Treasury Time!

I've made it to my second treasury! This one is called Brain Coral and was done by 3squares.


You should definitely check out her shop - I love her theme, handcrafted jewelry to satisfy your appetite. My favorites include:

Salt Bagel Necklace - I'm such a sucker for salt, and my new thing is two-toned jewelry. 3squares has a lot of interesting color combinations for her metals

Angel Food Cake Necklace - Not until I saw the two photos right by each other did I realize the necklaces were very similar. I know what I like, I guess!

I'm in business and I have the cards to prove it

I got my sample business cards in the mail yesterday from Moo, and they look pretty fantastic, if I say so myself. Do you like the design? They also have the option of having different photos on the back of the cards, while the front stays the same. I thought it was a bit more professional to have the front and back match, and I think this is my signature photo, so I just got them all the same. What do you think is best?

Pollywog want a cracker?

So I completely forgot to post about the latest additions to my life. If any of you happened to be following my life a year or so ago, I was on a grand search for the perfect pet. Seeing as how my apartment did not allow pets, I decided something under 5" didn't really qualify as a live animal. I searched high and low for the perfect pet, but unfortunately the one that captured my heart is illegal in the District of Columbia (hedgehogs).

So anyways, off at the cabin in the woods two weekends ago, boyfriend's sister found some tadpoles, and I managed to transport three of them back home with me. They are doing fine, except boyfriend read that as soon as they grow legs, they turn carnivorous. Two of the three sprouted legs last week, and I haven't had a chance to buy them something non-vegetable yet, so I'm hoping there are still three when I get home. I haven't named them yet, so any suggestions?

And the Mystery is Solved!

So, I had previously resigned myself to never figuring out what the fantastic purple flower was, when lo and behold, two separate sources came up today! Grad school buddy Jeff was perusing his National Geographic magazine and they just so happened to have a picture of it, and the Botanic Garden people actually emailed me back, how awesome is that? Anyways, here it is:

Passion Flower Family – Passifloraceae. Common name – Grenadilla, latin name – Passiflora quadrangularis.

I'm in a Treasury!

Check me out in LaMoraVeneta's Etsy Treasury, in pink and lilac mood. And while you're at it, check out her jewelry as well, it's pretty spectacular! I particularly like these, especially since they fit so nicely with her color scheme:

TOSCA - Earrings with clear round bead and crystal cluster

The Uniform Project

While perusing my blog list this morning, I came across The Uniform Project on Project Beltway. The creator of the idea, Sheena Matheiken, will be wearing the same little black dress every day for one year (she started May 1st), mixing it up by accessorizing. She got the idea from going to Catholic school in India, where uniforms were required, but the students put their own special twist on the outfit. Through the project, she is raising money for the Akanksha Foundation, which is a non-profit working to provide an education for impoverished children in India. All around, I think it's fabulous. Of course, I've always been a big fan of wearing the same thing over and over, but I don't usually mix it up quite as much as she does. This one has definitely been added to the daily read list.

My favorites from the past 3 months are:

Purple Fringe

And my etsy businesses are off to a good start! My first sale was this week - thanks Jeff!

I've put a few more photos up on ViewFound Photography which I took on my last trip to the US Botanic Garden. I have no idea what these flowers are and I looked high and low for a tag, but no luck. I emailed the Garden today to see if they will help me, but who knows if I'll hear back. For now, I'll just enjoy the pictures. :)

Purple Fringe No. 1 - Matted 5 x 5 Fine Art Photo

Purple Fringe No. 2 - Matted 5x5 Fine Art Photo

Now I just have to wait patiently....

Because I just pre-ordered my copy of the The Sartorialist book! I'm very excited. :)


(Photo courtesy of Amazon.com)

Off to the Woods!

In a couple of hours I will be on my way off to the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania, to go spend the weekend at boyfriend's cabin. This will be the second weekend in a row that I get to spend time in nature, which is particularly exciting, seeing as how I am a complete city person sans car. Last weekend we went hiking in the Shenandoah with friends and it was so amazingly beautiful. I also got to try out slow shutter speeds to get the beautiful flowing water look, even though it involved crawling around on dirty rocks and taking hundreds of pictures to get one just right. :)

Knock-your-socks Off Bright, or Yowza, You're Blinding Me?

My latest listings on ViewFound Photography are this set of three photos of pink angel's trumpets. The lighting was perfect and it looked like they were glowing, but when I printed them, the colors were significantly more saturated than on the computer (unmatted photo is computer version, matted is printed version). I thought that maybe they were a bit pop-arty, but do you think they are too bright?

Daily Inspiration

The Sartorialist is on my daily list of blogs I read, and sometimes I love the clothes, sometimes I hate them, but sometimes it's just a little thing that inspires me.

This is a case of the little thing. Overall, I'm not a huge fan of the outfit below, but the color combination of the khaki, acidic yellow, and red is fabulous.


(photo courtesy of The Sartorialist)

Riding Down the Handmade Highway!

I'm now on the handmade highway! This is a really great, curated site that showcases handmade items by crafty individuals (like me!), so it's a bit easier to find what you want than on etsy. Check it out - http://handmadehighway.blogspot.com/

Totables Grand Opening!

I couldn't wait after all to list my first items in my Etsy shop for purses and accessories, Totables. Here's a little preview of what I've been working on for the past couple of months:

Felted Wool Shoulder Bag - Oatmeal

The bag that started it all - this was my very first felting project ever.

