Watercolor Prints: A Palette of Possibilities

Spring is coming; I can't say that enough!  It's already March and we've managed to avoid any severe weather so far.  I'm totally looking ahead to warmer days and that's why when I saw this little watercolor dress by Matty M.  for only $10 I grabbed it up right away.   The main reason I love a watercolor print is all those colors working beautifully together.  

 Because it has so many colors in it, this dress really has a multitude of possibilities for accessorizing and that's one of the first things I look for when choosing a new addition to my wardrobe.  It's also really important that my clothes are suitable for most occasions if they're going to get any wear, and I knew that this little beauty fit the bill.  So, here I've dressed it up three ways, evening, work, and casual.

Cardigans, heels, and belt are from ModCloth.com
Flats and Leggings both from individual Ebay stores.

Artist Spotlight: Emily Winfield Martin

It's been a while since I've had a feature artist.  I wanted to take a moment to showcase the beautiful and whimsical work of Emily Winfield Martin.  From nautical mysteries to dancing bears and tattooed ladies, her work has everything I love.  I won's say any more about Emily, I'll just let her work speak for itself.

See more of Emily's work at emilywinfieldmartin.com
or shop for prints at TheBlackApple.etsy.com

Fleur for the Dramatic

It's almost time.  Already the children are bringing in  fistfuls of tiny flowers , and if I can brace against the cold to open my window in the morning, there are some faint bird songs in the air.  It's almost time for spring!  This year I thought I'd get a head start on my spring shopping with this lovely purple dress by ModCloth.  It's a bit loose, so I may have to tailor it in order to keep it, but I love the color and the embroidered rose at the center and on each sleeve.
I'm wearing it two ways here, just to see if I can dress it up or down and I think it works well both ways.

For the Outfit on the left, I used a pair of python skin pumps, a ribbon belt, and a vintage purse.  I paired it with pearl earrings and a brass lace headband for a vintage darling look.  The outfit on the right came almost entirely from ModCloth.

Shop the Outfit:
Fleur for the Dramatic Dress by ModCloth
Charter School Cardigan in Orchid by ModCloth
Definitive Drama Heel in Brown by Qupid
Beauty and Bows Belt at ModCloth

Keeping Winter at Bay

I've finally given in to my love of the plaid coats this season.  Everywhere I looked there were gorgeous deep blue prints in flattering cuts, but none in my price range.  I finally found this lovely Old Navy peacoat in my size and at a greatly reduced price.  I'm not ashamed to say I pounced on this bargain and saved $80 off the original price.

Shop the Outfit:

Pea coat: Old Navy
Jeans: Bilabong
Flats: Target
Earrings: Handmade by me
Chunky ring: vintage

Felt Sweets Kit Giveaway!

I have to be busy; it's just my nature.  Even if I'm watching t.v., I like to have something to work on.  I've been embroidering since I was about seven or eight years old and it's kind of lost its sparkle over the years.  When all the tea towels, napkins, and pillow cases are covered and my kids are past the days of bibs and baby blankets, embroidering just isn't peaking my interest right now.  But, I need something simple and inexpensive and useful in some way.  Enter the felt sweet.  I am in the felt sweet capitol of the world after all and supplies abound at very reasonable prices.

I started with a simple kit by Daiso Japan.  They're available on Etsy.com if you use the search terms "Felt Sweets" and "Daiso Japan."  Narrow your search to "craft supplies" to find a kit rather than a finished product.

(Keep reading and find out how to win this kit!)

It comes with everything you need except the scissors, glue and needle.  The instructions are simple and I managed to complete my first attempt within the time frame suggested by the instructions (about 2.5 hours).

I went back and purchased the other varieties of kits available and finished all of them before branching out to make my own designs.

Now that I'm doing it on my own, there's no going back.  Here are a few of the completed kits and some of my own designs, each completed in 3 hours or less.

I've found felt sweets to be a very relaxing and yet I get excited when I make a new design.  I also love that it doesn't take much time to finish a project so I can move to the next idea and it's very inexpensive as hobbies go.

Now comes the fun part!  I'm giving away a free kit (shown above) to one lucky crafter.  All you need to do is:
1.  become a follower of my blog
2.  Fill out the "contact me" form on the page of the same name with the subject line "Felt Sweets Giveaway"

I'll announce winners on March 1st, 2015.

Recommended Resources:
My Favorite Felt Sweets by Joie Staff
Feltlicious: Needle Felted Sweets to Make & Give by Kari Chapin and Kerri Wessel

Both available on amazon.com

Puppy Love

Animal prints have never really been my thing.  Leopard, and zebra were always right out.  And I tend to tread lightly with something covered in house cats, because crazy cat lady still seems like a possible future.  But, dogs?  Well, they're ok, but I've never really considered them stylish.  I'm changing my mind lately.   I've seen a lot of pieces with loveable canine prints that  I've fallen for.  Ahhhh, puppy love......

Paws and Posies Dress at ModCloth.com

I saw it.  I liked it. It sold out.  And then one came back in stock so I bought it instantly!

And I am so glad I did.  It's a great print and I can mix it with different colors to create different looks.

Here are a few more puppy prints I'm crazy about:

Nevermore Lovely Dress in Dogs $89.99

at ModCloth

It's not big on color, but that just means it will go with any color cardi, belt, or shoe I like and the Scottie dog print is adorable and subtle.  If this little beauty goes on sale, I'm definitely buying it!