Can you believe Christmas is next week!?  Neither can I.  Still getting the last of my shopping done to prepare for an insane weekend of wrapping gifts, baking dozens of cookies, and having a holiday drink or two.  I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!   

 

Sometimes I lose perspective and forget that while I'm busy worrying about a million things, or stuck in a rut, or complaining, or wasting time not doing what I want to be doing, life is still moving forward. I need less worrying, whining, wishing, wanting, and waiting in my life and a lot more doing.

Quote found here.

Wow.  The days are just flying by!  It's October! Already!  Deep breath.  I know that the holiday season is around the corner and I also know that I need to get a lot of inventory done in advance so that I can somehow juggle packaging and listing orders, making custom items, working on the never ending list of projects for school, and maybe spend some time with my poor neglected family in between all of that.  Oh, and do laundry.  I need a vacation and the next one won't be until the end of November.  On a happier + less stressful note, I've listed some new stuff in the shop (see the photos above!) and I'll be listing even more in the shop this week and next week so check back often.  And get those holiday orders in early.  Pretty please.

Hope it's warm (and stress free) where you are.

 

Wow September has been kicking my butt.  It's been one project after another lately. I wanted to drop in though and let you guys know that I'll be selling my wares at Strange Folk 2012!  It is a great show with so many talented folks so if you live close (or even kinda sorta close) you should come out and say hello!  

Hope the weather is as lovely where you are as it is here.

Oh how I love fall..

This adorable collar is going on my fall wishlist.  Buy your own here.

One of my very favorites by Belle & Sebastian.  Their EPs have always had some of my most favorite songs.  This particular EP is always on repeat come fall and this song is one of the best.

"In the autumn cool say cheerio to school," indeed. 

This is a great little moto.  Found here.

Hope you all had a great Labor Day!

Here's a sneak peek at my new wood pendants coming soon to the shop!  The pendants are made from yew wood sustainably collected from a forest in Scotland.  I hope to have the new necklaces listed this week so check back soon!

I am in love with this crochet crown.  It's the perfect thing to fancy up my fall + winter wardrobe.  Swoon.

I just created some new packaging for my shop: kraft bags + feather stamp + alphabet stamp.  The feather stamp was custom made for me by this super sweet shop.  I wanted the packaging to have a simple, handmade vibe which is why I went with stamping.  Yeah, stamping a million bags (ok, maybe not that many) is time consuming but I also think it makes it feel more special.  And I for one love packaging that feels special.  

Fresh Flowers: orange peonies found here
Flower Illustration: florist print found here

 

1. Hello Linen Cushion Cover by Hello Milky

2. Hello Stranger Card by Anna Fraser 

3. Hello Necklace by Joanna Rutter

4. Hello Print by Named by Art

5. Hello There Stationary Set by Sparrow Nest Script

6. Hello Rubber Stamp by Happy Rainy Day

Still updating the shop with new fall jewelry including this gold hexagon necklace. 

In other news, I will be vending again at this years Strange Folk Festival at the end of September.  If anyone lives in STL, Illinois, or anywhere in the Midwest you should take a trip to Community Park in O'Fallon,IL and come see the hundreds of vendors selling cool stuff.

New shoes for fall.

Feathering our nest.  A little banner I made from vintage alphabet cards and hung with tiny clothespins.  Photo by me via Instagram.  

In the process of updating the shop with new stuff for fall 2012...

So what have I been doing lately?  Well, over the weekend the husband, our friend Sebastian, and I took a trip to Chicago to see the Sunday lineup at the Pitchfork Music Festival. We were able to see Chavez (AMAZING but I was disappointed they didn't play my jam-alas), King Krule (loved it but an outdoor festival isn't the best way to see him), and part of Beach House + Real Estate.  The verdict at the end of the day was that I was glad I went, it was awesome getting to see Chavez, but the heat was pretty miserable and I'm not a big fan of outdoor festivals.  Let me add the caveat that I'm old (ok 32 isn't old but I feel old) which is why I'm not gushing more about the show.  Perhaps if it had been a few degrees cooler and my back didn't hurt like it always does I would have had an even better time.   
  
In other rock show news, yesterday the husband and I took the kiddo to see the Wye Oak/Dirty Projectors show. It was honestly one of the best live shows I've seen.  Jenn Wasner's voice is so stunning and both she and Andy Stack are just all around great performers.  Even our fickle 14 year old declared them to be his new favorite band.  He even got a photo with them which was really sweet.  If they come through your town I would really encourage you to see them.  I can't say anything about the Dirty Projectors part of the show because we only stayed for Wye Oak.  Nothing against the Dirty Projectors at all but we only had the stamina to see the opener.  And by "we" I really mean "me."  

