Etsy Tuesday: Munted Kowhai

This week's featured seller is New Zealander-turned-Portlander Munted Kowhai. Her crocheted jewelry is stunning; intricate and fragile threads are paired with chains to create feminine pieces that are perfect for any outfit. We got to ask her a few questions, here we go!

Where do you find inspiration for your pieces?

My inspirations come from the rare vintage buttons I find online and the intricate details of medival, victorian and edwardian costumes. I often take an aspect of the traditional detail and give it a modern spin.

Why do you like to crochet? where did you learn?

I love to crochet because I'm able to achieve high details and different tensions lends itself to different shapes. It is feminine and once you get the hang of it, it is soothingly repetitive. I learned as a child in primary school in New Zealand. It was part of a program where we rotated between cross stitch, crochet and something else I forgot!

Whats next for your shop?

I've just started on my next project which is chinese knotting! I'm making military inspired pieces using chinese knots.

Thanks, Tiff! You can find her designs here and visit her awesome blog right here.

End of Summer

This week marks my first week back at school-I'm officially a junior! (Hopefully) one more year of college and then I'm out on my own-its quite frightening but relieving knowing I wont have to deal with textbooks, shelling out hundreds for supplies and listening to pretentious 20-somethings in boring lecture classes. ANYWAY. I though I'd leave the summer with a seriously gorgeous wedding shoot done by the gals at OnceWed and Simply Bloom set up for the guest post at Design*Sponge...so dreamy and soft!

Friday Faves: Optical Illusions

honeycomb necklace by harbinger co, confined necklace by aroha silhouettes, radiolara necklacedendrite earrings by nervous system by nervous system,

I found some great pieces of jewelry that use optical illusion and scientific patterns to create beautiful, wearable art. I especially love the dendrite earrings-how cool are they? Enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday: Ginger-Mint Lemonade

I found this amazing recipe for Ginger-Mint Lemonade the other day from Appetite for China, a great website about cuisine in China. I really love the tangy zing from ginger and putting it in lemonade almost seems too easy.
Ginger-Mint Lemonade

Adapted from Cork (Westmont, New Jersey) via Food & Wine Cocktails 2006

Makes 2 drinks

2 lemon wedges and sugar
Ice
12 to 20 mint leaves, plus 2 mint sprigs for garnish
3 oz. Ginger Syrup*
3 oz. water
3 oz. fresh lemon juice

*To make ginger syrup: In a small sauce pot, put in 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 5 or 6 slices of peeled ginger. Bring mixture to boil, remove from heat, and stir to dissolve remaining bits of sugar. Let it cool. Syrup can be stored in fridge for 1 week.

To make lemonade: Wet the outer rim of two glasses with lemon wedges and coat lightly with sugar. Fill the glasses with ice. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint leaves with the ginger syrup. Add ice, lemon juice, and water, and shake well. Pour the lemonade into 2 glasses and garnish with mint sprig.

Looks delish doesn't it? Head over to Appetite for China for more mouth-watering Asian recipes.

Etsy Tuesday: Kari Herer

I cannot express how much I adore Kari Herer's photography. She captures such mundane objects as if they were precious pieces of art, all with a feminine style and chic approach. A well-known photographer around the web (you can find Design*Sponge gushing about her, among others), she does amazing portraits as well as images of flowers and food. I was able to ask Kari a few questions-here we go!

When did you start photographing?
I started photographing when my mom bought me my first Pentax in high school. It's long been broke but I still use the strap today on my canon.

What inspires you to photograph?
The challenge of finding light, composition, and personality in everything that I photograph.

From one photographer to another, what advice can you give to stand out from the rest?
Spend the money on a good lens.

Very well said! Thanks Kari!

You can pick up her prints at her etsy shop, visit her website and read her blog. I would love to put 4 small prints up in my room-I just love that atmosphere she creates. Amazing work!

Yellow Goat Giveaway!

I love giveaways-heres your chance to win a $50 coupon at the beautiful shop of Yellow Goat. Her amazing jewelry is innovative and fun, just take a survey to be entered to win!!
Take the Survey and visit Yellow Goat on etsy right here!

Fashion: Shades of Gray

necklace by necklush, sweater coat by forever21, leather bag by valhalla brooklyn, leather bootie by Dolce Vita

I love fall colors, aka black, gray and jewel tones. Here are a few pieces that are perfect to complement any fall look.

Thirsty Thursday: Hawaiian Martinis

I came across this post via Liqurious-a wonderful recipe from Chaos in the Kitchen. Roy's is a fusion restaurant with several locations in Hawaii-not to miss if you're ever in the islands. They create their own pineapple-infused martinis, and frankly look too good NOT to make. Heres the recipe:

Hawaiian Martinis

makes 2500 ml, prep 10 minutes, allow to infuse about 1 week

• 2 750 ml bottles vodka
• 500 ml vanilla vodka
• 500 ml coconut rum (like Malibu)
• 2 fresh pineapples, cut into 1 inch wedges

1. In a large (6 quart) container with a spigot-such as a lemonade, ice tea, or a punch dispenser-layer pineapple.
2. Pour alcohol over pineapple making sure to completely cover the pineapple.
3. Allow to infuse at least a week, will stay good much longer as long as the pineapple slices remain submerged.
4. To serve (makes 2 drinks), measure out 4-6 oz liquid. Add along with ice to a martini shaker and shake vigorously.
5. Strain into two martini glasses, garnish with a wedge of marinated pineapple.

