Like most blog enthusiasts, I spend a fair amount of time traveling from one blog to another and discover new ones constantly.  I’ve made a conscience decision on craft • lovely to only list the blogs I frequent the most in the sidebar, because if I listed all the blogs I have bookmarked in my internet browser it would be unbearably, agonizingly long… seriously.

A recent find for me is the gorgeously photographed The Jewels of New York.  The way the food is shot is so sumptuous and decadent I can’t help but want scan every recipe they’ve listed for the last month for hopes of boxing myself in for a weekend cooking spree.

This particular recipe is for a berry rose beverage.  With my love for strawberry ice cream and carbonated sweet drinks like raspberry lime rickeys… I think I’ll be trying this drink tomorrow.

Berry Rose Float – The Jewels of New York

{image shown belongs to The Jewels of New York}

With the temperature reaching 60°F this past Sunday, I went for a walk in the woods to soak up the good weather while it lasts (being a New Englander, I know that snow can still come even into April).  I decided to bring my camera, which always affects the type of walk I’ll have.  If I simply walk, I am engrossed in my surroundings.  I focus on the steady rhythm of my feet marching, the crunch-crunch of leaves underfoot and deeply breathe in the forest smells.  But if I bring my camera, I’m mostly focused on finding the next “good shot”.  Stopping, shooting, and starting again, my walk moves at a snail’s pace (today’s walk should’ve taken me an hour, but turned into two).  I enjoy both types of walks, but each is fulfilling for different reasons.

On the trail, the last of the snow was melting, making it full of muddy patches (luckily, I wore my green wellies!).  The water funneled down hillsides into basins creating vernal pools.  Lichen and newly sprouted plant life were scattered amongst the forest floor.  Seeing so much ground (sans snow) was refreshing, it means spring truly is on it’s way.  It made me realize that even in March, with most of the woods still looking brown, when you stop to notice the details it definitely is not barren.

{to view more of my spring hike photos, please visit my Flickr}

I first came across Myra Callan and her company, Twigs & Honey, on Etsy when I became obsessed with the idea that I simply MUST buy a black feathered hair fascinator (a hair clip, cap or headband).  As soon as I saw her work, I ached to have a reason to buy one of her hair adornments (would it be wrong to get married all over again to my husband, just 2 years later, just to wear one of her pieces?).  I even fell in love with her boutonnieres.  Her attention to detail and obvious standards for high quality materials are shown in her organic and truly unique accessories.  I can’t make up my mind which I’d rather wear, a feathered hair adornment, an elegant birdcage veil with flower clip, or perhaps one of her silk flower necklaces… oh wait, maybe that flowered belt!  Could it be so wrong to wear one of these just because they’re gorgeous, with no real occasion to wear them to?

Please look at more of her work found on Twigs & Honey’s website or their Etsy shop.

{images shown belong to Twigs & Honey}

I recently completed a wedding invitation project for my sister’s friends, Derrick and Stacey.  The project was a whirlwind and moved extremely quickly.  Thankfully for Derrick and Stacey, they were great to work with and knew exactly what they wanted.  They decided to elope and honeymoon in St. Lucia and have not one, but two receptions with family and friends upon their return.  They wanted their invitations to feel classic, simple, and elegant with colors reminiscent of dune grasses and sandy beaches.  They are, I believe, still honeymooning as we speak.  Congrats to the newly married and happy couple!

Hello and welcome to craft • lovely!

I am a graphic designer with a focus on letterpress.  After years of lurking through many, many blogs, I’ve finally decided to take the plunge and create my own.  The name of my blog came from the following thinking:

Craft:  I like the history behind the word craft.  Artisans and craftsmen being highly skilled, carrying on a tradition that has been passed down through the generations.  I admire the importance that craft has, and that craft is still important today (in such a technology-focused world).  I enjoy crafting things (through design, cooking or baking, gardening, etc.) as well as the idea of crafting your own life and molding yourself into the person you want to be, personally and professionally.

Lovely:  I like the lyrical sound of the word, the alliteration of the L’s.  I also like the connotation I have with it: charming, exquisite, having simplicity but still having character.  A direct definition of the word is: having a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as to the eye.  The word has a light hearted quality to it, and is a good juxtaposition for the grounding qualities of the word craft.

I hope this forum can act as an online sketchbook of the many creative things affecting my work and life.  Thank you for visiting, I’m so glad you’ve stopped by.  Consider this an open invitation to come again!

~ Colleen