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

6 Comments

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

8 Comments

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!

New Pieces! :: Delivery to the English Dept.

Posted on | Saturday, May 31, 2008 | 5 Comments

Dropping these lovelies off today and they are available exclusively at the English Dept. Call or email the English Dept. for availability. The English Dept. is located in Portland, OR, but maybe if you ask nicely, they will ship.

Home Improvement :: First major project!

3 Comments

Has anyone visited Martha Stewart Paint Colors through Valspar at Lowes? If you have not and are planning on some interior painting, visit their site. It's so much fun to "paint" a room and get a feel for what might look best, what the best accent colors would be, and which different accessories would match. Matt and I visited Lowes last night to pick out some paint colors. Woah! So many different shades to choose from! Here is our chosen living room palette:

The blue is called "cake stand blue". Hmmmm, as if I don't have gentle reminders about the wedding world everywhere already. ;) The living room at the moment is a sun-washed salmon shade that would be pretty in small amounts, but since our place has an open floor plan and the dining room is the same color, it is just too much for me to handle. It looks a bit like an orangey-peach that has aged ungracefully over the years. Not the good kind of antique look, the bad kind. I feel bad though because it's actually a new coat from the previous homeowners before they moved. I'm sure it looked great on the little 2 x 2 color swatch.

We've been steadily collecting dark chocolate furniture and accessories over the last couple years, so we were already halfway there. Our new living room also has the bone white trim/molding along the floor, which makes it easier. After we paint this weekend, we'll be setting the furniture up finally (of course, after the paint fumes have gone), and the next project - crown molding. When will we get to this? Who knows... but someday soon!

In my giddy state of potential homeowner bliss, the first few walk-throughs of our place left me thinking my studio walls were blue. Ummmm, no. Talk about color blind!

Blue? I don't think so either!

The new shade we picked out is "Aqua Frost". For the last couple years, I've been obsessed with anything that is a cross between mint green and robin's egg blue, so I'm so excited about this new paint color as it is a mixture of the two! You'll be seeing so much more of that shade in the future, whether you like it or not. ;)

Arizona Bride Blog :: Lisa :: a real twigs & honey bride!

Posted on | Friday, May 30, 2008 | No Comments

I recently received a sweet note from a bride I had the pleasure of creating a DewDrop veil for. Lisa and her sweetheart, Jared, tied the knot this month and their beautiful wedding had a definite old hollywood glamour flair to it. Lovely! I am so happy to have made this piece for her. Thank you Lisa and congratulations! Also, thank you Jennifer for this lovely blog post on Arizona Bride.

Doesn't Lisa look stunning? Gorgeous!!

Photo Credits: Jennifer Kampp

A new surface :: Vika Manne

Posted on | Wednesday, May 28, 2008 | 5 Comments

As I have outgrown all my work surfaces, Matt just called from Ikea to point out a table he's picked out for me. Okay, just hang in there with me:

Photo credits: Ikea; table - Vika Manne

Isn't it ridiculously cute and even cuter that he picked this one out of all the tables at Ikea? teehee! It's like a big pink egg. I can't wait to have it set up. I had been complaining about an achy back and neck because I'm always hunched over working on pieces. I just got out of a job where I sat there for 2 years staring at a computer (not that it was a bad thing, but just, you know). I had mentioned that I wanted to be able to stand up and work and sit when I was doing computer work so he picked out this cute piece and will get the adjustable legs so it's at a 42-43" height for me. Oh! Too exciting. Perhaps I sound a bit nutty for being so excited to stand most of the day, but trust me, when you sit hunched over for stretches of 16+ hours at a time, it really does a number on your back. 26 going on 70. The simple things in life...

Date night :: Ah, fresh air!

3 Comments

For the first time in what seems like forever, Matt and I had a "date" night!

