Life Lately...

It's hard to believe that this week is almost over…it totally flew by. We have so many projects going at once, that our heads are kinda spinning. We're simultaneously working on orders, doing some custom designs, finishing up house "stuff", and getting ready for Art Is You in Connecticut…which is in a month! We're so excited for that! We love everything about Art Is You. 

Earlier today we finished the above cake. It is for a very special super exciting and fun event. I'm going to have to be a little vague here just in case the recipients wants to keep the detail of the event under wraps until the unveiling. But we promise to share more pics and details very soon. We feel like this is the ultimate CAKE. It's design just says "Celebration". It could easily be a wedding cake, or a super duper sweet 16 cake, or a Quinceañera cake. Think of the three tiers and those piped buttercream roses as the starting point…beyond that the customization possibilities are endless.  

It's BIG, just in case you can't tell from the above pic. I hope to snap a better pic tomorrow. Today it was gloomy and grey here, so the photo above isn't very crisp...but you get the idea.

The group of cakes we're working on have lots of piping. Very much in the style of vintage Wilton cake decorating books. We will be shipping these special pieces off tomorrow, but I promise to take more pics! And we plan on adding a few of them to our regular shop offerings! 

Working on so many different projects all at once is totally putting us in the mindspace we'll need to be in for the upcoming holiday season. Do you remember our Starlet ornaments? Well they were so incredibly popular last year that we could barely keep up with the orders. So many of you had asked if they'd be back this year…and the answer is Yes!…they'll be in stock, along with a handful of new designs! Lots more ornaments…definitely some macarons, more cupcakes, kitty cats, doughnuts, etc.

I'm not sure if I shared this pic a while back. These are vintage Stanley Home cookie cutters. It must have been another very gloomy day when I snapped this pic. When I shared this pic on Instagram it started the best conversation.  All of us were trying to solve the mystery of the guy in the bottom left-hand corner. Is he a Dutch boy? And what's with the cowboy-at-high-noon stance?

Some were saying that he must be "Mr. Stanley". And some figured that he's a gingerbread man. And a few people said that they owned this set, but in place of the "Dutch-gingerbread-Stanley-showdown-cowboy" their sets included an Astronaut. Which is equally strange!

So, if you look at this pic that I shared the other day of an aqua set that I just found…you can see the Astronaut. And if this pic were part of a grade school IQ quiz that asked "which cookie cutter doesn't belong?"…the answer would be: the Astronaut! 

All of the others are holiday themed! That bunny is my fave…and jeeez, I love the Valentine…and the Jack-o-Lantern! I also own a birthday cake cutter in this same color. Do any of you own these? I know there is also a red set. I love these!

Ok, gotta go back to work. We are really cramming to get a bunch done tonight so that we can ship a big batch of boxes tomorrow. Wish us luck! 

Thanks for popping in!

xo Jenny…and Aaron says hi!

Ice Cream, Macarons, and a little make over

Weather is a HUGE deal for me and Aaron. Or I should say seasons are a huge deal. As soon as the temp warms up, and we can keep the windows open all day long, we both seem to come alive. We're instantly more productive, and we finally can find the time and energy to realize all of the ideas we had been storing up all winter (we do the opposite of those squirrels with their nuts). 

The past couple weeks have been paint filled and positive. On some days we could start a project from scratch in the morning and have it photographed and in the shop by early afternoon. That would never happen in January or February. For some reason, the birds chirping in the trees, and the sound of itty bitty kids gleefully screaming on the playground down the block, inspires us to create. Well that, and the sunshine...and not having to blow into our fists to warm our fingers up. It was a crappy winter...but so far it's been a glorious Spring. The requisite Jersey humidity has not yet kicked in...and for that we are super thankful. 

I guess we express our thanks by painting a whole lotta new stuff!

This Ice Cream pennant is our latest finished piece. Again, this is something I sketched up ages ago but could never find the time to bring to life. I'm a huge fan of vintage souvenir pennants. I loved going on class trips, or daytrips with my mom, or vacations with the whole family, and coming home with a pennant from whatever touristy place we had visited. 

So the idea for the Ice Cream pennant was to capture the feel of those souvenir pennants, but to celebrate a classic summertime treat instead of a tourist destination or sports team. We definitely root for Team Ice Cream. 

And yes...or I should say Yaaaaaaassssss! Macaron diecuts are finally here. We always wanted to paint a trio of 'em, so we started with the pink one that you see above, and told ourselves that we'd get around to doing the other two in maybe a few days or a week from now.

But as soon as we saw this one done, we said 'nope...we cannot wait.'

And so right away we painted an aqua w/ chocolate ganache version.

And pretty much before the paint was dry on the aqua one, we then did a chocolate/chocolate version. We love how they look up on our wall. Like giant flying macarons are coming in for a gentle landing. If UFOs looked like these I'd drive to Roswell tomorrow and wait in the desert with upraised arms. 

And by the way...if you're interested...all this stuff and more is now in the shop. And there is still time to take advantage of our 20% off sale. Just use code: PIZZAPARTY.

