9.30.2009

Featuring: Winborg Design

This week featured seller on Lovely Clusters is Winborg Design. The business is comprised of two very talented sisters, Megan Gerrard and Mendy Reese. Here is just a sampling of their beautiful artwork.
I love how whimsical and fun each of them are. I think they would look beautiful in a nursery or child's room. Here is one I came across on their blog!
You can see more photos of the nursery HERE
See more of our favorites HERE Find them elsewhere: Etsy Shop | Blog
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I also want to thank everyone for your comments regarding my last post. We are safe and didnt get any side effects. Samoa did not get as lucky and several people have died from the earthquake and tsunami. My heart goes out to them and their families.

9.29.2009

Tsunami Warning

One of the downsides of living on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is that we get some crazy things happening from Mother Nature.
Today there is a Tsunami alert that may just hit us at 1:00 today! There was an 8.3 earthquake in Samoa and there are investigating to see if it will hit us. Storms are fun but Tsunamis, not so much! I am going to get the pet carrier prepared just in case. My cat Murphy is the first thing I am grabbing! Fortunately I will be prepared but if that siren goes off there is going to be panic. Ugh! This sucks.
Photo from HERE UPDATE: Tsunami did not hit Hawaii! Woohoo! I feel very lucky right now. :)

9.28.2009

Featuring: Norajane

This adorable shop makes me want to stamp pretty paper and sew pillows while drinking hot apple cider. Doesn't that sounds lovely?
norajane.etsy.com

9.27.2009

Our Hana Getaway



Ryan and I tend to plan things on the spot. We knew we were going to go to Hana but the details hadn't really been thought about until we actually got in the car and drove off. Before we left we did check the weather forecast and there was this really really really large cloud coming towards Maui from the Big Island so camping didn't sound very fun anymore. I was actually still down for camping but Ryan who had been camping several times in the Pacific Northwest insisted that we started thinking about other options. I had to agree with him. Camping in the pouring rain did not sound all that great. So we looked into getting a cabin and we went to go get the permit in the main town of Wailuku but when we got there we found out that they were all booked out. So we looked into some B&B's and the first one I called had availability and so we took it! It ended up being a nice place across from where we wanted to camp originally so it was perfect.




Hana is a pretty desolate place as I have mentioned before so there isn't much for nightlife but that wasn't what we going there for. It was nice to just getaway for awhile and not have the computers distracting from getting some nice quality time together. Our first night there was really fun. We played cards and then we started to play this game that was in the movie Inglourious Basterds (that is how its spelled) where you have to guess a famous person that the person next to you picked. Ryan had bought some Hana Bay Rum and lemonade so it was especially fun!

The next day we explored the beaches and drove back. There is this incredible area where we were going to camp called Waianapanapa and there is this beautiful black sand beach with a path with a cave. I have actually swam through it when I was 16 but I wasnt quite daring this time. :) There was also the red sand beach that was a little harder to get to but we managed because we are just that adventurous! Not really but I was proud of myself for walking through a barbed wire fence that was cut open to create just enough room to get through.




After exploring Hana we decided to drive home around the larger part of the island instead of going back the way we came. This road is amazing! You start in Hana where it is all rain forest lush and green and then you go through a very dry part and then you drive through a part that is more new which is almost all volcano rock and then you end up in Kula which is also very lush and green. It is really quite an experience. Since we drove this way we stopped at the winery at Ulupalakua and we got to try 4 different wines for free and ended up buying a bottle of red which tasted wonderful!


Overall we had a great time and it was really so great to getaway for awhile. I could definitely get used to this. Its just so hard to go back to work!

Thanks for reading and I hope you had a great weekend!

All Photos from me. :) www.flickr.com/photos/maui_designer

9.25.2009

See you back on Monday!

Thank you everyone for a great week! I am heading out now to go camping in Hana for a few days. No cell or internet service out there so I wont be back until Monday. I hope to get some relaxing time and some reading time in. Have a great weekend! Photo from Samantha Lamb via Gabrielle Kai. You can see this and others on my Tumblr site for more loveliness.

9.24.2009

Winner of Amy & Ann's Giveaway!

Congratulations Pretty Pink Rat!! Check out her super cute blog HERE: prettypinkrat.blogspot.com

Featuring: Sparklethots

Yesterday Happy Cavalier posted pretty blue earrings from Sparklethots so today I thought I would show you some more of her lovelies. Each piece is handcrafted and made available in either limited quantities (under 5 per design) or just one only.
I really love the quality of her pieces and her colors choices are beautiful! Please visit her shop to see more HERE You can see our favorites on Lovely Clusters You can find Sparklethots on these websites too!

Blog | Flickr | Facebook | Twitter

9.23.2009

Thank You Happy Cavalier!

I love the collage that Karen from Happy Cavalier put together of her favorites from Lovely Clusters! The soft yellow and teal color scheme is so dreamy and beautiful! If you are interested in putting a collage together of your favorites from the site let me know and I can put it together for you if interested. I just added 9 more shop pages this week and 22 new free artists! I also added some new items from previous sellers so please take a peek. :) This has been a really great week for the site. From the bottom of my heart I want to thank everyone for your support! I don't think Vicki and I realized that we would get such a great response. It is so fun to meet new artists from around the world each week and we are having so much fun with it! Items shown can be found at lovelyclusters.com

9.22.2009

New Items on Design Lovely

So I didn't end up making my garland. I instead made these pretty tags that I am calling skirt and shoe tags. I was really inspired by a wedding that was recently featured on Once Wed.




I think they would be really cute for bridesmaid gifts. I am offering to make them in custom colors if a bride wanted to color coordinate them with her wedding. I wish I made these for my wedding!

And here is another recent addition to the shop. I actually did stitch these and I think it adds a special touch to them which I love.




I was inspired by these cards from Poppies For Grace and how I angled the lace was inspired by this beautiful ipod case from Tabi Designs who is also a featured seller on Lovely Clusters!

designlovely.etsy.com

Autumn Theme Cluster

Since I haven't been able to get in the treasury and make pretty clusters of etsy items I decided to make my own on the Lovely Clusters site so I have made another section called theme clusters and right now I have a good amount in the autumn one. So fun!

Guest Posting on Kotori

Today I am guest posting for the lovely blogger Tonya from Kotori. I posted my top 5 Fall Favorites. Please check it out HERE

9.21.2009

Gorgeous Garlands

I am feeling inspired at the moment to make a pretty garland with my fabric scraps. I like the idea of using it as part of a package or hanging them up as decor. Here are some inspiring images I came across.
I am thinking about making one with leaves perhaps. Still working out the details. I just spooled a bunch of thread yesterday and I am itching to sew. Hope you find these inspiring as well! Photo Sources: Row 1. Wren Handmade Row 2: MillaLove, via KaBloom Atlanta Row 3: Free People, Pandawithacookie row 4: Creature Comforts, Paper Shop Ink