New piece just listed a minute ago!
Posted on | Sunday, June 29, 2008 | 5 Comments
Check it out before it's snatched up in my shop.
New piece to be listed in my shop tomorrow!
Posted on | Saturday, June 28, 2008 | 2 Comments
In a never ending attempt to create new and original pieces, my mind is always running wild with ideas but I just never have the time to put those into tangible form. I won't give away too much, but come late summer or fall, I have a couple exciting collaborations with some amazingly talented artists/designers. I am sure you know who they are, but I'll keep it a secret for now. ;)
In preparation for these collaborations and to keep things fresh and innovative, I'll be creating some sneak peak pieces throughout the summer and posting to the public in my shop for all to enjoy and possibly snatch up. Not exactly sure of the official launch, but twigs & honey has been a learning experience from the beginning and by next summer, I'm hoping to have greater organization and more formal collections. Within a few weeks, twigs & honey will also become additionally available through some wonderful boutiques! Exciting! I'll keep you posted.
Here is a glimpse of the new piece to be listed in my shop tomorrow:
A bit of vintage decadence, a touch of modern charm, this piece is completely handmade and not for the faint of heart.
On deck orders :: Updated June 27th
Posted on | Friday, June 27, 2008 | 3 Comments
Sorry for the delay in updating this list. It's been a bit wacky with my computer problems this week. Also, this is for orders that have completion dates through July 3rd only. There are some wonderfully patient brides among this list and I want to thank you so much for being so understanding! If your order is a few days behind, I'm hoping to finish within a week. Also, if you are among this list and have a wedding next weekend, you'll be shuffled around to ensure timely delivery! Thank you so much! Here goes!:
Currently on deck:
1. mannad11 (4)
2. mommynbaby (1)
3. kdorsens (1)
4. ClaudiaCamp (1)
5. awhalley (1)
6. tav79 (1)
7. CatNg (1)
8. Yourbrokenheart (1)
9. Nafadesigns (2)
10. abreaz (1)
11. megone (1)
12. lauralim (15)
13. patriciamasci (3)
14. sarahjeichberger (1)
15. weddingbliss09 (3)
16. lunarbonnet (8)
17. midorikoosen (1)
18. lenalevenson (4)
19. Silvia1927 (3)
20. danadaisys (1)
21. cookie01 (1)
22. badle126 (1)
23. Amandita8 (1)
24. mickeysue (1)
25. Rebecca929 (1)
26. Littleleafdesigns (14)
27. missmay12 (7)
28. zeuger (1)
29. jensen53 (1)
30. katiepie (2)
31. kristin1981 (1)
32. cuttlefish (1)
33. valleygirl818 (2)
34. baxterem (12)
35. kelli204 (1)
36. kthomps3 (1)
37. liquin (1)
38. nlew1983 (1)
39. lisandram (1)
40. alaud14 (1)
Boutique Orders on deck:
1. B.B.
2. R&C
3. S.B.
Next to be on deck:
1. mayalikesmonkeys (1)
2. lia567 (5)
Too lovely for words :: Real bride Alice
I have more real bride photos to post, but just thought I'd give you a sneak peak of a gorgeous twigs & honey bride, Alice, all the way in Ireland! Not too long ago, I made her a lovely and whimsical headband that she is wearing in the photo. And take a look at her decadent and gorgeous dress! Oh! Too pretty! Congratulations lovely lady and thank you so much!
Congrats all around :: Baby and a B-day!
Posted on | Wednesday, June 25, 2008 | 4 Comments
Just a big and belated Happy Birthday to my older sister, Amy, who turned 1 year younger last week and graduated from college! Yipee! She's also tying the knot in February 2009!
Also, congratulations to my sister-in-law, Angie, for welcoming a new bundle of joy this past Monday. Matt and I were in Bend, OR all day for the birth and it was so exciting! Little Cheyenne is a happy and healthy 6lbs 11oz and a hair over 19 inches. Lovely!
On a totally separate note, my laptop finally decided that during the most busy time of the year, it was time to say goodbye and drift off into a long sleep. I suppose I saw the day coming as it put-putted along for the last couple months. R.I.P.
Actually, I am going to try to revive it at the local computer shop later in the week, but no rest for the weary as business calls. Matt and I got a new laptop today so I could get back to my orders. I apologize for not updating the progress post and taking so long to reply to convos. I'm still transferring files over (that I was fortunately able to scrap together off my old laptop right before it died) and installing software, but I hope to catch up soon!
