Inspired by // A Merry Mishap

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Do you follow A Merry Mishap's blog? Not only does Jennifer make awesome jewelry, but her blog and instagram feed are both daily inspiration. Her home is filled with bright whites and bits of contrasting black. It's just lovely. Who are your favorite instagramers + bloggers? 

shop update // driftwood lamps

We have two driftwood lamps in the shop (something we don't usually have stocked). The driftwood is from our most recent trip to The Sierras. I really love both of them, but am especially fond of the first one. You can take a peek at the listings here and here.

greetings from palm springs

We are really enjoying our weekend getaway! Poolside food and drinks, live DJs, an amazing room, but most importantly, being together and away from work. This trip has been such a blessing! What did you do this Memorial Day weekend? BBQs? Enjoy the beach or a bike ride?

I'm truly grateful for what Memorial Day really means: celebrating men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Someone in our life specifically is our brother-in-law, Danny. Danny, we love you and are so proud of everything you do; not only for Kaleigh and Mary Jane, but for us and our country. You are in amazing man and we are proud to have you apart of our family.


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....As a last note, here are some randoms from around the web:

Jesse and Becky took some photos of the lovely Jessica Packard (and her cute little Bella). They also interviewed her. See it all here.

You definitely want to keep up with what Doug and Beca are doing. There's always something awesome happening in their home/ studio.

Rachel made a super cute outdoor mobile (I'm all about outdoor furniture and decor right now).

Speaking of outdoor furniture, how great is this handcrafted rocking chair?

san diego creatives video

This week we're on a little getaway in the desert. We're currently out near Palm Springs, but we will be there on Monday and staying at The Ace. We're celebrating Philip's birthday, our anniversary, and just needed to get away and relax! No work, no orders, no e-mails..well, I guess blogging is technically work, but I don't think of it that way ;)

Just wanted to stop by with a quick hello and to share this video. We had the privilege of working with Shaun of Boyte Creative. When I say "working with" I feel like I'm making our role sound a lot more involved than it was. The whole project was so much fun for us. Shaun came over to film and interview us a few days, but it was mostly hanging out with an awesome new friend. He wrote about our brief time together and basically explains how we were all supposed to be friends (the two of us, him, and his girlfriend Kelsey). Shaun and Kelsey are moving, so our friendship will grow in a different way than we would have thought. It was funny timing, but we now have friends that we'll get to know over e-mails, daily Instagram comments, and by keeping up with each other's blogs. We will hopefully get to take advantage of road trips to their new place in Colorado as well. We were honored to be apart of such an incredible project. We can't thank Shaun enough for creating this and to Kelsey for letting us steal Shaun in these very last days while they packed and searched for a new home in a new city.

Also, thank you to everyone who has already given so many sweet and encouraging comments upon watching this video. We couldn't do what we do without all of the love and support from everyone around us. Truly. It would be impossible without you all and we're so grateful that we're able to live out this little dream of ours.

-Philip and Chelsea

did you see?

There's a new pendant lamp in the shop. The handle is dipped in white. We're coming out with more colors soon. You can see more details here.

shop update / quality over quantity

I've listed this birdcage veil in the shop, along with the flower girl headband. This is the veil that I recently made for a friend. I was so happy with how it turned out and so was she (which of course is my ultimate goal). I'm hoping to keep my inventory pretty limited so that I can really focus on each piece and how they turn out. I'm extremely happy with what I have in there so far. That's much better than a bunch of things that I'm not in love with (which is what it was like for me before). Quality over quantity is definitely my goal.

