What is this plant?

Posted on | Friday, February 26, 2010 | 14 Comments

I really like the smell of this plant. I always disregarded it as a shrub that fills space in the garden. There is one growing right outside my studio room window and yesterday, I was trying to get the screen back into the window and I plucked a couple stems to put into a vase. Later, Matt smelled it and said its scent was nice... and it was! It is fresh smelling, a little medicinal and just a little sweet. Does anyone know what it is called?

New velvet crush

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I'm just a little hooked on and excited about velvet right now. Why? I don't know, but if pressed on the question, I guess it's because it has a vintage feel about it. I like the the weight and thickness as well. It creates lovely durable and substantial head pieces. Expect to see many more velvet pieces soon. Here's the latest:

Milky Way
Hand dyed and handmade silk velvet and silk organza flower.
Thank you so much, everyone, for your sweet comments on my previous post. I'm SO happy that you like the new work. That really keeps me going! I "treated" myself to a shower this morning... ha ha! I don't look like such a grease ball in these latest photos. ;)

What a week!

Posted on | Thursday, February 25, 2010 | 8 Comments

It has been an insanely busy week, so I do apologize for the light blog posts! I didn't get dressed up once this week... I have been in sweats every single day, so no outfit posts. So sorry! I am also a little behind on messages and orders and am staying up late tonight again to catch up. So hang tight!
What the heck have I been up to this week? WELL... I have been building a brand new website from scratch...
I had a couple medical things to attend to...
I had two photo shoots to create pieces for...
Fulfilling orders...
And every once and a while... I sleep a little. ;)
I jokingly wrote to my sister that I only showered twice this week. I know, I know! Ew~ So not lady like! But it's been that busy. I figure that saves me about 1 hour. So for all the lovely blog readers, here's a sneak peak at some new pieces I worked on this week for the shoots...

Woot! :: evapaul is having a sale!

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One of my new favorite invitation designers and a t&h blog sponsor, evapaul, is having a very generous sale for all the blog readers! You want to know the details, right? Well...
15% off your entire order (excluding shipping- must meet minimum order requirements and cannot be combined with any other offers)
just mention the coupon code: BLOG before we set up your deposit.
Deposit must be paid before March 1st at 12 pm MST.

Get your deposit paid ASAP. This is such a great offer!
Evapaul is a cute husband and wife team of Nic and Kirsten. Their designs are uber stylish and modern and they are the sweetest to work with. Stop by their store and snatch up a good deal!

Gwen

Lola

Take the hassle out of designing wedding invitations and order a set of evapaul designs!

Sista...

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My big sis has been stocking her new etsy shop with lots of lovely things. Including:

Handmade jewelry or gift card pouches

A lovely embellished ribbon scarf

A super duper soft, comfy and cute embellished sweater
Be sure to visit Amy's Etsy shop HERE and her blog HERE for more loveliness.

New Sponsor :: letters4lilly

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I'm very excited to introduce to all the blog readers my newest sponsor, letters4lilly. The owner of the Australian based company, Liza, is very talented at creating bespoke bridal bouquets that are truly unique and which will make the perfect heirlooms, lasting long after the wedding is over. The bouquets are all handmade using buttons, fabric flowers, and other unique lovely bits. These would also make a great alternative for those who have allergies. In addition to bouquets, Liza creates corsages, boutonnieres, wristlets and more! She can custom design your bridal bouquet to fit your style and colors, but be sure to get in touch sooner because she's a busy lady and in demand! A few examples of beautiful brides with their gorgeous letters4lily bouquets:

A touch behind...

Posted on | Monday, February 22, 2010 | 2 Comments

Just a quick update!
I had a few medical errands to take care of last week and this week... coupled with my computer virus AND getting a new product off the ground AND photo shoots! Yikes! I'm just a little behind on made to orders, but am going to be staying up tonight and tomorrow to finish fulfilling all of them. Thank you so much for your patience with me!!!

Oh! And I've been emailing and exchanging blog comments with a few of you who suffer from migraines. Just to follow-up, for anyone interested, I had some blood work done last week and it turns out I'm a bit low on B12 in my bloodstream. It can cause tiredness, migraines, eye pain/twitches, memory loss, tingling, and a bunch of other symptoms. I'm not a medical expert AT ALL, so please check with your own doctor if you have experienced any of these symptoms. If you want to check your B12, specifically ask to have your B12 checked. Why? Because they can detect B12 deficiencies normally with a CBC (so doctors sometimes only check your CBC), because of changes with your hemoglobin, BUT not always.... Turns out, my hemoglobin has been fine for years, but it was the specific B12 test that detected the low levels. I'm now taking B12 supplements and Iron (I'm low on Iron as well). Non-specific symptoms are really crazy making, but I hope I can help others by sharing my quirky experiences (I promise not to blog too much more about all these weird symptoms).
I'm actually going in for my first MRI tomorrow, which will be interesting. I'm getting it to rule out any other potential causes for my migraines.

