Found & Made Designs

2009-11-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for Christmas? I know I'm not but with only 45 days left to shop then why not head out to Patchwork Long Beach on November 29th and grab some yummy handmade goodness.

Stop by my booth and say hi:)

H♥

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

H♥

2009-10-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

amazing.....

H♥

2009-10-26T23:44:00.001-07:00

I've been looking for a new series of books to dive into and escape reality for awhile. I've heard good things about these Sookie Stackhouse books. Anybody read these?

H♥

2009-10-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

A wonderful customer of mine wrote on her blog recently about the journal necklace that she bought from me at Renegade LA. She's turned it into an artist autograph book of sorts. Amazing artwork by artists from all over adorn the pages that hang around here neck.

Brilliant!

{{Read about it here.}}

H♥

It's roller derby, baby!!

2009-10-05T23:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late in the game but I saw Whip It yesterday and absolutely loved it. Makes me want to dig out my skate and kick some butt!!

Love Drew Barrymore.

Love, love Ellen Page.

So cute:)

H♥

Yee-haw!

2009-10-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I decided to venture out to Silverado Canyon's Wild West Fest on Sunday. For those of you who don't know, Silverado Canyon is a small, out of the way rural community smack dab in the middle of Orange County. Surrounded by mountains and cactus, it provided the perfect setting for this wonderful event and the cooler weather helped, too. Local artists, live music and yummy food. Who could ask for more??

We decided to buy this adorable little cactus for our balcony. We named her Stella :)

The day ended with a really big full moon that lit up the whole night sky. {{Gorgeous}}
_{(Okay, so my camera sucks at taking moon pictures. Oh, well.)}

H♥

{{{ fall }}}

2009-09-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

So, it's the first day of fall but you would never know it here in California with our 100 degree temps.

I decided to look online for my favorite fall items that would get me in the mood and hopefully bring on the cooler temperatures.

1.) pumpkin spice chai from Starbucks. yum-yum.

2.) beautiful fallen leaves. I don't think the trees around here have gotten the message.

3.) big, soft & cuddly sweaters preferably this one from Anthropologie.

4.) these yummy boots. {{swoon}}

5.) this adorable print by danitashop or pretty much any of her work because it's GORGEOUS!

6.) and of course you've got to have a knitted or crocheted hat. I've fallen in love with this one from pixiebell. big enough to accommodate future dreadies :)

H♥

Lovely....

2009-09-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

I've been busy all week working on some new items for the shop. I did, however, take a break yesterday to watch this sunset from my balcony.

{{ b.e.a.utiful }}

H♥

Zombie Love ♥

2009-09-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

So my daughter heard about this movie from a friend and we decided to rent it last night. The movie's called Fido and it came out a couple of years ago. It's rated R but canada must have a different way of rating their movies because it was way more PG than R. Super cute and well worth the rental.

H♥

crazy dogs

2009-09-05T20:55:00.001-07:00

We've been having a heatwave for the past two weeks. It's been over 100 degrees. I've been staying cool in my air conditioned house but my dogs think the balcony is where its at. In the direct sun, no less.

{Cute but not too bright, if you ask me}

H♥

proud mama :)

2009-09-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my son was baptised in the ocean at Corona del Mar. It was blistering hot, even at the beach. Lots of people came from all over Orange County to be baptised. It was pretty amazing.
I'm so proud of my son and the personal desicion he made. He's such a wonderful young man :)

H♥

play ball!!

2009-08-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

My husband and I took two of our kids to the Angel's game on Tuesday. We were one row away from the top which had me a bit nervous but we made the best of it.

The kids ate tons of stadium junk food and I think I ate my weight in peanuts. The Angels lost but we had a really fun time and it was a nice way to end the summer.

H♥

2009-08-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

So I was invited to a scrapbook gathering on Saturday and while I don't really do much scrapbooking I decided to take the time to work on stuff for my other Etsy shop, FoundParts.

