Sweet Betty Jean Ultimate Giveaway for American Cancer Society

This week is the last week to enter for a chance to WIN an amazing package and it is for a great cause.....

Winner receives the best Sweet Betty Jean & her vendors have to offer:

~ Sweet Betty Jean - Miss Betty Package
~ Including 15 perfectly polished pinups & a lil' black book
~ Signature hair & makeup styling by Che'mel Salon
~ Lash Extensions by Salon Ish
~ Shopping spree at Orange Clothing Boutique
- Shopping spree at Vanity Fashion Boutique
~ Retro inspired jewelry made by me (Ada Rosman)
~ Over the top hairpiece from Lillie Miller
~ Custom pinup bottoms by Gay Springer
~ Six weeks of training with Taiso Fitness

All together more than a $3000 Value!

All you have to do is donate to the American Cancer Society!
For every $25 donation, your name is entered into the drawing for the ultimate Sweet Betty Jean session. So on and so forth.
Donate $100 and you get 5 entries!

Donations will be taken online up until August 12 and in person at The Hick Party on August 13 where the winner will be chosen live on stage! Need not be present to win but if you are, you'll be getting a little something extra!

100% of the proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society.

ENTER YOUR $100 DONATION TODAY AND GET OUR LIMITED EDITION DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' TSHIRT! Available for donations made only from August 5 thru August 12!

ENTER HERE: http://christypelland.blog​spot.com/2011/07/sweet-bet​ty-jeans-ultimate-giveaway

Bunky Boutique// Hello Arizona!

Bunky Boutique is a local contemporary independent boutique that is home to an array of clothes, jewelry, and accessories from designer to indie labels.

I am finishing up an order and soon you will be able to find my jewelry in Arizona at Bunky Boutique. If you live in the area, make sure to come by and take a look at this lovely space and my work.

Who:: Bunky Boutique

Website:: www.bunkyboutique.com

Where:: 1437 N. 1st St./ Phoenix, AZ 85004

Is it a scarf? Is it a necklace?

What do you think..... is it a scarf? Is it a necklace?

Well the neck piece is a mix between a scarf and necklace so let's just call it a scarflace for now. Each of my scarflaces will be one-of-a-kind and truly fun. It's a perfect little accessory that can be worn year round.

Happy Father's Day!!!

Being a parent is definitely no easy task and it seems like there definitely is no manual for it. I am grateful for such a great dad, who has taught me not to be afraid of doing things on my own. So in honor of father's day, here is a picture of my dad and I when my family lived in a refugee camp in Rome, Italy circa 1986.

I also wanted to share with you a sneak peek of a custom leather cuff bracelet that a wife had contacted me to design for her husband. They are expecting their first child on June 20th, 2011. They have already picked out his name, but haven't told anyone what it is. Shhhh.... don't tell anyone. HAHA. I can't wait to share with you what is written on the inside of the bracelet and the meaning behind it all. Congratulations to them both on this lovely new adventure in their life!

Wishing all the fathers and fathers-to-be a Happy Father's Day!!!

PS. I would love to ask you all.... what is something your dad taught you?

Bumbershoot 2011!!!

I had promised on my facebook page that I would be posting some exciting announcements on my blog this week. Well here is the first one.....

I am excited to share with you that the Tacoma Art Museum will be featuring hand-crafted art. And even more thrilled to tell you that I was invited to be one of the artists to have their work at the Tacoma Art Museum booth at Bumbershoot this year. I will keep you all posted as more details become available.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

A little sneak peek into what I am currently working on in the studio. This will be part of my new collection that is inspired by my recent travels to Florida.

Oh boy, I can't wait to share with you what else I have in store. This collection will truly be perfect for summer!

Wedding Day Teaser:: Custom Leather Bracelet.

I thought I would share a little wedding day teaser. A few weeks ago, I was contacted to design a custom leather cuff bracelet as a wedding gift. This bracelet held a little secret.... it was designed to have a little message stamped on the inside of the bracelet for the wearer.

But you will just have to wait and see what it says. Congratulations to the lucky couple today and I hope they are enjoying their destination wedding!

Faworki (Angel Wings).

Another food loving blog of sorts. This was a fun surprise to be a part of and get to see the person actually be gifted a custom pair of Polish pastry earrings that I had made. It was a custom Mother's Day gift order, but we decided it would be nice since I am visiting to surprise the lucky mom with them while I am here. And what better way to serve up a delightful surprise like that then with an actual tray of delicious pastries.

These sweet crispy Polish pastries known as faworki are made out of dough which are shaped into thin twisted ribbons that have then been deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

A little fun fact that I learned today: The Polish word faworki "was the name reserved for colorful ribbons attached to either female or male clothing, especially such ribbons that were given to medieval knights by their ladies." Also, the word faworki ethnologically came to Poland from the French word faveur, meaning "grace" or "favour".

This mom truly loves her faworki and it was such a treat making these for her.

Food-Loving:: Bolivian Food.

So for those of you who frequently read or happen to follow my blog know that Bolivia has a special place in my heart and is a truly unique place to me. I don't know for how long I've had this desire to have some good Bolivian food, but unfortunately there really isn't any great Bolivian restaurants here in the Pacific Northwest. So I did some internet research on Bolivian food in Florida.

