From the Desk of A.J. - Spring Unique L.A.!!

“In Spring time the only pretty ring time, birds sing, a ding a ding a ding time, sweet lovers love the spring.”

Whenever I think of spring or even the word spring I have to sing this song sung by one of my many old man crushes Gene Wilder in the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. BTW…this all has nothing to do with what I’m going to write about.

Well…not entirely true. I am in the “Spring is HERE!” mode. A. for the weather (looove the long sunny breezy blooming jasmine days) B. for the clothes (of course), and C. UNIQUE LA SPRING SHOW!!!!!

Yep…we jewelry makin’ mamas have done it again:) We’ve been accepted into the Spring show (uh…Sonja Rasula, the founder and master mind of UNIQUE LA makes you apply every show…that way she is sure to have the best of the best…which is awesome and yet nerve raking at the same time.).

Saturday and Sunday April 24th-25th. Every event she does she teams up with a non-prof. organization that she will, at the end of the day, donate a portion of the proceeds…which ends up being thousands and thousands of dollars-literally. We love her at Pinky Swear Designs…she’s our current girl crush;) This event she is teaming with Ed Begley’s Jr’s GREENWISH organization. A great grassroots non prof. that is focused on helping organizations fund their projects for their communities through “pay what you can” kind of donations at local retailers and online. For every paying Unique LA attendee…$1 will go towards Greenwish…since there are thousand upon thousands who attend these events…that’s a lot of green for such a great organization ;)

So…along with all of the fabulous shopping and cruising around you can do…there will also be tons of amazing food (don’t get me started), this season 2 workshop areas putting on fantastic workshops and a new kids seating & activity area in the kids/baby vendors (genius!).

HELLO? Writing about this show weekend doesn’t do it justice…it really is something you need to experience for yourself…its such a great place to spend your time and moo-lah (hint, hint, mother’s day will be just a few weeks away…and wouldn’t you rather support local entrepreneurs-duh;), and its all for a good cause. I guarantee you will walk away with a warm fuzzy feeling…and I dare you to tell me you don’t like warm fuzzies.

Spring has sprung!

Order of the Week! - Family Tree for Grandma

Check out this Family Tree we did for a special grandma. The "B" is their family initial, and the back was something we found that fits this grandma's description perfectly. Her daughter in law wanted to give her a special thank you on her daughter's first birthday, just for being the amazing grandma that she is all year, so we thought this quote was a perfect match. Adding quotes to the back of our pendants is just one more way we love to make our necklaces extra special to the recipient!

Check out our other Family Tree pendants here and if you have a special message you'd like on a pendant, contact us and we'll find the perfect match for you!

Easter Dress

This morning I had a few sweet hours all to myself, so I spent it indulging in some online window shopping. Every Easter I feel the urge to buy a new dress and I'm in love with the color and details on this one. And then I just had to complete the outfit...

And yes, I am rarely without my own PS necklace! It really just does go with everything so nicely, if I do say so myself. :)

1. Dress - All Seasons Shirtdress, Anthropologie $98
2. Hat - Grossgrain Trimmed Fedora, Forever 21 $12.80
3. Necklace - Up In Charms, Pinky Swear Designs starting at $25.00
4. Shoes - Brise Ballet Flat, ModCloth $57.99

PicClick - Etsy and Ebay search engine

This site has been making the blog rounds, and I've fallen in love. The premise is super simple, its a basic search engine for Etsy or Ebay, and instead of getting a 25 listings per page, you get it all in one big visual punch. No going to the next page and waiting for it to load. And if you've ever searched for anything on Etsy or Ebay, you know how frustrating it can be to go through page after page of the wrong thing. This is so much easier and faster, I'm totally addicted! The screen shot above was from a search I put in for "wood blocks" on Etsy. Try it, you'll totally be hooked!

Find PicClick here!

Order of the Week! - Up In Charms

We've been lagging a bit in our Order of the Week posts, but sometimes we're just so darn excited about our orders, we package 'em up and send them out and forget to take a pic. Its only when they've been shipped and we're basking in the glow of another successful order that we think, we didn't take a picture! But anyways, we're re-committing ourselves to showing you all the fab collaborations we've done! ;)

And we're going to start out with this sweet Up In Charms necklace. Mama and Papa Bear are the small round charms, their two little cubs are the small hearts, and the oval charm has their last name initial and Mama and Papa's anniversary on the back...'cause thats where it all began! So sweet!

Intereseted in a Up in Charm's necklace for yourself? The options are endless! Hit us up here.

Happy Friday!

*Is it wrong to take a branch off a tree that grows on the sidewalk? I kept half expecting someone to stop me...

