little blue studio

Every Gift has a Story

2010-11-26T05:42:00.014-05:00

Mermaid Lures

I have been collecting shells along the New Jersey coastline since I was about 5 or 6 years old. In the seventies, it was pretty easy to amass a collection of whole, large scallop and snail shells to commemorate your summer stay at the beach. Several times my mother was lucky enough to find 6-8” whelk or conch shells.

Over the years, these larger pieces slowly disappeared. Now during beach visits, you mostly find fragments of shells. It is difficult to find larger, intact shells…except maybe a clam shell recently cleaned by a seagull. Many beachgoers don’t even look down anymore.

I still collect, regardless, because I think even the small pieces are worth looking at and treasuring for their beautiful color and shape. What if, someday, we do not even have these?

Each trip is an endless search through thousands of shell fragments, sea glass and beach stones, sadly weeding out all of the pieces too fragile to use. At the end of my trip, I am usually left with a few dozen shells that carry enough color and texture to become the focal point of one of my designs. I do not drill the shells or stones. I prefer to find pieces that already have the holes pounded into them by the surf and sea creatures.

I am always grateful when customers enjoy these little bit of the sea as much as I do.

Swimming Against the Currents

2010-11-09T15:48:00.004-05:00

It's the middle of fall already?!

Things have been quite hectic here, and as usual I ended my summer with deciding, once again, that this fall would NOT be a good time for me to go back to school. I am more tired and my time is stretched thinner than I was last year when I made the same decision...and the year before that as well. After 5 years (because I was supposed to start when my youngest went to first grade)...I am noticing a definite pattern. I went ahead and enrolled in MICA's continuing studies program because evidently next year will be worse than this year!

So it's been quite busy, and very frustrating juggling all of it (did I mention that I ripped my kitchen out?) BUT I am really excited about where my work will be going in the next year..and here's a sneak peek...

THEY MIGHT BE GIANT

2010-07-18T19:14:00.004-04:00

If you have an electric range...I really, really feel sorry for you. S'mores are a year round treat here at our house thanks to that pretty blue flame coming out of the cooktop. While I certainly believe charcoal cooks everything much better than gas, it just doesn't apply to s'mores.

So we were at the grocer's when I spied four lonely bags of marshmallows on the shelf. Giant bags. With GIANT marshmallows inside. And half of them were strawberry flavored. Did I say they were giant?? About a four-to-one ratio to what you normally find in our cabinet.

So humongous that you literally have to eat them right over the sink. And then get a bath. Because you will be covered in sticky mess from fingers to hair and everywhere in between.... but THEY ARE TOTALLY AWESOME!

Graffiti Alley

2010-06-28T13:14:00.008-04:00

If you meander around the Station North district in Baltimore, you just might find this almost magical hiding spot!

It's an L-shaped alley near the intersection of North and Howard full of vibrant artwork done by a number of locals with the property owner's permission. It was hard to capture to totality of it...you really have to roam around it yourself. Even the the ground underfoot and the dumpster are tagged, and its gated entrance is an incredible piece of ironwork itself!

(Please note - if you're not Baltimore street-wise, you want to bring a couple friends...it's not a tourist area.)

HOUSEWORK

2010-06-17T06:13:00.005-04:00

Boycotting the final week of school was a fabulous idea, I must say! Without spending 4 hours a day chauffeuring, I found a lot of time to do some much needed things around the house in between making lovely flowers for once.

After what looks like 40 years of being painted shut, we carefully opened one of the side windows in the boys room. It's so very old school European! It opens out like a door on hinges, and lets me do my favorite thing ever which is hang my head out and daydream...especially lovely in the Baltimore rain.

Chelsea Market trip

2010-04-19T10:03:00.003-04:00

Each trek into the city traditionally ends with picking up goodies from the Chelsea Market . This time around, the sugar cookies from Eleni's proved way too difficult to pass up. Naturally, as I am preoccupied with the dazzling pink sprinkles, the boys are finding more constructive things to do. The wishing well at the market's center is usually where I can find them...

Ants on my Spoon!

