Friday, April 27, 2012

April etsy Favorites

It is time for another episode of......(doesn't that remind you of an old radio show or something!?)...
etsy Favorites!  Click on the high lighted areas to go directly to the etsy shops.

I have been pining away for something from this shop for a while now....
and then the other day she listed this gorgeous piece!!! Swoon....what could be better - a little something from the sea ( and a far off sea at that! ) and a wonderful vintage style.

Of course you would need want some earrings to go with... and....
what about a lovely ring that also carries a treasure from the sea.  These pieces come all the way from Turkey and the goodies they hold are found on the beaches there.  Visit Star of the Sea to see many more of these amazing trinkets.

And now someone close to home...a potter from Oakland, California...
such delicate work - almost a shame to put anything on this plate!
Wouldn't this make a fun birthday gift - with your own hand made cupcake on top of course!
And, for some bold colour - wouldn't this make a lovely wedding gift - in fact I know someone who is getting married soon and this matches the colours in her wedding!

Go and see all of the other pieces in Whitney's shop...you won't be disappointed.

Now I am going to share with you the secret of where I got my fabulous, huge, perfect, tres chic new hand bag....but it is not much of a secret as I tell everyone I can!  And, I know of at least one person that I bragged to that has purchased a bag!  Word of mouth... the best way to go!
Here is my bag!!!!!! ( I got it in black not brown though ) I am so thankful to Beckie Sims from The Leather Store who made my bag and sent it to me all the way from Bristol, England.  It is so well made, has so many pockets, and has a darling lining.  And, thanks by the way to the various people who gave me $$$ for Christmas because that is how I got this bag!

Maybe next year I will get this purple one....
or a fun red back pack!

That's it for today...now go and have some fun on etsy.com - even if you don't buy anything browsing is just as fun - well almost!



xoxo       Elizabeth

Monday, April 23, 2012

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

I want to start this post today by saying....I made my first sale on etsy.com today!!!!  Thank you Niki for making my day!  If you would like to visit my shop (hint, hint) you can click on the images of my items to the right of this post!

I have been crazy busy trying to get ready for a boutique and a trunk show that are coming up in May and June.  Once I started selling on etsy I decided that I really wanted two sets of inventory...one for etsy and one to take to boutiques and such.  Thus the Busy, Busy, Busy!

I have been working on bookmarks, rings, hair pins and a couple of new things. Oh..and of course...purses!

I decided to get out my water colours (not my fancy ones, just my fun ones!) and do some tiny little paintings.
I cut out some circles of water colour paper...with a punch because it is so much more exact looking... and got to work.

I started with the background - first the grassy landscape...

and then the pretty blue sky.  See how fun?  They all turn out so different - that's the beauty of water colour - a little bit unpredictable and surprising!

Finally I added the flowers, bushes and trees!
It was my plan to put them on wooden discs and make magnets...but I am loving these little paintings and want to figure out a way to turn them into brooches....I have my thinking cap on...we'll see!

The boutique that is coming up first is in Scotts Valley....


Saturday May 5th   10am - 4pm
4548 Scotts Valley Dr., Scotts Valley

I will be here with other artists, my sis included, and there will be a lot of wonderful hand made goodies to choose from!

Maybe you can come and say hello!


Now it's back to work for me!


xoxo        Elizabeth


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Friends Indeed!



My mom was good at many things....one of which was making and keeping friends.  This last weekend my sister and I benefited from my mom's goodness.

For our second year my sister and I met two of my mom's best friends and one of their daughters in Stockton for a visit.  My mom and these lovely women met in Stockton once a year for close to twenty years.  They all went to high school together, but became fast friends right after high school when they  started working at Metropolitan Life - or The Met as they always refer to it.  These friends shared all of life's wonderful events together...and weathered life's difficulties also.

As those of you who know me are aware my sweet mom passed away two years ago...and my sister and I have been thrilled to now take up the mantle of this wonderful tradition of friendship. So, off we went to Stockton...we will not talk about the fact that we misjudged the time needed to get there, that we thought we forgot something and had to go back or that we got a little bit lost....these are things that no one needs to know.  But...when we did get there we had a wonderful time!  The visiting is effortless and we never run out of things to say! Lots of laughter and a few tears as we spend our hours together reminiscing, looking ahead, sharing good food, doing a little shopping and this trip a little exploring.

We visited a beautiful place that the three friends had been to on one of their trips together.  My mom loved this place so much that she talked my brother into taking his sweetie there!

A short jaunt from Stockton in Lodi....(although we did hear a funny story about my mom using her new GPS to get there when they went and the trip taking much longer!) is a place that seems like another world...Wine and Roses...
This is the gorgeous 'old' home that is on the property...it has some incredible rooms and a restaurant and bar.  Thanks to my mom's friend Marie we got to take a look at the rooms.


Can't you just imagine stepping up into this lovely bed or taking a bubble bath in this claw foot tub?
Just look at this bridal suite...makes you want to get married all over again! (To the same person of course!)
With it's own little dining room...
and french doors out to a private deck!  Surrounded by lovely old trees and up a few stories all of these rooms have the feeling of a very fancy tree house...
A gorgeous old staircase...
time worn wooden banisters... details from another time.
The grounds are so inviting...



something pretty to look at everywhere you turn...




With wine tasting, a spa, the wonderful restaurant and all these paths to wander you could get lost here for days.
We all got lost for a few hours...with our wonderful memories of Mom.

I can't find words to say what this trip has meant to me the last two years.  For a little bit of time I am surrounded by amazing women who loved my mom and can add to my own memories of her.  I am so grateful for the stories that I get to hear - for the love that is showered upon my sister and I.

Thank you Mom for putting these women in my life...thank you Marie, Mona and Jo Ann for all the love and memories...and thank you Jennifer for being Jennifer - you are the best!

xoxo        Elizabeth

PS.....

Before we left this lovely place we sat, relaxed, talked and had these yummy goodies and some out of this world coffee....

Remember...vacations are not for dieting!

xoxo