And somehow, I've even been able to find time for some little personal projects! I picked up this super adorable piece when we were at Art is...You in Tennessee. Our friend Lesley was at the vendor table directly next to ours, and she gave this to me for a steal. When I originally brought it home and looked at it with all my stuff, I considered keeping it as-is...unpainted. I really love the look of the old wood. As-is it looks exactly how it would look if you pulled it out of a dusty attic...and I'm all about the dusty attic thing. But then I put a pic on Instagram and asked what everybody else thought I should do with it. In my head I was pretty much 50/50 on whether or not I'd paint it. But an overwhelming number of friends said I should paint or do something else creative with it. So, I took the pro-painting response as a little boost, and over the past couple days I got it done. 

First off...that roof could never ever remain one solid color. Those squares were just screaming out to be "tile-ized". I love the random pattern of colors...varying shades of pink, some tan, some black. And little dollhouse-esque compartments like these lend themselves perfectly to collage backgrounds. I used some pages out a ledger from 1905!, some amazing little patches of vintage pink floral wallpaper, and a couple fave vintage photographs. Notice that I put the car pic where the garage would be!

 A hint on fitting your little squares of paper ephemera into their respective cubbies: always cut them a little small instead of trying to wedge them in there perfectly. In the end, a tiny space around the paper won't matter. And plus, after I sealed the whole piece with a clear coat and let it dry, I then brushed an antique wash (I actually call it a "dirt wash") into all the nooks and crannies. When the wash settles in around the outer edges of your collaged backgrounds it looks perfect.

I'm definitely happy that I painted it.

Ok, just wanted to stop in for a quick progress report. I still have to share all the pics and details from the Country Living Fair. I'll be back very soon. In the meantime, we hope the season is treating you guys well. If you need us, we'll probably be painting.

xo, Jenny...& Aaron

Around here...

Hello everyone! Just wanted to pop in on this fantastic Saturday to kinda sum up the week over here. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday and we're possibly going to head to the boardwalk. We've got more warm weather in store for the next couple days so we're definitely gonna try to get outside. A highlight of this past week was the arrival of my new favorite shirt, seen above. If it looks familiar , it was a Friday Favorite a few weeks ago. When I said I needed it...I really meant it. It most certainly is a fitting phrase for myself. And its super comfy. A few gals told me they'd love to get one for themselves. Word to the wise...it runs a bit big and is a loose fit. So make sure to check the sizing guide before ordering. 

So this has been the scene over here the past few days. Lots of orders have gone out to happy new homes. All sorts of things! prints, stickers, plaques, signs, diecuts... nothing makes us happier! This stage of progress that you see above is the moment right before we start to fill the boxes. This is our time to double check everything all at once.

Wrapping orders up is seriously a favorite thing. Everything gets wrapped in pink and tied with baker's twine. We had to do the wrapping on the kitchen table due to every other surface in the house being taken. We had signs and diecuts drying on any flat space we could find.

I snapped this pic of Aaron to show just how big our larger prints are. We offer our prints in a few sizes, the 8x10 within an 11x14 mat is the most popular, but these large prints are great as a statement piece. A perfect way to really establish a theme for a room, or a bakery, or for a kid's room. The large print is 11 x 14 and fits a 16 x 20 frame. And definitely, the vintage pink mixer you see above is a customer fave! 

And guess what!?  Our "The Sweet Life" order arrived the other day and everything is now listed in the shop! Quantities are limited and we've already sold a bunch, so if you've been waiting...grab some goodies now! The resin pieces are so great! So fun seeing our paintings in this form! So many possibilities! And the 6 x 6 paper pads are too cute for words! And don't get me started on the treat bags or journaling cards! ha! I love it all I guess!

The windows were actually open today. Which is such a welcomed change form the past few cold days. Today the sun was shining bright and it made the workday way more pleasant. I like to be able to bounce around from project to project. So while orders dried I worked on a few personal projects. Including these collaged stacking stools that I started about 4 years ago! ha! I just set them aside for some reason and only now have I decided to get them finished up. Better late than never right?  I'll share pics of them when I finish them completely. Hopefully it wont take another few years.

And due to the sunshine outside Aaron got to do lots of cutting out on the deck. This is our trusty scroll saw which is responsible for the precision cutting of our diecuts.

Here we have an ice cream cone, an extract bottle, a cupcake, and a plate of cupcakes. We love working with wood! I grew up in my father's wood shop, so sawdust is in my blood.

We took a break from working to make one of our favorite meals. We call it the Harissa bowl. We got the idea from Sarah over at House in the Hills. It is so incredibly delicious. In this bowl are roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower that get tossed in Harissa spices before roasting. The roasted veggies are then served over coconut basmati rice with currants. Add a side of sautéed lime spinach, top with avocado, and yummmmmm. The balance of flavors and texture is so comforting. You won't believe that something so tasty can be so good for you. 

And finally...a pic of these two little nuts just for the heck of it. Jack's little "hand" get's raised if he's asking you for something. And I think Carlos has a perpetually blurred tail! ha! 

I hope you are enjoying your weekend so far! We may pop in tomorrow to say hi, but if not...Happy Easter friends!

xo Jenny...& Aaron says hi!