What I've Been Doing....

a Whole LOTTA drawing & custom orders:)

it's been FUN. i really missed drawing in 2010

draw draw drawwwwww

xox, rachel

Dear Blog Protective Services,

please DO NOT take my Blog away from me.

i know i have been neglecting it but i do feed & bathe it!

it just has realllllly been enjoying running around naked lately

the weather has been super nice:)

so yeah, i love my blog.

and i will dress it up soon

PROMISE!

xox, rachel

The Permanent Installment of The Weekly Dose

better late than never, right?

hope you enjoy:)

XoX, rachel

Post Wedding Coma Happiness!

it's OFFICIAL!

my brother (in-law) is officially MARRIED and i have another sister:)

yesterday was AMAZING. i'm not a huge fan of weddings, not sure what that's all about?
all i know is yesterday was UNbelievable!
i shot all the photos of the bridal party & family
then on to the BEST part.....
taking richard and katie to this historic hotel on the beach called the driftwood. we got so many fun shots and just sort of basked in the happiness of our new addition to the family!

i am EXHAUSTED but managed to edit 1 photo
love these kids so much:)
EVERYTHING'S in its right PLACE
XoX, rachel

DIY Wedding CenterPieces for under $100!?!?

first off, NO, I'M NOT JOKING.......
katie, my soon to be sis-in-law, (in just 2 days!!!) rallied my help to make the centerpieces for the big day. their colors are red n' black (same that me & my man had), they are having a big wedding, they don't have a lot of money (again, same as us).

we set out to make 25 CENTERPIECES with only $100.

WE DID IT FOR $90!

here's what we bought:

a glue gun, tea lights, scissors, japanese washi tape, a few spools of ribbon, glue sticks for the glue gun, black decorative sand.....

25 clear glasses and/or vases of different shapes and sizes,
25 black vinyl records with red centers!

we thrifted all of these last 2 and they were only 25 CENTS a piece- the glasses were even 50% off-SCORE!!

we started off by using the glue gun to attach the ribbon to the glass. then we wrapped it around, snipped it and used another dab of glue to set it:)

katie used sheer ribbon to tie bows around some of the tops and bottoms

then we attacked some glasses with a variety of japanese washi tapes. this was so much fun to make patterns with:)

use scissors to cut the tape at the top & press firmly down around the top edge of the glass

since we only bought 8 bags of sand we had figured out that we could get 3 glasses filled out of each bag. i like to be presise so i measured out each glass.... neurotic? perhaps:)

the last step was placing the tea lights in the sand. we pushed them down a little bit, about halfway, so they would stay centered

place glass in the center of a record and you're DONE!
(all the tablecloths are going to be white so the black will really pop against these)
here is the breakdown of the dollar bills:

1 glue gun $7.99

1 bag of tea lights $3.99

scissors were free because who doesn't have a pair?

6 rolls of washi tape $3.50 each

3 spools of ribbon $2.99 each
1 bag of glue sticks $2.99
8 bags of sand $2.99 each
25 thrifted vinyl records  $.25 each (a steal!)

25 thrifted glasses $.25 each (plus 50% off!)

we spent about 90 bucks including tax annnnd we've got plenty of washi tape n' ribbon left over to get crafty with at a later date!
this was fun, inexpensive and the end result looks so perfect and is SO VERY MUCH a reflection of the soon-to-be
Richard & Katie Demsick!
huge congrats to them:)

xox, rachel

the SCARF!!!

as you may recall, one of my new years goals was to knit more! i've recently rediscovered my favorite Rowan pattern book, remember that too? well, i tweaked one of the patterns from said book and made this comfy blanket of a scarf for caroline to take with her when she goes off to school in february...... to York.......in London....yeah.......
lets not talk too much about that.
caroline loves it and i'm hoping it will be like some sort of security blanket that reminds her of me. the scarf can wrap her up in a hug and act as my arms!

good times:)

The Permanent Installment of The Weekly Dose

FlickR Fantastical

sources
(1st)  (2nd)  (3rd)  (4th)  (5th)

the amount of talent on FlickR NEVER ceases to blow my mind.

i get so inspired when i get lost in there:)

and it makes me want to learn more about how to use my camera.

ALL GOOD THINGS!
xox, rachel

It's a Small World Afterall.....

"My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl......"
wait, no, that's Ferris Bueller.
lets try this again:

My bestie Amy over at ThePeachTree has the really awesome boyfriend, papa J (that's not his real name but rather what we call him) who makes these magical paintings.

he recently opened up a shop on etsy called
smallworldgallery
check it:

incredible right?

in the artist's words:

"Each painting is created from the ground up -- from cutting the canvas to pouring the frames into a specialized mold. I draw inspiration from the people, architecture and daily routines of NYC where I have lived for over a decade."

this morning amy sent me the photo below of papa j's brushes & a train case i customized for them with a wall of his art. i about melted......

i love new shops. i adore this small world that's been created:)

here's to a great year for this shop!
SMALLWORLDGALLERY.ETSY.COM

The Permanent Installment of The Weekly Dose

This Week It's Time To...

i know, my shop is empty like it's never been empty before!

but ALL of that is about to change:)

i've been stock-piling and gathering

i've found some truly unique bags in some truly unique styles

stuff i've never had in the shop before.

