The New Romantics

 

I'm not really sure what's gotten in to me lately.

It's summer.

Blue skies, glowing sun.

Flowers. So many big, bright flowers.

Right now, there is hibiscus blooming everywhere, in every shade of pink you can imagine.

It makes the east coast look a little like Hawaii.

A very little.

Usually, my late summer work reflects all of this.

Flowers in colors as bright as the sun.

Huge collages of them,

filling necklaces and cuffs.

Metal gardens as big as the sky.

 

{Sky Full of Stars}

 But lately.

Lately, I'm finding myself drawn to these tiny fragments.

Tarnished golds.

Once white flowers in age-yellowed shades of ivory,

like faded photographs.

Rhinestones.

The good, old kind with not too much sparkle.

And cameos.

I've always been a sucker for those.

 

{Summer Noon}

 All of these discarded pieces,

the prettiest bits salvaged from rogue earrings and broken pins.

I'm drawn to these fragments like a magpie with an old soul.

Fragments make excellent building blocks:

The Beatles made their greatest album out of a brilliant handful of them.

 

{Mesmerize}

I don't know what it is.

Maybe it's my natural reaction to a not-too-hot summer

that has allowed gardens to bloom,

and keep blooming

 without burning and withering everything in sight.
Rally against.
Punk rock pretties.
Or maybe it's some sort of creative nesting:
these are the pieces I usually dream up in the winter,
under cold gray skies.
Whatever it is,
I'm going with it.

 

xo

 

 

 

Romantica

In the past few years, I have made a lot of necklaces.

A lot.

I have a deep love and feeling of giddiness for each and every one of them.

Despite that, I try, oh so very hard, to keep an emotional distance.

Sure, some sneak in, teasing me and taunting me and telling me to love them better than all the rest.

And those can be found hanging alongside the rest of my personal jewelry collection.

The temptresses.

And, sure, some of them I have a difficult relationship with.

Those that seem such a good idea at the time,

but then for some reason or other, just won't fit together right.

The challengers.

But it's all still love.

I can usually see how things will fit together while everything's still scattered...

sometimes when I'm not even there.

In dreams, the colors come to me, and I'm in the basement before the coffee's even brewed,

laying out the flowered pieces before the fog lifts and the dream is lost.

But this one.

Romantica.

Named after a song by the band Luna, because, oh, yes, she is so very, very Romantica.

She was not born like the rest, a vision from a dream or struck inspiration at a flea market when that last, perfect missing piece is stumbled upon.

No. She was born out of pure happenstance,

from a misfit collection of this and that.

One lone earring missing a pearl, the other, a rhinestone.

A broken clasp shaped like a leaf, and a cameo picked up on impulse.

I've always been a sucker for a cameo.

And, finally, this gold thing.

A starfish, maybe. Or a flower.

By itself, gaudy.

Probably just as gaudy with the wrong pieces surrounding it.

But here, it found it's place.

Fell in with  the right crowd.

A collection of what would ototherwise be junk. 

But here. Here.

It's all just perfect.

All of these weathered odds and ends bringing out the beauty in one another. 

Like Venice. Beauty in the decay.

It may be my most favroute thing I've ever made. 

Ever.

But I won't be keeping her.

She's bound for bigger things than the occasional jaunt out around my neck.

She needs to be shared, to be sent out into a wider world.

I'll be sad when she goes. But proud.

xo

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

Hey.

You guys still around? 

Probably not. But that's ok. I doubt I'd stick around, either.

I'm such a flighty blogger. 

I think I made a resolution to do something about that. 

In 2013.
Regardless, I'm back with a new post.
Just shy of five months after the last one.
But I've been busy in that five months. Very busy. Thinking.
Thinking very very hard about this:
Just before Christmas, I was vending at a show, selling people hooks like they had nothing but
hang ups.
Bad pun.
Anyway.
A friend of mine made a brilliant suggestion:
"You should make bottle openers."
Yeah. I should.
Seemed simple enough.
Except, how can they mount to the wall?
They've gotta be pretty secure, you know?
When I finally figured it out, the answer was so simple it was almost stupid.
Kind of an "A-ha!/ Duh!" moment.
So I made some.

And immediately sold some.
And now I'm making some more.
Pretty ones, covered in delicate bouquets of vintage flowers.
Because I like pretty things.