2010-04-09T07:21:00.002-04:00

I bought this sweet little spoon from bailey doesn't bark because ants love love to visit my kitchen in the warmer half of the year. I am sure it's for the tea and cookies. I came into the kitchen to get my teacup for a break from the studio yesterday morning and was surprised to find that the ants on my spoon grew from two to three!

SNOWED IN!

2010-02-09T03:56:00.005-05:00

When the whole world is snowed in - the best place to be is in the city!

We take amazing walks down the middle of streets normally stuffed with automobiles. My favorite method is leaving in daylight and coming back in darkness. And I am very partial to my Mount Vernon, with its snow and ice covered statues...people sledding down the steps in the square...and wonderful snowmen lining the park benches. All of the colors and lights are so vivid against the velvet blue sky.

Magic Lantern

2010-02-03T07:40:00.003-05:00

Strolling around NYC at nighttime is magical! The crowds and the noise vanish when the sky turns velvet and you spot so many things you might pass without notice in daylight hours.

I just loved this quaint little shop, with its Marrakesh arch, the warm interior bricks and endless sparkling lanterns hanging from its ceiling.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-01T00:32:00.003-05:00

What a way to start 2010...

Thanks to Etsy for featuring one of my favorite rings on the first Front Page of the new year, and thanks to all of my customers for making 2009 a dream come true.

BOOKBINDERS in BALTIMORE

2009-12-13T11:03:00.002-05:00

Now that my outdoor market season is over, I was finally able to make it to one of the Saturday workshops hosted at The Woman's Industrial Exchange. This week, local artist Milana Duthie (who also seems to have the cutest collection of boots!) demonstrated a few bookbinding techniques. First we learned how to make a tiny accordian fold book, some steps of which I did remember from way back in my days at Shippensburg. I love loved my orange paper cover and the butcher string ties look very clever. I think I'll use the design to make a larger book for the boys' Santa photos.

The second book we did in journal style and learned the stab binding technique. At first I thought it would be great to teach in my next art session for Boy Scouts...now I wonder how wise it would be to hand out awls to half a dozen boys. Hmmmm....

CHARLESTON COCKTAILS

2009-11-12T11:41:00.006-05:00

We attended our friends' wedding this weekend in Charleston, South Carolina. I must say it was a perfectly beautiful weekend from the Low Country rehearsal barbeque at the Palmer Home to the High Cotton reception. It was lots of delicious food from one place to the next and an introduction to Firefly sweet tea cocktails for me. Sunday was our wind-down day where the boys went to watch the game and the girls went to visit Boone Hall Plantation. I wish we could have spent more time exploring...especially through the trees! But I took some lovely reference photos for a painting or two this winter.

MONDAY HON...on Tuesday

2009-10-27T11:51:00.018-04:00

I planned to post this yesterday but it took me a while to figure out my new phone! Monday Hon posts will be all the little (and sometimes big) reasons that I love-love Baltimore.

So for this inaugural post...I chose The Great Halloween Lantern Parade!!

The parade celebrated it's tenth anniversary this year - it's so hard to belive I was there for the first one! It is quite a spectacle with stilt-walkers, impromptu bands, human lanterns and Halloween costumes all rolled through the dark paths inside Patterson Park. The best part is that anyone can jump in line with their lantern and join the amazingly alternating raucous and solemn creep through the trees. Our favorite spot is always right behind a jazzy band of fellows playing slightly spooky music with brass and drums and even accordians. It usually ends with a Magic Lantern Show as the Grande Finale, projected on a huge screen. Kudos to the parade Director, Molly Ross, for a brilliant mesh of her fantastic vision with a truly community event!

GIVEAWAY opportunity!

2009-10-16T07:22:00.002-04:00

I just love Amanda Johnson's blog: here's lookin' at me kid I swear some of her vintage clothing from the 70s and 80s came out of my closet! Amanda is hosting a give-away of one of my newest lovelies: a double-swag choker chain adorned with a shimmering fabric blossom in teal and green. So check out her blog between this Friday and next Wednesday to enter in a random drawing. I have also offered her readers a free with purchase deal which will be extended to you as well. If you make a purchase between now and October 31st, you will get a complimentary set of three Confetti Bangles! They are a super sweet design which are currently only made available at the markets. If you decide to make a purchase, just send me an email stating your wrist measurement and indicating whether you'd like rose/peach tones, blue green tones or neutrals.

