Room Re-Dos

I did a bit of decorating over the weekend. I was in the mood to brighten a few things up! Summer always does that to me. First, I hung this framed art print in my studio. I LOVE the colors of course and the textrue on the frame is sweet! The artist is Tom Frazier and I bought it from Target of all places!

I've been searching for new bedding for a while, tired of my boring white duvet cover. I didn't want to just settle for something, so I've been holding out, checking Bed Bath and Beyond every now and then and keeping my eyes open. Well on Saturday we were leisurly looking and I fell in LOVE. Sometimes you just KNOW! So here it is, my DKNY Blue Willow Duvet Cover. Even better, it was on CLEARANCE so I paid about 1/2 retail. And yes, with the already existing pink wall, I realize my bedroom now matches my website and blog!

The texture is divine. Light, airy, fluffy cotton. I feel like I'm sleeping in a fluffy princess gown! I love how the pillow shams tie on the sides. Best of all, making the bed is a breeze. The texture hides any wrinkles! I splurged on some fancy shmancy high thread count sheets too. I figure if I'm spending 1/3 of my life here, it might as well be comfy.

I'm also reading this book right now, which happens to coordinate with the room :). It's a fun book BTW, filled with lots of information, and I was able to find it at the library. Sweet Dreams!

New Tim Holtz

Several of the newest Tim Holtz products have been on back order and I've been waiting patiently for them. Well, they are finally here! These are my favorites. The curio knobs are SO sweet and the tissue papers are fantastic! See all the goods HERE!

Custom Wedding Fabric Soldered Pendants Finished!

A week or two ago I posted about a bride who commissioned me to make soldered charms using her wedding accent fabric. She ordered 11 more and plans to give them as gifts to folks in the wedding party. I had so much fun making these and I love how they look in a group.

After I finished the necklaces, my inner Martha Stewart came out, and I decided to make custom tags for the gift boxes. I scanned in the fabric and printed it out on card stock. Then I punched out tags with a tag punch and attached tiny 1/16" eyelets (Thanks Mike!) for the holes. They were a bit plain, so I decided to attach a paper rose to each tag. Finally I attached each tag to the elastic bow on the box using a mini pin. The backs are blank, so the bride can writer her "To" and "From".

They are ready for the bride to be!

Thank you J.B. for letting me have a small part in your big big day!

Is Our Dog Spoiled?

Yesterday, Chris went out and brought back frozen yogurt for the family from the new local yogurt place. Yes, for the ENTIRE family. They sell yogurt for doggies called "Yoghund", and of coure Chris bought some for Zeus! He loved it and had his paw up the entire time. Too cute! Mine was red velvet and cake batter with fresh strawberries and nuts. Yum! Zeus agrees.

So the question is, do you spoil your dog too?

New Goodies!

I just listed some new supplies in the shop! Here are a few of my favorites. See them all HERE!

I'm having a blast with some of the new ring blanks. Remember that piggy on the astroturf ring? He sold!

Custom Cuff links

I just finished these custom vintage typewriter key cuff links for a local customer. These make a nice Father's Day gift, though the clock is ticking!

The INDIEana Handicraft Exchange

Yesterday was the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange, and I had a blast! I loved seeing old friends and making new. It's my favorite craft show of the year, and never disappoints. Unfortunately I didn't have much time to make it around to other booths, and I was pretty busy the whole day, but here are a few shots of my goods. Thanks Amanda and Neal for another great show!

Custom Soldered Pendant

This weekend, while I was vending at the 54th and Monon Art Fair, I was approached by a customer who bought one of my lace soldered pendants last year. She sought me out again and had (in hand) a piece of fabric that will soon be her accent fabric in her wedding, and she asked me to create a custom pendant with it! I think it turned out really sweet and I think her idea is brilliant! Hopefully, I will be making more for her to use as gifts for others in the wedding! I adore her fabric too.

Winner!

The random number generator selected #2 as the winner of the cupcake pincushions. So the winner is Ramona from Create with Joy! I'll be emailing you for your address!

INDIEana Handicraft Exchange

The INDIEana Handicraft Exchange is NEXT SATURDAY! It is absolutely my favorite craft fair event to participate in! I hope you will come see me and the many talented crafters on Saturday! You can get the full details HERE!

Today I took part in the 54th and Monon Art Fair. I didn't take pictures, but I can tell you it was like 180% humidity. On the plus side, lots of sales and no major disasters :). Thanks to all who came out!

Lollishop Design Team June Reveal and Giveaway!

Today is the day for my final reveal on the Lollishop Design Team, which was a 3 month commitment. You can hop on over to the Lollishop Blog to see all of the reveals and giveaways, and they should all be posted by June 1st!

This months kit was sponsored by the Lollishop Queen herself, Sadie Hartmann of Gumball Vintage!

With all of the pretty fabric and embellishments, I was inspired to make these cupcake pincushions! Leave a comment on this post to be entered to win them. On Sunday June 6th I will use a random number generator to pick the winner!

Thank you Sadie! I had a blast being on the design team!

Facebook

Hi All! I created a page on facebook, if you are into that kind of thing, so that you can stay up to date on new products, announcements, sales, and more at Retro Cafe Art Gallery! Just click the badge below to become a fan :).

The Site is Back from Vacation!

Retro Cafe Art Gallery is back from vacation and ready for shoppers once again! I also added a new Adhesive section full of "must-haves" and fun sample packs! Check out the new goodies HERE.

Back from Vegas!

Hi everyone! We are back from Vegas! We had a great time, but it’s always good to be home. The hotel we stayed in, the Wynn, was really beautiful, as were the numerous hotels along the strip. We had an incredible view from our room of the strip, thanks to Chris getting us a room upgrade. The pool was amazing too. I wouldn’t exactly call the trip “relaxing” as we walked and walked each day. There was so much to see! We came back sore just about every day!

We also saw a couple shows. Penn and Teller, who are comedic magicians. They were funny, and in the photos you will see Chris with Teller. We also went to see the “Bodies Exhibition” and for those of you who are not familiar, it’s an exhibit of various bodies and body parts, real human bodies that have been basically plasticized so you can see all of the muscles, tendons, veins, etc. It was cool and creepy at the same time. And of course, we did a bit of gambling. We learned how to play Craps and we are both hooked.

Oh, and the reason for the Pawn Shop photos at the link below: Chris and I watch a show on the History channel called “Pawn Stars” and the shop is the one from the show. On the same day we hopped on the bus and visited some local antique stores, which I loved, but didn't end up buying anything. So many cool things, but I didn't have much room in my suitcase!

Aside from that, lots of good food and lots of bad Elvis impersonators :). In what other city can you see the Eiffel Tower, visit the Statue of Liberty, take a gondola ride, and drink $1 margaritas all in the same night?

Sorry for the poor photo quality – I didn’t bring my good camera on the trip as it’s a bit large.

If you want to view all 106 photos, you can see them HERE on Picasa. To view the photos I recommend double clicking on the first photo to enlarge it, then clicking on the arrows at the top to scroll through. Or click slideshow for less work!

The website will still be on "vacation" for a few more days as I catch up on things and head back to work.

Time Off

If you don't hear from me in a few weeks, here is a hint why. I'll be back with lots of pictures!

Customer Showcase!

Woohoo! My Vintage Queen necklace won a spot on the Ornamentea Customer Showcase. You can see it here. I already spent the gift certificate I won :).