Etsy Twitter Team

I am a proud new member of theEtsy Twitter Team!
A group of many talented people all striving to let you know we are here and make fabulous things you need!
LOL!
Well, I think we are hoping you'll "want" and after seeing them "can't live without"....and must tell ALL your friends and family about...
Yeah, that sounds about right.
OK...
That was really me embellishing. (as if you were really surprised to see that)
I love the fact there is so much diversity and the desire to share one another's artistic endeavors with others!
I as well will follow suit and begin to introduce you to even more talented artist I find!
Definitely check out the blog!

This is a great opportunity fir me to get back in the game and start regular posts again.
...to be continued...

Bellina Boutique Wedding Gowns!!!

As a Proud Member of the Etsy Wedding Street Team I decided it was time to promote the talented designers in this group!
Welcome to Bellinas Bridal Boutique
I couldn't help but ooooh and aaaah over the gowns in this shop! After reading her profile I have simply come to the conclusion, "She LOVES Wedding Gowns!"
It is impossible not to admire beauty at it's finest. Many of the elegant and feminine gowns she custom designs are perfect for the stylish Brides of today. The quality and craftsmanship are hard to deny after looking at these!
There are so MANY beautiful pieces I had a difficult time just selecting a few of my favorites!
Now, as everyone knows, I have a soft spot for "vintage inspired" designs. Although she has many modern pieces I just gravitated to these!
Genevieve
I HEART this gown!!!! *swooning*


Taffeta and Tulle



Dainty French Lace


Pretty In Lace


BEAUTIFUL!
What is wonderfullly amazing about this designer is she will CUSTOM design these gorgeous gowns with out all the crazy Retail Markup! Same Fantastic quality without the extra fluff cost!
All of her gowns ship from Italy.
Something she offers that I think is really cool in this challenging economy is free layaway!
I know I don't have a huge lump of cashola sitting in my pocket at the moment so this is a wonderful service for her clients!
Definitely check out her shop and see all the gorgeous gowns in much more detail!

**photos courtesy of Bellina Boutique

EMMY~ Shoe Love

You have to understand, unlike many of my friends, I am not really THAT crazy about shoes. Sure, if I had a ton of expendable money i'd invest in a number of pairs I'm sure...but I don't have like 60-80 pair or more like many women I know!
LOL!
So, I came across this site Emmy.

"The collaboration of Emmy and Jenny Packham represents the natural synergy between the two designers, renowned for their glamourous vintage-inspired style and unique approach to embellishment.
The collection makes a thoroughly feminine statement, with sexy, elegant shapes and the most luxurious finishes"

Ooooh, I just about piddled. (not really)
I LOVED the fact that you can CUSTOMIZE a pair of shoes! You can also purchase ready to wear. They have them broken down into round toe, pointed toe, peep toe and sandal.

Here are a few of my favorites!
Chloe

Sarah

Lucille

Isla

They have a TON of AMAZING well deserved press.
BRIDES looking for Gorgeous and high quality stylish shoes need to check this site out!
I am still drooling!!!!
:P

*All photos courtesy of Emmy designs

WOW!!! 10% OFF

WOW!!!!
How generous of Eva!!!!
She is offering ALL MY READERS 10% OFF any purchase on her Chili Crab designs!!!!
Oooooooh!!!!
Definitely take advantage of this people!
....off to look in her shop again!
:P

Chili Crab Treasures

As ALWAYS when I see a designer with such talent and beautiful designs I HAD TO SHARE them with you!
Introducing Chili Crab!
Let's get to know her a little better.
DIrectly from her bio:

"I am a German expat happily living in Singapore with my husband and two sons. I really enjoy the freedom of being engaged with the things that I have been doing for more than 6 years now.

The biggest influence on me becoming a creative person definitely comes from my parents and my mother-in-law. My mother loved to do any kind of handcrafts, from knitting, crocheting to silk painting and sewing. She did everything. My father is talented with any kind of woodwork. And my mother-in-law is a great painter and artist in general.

But the decision to keep my fingers busy with other things than typing the keyboard in a software company came during my first pregnancy. I felt almost forced to create crochet treasures and made a lot of gifts for friends and family. After that my interest evolved into designing home accessories. Later I got interested in creating jewelry. Nowadays, I still maintain my interests in all these areas."

Now my favorite part!
Sharing with PICTURES!!!! Here are a few of my favorite piece from her shop!

for the aztec goddess-earrings
The vibrant colors against the richness of the brass is such a wonderful contrast!