I brought with me a box full of books and tediously cut out pictures and pages for my ephemera packs. I worked for what seemed like days carefully assembling each one. I was able to complete eighteen of them!

_{{new completed ephemera packs!}}

H♥

Vita-mix giveaway!!!

2009-08-19T00:15:00.000-07:00

The green smoothie drinkers must have kitchen appliance. I don't have one myself but hoping someday I will. Click here for your chance to win one of these fabulous machines! I sure did ;)

a healthy challenge

2009-08-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

I joined this challenge last year and haven't stopped since. It's a wonderful, simple way of looking at food and how you eat. Just start your day with a green smoothie and you'll automatically want to eat better though out the day.

I've gotten so much energy from going raw. I'm not 100% raw but that's by choice. I still have a little dairy once in a while and I cook my quinoa and such but I stay away from all the chemically laden foods that are out there.

I bought these great glasses today for my smoothies. The plastic container that I've been using is really hard to clean. These will be perfect and they're made with post-consumer recycled glass. Now I need to find some cool new straws :)

H♥

dog + shoes = HANDSTAND!!

2009-08-12T23:20:00.001-07:00

This is our little dog Emma. She loves to dress up but when mommy bought her some cute little booties for a snow trip we were taking she decided dress up wasn't fun anymore.

This video is a few years old but it still makes me smile.

H♥

p.s. - that's my mom laughing in the background not me :)

Meet Mckenzie....

2009-08-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I love this girl :)

I rarely get pictures of my daughter because she hates them (like mother like daughter) but yesterday she let me snap a few when we were outside with the dogs.

Mckenzie is my middle child. She's 16 and going to be a junior in high school. She is an AMAZING artist with a big future ahead of her. Very much into anime, she would like to travel to Japan after high school. She's a very down to earth and grounded young lady. I feel very proud to know we created this wonderful human being that will one day go out into the world and make it a better place.

H♥

2009-08-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

I've been eyeing this cute mushroom bird feeder at Target for a couple of months now and on a recent trip there with my daughter she offered to buy it for me. *So sweet* I love it. Now I'm hoping the birds will like it, too.

H♥

Condo living

2009-08-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

About six years ago we decided to jump at the chance to get in on the great mortgage rates and bought a condo. It was supposed to be our starter home and now with the home prices dropping so low it looks like we'll be here for awhile. I do love our little place but hate the fact that we don't have a yard. We're limited to our front porch. We actually buy one sheet of sod every week that we put out there for our little dogs. I would love to someday have a garden.
In the spring, my son and I decided to throw some wild flower seeds in the empty space on the side of the house. It doesn't get very much sun over there so we weren't too optimistic that they would actually go. Well, about a month ago we notice something growing. It grew and grew and we couldn't figure out what it was until we saw little green things hanging from the vines.

TOMATOES!!!

What?!?

I don't know how that happened but we've recently plucked some beautiful red cherry tomatoes. Strange but wonderful :)

H♥

Yummy!

2009-07-31T01:40:00.000-07:00

Look what I got.......

I've been eyeing these cool harem pants for awhile. I finally broke down and bought them. That's a big step for me. Most of my wardrobe is thrift store/estate sale finds. I just don't like spending a lot of money on myself.

*For some reason my stupid camera likes to think these pants are bright purple but they're actually a deep plum color.*

I love them! The only thing I didn't consider before ordering was the elastic size at the calves. I have pretty big, muscular calves and always have so they're a little tighter than I'd like and I actually might take them to my tailors and see what they can do to adjust them. Other then that, they're perfect. I want more of them now. My son says I look like I'm "carrying a load" but who cares. He's 14. What does he know about style.

If your interested in getting a pair for yourself then you definitely have to check out Thaimodish on Etsy. I have so many of their items in my favorites. My next purchase is going to be one of their blouses. Lovely :)

H♥

New!

