Thursday, April 28, 2011

Spring Inspiration

Last week was a very productive week! I was able to organize my thoughts on how I wanted the new spring and summer line to look. Then the creative flood gates opened and I couldn't make things fast enough. My brain was working over time with ideas and I couldn't keep up. So I made notes and worked, made more notes and really worked :) I love these bursts of creative energy.
What came out of all this creativity was a love affair with tiny yo-yo flowers backed by crocheted flowers and adorned with vintage beads and buttons. Then strung on an a-symmetrical hand beaded chain. They are so sweet. I don't know about ya'll but I couldn't wait for spring and now that it is here I am enjoying it as well as inspired by it daily.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Thanks Easter Bunny

To cute not to share! We gave Wren his Easter basket before church and he carried around all morning before we left and even when we got home. He loves it so much that we even brought it to Nonie and Papa's house for Easter dinner. It is filled with plush fruit. His favorite being the banana that you can peal. He LOVES bananas and even announces them when he is eating them. It is so cute! It was such a blessed day!
He just gets cuter and cuter! Be still my heart:)

Friday, April 22, 2011

Happy Easter


Hi all, I hope ya'll have a wonderful Easter weekend. We are going to my mom and dad's house for some yummy food and our annual Easter Egg Hunt. This year Wren will be able to participate. He was only 2 weeks old last Easter. What a blessed year we have had since.
Good Friday! Have a Great weekend and I hope your Easter baskets are full of your most favorite candy. Mine will hopefully have a dark chocolate bunny:)

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Estate Sale Finds

Another year another giant wear house estate sale! If it wasn't for a friend of mine I would of missed this one. But gladly I went, not once but twice.:) This year I was on a bit of a tighter budget but I made it stretch and I was so happy with all my finds.
my friend tiffin found the owl for me! the pillow is going on my wooden bench. The birds kissing is actually a small planter that I will put flowers in and take to festivals with me and the vase I just couldn't leave behind. Everything was $8. Can't beat that :) I got a couple of vintage table clothes and crocheted coasters. (not pictured bc they were in the wash:))

the second day I picked up this metal table for $7. I wish I had an entry way because that is where it would go. But for now it gets to go with me to festivals and be my make shift sewing table.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Goodies From Jane Austen House

I check in every so often to see what is going on over in Chawton, England at the Jane Austen House Museum. This past time I was browsing through the online gift shop and spotted a tea towel that wasn't available when I visited a couple of years ago. So I had to order it immediately! Well, last week I received it and it made my day. I didn't even have the package opened yet and I was swooning in excitement over the stamp. Once I got over stamp love I opened the small brown package and there was a thank you note attached to the loveliest tea towel from Ann Channon, House Manager. I was so, so, so excited about it all. If you love Jane as much as I do go to the site and browse or order away. It helps keep Jane Austen's wonderful memory alive. And if you are ever in England go and visit the museum in Chawton. The ladies who run the house are so very nice and kind.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Spring/Summer Earrings

I am currently getting ready for the Dunwoody Festival. I have my to do lists written out. What I need to make and on what days. The lists seem to keep me focused and on track. This is my attempt at Balance (previous post :)). So lately I have been extremely inspired and motivated to make earrings. Which I can tell you is very unusual. I haven't been inspired to make earrings for a while and I am glad that I have been bitten by the bug again. I came up with the design of these earrings five years ago when we lived in Seattle. I made a ton of them, sold them, and just let them be until now. They take a while to make but the out come is so great. I just love them. And they are so beautiful on. With all that said I introduce you to the Molly Earrings. Back into the JoyaJewelry rotation and a big part of the spring/summer line.
I don't have the ear wires on them yet. This is a sneak peek :)

