Bellawonderella is open!

I've been neglectful of my blog as of late. Life has just been so terribly busy! Where do the days go? When I find out, I'll be sure to let you in on the secret!

Just wanted to let you all know that my Etsy photography shop, Bellawonderella, is now open! I am so super excited about this. Photography has always been such a great passion of mine and I am beyond thrilled that I am getting the opportunity to share that passion with others through my fine art prints. I'll leave you with a few of the images available for sale in my shop, but feel free to stop in at Bellawonderella and see some of them for yourself!

Have a lovely day!

Message from a Bride

A little over a year ago I received a message through Etsy from lovely bride-to-be Jenni. She was so happy to have found my Bows, Pearls, and Girly Things Necklace in bright tangerine and knew it would be perfect for her bridemaids to wear on her wedding day. Of course, I was thrilled to make them for her, and couldn't believe she was ordering them a year in advance! Can't get more on the ball than that!

To my surprise, I recently received another message from now lovely bride Jenni. A year later and now she is married and once again thanked me for the necklaces. To my delight she even shared some pictures of her beautiful wedding and her bridesmaids wearing the necklaces! Take a look at these amazing photos! Such a lovely wedding!

OOPSIE!

Well, it seems the pics have disappeared, but a great big THANK YOU to Jenni nonetheless for letting me add a little bit of beauty to your special day! Congrats to you and best wishes!

If you are a bride in need of unique jewelry or accessories for your wedding, please visit my Etsy shop and contact me! I love to hear from brides-to-be and will work to create something perfect just for you!

Wishing you lots of love and a simply wonderful day!

A Taste of What's to Come

Well, it's been a while. I have had a wonderful summer spending time with my family. It's a beautiful thing and we have made so many wonderful memories this summer. I am finally getting to work on the shop again. New packaging- adorable pale pink boxes with ribbons and a dainty flower.

I ordered some mini moo cards today. They are amazing tiny business cards with some of my original photography on them. They also make great little bookmarks. I'm hoping they will be a nice surprise for customers and a great addition to the new packaging.

I'll be getting the shop stocked soon with lots of new fall lovelies! Chains, flower pins in fall colors, and oh yeah! Rhinestones! Did I mention there will be rhinestones? Here's a little taste of what's to come!

Post Earring Sets

Hearts

Flowers, Crystals & Rhinestones

Have a beautiful day!

Fortuneless? Not Me!

Well, yesterday turned out to be a fabulous day! The day started out with my ruffled flower bib style necklace, Caramel Chocolate Delight, featured on Charlotte's FOX News Rising!

You see, it was Fashion Friday and I was one of the lucky artists whose creation was chosen for a segment on local jewelry designers! I was beyond excited to see my little necklace on tv. Such an honor! You can see the segment here:

http://www.foxcharlotte.com/rising/90360209.html

So then we met my husband for lunch out in Charlotte. My daughter is obsessed with a chinese food place there, so naturally that's where we dined. And then, the fortune cookies arrived...

So we all got some pretty great fortunes. Apparently, this coming Friday will be an exciting time for my 4-year-old (strange), my husband's friends will soon give him a great surprise (which is quite funny since we always joke he has no friends), and my investment of time in work this week is important (yeah! will it finally pay off?). Pretty profound, I thought! But, alas, dear cousin Jessie- you were fortuneless. An empty fortune cookie is never fun. But maybe we were looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it means good luck. Maybe it means you are free to create your own fortune.

We finished off the day with yet another trip to the Sleepy Poet, where I found the prettiest little bone china floral tea cup. Oh, how I love you little tea cup. Then a few random pics since the light was so pretty and the backyard has become lush and green.
So, takes some time to stop and smell the gorgeous spring flowers. Life is beautiful! Have a lovely weekend!

Good Morning! What's Blossoming?

Good morning! Hope you had a beautiful weekend! Well, we (the family and myself) took a ride out of town on Saturday and low and behold, the peach trees were in bloom! Row after row of those gorgeous blossoms are truly stunning. On the way back home we picked up the most delicious strawberries from a local fruit stand. Yummmm!

Yesterday was one of those continuously gloomy days (except for the spot of sunshine I caught peeking through my window). While it didn't rain much, it was dark and windy. I didn't really mind though. I took advantage of being indoors and used the time to complete a large wholesale order I've been working on for the past couple weeks. It was nice to work and listen to the sound of the wind in the trees and hear the lovely chimes.

A few new things will be "blossoming" at Eclectic Orchid this week! I have lots of new Spring goodies, just need to find the time to fill the shop with them! Check out my newest addition to the Whimsy in the Garden locket collection on the left.

