy to even out the estrogen in this house. I can't wait to see who this little guy becomes, the ride sure is going to be fun!

Wordless Wednesday



Tiny Collection

I am starting to see my supplies in collections. Here are some instagrammed antique bottles in an old drawer.

I love old bottles. Most of these are tiny- under 3 inches or so. Who knows what the contents were for or who saved them. I am just glad that they did! 

Our Little Mouse

Our little mouse has arrived and made a grand entrance worthy of a mention. I will post more later with real pictures, but Sophie Ann is now Jacob Almon!!! We were totally surprised and now really excited to have evened out our family. This guy is going to cause trouble if he always shocks us this way! Here is our little man, born 8/6/12 on his due date weighing in at 8lbs 1oz!

We are smitten (and exhausted)! I will post intermittently and have some scheduled posts. Check in again soon!

Scrapbook Layouts

I have been scrapbooking for about a year now and it is such a great stress release and easy way to get some creativity out without having to think too much. I just combine colors, shapes and textures until I figure out what I like. I love to layer and incorporate vintage papers into my layouts. I hope 20 years from now we look back on these and enjoy reading about our lives.

Here are two layouts that I recently created. I am still working on photographing layouts well, so please cut me some slack!

This is Elise with her Grandpa Winterroth. She loves to swim and so does he!

The little one with her new chicks. That makes 12 hens for our family. My poor husband needs some testosterone in this family...

Wordless Wednesday

Things I Want to Remember...

I want to remember how you smell in the morning, the way you put your shoes on and shout "I did it", the way you look up at me from bed in the morning and say "good morning Mommy", how when you want to do something without our help you say "I dood it". I don't ever want to forget how your hair gets frizzed up in the back, how you break into song at random moments- recently it was "Mr. bluebird on my shoulder" but usually it's "now I know my ABC's next time wont you sing with me", how you say "tickle back" when you want us to rub your back and how you crack up when we do silly things.

I want to remember how you say "Ama & Ampa", how you love to swim in the pool and what a big girl you are at your swim lessons. I never want to forget how much you love to read and how much you love to chat.  How you love to hug and kiss and the way you run to us when you want one or the other.

Most of all I want to remember how blessed we are to have you in our life, how fleeting these moments are and how absolutely special you are. You made us a family and we love you more than anything.

You are 20 months old and I don't want to forget a thing...

A Collection Of Paper

Another of my weaknesses is a love for vintage papers. I love the yellowing on the edges, the different textures, the perfect handwriting...I could go on and on. Some I use for projects and the ones that I cant bear to part with just get touched and admired. Here are some of the papers that are inspiring me lately:

Type cabinet drawer label, glasinine bag with the perfect piece of gold tape, old pocket notebook that I was sure contained a made up secret language until I realized it was just in shorthand (*blush* I mean who knew it was symbols like that??), pinwheel on ledger paper, slide negative, ticket, resined ledger paper, tarot card (love the plaid), more ledger paper, flashcard, resined pinwheels, gummed label, another flashcard, vintage postage and a prescription envelope. 

All different ages and textures and all equally inspiring. Well except for the notebook- that is a little more amazing than the rest.

The Items Behind The Banner

I made a little collage of items for my new blog banner. I had to cut out quite a few things due to the size constraints of the banner, so I thought you might like looking at what I put together. I love looking at vignettes made by others and I always wish they would tell the stories behind the items a little bit. Let me know if you want to know more about something!! 

Here is the full photo. Everything rests on kraft paper with soft polka dots, old 1890s paper with beautiful handwriting, vintage flash card and a photo of a children's athletic team. I think it is a track team, but it is a little hard to tell.

A vintage glass button with gold highlights, a smoky blue faux quartz necklace I made, vintage rhinestone chain, old glass cabochons and brass pill box on a hand crocheted quilt square.  

An old feather facintaor, a piece of terminated quartz, a resin pendant with a Victorian button, two glass buttons with gold highlights, another resin necklace, two medallions- one of paper in resin and the other in gold linen and a cross pin.

Finally: an old watch tin that is rusted shut, a button with markasite and a piece of citrine (I think). In the background there is a vintage Fleur De Lis applique that I absolutely love and a piece of paste jewelry.

Everything sets on an old silver serving tray that I use for shows. I picked it up at the Salvation Army a couple of years ago and I love the patina it has.

Scrapbooking

When sweet thing was born a year and a half ago I started taking pictures like mad. I wanted to remember everything. Once I started taking photos, I wanted something that would also help me record the memories so we could look back on them one day. It helped me get back into the groove of being creative without a major time constraint. I have fallen in love with the art of scrapbooking and (I think) my layouts are pretty simple with the picture telling the major story. Anyway, here are a couple of my most recent pieces that I post here. Studio Calico is an amazing place for inspiration and supplies. I am addicted!

Wordless Wednesday