nathalie bearden photography

saturday's findings...

i was inspired yesterday to go out and hit the flea markets and antique stores. i have been dreaming about a red velvet chair. i wanted one so bad. so when i saw this beauty just there, staring at me, i sat down on it and told the shop owner i was not getting up anymore! lol! she laughed and said, they had just brought the chair in. i can't wait to use this in a photo session.

the mirror was also a delightful bargain. i want to give it a fresh and funky coat of paint and hang it somewhere in the house.

 

this book is a sweet treat! my littlest brother is named athos, after one of the three musketeers. he is sweetest kid and i'm sure will be a heart breaker someday!

i started on two little skirts for k. one for a christmas card picture and one for her birthday. hope to show it off soon. so much for no sewing until graduation. i can't live without it! happy weekend everyone!!

ps: i have been a wee posting some sessions on facebook, check out the fan page!!

a playhousewarming party...

yeah i know i have abandoned my poor little blog. just hang in there my faithful readers, 6 more weeks and i will have more time to create and post. how about this little house? last year's christmas gift is all finished and have been played in and loved much. i invited some of my friends and k's friends for a little housewarming party of sorts.

for a party to start off on a good note, we need sweet invitations, and i found the perfect ones for this day.

and here is a view of the little house. i can't tell you how many times i hit my head on this front beam. k's friends were so kind and gave her the sweetest doll first aid kit, a fun rug for the front door, cool cups, and the delicious cupcakes below.

they played and played and played. the girls get along so well. oh and i did invite boys, just just could not make it to the party. k's friends can't be any prettier. not possible!! and each with such sweet personalities.

some vintage and wooden toys (from the playroom). just the perfect little cozy place to hide, play, and have her own little world.

a long while ago i snatched this vintage iron crib, is it perfect for this tiny house or what? i will post other pictures soon. the house is not that big, so it is hard to get a good shot sometimes.

there's even a mail box to send letters to friends!

i hope you enjoyed the tour of k's little place! we have to thank mr. handyman for the craftsmanship in building this fun place. i still need to make some little curtains and a add few more details. but that can wait a little while longer.

also thanks to melissa for such kind words! i never thought of myself as brilliant...but i gladly accept the compliments!

one a not so related note: i went to see brightstar, excellent movie! after the movie i bought a john keats poem book and am trying to read it and comprehend his words. my favorite movie quote is: "My stitching has more merit and admirers than two of your scribbles put together...and I can make money from it." perfect quote for a seamstress. 

Happy weekend!!!

have a seat and stay a while...

this is my newly reporposed living room. i have been meaning to photograph it for several weeks and finally found the time to do so. before i take you on our little tour, let's have a cup of tea. the menu today is mint orange tea. ahhh, so refreshing.

the sofa belonged to my husband's grandparents. they gave it to us and i got it recovered to suit the style of our home. when i found this perfect fabric my heart skipped a tiny beat. i immediately thought of how i could use it on this piece. and wow, i love the results! the ottoman was a gift from my mother-in-law. she snatched it for very cheap and i sent her the fabric to get it recovered. it makes the perfect coffee table. are you loving my crazy fabric combination?

the view from the back is even more amazing. the two chairs you see in the background also belonged to the grandparents. they are gorgeous ethan allen chairs i put my touch on. again, different fabrics. as you can see i'm not that much into super matchy matchy stuff. i did like matching once upon a time. i think i remember a pair of pink jeans i loved to match with my pink converse. i looked like a walking bottle of pepto-bismol. needless to say i no longer care for the color pink. oh the things we do!

the headdress on the mantel came from brazil. i got it in one of our expeditions down south. it was made by natives from my state. can't remember the tribe. it is made with macaw feathers. this is the typical ceremony headdress they wear. i had it perfectly framed in brazil. by far, one of the favorite pieces of art in the home. if you have been reading my blog for a while you will remember that i have several native brazilian art work around. most of them are paintings.

and now the resulting pillows of last weekend sew-a-thon (not the two big ones in the back, those are from pier 1). and you might get to receive one next week. this is where i seat at the moment, nice and cozy with sweet little pillows.

i did the embroidery while i was in dc. they turned out exactly how i had imagine. as much as i'm crazy about anthropologie, this beats paying $98+ for a pillow.

and if you leave a comment, you might be a lucky one to win this little guy (below). he is my favorite, but i will part with him. hopefully he will make a great addition to your living room. i will close comments 9.18.09 at 7PM CST. and one last thing, if you read my last post you know the rules. i like rules.

now that we had our tea and you had a little tour. i best get back to my lovely books. stay tuned because there is something very cute i made for two lucky little girls, one is staying here for my lucky one, and one i will give away. i'm sure you will like it! tchau for now!

still here...

