Today

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After a very hectic but much enjoyed Easter, I'm sitting here writing without any subject beyond whatever is happening at this particular moment. The weather outside is absolutely gorgeous and tons of windows are open. Plum and Clementine are here watching Looney Tunes over lunch break as I type. It's funny to me how much they love that show. And the fact that it is extremely quotable makes conversations with them even more interesting than normal.  :) 

I hope all of you had a great Easter. I was up before the crack of dawn to assist in making a big breakfast with/for my church family. Every year we have the same kitchen crew for Easter breakfast, and every year, I crack what feels like an ungodly number of eggs in my role as official egg cracker. Then I whisk them with salt and pepper, garlic powder and mustard (I know the mustard sounds weird, but it tastes great, and you should try it!) before passing them off to the official egg cooker. There's so much love and fun in my church and on an early, sleep-deprived morning in the kitchen, there's so much laughter. I enjoy it immensely. 

The afternoon and evening I spent with my family and a group of friends whom we always join for the holidays. There was pineapple and chicken salad and mint chocolate chip ice cream, as well as a walk in the woods and games of badminton. It all adds up to a lovely Easter.

I'm filling more orders today, getting ready for my trip south and pondering a Mother's Day sale in my shop. I may be a little MIA this week due to those things. Hopefully, I'll be able to check-in at the end of the week. 

Have a happy Monday!

-Song

4.18.14

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Hello, my friends! Easter is almost here! I'm getting excited about the weekend, as well as a little nervous. In addition to a big holiday weekend planned, I'm preparing for a trip to visit relatives down south, filling jewelry orders, and trying to keep up with everyday things like eating and sleeping. I get overwhelmed with life when I feel pressure from different areas and this produces nerves. Some friends of mine just brought chocolate covered espresso beans into the house. Do those make nerves better or worse? Time will tell. How are you spending your weekend?

From the week...

-Amazing portraits done in embroidery by artist Cayce Zavaglia! Gorgeous. More here.

-This sort of thing always encourages me. It's a list of rejection letters sent to the likes of George Orwell and U2. The take away from this is that you shouldn't stop putting your work out there. Quitting is the leading cause of failure.

-Great idea for decorating unique Easter eggs from Martha Stewart.

-3 habits that hurt your credibility at work from Verily magazine.com. "It's not personal, it's business!"

-Strawberry Blood Orange Limeade from Mara (this is non-alcoholic by the way)...

-I just wanted to share this in case any other "Fiddler" fans are reading. A rare production/publicity photo of Hodel and Perchik (Michele Marsh & Paul Michael Glaser) just cropped up. Aren't they just precious?

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-My good friend Eileen from A Creative Day was just featured by Home Depot for her backyard makeover in their Patio Style Challenge. You can look at it here. She did a great job! Also, congrats to Eileen and her husband Luke! They've just announced they're about to have twins. :)

-Kids React to Walkmans. This is actually pretty funny but also kind of sad.

-Song

Spring Collection 2014

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My first collection has been listed! You can check out most of the pieces in my shop here (everything but bracelets, which are following along next week). As I mentioned last week, the inspiration behind this spring's batch of designs was a recent appreciation for Audrey Hepburn's simple elegance and many of her movie roles. Everything has been given the name of one of her roles. Here are a few of my favorite pieces...

What do you think? Take a look at the rest of the collection here.

-Song

4.11.14

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I decided to take a break from my usual Friday post. Be sure to enjoy this pep talk, though, until next week. :)

And THIS behind-the-scenes video...

-Song

Notice Anything Different?

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You're not in the wrong place! The logo reveal and blog spruce happened yesterday! What do you think? I still have some bugs to work out with the blog template. There have been some funny sizing issues, so bear with me until it all looks polished. I am by no means an expert on html...

My new logo is very close to what I had in mind when I started working with the designer, albeit a tad more elegant than I had envisioned (which isn't a negative). Meredith of Jack + Molly Creative did an almost superhuman job of figuring out what I wanted. She listened to all of my suggestions and asked great questions in order to get the final result. I would definitely recommend her. Thanks, Meredith!

Y'all, I'm so excited about all of this "newness." I have yet to make the logo switch in my etsy shop and business cards, packaging, etc; that's next on the list. But everything will be spiffed up soon, and by next week, I should have the photos of the spring collection finished to show you. Stay tuned...

-Song

Spring Collection Drumroll

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It's wet and windy outside, but it's also warmer and finally beginning to look like spring. The weekend was sunny and gorgeous. Sadly, I haven't been out in the weather very much yet due to this unbelievably persistent cold I caught. I think I've almost got it licked, but I'm still tired and congested. Prayers up that allergies don't add to it.

In shop news, the logo is almost done and I can't wait to start sticking it on everything that represents me and my shop. Also, you may have noticed that I haven't shown you any new jewelry for a while! That's because I have been working on a collection of pieces to release all at once!

When I first began designing jewelry, I would find elements that I really liked and then try to make something from them. It was a good way to start, but it didn't leave me feeling like I could plan anything or buy in bulk. I needed a vision of some kind. I decided recently that planning a collection with a cohesive feel and a common theme allows me to be more creative and thoughtful about what I make.

So, for spring I began looking for a theme (beyond just spring) and decided to go with something that has been interesting me a lot lately, which is classic, feminine, French style. And who better to represent those things than Audrey Hepburn. She is the inspiration for this first collection full of pieces that are very feminine, very simple and somewhat French. I am so excited to show it to you soon! Make sure you check back in the next week or two for the reveal. :)

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-Song

4.4.14

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Greetings! Here comes the weekend. I need to be completely healthy now! I've been battling a cold for a week and while I'm on the tail end of it, I really want to be 100% to help with a friend's bridal shower tomorrow. Downing vinegar in juice at this very moment! What do you have planned for the weekend?

-Timing is important when fulfilling social duties and pleasantries, isn't it? I'm always horrendously late with that sort of thing. This little article about different "social deadlines" and what to do if you're tardy is helpful for someone like me.

-The 35 Worst Childhood Hairstyles Ever...whoa.

-Apparently, this tells you if you are a good liar or not. I am a good liar. You believe me, don't you?

-Grapefruit margaritas that look so good. Recipe here from Pretty Plain Janes.

-You can't really call it coveting...but I like them, and I just want to run. Why is it so expensive to do it comfortably?

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-This video is hilarious. I love how normal this seems to them. :)

-Song

Cameras & Initials

I'm excited to share some shop news with you! I will soon be adding personalized initial tags to my inventory. :) I learned to stamp last fall and purchased a back ordered stamping set a few months ago. It has finally arrived!

The necklace in the photo above is one that I made for my very dear friend Erin who happens to be an extremely talented photographer. If you are in the central Ohio area and in need of someone to do a shoot for you, HIRE HER! You can check out her blog here and her Flickr account here. In addition to her family and event shoots, you will see a ton of photos of goat kids, horses, sled dogs and lots of other animals (due to the fact that she lives on a farm w/ a sled dog kennel). She recently completed a set of photos chronicling her golden retriever's weekly adventures called 52 weeks of Kirby. It's so cute! See some more of her work below...I love the band shot.

Isn't she talented? You're sure to see more of her work on here in the future. :)

-Song