And to my amaze I found a restaurant (Las Americas) that specializes in Bolivian cuisine in Little Havana, Miami. Eeek! I couldn't wait to try just about everything that was on the menu.

I had invited my mom to dinner and was truly excited about this because she has never had any Bolivian food other then the anticuchos (grilled beef hearts) I had made at home. Needless to say it was quite a feast. We started off with some salteñas-- a type of Bolivian baked empanada. I know I have mentioned in previous posts my love for these. Perhaps, I should try to make some on my own and share them on the blog.... what do you think?

Looking over on the menu I noticed that one of the soup specials for the day was sopa de mani (one of my favorite Bolivian soups), but the waitress soon informed me that they had just given another table the last order. So we ordered some bowls of sopa de quiona instead. Quinoa is a tiny yellow grain that is grown in the Bolivian highlands. An interesting little fact: the Incas held the crop to be quite sacred and actually referred to the quinoa as chisaya mama or "mother of all grains", the Inca emperor would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season by using "golden implements".

I wanted my mom to try a typical dish from the city of Cochabamba (side note: Cochabamba is definitely one of my favorite cities in Bolivia). This dish known as silpancho has quite a few different layers. The bottom of the plate consists of a base layer of rice, which is then followed by layers of potatoes, on top of all this is a super thin schnitzel-style meat, which is then covered with yet another mixed layer of chopped tomato, onion and parsley. All of this is then topped with either one or two fried eggs. Let me tell you when I first encountered this meal at Palacio del Silpancho in Cochabamba I was left a bit speechless and wasn't quite sure how I would finish it all. Las Americas Restaurant didn't disappoint.... it was pretty close in flavor to what can be found in Bolivia.

Plus we also had some pique macho, which is a meal that consists of chunks of beef, sausage (hot dog type) plus french-fry cut potatoes and to top it all off sliced boiled eggs, tomatoes, onions, olives and jalapeños. The entire dish is then finished with ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. Typically in Bolivia instead of the jalapeño, a locoto pepper garnishes the dish. This pepper is primarily found in Central and South America.

Along with the meal we had mocochinchi - a dehydrated peach cider. This is probably one of the (if not THE) most served beverages in Bolivia. You can find it in any region of Bolivia and is surprisingly quite sweet. In Bolivia you'll see this sold on street corners and in parks and plazas, usually in large glass jars, along side other drinks such as chicha and somó. So as you can tell that it was quite the feast and it definitely helped fill that craving I had for Bolivian food.

Work in Progress:: Re-Styled Vintage Daisy

Just wanted to share with you a sneak peek into one of the NEW re-styled vintage pieces that I am working on, which will later be available in my Etsy shop.

I love playing around with the vintage pieces. I especially enjoy just putting them all out in front of me and just moving the different pieces around just like in a puzzle searching for the right piece. I have always had a love of all things vintage since as long as I can remember. I think my grandmother finds it a bit funny that when I visit her in Poland, how I can become so entertained for hours looking through random old things. I'll be posting more pictures of the necklace when I finish the piece and I promise to entertain you with some vintage treasure travel tales.

PS- I really like how these all of these vintages pieces flow together, what do you think? I personally think it would be a lovely piece for a bride.

Morocco:: Lemon Fashion Shoot

I posted a sneak peek on my facebook page earlier today from Claire Eliza's "Lemon" fashion shoot with Miss Layne. I just wanted to share with you yet another glimpse here on my blog. This shoot featured one of my favorite necklaces (Morocco 3- Necklace) from my diseño collection.

I love how this piece gives a glimpse into a shape that is typically seen throughout Moroccan architecture. This simple scalloped shape can be seen used over doorways, on windows, adorning arches, and throughout the ornate tile work. I just can't imagine when I have the chance to travel to Morrocco, how truly engulfed I will be in the stunning architecture. Not many people know, but at one point in my university career I wanted to study architecture thus now you can better understand my slight love affair with architectural details. But for now I dream of traveling to Morocco through my architecture books.

Claire has put together another absolutely lovely fashion film that actually features the necklace pictured above. Thank you Miss Claire! Go ahead and take a look below:

To see more pictures from this shoot and other fashion shoots, please head on over here.

Work in Progress:: Kelly Green Bridesmaid Jewelry

Hello everyone! It has definitely been quite some time since my last blog post. My trip to Florida was absolutely lovely and a much needed break from studio work. I definitely got a ton of inspiration and I'm looking forward to sharing with you the new collection that will be out later this spring. But until then, I would love to share with you some custom orders that I am working on.

Today, I would like to feature a special green inspired necklace. My friend contacted me if I had any green jewelry. Her friend is getting married and she is one of the bridesmaids. She forwarded me an email with the inspiration for the necklace--- the kelly green ties that the groomsmen will be wearing.

She told me that she really liked my re-styled vintage collection and would love to have a piece of jewelry that incorporated vintage elements as well as it being a statement piece. I came up with some sketches and emailed the following ideas to her.

