Market Finds! Small Business Profiles- Parcel in Mountclair, NJ

No, I haven't fallen off the edge of the Earth... shoppin' gals'

just absent from blogging for a while - but rest assured - I am back.
I've been working on an OOAK (a one of a Kind Art Doll) that you are soon going to meet. In hunting for little rare knick-knacks with which to embellish her clothing and top hat, I went looking for specialty trims and findings. I was so happy, that I remembered a wonderful, exquisite little shop named Parcel in Mountclair, NJ. It can be a challenge to classify Parcel, but it is well worth the work. Parcel is paper goods store, a magical treasure trove of authentic ephemera and little charms, ribbons, crowns, drawers of findings and pips! Secrets linger in every nook, corner and shelf. Even their website PARCEL is a delight for the curious creative.

So check out my bounty of small delish treats from Parcel and check them out as soon as you can -you wont be sorry!!

Little dancers found in the magical Store Parcel in Mountclair, NJ Treasures from an Earlier Parcel Shopping Spree... so so so so cute! little surprises found at Parcel.... my full bounty collection from Parcel vintage postcards from Parcel cluster of small wonders and pips for my dolls top hat! The Top Hat I made embellished with Parcel finds for my OOAK doll !

So STAY tuned and come back this weekend to meet my OOAK doll, read about the artist that inspired her AND be a part of helping to NAME her!

A Way to Keep Your Secrets of Secrets

Was browsing at Urban and I found this adorable tin ... Made by Blue Q who I've blogged about before with their uber-cute reusable grocery bags as an alternative to those wasteful n pesky plastic bags. Anyhoo I digress, they now have this 'Top Secret' tin and two others, one with the words 'Random Things' written on it and another with a funny vintage cartoon about that illegal substance that some folks like to use for ...medicinal purposes?? Yes well ... how great is this tin and it even comes with an if found card!

Here's what I think you should do - get yourself any tin (but this one is so stylish- watch Amelie (for the umpteenth time if you're like me), don't forget to write your 'if found' card fill the little box with random things - souvenirs from your travel - secret sentimental things - maybe your greatest wish and go bury it somewhere that even you will forget where it is .... Then let's wait n see when n how n if, it ever emerges!

Working with Decals

So since I've become part of the Bliss Women's Co-operative I'be been exploring ways to make my artwork more accessible. The latest technique I've tried are decals and I rather enjoyed the process which was simple and direct enough. I'll be making some for my Etsy shop soon as I revamp all my inventory. Here are some the results:

two large decal plates with my illustrations All the plates I applied decals of my work onto....

New Venue & New Ink Illustrations 2

I'm excited to report that I have joined a new venue, Bliss Co-op in Sugar Loaf, New York.

About Bliss Co-op:

Bliss Co-op is a little boutique in Sugar Loaf NY that features the creative works of local & regional women artisans. It gives an opportunity for those artists who need a little exposure in an artisan village without the risk of opening their own shop. More importantly, the co-op is a network of supportive women with varying talents & business acumen to help each member flourish both as an artist & as an individual.

My work along with that of some extraordinary women/crafters/artisans/makers/designers will be featured in this alternative boutique/gallery starting April 1st AND You're Invited!

GRAND OPENING!!!! APRIL 1st
WHOOO HOOO!!!
Come visit one of the best things happening in Sugar Loaf NY this year, if you don’t mind me saying. Celebrate the women who are living their dream, fulfilling their passion & following their bliss.
Bring your friends & family..heck, grab a stranger. Get in on the excitement.
Open for business 12:00pm -5:00pm Followed by a cocktail party from 5:00pm – 7:00pm

Here is a sneak peek of another one of the new illustrations that I have been working on the Bliss space and the stages of its development.

My Consumption 2 start up PROCESS by m.diaz My Consumption 2 PROCESS2 by m.diaz My Consumption2 Final Draft2 by m. diaz My Consumption 2 detail by m.diaz

Little, BIG Delights that Rock My World, & Might Just Rock Yours!

For this 2011 year I decided that I would have a new category on my site entitled, Little Big Delights dedicated to all the little things that bring me GREAT joy and remind me that being present, globally conscious and appreciative of heart smiles can be mesmerizingly joyful.

Every one of these little things makes a big difference in my days, weeks and months of living. Though these things can sometimes be objects, they are not always- sometimes they are sensations; like the smell of a hot pan with sizzling onions and garlic, or the popping sound of wood as it crackles loudly and madly in the fireplace or a warm cup in my cold hands, or the skip of my heart beat when I see a silent smile. Everything wont be for everyone, but hopefully I'll inspire delight or what I call a heart smile somewhere in you too.

