Being Busy and Loving Every Minute

Well today brought some much needed sunshine. Some artists are into rainy days in the studio. They love being holed up in their cozy space, working away to the calming soundtrack of rain. And I totally get that…I've been there. But at this stage of the game, me and Aaron want nothing but sunshine. We aren't fans of artificial lighting. We need natural sunlight for mixing paint colors, making sure they're the exact tone we're looking for. And most importantly, we need natural light for taking photos, which we do on a daily basis. We're always taking new product photos for our shop, or snapping pics of what we're working on for the blog or Instagram. Artificial light is just the pits. 99% of my photos are shot using natural light and only natural light. I never ever use flash, and make sure to shut off any interior lights when taking a photo. The colors are just truer. So on this very sunny day, prior to wrapping & shipping our blue cupcake die cut, I had to snap a pic of it displayed with our vintage ice cream cartons. It just looked so fun...all of the blues popped!

The past few weeks have been super busy for us. We've been working on lots of die cuts, and plaques, and custom orders, as well "home stuff". We were pretty pleased with the amount of orders we managed to complete over these past few days. 

Here's a a small portion of the die cuts that just shipped. It's so hard to say what our best seller is. We really sell lots of cupcakes, and the macarons do great, and lately we've been shipping lots of doughnuts. But our Pancakes have really really become a collector favorite! Every batch of orders includes Pancakes. Maybe because they really could work in any style home. They're probably our least "girly" piece…we notice that lots of guys order the Pancakes. And they can fit into retro or modern decor. Plus…who doesn't like pancakes?

Speaking of cupcake diecuts…here's another that shipped off to a new home. Our jumbo chocolate frosted with rainbow sprinkles is such a classic! I'd love to see it hanging in a kid's room!

We love wrapping orders up in our signature pink tissue and tying them with baker's twine. And before each package is sealed we throw in a tiny taste of the Jersey Shore...our favorite salt water taffy.  

This part of the job never gets old to us…the wrapping and packing, and writing Thank You notes, and tossing in candy and some shimmery gold confetti. And finally, wrapping all of the boxes in kraft paper and stacking them by the front door, all ready to be whisked off to the post office. On big shipping days both of us are in a super bright and cheery mood. We've got music blasting and we're very high energy…running around, jumping from task to task. We look like two people who's ultimate dream in life would be to work in a high volume mailroom. :)

But at the heart of it, it isn't the nature of the actual work that excites us. It's what the work signifies that raises our spirits. These stacks of boxes mean that our artwork is headed to new homes all over the world. We're thrilled at the idea of our work becoming a happy addition to the lives of all of these wonderful people. Seriously…we truly are that corny an emotional about what we do. 

Me and Aaron were just talking about last holiday season. It was one of our most busy to date! It made us so so happy filling those orders last year. We made hundreds of ornaments, and our days and nights melted into one another. There weren't any breaks in our production, not a minute to catch our breath…I can't even recall how we found the time to do our Christmas shopping. We were at the post office with dozens of boxes on a daily basis all season long. And before we knew it, it was all over. Late October through late December was one big pastel, glittery, festive blur.

 And then, we got the best gift of all…happy customer photos started popping up on Instagram. And there were also tons of pics from others who had received our pieces as gifts. So so fun!

We are so ready for that experience again. Just today a big box of holiday supplies arrived on our doorstep. We are gearing up for hopefully a repeat of last holiday season. That would be amazing!! 

So, remember how I mentioned above that 99% percent of my photos are in natural light? Well, here's an example of the leftover 1%.  

Dearest little Lieutenant Dan, his ears perked up, listening to the enchanting sounds of the pantry door, measuring cups and spoons, whisking in mixing bowls…yes, Daddy was baking up some banana nut muffins. 

The glow of the lights on the mantel make me even more excited for the holiday season. In case you missed it, we blogged a tutorial for those very lights the other day.

Well, it's Wednesday, I hope your week has been treating you well, and if not…I hope it turns around for you. There's still time right? :) 

Thanks so much for popping in!

xo Jenny… and Aaron says hi!