From those sketches I was able to find out what Maria liked and didn't like, which resulted in the following design.

The necklace will incorporate a mix of magnesite turquoise, a strand of silver colored freshwater pearls, a lovely vintage chunky faux gold chain plus two strands of green mother of pearl shell coin beads. Plus some lovely vintage art deco glass buttons in green which will be incorporated randomly throughout the necklace. I can't wait to share with you the final piece, but you'll have to wait until May for that! ;)

sun and sand.

Florida.

Last week was quite busy, I am quite sorry for not getting to all my posts. I am now off getting inspired by this beautiful world we live in. I will plan on posting all of the other blog posts once I get back from my trip to Florida.

Until then I will randomly post things that inspire me on my travels here.

Sneak Peek :: NEW Website.

Okay, so today's post will be short, but super sweet. I am so excited about my new website design that I wanted to give you all a little sneak peek at it. Alex Penny has done a wonderful job of listening to everything I have wanted and it looks absolutely awesome. I can't wait to see it all finished.



Thanks Alex!

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Swan Lake.

The inspiration for this photo shoot was ballerinas----think a beautiful mix of Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Black Swan. Lace, ruffles, layers, and pearls. As I got to designing the pieces for the photo shoot with Claire and the ladies, I decided to incorporate this vintage fabric I had hidden away.



When I bought the fabric I didn't really have an idea in mind, but rather just loved the look and feel of it. I loved the delicate embroidery, scalloped edges, and those sweet little eyelets. I wanted the piece to incorporate all of the inspirational elements as well as to have this feminine feel that also evoked a sense of innocence.



Thus this ruffled half-Peter Pan collar came about. There are several items that distinguish a Peter Pan collar from other types of shirt collars, however, the most characteristic is the rounded edges.



As I got to researching more about Peter Pan collars and how they came about. The name of the collar is actually a reference to Peter Pan (yes, that lovely fictional character that lived in Neverland in the novel of the same name, which was written by J.M. Barrie in the early 1900s). As many of you know the story is a fairytale about a mischievous little boy who can fly that refuses to grow up, and the Peter Pan collar is intended to evoke the same fairytale sense of eternal youthfulness.



The shape and name of the Peter Pan collar seems to have originated in the mid-twentieth century. This design was very popular for school uniforms, but also started to spill over into popular culture. Despite the collar being named after a masculine character, the Peter Pan collar has been mostly associated with feminine fashion and rarely does it appear in men's fashion.



Peter Pan collars are typically quite modest, since the collar itself hugs the neck thus not leaving much room for display of décolletage or cleavage. Instead of creating a full traditional Peter Pan collar I opted to make half of one.



I love the way it looks worn on the body. The necklace gently hugs around the neck mimicking a Peter Pan collar with the rounded edge in front, however, it starts to take on a new look with the focus being on the center adornment. The middle portion where typically the collar edges would meet is layered with various white freshwater pearls that have been hand stitched and mixed in with pieces of vibrant amethyst and layers of sterling silver chain.



This has definitely become one of my favorite pieces. I can't wait to share with you next week some of the other images from the Swan Lake shoot as well as a wedding-esq inspired collar plus more custom/personalized work. Have a wonderful weekend!


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Fashion Shoot :: Swan Lake.
Model Photos by Claire Eliza
Hair and Makeup: Melissa and Ashley at Che'mel Salon
Outfits: Vanity Boutique. Tacoma, Washington


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Fa'atasi.

This past summer, Katie had contacted me in regards to personalizing a rectangle shaped bracelet in my Etsy shop. The bracelet was a gift for her boyfriend and she wanted the bracelet to be personalized with the word: fa'atasi

Fa'atasi is Samoan for together, in unison. She wanted to get matching bracelets as a way to show their commitment to each other and their relationship as she was leaving for the Peace Corps in Samoa in October. Thank you Katie for sharing your story.

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Wedding Walk Tacoma.

So my table at the Wedding Walk this past Sunday was at the Tacoma Union Station. The Tacoma Daily Ledger had once praised the building as "the largest, the most modern and in all ways the most beautiful and best equipped passenger station in the Pacific Northwest". The space now serves as a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The space is now adorned with various Dale Chiluly installations that are truly massive in scale. His pieces look absolutely stunning against the architectural details at the Union Station. The bursts of colors pop against the coffered domed ceiling. It so neat to imagine that at one point in time this was a key hub of transportation for so many.

Tammi's (TLB Events) vision and execution of the design for the space was absolutely brilliant. The space was adorned with crystals, pewter tones, and splashes of hot pink throughout the space. While Maria of Weddings Northwest created these gorgeous floral arrangements.

I got to share the afternoon with some of my favorite ladies. Our tables were arranged together in one corner of Union Station. Here is Melissa's lovely table of Che'mel Salon:

Lillie's table of custom wedding hair pieces--- flourish by lillie.

Plus Christy Pelland's Sweet Betty Jean pin up artistry.

And here is a few pictures of my table as well as some detail shots of my custom wedding jewelry. Plus you can also see how I used those collection cards that I blogged about yesterday.

To see more photos from the day, head on over to my: flickr page

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