Today I'll list three Little, BIG Delights. Though I have done this (highlighted things I love) all along on my blog, wanting to formally categorize them came from a phenomenal book and an inspiring author- so I will start with that particular delight -

• 1. reading

- and though I have my nose in more than one book at this time- in this case I'm referring to a book I just bought for myself that I have been delighting in reading every night before sleep this week:

This book, Encyclopedia of the Exquisite, An Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights, is by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins, former Editor of the magazine W in their Paris division, is well-traveled and currently a writer for Vogue. Here is a sample page of the delightful writing Ms. Jenkins offers us immediately in her introduction,

"These entries sprang directly from a file I kept on my desk, bulging with scribbled scraps, Xeroxed articles, quotes, and curious images I'd come across-anything that lit a spark, or excited "intense delight". In my mind I called the collection "Why I Like it Here," "here" meaning on the planet. If I was having a bad day , flipping through the file could sweep me into a dreamy demimonde where things didn't seem so bad."

As the book is categorized alphabetically, I have so far; seen the sky filled with 'Aerostations' through the eyes of Marie Antoinette & King Louis the XVI, gone Alfresco, learned to make Blancmange, reveled in the powerful history of the color Black, abandoned convention with the origin of the Bob haircut and am looking forward to unraveling the mysteries of the feminine Boudoir and the Carousel tonight! Ms. Jenkins form of writing is delicious in it's clarity and focus.

Ok drumroll for

• 2. van leeuwen Earl Grey Black Tea Ice Cream

The lid of my van leeuwen earl grey icecream

Unfortunately, I first encountered this beautifully designed, pale-yellow, ice cream truck this past summer in NYC when I was in the middle of cleansing and detoxing my body from sugar. And though I was thoroughly entranced by the elegant illustrations and the over-all marketing aesthetic, the moment I asked the Seller if she had nutritional information for the ice cream and when she said no - my will power (at the time made of iron) kicked in, so I walked away and had none...fast forward months later and many pounds less on my body, I was in my local whole foods and discovered the same beeauutiiiful aesthetic packaged in pint size containers in the frozen foods section - with a nutritional chart! All I needed was that and an espresso cup-size portion and I was in HEAVEN!!

and finally my last Little, BIG Delight

3. These antiqu-ish rustic BLANK pin cushion clamps:

This past summer my hub and I went up to his parents in BOMBAY NEW York - yes I said Bombay (7hrs. north of nyc) out by the Canadian Border and by/on local Mohawk reservations. Like I often do I love to go through the local antique shops. This time I found these sweet little BLANK clamps. I'm actually sure they're not really antique (just made with that look) but as a budding seamstress - I think they're BRILLIANT- seeing as I can glue any pin cushion of my choice on to it - like my hand-made by me felt cupcake pin cushion! PLUS they were only 6 dollars AND they clamp onto my ironing board and my sewing table!! Woo HOO!!!

Hope you enjoyed these LITTLE BIG DELIGHTS and that you find some of your own in your daily life!- Amarettogirl

Shopping for Color in Downtown NYC

Here's a post on an island of a different color- Manhattan!

Kremer Brushes

This week my hub and I went on a city trip that wasn't to our usual Astor place haunts, but instead to some new ones that had been on our living-an-art-full-life must see list. We did have to go to one usual stop and that was Pearl art supply store to restock, but all our other stops were new treats!

And if you're a creative, I think you'll love these places too- in fact you might just want to hit the links in addition to reading my blog and bookmark these sites (which are all pretty impressive in their own right) for your next artsy NYC shopping trip.

Kremer Pigments Inc.

Kremer storefront window

I know I've mentioned the book COLOR: A Natural history of the Palette by Victoria Finlay on this blog before but its worth mentioning once again. Every creative, illustrator, watercolorist, designer, painter and well-rounded artist should own this book, and maybe you do. But if you have a hankering to get a hands on visual supplement to the origins of color you need to go to Kremer's.

my hub browsing the stock

This is a shop that sells all you need to create your own paints, dyes or mediums for watercolor, acrylics and/ or oils. They also sell damar, varnishes and inks. The store, lined with shelves of gorgeous bags of powdered pigments specializes in historical pigments as well as contemporary methods. If you like the way the ol' masters did it- or you just want to be in the know - you have to go.

Next stop: Purl Soho

Yarn at Purl Soho

Purl is a fabric store in Soho New York that you will often see advertised in any crafty magazine with gorgeous photos of stacked fabric.

Wool felt at Purl Soho

They have wool felt for felting, stellar embroidery thread, rows of gorgeous fabric and walls lined with delectable high quality yarn for all you knitters and crochet divas out there.