I like Target
Posted on | Saturday, June 21, 2008 | 4 Comments
There... I admitted it. ;)
Where else can you go to get your lazy summer days wardrobe for $30? My weekend splurge while I was out getting a few random biz supplies. A ruffled tank, the perfect length black leggings, and a total "artist's" oversized tissue tee. Love it. The cute birds are housewarming gifts from the sweet Tiffany and the jar is our wedding unity sand. Sweet everything. The birds are sitting there temporarily until I install my new shelf. Thank you Tiffany!
Featured :: Kim Hayes Photography
The wonderfully gifted, Kim Hayes of Kim Hayes Photography, has done a beautiful post on her blog featuring twigs & honey pieces! A little while ago, I worked with Eve, a sweet and gorgeous bride-to-be and recently featured a couple of her photos on the official twigs & honey website. I thought the photos were beautiful and so vibrant. I was so happy to get a note from her photographer, Kim, pointing me to her blog where I could view more stunning photos from the shoot. Thank you so much Kim and Eve for the support and beautiful work you two!
Photo credits: Kim Hayes Photography
Featured :: Web Gems
The very sweet Melissa over at Web Gems blog is having a week of wedding related items available through the web. This is such a handy dandy site and helps cut down the time needed for hunting and surfing the web. Twigs & honey is being featured today! Thank you Melissa!
Boutonnieres featured! :: Handcrafted: The Cure for the Common Wedding
Posted on | Thursday, June 19, 2008 | 1 Comment
Just a big thank you to Lynn from Handcrafted : The cure for the common wedding blog for the lovely post about twigs & honey! You must visit her blog if you are planning a wedding. There are oodles of lovely ideas and tips. I'm so excited to know about her blog! I can add to the blogs I visit daily that are about weddings. hahaha! Sometimes, I just can't let go of somethings. *wink* Thank you, Lynn!!!
Tackling the ribbon pile :: Organized!
Posted on | Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | 6 Comments
I finally organized my ribbons.
A few months ago, before we moved, Matt and I purchased "Alex" from Ikea.
I loved it and it was a splurge, but I really needed it. Fast forward to our new place, and Matt finally built it over this past weekend and I filled it up already with all sorts of supplies. I was quite pleased with my ribbon drawer. The sad part though is that is just a fraction of all of it! The rest is on spools in my cabinets. I am not as proud of the drawer of feathers, but that's a whole other story.
Photo credits for Alex: Ikea
Got a few extra minutes? :: Pandora Radio
Posted on | Tuesday, June 17, 2008 | 3 Comments
I think I probably just crawled out from under a rock, but I just discovered Pandora Radio.
I was needing to get into a rhythm with building pieces and thought that some music would help. I googled "free radio" and after navigating through some more complex sites, I stumbled onto Pandora. Don't ask why, but I was in the mood for 80s alternative... the funkier, the better. When you go to Pandora, it asks you to type in an artist (other options too) and I typed Depeche Mode and poof! It built my own continuous play customized radio station for me to listen to, with everything in the same genre as Depeche Mode! No commercials! Seriously! So far, it is free and I am sure there has to be a catch because this is just way too cool. Try it out for yourself. Probably on your home and not work computer. ;) You'll be surprised. I promise. I am sure I'm the last to discover it as I've been a hermit, but hey, I know about it now.
On deck orders :: Updated for June 16th
Posted on | Monday, June 16, 2008 | 4 Comments
Here is the next week in orders. I know, there is a ton, so I'll likely take longer to respond to convos as I build, build, build. This is tentatively through Sunday, but things will shift here and there and I want to thank everyone for their patience! Also, for more tight turnaround orders, I'll be sure to finish your piece in time for your wedding, but want to say on the whole that most turnaround times are best guesses and I try my very hardest to stay on schedule, but things may fluctuate by a few days. I haven't slept much and probably won't for this week, but I thank everyone so much for working with me and waiting so patiently for their piece(s). I'm also putting approximate number of pieces still due by the names. In my blog, these might be off so don't panic, but are here just for a general idea. Also, I really can't accommodate any rush orders for a while as this week is how most of my weeks will look until the end of August. I'll keep everyone posted on when I may be able to squeeze in more orders. Thank you!!!
Currently on deck:
1. mannad11 (4)
2. muffinpuffin (1)
3. Joscelin (2)
4. psychcuddles (1)
5. Samdramm1 (7)
6. ggriffith81 (8)
7. mpowles (1)
8. kdorsens (1)
9. jordanamo (1)
10. Jenklugh (3)
11. Tarakay (1)
12. ClaudiaCamp (1)
13. awhalley (1)
14. Valbables (1)
15. Bittybride (1)
16. Maggiemoops (1)
17. BCblush812 (1)
18. ldunaway (2)
19. tav79 (1)
20. redpepper74 (1)
21. hallc07 (1)
Next orders to be on deck
1. Cathyz (1)
2. CatNg (1)
3. Yourbrokenheart (1)
4. Nafadesigns (2)
5. alereaz (1)
6. megone (1)
7. lauralim (15)
8. patriciamasci (3)
9. sarahjeichberger (1)
10. weddingbliss09 (3)
11. lunarbonnet (8)
12. midorikoosen (1)
13. lenalevenson (4)
14. Silvia1927 (3)
15. danadaisys (1)
16. cookie01 (1)
17. badle126 (1)
18. Amandita8 (1)
19. Loverlypound (5)
20. mickeysue (1)
21. nevergirl (1)
22. Rebecca929 (1)
23. Littleleafdesigns (14)
24. missmay12 (7)
25. zeuger (1)
26. jensen53 (1)
Whew!