I can't remember the last time we went out or had a real evening together, so this was a definite treat. Matt had seen how stressed out and overworked I had been lately and suggested he'd surprise me in the evening and to "look cute". ;)

We ended up eating at a very tasty restaurant only a few blocks from our new home and I amazingly hadn't been there before. I had a good old fashioned burger and fries and Matt had steak and jumbo prawns, that he shared with me of course as I savlivated looking at those prawns. After eating way too much, we were going to go across the street to the local hotspot dessert shop, but were way too stuffed. We ended up going straight to the theater to watch the latest Indiana Jones installment, which of course wasn't my favorite among the series, but loads of fun regardless. We are BIG time Indiana Jones fans! Oh... reminds me of when I was a kid watching the earlier movie at the theater and actually having to sit in the aisle because it was so popular. I am getting side tracked!

It was wonderful to take a nice break and spend some quality time with Matt and I'll be making up for it late into the night working, but I love to do anything with Matt and I love to work (it doesn't really feel like "work"), so I wouldn't have it any other way.

On a side note, I wore my new favorite top out for the first time today on our date! Thank you Tiffany!!! Tiffany happens to be one of those little miss sunshine, sweethearts that I've come to know, among many other lovely and sweet ladies, through twigs & honey. It was so cute, but before we officially moved into our new place, we were taking boxes over and I noticed this big envelope hanging out of our mailbox/slot and of course, tore into it to discover the cutest top from Tiffany. Isn't she a doll? I've worn it with a few pieces in my shop because I had to wear it like a kid with a new toy, but really broke it in tonight. Thank you sweet lady! I have a few more posts like this coming soon! I'm starting to build such a lovely collection of new "favorites" and beautiful items that I must share that are some of the most thoughtful gifts I've received from the some of the most wonderful ladies I've worked with and have come to know. When I get my studio in ship shape, I'll be sure to snap those much deserved photos. Thank you sweet ladies!!!

Modeling the "Tiffany" top. :D

I'm also wearing my "Ashland" headband. Hair pieces I make for myself are usually for special/specific events and it's so much fun because each has a story to tell. I typically name them for the event and this one was for my 25th birthday about a year and a half ago. Matt surprised me with tickets, hotel, and dinner reservations for a play in Ashland, OR (home of the Shakespeare festival). Whenever I look at this headband or wear it, I always remember that whole lovely weekend. I'll look over at Matt and go, "oh, look... it's the Ashland headband... remember this, and this..."
*big smile*

Featured Artist :: Heart Handmade Blog :: Thank you Marichelle!

Posted on | Monday, May 26, 2008 | 1 Comment

The wonderfully talented and unique blogger, Marichelle, has posted the interview she had with me on her FABULOUS blog, Heart Handmade. She features different artists each week, and I'm so honored to be in the company of such talented and amazing artists! You must visit her site to read about all these great artists and you can check out my interview while you are at it. She adds her own personal touch when pulling the interview together and has great photos and other surprises! Thank you so much Marichelle! I am very honored!

The pains of high speed PART II....