And some that are covered in maps, of lands both far off and close to home.
Because everybody belongs to somewhere.
And maps are cool.

So there we have it.
A new product for summer (and a goal met).
If you want one, you can find them here.
And I've graced you all with a new post.
Which makes me happy.
Today is a good day.
xo and bottoms up!



 

Go Go Go! On An Adventure

I've been pretty quiet around here lately.

Ok, fine. Downright silent.

But not without good reason.

I've been busy...cultivating...other aspects of this handmade lifestyle.

I've added a slew of new shows to an already busy repertoire.

I've gotten the pretties into a few shops (VIX Emporium in Philadelphia, PA and Modern Charm in Terre Haute, IN...and maybe more to come ;)).

And with all of this cultivating and growing of opportunities to sell comes the need to develop and make more, and most notably, new, product.

So I've been busy doing just that.

Some of it has yet to catch on.

But some of it...well, phrases like "gangbusters" and "like wildfire" come to mind.

And all it took was a simple change to something I was already doing (always room for improvement; for change).

I've been making my pretty hooks since the beginning, but they've only really taken off in the last year.

But when I changed it up with the addition of a map?

Boom.

 

 

 

It seems people have a fondness for a sense of place.

It seemed a pretty good recipe.

So I applied it to tote bags, too.

 

Kapow.

They pretty much sold out at the first show I had them available at.
So now, while I keep myself busy enjoying this virtual road trip traveled through accessories,
I am plotting my next big move.
Keeping busy.
On all fronts.

xo
 

 

Songbird

 

I have had a thing for vintage knick knackery for as long as I can remember.

The number of things I collect is vast, but I try, try, to keep the actual collections in check.

And by in check, I mean finding a dual purpose for a pretty tchotchke wherever possible: flower festooned tea and biscuit tins hold batteries and spare buttons; a couple of the well-coiffed ladies from my head vase collection pull double duty as bookends.

I blame my grandmother for this particular obsession. She got the whole ball rolling on my first birthday when she gave me my very first Josef Originals Birthday Fairy, a tradition she continued for more than a decade. My little fairies are still proudly displayed to this day.

So it's no wonder that I fell head over heels for these kooky little lovelies from Amanda Smith.

 

 

 

 

Part girl, part bird, and completely awesome, Smith's Singing Bird Sculptures are made using out of production mid-century molds.

Her spot-on eye for color adds the perfect retro touch to these sweetly left of center figurines.

I want one. Or three.

Really, you can never collect too many things if they're completely wonderful...right?

 

{all images via Amanda Smith; available here}

xo

Shop 'Til You Drop

 

Hey friends...

Just wanted to let you know there's a little sale happening in my Etsy Shop.

Enter the code MANYTHANKS at checkout

to take 15% off your entire purchase through Monday.

Because all of you are at the top of the list of things I am grateful for this year.

xo

For the Hair

{The Martha Set}

Bobby pins. Hair pins.

Whatever moniker strikes your fancy.

{The Charlotte Sometimes Set}

I've made a few sets.

From old buttons and earrings and pins and charms.

And named for girls in songs.

{The Sweet Jane Set; The Lovely Rita Set}

They made their Grand Debut in my little shop today.

Spencer Studio

Lauren Spencer King completes thoughts. Using vintage photographs as her muse, the Los Angeles-based artist pencil-sketches beyond the edges of what is captured in the frame, giving the images what she calls "a place where the past and present can meet."

The results? Sublime.

{all images spencer studio shop}

Out With The Old

{bee vintage redux}

"And now let us welcome the new year full of things that have never been."

Rainer Maria Rilke

It's a new year, my Darlings.

And to celebrate, I've put my whole shop on sale.

All the lovely things, for you, for your home, for your Valentine, for your best friend's birthday.

They're all on sale.

I'm celebrating 2012 by taking either 20% or 12% off of every pretty little thing.

(20%. 12%. 2012. Get it?)

Through January 12.

Twelve days of sale for 2012.

Go forth and shop!

And Happy New Year.

xo

Good Grief

{image by boywonder}

A high-five to you.

xo

The Babysitter's Here

{image}

You guys! Hi! I'm still here! Are you?

It's been a bit...hectic...around here. Last week, I devoted a HUGE chunk of time to pulling every single little thing out of my shop for a complete and total re-shoot. And then, since there were all of those listings all ready being edited, it seemed a fine time to change titles and tags to better work with all of the search changes Etsy's made. Which is a lot of work. A lot. So much so that I haven't had much desire to do anything else on the computer. Sorry 'bout that.

