Hogger & Co. Style Profile

One of the things that I love about being a blogger is having the opportunity to let my personality shine through my blog. I love having a place where I can express myself through my photography, my art, and my words. It's the same thing that I enjoy about the blogs that I personally follow.

I believe that the content of a blog is originally what draws you to it, but it's the personality and feeling of a connection that keeps you there. But sometimes, a fun blog and a well written 'about me' section just isn't enough and you're left wanting to know more about the blogger behind the blog. Right??

Today, thanks to the fabulous Smita Jacob of Hogger & Co., you can learn a little more about moi! Check out my Style Profile photo shoot and interview on her site!

Photo courtesy of Smita Jacob of Hogger & Co

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Pumpkin Pickin' Time

Although Autumn just officially arrived this past weekend, it's already making itself known with the cooler mornings, the quick switch from sandals to boots, talks of apple picking, and of course, pumpkins galore! Thoughts of pumpkin coffee, pumpkin beer, and pumpkin bread are dancing in everyone's heads these days. I think the best way to get your pumpkin fix though, is to go directly to the source (and maybe bring a pumpkin latte with you)... 

This fall, Nihtila Farm in Holbrook is the place to be! Last weekend was their opening weekend for the season, and it looks like they're off to a good start. Last year I wrote a post about the artwork on the farm, but now I'll tell you a little bit about everything else.

When you arrive at the farm you can help yourself to a little red wagon and get right to picking your own pumpkin. They also have sugar pumpkins for cooking, as well as mini pumpkins and gourds. The farm is owned and operated by my Uncle Rob, and my Aunt Helen. Their 7 children are a huge help around the farm, making it a real family affair.

Living on the farm, the Nihtila's are certainly not strangers to wildlife, and they even have some cute animals of their own. Meet Princess, formerly the runt in her family, she's now living the good life at Nihtila Farm. Stop by and say hello to her! They also have roosters, chickens, a rabbit, brother and sister goats (they're twins!), and the occasional frog that hops by.

While I visited the farm this weekend, Helen was busy watering the dozens of hardy mums they have available. I asked her when they would start blooming and learned that as long as you keep watering them regularly, the mums stay closed up. Once you give them a break from the watering, they will open up in full bloom. So even though they don't look like much now, once you get them home, you'll have some beautiful flowers.

This year, the Nihtila's have added a small area on the farm full of giant pumpkins! Turns out they can grow to be pretty big!

Now that you've seen just how wonderful this family farm is, make sure you stop by before the season is over. For more information take a look at their website or find them and like them on facebook! And if you're wondering what to wear to the farm, check out the pumpkin hats in my Etsy Shop!

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Chevron Clutch Wristlet

I have been on the hunt for some awesome chevron fabric for what seems like forever now. I found that it was becoming impossible to scroll through Pinterest without seeing the pretty print, and it was a constant reminder that I wanted to get my hands on some. On Tuesday I finally succeeded in my search!

I knew I wanted to make a clutch wristlet, so I was psyched that I found the perfect material to do so. I got right to work, and in a couple of hours I had whipped up these funky clutches. I couldn't possibly keep these pretty little things to myself, so I've decided to share the wealth and make them available in my Etsy Shop. Yay!!

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Creative Friend: Joanne

Today's Creative Friend is none other than my BFF Joanne! The very same Joanne who helps me with my photo shoots and who made this awesome Stuffed Animal Craft. Joanne earns a living as a scientist in Boston, but crafting is one of her hobbies outside of work, and sewing is by far her specialty.

Joanne and I met in college way back when, and have been partners in crafting crime ever since. Dueling sewing machines are not an uncommon sight in our apartment! Here's what she has to say about herself:

"I learned to sew about 10 years ago and ever since I haven't been able to put the needle down. It still surprises me how accomplished I feel after completing a project.  Whether its sewing for myself or for a gift, I enjoy the entire process: the inspiration, the planning, the construction, the adjustments and yes, the final product (but usually not the seam ripping). I seem to have caught the re-fashion bug because a lot of my projects have recently involved turning trash into treasure."

She has been working on a lot of great projects lately, and I want to share a couple of my favorites with you. The first is a gift she made for a friend (she's very thoughtful with her talents!). 

I was really impressed with how easily she seemed to whip these up! It looks like she bought some really nice fabric to make these, but that's actually not the case! She actually created these using an old grey t-shirt, and old lace blouse, and colored scrap fabric! Pretty impressive, no?

Joanne bought the frame for this purse from Joann Fabric, but she suggested that using one from an old purse may have worked just as well.

I love the pop of color on the inside of the purse! I think the oversized clasp and the bold inside color are a perfect contrast to the delicateness of the lace exterior. Well done Jo!

Joanne's second craft was a project and a half and required a lot of thought and patience. She received an old lamp and wanted to re-vamp it by giving it a new handmade lampshade. This proved to be easier said than done as the awkward shape, curves, and angles of the frame were difficult to work with. I watched as Joanne brainstormed ways to make it work and was so impressed when she finally found a solution! Here's the old lampshade she started with...

So how did Joanne conquer the difficult task? 

She says "I tore off the white panels and border and added my own fabric by hand stitching fabric all around the rim.  I dyed the cording because I could only find burgundy but I wanted an eggplant purple to match my fabric.  I used blue dye and attached the newly dyed cording with hot glue."

This gorgeous lamp now lights up our living room with style! I feel really lucky to live with a fellow crafter in our homemade home. Joanne doesn't have a website as her crafting is just a hobby, but feel free to leave comments about her work here and I'll yell them to her in the next room over!