4 Comments

I am sure many of you remember my mini rant about my high speed internet provider, yes? WELL, this time they went beyond even a little annoyance. This time, they blocked me out most of this Saturday AND all day Sunday and today! I had to write a post because I know many of you are waiting for your pieces and replies in convos from me. I finished a ton over the weekend, but had no means of uploading the listings. ALSO, because of the internet problem, I could not convo to let everyone know, I couldn't blog post, and I couldn't check or send emails. I have spent about 3 hours on the phone with their customer service reps today after staying up 24 hrs refreshing my internet and trying everything I could to get in touch with all of you. I already knew they would send me for a run around, but I was desperate. I did at least 30 different checks and tasks with them, all of which made no logical sense to me because I could still access homepages such as Yahoo or Google. I could see my Etsy shop, but I couldn't log onto my account. After everything, they blamed my Norton antivirus. They said I had to get onto Norton's website to download the uninstall! Hello?! I can't access their site! They then told me to deal with Norton directly by calling them. When I called, they told me I could just uninstall through Windows, which I did. Afterwards, I rebooted and NADA! No change whatsoever AND now I can't even download Norton again to re-protect my computer since I purchased it through their website! In a last ditch effort (they said they only had one tech working for them today and they wouldn't be able to get anyone out to me to "fix" the problem until Wednesday!!), I hoofed it to the nearest coffee shop. Matt took our car to his family's this weekend several hours away so I did't even have transportation (yes, I am working through the holiday weekend) AND in a freaky coincidence, my bicycle's tires are flat. As pathetic as it sounds, I packed up all my gear, camera, phone, and a good umbrella since it's raining off and on, and I walked in search of internet. Now, I'm here at a coffee shop and when I tried to get onto their internet, it took all of 10 seconds to have full access internet! The high speed internet company kept telling me that it was my computer's problem, antivirus software, or a faulty router. Nope! Working fine now! Amazing. In addition to everything and to follow up from my previous internet post, they do block high users, but you must twist their arm to admit it. I got several versions of that story today and some people said, "no, we never do that." Another person said, "yes, we block long downloads," and yet another said, "oh, we do block high users." So which is it?? While they sent me on a huge and ridiculous journey to find the problem, I already knew it was on their end, but they insist that it's my problem. To be continued!

My greatest apologies for delays in responding and listing! I am trying everything and will be posting a ton today and replying to as many convos as possible before this coffee shop closes for the holiday. Thank you so much for your patience!!

Random Photo of the Day...

Posted on | Saturday, May 24, 2008 | 7 Comments

Fernanimal...

has arrived.

Scoping out its new pad. And in twigs & honey fashion, I gave it some neck bling.

Laura Ryan Photography :: Thank You!

Posted on | Thursday, May 22, 2008 | 2 Comments

I thought that I would finally try to catch up tonight on some much deserved posts that I've been meaning to do for quite a while (more to come!).

I must say a huge THANK YOU to Laura Ryan Photography! Laura has been such a wonderful lady and photographer to work with and has supported me since I first started out on Etsy, which is way too flattering considering her work blows me away! A little while ago, she took a couple twigs & honey pieces on a journey with her to Vegas for WPPI and most recently, shot a "day after" session with one of her gorgeous clients, Jenn, who I had the pleasure of working with to create a special piece for the shoot. Here are a few of her amazing photos of twigs & honey pieces:

The beautiful Jenn with her now husband wearing a custom twigs & honey piece.

Another beautiful photo of Jenn and her twigs & honey hair piece.

Gorgeous!

The way too pretty, Monica, at WPPI.

Here is the talent herself! Doesn't she look so hardcore? I love this photo and snatched it off her flickr page. Photo credits go to the equally talented Monica Z Photography.

I also spotted this photo from her own 7-7-07 wedding! Okay, I'm so slow Laura! I didn't realize that you got married only a couple months before me! Doesn't she look absolutely amazing?!
Thank you SO much Laura for all your help and support. Someday... we need to get together! Good luck with your crazy wedding season line-up! You totally deserve it!!

On a side note, I have also updated some of the galleries on the official twigs & honey website. Some lovely new "real bride" photos!

Chere Amie :: Another beautiful twigs & honey post!

2 Comments

The wonderfully gifted Chere Amie was so kind to do such a fun twigs & honey post recently. She even mentions how she wanted a birdcage veil for her wedding, but was not totally supported on this idea and didn't get to wear one. Chere Amie! You can still wear mini veils or lovely hair pieces after your big day! ;) Thank you so much for the support and keep up the beautiful blogging!

Edyta Szyszlo Photography :: Beautiful twigs & honey post!

1 Comment

The extraordinarily talented Edyta Syszlo Photography has posted the sweetest blog post about twigs & honey pieces. This is a little late, but I just wanted to thank her for the great support. If you haven't seen her work, you must visit her site! In addition to her amazing talent, she seems like a total blast to work with and has been featured in The Knot. Thank you so much Edyta!