Halloween Fun...Station #7

Happy Halloween!...A quick post while the "boys" are out trick-or-treating. I'm currently head of candy distribution and "quality control" (a self-appointed, yet very important job). Kolya had a party at school today. Parents were invited to attend and it was fun to see him in his classroom setting. The teacher had set up 10 discovery stations throughout the room including a bat and ghost table (station 1) where you sorted through a large bin of shredded paper to collect little critters, how many pumpkins tall are you? (station 4), and pumpkin decorating (station 6). Kolya and I spent most of our time at Station 7... yes, folks...the snack table.

We stopped home for a quick nap and then were off to a party at the house of a classmate. This family really went all out with a huge buffet, pumpkin decorating, bobbing for donuts (donuts hanging from a string...brilliant), sidewalk chalk, homemade orange play dough, goodie bags etc. We had a fantastic time with friends on a perfect fall day...

Well, my little fire fighter should be back soon and ready to get into his fireman feetie pajamas. Happy Halloween!

New Simply June Business Cards

These sweet cards arrived via the post the other day. I'm loving my new business cards...if I do say so myself. A little vintage...a little retro cherry... some visual texture...they suit me.

I placed my order with Visa Print. I ordered a sample packet and it came directly. They have some of the best pricing out there as well as a good quality and some extra deals if you use the links that they send you...clever. Their site was easy to navigate and they show you a digital proof online that proved to be quite accurate. They also shipped fairly quickly (though I think I paid a bit more to expedite the process because I have some shows coming up). I ordered 1000 and they came packaged up neatly in boxes of 250. There really is nothing more delightful than a freshly printed stack of business cards...

Upcoming Events

Stop by and visit Simply June at some of these upcoming shows. I can't wait to see you there!

Saturday November 3rd - 10am-4pm
10th annual Arts & Artisans Craft Show - Saturday November 3, 2007 from 10 am - 4 pm at The Morse Institute Library. Proceeds to benefit Kids Connect, Inc. Call 508-652-4211 for more info.
14 East Central Street; Natick, MA


Wednesday November 7th - 5:30pm
Fork It Over for Girl Scouts - Wednesday November 7, 2007 ; Doors open at 5:30pm at the Courtyard by Marriott; 75 Felton Street; Marlborough, MA

Join some of the region's best chefs as they cook up unique appetizers and desserts using Girl Scout Cookies as an inspirational ingredient! Each chef will present their masterpiece before a panel of judges in a vest-or-the-best competition. Then it's your turn to indulge! A silent auction and live musical entertainment will round out this exciting event. Tax deductible tickets are $25 each.

Check out the Silent Auction including a Nataliya Silhouette Bag, Fleur Bobbies and Floweret Pin from Simply June.





Saturday November 10th - 9:30am-4:30pm
11th Annual Holiday Art & Craft Faire - Saturday November 10, 2007 from 9:30am - 4:30pm at the Concord Scout House; 74 Walden Street; Concord, MA - More than 30 Fine Artisians






















Sign up on our Mailing List to receive coupons to these great events! Look forward to seeing you!

Vintage Wallpaper

I love all the details and textures of vintage wallpapers. We live in an almost 100 year old house and as we have done various projects we have found bits of wallpaper from years past. I love how wallpaper can really tell the history of your home. We have some great toile in our stairwell that I have to believe is original to the house. Bits of 60's era kitchen wallpaper can be seen behind a drain access in our first floor bathroom. I love bits of history tucked away in old homes. The first six papers pictured, I picked up from Nancy at the Creative Bazaar. But the final two show a great roll that I discovered stashed in the back corner of an attic at a recent estate sale. The home was located in an affluent town and was owned by a watercolor artist. She seemed to have dabbled in a bit of everything (a girl after my own heart). I started on the first floor and then made my way up to the second...finding a custom vintage dress form (you can see it in yesterdays post, but more on that another day) and then a pile of old sketch books and watercolor paper. I piled all of the books and papers in my arms and somehow made my way up into the attic area where I discovered the wallpaper. I finally found a spot to stash my finds and free my hands for more discoveries. I get so excited squirreling away my finds. Jason, however, is convinced that they love seeing me arrive to purchase all of the "junk" that no one else wants. What!?! That is just not possible...