2009-07-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Lots of new stuff went into the store today. I've also listed a couple of the vintage fabric necklaces similar to the ones created for Em and T. Get'em before they're gone!

H♥

So sweet :)

2009-07-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

The lovely miss Emily Falconbridge did a nice little write up on her blog about the custom friendship necklaces I created for her and her best friend, Tara. If you don't know who Emily is then you absolutely must read her blog. She is a fabulous artist, mother and all around sweet soul that anyone would be proud to call friend. I had the privledge of taking one of her classes last month. I was happy (& nervous)to finally meet her and I'm sure I made an absolute fool of myself. Sadly, she moved back to Australia a couple of weeks ago. She hopes to be back next January. She will be missed.

H♥

slowww down...

2009-07-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

...should probably be my new mantra.
This was me a few days ago trying to crank out some new scrabble charms. I kind of get in a zone.
Well, I guess working at the speed of light isn't humanly possible. I ended up drilling a hole in my finger.
*Ouch*
Tetanus shot anyone?

H♥

YAY RENEGADE LA!!!

2009-07-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

Lots of fun was had at Renegade L.A. last weekend. The show was in the penthouse floor of the California Market Center. We had a wonderful panoramic view of downtown Los Angeles. Nice and air conditioned :)

I worked really hard the past couple of months getting enough product together for this show and I'm so glad I did. We sold a LOT of stuff. Thanks to all of the wonderful customers that came by to say hi. I really love all of you and I'm so sorry I didn't have the time to talk. Also, thanks to Marz Boutique of Pasadena and Hot Toddy Boutique of Olympia, Washington for their orders. They will now be carrying Found & Made jewelry in their shops! *woohoo*

H♥

ps. - Special thanks to my daughter for putting in the hours with me. I couldn't have done without her :)

coming soon...

2009-07-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Fabulous estate sale find

+ lovely vintage fabrics and beads

= beautiful new jewelry!

I'll have some of these up for sale at Renegade this weekend. Hope to see you there!

H♥

Next up...

2009-06-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

If your in the area, come on by and say "hi"!
(Click on the banner for more info.)

Here's your chance.....

2009-06-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

The lovely Mrs. Emily Falconbridge has offered to give away one of my journal necklaces on her blog. So head on over and leave a comment if your interested in winning this little cutie :)

Isn't he cute??

2009-06-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

So my son is going to a birthday party tomorrow. The girl always says no gifts but I feel she should have something to celebrate her day with. I know she loves owls, so last year I made her an owl necklace which she loved to death (literally, it fell apart because she wore it in the pool all summer long). I fixed it for her but I wanted to give her something a little different this time. I knew I wanted it to be handmade and I wanted to stick with the owl theme so I did a search on Etsy for tutorial/patterns. I came across this adorable little guy and he was perfect because I could use all of the vintage fabrics I've been collecting for years. He was super easy to make and I'm sure many people will be getting these as gifts in the future.

H♥

mi vida loca

2009-06-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

This is what happens in So. Cal. when your stuck in traffic with your daughter. Boredom sets in and the camera comes out.

H♥

I want these :)

2009-06-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

Absolutely GORGEOUS!

H♥

wish list :)

2009-06-14T00:18:00.000-07:00

With the summer heat just around the corner, I've come up with a few things that will help get me though the sweltering months ahead.

This hammock chair tops the list. I can just picture me sitting on my porch drinking lemonade and reading a good book.

This lovely dress from Anthropologie just screams summer.

I live in flip flops pretty much year round so its not like I really need another pair but I love the bright colors of Havaianas. So fun:)

And how about this cool gadget. You can't beat an ice cold slushie on a hot day. Frozen lemonade anyone?

H♥

sniff sniff

2009-06-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

My "baby" graduated the 8th grade on thursday and will now move on to high school in the fall. He has been at the same school since kindergarten so it was a little emotional for us all. He's growing up so fast. I miss my little baby boy but he's turning into such a wonderfully sweet and kind young man. I hope he never changes.
**I love you, Devin!**

H♥

Pretties for me :)

2009-06-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

So I normally go to estate sales with the sole intention of getting things to make new things or picking up stuff to put in my parts store. This time I wasn't having a lot of luck but I did score a couple of pretties just for me.