Feeling Nostalgic...

2009-10-03T17:30:00.002-04:00

It started last Sunday with an order for pink chiffon flower earrings...six days later I am still hooked on the same fabric - very "not like me"! My favorite completed work is this sweet pink and gray asymmetrical necklace. All of the elements remind me of different pieces of jewelry I cherished back in the 80s...some still sitting in the box on my vanity! Pink and gray recalls freshman year, a favorite checkered button down -belted and bloused of course - a poodle skirt party, and listening to Prince.

Page Marker

2009-09-24T09:52:00.002-04:00

What a nice surprise to find out that one of my pieces was featured on Etsy's front page again...the "Julia" bookmark has a wonderful vintage picture button on a woodsy green velvet.

The CHERRY THEORY

2009-09-12T16:14:00.004-04:00

It's been a bit too long since my last post - but I have been working away, let me tell ya! I have a new line of necklaces called The Cherry Theory (the name comes from a wonderful collaboration session with my husband). New pieces are being made every week, and it gets so busy I don't even have time to list them on Etsy. If you're local, the weekend markets are your best bet or The Exchange on Charles St. If you're not local, send me an email.

UPCOMING DATES!

2009-08-29T07:08:00.002-04:00

First, if you shop downtown - be sure to check out the Exchange at 333 North Charles St. I am bringing in an armload of new goodies for fall in really hot colors! Check it out, September 1st!!

NEW MARKET DATES:
Saturdays at the Museum of Industry on Key Highway:
September 2, 12, 19
October 3,10,17,24

Sundays under the Jones Falls Expressway:
September 3, 13, 20
October 4, 11, 18, 25

MERMAID LURES

2009-08-14T11:40:00.002-04:00

Hey, Sailor! These are known to work every time...

Catch you on the boardwalk in Cape May this weekend, August 15th and 16th from 10-5...

UPCOMING DATES

2009-08-03T10:54:00.002-04:00

Taking loads of brand new pieces to the markets this weekend:
August 8 - Baltimore Museum of Industry on Key Highway, 9am-1pm
August 9 - Baltimore Bazaar under the JFX, 8am-12pm

And next weekend is my big event in Jersey!
August 15-16th - Cape May Promenade Arts and Crafts on the boardwalk, 9am-5pm

off-white study plate no.1

2009-07-14T20:07:00.002-04:00

Working on a handful of special orders this week - can't figure out which flowers to work with... I like them all together, (maybe too much to part with) and my new feathers for fall are going to be sweet! Yep - I am starting fall colors and the official summer weather is yet to be experienced here in Baltimore. Not having to use the air conditioner is bliss!

Etsy Front Page!

2009-07-09T13:26:00.002-04:00

One of my rings made front page...the ring with a gray oyster shell fragment and three freshwater pearls is from my collection made with seashells from Cape May, NJ.

Press!

2009-06-12T20:24:00.005-04:00

WBALtv did a news segment today on the Exchange...take a peek!

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/19739750/

So I have used up about 10 seconds of my 15 minutes of fame, not bad!

Scissor Happy...

2009-06-12T15:42:00.003-04:00

FINALLY... I waited two weeks for my Gingher shears to come into the fabric store...and it was worth the wait - they are a dream to cut with! The pair I had been using were very sentimental. They belonged to my mother and now I will mount them in a shadow box to hang in the studio...double happiness!

Peek-A-Boo!

2009-06-12T15:38:00.003-04:00

There's finally enough sunshine to take a picture of my newly blooming magnolias! The deck smells so fabulous I have moved out there with my sewing kit for the weekend!

Tea Break!