Friends

I'm so thankful for my friends and had the nice treat of dining with two of my dearest at "our place" last night. We try to go out to dinner every couple of months to celebrate life, friendship, birthdays, etc. We always go to the same restaurant where they have these great circular booth areas that are almost like having your own little room within the restaurant. The colors and lighting are cozy and inviting and the food and wine is just delectable. We catch up on each other's busy lives and listen to the good and the bad. The time together is safe and rejuvenating. We have also started the tradition of bringing little goody bags for one another...some gifts funny, some symbolic, favorite new lotions or scents, magazines with recipes to try and share, books that have moved or changed us...always something to remind us and tide us over to our next dinner...

I made one of my favorite skinny scarves for the girls. I forget now where the pattern is from, but posted about it a while back. So, here they are...maybe little reminders that I'm thinking of them...

Vintage Handkerchiefs

I picked up these lovelies from Nancy at the Creative Bazaar the other week. I loved each of these for their colors, designs, cute edging...all delightfully pretty. Everything is so disposable these days...we use so many paper products in our daily lives. Paper towels instead of lovingly embroidered tea towels, boxes of tissues instead of personalized handkerchiefs, vinyl tablecloths replacing table coverings handed down by generation...now of course many a day I say thanks for disposable diapers! Now off to find a cute vintage style blouse with a pocket to tuck my vintage hankies...

Endless creating is happening in the Simply June studio... I have a batch of fleur bobbies in the making, stacks of tote bags cut and ready to be sewn. We have a big lineup of shows coming up. I'll be adding an Event button on the Simply June website soon. Make sure to sign up on our Mailing List to receive special coupons that can be used at our events as well as some online deals for your holiday shopping.

** Simply June's next show will be Saturday, November 3rd in Natick, Massachusetts.

Creative Bazaar

Last weekend we took a trip out to Hyannis, Massachusetts to join with some old friends and new ones for the Creative Bazaar. It was an incredible day of chatting and sharing with other crafters, designers and bloggers. I definitely want to introduce you to some really incredible women...

Simply June's table at the Creative Bazaar. I just found the great vintage coat rack while junkin'...perfect for displaying my new Irene totes and Nataliya bags.

Me with two lovelies .... Creative Bazaar hostess, Melba and Wish Studio's Mindy. It was so nice to see both of them again.














These earrings were a purchase from the delightful Sara at Irreverent Arts... These fun earrings feature vintage medical diagrams...clever! Some of Sara's other pieces are made using glass medical slides...tying here creative side with her medical background.



















I treated myself to this lovely bird necklace from Irreverent Arts.

Melba created a really incredible day...bringing so many women together. Stop over are her blog to read more about what she hopes to do in the future...

I also got a chance to meet and catch up with Kari (Artsy Mama), Jes (Sweet Peas & Junque Revival), Nancy (Cedar Breeze Collectibles), Heidi (Birds of a Feather), Melissa (Yummy Goods) & Jana . Make sure to stop by the shops and blogs of these lovely ladies.

Convert

It's official...after a marathon weekend of The Office, I am an official convert. I'm not sure what took us so long to jump on the bandwagon, but there is no going back now. A couple of weeks ago, we borrowed Season 1 from the library because frankly there wasn't much else available that day. We had watched bits of maybe two episodes in the past and frankly just didn't see what all the talk was about. It was sort of like watching a documentary of inside jokes and we just weren't the cool kids.

Anyway, so we popped the DVD in and committed ourselves to watching a few episodes without any judgement. We liked the first one and then the next...and then of course went into a panic when we realized there were only six episodes in Season 1. (Mad dash back to the library where I thankfully found Season 2.) I would say we were hooked at the end of the first season, but down right obsessed by the end of Season 2.

We finished Season 2 in about a week....I know what you are thinking...total lack of commitment... A few days into watching the second season, I requested Season 3 from our library....however, still no word when we were done on Friday night. So, Saturday morning I checked all of the libraries in our network and we hopped in the Jeep and headed to Sudbury first thing. We headed straight for the DVDs,.. quickly scanned the shelf...It wasn't there! Just then, Jason and I both eye a boy of about 10 or 11 with OUR DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am seriously ashamed to say that I considered bribing the boy. He could not possibly have NEEDED that DVD as much as I did. So, back to the computer...one copy left in our library network about a half an hour away in Acton.