An adorable little potted succulent plant. The pot is shaped like a nest with these sweet little birds sitting on the edge. I have no clue how to care for it and I tend to kill any plant life that I come into contact with so I'm definitely going to be doing some research online.

These little clay pots. They all fit in the palm of my hand and I think they're handmade. So cute!

H♥

I ♥ Matt and Kim!

2009-06-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

H♥

awwwwww :)

2009-06-05T00:54:00.001-07:00

How cute are these little guys?

They're happily tucked up in the rafters at my sons school. Anytime they see movement they open their mouths wide waiting for food. It really is adorable. Excuse the crudy pictures. I didn't have my good camera with me.

H♥

2009-06-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

New literary necklaces being listed today and through out the week in my Etsy shop. Get 'em before they're gone!

H♥

Holy Cow!!!!

2009-06-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

So my daughter and I went to an estate sale a couple of weeks ago and let's just say they had more than their fair share. I guess the man that lived there was an antique dealer in the 70's and when his store closed he moved it all into his house (and I do mean ALL of it). He then became a hoarder and nothing was ever thrown away.
The people who put the estate sale together said they found a few dead and decomposing opossums under some of the piles and a huge bee hive in the shed.
What you don't see in these pictures is the house which was full of more stuff. There was also two sheds, two workshops, and a garage all of which were filled to the brim. We had to climb over stuff to get to other stuff. It was ridiculous.

When I was going through the books I had to actually stand on a pile of books on the floor that was about four feet tall just to get to the shelves.

I don't think I've ever seen so much crap in all of my life. We came away from there feeling so gross but we did end up with some good finds.
H♥

Yummy goodies :) -------------------->

I'm back!

2009-05-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a while but life kind of got in the way. I'm going to try really hard to make blogging a priority. I'm probably going to be back tracking a couple of weeks just to get you caught up on a few things.

First off, my daughter took me to get my nose pierced for Mother's Day. I've been wanting to do it for sooo long but always chickened out. Anyone that tells you "it doesn't hurt" is LYING!! But the pain took a backseat when the sheer thrill of having a nose ring took over :)

WOO HOOO!!!!

2008-08-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

I just found out from a customer that Glamour magazine blogged about one of my rings!!! I'm so excited!! I actually ended up selling that ring and another smaller one today. I really needed some good news and this has definitely been GOOD!!!

Vintage ephemera anyone??

2008-08-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

I'm going through a deep clean of my studio and I've just got MOUNTAINS of supplies everywhere. Literally boxes full. So I've decided to share the wealth and hopefully pay some bills at the same time.

I've put together packs that contain 30+ whole pages and pieces taken from dictionaries, medical books, childrens books, old handwritten letters, comics, advertisements, card games, maps, stamps, old receipts, tickets stubs and list goes on and on and on. I'm also going to be adding a game piece pack soon, too.

So stop by my other shop ( www.onceloved.etsy.com ) and check them out!

♥H

Front Page!!!!!

2008-08-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo!!!! I was doing the happy dance when I stumbled upon this. I just thought I'd share my excitement with everyone.

♥H

100 year old treasures!!

2008-07-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I drove to Los Angeles today for the most amazing estate sale. This house was over 100 years old and stuffed to the brim with goodies. I think this might have been the coolest house I've ever been in. Beautiful original hardwood floors, tin ceilings in the kitchen, built in bookcases and dressers in almost every room, claw foot tubs and porceline hot and cold knobs on the sinks and so much more. I was in awe. There were little doors in some of the rooms that when opened led down to hidden areas in the house which were off limits to shoppers but cool nonetheless.

