November in a Nutshell

Well, I must say that I´m sorry the blog has been rather quiet this month. My computers decided to randomly quit working, which has made blogging rather difficult. And while it was nice to spend a little time away, I´ve missed this blog and I can´t wait to get back to it.

While I've been away, I've been doing a lot of interesting and fun things. I've starting planning, budgeting, and preparing for 2012. I have a few new features planned for the blog, brand new packaging for the goodies in my shop, original DIY projects, and so much more!

For now, I thought I would share some Instagrams so you can see what the heck I've been up to all month long. (I promise some real photographs soon!)

(from left to right, top to bottom)

rainy days in the jungle, setting up art for Daniel's interview

a sneak peak of a dress in the shop, an amazing pouch & bag I made

some amazing mushrooms, dreamers going in the shop

my new cactus buds, baby bear on the couch

an incredible drawing I did, my first sale in the shop!

quartz & agate stones that we bought, my new morning routine: coffee & to do lists

Right now, I'm working on doing a shop update & sale to celebrate the new year! This update is going to be rather small because it's really just a teaser for the more awesome things coming later in 2012! 

I'll be back very soon with a lot more to share. I hope you're having a great week!

-kaylee

Birch & Bees Online Shop

I've been looking forward to this moment for over a year when I first had the idea of opening my own shop. And finally, it's here! The Birch & Bees Shop is open for business! The selection and styles are fairly wide and sparse, as I'm just testing the waters out. Most of the items in my shop are one-of-a-kind pieces that I won't be reproducing. So, if you see something you like, get it before it's gone!

Birch & Bees Shop

If you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them! I hope your having a wonderful day!

 -kaylee

Studio Tour: Where I Create

I´ve been doing a lot of renovating in my studio, making it more organized and inspiring. There are still 5 or 6 paintings I´m creating now in my spare time to fill more wall space. But for now, I think it´s coming together wonderfully. Of course it can always be better, but for not spending a single penny to organize and decorate this room, I think I did quite well.

Anyways, one of the best parts of this room is the small outdoor garden attached to the back of the room, which is overflowing with beautiful green plants. It´s open and exposed to the house, has high ceilings, and windows facing every direction. Definitely loving this.

-kaylee

My First Pretty Packages

Ta-Da! Isn't it amazing? I'm absolutely in love with them. I hand-made the bags, the card, the tags, the business cards, and everything inside the bags. Can I be really proud? Because I totally am.

The little black and white bags are drawstring and have curved bottoms. It's just the cutest, and my own original pattern, might I add.

These packages, (and a couple others) are being sent off to some very lovely supporters of mine. I'm not showing what's inside, because I don't want to spoil the surprises!

I'm going to be getting really crafty for the next few days. I still have a lot of work to do for the shop open in
3 days! I'll be back soon with a ton of wonderful things to share.

Have an amazing & beautiful day!

-kaylee

Sneak Peaks

(from left to right, oldest to newest)

My boys sitting on the couch together. So. Cute. & Driving with Daniel.
My first pretty packages! & Making messes

Setting Goals for 2012 & Making more messes...

A sneak peak of my amazing spare room & Dream-catcher love
A peak at my workspace & Making pretty things for the shop. 

I've been working really, really hard. And it's awesome. It feels really great to be busy, productive, checking things off my lists. Recently, I had to clean out our spare room and convert it into a guest room/storage space. The room was stuffed so full, but I managed to tame the chaos, now it's a beautiful spare bedroom. I'm quite proud of it. (I will share real photos of the room soon.)

My other big project has been getting ready for my shop opening. (6 days until the opening!) I made my first pretty packages. And they are awesome! I'm so pleased with how everything is turning out.
But for now, I must get back to work.

Have a lovely day!

-kaylee

Tunes In The Studio

This album has been on non-stop in my studio. It's the perfect music for me to work to. I just adore it. Each song has something really special, and as a whole, they make an incredible album. Amon Tobin is, in my opinion, one the most talented contemporary musicians. Perhaps in all of electronic music.
And if listening to it isn't enough, I've included a trailer for the live performance of this album.

Now, press play, watch this video, and try to tell me this isn't the most rad thing you've ever seen.

 

Is that breath-taking or what?

-kaylee

DIY Collection: #004

1. Arrow Belt from A Beautiful Mess.

2. Rosette Necklaces from Oh, Hello Friend.

3. Circle Skirt from Cotton & Curls.

4. Braided Friendship Bracelets from I Just Might Explode

5. Striped Cardigan from Elle Apparel

6. Ruffled Shower Curtain from See Kate Sew (Anthropologie-Inspired)

7. Lace Scarf from A Beautiful Mess

Each and every one of these projects is particularly lovely. Honestly, I don't think I can pick a favourite. One project I especially adored was the Ruffled Shower Curtain from See Kate Sew. I've been dying to make one of these since Anthropologie first released theirs. But I'm also smitten for the Arrow Belt from A Beautiful Mess. They're all so wonderful!

If you decide to make one of these projects, be sure to give the creator of the project lots of love for sharing!

-kaylee

Handmade Business Cards

With my shop opening approaching rapidly, I decided to "DIY" my own business cards. Now, I'm not going to pretend like these are the most amazing handmade cards, but they are pretty sweet! I created the designs in Photoshop, printed them out, cut them, and sewed the edges with my sewing machine.

The back panel of these cards are Banana Paper, all ready for me to paint and write/draw something. On one of them, I drew a couple dream-catcher necklaces and a sun-dress. There are a lot of fun possibilities.

When I was making these I learned a lot about making homemade business cards. I think I'm going to take pictures after I make another batch, and I'll write up a DIY post on it.

It's funny, now that I have these cards in my hands, it feels so much more real. I'm very excited to see how this goes! Just a reminder, my shop is opening on November 1st, 2011. I'm going to have so many lovely things to share. (I can't wait!)

I hope you're having a beautiful day!

-kaylee

Recently

(from oldest to newest)

A sneak peak at my new cards, A gift I made for Daniel, Our turtles are getting really big, Decorating and such, Walking in the rain, Our newest collection of giant fake diamonds.

Although I know how much we all love Instagrams, I'm going to try and take some "real" photographs of what I've been doing. Which mostly consisting of fabrics, choosing the perfect lace, rummaging through jars of supplies, and making colour schemes. I also have a ton of new projects finished and more in the works!

How is your October going? What are you working on?

-kaylee

Card Designs

 

For the past couple months I've been designing a lot of different ideas for my business cards and packaging. Unfortunately, those files no longer exist, so I've had to start over from scratch. The three designs above are a few that I made a couple weeks ago, and thought I would share them

I designed these to match the look of my blog and soon-to-be shop. I love the texture of wrinkled paper and thread. I've already chosen a design and I made a couple cards. I'll share the finished product very soon.

I hope you're having a lovely day!

-kaylee