(I know bunches of you are also on Etsy, and I'm wondering, how has the change affected you, if at all? What are you doing to stay relevant? I'd love hearing your input and feelings!)

And then, this week happened. My sister went back to work Monday, nearly two whole weeks before she had planned on returning. Which has not made for a particularly happy sister. Add to that the fact that her husband broke his ankle a week before, and is still waiting for a real cast. Which has pretty much rendered him a throw pillow, all propped up in the corner of the couch. And here's where I fit in: help take care of her boys. All three of them. But mostly the smaller two. The smallest of which has spent the better part of his brand new life strapped to his mommy's side. So, we are all of us in the midst of an adjustment period. It's going to be a long week, but certainly not a boring one. I hope you can bear with me as we continue to adjust. I promise to return to normal posting next week, with a few pop-ins between now and then.

Have a good one, my friends.

xo

Shop Update!

I have been busily hidden away, happily taking apart and re-imagining a big pile of lovely old things for what feels like weeks and weeks. But now the time has come, the lovely old things have been disassembled and added to this and thats, and turned into lovely new things.

July is the month for a long over due, breath of fresh air, Super Duper Mega Huge shop update!

There are lovely new things for your neck.

There are lovely new things for your wrists.

There are even lovely little things to dangle from your ears.

There are also sweet little nothings for your walls and your table tops. This is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends! New lovely things will be debuting their sweet selves all month long.

That is, if I can bear to turn off the fan long enough to finish taking all of my pictures without everything blowing away ;)

Have a week filled with lovely little things,

 Dear Readers!

xo

Little Pieces

I can think of few things more dainty and feminine than a fine bit of china, dotted sweetly here and there with little pink flowers. And I can think of no starker contrast to such sweet dainty-ness that a cold concrete basement floor, Iggy and the Stooges playing loudly in the background. However, that is exactly the scene I plunked myself right down in the middle of, armed with tile cutters and a devilish grin.

You see, the devilish grin was because I had big plans for these old plates. I had a new use for them, one grandma could never have imagined while serving Sunday dinners upon them. Nope, no longer would they be used to eat off of. Uh-uh. These plates, well, these plates were about to become accessories.

So, after a day with my trusty cutters, Iggy, and a good amount of tile adhesive, and another morning with my old friends Grout Bucket and Sponge, I had me some lovely new pendants. All that was left to do was add a bit of chain and some pretty what-nots, and then, just like that, grandma's old china has been turned into a little special something that can now be worn.

 Have a fancy day, my dears!

xo

Feeling Stitchy

Every so often, I make a promise to my needle and thread that we'll spend some time getting better acquainted. But, me, the needle, and the thread, we're a fair weather bunch of friends. They rally against me and knot up, and I bail. But we keep trying. The most recent try came over the past couple of nights. I figured if I was just going to be sitting there, giving my brain a workout while watching Jeopardy, I might as well give my hands something to do, too.

I already had all of the ingredients: the aforementioned needle and thread, some pretty old fabric, and a stash of embroidery hoops scooped up at a thrift store in the hopes of filling them with something pretty one day.

I like what we did, me, the needle, and the thread. Perhaps I'll work a little harder on keeping that promise of us becoming better acquainted this time. Because sometimes, just sometimes, all the threads line up and pretty things happen. Wishing you successful attempts, my dear readers.
xo

Drumroll, please...

Oh! Hello there! You still here? Glad to see it. And thrilled to be back spending some time in this little space! Seems this tiny beast has been slumbering like a family of bears throughout the winter. But, seeing as how we have just been bestowed a Liebster Award, I thought it was time to end this long winter's nap.

Come again? An award? For Bee? Well, that's just wonderful! The sweet and lovely Annabelle, from the sweet and stitchy Three Red Apples, has bestowed this most honorable of honors upon me. And for that, I am most gratefully humbled. And perhaps blushing, just a bit ;)

"Well, Yay!" you must be thinking. "But what exactly is a Liebster?" I'll tell you. It's an award given to crafty folk with a blog that has less than 300 followers. Criteria I'm happy to fit! The purpose is to help spread the word, get these crafty folk seen and heard. Many of the crafty Liebsters also have little shops, making the whole "seen and heard" thing rock just a little bit more!