One more note... Thank you to everyone for your VERY useful comments about Windows 7! I'm going to skip the Vista recovery and go with Windows 7 based on everyone's comments. THANK YOU!!!!! I hear great things about Macs too, but I'm so old school and like PCs... I think because I got so used to them when I was in the science field. I'm sure Macs are so much better for grapic/media work, which would be good for me. Aw~ I need to save more $$!

Sunday running errands outfit

Posted on | Sunday, February 21, 2010 | 2 Comments

Update to being redirected...

Posted on | Thursday, February 18, 2010 | 9 Comments

Pretty sure it's a non-malicious virus. After spending a good amount of time with the geek squad over the phone, it's pretty much agreed that the most likely cause for my "redirection" on google searches is a virus. I need to get me some "recovery" discs from Microsoft, back everything up, and completely wipe everything off the computer and "start over". Like a "new" laptop... but not really. :T
This is of course, no problem, if you are good about backing up your data... which I'm not. UGH! AND, of course, I didn't make of copy of the "RECOVERY" drive on my HP laptop before it was corrupted... hence having to get the discs from Microsoft. What ever happened to the good ole days when they included the discs for the operating system and drivers with the laptop when you bought it?

Quick question!
Has anyone gone from Vista to Windows 7 and noticed a big difference? At this point, I could invest $30-35 for Vista or just put that money toward Windows 7, which is 5 times more, but maybe worth it??

thank you, Ally and Domanique Alicia for your help in the first post!

Real Bride Barella

Posted on | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | 5 Comments

Gorgeous bride alert!
Aren't these black and white photos so classy? Barella and her husband:

Congratulations, Barella!! You look stunning and that Twigs & Honey piece looks amazing on you!
photo credits: Amaranth Wedding Photography

Redirected...

Posted on | Tuesday, February 16, 2010 | 3 Comments

Has anyone else encountered "redirect" problems with google and/or IE? It is driving me up the wall today. Do bad things really come in 3s? I first ran out of printer ink and then my printer went AWOL... finally fixed that. Then the weird redirect problem in Google. I tried to fix with malware, anti-virus software... and then System Recover. BUT then I realized my System Restore points vanished... so I'm working on that issue.

But the most annoying is the redirect.
I go to google.com
Do a simple search, ex: "twigs & honey"
It pulls up the results
When I click on the result it takes me to a redirect page that says:
"Redirect Notice
The previous page is sending you to (website address)
If you do not want to visit that page, you can return to the previous page"
I don't get taken to a spam site... actually, the links in the "Redirect Notice" page don't work at all. About 90% of the search results go to the redirect page.

I read somewhere that Google "monitors" some of its users at random and that might be causing this. Anyone else run across this problem? Any solutions out there? I think it might resolve itself (i.e. when Google gets bored of stalking me, because you know my searches for "feathers", "pretty things", "fabrics" and "T&H" are really quite riveting)... I'm crossing my fingers. I've been trying to fix these problems for the last 5 hours! I quit for now. :P

I kind of like this...

Posted on | Monday, February 15, 2010 | 6 Comments

I don't know if it's all the Olympics messing with my head, but I think I like this:

Part figure skater part ballerina.
If you can't figure skate, you can at least dress the part.
Nylon Tricot Figure Skater

Cheese...

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... why do you taunt me?
... why do you taste so good?
I'm trying to be a "good" vegan, but cheese... you are making it difficult.

I am not a dairy drinker, but in a solid form, cheese really makes it hard for me to stay on the course. Meat? Eh, you can have it. That's easy for me to avoid.
How about you? Anyone recently go vegan and find a particular food or food group hard to cut out?

Sunday out shopping outfit

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It has been an unseasonably warm winter in Oregon... I know... not really warm enough for bare legs, but I'll suffer for the sake of fashion. :)
The daffodils are blooming in my neighborhood! I'm seeing violets as well and my wild flowers that seeded themselves from plantings last spring are all springing up. Sweeeeeet!

Eye exams...

