Hello, September!

Ok, seriously, how is it September already? The summer just flew by and I don't think I made nearly enough trips to the beach! I think it's ok, though - we're still rocking the triple digit temps so it'll probably feel like summer for a while longer. I just got home from a trip to Portland for a dear friend's wedding and had so much fun. It was the perfect time to take a little break, (mostly) unplug from the computer, and relax. I stayed in a cute little AirBnB studio in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland. Have you been? Talk about beautiful homes! I spent lots of time taking walks looking at the pretty houses, taking pictures, and drinking too much coffee (Saint Simon Coffee Co. on NE Broadway FTW). I'm back, feeling refreshed and ready to tackle all of the items on my to-do list! I'm also excited to get back into blogging after my little, unofficial summer break.

In other news, I got the best surprise while I was away - Vitamini has been chosen as a finalist for the 2015 Martha Stewart American Made Awards! Grinning face emoji times 100!! Check out my nomination page to read more about the story of my business. Voting opens up later this month.

Photo above from my Instagram of my favorite swing ride at the Monterey County Fair every year. Isn't it pretty? Love the pink. Have a great rest of the week!

Trailers in the Trees

As a vintage trailer enthusiast who doesn't actually have a trailer (yet) I jump at the chance to get close to them - you know, to help me figure out what kind I want. Ha! For reals though, if I can get an opportunity to admire even the exterior of a cool retro trailer my day is made. So, thanks times a million to Facebook for alerting me to this year's Trailers in the Trees rally, an annual vintage trailer show in the beautiful redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was a couple Saturdays ago and was so much fun!


This was my first year attending and I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but hot damn, was it a great experience! The trailers, ranging in age from the 1930's to the 70's, were parked in rows and opened up and decked out in their Sunday best. Some of them were decorated with items from their exact time period while others worked with themes. Almost all of them had their door (some of the luxury models had two doors!) propped open with invitations to go inside and check 'em out. The owners were usually nearby to answer questions, share any interesting info about the trailer's history or unique features, and accept praise and general "oohs and ahhs."



Another great thing about this event - everyone was so genuinely nice. And seriously, how generous of them to open up their tiny little homes to strangers, even just for the afternoon? That's something I've discovered among clubs and groups of like-minded people. Similarly, I've never met anyone at a MINI club event that I didn't like and I imagine trailer clubs are the same. So many of them said "they're addicting" and I can imagine why. One lady told us how she and her husband attended the big rally in Pismo Beach one year, went home, found a classified ad for a trailer in the newspaper the next day and bought it!



If you're into trailers, too, check around for local clubs and events in your area. Also, follow the Vintage Camper Trailers page on Facebook for photos and news about up-coming rallies.

P.S. I've been having trouble loading comments here, but I'm working on a fix. Please standby! :)

10 Things My Dog Taught Me About Life

This past week marked 6 months since I brought my sweet, silly, crazy puppy home from the shelter. We've gone through a lot together since those first couple weeks; housebreaking, teething, first Christmas, and our first trip to the beach. She's learned so much about her new pack (me and my family), how to be a good puppy when she wants to be, and how to be bold when she wants attention. She's also taught me lots of good life lessons, and I'm grateful when she reminds me of things that I may lose track of during my usual routine.

1. Wake up with enthusiasm
This girl wakes up every day with a start and bounds down the hall, excited to be alive another day. It's hard to be in a bad mood first thing in the morning after watching her practically leap with joy. Each day that I wake up healthy, with a roof over my head and another chance to go after my dreams is a good day.



2. Appreciate what you already have
All I have to do to get her interested in the toys she already has is put them in a basket and she'll go digging through it like it's Christmas morning! Sometimes you just have to repackage and fix up the stuff you've already got to find some new enthusiasm.

3. Be unapologetic about who you are
She doesn't try to be anything she's not. I wish I had a little more of that sometimes.

4. Take breaks
There's nothing like a cat-nap dog-nap or a brisk walk in the middle of the day. It's ok to take breaks.



5. Look around, enjoy the scenery
I've never known a dog who likes looking around so much! She's perfectly content sitting outside, watching birds, looking into the distance, and sniffing the air. She reminds me to slow down and enjoy where I'm at.

