From the Studio: Art Sale Recap

We had a fantastic day on Saturday! It was such a festive time, outside the local Lions Club was selling Christmas Trees and every now and then the gray sky would spit out little flakes of snow. It certianly felt like Christmas! 

Quite a few of our dresses and accessories found loving homes and we were able to connect with some very talented artisans. Here's a peak at what we saw:

The set up: only 9 other artisans. Small, but the quality was outstanding.

Bronze Avocado by the Green Foundry.

More Bronze work by the Green Foundry.

Beautiful crochet pieces by 04107 Designs. (She had these amazing, antiqued frames all in white, that she used to display her pieces. They were AMAZING. So whimsical. I wanted them:-)

Rose Dow, displaying her photography of local landscapes in Maine and New Hampshire.

Jewelry displayed by Leslie of Creations by Leslie. 

Amazing pewter box and vases by Anne Thompson of Ann Thompson Handmade Pewter.

Robin Roaf of Mast Cove Pottery had some lovely things on display. Not only is she and incredibly talented potter but she's also the amazing lady who organized this event, and for her it was a family affair. Her daughter Rose is the photographer, her son is from the Green Foundry and does the bronze work and her mother was also there selling her lovely artwork--talented people these folks!

Pretty clay ornaments.

Impression of a leaf on a plate.

Festive boxwood trees.

Stained Glass tree by Gerri.

Another talented artist Burce Iverson was also there displaying his Chinese brush paintings, he understandably did not want pictures taken of his work, but it was beautiful. 

And my absolute favorite thing at the show were these AMAZING bags made from reclaimed sailboat sails. How COOL are they? Every few minutes for the duration of the show (9am to 3pm) I would glance over and covet these bags--especially the gray one with red straps that had a number seven on it. The lady behind Hoist Away Bags, Laura, uses as much of the sail as she possibly can and tries to incorporate elements like logos, grommets and the pattern of the sail into the bags. I really fell in love (you can tell, I took the most pictures of these bags). Unfortunately, the one I really liked was a little out of my price range. But they are still on my radar. 

And then of course there was a few new things we had on display. 

Peasant dress in super cute fabrics, I wanted to snatch this one up for my Sophia. 

Lots of new paci-clips.

So a big thanks to Robin Roaf who made this whole event possible and to all the talented artisans! Can't wait for next year.

Most of the artisans have websites. Some did not. If you are interested in their work I can pass along email information. Just get in touch with us.

--Sarah

From the Studio: Artist Sale TODAY in Kittery, ME

Today we'll be at "From the Studio: Artist Sale" at the Lions, Club in Kittery, ME. We'll be showcasing our clothing and accessories from 9am until 3pm. Come and stop by!


Facebook Friends, check our Facebook page for a little somethin' special for you!


--Sarah

My Inner-Interior Designer

Before I became a stay at home mom, I was a high school English teacher, before I became a teacher I wanted to be a Registered Dietitian, before that I wanted to play basketball in the WNBA, and before that I wanted to have a farm and own lots of horses and before that, when I was ten years old I wanted to be an interior designer. 

It started with decorating my room (with horses and pink of course) and then moved to helping with all the Christmas decorations and then got to the point where my mom started asking me to make flower arrangements, dress the mantle at Christmas and "change things around" in the living room to make it look "pretty." Some how interior decorating got wired into me at an early age, so when someone asks me to help with their wedding flowers or reception decor I jump at the chance. I've done the flowers and decor for five weddings, including my own. It's fun, and the time crunch aspect of it is an adrenaline rush--sort of, it can be kind of stressful...but still thrilling, especially when you finish it all and it looks AWESOME. 

Here are a few of the weddings I've done:

 That's me on the left and my friend (also named) Sarah, prepping the tulips. The colors: summer sunset.

Unfortunately this one is black and white, so you can't see the colors of my bouquet (think summer sunset), but you can get the shape. All our wedding photos are currently in storage at the moment--along with all our other things too (this is a long story.)

