A New "Blissgirl" Adventure Begins!

My little art studio has been busting at the seams preparing for a new adventure: My work is now in a shop! Woot!

That's right...Hammer and Thread in Allendale, MI will be selling some of my work, starting tonight! A smattering of Tooth Fairy pillows, pendants and fabric brooches...now available.

Hammer and Thread is a brand new, super-cute handmade artisans shop in Allendale's Engine House No.5 Museum. For directions: click here. Great artisans, one-of-a-kind items, and affordable prices. Check it out!

I'm very, very excited. And what makes it even better is being in the same shop with my super talented friend Sarah, of SoSarah Designs. If you do not have one of Sarah's aprons, you.must.have.one. (I have two!)

Tea Time 2012!

Our 2nd annual Ladies-Only Tea Party is in the books. We had such a wonderful time. The hot, hot, weather broke just enough for it to be comfortable in the back yard. The girls all looked so pretty in their white dresses and got along famously (as usual).

This years creative details included paper corsages made from doilies and patterned muffin liners. For a short bit there I wasn’t sure these were actually going to turn out, but they came together at the eleventh hour and I was thrilled with the result. And, thanks to Grandma Mary for snatching up pretty white lace gloves for each of us girls, big and small!

I also made each of the girls a bunny stuffy, to which they gave them names like "Cutie Pie" and "Luna". I’m excited with how they came together, especially when adorned with colorful hair clippies from my sweet friend at So Sarah Designs!

Speaking of Sarah, she was gracious enough to help me outfit the party with custom napkins using a vintagy looking fabrics and a stellar “tea time” bunting, complete with sparkly centered pink roses at the ends! Crazy talented, that girl!

The increase in my tea party accessories over the past year was just shy of getting out of hand! The most notable addition is my maternal Grandmothers wedding china which she passed down to me earlier in the year. Gorgeous Noritake from the 40s--ooh, la, la!

Aside from the elements that kept my creative brain busy this summer, the absolute best part about the whole morning was being together--just us girls--and being lovingly served by the men in our lives. Much to be thankful for, indeed!

Until next time...

Smitten with Seasonings

Even though it's a test of my patience to shop there, occasionally Goodwill surprises me. Aren't they cute? Wonder which one is Salt and which one is Pepper?

It's Tea Time!

I've been challenged with how to go about this post. What parts do I tell you about? If I told you about everything we'd be here all day, but there are so many fun snipits, and tons (and tons) of pictures. What to do?

Perhaps I should start with the end goal, which was to create a fun event for my nieces who are physically together only a handful of days in a year, and to put the boys to work serving us. Girls, flowers, tea cups–what could be more fun, right?

However, as I've had time to process our little tea party, I was struck with something unintended: the awesomeness of gathering three generations of women around a table; grandmother, moms, aunts and cousins. Girl-power!

The oldest mademoiselle's asked if we could have another tea party...the next day! Mmm, I think they had fun. And I think I could have an annual event on my hands!

But before we get to the pictures, I must thank a few wonderful people who helped this idea come to life:

To Harmony who graciously let me borrow her collection of tea cups/saucers, tea pots and all the little items that go with them. I'm hooked!

To Matt, brother-in-law-turned-Butler who wore a ruffly apron (per the request of moi), hung a tea towel over his arm and really played the part. You were fabulous!

To Hubby for capturing my vision and snapping several (okay, 400!) amazing moments in pictures. XOXO. Here are just a few (okay, 38!). Prepare your scrolling finger, you've been warned...

[click to enlarge]