Month: July 2016

my florist friends. 

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My Crafty Lady Crew is the best and with their powers combined they created beautiful things for our wedding, including all of the reception floral decor. Dreamy… Before the wedding I met with our lead florist – our friend Kristin. (She also sets up the best magazine-worthy meal spreads.) When we were looking at flowers, we discovered we had the same taste, or should I say smell, for flowers. We both like the flowers that either smell like nothing or are on the sweeter side. Anything too fragrant, like roses, and lilies (especially lilies!) smell like death to us. Long story short, I knew I would be happy with Kristin’s floral selection because they wouldn’t smell like anything! Visually, I wanted whites, greens, and soft pinks in our centerpieces. Kristin shopped around for some stems at local farmers markets, but she also gathered some lovelies from her garden! We used Ball mason jars plus old mini yogurt glassware with offwhite ribbon and handmade-by-Kristin ceramic hearts on cord. And just look at how these beauties turned out. They completed my tablescape dreams. …

elmwood.

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Ah! It’s been a while but I was busy prepping for a jewelry show! Yup, yup, I have my own jewelry line now. Welcome to Elmwood! In 2011 I decided “Hey, I’m going to make jewelry for myself.” I walked into a bead store and simply asked them how to bend and curl wire. I took a liking to the process and the rest is history. I started with earrings and worked my way to bracelets and necklaces as I learned more about jewelry wires, cords, and findings. The name Elmwood comes from the neighborhood in Berkeley where I used to live. My crafty jewelry friend Linda and I would make jewelry together when she came to visit. As you can see, I love earth tones with pops of colors, particularly pinks and golds. I like making asymmetric pieces meant for layering. Blue Door Beads featured me at their Third Thursday event this month. Who knew I would ever be a featured jewelry artist! Though I don’t see myself selling my jewelry full time, I do plan on continuing to create, gifting pieces …

golden dishes.

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I was in the market for a ring dish, but I thought hey, why not make my own? Here’s what ended up happening… Materials & tools: Decoupage glue – Art Minds is my favorite brand (from Michaels) Contact paper – I chose gold. (Remember when I made my treat containers?) Dishes – Surprise! I found these in the kitchen section of Ranch 99. Scissors Foam brush How to: Cut out shapes. Try triangles, squares, lines… Peel the protective coating off the contact paper and stick onto dish. Apply an even coat of decoupage glue. Allow to dry. Repeat. Simple shapes make these jewelry dishes look real fancy. I like the Art Minds decoupage glue brand over other brands because it’s more matte and not sticky feeling when it dries. Tahdah! A place for my rings to live for when I’m not suppose to wear them. Now you try! 🙂  

minimoon adventures: the foods.

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🎼 Oh minimoon, oh minimoon, your mealtimes were so tasty.🎶 A vacation would not be complete without finding some delicious destinations. Since we road tripped we did have a cooler of snacks and we also ate breakfasts at the hotel, but when we weren’t eating in, we explored the tastes of Tahoe. We found shrimp and sausage nachos at Beacon Bar & Grill, a restaurant on the beach with a lake view. These nachos were some of the best nachos I’ve ever had. Check them out  – packed with shrimp, sausage, and ooey gooey cheese! So. Much. Melty. Cheese. Ok, now I’m drooling… And even though it was a bit nippy throughout our stay, we had to stop for soft serve after a day of exploring. When it comes to sweets, I enjoy chocolate and anything cold because chocolate = life and cold = refreshing. Frozen treats for the win! Traveling to Lake Tahoe in the off season / late Spring also means restaurants like to close for renovations. Two of the places we wanted to eat at …

lighten up!

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My friend Joy teaches soy candle making classes and I finally got to join in on the fun. You may recognize Joy from my Leap Day post. She’s the lady behind Lighten Up Shoppe, candle lady extraordinaire! Class was held at Workshop SF, a DIY studio based in the NOPA of San Francisco. You can come here to learn sewing, flower arranging, gardening, pickling, and so much more.   We started class with introductions and then Joy gave a detailed how to. We went over all of the supplies and why we would pick one supply over another, and then we got to planning and making our custom candles. There were a number of essential oils, fragrances, and dried botanicals to scent our candles. Choosing our favorite combinations was the hard part. We fixed our wicks at the bottom of the jars, mixed our scents with the melted soy wax and poured. For my first candle I used a honeydew and pear scent and topped my candle with rose petals. For my second candle I mixed blood …

hair!

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Weddings call for fancy hair! I had lots and lots of hair for my wedding day so it needed to be tamed in an elegant but fun do. I really wanted a braid and some curls, so I turned to Confessions of a Hairstylist for hairstyle inspiration and a tutorial. I recruited one of my ladies to play hairdresser and, as her first client, I am confident she can now moonlight as an updo artist! When I asked her to be my hairstylist I’m pretty sure she was shocked because she’s not actually a hairstylist, but she’s artsy and has lovely hair. 🙂 We had one trial run, which was really a super fun lady hang out day, to practice a few techniques. On the day of I had extra pins and lots of hairspray. The look stayed in place even with all the excitement and jumping pictures. Photo by Ngoc M. Nguyen Hubby wants a hair shout out, too, so — Hubby hair: cut and styled by Hubby. 😉 The hair things: Kenra volume spray Kenra thermal styling spray (this stuff …

minimoon adventures: glen alpine falls.

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More minimoon adventures in Tahoe! There was so much to see, and even though we had vacationed here before, we still discovered new sites on this trip. On our last day, we wanted to check out Fallen Leaf Lake. We drove through miles of forest, but couldn’t find the public park/beach area. The lake was surrounded with homes and lots of “Private Parking” signs. We found out later that you have to park somewhat far and walk over. Perhaps we can try this on our next visit. In any case, we got to enjoy the view of Fallen Leaf Lake from the car. 😉 And because we kept on driving, we stumbled upon Glen Alpine Falls which was even more exciting! Again, springtime means snowmelt which means waterfalls! Glen Alpine is big, loud, and gorgeous! The homes nearby must have some great soundproofing. There were beautiful rocks and trees, too. It was a great place to just sit and enjoy the view. Have you stumbled upon a great view lately? Share your discoveries below!

fleas!

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On my last visit home my parents and I explored the Pasadena Flea Market. Held every first Sunday of the month, the market boasts an interesting mix of collections. I’m always impressed, and slightly concerned, about where people store all of their goods. So. Many. Things. My favorite things to spot at these types of events include Pyrex mixing/serving bowls circa 1970, teak dishware, milk glass, and functional typewriters. Sewing machines that come with matching tables are an added bonus. Since in the summertime it gets hot early, we decided to spend an hour perusing in the AM. It was enough time to explore one side of the market. (There may have been another side that we completely skipped….) We left with some summer fruit nail art pieces and baby succulents. Oh, and this lovely photo. Fleas! One person’s junk is another person’s treasure. What’s been your best flea market, garage/yard sale, thrift store, etc find? Share below!