Photo by Ruth Hayden

 This is my sister Rachel's wedding. I helped with her bouquet, so that she wouldn't have to stress about it.

Photo by Ruth Hayden

She had a bright fall wedding.

And then this fall (maybe you'll remember from the post in October) I did the arrangements for a friend of mine who was having a "vintage fall wedding."

Photos courtesy Deborah Zoe Photo

My youngest sister is getting married in February and she's asked for my help in coming up with the decor and arranging some of the flowers. Fun! I love it! I can't wait!


 My sister is a very Classy lady (classy with a capital C, because she is THAT classy). She has good taste (I'd like to think I had something to do with that). She's a beautiful gal too. So Classy plus Beautiful...you can see why her fiance wanted to marry her. 

We visited their reception venue a few weeks ago to take a peek. It is currently undergoing renovations that are slated to be done by January 1st (we've got our fingers crossed).

 There's both my sisters, Alissa on the left and Rachel on the right and my sister Alissa's fiance, Andy. This is the walk up to the venue, should be very romantic in the evening light of winter.

And this has the potential to be the best "before and after" you've ever seen...remember this place is undergoing renovations.

Here's the hall as you walk in.  It is an old mill building and has a great urban/loft feel to it. 

 Even under construction it's still very cool.

And that's a shower...it's getting removed. So is the toilet. They are in the middle of the room at the moment.

Be sure to stay keep checking back for updates on planning the decor for this winter wedding:-)

--Sarah

Yoga Mat Bag

I occasionally do yoga in my living room. That is when all the "stars" align: Sophia's nap-time, my motivation, a living room floor clear of toys.

I have a yoga mat that usually gets rolled up and stashed in a corner. When I have reason to take my yoga mat outside of my living room, it usually gets rolled up and tucked under my arm. This past weekend I thought I might take a yoga class the day after Thanksgiving, so I decided that my mat had been tucked under my arm one too many times and it was time for a bag. I measured, calculated and cut my own pattern and then sewed all the pieces together. This is what I got:

If you're interested in the pattern it will be available at our Etsy Shop in the next few days. And if you're not too keen on making your own, then you can pick your fabric and we'll make one for you. Just contact us via email.

--Sarah

Planning A Penguin Birthday

Sophia turns 1 in nine days. Every says it goes so fast, and when they do you think "Yeah, OK. EVERYONE is saying that to me, it is so cliche!" The thing is it is not just cliche, it's TRUE. And because of that you start repeating it to other people...and you become THAT person. This year has gone by so fast and it is hard to believe that just a year ago at this time I was counting down the days, hugely pregnant, waiting, trying to stay busy, just plain excited and anxious to meet my little girl. And then she arrived in a blaze of speedy glory (this girl wanted OUT!) and suddenly I understood the meaning of a  birthday. Seriously, giving birth changes your perspectives on birthdays--it really should be all about the moms.

Sophia seems to be fascinated with Penguins lately--well since I bought her a little plush penguin at HM for $3 and we watch the movie "Happy Feet" (Disney's animated penguin movie) when she was sick several months ago. Poor girl was feverish and all she wanted to do was sit in my lap and suck her thumb. Maybe the whole penguin thing is made up in my mind (I mean really, she's only one), but I thought it would make a good theme for her Birthday party.

Here are the invitations I made on our Mac using Pages. I printed them on glossy post cards from Staples--and because I was trying to write this blog post AND print at the same time, it took four attempts to get the invitations printed on the correct side, facing the correct way...so much for multi-tasking.

I've blocked out personal information, but you get the idea.

And since we're doing a penguin theme I though an Igloo cake would be a prefect addition. Here's what I'll be attempting to duplicate, although I won't be using fondant for the icing or making little fondant penguins. I have a few ideas up my sleeve that should duplicate the look but be WAY more simple. I'll be posting about that when the day comes:-)

Can't wait to share the pictures from the party!

--Sarah