take me to the beach!

I am hoping that at some point it will stop raining here in New England and it will be nice enough to go to the beach or have a picnic. In anticipation, I wanted to offer up a little summer sale in my shop. I have three left of these vintage French ticking tote bags in the blue stripe and three left of the red and blue stripe. They are perfect for packing your beach and picnic neccessities and the stripes give them a jaunty nautical flair. The vintage fabric is sturdy with a lovely soft texture. I'm offering them for 25% off the original price for the month of July, which makes them $58 + shipping. They'll go into my etsy shop today, so if you'd like one, check in there.

My link for today is Dilly Dallas. Dallas Shaw is an artist and designer with a great eye for style. She has an etsy shop which features her original artwork, and also sells the coolest t-shirts! She and I are doing a blog project together this month and she has posted a little interview about me today. I had fun answering her questions. Thanks, Dallas for the wonderful opportunity!

rainy day robot

What to do on the rainy first week out of school? We built a robot! He's made from all recycled things we found around the house and he's held together with tinfoil and duct tape. His name is Bot.

The sun is out today, thankfully. We're going for a bike ride, but first some links for the weekend.

All from Portland! The first four are new to me, the last three I'm sure you read already, but they are so great I can't mention Portland blogs without including them.

Little Byrd Vintage (She also has a great etsy shop too!)

Camp Comfort (Roberta Jane kindly mentioned me here this week too, thank you!)

Urban Weeds (Cool Portland street style)

Design is Mine (Lots of great design ideas here)

Abby try again

Bliss (Traci featured a bag and pillow of mine here on her I heart Mondays feature, thanks, T.!)

Frolic (And Chelsea mentioned me here just this afternoon, I'm so flattered!)

Okay, enjoy the links and have a great weekend!

1830

Yesterday we took the kids to visit Old Sturbridge Village. It's a living history museum set in 1830's New England. The kids were enchanted with it and so was I. There were so many beautiful 19th century details to observe from wallpaper to furniture to kitchenware to clothing. We loved our little trip back in time!

Now that the kids are officially out of school, I won't be able to post as often, but I hope to get to it a few times a week. Won't be much about work, more about adventuring around New England in the summer.

Also, I want to start sharing some great links and blogs I've found in the past few months.

First up: Sofia Barao's lovely blog. Since the beginning of June, every Wednesday Sofia has been posting her "Creative Ones", a post dedicated to a different artist/craftsperson each week. Each "Creative Ones" post features a lovely giveaway too, so do stop over there! And just in case you didn't know, Sofia is an artist who also has a lovely etsy shop featuring her beautiful handmade jewelry.

Happy Monday!

shopping in venice

I got to do a little shopping while in L.A. Imke of Stylemaedchen recommended I go to Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. I took her up on it and discovered a street filled with amazing little shops and restaurants. I was so greatful for this bit of advice and was in heaven when I discovered the Steven Alan shop. I couldn't leave without this Liberty print blouse (thankfully it was on sale). I love how it looks with my little plain white canvas bag.

While walking on Abbot Kinney, I also wandered into Tortoise General Store. Everything they have is imported from Japan: all simple, beautiful, and useful. There was a bag there that I wanted so badly. But since I make them myself, I couldn't justify it in the moment. I'm still thinking about it though.

from east LA

Here's some colorful bits from east LA. The weather was cloudy and cold most of our stay. On the last day, the sun shone. We drove around to some iconic LA places: Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Venice Beach. How different it is from the East Coast! Someday I'd like to go back and explore some more.

soon

Soon it will be summer. We'll leave the city for a bit and be outdoors more. Cooking in this kitchen. Sleeping in this bed. By the end of next week, school will be out and my life will change from having long creative work mornings to spending full days with my children. We have some things planned but are allowing for lots of summer laziness too.

Tomorrow my husband and I head off to LA for a few days to go to his college reunion. I've never been to LA, but I'm taking my camera and will be back next week. Happy weekend all!

full blown

I promise to stop posting about flowers after this, but the peonies are full-blown in my garden right now, and as they don't last forever, I couldn't resist a few photos of them! One of my favorite things about gardening is the color and contrast that plants provide next to one another. There are so many colors, textures and shapes to look at and it gives me a chance to experiment with colors that I wouldn't necessarily use otherwise.

I also want to say thank you for all of your kind comments lately. I so appreciate it...it really is a gift to be connected to all you creative people around the globe! I would send you each a peony if I could, but hopefully a photo of one will suffice.

Squam Lake and Art Fair

What a fabulous night at the Squam Art Fair! I didn't take pictures of the actual fair, because once I got my table set up I was too distracted, but there were so many wonderful people there selling all kinds of great fabric, yarn, and paper creations. Angela and I had tables next to one another, so it was lovely to catch up with her. Thank you to everyone who stopped by my table! It was so nice to meet you!

I heard glowing reviews from all of the people who had participated in the Squam workshops and I would encourage you to check out their website to see what it is all about. There are more workshops scheduled for September.

Before the show I had a chance to walk around and see the facilities at Rockywold DeepHaven Camp where the workshops take place. It was a beautiful evening and such a respite from being in the city, which I hadn't left in weeks, it seems. I went down to the docks that surround the lake and just sat and breathed in the fresh air and beautiful atmosphere. It was so relaxing!

on the line

Spent the last two mornings working on a project for my son's classroom. They are making dolls out of socks. I volunteered to make the clothes: little pants and skirts. Here are a few hanging on an impromptu clothesline. Wish I had my own clothesline. That is my summer project. Have a nice weekend!

Andrea is making wonderful animals.

Laura Normandin makes beautifully dressed dolls.

I would love a doll from Pip-Squeak Chapeau.

more roses

Okay, I'm kind of gloating about all of these roses, I know. There are so many of them in my garden right now that I was able to pick a big bunch, divide them up into little bouquets and put them all around the house. So, now I'm off to do some work, but I just had to show you the roses first. Roses just make me really happy! I hope they brighten your day too.

little corner

This is the corner of my sewing table. I realized I've managed to unconsciously place my favorite little items here to inspire me while I work. There's a lovely painted rock from Esti, a candle from Saipua, a card from Pip-Squeak Chapeau, a collage by my daughter, a calender from Hello Handmade, a coaster I made from some favorite vintage fabric, a vintage postcard in a flea market frame and these beautiful monogramed cards and ribbons from Angela.

And on the wall around the corner is my calender from Satsuma Press, which always makes me happy to flip to a new month.

After my lazy day yesterday, I realized I need to get organized for the show I am doing this weekend. So, I'm labeling and packing today. If you are in New England, and would like a beautiful road trip, please come to the Squam Art Fair in Holderness, NH this Saturday from 7:30-9 pm. Stop by my table and say hello!

flowers outside and in

Happy June! Our tiny city garden in exploding with irises, roses, and just this morning, the first peony bloomed as well. I love looking at them outside, but couldn't resist cutting a few to bring inside too. It's just perfectly sunny here today and for the first time in months, I don't have anything in particular I have to do. It feels a little strange to admit that, and I know it won't last, so I'm going to go take a long walk and enjoy it.