Doesn't that just sound delicious? I love pineapple, I love rum-whats not to love? Check out more recipes and gorgeous pictures from Chaos in the Kitchen!

photo via chaos in the kitchen

Etsy Tuesday: Labyrinth Vintage

When I came across Labyrinth Vintage's felt flower necklace, I was instantly in love. Her handmade pieces incorporating vintage designs and fantastic craftsmanship are easy to adore. I love her innovative use of zippers and jewels-they take the statement necklace to a new level. I got to ask the artist a few questions about her work, here we go!

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Personally, I'm interested in Arts and Fashion. Each day I will come across various pictures and books. My inspiration then has come from these. Normally I think I do have two different attitudes toward my works. Firstly, I will always try to bring something new, fashionable and fabulous with lots of details and can be viewed in various perspectives. Secondly, most of my works would also made from my great moments or feelings, like my happiness with my pets, animals, my collectibles, something funny that happened in my life and something I impressed etc.

Describe your process of creating a piece-inspiration, creation, etc.

After I have sketched my drawing, one of the important things I do is to choose the color and materials. Then after that I will do the first mould. This mould making process takes quite a long time. Some of my works took a month on this process.

Do you have a favorite jewelry designer?

I do like jewelry very much but do not have any favorite jewelry artist. I like fashion paper artist Vassilis Zidianakis.

You can find her great pieces right here.

Loving It: New York Fashion Week

So this week is New York Fashion Week's Spring 2010 runway shows. Kicking off the week with Fashion's Night Out, a night in which big-name fashion houses and stores stay open til almost midnight for a celebration of their craft, as well as a chance to get some badly-needed sales from fashion's elite and the common folk. How fun would it be to run around NYC and see endless celebs, fashion designers and socialites? I began to browse some shows on Style.com and thought i'd share a few pieces im in love with!

A number from Alexander Wang shows that the trend of the big shoulder is still hot, except this time he shows that volume can be achieved with light fabrics

Cynthia Rowley wanted to show the decay of fabrics and inks by blotting out her prints in her spring looks.

The show to be at this year was Project Runway winner and favorite fashionista Christian Siriano. His play with volume and ruffles is seriously amazing. His fabrics look like they were taken from satellite images of the Earth and Mars.

Ugh, I DIE! I smell Oscar dress...

Talon shoes? FIERCE!

Friday Faves: Cold-weather Cozy

knitware porcelain vases by Alyssa Ettinger Design, felt flower necklace by Labyrinth Vintage, OOAK shawl by Knittles, knit rocks print by Resurrection Fern

I am a sucker for all things warm and fuzzy-call it the grandma inside of me that would rather be knitting in a rocking chair than watching bad VH1 reality tv and downing jager bombs (doesn't that sound like the least fun you could have?). So I found some uber cute knitted and cozy pieces on Etsy, hopefully they make you feel warm inside! Happy Friday!

Thirsty Thursday: Gimlets!

I want to introduce a new topic for my blog: drinks! I had an epiphany a couple weeks back-my day job dream is to become a bartender and rake in the dough. Or is that a night job? Well, whatever. I've been a barista for 3 years now and honestly make too little for my hard work. SO-im going to be sharing some drink recipes with you all (shh don't tell my mother im underage!) and in return memorize and learn about alcohols and the art of bartending.

Up first is a classic, incredibly simple and delicious drink that was recently made popular again by the book and now movie Julie and Julia. Julie Powell, famous for her food blog about cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, would spend her nights in the kitchen of her shabby Queens apartment sipping vodka gimlets with her husband as she cursed over the stove. I have become a fan of this drink-its sour and tangy and filled with alcohol-not too bad eh?

The original Gimlet is made with gin, and was said to be the drink of sailors as they tried to prevent scurvy while out on the sea. The recipe is simple:

Gimlet
3 oz. gin (or in my case vodka)
1 oz. Rose's brand Lime Juice

(you can fix this ratio to taste-some prefer it mostly alcohol with a touch of lime, but I like it on the lime-y side).

Stir or shake into a glass with ice and enjoy. See, wasn't that easy? Stay tuned for next week's Thirsty Thursday beverage!

photo via sippitysup

Etsy Tuesday: Tickled Pink Knits

This week's featured seller is the hugely talented Elena from Tickled Pink Knits. A true craftsman, she hand knits each piece in her shop. Lush, buttery knit scarves and wraps are her specialty and each garment looks so cozy! I can see her pieces being a must-have for fall and winter-they are that beautiful! I was fortunate enough to have Elena answer some questions of mine, so here we go!

Why do you like knitting? (Relaxation? A challenge?)

Why do I love knitting? Let me count the ways. I love the way needles and yarn feel in my hands and to the touch. I love drifting away in thought as I knit. I love devising new designs and design details as I go along. I love being able to produce something tangible, functional, and beautiful as a result of blissful time spent with some of the most basic tools imaginable - two stick and a bit of soft string. I love knowing that what I make is worn and enjoyed by others.

Where do you find inspiration for your pieces?

Inspiration comes in many forms, including architectural and organic shapes and lines, non-knit clothing elements, as well as yarn itself.

Do you have a cherished knit item?

It's a crocheted hat my Mom made for me when I was in my teens. It was beautiful, soft, and warm, and unlike any other.

Thanks, Elena! Please visit her shop and browse her seriously stunning work! You can also read an interview on Etsy right here. Happy Tuesday!

A Few New Pictures

I finally got around to uploading the last pictures I've taken, along with formatting my memory cards and buying batteries for the upcoming wedding i'm shooting (ack! exciting!!). Here are a few, please check out my flickr site for more. I really have a thing for photographing flowers...


Also, sorry for the lack of posts last week, I moved into a new apartment and everything was a mess! This week I have some great things to share with you.