Outside of going to lots of rock shows lately, I've also been working on new fall designs for the shop.  I will be adding these new items to the shop over the next couple of weeks so be sure to check it out.  

xo

L

I promised earlier today that I would post again with a new piece of art that the husband and I bought from a friend of ours.  The photos do not do the piece justice.  It's been overcast most of the day here so getting a good shot of it was nearly impossible.  Hopefully though, you get the idea.  It's currently sitting near the entryway where we are going to hang it.  Once it's up I'll take some better photos to share with you.  Anyway, the painting was done by our friend Christian Shewcraft.  He has an Etsy shop set up but hasn't posted anything yet but I'll let you guys know when it goes live.  I encourage you to add his shop to your favorites so you can check it out later.  Here's a little closeup of some of the detail on our piece:

Hope it's cooling off a bit where you are!

Remodelista Contest Featuring Swan Lake

So here's the deal: you could win my Scandinavian inspired necklace (seen above) made by me by following Remodelista on Pinterest here and creating a "Remodelista Scandi Summer" pinboard.  For all the info on the contest rules go here.  The winner will be announced Monday, July 9th.  Good luck!

I'll be posting later today on a new piece of art the husband and I bought for the house so check back and make sure to enter the contest!     

This is the best outfit for these insanely hot days.  Shoes optional.  Buy the dress here.

This week has been crazy busy for me so I'm sorry for being MIA from the blog.  I'm hoping next week will be a little calmer so I can share some of the new things I've been working on. I've posted a couple new things in the shop from my new line of hand painted wood pendants like this guy below: 

I'll be adding new stuff to the shop all week so I hope you take a minute to check it out.  I also have some exciting news about a giveaway that I'm participating in!  I'll post the details on the blog on Monday morning or you can "like" Swan Lake on Facebook as I'll post the details there as well. 

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

 

 I'm really loving this sweet scarf by Toddah on Etsy.

I've long been in love with polka dots but this building takes the cake.  Found here.

Find these sweet summer pieces here and here

Seeing as today is my birthday  I thought I would share this sweet gift that a customer of mine sent me a few weeks ago.  No, it wasn't for my birthday but it sure was sweet!  Thank you Audrey!  

On today's agenda: relaxing and hanging out with my family
On today's menu: burgers, mac & cheese, and grilled asparagus
And for dessert: an ice cream cake!  

No parties, no fanfare, just yummy food, cake, and time with my family.  Life is good.

xo

L

clockwise from top left: breadboard stool table; succulent wall box; diy ottoman; simple towel hanger; rope mirror

Summer has always been one of my favorite times of year.  I love that the days are longer, the weather is warm, and there always seems to be something to do or see.  It doesn't hurt that my birthday is in June either.  This year, the husband bought me a fancy new printer so I can print professional quality copies of my work.  I'm hoping to start offering original prints and paper goods in the shop soon so keep a look out!  


Because I'm not working over the summer, and school is out for me until the end of August, I've been keeping myself busy by taking an internship at a printing company, working on new designs for fall, and working on things around the house.  Besides the work I've been doing in my studio I've also repainted the kitchen (a crisp white) and I'm trying to force motivate myself to paint our master bathroom.  I started painting it several months ago, got busy with school, and then just kind of lost the will to work on it.  At the moment it looks shameful.  Imagine hospital gown green partially covered with a blotchy layer of white.  Sad. My goal is to suck it up and get it done this weekend.  We'll see.

xo

L

Currently working on my studio space which was, up until a few weeks ago, the place where things that didn't have a place went.  It's not done yet so this is just a sneak peek of the progress.  Trust me when I say that the rest of the room doesn't look quite so organized.  But it's a start at least.  So, here's what's in this (small part of my desk) space:

*framed map of St. Louis from an old atlas
*a set of little drawers for supplies I use all the time
*metal flower pot re-purposed for pens & pencils
*cardboard bin (with the cutest little bike print) courtesy of the $1 bin at Target
*Pantone postcards hung with washi tape
*wood bird postcard from Spitfire Girl (a valentine from the husband)
*squid print by Sadly Harmless
*hooks for necklaces I'm currently working on

I think that about covers it.  Hopefully soon I'll have more photos of my space all neat and ready for public viewing.  

xo

L