Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Patchwork Sneak Peek

Do you know what this weekend is?? 
That's right, it's...PATCHWORK SANTA ANA!!! 
(And also Thanksgiving.)

Come and visit! I'm Booth Y and will be in the Artist's District of Santa Ana Sunday, Nov 30 from 11a - 5p!
Our apartment has been a hive of activity the last several weeks. Currently, there are plastic tubs of equipment, plastic bags of candy canes and holiday cards, books, magazines, jewelry supplies, finished jewelry and even a box containing a piece of furniture waiting to be built  ALL OVER THE PLACE. I don't think we've eaten at the kitchen table since early October. But, that's all about to change, my friends!

I've got a little sneak peek of my newest pieces for you...wanna see?

Lace Collar Statement Necklaces in navy and plum - $150

Sweetheart Necklaces, inspired by sweater clips and perfect for holidays & special occasions - $35

Dangle Earrings, pair with Sweetheart Necklaces or wear alone - $28

Men's Cufflinks!! - $25

Holiday Ornaments made from vintage photos, decorative papers and old cigar labels - $18 - $20
Of course, there will also be necklaces, earrings, pins and rings made from vintage photographs and LACE galore!

Stop by my table (Sweetpea Studios, Booth Y) and say hello! Just look for this person:
Sweetpea Studios

Patchwork Show
Downtown Santa Ana, 2nd at Sycamore Street
Sunday, November 30
11a - 5p
FREE to attend!!

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Forget the Holidays are Coming, the Holidays are HERE!!

Why, hello there! I've been away on a little break (more about that later...) and now I'm back and -BOOM- the holidays are here. So this is your friendly public service announcement regarding custom order and shipping deadlines from sweetpeastudios.etsy.com.


United States
Please place all CUSTOM orders by  
DEC 8th
Final shipping date is DEC 15th

International
Please message me privately for CUSTOM orders (hello.sweetpea.jenn@gmail.com)
Final shipping date is NOV 15th

(This small child in the picture is not me, just in case you were wondering. I wasn't even a twinkle on the tree when this was taken!)




Don't forget, all you southern California peeps, I'll be showing at Patchwork Show Santa Ana on Sunday, November 30th from 11a - 5p! Mark your calendars now, and stop by and say hello!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Save the Date!

Mark November 30th on your calendars right now because I'll be showing my handmade photo and lace jewelry at #PatchworkShow Santa Ana!! I'm so excited to be a part of this handmade festival again and I can't wait to see YOU there!!

#PatchworkShow Santa Ana, Nov. 30, 2014, 11am - 5pm

So seriously, did you mark it?  
November 30th? 11am - 5pm? 
Good.

Be there or be square. (Smiley Face)

Friday, September 26, 2014

Shop Updates: Boo Yah!

Happy Friday to all! There have been some recent shop updates, and I wanted to share a few of them with you lovely peeps...

Statement necklaces - Oh my!

The Women vintage photo statement necklace
 I had this crazy idea to make a necklace just completely loaded with vintage people. So loaded that there wasn't much room for anything else. So I started making these "statement necklaces" and they just make me laugh as I build them - they're so ridiculously fun! The Women features 21 charms of various sizes, ranging from 1/2 and inch to 1 inch in diameter, each depicting a female from the time period of around the 1900's to the 1960's. There are a few charms that feature ivory lace here and there with crystals and faux pearls in between.
The Women vintage photo statement necklace
 These necklaces are actually very comfortable to wear - the charms lie flat around your neck, sort of like a collar. These are especially great if you want strangers to stand very close to you and stare at your neck - a perfect ice-breaker!
The Women (detail)
Military Men (detail)
I don't know why, but I seem to collect a lot of military pictures. I wanted to see them all together in one great big necklace, and I love the way it turned out! Military Men has 21 charms showing soldiers, sailors, air men, airplanes, submarines, even a small child in uniform! There are a couple of decorative paper maps thrown in there, and a limited color palette of black, which sepia, grey and teal ties everything together.
Military Men vintage photo statement necklace

Military Men vintage photo statement necklace

Finally, something for the men!

I've tried cufflinks in the past, but these are completely new designs that I really love. To accompany my line of customizable heirloom jewelry, I've introduced heirloom cufflinks - easy to have customized with your own family member's portrait! These would be ideal gifts for weddings, anniversaries, to celebrate a new job, birthdays, you name it! I never destroy the original image when making my jewelry and accessories - instead, I work on very high resolution digital scans so your treasured family photographs are kept safe and sound. 

Heirloom Photo Accessories to Customize - men's antiqued brass cufflinks
My lace cufflinks would be perfect when outfitting a wedding party - these would make awesome groomsmen gifts! Although the pictured cufflinks are shown featuring a pale green background, I can include any color to tie in with wedding colors perfectly. I can even use lace from the bride's dress. I like that the lace softens the cufflinks. 
 