6. Seek out your joy
Baci is so funny - she goes browsing, practically window shopping looking for things/trouble she can get into. I can't count how many times I've caught her in my closet sniffing around for stuff to steal and play with! It drives me crazy, but reminds me to continue to seek out the things I want, too. 



7. Chase the chickens AKA Break the rules
Ok, don't do that - she did it once, and while I scolded her for it, I'm sure it was exhilarating at the time! Throw caution to the wind and break the rules once in a while.

8. Have an approachable, positive attitude
There's nothing like some puppy dog eye contact and happy tail wagging to get people to want to stop and say hi. I can't do the tail wagging thing, but I can do my best to show a happy, approachable attitude when I'm out and about. Especially since I have resting bitchface sometimes...

9. Get creative
This little chickadee is so good at making her own fun - she even throws her toys for herself! Make your own fun.



10. Never leave your socks on the floor
They will get chewed up.

So there you have my top ten life lessons taught to me by this funny little dachshund mix. She continues to teach me new things every day, like the best way to get her out from under my bed when she's stolen one of my shoes. :) What about you - have you had a pet that taught you any good life lessons?

Have a great weekend!

Creative Apps

There are so many apps out there that help foster creativity. Pinterest and craftgawker are two of my old favorites. I like to flip through them when I'm stuck waiting in line somewhere, to get a quick idea of interesting projects that I can flag for later to check out when I have more time to follow a bunch of links around. But there's an app on the scene that does something the others don't: instead of a link it gives you a story.

Steller is a great place to share your stories, if they're an artistic collection of photographs, short videos, or even step-by-step photos of a craft project. The author has opportunities to add descriptive text to any of their images to help build their own story, whatever that may be. I've been using Steller for a while and have enjoyed being able to share visual collections in a totally new format. They just launched the new and improved 2.0 version yesterday. It's free in the app store! You can find and follow me there @vitaminimodern.



While crafts and diy are my favorite type to share, I also like to publish other types of stories, like this one about some 100+ year old postcards I bought at an antiques fair a couple weeks ago. Check it out! I think you'll enjoy it. :)

Have a creative weekend!

*This isn't a sponsored post - just thought you might enjoy hearing about a cool app!

Life, lately.

It's Friday! I have no idea where this week went! I'm busy getting ready for Renegade SF next weekend so I've been in production mode over here in the Vitamini studios. I have a few brand new products I'm working on that I can't wait to share with you!

In addition to all of this busy work, I'm moving at the end of the month! Maybe you've noticed more country shots in my Instagram feed? It's because I'll be living there soon! I'll miss the Los Gatos living that I've grown accustomed to, but I'm really looking forward to having more space for my business. The scenery isn't half bad, either. I took this double-exposed photo of the Monterey County hills mixed with a Los Gatos sunset. It's kinda where my head's at lately.  Here are a few other shots from my world lately.
 
New prints coming to the shop! That means lots and lots of trimming...


Can't resist a cactus.

 
Delicious coffee from my favorite local shop, Verve.


I'm making a bunch of paper flowers to take with me to Renegade. These graphic poppies may be my new favorite! Come visit my booth (#212) at Renegade to see them in person. They'll be for sale, too! Have a lovely weekend!

Speaking of floral...

I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend! We lucked out with some seriously beautiful weather. My mom's garden is exploding with color, so I spent lots of time outside snapping photos and taking cuttings for floral arrangements.

Here are some photos I took in the garden and of a couple of my arrangements.

Reverse Macro Photography

I was cruising around some blogs last week and read this post on Wit & Whistle about a macro lens hack that she tried. I don't have a macro lens for my camera so I had to give it a try. Of course I chose to take photos of my succulents.



Alisa Burke describes how to do it with a 50mm lens. Just take it off the camera body, flip it around, and hold it tight against the camera. Varying the distance from the subject will give you the focus. While it was very difficult to get a clear shot, I sure had fun trying!



The sun was going down and made these pretty lens flares. I held the camera (and the lens) for these shots, but I think I'll try it with a tripod next time. Have you ever tried this technique?

Little things.