Felted Gray Wool Small Zipper Bag

It turns out I'm a terrible judge of how much items tend to shrink when they felt. I fully intended to have several tote bags in my shop, but somehow that didn't happen. This bag actually was the bottom of a "tote bag" that I cut off, because it turned into essentially a bowl with 3/4" thick walls. Works well for a sunglasses case though!

Felted Wool Large Shoulder Bag - Red and Gray

Yet another one of my tote bag projects that just didn't quite make it. It's always interesting to me how my bags evolve as I go along. I had originally just sewn the metal rings of the handles onto the bag, but I didn't like how it looked, so I had my mom mail me more of the gray yarn that makes the top trim (I had originally crocheted the bag while home in Michigan). Turns out it was a lighter shade of gray than I had used though, so I wasn't perfectly happy with it. After crocheting and felting 4 tabs, I put them aside and used black ribbon to attach the handles to the bag.

Felted Wool Shoulder Bag - Coral

Again, failed tote bag. But very cute shoulder bag, if I do say so myself.

Silk and Chain Necklace - Pink and Gold

This necklace is actually made out of part of my halloween costume from my senior year of college, when I went as a belly dancer. The chain belt had extra loops and doo-dads hanging from it and was perfect for my costume, just not so suitable for real life, so I decided to re-invent it.

I have a few more items that are completed, but I need to have another photo shoot to get just the right pictures. The lighting of all these wonderful pictures is due to boyfriend - such a big help! :)

How Do I Look?

So, as you all probably know, I've been working hard on getting my etsy shops up and running. My photography shop is going well, although I plan on tweaking it a bit this weekend. My shop for bags, jewelry and accessories is taking a little longer to get off the ground, and it doesn't help matters that I managed to completely break my sewing machine the other night. Hopefully my mechanically-inclined boyfriend will be able to remedy that, but we'll see. So for the time being, I'm working on the appearance of my shops. What do you think of my two banners below?

ViewFound Photography is a portion of a photo I have for sale, and it seems to be my most popular photo so far, so I think it did well.

Totables is a close-up of one of my purses that I actually have completed, with a suede pin attached. I'm not sure if it's clear enough what it is, or if I should zoom out on it. What do you think?

Boyfriend got a lot of photo lighting equipment for his birthday last week, so we had a mini-photo shoot last night with the few bags that I have currently completed. Stay tuned for these!

Austin Through the Eyes of Anthropologie

So I've been super hectic lately, with work being very busy and my life being very busy, so I apologize for the lack of posts in the near distant past. I was actually looking at one of my memory cards this weekend and I found some pictures I meant to post a while ago, but I forgot about. Back in June, I received my Anthropologie catalog in the mail and I eagerly flipped it open, as I love their styling. Lo and behold, my beloved Austin popped out at me! Anthropologie hit the road and took some pictures of some familiar and not-so-familiar places.

I have no idea where this is and I'm assuming it's some kind of set, but it's cool.

I miss the Alamo Draft House. :(

In my head, I totally recognize this sign, but I can't remember what it is. Any Austinites know?

Jo's is a great place to grab breakfast down in SoCo.

Somehow you would think I would remember a hamburger place with a giant girl on the roof, but I do not. Has anyone ever seen this?

Not sure where this one is either, but I like the sign.

Visitors Center on 6th St (I believe that's where it is, at least)

The Continental Club

South Congress Ave and Elizabeth St

So there you have it folks, Austin through the eyes of Anthropologie. If you're curious as to what my view of Austin was, it can pretty much be summed up in one picture - good ol' ECJ.

(All photos except the last courtesy of Anthropologie)

Etsy Away!

I've finally opened my first Etsy shop for my photography! Check me out -

http://ViewFoundPhotography.etsy.com

I Guess I Work in the Right Town...

According to the Texas Transportation Institute via the Washington Post, DC is the only major metropolitan area to have traffic congestion increase this year, with all but two decreasing. Awesome. Hey, it's job security, if nothing else.

C is For....

I am not a fan of monograms. I guess I should actually rephrase that, as I just painted a monogram on my bathroom chair (which is so close to being done). I really am not a fan of monograms on bags. First, it instantly proclaims you shop at L.L. Bean. Not that there's anything wrong with that...well, maybe. Second, it's a little creepy, on my end at least. Let me explain. This morning I was doing my usual walk to the Metro, and I saw a monogrammed bag with CSG on it. My first thought was, ugh, L.L. Bean. My second thought was, I wonder what her name is....Carrie, Caroline, Cheryl, maybe? And then I thought how creepy I am to be wondering what a complete stranger's name is. Seeing as how I like to minimize my creepiness, and I wouldn't want someone wondering what my name is if I had a monogrammed bag, I decided I don't like monograms.

The Weekend of Festivals, Part 2

So as I mentioned a couple of posts ago, there were a bazillion festivals going on in the D.C. area and I had hoped to go to three - the Caribbean festival, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and Festa Italia. I missed the Caribbean festival (or rather the parade, which was the only part I wanted to see), and I decided to put off the Folklife festival to this coming weekend, as it's still going on, but I did manage to make it to Festa Italia. Just a little background - D.C. doesn't really have any Italians. The only Italians I know here are boyfriend's friends from New Jersey. So I didn't have huge expectations for going to a festival located in former "Little Italy" (first time I have ever heard of it), but I thought it might be fun. Somehow it managed to fail even my low expectations, but I was starving, so the food was good. It basically consisted of food, some music, kid's entertainment and the centerpiece was the 6 or 7 ferraris lined up that you could pay to test drive.

My favorite food of the day - the canoli