Sofia's Treasure Chest is the third love of my life (my first and second being my husband and daughter). I love being able to express myself through creating jewelry and finding unique vintage pieces to sell in my Etsy shop.
I don't know if I have been living under a rock or what, but I am new to the concept of upcycling. If you don't know what upcycling is, here is the definition according to Wikipedia: "Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value."
Kind of like recycling, but better.
In Metal Jewelry is totally committed to upcycling and here is a good example of a piece of jewelry that had a former life as something else. This glass rosette was part of a mirror previously and is now a rockin' pendant that just says summer and sun to me.
Yesterday was almost 80 degrees in NYC and it would have been an amazing day to hit Jones Beach on Long Island...but my husband and I chose to take our daughter there today when it was 63 degrees and so foggy you could not even see the ocean from the parking lot. Go figure, but we like to do things that are unexpected so it ended up being very us.
Though we had taken her to the beach a couple of times before, this was the first time she was able to walk about independently and really explore what the beach is all about. It was such a great joy to watch her learn about sand and breathe salty air for the first time. There are times when I'm so tired I haven't showered for two days and can't remember the last real meal that I ate, but these are the times that I am so grateful for being able to experience the wonder of life and the world through Sofia's eyes. It makes everything more....just more.
One of my dearest friends is an avid quilter. She made me a gorgeous quilt for my 30th birthday, for my wedding and one when my daughter was born. I remember when she told me that she was going to start quilting and I told her that I liked the idea of a quilt, but didn't like that all the ones I had seen looked like something you found at your gramma's house. She laughed, told me she understood, but she wasn't going to make quilts like that, and indeed, she has managed to make gorgeous, contemporary (even, dare I say, trendy) quilts. I am always impressed by her!
Kangaroo Stitches is also making some interesting quilts (among other things), but the best thing they offer is the custom quilt option. That way you can guarantee that you won't be getting a gramma quilt, either for yourself or for a gift. Rock on quilters of the world!
My kid is the joy of my life (next to my husband of course, in case he is reading this :), but there are days when my sweet angel looks a little more like this:
I love that song and I LOVE this funky little alien creature robot girl print illustration from ACEO. There is something about that little face that I just find so endearing and adorable. I am also partial to green and blue, so this little gal fits the bill for me. And I also love that you can get this print made into a blank card. Brilliant!
Selling things that I find funky, but wearable in an everyday way is something that I am always striving for in my jewelry style, especially when I am antiquing and looking for vintage items. I think that's actually why I like antiquing so much, I love the element of finding something funky that may have been totally common in its time, but is more unique now because of the passage of time and fashion trends.
This isn't a vintage find of mine, but it is a handmade find from Funky Felt Flowers. This great felt cocktail ring is so original and again, love the color scheme. I never would have thought to make a ring out of felt, but it is so fun and fab!
Before I had my kid, my dog Isa was my one and only baby. And boy, does she miss those days! Now, she is desperate for any attention that anyone will give her (poor thing) so when I can do something that will make her happy and use minimal energy on my part, I do. Okay, I try to. Or, at least I think about it.
This adorable dog bed from Pet Design is a great way for me to spoil my pup a little bit, and since everything is currently on 20% off sale (with promo code THINKSPRING), it won't break my bank to give my pupster some lux and love.
Spring feels like it has finally sprung here in NYC. You can FINALLY go outside without a down parka, scarf, mittens, boots, balaclava, thermal underwear, sweater, snow pants...are you getting a theme here? It was a rough winter here, we literally had a snowstorm every week this winter, so spring feels like it has been loooooong in coming this year. Here is a picture of our house buried in the worst of the snowstorms.
Oye, just looking at this picture makes me so appreciate the sunshine and 60 degrees we had today.
Spring also bring flowers and butterflies into my life again, which to quote Martha Stewart, is a good thing. Butterflies have a special significance for me, as they represent not only good weather, but transformation and new life.
This gorgeous painted lady butterfly print from Emele Photography fills me with happiness and awe. These butterflies are so beautiful and I love that Emily was able to capture their amazing body art so well.
Along the same lines, but totally different (does that make sense?) is this sweet butterfly mobile by Bits of Strings N Things. I love this color combo and the cute crocheted butterflies. I know my daughter would love to have these little critters hanging from her ceiling.
Spring, keep on coming!!! And stay for awhile, alright?
I am a speech language pathologist by profession. For those of you who don't know what that is, don't feel bad, no one ever know what I do! I am a therapist for adults and children who have had some kind of disruption in their speech and language due to developmental issues, disorder or some kind of neurological event.
I do most of my work with children, and many of those children are diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. April being Autism Awareness Month, this stuffed bear from Mused Sonata that promotes autism awareness is not only cute, but is for a great cause.
And since it is only available in the month of April, you should definitely go and check it out!
My daughter just turned one a few weeks ago, and as anyone with a baby knows, you have a great big party for...yourself! Because your child really doesn't understand yet that all the hoopla is over her. Thankfully, she had a great time and so did we! But one thing I did not have a great time with was cupcakes...
We invited 50 people to a Korean restaurant for her party, because in the Korean tradition, the first birthday (called a Dol) is a biggie. Back in the day, when infant mortality was high, if your kid made it to one, there was a good chance that they would continue on in the great tradition of being alive, so they whooped it up...bigtime!
Since we were having everything catered by the restaurant, I thought it would be nice to make cupcakes for her party instead of buying a sheet cake. You know, being a first time mom and kind of creative, I really wanted to do something personal for her first birthday. And I thought cupcakes would be manageable, more than a cake. Boy, was I wrong....really, really, really, really wrong.
I spent 8 hours the day before her birthday party making and decorating 100 cupcakes. Oye vay - was I exhausted. I had a grand ole time decorating the first ten cupcakes, but then realizing that I still had 90 cupcakes to go was a little daunting. Here are a couple of pictures of some of the finished cupcakes.
But it was worth it, and I do love cupcakes of all kinds! Here is an adorable cupcake baby set from Sweet Baby Sprinkles.
It includes:
- 2 baby girl hats
- 2 baby girl receiving blankets
- 2 baby girl washcloths
- 2 baby girl ribbon hair clips
- 2 snack bowls with matching lids
- 1 basket perfect for storing any baby essentials such as diapers, wipes, baby wash, washcloths, etc.
And the best thing - free shipping!! Gotta love those cupcakes!
I think I've mentioned before that my husband was the original antiquer in our home, and in the years before he met me, he collected quite a few things that seem kind of random to me. Like milk glass hens.
Don't get me wrong, I think some of them are actually pretty cute. I just think it's kind of random that he has 6 of them in our basement! Anyways, I am in the process of shooting them, pricing them, and researching their provenance (which I may never be able to figure out). Here are some pics of the ones we have that will go up on Etsy soon.
life gets in the way of your dream? This is something that I feel like I'm struggling with lately. I've had so much on my plate that I have little left to create and put time in to grow my craft and business. To be honest, at the end of the night, I'd rather sleep than do anything else! Does anyone else struggle with this and how have you pushed through it? I'd love some advice from y'all out there.
It is my funny, sweet, smart, amazing, joyfilled, beautiful baby girl's first birthday today and I can't believe it. She seems to have gotten bigger overnight. Her legs seem longer, her torso stretched, her face more like a toddler, less like a baby. It kind of makes me want to cry. Thank you to Sofia for the most amazing year of my life!!
And thanks to all you for reading and following! Enjoy 10% off all jewelry at Sofia's Treasure Chest for the month of April with the promo code: SOFIABDAY (all caps) to help us celebrate.