After about 3 hours going through the house, garage and backyard (and about 3 layers of dirt on my hands) I came away with some really cool stuff. Some of it will be listed in my new shop (onceloved) and others will be made into one-of-a-kind pieces for my foundandmade shop.

These aren't the greatest pictures (mostly garage)but it gives you an idea of some of the great pieces that were available. The stuff in the picture below is some of my great finds.

If your in the LA area or are willing to drive a bit like I did, then head over to 1537 Council St, LA. Saturday is the final day and it runs from 8 - 2pm. There's a lot of old furniture too for CHEAP and probably even cheaper later tomorrow.

♥H

work, work, work

2008-07-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, it's been a while since I've posted and I'm truely sorry.

I've been working my little fingers to the bone just to get some new stuff in the store and complete my wholesale orders. I also opened a second Etsy shop called Once Loved. The new shop's going to help me clean out my studio which is busting at the seams. I have this problem with collecting to much "junk" thinking that I'll use it creatively someday and deep down inside I know that it will never happen but I just can't pass this stuff up when I find it at estate sales and such.

So if you love vintage like I do then mosey on down to www.onceloved.etsy.com.

Bye for now ♥

New stuff.....

2008-06-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

I've been working my fingers to the bone to make some new stuff for the store. I'll be adding a few new pieces everyday. Check 'em out!

Bust!!

2008-06-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

No, not breasts.....Bust magazine! I got an Etsy co-op spot in the August/September issue that hits the newsstand July 22nd. I'm pretty stoked. I'm hoping it will bring new people to my store. It was hard picking an item to feature but I finally decided on one of my new poker chip necklaces. I'm doing an Alice in Wonderland series, so I picked one if those. I can't list it until the issue comes out but I thought I'd give you guys a sneak peek.

New adventure...

2008-05-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

My mom and I decided to take a trip down to Temecula to a Barn Sale by La Maison Rustique today. It was HOT(about 103 degrees) but that didn't stop us. They had the most wonderful set up in an adorable old barn. Lots of yummy antiques to be had and I noticed a couple of Etsy sellers items, too. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find anything that I really could use but I was tempted to buy something just for the hell of it(my wallet said "no"). It was still worth the hour and a half drive and I would do it again(hopefully when I have more funds to spend).

New!!!!

2008-05-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

So here's the first of many more to come. I worked all weekend on finishng these necklaces and I'm quite pleased at how they turned out. I'm hoping to add a couple a day to the website. I think I have about 20 of them so far and more waiting for the resin to cure. I hope they sell. I think they're pretty darn cute, if you ask me. My photography skills don't give them justice.

What do you think??

Sneak Peek.....

2008-05-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at some new pieces that I've been working on. The resin has been poured and I'm hoping to start listing these "cuties" next week. Stay tuned!!

Happy 20th........

2008-05-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

to us!!! My husband and I drove down to San Diego on April 27th to spend the day together for our anniversary. We enjoyed an entire day alone without teenagers. It was wonderful! I took this picture of us on the U.S.S. Midway. It's a Navy carrier that they retired and turned into a museum. It's a self guided tour (notice the lovely headphones around our necks) and it took about 2 1/2 hours to see it all. My husband was like a kid in a candy store but I think I enjoyed it just as much as he did. We also went antique shopping and to Old Town which is a little western like town with some wonderful museums. We ended our day strolling along the shoreline on Coronado Island. Unfortunately, my cameras battery died before we got there so I don't have any pictures of the gorgeous sunset but all in all it was a wonderful day. I just hope we don't have to wait another 20 years to do it again. :)

too many.......

2008-04-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm running out of room. I need more space for my books or should I say more bookshelves. What I really want is a studio away from home. A place to get away from the husband, kids and dogs(o.k., so maybe not the dogs). Someplace to call my own. Someday. A girl can dream....can't she???

New!!

2008-04-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to make some new stuff using the old buttons and baubles that I found. This one was just added to the shop today.

BON JOVI!!!!!!!