Pale Green & Ivory Lace Cufflinks
Although both of these cufflink pairs are shown in an antiqued brass finish, either could be done in a silver-plate finish.

The holidays are coming...

I know, I know, December is still a ways off, but the holidays are indeed coming and will be here before we know it. (Ahem, 3 months, ahem.) With that in mind, I've made a few holiday ornaments out of teeny tiny collages - each measures about an inch in diameter and comes hanging from a silver ribbon. Click any of the captions to be taken to the listing.

Joyful Silver Angel vintage photo holiday ornament

Golden Angel vintage photo holiday ornament

Angel Boy vintage photo holiday ornament
I'd love to see a little table-top tree completely decked out in these ornaments with some beautiful vintage glass baubles mixed in. Don't you think that would look fantastic?!

There's still more new jewelry over at Sweetpea Studios....AND I'm now on Big Cartel as Hello Sweetpea!! Hop on over to either shop to take a gander!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Reading: June - September

Books, books and more books. My reading preferences have maybe been changing. I've also done a lot of re-reading, and I won't post those here cause you've already heard about them. But, working backwards, here's what's been occupying my time from now back through June.

The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary by Andrew Westoll
Babylon's Ark by Lawrence Anthony
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver
Zoo Story by Thomas French
House Rules by Jodi Picoult
A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Lately my reading interests are falling into very specific categories: 1) True stories about animals that are both amazing and amazingly sad (elephants escaping culls and poaching, chimpanzees who are rescued from animal research facilities, the rescue of zoo animals just days after the most recent war in Baghdad, etc.); 2) Poetry by Mary Oliver; 3) Anything written by Jodi Picoult; 4) Teen books that are turned into movies.

Don't judge.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Beautiful Snapshots

Blog, it's been a long time.

The rest of the country is probably cooling down and getting their cozies out in readiness for autumn. Maybe they're talking about summer coming to an end. NOT HERE, I can tell you that for free. It's hotter than ever, we've had the air conditioning on nonstop (oh, our bill...) and according to my phone, it's supposed to reach 100 degrees next week. September in southern California is brutal.

I have a lot to catch up on - life has been full. But for now, I'll just leave you with some gorgeous (in my opinion) found photographs. I'd LOVE it if someone recognized these pictures from their life story and got in touch, how amazing would that be??










Each of these images appeals to me for different reasons. I love getting out my photo album and flipping through to look at some of these beauties. I often wonder who the people are, where they are, and what their stories are.

More updates to come - I'm busy putting together my application for the Fall Patchwork Show and updating things. PLUS I've been making some amazing statement necklaces - can't wait to share them with you!

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Pearls

Pearls
We know it's time for James to leave for work when we hear the sprinklers go on. And every morning when he leaves, I see the droplets of water on the plants outside glistening silvery in the early morning light. (He starts work early.) They look a little bit like pearls, don't you think?

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Have a peaceful Thursday


"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself." - Ralph Waldo Emmerson



Just a few little pictures to hopefully set you at peace for your day.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Accidentally Off-roading

On a clear day, we can see the mountains in the east from the end of our street. This being southern California, land of smog and pollution, those "clear days" are more like "haze" and the mountains are sort of obscured by said haze, but whatever. Mountains there are. I got this crazy idea in my head the other day that James and I should drive up to the mountains and go hiking, and that maybe we'd find some shady trails that wasn't just low scrub brush and burned out pine trees from past forest fires. So we jumped in the car and headed east.


What a lovely layer of pollution we all breathe on a daily basis
We decided to go to Big Bear, because I haven't been there since I was a kid, and I don't think James has ever been there. We did some exploring along some fire roads, and got within a mile of the hike that we (or I) really wanted to do, but the roads were just too rough and my poor car's tires just sat and spun in the dust. The road was just wide enough for my car, and as James was executing an 18-point turn, another car came tearing around the corner from the direction we'd been heading. I thought "Oh good, if we get stuck at least these people can help push the car."

Ford Focuses are not made for off-roading, incidentally.








When I was little and in Girl Scouts, we spent a weekend in a cabin in the mountains. I can't remember if it was Big Bear, Crestline, or other, but one of the activities was a hike along a mountain stream under thick pines, surrounded by ferns. This is one of the strongest memories of that trip that I have, besides a fellow Girl Scout staying up all night practicing tying the knots we'd been taught earlier in the day. (She was later recognized for her enthusiastic pursuit of knotting.)

We didn't find this particular trail, but we did pull of the road to find a glen of ferns, lilies and pines with just a trickle of running water. There was also a secluded campsite with a family and a large, scary dog that barked and growled at us, but heeded his little tiny mistress (who was probably about 7) when she commanded him to "Stay!"


Next time, I want to rent a kayak and go out on Big Bear Lake. The water was SO BLUE, I just wanted to dive right in.

Also, next time, I'd love to make it to the hike we'd planned on, but I'll need a bigger car. Any volunteers?