I'll also be adding new large, feminine and romantic flower brooches topped off with vintage rhinestone buttons or repurposed vintage earrings.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend too! Here's to a fabulous Monday!

Dreaming this morning...

Yes, it's true. I'm dreaming of travel this morning. This is a picture I took last summer of one of the streets of Venice. Isn't it glorious! The colors, the vibrancy, the ummmm, laundry? haha. But these are not the only things I'm dreaming of. How about the...











Lovely blooms blossoming in abundance on balconies.













Windows thrown wide open to the unbelievably beautiful blue Venetian sky.

















A quiet morning on the Grand Canal.
















Gondolas on silent waters before the start of a busy day.







And, yes, even...



Fresh laundry hung out to dry in the warm Italian air.

Well, I think I've dreamed quite enough for one morning!

Bought the loveliest little camelia bush yesterday. It has the softest pink buds I have ever seen. Going to find a wonderful place to plant it today!

Hope your Thursday is filled with dreams and beauty!

Best Vintage Find...EVER!

So, this morning I took a ride with the family to my favorite Charlotte antique mall, The Sleepy Poet. I must say, the name itself lures me in, but in addition to the dreamy name this place is loaded full of vintage lovelies! So much to take in! I'd say it seriously has to be the equivalent of modern day pirate treasure, ummm, if pirates liked antiques and old stuff that is. So above is the few treasures I collected today. I was pretty picky this trip.
I found the cutest little rose teacup and saucer (and on sale-yeah!), a few tiny silver spoons, some old earring bits to repurpose for use in my jewelry, and these funny little vintage lady wooden cutouts in stands. I enjoy the whimsy and humor of them, and they add a lovely bit of quirk to my workspace!
But, yes, I have saved the best for last, the Pièce de résistance if you will:
So I know you are thinking, it's just a picture of a rose. Well, I guess you would be right. At first I was taken in by the lovely colors. The roses were done in either watercolors or markers (yes I should be able to tell the difference, but hey, I am no expert) and I just love the contrast against the carved black frame. The big surprise came when I flipped the frame over to check out the price. On the back of this frame lies the most endearing sentiment I have ever laid eyes upon:

That Paul sure does have a way with words, doesn't he? We got such a chuckle over this that I knew no matter the cost, it was coming home with me! Such a treasure was mine for only $6! Can you believe it? hahaha

One rose teacup- $5

Bits of old beaded trim- $10

Old silver spoon- $2.75

Letting the world know just how much you love your mom's smelly feet- PRICELESS!

Paul if you are out there, I just want you to know that I will treasure your work of art always. Not only does it look great with my little art and mirror collection, I know that if ever I have company over and am in need of a conversation starter, I can simply say, "Have I ever shown you my lovely rose picture?" If that won't get the conversation started maybe it's time for the company to go home- haha!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

Hello Spring!

Well, I wandered around downtown the other morning while my daughter was in nursery school. Low and behold the crabapple trees were covered in blooms. Truly stunning! Practically overnight mother nature had replaced the dark dreary winter sky with the glow of spring ushering in singing birds, patches of fresh green grass, and an unbelievably blue, almost cloudless sky. Lets not forget the emergence of flowers. Beyond happy about that! Yes, after this long cruel winter I think we can say hello to spring! I've been working on what I hope will grow into a beautiful cottage garden, and have also been creating new lovelies inspired by spring, like these little flower earrings:
and this sweet little pink and white flower brooch:
Both will be available at Eclectic Orchid soon! Hope you are enjoying the start of this beautiful season as much as I am! Have a lovely weekend!

Slow Start

Well, we started off our day very slowly today. By we, I mean my daughter, my little fuzzball, and myself. Some days are meant to be slow- take in the beauty, savor it! I sat down to a good cup of coffee this morning and began to peruse a wonderful book on illustrator/writer Tasha Tudor that my grandmother loaned me. My grandmother simply adores Tasha Tudor, and after reading a few pages about her life, I can see why. I soaked in the pictures and words, enjoying the glorious sun that is streaming through all of the windows in my home today. I also took some time to enjoy the gorgeous bouquet of flowers that my husband had waiting for me in a vase on our kitchen table for our anniversary. All the while, my daughter is playing with her princesses in our living room. She has such an imagination! I wonder what she will channel her creativity into when she grows up? Tasha has inspired me to plant bulbs outside today the colors of a rainbow. I have gladiolas and dahlias ready to go, but I think we will take a trip to the store to see if we can find some peonies and wildflower seed. Tasha's motto is in my head- joy is there for the taking, life is to be enjoyed.

Thank you Tasha and grandma (since you loaned me the book) for inspiring my day! I leave you with a quote that I found particularly magnificent:

"The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within our reach is joy. Take joy."

Have a beautiful day!