calcium content

for jacqui, for me, for you?

french cotton, vintage brass & gifted treasures

My friends Jacqui and Blair were lucky enough to go to Costa Rica this winter, where, among other things, they dug a cave in a sandstone cliff with their bare hands! Well, almost... Blair brought back lots of treasures, which he was kind enough to share with me. I decided to make a summer series of shell necklaces, one of which I gave to Jacqui, one I kept for myself and one you just might be getting for Christmas! The shells are threaded onto 30 inches of french cotton (coral and natural cotton colour) and accented with a single vintage faceted brass bead. The closure is one of my favourite things about these necklaces, so delicate. Now to figure out what to make for Blair! Happy long weekend!

crystal love

quartz & gold, now available in the sadie shop

this crystal is being saved for a special sadie event happening soon -- stay posted!

thrift finds

psychedelic furs

night light

new face

future glasses

lomo monday

taken with a fed 5 bought from the ukraine, near bankview foods in calgary

weekend camping

"I grew up with landscape as a recourse, with the possibility of exiting the horizontal realm of social relations for a vertical alignment with earth and sky, matter and spirit. Vast open spaces speak best to this craving, the spaces I myself first found in the desert and then in the western grasslands."

Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost

project time

I'm busting out my sewing machine for the first time since I moved to Vancouver. I hope all goes well...

LA Raised: profile

Okay, LA Raised is one of my favourite things right now. I came across them on Etsy when I noticed our mutual love of crystals and immediately fell in love with their bright colours and nostalgic Southern California vibe. When I read that LA Raised's pieces "[soak] up the sunny California weather and [are] made with love and vibrance," I was convinced. Samantha Pascarelli ties that knots that make up LA Raised's beautiful, affordable, and handmade jewelry. I recently asked her some questions about her inspiration and plans for the future of LA Raised. Colourful friendship bracelets need to make a comeback, and Samiee is doing everything she can to make sure that happens. LA Raised's pieces are what summer is all about.

SADIE: What's so great about LA?

LARaised: I guess Hollywood would be an obvious. Stars and movie making. The stardom state, where everyone goes to get "famous". Though It's not at all like that for everyone else who isn't a celebrity or filthy rich and all. In reality everything is pretty normal. You get up and it's like everyone really wants a piece of something. Your always pushing forward trying to accomplish something. or maybe that's just me. There's a lot of creative people here, so I would say the possibilities are up in the air. LA is the "the sky is the limit" city. It's really just a fun state.

S: Why make friendship bracelets?

LAR: When I was in high school someone showed me how to do a 4 stringed bracelet. From there I progressed, I love friendship bracelets they're in inexpensive way to adorn your wrists. To tell you the truth I feel naked if I don't have any on.

S: What inspires your colour palette?

LAR: I love colors and with friendship bracelets you truly can't go wrong. The brighter, the better. I love nature, beaches, flowers. Totally hippie earth stuff.

S: How many people make bracelets for LA Raised?

LAR: To tell the truth most of the time it's just me the owner. I hardly ever need help but if I ever need it I'm sure I can get a few girls to fill the spot.

S: Best place to make a friendship bracelet?

LAR: If it's not hot, which Cali is, outside on a bench facing my backyard which looks like a forest/park. Plus next to my different kinds of daisies. If not hopefully somewhere air conditioned.

S: Top 5 summer songs for 2010?

LAR: I can't say these are all new songs..

1-Empire of the sun-Walking on a dream (ALL Songs!)
2-Brandon Flowers-Crossfire
3-Edward Sharpe & The magnetic zeros-Home
4-Heads will Roll-Yeah yeah Yeahs-(for going fast in a car)
5-The killers-Everything really

S: What are you reading right now?

LAR: You wouldn't believe it. My first goal in life was to be a novelist: a romance novelist. I'm a book fanatic, I have stacks and stacks of books. Right at this moment I'm reading L.J. Smith's The Possessed. I just finished reading Melissa Mar's series & my favorite author is Jude Deveraux.

S: What's next for LA Raised?

LAR: Well L.A. Raised is doing so well. This Wednesday we are to included in the US weekly magazine (our 14-stringed Zuma). That's the highest we've reached so far.

As in what's next to come out in jewelry: more bracelets! Ha, well, of course, but I working to try and combine the bracelets with necklaces we'll see how that comes out.

Make sure you check out LA Raised's online shop & look for them this Wednesday in US Weekly magazine.

no holding back the summer

One of the great things about summer is the length of the evening. It stays warm and light for hours after work is finished, leaving the evening open for all kinds of summer fun every day. Laid back beach parties and picnics are the way to go when you don't want to cook indoors and want to soak up some sun and meet up with friends. So, pack up the bocce and potato salad and get out there!