2009-05-28T20:27:00.003-04:00

Gearing up for the weekend, and getting more pretties ready of the Brigantine NJ Show on the 6th. If you are in the area, it at the 44th Street Sports Complex. Tons of vendors...and it benefits the Brigantine PTA!! Come and say hello :)

Gypsy Rose

2009-05-26T07:25:00.003-04:00

My newest pieces...sweet little headbands. I've been wearing them out and about around town, they are really not too formal looking for casual days. My first one I wore to Tio Pepe on an almost-our-anniversary date with my husband...something blue!

OUT OF STUDIO!

2009-05-24T20:41:00.002-04:00

Today was our first swim of the season. I am going home to impatiently wait for school to be over, and then packing my studio up and relocating to this oasis. I am not sure how much I will actually produce this summer...

QUEEN OF THE MAY

2009-05-06T16:41:00.003-04:00

My son's school is having a May procession next week. I offered to make some hairpins and wrist corsages for the girls...they turned out so sweet! Three tiny white blossoms set on vintage seam binding...

What's In The Box??!!

2009-04-30T16:54:00.002-04:00

Just did some pics of my packaging for my Etsy listings...I found cute blue grosgrain that almost matches my new business cards. Little things!! Getting prepped for FlowerMart tomorrow and then the TriCity Arts in Asbury Park in two weekends...YIKES!

FLOWER MART is coming!

2009-04-21T10:25:00.006-04:00

FlowerMart is an annual event here in my neighborhood - held this year on May 1st and 2nd. Vendors gather around the Washington Monument...the original one - which was even referenced by Melville in Moby Dick. It's a true Baltimore event where you can enter a fabulous hat contest and buy the locally revered lemon sticks...as well as fresh flowers and nursery plants. Some of my pieces will be there at the booth for the Womans Industrial Exchange!

attack of the ToothMonsters

2009-04-14T16:56:00.002-04:00

These are so soft and colorful...fun to make! Tuck your lost tooth down their gullet and see what they cough up in the morning....

a corner of my little studio

2009-04-08T10:03:00.002-04:00

Leaving for the weekend - my workdesk looks so empty without the sewing machine! Look out for some monsters on my return...

Poppy Pins

2009-04-02T21:31:00.004-04:00

I started making these pretties as brooches, but then turned a few into hair pins as well. A very gypsy look!

Busy day - not enough time to get things done...but very excited I was invited to participate in the Tri City Arts Tour in Asbury Park and have also applied to a late summer fair in Cape May. I just love Jersey in the summer!

CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET??

2009-03-24T16:27:00.003-04:00

I just finished my first few SecretKeeper dollies! They are a spin off of the Kokeshi dolls made in Japan. Super-cute printed fabric stuffed with natural bamboo fibers which are super soft and naturally antibacterial. Each little doll will come with a full size pillowcase which has a sweet little pocket for them to sleep in. Your little girl can whisper her secrets and dreams each night before bed...the Keeper will put them in her little pouch. She may even be able to hold a lost tooth for any fairies that pop by....

TWIT WIT

2009-03-18T09:31:00.004-04:00

Ok - I just joined Twitter...have no idea what I'm doing there! But Todd Marrone is there and that is entertainment value in and of itself. Good for mini-breaks from the studio!

My creative ADD is in full gear...too many projects at once! But I am excited about the Kokeshi dolls I am working on...hope to finish them by tomorrow and post a pic before I take them down to the Exchange. I did a whole bunch of banners last week but forgot to photograph them. They looked awesome draped, overlapping each other, on the table like colorful fish scales. My friend saw it and thought it was a really interesting apron. Umm, yeah, for the Jolly Green Giant?! but it did get me thinking...giggle

I LOVE NEW BUTTONS!

2009-03-09T16:01:00.004-04:00

I just spent the weekend ambling all over New York City searching for little treasures...and can't wait to get to work on some new baubles this week!

My first (and ultimately favorite) stop was Tender Buttons. What a magical place! After reading some not-so-nice reviews online, I must say I was really WOWed once I found it. The shop is very petit and quaint...and the atmosphere is like a library and museum in one. I was in love immediately...and was hesitant to even post this find because I really want this place as a secret all to myself!