Next stop: Papabubble

What a name right! Well, years ago I took some glass classes at Urban Glass in Brooklyn, NY. For fun I took an additional weekend workshop on pulling sugar. We worked with it very much the way you do lampworked glass.

candies up close

Anyhoo- it gave me an appreciation for handmade artisanal candy and Papabubble is just the place for that! They have shops in some of the best cities around the world like Barcelona, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Seoul & Taipei. They employ the millefiori technique to roll designs into the center of the candy and specialize in making custom designs to order.

Papabubble Artisanal Candy bags for $5

Above you see two Papabubble Candy Artisans making a custom order of candy.

Next Stop- Kid Robot

Ok So we HAVE been to Kid Robot before, but not since they've remodeled and expanded their shop! The Urban Vinyl toy mecca still houses many DIY munnies and Urban Vinyl Artist figures, clothes and blind boxes.

We also went to a gallery where I saw artwork by some of my all time fave artists from our fave art magazines Juxtapoz and Hi-Fructose! But this blog has become long enough and it was all just in a single days work- so I'll blog about the gallery next.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and I'm so happy I was able to take you along with us as we depart from chickens, coops and travel to return to our art-full lives! ~.~

Ciao- Amarettogirl

Monday Morning & My Fav Mags

The Day after Prom

Morning Fog lifting off of Cozy Lake at the onset of my morning commute My Faves Artful Blogger, Where Women Create & Somerset Studio Prom at Capitale in NYC

-Ciao Amarettogirl

Sass Up For Summer!

Well its getting warm out here and that means some great opportunities to be outside are beginning to abound.

Get ready to take great pics this summer with new blogger Amy from Lemon & Raspberry and her FREE e-book on three simple ways to improve your photography.

I LOVE this PDF! It's quick to download, clear, concise, witty and is structured in a well-organized teaching style. Best of all- its completely FREE!

But like all good blog visitors, if you download Lemon & Raspberry's PDF why don't you consider leaving her a comment and letting her know Amarettogirl sent you:) I get nothing out of it other than the joy supporting and sharing GOOD, accessible information with you all!

Heather Ross fabric still sold in fat quarters only by Blije Olifantje

When I think of summer, one of the many things that come to mind are bodies of water...and they in turn make me think of mermaids...which these days make me think of Heather Ross and her now hard-to-get- mermaid fabric! Heather Ross designed this line with Free Spirit and now it is discontinued... so sad when good things come to an end! She is a wonderful artist (with a fun illustration portfolio) and it has been such a great joy to find her blog!

heather ross fabrics

So my plan to sass up for summer...use some Heather Ross fabric to make this awesome skirt: Beautiful Summer Skirt PDF tutorial for $9. by Hyperart

So how DO YOU SASS UP FOR SUMMER?

-Ciao Amarettogirl

Mystery Project Revealed!

Remember this:

Well its been a few days now and finally all you clever readers started to get it right!

A very good friend of mine, Linda Gargano of Fruition Dolls & Gifts gave me a sewing kit for Christmas. Inside of the kit were all sorts of surprises including button earrings and a paper pattern and instructions from Quilt Plus an online fabric shop that sells DIY sewing patterns.

The pattern was for a project that I was concerned would be too small for my liking so I had to modify it- For example, instead of the prescribed 22 squares of fabric I used 34, which gave me a chance to add some of my preferred fabrics like Heather Ross mermaids and tattoo- inspired fabric.

An inside pocket I made for my mystery project

I'm an autodidact person and a visual learner, so even the best laid out instructions can stifle me. I usually struggle with and dismiss any patterns - instead I simply have to hold, see and analyze something to figure it out for myself.

I had to sew all the squares together, make a lining with an inside pocket, FOLD it in half and start to sew it together. Inner Liningfolded and inside out before sewing together

Well I'm sure you can start to see it all come together, readers had some really creative ideas. Some of you thought it was a picnic blanket, dooms day device and others a quilt (since quilt techniques are employed).

Quilt Plus has such a great design of how to engineer the pattern of squares into a three dimensional form that I thought it was truly brilliant even with my modification! So HANG ON...

WAIT FOR IT....drumroll please....IT's A HOBO BAG!! Hobo Bag modified pattern by QuiltPlus made by m. diaz HobobagfrontHobobag backpeek inside of the hobobag by m.diaz

I finally finished...uh, hmm well close enough...I still have to buy the leather handles (which QuiltPlus sells!)

I'm so excited about the bag and I think it will look GREAT with jeans!

-Ciao Amarettogirl

Kokeshi FREE Laptop Sleeve Tutorial

the laptop sleeve by marisol diaz tutorial finished laptop sleeve

- Ciao Amarettogirl