merry holidays and all!

happy holidays friends! i'm officially taking off for the next few days. heading up to NY to celebrate with the fam and enjoy some much needed time off. i wish everyone a happy happy christmas and a very merry new year! see ya in a few days...

yes jess!

kinda totally in love with everything in this shop!

me head would be so very happy with any of these goodies wrapping it up :)

ships ahoy!

i have a love for these fellows that words just cannot express...

look at that seagull!!!

music monday!

the carolina chocolate drops!

saw these fine folks live a few months back and they absolutely knocked my socks off! enjoy :)

holiday decor

it's official... i'm obsessed with holiday crafts! i absolutely can't stop myself. every night i'm working on something new and last night while making this pom-pom garland evan just couldn't help but laugh at me. i have to blame it on all of the crafty blogs i read. if this keeps up my house is going to be one big clutter of tinsel, garland and nonsense! here are my latest creations and the inspirations for them.

because of THIS, i made this...

because of THIS, i made these...

and because of THIS, i made this...

and it's definitely not stopping here folks. even as we speak i'd rather be back in my studio making some sort of christmas decoration. i think i officially have a problem. i guess as far as addictions go though, this one ain't really so bad.

have a great weekend all!!!

banquet!

oh how i've fallen for banquet! this vancouver based studio/workshop is offering up so many fun little DIY projects that the whole family can take part in. this description alone, of the things they're currently obsessing over, makes me want to pack my bags for a week in canada!

"we are currently obsessing over handmade quilts, making blood orange marmalade, eastern european folk costumes, maira kalman, the boreal forest, homing salamanders, and growing succulents. but that's just this week..."

if only i had seen this site a few weeks ago. what amazing little christmas gifts these would make...

sew a snake

shadow puppet kits

and this forest animal mobile kit... which i really think would look absolutely amazing painted in muted blues, greens and a touch of mustard yellow, and hanging in the corner of our bedroom. i'm just sayin'...

originally spotted here.

trim up...

i keep this picture in my iphone at all times..

i'm currently trying to grow my hair out to this stage, and anyone who has ever had super short hair knows what a daunting task this can be. the front of my hair is actually already at this point, it's just the back that i have to keep letting grow out. i'm getting a little trim up this afternoon and i just need to keep my eye on the prize so as to not walk in there and have my gal steph just chop it off. stay strong jenn... stay strong!

etsy in the charlotte observer!

how exciting it is to live in a city that fully appreciates the wonder that is etsy! in this sundays charlotte observer a lovely article was written about a few ladies in the area who sell on etsy. it's all about folks who lost a job when the economy took a turn for the worse, and used it as an opportunity to follow an artistic dream. what's even more exciting about this article is that i was one of the ladies interviewed! if you have a spare minute you can check out the full story HERE and the second part HERE. happy reading :)

for some reason they used my maiden name and i'm not really sure as to why... oh well, it's still pretty darn cool seeing yourself in the paper. thanks again charlotte observer, and especially jessica, for this great little article!

DIY crafty goodness!

i'm so excited for tonight! my sister-in-law and i are having a little crafty get together to make some fun holiday goodies. it's funny how i never get tired of making things. i was definitely afraid that when i started being a full time crafter i would get burnt out on the whole thing and not want to do it in my spare time at all. that seems to be the exact opposite of how it's turned out though. the more i do, the more i want to do more! my brain is flooded at all times with fun little crafts to work on and i just wish i had time to do them all!

here are two of the projects that i've already purchased the supplies for. first is this adorable star garland, spotted on creature comforts. i'm in love with this one big time and might just keep it up in my house all year long! check out the full tutorial here. i think i'll even just poke holes in some of them and use them on gifts or on our tree!

the second fun little goodie is also from creature comforts. i swear, that blog is dangerous for me. i want to do every single project on there! these gingerbread gift tags (or ornaments) seem super fun and easy. anytime i can put "icing" on a creation, that's a winner in my book!