We've had such beautiful weather this week! And it seems every bush, tree and plant has burst into a sweet smelling flower. Thought I'd share this recipe we made this week after my son requested lemon cookies. I'm not a major baker (I love the process, but I'm a strict recipe follower, I can't come up with yummy combos on my own like Ms. A.J. can) but I do love baking with my kiddos. This recipe was quite possible the simplest recipe in the world, and perfect to make with the babes. Four ingredients and they got to get their hands a little dirty rolling the dough into powdered sugar. And so good!! Just the right amount of lemon-ey goodness. We made almost two dozen and by the next day we had about four left (I blame The Husband, a certain brother-in-law, and the three year old we caught sitting in the dark kitchen, crouched on the floor with a cookie and a guilty smile).

Find the recipe here.

Oh, the recipe calls for lemon extract, but I'm not really sure what that is, so we just squeezed a lemon and put about two tablespoons of lemon juice instead. I told you I'm not a baker. ;)

Petite Marionette - Rules of Ownership Print

We had a rough morning getting to school today. And while my troubles were more wardrobe related (because I'm the meanest of mommies and make my three year old wear pants *gasp!*), this little print made me giggle and helped make me feel a little better. If you can't read it, it says:

Toddler Property Laws

If I want it, It's mine.

If it's in my hand, it's mine.

If I can take it away from you, it's mine.

If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

If it's mine it must never appear to be yours in any way.

If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine.

If it just looks like mine, it's mine.

If I think it's mine, it's mine.

If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine.

Once it's mine it will never belong to anyone else,

no matter what.

If it's broken, it's yours.

Find this print here, and check out their other super sweet notecards.

From the Desk of A.J. - Piccalilly Bunny Robe

http://www.nelliefay.com/index.html

Well…long time no bloggie for me. It’s been a busy few weeks…which is quickly turning into a busy few months, and we all know where that will lead (uhm…busy year, end of story).

As I’ve been attending weddings (which I have got to blog about one day…the hotel…the theme…the whole celebration was a sea of creativity and I lurved it!), getting both personal and business taxes ready (yeah…aren’t you jealous), doing orders and oh yea, watching the Boy Wonder turn into a crazy hilarious 2 year old (well, in July, but he’s soooo advanced;), I’ve still been searching and gearing up for the Easter Bunny. Yep…another one of my favorite holidays is coming up quick and as I was shopping one of my favorite sites (uhm, the ever fab nelliefay.com…all organic, people need I say more?) I found the perfect Easter gift, birthday gift, or just an I NEED as I usually tend to categorize things I have to have just because.

Piccalilly Poncho Bathrobe…with bunny ears!!! I love it because it doesn’t scream at you…its just there and sweet with its multi-colored polka dots and its super soft luxurious organic cotton. It also will fit your kidlet for years (the Hubster likes that;). You can use it as a towel, robe, beach and pool side…its fabulous…and such a fantastic price.

One of the many things I’ve found on this site (and Picalilly is such a great line…Boy Wonder’s favorite party shirt is by them…and it washes great…and its super soft cotton…so he’s pleased and so is mama), and their customer service is great. Gotta love that…one stop shopping…well, unless you need some customized jewelry ;)

Find the bunny robe here on Nelliefay!

New Design - The Bar!

(front)

(back)

As always, we've been tinkering about in our studio, and inspired by a request for something "simple" came up with our new design. We love it and think you will too! Introducing The Bar!

The Bar

We love bars. Chocolate, drinking establishments, and bars made out of fine silver.

A simple, elegant, yet modern classic piece of jewelry that allows you to strut your stuff with simplicity. Add stones, initials, & sweet nothings to it and make it, bar none, a special piece of jewelry you’ll want to wear day in and day out.

Want your own? Contact us here!

Happy Friday!

The weekend is here! This week has been slightly crazy, it seems that every school activity that could happen happened this week for us. Parent teacher conferences, open houses, fundraisers, Grandparent's Day, not to mention the regular volunteer time I put in. I love it all, but it was a bit hectic. I'm looking forward to a pleasant weekend celebrating my grandparent's birthday's with a BBQ on Sunday.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our friend's adorable website, that they've worked so hard on! Violet Riot makes the cutest cutest shirts, onesies and sweaters. I heart this cardigan so so much!! Find them here.