Check out this pendant!
Such intricate detail! All of the delicious little petals and leaves...such work!
paradise by night-pendant


I always have found the image of a skeleton for the most part morbid and scary. Even though I know the history of the day of the dead...still creeps me out....UNTIL now! The bright festive colors and design of this piece really do make for something to celebrate!
dia de los muertos-pendant



Finally, my FAVORITE piece...or really pieces! I have ALWAYS loved the color combination of brown and blue. This set takes my love to a whole new level! For all the years running around with flowers in my hair these simply take my breath away. They have everything I LOVE. Flowers, detail, brass filigree, sparkle, sass and a sensational organic feel.
I actually get butterflies in my tummy looking at them. The amount of detail used to create these truly makes me believe she loves her craft!
cocoa dreams-earrings



I hope you all share my joy of these amazing treasures!
I highly recommend you to visit her shop and check out all her other AMAZING designs.

**Photos courtesy of Chili Crab

Ella

I am pretty excited about this piece I recently listed.
Ella is made 100% from scratch! Layer upon layer of hand treated, cut, pressed, curled and shaped Silk Chiffon, Silk Satin, Silk Crepe de Chine and Organza create this Ultra feminine design.
It was SO MUCH more time consuming but I am really happy with the completed piece. I first treated all the silk material to minimize any fraying at the raw cut edges. I then pressed the material, cut each individual petal shape out and proceeded to further press, shape and curl each piece. There is SO MUCH more body and shape compared to the pieces I made even a year ago. Gotta love progress... practice, practice.... and more practice!
I find that organza is much more difficult to shape. The transparency of the material doesn't take to any liquids very well and ends up with weird blotches all over it. So, I have to still figure out what I can use to possibly help with this material to minimize fraying and hold shape better.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I used white and champaign colors in this piece. Of course it also has my signature jeweled center. White opalescent Swarovski pearls and crystals sparkle against the anti-tarnishing Silver wire.

Gardening

I took a little time this afternoon to work in my garden.
No one has really lived in this house for a few years on a regular basis so the front and back yards have been terribly neglected.
I planted some vegetables in the small space that was left unpaved in the back but I have now realized there is little sun hitting it due to the over grown fruit trees looming over it.
I hope something grows...My Uncle brought me 2 tomato plants that have been growing on the outer rim but no buds or flowers yet.
I have been slowly but surely tending to the lemon and mini mandarin orange tree.
I think by next year these will be full of juicy fruit. The lemons are plenty but since it hasn't been pruned the branches are too full and the fruit too crammed so they aren't that great.
I've pretty much lived in apartments all these years so having a yard to take care of is new to me.
I have such ideas and little skill or money.
:P
I REALLY wanted a simple Japanese garden but apparently that is like years in the making to create one...and it so far seems to be REALLY expensive as far as plants, rocks, et cetera.
I think the fact that I genuinely have no idea what I am doing as far as the whole landscaping and gardening thing plus having very little money to spend on this makes it all the more challenging.
When I have something to show I promise to take a few pictures.

COSMOPOLITAN BRIDE Feature

How SUPER Excited I was to see that I got a photo of my custom design featured in this article of my clients wedding! Andrea was such a super sweet client and this was a special piece for me as well. I literally took HOURS trying to create the perfect size and shape with only virgin feathers. I didn't want to cut the edges since I used such high quality feathers. She was very specific on size so I had to create the right shape and still keep the pieces within the size she requested. A LOT easier said then done! I can't tell you how many of these empty feather flowers I had sitting on my desk over the several weeks perfecting this set. She looks stunning and I am SO HAPPY she LOVED the final piece. I was a little bummed that the picture refers anyone to a generic "etsy.com" and not even my personal etsy shop...I REALLY need to get my personal website up and running.
You can find Cosmopolitan Bride UK on stands now.
Can you believe that I haven't been able to get my own hands on one?!
I kinda live in a not so cosmopolitan area (lol) ...I got spoiled with everything in walking or driving distance in L.A.
Ah, but I can't beat the clean ocean air here!!! Heh, I would never be able to afford to live anywhere in L.A. getting the same ocean air!

New Month New Post

Ok.
I'm not even going to go into the lack of posting...
Ah, New month...new post!
So, the last 2-3 weeks I have been finally able to exercise and it's been AWESOME!
I have to confess that I am almost kicking myself because all of you that are about to be shaking your heads in an "I TOLD YOU SO" are going to laugh. I FINALLY started to do Yoga and LOVE IT! Due to illness I haven't been able to exercise in almost 3 years so this has been a perfect low impact way to get back in to shape! Yeah, yeah....it was in the late 80's that you were ALL telling ME that of all people you knew I would LOVE yoga and should give it a try.
LOL!
Yeah, typical me...better late then never I say!!!
I also started beginning Pilates too.
WOW!
I just LOVE both of them.
I realized just how stiff and NOT limber I am!
Slowly I am working on stamina and core strength and in only 3 weeks I can already feel a difference.
I had no idea just how challenging yoga can be.
:P
Any suggestions on yoga DVD's for relative beginners would be appreciated.

Today is my Birthday!

Heh...
I have been busy trying to be busy!
My family is taking me out to dinner tonight.
YUMMY!
I have had family visiting so it's fun...but I get nervous since I am used to always working.
I will take a few pictures to share!