The reviews had mentioned rude staff members, but let me tell you...the only attitudes I encountered were coming from two different customers. "Can't you MATCH a button for me?!" was a comment from one lady who was running one clerk all over the place, pulling out box after box. I'm sorry - if you can't match buttons to a white blouse on your own what does that say about you??

Wait until you see what I whip up...check RiRiFisch.etsy.com this week and next!

Another place I cruised was the flea market in Hell's Kitchen! I did get a little handful of unusual goodies there as well.

The rest of the time was, of course, spent eating (YUM!) and showing my husband all of the places I would be willing to live if he wants me to move to the city.

Weary of the Dreary

2009-02-26T10:20:00.003-05:00

(long sigh).....is it ever gonna be warm? No sunshine today so my studio is looking a little gray. At least I am having fun with some projects for Flower Mart. I just finished this sweet little brooch with a lovely William Morris style print, some of my shimmery vintage seam binding and a teeny bit of sparkle from a faceted glass bead - and I must say it looks nice on my black tee, so maybe I will give it a "test run" for the day. (smiles) You see...sunshine just peeked through the clouds with that idea!

DASTARDLY MINIATURES

2009-02-25T12:06:00.002-05:00

I am in love with the tiny portraits on front - with the names of some real pirates, no less!

ARRRRGH!

2009-02-25T12:01:00.003-05:00

Pirate banners this time ...this one reverses and you could probably personalize the back with words or a name.

Little Boy Blue

2009-02-23T14:03:00.001-05:00

Here's a close up of one of the nursery rhyme panels...

Jack and Jill

2009-02-23T13:59:00.002-05:00

My "first draft" for some banners I am working on...not bad! I love the adorable nursery rhyme fabric. It has three slightly larger panels with Mary Had A Little Lamb, Jack and Jill, and Little Boy Blue. It is reversable with red n white and blue n white dots on the back side.

Front Page News

2009-02-21T15:46:00.007-05:00

I was checking through my etsy shop this morning and was surprised to see that I had gotten a lot of hits on my rings. Apparently I was featured on the front page of the Etsy website last night...very exciting! I celebrated by washing my truck...oozing layers of pink suds made it very festive!

See it here...the front page theme was LIBRARIANS

Favor in Return

2009-02-12T11:56:00.004-05:00

I finished an assemblage ring from yesterday's favor box. The star is perched an inch off the ring itself..cute and commanding at the same time. I like it that way!

Do Me A Favor?

2009-02-10T16:37:00.006-05:00

I was so sad to miss Mary's Valentine-Making party this weekend...but, lucky me, she saved one of the favors to give to me! I thought it was the most adorable idea and wanted to share...a candy box filled with sweet treats for making Valentine cards. I am already thinking thinking of different ways to use them...

Rock Candy!

2009-02-09T15:58:00.002-05:00

Finished a tray of pretty baubles for the Exchange...these were really fun to do. (I had fun finishing off the chocolates to use the tray, too!) Working on a couple more things...

One Ringy Dingy...Two Ringy Dingy...

2009-02-03T11:41:00.003-05:00

I am so excited about what's going on in the studio today! I've been wondering what to do with all the quirky buttons and beads that aren't quite right for the bookmarks I am currently creating. I started making a ring for my sister-in-law the other day with some pearls...now I am on a roll it seems. I did a line for the Exchange called "Rock Candy"!

The Book Stack

2009-01-31T19:52:00.000-05:00

My current reads are "Angela's Ashes" (second time around) and "Eclipse" (part of the Twilight series). Two at once, but I can't help myself! When I hit the library I actually usually get 6-8 books...I am not sure why because my library is only a few blocks away. It's just greed, I guess.

My friend had been recommending Twilight for months...badgering actually. To the point I was bruised. So I had some extra dollars on a gift card after Christmas and went for it, even though I was pretty embarrassed carrying a young adult book to the register at my age.

I got home and started to read...and was immediately hooked. Now I am more embarrassed with myself. But what makes it any different from reading (and enjoying) the Harry Potter series or the Chronicles of Narnia, other than the fact that I am actually reading those to my children at night? I think because it may suggest mid-life crisis!