Helloooooooo Out There!!!!!

Hello my blog friends, that is if you haven't given up completely...  First thank you to so many of you who contacted me wondering if I had shuffled off this mortal coil.  Your concern touched me deeply.  I am happy to say I am alive and well.  My story follows below...  you may want to get a cup of tea, it is a long tale indeed.

Life has been quite a journey for this last, almost a full year.  Many a twist and turn with some beautiful destinations and also some hair pin turns along the way.  Most of the journey has been beautiful, just so full that I find myself jet lagged though I've not been near an airplane.   Without much notice I had to move from my magical home to another location on this ranch that I love.  Of course my business had to go too with all my myriad props and supplies.  Trying to accomplish this in the middle of designing weddings every weekend added to the character in my face and greying hair.  This took place about 2 weeks after my last post.  My new home is just as magical as my old one although it took some work and is itsy bitsy faerie tiny!  There is a dilapidated greenhouse on the grounds that I turned into a prop house so I was able to organize and stow all my treasures, thank goodness!  I also dragged my workspace down and set it on the grounds as well.  That was a story in itself.  It and my beautiful large picture window made it without breaking I am happy to say.

I had to start over with the garden which was both daunting and also delightful.  As I watered I discovered that there has been what seems like an herbalist here before me.  Many wonderful surprises popped out of the ground and now I feel like an old wise woman with an apothecary's garden. I must study herbs while I am here!  I have added to my secret garden in spades so that now it is overflowing and beautiful!   Pictures soon to follow.

One of the unexpected destinations on my last years journey was a lovely gentleman that I am happy to say I now call my sweetheart.  He is more of a match than I thought possible.  He is many wonderful things, some of which are musician, jewelry maker, painter, avid gardener (he has been hugely responsible for the changes in our yard!), farmer, deeply spiritual and also has the honor of conducting Native American inspired ceremony.  I feel like I have come home and oh so blessed!  We have been together for 10 months now, which also explains my absence (insert a knowing smile).

Here we are dressed in Steam punk attire for a wedding I designed.  

Here we are just before a graduation ceremony that I was honored to be in.  That is another chapter in my exciting journey which I will post more of soon.  In brief I have become part of a wonderful women's program called Woman Within.  It is an organization that has its roots in ancient feminine rights of passage.  They offer many experiences with the first one being an initiation weekend.  I found myself connecting with deep parts of my self, forming bonds with other women and together reclaiming our power.  It is a beautiful group that is international so if you are interested there may well be an initiation weekend near you.  They also have a male counterpart called The Mankind Project which holds the same purpose for men.  They truly work miracles in men's lives helping them to find an emotional connection with them selves and their brothers.  These men come out transformed and it is a gift to witness.  My sweetheart has been involved with them for many years and introduced me to Women Within.  They were founded by a husband and wife team over 30 years ago.  Truly organizations of sacred alchemy!

Here are some pictures of my home... below is the before.  I will post some after pictures in the next few days.

 Not much of a garden to speak, who would have known all the sleeping beauties that were going to poke their heads out soon. 

Above is the old greenhouse my girlfriends and I turned into Aladdin's Cave.  

(Above )This was the magical sight that greeted me on the day I moved in.  Peacocks all over the roof.  I took it as a blessing and moved in with a light heart!

Here you can see the front of my little house.  It used to be the old store for the ranch when they grew Christmas trees.  I love the old writing and the western style.  It feels as if I am in an old movie! Again in this picture the Peacocks are welcoming me home.  This land is so magical!  From our front door all day long we hear the exotic call of these beautiful birds.  There is also a family of Hawks that live in the tall Eucalyptus trees nearby.  They soar right over our house and cry out to one another.  Just visible in the distance is an majestic old train trestle bridge with the ocean just beyond whose waves we can hear crashing on heavy surf days.  Sometimes I can't believe my blessed life.   

There has been a few challenges along the way.  Somewhere, it appears, I came into contact with that enemy of immune systems... the dreaded MOLD!  As a result I have managed to catch everything that has been going around for several months running.  Just recently I contracted 3 separate viruses with the result that I have been covered in blisters for the last 5 weeks!  The bitter with the sweet I guess.  I am working with a Natural Path and taking so many vitamins that if you shook me I would rattle.  One benefit is that I have no need to fear any vampire as I am eating 10 plus cloves of raw garlic per day to beef up my immune system.  Fortunately my man likes garlic!  I am hoping I am on the mend, I know all the emotional energy, both the bad AND the good have taken its tole on my system as well.  I try and rest as much as I can these days.  That part is nice though I am getting antsy!

