Bow Headbands ::The Grace Collection::

I've been sharing so much miniSage lately I thought it was time to give the big girls some attention. Introducing The Grace Collection: elegant, classic, and as with all elSage goods, sustainable.

The large bow is made from vintage cotton and lace. It's super soft and beautiful! The center is reclaimed satin.

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 Grace Headband Large Bow

The small bow is created with white vintage lace and reclaimed black satin. What a fun and adorable little piece.

 Grace Headband Small Bow

 Bows are securely attached to each headband but are able to slide in either direction to ensure the perfect position.

::First Day of Summer:: Pleasant Ridge Farm

Picked up some apples and beans at a local farm yesterday. I thought I would share a peek of our beautiful valley.

Pleasant Ridge Farm uses the honor system. How rad is that? Their stand is open daily from 9 to 6.

See more photos from the first day of summer on the elSage flickr site.

::New Fabrics:: Sustainability in Materials

Things have been oh so busy lately as the school year is coming to a close. I have been finding studio time (and artistic energy) lacking. When this happens I like to reinvigorate by collecting materials I'm excited about.

elSage is all about sustainable design. Re-purposing, recycling, renewing & reusing is the name of the game, so I often get my materials from interesting and fun places. This latest set is no exception.

Last week I received my order of usable scrap fabric from Allisa at Quiltish. She makes beautiful handmade items and loves the environment too! She collects her scrap fabric and what she can't use she passes on to other artists through her destash shop.

 

I also went to the Goodwill yesterday. I love it there. Hubs and the boy came too and the boy was in heaven. He walked out with a new soccer ball and a book, and I got a ton of cool fabric. I love the variety, from cast off fabric to men's dress shirts and a few vintage pillow cases. I am so excited to jump into the studio!

I really believe in repurposing materials. I think it's not only earth friendly but I love what it does to my work, my materials drive my designs and I love that. When I get too calculated as an artist my work loses it's magic. I also enjoy that, due to the nature of my materials, all my creations are one of a kind or limited editions. It creates a unique and heirloom nature to everything that comes out of elSage.

How do your materials affect your work?

Schools Out SALE!

With two teachers in our house the start of summer vacation has become the ultimate holiday.  Hubs was done on Friday and my last day is tomorrow. In honor of that I have 2 things to share.

The first is 35% off everything in the elSage shop. Use code SCHOOLSOUT to get your immediate discount. Oh and don't forget that orders $50 & over always ship free (worldwide)!

The second is a trailer for one of my favorite movies ever. It is one I always think of on the last day of school.

To all the teachers out there, congrats on another successful year. If you're not a teacher, I hope you're excited about the beginning of summer anyway!

::New MiniSage::

Girls just want to have fun 

(while wearing eco friendly miniSage headbands)!

The Lacey Collection.

Sweet as can be.

 Vintage tulle & lace. Vintage wooden bead in yellow and a marbled blue accent bead. Black knit headband.

 Vintage tulle & lace. Vintage wooden bead in chocolate brown, with a pinkish pearl accent bead. Purple no slip, elastic headband.

 Vintage tulle & lace. Vintage, reclaimed pink speckled bead, with a pinkish pearl accent bead. Fuschia super no slip, elastic headband.

For the tomboy darling in your life.

Reclaimed cotton sourced from a vintage work shirt. Pearl beads accented with an orange seed bead. 

Each elSage piece is thoughtfully created with an awareness of sustainable design. I collect my materials from repurposed sources when possible. I believe in sustainable design & hope you think they are as cute as they are eco friendly.

What's your favorite source for repurposed materials? 

::Pear Study:: From Fruit Bowl to Wall

The boy has been in a fruit phase for months now, fruit is the only thing he loves to eat and he is able to put away a ridiculous amount of it. Due to this we usually have a pretty stocked fruit bowl. A little bit ago I got him several different types of pears and was struck by their different shapes.

 

I had carved a simple pear (Bartlett) silhouette in the past, this was originally done for the boy's room because he had such a love of pears at the time. Before long it was listed in my store and then ended up in Country Living Magazine.

  

 

Months after the first, now semi-famous pear I sat down with the fruit bowl and started to sketch.

Three of the four of these sketches made it onto block and were carved & printed. Here are the results.

I like them in red too. Especially in a kitchen with other pops of color.

I think the fruit and the boy were my muse on this one. Who/what is your muse?

::Coming Soon::

New elSage designs coming to the shop soon. Here's a sneak peek at just a few.

MiniSage for the girls:

I'm totally in love with this one. Made with quilting scraps from a local artist & recycled cotton (stripe). Attached to a new navy blue knit headband. Sustainable fashion at its best.

Vintage pillowcase & netting come together with a felt center. Attached to a grippy headband to stay in place on your active child's head. This one's perfect for summer!

Red recycled cotton & vintage tulle mingle with a yellow felt center to make this super cute headband that's ready for a picnic! Attached to a white knit headband.

And for the adults...

Regina & Deb bobby pins in red felt with blue & white stripe recycled cotton. This are so fun! More color combination soon! If you can't wait these are also carried at Kusler's in Snohomish.

Your thoughts and suggestions are always welcome in the comments section below.

::Goods From Our Garden:: Strawberries

Beautiful, huh?

 

::Wedding Wednesday:: Groomsmen

I freakin' love everything about this wedding, not just the groomsmen.

 Rad. See more wedding awesomeness & groomsmen here. 
(Warning, after you read about their wedding yo will want to be friends with them & be a smidge jealous of how pretty the bride is).

Kyle Weller's cool shot of the guys.

Love this photo from Leila Starre. 

 Loving the vintage funkiness of the outfits. I guess this is a Martha thing.

Classy, classic, cool shot. See more of these groomsmen.

 Super cool. Lovin' the suspenders. More stylie vintage groomsmen here.