I'M EXCITED 2 SHARE!

LOTS of photo shoots are going to be taking place this week

if you want to be notified when i "officially" begin the shop update just shoot me an email at

GetReadySetGo1980@gmail.com

and i will be SURE to put you on the list

xox, rachel

p.s.- i will be working on a nice little musical playlist for the week, in case you were wondering, in case you were hoping for some new jams in the new year. i've got you covered:)

2011 New Years Goals!!!

okay, who is ready for 2011? i know I AM!!!

2010 was one of the most challenging years of my life but it was also a year that forced me to grow in incredible ways. the amount of pain i endured was certainly NOT fun BUT i seriously wouldn't change a single thing. i am MASSIVELY GRATEFUL to be where i am today. i'm SUPER ready for exciting things in this next chapter.

SOOOO, WIPE THE SLATE CLEAN FRIENDS:)

here are 11 things i hope to accomplish:

i received this adorable bag when i purchased my RAD ORANGE ROBOT BANK from TrashBirdMakes.

it's brilliant, dare i say, GENIUS?! a great reminder to never stop dreaming. you're never too old

in my nearly 3 years of etsy being my full time job (whoa! really? Seriously?!?!?) i've had the honor of making about 6 "MERCH" cases for a variety of bands, artists etc. i WILL be making another this year..... i wonder who it will be for? that will be an exciting surprise:)

my youngest brother tristan, who is also my bestest bud, is CONSTANTLY inspiring me to try new things and get 35 kinds of crafty. he and i had a paint-day over the summer and it was EPIC! yes, it was that great, no joke. this year we will do it again. maybe we will even have TWO days of painting & music listening fun... i think it's time to kick things up a few notches, don't you? 

MAN ALIVE was i giddy like a little kid to get a record player this year for Christmas! i spent over a month trying to figure out how i was going to display my favorite albums & make them accessible.

looking forward, forward. forward to dedicating AN ENTIRE POST to what i came up with!

oh knitting, i adore YOU! and we've lost touch:( but that's gonna change. in fact, i've jump-started this one- i'm 2 hats & 1.5 scarves in! it feels so good to be back in the game again.

i've been doing a lot of walking. like, A LOT! like, maybe a million miles worth?

okay, maybe not that much but i've covered some serious ground. every time i go for these walks i treat myself to 2 pine cones, no more, because if you try to walk with more than 1 in each hand it makes your fingers bleed. trust me, i've tried, more than once. those suckers are sharp!!! anyways, i've collected/hoarded a whole tree's worth over here. i've got big plans for them. F-U-N!

technically i did not grow up in Detroit, Michigan but rather in a suburb of Detroit. however, i DID get to do many adventurous things in the city and i will FOREVER call the mitten my HOME! autumn in michigan is Perfection with 12 capital P's. the city i grew up in has it's very own cider mill for CIDERS-SAKE! i will be taking a trip this fall and snapping so many pictures that i may come home with both hands looking like "the claw". they may be stuck in "shooting position" for a while. i may even need to close the shop until they go back to their normal working state. i should make sure to let GRSG customers know in advance. look at me planning ahead;) hehe.

this is pretty straight forward. i just gotta write more. i love to do it and i'm on board for doing things i enjoy this year. i bought my tickets a few weeks ago. i heard there were a bunch left if you haven't purchased yours yet.

another straight to pointer. "No Surprises" by Radiohead get ready to be OWNED! it's going to be an extremely musical year in the Demsick house, what with robert playing guitar, tuba and as of last week the trombone! who knew?!?

when this was my full-time job it didn't take long for it to lose it's luster. i know for a fact that when i was hired to shoot "Holiday family cards" is when i OFFICIALLY began to DREAD shooting. it sucked all of the personality right outta the kids. that's just no fun. and we can't have any FUNN-NESS being lost. i just will NOT ALLOW IT in 2011.

some say "save the best for last". i saved the most important for last.

i will make time EVERY DAY to sit down, read my bible and get my God-time on!

if i do this, and only this, in 2011, i will be completely content:)

this part of my day is non-negotiable. it's like breathing. i can't live without it.

so yeah, i'd say i'm beyond stoked for this upcoming year. there will be twists and turns i never saw coming but that's part of the adventure, it's all a part of this thing we call "living life"
BRING IT ON!
i'm ready and well-equipped.
thanks for reading, if you did indeed read this whole thing, and even if you skimmed, well, thanks for skimming:)
what are your goals for 2011?
please share. i'm desperately curious. i wanna lengthen my list.
THE END.... for today
xox, rachel