catching fireflies fun and unique gifts

junk with LOTS of style

Turns out there's this chic market filled to the brim with vintage goods called Junk Bonanza that was being held just a half hour from St. Paul the same weekend I was attending The Creative Connection.  Lucky for me, the lovely Leigh Standley had extra room in her van for me to tag along for this treasure hunt. 

We bought the early bird tickets to avoid the crazy crowds & score the best finds.

I love the repurposing of this seat spring.

So many different collections of all kinds and displayed so creatively too!  It was hard not to indulge knowing I was limited to a suitcase.

Michelle scored a sweet letter A to pay homeage to her last name - Allen

Leigh & Michelle were capturing images with their snazzy SLR cameras. I'm very tempted to add one around my neck, but for now this slim point & shoot will do.

Slides for lampshades... bike seats for necklace displays ---- love clever repurposing & reinventing

Seriously... there was something for everyone.

Here's a few goodies that came home with us. I must say... I'm tempted to drive down next year -but that could be very, very dangerous ;-)

Stay tuned for more fun from my trip to the twin cites.

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neighborhood fall fiesta

With summer vacations behind us and fall schedules getting into a groove, Steve & I thought it was a fine time to reconnect with our neighbors & hear all about thier summer adventures.

So I dropped these invites in their mailboxes a couple of weeks ago & we had a fine fall party last Sunday.  (Not realizing that the 1st Lion's game was also on at this time, I made sure to have our television tuned to the channel for score updates throughout the afternoon.  GO LIONS!)

Since tomatos & basil are so tasty right now, I made a few of these delish skewers to add to the appetizer selection.

So many of the neighbors thanked us for hosting this little get-together and it was soooo easy to make it happen.  All you need is a few chairs, card tables (covered with cute tablecloths helps:-), some random weeds/flowers placed in flower vases/jars, a few of your favorite beverages on ice, paper plates, plastic forks & napkins.  And voila... you've got an afternoon of getting to know your neighbors a bit better!

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karla's place motto: love & do what you like

After soaking in the sun at South Haven for 5 days, we made a quick stop in Holland on the way back to Detroit. This town has some of the cutest shops around including the oh-so-sweet Karla's Place.  You know a shop is going to be lovely when you see this motto behind their checkout.

In Karla's words... "I can't describe myself as a mountain climbing, bungee-jumpin' kind of gal, but I would describe myself as adventuresome. I have found the biggest adventure is to live the life of my dreams. I encourage others to consider, 'If failure wasn't an option, what would I do?' It's amazing what you can learn about yourself when doing what you really, really, really want to do. Creating Karla's Place has been a great experience allowing me to learn each day, show my creativity, listen to others' stories, and encourage others to be fearless. It's not what you 'do' or the title that defines you, but what you are 'doing' in your community and in your own life that makes for an exceptional life."

No doubt that Karla is a artsy girly-girl with a vintage flair.  Her display style is dynamite & her collection of goodies (many of them handmade) are hard to resist.  I picked up a recycled t-shirt flower head band that I've already worn a handful of times :-)

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10 reasons I love South Haven

Since Steve & I grew up in the Grand Rapids area, we've always been partial to the beach towns of West Michigan.  So this year we decided to rent a little spot in downtown South Haven. We found this 2 bedroom place just a few blocks from the beach & downtown.  It's fairly easy to slip into living the good life & we really enjoyed our 5 days of get-away.

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creative connection countdown

It's been a long while since I missed the summer New York Gift Show, so I'm a little sad that I won't be able to see my artsy friends I always hang with in the big city.

"Have fun eating at 5 napkin burger, over dosing on pinkberry & taking in the latest broadway show ladies!"

But luckily I get to meet up with Michelle Allen, Leigh Standley & Amy Peters this September at this wonderful workshop/conference, The Creative Connection.

This long weekend in St. Paul, MN will be filled with fantastic art workshops,

as well as tasty food sessions,

 

plus loads of helpful panels filled with successful & talented ladies like...  Heather Bailey,  Amy Powers & Kelly Rae Roberts.

No doubt it will be a creatively charged long weekend filled with friends & fun.  Looking forward to sharing the experience with you.

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favorite new ann arbor artist

Steve & I managed to squeeze a few hours of touring through all the talent at the Ann Arbor Art Fair last Friday and Julie Beyer was one of our favorites!

She only had originals and they were fairly large so we didn't end up going home with one... but they have been on my mind so I had to share them with you :-)

Her art is fairly textured & she incorporates fabric & other images within the paintings too.

Just simply delightful! 

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It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

A beautiful day for a neighbor, Would you be mine? Could you be mine?

We just had two new families move in on our street so we put together a couple of welcome packages filled with delicious scones from Elwin & Co and tasty blueberry butter from Yellow Door.

I remember our next door neighbor did something very similar for us when we moved to the area seven years ago and it just warmed my heart.

It's funny how an act of kindness that takes 15-30 minutes to put together can have an impact that lasts years.

And who says it has to be new neighbors?  Isn't this cheerful package clever & fun?

Once my kitchen is back to working order, I'm tempted to whip up these jars of deliciousness.

And this takes my small gesture to another level of neighborhood love!

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2011 Best of Detroit Party Pics

A BIG THANK YOU to all our firefly fans who voted us Best Gift Shop for the 5th year in a row.  And KUDOS to our amazing team who makes our whimsical world a wonderful place to visit every day of the week.

No doubt, we were born to boogie.  Cheers to another year of making days brighter!

Click HERE for more party pics :-)

Delivering Smiles on Valentine's Day

Thanks to all our generous & crafty firefly fans, we were able to deliver LOTS of handmade cards to the kids at Children's Hospital. 

Kudos to all the families & groups like... Orion Oaks Elementary, North Oakland YMCA, Girl Scout Troop 40495, Delta Kelly Students, SCHS Student Council, Little Lambs at Christ Church Cranbook, Angell Elementary, Renaisannce High School, Roots & Shoots, International Academy of Macomb, Best Academy of Highland Park, Great Lakes Academy and MANY MORE.

Since we were in the neighborhood, we scheduled in a tasty lunch at Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes.  There are so many delicious options, it was hard to choose just one.

We left the card deliveries to the nurses & doctors, however we spent some time in the activities center with the kids & helped them decorate mail boxes to put their cards in.

During our stay we got to see Yellow Door Artist, Gretchen Kramp's amazing tile installation.  It's simply stunning & so uplifting.

Child Life Projects Specialist, Deanna Scanlon shared, "Just wanted to let you know that Valentine's Day here at the Children's Hospital of Michigan was a HUGE success! Thank you so much! We have managed to give away most of the cards so far! So many patients, families and the staff had made positive comments! It's just awesome!  It would not have been possible without your efforts! You are truly appreciated! Happy Valentine's day to you!"

THANKS * THANKS * THANKS * You've helped us shine a bright light in our community <3

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new york - old friends

One of the many fun parts of my job is getting to travel to trade shows twice a year.  Not only do I get to scout out fabulous new goodies for catching fireflies & sell my ai paper goods to stores across the US, but I also get to catch up with my oh-so-talented artist friends.

Like the wonder-fully whimsical Miss Michelle Allen,

the always delightful Leigh Standley,

and the sweet-sweet Amy Peters.

I'm truly blessed to know such an amazing group of creative gals that always inspire me.

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