Of course I have done many a wedding and photo shoot over the last year.  Here is a sampling.

This picture above is from an amazing shoot I did with Elizabeth Messina and Twigs and Honey.  I took the above picture, sort of a "behind the scenes"shot.  Elizabeth's picture is below.   We used my styling, props and vintage clothes and Twigs and Honey's incredible hair adornments.  Myra Callen the owner and designer of Twigs and Honey is so talented and also a beautiful soul.  It was a pleasure to work with her!

 Here are some more...

These pictures below are again from Elizabeth Messina but the shoot was for Shop Ruche.

I was one of the stylists and also did all the florals.  So much fun!

Below is a flower wall I made.  Super luscious but a TON of work!!!

Below is a tantalizing picture from a shoot I did with Shirlie Kemp.  I won't show you any more as I am hoping to include it in a magical book.  Another project I am working on.  Oh those faeries...  they do like to keep me busy!

Well I think I will leave you with that for now.  There is much to report which I will do over the next few weeks.  Many a new project is being born, especially as I rest.  Ideas are hatching faster than I can keep up.  I so hope you are all well and thriving!  I am soooo happy to be back!

Blessings to you always and forever!

Tricia

The Goings On....

Well I have been a busy bee this last month.  I am actually a little embarrassed to say I am in 3 magazines and an online store's Lookbook at the moment with another magazine due out any day now (I'm hiding behind my computer screen... blushing).  There was a time in my life when I was so eager for publicity, to get my name and work out, now it is happening and I feel incredibly blessed.  Life is quite a ride at times  : )

The first up is a double hitter... a fabulous online magazine in Australia called Magnolia Rouge showcased a huge shoot I did with the amazing photographer Elizabeth Messina and a fun company called ShopRuche.  They are a great online fashion and accessories house.  Our photos actually made the cover!  It was an amazing shoot that took place all over the ranch I live on.  It was for ShopRuche's Spring Look Book and what fun goodies they have!    The magazine Magnolia Rouge also asked me for an article on tips for your wedding and included a HUGE add for me.  Here is the add, the photo is from Elizabeth Messina, she actually created the add for me...  Definitely I'm in good hands!

Visit Magnolia Rouge here and have a look at some the pictures, you can also read my article if you are so inclined (blush, blush).  Also definitely visit Shopruche for the complete pictures and maybe do a bit of shopping?!?!  Here is a sampling of some of the over-the-top shots!  The quality is not the greatest as I pulled them directly from the web site (I don't have the disc of images yet).  I did all the floral work and all the props are mine (never looked so good!!!)

I made this outrageous flower wall!!!!  Definitely doing that again...  soooo pretty!

Definitely have a look at shopRuche and see the many beautiful pictures in a good quality format!

Then I am over the moon to say that Romantic Country Home... (cover shown here)

was kind enough to feature Kelly Oshiro and my Tea time shoot (click here to see all the pictures) and then do a short article on me and my workspace.  Shirlie Kemp was the fabulous and fun photographer for my workspace and Kristen Ellis was the photographer for the Tea Time feature.  My French styled wedding that Shirlie shot is coming out any day now for French Country Style magazine too.  When we shot that Shirlie took the images of my work space.  Soooo fun!
Here are the images...

Then a lovely lady from England, Zarn from a new online magazine called Alice in Wedding Land featured my Faerie Wedding in her magazine.  This beautiful wedding has had so much publicity, people just love it.  So incredibly gratifying to see my work developing a life of its own...
As soon as I get the disc from Elizabeth I will post tons more pictures here so check back.  I also have more to share but will leave it for a future post as I think this is quite enough!!!
Hope you are all blooming in this beautiful Spring!
Blessings!
Tricia

Where Bloggers Create... or my little shop of bliss

Hello Everyone,

I am so happy to be a part of Where Bloggers create.  Click on the top image on the side bar on the right or HERE to go to the home page of the event and see all the other wonderful creative spaces of bloggers everywhere.  However please visit mine first!!!  Be prepared for a VERY long post though.  I am a creator not an editor (which involves eliminating! LOL!).
I will whet your appetite by showing you this picture of my workspace with one of the costumes I create...

However a bit of business first.
If you like my blog and are interested in following, please sign up and leave me a comment and I will put your name in a drawing to win this Butterfly Faerie wreath.  If you are already a followers just leave me a comment and I will put your name in too.

It is hard to tell in the picture but it is completely covered in glitter and very sparkley.

To give people lots of time as there are so many participants I will host the drawing on August 1st.  Good Luck!