hello there neglected blog!  i'm still here...just too busy to sit down.  my to-do list is a mile long and i'm tackling one check mark at the time.  bags are not packed yet, but i will pack soon.  leaving for D.C. on saturday.  no tears yet, but they will come with time.  on a cheerful note, i must admit i was giddy to watch the new moon trailer.  i know, i know, i had harsh words for twilight, but they deserved it.  i have a littel faith this will be a better movie.  so here is a sewing project for the spring (it was done many weeks back and just now in use), a new table cloth thingy.  it was a sew as you go project and i used a ruffler foot to make the ruffles.  humm i like that, ruffler to make the ruffles.  oh do you see the china cabinet? my mother's day gift.  very antique and beautifully refinished.  ok, i do have the best husband!  and how about my thrifted mirror?  came painted already.  well, the plates from anthropologie where gifts from my bff amber! yellow birdie on the tray was a sweet birdie package surprise from kellie.  i love them all girl!  well, that's all i got.  i will try to make one last post before i leave.  i have no idea how blogging will be when i get there.  if i can just get there and find where i will live will be awesome.  my dream these days is that i got there and could not find the place and i was late for the first day at work.  can you say, A-N-X-I-E-T-Y?!

old but new to her...

this is the best $10 i ever spent.  i went antiquing today and found two things worth their every cent.  one is this magic little horse in PERFECT condition and very fast.  close your eyes k, i have a surprise for you...

now open...

she sat on it and rode it for a looooong time, while i snapped some pictures.

soo much giggling and fun...

the kennedy derby, worthy of a triple crown...

second was this hand crochet blanket.  i could not help it when i saw these vibrant colors.  this will be a nice blanket to use in sessions....and in the house to lay on and play.  yes we will wash it in between uses.   

not bad huh?  sometimes you can find such unexpected things in antique malls.  the price paid for these things was a real bargain, but the fun is priceless.  until next time!

 

 

sweet slumber...

you saw the bookshelf and now you can see the rest of the room.  it is finally done, everything in its place and i'm so happy about it. 

now you can see where k sleeps.  sooo sweet.  her bedding as i said before was designed by lori marie and it is from pottery barn kids.  the pink owlie is also another one of lori's creations.  you can also see where the chandelier is.  still pretty yummy!

this is a place for slumber and very sweet dreams.  it came out exactly how i wanted.

abby has her own bed to sleep in.  and she also has a nice little wardrobe.  for sure i get to have all of the fun decorating!

these little outfits where all handmade, not all by me.  i only made the little knot dress.  such a cute collection.

i tried so hard to photograph these curtains.  there are two sets.  the set on the back that you can't see is so charming.

how about a double duty dress, serves as something to pretty up a pretty girl (if that is possible), and also a decorating piece when it is not in use.  the dress is from one of my fave clothing lines, lemon loves lime.  

a magical room such as this had to have a magical branch with owls, birds, and butterflies.

k's little cloth dollie emilia.  i confess kennedy could care less for emilia.  so she only sits as a decoration piece.  she would much rather play with her babies.

anna and kaya again.  they have to share a bed.  abby gets a bed of her own.  not by my determinations though.  i don't make the rules in the room.  i only clean up after. 

whimsical print from vanessa.  you can find her lovely work here.  it adds so much charm to the room. 

this mirror is another of my spray painting jobs.  we have had it for a long time and i did not like the color anymore.  give me a can of spray paint and i make anything new.  the glass apothecary jar holds k's bows and hair clips.  the little garland was made out of my huge pile of fabric scraps.  i had to put them to good use.

another bird cage.  this one we have had for a while now.  again.....spray paint.  it was only $3 and i put the nest and birdie inside.  see the things you can use to decorate and not have to spend a ton of $$$ them?  my biggest thing is to make something look great without looking cheap or crafty.  you know what i mean?  well, i hope this room will inspire you.  i know i'm always inspired by children especially my little k. 

sweet dreams little one...

coming up for air...

wow...what a crazy week already.  it has been a roller coaster.  but here is something that calms me down.  another pillow in the making.  now back to studying.  i'm counting the days until the end of this semester.  i hate wishing my life away, but it has been very stressful to say the least!  i do have some very good news though.  i have been accepted as a summer intern at the national institutes of health and will be in washington dc this summer for several weeks.  this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and i will be working with the best in the world of biomolecular research.  to be more precise i will be in the neurological and stroke section of nih.  yes i have a lot of planning and organizing to do.  i don't have a ton of details yet, but i know everything will fall into place.  anyone living in the d.c metro area? 

don't you think i need a few more skeins of embroidery floss? papa could not believe this jar when he saw it.  he said....geez how many millions of dollars do you have in there?  i told him to relax, they are only $.33/skein and I usually get them on sale.

orange + teal and orange + tea...

