Peony hair comb with birdcage veil

This was a custom piece I made recently, now it's off to CA but you can have one just like it, convo me at my etsy shop to start your custom order!

Good music

My husband surprised me with the purchase of this cd by Lay Low- new darling out of Iceland. This CD is really, really good! Check her out- so cool, exotic, talented and european.

New flower hat...

Whoa, seems as though people like the look Leisel wore for the Sloan shoot, my etsy account was blowing up the last few days, thanks for the love people, I really enjoy creating these pieces! Here is a new hat in gorgeous shades of melon hand dyed silk with vintage stamens, lace and midori dupoini ribbon accents. It clips in securely and ties around the head with midori dupioni silk ribbon, it sits just like the hair flower in the sloan pics. See it in the mignonnehandmade.etsy.com shop!

Mignonne featured!

Thanks to the super talented Sloans- these images are seriously gorgeous guys- see them all at their blog.

Also check out the feature on Green wedding shoes blog!

Oh yeah, and if you want a lovely just like this flower go to my etsy store- Mignonnehandmade.etsy.com.

Inspriration: Charley Harper memory game

Another awesome gift from Leann- my husbands brothers and their wives all have an uncanny ability to pick the most awesome gifts ever- see my post on Andy and Deobrah's gift of the "tea bags"

I guess I didn't realize how much I'd been staring at these gorgeous little cards- Emma's gotten really good at this game. I just dyed a batch of silk last night for some upcoming projects and these colors magically appeared ;-) I can't wait to make flowers out of them!

Entre nous...

Thank you to my sister in law Leann for the great book- "entre nous" I loved it! It talks about why French women seem to have that yes, I'm going to say it, certain "je ne sais quoi" It's a cliche but so very true. What make a French woman, or the French people in general, so...unique? Well, in a historical context she/they are raised with values that were shaped by thousands of years of experience, way older than our measly 232 years. We are learning to be civilized, let's hope we get there soon. To be fair, after visiting with my husbands relatives who live in the Alps region of France, there are a lot of rules and customs that shape their ideals and philosophy, a certain, strictness and regimented mentality that allow things to run smoothly and a practicality that seems to contradict their love of sensuality. Perhaps it is their ability collectively to balance those two things- latin love of pleasure and rigid respect of culture and rules that makes them so, well, balanced.

An excerpt from "Entre Nous"

"In France, I enjoyed the luxuries (to the French, they're basic human rights) of France's socialized health care system: Week long post maternity stays in French hospitals, Post-natal at-home care. A host of certified daycare specialists, Pediatricians who always make inexpensive house calls. Free, high quality nursery schools and state subsidized nannies when Grandma wasn't around. I came to understand the deeply-rooted sense of comfort that the working French girl feels living in a society that does not pay lip service to family values, but supports them in truly concrete, self-evident ways."

Yes, that right- State subsidized nannies!!! seriously??? I want to move. Not to mention their 35 hour work weeks, mandatory 5 weeks of vacation and ingrained ability to disassociate their identities with their "professions" Life in France is not, in general, all about the Benjamins- a healthy and refreshing way to think to this first generation American.

Art + function

= true love. I love my new chandelier!! This is one purchase I know I will never regret!

Something for the guys...

Finally, I've been wanting to create some cute boutonieres for a while now! These will soon be in the etsy store.

Triple blush headband

This most feminine of headbands has 3 shades and types of dupioni silk hand cut and pressed into the most beautiful flower with a czech glass bead center. It is mounted on a super skinny blush silk covered headband with blush/cream and ivory vintage velvet millinery leaves and french netting accents. I also made a comb in the same color combo, both are in the Mignonne etsy store.

You can also see the whole spring collection at the Inspirador in Chandler on Wednesday evening at their open house.

Vegas time...

We recently visited Las Vegas to meet up with my husband's family, 2 family members had conferences there so the rest of us made the trip out for a fun filled few days. I'm not a Vegas fan- at all. I guess I just don't get the allure, but we did have a great time with family and even enjoyed a night out on the town and some interesting sights...

Vintage inspiration...

As always I am inspired by things that are just a little old, faded and of course charming. The colors here are the most sumptious antique golds and faded pinks and sages. One flower is a clip and the other a comb. They will both be available in the etsy store by the end of the night.

I used 100% silk dupioni, hand cut and pressed each petal, one has a czech glass beaded center and the other has vintage "sugar" stamens. They both have vintage french lace found on my trip in February and vintage velvet millinery leaves from Japan.

Sickie...

Aw, what's better than your best furry bud in your sick bed, snuggling up with you and watching princess movie after princess movie? Well, I guess not being sick is better than that :-) Poor Emma was not feeling well today, we've been battling a high fever since yesterday afternoon, it seems to come and go and in between she seems just fine, today we took it easy and snuggled in the playroom watching movies. Chuy was so vigilant, by her side every minute and she didn't even have any food in her hands!! Now that's love!

Sold!!

The Vintage french textiles are going fast! I just got this sweet and encouraging message from a buyer today in regards to this gorgeous piece, oh "Carnix" let's hope I can go back soon!!!

"Message from Carnix:

Thank you! I hope you go to France again to get more of these wonderful flea market antique lace pieces... I use them in my craft & you have a good eye..."

Gardenias pour vous...

These pretty little gardenias are off to Virginia tomorrow they will play a special role in Natalie's wedding and I hope she'll cherish them for years to come.

Wedding season!

The first wedding of my wedding season was at Brophy chapel in mid-town Phoenix. It is definitely my favorite church in Phoenix. Meredith was a dream to work with she was so sweet and looked absolutely gorgeous on their big day!