Dreams Really Do Come True

I'm so excited to show you my new workspace set-up today! It's been such a long time in being completed, that it's almost hard to believe it's real every time I walk into our office/workroom and see my tidy little desk with all of my crafty materials waiting there in their proper places for me to sit down and have some fun.

But without futher ado, photos!

First, the beautiful little sewing table my mom found for me on an antiquing excursion, and bought while we were in Dallas over Christmas break. I gave it a new coat of creamy paint and re-installed the original hardware.

My sweet husband helped me put together this inexpensive IKEA shelving unit, and very kindly let me buy as many of those adorable Liberty of London for Target storage bins as I could fit out the door. I really like the natural knotty pine with the fun florals. The oilcloth bag hanging on the end is a Cath Kidston bag I picked up in London.

Two Liberty boxes storing papers sit beside a cream-colored vintage locker basket I found years ago at an antiques store.

 

My IKEA chair is surprisingly comfortable. The trestle legs on my desk allow for adjustment of the height of the destop, which is the absolute perfect one for me, as the space between the top glass surface and the bottom allow me to store four trays inside: one for jewelry, one for papers, one for tapes and stamping supplies, and one for my headband materials. I just take out the tray for whatever it is I need to work on, then put it back when I'm finished, and I still have a perfectly clean and tidy desktop!

  

Above my desk are the rail storage system and wall shelves I'd bought previously from IKEA. The rail and shelf brackets had been black, however, until just two weeks ago when I painted them a soft aqua to match things a little more nicely. The hanging magazine rack on the far right holds bubble wrap and packaging materials.

The adorable faux bois and doily patterned metal trays came from SweetJessie on Etsy, and I plan to make or order some cute magnets to hang inspiration photos on them. I intended to use the Liberty melamine tray for serving when I bought it, but couldn't resist hanging it up over my desk after seeing how perfect the size and colors were.

I strung up a length of aqua cotton twine for a temporary (or permanent?) place to hang up some of the pretty paper goods and tags I've collected recently.

Lots of bright natural light comes in from the three windows in this room, making it a great place to work on crafty goodness.

So, that about does it. What do you think?

 I, for one, love this little space in our room. And even better, on the adjacent wall, we've squeezed in a desk for my husband, so that when school starts again this fall, we can work together in the same room! (His side of the room's a little less .... floral.)

This Is What They Call A Teaser

Why, you may ask, am I posting photos today of Ez's lovely workspace (featured this month in Elle Decoration magazine)? Well, the answer is that it's about time. After long months of sitting, waiting, wishing, and hoping, and roughly 14 hours of toil, paint, organization and IKEA allen wrenches, my workspace is finally complete. It is all that I hoped it would be, and I am so happy each time I get to sit down at my tidy new desk and begin a new crafty endeavor. And you, my friends, shall see the results of this grueling process bright and early on Monday morning!

Also coming next week, photos of our trip!

Pretty Things for Your Friday

I'm continually inspired by all of the loveliness Livy posts periodically at A Field Journal. If you've never visited, today is the day.

As if the incredible photography and styling weren't enough, she writes tutorials so that you can recreate her beautiful projects, and also contributes to Project Wedding and Victoria magazine.

(All images by Olivia Kanaley, pulled from her blog, A Field Journal.)

Spotlight: Alisa Joy Photography

Back in May, I got to work on a really fun custom project for my friend Evan of Olive and Everette. She and her husband Michael had the opportunity to do a retro-styled photoshoot with the incredibly talented Alisa of Alisa Joy Photography, and she asked me to make some headpieces for her. I'd only begun experimenting with headbands this past spring, and it sounded like so much fun to broaden  my horizons a bit more with feathers, silk flowers, and some sparkly vintage embellishments. The session was shot in a few different locations, both inside and out, and even though Evan told me that it was particularly windy that evening (this is West Texas, after all), I think Alisa did an incredible job in spite of uncooperative weather.

My first foray into feathers, accompanied by white mini orchids on a clear comb.

And yes, they really are this happy and this beautiful in real life.

This headband features a salmon-colored band, cherry vintage millinery leaves, and velvet buttons.

I love this one: it's like a neo-Victorian family portrait.

A lovley close-up of a brown velvet band topped with yellow ranunculus.

