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!