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Barbour + Jack Spade Launch

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Barbour + Jack Spade launch party at their location on Newbury Street in Boston. Accompanied by my pal @SocialMel and my camera, I ventured into the store to preview the new line. Though menswear doesn't necessarily fall into my repertoire, style and design do. And let me tell you, Jack Spade nailed it. Everything in the store was perfectly placed (including the checkout counter which doubled as a bar for the evening) and I couldn't help but marvel at both the products and the interior design.

The theme I sensed throughout the store was a seamless combination of sophistication and fun with a dash of unexpectedness. In speaking with Shawna, the manager, I discovered that the interior designer for Jack Spade is Steven Sclaroff. I was so impressed with what I saw in the store that I decided to look him up when I got home to learn a little more. Turns out he's based out of New York and does really great work elsewhere too. If you want to learn a little bit more about him here's a great interview from a few years ago on Design*Sponge.

While perusing the store, we bumped into the ever-fashionable duo of  Union Jack Creative. Two Jacks are better than one, and this Jack looked like he walked right out of a Jack Spade catalog when he tried on one of their blazers.

As a designer, I really appreciated graphic elements and typography throughout the store. It was hard to miss the care that was taken in the attention to detail, as even the smallest elements were pretty amusing.

This mannequin display was my favorite piece in the store. The vintage microphones made this blazer and bow tie appear all the more dapper, and made for a very handsome arrangement.

While the small details in the store were  entertaining, I can't deny that the large details certainly made an impact as well. Having the head of a wild boar looking down upon you in the fitting room is about as unexpected as it gets. But somehow it was perfectly suited for the store and I approve! So there you have it, my take on Barbour + Jack Spade launch. And if menswear happens to be in your repertoire, you should absolutely go take a look for yourself.

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Pastel Rainbow Nails

I recently saw this awesome nail design on the Nailside blog and wanted to see if I could create something similar myself. Since I was successful, I wanted to pass my knowledge along to you. You'll want to avoid drinking too much coffee before attempting this style, as a steady hand and patience are key. 

Start with a white base coat and let it dry completely. Then, choose your first color. I used Essie 'Cute as a Button'. Here's where the steady hand comes into play... Allow the polish to form into a small ball at the tip of your brush then apply the first stripe of color. The small ball of polish will create the rounded side of the stripe. After that has dried, repeat the process with each color, varying the length of the stripes as you go. 

FYI: The other colors I chose to use were Essie 'Play Date' and 'Turquoise and Caicos". 

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Society6

I can't believe it's already Friday! At the beginning of the week, I announced on facebook that I joined Society6. It's a new place where I'll be selling some of my original photography and art. I thought I'd take some time to tell you a little bit more about it and then you can check it out for yourself!

Society6 is a community of artists sharing their work with the intent to sell. Basically the artist provides their original artwork, and outside sources produce and ship the final pieces on behalf of the artists. The products range from standard prints to framed prints, stationery sets, iphone cases & skins, laptop & ipad skins, etc... This is great for me because while I consider myself to be pretty crafty, I don't foresee myself being able to produce my own iphone case anytime soon. Though who knows, maybe in the future I'll find that some perfect combination of papier mache, thread, and nail polish will do the trick. But, for now I'm happy to have a place where someone can handle that part for me. Now that you're in the loop, be sure to take a peek at MY SHOP and let me know what you think!

                              

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Scalloped Shorts Printable Template

Remember the Bleach Dipped Scalloped Shorts tutorial from way way back 2 weeks ago? Well, I have a fun follow up to that post that you might find helpful. I have created a free printable template that you can download if you want to make your scallops the same size that I made mine. Just click the link to begin the download. I hope you find this template useful... enjoy!

Download: DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE TEMPLATE HERE

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DIY Fabric Mousepad Refashion

Would you believe me if I told you that my brand new mousepad was made out of an old dress? Well, believe it baby! While I loved the polka dot pattern and style of this dress, I had to come to terms with the fact that all good things must come to an end. Simply put, it didn't fit anymore. Rather than let the fun fabric go to waste, I chose to refashion it into a mousepad with the help of some shelf liner. It was really easy to do, and I'm going to tell you how to do it with any fabric you have.

You'll need: fabric / rubbery shelf liner / old mousepad / scissors / sewing machine

First you'll need to determine the size of your new mousepad. I just took a mousepad that I already had and laid it on top of the shelf liner then trimmed the liner to size. To make the sewing process as simple as possible I opted to keep the corners of the liner squared angles rather than curve them. To bulk up your mousepad a little bit cut 2 squares of liner so that you can layer them.

Next, cut your fabric to be about an inch and a half bigger on all sides than the shelf liner.

Lay your fabric down - wrong side facing up. Then, center your 2 squares of shelf liner on top of the fabric. Fold the fabric over the liner to create a finished edge and pin in place.

Last but not least, sew around the edges of your mousepad. I made a double stitch just to be on the safe side.

Now you should have a funky new mousepad! I've been using mine for the past 2 months and it hasn't failed me yet. The grip of the shelf liner really works perfectly.

After I finished my polka dot mousepad, I decided to make a few more using different fabrics. The blue mousepad below is one of my newest creations. Also, just to really show off some serious craftiness... check out the camera strap that I made using the same old dress fabric. It's easy being green when you know how to reuse and refashion!

Via Instagram @CSSpectrum

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