Random photo of the day :: Conversations
When Ann Wood Handmade birds and Fernanimal meet.
Fernanimal is feeling oddly outnumbered. You will have to forgive my obsession for cute creatures. ;)
Building :: Many pieces!
Posted on | Friday, June 13, 2008 | 8 Comments
If I've seemingly taken longer to respond, do not fret, I'll be in touch soon and I apologize for any delays! I've been on lock down mode as I am marathon building. I'll be listing custom 4-5 pieces for June 21st weddings later today if you are wondering about your order. Thank you so much for your patience!
Yesterday, after staying up 2 nights in a row, I finally finished a 15 piece custom hair piece order for the lovely Teresa Strasser and her bridesmaids. You may be familiar with her as the former loveable host of TLC's While You Were Out. You can now hear her as the co-host and News Girl for the Adam Carolla show. Thank you so much Teresa and Michelle of Mint Julep! To read more about Teresa's wedding, visit her wedding website.
Here's a sneak peak at her order, which was shipped overnight yesterday:
Lots of white!
Getting their finishing touches...
On deck orders :: Updated
Posted on | Tuesday, June 10, 2008 | 1 Comment
Currently on deck:
1. mannad11
2. muffinpuffin
3. Joscelin
4. novyD
5. digclay
6. chelseykh
7. kjb6v8
8. mediumstomasses
9. T.S.
10. Mayicshel2
11. hindsightbias
12. psychcuddles
13. Samdramm1
14. ggriffin81
15. mpowles
16. kdorsens
Next orders to be on deck:
1. jordanamo
2. Jenklugh
3. DanielleFoster
4. V.P.
5. Tarakay
6. Jardanane
7. sagoz
8. ClaudiaCamp
9. awhalley
10. Domestikit
11. Valbables
12. Bittybride
13. aral123
14. Maggiemoops
15. BCblush812
Fueling twigs & honey :: Our organic garden
Posted on | Monday, June 9, 2008 | 3 Comments
Somewhere between piles of netting and silks and the buckets of paint and half emptied boxes, I squeezed in a bit of gardening this weekend. Matt and I were on attempt #3 with the studio wall paint color and FINALLY, got it right! We also went to a lovely nursery over the weekend and picked up a beautiful ginkgo tree (one of my favorites) among other plants. If I ever learned anything from studying Urban Forestry, it was that the ginkgo makes a wonderful tree in urban settings in terms of return on investment, low maintenance, aesthetically pleasing, and overall hardiness. While at the ag school to go to during my grad school years, I had to take a gardening course because it would be a shame not to! It was one of my most memorable and fulfilling courses I ever took and really steered Matt and I on a path of eating healthy organic and locally grown foods, or foods we could grow ourselves. I have been gardening since I was a tot, but never admit to having a green thumb by any stretch of the imagination, but the class did teach me so much and I'm hoping our little garden is fruitful in a couple months time! So here's to growing your own food the organic way! I hope that it will help me ward off migraines and cravings for sweets.... If I grow it, I have to eat it!
Our humble little garden. I should have taken a "before" picture. In keeping with the "organic" plan, I hand weeded this plot. It was pretty overgrown with weeds! I shoveled and turned over the soil and mixed into the top few inches, organic compost, an organic booster blend, and some extra soil to give our veggies a fighting chance. If you can believe it, here's the list of what I planted: 2 types of cucumber, Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, jalapenos, hot peppers, 2 types of bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, butternut squash, honeydew melons, watermelon, 3 types of strawberries, snow peas, peas, 5 types of lettuce, thyme, basil, rosemary, dahlias and cosmos (for color). Hard to believe it fit, huh? Just goes to show that you really can grow your own food in a small space. What is your excuse? ;)
Lovely cosmos bloom.
Cyclamen, inpatients, sweet peas, and dusty miller plants waiting patiently to be potted.
Our ginkgo!