Anyway back to my wonderful workspace and what I do...

In my life I wear several hats, one is an event/floral designer another is the caretaker of many, many cats for my husband's and my charity called The Lucky Few.  I also create costumes for fun as well as for events (click here to see a fantastical Faerie wedding I did).  I also paint and draw and just generally like to create.  I also have an Etsy shop where I sell my art pieces and vintage Native American jewelry which I adore.  The workspace that I am happy to call my own my very sweet husband built for me.  We call it a workspace but it is really a blissful playhouse!  The above picture is the outside front.  

It sits in the driveway of our home.  We live on a beautiful old ranch and most of the houses are on one street within the ranch.  All the neighbors know each other and most are workers on the ranch.  It is a wonderful old fashioned street with kids and animals parading up and down the block.  The foreman rides his horse down the street with a clip clop clip clop which I hear with enough time that I can run out and say hello.  The families on both sides of us are related and each have beautiful toe headed boys about 2 years old.  They wait for the foreman and the other Hispanic workers so they can yell "Holla" every time they go by.  The men on the ranch love these kids and slow down so they can speak to them and show off their trucks and horses to their admirers.  As I work on my events I inevitably spill out onto the driveway where then all the neighbors want to know what event I am working on and exclaim at how beautiful all the flowers are.  Often when I am slammed I will have all the moms on the block helping to create the flowers, washing the vases or the dishes, folding the napkins,  and such.  They are particularly helpful when the wedding is on the ranch.  We have a wonderful old barn that we rent from time to time.  The picture below is of a lovely couple that were the first to marry in the barn.  This lagoon is on the ranch too (I know...  this place is beyond beautiful!)!

It really is a most magical and beautiful way to live.  We are a small extremely precious community that is fast disappearing in these modern times.  My husband and I feel so incredibly fortunate to call this ranch our home.   Sooooo.......  the following LOADS of pictures are of my work-bliss space and all my props and goodies and some of the things I create.

I will start with a couple of pics of the inside and the costumes I made for the Faerie Wedding. These were taken by  Elizabeth Messina whom I was fortunate enough to have shoot the faeries for me.  She came by a couple of weeks in advance to see what I was up to and spontaneously took a few pictures of my workspace and costumes.  They are so much better than what I could ever possibly take.

This is the Faerie Brides dress  and wings hanging in the front of the workspace looking out towards the driveway.  You can see a couple other costumes as well.

This is the Faerie Bride's headdress.

Some of my ribbons and trims.

One of the Faerie Costumes.

Another costume, this is the Green Man (I didn't make the mask, it came from

a wonderful company by the name of Mythicalmasks.com).

So now begins my own pictures which pale in comparison to the master works of Elizabeth.

The entrance...  cone on in!

Looking back out the entrance towards the driveway.  A beautiful view!

Looking across the street at the field at sunset.

My china hutch.  I rent out my vintage china.  The statue on the right 

has been painted gold and used for a Versailles themed event, 

painted black and used for a Halloween party, etc, etc.  Now she is 

dressed and ready for a party!

I love to create vignettes of china, jewelry, etc.

Those are beautiful Haviland china mini dishes.  I used them as

salt dishes for the last wedding.

I am in love with the Haviland tea cups.  They are so delicate!  

I also collect vintage millinery flowers.

Occasionally I will use my stemware for intimate parties.  I also have quite a collection of cake plates.

This is one of my all time favorite tea sets.  The first bride that had her wedding in the barn (the lady in the boat) on the ranch gave me a gift certificate to our favorite store Anthropology, kind of in fun as her description to me as to how she wanted her wedding to look was to..."make it look like Anthropology".  I did and she loved it and I am happy to say it has been published in among other things China's Elle magazine.  I bought this tea set and treasure it!  I think of her every time I use it!  Not to mention I am obsessed with mermaids and faeries!

There are so many things here...  Vintage type trays, buckets of vintage lace, antique floral frogs,

vintage bottles, candelabras, apothecary jars...  so much!

Up close of the apothecary jars and a lovely bird house.

I have several beautiful bottles.

That's a vintage ink well.

More vintage bottles.  I use these all the time with flowers in them for wedding decorations

Look at these wonderful frogs... The tin is vintage, I use it open with 

flowers spilling out of it.

I am always collecting feathers which I use in my faerie costumes.  The jar is filled 

with sandalwood and the liquid is Lavender oil from the ranch which we sell in 

small bottles as party favors for weddings.

These are some vintage beaded flowers bouquets which I make and sell on Etsy.