Perhaps you still need the perfect picnic blanket? This one over at makesomething.ca looks pretty good, though I'm sure Martha has some ideas about this, too. If the weather isn't cooperating it might be the perfect day for a sewing project and maybe even a movie, the endlessly weird Picnic at Hanging Rock will do. Some schoolgirls have the most horrific and boring picnic ever, with nice colours and strange landscapes abounding. The painting "Miranda" by Caitlin Shearer (at the top of this post) really captures the feeling of the film.

And, of course, every summer needs a soundtrack. Forget that "tonight's gonna be a good, good night" stuff, how about some Danzig? Now that's an eclectic plan for a summer day.

new geo necklaces

Sadie geometric necklaces are finally available on Etsy! Until now these necklaces have been available exclusively at Fashionably Dead in Halifax, but they are now listed in our online shop as well. If you're in the Halifax area go see them in person, if not I hope you'll take a look online. They are based on hand drawings inspired by a landscape architecture studio project. Three different geometric pendants are available in natural birch or hand-finished summer oak stain with a 20" sterling silver or gold-filled chain. As with every Sadie piece these are made with care in Vancouver, Canada. Find them HERE.

sadie

Another dreamcat. This blog is named in honour of her. We still miss you, Sadie.

endless summer

"No one who is young is ever going to be old."

John Steinbeck, East of Eden

A recent convalescence has led me into the arms of indulgent summer time consumers: friendship bracelets, dazed and confused, strawberry lemonade, and catching up on great american novels: the 50th anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird (the only book I've ever read twice). Narrative non-fiction (In Cold Blood, Poor People), short stories, swearing, only the most cursory thesis research begun, broken bones, open windows, dog walks, late night movies...I love summer.

lomo monday

taken with a diana, seattle public library by rem koolhaas

dream cats

My grandmother lives on a farm in Nova Scotia. Her collection of living animals over the years has been eclectic, found somewhere nearby or on the farm as they nearly always are. In the days of the place being a poultry farm it was also home to a maple syrup-drinking horse with a mean streak and a swift bite. When I was younger, there were two cats named Samantha and Tabby that my brother and I would lock in our shared bedroom so they'd have to hang with us while we read comic books. There was also a dog named Rachel that we weren't supposed to touch. Then there was Jenny, a long-lived black lab and the perfect exuberant farm dog. Now there is the black cat, a few strays, a dog named April that was found at the roadside and has gained quite a bit of weight in its new home, and Kitty, an orange (or used-to-be orange) cat.

Kitty has no teeth (or maybe one tooth?) and can't hold her tongue in her mouth. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but she's also really, really small. My grandmother told me that she is a miniature cat and asked me if I've ever heard of that before. Now I have. Regardless of the drool, dust, and dander that makes Kitty who she is I've always thought she's pretty special. I'm not even sure that it's a girl. A photo I took this spring of Kitty has been featured on dreamcats. Check it out!

lace face treasury

Crochet-covered rocks by knitalatte, vintage lace vest from Sunshine in the Cellar, and handbuilt lace platter by Deborah Gordan. See the full treasury selected by Sadie Designs here: lace face.

lomo monday

taken with a diana, vancouver, canada

garden days

Lately I've been doing a lot of travelling and, as an unintended result, neglecting my gardens. My container garden is looking like it needs some attention: fertilizing, probably watering, maybe some re-potting. I haven't even been to my community garden plot since I got back from New York, but I'm sure it's also in need of weeding, thinning, and perhaps harvesting. That's my first July weekend plan: get out there and get everything looking beautiful again.

In search of garden inspiration I came across this poster by Katie from The Wheatfield:

And if having your own plot of dirt isn't in the cards, check out these amazing air plants that need little more than a bit of water and sunshine, available in Vancouver at Old Faithful Shop in Gastown.

canada chalet

A few of my favourite (Canadian) things this July 1st:

Stackable silver and pearl rings by Markhed from Montreal, Quebec. I recently purchased one of these rings and love the delicate form of both the band and the setting.

What's more Canadian than a long weekend camping trip? I first saw these merit badges at Love, Me Boutique in Halifax this spring. Each badge is hand-painted and hand embroidered in Toronto. Find the Lee Meszaros Etsy shop here.

If you are heading out to camp this weekend, make sure you check out the amazingly practical, yet overly heavy gear designed by the classic Canadian camp supplier, Coghlan's. Based out of Winnipeg since 1959, no camp site is complete without their stove top toaster or over-the-fire sandwich press. If you want to have a total Canadian camping experience, try out a Hennessy Hammock, designed by Tom Hennessy on Galiano Island, off the coast of British Columbia.

And finally, Vancouver's own: The Regional Assembly of Text. It has a card for every occasion and hosts a monthly letter writing club. If you're in Vancouver it's worth stopping by. If you live elsewhere, don't worry, they have a web shop, too!