i think i really like the colors orange and teal.  i did not realize it until i took this picture.  i have been eating tons of citrus fruits lately.  there is nothing better to me than a sweet orange! 

i found this tea cup a couple of weeks back in an antique shop.  i could not help myself when i saw the cross stitch pattern on the cup and saucer.  it was just there waiting for me.  i have been enjoying it ever since.  i never knew tea and orange also tasted so good.  oh the little things we learn in life!

it has been nice to be quiet and do very little.  christmas is over.  and now we have a whole new year to look forward to.  i hope you too are taking it easy.  have a wonderful day!!!  i will be enjoying this small ray of sunshine.  i feel like i could be a cat sometimes, curl up by a window sill and take in the sun.  meow.

minha familia...

have you ever had the curiosity to meet my gorgeous family?  here we are.

papa, k, sonya, a.k.a nhanha, and mama.  there, all so beautiful.  and my fave one.  little k below.  in her pigtail and her curly hair. 

this was soooo easy to make.  here is the quick version:

1-snap a profile photo. 

2-cut around it with a small pair of scissors.

3-trace on black card stock paper with a fine mechanical pencil. 

4-cut around the black card stock. 

5-glue the black card stock to the white card stock. 

6-place it in an oval frame, and you got your own victorian silhouette.  for much much cheaper than if you would have had someone else make it. 

just make sure you cut it well so it will look like you or your family.  i used those little bee paper scissors.  they are ultrasharp and very small.  i think my silhouettes turned out really great.  i tested my skills by asking kennedy who each person was.  she was able to give me the correct answer.  i think this would be neat to make each year to track growth. so year one, done.  i got the oval frames several weeks back at michaels for 50% off. 

although i LOVE photography, i'm not crazy about tons of photos around the house.  my friends will tell you.  especially not the main rooms of the house.  so i think these silhouettes make such a great statement in place of photography.  i'm not quite sure where they will go yet.  we are about to start a major painting job around the house.  so i might wait to see which room will be most suitable. 

i'm trying to use iphoto to edit my images until my copy of photoshop cs4 arrives.  i called yesterday and they said it should be in by the end of next week.  i'm tired of dowloading pictures on the pc then having to burn them onto a cd so i will have it in the macbook.  anyway, because my signature was created on photoshop i can't use it on iphoto.  so, until then, you won't get to see my little natB.  i can barely wait until the software gets here.  switching to mac was the best thing in the world.  however, it is taking a little time to learn this new environment.  but this little macbook pro can fly.  everything is soo fast.  when i get on my pc i feel like i age.  it takes forever to do anything.  but again, it is 7 years old and still kicking.  well, happy weekend everyone.  now go make you some victorian silhouettes. 

sometimes...

i interrupt your economy worries to the following broadcast:

i was thinking today about my feet, which has nothing to do with the stock market.  i think they are so ugly.  really, my second toe is longer than my big toe.  where i come from it symbolizes a bossy woman.  and yes they are right.  i'm bossy.  and so is my child.  ahhhhhh!  the genes.  i been feeling a little naked these days.  my wardrobe is a bit slim.  so throughout the past several weeks i saved a little and splurged a little. 

 

sometimes you save.  sometimes you splurge.  sometimes you make it yourself.  sometimes you buy it.  the story of my life.

i got my new pair of camper shoes for the winter.  i found a really great price at amazon.  i really wanted boots, but i can't afford them right now.

and another antonio melani pair as a result of smart shopping (it's a long story.)  antonio melani rocks my world.  my fave shoes and dresses are designed by antonio melani.  

shoes are my problem because i end up with a gazillion pairs and no clothes.  well, at least my feet are covered.  

for this winter i could not resist this sweater.  i'm not a huge fan of sweaters, but this one had my name on it.   oh anthropologie, you kill me! 

 

my red handbag.  because red is one of my favorite colors.  this bag is to die for and it is roomy to carry the diapers of my soon to be potty trained toddler.  it is made by tano. thanks to amber i came to know tano.  i bought my first one two years ago and i used it forever and still looks great.  but it is black and i needed red.

and you are asking...where does she save?? this is the best find.  a piece of furniture for my house.  we had no place in the master bathroom to store towels.  and we were looking for a piece of furniture to suit our needs.  i stumbled upon this at a antique store.  for $50 I HAD TO HAVE IT.  i only changed the knobs because the ones that came with it where hideous.  i just love the tin detail.  and it is black as all of my bedroom furniture.  i'd say a perfect match.

please don't think i'm a shopaholic.  i didn't' up and buy all of this at once.  i just waited to tell you all about it at once.  i'm done spending for a very long time.  back to worrying about the economy. 

ps: holy cow that was/is some party.  i don't think i have ever have that many comments to a single post.  my heart is joyful!  thanks for such sweet words.