Improvements to the Process :: Order for the Orders
In a never ending effort to improve “customer service” with twigs & honey (I put it in quotes because I feel that “customer service” sounds so straight business), I thought up a little post that I’ll do weekly, maybe twice a week, as I find time. It may totally go by the wayside as things get crazy busy over the next two months, but I thought it would be handy for all. So here’s the plan: I often get convos for updates on custom pieces, which is completely understandable. As my building schedule starts taking over more and more, it will start to take longer for me to respond to all my convos (about 50-60 a day, plus emails and website messages), and that just seems silly to me if you only want to get a quick update on the current production schedule. I’m going to start listing the Etsy usernames that are “on deck”, meaning in the works, and also those next up to the plate. I am hoping this will help to streamline the question/answer process and make it much quicker for anyone with an order with me to know if their piece is soon to be listed. If you are contacting me through email or the website, I won’t include you by your full name to maintain privacy (initials only if available). Also, if you don’t want your Etsy username to be included in this list, convo me to let me know. I am hoping this is useful! Just another note, but every once and a while, a piece needs revisions or “life” happens and things get a little crazier in terms of meeting wedding dates and appointments. I may shuffle super time sensitive orders from time to time by a few days just to ensure “on time” delivery, but will still on the whole, keep the production schedule in the order in which custom orders are received. Thank you for your patience and understanding!!
Here goes (the orders are not exact but just an approximate of what is in progress and the next group of orders to be in progress)!
Currently on deck:
1. m2020
2. mannad11
3. Emptopia10
4. Christina0423
5. muffinpuffin
6. Hayleyn
7. Erinalerman
8. Joscelin
9. lkawson
Next orders to be on deck:
1. novyD
2. digclay
3. chelseykh
4. kjb6v8
5. mediumstomasses
6. T.S.
7. Mayicshel2
8. hindsightbias
9. psychcuddles
10. Samdramm1
11. ggriffin81
12. mpowles
New piece :: Portland Bride & Groom headband available!
Posted on | Thursday, June 5, 2008 | 2 Comments
In celebration of the Portland Bride & Groom issue, I made a new piece for my Etsy shop! Actually, I recreated the headband that was featured in the "Wish List", and also thought it might be a good idea to have it available in case anyone reading the magazine would be interested. That's using my head, yes? At about 5:30am last night was when I finished it, and it is ultra pretty, but of course I have a biased opinion. Check it out before it's gone!
Magazine credits for last image: Portland Bride & Groom
PRESS :: Portland Bride & Groom
I am completely honored to say that twigs & honey is now featured in the current Summer/Fall issue of Portland Bride & Groom!
A few months ago, I was absolutely giddy and a bit in shock when Jill, the editor, got in touch to inquire about a custom piece for their "Wish List" spread. This was really early in my Etsy shop history, so I was honored and utterly flattered. Portland Bride & Groom has been a longtime favorite bridal/wedding publication of mine. They publish 2 issues a year and never waste one page. They always feature the most beautiful local artisans, fashions, and everything else having to do with weddings. The issues offer wonderful advice articles and the great part is that 95% of the magazine is useful information and not just advertisements (the remaining 5% are lovely advertisements too!). I even found my make up artist, Kymm Ernst, and hairstylist, Mark Putnam, through this magazine. I still hoard and refer back to the old issues and refuse to let them go.
Matt & I are also thrilled to say that our wedding was among the six "Real Weddings" in this issue! So exciting! I'm also so very excited for our wedding photograhpers, Paul Rich Studio, for getting such wonderful coverage and recognition they most definitely deserve!
A HUGE thank you to everyone at Portland Bride & Groom and to Jill especially! Thank you!
I'll be posting the spread once I get them scanned. :)
Yay, yay! There we are!
Fixing the homestead :: Color blindness continues
Posted on | Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | 4 Comments
Remember when I mentioned we would be painting the studio "Aqua Frost"? Well, it came out Frosty for sure! Not so much aqua. I guess that is always how it goes with painting a new color. I swear I stared under the special lights for 30 minutes looking at color swatches and finally narrowing it down, but it still didn't come out quite how we expected. Darn! Color attempt #2: Vintage Map. This color will be a bit more green than the aqua frost, so I'm hoping to achieve the more mint color I was looking for. Besides the paint fumes, I suppose it's not all too bad. Actually, I think it is about 97% better than the previous color. I love natural light and this new wall color is really making my latest custom orders more vivid in photos - much more like real life. The previous darker green wall color really muted the pieces. The color comes across quite lovely in photos... but trust me when I say it is a pretty sharp/piercing light blue and not the quirky but still relaxing color I was looking for. Although, I did want the color to keep me chipper and awake... this sure does the trick!
You can see the wall color behind me in this photo. Looks awesome in the photo, yes? I just wish it looked this great in real life. You'll be seeing the new color soon!
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