Monday, April 18, 2011

Balance And An Open Heart


I have been taking a bit of a blogging break these past weeks to clear my head and  to remember to breathe. I find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed with being a stay at home mom and trying to fit my creative self in the whole mix. I am finding out that I have become so very hard on myself. For example I wake up and all I really want to do is be with Wren but then I struggle with my creative time management and focus. Which makes me feel extremely frustrated and quite exhausted. Then when he goes to bed I am up quite late catching up on orders or getting ready for a festival.
Bare with me because I know I am completely rambling. But isn't that exactly what a blog is supposed to be about. The ramblings put out into the universe that then take a fanciful turn into the truth. I think it makes me realize that I am going to be alright and that I am only human. I am seriously learning to be more forgiving and more nurturing to myself. I can't keep getting caught up on what I used to get done in a day but what I can now get done in a day. And be okay with that. I find myself writing these very words from time to time. And every time it does help me to breathe a bit deeper. I really do understand what my mom was talking about when she would say to me, "you will see what I am talking about when you are a mother". Boy do I ever. It is the best job in the world I am just still learning to balance, breathe, and keep my heart wide open.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Schiaparelli Hat Love

Last week a couple of my gal pals and I went  thrifting. I always keep my expectations low because you never know if you will hit the jack pot or walk away with nothing. This latest trip proved to be a great one. I specifically look for vintage clothing or house hold items. But my mood was more about the clothing this time. I always start in sweaters and just snake my way to the dresses. As I headed to the dressing rooms I passed the hat rack and spied this beautiful  woven hat with a bow. I thought how lovely and sweet this would be to wear for Easter.
But that was just the start of it all. I finished up in the dressing room but could hear one of my friends talking to a lady outside the door. So, as i joined up with them. My friend was like "did you see this adorable golf hat", and I said "no what did it look like"? She said "come over here this lady has it in her cart". So we walked over to her and there it was the sweetest green beret with a tassel and the most intricate stitching across the top. I asked the woman if I could take a closer look at it and she said "sure go right ahead". Then out of the blue she said you can have it. I was stunned and said "I can't take this you were going to buy it". And she was so nice and said "I like to share and you take it". How wonderful was she.
  So later that evening I took my new hats out of the bag to admire them. I thought to myself how did I miss these giant tags inside them that stated their names and where they were made. The name in the beret sounded very familiar and so I googled it. Schiaparelli..... O my geez!!! I am now the proud owner of an Elsa Schiaparelli hat! What! How very special and what a piece of history. Then my mind began to race. When had this hat been purchased? Who was the lady who owned it? What of the changing world had it been a part of? So many questions.. Then I could not stop reading everything I found on Elsa. Her revolutionary impact on fashion with the way she transformed Surrealism into fashion art. It inspired me as a jewelry designer to think about how I can take what I do to the next step. Don't question who is doing what! You do what you see fit for you and your design aesthetic. I came across her book the Shocking Life by Elsa Schiaparelli on line. I will be reading it soon. What I have read about it so far is that it is full of details about her life, her work and her travels.  She sounds quite amazing and inspirational! Can't wait to read more and I am still on cloud nine that I have one of her hats thanks to a very sweet stranger who shared!:)

Elsa Schiaparelli had 12 commandments for woman to live by...

1. Since most women do not know themselves they should try to do so.
2. A woman who buys an expensive dress and changes it, often with disastrous result, is extravagant and foolish.
3. Most women (and men) are color-blind. They should ask for suggestions.
4. Remember-twenty percent of women have inferiority complexes. Seventy percent have illusions.
5. Ninety percent are afraid of being conspicuous, and of what people will say. So they buy a gray suit. They should dare to be different.
6. Women should listen and ask for competent criticism and advice.
7. They should choose their clothes alone or in the company of a man.
8. They should never shop with another woman, who sometimes consciously or unconsciously, is apt to be jealous.
9. She should buy little and only of the best or cheapest.
10. Never fit a dress to the body, but train the body to fit the dress.

11. A woman should buy mostly in one place where she is known and respected, and not rush around trying every new fad.
12. And she should pay her bills.
Elsa Schiaparelli in one of her signature hats






This beautiful straw hat is made by Betmar or Belmar still doing research on it? Anyone know anything about this hat company?