I love the light, I love the colors, and the tinting of the photos to produce a sort of vintage 'glow.' You can see more examples of Alisa's incredible work on her website, her blog, and her Facebook portfolio. Also, soon you'll be in for another treat: I made about 9 or 10 pieces for Evan's photoshoot, and unfortunately the wind prevented all of them being shot closely the first time around, so Evan and Alisa are doing another session just to model my headpieces! I'm so excited, and I'll present them to you here (and probably list several in my Etsy shop) in the coming weeks!

It's a Good Thing

I think we can all agree that it would be nice to return to the days when it was possible to barter and swap with your local grocer and general store for embroidered table linens and homemade cider. Well in today's flourishing handmade community, those days still exist! But sometimes we need a reminder and a little guidance. That's why I was so thrilled to see that Danni of oh, hello friend has put together a marvelous Summer Trade Guide.

I've already contacted several of the listed shops on the list in almost every category to find out if we can get some trading going on. It's a fantastic way to do some early Christmas shopping, brighten up your summer wardrobe with lovely handmade accessories, and to make friends with a few more of the wonderful people who are bringing handmade back.

By the way, my shop's not included in the guide because I wasn't quite quick enough, but please feel free to contact me if you've got something to trade and you've been eyeing any pink street pieces lately. I'd love to hear from you!

Favorite Things Friday: Cath Kidston

One of my favorite things about the UK is Cath Kidston. I have been in love with her style and her home products for about 10 years now, after seeing her line in a sweet little design book. Then I bought a printed china tea cup of hers when I was in Bath for the first time eight years ago, and I was hooked.

So finding an entire Cath Kidston shop in Bath when Nate and I were out exploring there our first afternoon was like a dream come true. We were able to find another of her shops in London, and I brought home as many things as I could justify to myself as being actually practical in everyday life. A few of the lovelies I brought home with me include:

And some of the other beautiful things I wanted to bring home with me include (but are not limited to):

{Sigh.} Although the fact that it's now possible to visit Cath Kidston online and have her ship to your home in the US (this is a recent development), I'm not sure that it bodes well for the future health of my checking account. Let's all cross our fingers that the dollar becomes worth more than the pound next week.

DIY Thursday: Envelope Clutch

Before we begin, I feel that a word of explanation is necessary as to why, a week after our triumphant return from the English adventure, I still haven't posted any photos. The simple answer is, that I needed a vacation. It's not precisely jet-lag any longer, but I have been more tired since being back home and readjusting to my 40-hour work week again, and each evening, after we finish dinner and there's time to go through and upload photos, I seem to find that I'd rather spend that time hanging out with my husband, frankly.

This is the first time in literally a year that he's had much free time in the evenings to spend with me -- ever since starting grad school last August, there's been a paper to write or a novel to read or research to be done or papers to be graded during almost every spare minute of every day, including weekends. It hasn't been possible, the way it used to be, for us to spontaneously decide to catch a movie in the evening, or go out for a date night very often, and more extensive time committments required a week and a half's planning to make sure he'd be able to get assignments and readings completed on time. That's why I'm more interested in watching movies cuddled up on the couch with my lovely husband than editing photos and writing blog posts. I'm terribly sorry that all of you must put up with being the neglected parties, but I'm not married to you.

And now, we can get on with it. Today's DIY post comes from the charming blog I Still Love You. It's a pattern for what's affectionately been dubbed "the poopy clutch" because it's made to hold extra diapers and wipies. These aren't items of which I'm in frequent need at present, so I'd actually probably choose to use the clutch like a clutch. But it's so sweet and versatile that it could be adapted for all kinds of purposes.

The full and very professional instructions, as well as the template for cutting out the shape of your no-sew leather or vinyl clutch, can be found here.

Hopefully, I'll get to try this and several of my past DIY projects out in my free time this summer! And yes, I'll get around to the photos soon too.

Living in my Fairytale

The most lovely post over at design*sponge, posted the very day I left.

We had a lovely trip, and I saw some beautiful things right out of a postcard. Or a fairytale. Or an Austen novel. In fact, I saw Elliot Cowan as Macbeth at the Globe, and I can confirm in all seriousness that in person, he's every bit as inspring as Mr. Firth.

Pictures posted soon, I promise!