Also, for the first time (maybe ever) I'm realizing that people are hiring me because they trust my taste / design style..whatever you would call it. That may seem like a no brainer, but I didn't fully understand that until recently. See, I have this problem with worrying about disappointing people. It's something that I dwell on the entire time that I am creating something. It really gets in the way of being confident in what I'm doing. Lately, I've been able to let that go and just create. It is so freeing! It hasn't just changed the outcome of what I'm making, but made the whole process so enjoyable for me. That's when I do my best work- when I enjoy and feel confident in what I'm doing. So thank you everyone who trusted me to make / design something them. It has been a huge encouragement for me and I appreciate it more than you know.

xo
Chelsea

the shop's open

I've re-opened my shop! It's going to be a very long and slow process of restocking as I create new pieces.   A lot of people have asked about my shop and why I had it closed. Well, I needed a break from making wedding pieces for a while. I wasn't very happy with the style that my shop had taken on. Therefor, it was becoming more of a burden than something I was enjoying. When we moved, I couldn't even look at all of my supplies (I have a lot of them) without feeling anxious or overwhelmed.

Recently, I made a hairpiece with a birdcage veil for a friend that's getting married later this month. I loved how it turend out and it inspired me to start sketching out new ideas for the shop. Today I made this flower girl headband and decided to re-open the shop. I'm going to start with just headbands and hairpieces at first. I still don't have a lot of free time to dedicate to my Etsy shop. I am in a wedding this summer, I'm helping design and create all the decor for another wedding, and I'm trying to keep busy with Typewriter Boneyard.

In other news, I started watching Downton Abbey today. OH. MY. I am SO addicted! I honestly thought I wouldn't like it, but I'm all in. Sheesh! Because that's what I need- another tv show to be obsessed with.

closet mixology // a rainy day

Outfit details: 

chambray button up: H&M

cardigan: H&M

scarf: Forever21

watch: thrifted

leggings: Forever21

scrunch socks: Target

shoes: Forever21

(umbrella: Target)

Today is a rainy day here in San Diego. Rainy, but not freezing. I got away with wearing a light cardigan and a big scarf in place of any sort of heavy duty jacket. I've been wearing this scarf just about everyday because I love the chunky texture and the color. I've also been rocking the top knot everyday. It's just so easy and it's helping me cut back on my prep time in the morning (most mornings I haven't even dried my hair). When you look at where all of these pieces came from, you'll notice that I'm basically a walking billboard for the mall/ big chain clothing companies. But hey, that's what I can afford and what makes up a lot pf my closet, so here it is.

Philip needed a day of relaxing, so that's exactly what we've been doing. We had coffee and visited at Influx, bought new windshield wipers, and took Patrick out for a walk. That's it. We don't give ourselves many days like this, so we're being very intentional about doing practically nothing (and not feeling bad about it).

I added a about 5 new book lamps to the website this week (I'm currently working on putting them in our Etsy shop as well.) We want to keep adding more so that we can offer a larger variety. If you're looking for something specific, keep in mind that we always do custom requests (and a lot of them).

here to stay, is the new bird.

This was one of the first things I've made since re-opening the shop. I even photographed and listed it in the same day (That means I'm really excited)! I have a few more wreaths (I think about 5) that are already made. I hope to have time for taking pictures and adding more listings this weekend... For now, it's time to catch up on sleep.

it's here!

The fab sale started this morning on Philip's lamps! Most of the book lamps sold out immediately. [I think there's one style left if you're interested ;) ] If you aren't signed up for Fab, you can do it here. It's free, but you have to be a member to see their sales.

Also, Philip got his website up and running this week (yay!). I'm really proud of how hard he's been working to get all of this done. Let me tell you, he deserve's a break!

Now on a random note, here are some things I'm loving from around the web:

Krista threw the most glamorous party for her "littlest sister's" big 13! Seriously, UH-mazing!!! A big happy birthday, to Kameryn (who look absolutely fabulous in her Anthro ensemble)! ...what's even better? Krista is sharing the DIYs from the party :)

Rachel from Smile and Wave has a new-ish series on her blog called Home Sweet Home where she shares pictures of some very beautiful homes. I loved this picture from her latest post.

I kind of have a crush on Moorea-Seal (I mean, did you see her cute nails this week?!). I always enjoy reading her blog (she's always really honest which I appreciate) and her Etsy shop always has wonderful something's in it. I'm currenty loving both of these pieces.

Hope you enjoyed your Friday so far. I'm getting back to making more lamps (because that's our life now) :)

prints.

Here's some prints that I want desperately for our home from three different artists.