Posted on | Friday, February 12, 2010 | 5 Comments

... are interesting.
I've had eye pain for over 2 years! Isn't that nuts?
I went in about 2 years ago to see what the problem was and it was somewhat inconclusive. It starts out as eye pain on most days and sometimes, that turns into a raging migraine. Weird, eh?
SO I went in again this morning. You know, they told me that they would have to dilate my eyes and that I would be light sensitive for 3 hours afterwards and my vision would be blurry. I somehow didn't believe it would take 3 hours to wear off. Nope! It took exactly 3 hours; nearly right down to the minute! So... because I'm super stubborn, I have been trying to do computer work for the last three hours, squinting and pulling my head closer and farther, trying to read things. Stupid, huh? I think I took my "good" vision for granted all these years. BUT, since about 3 years ago, my left eye has been getting weaker and more blurry. It all started when I worked an office job and stared at a computer all day, everyday. After that, I started T&H and am always either working with my hands and staring at close objects or I'm working on my computer. My left eye is now slightly near-sighted. So sad. I have a hard time reading things far away. My right eye is totally awesome though, so I close my left eye sometimes to read street signs... because I don't want to get expensive glasses. ha ha ha. Although, the optometrist said that my right eye is slightly far sighted. My option would be to get glasses to fix my left eye so I can read at a distance or bifocals!

I think I'm going to be stubborn and let the blurriness persist until I can't legally drive without glasses.

On a separate note, still no clear determination on what is causing the eye pain. A few guesses though and I'll be going in for a visual field test next week.

New Orleans Shoot :: Teaser

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I'm so excited to share this teaser today! The big, frothy head piece is a Twigs & Honey piece... actually, this one HERE. This New Orleans inspired shoot had a ridiculous number of talented wedding professionals involved and I am so thankful to have played a little part. More on this shoot to come! Here is a full vendor list:
Jubilee Events, The Cornstalk Hotel, Carla Ten Eyck & Co., The White Dress by the Shore, Datura: A Modern Garden, Jennie Fresa & The Beauty Library, Tom Morlock, Gala Cloths, Dr. Jazz and the New Orleans Sounds, Sucre, Perlis, MADELiNE Shoes, Poetic License Shoes, Posh Paperie, Twigs and Honey, Karen Lindler Designs, Sarah Drake Design, Elizabeth Porcher Jones Calligraphy, Orange & Blossom, Bella Umbrella, Nachtmann, Riedel, and Pommery Gold POP Champagne,

New lovely lace veil in the Etsy shop

Posted on | Thursday, February 11, 2010 | 5 Comments

I found some lovely lace that made the perfect veil and it's available in my etsy shop:

Elizabeth Messina & Eden + two cute girls

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Eden of End Design and her beautiful girls.

New piece in the Etsy shop

Posted on | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | 1 Comment

Just a sweet and whimsical new bridal hair piece in the Etsy shop:

Bridal Star

1000 Petals

Posted on | Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | 4 Comments

I estimated that for the Novel Romance show, I hand cut about 1000 petals. I made a bunch of flowers from hand dyed cottons and silks to fashion into head pieces. I still have a few flowers remaining, but isn't that nuts? Here are a couple photos I snapped before the flowers were finished:

Aww~ Even cuter!

Posted on | Monday, February 8, 2010 | 2 Comments

I blogged about the lovely Jane Bird over the summer, and I still love her work and visit her Flickr folder each week. Well, I just saw one of the cutest proposals! Check it out:

Congratulations to the lovely and talented Jane Bird!
Photo credits: Jane Bird

Aww~ SO CUTE!

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I just happened to discover this shop on the Etsy frontpage. Aren't these SO cute? I was never big into teddy bears, but these vintage looking ones I could fall in love with. You can purchase patterns to make your own HERE.

From VivianneGalli.etsy.com.
Thank you, Chelsea and Freck for your kind comments on the previous post! I'm finally feeling better. :)

Kiss the groom discount extended through tomorrow (that's Tuesday!)

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I was so touched by all the beautiful comments left at kiss the groom blog for the Twigs & Honey giveaway! PLUS! Have you seen the amazing post on Chelsea's blog? Click HERE. I have been battling a 3-day long migraine, but my spirits are good and as a thank you to everyone, I'd like to extend the Twigs & Honey online shop discount through tomorrow. If you're just now finding out about the discount, go HERE to my shop and you can enter the code "kisses" at checkout for 25% off your entire purchase.

Attn: kiss the groom blog readers! 25% off Twigs & Honey all weekend!

Posted on | Friday, February 5, 2010 | 1 Comment

I've been wandering over to kiss the groom blog throughout the day and have loved all the beautiful comments for the giveaway. I know it is going to be tough for Elizabeth to pick just one! So as a thank you to everyone, I'm offering a 25% discount on all items in my online shop from now through this weekend only. The discount is only for my online shop items and excludes Etsy and custom orders at this time.

Go HERE to visit the Twigs & Honey online shop (twigsandhoney.com/catalog)
Enter discount code at checkout: kisses

Thank you!!!!!!

More prettiness from A Novel Romance

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As promised, more gorgeous Lisa Warninger photos from A Novel Romance.