So now comes the part where I get to pass the baton, introduce you to a few more creatives that you may not know. Dear readers, it is my pleasure to introduce you, in no particular order, to:

The dear Kim, from Red Rope Farm. When she's not busy chasing her children, birthing lambs, and spinning her own wool, she's busy creating crafty things and sharing the goings on that come with life on a farm. Oh- and her chickens lay delicious eggs!

Sweet Courtney, who once had a blog called Green and Pretty, that once featured a very new Bee Vintage Redux, for which I am still grateful. She's now over at Forest Heart, which you should check out along with both of her Etsy shops!

The amazingly talented Sofia, and her lovely blog, etre-soi. I don't really know Sofia, but I have long admired her beautiful work, and enjoy her blog and snapshots of life in France. Le sigh...

Now, go grab you family, your friends, and maybe a few total strangers, and spend some time getting to know these talented ladies. A big hug and a rip-roaring thank you to Annabelle for allowing me this honor. Go check out all the loveliness she has on offer, too! And a big yay to us all!
xo

All This Useless Beauty

I have been thinking a lot, on these cold, dark January days. Thinking about things like well-appointed rooms and tattered velvet couches. Time-tarnished chandeliers and chipped crystals. About old plaster walls; and water stained wallpaper peeling along the cracks. About dusty daylight diffused by once heavy, now threadbare curtains. Drawers locked and forgotten long ago and the secrets held within. About sequins and glitter and fraying bits of lace. And about Paris trains.

And while I've been thinking these thoughts of loveliness and decay, I've been listening to this:

{and this.}

and this (which I bought in Paris and listened to on a train):

And I've been making this:

and this:

So that's what I've been up to. How about you?

xo

Ah-choo

I have a rather tight-knit circle of family and friends to whom I'm pretty close. And we share things, this little circle and I. Things like sweaters, books, cds, the occasional recipe. Sometimes, we share other things. Rather unsavory things, like germs. And lately, we've been doing a lot of that unsavory sort of sharing. 'Tis the season for giving (and re-gifting), and we've all been getting right into that spirit with this nasty little cold we've been passing around since Thanksgiving, rendering most of last week completely useless.

I've decided to rid myself of this little "gift" at any cost. Juice, sleep, and Tylenol didn't seem to be doing the trick,  so a nice brisk walk through the city seemed worth a shot. It was one of those cold early winter days, where the sun is bright, but not too bright, and the blast of cold shooting through the air made even center city Philadelphia seem clean and smog-free. I have to say, it seemed to help. I mean, it at least knocked the cold out of my head. Unfortunately, it landed in my chest.

So, after a completely useless week, and a weekend spent bundled up inside watching old movies and playing a bit of catch-up, I'm happy to be back on track on this fine Monday morning. I have a desk full of pretties waiting for their finishing touches, and little Etsy shelves waiting to be filled. Armed with my iPod and enough orange juice to fill a bathtub, I'm setting off for my creative space and a happy day full of making pretties. Welcome to a new week.
xo

You're Invited...

Hello there, dear readers! Did you have a wonderful weekend? I sure did. The three "f"s were in place: family, friends, and food. All was good.

Now. Way back in the spring, when I started my little Etsy shop, I wondered a lot of things. Most of them, like, "Will I ever sell anything?" or, "Can I even figure this out?" have been answered (the answer? Yes!). But I wondered other things. Like..."What's it like to be in one of those awesome treasuries that is super hot and stays at the head of the pack for days? Or weeks?" I also wondered what it might be like to be one of those wildly successful sellers with many packages to send out, and e-mails and requests to tend to. Well, this weekend, I got, tucked neatly in alongside heaping plates of leftovers, a taste of both of those wonderings. I found myself in this hot little collection curated by the super sweet Cara from Fanciness on Etsy. She rocks. And her beautiful collection got super hot. And I got super busy with sales, requests, and things to mail. And it was awesome.

Bee Vintage Redux

In fact, it was such an awesome experience, I felt the need to celebrate. So, I put on my party shoes, poured myself some egg nog, and fired up the laptop, and set about putting the shop into party mode. And you're all invited to the party! I'm celebrating with a bit of free shipping. You have until clocks strike midnight across Philadelphia tonight to take advantage. Happy shopping!

xo