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These first three are from Lizzy Stewart. I really like the colors she uses and all of the pretty details in each piece.

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These prints are by Jon Contino. I could see all of these hanging above Philip's work space (one day, when we get around to making him one).

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These three prints are by Emily Martin aka The Black Apple. I have a few prints from her shop and just adore them. There's something about her work that is haunting, but innocent all at the same time.

etsy love.

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I love these prints from Lucius Art on Etsy. Anyone that quotes "Dayman" is ok in my book.

shop update: new bridal necklaces.

I have two lovely new bridal necklaces in the shop for you: Olivia and Chloe. These ladies are pretty fancy.

I've recently discovered my love for jewelry making. I'm excited to gather more supplies for this new love of mine. It will share more when I do ♥

table displays + new friends

Very early on Tuesday morning, I packed up my displays and products and headed out to Villa de Flores in Rancho Santa Fe. It's such a pretty drive especially in the early morning when it's cool and quiet. I didn't hit any traffic on the freeway-always a plus to waking up so early.

Erin of Hall Events invited me and four other Etsy artists to join a gathering for the Association of Bridal Consultants. It was so sweet of her to invite all of us, because it was such a great opportunity to meet other people who are in the wedding industry (and have lots of experience!) All of our tables were under these beautiful wooden arbors that were covered in grapevines and surrounded by gorgeous landscape.

My sweet friend, Azy, woke up before the sun to come out there and help me set up my table. I get really bad anxiety when I go to events like this and I don't know anyone. Knowing she would be there while I found my way around, met new people, and set everything up was a huge confidence booster for me- thanks Azy! :)

This was only my second time having a table display of my work. The first time was here. I was very happy with how my it turned out. It felt more sophisticated this time around- or at least, I think so.

Overall, the event went well. I had a little more practice talking with people in a professional manner, thinking on my feet (when I'm nervous, Im horrible at that), learned a lot from the speakers during lunch, and got to meet a of lot people. Speaking of, I had the pleasure of meeting this lovely lady (our tables were right next to each other). We have very similar taste and interests. Therefor, we became instant friends- don't you just love when that happens? (I'll be sharing more pictures of the event tomorrow along with her pretty display.)

woodland chalkboard

I improved the Woodland Chalkboard a little. I use primer before the chalk paint to make the chalk board surface a little smoother. Also, I took away the yarn hook and am now mounting saw tooth hooks to the back. This makes it look cleaner and hopefully mount on the wall easier. Also, if you want to use it for engagement pictures or a photo booth prop, the their won't be awkward looking yarn hanging off of the back.

If you buy 4 or more, you get a 10% discount. Happy shopping!

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♥

I added some new headbands to the shop today. A few of them would be great for flower girls. Also, don't forget about the coupon that expires at the end of this month! Enter the code BERRIES at checkout for 15% off of your purchase.

I hope you all had a lovely day. Mine was productive and lots of fun (that's a great mix if I do say so myself.)! I got a good amount of work done and had a coffee date with a dear friend that I've been missing.

I'm off to bed to dream of having yet another productive and inspiring day. I should be back tomorrow with pictures of the entry way and a giveaway :) Good night!

Cuteness overload!

This is the cutest mug I've ever seen! I need one!

It's made by Coffee Dog Lover on Etsy. If you buy one now, 50% of your purchase goes towards Japan relief. It doesn't really ge better than that.

Recent Crush's: Spring Home Edition

I'm not sure what the weather's like where you are, but San Diego's got me ready for spring. Everything that I'm crushin' on lately has yellows, peach, lighter olive greens, or orange.

This quilt from Urban is reversible! It's such a great price and like having two. Awesome.

This looks like that cute little couch I fell in love with at Anthropologie. This one, however, isn't the affordable answer I was hoping for.

I keep seeing these cute little Modernica rockers in nurseries.

I LOVE these painted serving utensils! I found them via design love fest.

I found these lace bowls on pinterest. You can find them in Hideminy's Etsy shop.

GORGEOUS bath towels from Anthro. I want.

How about a pretty print from pop pop portraits shop?