nathalie bearden photography

kara may makes my day...

i could write a million words to try (key word- try) to convey how much i love kara may and her work!  she is an amazing photographer and an amazing mom too.  thank you once again my friend for these stunning images!!!  a huuuuge hug to you.  and thanks little briella for being such a pretty model as always!!  kara is the only person i know who loves damask patterns as much as i do.  are you loving the backdrops???  and she always comes up with something unique for her images.  so inspiring!

i opened up the shop for a little while so i could give everyone a chance to order a tutu before things get really crazy!  or before we are outlawed!  i hope the latter won't happen, i will keep my hopes up.  i was having a tutu sewing withdraw.  i confess. 

rock n rio tutu

make a wish tutu

 

happy wednesday!!!!!

meet the twins + we have a winner...

and here are the twins.  meet emilia and lidia.  lidia is in the shop.  emilia is staying here for kennedy.  she has my heart.  these twins are too funny.  they love eating chocolate (as an me eating for them.)  they also love to compete with one another.  i think they both aspire to be in the new york ballet.  but we will see.  however, i will separate the twins.  i'm sure lidia will go to a loving home so i'm not too worried about it.  and emilia has a couple of american girls and breatrice to play with.  both of these girls have a huge amount of hand embroidery on their bodies.  so, if you want lidia, she will be yours. 

wee tutus for wee girls.  i love this shot.

i want to tell you a little bit about the new girls i have made.  a couple of weeks back my friend ashley and i decided we need some doll making days.  so ashley brought a slew of sewing supplies and fabrics and we cut, sewed, and stuffed dolls over a two day period.  we had a little basement toy shopped going.  we made 8 dolls in total.  this was too much fun because ashley is a creative genius (wait until you see her cloth turkey that she is making for thanksgiving).  in fact, she was the one who taught me to do hand embroiedery on printed fabrics.  anyway, we worked on our faces and bodies and together we pieced the girls whole.  while i was sewing ashley was ironing and stuffing and life was grand.  there is a huge amount of love and friendship put into these girls.  i made ashley one of the girls and she made one for me.  we have not exchanged them yet.  but a lunch and doll exchange will happen in the the near future.  we also worked on sewing tricks and the pattern making.  as they say two heads think better than one.  i'm looking forward to more doll making days friend.  and kennedy is too.  because she loooooves ashley.  and so do i!

we both listed one doll each to our shops.  funny thing both are blond.  here is ashley's shop.  go support my dear friend and you get a virtual hug from me!  i will be taking 4 orders for dolls to arrive in time for christmas.  two that is it and no more.  i was going to make random hair and eye colors, but i know some of you would like to have a doll that looks like your child.  i can also make boy dolls.  the hair options are yellow, brown, black, or red.  skin color can be brown, tan, or the same as the dolls i have made in the past.  eyes and hair styles can be 1 billion different ways.  so, talk to me and i will make something special.  i have a gazillion fabrics for the body and i will choose something that looks cute.

and i know you all just skipped to the end to see who won julia.  well, i'm pleased to say julia will be moving soon to live with jamie sampson, who is commenter # 12, accounting for the double chances some got for mentioning the giveaway on their blogs.  so congratulations jamie!  julia will be on the way to you soon.  just email me with your address. 

 

one year ago...

saturday was this little place's 1st anniversary!!!  yeah i know i'm late, but i have more things going on than i can count.  internet service has not been working right, has been down and up again, then down again.  we decided to paint our bedroom in a "extreme makeover weekend edition" fashion.  i'm sooooooooo happy with it.  and i have had to sew about 10000000 tutus.  which is awesome.  but oh this is nothing.  there is much more to my ongoing to do list.  but better late than never.  so, happy birthday to my sweet little journal!  it has been too much fun keeping up with my little life and my little creations.  it has been fun watching my photography take baby steps toward improvement.  it has been fun meeting so many freaking talented women and some pretty sweet mamas!  but i'd say most of all, it has been a delight to see kennedy grow.  her hair is has gotten so much longer, she continues to get bigger, and i have it all right here. 

i stumbled upon blogs when visiting bamboletta dolls at about august 2007.  i admired christina's work so much (and still do.  a bamboletta in on MY christmas list).  and from the get go and i was bitten by the blogging bug.  most especially a craft blogging bug.  before i was ever crafty so to speak,  i was consumed by dog shows.  i grew up in the middle of it and i loved it.  but after kennedy was born, traveling here and there to attend the shows was not possible.  and showing sonya got more and more expensive. there is a life BK (before kennedy) and AK (anno kennedy - which means year of kennedy's forever reign).  lol! they say having a baby changes everything.  now i know what they mean.  so at that time all i wanted was to spend as much time as possible with my new baby girl.  and watching her grow sparked a whole new me.  my creative juices where flowing like honey.  i started my fabric stash, which has grown to an amazing size and keeps on growing.  just got some in today.  and i started to make more and more things myself.  so after reading numerous blogs, in november i decided that i was going to give this a try.  i had no clue as to what to say.  and i had no idea anyone besides myself would be reading it. i have o say i made a great choice.  i can't say enough of the great people i have met.  i'm so happy. 

because i'm happy today, i decided that a lucky person might win this special girl this week. 

her name is julia (named after my little sister).  she is a sweet really dark haired ballerina.  her favorite thing in life is to watch little birds fly.  she also has a beautiful family.  you will meet her twin cousins next.  you know the drill, leave a comment and you just might be the lucky one (post it on your blog - if you have one - and you get two chances).  you have no idea how much this doll is special to me.  so i hope whoever wins her will cherish her as much as i do.  i almost could not bring myself to give her up.  but here she is.  and of course the winner takes home a tutu as well.  we could not leave the pretty tutus out of this one.  do you know i have never given away a tutu.  i have auctioned them twice for great causes. traded them for numerous beautiful things, but i have yet to give a tutu away on my blog.  so this is about time.  just one winner will get julia the sweet ballerina doll and also a tutu for a little ballerina.  the tutu will be a surprise color combo. i will draw the winner on saturday 10am cst.