I am forever using cloches (the glass domes) to put over flowers 

as centerpieces or sweets on desert tables.  I just love them and 

have several of all shapes and sizes.  Here are more cake stands, 

these are made from wood.

In vintage weddings I am forever using antique found bits 

like these door knobs and crystals.

I just love this vintage mini enamel ware tea set!  I will put tiny flowers

 flowers in them for an adorable look!

A tub of tea stained lace table cloths and several vintage crates and type trays.

My costume corner.  Most of these are for my faerie events.  I am also a complete nut for old trunks, vintage suitcases and treasure chests!  I use them all the time in my events and when they are not rented they work as storage.  These house lots of costume goodies.  Beyond the curtain is a huge space for prop storage which I will show you in a bit.

One of the costumes from the Faerie Wedding (look in the side bar for the full slide show).

I just love them all in mass, it feels like an eccentric Victorian woman's 

old fashioned boudoir...  hmmm... maybe that describes me?!

The top treasure chest has makeup, face glitter, elf ears and other goodies.

The next treasure chest has costume accessories and the Faerie Brides 

shoes from the Faerie Wedding.

Then comes a lovely huge trunk filled with more costumes or 

bridesmaids dresses that are awaiting costuming.  

Those vintage boots I use as vases.

That is the inside top of the trunk...  isn't it wonderful?!  The left compartment is filled 

with faerie shoes and bits and the right is a lovely old drawing.

Up close...

All my wonderful ribbons, tassels and stacks of Indian Saris...

Up close of the saris.

 

That's my mom!  I come by creative side naturally.

Storage...

All my bits of jewelry and beads.

My vintage lace and fabrics bits.

My bits and pieces of inspiration, reminders of whats important.

I love this vintage antique box.  I have used it filled with flowers as a centerpieces for a vintage wedding.

On the left are old watch parts and gears, the center are antique optic lenses and on the right lots of wonderful skeleton keys.  I use these in the costume making as well as weddings.

More lace and bits...

All the boxes function as storage as well as props.

Lace and velvet ribbon.

One of my Buddhas decked of course with vintage broaches and funky glasses.

That red vase is from my childhood home.  My parents got it in Mexico 

for a song where it was being used as a trash receptacle! 

An antique candelabra on an old trunk.  

As you are no doubt figuring out I use a lot of props in my events.  The typewriter I used in a centerpiece at a recent wedding where the groom is a writer. The vintage sewing machine was used for the bride as she is a clothing designer.  All the containers, boxes, tubs, etc I store goodies in.

As you see here the leather box contains some pictures from the Faerie Wedding.

Glitter!!  LOVE glitter!  I have tubs of glitter...

See!

The rafters hold various sets of wings which I have made.

Also my costume hats and wreaths.

Behind the curtain lies more shelves with more props and supplies.

Shelves upon shelves of vases, platters, bottles...  all grouped by color.

Lots of Moroccan plates and bowls for wonderful African feasts!

Tons of silver and candelabras,

Wrought iron, wooden boxes...

Wonderful Moroccan lanterns...

As assortment of pillows in every color of the rainbow.

Looking from the back of the workspace storage area to the front out the window to the driveway.

One of my muses...

Just so you do not get too impressed with my organization.

Here is the workspace in full event flower mode...

Not quite as organized now!

Some examples of my work...  the Faerie Bride.

The Faerie Wedding... (recognize the green costume?).

The Faerie feasting table... (recognize the cushions?)

This was a fund raising event for the local Natural History museum.  We turned the auditorium into a turn of the century archeology encampment a la Indiana Jones.  As you can see we tented the auditorium, hung vintage lanterns and crates of "supplies"from the ceiling.  Each table had a different display from the museum's teaching "library" of specimens and equipment.

A long feasting table for a wedding that was held in a winery.

Lanterns hanging over the head table at a wedding.

Some examples of centerpieces...  recognize the crates and bottles?

A cocktail arrangement using a cloche and crown.

Recognize the suitcases?

A formal table on a huge lawn for a dinner party.

Well if you made it all the way to the end I am very impressed!  Thank you for your interest!

Also a huge thank you to Karen at My Desert Cottage for hosting the Where Bloggers Create party.

I can only imagine how much work is involved and I for one really appreciate it!

If you like what you saw don't forget to sign up as a follower and leave me a comment to win this Butterfly Faerie Wreath!  

I will have a drawing on August 1st.  Thank you again for visiting, I hope I didn't take up too much of your time (well I know I did and I appreciate it!).

Blessings,

Tricia