bricolagelife

my autumn leaves for you...

my autumn leaves collection fabric is now available for sale by the yard at spoonflower!

thank you so much for all the happy birthday messages - you are the best :)

noticing: first signs of autumn

it's not the golden leaves or boots and sweater weather. yet. but just now there is that familiar shift in the light, a welcome chill at nightfall, a hush when we realize the cicadas have stopped croaking. for a moment or two. a time to consider if i may be ready to finish unpacking my bag from vacation...

tiny porcelain raindrops

another tiny white porcelain raindrop pendant is on a flight to australia.

limited quantities... don't wait too long! get yours at the bricolagelife shop :)

the autumn leaves...

one of a kind autumn leaves scarf is freshly listed this morning in the bricolagelife shop :)

see what i see :: beach collections 3

every summer the beach we walk and comb offers something a little different. if you are observant and come back to the same place once a year, you may notice this, too. washed up along the cold wet sandy border of our big lake we have found among the stones and pebbles an abundance of birch bark one season, tiny broken shells the next, and oddly, last year, tiparillo tips everywhere we looked. but 2011 happened to be a very good year for face rocks.

and fossils...

tiny frosted jewels of beach glass,
 

and my favorite; alabaster. both smooth and rough. i may attempt to carve some of the larger stones... more research is necessary.

happy weekend everyone!

for the love of buttons

it's been a long time since i looked thru the boxes where my button collection is stored. to really examine and admire them, to hold each one in my hand. so i devoted some time this week to sit beside the window every morning and arrange them on a piece of grey velvet. layer by layer, i worked my way down to the bottom of the pink paper box, taking photos. celluloid, leather, mother of pearl. plastic, metal, glass and bakelite. it became a quiet little ritual i looked forward to almost as much as my big cups of coffee. since so many people mentioned how much they love buttons, too, i thought i would post them here. 

have a happy saturday :)

 

 

 

shop updates :: a peek at pretty vintage listings

daisychain vintage shop is alive and well! i have taken a break from my art projects to shoot some of the pretty items piling up in the studio and get them ready to stock the shelves. this is one of my favorite things to do - i wanted to share a little peek at what's heading into the shop this week :)

a set of six pink tulip glasses, a miniature advertising calendar from 1917, a guardian angel switch plate, a monogrammed bone glove stretcher and much much more... 

shop updates :: loopy for loop scarves

i am escaping the steamy hot weather by spending the weekend indoors working on my current projects and i thought i might let you know that the loop scarf in dancer fabric is this close to being sold out! find the last one in my bricolagelife shop :)

and the loop scarf in security dots fabric has been restocked. every loop scarf is cut and made by hand so slight variations make each a one of a kind piece. pretty, super lightweight and easy to wear, they will also bring good luck and change your life for the better.

well, maybe. but get one soon or you will never know for sure...

nice finds :: haunting films and brilliant shoe design

it's often pleasant to end a long workday with a free film and i have been indulging in the pleasure regularly, even venturing outside the apartment on occasion for a viewing. this week's nice finds include some of the haunting films and images i have seen lately and can't stop thinking about. and likewise, those brilliant shoes...

i admit that while watching the quietly heartbreaking wendy and lucy i was taking mental notes on michelle williams' haircut. and i think i can copy it.

within a 36 hour time period i saw both the spare and spooky 1973 spanish film the spirit of the beehive and the finnish artist eija liisa ahtila's talo/the house. if you enjoy films and stories that leave plenty of room for the viewer's imagination to fill in the blanks, i highly recommend both.

studying the levitating images by natsumi hayashi gave me a similar sense of existing in a mysterious other world. this image struck me in particular as it depicts so strikingly the way i fly in my dreams.

and then the sandals that made my heart skip a beat this weekend... designed and built here in chicago by mohop, the wooden soled (some with padding), eco-friendly, infinitely interchangeable loop and ribbon design is pure brilliance. and the low and mid heels look incredibly comfortable, too!

absent friends 1

absent friends have been very much on my mind for a long time. yesterday i began making a series of images to express these ruminations. this is the first.