So, back to the Jeep and back on the road...thank you GPS...We made a dash into the library and went straight for the DVD section...it wasn't there! Jason was able to compose himself enough to ask the librarian for help and she directed us to the rental section of more popular DVDs, so Jason, Nikolai and I ran back down the stairs (Nikolai was completely enjoying the hunt...even though he had no real idea what we were doing)...and there it was. I'm quite sure the box glowed as we approached and I snatched it up in my greedy, desperate little hands. We devoured Season 3 in just a weekend...I seriously need to get back to work...

We Like to Draw on Our Walls...




















Drawing on the walls seems to be a natural childhood instinct... So, I painted a chalk board on our kitchen wall this weekend. Nikolai, Jason and I have been having fun drawing fire trucks, police cars and more. It is such a simple project and I was inspired by Lisa's kitchen backsplash and a new friend "Z's" kitchen cupboard. I also thought it looked great with my black and white photography and vintage typewriter. I added a red chair rail for a cleaner look and another bit of color. So, stop by for a visit and color on our walls!

The Creative Bazaar...Four Points by Sheraton, Hyannis, MA

We are keeping busy and gearing up for a number of shows this holiday season. Check out some of our great new designs in the SimplyJune online shop and stop by for a visit at one of our shows in the coming months. Our next show is Saturday, October 13th at the Four Points by Sheraton in Hyannis, MA. For more information and directions, visit the event website at www.justbeconnected.com. Admission is free and Creative Bazaar goody bags will be given to the first 50 customers!

Sign up on our mailing list to receive a valuable SimplyJune coupon for this event!

Soldered Glass Pendant Necklaces

These unique glass pendant necklaces are now in the shop. They each feature my photography as well as vintage paper. All of the materials I use are lead-free. Take a peek and feel free to contact me if you are interested in a custom piece.

I'm working on stocking the shop for the holiday season. I am also lining up a number of local shows happening in the next few months. I will be listing those on the Simply June website soon. I hope you will all stop by for a visit!

Vintage Tablecloth Quilt

I know I've blogged about this beauty before, but this vintage tablecloth quilt if finally up in the Shop... I just love this one. The white is so crisp and the colors so vivid. I choose only tablecloths in the best vintage condition and this particular one is made from a very heavy woven cotton. I used natural 100% cotton batting and 100% cotton fabric for the backing. The entire piece is sewn by hand including the binding. I love the hand stitching as it adds a wonderful quality that just can't be replicated by machine. So, it is up in the shop now and sure to become a family keepsake.

Shop Updates

Two new Nataliya-Silhouettes have made their way into the shop today. You will also find some other goodies that will be making their debut shortly including photo pocket mirrors, handmade bias tape and soldered pendant necklaces.

Check out Nataliya - Silhouette on location on the South Shore...

Woven Garment Labels

Our new labels arrived from Fancy Weaver! As a small indie business you really have to pinch your pennies when it comes to custom labels, packaging, etc. On the other hand, it is so important to portray a unified look and quality in both your work and branding. I know woven garment labels are the topic of many blog posts that I read...along with many great tutorials on making your own. When I first started Simply June, I searched high and low on the internet and finally found a company in Australia that would do short runs of black labels with white text (a rarity for some reason in short run options). I was generally happy with my labels and the price, but had limited font choices. In our case, Simply June in its specific font with 'June' italicized is our logo. So, from there I decided to make my own labels and had a custom rubber stamp made. I used fabric ink on twill tape, heat set it and then treated the cut edges for fraying. I was actually really happy with the result, but the time consuming process of making them was discouraging. So, back to my search... I then stumbled upon Fancy Weaver on Ebay... 200 labels, any font, black with white text, heat cut, $35 and no shipping! What did I have to lose? They just arrived the other day and my next order is sure to be much bigger. They are high quality, nicely packaged and the company is great at communicating and sending proofs. Spread the word!