I walk by a flowering quince shrub on my daily walks to drop off packages. Unfortunately, it's planted right behind a chain link fence, on an alley, behind my apartment's covered parking area, where no one could possibly enjoy it. I took my clippers with me the other day and snipped a few pieces for my apartment. The winter light was so lovely I couldn't resist taking a few photos. The sweet little coral pink blooms have been brightening up my place ever since.

Here's to enjoying the little things! Have a nice weekend!

Hasta luego, 2013!

Hey there! I hope you're enjoying the end-of-the-year wind down. I had a nice Christmas with my family and have been dreaming up lots of fun projects for the coming year. I'm really excited to jump in with both feet and share everything with you! Thanks you so much for coming along for the ride with me!

I took a little afternoon trip to Hakone Gardens in Saratoga with my parents over the weekend. It's a beautiful Japanese garden in the hills of Silicon Valley.  It was such a lovely day and we had a great time meandering and admiring the views. I've been having a lot of fun with my photography lately and took a ton of photos. Here are some of my favorites.

Me with the bamboo!

I hope you have a wonderfully exciting or totally relaxing New Year's Eve. Whatever pops your cork! Thanks again for reading and for helping to make 2013 a bang-up year here on Vitamini Handmade. Cheers!

Wishing you a merry one!

Two days till Christmas! I'm ready to take it easy and enjoy the next few days, eat lots of cookies, and spend as much time as possible in my pajamas. Here's a pic of my aluminum tree looking all sparkly in the window. Merry Christmas to you and yours! I hope Santa brings you everything on your list!

Quiet corners.

I was taking a few product shots over the weekend. My bedroom tends to be the best place to do this lately, since it gets the most light. After I had taken all the shots I needed, I looked up and saw this little scene on my dresser and it made me happy so I took a few shots just as it was. I'm definitely not a minimalist when it comes to my home decor, and I LOVE my "things." Little objects capture memories and I just enjoy looking at them. The pink lamp is one of a pair that I bought for my first little Victorian apartment in San Jose. The piggy bank was a celebratory purchase after I was hired for my current job (5 years ago). The seashell picture frame I made for a craft class I taught to kids at the 4-H summer camp in 2005. It has a I took at Cinque Terre inside. The mini paintings were part of my grandmother's art collection. I made the black plaster mushrooms just for fun.

7 years.

Seven years ago today I went out and picked up my sweet little MINI. It may seem silly that a car would mean so much to me, but getting that car symbolized me reaching a long time goal and it sparked many positive changes in my life. It was my first big adult purchase that I did on my own (yay for independence!), the good feelings motivated me to end a difficult relationship, and it even inspired me to start the creative business that put me where I am today. For that I'm so thankful for that little car. Happy 7 years, Max. To many more!

Current events.

Reworked my logo a little bit with my new business card design. I just got my delivery from Moo
yesterday and I'm so happy with them! Love the photos on the back, too.

A little bit of what I've been up to lately. We're approaching the busy time of year! Wait, what am I saying "approaching", we're IN the busy time of year! I've got a lot of projects in the works. I've designed two new holiday cards! One of the new designs is still living in my sketchbook while the other is half way done. I screened the first color last weekend and had to make a new screen for the rest of the design. Just stretched a new screen last night! I'm working on getting new, bigger, Made in USA tote bags in the shop to replace my previous model. The others were nice, but these will be nicer.

My new Vitamini holiday cards are based on this papercut I did a couple weeks ago.

I just finished up another Alt for Everyone session last Saturday and I learned so much! I think it's important to keep learning and making connections with others who have the same passions. It's energizing to get to chat with people with similar goals and concerns. I have some plans bouncing around in my head and I'm excited to start implementing them. I've slowly been making some changes to the blog layout (have you noticed my new bio pic and social media buttons?). And if you're visiting from the AFE blogroll, welcome!

The Alt for Everyone participants got some really great gifts! This print is from How Fab Paper Goods.

It was my dad's 71st birthday yesterday, so I'll be spending tomorrow celebrating with the family. Here he was something like 35 years ago looking rugged while building my family's first house.

Happy birthday, dad!

These pics were from Instagram, so if you want to follow me in real time, I'm @vitaminimodern. Have a wonderful weekend!