 

she is too sweet.  and kid of a big girl at 21 inches long.  minky hair, minky legs,   soo soo soft,  soo soo pretty.  and the hand embroidered body.  took some time, but it was well worth it.  wait til you see the twins.  holy cow.  lots of work.

thank you all for reading my ramblings.  i'm so happy to meet you!

where i play - part deux...

can you listen to this while you read this post?  thank you!  i'm a color mood.  anything color goes.  true colors too.  this is to my friend suzanna back in brazil who, because of me, did not like phil collins.  i guess i used to listen to this song quite often and she got sick of it!  hehe.

"The color of the object illuminated partakes of the color of that which illuminates it." ~Leonardo da Vinci

"It is not the form that dictates the color, but the color that brings out the form." ~Hans Hofmann

"There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, thanks to their art and intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." ~Pablo Picasso

"A world without vibrant colors, would be a boring world." ~ the philosopher NatB

while i'm pretend playing, pretending i'm my dad, and playing philosopher, how about a big splash of color for a monday night?  something to make our weeks go by smoother.  something pretty so we can forget for just a second that we (as a country) are in a deep whole.  something for the artist, something for the handmade lovers, something for the blog reader, something for the stay-at-home mama who needs a bit of inspiration, something to cheer you up.  this is my place: the atelié of dreams.  the place i created for me.  the place where i work and play.  the place where delightful little twirly tutus and pretty little ballerinas are brought to life.  a place in which there is only one important thing: believe.  believe you can do all things.  just two years ago i never imagined myself being where i'm today, after all i'm studying to be a scientist, a physician someday soon, helping others in a different way.  but i have always believed in me.  i have always believed in dreams.  so here is one of my dreams come through.  sure others might have much better.  but, this my friends, is enough for me. 

delectable tulle...

 

yummy ribbon...

 

fun suitcases filled with trims...

 

things that make little girls twirl...

 

the vintage ballerina who inspires me each day...

the quality control area and the trunk full of new things to come...

 

the quality control girl.  the one who is responsible for everything i create.  she puts her skirt on, looks in the mirror in a very mischievous way..then gives me a crooked smile in air of approval...this one is a go mama! she says with her deep brown eyes...

 

  ready, set, twirl...twirl until her heart is content...

 

more trims ready, waiting for be transformed into something beautiful...and my friend tathy... 

 

the two friends i could not exist without...working horses...and my little plant.  to ward the evil eye.

i finally found my favorite childhood video, aquarela.  this is in portuguese, but i hope you will enjoy the images of my childhood.  i never forgot the lyrics of this song.  this was aired back in the 80's as a faber-castell commercial in brazil.  i have always loved colors.  i was never good at drawing or painting, but i knew that colors were a great thing for me, soothing, changing.  every beginning of school year i fantasized about adding to my backpack the largest collection of faber-castel colored pencils ever invented.  of course my mom claims she did buy me a huuuge collection with many colors, while she was traveling in sao paulo.  i don't remember.  all i remember was the standard 12 pencil pack.  but one day i shall have a huge collection of faber-castell colored pencils.  yes, one in each color they ever invented.  just so i can look at them. 

i hope you enjoyed it!  have a wonderful and creative week!  enjoy your children and spouse, if you have any.  if you don't, enjoy your friends.  if you have a puppy or a kitty, enjoy it too.

me on etsy's frontpage...

i'm usually late with everything.  but since you are dying to know, i wanted to share these fabulous treasuries.  the first treasury made it on the front page of etsy this past saturday (9-13).  thanks ruby (thanks for the screenshot too!!) and emily for letting me know about it!  also huge thanks to martha and elise for the awesome photography.   

and the second treasury it is also worthy of mention since it features one of my new designs.  lovely handpicked items!  thanks a million!

meet allegra...

this is allegra.  a name i was saving for my next daughter.  since i can't name a child alone and my husband has already expressed he does not like the name, i thought i might as well use the name for my next girl.  she IS INDEED available in the shop for anyone to purchase.  i'm packing to head out for a show tomorrow.  i'm totally NOT into craft fairs, but i decided to give it a try once again.  so, wish me luck!  have a wonderful weekend!!!!!  hugs to all!

 

meet jasmine...

this is jasmine.  another pretty sweet ballerina.  jasmine was a commissioned girl and she is already in her new home.  don't cry just yet.  her sister allegra is coming to the shop and will be available for purchase.  she is all done and waiting for her photoshoot.  also, i will be posting more photos of the atelier for your visual enjoyment! 

 

meet marina...

the smiley ballerina.  marina has squinting eyes, perhaps the sun is too bright this summer.  she is 16" tall, has a blond hair made of 100% wool felt, has a body made with japanese cotton fabric, and wears a pink tutu. 

marina was one of my many childhood friends.  we went to the same catholic school and were in the same classroom.  she and i had much fun playing together for hours and hours.  she has a cousin named laura and you will soon meet her too.  marina is a pretty girl, now happily married.  she was not a ballerina,  but it is my imagination and there, she is all things!  marina is going to live with a pretty little blond birthday girl. 

 

meet bianca...

this is bianca.  she is the little sister to beatrice.  bianca is a girly girl.  she loves to play with dolls and wears barettes all of the time .  and like her sister, she is likes to take naps.  bianca will be moving out soon to live with a special little girl who has really long eye lashes too. 

i think i'm getting a little better at hand embroidery, don't you think?