if these two are a success i may just move onto some of my other favorites. i'm over the moon for this pom-pom garland, seen hanging on the ceiling here, that i originally spotted on bloesem. it's so very bright, and absolutely adorable! i think it would even be amazing in all white for a wintery feel. stringing pom-poms... that's totally doable! (here is the original post)

this post on design sponge has got my brain going overtime with all these amazing ideas! this paper garland would be a fabulous little touch to any gift under the tree. it's making me realize that there are few things that a bit of string and paper can't spruce up. this is one post to definitely check out!

on all of my crafty hunts i also came across a few great resources that i MUST add to my collection. lotta jansdotter, the ever amazing scandinavian designer, has a wonderful paper crafts book that is calling to me! i now want paper pinwheels everywhere! the beehives and bunting are ridiculously cute as well!

and here's a FREEBIE to download. the happy holidays guide to diy from papernstitch! it looks incredible. sadly, i haven't been able to download it yet because of too much traffic, but that just means it must be gooooood! i'm patiently waiting to snag this one up!

anyone else have a crafty weekend planned. please feel free to share some links of other DIY treats as i can never get enough. here's to happy crafting!!!

top tot picks!

shopping for my nieces & nephews is probably one of my favorite things on earth to do. i only wish that my wallet would allow me to do it more often. with that said, this morning i made up a little wish list of all the fabulous etsy goodies i would scoop up for them if i happen to one day become suddenly wealthy...

here's to dreaming!

if you'd like to see any of these goodies a bit closer, just click HERE!

all that glitters...

a few bits of sparkly goodness spotted on some of my favorite blogs...

necklace spotted HERE...

shoes spotted HERE...

metallic nails spotted HERE...

headband spotted HERE...

purse spotted HERE...

dress spotted HERE...

gotta love the holiday season!!!

weekend in review...

welp, Rock & Shop was AMAZING! i had so much fun and it was a fabulously successful event. it ended up snowing all day up in durham, but not even the fluffy flakes could keep the shoppers away. if you're in the area for the next one, i definitely recommend giving it a go. here are a few pics i snapped up of my table real quick before the event got going...

can't forget about my assistant... best hubs ever!

it was so busy the entire day that i didn't even get to sneak away from my booth to snap pics of everyone else. i guess that's a good thing, but i would have loved to share more. they should be posting some pics up on their flickr site at some point, so feel free to browse those too :)

in other positively giddy news, remember last week when i said i was now on the hunt for the perfect christmas stockings. well, i've already found them! on sunday evan and i went to sleepy poet, here in charlotte, with some friends just to do a little browsing. i had never been there before and had heard some amazing things about it. after about 2 hours of meandering we were getting about ready to head out. that's when i saw them. these two absolutely adorable, vintage quilted stockings. at just 8 bucks each, i simply couldn't say no!

eeeep... i still get so excited looking at them! so here is our little festive nook in the living room. it's so cozy when we've got the little fireplace on, with a pup curled up in front of it. i'm pretty pleased as punch about it all!

hope everyone had just as fantastic of a weekend. i think i shall go make a bit of hot cocoa now with these vegan marshmallows that we picked up, and settle in for a little relaxation time. it's the little things that make winter a.o.k!

crunch time!

welp, i'm down to the wire. tomorrow is Rock & Shop and i've got miles to go before is sleep. i've got to finish my booth setup, price everything, pack up all my goodies... and that's just to name a few. luckily i've learned not to get too stressed out about doing craft shows. it's not worth freaking out the night before trying to get one last piece finished, when in the end it really won't make a difference. i find it much more productive to get all my ducks in a row and then get a good night sleep. so with that said... let me go and freak out for a few hours just to get it out of my system!

in completely unrelated news... i got a tree for evan and i last night! i was positively giddy when i saw it. it's tiny, (we don't have too much extra space for a biggy) and oh so chubby! i love it!

i also draped a strand of lights around the windows in our living room for a little added ambiance. you can even see a bit of them behind the tree! just these few simple things instantly make if feel cozy and festive here. now to find the perfect stockings!

hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, and if you're in the durham, nc area come on out tomorrow. it's gonna be a blast!!!

christmas tree love!

i'm absolutely in love with this little tree that i spotted HERE. it's like a larger version of charlie brown's and i think it's just the bees knees!