Friday Favorites

Me and Aaron are spending our Friday night in (big surprise!)...and we're painting. (even bigger surprise!!) But at least this Friday night painting that we're doing is exciting. Bit by bit we've been chipping away at our kitchen re-do, and this evening we're doing one of the final steps of the distressed / sepia washed / rubbed off / spackle-y / old world plaster meets industrial drywall faux finish technique. I'm half serious and half kidding. Those words probably describe it accurately, though it's really fairly simple. You'll see exactly what I mean when I share some pics of the kitchen once things are further along. Tonight we're applying big swaths of creamy white paint using a large plastic spackling knife. It's looking awesome. 

Anyway, when working on tedious, large format painting projects, like faux finishes on walls, you stay motivated by staying inspired. We pull out our collections and pose them in front of their future walls. And sometimes pulling out the inspiration will inspire us to acquire even more inspiration...yep, I've been on Ebay quite a bit since the kitchen re-do commenced. : ) ha!

Also...we've been imagining the fab cooking and baking that will take place in our new kitchen. Aaron says he plans on overcoming his fears of baking (yes, he LOVES to cook...but he's got a baking phobia. He's always fearful that he's gonna screw things up.) Tonight, Aaron said that as soon as we've got the kitchen all done and hooked up, he wants me to give him "Baking 101" lessons...and he's serious! ha! 

On a related note...he's very excited about the new book out from Trophy Cupcakes. Well, we both are. I've never been to Trophy Cupcakes in person, but I have been an online fan for years! I love her aesthetic...I love when sweets transcend mere dessert and create their own little magical world. Below is a great and totally simple video of hers...one of a few that highlights the great stuff in her book. Aaron said he can't wait to master a piping bag. ha! I too cannot wait for him to lose his fear of baking. We're gonna have so much fun in our new kitchen!  

Like I said...we're working on the kitchen...and checking out fab kitchen stuff is what has been keeping us motivated. Here's something that is super cute...and you can take it home and actually put it to use. I love coming across adorable utilitarian things like this.

The "Pretty Pastel Decorating Kit" from Layer Cake Shop comes with a whole bunch of their favorite edible bits and baubles. Check out the cute little video below. What an awesome gift to get the sweet lover in your life.

The incredible vintage celluloid charm collection of Myko Bocek absolutely blows my mind! I LOVE what these look like. Anything that was once white has turned a faded creamy tone with age. In fact, all of the colors have been perfected with age. The yellows are so warm, and the pinks are so pale. The pastels are just so pretty in contrast to the bright candy colors.

I truly adore them.

Seriously, I'd treasure a necklace bearing just one charm. 

I can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like to be in the presence of all of these. Is this incredible or what? And this isn't even close to the full collection! wow!

This image slays me. The lighting...those walls...the pink trim. Just stop.

You know what I could spend and entire day doing? I could sit back, stare at this image, and imagine it being populated with all of my favorite things...my furniture, collectibles, many tables of sweets...both faux and real. And while we daydream we will also pretend that we live in a world where there is no such thing as lead paint. : )

Me and Aaron have been fans of Cy Twombly for a very long time. We associate our discovery of his work with the early years of our relationship...we're talking 1994 through 97...we'd spend so many of our weekends and evenings in NYC. As soon as the weather was warm we'd head into the city and traipse the streets for hours and hours...lots of shopping...lots of just looking. Anyway, on one of our trips to MoMA we stumbled across a Cy Twombly retrospective and fell in love with his work. So many of the pieces were such large format...some canvases were twenty feet long and twelve feet high!...anyway, seeing them in person like that was an amazing experience. And it's so cool that after all these years we connect with his work in the same way...and even more so. We didn't know the future of our art career back then, and there's something magical about recalling those early days of the two of discover artists together. So...I just came across this Art of Cy Twombly book, titled The Natural World: Selected Works, 2000-2007. You should check it out. And jeez...if an exhibit ever comes to your city...you must see his work in person.

Ok...thanks for checking out my Friday Faves! I hope you have a fabulous weekend. We're really gonna try to get our kitchen walls done...once and for all!

xo, Jenny...and Aaron says hi!