2008-04-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

My husband and I went to his concert Friday night for an early anniversary celebration. It was AMAZING!!! I absolutely loved it. Next time he comes to town I'm going to pay the big bucks and get one of the coveted floor seats. If you were a teen in the 80's then you definitely have to see Bon Jovi in concert. I'll never forget it.

Coming Soon!

2008-03-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

Spring is definitely here in Southern California. It was 95 degrees on Easter sunday!! I thought that it was definitely time to add some color to my Scrabble Charms. This little cutie features fabric salvaged from an estate sale quite awhile back. I'm not much for bright colors but this one stood out and I knew I could make it work somewhere. I'm hoping to use other fabrics that I've collected over the years and have a whole new line of cute and colorful charms.

Button, Button.......

2008-03-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

...whose got a button?? I DO!!!! Oh boy, do I. My late grandfather owned a costume shop and when it was being sold I was able to go through and pick out some goodies. He had an old chest(falling apart, filthy) that was stuffed in storage and it was full of buttons, spools of thread and just plain old dirt....literally. I cleaned it out and was able to fill three large ziploc bags and an old chocolate tin. Now I just have to come up with some new "pretties" using these buttons.

SPRING IS HERE!!!

2008-03-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

Well actually, I live in California so we really don't get bad weather but it's nice to see flowers blooming everywhere. Last year the flowers were pretty much nonexistent because of the horrible drought we were in but this year we've definitely had our fair share. These pretties are actually growing along the street and I just had to get some pictures to remember them by before the city comes and clears them all out. I hate when they do that. Someday I'll move to where there's fields of wild flowers everywhere and opossoms aren't the only wild life around. Wishing and hoping...........

My pound puppy.....Emma

2008-03-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

Emma was a scrawny, malnourished, abused little doggie that desperately needed to be rescued from the animal shelter. She's been with us for two years now and she's a total love. She still has some issues though like Epilepsy (probably from being kicked in the head by her previous owners) and she's scared of anyone that is not one of the people that lives in HER home but other than that she is a wonderful addition to our family.

waiting..waiting..waiting...

2008-03-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

I took a picture of some of my glass pieces waiting to be soldered. Some of them are completed and on Etsy. I tend to do things in bulk. Pictures, copper tape, solder, etc. Makes me feel like I'm accomplishing more.

Great find!!!

2008-03-12T12:03:00.001-07:00

Look at these little metal flowers that I found in one of the jars from the estate sale. There's 12 of them. I have no idea what they would have originally belonged to but they will definitely make some pretty little earring, I'm sure.

My birthday tulips

2008-03-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

My mom gave me these beautiful tulips for my birthday. I have them on the dining room table for everyone to see. I just had to take a picture of them reaching for the sun coming through the window. Thanks, Mom!!!

Found treasures

2008-03-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a sampling of some of the wonderful items I was able to find at an estate sale this last weekend. My daughter came with me and it was definitely an adventure. We actually had to park a block away and walk to the rural property. When we got there, there were about 50 people in front of us and it was 5:30am! I guess people had slept on the ground overnight just to be the first in line. The property was huge! There was a 3 bedroom house, 2 outbuildings and a barn packed to the ceiling. It was a lot of fun and I was able to stick to my $40 budget. I got a big stack of old falling apart books, old glass bottles, carpenters rulers(just can't pass those up) and jars full of wonderful odds and ends that I have yet to go through but I just know that there's treasure in there.

Welcome!!

2008-03-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

So here it is.

My first blog post.

I've been wanting to start a blog for a while now but I always felt like I wouldn't have anything interesting to say. I read quite a few blogs and the artists all have this wonderful way of expressing themselves and I didn't know how I was going to measure up. I just had a birthday (38...yuck) last week and I realized that time is not going to stand still and wait for me to be ready, so here I am.

Heather from California. Married (almost 20 years!), 3 teenagers, 2 dogs and a wonderful little business called Found & Made Designs. :)