New Nataliya - Silhouettes in the shop soon!

justBe...Connected

Check out this amazing event coming up in October in Hyannis... This incredible weekend for creative bloggers offers opportunities to meet other bloggers from all over as well as an exciting selection of workshops...and a Creative Bazaar! Make sure to stop and visit Simply June at this event...we can't wait to meet you!

justBe...Connected will gather Creative Blogger

& other like-spirited souls together

for friendship, food, fun, workshops,

and a fabulous Creative Bazaar open to the public

October 12-14, 2007

at the Four Points by Sheraton Hyannis, MA

***

The Creative Bazaar is an indie craft fair

taking place during justBe...Connected

on Saturday, October 13, 2007

*vendor spaces available for The Creative Bazaar.

***

Long, Lazy Days of Summer

We haven't gone anywhere...just enjoying some long, lazy days at the beach... It is hard to believe that summer is quickly coming to an end. I suppose I say this at the change of each season, but there is something about summer that makes you take one more glance back...to squeeze a few more sun-drenched days with nothing to do.

Around the house, we are preparing for the first day of pre-school! Nikolai has been strutting his stuff with his new backpack and school clothes. In celebration of being such a big boy, he also moved into his new bed. It is a flashy red fire truck complete with a light! Very cool in his 3 year old world!

I'll leave you with some pictures of Lucas basking in some beach sun. This dog KNOWS how to kick back...

New Reinforced Bases

The Nataliya Bag received an update this week... new reinforced bases. All future Nataliyas as well as the ones in our shop will have this added structure insert in a matching or coordinated fabric....giving the bags more structure so that you can stow more of your daily necessities.

Our new Irene tote is in the works, so keep your eye on the shop for its arrival in the next month.

Grilled Chicken with Chimichurri

Last night we had the Grilled Chicken with Chimichurri...a slight variation on Susan Spungen's recipe in Recipes, a collection for the modern cook. This made Jason's top ten list and a must for the next time we have guests. It was fabulous and I prepared Spungen's Potato Tostones and an organic vegetable medley to accompany it. I loved the grilled chicken balanced with the cool chimichurri...perfect for a summer evening meal. Though, I must warn you...major "shallot breath" afterward. Jason and I decided this must be said with a Scottish accent ... picture Shawn Connery...sounds much more sophisticated that way.

Chimichurri...garlic, shallot, parsley, cilantro, oregano, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, white wine vinegar, olive oil

Tea for Two

Nikolai and I are on a baking spree inspired by Jennifer Appel's Buttercup Bakes at Home. It includes over 75 recipes from Buttercup Bake Shop in Manhattan. I popped by the library the day after receiving some heavenly cookies from Levain and had to grab this book off the shelf. Below are pictured the Banana Blueberry Muffins...blueberries fresh from my parent's garden...featuring the subtle zing of lemon zest. Mmm. These are absolutely delectable served warm. (As a side note, I'm beginning to wonder if Nikolai things it is completely normal to take a picture of your food before you eat it. The little guy is always nipping at my heels waiting for a taste of something we have cooked up and I'm futzing with lighting, props, etc. I can just picture him at pre-school in the Fall waiting for his teacher to take a picture of his snack before he eats it... Oh, golly.)

We have also tried the Caramel-Topped Toffee Pecan Blondies...heavenly. With the smell emanating from the oven, these guys just didn't stand a chance of getting photographed. I'm thinking the almond extract stole the show with these.

Nikolai and I have also been working our way through Susan Spungen's Recipes, a collection for the modern cook. Tonight's dinner will be the Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri and Potato Tostones. I prepared the chimichurri last night so that some could be used as a marinade. However, when I took out the steak that I purchased on Sunday it had spoiled. So, I substituted it with some chicken breasts I had on hand. I think the flavors will still work with the chicken. Earlier this week, we made the Little Black Dress Cake shown in the second photograph. This cake features ground hazelnuts and a Sour Cream Ganache as well as a combined total of 18 oz. of bittersweet chocolate. It is decadent to say the least and worth the various steps to make.

Custom Monogram Onesies

These cuties were a custom order last week for a new set of twins. I love taking custom orders because I enjoy thinking of the recipients while I make something. It reminds me of the Amish custom of quilting bees when all of the women gather to sew a quilt for a soon-to-be-married couple. I like to think of all of the love and good wishes that are sewn with each stitch. Welcome to the world "N" & "K"...