Reisenthel Motherchildbag

I'm not a huge fan of gimmicky "mommy helper" types of gadgets in general. But I saw this bag on Ohdeedoh today, and something about it resonated with me. As you know I have two kids, ages 5 and 3, and navigating from the front of a store to our car can be a stressful endeavor especially when I have bags in my hand. My kids are not bolters, but they can dawdle or drift. Usually I have them hold on to each other and then to me, but sometimes the bags get in the way or I have to lean down so they can hold on to something and then my purse slips down and the whole thing is a mess. So this makes so much sense to me. Also, my stroller had a handle on the side that my son would happily hold onto so he could walk, so I know for us at least, the "hold onto the handle" would work for us. What do you think?

Find it here.

Follow the White Bunny - Embroidery Pattern PDFs

Embroidery is one of those things that looks really difficult, but in fact, is fairly easy and simple. Its all about patience and a little practice and a few cheap tools. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it, its such a nice easy way to keep your hands busy while watching Real Housewives. ;) One of the things I really love about etsy is all the great patterns you can purchase for embroidery. Whether you want to go super modern, cheeky or traditional, you'll find it on etsy, usually for ten dollars and under. Currently, I'm really loving Follow the White Bunny's pattern shop, all her designs are so sweet! I want to do the Princess and the Pea to hang on my daugter's wall, the deer for a pillow and this little rabbit for the next bay-beh shower that comes around.

Find these patterns and more here. (and thanks Little Sis for the link!) :)

Lover Dover's Clothing

So my daughter has finally hit that stage. The Princess Stage. For years now my little sweetie pie has been nothing but trouble when it came to getting her dressed. First it was that she wanted to be naked all day, every day. Then it was she wanted to only wear her brother's clothes. Then everything she wore needed context (as in, look! These shoes have kitties on them! You'll be fast like a kitty!). She couldn't just wear a shirt. She needed to know what her motivation was, what character she was going to be. And now all of that has culminated in a daily struggle of, "Princess' don't wear pants! Princess' don't wear skirts! Princess' do NOT wear long sweeves!" *sigh* So I've been looking around for some more appropriate everyday dresses that she could wear and that's how I stumbled upon these darling numbers. How cute are they?! I love the simple design, that is still so obviously a character, but there's no tulle to be torn, no lace to unravel. A perfect costume for your everyday princess.

Find these and a ton of other adorable dresses here at Lover Dover's Etsy shop.

And, hi. Didn't you just love Mary Poppins in this outfit when you were little? And those little white booties she wore with it? *love*

Jeff Friesen Wild Life Prints

These prints by Jeff Friesen have been all over the blogs lately and I thought I'd share them with you for two reasons. One being that they are beautiful and funny and would be great in a kid's room or any room. But my second reason is that when I first saw these prints I immediately thought of my kids. One of my kids favorite thing to do is to use my camera. I've found that if they are stir crazy, or bored with their toys, I can give them my camera and they'll happily take pictures for quite some time. We bought my son a "kid's" camera awhile ago, but he never used it since the viewfinder was non-existent, and these being modern kids, they wanted to see the picture they took as soon as they were done hitting that button. I've shown them the basics on my camera, and now they are little pros, deftly switching from picture mode to video mode to viewing mode. I have a few rules to try to protect my camera (like only using it in carpeted rooms, just in case it drops). They've also been warned not to touch the lens and other delicate spots. I should also mention that I have a fairly simple Canon Power Shot, so I'm not handing over a $1,000 DSLR. Most of the pictures they take are of the ceiling or blurry and unrecognizable. But some turn out beautiful and amazing and its just fun to view the world from their eyes for just a bit. Its a great rainy day or lazy afternoon activity.

Find the Wild Life Prints here.

*A rare Abominable Snowman sighting in my living room.

*Not sure what this is, to be quite honest. Triceratops Tower?

Spring Moto Jackets

Lately I keep seeing motorcycle jackets in spring colors and fabrics and I want one. No, I need one. In fact I need that dusty rose one, and I need the off white canvas one and I need...

Clockwise from the top:

• Nom De Plum YaYa Moto Jacket - Urban Outfitters, $58 (pink and blue)
• Silence and Noise Vintage Terry Moto Jacket - Urban Outfitters, $58
• Canvas Moto Jacket - American Eagle Outfitters, $69.50
• Quilted Moto Jacket - Forever 21, $27.80

The Bazaarium - Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre Prints

I can't for the life of me remember how I stumbled across these little gems, but oh how I love them! I love quirky little pieces of art in my home (I currently have a wall of family pictures, one of which is a lovely studio picture of my daughter as an infant, upon which my husband stuck an adhesive mustache. It makes me giggle every time I pass it.) I would love to fill a wall in my guest bathroom with these. And with over twenty to choose from I just might have to, since I don't think I'd be able to choose just one.

You have to check out the rest here!