Rose Petals

There is something so sweet yet luxurious about roses. They are my favorite flower, not just because they are the symbol of love or because I was named after them, but because they transport me to another place and time. They are rich in history, romance and of course beauty.  MelroseFields is and incredible, rose-filled shop on Etsy. They create the most amazing, colorful dried bouquets of real flowers that I've ever seen. They preserve the essence of the flower and create long lasting, gorgeous arrangements that live on forever. Here is an example of their exquisite rose diffuser bouquets.

More roses... My favorite pale pink, rose shimmer ring just sold from my MiaRosina shop. I almost selfishly took it out of the store a while back because the petals turned out perfectly and I just loved looking at it. I hope whoever wears this ring enjoys it as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Some fun facts on roses:

• Roses are the favorite flower for 85% of Americans
• George Washington was rose breeder
• The rose is New York's state flower
• Shakespeare refers to roses more than 50 times throughout his writings

Vampin' It Up

I have always loved the vampires. I was a fan of Anne Rice long before Brad Pitt ever assumed the role of the beautiful, tortured Louis. And Catherine Denueve couldn't have been more elegant as one of my favorite blood suckers in The Hunger. I used to swoon and sway to the sounds of The Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division and of course, Bauhaus.  I have always loved the mystery of the vampire long before Hot Topic made it trendy and long before they ever *gasp* sparkled. Heck, I remember when Hot Topic first opened in the mall. And we weren't happy about it either.

Flash forward to present day. I've traded in my patent leather stilettos for a cute pair of sensible wedges. My living room is my new dance floor and the sounds of Mickey Mouse and his friends are the DJs. My three-year-old is my dance partner and while my favorite color will always be blood red, I'm forced into a pastel world colored in pinks and purples. Don't get me wrong, I love this bright and cheery life of mine, but every now and then I like to revisit the dark side. Lucky for me vampires have made a comeback in full force.

I have fallen for Vampire Bill on True Blood and I have been pleasantly surprised at how addicted I am to the Vampire Diaries. I was actually sad after the season finale last week. What?? I have to wait months for more Salvatore brothers?  Sigh... And this is what prompted my latest Etsy treasury, He Whispered. So while I wait for Sookie Stackhouse and her band of handsome vamps to return for the summer, this is a little something to tide us all over.

Enjoy, sucker!

L.A. Made on the Front Page

The tumbleweeds have been rolling through my blogs, Etsy shops and pretty much every other area of my life that doesn't involve a nearly three-year old little girl, some form of cartoon characters and cold medicine. I thought the older my daughter became the more time I would have to work on all of my fun projects. Nope. Instead my very talkative, demanding, creative child keeps my days filled with play dates, gym classes, ballet and Disney characters. Oh, and did I mention germs? It seems lately I have become a germ magnet picking up every nasty virus - including pneumonia - from every snotty kid that we come in contact with. It's been a real blast.

The last few months my treasury making days came to a complete standstill until yesterday when I just so happened to check in on Craftopolis and it just so happened to be within six minutes of a treasury opening up. Sweet. I used to plan out my treasury ideas in advance, painstakingly selecting each item for its design and theme. Not yesterday. Yesterday I went over to the local listings and quickly browsed through artists from Los Angeles.

There were so many incredible shops that this treasury was actually really easy to put together. It's like the puzzle pieces were shouting at me and within a matter of minutes L.A. Made was created.  I used to email all of the artists included in my design, but again between the haze of Dayquil and the energy of my kiddo, I didn't bother. I didn't have time to bother. In fact, I nearly forgot to check in on the treasury itself.

Thanks to Twitter and to Atomique47 who tweeted about her beautiful clutch being included in my treasury, I checked in. In fact, I just so happened to check in as it made the front page of Etsy! So, not only did I happen to snag a treasury at just the right moment, I also happened to be online to actually view my front page in real time - in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. Sweet!!

I'm taking it all of this "just so happened" luck as a sign that I need to make a little more time for my projects again. They are good for me and my soul. I miss them and this blog. Here's L.A. Made - this one's for you, Los Angeles!

Three's a Charm

I am so thrilled to have my roses featured in three very cool, very different treasuries this week! Big thank yous to: WickedGems for featuring my coffin pendant in this very vampy treasury, JooJooLand for designing such an enchanting layout and including my pink rose ring, and last but not least, Danikamon for actually making a beautiful, glow-in-the-dark treasury!

Smile with JooJoo

It's always a nice surprise when an item gets featured in one of those glorious, twelve little boxes of a treasury. And even though I never expect to be featured in return by a seller I've showcased, it's an extra sweet treat when it happens. Like today. My Sapphire Rose Ring was featured in this beautiful, September Stars treasury thanks to the whimsical artist, JooJoo.

I recently discovered her charming shops while I was curating one of my treasuries and I've been an admiring fan ever since. Her first shop, JooJoo, contains delightful prints of her original paintings such as this "tiny pink birdie" pictured above. Her second shop, JooJooLand, ups the sweet factor a notch by taking her enchanting artwork into 3D with her hand sculpted jewelry pieces and miniature sculptures. The photographs of her products are also incredible works of art themselves and needless to say, they look wonderful in treasuries.  The bottom line, JooJoo makes me smile.

I know she will make you smile too, so enjoy her September Stars treasury and be sure to visit her sweet shops (oh, and wish her a happy birthday too!).

Prints: JooJoo.etsy.com
Mini sculptures and jewelry: JooJooLand.etsy.com
Visit her blog: www.JooJoo.me

Refresh Yourself

I love getting that email. You know the one – the email from a seller stating they have listed you in you in one of their Treasuries. As much as I love seeing my shop name in a Craftopolis list, I love getting a convo from a real, live person. And that's what happened today.

I missed the Treasury countdown this morning since I was off to the beach with my daughter to enjoy her very first visit with the sand and waves.  Now that we are home and she is zonked out from our fun-filled morning, I decided to check in on Etsy. To my delight, a convo from a seller named SHIHAR appeared in my inbox. Her Treasury, "Refresh Yourself," has a lovely assortment of breezy items that make me feel like I am still sitting under our umbrella making sand castles with my little one. She kindly included my Hand Sculpted Silver Rose Pendant from my MiaRosina shop in her design and I'm honored to be in the mix. 

Here is her Treasury and I invite you to visit her beautiful, exotic clothing line from Israel. Enjoy!  SHIHAR.etsy.com

Oh So Blue Today…

Craftopolis is so cool. In addition to their Treasury Clock that counts down to the magical number 333 for you, they also have this very neat tool to let you know if your shop has been featured in a Treasury called Treasure Hunt. Before Craftopolis came on the scene you had to either a) hope the curator would email you or b) scroll through page after page after page searching for a little star next to a Treasury title. Watching those color wheels spin around and around and around can steal the excitement out of it for sure.

Today I went to Craftopolis to check in on the Treasury Clock. Damn… I missed it. Ah well… I then typed in my shop name and low and behold a lovely title of "When the Stars Go Blue" popped up. Ding-ding-ding, I'm a winner! Thank you, AllysAttic for including my Blue Rose ring in your dreamy Treasury.

MiaRosina.com Promo Video